Commentary On The RB

CISTERCIAN STUDIES SERIES: NUMBER TWO HUNDRED TWELVE
Smaragdus of Saint-Mihiel
COMMENTARY
ON THE
RULE OF SAINT BENEDICT
Cistercian Studies Series: Number Two Hundred Twelve
Smaragdus of Saint-mihiel
CommenTary
on The
rule of saint benedict
Translated by
David Barry osb
Introductory Essays by
Terrence Kardong osb
Jean Leclercq osb
Daniel M. LaCorte
CISTERCIAN PUBLICATIONS
Kalamazoo, Michigan
© Translation, copyright, Cistercian Publications, 2007
All rights reserved
Smaragdus of Saint-Mihiel, fl. 809-819
Translated from Smaragdi Abbatis Expositio in Regulam S. Benedicti, edd. Alfredus

Spannagel and Pius Engelbert osb, in Kassius Hallinger osb, general editor,
Corpus Consuetudinum Monasticarum, 8. Siegburg:Verlag Franz Schmitt, 1974.
The work of Cistercian Publications

in made possible in part by support from
Western Michigan University
to the
Institute of Cistercian Studies
Library of Congress: Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Smaragdus, Abbot of St. Mihiel, fl. 809-819.
[Expositio in Regulam Sancti Benedicti. English]
Commentary on the rule of Saint Benedict / Smaragdus of Saint-Mihiel ;
translated by David Barry ; introductory essays by Terrence Kardong,
Jean Leclercq, Daniel M. LaCorte.
p. cm. — (Cistercian studies series ; 212)
ISBN 978-0-87907-212-4
1. Benedict, Saint, Abbot of Monte Cassino. Regula. I. Kardong,
Terrence. II. Leclercq, Jean. III. LaCorte, Daniel M. IV. Title.
II. Series.
BX3004.Z5S6313 2007
255'.106—dc22 2007036222
Printed in the United States of America

Table of contents
Introduction: Smaragdus and His Work ••

Terrence Kardong
Smaragdus of Saint Mihiel and Monastic Reform of Cîteaux ••
Daniel M. LaCorte
The Relevance of Smaragdus to Modern Monasticism ••
Jean Leclercq
Translator’s Preface and Acknowledgements ••
Abbreviations of Works Cited ••
Authors and Works Cited ••
The Commentary of Abbot Smaragdus on

the Rule of Saint Benedict
Metrical Preface ••
Introduction ••
Book One: Prologue to the Rule ••
Chapters of the Rule ••
Chapter One through Chapter Three ••
Book Two: Chapter Four through Chapter Seven ••
Book Three: Chapter Eight through Chapter Seventy-three ••
Scripture Index ••
Index of Authors and Works ••

Introduction
smaragdus and his work
Terrence Kardong
S MARAGDUS OF SAINT-MIHIEL was one of the most

prominent monks of the ninth century. In addition to being the
abbot of an important imperial abbey, with responsibilities to the
Emperor Louis the Pious, Smaragdus was a prolific author. Probably
the most influential book he wrote was a complete commentary, the
first ever, of the Rule of Saint Benedict.
Life and Works
Smaragdus was of gothic parentage, born about 770 ad in southwest-

ern Gaul. Before the year 800, he had already produced a commentary
on Donatus’ Grammar, and in 809 he was employed by Charlemagne
to help settle a theological dispute in the Holy Land. By this time,
Smaragdus was a monk, and probably the abbot, of Castellio, a monas-
tery about ten miles south of Verdun in northeast Gaul. In later years,
Smaragdus was employed by Louis the Pious as a visitator at both
Moyenmoutier and Saint-Claude in the Jura.
. Although Paul the Deacon, a monk of Monte Cassino who died before 800
ad, was sometimes called the first RB commentator, the work ascribed to him is
now thought to have been written about 850 by Hildemar at Civate in northern
Italy. See C. Peifer, ‘The Rule in History’, in RB 1980 (Collegeville, Minnesota:
Liturgical Press, 1981) 125.
.The main source of these biographical notes is the Introduction to the critical
edition of Smaragdus’ Expositio in Regulam S. Benedicti, ed. A. Spannagel and P.
Engelbert, Corpus Consuetudinum Monasticarum (Siegburg, Germany: F. Schmitt,
1974) xxii-xxix.

Commentary on the Rule of Saint Benedict
Probably the high point of Smaragdus’ monastic life was his partici-
pation in the famous synods held at Aachen in 816 and 817. These
great monastic gatherings of abbots and monks at the imperial palace
were an attempt by Louis the Pious and his chief monastic official,
Benedict of Aniane, to regularize monastic practice in the Empire.
Soon afterwards, Smaragdus wrote his great commentary, and in it he
quotes the decrees of the Synod. From this we can guess that he was
one of the main collaborators of Benedict of Aniane, who was also
a Goth from Aquitania. Certainly Smaragdus’ commentary promoted
one of Benedict’s main projects, the recognition and observance of the
Rule of Benedict as the central monastic Rule.
Another one of Smaragdus’ important projects was the transfer in
824 of his Abbey of Castellio from its arid and inaccessible hilltop to
a more convenient location at Saint-Mihiel. The new position on the
River Meuse was a major improvement, but Smaragdus had to work
long and hard to obtain imperial permission for the move. Perhaps this
was Smaragdus’ last major effort, since the monks of Saint-Mihiel were
granted permission by the emperor in 826 to elect a new abbot. The
old abbot was still alive, but probably died soon afterwards.
Besides his work as the superior of a large monastery, and his wider
efforts on behalf of monasteries of the Empire, Smaragdus wrote sev-
eral influential books during his life. In addition to his commentary
on Donatus, he produced a biblical commentary entitled Expositio Libri
Comitis in 812. Two years later he wrote a treatise called Via Regia at
the request of the new emperor, Louis the Pious. Finally, he produced
an anthology of key texts for monks entitled Diadema Monachorum.
Expositio in Regulam S. Benedicti
It is his commentary on the Rule of Benedict that constitutes Smaragdus’

magnum opus. Indeed, it is a major work, covering some three-hundred
thirty-seven pages in the critical edition of Spannagel and Engelbert.
In what follows we will see that he had a great deal of help in his work
. Peifer, 122.
. Smaragdus’ works are collected in J.-P. Migne, PL 102:15-976. Besides the
1974 critical edition of the Expositio, there is also Liber in partibus Donati, ed. B.
Löfstedt et al., CCCM 68 (1986).
Terrence Kardong
from Benedict of Aniane, but no one can deny that he produced a

very helpful and accessible vehicle for the dissemination of the Rule of
Benedict. The number of manuscripts found all over Europe show that
Smaragdus’ book was a favorite manual of monastic renewal.
The very fact that Smaragdus wrote a systematic, verse-by-verse
commentary on the whole of the Rule certainly says something about
him as a personality. He believed in careful, persevering activity rather
than mere flashes of brilliance. Anyone who has, like the author of this
Introduction, written a complete commentary on the RB knows what
this entails. There are parts that one knows and loves well, and then
there are the other parts. No matter. One approaches the entire docu-
ment with the same care and attention.
The Expositio ad Regulam Benedicti covers every chapter of the RB,
but it is not an even document. Like many commentators on the Rule,
Smaragdus goes into great detail in his remarks on the Prologue and
the first seven or so chapters; but at that point he seems to have realized
the magnitude of his task, and his explanations of subsequent chapters
become much more laconic, even perfunctory. Nevertheless, he shows
the full depth of his powers of analysis and imagination in the earlier
chapters.
The style of his Latin can only be described as plain and simple.
Probably because the Expositio was aimed at the ordinary monks, many
of whom found Latin difficult, the author seems to have gone out of
his way to write in a clear form. On the other hand, his writing is
not very eloquent; but then the genre and format of the commentary
does not promote rhetorical development. Yet there is some elegance
in the work, for Smaragdus quotes copiously from the Bible and the
monastic Fathers.
One of Smaragdus’ favorite methods of interpretation is etymology.
Usually with the aid of Isidore of Seville’s Etymologies, he attempts to
unpack the significance of Benedict’s legislation through an analysis of
. See my study of Smaragdus’ work on the RB Prologue: ‘The Earliest Com-

mentator on RB’, American Benedictine Review 55:2 (2004) 187. On this point,
Spannagel and Engelbert agree with me:‘The reader who plunges into the Expositio
for the first time cannot miss the difference between the expansive, eloquent quality
of the first seven chapters, and the laconic, monotonous style of the rest’ (my transla-
tion of the German).
. Critical edition W.M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
the key words Benedict employed. Although some of these etymolo-

gies amount more to flights of fancy rather than philological facts, they
nevertheless constitute a genuine tendency toward analysis. Moreover,
in itself imagination is by no means a foreign element in a good com-
mentary. At times Smaragdus exercises a good deal of creative imagi-
nation in his treatment of a text.
Smaragdus’ fascination with etymology should not be misunder-
stood. He did not see it as a science for the sake of science. Rather, as
Jean Leclercq stresses in his famous study of medieval monastic litera-
ture, The Love of Learning and the Desire for God, the monks only in-
terested themselves with such pursuits with a view to penetrating the
Bible. And that was in turn lectio divina in the service of contemplation.
This is brought out by a poem of Smaragdus:
Here you will find that measure of gold which comes from
heaven and which we have been accorded by the Holy Ghost
himself. In this book, he relates the great deeds of the Patri-
archs; in it the lyricism of the Psalms resounds.This little book
is full of holy gifts; it contains Scripture and it is seasoned with
grammar. Scripture teaches us to seek after the kingdom of
God, to detach the self from the earth, to rise above the self.
It promises the blessed these heavenly boons: to live with the
Lord, to swell always with Him. Grammar then, through the
goodness of God, confers great benefits on those who read it
with care.
Although Smaragdus does not expand much on the few verses of

the Rule that directly concern contemplation, he should be solidly
situated in the mystical camp.
Unfortunately, Smaragdus sometimes employs rhetorical devices
that produce boredom rather than delight. At times, he indulges a pen-
chant for long rhetorical strings of synonyms that strike the modern
reader as tedious and unnecessary. The same can be said for his use of
. Translated by C. Misrahi (New York: Fordham University Press, 1961).

. Leclercq, 55, says this poem was placed at the head of the Expositio by Sma-
ragdus. I cannot square it with the poem now printed in Spannagel-Engelbert.The
Latin original, edited by Ernst Dümmler, is found in MGHPoetae Latini medii
aevi, 1: Poetae Latini aevi Carolini (Leipzig, 1886-1922) 607.
Terrence Kardong
biblical quotations, which at times he piles up in great mounds. Still,

the contemporary reader must realize that some of this is the by-prod-
uct of his monastic lectio divina. If Smaragdus spent as much time with
the Bible as the Holy Rule prescribes (RB 48), then his memory was
stocked with a great arsenal of cross-references. To quote these texts is
a way for him to savor the biblical wisdom stored in his memory.
There is no question that Smaragdus knew a great deal of Scripture.
In terms of sheer quantity, he quotes fifty-four of the possible seventy-
two biblical books. And he quotes them so accurately that it is clear
that he is using a written text, no doubt the Vulgate. Like most monas-
tic writers, he had a predilection for the Book of Psalms. As regards the
New Testament, he makes much use of Matthew and John, but his real
favorite is Paul. Not only does he quote the Apostle copiously, he often
shows real penetration into Paul’s thought . It is quite a different matter
to quote a plethora of texts than it is to choose exactly the right text to
make your point. At times, Smaragdus displays both of these behaviors,
and no doubt the second helps us to forgive the first.
None of this is to imply that Smaragdus was a critical biblical scholar.
He was a man of his time, and that time was most emphatically not our
time. Consequently, he employs methods that are unacceptable to the
contemporary scholar. For example, he blithely mixes Old Testament
and New Testament proof-texts, and sometimes neither actually per-
tains to his point.
But it would not be right to leave the impression that Smaragdus’
Commentary is primarily of the biblical variety. In fact, he mostly calls
on other monastic writers to be his witnesses. In doing so, he is pri-
marily relying, not on his lectio divina, but rather on a specific source
book, the Concordia Regularum. This remarkable document, compiled
by Benedict of Aniane as a preparation for the Synod of Aachen, con-
tained texts from the whole monastic tradition which are lined up
with the chapters of the Rule of Benedict. Benedict of Aniane did this to
show that Benedict of Nursia is fully consonant with the mainstream
of the monastic tradition.
For his part, Smaragdus makes full use of the Concordia in com-
menting on most chapters of the RB. At times, his work is a veritable
tissue of passages from the CR. It is not reasonable, however, to accuse
. PL 103:701-1380.
Smaragdus of lack of originality because he had no wish to be origi-

nal. He often allows the great monastic Rules to form a comment
on Benedict’s legislation without making much effort to show the
nuances between what they say and what Benedict says. The modern
reader can easily do that, however, and so Smaragdus’ work affords us
an accessible form of the Concordia Regularum, a document that prob-
ably will never be translated.10 Moreover, Smaragdus makes judicious
selections from the CR, which can itself be quite repetitious.
In places like the Prologue, where the CR has little to contribute,
Smaragdus reveals his own preferences among the monastic Fathers.To
put it succinctly, they are not pre-Benedictine but closer to Smaragdus’
own day. Isidore of Seville lived only about a century before the gothic
abbot, whereas great monastic authors such as Basil and Augustine
lived almost five centuries earlier. Gregory the Great is a bit older than
Isidore, but Smaragdus loved him dearly and even more than he did
Isidore. It could well be that Gregory simply has a spiritual sensibility
more congenial to this early medieval author.
But even if Smaragdus did a great deal to make known the monastic
parallels lying behind the Rule of Benedict, his work rests squarely on
that of Benedict of Aniane. It is the latter, not the former, who must
be reckoned a great monastic scholar. Not only did he produce a con-
cordance of the ancient Rules in his Concordia, he also gathered all the
Rules he could find into a compendium entitled Codex Regularum.11
Indeed, if it were not for Benedict’s meticulous collection of earlier
texts in preparation for Aachen, we would probably know little or
nothing about these documents.
Since Smaragdus makes such heavy use of the Concordia, we might
expect that he would be equally dependent on the Acta of the Synod
of Aachen.We have noted that he does quote it—twice—but he could
have quoted it a great deal more. He does, it is true, quote some of the
documents that are closely connected with that synod.12 But perhaps
he had reservations about some of the regulations of Aachen. In this,
10. I published a sample of the Concordia in English (RB 36) in the American
Benedictine Review, 57:3 (September 2006) 320-38.
11. PL 103: 393-702.
12. According to the index of Spannagel and Engelbert (p. 369), the following
Aachen documents are cited by Smaragdus (the pages in CCM 8 are given in
brackets): Statuta Murbacensia 19 [203], 23 [283] (actually [283]); Synodi Primae
Terrence Kardong
he was not alone, for many of the abbots of Europe dragged their feet
in implementing the decrees.
Given Smaragdus’ close adherence to the monastic tradition em-
bodied in the Concordia Regularum, it is not surprising that he normally
takes a rather conventional and moderate view of the Rule of Benedict.
Nevertheless, there are instances where he brings in some rather sur-
prising collateral material to make his point.13 While he certainly was
not a radical or revolutionary thinker, he was capable of thinking for
himself. Nothing in his commentary approaches modern critical-
historical exegesis; yet he does form a solid basis for all subsequent
commentaries on the Rule of Benedict.
Finally, can we say that in his commentary Smaragdus reveals any
particular theological biases or tendencies? Certainly he is not given to
elaborate theoretical elaboration. Most monastic legislators (with the
exception of the Master) are not. But the abbot of St-Mihiel still has
at least one theological theme that he discusses more than once, and
that is eschatology. Of course, there are many aspects of the Last Things
that can exercise a christian thinker, but Smaragdus’ favorite topic is
heaven. Unlike many medieval commentators who seem obsessed by
hell, the first commentator on the Holy Rule ‘looks forward with holy
longing’ (RB 49.7) to eternity with God.
Assumption Abbey
Richardton, North Dakota
Aquisgranensis Acta 9 [283], 23 [203]; Synodi Primae Aquisgranensis Decreta Authentica

25 [283], 28 [203]; Synodi Secundae Aquisgranensis Decreta Authentica 14 [283].
13. I discuss a surprising text of Gregory the Great utilized in ‘Expositio in RB
2: “If you have clasped hands”,’ forthcoming September 2007 in The American
Benedictine Review.
The expositio and monastic
reform at Ci∆teaux
Daniel Marcel LaCorte
I N THE YEAR 1957, Jean Leclercq published The Love of Learning

and the Desire for God, directing those interested in monastic his-
tory to investigate the writings of Smaragdus of Saint Mihiel for
his literary contributions to monastic culture. Leclercq emphasized
Smaragdus’ influence on monastic history once more in his article in
An Introduction to the Medieval Mystics of Europe, drawing attention to
Smaragdus’ contribution to monastic spirituality. In his introduction
to the english translation of Bernard of Clairvaux’s On Precept and
Dispensation, Leclercq once again identified Smaragdus as a particu-
larly important influence on the cistercian understanding of and devo-
tion to the Rule. A careful reading of Smaragdus’s Expositio in regulam
S. Benedicit provides abundant evidence of Leclercq’s insight into the
thought and spirituality of this carolingian reformer.
Centuries after his own death, Smaragdus’ commentary provided
support for the early cistercian reformers in several key aspects of their
. Jean Leclercq, The Love of Learning and the Desire for God: A Study of Monastic
Culture, trans. Catharine Misrahi (New York: Fordham University Press, 1957,
reprint, 1982) 45-47.
. Jean Leclercq, ‘Smaragdus’, trans. John J. Mellerski in Paul E. Szarmach, ed., An
Introduction to the Medieval Mystics of Europe (Albany: State University of New York
Press, 1984) 39.
. Jean Leclercq,‘Introduction’ to On Precept and Dispensation, Bernard of Clairvaux:
Treatises 1 (Spencer-Kalamazoo-Shannon, 1972) 73-104, here 83. In support of his
assertion Leclercq cites Idlefons Herwegen, Studien zur benediktinischen Professformel,
vol. 2: Geschichte der benediktinischen Professformel (Münster: Aschendorff, 1912) 64.
. A. Spannagel-P. Engelbert, Smaragdi Abbatis Expositio in Regulam S. Benedicti in
CCM 8 (Siegburg: Schmitt, 1974). On Smaragdus in general see: Jean Leclercq,
‘Smaragdo’, Dizionario degli Istituti di Perfezione 8 (1988) 1583-84; and my ‘Smaragdus
of Saint-Mihiel: Ninth-Century Sources for Twelfth-Century Reformers’, Cistercian
Studies Quarterly 41 (2006) 273-90.

10 Commentary on the Rule of Saint Benedict
reform. Smaragdus’ words strengthened and elucidated their interpre-

tation of monastic poverty and solitude, the internal struggles and joys
of the contemplative life, and their renewal of the role of an intimate
abbot in spiritually nourishing his community. From carolingian to
anglo-saxon and iberian monasteries, down through the cistercian re-
formers and beyond, Smaragdus’ commentary provides valuable in-
sight and balanced advice on the benedictine life.
Background
Smaragdus is thought to have come from Aquitania and thus to have

been steeped in visigothic culture. Both Charlemagne and Louis the
Pious employed Smaragdus in various capacities related to the re-
form of the Empire and for his service he received the abbatial of-
fice in the monastery of Saint-Mihiel-sur-Meuse, a royal monastery
in Lotharingia, around 814. Prior to his abbatial appointment, he pro-
duced Liber in partibus Donati, a text on grammar written in the first
decade of the ninth century. Smaragdus next, in 809, wrote the Via
regia as a manual for a christian prince. In that same year, he provided
support for Charlemagne’s position on the so-called filioque question
in a treatise on the subject. Soon afterwards, in 812, Smaragdus pro-
. A. Spannagel-P. Engelbert, Smaragdi Abbatis Expositio in Regulam S. Benedicti

(Siegburg: Schmitt, 1974) CCM 8:xxv; Jean Leclercq, ‘Smaragdus’, trans. John J.
Mellerski in Paul E. Szarmach, ed., An Introduction to the Medieval Mystics of Europe:
fourteen original essays (Albany, New York: State University of New York Press, 1984)
37.
. David Barry, ‘Smaragdus of St. Mihiel and his Commentary on the Rule of
St. Benedict’, Tjurunga 36 (1989) 4.
. M. L.W. Laistner,‘The Date and the Recipient of Smaragdus’ Via regia’, Speculum
3 (1928) 392-97. Jasmijn Bovendeert, ‘Royal or Monastic Identity? Smaragdus’Via
regia and Diadema monachorum reconsidered’ in Rob Meens, C. Pössel, Philip
Shaw, eds., Texts and Identities in the Early Middle Ages (Vienna: Österreichische
Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2006) 239. See also Otto Eberhardt, Via Regia: Der
Fürstenspiegel Smaragds Von St. Mihiel und seine literarische Gattung (Munich:Wilhelm
Fink Verlag, 1977) 224-63, who argues that Charlemagne was the intended recipient
of the Via Regia.
. PL 105:239-276. See David Ganz,‘Theology and the Organization of Thought’
in The New Cambridge Medieval History II, edited by Rosamond McKitterick (Cam-
Daniel M. LaCorte 11
duced the Expositio Libri comitis, a companion piece to aid priests in

saying the Mass. All these efforts culminated in 817 in his two texts on
the monastic life, his Diadema monachorum and the Expositio in Regulam
Sancti Benedicti.
Working within the reforming milieu of the ninth century,
Smaragdus’ two texts on monastic life were a response to the reform
efforts initiated by Charlemagne and continued by his son Louis the
Pious. This imperial influence would not only transform the Empire
but also significantly affect the history of monasticism. The goals of
carolingian ecclesiastical reform were articulated in the great Admonitio
generalis of 789.This Admonitio, Rosamond McKitterick writes, defines,
‘. . . a determined programme of ecclesiastical and intellectual reform.
It can be recognized as a concentrated and conscious effort to build
an unequivocally Christian realm’.10 Particularly important to monas-
tic reform were capitularies issued by a 794 Synod of Frankfurt. The
synod covered a variety of matters of general concern to the Church,
and among them monastic life in the Empire received significant at-
tention.11 Arguably the most profound reform effort to affect monas-
ticism came from Louis the Pious’ councils of Aachen of 816 and 817,
which established that The Rule of Saint Benedict would become the
Rule for the Holy Roman Empire. The Monastic Capitulary of 817
requires that ‘abbots scrutinize the Rule word for word, in order to
bridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995) 766; and R. G. Heath, ‘The Western
Schism of the Franks and the Filioque’, Journal of Eccelsiastical History 23 (1974)
97-113.
. Souter has written several articles on the Libri Comitis; see: ‘Contributions to
the Criticism of Zmaragdus’s Expositio Libri Comitis’, Journal of Theological Studies 9
(1908) 584-97; idem, ‘Further Contribution to the Criticism of Zmaragdus’s Ex-
positio Libri Comitis’, JTS 23 (1922) 73-76; idem., ‘A Further Contribution to the
Criticism of Zmaragdus’s Expositio Libri Comitis’, JTS 34 (1933) 46-47.
10. The original Admonitio of 789 can be found in the MGH, Capitularium 1:
52-62, and is the basis for the entire Carolingian reform and the texts supporting
it.The second part insists on the instruction of both clergy and laity in this reform.
Rosamond McKitterick, The Frankish Church and the Carolingian Reforms, 789–895
(London: Royal Historical Society, 1977) 1-19.
11. See H.R. Loyn and John Percival, The Reign of Charlemagne: Documents on
Carolingian Government and Administration (New York: St. Martin’s Press,1975) 56-60.
For the Carolingian Reforms see: Rosamond McKitterick, The Frankish Church
and the Carolingian Reforms, 789-895 (London: Royal Historical Society, 1977).
understand it well, and with their monks let them endeavor to practice
it’.12 This statute provided Smaragdus with the motivation to produce
his commentary, the earliest surviving commentary, on the Rule of
Saint Benedict.13 Glossing each line of the Rule, Smaragdus sometimes
expounded a particular word or phrase to develop a deeper under-
standing of Benedict’s commands.
In response to the reforming statutes of 817, Smaragdus again took
pen in hand to write the Diadema monachorum as a companion to
Benedict’s Rule. And he recommended that ‘. . . just as it is the cus-
tom of monks that they should read a chapter of the Rule of Benedict
in the morning every day, we would like a chapter of this book to be
read in the evening.’14
These two texts provide definitions of monastic practices while at-
tempting to fill the lacunae in the Rule for those unaccustomed to the
life. Both the Expositio and the Diadema illustrate Smaragdus’ under-
standing of the monastic ascesis: the various physical and spiritual ex-
ercises, prayer and meditation, and the role of the abbot as outlined in
the Rule. A ‘more complete analysis of prayer begins in the Carolingian
period’, Bernard McGinn explains, ‘and Smaragdus participated in this
examination and articulation of the spiritual life’.15
12. See Capitula Aquisgranensia I, Consuetudines Monasticae 3 (Monte Cassino, 1907)

116 and also Semmler, Corpus Consuetudinum Monasticarum I (1963) 451-68;
471-81.
13. The commentary traditionally attributed to Paul the Deacon or Paul Warne-
frid is by Hildemar of Corbie, dated to c.845-850. Alan Bernstein, ‘Tristitia and the
Fear of Hell in Monastic Reflection’, in Continuity and Change:The Harvest of Late
Medieval and Reformation History, Robert J. Bast and Andrew C. Gow, eds. (Leiden:
Brill, 2000) 196; see especially Klaus Zelzer, ‘ Von Benedikt zu Hildemar: Zu Text-
gestalt und Textgeschichte der Regula Benedicti auf ihrem Weg zur alleingeltung’,
Frühmittelalterliche Studien 23 (1989) 112-130; especially 127; see also his ‘Überle-
gungen zu einer Gesamtedition des frühkarolingischen Kommentars zur Regula
S. Benedicti aus der Tradition des Hildemar von Corbie’, Revue Bénédictine 91 (1981)
373–82.
14. Smaragdus, Diadema monachorum; PL 102:593D: Et quia mos est monachorum,ut
regulam beati Benedicti ad capitulum legant quotidie matutinum: volumus ut iste libellus ad
eorum capitulum quotidie legatur vespertinum.
15. Bernard McGinn, The Growth of Mysticism (New York:The Crossroad Publish-
ing Company, 1996)124.
Historical Impact
The number of extant copies of Smaragdus’ texts demonstrate his au-

thoritative popularity and explain his influence on succeeding gen-
erations of monastics. We know of one hundred twenty surviving
manuscripts of the Diadema monachorum,16 and forty-four surviving
manuscripts of Smaragdus’ Expositio, several of them from twelfth-
century libraries.17 Two come from anglo-saxon England, a number
from the continent, and, notably, one from twelfth-century Clairvaux.18
Smaradgus clearly influenced the late tenth-century Aelfric, who pro-
duced a Saxon grammar and glossary, and listed Smaragdus among
his sources.19 Leclercq insists that Smaragdus had a lasting influence
in Spain, particularly in the tenth and eleventh centuries, especially
through the Diadema and the Expositio.20 Fidel Rädle, the author of the
single best study on Smaragdus, stresses that Smaragdus had the status
of being a valuable and credible source for the carolingian reforms and
thus a valuable resource to future generations.21 Smaradgus’ influence as
an authority on monastic life provided valuable assistance to a variety of
monastic houses as they formulated their interpretation of the Rule.
Cîteaux and the ‘new monastery’
As the twelfth century dawned, the Cistercians, like other Benedictines,

found support in Smaragdus’ works, not only in their understanding
16. McGinn, Growth of Mysticism (above, n.15) 124, note 20. See especially, A.
Spannagel-P. Engelbert, Smaragdi Abbatis Expositio in Regulam S. Benedicti (Siegburg:
Schmitt, 1974) CCCM 8: XXV-XXVII.
17. A. Spannagel-P. Engelbert, Smaragdi Abbatis Expositio in Regulam S. Benedicti
(Siegburg: Schmitt, 1974) CCM 8:XV-XX.
18. André Vernet, La Bibliothèque de l’abbaye de clairvaux du XII au XVIII siècle
(Paris: Editions du Centre national de la recherche scientifique, 1979) 133, no 550.
For the Anglo-Saxon copies see: Michael Lapidge, and M. Winterbottem, Wulfstan
of Winchester:The Life of St. Aelthelwold (Oxford, 1991) liii.
19. Joyce Hill, ‘Aelfric and Smaragdus’, in Michael Lapidge, ed., Anglo Saxon
England (Cambridge University Press, 1992) 21:203.
20. Leclercq, in An Introduction to Medieval Mystics’ (above, n. 2) 39.
21. See Fidel Rädle, Studien zu Smaragd von Saint-Mihiel, Medium Aevum. Philolo-
gische Studien 29 (Munich: Wilhelm Fink, 1974) 120-27.
of the life according to the Rule, but particularly within their spir-
ituality. Attempting to uncover the original motivations behind the
cistercian reform, scholars have focused on the founders’ interpreta-
tion of the Rule.22 The twelth-century historian Orderic Vitalis records
that Robert of Molesme studied the Rule of Benedict alongside other
teachings, better to understand the original context and meaning of
the Rule. Ordericus writes:
After some years, he studied carefully the Rule of St. Benedict,

and also having examined writings of other holy fathers, he
gathered the brothers and addressed them thus: ‘My dearest
brothers, we have professed according to the Rule of our Holy
Father Benedict. But, it seems to me, that we do not hold to
it in its integrity’.23
While the founders insisted on observing the Rule more literally

than their contemporaries, they also used the Rule, as Louis Lekai
has pointed out, ‘with remarkable liberality and this suggests that the
Cistercians used these other authorities to help them emphasise their
particular goals’.24 William of Malmesbury reports that the would-be
reformers sought to justify their interpretation of the Rule by impanel-
ing a committee to uncover its true intentions. William writes:
22. Jean Leclercq, “The Intentions of the Founders of the Cistercian Order,”
Cistercian Studies series 4 (1969) 23-61; Louis Lekai, “Motives and Ideals of the
Eleventh-Century Monastic Renewal,” Cistercian Studies series 4 (1969) 3-20;
Leclercq, “Motives and Ideals of the Eleventh-Century Monastic Renewal” in M.
Basil Pennington, ed., The Cistercian Spirit: A Symposium in Memory of Thomas Merton,
Cistercian Studies series 3 (1970) 27-47; Louis Lekai, “The Rule and the Early Cister-
cians,” Cistercian Studies series 5 (1970) 243-51; see Lackner, Bede K., The Eleventh-
Century Background of Cîteaux, Cistercian Studies series 8 (Washington, D.C.: Cistercian
Publications, 1972) 249-63.
23. Ordericus Vitalis, Historia Ecclesiastica, 3:8; PL 188:637A: Post aliquot annos,
Sancti Benedicti Regulam diligenter perscrutatus est, aliorumque sanctorum documentis Patrum
perspectis, convocans fratres, sic affatus est: «Nos, fratres charissimi, secundum Normam sancti
Patris Benedicti professionem fecimus. Sed, ut mihi videtur, non eam ex integro tenemus.
24. Louis J. Lekai, ‘Ideals and Reality in Early Cistercian Life and Legislation’ in
John R. Sommerfeldt, ed., Cistercian Ideals and Reality, Cistercian Studies series 60
(1978) 5.
Therefore, two of the fraternity, of equal faith and learning,

were elected. Who, representing the community, were to dis-
cover the intention of the founder’s Rule; and when they had
discovered it, to propound it to the rest.25
Only an handful of commentaries can have been available to the monks

at Molesme at the time. Several ninth-century commentaries on the
Rule existed, including Hildemar’s Tractatus in Regulam S. Benedicti, but
this last was rare and not likely to have been accessible at Molesme.26
Two important sources were, however, surely accessible to the monks
at Molesme: Benedict of Aniane’s Concordia Regularum, and Smaragdus
of Saint-Mihiel’s Expositio. The Concordia by Benedict does not com-
ment on the Rule; instead it is a compilation which compares each
passage of the Rule with a corresponding passage from one or more of
the twenty-six Rules he had collected. And while the Cistercians also
owned Benedict of Aniane’s Penitential,27 a far more helpful gloss on
the Rule was Smaragdus’ Expositio, with its line-by-line commentary
on the Rule. This was likely the chief source used by the committee
appointed by Robert.
There is more compelling evidence to suppose that Smaragdus’
work assisted the monks assigned to Robert’s committee. Jean
Leclercq has shown that the Expositio contains the formula adopted by
25. Gesta Regum Anglorum, 4: PL 179:1288B: Ita duo fratres electi, in quibus scientia
litterarum cum religione quadraret, qui vicaria collatione, auctoris regulae voluntatem inquir-
erent, inquisitam aliis proponerent.
26.The commentary traditionally attributed to Paul the Deacon or Paul Warnefrid
was, in fact, by Hildemar of Corbie, and is dated to c.845-850. Alan Bernstein,
‘Tristitia and the Fear of Hell in Monastic Reflection’, in Robert J. Bast and Andrew
C. Gow, eds., Continuity and Change: The Harvest of Late Medieval and Reformation
History (Leiden: Brill, 2000) 196; see especially Klaus Zelzer, ‘ Von Benedikt zu
Hildemar: Zu Textgestalt und Textgeschichte der Regula Benedicti auf ihrem Weg
zur alleingeltung’, Frühmittelalterliche Studien 23 (1989) 112-130; especially 127; see
also his ‘Überlegungen zu einer Gesamtedition des frühkarolingischen Kommentars
zur Regula S. Benedicti aus der Tradition des Hildemar von Corbie’, Revue Béné-
dictine 91 (1981) 373–82. M. Alfred Schroll, Benedictine Monasticism as Reflected in
the Warnefrid-Hildemar Commentaries on the Rule, Studies in History, Economics, and
Public Law, 478 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1941).
27. Leclercq cites ‘Les cisterciens et S.Benoît d’Aniane’ in Analecta Sacri Ordinis
Cisterciensis, 7 (1951) 63-64.
the Cistercians for profession:28 the cistercian vow of ‘my stability, my

conversion of habits, and my obedience according to the Rule of Saint
Benedict . . . . ’29
other influences
The reforming Cistercians are best remembered for their revitaliza-

tion of the benedictine principles of manual labor and prayer guided
by an abbot who was both autonomous within his own monastery
and subject to review and correction by his pater abbas. The renewal
of the abbatial office and establishment of a life of work and prayer
lived in fraternal charity formed the central thrust to the cistercian
reform. Smaragdus’ Expositio provided an explication of these elements
of the monastic life which assisted the reforming efforts of the early
Cistercians.
Labor
Smaragdus’ view of the Rule’s requirement of labor as a way to gain

control over the unruly body, and thus limit the distractions it often
presented to prayer, paralleled the cistercian attitude on the necessary
interrelationship between physical and spiritual exercises at the heart
of the contemplative life. In the Expositio Smaragdus writes that many
28. Jean Leclercq, ‘Introduction’ to On Precept and Dispensation, CF 1 (Spencer,

Massachusetts: Cistercian Publications, 1970) 83. Leclercq cites in support of his
assertion Ildefons Herwegen, Studien zur benediktinischen Professformel (Munster:
Aschendorff, 1912) 64. See also Leclercq, ‘Saint Bernard and the History of Mo-
nastic Obedience’, trans. G. Gärtner, in Cistercian Studies Quarterly 3 (1968)
207-234.
29. Cistercian formula is: ‘Ego Frater N. Promitto stabilitatem meam, et conversionem
morum meorum, et obedientiam secundum Regulam S. Benedict abbatis. . . . ’(PL 66:829d).
Smaragdus’s commentary on RB 58.17 (Expositio CCM 8:295) has: Promittat autem
et dicat hoc modo: Ego ille in hoc monasterio sancti illius promitto stabilitatem meam et
conversationem morum meorum et oboedientiam secundum regulam sancti Bene-
dicti coram deo et sanctis eius [emphasis mine]. In RB 58.17, Benedict’s words are:
. . . promittat de stabilitate sua et conversatione morum suorum et oboedientia. . . ; Fry:
268.
evils come through idleness, and he therefore exhorts monks ‘. . . not to

desire idleness, but through sincere agreement in unity, each one should
prevail over idleness and labor’.30 Fasting, a kind of labor, brings with
it spiritual gifts. Smaragdus writes: ‘Indeed, there are gifts from fasting,
the hidden mysteries of heaven, privately the secrets of the divine are
revealed to man.’31 In another place Smaragdus associates Vigils, an-
other kind of labor, with prayer. Keeping vigils provides a particularly
beneficial occasion for fruitful prayer. Smaragdus chooses an intimate
image, that of Christ’s marriage bed, to develop his concept of the
spiritual union of the soul with the Lord: ‘Christ the beloved, does not
share his bed with carnal desires, but with saintly works, sacred vigils
and frequent prayers. Christ is not found in the torpor of sleep but in
vigilant prayer.32 The association of this nuptial image with fasting in-
dicates the spiritual importance of these physical exercises. To remove
distracting vices from the soul a monk must assiduously apply all effort
to the physical activities of work, fasting, and vigils. Such efforts yield
a special union with God. The Cistercians would have appreciated this
particular image.
Lectio
In structuring their horarium the Cistercians allowed ample time for

the meditation type of prayer known as lectio divina.33 Smaragdus’
counsel on lectio divina clearly supports this aspect of the Rule, which
the Cistercians made central in their renewal. Smaragdus was, in fact,
only one of the many writers of the carolingian period who, working
towards a reformation of monastic life, produced treatises emphasizing
30. Expositio 48.1; CCM 8:271: In desideriis est omnis otiosus; et Multa mala excogitat
otiositas. Hortamur ergo fratres ut otium non ametis, sed per sincerum unanimitatis consensum
unusquisque ut praevalet sic laboret.
31. Expositio 8; CCM 97: Per jejuniorum namque dona, et coelestium mysteriorum oc-
culta, et divinorum secretorum homini revelantur arcana.
32. Expositio 8; CCM 8:195: Non enim in lectulo carnalium voluptatum dilectus Christus
invenitur, sed in laboribus sanctis, excubiis sacris et orationibus invenitur crebris, non in somni
torpore, sed in vigiliarum oratione. . . .
33. See my ‘Bernard of Clairvaux: On Art and Beauty’, Cistercian Studies Quarterly
29:4 (1994) 451-70.
the importance of monastic lectio.34 Smaragdus’ several works demon-

strate his love of imagery, etymology, and analogy, and, logically, his
monastic spirituality finds its source—in true Carolingian fashion—in
the Bible itself.35 In what he wrote on prayer, meditation, and con-
templation, Smaragdus would have found a ready audience among the
Cistercians as they crafted their renewed life according to the Rule.
The Abbot
The renewal of monastic life in the ninth century had brought with it
a re-evaluation of the role and duties of the abbot. Benedict of Aniane
and his student Smaragdus of Saint-Mihiel witness to an attempt to
reinvigorate the abbatial office after it had fallen into decline under
the Reichtskirche system. Three centuries later, the Cistercians shared
similar goals. At the height of its influence, Cluny had an abbot who
directed a federation of monastic houses from the mother abbey, with
the priors of local monasteries guiding daily life. The familiar spiritual
shepherd, father, and teacher described in the Rule no longer existed
in that system.
Smaragdus’ understanding of an abbot as a personal spiritual guide
found echo at Cîteaux. Pierre Salmon writes of the reform begun at
Cîteaux: ‘Each Cistercian monastery has its abbot who leads the life
of the monks and . . . is no longer the high lord and prelate of pre-
vious times’.36 The Cistercians, like Smaragdus and the Carolingians
34. Alcuin of York, Hrabanus Maurus, and Theodulphus of Orleans also each
produced texts reflecting the spirituality of the age. See Rosamond McKitterick,
The Frankish Church and the Carolingian Reforms, 789-895 (London: Royal Historical
Society, 1977) esp. 53, 83, 89, 97, 168.
35. See Celia Chazelle and Burton Van Name Edwards, eds., The Study of the Bible
in the Carolingian Era (Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols Publishers, 2003); Bernice M.
Kaczyniski, ‘Edition, Translation, and Exegesis: The Carolingians and the Bible’, in
Richard E. Sullivan, ed., ‘The Gentle Voices of Teachers’: Aspects of Learning in the Caro-
lingian Ages (Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1995) 171-185; Jean Leclercq,
‘Smaragde et la grammaire chrétienne’, Revue du Moyen-Age Latin 4 (1948) 15-22;
André Wilmart, ‘Smaragde et le Psautier’, Revue Biblique 31 (1922) 350-60; J. M.
Wallace-Hadrill, Early Germanic Kingship in England and on the Continent (Oxford:
The Clarendon Press, 1971) 25-26.
36. Salmon, The Abbot in Monastic Tradition, 60-61.
before them, attempted to reestablish an intimate personal contact

between the abbot and the members of the community. Smaragdus
aimed to reestablish the spiritual father of the monastic community,
yet we see his direct and explicit influence on cistercian reformers.37
When Smaragdus analyzes Chapter Two of the Rule, ‘On the Abbot’,
he begins by commenting on the title, ‘What sort of man should the
abbot be’. And he answers:
He ought to be good. He ought to have those qualities which

the apostle describes, saying that he is to be blameless, as a
minister of God, not proud, quick-tempered, not given to wine
and beatings, not desirous of dishonorable profit. But he should
be hospitable, gentle, sober, just, holy, continent [Ti 1:7-9] so
that he might be able to preach sound doctrine and dispute
with those who argue against him.38
The qualities that make a man acceptable as abbot, Smaragdus teaches,

are those which Paul considered important in any of God’s ministers.
Smaragdus’s abbot is not above the Rule. And, while he has authority, he
can not be unrealistic in his demands nor lax in his own observance.
37. See Bernard of Clairvaux, SC 41.5 (SBOp 2:31; CF 7:208), SC 10.2 (SBOp
1:49; CF 4:61-62); SC 23.2 (SBOp 1:140; CF 7:26-27); Aelred of Rievaulx, Oner
1 (PL 195:397D). See my ‘Smaragdus of Saint-Mihiel: Ninth-Century Sources for
Twelfth-Century Reformers’, Cistercian Studies Quarterly 41 (2006) 273-90; and
also ‘Magister and Pater in the Thought of Bernard of Clairvaux and Aelred of
Rievaulx’, in Truth as Gift: Studies in Cistercian History presented to John R. Sommerfeldt,
eds. Marsha Dutton, Daniel M. LaCorte, and Paul Lockey, Cistercian Studies series
204 (Kalamazoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications, 2004) 377-406; and John R.
Sommerfeldt, ‘Bernard of Clairvaux’s Abbot: Both Daniel and Noah’, in John R.
Sommerfeldt, ed., Bernardus Magister [Papers Presented at the Nonacentenary of
the Birth of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Kalamazoo, Michigan, Sponsored by the
Institute of Cistercian Studies, Western Michigan University, 10-13, May 1990,
355-62], Cistercian Studies series 135 (Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications-Saint-
Nicolas—lès-Cîteaux:Cîteaux: Commentarii Cistercienses, 1992) 225-38.
38. Expositio 2.1; CCM 8:61: ‘Qualis debeat abbas esse’. . . Bonus utique; talis qualem
apostolus discribit dicens sine crimine, sicut dei ministrum, non superbum, non iracundum,
non vinolentum, non percussorem, non turpis lucri cupidum; sed hospitalem, benignum, so-
brium, iustum, sanctum, continentem, ut potens sit et exhortari in doctrina sana, et eos qui
contradicunt arguere.
The abbot should ‘. . . first, watch carefully his own good actions
. . . and let him always cultivate upright actions. . . . ’ 39 Teaching
through actions provides, in addition to preaching, a living example
to the community. When the Rule cautions that ‘. . . ’ everything the
abbot teaches should be like the leaven of holiness that permeates the
minds of his disciples’,40 Smaragdus glosses this by focusing on the
word fermentum, leaven. The word fermentum, he thought, comes from
fervore, fervor or something that causes excitement, as yeast excites the
sponge that seems to boil up. Fermentum, he writes:
. . . takes its name from ‘a passion’ (fervore). Because used in

this way, it signifies desire, in the place of love, because desiring
divine justice excites the minds of students and inflames them.
Until it produces the perfection of love in many of them. So
let the abbot never desire to love himself more than love of
God.Therefore, the abbot should sprinkle his justice and doc-
trine with the leaven of caritas into the minds of the monks,
so that they never delight in temporal things, that they not
delight in vanity, nor desire transitory things, but always love
divine things, and holding fast to justice and their own redemp-
tion, let them hasten to ascend to the heavenly fatherland.41
From the just and sound teaching of the abbot, love should grow.
The importance of prudent dispensations, as well as the loving at-
tention which the abbot must demonstrate in building a community
united in love, accentuate the important spiritual role of the abbot.The
early Cistercians seized on this dimension of the monastic life, which
they found communicated through Smaragdus.
39. Expositio 2:11-12; CCM 8:65: . . . prius in studio bonae actionis sempetipsum
evigilet: prius semper sublimia facta exerceat, et tunc ad bene vivendum alios sollicitos
reddat. . . .
40. RB 2.5.
41. Expositio 2:5; CCM 8:62-63: Fermentum enim a fervore nomen accepit. Quod hoc
in loco charitatis significat dilectionem, quae ad amorem divinae justitiae fervere facit, et excitat
mentes; donec ad tantam eos dilectionis perfectionem perducat: ut nihil eis, praeter creatorem
suum diligere libeat. Ergo jussio, vel doctrina abbatis in monachorum mentibus fermentum
debet conspergere charitatis, ut nihil terrenum sapiant, nihil vanum diligant, nihilque caducum
concupiscant; sed divinam semper amantes, tenentesque justitiam ad Redemptorem suum, et
ad supernam festinent conscendere patriam.
In this community of fraternal love, Smaragdus advises the benedic-

tine abbot to provide loving correction, and always to have the proper
motivation in correcting his brethren.
With respect to this strictness. It is not that [the abbot] should

be hated, or cause terror, but it is necessary to have within
himself ‘a devoted father’, to reveal his affection . . . he should
advance love as a devoted father, just as a strict teacher pru-
dently corrects errant students, and a devoted father’s love
motivates one to do well.42
In this way Smaragdus seeks to eliminate tyrants in the abbatial chair

and to remove fear of the authority figure.
Smaragdus deviates from Benedict’s model slightly by combining
discipline with paternal love. In Smaragdus’ view, the abbot’s motiva-
tion in giving correction must be that of a father who loves his child,
but who also loves justice:
Indeed, the abbot is a father and he should nourish in a paternal

way, all who are his sons. He should love in a paternal way, and
when it is necessary he should, in a paternal way, chastize, re-
prove, implore, and when necessary reproach by rebuking—and
if necessary, to cauterize with excommunication or scourge
with a switch. He should do this not vindictively, nor with
hatred of the soul but as a father, with the love of justice. And
because the Just Lord loves justice, the abbot who in the
monastery is seen to hold his place, should love to do
justice.43
42. Expositio 2:24; CCM 8:72: Quod dirum, id est, quia terror non odium, sed habere
in se pii patris necesse est ostendat affectum. Non enim in delinquentes discipulos terror de
odii fomite, sed de pii patris procedere debet amore. Ut errantes magistri terror providus corrigat,
et bene agentes pius patris amor refoveat.
43. Expositio 2:11-19; CCM 8:61: . . . id est pater. Si enim pater est, paterno more
filios, id est, monachos suos nutriat, paterno more diligat, et cum necesse fuerit, paterno more
castiget, arguat, obsecret, et cum increpatione corripiat. Et si necessario excommunicationis
cauterium, vel virgarum adhibuerit flagellum, non animi odio, sed hoc faciat amore paterno,
non causa vindictae, sed amore justitiae. Scriptum est enim: Juste quod justum est exsequeris
[Deut. XVI]. Et quia justus Dominus justitiam diligit, abbas, qui in monasterio ejus vices
videtur agere, justitiam debet amare.
While Smaragdus acknowledged the responsibility of the abbot in

maintaining discipline, he also knew that the abbot’s internal disposi-
tion should be one of love. Reflection on this aspect of the abbot’s role
helps check any tendency to anger. This love provides the motivation
for the abbot’s every action, and this same love will bind the com-
munity to its leader. The abbot’s means and the end towards which he
guides his monks are one and the same–love.
Finally, Smaragdus adds a new image, one that was to provide an
important model to the cistercian reformers:
The abbot ought to contain, in one and the same person, the
inner feelings of a pious mother and the severe strictness of a
father, so that those whom he nourishes with a motherly love
he should also correct with the strictness of a father. And those
to whom he offers the breasts of a mother, for suckling, he
should also keep under a father’s discipline. 44
Smaragdus’ image of the abbot kindly nursing his monks at his breast
builds on an image originally presented in Saint Gregory’s Pastoral
Care: ‘[t]he kindly mother and father exhibit discipline’.45 Smaragdus
emphasizes an intensely intimate relationship between the abbot and
his monks. This may be Smaragdus’ most important offering to the
authority structure of Benedictine monasticism.This image of the ma-
ternal abbot is unique, and was incorporated by Bernard and other
Cistercians writers of the twelfth century.46 Bernard surely had access
to Smaradgus’ text when he wrote of the abbot: ‘We must return to
the breasts of the bride and show how both they and their milk differ.
And you may see her unhesitatingly nourishing her little ones with
the milk of these full breasts, from one the milk of consolation, from
44. In una eademque abbatis persona et pia matris viscera et districta patris debet inesse
censura, ut quos amore nutrit materno, corrigat rigore paterno, et quibus matris sugenda praebet
ubera, sub patris teneat disciplina. Expositio 2.30; CCM 8:74.
45. See Gregory, Regulae Pastoralis Liber 2.6; PL 77:38A.
46. See note 18 above, and André Wilmart,‘L’ancienne bibliothèque de Clairvaux’,
Collectanea 11 (1949) 101-127; 300-307. For a study, see Caroline Walker Bynum,
Jesus as Mother: Studies in the Spirituality of the High Middle Ages (Berkeley, California:
University of California Press, 1982) 129.
the other that of encouragement, according to the need of each.’47 It is

reasonable to assert that Smaragdus provided the maternal metaphors
later used by the Cistercians as they sought to reassert the spiritual role
of the resident abbot in their renewed monastic communities.48
Before deciding to leave for ‘the wilderness’ of Cîteaux, the early
monks at Molesme scoured the Rule and the accounts of the early
desert fathers, as well as the writings of previous monastic reformers, in
order to understand Saint Benedict’s intentions. Like other advocates
of reform, the monks at Molesme brought to their investigations into
the past the contemporary ideals of eremetical solitude, evangelical
poverty, and an emphasis on the contemplative life. The early cister-
cian pioneers utilized elements from all these sources to defend their
interpretation of the Rule. Much of what they used to support their
renewal of the benedictine life, the founders took from the writings of
Smaragdus. In the absence of direct evidence, we can only assume that
the abbot of Saint–Mihiel’s words on labor, fasting and vigils, read-
ing, meditation, and contemplation were eagerly read by the nascent
Cistercians, who would have identified with Smaradgus’ sensitivity
to spiritual experience in a life balanced between prayer and manual
labor. Smaragdus’ image of the abbot as nurturing mother and dedi-
cated father provided the Cistercians with a model for the intimate,
loving, and nourishing guide for the community that they modelled
in their proprietary abbot. These twelfth-century reformers found in
the works of the ninth-century reformer Smaragdus of Saint-Mihiel
a bridge to the early desert fathers and other voices of authority who
provided useful images for their contemporary goals.
Saint Ambrose University

Davenport, Iowa
47. SC 10.2 (SBOp 1:49; CF 4:61-62): Sed redeamus ad ubera sponsae, ac pro diver-
sitate uberum, diversas et lactes species proponamus. Nam congratulatio quidem exhortationis,
compassio vero consolationis lac fundit.
48. See my ‘Smaragdus of Saint-Mihiel: Ninth-Century Sources for Twelfth-
Century Reformers’, Cistercian Studies Quarterly 41 (2006) 273-90.
The relevance of Smaragdus
to modern monasticism
= Jean Leclercq
D OES SMARAGDUS HAVE any relevance today? Does a

Commentary written in the ninth century still have some
value over a thousand years later, at a time when monasti-
cism, like everything else, is still evolving? The fact is that this text has
always proved to be useful. In order to find out whether it can still be
so in our time, we must try to discern why, for eleven centuries, people
have been keen to pass it on. In fact, not only has it been preserved,
but it has been preserved in abundance: sixty-six manuscripts of it
are known.1 They come from all epochs and from many parts of the
West.
Smaragdus composed this Commentary at a time when the carolin-
gian renewal was in full swing and in order to contribute to it. After
the barbarians’ era, Charlemagne, and then his son Louis the Pious, had
judged it indispensable for the good of their ‘Holy Roman’ Empire
that monasticism, which was very widespread, should receive, if not an
organization, at least a certain unity. Especially after the eighth century,
monks had turned spontaneously to one Rule in preference to oth-
ers, on the grounds that it came from the region of Rome, that city
which remained the symbol both of ancient civilization and of the
Catholic Church.2 The Benedictine Rule had imposed itself little by
1.The list of manuscripts is given in Smaragdi abbatis expositio in Regulam S. Bene-

dicti, edd. Alfred Spannagel and Pius Engelbert, CCM 8 (Siegburg: Verlag Franz
Schmitt, 1974) xv-xxii. In the course of the present article, references given in the
text in brackets are to the pages, then to the lines, of this edition.
2. Joachim Wollasch, ‘Benedictus abbas Romensis. Das Römische Element in der
frühen benediktinischen Tradition’, Tradition als historische Kraft. Interdisziplinäre
Forschungen zur Geschichte des früheren Mittelalters, edd. Norbert Kramps et al. (Berlin-
New York, 1982) 119-137; Pius Engelbert, ‘Regeltext und Romverehrung. Zur
Frage der Regula Benedicti in Frühmittelalter’, Römische Quartalschrift für Christliche
Altertumskunde und Kirchengeschicte 81 (1986) 29-60.
25
little. But the heritage of monasticism—of the East as well as of the

West—prior to its composition had not been lost sight of. Smaragdus
of Saint-Mihiel understood that the times required a synthesis of this
Rule with the whole of the ancient heritage.
Much the same thing happened during subsequent renewals, gener-
ally referred to as ‘reforms’. The Commentary of Smaragdus is attested
in the tenth century in England—and especially in France at the time
when spontaneous reforms forced their way through after the col-
lapse of the carolingian structures and before the birth of the feudal
system. In the eleventh century the text was known at Cluny; from
there it passed into Spain, where Cluny was endeavoring to intro-
duce some unity into monasticism as the Reconquest progressively
freed the iberian peninsula from islamic domination; it is largely due
to Smaragdus that the Rule was adopted there. The twelfth century
was a period of intense vitality for monasticism; a diversification took
its place within a profound unity.3 Both then and in the thirteenth
and fourteenth centuries, Smaragdus continued to be transcribed, in
particular in Lotharingia and in other regions of the Holy Roman
Empire. In the fifteenth century there began to appear a series of
spontaneous reforms which finished up grouping monasteries into
Congregations; this is without doubt the epoch when the manuscripts
of the Commentary were most numerous. In the age of the printing
press, it was published in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and
again in the nineteenth.
Smaragdus was copied not only in monasteries of the traditional
kind—later called ‘Benedictine’, but also in houses of the new ‘Orders’
which had appeared in the twelfth century: the Carthusians, and espe-
cially the Cistercians; there was at least one copy of the Commentary
in Clairvaux during the century of Saint Bernard.
In addition to the witness of manuscripts that have been preserved,
there is that of the extracts cited from it in numerous spiritual writ-
ings. Quotations from it had even been introduced into one of the rare
Rules written for nuns in tenth-century Spain,4 and this text, in its
3. Jean Leclercq, ‘Diversification et identité dans le monachisme au XIIe siècle’,

Studia Monastica 28 (1986) 51-74.
4. Ed. Antonio Linage Conde, Una Regla monastica Riojana femenina del Siglo X:
el ‘Libellus’ Regula Sancti Benedicti subtractus (Salamanca, 1973).
Jean Leclercq 27
turn, had some influence on the Rule of Fontevrault in the fifteenth

century.5
Those are the facts. They demand an explanation. Why was a use
found for this long Commentary, even though many of the prescrip-
tions contained in the sources it cites were hardly applicable any longer
—as, for example, instructions on the infliction of punishment both
in Smaragdus and in Saint Benedict? Such a work was not copied and
preserved just as something to study and as a source of information on
past practices, but because, by reason of what it contained of perma-
nent value in the present moment of each epoch, it helped people to
live in conformity with the monastic vocation. It was a doctrinal text,
not a collection of observances; as for the latter, Customaries were
being created and edited, and being constantly brought up to date. In
Smaragdus were found the fundamental convictions of monasticism of
all ages, those prior to him in the numerous sources he cites, and those
of his own time and circumstances in the passages he himself wrote.
In these various copies of Smaragdus’ Commentary—and in monks’
keenness to possess his work and read it—we also see a monasticism
which is later than Smaragdus and which has in various ages given its
approval to his teaching.
Smaragdus claimed to be sticking to the Rule in all its ‘purity’. He
was convinced that monks need to know it well and even insofar as was
possible to ‘memorize’ it, but also to understand it. Smaragdus makes this
clear in a few important lines in which he applies the two latin words
ad purum to the attitude monks should have towards the Rule (CCM
325, 18-22). The same form of expression was to be taken up again
subsequently, and three centuries later one of the foundation docu-
ments of the Cistercian Order would speak of the ‘purity of the Rule’.6
In his Preface Smaragdus had already stated his intention of holding to
the ‘rectitude’ of the Rule; this is a formula that was to become dear
to the Cistercians as well.7 Again, he held that the letter of the Rule
5.The sources and the influence of this text were studied by Sr Lazare de Seilhac
and presented at the 1985 Bruges congress Benedicti Regulae Studia: ‘La Règle de
S.Benoît dans la tradition féminine’.
6. Exordium Parvum, 14; ed. Jean-Baptiste Van Damme, Documenta pro Cisterciensis
Ordinis historiae ac iuris studio (Westmalle, 1959) 12.
7. P. Stevens, ‘Rectitudo Regulae’, Collectanea Ordinis Cisterciensium Reformatorum
9 (1947) 131-142.
must be interpreted first of all by having recourse to philology.Thus, in

writing about a line of Saint Benedict which would appear to exclude
all discussion between the monk and his abbot, Smaragdus takes up
almost an entire page establishing the precise meaning of three words
in a sentence: a verb, contendere; an adverb, proterve; and a preposition,
foris—and his grammatical analysis opens the door to the possibility of a
broad exchange of views between the subject and his superior. Here, in
Smaragdus, the grammarian has come to the aid of the spiritual writer,
and the whole question reaches a solution when an aggressive attitude
is contrasted with a friendly demeanor (84, 1-24).
The text of the Rule must also, in Smaragdus’ opinion, have light
thrown on it by its sources: in the first place, Sacred Scripture, but also
ancient monastic legislation.Today we are aware of the place occupied
by the Rule of the Master in the interpretation of Saint Benedict; in
Smaragdus it is by far the most extensively used legislative text.8 If one
were to concentrate only on the sources, one might foster a fairly ster-
ile complacency about an idealized past. Concrete existence, in each
passing epoch, also makes its demands; it is necessary to a certain ex-
tent to adapt some of Saint Benedict’s prescriptions to people who no
longer live in the same circumstances or culture as did he. Smaragdus
recognizes this, and thereby gives us a teaching of capital importance.
First of all, he establishes undeniably the variety there is amongst
persons. He cites with approval (214) a passage from Saint Fructuosus
in which some thirty different types of character are enumerated: non-
nulli,‘some’; plurimi,‘many’; alii,‘others’; alius,‘someone else’. Elsewhere
Smaragdus, writing for himself, conjures up a whole series of different
temperaments, each of them involving a contrast between unus, ‘one’,
and alter (vero) or alius, ‘another’ (102, 18-25).
Times change, too. After recalling what was the custom in former
times—Mos fuit—Smaragdus can say that ‘today’ this is no longer so
(283, 5-10; 301, 1-3). He can even say that ‘nowadays there are several
ways of doing something’ (Modo vero iam apud nos aliter atque aliter hab-
etur) ‘because’, as he goes on to say, ‘we no longer have as much fervor
as the ancients, and yet we still hope in the Lord’s mercy’ (211, 13-20).
Nostalgia for the past is in this way reconciled with a realism without
regret. That was already Saint Benedict’s attitude. On each occasion
8. Smaragdi abbatis expositio (above, note 1) pp. 366-367.

Jean Leclercq 29
when Benedict recalled the feats of the Fathers, he easily comforted

himself for their disappearance by accepting his contemporaries just
as they were. With regard to one of the most nostalgic passages of the
Rule—wherein it is stated that formerly the whole Psalter was recited
each day—Smaragdus finds nothing to say (208, 6-11). But shortly
before that, he—like Benedict—had conceded the possibility of sev-
eral solutions for the arrangement of the psalms during the Office; he
indicates, but does not impose, his personal preference, this time also
putting his trust in God (207, 31 - 208, 5). There are then several ways
of putting into practice one and the same directive of Saint Benedict:
‘He says . . . However, not all can do it . . . ’ (199, 27 - 200, 4).
At times, Smaragdus notes, a source itself—like the Rule of
Fructuosus—pleads for diversity (288, 10-19). But good sense is suf-
ficient to make us distinguish between tunc: ‘formerly’ and nunc vero:
‘but now’ or ‘today’ (301, 2). It is the role of prudence to discern what
is fitting in each time and each place; for example, clothing may vary
according to the geographical location of the monastery and the cli-
mate of the place; Saint Benedict was ‘very prudent’ to say so, and the
abbot must also be ‘prudent’ in taking these factors into account. The
commentator limits himself to giving his opinion: ‘It seems to me that
. . . ’: mihi videtur (285, 9-23).
In the chapters of the Rule which determine institutions, like those
concerning the abbot (RB 64) and the prior (RB 65), the citations
from the Fathers are not as numerous as in those passages which deal
with doctrine. This is because it is above all in the area of juridical
structures, as in what concerns the appointment of superiors, that
changes have taken place. One must simply take account of these de-
velopments, even if the new procedure is very different from what the
Rule had arranged. ‘For us now . . . ’: Nobis enim modo, there is no lon-
ger room for the situation envisaged by Saint Benedict (320, 32-6).
Thus Smaragdus perceived a distinct difference between obser-
vances and guiding ideas. In what is essential, the guiding ideas have
not changed; the basic convictions remain the same, while the ways
of putting them into practice have undergone development. This
Commentary’s value comes from the fact that it constitutes a kind of
summa of the monastic tradition. In its own day and in later times it
did away with the need to have at hand and, with much difficulty,
to consult a large number of books. This book did not present the
personal ideas of one particular abbot; what readers heard resounding

there was, so to say, the unanimous voice of the tradition. It was not a
topical work, composed with a precise and well-defined state of affairs
in view. Its author called on witnesses from every corner of monasti-
cism in all previous ages. One can understand why it did not become
a dead text, soon forgotten. It retained an ongoing utility for the life of
monks and nuns everywhere.
The same abiding value was attributed to the florilegium of an-
cient monastic texts which makes up another work of Smaragdus, one
which he called The Diadem of Monks. More than a hundred twenty
manuscripts of this second work have been preserved,9 and it again
has been ‘handed on’, even in our day, in a living language.10 In it, as
in a sort of bank, we find a whole fund of the wisdom accumulated
over centuries and placed at the disposal of all; we have not finished
drawing on it.
To the extent that Saint Benedict’s Rule laid out practical obser-
vances, it was clear to Smaragdus that not everything was to be taken
literally, and he insisted that the abbot should adapt the application of
them to what was appropriate for each person (225, 11-15). He was
careful not to add new prescriptions; it was the task of the Customaries
to spell out what were to be the details of daily existence. But to the
extent that the Rule and other ancient texts established an orientation
of life, a spiritual program, one could not dispense oneself or others
from it. Smaragdus’ Commentary is a witness to ancient monasticism in
general, and not only, or even chiefly, to ninth-century monasticism.
In applying great spiritual principles, Smaragdus wrote, we need to
decide on the means by which they can be put into practice. Hence
the importance of the idea expressed by the words ‘to discern’ and
‘discernment’—discernere, discretio—(153, 6, 10 et al.).The Fathers them-
selves, moreover, had at times expressed divergent opinions (217, 20-
21); therefore one must at times choose from among their utterances.
Smaragdus submits the various insights to the judgment of his readers,
but is careful not to impose his preference, if indeed he has one. He
dispenses no one from being intelligent and making use of his own
9. Réginald Grégoire, ‘La tradizione manoscritta del Diadema monachorum di

Smaragdo († c. 830), Inter Fratres 34 (1984) 5-14.
10. Smaragdus, La Voie Royale, le Diadème des moines (La Pierre-qui-Vire, 1949).
Jean Leclercq 31
judgment.Therefore exceptions, so long as they are reasonable, are fore-

seen. One very enlightening passage says this with regard to the short
formula in which Saint Benedict prescribes that ‘no one is to depart
from the Rule rashly’: this last word excludes everything that would be
‘unconsidered and irrational’, but not what would be done with ‘intel-
ligence’, ‘reasonably, with discernment and great care, necessity being
taken into account’ (83, 15-20). In one case, in fact, the monk’s way of
acting is left to his own good pleasure: si placet (253, 28).
These considerations bring us to the delicate problem of obedience.
Smaragdus vigorously reaffirmed the principle according to which the
monks must in everything submit to their abbot, who is responsible
for his actions only to God, without any mediation. In the long his-
tory of monasticism there had never been any doubt about the monks’
obligation. But between the time the Rule was written and the time
Smaragdus wrote his Commentary an evolution had occurred as re-
gards the most difficult of all forms of obedience, the obedience of su-
periors.The entire development had consisted in establishing precisely
the limits within which their authority could and must be exercised,
and the extent to which it was itself limited by other authorities: that of
the Rule and that of the communities of monks who had undertaken
to observe it. In his chapter on profession, Smaragdus specified that a
person promises to live and obey ‘according to the Rule’ (295, 19); this
clause was adopted later on, for example, among the Cistercians.11 The
abbot, just as much as the monks, is bound to conform to the Rule.
In the twelfth century Saint Bernard will make a very important and
definitive contribution to the elaboration of this doctrine. It would be
left to the institutions which came into existence shortly afterwards to
determine how the abbot should submit to the judgment either of his
chapter—that is to say, of the whole community—or of his council,
and how the members of that council should be designated.12
Smaragdus makes no mention of these juridical formalities. But to
the abbot’s obligation to take into account the advice given by all the
brethren, he adds that of afterwards ‘discerning’ with the help of a
restricted group of ‘seniors’—cum senioribus (81, 22-28)—what is the
11. Jean Leclercq, ‘S. Bernard dans l’histoire de l’obéissance’, Recueil d’études sur
S. Bernard et ses écrits, 3 (Rome: 1969) 279, with bibliography.
12. Jean Leclercq, ‘Conventual Chapter and Council of the Abbot in Early Cite-
aux’, Cistercian Studies [Quarterly] 23 (1988) 14-24.
appropriate decision. Further on he insists again on the importance of

this ‘council’, made up of ‘spiritual brothers’ (83, 29). He is especially
anxious that obedience be freely assented to, accepted ‘willingly’—
libenter (296, 19)—and practiced ‘with great joy of heart’—cum magna
cordis alacritate (153, 12).
Within this attitude of submission, there can still be room for what
Saint Benedict had called ‘justified murmuring’. This formula has
sometimes caused difficulty for those transcribing the Rule; in cer-
tain manuscripts, instead of writing ‘without just murmuring’: absque
iusta murmuratione, certain copyists have corrected the text and written
‘without any murmuring’:absque ulla murmuratione.13 Smaragdus does
better than that; he gives an exact definition of what can be ‘a justified
murmuring’: ‘The just murmuring of monks usually arises from unjust
oppression . . . ’ (260, 22-29).
For Smaragdus, what counts above all else was everyone’s interior
disposition: that of the abbot and the monks alike. He does not put to
himself certain questions, which we would ask, about the literalness of
the Rule and the practicability of some of its prescriptions; he does not
state any principle about the evolution of institutions or the adaptation
of observances. To him it is obvious that no practice can be fixed once
and for all. But the need to keep ‘one’s heart simple and spirit pure’
(275, 22) remains unchanged. The living tradition, like Smaragdus and
his school, has recognized how to distinguish what can be subject to
variation, and what are the unchangeable values of monastic life.
Among the attitudes of soul that must be characteristic of monks
of all times there is one which Smaragdus stresses very strongly: joy;
by this he meant to live and act ‘with a smile, with joy’ (cum hilaritate
et gaudio: 276, 23); ‘to keep one’s spirit and countenance serene’ (hilari
animo et vultu sereno: 240, 5); to be ‘happily and peacefully’ (libens . . .
placideque) content with what one receives (243, 19-20) . Expressions
like this abound. On one such page words that denote this ‘joyful-
ness’ occur nine times—a joyfulness that ought to manifest itself in a
serene, joyful countenance which has neither sadness nor rancor (155,
8-24). On the contrary, ‘sadness’ can only foster murmuring of a bad
13. According to R. Hanslik, Benedicti Regula Editio altera emendata, CSEL 75:113
(Vienna: 1977), the word iusta has, in many manuscripts, been replaced by ulla or
nulla, or simply omitted.
Jean Leclercq 33
kind (284, 24 - 285, 3). The last lines of the Commentary are filled with
terms that evoke the happiness by which we already share in Christ’s
Resurrection: libenter: ‘willingly’ (twice); felix: ‘happy’ (three times); feli-
cior: ‘happier’; gaudere: ‘to rejoice’; feliciter: ‘happily’ (337). In short, what
Smaragdus wants, and what all his teaching aims at, is that each person
who lives according to the Rule of Saint Benedict should be what he
twice calls, when speaking of the love that comes from Christ, a ‘happy
monk’: beatus monachus . . . beate monache (104, 26 - 105, 8).
Clervaux
Translator’s Preface and
acknowledgments
David Barry
This translation is made from Smaragdi Abbatis Expositio in Regulam

S. Benedicti, Corpus Consuetudinum Monasticarum, 8, edd. Alfredus
Spannagel and Pius Engelbert osb (Siegburg: Verlag Franz Schmitt,
1974), with kind permission of the publisher and copyright holder.
Scripture and RB references appear as marginal notes, while patristic
and other references appear in footnotes. These latter have been up-
dated to refer to post-1974 critical editions of the Fathers and monas-
tic rules.
The text and notes, together with the foreword that was very kindly
provided by the late much-esteemed medievalist Dom Jean Leclercq,
make this already a long book. For this reason I deem myself bound to
brevity here, but a few words of explanation and thanks can hardly be
omitted. It was while on a sabbatical year at Saint Benet’s Hall, Oxford,
in 1987, that I began work on the translation, at the suggestion and
with the supervision initially of Fr Simon Tugwell, op, of Blackfriars,
to whom I am deeply grateful. Fr Philip Holdsworth, then Master of
Saint Benet’s, and Fr Alberic Stacpoole, the tutor, were always inter-
ested and encouraging, as were members of the student body, monastic
and lay.
During Oxford holidays the work was continued in periods—vary-
ing in length from a few days to a few weeks—that I spent as a guest
in most of the monasteries in England: Prinknash, Buckfast, Downside,
Ampleforth, Stanbrook, Ramsgate, Douai, Mount Saint Bernard,
Worth, Quarr, Minster and West Malling Abbeys. After giving a retreat
to the monks of Bolton Abbey in Ireland, I spent Holy Week and the
first days of Easter 1988 with the community of La Pierre-qui-Vire
in France, where Fr Adalbert de Vogüé and Fr Willibrord Witters were
both extremely helpful and encouraging. After this I had the privilege
of living almost three months with the community of Sacro Speco at
35
Subiaco in Italy, during which time I consulted Fr Pius Engelbert in

Rome on matters connected with his work on Smaragdus. In most
of the places mentioned I had occasion to use the library—a privi-
lege and at times an education in itself. My thanks to the abbots and
abbesses, masters and librarians, monks and nuns, and also to relatives
in London and Yorkshire, whose hospitality and companionship I en-
joyed while away from my home monastery. Thanks are also due to Fr
Michael Kelly of the Benedictine monastery at Arcadia, NSW, and to
library staff of the University of Melbourne for articles I requested, to
Trevis Lawton, our librarian, and Tony James for valuable help.
On returning to New Norcia in July 1988, I was able to continue the
translation with the steady encouragement of my superior, Fr Placid
Spearritt, and the patient tolerance of my community, who might un-
derstandably have begun to wonder. . . !
Translating is an art, a recta ratio agendi; it is beset with difficult de-
cisions and choices, and I don’t for a moment think I’ve got every-
thing right. Added to the difficulties of the work itself was that of
getting permission from the holder of copyright to publish. However,
the required permission was eventually forthcoming, and I have Dr
Rozanne Elder, Editorial Director of Cistercian Publications, to thank
for not giving up on me. One could go on indefinitely polishing any
literary work, but the time comes when one must decide whether to
publish or relegate the typescript to archives or incinerator. In going
public, I am aware that shortcomings become manifest, but I think that
since Smaragdus, while not the most original or stimulating thinker,
was the first to write a full commentary on the Rule of Benedict, he
occupies an important place in the tradition of western monasticism,
and deserves to be better known by monastics and those interested in
the monastic tradition. The translation is intended chiefly for those
who have not sufficient Latin to read the original for themselves. I
offer it as a tribute to past and present bearers of the monastic charism,
to whom I owe so much.
New Norcia Abbey

Western Australia
abbreviations of works Cited
ACW Ancient Christian Writers series. Westminster, Maryland: Newman;

New York: Paulist, 1946-
ANF Ante-Nicene Fathers. 10 volumes. Edinburgh, 1866; Grand Rapids,
Michigan: Eerdmans, 1951.
BAC Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos. Madrid: La Editorial Católica,
1944–
Bened Benedictina. Rome, 1947-
CC Corpus Christianorum series. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 1953-
CCSL Corpus Christianorum. Series Latina.
CCCM Corpus Christianorum. Continuatio Mediaevalis.
CCM Corpus consuetudinum monasticarum. Ed. K. Hallinger, et al.
Siegburg, Germany: F. Schmitt, 1963-
CR Concordia Regularum. PL 103:701-1380.
CS Cistercian Studies series. Spencer, Massachusetts; Washington D.C.;
Kalamazoo, Michigan, 1966-
CSEL Corpus scriptorum ecclesiasticorum latinorum.Vienna, 1866-
DACL Dictionnaire d’archéolgie chrétienne et de liturgie. Paris, 1907–1953.
FCh Fathers of the Church series. New York; Washington D.C., 1948-
Ménard Concordia Regularum, auctore St Benedicto Anianae abbate. Ed.
Nicholas-Hugues Ménard, Paris, 1638.
MnS Monastic Studies. Pine City, New York; Montreal, Québec, 1963-
NPNF Nicene and Post-Nicene Library of the Fathers. Series 1 & 2, 14
vols. each. 1886; Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1956, 1979.
PG J.-P. Migne, Patrologiae cursus completus, series graeca, 162 volumes.
Paris, 1857-1866.
PL J.-P. Migne, Patrologiae cursus completus, series latina, 221 volumes.
Paris, 1844-1865.
PLS Patrologiae cursus completus, series latina, Supplementum. Ed. A.
Hamman. Paris, 1958-
RB Regula monachorum sancti Benedicti; Rule of St Benedict.
R Ben Revue bénédictine. Maredsous, Belgium, 1884-
RM Regula magistri; Rule of the Master.
SCh Sources chrétiennes series. Paris: Editions du Cerf, 1941-
Wiener Wiener Studien.Vienna, Austria, 1879-
Scriptural citations have been made according to the enumeration and abbreviations of
the Jerusalem Bible, except for Ephesians: Eph
37
authors and works Cited
Ath Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria (295-373)

Vita Anton.Vita beati Antonii abbatis (Life of St Antony, abbot); ET.
(English translation) NPNF ser. 2,4; ACW 10.
Aug. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo (354-430)
Civ. Dei De civitate Dei (The City of God); many English
translations
Ep(p) Epistola(e) (Letter[s]); English translation NPNF
ser.1,1; The Works of St Saint Augustine: A
Translation for the 21st Century, general editor,
J. Rotelle. New York: New City Press, 1990-
In Jo ev. In Joannis Evangelium tractatus (Tractates on St John’s
Gospel); ET NPNF ser. 1,7; Trac. 55-111 in FCh 90.
In Jo ep In epistolam Joannis ad Parthos (Tractates on the First
Letter of John); ET NPNF ser. 1,7.
Ennar. in ps. Enarrationes in psalmos (Expositions of the Psalms);
ET: NPNF ser. 1,8; ACW 29-30; Maria Boulding
osb, Part III, vols. 15–20, 2000–2004, in J. Rotelle,
general editor, as at Epistolae.
Reg. Regula ad servos Dei (Rule for Servants of God); ET
[Letter 211] NPNF ser. 1,1; FCh 32.
S Sermones (Sermons); See Rotelle, as at Epistolae.
S Dom. De sermone Domini in monte (The Lord’s Sermon on the
Mount); English translation ACW 5; FCh 11.
Aurel Aurelian, Bishop of Arles (? -551)
Reg. Regula ad monachos (Rule for Monks).
Ps.Bas. Pseudo-Basil, Admonitio ad filium spiritalem
Ad fil. (To a Spiritual Son).
Bede Bede the Venerable (673-735)
Super epistolas catholicas expositio (Commentary on the Seven Catholic
Epistles); English translation by David Hurst, CS 82.
In Jac Super epistolam Jacobi (Commentary on James).
In I Pt Super epistolam primam Petri (Commentary on
1 Peter).
In I Jo Super epistolam primam Johannis (Commentary on
1 John).
In Cant. In Cantica Canticorum (On the Song of Songs).
In Hex. In Hexaemeron (On the Hexaemeron).
38
Authors and Works Cited 39
In Luc ev. In Lucae Evangelium expositio (Commentary on the

Gospel of Luke).
In Pr In Proverbia (On Proverbs).
De Tab. De tabernaculo (On the Tabernacle).
Ben. Anian. Benedict of Aniane (7??-821)
Conc. Concordia Regularum.
Ps.Caes. Pseudo-Caesarius
Epistola hortatoria.
Cassian John Cassian (c.360-c.435)
Conl. Conlationes Patrum (Conferences); ET NPNF ser.2,11;
ACW 57.
Inst. De institutis coenobiorum (Institutes); ET NPNF ser.
2,11; ACW 58.
Cassiod. Cassiodorus (c.485-c.585)
Ex. ps. Expositio Psalmorum (Commentary on the Psalms); ET
ACW 51-53.
Colombás G. Colombás, L. Sansegundo, O. Cunill. San Benito, su vida y su
regla. BAC 115. Madrid: La Editorial Católica, 1954, 1968.
Columban Columbanus (c.530 or 540-615)
Fragmentum operis monastici
Cypr. Cyprian of Carthage (c.200-258)
Zel. et liv. De zelo et livore (On envy and jealousy); ET FCh 36.
Defensor ( - )
Liber scintillarum.
Fructuos Fructuosus of Braga (?-665)
Rcomm. Regula communis (General Rule for Monasteries); ET
FCh 63
R Complut. Regula Complutensis (Rule for Monastery of Compludo):
ET FCh 63.
Fulg. Rusp. Fulgentius of Ruspe (467-533)
Contra Fabianum fragmenta.
Greg. Naz. Gregory of Nazianzus (c.329-389/90)
Oratio ad sancta lumina.
Greg. Gregory the Great (540-604)
Dial. Dialogi (Dialogues); ET FCh 39.
Hom. ev. Homiliae in Evangelia (Homilies on the Gospels);
ET CS 123.
Moral. Moralia (Morals on the Book of Job); English translation
in Library of the Fathers, 3 vols. Oxford, 1843-1850.
Reg. past. Regula pastoralis (Pastoral care); ET NPNF ser. 2,12;
ACW 11.
Hier. Jerome (340-420)

Ep(p) Epistola(e) (Letter[s]); ET NPNF ser. 2,6.
In Matt In Matthaeum (Commentary on Matthew’s Gospel).
RPachom.prf. Regula Pachomii, Praefatio (Preface to the Rule of
Pachomius); English translation by Armand Veilleux,
CS 46.
Vita Pauli Life of Paul, the first hermit; ET NPNF ser.2,6.
Ps.Hier. Pseudo-Jerome (actually Pelagius)
In I Co In I epistolam ad Corinthios (Commentary on 1
Corinthians).
In II Co In II epistolam ad Corinthios (Commentary on 2
Corinthians).
In Eph In epistolam ad Ephesios (Commentary on Ephesians).
In II Tm In II epistolam ad Timotheum (Commentary on 2
Timothy).
Horsiesius (4th century)
Orsiesii Liber The Book of Horsiesius. Also known as The Testament
of Horsiesios); ET by Armand Veilleux, CS 47.
Isid. Isidore, Bishop of Seville (c.560-636)
Quaest. in VT Quaestiones in Vetus Testamentum.
Diff. Differentiae
Etym. Etymologiae (Etymologies).
Eccles. off. De ecclesiasticis officiis (On Ecclesiastical Offices).
Reg. Regula monachorum (Rule for Monks); ET A. W.
Godfrey, tr. ‘The Rule of Isidore’, Monastic Studies 18
(1988) 7-29.
Sent. Sententiae (Sentences)
Iul. Pomer. Iulianus Pomerius (5th-6th century)
Vita cont De vita contemplativa (The Contemplative Life); ET
ACW 4.
Lentini A. Lentini, trans. & comm. S. Benedetto, La Regola, testo, versione e
commento. Montecassino, 1947.
McCann J. McCann. The Rule of Saint Benedict in Latin and English.
London: Burns & Oates, 1952.
Orig. Origen [Origenes] (185/6-254/5)
In Rm Commentarius in epistolam ad Romanos (Commentary on
Romans).
Pelag. Pelagius (c.354-after 418)
Expositiones XIII epistolarum S. Pauli; ET A. Souter, ed. Expositions
on the Thirteen Epistles of St Paul, 3 vols. Texts and Studies 9.1-9.3:
Cambridge, England, 1922-1931.
Authors and Works Cited 41
In Rm In epistolam ad Romanos (On Romans).

In I Co In I epistolam ad Corinthios (On 1 Corinthians).
In Ga In epistolam ad Galatas (On Galatians).
RBas. Regula Basilii (Basil, Parvum Asceticon); critical edition: K. Zelzer,
ed., Basili Regula, CSEL 86 (Vienna, 1986); ET: W. K. L. Clarke.
The Ascetical Works of St Basil. London: SPCK, 1925; Monica
Wagner, St. Basil: Ascetical Works. FCh 9(1950). See also Anna
M. Silvas, The Asketikon of St. Basil the Great (Oxford University
Press, 2005).
Regula S. Benedicti Anianensis sive Collectio Capitularis
RCass. Regula Cassiani (Rule of Cassian); compiled from Books 1 to 4
of the Institutes, probably in Spain mid-seventh century. Critical
edition: Ledoyen, Henri. ‘La Regula Cassiani du CLM 28118 et
La Règle Anonyme de L’Escorial A.I.13’, Revue Bénédictine 94
(1984) 154-94. See also Adalbert de Vogüé, ‘La Regula Cassiani:
Sa destination et ses rapports avec le monachisme Fructuosien’,
Revue Bénédictine 95 (1985) 185-231.
Rcuiusd. Regula cuiusdam ad monachos (A Rule for Monks, anonymous,
seventh century)
RFerreol. Regula Ferreoli (Rule of Ferreolus, Bishop of Uzes – dates from
between 553 and 573-581).
RMac Regula Macarii (Rule of [Pseudo-]Macarius); Critical edition: Styblo,
H. ‘Die Regula Macharii’, Wiener Studien 76 (1963) 124-58;
ET C.V. Franklin, I. Havener osb, J. A. Francis osb, trans. Early
Monastic Rules:The Rules of the Fathers and the Regula Orientalis
(Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 1982).
RM Regula magistri (Rule of the Master); Critical edition: Adalbert de
Vogüé. La Règle du Maître. SCh 105-106-107. Paris, 1964-1965.
English translation by Luke Eberle. CS 6.
RO Regula orientalis (anonymous, 6th century); Critical edition:
Adalbert de Vogüé, ‘La Regula Orientalis. Texte critique et synopse
des sources’, Benedictina 23:2 (1976) 241-71; ET see RMac. above.
RPachom. Regula Pachomii (Rule of Pachomius, translated from Greek by
Jerome in AD 404); English translation by Armand Veilleux, CS
46
Praec. Praecepta
Praec. et Inst. Praecepta et Instituta
Praec. atq. Iud. Praecepta atque Iudicia
Praec. ac Leges Praecepta ac Leges
3RP Regula Patrum tertia (Third Rule of the Fathers AD 535); English, see
RMac
RIVP Regula quattuor Patrum (Rule of the Four Fathers c.410); Critical
edition: J. Neufville, ‘Règle des IV Pères et Seconde Règle des
Pères’, Revue Bénédictine 77 (1967) 47-106; English translation, see
RMac; also A Monk of Mount Saviour, trans., ‘The Rule of Four
Fathers’, revised and annotated by Adalbert de Vogüé, Monastic
Studies 12 (1976) 249-59.
RP et S Regula Pauli et Stephani (Rule of Paul and Stephen, mid-sixth
century); ET: Harry Hagan osb, ‘The Rule of Paul and Stephen: A
Translation and Commentary’, The American Benedictine Review
58:3 (2007) 313–342.
RTarn. Regula Tarnatensis (Rule of Tarn prob. 6th century). Critical edition:
F. Villegas, ‘La Regula Monasterii Tarnantensis’, Revue Bénédictine 84
(1974) 7-65; ET A. W. Godfrey, trans. ‘The Rule of Tarn’, Monastic
Studies 17 (1986) 219-39.
Rufin Rufinus (c.345-410)
Hist. mon. Historia monachorum (History of the monks); English
translation by Norman Russell, CS 34
Smar. Smaragdus of St Mihiel (c.760-c.830)
Collect. Collectiones in epistolas et evangelia
Diad. mon. Diadema monachorum (The crown of monks)
Via reg. Via regia (The royal way)
Liber in partibus Eds. B. Löfstedt, L. Holtz, A. Kibre. CCCM 68.
Turnhout: Brepols, 1986.
Statuta Murbacensia (Actuum Praeliminarium Synodi Primae Aquisgranensis
Commentationes)
Synodi Primae Aquisgranensis Acta Praeliminaria
Synodi Primae Aquisgranensis Decreta Authentica
Synodi Secundae Aquisgranensis Decreta Authentica
Taio [of Saragossa] ( -c.683)
Sent. Sententiae
Waldebert ( -670)
RWald. Regula (cuiusdam) ad virgines (Rule for virgins)
the commentary
of abbot smaragdus on
the rule of saint benedict
METRICAL PREFACE
º º CCM 3
Whoever truly wants to mount upwards

to the eternal realm
must go up in mind and heart
to the starry firmament,
and by devout religious observance
earnestly seek the narrow path to life,
by means of which he may be able
to climb swiftly to golden realms.
For well-formed monks the Rule
of our holy Father Benedict
is an even, pleasant, and broad way;
but for boys, and for beginners, too,
it is harsh and narrow,
for a soft life has long nurtured them
in its lap.
This is a holy way,
a pellucid pathway to heaven,
on which the blessed ranks of God
long to enter.
This sublime Rule admonishes all monks
to do without things
and seek the supernal realms,
to let go of what is theirs,
that with their companions
they may have as theirs
the abiding kingdom of heaven.
In the sacred song of the law
our fathers call this way
43
Nb 20:17 * ‘a royal way’* for those who walk uprightly.
It is life for the good,
and indeed a norm of salvation,
bow and weapons for the devout, piercing
darts for the wicked.
This no one not wanting to do so
shall fulfill, and all who long to shall.
Irksome to the irksome,
agreeable and apt to the good,
this Rule shows monks how to yearn
for the place that streams with light,
a flower-filled paradise.
With motherly love
it fittingly chastises its offspring;
it reproves while instructing them,
yet without acrimony.
Here it patiently nurtures them
with tender rod,
and after death it will bestow
many dazzling rewards.
To the upright it makes known the way,
to its friends things heavenly,
that running may not irk them,
but they may journey on in patience.
It scrutinizes our life,
shapes and adorns our behavior,
weighs and compares us, sets limits,
urges us on.
CCM 4 º ºIt brings to naught the crooked,
but melts the upright like gold;
it files, and weighs, and polishes, and shines.
For the sheep it is a slender rod,
setting limits that are just,
a file expiating faults, making ready the
blessed realms.
It reproves, entreats, rebukes
and gladly amends those
44
it takes as associates in a pact of brotherhood.
It knows how to bring monks all the way
to the eternal realm
and unite them sweetly
to the angelic choir.
Although this rule guides its partners
to the heights of heaven,
still it is a narrow path and a strait way.
Although strait, it brings the devout
to the courts of the lofty kingdom,
while the broad way plunges the wicked
in the depths of the black pit.
No monk should be afraid
to enter by the strait way;
it leads the blessed ranks
to the starry firmament.
One whom no fault does
with grievous weight oppress
will be able lightly to climb
to the heights of the firmament.
No heavy-bodied bird
oft beats the highways of the air in flight,
so too no monk
weighed down by the burden of sin
will be able to climb
to the realms of the starry firmament.
For every monk should with tears
wash away his sins,
and nevermore suffer any
that require such washing.
Discretion meanwhile
shall regulate the monk’s mind,
and the royal way lead him
by the middle path.
The binding duties of the sacred law
urge him to be shrewd
and careful on his right hand,
45
fearful on his left.
Let him fear, not sad things,
but the favors of the world;
then will he be able to ascend
to the blessed kingdom of heaven.
Whoever loves to pluck

the burnished fruit of the saints,
should associate with them in everything he does.
Adorned with decent habits
and embellished by a chaste body
let him live,
and he will always be loved
by the Lord.
Let him be silent, humble,
very meek, and kind,
patient, too, and sober,
endowed with foresight, and devout.
Of docile disposition, wise, not obstinate,
he should go on his way stung
with compunction,
calm and careful.
The heart’s compunction meanwhile
stirs the source
CCM 5 º ºto wash away the soul’s stains and filth,
for once the chrism has been poured out,
the shedding of tears is equal to the font:
as does the font,
so do tears wipe away the dark stains,
cleansing even the already clean-washed
inhabitants of paradise,
bringing it about that now
it endlessly possesses citizens
who can unendingly render thankful praise,
and live and be always with their Lord.
46
º INTRODUCTION º CCM 6
L ARGE NUMBERS OF MONKS are practic-

ing shrewdness as they look for interpretations
of the words in the Rule of blessed Benedict,
and an understanding of its various statements.When I
perceived this, and saw that they were also looking for
a way of distinguishing between the many judgments
to be found in the Rule concerning faults, and their
various types and degrees, of my own accord and also
under pressure from other brothers, I undertook to
expound the Rule. Although the learned do not need
to have it expounded, still a simple exposition of it is
pleasing to simple monks. Those who yearn to reach
the heavenly kingdom by observing it are anxious to
hear frequently even a few words about it. And those
who hold to the uprightness of life it teaches, and
hope thereby to enjoy eternal happiness, listen gladly
and often to a discourse on the Rule. With the Lord’s
grace to assist me, I shall now begin to expound its
words in an orderly fashion.
47
º book one of the º CCM 7
commentary
PROLOGUE TO THE RULE
Listen carefully. These are the words of blessed

1
Benedict urging us on. Filled with the Holy Spirit, he

urges us to set out on the way to better things. There
are some who rashly try to find fault with him, and
who say that he should have said ausculta, not obsculta;
they do not realize that, just as one can rightly say
obaudi: ‘obey’, and obtempera: ‘comply with’, and ob-
secunda: ‘acquiesce’, and many other similar words, so
one may very properly say obsculta: ‘listen’.
O [my] son. ‘O’ is an interjection having different
meanings in different contexts, sometimes expressing
wonder—for example, O how beautiful is the chaste gen-
eration*—sometimes indicating sorrow—for example, *Ws 4:1
O all you who pass by the way, see if there is any sorrow
like unto my sorrow;* at times it means that someone *Lm 1:12
is wishing for something—for example, O Lord, save
us, O Lord, make us prosper.* And this is the meaning *Ps 118: 25
it can reasonably be said to have here, because he has
been pleased to address as ‘son’ the person he wants to
have as an imitator. There are four ways in which persons
are called sons: by nature, by imitation, by adoption, and by
being taught.1 Here the one who is exhorted to listen
carefully to the precepts of the master is called ‘son’
not by nature or by adoption, but by being taught by
and by imitating the master.
1. Isid. Etym. IX.5.15; PL 82:355A.
49
[to] The Precepts
Precepts teach either what is to be done or what is not to

Dt 6:5; † be done. What is to be done includes, for instance, ‘Love the
Mt 22:37 * Lord your God’,† and ‘Honor your father’,* and so forth;
Ex 20:12 * what is not to be done includes, ‘You shall not kill, you
Ex 20:13-15 * shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal’,*2 and simi-
lar things.
When he says [precepts] of the master, ‘of Christ’
is understood. Although many are loosely called mas-
ters, as for example in that saying in Ecclesiastes about
law and legislators: [The words of the wise are goads]
Qo 12:11 * which by the counsel of masters are given by one shepherd,*
CCM 8 º still there isº by nature only one God and Master and
Father. He indeed says: And call no man on earth your
father. For you have one Father who is in heaven. And do
not let yourselves be called masters, for you have one Master,
Mt 23:9-10 * Christ.*
When we call a man father we are paying honor to age,
we are not pointing out the author of our life. A man can,
however, truthfully be called master by association with the
true Master, because just as there is one God by nature, and
the Son does not preclude others from being called gods and
sons by adoption, so neither does the one Father and Master
preclude others from being addressed loosely as fathers and
masters.3
A master is understood to be a leader, a helmsman,
an instructor or a teacher. Etymologically the word
‘master’ derives from the Greek word steron; in Greek
the word statio, ‘a standing’, is called steron.4 And so
magister is the name given in Latin to someone more
maior important in standing.
And incline the ear of your heart. The ear of
our heart is truly inclined when the advice of a loving
2. Isid. Etym. VI.8.10; PL 82:238C-239A.

3. Hier. In Mt IV; CCSL 77:213.
4. Cf. Isid. Etym. X.171; PL 82:385B.
Prologue to the Rule 51
father—that is, of the Lord—is both willingly heard

and put into effect, when it is received with humil-
ity and held with a pure heart. This was the ear the
Lord was looking for when he said: Let him who has
ears to hear, listen.* ‘Ear’ derives its name from ‘hearing’ * Mt 11:15
and ‘drinking in’.* For the body’s ear drinks in men’s auris
audiendo
words, while the heart’s ear drinks in the understand-
* hauriendo
ing of what is said.5
And the admonition. ‘Admonition’ is used in
its strict sense when those matters in which a person
had fallen are brought back to his memory.6 Through
Adam’s disobedience we have all departed from the
joy, exultation and glory of paradise, but it is by imi-
tating the obedience of Christ, who became obedient
to the Father even unto death,* that we must return to * Ph 2:8
what we have lost through disobedience.* * Rm 5:19,
Ph 2:8
Of a pious father. He is properly called a pious
father who powerfully forgives the impieties of other
hearts. To him the psalmist says: I said, I will confess to
the Lord against myself my injustices; and you forgave the
impiety of my heart.* God is called pious [pius] on ac- * Ps 32:5
count of his clemency, kindness, and mercy. Piety is
the part of justice which, as Augustine says, is under-
stood strictly speaking as worship of God.7 God alone
is properly called Father because, as theº apostle says, º CCM 9
from him all fatherhood in heaven and on earth takes its
name.* And in the Gospel he says: And call no one on * Eph 3:15
earth father. For you have one Father who is in heaven.* He * Mt 23:9
also speaks through the prophet, saying: You will call
me Father, and you will not cease to enter after me.* And to * Jr 3:19
him in general the whole Church cries out: Our Father
who art in heaven.* * Mt 6:9
5. Cf. Etym. XI.1.46; PL 82:403A. Isid. Diff. II.17.55; PL

83:78D.
6. Cf. Isid. Diff. I.364; PL 83:47C.
7. Cf. Aug. Ep 167.11; CSEL 44:598.
When he says Gladly receive, this is understood

to mean, Receive eagerly, energetically, and with the
utmost willingness. ‘To receive’ [excipere] means to ac-
cept [accipere] or to undertake [suscipere].
He has added the words: And carry out effec-
tually. ‘Effectually’ means ‘easily’, ‘readily’, ‘quickly’,
with perseverance and watchfulness. This adverb
comes from the word efficax, used of someone who
has no difficulty in doing something.8
2
So that by the labor of obedience you may re-
turn to him from whom you had departed by
the sloth of disobedience. The words So that . . .
to him are to be understood of God. It is from God,
as was said above, that either all of us in general in
Adam and Eve, or each of us in particular, has departed
through the vice of disobedience and through sloth of
heart. And it is to him that blessed Benedict urges us
to return by the humility and labor of obedience.
The compliance of humility is called obedience be-
cause it humbly obeys and complies with someone
who is giving an order. And the labor of obedience
refers to every upright human action which, having
been justly ordered by the Lord, has been carried out
by the hearers in keeping with the grace given to
them. Concerning the boon of obedience it is said
Pr 21:28 * through Solomon: The obedient man speaks of victories.*
The obedient man does indeed speak of victories be-
cause, while each of the elect through the humility
of obedience subjects himself wholeheartedly to God
and humbly fulfills his precepts, and for all this gives
thanks not to himself but to God, he is by the mercy
of God set free from the fault of disobedience; he is
triumphing over the disobedient devil and will as-
cend victorious into heaven.The obedient man speaks
of victories when each one tramples on and bravely
8. Cf. Etym. X.84; PL 82:375C.

overcomes his vices in the wars which the vices wage,

so that he can say with Paul: But in all these things we
overcome because of him who loved us.* And for the vic- * Rm 8:37
tory culminating in so great a triumph he attributes
the glory not to himself but to God, saying with the
psalmist: Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to your name give
the glory.* * Ps 115:1
We return to God by the labor of obedience when
with all our strength we humbly carry out the orders * RB 4.63
º CCM 10
we have been given,* whenº we hate our self-will* * RB 4.60
and do not fulfill the desires of the flesh;† when we † RB 4.59
patiently bear persecution for justice’ sake;* when we do * RB 4.33,
Mt 5:10
not return evil for evil or curse for curse;† when we † RB 4.29,32,
do not hold deceit in our heart,* or bear a grudge;† 1 P 3:9
when daily in our deeds we carry out the Lord’s pre- * RB 4.24,
Pr 12:20
cepts,* and in all things obey the orders of our seniors;†
† RB 4.23
when we apply ourselves frequently to prayer,* and by * RB 4.63,
means of vigils, fasts and tears, and by many labors† Sir 6:37
and diverse afflictions, chastise our body and bring it † RB 4.61
* RB 4.56,
into subjection,* take up our cross, deny ourselves and Rm 12:12
hasten to run after Christ.† The labor of obedience † 2 Co 6:5
includes every chastisement of the body and every af- * 1 Co 9:27
† Mt 16:24,
fliction of heart endured for God, all the low esteem, RB 4:10
the contempt and rejection that monks experience.
This is the strait and narrow way which brings those
who walk in it to eternal life.* Those who work hard * Mt 7:14;
RB 5:11
and faithfully in this way and persevere in it to the
end will be invited to the overwhelming fullness and
refreshment of eternity, and will deserve to hear: Come
to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give
you rest,† says the Lord. And just as humility shown † Mt 11:28
in obeying is called obedience, so too pride shown
in disobeying is called disobedience. But laziness or
tardiness is called sloth.9 Hence those who are found
tardy and lazy as far as a good work is concerned are
called slothful. With this vice to nourish them, all evils
9. Cf. Etym. X.77; PL 82:375A.

increase; everything good is lulled to an evil sleep to

prevent it from making progress. Concerning this vice
it is said through Solomon: Laziness casts into a deep
Pr 19:15 * sleep.* Laziness brings a deep sleep on the sluggish soul
because, when it finds someone lukewarm and tardy
in good works, it closes the eyes of his heart and binds
his hands in order to prevent him from growing into
something better. Again through Solomon it is said:
Pr 20:4 * Because of the cold the lazy man did not want to plough.*
Because of the cold indeed the lazy man does not
plough; because he is bound fast by the sluggishness of
sloth he puts off doing the good things he should do,
and while he is afraid of insignificant evils he neglects
to do very important good things. Scripture rightly
adds concerning the lazy fellow: In the summer he will
Pr 20:4 * go begging, and nothing will be given him.* The reason
for this is that a person who does not exert himself
CCM 11 º strenuously in good works in ºthe present world, goes
hungry when the time of retribution comes, and does
not share in the gift of the reward because his heart
is empty.10
On the other hand the same Solomon says about
the ant: The ants are a weak people, which prepare them-
Pr 30:25 * selves food during the harvest.* What else is signified by
the ants but the strenuous life of monks; in compari-
son with the lovers of this world, the grace of humility
makes them seem very small, like ants. In the present
life, as though at harvest-time, they do not cease to
gather the fruit of good works, as a result of which
they may rejoice in the future. It is likewise written
of the obedient and the disobedient: The mind of the
Pr 15:28 * just man will meditate obedience;* the mouth of the wicked,
Pr 10:32 * things perverse.* The humble monk, while he is keen
senior * to obey the command of his seniors* out of love for
eternal life, meditates obedience in his thoughts be-
forehand. The disobedient monk, however, while he
10. Cf. Greg. Reg. past. III.15; PL 77:74D-75A. Cf. Taio Sent.
IV.32; PL 80:948D.
disdainfully neglects to fulfill the orders of his superi- major

ors, contradicts them with insolent words.11 The one
imitates Adam’s disobedience and withdraws from
God, while the humble monk imitates Christ’s obedi-
ence and returns to God. For Adam sinned, but did
not recognize his sin or ask pardon for it. Christ, how-
ever, did no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth,* but * 1 P 2:22
in order to redeem us from sin* he became obedient * Tt 2:14
to his Father unto death,* and the innocent one un- * Ph 2:8
derwent suffering and death on our behalf, leaving us
an example, so that imitating him we might follow his
footsteps.* For all of us fell in Adam when he fell, and * 1 P 2:21
we lost all good things. But in Christ we have risen
and have received greater things that will last without
end, but only if we hold perseveringly to his foot-
steps. Adam made us liable to all sorts of evil through
his own fault, but Christ’s coming set us free through
grace. And to sum it all up: Adam’s disobedience took
paradise away from us, while Christ’s obedience gave
us even the kingdom. Therefore let us who through
the sloth of disobedience have departed from God,
return to God by the labor of obedience, so that the
saying may be fulfilled in us: They returned to their own
country by another way.* * Mt 2:12
3
To you therefore my words are now addressed.
Many people try to substitute meus, ‘my’, for mihi, ‘to’
or ‘for me’, in this place, on the grounds of amending
the text—not realizing that many of the teachers in
11. When and how to distinguish between senior and maior in

monastic texts remains a difficulty, as in this and the preceding
sentence. After adverting to the difficulty that is presented by
praepositus, A. de Vogüé, ‘Les règles monastiques anciennes (400-
700)’, Typologie des sources du moyen âge occidental 46 (1985) p.19,
writes: `Des difficultés analogues existent pour les termes de
senior, prior, maior, qui peuvent désigner soit le supérieur propre-
ment dit, soit quelque officier subalterne, soit même un simple
ancien.’
the schools of rhetoric used this kind of locution.12

haec mihi So somewhere blessed Gregory says: These words of
mine were said to them. And somewhere else he says:
mihi ad vos sermo
sermo *
For now my speech is turned towards you. ‘Speech’*
CCM 12 º comes from the word for sewing ºor broadcasting* seed.
serendo * It is a discourse and a collation, a bringing together,
because it does not consist of one word only; from a
sewing with many words it is called a ‘sermon’, as for
example, a sermon of Hilary, a sermon of Augustine,
and so on.13
Whoever you are renouncing your own wishes.

‘To renounce’ tends to be employed with the con-
notation of spurning, rejecting, and contradicting—or
something else that can be expressed by this word
with that general sense. Monks make this renuncia-
tion on two occasions, as indeed should all the faith-
ful. It is firstly in baptism that all the faithful renounce
Satan—also called the devil—so as to serve the Lord
and Saviour more freely, for according to the saying of
Mt 6:24 * that same Lord: No one can serve two masters.* The works
of Satan are renounced because they are contrary to
the works of the Saviour. His empty displays are re-
nounced; they are, of course, works of Satan, but they
seem to be, as it were, distinguished from the rest of his
works because in them we find emphasized the pride
of which he is the author and which cast him down
from heaven. His empty displays, then, are ambition,
arrogance, vainglory, and everything else of the kind
that proceeds from pride as its source.
And secondly, monks and faithful Christians re-
nounce their own wishes moved by the example of
the Lord, who says: I have not come to do my own will,
Jn 6:38 * but the will of him who sent me.* For Scripture also says:
12. Cf. Hier. Ep 22:15; CSEL 56:162.

13. Cf. Etym. VI.8.3-4; PL 82:238A. Cf. Diff. I.578; PL
83:67B.
And turn away from your own will.* We call one’s own * Si 18:30
will the will one is born with, which is personal and
private to each person. The noun ‘will’ derives from
the verb ‘to will’. It consists of a judgment of the mind;
it is the active power a person has to make plans and
take decisions. Living like this is living according to
man, not according to God. For that man lives ac-
cording to man who lives according to himself and his
own will; who comes and goes with whom he wants
and where he wants; who sleeps as much as and when
he wants; who speaks when and for as long a time as
he wants; who eats and drinks what, where, as much
as and when he wants; who laughs when and as much
as he wants; and finally, who carries out and follows
whatever is delightful to the eyes, whatever is pleas-
ing to the nostrils, whatever is pleasant to the other
senses of his body. Now the man who lives according
to God does not take carnal delight in any of these
things, but spiritual things build him up spiritually, and
he restrains all the desires of the flesh with the delight
of spiritual desire. He prefers what lies in the future
to what is in the present, he subjects the flesh to the
spirit; and whatever he desires or does, he does not
want it to proceed from his own will but from the will
of God, whom he longs with all his might to please.
ºIntending to do military service to the Lord º CCM 13

Christ the true king. He is called Lord because
he has lordship over the whole of his creation, or at
all events because the whole of creation is subject
to his lordship. He is called Christ from the word
‘chrism’. What in Greek is called ‘chrism’ is in Latin
called ‘anointing’. This name also suits our Lord Jesus
Christ,14 whom God the Father anointed not with a
visible but with an invisible and spiritual oil. Hence in
the Acts of the Apostles the Father is told: ‘They are
14. Cf. Etym. VI.19.50; PL 82:256c

gathered together in this city against your Son whom

Ac 4:27 * you anointed’.* And the writer of the psalms says to
the Son: God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of
Ps 45:7 * gladness,* and so forth.
He is called the true king because he rightly sus-
tains, governs, protects and rules everything he created.
Although holy men may loosely be called kings, as
in that place in the psalms where it says: And now, O
Ps 2:10 * kings, understand,* and in Job: And he places kings on their
Jb 36:7 * throne,* yet Christ the Lord is the true king because he
is the Son of the true King. And so the psalmist says:
O God, give your judgment to the king, and to the king’s
Ps 72:1 * son your justice.*
Therefore holy men are kings because they know

how not to yield to the movements of their tempta-
tions, but to direct them and so remain in control.
They are kings because, being set over all the move-
ments of the flesh, at one time they rein in the urge
to live riotously, at another they temper the heat of
avarice; now they abase the glory of pride, now they
overwhelm the suggestions of envy or extinguish
the fire of fierce anger.15
All this they accomplish not by their own power but

by the Lord’s working. And because it is from the Lord
that they receive the ability to do these works, they
are—not strictly but loosely—called kings. For Christ
the Lord is in truth shown to be the true King of
1 Tm 6:15, * kings and Lord of lords,* because just as every creature
Rv 19:16 is known to have been made through him,† it is also
Ws 13:5 †
shown to be ruled and governed through him. For
the world has its soldiers and Christ has his. Now the
world’s soldiers take up weak and slippery weapons,
whereas Christ’s soldiers take up strong and bright
ones. The former fight against their enemies, and the
15. Greg. Moral. XXVI.28.53; CCSL 143B:1307.

result is they bring themselves and those they kill to

eternal punishment; the latter fight against the vices,
so that after death they may be able to gain eternal life
and its rewards; the former fight, and the result is they
go down into hell, the latter fight that they may ascend
to glory; the former fight and so after death are en-
slaved with the demons in hell, the latter fight so that
they may always rejoice ºwith the angels; the former º CCM 14
fight and so will always mourn with the devil, the lat-
ter fight so that they may always exult with Christ.16
The apostle Paul sums up both kinds of soldiers in
one sentence: No one serving as God’s soldier involves
himself in worldly matters,* thus showing that there are * 2 Tm 2:4
soldiers belonging to God just as there are also soldiers
belonging to the world.
Therefore the two kinds of military service mark
out the two kinds of soldiers. A spiritual military ser-
vice leads some to the heavenly camp through the gra-
tuitous grace of the heavenly commander; a corporal
military service binds others to labor with the world
according to the will of an earthly king. The world’s
soldiers are held bound by passions and desires, while
God’s soldiers crucify their flesh with its vices and concupis-
cences.* The former are nourished with banquets, the * Gal 5:24
latter with virtues; the former endeavor to seize the
possessions of others, the latter desire either patiently
to endure the loss of what belongs to them or in the
exercise of mercy to give these away. The former per-
form deeds for which they may be extolled with false
praises; the latter seek ways of being honored with
everlasting rewards. Vanity bestows on the former an
16. Smaragdus’ use of ut and ne at times, as here, presents

problems. An alternation of ut consecutive and ut final perhaps
gives a sense more in keeping with our human aspiration for
ultimate happiness, e.g.: ‘The former fight against their ene-
mies with the result that they bring themselves and those they kill
to eternal punishment; the latter fight against the vices, so that
after death they may be able to gain eternal life and its rewards.’
appearance of happiness, while truth confers true joys

on the latter. The former consult their own advantage;
the latter seek the common good. The former, who
are destined to perish, hasten to preserve what is des-
tined to perish; the latter desire to possess what will
never perish so that they may not eternally perish. For
the former, to live is hard labor and to die is torment;
Ph 1:21 * for the latter, to live is Christ and to die is gain.* The
former battle against visible, the latter against invis-
ible enemies. Avarice makes the former cruel; mercy
makes the latter kind. Envy makes the former quarrel-
some, while meekness makes peacemakers of the latter.
The former, out of pride, engage in disputes for the sake
of their own honor; as for the latter, humility makes
one person think another superior to himself. Babylon
is ruled by the former, while through and in the lat-
ter the heavenly Jerusalem is administered by the Lord.
Prosperity lifts up and adversity casts down the world’s
soldiers, whereas God’s soldiers are immovable in their
perseverance, whether in prosperity or in adversity.
You take up the strong bright weapons of obe-

dience. Blessed Benedict called them the strong
weapons of obedience because the labor of obedience
surpasses all human labors that are done voluntarily.
For what can be stronger than that a man should make
himself in all respects servant to a man and, although
free and held in honor, should present himself to all as
a lowly purchased slave, despised and abject, so that he
can say: But I am a worm and no man, the reproach of men
Ps 22:6 * and despised by the people?* What can be stronger than
that when struck on one cheek he should offer the
CCM 15 º other, should surrender his cloak to one ºwho is tak-
ing away his tunic, that for one who is forcing him to
Cf. RB 7.42, *
Mt 5:39-41, go one mile he should go two?* And that in all these
Lk 6:29 things he should rejoice, because he has been con-
Cf. Ac 5:41 * sidered worthy to suffer insults for the Lord’s name?*
What can be stronger or more resistant than that a
man should voluntarily subject himself to a man in

all obedience,* and in the very obedience should pa- * Cf. RB 7.34
tiently bear the hard and contrary injustices inflicted
on him,* than that he should be content with great * Cf. RB 7.35
poverty and hardship, and be ready for everything en-
joined on him;* than that not only with his tongue he * Cf. RB 7:49
declare himself, but also in his heart consider himself
inferior to and of less value than everyone else,* and * Cf. RB 7:51
wherever he is, whether sitting or walking, with his
head always bowed and his eyes fixed on the ground,
he consider himself guilty of his sins, saying: Lord, I am
not worthy to look up and see the height of heaven on * Cf. Mt 8:8,
account of my injustices?* 17 Lk 18:13,
Let us see why blessed Benedict said that the weap- RB 7.63-65
ons of obedience are very strong and bright.* They are * RB Prologue
very strong because, as we said above, the labor of
obedience surpasses all the voluntarily-performed la-
bors of the human race. The strong weapons of obe-
dience are that a man should deny himself in regard
to himself, the bright weapons, that he should follow * Cf. RB 4.10
Christ;* the very strong, that he should turn from evil,
the bright, that he should do good;* the very strong, * Cf. Ps 37:27,
RB 7.29
that he should not render evil for evil, the bright, that
he should render good for evil;* the very strong, that * Cf. 1 Th 5:15,
1 P 3:9, RB 4.29
he should not curse one who curses him, the bright,
that he should even bless him;* the very strong, that he * Cf. Lk 6:28,
should not hold hatred in his heart, the bright, that 1 P 3:9, RB 4.32
he should love both enemy and neighbor as himself;* * Cf. Lk 6:27,

Mt 5:44
very strong, inasmuch as the monk is despised, bright,
when it comes to performing some work; very strong
in endurance, bright in obedience; very strong in con-
tinued fasting, bright in refreshing the poor; strong, Let
your loins be girt, bright, and your lamps be burning.* They * Lk 12:35
are very strong when they endure their own weakness,
bright when they visit others who are weakly; very
17. Simon Tugwell op pointed out to me that these words

come almost verbatim from the apocryphal Prayer of Manasseh.
strong when they are not undone by the deceitful-

ness of vanity, bright when they speak the truth with
Cf. RB 4.28, *
Ps 15:2 heart and mouth;* very strong when they bear inju-
ries patiently, bright when they do not inflict injuries
Cf. RB 4.30 * for others to bear;* very strong when they rein in the
Cf. RB 4.36 † appetite of gluttony,† ºbright when they love frugality
CCM 16 º
Cf. RB 4:13 * and sparingness;* very strong when they chastise the
Cf. RB 4.11 † body,† bright when they love chastity.*
Cf. RB 4.64 *
But we can also truthfully say that, to the extent that
in the present life the weapons of obedience are very
strong in performing works, to that extent they will be
bright in eternal reward. And insofar as they are very
strong while being exercised in the present life, they
will be bright in the future rest; to the extent that they
are rough and heavy on the way, they will be pleasant
and light when we arrive; they will be as much hon-
ored in the future as they are despised in the present.
For the apostle says to the obedient: You are dead, and
your life is hidden with Christ in God. For when Christ
appears, who is your life, then you too will appear with him
Col 3:3-4 * in glory.* And about these very same people the Lord
says to his Father: Father, I wish that those you have given
me should be with me where I am, so that they may see my
Jn 17:24 * glory.* And I have given them the glory which you gave
Jn 17:22 * to me.* And with the apostles they hear: Amen, I say
to you, that you who have left all things and followed me,
in the new age when the Son of man sits on the seat of his
majesty, you also will sit on twelve seats judging the twelve
Mt 19:28 * tribes of Israel.*
4
In the first place, whatever good work you
begin to do. He says, In the first place, that is, at
the beginning of conversion and at the beginning of
a good work. Understand, O monk, that the ancient
serpent lies in ambush for you; to the extent that you
get the upper hand, crush his harmful head, because
he will not cease to lie in wait for your heel with all
Cf. Gn 3:15 * the power at his disposal.* Now, you prudently crush
the serpent’s head if you do not consent or receive the

beginning of his evil suggestion, and if you do receive
it into your thoughts, you do not nourish it by dwell-
ing on it. That man, I say, well and truly crushes the
serpent’s head who does not ruminate on his sugges-
tions by thinking about them, or foster them by taking
pleasure in them, or nourish them by meditating on
them, or by consenting and nourishing them bring
them to the final stage where sin is committed. And
in this way the person who crushes the serpent’s head
drives away from himself the serpent’s whole body. For
where the cunning and slippery serpent has managed
to sneak in the head of his suggestion, he tries to slip
his whole self in, the aim being evilly to take com-
plete possession of him by whom he has been evilly
received in his completeness, and evilly to possess the
person thus evilly taken and overcome.18 So let the
good monk, right at the outset, crush the serpent’s
head—that is, the devil’s suggestion—so that he may
not in the end become his possession. Let him crush
thoroughly and well, so that he may ºnot be crushed º CCM 17
thoroughly and badly. Let him smite so as not to be
smitten. Let him kill lest he be killed. And when he is
in all these things a strong victor,* let him give grateful * Nm 21:1
praise not to himself but to his Creator,* from whom * Cf. RB 4.42
he received the strength to overcome, and not be over-
come and so perish. Therefore the monk should exer-
cise foresight and direct all his care and solicitude to
his heel—his life’s end—so that he may not, through
lack of foresight, perish at the serpent’s poisonous bite.
For what else does a person’s heel signify, if not the
final moment of his life?19 The cunning enemy lies
in wait and strikes it with his death-dealing tooth if
the healthy mind unhealthily leaves off guarding itself.
Therefore, O monk, hear the counsel given for your
18. Cf. Greg. Moral. I.36.54; CCSL 143:55. Isid. Sent. III.5.14;
PL 83:663A.
19. Cf. Bede In Hex. 1; PL 91:58C.
salvation, and carefully preserve the heel of your work,

so that you may not at the end of your life be deceived
and lapse into some error; and there, where you were
hoping to receive the reward, be deceived and find
ruin; and there where you were hoping joyfully to
mount up to heaven, sadly sink down into hell, and
through want of caution suddenly lose what you had
taken so long a time to acquire and could have pos-
sessed forever.
For what does it profit a man to begin a good work
and not see it through? Scripture says, not that he who
Cf. Mt 10:22, * begins, but that he who perseveres will be saved.*
24:13
Amongst all the other kinds of sacrifice, the tail is or-
dered to be offered to the Lord. For just as in the heel,
so also in the tail, is the end of the body displayed. And
that person well and truly immolates the tail in sacri-
fice to the Lord who perseveres in a good work unto
the end. For we offer the tail of the victim to the Lord
when we complete a good work with a persevering
finish. Joseph, whose name is interpreted as meaning
‘increased’, is described as being clothed in an ankle-
length tunic.20 Now the tunic he was clothed with
signifies perseverance in a good work. And the person
who during his life goes about adorned with an ankle-
length tunic is the one who, having been increased by
virtues, aims at perseverance in the good he has begun,
and does not leave it incomplete.21 Therefore, let the
prudent monk extend the tunic of his good works
as far as the ankle, so that he may not suffer from the
hostility of humankind’s enemy, in case the latter cause
him, unclad with the tunic of perseverance, to sink
into the depths of hell, or else save him for condemna-
tion to eternal disgrace on the grounds that he is partly
clad and partly unclad. So let the ankle-length tunic
perseveringly adorn and protect the feet of monks, so
that at the end of life it may happily restore them to
20. Cf. Etym. VII.7.17; PL 82:282D.
21. Cf. Greg. Hom. ev. II.25.1; PL 76:1189C.
God, where together with glory and happiness they

may obtain eternal rewards as well.
Ask him with most urgent prayer for it to be

brought to perfection. But in order that these
things, by God’s largesse may come to pass for you,
whoever you are, O monk, do not ask hesitantly or
ºlukewarmly, but with most urgent prayer. Hear º CCM 18
the apostle warning us about the urgency of prayer. He * Col 4:2
says: Be urgent in prayer, keeping watch in it.* And again * Mt 26:41,
[Jesus says]: Watch and pray!* Elsewhere too he says: For Mk 14:38,
you ought to pray and never grow faint.† The assiduous prayer 1 Pt 4:7
† Lk 18:1
of the just man, says the apostle, has great power.* The * Jm 5:16
prayer of Elijah closed the doors of heaven,† the prayer † 1 K 17:1
of Daniel stopped up the mouths of lions,* the prayer * Dn 6:22
of the three young men extinguished the fiery fur-
† Dn 3:49
nace,† the prayer of the Church undid Peter’s chains,* * Ac 12:5
the prayer of Cornelius penetrated the Lord’s ears,† the † Ac 10:4
prayer on the cross opened paradise for the robber.* * Lk 23:43
Let the monk not be loath to pray urgently, because he
has dwelling within him the Lord to whom he prays.
For thus says the apostle: You are the temple of God, and
the Spirit of the Lord dwells in you.† For those who are † 1 Co 3:16
being fashioned into the temple and the abode where
he dwells are quickly heard by the Lord who dwells
there. A person carries within himself the one he is
beseeching, or rather he is heard by the very one by
whom he is being carried. So the person who wishes
to bring a good work to perfection must apply him-
self frequently to prayer.* For by prayer is meant * RB 4.56
supplication and petition. ‘Prayer is so called as being oratio
a reason of the mouth. Now a weaving together of ratio
words without meaning is not prayer, because it is not oris
a reason of the mouth.’22
22. Etym. I.5.3; PL 82:81C. This is a good instance of Isidore’s

ingenious, if sometimes inaccurate, etymologizing.
5
So that he who has deigned to count us among
the number of his sons. The Lord in his mercy first
deigned to count us among the number of his sons
when we deserved through faith to receive him, as the
evangelist John says: As many as received him, to them he
Jn 1:12 * gave power to become sons of God;* when we received, not
the spirit of slavery in fear, but the spirit of adoption as
Rm 8:15 * sons, in which we cry: Abba, Father.* When we received
the adoption of sons, we renounced the devil and
his works and empty displays in baptism. Afterwards,
however, we were counted among the number of his
sons, when through the grace of conversion we left
the world and followed Christ, hearing the voice of
the prophet saying: Hear, O daughter, and see, and forget
Ps 45:10 * your own people and your father’s house;* when we forgot
our father the world, who fed us bad milk, and fol-
lowed Christ our father who, by chastising us, gave
us good milk to drink, and having fed us good milk
exhorted us saying: You will invoke me as Father, and you
Jr 3:19 * will not cease to enter after me.* Great is the ºthe honor
CCM 19 º bestowed by God our Father! We do not deserve to be
among the number of his servants, yet he does not dis-
dain to count us among his sons. I repeat: Great is this
honor, namely, that although we are naturally children
Eph 2:3 * of wrath* and sinners from our infancy, we are merci-
fully called children of God and heirs, heirs indeed of
Rm 8:17 * God and co-heirs with Christ.* Great is the exaltation of
good monks in the presence of God the Father; it has
been promised them that they will shine like the sun
Mt 13:43 * in the kingdom of heaven,* and will sit upon twelve
thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.* With the
Mt 19:28 * apostles they hear from the Lord: As the Father has loved
Jn 15:9 * me, I also have loved you; abide in my love.* They are told:
Cf. Jn 15:15 * I shall call you no longer servants but friends;* and,
I shall see you and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no
Jn 16:22 * one shall take from you;* and, Whatever you ask the Father
Jn 14:13, * in my name he will give you.* How sublime the honor
16:23
given those for whom the Son beseeches the Father:
Holy Father, keep them in my name, that they may be one as

we also are one;* and, I wish that where I am they too may * Jn 17:11, 22
be with me, that they may see my glory;* and, I have given * Jn 17:24
them the glory you gave to me.* * Jn 17:22
He must not at any time be saddened by our

evil deeds. ‘Deed’ comes from the verb ‘to do’ and actus
agendo
the noun ‘doing’. ‘Our deeds’ mean ‘the things we do’, actio
good or evil. If the things we do are upright, the Lord
rejoices and exults over these our deeds; but if they are
depraved he is saddened by them, and condemns and
judges both them and us. For just as God the Father
rejoices in his chosen children, so he is saddened by
the reprobate. Solomon says in Proverbs: The wise son
gives joy to his father, but the foolish son is the grief of his
mother.* This is because it is not only God the Father, * Pr 10:1
but also holy Mother Church, who is saddened by a
wicked son. The apostle also says: Do not sadden the
Holy Spirit in whom you have been sealed.* We sadden * Eph 4:30
the Holy Spirit when we do what is not pleasing to
him, and refuse to do what is pleasing to him. The
author of all good things is Christ; of all evil things,
the devil. Christ rejoices in those he perceives making
progress and growing in his holy deeds, but he is sad-
dened by those he sees ensnared in and surrendered to
the devil’s ºdeeds. Now God is said to be saddened, not º CCM 20
strictly but loosely speaking; the saying derives from
our customary usage. For God who is always the self-
same is never saddened because he never changes.
6
For he must at all times be obeyed with his
good things in us. ‘Times are named from the
movement of the stars.’23 So when God was arrang-
ing the stars he said: Let them be as signs for times and
days and years,* that is, in some variable motion, one * Gn 1:14
element of which has gone past sooner, another later,
23. Etym. V.29.1; PL 82:214C.

because they cannot exist simultaneously. ‘Times are

divided in moments, hours, days, years, periods of five
years, centuries and ages.’24 Properly speaking, a hun-
dred years are not one time—nor is one month, nor
a day, nor an hour—because when one passes another
arrives; they cannot be one thing at the same time.25
When he says He must be obeyed, this is under-
stood of the true king Christ; he has said above that
the monk, armed with obedience, is going to do mili-
tary service for him. Must be obeyed, he said; that is,
must be hearkened to, must be followed readily, must
be complied with.When he says At all times, under-
stand this as meaning in prosperity and in adversity. So
what he mentioned here—about our having to obey
him with his good things—shows that we have noth-
ing of our own that we are able to obey him with.
Therefore, since we cannot have either the will or the
power from what is ours, let us hasten to obey him at
all times with what is his.
We are obeying God with his good things when we
give thanks not to ourselves but to him for virtues re-
ceived; when, while we preach his commandments with
our mouth, we fulfill them in what we do; as he himself
Jn 14:15 * says: If you love me, keep my commandments;* when we
deny ourselves and carry the cross and follow the Lord
Lk 9:23 * with wholehearted rejoicing;* when having received
Lk 8:15 * the seed of the word with a good, a very good heart,*
a heart purged from all the dregs of malice, we bring
forth fruit, now thirtyfold, now sixtyfold, and now a
Mt 13:8 * hundredfold;* when after receiving the talent of money
Mt 25:22 * we return to the Lord with very great profit;* when we
forgive the person who sins against us not only seven
Mt 18:22 * times but as many as seventy-seven times;* when hav-
ing been invited we take our place with a wedding gar-
Mt 22:12 * ment in the wedding feast of the great king,* so that we
º CCM 21 may not deserve to be bound hand ºand foot, shut up
24. Ibid.
25. Cf. Sent. I.7.2; PL 83:548B.
in the outer darkness* and condemned to perpetual * Mt 22:12-13

punishment with the man who refused to forgive his
brother when the latter sinned against him,* or with * Mt 18:30
the man who dug a hole and hid his master’s money
in the earth,* or with the man who came into the * Mt 25:18
wedding feast without a wedding garment.* And so * Mt 22:11
there follows:
6
So that not only may he not as an angry father
at any time disinherit his children,7 but neither
as a dread lord, angered by our sins, hand over
to perpetual punishment as most wicked ser-
vants those who would not follow him to glory.
When he says As an angry father, understand it as
said not strictly but loosely of the Lord. In the Sacred
Scriptures you will find these and many similar things
said of the Lord, taken from our human way of speak- ira actus
ing. ‘Angry’ means ‘driven by anger’,26 that is, agitated
by anger. This is said of the Lord in two ways: either
when he scourges every son whom he receives unto
glory,* or when he strikes every impious man whom * Cf. Heb 12:6
he delivers up to punishment. For this reason is God
called our Father, namely, that he created us to exist,
and through the grace of baptism he recreated us, and
when we were reborn he handed over to us his Holy
Spirit in whom we cry: Abba, Father.* He has also or- * Rm 8:15
dered us to pray: Our Father who art in heaven.* Now * Mt 6:9
‘father’ is a name of dignity and honor. And this name,
as is well known, is perfectly realized in God himself.
Concerning him the apostle says: From him all father-
hood in heaven and on earth takes its name.* And: The * Eph 3:15
Spirit himself whom we received in baptism bears wit-
ness to our spirit that we are children of God. But if children,
then heirs as well; heirs indeed of God, and co-heirs with
Christ.* * Rm 8:16-17
Somewhere else the apostle refers to this inheri-
tance as incorrupt, uncontaminated, and unfading, and
26. Cf. Diff. I.301; PL 83:41BC.
1 P 1:4 * states that it is kept for us in heaven.* For he who gave

Jn 1:12 * us power to become children of God* has also himself
Heb 9:15 * given us power to receive an inheritance in heaven,*
Mt 10:22 and * provided we have persevered safely to the end.* He
24:13
said that the heavenly inheritance is incorrupt because
it is not touched by old age, not marred by sickness,
not corrupted by death, neither is it cramped by the
grief associated with penance or the self-restraint re-
quired by moderation.27 For it receives nothing from
outside by which it could be corrupted or spoilt. He
declared it to be uncontaminated because it always
continues complete and inviolate in itself, and it is not
limited even by the life-span or the appointed lot of
the heirs. No hidden robber contaminates it, no vio-
lent plunderer snatches it away; it is always uncon-
taminated, for it always continues incorrupt. He calls
it unfading because it does not wither from being
violently oppressed by the sickle’s cutting or the sun’s
CCM 22 º burning heat. ºIt is always green, always perseveres im-
mortal. It is decked with flowers in its children, bears
fruit in virtues, is pleasant in its delights, outstanding
in its heirs, glorious in those who possess it, and al-
ways distinguished in its gifts and rewards. In it there
is eternal life, everlasting immortality, perpetual power,
enduring peace, certain sanctification, true justifica-
tion. And to put it briefly: our inheritance is Christ, in
whom is all goodness.
And so we must be extremely careful lest an angry
father banish us from this so exceedingly bright in-
heritance, and as a dread lord angered by our sins
hand [us] over to perpetual punishment as most
wicked servants. It is to be noted that it is the very
same persons who at first, by believing rightly and liv-
ing well have been called sons, who by living badly are
afterwards called most wicked servants. It is of such
people that the Lord says through Isaiah: I nourished
27. Cf. Bede In 1 Pt 1:4; CCSL 121:227, Smar. Collect.; PL
102:535B.
and raised up sons, but they have spurned me.* Therefore * Is 1:2
those who are called most beloved sons for receiving
the Lord, are called most wicked servants for spurn-
ing him. Now two kinds of servants are found in the
Divine Scriptures: the one consists of the good, the
other of the evil. Concerning the good the Lord says
through Isaiah: Behold, my servants shall eat, and you shall
be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, and you shall be
thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, and you shall be
put to shame; behold, my servants shall render praise out of
the exultation of their heart, and you shall cry out from grief
of heart and wail because your spirit is crushed.* To them * Is 65:13-14
the Lord says in the Gospel: Well done, good and faithful
servant; because you have been faithful over a few things, I
shall set you over many.* The evil kind of servants are * Mt 25:23
those of whom it is written: Everyone who sins is a slave
of sin. But the slave does not remain in the house forever;*; * Jn 8:34-35
and: You wicked servant, I forgave you all your debt,* and * Mt 18:32
so on.
It is of them too that [Benedict] is speaking in this
passage: Lest he hand [them] over to perpetual
punishment as most wicked servants. Indeed
the Lord does not hand anyone over, but anyone who
does not hesitate to sin hands himself over to punish-
ment. For it is written: Flee from sin as from the face of
a serpent.* * Si 21:2
Therefore someone who is to be tortured is the
very one who hands himself over to the serpent, the
devil; he neither fears nor flees sin. He hands himself
over to perpetual punishment who, living loose and
slack,* does not cease to sin. It is called punishment * Pr 18:9
because it fetters and punishes sinners in torments.28
And this is what the frightful punishment of sin-
ners means: gehenna, perpetual torments, everlasting
ºpains, unending burning, certain and total disaster, º CCM 23
true death, eternal torture, perpetual sorrow, continual
28. Cf. Etym. V.27.2; PL 82:211B.

groaning, everlasting destruction, where according to

Isaiah the worm of the impious does not die, nor is
Is 66:24 * their fire extinguished.* By ‘the worm’ he means the
devil and his angels, who like worms gnaw the souls
of the reprobate with the tooth of malice, and deliver
them up to unquenchable and eternal fire to be burnt
and tortured always.
To this terrible punishment are deservedly handed
over those who refuse to follow Christ to glory, to
that, namely, of which the psalmist says: The saints will
Ps 149:5 * exult in glory.* To follow is used accurately, because
they are called; as the apostle says: But the God of all
1 P 5:10 * grace who has called us to his eternal glory,* so that when
Christ our life appears, we too may appear with him
Col 3:4 * in glory.* Glory means eternal life, full and everlast-
ing joy, where there is certain security, secure tranquil-
lity, tranquil pleasantness, happy eternity and eternal
happiness; where there is perfect love, no fear, eternal
day, cheerful movement; where the assembly glitters
with the shining merits of the saints, eternal salvation
overflows, truth reigns; where there is understanding
without error, memory without forgetfulness, think-
ing without apology, charity without pretense, per-
ception without stumbling, safety without weakness,
well-being without sorrow, life without death, readi-
ness without hindrance, fullness without distaste, and
total soundness of body without sickness.
8
Therefore let us at last arise. Let us arise is
rightly said to the idle and those who are held down
by the slumber of laziness, because the soul given up
to the sleep of negligence and pressed down by dull-
ness and inertia, as it were sleeps and takes its rest on
the bed of its idleness, dazed by a harmful lethargy. He
says Let us arise—that is, let us use foresight and raise
ourselves from that place of negligence in which we
have long been lying, pressed down by a harmful feel-
ing of sluggishness. Let us lift up our hearts to the Lord
together with our hands, that is, together with good

works, we who, pressed down by evil acts and bowed
down with wicked habits, have already for a long time
clung to the world. For the spiteful spirits say to the
soft soul as it lives a dissolute life: Bow down that we may
pass over.* Now if it acquiesces in their evil suggestions, * Is 51:23
it will be trodden down to ill effect under their feet
and perish. But if it continues upright in the work of
God, it will be able to say with Elijah: As the Lord lives
in whose sight I stand.* And with Paul: But our way of life * 1 K 17:1
is in heaven.* When he ºsays At last, he means—if I * Ph 3:20
º CCM 24
am not mistaken—the lateness of the time. From two
adverbs of time he made one, because ‘at last’* is the * tandem
same as ‘at length’.* It is as if he were saying: Even if * aliquando
we did not want to exercise ourselves in good works
in our early years—that is, in our youth—let us come
to our senses again at least in our old age, and having
been converted, even though late, to the ways of life,
let us not squander the medicines of salvation.
Scripture stirs us up saying. It is the sleeping soul

that is aroused, not the one keeping watch. That soul
is indeed asleep which is forgetful of its Lord and does
not remember his commandments; while that soul is
keeping watch which always holds the memory of its
Lord in its heart and keeps his commandments in its
deeds.The soul which does not amend its past sins and
has no thought for the future is asleep; the soul which
laments its past sins and commits no more that it needs
to lament is keeping watch. The soul which proceeds
along the broad and spacious way*, giving no thought * Mt 7:13
to the future life and glory, but with eyes closed and
sleeping becomes daily worse and hastens to eternal
ruin, is asleep; the soul which thinks about eternal life
and future glory and makes its way along the strait
and narrow way,* and grows and is renewed daily in * Mt 7:14
virtues, and does not cease to labor in order to reach
knowledge of its Creator, is keeping watch.
Rm 13:11 * It is now the hour for us to rise from sleep.* The word
‘hour’ is put here for ‘time’. For any amount of time
whatever is fittingly called an hour, as is written in the
Gospel: The householder went out at the third hour,
the sixth, the ninth and the eleventh hour to invite
Mt 20:1-6 * workers into his vineyard.* For he says It is now the
hour for us to rise from sleep, that is, It is time for
us to keep watch, rising from heaviness of mind and
the torpor of negligence so as to observe the Lord’s
precepts. Concerning this matter Solomon exhorts us
Pr 20:13 * saying: Do not love sleep, lest extreme poverty oppress you.*
To love sleep is to embrace torpor of mind through
sloth, and to give no thought to the future, because
extreme poverty, that is, eternal misery, oppresses the
soul that is wrongly carefree.
9
And with our eyes opened, those eyes, that is, of
which Solomon says: Open your eyes and be filled with
Ibid. * bread.* To open one’s eyes is to open the mind’s under-
standing to the light of justice; to fill with bread is
to refresh the mind with the spiritual food of divine
knowledge.
CCM 25 º ºTo the deifying light, that is, the divine under-
standing he bestows on the soul. With ears pricked
up, that is, with attentive minds, let us hear what
the divine [voice], that is, [the voice] full of God,
filled with divinity, as it cries out daily admon-
Ps 95:8 * ishes us saying: 10If today you hear his voice.* Today
etymologically means ‘on this day’.29 But here it also
signifies ‘always and at all times’, because continually and
at every hour he must be heard who gives salutary warning
and teaches with mercy.The apostle powerfully expressed the
force of this word when he said: ‘But exhort one another
Heb 3:13 * every day, as long as it is called today’.*30
29. Cf. Etym. V.30.18; PL 82:217B.

30. Cassiod. Expos. ps. 94[95]:7; CCSL 98:859.
If you hear his voice. He says his, that is, the Lord’s,
that good shepherd who says: I am the Good Shepherd,* * Jn 10:11, 14
and: My sheep hear my voice and follow me, and I know
them, and no one snatches them from my hand, but I will
give them eternal life.* In the law and the prophets, in * Jn 10:27-28
the Gospel and the apostles, the Lord’s voice is heard
sounding in many ways, but it is heard and hearkened
to by the good and the very good heart. It is indeed
heard by hard and stony hearts, but not hearkened to.
Therefore souls which harden their hearts so as not to
hear the voice of that good and true shepherd do not
follow him, are not his sheep, do not know him, and
are not known by him. For he who does not recognize
will not be recognized,* and they will not be freed * 1 Cor 14:38
from the hand of the robber,* or set in pastures,† or * Ps 97:10
† Ps 23:2
receive eternal life.
Do not harden your hearts. For thus says the

apostle elsewhere: Let none of you be hardened by the
deceitfulness of sin.* Those harden their hearts who re- * Heb 3:13
fuse to put into practice what they correctly under-
stand about God’s commandments. It is said of them
through Solomon: Laziness casts into a deep sleep.* For * Pr 19:15
the lazy person by correctly understanding keeps watch, as
it were,31 but by not actually doing good, he goes to
sleep on the bed of his sluggishness, his heart hardened
and understanding dulled. Those people, I say, harden
their hearts who do indeed hear the preacher but are
not willing to imitate the doer; they do not obey the
voice of the Lord when he says: Turn away from evil
and do good;* they do not hear: Laying aside the old self * Ps 34:14
with its deeds,† clothe yourselves ºwith the new self who is † Col 3:9
º CCM 26
created according to God in justice and the holiness of truth;* * Eph 4:24
they do not renounce the world, take up the cross and
follow Christ.† † Mt 10:38
31. Reg. past. III.15 (PL 77:74B);Taio Sent. IV.31 (PL 80:948B);
Bede In Pr II.19.15 (CCSL 119B:101).
Mt 11:15, cf * 11
He who has ears to hear.* What he seeks here are the
Rev 2:7
ears of the heart, not those of the body. That person
has ears to hear who fulfills by his deeds what he has
understood with his heart; he has ears to hear in his
heart who commits the Lord’s precepts to memory,
and keeps what has been committed there to be given
back to the Lord with interest many times as great.
But that person does not have ears to hear who nei-
ther retains the Lord’s precepts in his memory nor ful-
fills them in his deeds, who neither stores them up in
his heart nor practices them in his deeds.
Rev 2:7 * Let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.* Let
him hear, he says, that is, let him understand; what the
Spirit, that is, the all-powerful Spirit, the Holy Spirit,
that Spirit who gives witness to our spirit that we are chil-
Rm 8:16 * dren of God,* and about whom the apostle says: You are
1 Co 3:16 * the temple of God, and the Holy Spirit dwells in you.* The
Holy Spirit is so called from the fact that he breathes
something.32
Now he is called the Holy Spirit of God because

he is the holiness of the Father and the Son. For
although the Father is spirit and the Son is spirit,
and both the Father and the Son are holy, however
he is properly called the Holy Spirit as being the
holiness of both and consubstantial with both.33
Ecclesia is the greek word translated into Latin by
convocatio, a calling together, an assembly, and
for this reason it ought to call everyone to itself.34
Since it is one and universal, that is, catholic, John in

Rv 1:4 * the Apocalypse writes of seven churches* because of
the uniform fullness of the spirit,35 that is, the spirit
32. Cf. Etym. VII.3.2; PL 82:268A.

33. Ibid. VII.3.5; PL 268B.
34. Ibid. VIII.1.1; PL 293D.
35. Cf. ibid. VIII.1.3; PL 295A.
of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and fortitude, of

knowledge and piety and of the fear of the Lord.* * Is 11:2-3
And what does he say? Come, children, hear me.*

12 * Ps 34:11
Great is the loving kindness and mercy of the Holy
Spirit, who, before we take the monastic habit, invites
each one to hear him; and those he invites to the grace
of monastic conversion he calls children. For he it is
who says through the prophet: You will call me Father,
and you will not cease to come in after me.* * Jr 3:19
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.* About this fear * Ps 34:11
the psalmist says somewhere else as well: The fear of the
º CCM 27
Lord is holy, it ºabides forever.* For the more ardently a * Ps 19:9
person loves God, the more earnestly does he dread
offending him. It is a paternal and loving voice which
admonishes us and invites us to sweet and useful fear;36
when he says I will teach you, he admonishes us not to
be alarmed because we have heard the word ‘fear’. For this
is a fear that causes love, not dread. Human fear is marked
by bitterness, this fear by sweetness; the former compels us to
slavery, the latter draws us to freedom; finally, the former fears
enclosed spaces, the latter opens up the kingdom of heaven.37
Solomon says in praise of fear: ‘The fear of the Lord shall
prolong days’.* Therefore, O monk, fear the Lord, but with * Pr 10:27
that fear which, being holy, lasts forever;* with that chaste * Ps 19:9
fear which to the days of this time will add eternal days,
perpetual days, immortal and everlasting days. In fact, it will
add one day that is without evening or ending, a day full of
happiness and joy, brim full of unfailing light, supported by
the company of angels, a day uninterrupted by night, unob-
scured by darkness, a day unclouded; summer’s heat does not
make it unbearable, nor winter’s cold render it sluggish; it is a
day which will be one for you together with the saints, which
you will have in common with the angels, and eternally with
both. May it bestow on you fellowship with the angels, and
36. Cf. Cassiod. Expos. ps. 33[34]:12; CCSL 97:299.
37. Ibid.
happiness and joy as well, and make you a companion of the

patriarchs, count you among the number of the prophets, and
make you in exultation a companion of the apostles.38
For it is written: Those who fear the Lord have put
Ps 115:11 * their hope in the Lord; he is their helper and protector;* and
Si 1:20 * somewhere else: The fullness of wisdom is to fear God;*
and: The crown of wisdom is fear of the Lord; it fills one
Si 1:22 * with peace and the fruit of salvation;* and: You who fear the
Si 2:8 * Lord believe him, and your reward will not be made empty.*
You who fear the Lord love him, and your hearts will be
Si 2:10 * enlightened;* and: How great is one who finds wisdom; but
Si 25:10 * he is not superior to one who fears God.* Blessed is the one
Si 25:15 Vulg. * to whom it is given to have the fear of God;* the fear of the
Si 40:27 * Lord is like a paradise of blessings,* because in it there is
Pr 14:26 * confidence and strength;* through it there springs up the
Si 1:18 * fruit of salvation and peace.*
Keep listening, O monk, and pay careful attention to what
CCM 28 º the ºLord through the prophet promises to those who fear
him; he says: ‘The sun of justice will rise for you who fear my
name, and healing is in its wings; you shall go forth and leap
Mi 3:20 * like calves of the herd,’ * and so on. O monk, you must fear
the name of the Lord, so that Christ the Sun of justice may
rise for you to drive out the darkness of your mind, take away
ignorance of heart and pour in the light of understanding.39
May he grant you to live uprightly, and after death
may he bestow eternal life.
Jn 12:35 * 13
Run while you have the light of life.* Here he is
looking not for the running that the body does, but
for the progress of souls. Hence the psalmist says: They
will go from virtue to virtue, and the God of gods will be seen
Ps 84:7 * in Zion;* and elsewhere: I ran the way of your command-
Ps 119:32 * ments when you enlarged my heart.* For here too run-
ning signifies observance of the commandments and
38. Smar. Via reg. 3 (PL 102:940AC) and Diad. mon. 6 (PL
102:602D-603A).
39. Smar. Via reg. 3; PL 102:941BC. ‘O monache’ replaces ‘rex’
in this self-quotation of Smaragdus.
the progress of souls. While you have the light of life,

he says, that is, while you live, while the period of this
life is granted you. For that person has in himself the
light of life who has left the error of his previous way
of life and is being converted to the ways of a better
life, as the apostle says: You were at one time darkness, but
now you are light in the Lord.* But he also has in himself * Eph 5:8
the light of life who has him who said: I am the light of
the world; he who follows me does not walk in darkness.* So * Jn 8:12
here there also aptly follows:
Lest the darkness of death overtake you.* In this * Jn 12:35

place ‘darkness’ means ‘death or the devil’. Here we
can suitably understand as well that darkness which in
the Gospel the Lord calls exterior.* Now those who * Mt 22:13
during life do not strive to separate themselves from
vices, and are unwilling to grow in virtues, are deserv-
edly overtaken by the darkness of death, condemned,
and mourn in hell. Interior darkness we call blindness of
heart, and exterior darkness we call the eternal night of dam-
nation. So every condemned person is then cast, not into
interior but into exterior darkness, because that person is cast
against his will into the night of damnation who here of his
own accord fell into blindness of heart. In that place there is
also said to be weeping and gnashing of teeth,* so that there * Ibid.
they gnash their teeth who here rejoiced in eating, there the
eyes weep that here were busied with illicit desires, and each
single member undergoes punishment according as here it was
subject to and at the service of each single vice.40
In the weeping of eyes and gnashing of teeth we are
shown, through the metaphor of the bodily members,
how great the torments are. Darkness* is so called be- * tenebrae
cause it holds shadows.* Darkness is not some thing, * teneant umbras
but where light is not, darkness ºoccurs. For just as º CCM 29
darkness is nothing but the absence of light, so death
is nothing but the deprivation of life.41 Death* gets its * mors
40. Greg. Hom. ev. II.38.13; PL 76:1290AB.

41. Cf. Isid. Etym. XIII.10.12-13; PL 82:479A.
morsus * name either from the word ‘bite’* or from its being
amara * bitter.*42
14
And the Lord seeking his workman among
the multitude of people to whom he calls out
these things, says again. In the multitude the Lord
Mt 20:16 * seeks a few workers, because many are called, but few are
chosen.* Right now in this present life he is certainly
looking for workers, so that afterwards he may merci-
fully call to them and say: Come to me, all you who labor
Mt 11:28 * and are burdened, and I will give you rest,* says the Lord.
For it is written: He who works his land will be filled
Pr 28:19; cf * with bread; but he who follows idleness will be in need.*
12:11
That man strenuously works his land who through
daily exercises, meditation on the law, and mental vigi-
lance—which is like cultivating a field—earnestly in-
structs the secret places of his heart, and who, lest it be
endangered by the famine of ignorance, does not cease
to refresh the understanding of his interior self with
the invisible nourishment of spiritual food, as though
with bread. That man, I say, who working in the land
of his body keeps nocturnal vigils and sheds abun-
dant tears for his sins, chastises his body and brings it
1 Co 9:27 * into subjection,* weakens his flesh with fasting and
tortures it with various afflictions, will be filled with
bread from above and with eternal rewards.
15
Who is the man who wants life and longs to see good
Ps 34:12 * days?* A question is proposed of such a kind that the assent
of all may follow. For what man is there who can say either,
I do not want life, or, I do not long to see good days? But
would that we sought life everlasting in the same way as we
fix our hearts on this temporal life. He does not call good
days those in which we are occupied with passing pleasures,
but those which are truly good and are spent in the highest
holiness.43
42. Cf. Isid. Etym. XI.2.31; PL 418C.
43. Cassiod. Expos. ps. 33[34]:13;CCSL 97:299.
Who is the man, he says, who wants life, that is, the
blessed life, perpetual, immortal, without death, with-
out end and without toil; because in this life man is
born to toil,*, he comes to that life so as to live without * Jb 5:7
toil and forever. For that is the blessed life, and those
who come to it with their good works completed will
be like the blessed angels,* and will reign with their * Mt 22:30
God without end.* What ºhere they had believed, * Rv 22:5
º CCM 30
there they will see; contemplating the substance of
their Creator with clean hearts, they will rejoice with
the eternal exultation of divine love, and forever pos-
sessed by mutual delight they will cleave to each other
in happiness. Having recovered their bodies free from
corruption and endowed with immortality, they will
receive citizenship in the heavenly fatherland; made
citizens of it forever, they will carry off the promised
rewards. There they will be flooded with such great
happiness and such great grace of heavenly joys that
they will thank him who is rewarding them for such
great gifts, and experience no boredom because of the
very perfection of abundant good things.
16
But if you hearing answer: I do, God says to you.
What is God? God is that which no conjecture reaches.
For he is more than can either be said or thought. Each
nature according to its capacity has some faint inkling
of God. And to the extent that nature differs from na-
ture, one way of thinking differs from another. Because
he is above all things, he necessarily exceeds the minds
of all. For in the measure that human beings can stretch
the point of their mind they glimpse what God is, by a
conjecture, not by a definition. There is no doubt that
the angels, who are superior to humans, understand
something more about God; and for the same reason
the archangels understand more. But the cherubim and
seraphim, who are said to be the powers nearest God,
understand greater things about God, without com-
pletely comprehending what God is, because no one
knows the Father except the Son, and no one knows

Mt 11:27 * the Son except the Father.* Therefore—it seems to
humans—God is spirit, a simple nature, inaccessible
light, invisible, inestimable, infinite, perfect, in need of
nothing, eternal, absolutely immortal, from whom all
things have obtained their beginning; he is to be ven-
erated, loved, and feared; outside him there is nothing,
rather in him are all things whatsoever that exist, above,
below, the highest and the lowest; all-powerful, holding
all things, truly rich in all things because there is noth-
ing that does not belong to him; good, just, merciful; he
is also severe, so that dread of him should preserve the
things he has created in his goodness, lest negligence
give birth to life’s utter collapse. And lest I omit what
is more wonderful: So great is his clemency that, after
suffering insults from those he made, he puts up with
them, and is the first to call them to peace.
17
If you wish to have true and perpetual life. Life
is so called because of vigor, or because it has the power to
be born and grow.44 Here it is called true and perpetual,
either with reference to Christ, who said: I am the way,
Jn 14:6 * the truth and the life,* or to eternity, by which one lives
forever. For death always succeeds this life, but never
that [life]. And so this life is called deceptive, while
that is called true; this ends in a short time, while that
is called perpetual; this is mortal, while that is called
eternal; this is wretched, while that is glorious; this is
CCM 31 º full of ºtoil and sorrow, that remains ever delightful in
soundness of health and repose; this is feeble as a result
of hatreds and defects, that is always enlivened with joy,
being fruitful in charity and virtues. Concerning these,
blessed Augustine in his exposition of the Gospel says:
And so the Church knows two lives divinely preached to her.
One of them is in faith, the other in vision; one in pilgrimage,
the other in eternity; one in toil, the other in rest; one on the
44. Isid., Etym. XI.1.3; PL 82:397C.

way, the other in the fatherland; one fights with the enemy,
the other reigns without an enemy. Therefore one is good but
still wretched, the other is better and blessed.45 He who is
fortunate enough to come to this life will enjoy eter-
nal happiness and joy in the kingdom.
Keep your tongue from evil.* Keep from, he says, that * Ps 34:14
is, withhold, restrain, coerce and repress. From evil,
that means from every form of slander, evil speech,
murmuring, derision, vituperation, unjust reprimand,
from lying words and idle speech and such like. For it is
written: The man who slandered his neighbor in secret, him
I pursued;* and: Nor will evil-speakers possess the kingdom * Ps 101:5
of God;* and:Those who murmured were killed by the * I Co 6:10
serpents;* and: The lying mouth kills the soul;* and: You * 1 Co 10:9-10
will destroy all who speak falsehood,* and such like. * Ws 1:11
* Ps 5:6
Behold, O monk, why he says: Keep your tongue
from evil. For if the Lord pursues the slanderer, and
evil-speakers do not possess the kingdom of God, and
murmurers are killed by serpents, that is, by demons,
and if God will destroy all who speak falsehood, we
must with all watchfulness keep our tongue from evil
so that we too may not perish eternally along with
these as they perish. And still concerning the evil of
the tongue, let us hear what the apostle James says.
For he says:
The tongue is a fire and a universe of iniquity.The

tongue is constituted among our members; it stains
the whole body, and sets on fire the wheel of our
birth, having been set on fire from Gehenna. For
every other kind of beast and bird and serpent can
be tamed and has been tamed by mankind; but the
tongue no man can tame. It is a restless evil, full of
deadly poison. With it we bless our God and
Father, and with it we curse men who are made in
the likeness of God. From the very same mouth
45. Aug. In Jo ev. 124.5; CCSL 36:685.

proceed blessing and cursing.This ought not to hap-

Jm 3:6-10 * pen,* and so on.
CCM 32 º ºAnd let not your lips speak deceit.* As far as he can
Ps 34:14 *
let the good monk imitate the Lord, and let him nei-
ther keep deceit in his heart nor speak it with his lips.
Because the Lord did no evil, nor was deceit found in his
1 P 2:22 * mouth.* The Lord will destroy deceitful lips,* the lips
Ps 12:3 *
of those who have spoken evil in their hearts and from
their hearts. Deceit means hidden malice adorned with
smooth speech;46 it is what is properly called fraud, am-
bush or deception, when we mislead a hearer, so that what
is believed to be helpful turns out in fact to be a hindrance.
This is rightly prohibited, because it is obviously always op-
posed to a good conscience.47
Ps 34:14 * Turn away from evil and do good.* For many do
good, but do not turn away from evil. During the day
they keep a fast, and during the night commit adul-
tery; they give an alms to the poor, and receive plun-
der from the poor; they offer a cup to a poor man,
and drink to the point of inebriation; they give the
hungry man a mouthful, and eat to crude excess; and
to put it briefly, they do not cease to do in public what
is right, and in secret what is wrong. And while acting
thus they are unwilling to separate their left hand from
their right. But there is another kind of person—and
especially of monk—who turns away from evil and
yet performs no good at all. He has left behind earthly
toil in the world, and in the monastery follows idle
pursuits. Of such people the Lord says: A tree which
does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown
Mt 3:10, 7:19 * into the fire;* and in the Apocalypse: Because you are
neither cold nor hot but lukewarm and cause nausea,
Rv 3:16 * I will begin to vomit you out of my mouth, says the
Lord.*. Hence idleness is also described as the enemy
RB 48.1; Si * of the soul.* Therefore to turn away from evil and do
33:28
46. Isid. Diff. I.142; PL 83:25A.
47. Cassiod. Expos. ps. 33[34].14; CCSL 97:299.
good is particularly and especially characteristic of the

elect. For the farmer and the gardener do not sow the
seeds of their crops over thorns, brambles and nettles,
but they first clear the field of these and then cast the
grain of the appropriate seed.* So also each of the * Mt 7:16
elect first purges the field of his heart and body from
vices, and afterwards casts the seeds of the virtues; and
it is in this way that every man turns away from evil
and does good.
º CCM 33
ºSeek peace and follow it.* Now the prophet, knowing * Ps 34:14
that, in this contest between the world and the body, those
who are most faithful do not have peace, and that here they
have a continual struggle with their vices, said very beauti-
fully, Seek peace, so that although they do not have it here,
yet they should always be seeking it most earnestly. But he
gives the order, Follow it, as though it goes ahead of us.
Therefore let us seek it sedulously, let us follow it intently,
because we cannot find it there unless we seek it more dili-
gently here. It will be given us to grasp when we behold the
Author of peace himself.48
Peace is mind’s serenity, spirit’s tranquillity, heart’s
simplicity, love’s bond, charity’s fellowship. This it is
that takes away secret hatreds, puts an end to wars, sup-
presses angry outbursts, treads down the proud, loves
the humble, quietens those involved in discord, brings
enemies to concord; it is pleasing to all, does not seek
what belongs to others, regards nothing as its own,
teaches how to love since it does not know how to
hate; it does not know what it is to be lifted up or
puffed up. Let him who has received this hold on to
it; let him who has lost it search for it again; let him
who has let go of it seek it out carefully, because he
who is not found in peace is disowned by the Father,
disinherited by the Son, and no less made a stranger
by the Holy Spirit.
48. Ibid. 33.15; CCSL 300.

18
And when you have done these things, that is,
the things mentioned above, my eyes will be upon you.
This is the voice of the Lord, the voice of mercy, the
voice of loving kindness, who mercifully bestows on
us the power to do these things, because human frailty
can do only what the divine majesty has made pos-
sible. And when you have done these things, he
says, that is, when you have kept your tongue from
evil and your lips have not spoken deceit; when you
have turned from evil and done good, when you have
RB Prol. 17; * sought peace and followed it,* then my eyes will be
Ps 34:14 upon you. Here the divine regard which is mercifully
opened upon the just is called the eyes of the Lord. For
the Lord looked at Peter, and he at once remembered
the Lord’s words and wept bitterly, because three times
E.g. Mt 26:75 * he had denied the Lord.* Therefore the eyes of the
Lord—that is, the divine regard—bestows both mem-
ory and understanding on the just, and delivers them
from both eternal death and everlasting hunger. For
thus it is also written in another psalm: The eyes of the
Lord are upon those who fear him that he may deliver their
Ps 33:18-19 * souls from death and feed them in time of famine.*
Ps 34:15 * He added And my ears to your prayers.* The ears
of the Lord in this place mean the divine hearing,
which the psalmist asked for with all his strength say-
CCM 34 º ing: Incline your ear, O my God, and hear ºme;* and: With
Ps 86:1 *
Ps 17:1 † your ears, O Lord, hear my prayer;† and: Let your ears be at-
Ps 130:2 * tentive to the prayer of your servant,* and a thousand such
expressions. But Solomon also in his prayer joins both
things—that is, the eyes and ears of the Lord—saying:
So that your eyes may be open and your ears atten-
2 Ch 6:40 * tive to the prayers of your servants.* But although the
Lord frequently hears sinners’ prayers, a much fuller
and swifter hearing is promised to the upright when
he is shown to have his ears ready for their prayers.
And so, O upright monk, do not fear the persecutions
of men and the world’s labors. The Lord’s eyes are
upon you to deliver you, and his ears to hear you. Just
keep to his ways and hope in him,* and say with the * Si 2:6, Ps 37:5
apostle: If God is for us, who can be against us?* God is * Rm 8:31
for us so that his eyes might behold us, God is for us
so that his ears might hear us, God is for us to predes-
tine us, God is for us to call us, God is for us to justify
us, God is for us to glorify us.* If God is for us, who * Rm 8:30
can be against us? Before we existed, he predestined us;
he glorified us when we were mortal. If God is for us,
who can be against us? Let him who wants to be against
those who have been predestined, called, justified and
glorified by God prepare himself, if he can wage war
against God. When we have heard If God is for us, who
can be against us?, only the one who overcomes God
can hurt us.
And before you call upon me I will say to
you: Behold, here I am.* O saying full of meekness * Is 58:9
and kindness! He does not wait for the prayer to be
finished, but grants the petition beforehand. For the
Lord knows before we ask him what we need.* And * Mt 6:8
this is because we are God’s temple, and the Spirit of
the Lord dwells in us.* With the utmost speed God * 1 Co 3:16
the Dweller hears his dwelling.
19
What can be more delightful to us, dearest
brethren, than this voice of the Lord inviting us?
This voice of the Lord is truly delightful to holy monks,
because it invites them to that great abundance of his
delightfulness which he has hidden for those who fear
him.* He has become the One who dwells in them in * Ps 31:19
order to hear them even when he has not been called
upon; he has become the way and the fatherland, so
that through him they may come to him; he has be-
come the shepherd and the door and the pasture, so
that those governed by him may enter through him
and may go in and come out and find pasture.* * Jn 10:2, 9
º 20Behold in his loving kindness the Lord shows º CCM 35

us the way of life. The Lord himself, therefore, as
was said before,49 has become for us the way, the truth
Jn 14:6 * and the life;* that is to say, the royal way, so that making
our way through him we may not turn to right or to
Nb 20:17 * left,* but may reach the eternal life which he him-
self is, where there cannot be any weeping or sighing,
where all the saints will have perfect love, no fear, and
everlasting joy. There they will have a determined will
and no unruly desires, because in enjoying the heav-
enly blessing they were longing to reach they shall
be in want of nothing more they could desire; and in
that region of perpetual security and perfect peace the
blessed are not going to suffer the stings either of fear
or of sorrow.
21
Therefore with our loins girded with faith
Eph 6:14 * and the observance of good deeds.* Here most
elegantly and in prophetic fashion, the blessed father
Benedict posited the double belt proper to monks. He
Jm 2:26 * knew faith without works is dead* and works without
faith are empty. And so he wanted the monks’ belt to
be, not simple but woven out of both of these. Isaiah
ascribed this in its double form to the Lord, saying:
And justice will be the belt around his loins, and faith the
Is 11:5 * belt around his waist.* For where the latter posited faith,
so did the former; and where the latter posited jus-
tice, the former posited the observance of good deeds.
Now the whole observance of good deeds is fittingly
called justice, as it is written: You will carry out justly
Dt 16:20 * what is just.* For we gird up the loins of our mind by
faith if we think correctly about the Holy Trinity and
faithfully believe it; we gird our loins by the obser-
vance of good deeds if we earnestly exercise ourselves
in good works, as the apostle says: Stand therefore with
Eph 6:14 * the loins of your minds girded,* that is, manfully pre-
pared for every battle and detached from all the world’s cares.50
49. See Prologue 17, p. 82.
50. Ps. Hier. [actually Pelagius] In Eph 6:14 (PLS 1:1307); Smar.
Diad. mon. 78 (PL 102:673B); cf. Smar. Collect. (PL 102:493D).
And the Lord says to Job: ‘Gird your loins like a man’.* For * Jb 38:3
Sacred Scripture addresses as men those who walk the Lord’s
way with strong and not slack steps. Now to gird one’s loins
manfully is to curb the impurity of the flesh and of the mind,
whether in deed or in thought. But why is blessed Job told:
‘Gird your loins like a ºman’, if not because one thing is the º CCM 36
impurity of the flesh by which we corrupt chastity, another is
that of the heart by which we boast of our chastity.Therefore
he is told: ‘Gird your loins like a man’, so that he who had
previously conquered the impurity of corruption may now
hold in check the impurity of self-conceit, so as not to grow
proud of his patience and chastity.51
In the Old Testament we read of a belt made of
skin that goes around the loins,* whereas in the New * 2 K 1:8
we read of a belt made of gold that goes around the
breast.* To avoid committing adultery, a belt made of * Rv 1:13
skin is to be fastened around the loins; to avoid look-
ing at a woman so as to lust after her,* a belt of gold is * Mt 5:28
to be tied around the breast.
By the guidance of the Gospel let us proceed
on his ways. The guidance of the Gospel, that is
also the guidance of Christ. For Christ does not lead
in one way and the Gospel in another, but the Lord’s
very deeds and his most sacred words are called gospels,
which bring those who follow them by straight paths
to the heavenly kingdom. But we must look carefully
to see who they are, or who it is they will follow, or
whither they are tending, who proceed by the guid-
ance of the Gospel.These are certainly those to whom
the Lord says: Amen I say to you, that you who have left
all things and have followed me, in the new age when the
Son of Man sits on the seat of his majesty, will also sit upon
twelve seats judging the twelve tribes of Israel;* and the one * Mt 19:28
to whom he says: Go, sell all you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven, and come follow me;* * Mk 10:21
and: He who wishes to come after me, let him deny himself
and take up his cross and follow me,* and other such say- * Mt 16:24
51. Greg. Moral. XXVIII.3.12; CCSL 143B:1402-1403.

ings. We have learned who they are—namely, those

who leave everything and sell everything and give to
the poor, and who deny themselves and take up their
cross. Who is it they are following? Clearly it is Christ,
who says to them: ‘And you have followed me’, and,
‘Come, follow me’.
Let us see how they follow. That person follows
Christ who pays attention to his precepts, walks by
the footsteps of his teaching, and follows his footsteps
and his paths; who imitates what Christ taught and
did, as Peter exhorts us saying: Christ suffered for us,
leaving us an example that we might follow his foot-
1 P 2:21 * steps;* an example, that is, of tribulations, not of delights,
of insults, not of joys; of stripes, sorrows, reproaches, thorns,
CCM 37 º cross and death.52 And we shall be in ºin a better posi-
tion to see whither those who run by the guidance of
the Gospel are tending, if first we hear the Lord who
calls them; for the Lord says: Come to me, all you who
Mt 11:28 * labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.* Again he
says: Come, blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom which
Mt 25:34 * has been prepared for you from the beginning of the world,*
and suchlike things. You see, it is quite clear whither
they are tending who proceed by the guidance of the
Gospel, namely, to such great glory that when the Son
of Man sits on the seat of his majesty, they too will
sit upon twelve seats and judge the twelve tribes of
Mt 19:28 * Israel;* they will receive eternal refreshment and the
kingdom prepared from the beginning of the world.
Hence there fittingly follow the words of blessed
Benedict saying: That we may deserve to see him
1 Th 2:12 * who has called us into his kingdom.* Concerning the
grace of calling, the apostle Paul speaks thus to the
Galatians: I am amazed that you are so quickly turning
Gal 1:6 * away from him who called you to the grace of Christ.* And
the same Paul says of himself: He who set me apart from
Gal 1:15 * my mother’s womb and called me by his grace.* And again
52. Bede In 1 Pt 2:21; CCSL 121:242.

elsewhere he says: I, a prisoner in the Lord, beseech you to

walk worthily of the calling by which you have been called,
with all humility and meekness, with patience supporting one
another in charity, careful to preserve the unity of the Spirit
in the bond of peace. One Body and one Spirit, as you have
also been called in the one hope of your calling.* But here * Eph 4:1-4
blessed Benedict says, who has called us, that means,
firstly to the grace of faith, and later to the habit of
religious and monastic life.
22
If we wish to dwell in the tent of his kingdom,
unless we run there by good deeds, there is no
reaching it at all. It is obvious that it is those who
do good, not evil-doers, who will possess the tents
of the heavenly kingdom. For the apostle Paul speaks
thus of the evil: Neither adulterers, nor the effeminate, nor
sodomites, nor thieves, nor the avaricious, nor evil-speakers,
nor drunkards, nor the rapacious will possess the kingdom
of God.* But if we desire to possess the kingdom of * 1 Co 6:9-10
God, let us show ourselves in all things as God’s servants, in
much patience, in tribulations, in necessities, in hardships, in
beatings, in imprisonments, in uprisings, in labors, in vigils, in
fasts; in chastity, in knowledge, in long-suffering, in gentle-
ness, in the Holy Spirit, in unfeigned charity, in the message
of truth, in the power of God, by the arms of justice on
the right hand and on the left, through honor and dishonor,
ºill-repute and good, as misleading, yet telling the truth, as º CCM 38
unknown, and yet well-known, as dying, and behold we live;
as punished, and yet not killed, as sorrowing and yet always
rejoicing, as needy and yet enriching many; as having noth-
ing, and yet possessing everything.* And running in this * 2 Co 6:4-10
way by these and other good deeds, we will deserve to
be dwellers in the tent of the heavenly kingdom.
23
But let us ask the Lord with the prophet say-
ing: O Lord, who shall dwell in your tent, or who
shall rest on your holy mountain?* Although other Ps 15:1 *
teachers53 at this point understand the tent as the

present-day Church, blessed Benedict—no less filled
with the Holy Spirit—chose to understand the tent as
the heavenly dwelling which is the eternal kingdom.
Hence the Lord also says: Make for yourselves friends from
the mammon of iniquity, so that when you fail they may
Lk 16:9 * receive you into everlasting tents.* By the mountain, how-
ever, we understand our Lord Jesus Christ himself, of
whom Isaiah says: In the last days the mountain of the
Is 2:2 * Lord’s house will be prepared on the top of the mountains.*
It is on him that all the souls of the elect have per-
petual rest, as the same Lord says to them: Take up my
yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am meek and
Mt 11:29 * humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls.*
24
Having put this question, brethren, let us hear
the Lord as he answers and shows us the way
to his tent 25saying: He who enters without blemish
and does justice, 26who speaks the truth in his heart;
who has not practiced deceit with his tongue; 27who has
done no evil to his neighbor and has not accepted evil
Ps 15:2-3 * speech against his neighbor;* 28who rejecting from
the sight of his heart the evil one, the devil,
with what he suggests and the suggestion it-
self, has brought him to naught, and has taken
hold of his young thoughts and dashed them
Ps 137:9 * against Christ;* 29who fearing the Lord do not
get conceited at their own good observance,
but recognizing that the good itself that is in
them cannot be from themselves but is brought
about by the Lord, 30glorify the Lord working
in them, saying with the prophet: Not to us, Lord,
Ps 115:1 * not to us, but to your name give the glory.* Let us look
at these points in detail and discuss them all as the
Lord enables us.
53. Cf. e.g. Bede De Tab. 2 (CCSL 119A:42-43); Cassiod. Expos.

ps. 14[15]:1 (CCSL 97:133).
He who enters without blemish. Blessed Augustine

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said that this sentence was the prophet’s question, while

blessed Benedict said it was ºthe Lord’s response, but º CCM 39
because, according to Ezechiel, the wheels follow the
animals,* each of them has understood this sentence * Ezk 1:21
quite well and quite correctly. For when the Lord was
asked who would dwell in his tent, he answered, He
who enters without blemish, as if to say: He who lives
without fault and keeps himself from the contagion of
sin will enter my tent. For by ‘blemish’ we understand
‘sin’. Also, in a holocaust offered to the Lord there
was offered only an unblemished animal, because the
Lord’s sacrifice admits of nothing blemished.* Hence * Lv 22:18-20
the groom says to the bride: You are beautiful, my love,
and there is no blemish in you.* * Sg 4:7
And does justice. ‘Justice’ derives from iuris status, ‘a
state of right,54 for justice is fairness and rectitude. But
because justice consists of works and of faith, that man
fully does justice who believes rightly and exercises
the whole of himself in good works. He enters without
blemish who lives without fault; he does justice who is
careful to do the good that he is able to do; he enters
without blemish who bewails the sins he has commit-
ted, and commits no further sins that he needs to be-
wail; he does justice who diligently keeps the Lord’s
precepts in all things.
Who speaks the truth in his heart. A human being

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speaks with his tongue and his mouth, not with his
heart; but because the mouth only speaks what the
heart supplies it with, it is rightly said here, Who
speaks the truth in his heart; as though to say: It is
not enough for the tongue that it speak only truth
with the mouth, unless it has received it from a sincere
heart. For whether the tongue speaks good or evil,
the source which is the heart ministers this very thing
to it, as it is written: From the abundance of the heart the
54. Cf. Isid. Etym. XVIII.15.2; PL 82:650A.
Lk 6:45 * mouth speaks.* For there are some who, filled with an
evil spirit, speak one thing feignedly with their mouth
while meditating something else in their heart. Of
them Solomon says: A pretender deceives his friend with
Pr 11:9 * his mouth.* Therefore the Lord says: He who speaks
the truth in his heart will dwell in my tent.
Who has not practiced deceit with his tongue. Not
to practice deceit with one’s tongue is the very same
thing as to speak truth with the heart. Sometimes de-
ceit is uttered by the tongue, as is said here through the
psalmist, sometimes it is meditated by both lips and
heart, as you find in Solomon: An enemy is known by his
Pr 26:24 * lips, he says, since in his heart he has entertained deceits.* A
CCM 40 º person utters deceit only with the ºtongue in order to
appear friendly in speech though an enemy at heart.
Deceit is meditated by both lips and heart so as to
show oneself an enemy at heart as well as by mouth.
Who has done no evil to his neighbor. ‘Neighbor’

(27)
here is to be understood of every man. Hence it is

written: You shall not commit adultery with your
Lv 18:20 * neighbor’s wife,* that is, not with any man’s wife. On
account of a near relationship of blood every man is
said to be a man’s neighbor.55 For the blood of humans
is distinct from the blood of other animals.
Who has not accepted evil speech against his neigh-
bor. Has not accepted, that is, has not been pleased
with it or willingly listened to it. For we say that those
things are accepted which we show are pleasing to
us. A person accepts evil speech against a neighbor
who with willing mind receives a slanderer’s words.
And this usually happens to those who are unwill-
ing to love their neighbor as themselves. With such
dispositions it soon comes to pass that the slanderer’s
words are willingly heard. On the other hand, he who
loves his neighbor as himself is as unwilling to hear
55. Cf. ibid. IX.6.3; PL 357A.

evil speech about his neighbor as about himself. But

if anyone should think in his heart and say: Who is
the man who lives amongst men so free of stain that
he neither does evil to his neighbor nor speaks deceit
with his lips, since it is written: There is no one alive who
does not sin,* let him hear the apostle Paul answering * 1 K 8:46
him: And this indeed you were; but you have been washed,
you have been sanctified,* and so forth. * 1 Co 6:11
(28)
Who [rejecting] the evil one, the devil. ‘Devil’* * diabolus
in Hebrew means one flowing downwards, because, pressed
by the weight of pride, he fell headlong. But in Greek ‘devil’
means accuser,56 because just as ‘accuser’ comes from ‘ac-
cusation’ or ‘charge’, and ‘proud’ comes from ‘pride’,
and ‘sinful’ comes from ‘sin’, so also does ‘evil one’* * malignus
come from the word ‘evil’.* With what he suggests, * malignitas
that is, sins and vices. And the suggestion itself, that
is, his persuasions and incitements. Rejecting [him]
from the sight of his heart he has brought him
to naught. The just man rejects the devil when he
does not consent to him or his suggestions. He brings
him to naught when he does not receive his sugges-
tions or nurture them. Therefore for the devil to be
brought to naught is for the monk to achieve maturity.
For the devil is thought to be strong in himself when
an unfortunate monk is overcome by him; but he is
brought to naught when, like a man without weapons,
he is overcome and rejected by a mature monk.
And has taken hold of his young thoughts and

dashed them against Christ. His, that is, the devil’s
young thoughts are the evil beginnings of ºhis sug- º CCM 41
gestions, which are to be firmly taken hold of so that
they may not grow to ill effect; they are to be dashed
against the rock, that is, against Christ, so that they
may perish, otherwise they may achieve the maturity
56. Ibid. VIII.11.18; PL 316A.

which brings strength, and wage harmful wars against

us.
Who fearing the Lord do not get conceited

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at their own good observance, that is, they do not

fancy themselves or consider themselves raised up, as
though by their own powers they can do anything
good, especially since the Lord said to the apostles:
Jn 15:5 * Without me you can do nothing.* For it is from the Lord
Ph 2:13 * that a man receives the will and the power for good.*
He is said to be conceited because he lifts himself above his
own measure when he thinks himself important because of
what he does,57 his works.
But recognizing that the good itself that is in
them cannot be from themselves but is brought
about by the Lord. The proud have an inner desire
to be extolled for what they do not do; the humble
seek to escape having any good they do acknowledged.
The former decline to have their vices attributed to
them and basely boast that the good is done by their
own powers. The humble, by voluntarily confessing
that they have committed sins, accuse themselves; they
think everything good they have has been brought
about not by themselves but by means of a divine gift,
and affirm that it has been wrought in them not by
themselves but by God.
[They] glorify the Lord working in them,

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saying with the prophet: Not to us, Lord, not to us,

Ps 115:1 * but to your name give the glory.* That person glorifies
the Lord at work in him who attributes the glory for
his good deeds not to himself but to the Lord. He is
under obligation to glorify the Lord at work in him,
who is unable to do anything good without him. For
the prophet knows that it is not for man to direct his
own ways, but that, while he proceeds to plan, it is for
Ps 119:5, 23 * the Lord to direct his steps.* Therefore he attributes
57. Ibid. X.8; PL 369A.
the glory to Him from whom he knows he has re-

ceived all good things; for the apostle says: Everything
whatsoever you do, do it in the name of the Lord.* * Col 3:17
Therefore let the Church attribute everything to that
name from which and in which it receives the power
of doing what is right, and let it humbly and truthfully
say with the prophet: Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to
your name give the glory.
31
As Paul the apostle did not impute to himself
anything of his preaching, saying: By the grace
of God I am what I am.* Previously Paul had been a * 1 Co 15:10
blasphemer and a persecutor of the Church, but, called
by God’s grace and set apart from the womb of the
synagogue, he had now become a faithful and upright
preacher in the Church. And so he used to say: By the
grace of God I am what I am, that is, of myself I was
crooked, by the grace of God I am upright; of myself
a persecutor, through the Lord’s grace I am now a
defender of the Church; of myself a blasphemous and
wicked man, through the Lord’s ºgrace I have become º CCM 42
faithful and devout. And this is what by the grace of
God I am what I am means, that is, it is not by my
merits but by the grace of God that I have become
a believer from being an unbeliever, a shepherd from
being a wolf, a defender from being a persecutor, an
upright man from being a crooked one, a devout man
from being an impious one, a Christian from being a
Jew, and an apostle from being a Pharisee; and this is
what By the grace of God I am what I am means, that
is, I am not such as my malice made me a long time
ago, but such as the Lord’s grace has willed me to be
now.
32
And again he says: He who boasts should make
his boast in the Lord.* As has been said before, man * 1 Co 1:31,
2 Co 10:17
does not have anything good except what he receives
from the Lord. So if he receives, he should not boast
1 Co 4:7 * as though he has not received,* in case the bountiful

Giver withdraws what he has given, and he who boasts
of what belongs to another remains empty. This too
the apostle says elsewhere: It is not from yourselves, for
Eph 2:8-9 * it is God’s gift; not from works, so that no one may boast.*
Let us therefore give glory, not to ourselves but, with
all our power, to the name of the Lord; by this name
we have been saved, and firmly hope to be saved for-
ever. For there is no other name in the whole world
Ac 4:12 * by which salvation is wrought for the people.* Hence
the apostle also says: To him be glory in the Church and
Eph 3:21 * in Christ Jesus forever and ever, amen.* This, then, is the
name to which all things in heaven, on earth and
Ph 2:10 * under the earth bend the knee,* and let every tongue
confess that this name, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ is in
Ph 2:11 * the glory of God the Father.*
33
Hence the Lord also says in the Gospel: Someone
who hears these words of mine and does them, I shall
Mt 7:24 * liken to a wise man who built his house upon rock,*
and so forth.58 For it is not upon sand—that is, upon
Gn 3:19 * himself (because he is dust and will return to dust*)—
but upon rock, the rock of which the apostle says: But
1 Co 10:4 * the rock was Christ,* that the wise man builds his house.
He lays as the foundation of his house the initial stage
that consists of first conversion; as the middle section
of his wall he adds the middle stage that consists of
doing good; the finishing touch of his perseverance
is the perseverance which issues in perfection. All this
he lays on that foundation of which the apostle says
somewhere else: No one can lay any other foundation than
1 Co 3:11 * that which has been laid, namely Christ Jesus.* For from
this foundation he receives the strength to build the
house, that is, the monk’s whole work, and the forti-
58. At this point the text in PL 102:718A gives the full text
of RB Prologue 34, which quotes Mt 7:25; it is not given in the
CCM text.
tude to prevent it being destroyed when it is beaten by

storms, that is, by the tribulations of temptations. But
the fool builds upon sand because he gives to himself,
ºnot to God, the glory for his own work. The wise º CCM 43
man, however, builds on rock, because he does not
praise himself for all his good works, but gives thanks
to God and humbly attributes all to the generosity of
his benefactor, because he knows that he has received
everything from him. In another sense this parable is
aimed especially at the disobedient. For thus we read:
Everyone who hears my words and does not act upon them
will be likened to a foolish man who built his house upon
sand,* and so forth. That is: when the constant drip- * Mt 7:26
ping of the passions turns into a stream, when the riv-
ers and torrents and onsets of tribulations overtake
us from a multitude of negligences; when just those
winds begin to blow that fly through this part of the
atmosphere, ready to winnow Christ’s threshing-floor
wherever they find straw they can seize and scatter for
their own wanton sport, they will fall upon that house
built without the foundation of obedience, and great
will be its ruin.* Therefore neither rain, nor rushing * Mt 7:27
rivers, nor the strongest winds could move the house
founded on rock, so that you may understand from
this that the man who has not betrayed himself has not
been moved from himself; no temptation coming sud-
denly upon him will be able to throw him down or
move him. But that other edifice is easily overthrown,
not because of the violence of temptation—otherwise
it would have thrown down the first edifice as well—
but because of the weakness of the foundation, that is,
of one’s resolution. Sand is a shifting and unproductive
thing, which no doubt represents the instability and
inconstancy of souls.
The Lord, while bringing these things to com-

35
pletion, waits for us daily to respond with our

deeds, as we should, to these holy admonitions
of his. When he says, The Lord, while bringing

these things to completion, he is looking back to
the good things he had mentioned earlier in connec-
tion with the dweller in the tent. For Christ the Lord
fulfilled by speech what was said above; he also fulfilled
it by work. For he preached by word what he also ful-
filled by deed. He himself completed in himself what
he commanded the dweller in the tent to fulfill, for he
came into the world without stain of sin, he lived in
the world without stain of sin, and without the con-
tagion of sin he ascended into heaven. The prince of
the world came to him, but found in him nothing to
Jn 14:30 * condemn.* For although the just Lord himself always
loves justice, and always and everywhere does justice,
he most especially did justice when he overcame the
proud and strong devil, and entering his house took
Mt 12:29, *
Mk 3:27
away his vessels, which he was holding unjustly,*
CCM 44 º ºwashed them in the font of baptism and consecrated
them to his own service forever. He speaks the truth
in his heart because he is truth, and what he promises
with his mouth he fulfills by deed; for he says: I am the
Jn 14:6 * way, the truth and the life.*
He did not practice deceit with his tongue,
because he committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his
1 P 2:22 * mouth.* He did no harm to his neighbor, but on
the contrary he did good to him when he came down
from Jerusalem to Jericho, that is, from heaven into
the world, and found him, that is, the human race
whose kin and neighbor he became through the flesh,
wounded by robbers, that is, by demons, with many
wounds and sins; he poured in wine and oil, that is, the
austerity of penance and the revitalizing power of par-
don; he placed him on his beast of burden, that is, he
joined him to his body; he brought him to an inn, that
is, he made him a believer and united him to the body
of the Church, and commanded the innkeeper, that is,
the ruler of the Church, to take care of him and guide
him, preaching from the New Testament and the Old,
represented as it were by the two denarii.* That is how * Lk 10:30-35

our Lord Jesus Christ did no harm to his neigh-
bor, but practiced mercy towards him and so provided
him with what is good. He himself is the wise man,
because he is the wisdom of the Father.* He founded * 1 Co 1:30
his house on rock because he founded the Church on
himself. And this is what he says, The Lord, while
bringing these things to completion, that is, by
preaching them in his words and completing them in
his works, fulfilled everything mentioned above.
He waits for us daily to respond with our
deeds, as we should, to these holy admonitions
of his. We say we are responding to anyone when we
render works corresponding to what that person has
done. And so to respond to God is to render our ser-
vices for his prior gifts. We render true and obedient
service to God when, by reason of the confidence love
inspires, we are not afraid of him.
36
And so for the amendment of evils the days
of this life are lengthened for us by way of a
truce, 37as the apostle says: Do you not know that
the patience of God is leading you to repentance?* The * Rm 2:4
apostle Peter also speaks thus about this very matter:
For the Lord is not delaying his promise, but is exercising pa-
tience for your sake, not wanting anyone to perish, but want-
ing all to turn back to repentance.* Again he says: For this * 2 P 3:9
reason, dearly beloved, while you are waiting for these things,
take pains to be found by him ºundefiled and unimpeachable º CCM 45
in peace, and think of our Lord’s long-suffering as salvation.* * 2 P 3:14-15
Therefore let us not, through negligence and sluggish-
ness, squander our days, this time of truce granted us
by the Lord, but let us hasten speedily to amend what
we have done negligently for a long time, in case after
this mortal life, while doing fruitless penance with
those reprobates written of in the book of Wisdom,
and groaning from sadness of heart, we think back and
say to ourselves: We senseless ones have wandered from the
way of truth, and the light of justice has not shone upon us,
and the sun of understanding has not risen for us. We were
wearied in the way of vanity and perdition, and we walked
difficult ways, but the way of the Lord we knew not. What
has pride profited us, or the boastfulness of riches bestowed
on us? All those things have passed away like a shadow, and
Ws 5:4, 6-9, 13 * we are consumed in our wickedness.* For the Lord does
not rejoice in the loss of the living, but he wants to
save the penitent rather than lose the delinquent. As he
himself says through the prophet: 38I do not wish the
Ezk 33:11 * death of the sinner, but that he be converted and live.*
39
So since we have asked the Lord, brethren,
concerning the dweller in his tent, we have
heard the precept given for dwelling there. But
if we fulfill the duty of the dweller. Here blessed
Benedict used ‘to hear’ in place of ‘to comply with’, as
though to say: then have we really heard, if we fulfill
the duty of the dweller; as the Lord says in the Gospel:
Jn 10:27 * My sheep hear my voice,* that is, they heed it. But if we
do not fulfill the duty of the dweller we have certainly
not heard the precept given for dwelling there; as the
same Lord also says to the Jews: He who is of God hears
the words of God; therefore you do not hear, because you are
Jn 8:47 * not of God.* Hence somewhere else too, while search-
ing for the ears of the heart, he said: He who has ears
Lk 8:8 * to hear, let him hear.* Therefore he does not hear the
Lord’s voice who does not keep in his heart and carry
out in work what he hears. But if someone prefers to
understand here a phrase to be supplied, it will need
to go like this: But if we fulfill the duty of the
dweller, we too shall be dwellers in the same tent
mentioned above.
40
Therefore our hearts and bodies must be got
ready to do military service in holy obedience
to his precepts. As to how our bodies are to be got
ready to do military service, hear the apostle beseech-
ing us. For he says: Therefore I beseech you, brethren,

through the mercy of God, to present your bodies as a liv-
ing sacrifice, holy, pleasing to ºGod, your reasonable service. º CCM 46
And do not be conformed to this world, but be reformed in
the newness of your mind, so that you may discern what is
the good and the acceptable and the perfect will of God.* * Rm 12:1-2
And somewhere else he says: Do not let sin reign in your
mortal body to obey its concupiscences; neither are you to
present your members to sin as instruments of wrongdoing,
but present yourselves to God as those that are living from
the dead, and your members to God as instruments of right-
eousness. Do not let sin rule you.* * Rm 6:12-14
Again, as to how our hearts are to be got ready, the
same apostle says: But I say: Walk by the Spirit and you
will not carry out the desires of the flesh.* Again he says: If * Ga 5:16
we live in the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not
become desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying
one another.* For then are our bodies and hearts made * Ga 5:25-26
ready in the military service of the Lord, if we cast
away dead works, that is, sins—the works of darkness,
the works of the flesh and of darkness—and put on
the armor of light* and the fruits of the Spirit which * Rm 13:12
are the virtues of our souls. Now the works of the
flesh are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, shamelessness,
lechery, idolatry, sorcery; enmities, rivalries, jealousy, [indig-
nant outbursts, provocations], dissensions, factions, [heresies],
envy, bursts of anger, quarrels, killings, drunkenness, orgies
and such like; regarding these things I tell you as I told
you before, that those who do such things will not obtain
the kingdom of God. Now the fruit of the Spirit is charity,
joy, peace, patience, long-suffering, goodness, kindness, faith-
fulness, meekness, [gentleness], self-control, chastity. Against
such there is no law. And those who belong to Christ have
crucified their flesh with its vices and concupiscences.* * Ga 5:19-24
And to the Corinthians he speaks in this way about
the preparation of both heart and body: Let us show
ourselves in all things as God’s servants, in much patience; in
tribulations, necessities, hardships; in beatings, imprisonments,
uprisings; in toils, vigils, fasts; in chastity, knowledge, long-

suffering, gentleness; in the Holy Spirit, unfeigned charity, in
the message of truth, in the power of God; with the arms of
justice on the right hand and on the left; through honor and
disgrace, in ill-repute and good; as misleading and yet telling
the truth, as unknown and yet well-known, as dying and
behold we live, as punished and yet not killed, as sorrowing
and yet always rejoicing, as needy and yet enriching many, as
2 Co 6:4-10 * having nothing and yet possessing all things.*
CCM 47 º º 41And what our nature does not find possible.
By ‘nature’ he means one’s innate character, one’s
acquired character, and one’s keenness of mind. Nature
gets its name from the fact that it causes something to be
born; its domain is birth and making.59 Human nature is
fragile, because it cannot carry through the good it
wants to do unless it has deserved to receive help from
the Lord. Hence the apostle says: For to will lies near at
Rm 7:18 * hand for me, but I do not find the accomplishment.* Hence
here also there aptly follows:
Let us ask the Lord to order his grace to min-
ister help to us. Fulgentius says that the difference
ministrare * between ministering* and providing ministry* lies in
subministrare *
this: that one of them indicates the obedient service of
humility, while the other indicates a sign of abundance
and power, since obedient service is rendered by one
who ministers, but help is liberally dispensed by one
who provides.60
42
And if we wish to escape the pains of Gehenna
and reach everlasting life. Gehenna is a place of fire
and brimstone. Therefore the place of future torment where
sinners are to be tortured is designated by the name of this
place.61 [For] the pain of the damned is twofold: sadness
59. Isid. Etym. XI.1.1; PL 82:397B.

60. Cf. Fulgentius Rusp. Contra Fabianum fragment III.10;
CCSL 91A:770.
61. Isid. Etym. XIV.9.9; PL 82:526B.
burns their mind, and a flame their body. For just as the fire
of the furnace did not burn so as to cause pain to the three
young men, and yet it did burn so as to consume the fetters
binding them, so the fire of Gehenna will both shine for the
wretched so as to increase the punishments, and will not shine
so as to bring joy and consolation.62
43
While there is still time and we are in the body,
and there is time to accomplish all these things
by the light of this life, 44we must run and do
now what will profit us forever. Behold now is the
acceptable time, behold now is the day of salvation.* Let us * 2 Co 6:2
take time and see that the Lord is sweet,* and while * Pss 34:8, 46:10
there is time let us do good in regard to all.* For what * Ga 6:10
a man sows, that also will he reap;* those who in the * Ga 6:8
present life sow in tears will in the future reap in joy.* * Ps 126:5
So we must run not with our feet but with our lives
and conduct, so that we may be able to seek eagerly in
this life what we know to be profitable for us forever,
that is, that we may be able to have the virtues men-
tioned earlier, namely, charity, joy, peace and all the
rest, in the present world, and live together with them
and in return for them in the life to come.
º 45Therefore we must establish a school for º CCM 48
the Lord’s service. A place where adolescents are
accustomed to apply themselves to literary studies and
devote themselves to listening to teachers is called by
the greek word schola. Hence the word ‘school’ means ‘free-
dom from occupation’.* Again in the psalm where we sing: * vacatio
‘Have leisure and see that I am the Lord’,* we have in * Ps 46:10
Greek the word scholazate.63 Therefore just as boys in a
school learn—to the accompaniment of discipline—
what is necessary for them and grasp what may profit
them in the future, so too monks in the school of a
62. Isid. Sent. I.28.1 and 3; PL 83:597B.

63. Bede In 1 Pt 2:18; CCSL 121:241. The translation follows
the practice of the CCM text in giving the greek words used
regular monastery must shrewdly learn both what may

enable them to live uprightly in the present, and what
may make them happy in the future; and they must
effectively put it into practice.
46
In organizing it we hope to establish nothing
harsh, nothing burdensome. The organizing of a
regular life has nothing harsh, nothing burdensome
about it for those who really want it. For my yoke is
Mt 11:30 * sweet, says the Lord, and my burden light.* For the un-
willing and those who want to carry out their own
wills all good things are harsh, all are burdensome.
Organizing means putting in place, setting in order.
47
But should a reason of fairness require a little
strictness. Fairness is truth and the justice of truth;
reason is a certain movement of the spirit sharpening
the mind’s sight and distinguishing the true from the
false. The human mind when it judges right is reason,
when it breathes it is spirit.64
For the amendment of vices. Vices are nothing.
There is a fault when goodness is lacking. For every
nature is a work of God. Works called vices are deeds,
not things, although they are said to do something of
themselves, since the devil has done them and through
them all that he does; and they are said to be con-
demned, since he himself is condemned because of
them, and man is condemned when, tempted by them,
he gives consent by his own free will. And therefore
in the future world there will be no vices, because
they will be condemned in their originator, the devil,
because he, once he is bound in Gehenna, will no
by Smaragdus—usually in quotations from other writers—in

latin letters, except for the four words in greek letters at the be-
ginning of Chapter One, where he quotes from Cassian. See p.
115.
64. Isid. Etym. XI.1.13; PL 82:399B.
longer have the power to do these things in order for

people to sin.65
And the preservation of charity. The greek word
for charity is translated in Latin as attachment* because * dilectio
it binds two persons.66 Hence the apostle says to the
Colossians: Above all things, however, have charity, which
is the bond of perfection.* For attachment† begins from two * Col 3:14
†dilectio
things, that is, love* of God and of ºneighbor.67 For charity * amor
must not be only for a time but continually.68 º CCM 49
And so elsewhere too the apostle Paul says: Before
all things having mutual and continual charity among your-
selves.* For perfect charity perpetually observed in * In fact, 1 P 4:8
regard to God also embraces one’s neighbor with an
eternal love.
48
Do not be forthwith daunted by fear and run
away from the way of salvation. As it is written:
For he who puts his hand to the plough and looks
back will not be fit for the kingdom of heaven.* In the * Lk 9:62
law the fearful are not admitted to battle, lest they per-
ish in their fear, and cause others to be afraid as well.* * Dt 20:8
For it is not the one who begins but the one who
perseveres who will be saved.* No one serving God as a * Mt 10:22,
RB 7.36
soldier, says the apostle, involves himself in worldly matters,
so that he may please him to whom he has engaged himself.* * 2 Tm 2:4
For even he who fights in the contest is not crowned
unless he fights lawfully.
Which must needs be narrow at the begin-
ning. Strait and narrow is the way that leads to life;
wide and spacious that which leads to death.* But the * Mt 7:14
Lord says to the disciples: Strive to enter through the nar-
row gate.* For we must enter the kingdom of heaven * Lk 13:24
through many tribulations.* * Ac 14:21
65. See Chapter 2.40, pp. 152–153.

66. Isid. Etym. VIII.2.6; PL 82:296AB.
67. Ibid.; PL 296B.
68. Cf. Smar. Via reg. 1; PL 102:936B.
49
But by progress in the monastic way of life
and in faith. By progress in the monastic way
of life means an increase in virtue and the advance
of the soul; in these a monk ought daily to be grow-
ing and increasing. Thus the apostle as he prays for us
says: We pray that you may walk worthily of God, being
pleasing in every way, bearing fruit and growing in every
Col 1:10 * good work.* Each day the monk, new and made new,
ought to grow from virtue to virtue, and forgetting
what lies behind stretch out towards what lies ahead,
until he reaches the appointed prize of the heavenly
Ph 3:13-14 * call of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.* The words of
the apostles show us that it is faith that brings about
progress in a person, that is, growth and advance, when
Lk 17:5 * they say to the Lord: Lord, increase our faith.* Faith is
the confession of the divinity and the solid foundation
of religion; faith is a readiness to believe by which we
acknowledge God, the worship and religion we show
him when we believe. It is called faith because it is that
which is agreed between each of two parties, as it were be-
tween God and man. It is properly called faith when that is
believed which is not yet seen. For we can no longer believe
what we see.69
CCM 50 º º With heart enlarged. He says with heart en-
larged, that is, made big and spacious, because the
more a man advances in the service of God, the hap-
pier he is to strive to grow in the full observance of
his precepts, as the psalmist says: I ran the way of your
Ps 119:32 * commandments, while you were enlarging my heart.*
With ineffable sweetness of love. The ineffable
sweetness is that of which the psalmist says: How great
is the abundance of your sweetness, O Lord, which you have
hidden for those who fear you, and perfected for those who
Ps 31:19 * hope in you.* The apostle also calls this ineffable when
he says: What eye has not seen nor ear heard, neither has it
69. Isid. Etym. VIII.2.4; PL 82:296A.

entered into the heart of man, what things God has prepared
for those who love him.* * 1 Co 2:9
We run the way of God’s commandments. As
was said above from the psalm: I ran the way of your
commandments, while you were enlarging my heart.* For * Ps 119:32
the apostle also says: So run that you may take hold [of
the prize].* Here he does not mean the running done * 1 Co 9:24
with the feet, but our moral conduct. To walk from
virtue to virtue until one sees the God of gods in
Zion,* this is what it means for the soul to run. But * Ps 84:7
so that this running may be free from encumbrance
the body has to be chastised, as the same apostle says:
Therefore I so run, not as at something uncertain; I so fight,
not as one beating the air; but I chastise my body and bring
it into subjection, lest perhaps when I have preached to oth-
ers I myself should become a reprobate.* And somewhere * 1 Co 9:26-27
else the apostle says: I have fought the good fight, I have
completed the course, I have kept the faith; for the rest, there
is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord the
just judge will give me on that day.* * 2 Tm 4:7-8
50
So that never departing from his teaching. He
says from his, that is, God’s teaching, that is, his doc-
trine and instruction. Persevering in his doctrine
in the monastery until death.* For it is not he who * Cf. Ac 2:42
begins but he who perseveres who will be saved.* * Mt 10:22,
A monastery can also be called the dwelling of one RB 7.36
monk. Amongst the Greeks a man on his own is called
mono; a station or position is called sterium.Therefore a
solitary’s dwelling can be called a monasterium.70
Let us share by patience in the sufferings of
Christ. The apostle Peter says: Christ suffered for us,
º CCM 51
leaving us an example that we may ºfollow his footsteps.* * 1 P 2:21
Let us share by patience, he says, because patience
is considered necessary in sufferings. For he was so
patient on our behalf in his passion that he was led
70. Cf. Isid. Etym. XV.4.5; PL 82:544B.

like a meek lamb to the slaughter and did not open

Is 53:7, Jr 11:19 * his mouth.* Let us share, he says, that is, let us be
associates. That we may deserve to be sharers in
his kingdom as well. Sharers, he says, that is, part-
consors * ners, heirs and partakers. A sharer* is someone who joins
sors * himself by lot,* just as a person in concord* is someone who
concors *
cor * joins himself in heart.*71 He is called a sharer because to him
belongs a part of the goods. For the ancients used the word
‘lot’ for a portion.72
For if we are sons, we shall be heirs as well; but if
Rm 8:17 heirs, without doubt we shall also be sharers. Amen.*
71. Ibid. X.37; PL 371C.

72. Ibid. X.51; PL 372C.
Chapters of the rule
º º CCM 52
1 on the kinds of monks and the life of monks

2 what kind of man the abbot should be
3 on summoning the brothers for counsel
4 what are the instruments of good works
5 on the obedience of the disciples
6 on reserve in speech
7 on humility
8 on the divine office at night
9 how many psalms are to be said at the night
hours
10 how the night office is to be celebrated in
summer
11 how vigils are to be celebrated on sundays
12 how lauds are to be solemnized
13 how lauds are to be celebrated on ordinary
days
14 how vigils are to be celebrated on the birth-
days of saints
15 at what seasons alleluia is to be said
16 how the divine offices are to be celebrated
during the day
17 how many psalms are to be said at these hours
18 in what order the psalms are to be said
19 on the discipline of performing the psalmody
20 on reverence in prayer
21 what kind of men the deans of the monastery
should be
22 how the monks are to sleep
23 on excommunication for faults
24 what the manner of excommunication should
be
25 on graver faults
26 on those who without the abbot’s leave
associate with the excommunicated
111
27 in what way the abbot must be solicitous for

the excommunicated
28 concerning those who though frequently
reproved do not amend
29 whether brothers who leave the monastery
are to be received again
CCM 53 º 30 how younger boys are to be reprovedº
31 what kind of man the cellarer of the monas-
tery should be
32 on the tools and property of the monastery
33 whether a monk should have anything of his
own
34 whether all should receive in equal measure
what is necessary
35 on the kitchen servers of the week
36 on sick brothers
37 on old men and children
38 on the weekly reader and on silence at table
apart from the reader or superior
39 on the measure of food
40 on the measure of drink
41 at what hours the brothers should take
their meals
42 that no one is to speak after compline, but
after supper all are to come together to
listen to reading
43 on those who come late to the work of god
and to table, and who presume to eat any-
thing before or after the appointed hour, or
will not accept what is offered by the
superior
44 how the excommunicated are to make satis-
faction, and what they must beware of
45 on those who make mistakes in the oratory
46 on those who offend in anything for light
reasons
Chapters of the Rule 113
47 on signifying the hour for the work of god,

and on intoning psalms and antiphons, and on
singing the psalms and reading at the abbot’s
order
48 on the daily manual work and on the hours
allowed for the brothers’ reading and rest
49 on the observance of lent and on increasing
one’s private devotions with the abbot’s leave
50 on brothers who are working far from the
oratory or are on a journey
51 on brothers who do not go very far
52 on the oratory of the monastery
53 on receiving guests, on the kitchen of the
abbot and guests, and on the cooks for the
year
54 that a monk should not receive letters or
gifts
55 on the clothing and footwear of the broth-
ers, on the bedding to be provided and on
examining the beds, and on all the necessary
things the abbot must give the monks
º 56 on the abbot’s table º CCM 54
57 on the craftsmen of the monastery
58 on the procedure for receiving novice
brothers
59 on the sons of nobles or of the poor who
are offered in the monastery
60 on priests who wish to dwell in the monas-
tery, and on clerics
61 how pilgrim monks are to be received
62 on the priests of the monastery
63 on community order, on various forms of
address, and on boys, who are to be kept
under discipline by all
64 on appointing the abbot, on the knowledge
the bishop of the place has concerning the
unsuitable election of an unworthy man, and
on the life and teaching of the one consti-

tuted abbot
65 on the prior
66 on the porters of the monastery, on the
various crafts to be exercised within the
monastery, and on the frequent reading of
this rule
67 on brothers sent on a journey, and on the
punishment of those who bring in news from
outside and who presume anything without
the abbot’s order
68 if impossible things are enjoined on a brother
69 that in the monastery one monk should not
presume to defend another
70 that no one presume to strike another at
random
71 that the brothers be obedient to one an-
other
72 of the good zeal which monks must have
73 that the observance of all justice is not laid
down in this rule
it is called a rule because it directs the be-
havior of obedient men.
It is called a rule, as blessed Benedict says, because it

directs the behavior of obedient men. But others say
it is called a rule because it leads people in the right way
and never draws them in some other direction; or because it
guides and provides a norm for right living and corrects what
is distorted and crooked.1
1. Isid. Etym. VI.16.1; PL 82:243A.

CHAPTER 1
ON THE FOUR KINDS OF

MONKS
º It is clear that there are four kinds of monks. º CCM 55

In greek etymology the monk is so called because he is single.1
In the books of the Conferences we read:
Monks* are so named from the strictness of their * monacoi or

monazonte~
single and solitary life. Accordingly, as a result of
their coming together in community they were called
cenobites,* and their cells and dwellings were called *koinobiwtai
cenobia.* So this was the only and the earliest kind *koinobia
of monks; it was first not only in time but also in
grace, and it lasted as the only form for many years
till the age of the Abbots Paul and Antony. Even
now we can still discern traces of it in strict cenobia.2
And so the discipline of the cenobites had its origin
from the time of the preaching of the apostles. For
such was that whole multitude of believers in Jeru-
salem, which is described in this way in the Acts of
the Apostles: ‘Now the multitude of believers had
one heart and soul; and no one said that anything
he owned was his, but everything was common to
them’.* They sold their possessions and their prop- * Ac 4:32
erty and divided them for all ‘as each one had
need’.* The whole Church, I say, was then of such * Ac 4:34-35
a quality as it is now difficult to find even a few
people in cenobia.3
The first [is that] of the cenobites. You must

2
understand the word ‘first’ here as referring not to
1. Isid. Etym. VII.13.1; PL 82:293B.

2. Cassian. Conl. XVIII.5.4; CSEL 13:511.
3. Ibid. 5.1-2; CSEL 13:509-510.
115
order in time but to the greatness of the grace involved;

cenobites are the kind of monks we can call those
CCM 56 º who ºlive in community.4 A cenobium is a monastery
consisting of quite a lot of men, that is, of men living in
community; the name seems to come from Greek and
Latin. Coenon is the greek word for common.5 From this
number of the mature and, so to say, from this most fruitful root
the flowers and fruits of holy anchorites, too, were afterwards
produced. We know that the pioneers of this form of life were
those we mentioned a short while ago, that is, the holy Paul
and Antony. Unlike certain ones, they sought out secret places
of solitude, not because they were faint-hearted or were suffering
from the sickness of impatience, but because they had a desire
for progress to a higher level and for divine contemplation.6
Doing military service under a rule and an
abbot. He says Doing military service, because
Jb 7:1 * human life on earth is a warfare; *as it is written elsewhere
also: My child, when you come to serve God, prepare your
Si 2:1 * soul for temptation.* Having taken our place in this
military service, we must beseech the Lord insistently
with the prophet saying: O Lord, judge those who hurt
me, fight those who attack me. Take up your weapons and
Ps 35:1-2 * shield, and rise to help me.*
3
The second kind is that of the anchorites, that
anachorisis * is, hermits. A being alone or going apart* is called
heremus * in Greek a desert.* Anchorites are the kind of monks
who after [living] the life of cenobites seek desert places, and
because they have withdrawn far from humans7 are called
by a name signifying that. Therefore anchorites can be
interpreted as those who go apart.8
4. Cf. Isid. Etym. VII.13.2; PL 82:293C.

5. Cf. ibid. XV.4.6; PL 82:544B.
6. Cassian, Conl. XVIII.6.1; CSEL 13:511.
7. Isid. Etym. VII.13.3; PL 82:293C.
8. Cf. Cassian Conl. XVIII.6.2; CSEL 13:511.
On the Four Kinds of Monks 117
Those who not in the first fervor of embracing

monastic life. A novice, compelled by the fervor of
compunction, promises to observe all the precepts of
the rule. But since it is proper to humans to plan their
ways, and it belongs to the Lord to direct their steps,* * Ps 119:5, 133
people do not know whether they will reach the goal
of perfection.
But by long testing in the monastery. Long,
he says, that is, proved during many seasons and days.
For just as gold is tested by being heated in a furnace
of fire,* so a good monk is proved by enduring * Si 2:5
tribulation in the enclosure of the monastery and in
regular discipline, so that as gold that has been tested
is fashioned into a king’s crown, so the monk who
has been well tested may be fashioned into a crown
of Christ ºthe true king. As it is written concerning º CCM 57
the person of the true king himself: Like a bridegroom
he has adorned me with a crown.* For all the elect are * Is 61:10
Christ’s crown, amongst whom are numbered well-
tested monks.
4
Those who have already been taught by the
aid of many, and have learnt to fight against the
devil. Just as in the wrestling matches of this world a
person is not crowned without a struggle or a contest,
so too in a spiritual way of life and in a holy resolve no
one can, without a struggle, receive an unfading crown* * 1 P 5:4
or become an heir of eternal life.* Accomplished * 1 P 3:22
athletes are always found to be in the contest without
any fear, and to have great alacrity. In this way therefore
both the most accomplished combatants and the most
self-disciplined monks engage in the contest with the
happiness of paradise always before their eyes, waiting
to enjoy its delights, waiting for the good things
that have been promised, and for immortal ages and
everlasting light. If you wish to be a contestant in the
struggle* and to finish up a winner,† clothe yourself * 2 Tm 2:5
with God’s armor as a garment, that is, with the shield † Nb 21:1
of faith, with the helmet of salvation and all the other

Eph things commanded by the apostle.*
6:11.13.16.17 *
5
And well drawn up they go forth from the
battle-line of the brotherhood to the single
combat of the desert; secure now, without the
consolation of another, they are able to fight
by God’s help with only their own hand and
arm against the vices of the flesh and of their
thoughts. The battle-line is the line of soldiers drawn
up to wage war against the devil, and only this kind of
monk leaves the battle-line to fight. It is called fight-
pugna * ing* because originally in a war people began to battle
pugnis * with their fists.* 9 For no one will be crowned without
2 Tm 2:5 * a contest;* nor does God’s grace desert any if they
fight against the vices of the flesh with alacrity and
good will. Now the vices of the flesh are known to all,
as the apostle says: Now the works of the flesh are manifest,
Ga 5:19 * and they are: fornication, uncleanness,* and the rest as they
have already been stated. Thus he said against the
vices of the flesh and of their thoughts, as if to
say, against vices involving external behavior and those
of desires. Now sometimes the vices are at first in one’s
thinking, and afterwards come forth in one’s action;
but sometimes they are only in one’s thinking, and do
not find expression in one’s action. Thus the ruptured
man, too, is prohibited in the law from offering loaves
Lv 21:17 * to the Lord.* By a ruptured man is meant one who
does not shamefully practice the vices externally, but is
frequently defiled by them in his mind. And although
CCM 58 º he does not actually ºperform the wicked deed, yet he
harbors base vices in his thinking.10
Against these vices the monk fights with only
[his] hand and arm, because by his own strength
and working—signified by arm and hand—without
9. Cf. Isid. Etym. XVIII.1.10; PL 82:641A.

10. Cf. Greg. Reg. past. I.11; PL 77:26B. Ponderosus is translated
by Davis (ACW 11:44) as ‘ruptured’ .
118
the brothers’ support and with only the Lord’s help he

emerges as the victor in the desert.
6
But the third kind of monks is the detestable
kind called Sarabaites. ‘Detestable’* means ‘very * teterrimum
dark’, ‘very obscure’, ‘horrible, uncivilized and wild’.
For the ancients used this word of a person who was
exceedingly wild.11 ‘Sarabaites’ means ‘those who re-
fuse’,12 because they refuse to follow the examples and
teaching of the seniors.
For there emerged this detestable and unfaithful kind of
monks, or rather that noxious plant returned to life and grew
strong which sprang up in the beginning of the Church through
Ananias and Sapphira, and was cut down by the severity of the
apostle Peter.* Among monks this plant was considered quite * Ac 5:1-5
detestable and execrable; their example was not followed by
anyone as long as the fear of their very strict sentence remained
lodged in the memory of the faithful. With this sentence the
blessed apostle did not suffer the aforesaid originators of a new
crime to be cured by penance or by any satisfaction, but by a
swift death he cut down a most pernicious growth.13
They have not been tested by a rule—with
experience teaching them—like gold in the
furnace.* Experience means knowledge and learning * Pr 27:21
derived from actually enduring things. They have not
been tested by a rule, he says, that is, they have not
gained experience or been instructed by having a rule
examine them.The lives of all those who live uprightly
are no doubt called rules; the Sarabaites do not imitate
their example so as to have life, but being corrupted in
their own pleasures they are undone, and so perish.They
are not tried like gold by regular discipline, but in their
desires grow soft as lead. Hence there also follows:
11. Cf. Isid. Etym. X.270; PL 82:396A.

12. Cf. Isid. Offic. II.16.9; PL 83:799A; and Ben. Anian. Conc.
3.6; PL 103:749B.
13. Cassian Conl. XVIII.7.1; CSEL 13:513.
119
But they have become soft like lead. Gold

is placed in the furnace and receives strength and
brightness; so also the honest monk is placed in the
oven of the rule and receives strength to bear adversities
with equanimity, and brightness to show the example
of good works to all. But lead put into the fire grows
soft and melts and is lost; so too the spurious monk
when subjected to the discipline of a rule grows
lukewarm and perishes. About the former it is said: The
Ws 3:6 * Lord tested him like gold in the furnace;* but about the
CCM 59 º latter the Lord says: Because you are ºlukewarm, I shall
Rv 3:16 * begin to vomit you from my mouth.* The one has received
the brightness of gold and goes up to heaven to reign
with Christ; the other, become soft as lead, goes down
to the nether world to be tortured with the devil;
the one, increased by virtues, grows into something
better, while the other, grown lukewarm, deteriorates
into something worse; the one grows strong in sacred
virtues, the other grows lukewarm from the cares of
the world; the one truthfully bears the name of monk,
the other bears both the name and the tonsure of a
false monk. Hence there also follows:
7
Still keeping faith with the world by their works,
they are known by their tonsure to lie to God.
He keeps faith with the world who though wearing
the habit of a monk does not cease to do what he did
while still a secular. What else does it mean, to keep
faith with the world, except that a monk does in the
monastery what he did in the world while still wearing
secular dress? He keeps faith with the world because
he does not cease to do its will; he keeps faith with
the world because he does not separate himself from it
either by desire or thought or deed, but only through
the tonsure and the religious habit he lies to God,
claiming to be his servant. By the habit he wears and
the religious life he has professed he seems exteriorly,
to those who do not know him, to be a monk; but to
those who do know him his works prove that he has

told a lie to the Lord. For the Lord says of such men:
You will see them in sheep’s clothes, but inwardly they are
ravening wolves; by their fruits you shall know them.* * Mt 7:15-16
8
They go about in twos or threes or even singly,
without a shepherd, shut up in their own and
not in the Lord’s sheepfold; for a law they have
the pleasure of their desires. Without a shep-
herd, he says, that is, without an abbot, who in the
monastery is seen to take the place of Christ* who * RB 2.2
said: I am the good shepherd who feed my sheep, and I
know mine and mine know me.* And because they do not * Jn 10:14
have a shepherd, they remain shut up, not in the Lord’s
but in their own sheepfolds. The Lord’s sheepfolds are
monasteries of holy monks, who are rightly ruled by
the supreme shepherd, Christ, and are put in a place
where there is pasture.* But these men are neither * Ps 23:2
ruled nor pastured by him; fulfilling their own desires,
they basely abide in their own sheepfolds. There they
regard as lawful everything they do, and fulfilling the
desires of their pleasures they do everything whatso-
ever that they wish. Hence there is also added:
9
Since whatever they think or choose they call
holy, and what they do not want they regard as
unlawful. He said, Whatever they think, not what-
ever they have tested by the authority of the divine
Scriptures and the examples of the Fathers.They break
their fast with whomsoever they wish, and say: It is a
good and holy thing to break the fast for the sake of a
guest. But they tell those to whom they are reluctant
to show kindness: ºWe are not allowed to break our º CCM 60
fast today. They think otherwise in their hearts, and
choose in their mind to live a solitary life rather than
remain with others under regular discipline, saying: It
is a holier thing to serve God with a quiet mind and
in secret than either to impose regular discipline on
others or to accept it when it is imposed by others, not

realizing that it is written: Woe to the man on his own,
* Qo 4:10 because he has no one to lift him when he falls.*
There are many dangers very near for the solitary.
In the first place he pleases himself in all his deeds,
and has no one else to test his work; then he does not
know what vices abound in him and what virtues he
lacks; he has no one with whom he may test his hu-
mility, he does not pay obedience to a brother, he does
not show patience in injuries.Therefore it is better for
a monk to live in a monastery under the discipline of one
father and in company with many, and to learn humility
from one, patience from another; one may teach him silence,
another meekness; not to do what he wishes, to eat what he
is told, to have as much as he receives, to discharge the burden
of his work, to be subject to one he does not wish to be subject
to; to come weary to his mattress, to fall asleep while walking,
to be compelled to rise with his sleep still unfinished, and
after suffering an injury to keep silence.14
10
The fourth kind of monks are those called
Gyrovagues. They spend their whole lives on
the move through various provinces, staying as
guests three or four days in different monaster-
ies, 11always wandering and never stable. Gyro
means ‘a circuit’, ‘a going around’. Therefore that per-
son is to be called a gyrovague who is a rover, a wan-
derer, who goes around the cells and houses of others.
They are also called by another name, circilliones; under
the guise of monks they wander hither and thither, spreading
a venal sort of hypocrisy, going around the provinces, not sent
or established anywhere; they do not remain standing or sit-
ting anywhere,15 but always and everywhere:
14. Ben. Anian. Conc. 3.4 (PL 103:743A); cf. Hier. Ep 125.15.2
(CSEL 56:133-134).
15. Isid. Offic. II.16.7 (PL 83:796B-797A); and Ben Anian.
Conc. 3.6 (PL 103:748A).
What Kind of Man the Abbot Should Be 123
Slaves to their own wills and the allurements

of gluttony. The allurements referred to are delights
that are unlawful, wanton, voluptuous or most base;
a soft and dissolute monk is frequently entangled in
these.
12
And since these are in every way worse than
the Sarabaites, we have judged it better to be silent
rather than to speak about their most wretched
life.16
16. Smaragdus adapts the wording of RB 1.12 and the last

phrase of v. 11 to round off this chapter, omitting v. 13: His ergo
omissis, ad coenobitarum fortissimum genus disponendum, adiuvante
Domino, veniamus.
º CHAPTER 2 º CCM 61
WHAT KIND OF MAN

THE ABBOT SHOULD BE
Wishing to show in the following what characterizes

a good shepherd, blessed Benedict first asked, What
kind of man should the abbot be? The positive
answer to this must be: A good person, certainly, and
such as the apostle describes when he says: Without
reproach, as a servant of God, not proud, not given to anger
or to wine or to physical violence, not desirous of base gain,
but hospitable, kind, sober, just, holy, continent, so that he
may be able both to exhort by sound doctrine and to refute
those who contradict.* Precisely this kind of man, no * Tt 1:7-9
doubt, must 1an abbot be who is worthy to rule
over a monastery, and he must always remember

what he is called. For he is said to be, and is called,
abbot, that is, father. If he is a father, let him nurture
his sons, that is his monks, like a father; let him love
them in a fatherly way and, when necessary, chastise,
2 Tm 4:2 * reprove, beseech* and reproachfully reprimand them
in a fatherly way. And if from necessity he employs the
cautery of excommunication and beating with rods,
let him do this not in a spirit of hatred but in a fatherly
way, not for vengeance’ sake but out of love for justice.
Dt 16:20 * For it is written: You shall accomplish justly what is just.*
Ps 11:7 * And because the just Lord loves justice,* the abbot
RB 2.2 & * who is seen to take his place in the monastery* must
63.13 love justice.
And by his deeds fulfill the name of superior.
For many abbots are glad to have the name of superior,
that is, of abbot, but they are afraid to undertake the
labor and sweat involved.They seek temporal glory, but
not to carry out the hard work of their mandate; and
if it does happen that they utter a word of exhortation
for the brothers, they do it from vain glory, not for an
eternal reward. Therefore he who wishes to have the
name of superior above the rest, must toil in good
works above the rest. For the hearers of the law are not just
Rm 2:13 * in God’s sight, but the doers of the law will be justified.*
2
For he is believed to take the place of Christ in
the monastery, when he is called by a name of
his, 3as the apostle says: You have received the spirit
Rm 8:15 * of adoption of sons, in which we cry Abba, Father.* For
the abbot takes the place of Christ in the monastery
when he rules the flock entrusted to him providently
and justly; when he rightly arranges what needs ar-
ranging, exercises moderation in doing what needs
CCM 62 º ºdoing, and teaches in a Catholic way what needs to
be taught; when he toils at what needs to be worked
at, judges with discretion what needs to be judged, and
mercifully relaxes what needs to be relaxed; when he
binds together in the love of charity the whole flock

entrusted to him, and loves them all as a father does
his only son. And then as he acts justly and reasonably
in the name of Christ he is called by all as by sons,
Abba, father.
4
And therefore the abbot must not—God for-
bid—teach or establish or order anything outside
the Lord’s precept. All teaching is imparted in two
ways, namely, by words and by examples, as the same
blessed Benedict says in what follows: When anyone
receives the name of abbot, he must preside over
his disciples with a twofold teaching.* Therefore * RB 2.11
the abbot must not teach anything in this two-
fold teaching that is outside the Lord’s precept.
For the whole of the divine Scriptures is packed with
the examples of the fathers and is full of the words of
teachers. Therefore he must not teach anything that
is outside the Lord’s precept, but his teaching must
agree most accurately with the Lord’s precept. For he
must receive from the Lord’s precepts the things about
which he wishes to teach his disciples.
Or establish. To establish means ‘to limit’ or ‘to
determine a measure’; this must not be done by the
abbot outside the Lord’s precept. For the measure
and limit established by abbots must be in every respect
according to the Lord’s precept, in case it plunges those
of lax lives into the snare, or drives those made to
abstain excessively to harmful murmuring. Therefore
what the abbot establishes must serve to fix their steps
straight and firm in the king’s way, so that he may not
suffer their loss by defection through overdriving his
flock.* On the other hand, if he should nurture it with * RB 64.18
less strictness than is fitting, it may through riotous
living slide into hell.
Or order. To order means ‘to issue precepts or
commands’, and this must not be done by the abbot
outside the Lord’s precept. For if in issuing precepts
he commands his disciples what is according to the

Lord’s precepts, he will receive thanks from them and
an everlasting reward from the Lord as well. But if his
commands and precepts involve what is outside the
Lord’s precept, he brings both harm to his disciples
and loss to his own soul. And therefore he must
not either teach or establish or order anything
that is outside the Lord’s precept.
5
But let what he orders and teaches be spread
about in the minds of his disciples as a leaven
fermentum * of divine justice. The latin word for leaven* came
from fervor.1 In this place it signifies the love of char-
ity, which makes the minds of the disciples fervent for,
CCM 63 º and stirs them ºto the love of divine justice, until it
brings them to such perfect love that their wish is to
love nothing apart from their Creator. Therefore the
abbot’s orders and teaching should spread around the
leaven of charity in the minds of the monks, so that
they may savor nothing earthly, love nothing vain and
covet nothing destined to decay, but always loving and
holding fast divine justice, may hasten to ascend to
their Redeemer and to the fatherland on high.
6
The abbot should always be mindful that in
the dread judgment of God an examination will
have to be made of each of two things: of his
teaching, and of his disciples’ obedience. These
words do not require explanation, but rather they in-
spire in abbots and monks a very deep trepidation.
In the dread judgment of God there will be an ex-
amination of the abbot’s teaching as to whether he has
taught the mystery of the Holy Trinity with fidelity
to the dogma, and whether he has himself first ful-
filled what in keeping with the Lord’s precept he has
ordered his disciples to do, and has first corrected in
himself what he has found fault with and amended
1. Cf. Isid. Etym. XX.2.19; PL 82:709A.
in others. On that dread day an examination will be

held of the disciples’ obedience, whether following
the Lord’s footsteps they have humbled themselves
under the hand of their abbot,* becoming obedient * Cf. 1 P 5:6
even unto death,*, and have obediently carried out for * Ph 2:8
love of Christ all that has been commanded them by
their abbot; whether they have from the heart obeyed
their abbot as though obeying Christ, whose place the
abbot takes in the monastery, for it is written: He who
hears you hears me,* and: Children, be obedient to your * Lk 10:16
parents in the Lord.* * Eph 6:1
7
And let the abbot know that whatever the
father of the household may find unprofitable in
the sheep is laid to the blame of the shepherd.
Abbots would have had reason to dread this sentence
very much if it had not been appropriately tempered
by the next sentence, where he says:
8
Just as much again will he be, that is, to that
extent will he be free from blame, if all the shepherd’s
diligence has been bestowed on a restless and
disobedient flock, and total care shown towards
their diseased behavior. An abbot bestows all
diligence on his monks when he forms them in holy
behavior and instructs them with suitable words and
holy works. He shows total care when as far as he can
he ministers to them what is necessary for their souls
and bodies. He shows them diligence and care at the
same time when he adorns them interiorly with holy
virtues, and discreetly governs them exteriorly with
the monastery’s property; when he does not abandon
interior care for exterior things, nor leave aside foresight
for the exterior on the grounds of solicitude for the
ºinterior, but being moderate in both, he shows them º CCM 64
diligence for their souls and care for their bodies.
9
Their shepherd being absolved in the Lord’s
judgment may say to the Lord with the prophet:
I have not hidden your justice in my heart. I have de-

Ps 40:10 * clared your truth and your salvation.* For the abbot’s
will must be such that when he can be of benefit he
does not cease from preaching the word. For he has
a duty to show the glory of the fatherland on high
through the word of preaching, to reveal how great
are the temptations of the ancient enemy hidden on
the journey of this life, and gently, yet with the great
sharpness of zeal, to correct the evils of his subjects
which he must not tolerate, so that he himself may
not be held guilty of everyone’s faults through failing
to blaze out against them. But the abbot’s very words,
which are uttered for the sake of justice, truth and
salvation, must at times rebuke his subjects’ vices more
severely, at times reprove them gently, and he must
by subtle searching discern what he is to say, and to
whom, when and in what way, and impose judgment
on each according to the measure of fault, but with
discretion and tranquillity of mind.The abbot must be
as the apostle Paul says: Able to exhort in sound doctrine,
Tit 1:9 * and to refute those who contradict.* For the key that opens
is the word of correction, because by rebuking he uncovers the
fault, of which often even the perpetrator is unaware.2 For
there are very many monks who through ignorance do
not cease to commit faults, and so they do not bewail
those they have committed, but instead they despise
and insolently rise up against the one who corrects
them, and boldly spurn their abbot’s admonition.
Is 1:2, *
Concerning these there is added: But they have
Ezk 20:27 disdained and spurned me.* For bad monks disdain
and spurn their good abbot when they do not humbly
obey his precepts, when they do not keep his salutary
commands like the humble, but like the proud even
find fault with them; when they despise what they
are ordered to carry out, and shamelessly strive to do
what they are not ordered; when in doing their work
2. Greg. Reg. past. II.4; PL 77:30D.

they become lazy, tepid and even slothful, and in their

deeds become both murmurers and complainers. For
subjects must serve their abbot as members the head,
and with the utmost love keep his precepts as though
they were a command of the Lord; they should ascribe
his correction and upbraiding to their own negligences,
not find fault with the abbot’s severity or discipline.
10
And then at last let death itself as it prevails
be the penalty for the disobedient sheep in his
care. Death itself, that is to say, which prevailed in
paradise over the first disobedient humans, itself now
at last ºprevails every day in the world over disobedi- º CCM 65
ent monks. For Adam and Eve through disobedience
abandoned the Lord’s precepts in paradise, and then
for the first time the penalty of eternal death prevailed
powerfully over them. But our Lord Jesus Christ, who
said through his prophet: O death, I shall be your death,* * Hos 13:14
emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, and became obe-
dient even unto death,* destroyed the power of death and * Ph 2:7-8
mercifully eliminated it from the hearts of the obe-
dient, and completely extinguished this penalty. But
now at last for the disobedient sheep, that is, for
those monks who, abandoning their abbot’s, or rather
the Lord and Savior’s precepts, try to fulfill their own
desires, let death itself as it prevails be the pen-
alty, so that it may rightly be said of them: They were
put like sheep in hell, and death pastures them.* Those * Ps 49:14
who disdain the precepts of a good master deservedly
receive such a reward.
11
Therefore when anyone receives the name of
abbot, he should preside over his disciples with a
twofold teaching, 12that is, let him show all that
is good and holy by his deeds more than by his
words. For all who preside are the head of those sub-
ject to them, and in order that the feet may be able to
pick the right paths the head must first no doubt make
his way through these. For the abbot who preaches in

words to his subjects must needs show them by his liv-
ing the footprints of good deeds, and when he utters
words of holy preaching he must first arouse himself
by his zeal for good deeds, must always first perform
sublime deeds, and then make others solicitous for liv-
ing a good life; he must first pay strict attention and
correct himself, and then by speaking regulate others’
lives; he must take care first to punish with tears his
own crimes, and then denounce the crimes of others
that need punishment; and before he grows loud with
words of exhortation, he must loudly proclaim by his
works all that he is going to speak about. A voice more
readily penetrates the hearers’ heart when the speaker’s
life commends it, because his example helps the doing
of what he commands by speaking.
To propose the Lord’s commands in words
to the disciples as being capable. ‘He must’ is
understood. For he put the adverb ut [‘as being’] here
instead of the conjunction et [‘and’]. Capable, he said,
that is, with good memories, apt and intelligent, who
quickly grasp what they hear from their teachers, keep
it in their memory and fulfill it in their works. To
propose, he said, that is, to lay before them, because
what capable and simple disciples first hear with lively
understanding concerning the Lord’s precepts, they
afterwards strive shrewdly to fulfill.
CCM 66 º º But to the hard of heart* and the more
Is 46:12 *
simple. To the hard of heart, he says, that is, the
contumacious, rigid and incorrigible; moreover to
the more simple, the illiterate and those who have
practically no memory and understanding when it
comes to the divine Scriptures. To show the divine
precepts by his deeds. Therefore that person must, as
blessed Gregory says,
preside over the rest so as to provide an example of

good living, who dying to all the passions of the
flesh is now living spiritually. He has disregarded

the favors of the world, dreads no adversity, desires
only interior things, and is not led to covet the be-
longings of others but generously gives away his
own; he does not perform anything unlawful but
deplores what others do amiss as though it were his
own doing, and in this way in everything he does
wins acceptance with everyone else as being worthy
of imitation;3
he takes care to live in such a way that he can show

his monks a good example in his whole life, himself
first sheds the tears that he wants his hearers to shed,
and thus sets them on fire with the compunction of
his own heart; and just as he surpasses in honor his
good-living subjects, let him also transcend them by
his deeds and by his life. Hence there also follows:
13
All that he has taught to be contrary to his
disciples, he is to show by his deeds that it is not
to be done. He teaches that overeating, drunken-
ness and the cares of this world, and likewise all vices
and sins are contrary to his disciples; from all of these
he must first withhold himself, and then he may by
words and deeds teach others to abstain from them.
For this purpose is the abbot elected: not to cancel
out what he says by what he does. The person who is
chosen to correct the faults of others must beware not
to commit what others should find worthy of blame.
One who does not know how to show the way to
others by good living ought not receive the office
of preacher. First then let the abbot be a complete
stranger to crooked works, and so keep others in order
with firm authority. For the hand that aims to wash away
the filth that is on others must be at pains to be clean itself,
in case it causes greater defilement in everything it touches
by proceeding against what is defiled while itself clutching
3. Ibid. I.10; PL 23AB.

mud. Hence it is said through the prophet: ‘Make yourselves

Is 52:11 * clean, you who bear the vessels of the Lord’* [Abbots] in-
deed bear the vessels of the Lord; they have undertaken to
lead the souls of their neighbors right through into the inner
holy places, in reliance on their monastic way of life. Let them
therefore consider in themselves how much they ought to be
cleansed who carry living vessels to the temple of eternity in
the bosom of their own solemn promise.4
Therefore what the abbot preaches as not to be
done, he himself is not to do, and what he preaches
CCM 67 º as to be done, he himself must first carry out. º Lest
while preaching to others he himself be found
1 Co 9:27 * reprobate.* While preaching to others the
preacher is himself found reprobate when he says one
thing and does another, practices one thing in words
but something else in works. For what he preaches
to others as having to be done, he himself becomes
lazy in practicing. By his word he shows the way of
uprightness, but he neglects to walk by it. He preaches
to others the need to hold to the way of justice, while
he himself is not willing to subject himself to salutary
discipline. What follows is very fitting for him:
14
Why do you declare my justices and take my cove-
Ps 50:16 * nant to yourself with your mouth?* This pertains to
everyone who preaches to others and does not himself
practice what he preaches. For the mouth that dares
to declare the justices of the Lord, and to take to itself
his holy covenant, must be just. He who neglects to
practice what he preaches, and does not cease to do
what he judges ought not to be done, must not declare
the Lord’s justices, or take to himself the most sacred
covenant as one whose duty it is to preach. For it is
Si 15:9 * written: Praise in a sinner’s mouth is unseemly.*
But you hate discipline and have cast my words
Ps 50:17 * behind you.* A subject hates discipline when he
4. Ibid. II.2; PL. 27AB.

murmurs at just corrections with sinful presumption,

as it is written: Fools despise discipline.* And he * Pr 1:7
casts the Lord’s words behind him when he thinks
it beneath him to obey the orders of his abbot or his
seniors. A prelate hates holy discipline when he thinks
it beneath him to live according to the precepts of the
rule, forgetful of the divine Scripture which says: My
son, do not throw away the discipline of the Lord;* and: * Pr 3:11
Listen to counsel and receive discipline,* that it may be * Pr 19:20
well with you. Regular life for those who hold to it
is indeed a salutary discipline. And a prelate casts the
Lord’s words behind him when he himself neglects to
practice the things he preaches to his subjects from the
divine Scriptures. For he who hastens over-eagerly
to rebuke the faults of others must needs cautiously
consider his own sins, and by repentance condemn
them, lest while he is publicly correcting another’s
very small fault, he hides his own greater sin like gold.
For there are some who always have the mistakes of
others before their eyes, but think their own faults
of no importance, consign them to oblivion and cast
them behind their back. Concerning these there aptly
follows:
º 15And you who saw the speck in your brother’s º CCM 68

eye did not see the beam in your own.* The abbot * Mt 7:3
sees the speck in his brother’s eye, but does not see the
beam in his own, when he publicly and with some
exaggeration judges the very minor faults of his sub-
jects, yet thinks little of his own greater faults, which
he hides and neglects to amend; he sees the speck in
his brother’s eye when he finds fault with the vice of
anger, laziness, drowsiness and all other such defects in
the heart of another. He does not see the beam in his
own eye when, in spite of having the guilt of hatred,
drunkenness, pride and other such objects of reproach
in his heart, he in nowise recognizes that he has them;
when he notices and reproves in the hearts of others
the little things that need rebuking, and does not see
and does not correct the grave things that are in his
own heart.
16
Let him make no distinction of persons in the
monastery. For God is no acceptor of persons, but
in every nation among those who fear him there is
Ac 10:34 * acceptance with him.* And therefore there is to be
no distinction of persons nor favoritism in the mon-
astery on the part of the abbot, because God makes
no distinction of persons, nor does he have favorites;
it is only good work that is accepted and approved. It
is not good to have regard to the person in judgment,
Pr 18:5 * says Solomon,* and in Leviticus it is written: You shall
not do what is unfair, nor shall you judge unjustly, neither
are you to consider the person of the poor man, nor honor the
countenance of the powerful man. You shall judge justly for
Lv 19:15 * your neighbor.* But after someone has come from the
world to don the habit of the monastic state, whether
he had been a free man before or a slave, whether poor
or rich, whether distinguished or obscure, no distinc-
tion is to be made by the abbot, but he must either
chastise or love each one according to the merit of
his life.
17
Let not one be loved more than another, unless
it be one whom he finds better in good deeds
or obedience. A monk who is found better than the
rest in good deeds and obedience is deservedly loved
by the abbot more than the rest. Justly indeed is that
man loved by a man, who is honored by God for good
works and holy obedience. I repeat: one who is loved
by the immortal God must needs be loved by mor-
tal man. Out of love for God such a monk subjects
himself more than everyone else to obedience and
exercises himself in all good works, and therefore he
is deservedly esteemed more than everyone else and
loved by the abbot.
18
Let not one born free be put before one who
enters monastic life from being a slave, unless
there be another reasonable cause. 19But if jus-
tice dictates, and it seems good to the abbot, he
shall do it with ºregard to anyone’s order; other- º CCM 69
wise they are to keep their own places. When he
says, Let not one born free be put before a slave,
understand: in community order or in ministry. Not
because he is freeborn is someone either to hold a
higher place in community order or hold the ministry
of prior or dean, unless there be another reason-
able cause. A reasonable cause would be, for example,
that he who can sing and read better in church, and
fulfill every office, should be put in such a fitting place
that he can worthily fulfill that office. And should he
be so endowed with rational intelligence and so ac-
complished in word and deed that he is able to be a
dean or a prior, neither the fact that he is freeborn nor
the fact that he is a slave should be any hindrance. But
if a reasonable cause requires it, let him be put both
higher in order and prior in ministry. Now this is to
be done not only if it is a question of someone’s being
of the order of the freeborn or that of slaves, but with
regard to anyone’s order; that is, the abbot is to
do this whether it be a matter of a senior or a junior,
whether it be a question of someone’s belonging to
the priestly, levitical or any other order. Otherwise
they are to keep their own places, that is, one is
not to be put before another on account of the dignity
of his power and his being freeborn, but each one is
to remain in the very place of the order in which he
came.
20
Because whether slave or free we are all one in
Christ.* We are all one in Christ, he says, that is, * Ga 3:28
we are the one body of Christ. For thus says Paul the
apostle in another place: In the one Spirit we were all bap-
tized in the one body, whether Jews or gentiles, whether slaves
1 Co 12:13 * or free, and we were all given to drink of the one Spirit.* But
God, the Son of God, who wants all to be saved and to
1 Tm 2:4 * lead them to the knowledge of the truth,* redeemed every
sex, every age, every condition of the whole human
race, and from among them joined [people] to his
body, to the number of the elect, and so in Christ,
whether slaves or free, we are all one.
And under one Lord we bear an equal burden
of military service. Indeed the life of good monks in
this present world is always lived in the military service
of Christ. Hence blessed Job also says: Man’s life on
Jb 7:1 * earth is a military service.* This service we bear equally
under one Lord, because although we are not equal
in our living, we have equally promised and equally
carry the easy yoke of the Lord, and his light burden,
as we live the regular life. This regular life, which is
here called a military service, is to be observed equally
by all monks, and is not at any time to be violated
without restraint, either by slaves or free, by seniors or
juniors. And should anyone happen to deviate from
it on account of human frailty, amendment must be
CCM 70 º made by the one penance, ºand the one discipline is
to be kept in all matters. Whence it also aptly follows:
Because there is no acceptance of persons with
Rm 2:11, Eph * God.* We distinguish and accept persons, because
6:9, Col 3:25 when we come into this world we find them distinct.
But God who created them all in the beginning from
one man and in one condition, neither accepts persons
nor makes distinctions between them, but he either
condemns or justifies each one according to his works.
He condemns the unjust justly and rightly, but the just
he justifies mercifully and gratuitously. Those he finds
living proudly in crooked works he humiliates and
condemns, but those he finds living humbly in good
deeds he rewards and exalts. Whence it follows here:
21
Only in this matter are we distinguished by him,
if we be found better than others in goods works,
and humble. In these two things the elect are always

distinguished from the reprobate, that is, in true humil-
ity of heart and in doing good. The voice of the head
and of the body, that is, of Christ and of the Church, is
in the psalm: Judge me, O God, and distinguish my cause
from a people that is not holy.* Therefore the Lord does * Ps 43:1
not distinguish persons from persons, that is, freeborn
from slaves, but he does distinguish works from works
and merits from merits, so that he may also bestow re-
wards on each according to the works he has personally
toiled at. On those he has found better in good works
and in the merits of their virtues, and more humble
than everyone else in purity of heart, he will bestow fit-
ting mansions in the kingdom of heaven, while making
due distinctions between rewards. This distinguishing
or discretion, the mother of all virtues, the abbot must
hold to in all things; he must not make distinctions of
persons, but approve each one’s merits, and with a sin-
cere heart love them all according to the merits of their
works. Whence there also follows:
22
Therefore let him show equal charity to all, let
the one discipline be shown in all matters ac-
cording to merits. For in this must the abbot show
equal charity to all: that he make no distinction of
persons in the love he has. He must love equally those
who became monks from a noble condition, and
equally those from a servile condition. And so he must
discern the merits of individuals in such a way that he
does not put one person before another. And if a per-
son of free-born or of servile origin should commit
one and the same fault, they are to undergo one and
the same discipline. In the matter of penance one is
not to have the burden lightened for honor’s sake, and
another to be burdened because he is looked down
on. But the judgment and censure are to be tempered
by the abbot so that one person is not judged more
lightly and another more harshly.
CCM 71 º º 23For in his teaching the abbot must always

keep the apostle’s rule, in which he says: Reprove,
2 Tm 4:2 * entreat, rebuke.* In connection with this saying of the
apostle we must mention the words of blessed Jerome
and blessed Prosper. Jerome says: Reprove those who sin,
call in witnesses to stop them sinning, rebuke those who re-
sist, but all this with patience and according to the teaching.5
And Prosper said: The power of censure must indeed be in
the teachers of the Church that they may reprove; patience,
too, that they may bear strongly those who do not want to
amend, satisfying the command of the apostle in an order to
Timothy: ‘Reprove, entreat, rebuke, in all patience and teach-
2 Tm 4:2 * ing’.* As if to say: Reprove your equals, entreat your seniors,
rebuke your juniors. But he added: ‘In all patience and teach-
ing’, for the reason that one who is gently chastised shows
reverence to the one chastising. But one who is offended by
the excessive harshness of a rebuke does not receive either the
rebuke or salvation.6
This saying, which they reasonably understand
as requiring to be fulfilled in dealing with different
people, we can also doubtless understand as requiring
to be fulfilled in dealing with one and the same person
at different times. First, the sinner is to be reproved
because he sins. And it is not fitting to reprove another
unless he sins, as the Lord says in the Gospel: If your
brother sins against you, go and reprove him between you
and him alone; if he listens to you, you have gained your
Mt 18:15 * brother.* See, you have already gained your brother by
rebuking him, because while listening to you he has
corrected himself. Entreat him again, so that living
daily in good deeds he may so grow in virtues that
he comes to perseverance in the good work. But if
he does not listen to you, and does not amend, or
perhaps after amendment returns to the vomit, rebuke
him harshly, and if you are able make him amend, but
5. Ps.Hier. [actually Pelagius] In II Tm 4:2; PLS 1:1366.
6. Ps. Prosper [actually Jul. Pomer.] Vita cont. II.5.1; PL
59:449AB.
in all patience and teaching. And in this way in one

and same person this whole saying can be fulfilled.
In another way at a suitable time the monk who
sins is to be rebuked, so that he may turn away from
evil. If he amends, again at a suitable time he is to
be entreated not to live lukewarmly, but to grow in
virtue and do good. But if he refuses to amend even
when besought to, again at a suitable time he must
be greatly frightened and rebuked like the pagan and
the tax-collector. Blessed Benedict’s exposition seems
to square with this understanding, for when he said,
Reprove, entreat, rebuke, he added:
24
That is, mingling times with times, blandish-
ments with terrors. As though to say: With times
of reproof mingle times of entreaty, and with times of
entreaty mingle times of rebuke. And when the sin-
ful soul ºhas been frightened by the unbending and º CCM 72
just rebukes of the master, let blandishments also be
applied to it with fatherly love, lest it be plunged in
the pit of despair. Hence also blessed Gregory says:
Gentleness must therefore be mingled with severity. A kind
of mixture in due proportion must be made from both, so that
subjects may not be made worse by great harshness, or made
to come undone by excessive kindness.7 Every care must
be prudently shown by the abbot, so that none of his
sheep may perish.
Whence there is also added: Let him show the
harshness of a master, and the loving affection
of a father. The harshness of a master means his
seriousness, his importance, the dignity and honor he
has. For sometimes the word here translated ‘harsh’
is understood as meaning ‘great’ or ‘worthy’.8 When
he says the loving affection of a father, he is
understood to have this in himself. In other respects
7. Greg. Reg. past. II.6; PL 77:38B.

8. Cf. Isid. Etym. X.75; PL 82:375A.
the harshness of a master signifies the greatness

and terror of the rebuke a master directs towards
his subjects to cure them. This harshness or terror
must clearly be motivated not by hatred but by the
loving affection of a father. The terror caused to
delinquent disciples must not proceed from a basic
hatred but from the love of a devoted father, so that
the terror caused by the master’s foresight may correct
the wayward, and the devoted love of a father may
give new strength to those who are behaving well.
And so blessed Benedict’s very clear exposition of the
above sentence, where he says Reprove, entreat, rebuke,
is quite suitably added. For he says on the subject of
reproving:
25
The undisciplined and restless he must reprove
more harshly. On the subject of entreating he says
But the obedient and meek and patient [he must]
exhort to advance towards what is better. As for
rebuking he says We admonish him to rebuke and
correct the negligent and contemptuous. I do
not think a more lucid exposition of this saying of
the apostle can be found than that given by blessed
Benedict.
26
Let him not pretend not to notice the sins of
Ws 11:24 * the delinquent.* The sins of the delinquent must not
be glossed over, lest the harmful faults of the subjects
be extended over a long period. For the sooner a sin-
ner’s fault is amended, the sooner too will he obtain
pardon. Let the abbot quickly, today, amend one obvi-
ous fault; tomorrow no doubt he will have another
that will require amendment. Therefore let him not
delay and neglect to amend something as though he
did not know about it; so great is the burden of the
government of souls that presses upon him.
But as soon as they begin to spring up, let
him cut them off at the roots as he can. Vices
and sins must be cut off at the roots when they spring
up, in case the roots become established, and then
having grown strong send out harmful branches, and
in the branches bear the fruits of evil work. He gave
the order to cut off sins and vices at the roots, but yet
he said as he can. For we cannot cut off sins and vices
as much as we ºwould like to, but let us hasten to cut º CCM 73
off the sins of the delinquent to the extent that we are
able with the Lord’s help.
Mindful of the peril incurred by Eli the priest
of Shiloh.* Because he was overcome by a mistaken * 1 S 2:27-34,
4:12-18
kind of paternal affection and was unwilling to smite his
delinquent sons, in the sight of the strict judge Eli struck
both himself and his sons with a cruel condemnation.
He was condemned for the iniquity of his sons because
he did not rebuke them with the severity and authority
of the high priest, but covered them with paternal
gentleness. Abbots must fear and guard against this
sentence, lest they handle their subjects’ faults more
gently than is seemly, and then are smitten with a
sentence of condemnation by the strict judge.
27
And let him indeed correct verbally the
more upright and those minds more capable
of understanding at the first or second warn-
ing. The more upright means ‘the more honorable’.
‘Upright’* means, as it were, ‘having an honorable * honestus
standing’,* because the upright person has nothing * honoris status
base about him.9 Capable of understanding means
‘with a capacity for reason’, those who understand
what they hear from their teachers and hasten to fulfill
it in their works. Should they be at fault in some mat-
ters—for there is no one alive who does not sin*—he * Qo 7:21
ordered that they be admonished verbally a second
time, according to the Lord’s precept* because he be- * RB 23:2
lieved they were amended in this way.
9. Cf. Isid. Etym. X.117; PL 82:379B.

28
But as for the wicked and hard and proud
and disobedient, let a beating and corporal
chastisement restrain them at the very beginning
of sin, knowing that it is written: The fool is not
Pr 29:19 VL * corrected by words,* 29and again: Strike your son with
Pr 23:14 VL * the rod and you shall deliver his soul from death.* He
refers to the imprudent as wicked since they lack
uprightness of mind; the hard are the obstinate,
the contumacious and the incorrigible. Now these
and the proud and disobedient he must restrain
at the very beginning of sin by a beating and
corporal chastisement, lest the evil of sin increase
and, when complete, bring forth for its author the
fruit of death, for it is written: Sin when completed brings
Jm 1:15 * forth death.* Now chastisement is understood in both
excommunication and in words and also in beatings.
Let it restrain, that is, curb, bridle or repress. And
because it is written: The fool is not corrected by words,
it is necessary that bodily chastisement be inflicted on
him by excommunication. And if it is still necessary, let
it be inflicted on him by strokes of the rod as well, for
it is written: Strike your son with the rod and you shall
deliver his soul from death. For it is better that he be
struck here with his father’s rod than that he should
CCM 74 º be ºwretchedly condemned and endure the penalty of
hell; better let him endure his father’s correction here
for a short time than be forever condemned and groan
in hell. A father’s correction seems to be bitter in the
short term, but for those who endure it patiently it
brings forth most sweet fruits in the future.
30
The abbot must always remember what he is,
and remember what he is called, and know that
more is demanded of him to whom more is
Lk 12:48 * entrusted.* Lest he be lifted up by pride and extol
himself above those who are living good lives, and
look down on those who are living in vice, the abbot
must always remember what he is, that is, he
must keep in mind that he is a frail creature fashioned
from the soft clay of the earth. Therefore let him al-
ways be afraid of slipping from frailty, and thus humbly
and with discretion condemn another’s sin. Let him
be very shrewd when it comes to investigating and
searching into the hidden faults of other people; when
they have been brought to light, let him punish them
discreetly and with the utmost caution. Let him feel
the pain with one who is tempted, fearing that he
himself being tempted may also give way. Let him hear
the apostle saying: If a man is caught in some fault, you
who are spiritual instruct such a one in a spirit of meekness,
considering yourself, lest you also be tempted.* As if to say: * Ga 6:1
When what you see of another’s weakness is displeas-
ing to you, think of what you are.
And he must remember what he is called. For
he is called abbot, that is, father. If he is really a father, let
him love his sons, that is, his monks, with fatherly love,
and show himself to his children such as deserves to be
loved and feared by them: loved by the good, feared by
the bad. In one and the same person—the abbot—there
needs to be present both a mother’s loving compassion
and a father’s strictness and severity, so that he corrects
with paternal rigor those he nurses with maternal love,
and those he offers a mother’s breasts to suck he keeps
under a father’s discipline. Hence blessed Gregory says:
Care must certainly be taken that subjects know their church
leader as a mother by his loving kindness, and as a father by
his discipline.10 Let those in a position of authority show
themselves such that their subjects may not be ashamed
to make known to them their secrets, so that when little
ones endure the buffeting of temptations, they may have
recourse to their father’s understanding as though to a
mother’s bosom.11 For the abbot must know this as well:
that more is demanded of him to whom more is
entrusted. When one is entrusted with more to care
10. Greg. Reg. past. II.6; PL 77:38A.

11. Cf. ibid. II.5; PL 33C.
for and govern, more is demanded of that one by way of

accountability. Each abbot is going to render an account
to the Lord for as many monks as he receives under his
direction.And if by living a good life he saves himself and
rules them well and justly, he will receive from the Lord
grace on account of his own salvation, and an everlasting
reward on account of all these.
CCM 75 º º 31Let him know what a difficult and arduous
thing he has undertaken—to rule souls. He says
that the soul is a difficult and arduous thing,
because it is something fine and laborious to grasp, is
very subtle and precarious to ponder, and is therefore
laborious and arduous to govern, heavy and disinclined
to undergo amendment; and therefore danger threatens
everyone who has rule over a soul when he renders
an account of it.
And to be at the service of the characters of
many. Because the different monks’ characters are
different, they need different cures applied to them,
because different remedies and medicines are to be
employed for different wounds. Therefore blessed
Benedict here laid down a different way of curing
different characters, saying: And one indeed with
blandishments, another with rebukes, another
with persuasions; 32and let him so conform and
adapt himself according to the character and
intelligence of each one.12
The words of blessed Gregory must be set down
here by way of expounding this saying. He says:
It must also be known that sometimes the vices of

subjects have to be prudently overlooked, but be-
cause they are being overlooked they must be
pointed out; sometimes even those that are known
12. According to the CCM text—but not Migne—Smarag-

dus omits omnibus before conformet et aptet in this verse of the
Rule.
publicly must be judiciously tolerated, but some-

times they must be subtly and secretly investigated;
at times they must be gently reproved, while at
times they must be vehemently rebuked.13 But since
one and the same exhortation does not suit all,
since all do not have the same kind of character,
therefore the discourse of teachers must also be
shaped according to the characteristics of the hearers,
so that it may both suit individuals and their needs,
and yet not fall short in the art of giving general
edification.14
Therefore according to each one’s character and

intelligence let the abbot accommodate and adapt
himself. When he becomes great with the great and
small with the small, when he becomes weak for the
weak in order to save the weak, when he becomes all
things to all in order to save all,* when having become * 1 Co 9:22
a pattern for the flock* he shows the humble the * 1 P 5:3
pattern of humility, and offers the obedient an example
of obedience, and similarly when he holds the norm
of salvation steadily before those who abstain from sin
and keep watch and pray, and before all those who are
subject to him in the practice of virtues; when too
he truthfully says with Paul: Who is weak and I am not
weak? Who is made to stumble and I am not on fire?* and * 2 Co 11:29
similar things—when he does this he accommodates
and adapts himself to all, and shows the good pattern
of the good shepherd to his subjects. When, too, he
rejoices with those who rejoice and weeps with those
who weep,* takes pity on the weak, has compassion * Rm 12:15
on the distressed, shows condescension to the old and
the very young, when he even bears patiently with
the weak-minded, kindly strengthens the frail, and
according to all the kinds of character and the levels of
13. Greg. Reg. past. II.10; PL 77:44B.

14. Ibid. III, prol. (PL 49C); cf. Greg. Naz. Oratio prima [re-
numbered secunda in Migne]; (PG 35:407-514).
understanding that little ones or the foolish have, he

suits and adapts himself to all.
CCM 76 º ºSo that not only may he not suffer any loss
in the flock entrusted to him, but may rejoice in
the increase of a good flock. Loss means damage
and detriment to, or diminution of the flock. As far
as possible the abbot must not suffer or wish this to
be, or allow it to occur in the flock entrusted to him.
But rather may he rejoice in the increase, that is,
the enlargement, of a good flock, because in the
numerical enlargement of a good flock or its increase
in virtues there is profit and rejoicing for a good
shepherd. The multiplying of good monks, I say, is the
salvation of rulers of souls, and honor for those who
govern. It must be noted that he said a shepherd’s joy
consists in the increase of a good flock, not an evil one.
For the multiplying of the evil is a cause of tribulation
for the good. Therefore the fact that they multiply
rather than diminish causes loss, and the unrighteous
beget sorrow rather than joy for the righteous. By the
multiplying of the evil the assembly of the good is
weakened, and on the contrary, by the increase of the
good the gathering of the wicked is weakened, and
the strength of the vices is crippled by the progress of
the virtues.
33
Above all let him not neglect or undervalue
the salvation of the souls entrusted to him, and
exercise more solicitude for transitory, earthly
and perishable things. For the abbot must not ne-
glect, that is, pretend not to know, a matter concern-
ing which in the strict examination he has to render
an account to the Lord; nor must he undervalue the
salvation of his monks, and attach great importance to
the care of earthly things; nor must he take less care
for the salvation of the souls entrusted to him and
more for the substance of mere things. For the soul
Mt 6:25 * is greater than food, says the Lord.* To be careful and
solicitous for earthly things and not care about souls is

not a counsel of salvation but of death. To regard as of
great importance a thing that is transitory, earthly and
perishable, and to undervalue a thing that is lasting and
eternal is not a counsel of salvation but the foolishness
of perdition.To undervalue means to regard as small or
hold in contempt, or even to look down with a proud
mind on something great. To value or weigh means
to form an estimate. A person who considers that he
is something, and looks down on another, reckoning
him to be either little or nothing, is undervaluing in
another what he considers important in himself. Some
forget that they are placed over their brothers for the
sake of their souls, and strive wholeheartedly to serve
the things of the world. They rejoice when these are
present, and when they are lacking they pant after them
day and night with all the ardor of their thoughts. For
as right reason demands, we must care less for transi-
tory things and more for what is destined to endure
forever, less for earthly and more for heavenly things.
We must be solicitous not so much for perishable as
for lasting things, because we are ºgoing to render an º CCM 77
account to God not about earthly things but about the
souls of our monks. Whence there also follows:
34
But let him always reflect that he has under-
taken to rule souls, concerning which he is also
going to give an account. Because the substance of
the soul is incorporeal and invisible and of unknown
origin, therefore it is a laborious and difficult and ardu-
ous thing to rule. Pure knowledge of it is reached only
with a good deal of talent and hard work, and for this
reason the wound of its sin is healed only with long-
lasting toil and much difficulty. For the soul willingly
receives many wounds of sins, but is very unwilling to
receive medicine for its healing. If spiritual medicines
are administered discreetly and reasonably to wounded
souls by the abbot, he also receives healing of soul, he
the abbot receives the Lord’s grace. Should he how-

ever neglect to administer spiritual medicine to weak
souls, he will be compelled to render an account of all
those subject to him.
35
And let him not make excuses on the grounds
of having too little substance. Let him not make
excuses, he says, that is, let him not complain. For
he who complains makes excuses. And the man who
murmurs because he is poor in perishable things is
laying an unjust complaint against the Lord, not real-
Pr 17:3 * izing that as gold is tried in the furnace of fire,* so is the
life of monks tried in the furnace of poverty. On the
grounds of too little substance, he says, that is, on
the grounds of the paucity of earthly things. He used
the word ‘substance’ here loosely in place of ‘earthly
things’. For substance in its strict sense refers to the fact
that every thing has subsistence from it.15 Eight things
are present in it: quality, quantity, knowledge, position,
habit, doing, suffering, where, when.The Greeks call it
[o]usia—being, essence.16
Let him remember what is written: Seek first
the kingdom of God and his justice, and all these things
Mt 6:33 * will be added unto you.* First, that is, with the greatest
effort, with the greatest zeal and with the heart’s total
attention, we must seek the Lord’s kingdom, and thus
must we hope from him the necessary earthly aid. First
we must seek his justice, and afterwards we must hope
from him all necessary earthly substance. For from the
Lord one must seek both the eternal kingdom and
earthly aid: the former as a permanent good, the latter
as a transitory one, but one that is still necessary on
the path of this life’s journey. Concerning this saying
blessed Augustine says:
15. Cf. Isid. Etym. II.26.11; PL 82:145A.

16. Cf. ibid. II.26.7-10; PL 144BD.
What the difference is between the good thing that

is to be ºeagerly desired and the necessary thing º CCM 78
that has to be used, he [Christ] declared by this
saying when he said: ‘Seek first the kingdom of
God’, and so forth. Therefore the kingdom and
justice of God is our good, and this is to be eagerly
desired, and there must we establish the end for the
sake of which we do all that we do. But because we
are serving as soldiers in this life so as to reach that
kingdom, and this life cannot be lived without these
necessary things, all these things will be added unto
you, he said; but you, seek first the kingdom of
God and his justice. For when he said ‘first’, he
indicated that this necessary thing is to be sought
not later in time but as having less value: the first
thing as our good, the second as what is necessary
for us. But it is for the sake of the former good thing
that this latter necessary thing17 must be sought
by us.
36
And again: Nothing is wanting to those who fear
him.* For the person who has God, through whom * Ps 34:9
all things were created and in whom all things abide
and exist, cannot have anything less from spiritual or
earthly substance. For God is able to prepare a table
full of spiritual and fleshly delights for his holy ones
in the desert of this world.* The person who with a * Ps 78:20
chaste fear fears God, in whom dwells all the fullness
of things and the abundance of virtues, can have noth-
ing less from the substance of spiritual and corporal
things. It is written to be sure: For the one who fears the
Lord it will be well for ever, and in the days of his consumma-
tion he will be blessed;* and: Those who fear the Lord have * Si 1:13
hoped in the Lord; he is their helper and their protector.* * Ps 115:11
And let him know that he who undertakes the

37
rule of souls is to prepare himself to render an
17. Aug. S. Dom. II.16.53; CCSL 35:143-144.

account. The person who receives others’ souls to

rule, if he would avoid having to lodge an account
concerning them with the Lord, must teach them
both by the word of right preaching and by the ex-
ample of good works, so that he is to aim by good
living to please the one who judges the interior, and
offer the example of a good life to his subjects. Let
him shrewdly detect the things in them that require
correction, and correct them as quickly as he can.
Concerning this let him hear the advice of Solomon
saying: My son, if you have become security for your friend,
you have fastened your hand to a stranger and are ensnared
by the words of your own mouth, caught by your very own
speech. Therefore do what I say, my son, and free yourself.
Pr 6:1-3 * Run quickly, hurry, rouse your friend,* and so on.
To become security for a friend is to receive another’s soul
CCM 79 º at ºrisk of one’s own way of life. One’s hand is fastened to a
stranger when one’s mind is tied up in taking care of another.
Therefore he is ensnared by the words of his own mouth while
he is constrained by the account [he must render], and so he
must be careful not to slacken in his life and do something
other than what he advises. Hence in the presence of the strict
judge he is compelled to discharge his obligation to perform
by his works things as great as those he is known to have
commanded others by his words.Whoever is put over others to
be an example of how to live, is admonished not only to keep
watch by living a good life himself, but also to rouse his friend
by preaching. For it is not sufficient for him to keep watch by
living a good life, if he does not also separate from the torpor
of sin the one he is put in charge of.18
Therefore the abbot should so live by guarding him-
self and rousing others that he may not render to the
Lord an account that requires punishment, but may
joyfully receive from him eternal rewards. Amen.
18. Greg. Reg. past. III.4; PL 77:54D.

38
And let him know for certain that on the day
of judgment he is going to render to the Lord
an account of all the souls—as many as the
number of brethren he knows he has under his
care—yes, and of his own soul as well. The abbot
is going to render an account to the Lord in the dread
judgment according to the size of the number of his
monks. And if a complete account saves him, he will
receive both the gift of his own salvation and the re-
ward for his upright government. But if his own sinful
deeds and his unjust government of his subjects con-
demn him, he will receive condemnation according to
the sum total of the evils.The abbot is going to render
to the Lord an account of his own soul, just as he is of
the souls of his subjects. And therefore he must with
vigilance and foresight exercise care of them and of
himself; he must not neglect his own life for the sake
of theirs, nor theirs for the sake of his own. Therefore
the abbot must hold exteriorly to what he has under-
taken for their benefit, and keep interiorly what he has
promised the Lord for his own salvation.
39
And thus being always afraid of the future ex-
amination of the shepherd concerning the sheep
entrusted to him, while he is careful about the
reckoning of others, he is made solicitous about
his own. Lesser shepherds of the supreme shepherd,
Christ, who said: I am the good shepherd,* being always * Jn 10:11
solicitous concerning both their own deeds and the
sheep entrusted to them, must fear the future examina-
tion, so that God may not say to them in rebuke: What
was broken you did not bind up, and what was abandoned
you did not bring back. And although you yourselves drank
the most limpid water, you disturbed the remainder with your
feet; and my sheep grazed on what had been trampled by your
feet, and drank what your feet had disturbed,* and so on. * Ezk 34:4.18-19
Now in order that abbots may not hear this word
of rebuke, ºlet them both shrewdly discharge the care º CCM 80
of their subjects, and not cease prudently to attend to

their own. Let them maintain a keen solicitude for
themselves without failing to keep guard over their
subjects. It is indeed fitting that those who are placed
over others should have their eyes open and look
carefully this way and that. Let them be full of eyes
inside and out, so that they can see beforehand and
from afar the ambushes of the ancient enemy: inside,
that they may carefully guard themselves, outside, that
they may furnish others with the example of a good
life. And in this way, while he is careful about the
reckoning of others, the abbot is made solicitous
about his own, that is, while he is being careful
about rendering an account to the Lord concerning
the reckoning of his subjects, he is made, that is, he
becomes solicitous about his own [reckoning]. For
he reflects anxiously that in the dread judgment he is
going to render to the Lord an account both of his
own deeds and those of his sheep.We distinguish in this
ratio * way between an account or reason* and an accounting
ratiocinatio * or reasoning:* Reason is a certain movement of the
rational soul that discerns truth from falsehood; but
reasoning, or an exercise thereof, is a rational and
subtle disputation.19 It is this that one who knows how
to keep guard over himself, as well as how to rule his
subjects well and justly, is taking good care to lodge
with the Lord.
And while by his admonitions he is helping

40
others to amend, he himself is amended from

his vices. It is very fitting that he who ministers to
others the bread of life should not himself perish from
hunger. For he who out of love gives his brethren the
word of salvation is by that very love freed from vices.
Charity covers a multitude of sins, as it is written: He
who causes a sinner to be converted from the error of his
19. Cf. Isid. Diff. I.490; PL 83:59A.

On Summoning the Brethren for Counsel 153
way will save his soul from death, and covers a multitude of
sins,* his own [precisely]. Justly then will he who by * Jm 5:20
his warnings sets others free from the error of vices, be
first set free from his own vices by the help of Christ.
Vices are called sins which of themselves are nothing,
but there is vice where goodness is lacking. For every
nature is a work. Bad works which are called vices are
deeds, not things. But by the privation of good it has
received this name.20
20. Cf. Prologue 47, above pp. 106–107.
CHAPTER 3
ON SUMMONING THE
BRETHREN FOR COUNSEL
The brethren are summoned for counsel by the abbot

because it is written: Plans are thwarted where counsel is
lacking; but they are confirmed where there are several coun-
selors.* Again: The heart is delighted by ointment and vari- * Pr 15:22
ous odors, and the soul will be sweetened by the good counsel
of a friend.* Men enter upon war with due planning, and * Pr 27:9
there will be safety where there are many counsels.* * Pr 24:6
º 1As often as any important matters have to be º CCM 81

dealt with in the monastery. ‘Monastery’, as has
been said before,1 is the name given to the dwelling of
1. Cf. Isid. Etym. XV.4.5 (PL 82:544B), and Cassian. Conl.

XVIII.10 (CSEL 13:517). See Prologue 50, p. 109.
even one monk. But if the dwelling of one person is

properly called a monastery because of an idiom of the
greek language, in virtue of which one thing is called
monas * a monad,* we must ask why the dwelling of many
persons established in one place is called a monas-
tery, unless perhaps—this is my opinion—it is because
Eph 4:5, * there is one faith, one baptism, one heart and one soul* in
Ac 4:32
all monks who are living good and upright lives, just
as there was earlier in the religion of those who be-
lieved rightly and lived good lives.The one will abides
in all right-living monks. They serve one Lord, they
RB 61.10 * do military service under one king* and, having been
Ga 3:28, * made the one body of Christ,* they adore the same
1 Co 6:16 one Redeemer, and therefore the one dwelling of all
these is fittingly called a monastery.
Let the abbot call together the whole
community, and himself state what is under
discussion. What is under discussion, he says, that
is, the matter to be advised on or investigated. Our
ancestors said that this was the difference between a
congregation and a convocation: ‘congregation’ may
be predicated both of men and of brute animals,
of stones and of any other things lacking sensation,
because they can be gathered together by words or in
any other way you will. But a convocation can only be
made from rational humans who are called together
by their own names, because to be called together is a
property of those who can hear and discern.2
2
And after hearing the counsel of the brothers,
let him ponder it by himself and do what he
judges more useful. First, when there is monastery
or any other kind of business whatever to be dealt
with, let the abbot bring all the brothers together in
one place and ask counsel of them all together; let
2. Cf. Aug. Ennar. in ps. 81[82]:1 (CCSL 39:1136); ibid.

77[78]:3 (CCSL 39:1068).
him willingly hear the counsel that each one gives,

and afterwards in secret with the senior brethren only
let him discern subtly and acutely who has given the
more useful counsel, who the less, and then let him be
at pains to carry out what he judges, that is discerns, to
be better. To judge means to discern, as in that saying:
Judge me, O God, and discern my cause.* * Ps 43:1
3
We have said that all are called to counsel
because the Lord often reveals to a junior what
is better. For it is written: If it has been revealed to
a younger person, let the senior be silent.* Often, on * 1 Co 14:30
account of the grace of humility, the Lord reveals to
juniors ºwhat he hides from seniors. For God is not an º CCM 82
acceptor of persons,* but in every age, condition, sex and * Ac 10:34
nation those who fear him are acceptable to him;* and * Ac 10:35
in the ones he chooses from among all these the Spirit
of the Lord mercifully blows and kindly ministers the
grace of wisdom. He did not distinguish age in Daniel
and Samuel, but ministered grace.* Scripture says: Gray * Dn 13:45,
hairs to be sure means a man’s understanding, and old age 1 S 3:4
is a spotless life.* * Ws 4:8-9
4
But let the brothers give their counsel with
all the subjection of humility, and let them not
presume boldly to defend what has seemed
good to them; 5and let it rather depend on the
abbot’s judgment, so that all may obey what
he has judged to be more advantageous. All
the monks must obey their abbot in such a way that
none of them ventures to find fault rashly with what
he does, but rather let all the subjects humbly serve
and obey him, as sons do their father, or members
their head. His precepts, too, if they are in accordance
with the Lord’s commandments,* let them keep with * RB 21.2
the utmost energy as a command of the Lord, and
strive to fulfill them with total love; and let them
consider that it is what is pleasing to their abbot that
is holy, healthful, and needful for them, not what they

themselves decide they must do. And so, grounded in
the virtue of obedience and patience, let them not
discuss their abbot’s decisions, but carry them out.
And when the rigor of discipline requires that they be
severely reproved, let them with largeness of soul bear
the correction received, ascribing the fact that they
are being chastised not to the passions of those who
upbraid them but to their own negligences.
6
But just as it is fitting for disciples to obey
their master, so too it is becoming for him to
dispose all things with foresight and justice. For
the abbot must always, by means of a subtle scrutiny,
distinguish good and evil, think carefully of what is
fitting for whom, when, and in what way, and thus
arrange all things with foresight and justice; and there-
fore it is fitting for him to be obeyed by all his disciples
as a reasonable father. As blessed Gregory says:
Someone who presides should be circumspect on

this side and that, so as to live both for himself and
for his subjects, so as both to conceal the good he
does within the fold of his mind and yet share from
it, for his followers’ progress, an example of right
doing; so as to notice and correct the faults of his
subjects, and yet not become swollen with pride; so
as gently to correct and tolerate certain things, yet
not destroy the bonds of discipline with this same
gentleness; and let him tolerantly pass over certain
things as though not noticing them, yet not permit
them to grow by passing over them.3
CCM 83 º ºHence great care must be taken that he who is

placed over men to rule them should preside in the
seat of humility within the secret place of his mind,
and should look unceasingly with watchful eye at the
3. Greg. Moral. XXIV.25.54; CCSL 143B:1228.

judge in whose presence he himself will one day stand

to be judged concerning them, so that the more he
now trembles in anxiety before him whom he does
not see, the more securely may he behold him when
he does see him.
7
In all things therefore let all follow the rule as
teacher. When he says in all things, this is under-
stood as referring to the precepts of the same rule.
In Divine Offices and human conduct, that is to say,
in matters of food and drink, clothing and footwear,
vigils and prayers, sleep and silence, suitable hours and
labors, and absolutely all the precepts of the same rule,
let all monks follow the same rule as teacher, that is,
both subjects and prelates, both disciples and teach-
ers, both priors and deans, and in general all officials,
moreover even the abbot himself in all matters as far
as he can, as also the rest of the monks, let them fol-
low the rule as teacher.4 What follows is in line
with this:
And no one is rashly to deviate from it. That is,
let neither prelates nor subjects deviate from the rule
itself rashly, that is, inconsiderately and unreasonably.
Now he did not say absolutely No one is to
deviate from it, but he added rashly, so that you
might understand that if necessity demands that one
deviate from it, this is to be done reasonably and with
discretion and with great care, and from necessity.
8
No one is the monastery is to follow the will
of his own heart. Everyone who has come to the
monastery pierced with compunction and sent by the
Lord, does not want to live by the judgment of his
own heart but by the counsel of his abbot and of the
Lord, and he does not want to do the will of his own
heart, but to comply with the commands of the Lord
4. This commentary on v. 7 epitomises the carolingian mo-
nastic reform based on Benedict’s Rule.
and of his abbot, frequently calling to mind that say-

ing: I have not come to do my own will but the will of
Jn 6:38 * him who sent me.* There are many not so intelligent
monks who say:The will of my own heart is good, and
therefore I want to follow it. To this the answer must
be: Ask your abbot and your spiritual brothers about
Si 32:24 * it, for it is written, Do everything with counsel.* Now
if they judge it and agree that it is good, do it, because
now it is not only the will of your own heart, but it is
common to all those who agree with it. However, if
they do not agree that it is good and do not approve
of it, know that it is the will of your own heart, and if
you want to be saved flee from it as from the face of
Si 21:2 * a serpent.*
CCM 84 º º 9And do not let anyone presume to contend

boldly with his abbot, or outside the monas-
tery. To contend boldly is to do so proudly and
contumaciously, rashly and presumptuously. Such con-
tention a brother must not have with a brother, nor a
monk with his abbot. But it should be realized that,
when he prohibited contention with the qualification
‘boldly’, he did allow friendly and peaceful conten-
tion. There is a friendly and beneficial contention that
frequently occurs between upright men in keeping
with the nature of the cause at issue, as we read there
once was between blessed Benedict and his disciple
Maur over the boy Placid. For blessed Benedict said
that it was due to the merit of his disciple Maur that
he walked over the waters in order to snatch the boy
from the river. Maur on the contrary contended that
it was not through his but through his master’s merit
that he walked over the waters and snatched the boy
unhurt from the river.5 This friendly contention he
forbade to take place outside, and no doubt he did
not prohibit it from taking place inside if a just cause
5. Cf. Greg. Dial. II.7; PL 66:146B.

requires it. He condemned bold contention outside

or anywhere, but inside he did not forbid friendly
contention from taking place for the sake of self-
accusation or for some advantage. Outside he allowed
neither bold nor friendly contention, because if even
friendly contention occurs in public, what is born
from it is a contempt that is harmful to the master and
a conceit that brings death to the disciple. So when
blessed Benedict had said And do not let anyone
presume to contend boldly with his abbot, he
did not say inside or outside as some codices have, but as
is found set down in the one he wrote with his own
hand, boldly, or outside the monastery. From this
we understand that he permitted no contention out-
side, but did allow friendly contention inside.
10
But should anyone presume [to do so], let him
undergo regular discipline. In spiritual vices, that
is, in contumacy, disobedience, pride, murmuring, de-
traction, and all other such vices, regular discipline
must first be carried out according to the Lord’s pre-
cept—with an admonition once and a second time,
by the seniors, in secret. If there is no amendment, let
it be carried out again with a public reproof in the
third place.* But if there is still no correction, let it be * Mt 18:15-17
carried out by the punishment of excommunication
in the fourth place. But if he is so far gone that he is
not corrected even in this way, let him be subjected to
corporal punishment the fifth time.* But if not even * RB 23.2-5
stripes amend him, let the prayer of the brethren on
his behalf be ºemployed as well the sixth time. But º CCM 85
if the brothers’ prayer does not benefit him, a sepa-
ration from the brothers that must surely cause him
sorrow, and a hurtful expulsion from the monastery
are to be thrust upon him the seventh time.* With the * RB 28:3-7
exception of more serious faults and those that have
been judged by blessed Benedict, all regular discipline
is known to have been organized in this way.
11
But let the abbot himself do everything with
the fear of God and in observance of the Rule.
The abbot must do everything with the fear of
God, for it is written: Those who fear the Lord will pre-
Si 2:20 * pare their hearts, and in his sight will sanctify their souls,*
and they will be filled with peace and the fruit of sal-
Si 1:18 * vation.* And it must be noted that he orders the abbot
to do everything in observance of the rule, so that
when he preaches to others that the rule itself is to be
carried out, he himself may not become a reprobate
by failing to carry it out. And so that the abbot and
any person in charge may not find some excuse for
not carrying it out, let him read in this chapter and he
will find it clearly stated that, just as a monk-subject,
so too the abbot and every person in charge is bound
by observance of the rule.
Knowing that without doubt he is going to
render an account of all his judgments to God
the most just judge. For the Lord himself says to
Mt 7:1 * judges: With what judgment you judge you will be judged.*
And therefore the abbot must pay very careful heed
that he does not do to another what he does not want
RB 4.9, * done to himself,* because since he is going to render
cf. Tb 4:16 an account to God the most judge, whatever he sows
by his actions in the present life he will no doubt reap
in the future also. Blessed Benedict frequently writes
this sentence and inculcates it in our hearts, so that
it may not be forgotten and regarded as something
that we may neglect; rather, it should be held fast and
judged as something to be dreaded.
12
But if some less important matters are to be
transacted for the benefit of the monastery, let
him use the counsel only of the seniors, as it is
written: Do everything with counsel and you will not
Si 32:24 * have cause for regret after doing it.* Counsel is a great
thing, and is very necessary to abbots; they must not despise
it, but set it above gold and silver. And the divine Scripture
approves this very thing when it says: ‘Gold and silver, and
the firmness of the feet; and above both of these is counsel
well-pleasing’*.6 The knowledge of the wise will abound like * Si 40:25
a flood, and counsel remains for them like a fount of life.* * Si 21:16
6. Smar. Via reg. 20; PL 102:959B.

ºbook two of the º CCM 86
commentary
CHAPTER 4
WHAT ARE THE INSTRUMENTS

OF GOOD WORKS
J UST AS CRAFTSMEN and other skilled workers

have suitable and numerous instruments for produc-
ing their works, so also good monks have suitable
spiritual instruments, which are the many virtues. By
means of these their life even in the present is being
shaped beautifully and according to God. Once this pro-
cess of shaping is completed, they will reign happily with
Christ in the future. It is these virtues blessed Benedict
wanted to set down in an orderly way in this chapter;
by their means the order of good monks is formed in
purity of life, so that with these as an adornment a monk
may advance, and with these as weapons he may bravely
strike the enemy, overcome all the temptations of this
world, and unite himself to the society of all the saints
and angels.We too shall try to speak in praise of all these
virtues to the extent that the Lord permits.
1
First of all, to love the Lord God with all one’s * Mt 22:37-39,
Mk 12:30,
heart, all one’s soul, all one’s strength.* This Lk 10:27, Dt 6:5
rule of attachment† is established by God so that you † dilectio:
may direct all your thoughts, all your life and all your attachment
understanding to him from whom you have the very

things you are thus directing. But when he orders us
to love with all our heart, and all our soul, and
all our strength, he has left no part of our life that is
entitled to be free from, or empty of the love of God.
163
164 Commentary on the Rule of Saint Benedict: Book Two
A person sins in that part in which he loves God less. If

we love him with our whole heart, there will be no part in us
in which we may serve the desires of sin. And what is it to
love God, if not to occupy the mind with him, to conceive the
desire of enjoying the vision of him, hatred of sin, loathing
for the world, to love one’s neighbor, to preserve the lawful
measure in love itself, and not to pervert the established order
of love? Those people pervert the order of love and do not keep
the due measure of loving who either love the world, which is
to be disdained, or love their bodies more than they should,
or who perhaps do not love their neighbors as themselves, or
CCM 87 º Godº more than themselves.1 Those people love God perfectly
who, by wanting what God wants and by not wanting what
God does not want, do not assent to any sins by which
he is offended, and are always extending themselves to love
and possess the virtues he deigns to bestow;2 who strive to
observe the word of God eagerly, as the apostle says:
Now the one who keeps his word, truly in him is the love of
1 Jn 2:5 * God made perfect.*
Now he truly knows God who proves that he has his love
by keeping his commandments. For knowing God means
loving him. Someone who does not love him shows clearly
that he does not know how lovable he is; he has not learnt to
cf. Ps 34:8 * taste and see how sweet and delightful the Lord is,* who is
not at pains by unceasing effort to be pleasing in his sight.3
Again the apostle says: He who keeps his commandments
abides in God, and God in him.* Let God then be your
1 Jn 3:24 * home, and do you be God’s home. Abide in God, and let
God abide in you; may God abide in you so that he may
contain you, and may you abide in God so that you may not
fall. Keep his commandments, hold fast to charity. Do not
separate yourself from faith in him, so that you may glory
in his person, and you will abide securely in him, according
1. Jul. Pomer. Vita cont. III.15.1; PL59:496C.

2. Ibid. 15.4 (498AB).
3. Bede In I Jo 2:5; CCSL 121:290.
What Are the Instruments of Good Works 165
to the saying: ‘They shall exult for ever, and you will dwell
among them’ *.4 * Ps 5:12
God is love; and he who abides in love abides in God,
and God in him.* * 1 Jn 4:16
2
Then your neighbor as yourself.* Paul the * Mt 22:39, Mk
apostle says in the letter to the Galatians: The whole law 12:31, Lk 10:27,
Lv 19:18
is fulfilled in the one saying:You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.* And James says: Someone who loves his neighbor * Gal 5:14
remains in the light, and there is no scandal in him. He who
says that he is in the light, and hates his brother, is still in
* In fact 1 Jn
darkness;* that is, someone who says he is a Christian 2:10, 9
and is in him who said: I am the light of the world,† and † Jn 8:12
hates his brother, is still in his sins. For anyone who
has not bothered to put on tender charity cannot have
taken off the darkness of sins. Therefore it is love alone
that distinguishes God’s children from those of the devil,
as John the apostle says: For in this are God’s children and
the devil’s children manifest. Everyone, he says, who is not
just and does not love his brother is not from God.* * 1 Jn 3:10
Those who have charity are born from God. Have whatever
you wish to have; if this is the only thing ºyou lack, nothing º CCM 88
is of any advantage. If you have nothing else, you need only
have this and you have fulfilled the Law. ‘For he who loves
the other person has fulfilled the law’ *.5 * Rm 13:8
Someone who does not love abides in death.* Again the * 1 Jn 3:14
same apostle says: Beloved, let us love one another because
charity is from God, and everyone who loves is born of God
and knows God. He who does not love does not know God,
because God is love.* Beloved, if God has so loved us, we * 1 Jn 4:7-8
too must love one another. . . . If we love one another, God
abides in us and his charity is perfected in us.* * 1 Jn 4:11-12
Therefore let no one think that this love, in which God
abides and which is made perfect in us, can be preserved by a
certain mean and slothful laxity and negligence. This is not
charity but listlessness. Charity should burn with fervor for
correction and amendment. If our moral behavior is good, let
4. Ibid. 3:24 (CCSL 310).
5. Ibid. 3:10 (CCSL 305); cf. Aug. In Jo ep. V.7 (PL 35:2016).
it cause delight; if bad, let it be amended and corrected. In this

way then are we to love one another with a sincere charity
that is open to discipline, and thus ‘his charity is made perfect
1 Jn 4:12 * in us’ *.6 You are beginning to love, God is beginning to
dwell in you so as to make you perfect by that indwelling.7
But this is how we shall be made perfect in charity: if just as
he has first loved us for our salvation, so too we have loved
him for no other reason than his love.8
And this commandment we have from God, that he
1 Jn 4:21 * who loves God is to love his brother also.* By this do we
know that we love God’s children—when we love
God. Therefore only that person proves he loves his
neighbor who is known to be on fire with love of his
Creator.
Ex 20:13 * 3
Then not to kill.* When he says Not to kill, what
is forbidden is not merely the slaying of the body but
also that of the soul, especially when this prohibition
is laid on monks who wear a habit which indicates
that they live under a rule, and in the religious state.
For monks go about girded not with worldly weapons
with which murders are committed, but with spiritual
virtues by which souls may be saved. But just as there
is such a thing as killing with the sword, there is also
such a thing as killing through hatred, lying, and any
grave sin. For it is written: He who hates his brother is
1 Jn 3:15 * a murderer.* and: The mouth that lies kills the soul;* and:
Ws 1:11 *
Ezk 18:4 † The soul that has sinned will itself die.† Blessed Benedict
CCM 89 º wants the monk to abstain from all these kinds ºof
killing when he says Not to kill, that is, not to kill
the bodies of others with the sword, or one’s own soul
with hatred, murder or any other sin whatever, for
it is written: Through malice a man indeed kills his own
Ws 16:14 * soul.* It is agreed that not only the monk, but every
6. Bede ibid. 4:12 (CCSL 315); cf. Aug. ibid. VII.11 (PL
2034-2035).
7. Bede ibid. (CCSL 315-6); cf. Aug. ibid. VIII.12 (PL 2043).
8. Bede ibid. 4:19 (CCSL 318).
166
Christian as well, must abstain from all these things,

because any one of these constitutes murder, accord-
ing to the Lord’s saying: He who kills will be guilty of
judgment.* * Mt 5:21
*Not to commit adultery. Adultery also, and what * Mt 19:18

goes by that name, is committed in many ways, both
in body and in mind. Fornication, worship of idols,
the lust of the eyes and the love and lust and greed
for worldly things—all these are called adultery.
Concerning adultery of the flesh and also of the soul
the apostle says amongst other things: Nor will adulter-
ers possess the kingdom of God.* And the law prohibits * 1 Co 6:9-10
this very thing when it says: You shall not commit adul-
tery.* Concerning lust of the eyes the Lord says in the * Ex 20:14,
Dt 5:18
Gospel: He who looks at a woman so as to lust after her has
already committed adultery in his heart.* James the apostle * Mt 5:28
says concerning the friends of this world and the lov-
ers of temporal things: Adulterers, don’t you realize that
the friendship of this world is enmity with God?* * Jm 4:4
He rightly calls adulterers those he rebukes for having
abandoned the love of heavenly wisdom and turned aside to
the embrace rather of worldly friendship, those he perceived
despising the Creator and preferring to serve mammon. He
shows that those also are adulterers who profess belief in the
name of Christ, and yet are devoted to the allurements and
the love of the world.9
There is still another kind of adultery. The apostle
Paul says that he is not involved in it when he says:
For we are not like a great many who adulterate the word of
God, but we speak in sincerity as from God, in the presence
of God, in Christ.* The various forms of adultery must * 2 Co 2:17
first be removed from the heart so that they may not
bring a person to perform the works of the flesh.
Before adultery is acted out it is already present in
one’s thinking.10 Now Elijah and John had belts of skin
9. Idem, In Jac 4:4; CCSL 121:212.
10. Cf. Isid. Sent. II.39.14; PL 83:641D-642A.
167
girded about their loins; but in the Apocalypse there

is a golden belt around the breast. Therefore Not to
commit adultery is a belt of skin around the loins;
not to look at a woman so as to lust after her is a golden
belt around the breast. The rule wants the monk to
CCM 90 º have these two belts—the belt ºof skin always girding
his loins, the golden belt his breast. About the one the
Lk 12:13 * Lord says: Let your loins be girded;* about the other the
prophet admonishes us saying: Gird your loins above your
Is 32:11-12 * breasts.* Hence also James says: Therefore with the loins of
In fact, 1 P * your mind girded,* and so forth.
1:13 Therefore monks must have a special love for the beauty
of chastity,11 which is compared to a golden belt. The delight
of it, once tasted, is found sweeter than all the delights of the
flesh. For chastity is a sweet fruit, and the inviolate beauty of
the saints is security of mind and health of body.12 Through
this men are lifted up to heaven and united to the
angelic choir.
Lk 18:20 * 5
Not to steal.* In the law also it is written: You shall
Ex 20:15 * not steal.* And the apostle says: The man who used to
Eph 4:28 * steal is to steal no longer.* And elsewhere among other
1 Co 6:10 * things: Neither will thieves possess the kingdom of God.*
So he who wants to possess the kingdom of God must
in all ways guard himself from the evil of theft, lest
while longing to seize what belongs to another he
lose his own soul and suffer the loss of the heavenly
kingdom. It is not an insignificant but a great evil that
he commits who takes money away from his brother,
and the kingdom of heaven from himself. The monk
must understand that theft is not always committed
in one and the same way. He who takes a slave from
his master and subjects him to someone else doubtless
commits a theft. Therefore he also who by evil living
11. Cf. Ibid. 40.5; PL 643A.

12. Smar. Diad. mon. 28 (PL 102:624A); Isid. Sent. II.40.5 (PL
83:643C-644A).
withdraws himself from his own Creator and hands

himself over to the devil commits a theft no less. Our
Lord Jesus Christ created us from the clay of the earth
and redeemed us by his own blood; therefore we are
his slaves by virtue of our creation, and his servants
by virtue of our redemption. But if any of us, as has
been said before, by his evil living withdraws himself
from his service and subjects himself to the devil, he
commits the very worst theft. He has separated him-
self from the company of sons, and having become
the slave of demons has lost both the inheritance and
the mansion of the kingdom of heaven. For it is writ-
ten: Everyone who sins is the slave of sin; but the slave
does not abide in the house for ever.* Similarly too, he * Jn 8:34-35
who takes members belonging to Christ and makes
them members of fornication and of a harlot, com-
mits theft, and having become the slave of sin does not
abide in the house for ever, that is, in heaven. About this
house the Lord said: In my Father’s house there are many º CCM 91
* Jn 14:2
ºmansions.* For he also said who does not enter through
the gate, but goes up some other way, is a thief and a robber.* * Jn 10:1
And therefore because they are not committed in one
way, thefts must not be understood in one and the
same way, but in many ways; and we must beware of
the fault attaching to all of them.
6
Not to covet.* He is not speaking here about that * Rm 13:9
earnest desire of which David sang: My soul longed and
fainted for the courts of the Lord;* and: My soul longed to * Ps 84:2
desire your justifications for all time;* and of which it is * Ps 119:20
written somewhere else: And so the earnest desire for
wisdom led to the everlasting kingdom.* For desire of this * Ws 6:21
kind is virtuous. What this instrument is about is the
vice of which the Lord says: You shall not covet your
neighbor’s property.* Hence James too says: Everyone is * Ex 20:17,
Dt 5:21
tempted by his own concupiscence, drawn away and enticed
by it;* and: Concupiscence when it conceives gives birth to * Jm 1:14
sin.* Peter also says: Fleeing the corruption of that concupis- * Jm 1:15
2 P 1:4 * cence which is in the world,* in keeping with that saying:

Si 21:2 * Flee from sin as from the face of a serpent.* And Paul the
apostle says: Let not sin reign in your mortal body so that
Rm 6:12 * you obey its concupiscences.*
By this we are given to understand that it is especially
through the concupiscence of the mortal body that sin
reigns in us. John also says: All that is in the world is the
concupiscence of the flesh and the concupiscence of the eyes
1 Jn 2:16 * and the pride of life.*
Clearly under the names of these vices he brings together
all the various kinds of vices. For the concupiscence of the
flesh is everything that pertains to the pleasure and delight of
the body; amongst these are especially food, drink and sexual
intercourse,13 and so forth.And the concupiscence of the
eyes is all the world’s excessive attention to acquiring
temporal things and useless cares, in discussing good
things and evil, and in gloating over the vices of one’s
neighbors.14 Monks need to be very much on their
guard against the vice of concupiscence, for it easily
seizes the mind unawares, and infusing its venom
quickly plunges the soul into death. Therefore just
as murder, theft and adultery, so too is the evil of
concupiscence prohibited by the Lord among the
ten precepts of the Law, because just as the former
vices deliver a man up to punishment, so too does
concupiscence draw and entice him away and plunge
him into the pit of hell.
CCM 92 º º 7Not to bear false witness.* False witness means

Mk 10:19 *
that by which truth is often made sport of, so that
things done or said are said not to have been done.
There is, too, another kind of lie, which makes a monk
exceedingly guilty. Every promise uttered with words
only, and not fulfilled by works, is without doubt
proven to be false witness. And so Solomon says: A
lying witness will perish, but an obedient man speaks of vic-
13. Bede In 1 Jo. 2:16; CCSL 121:293.
14. Cf. ibid.
tories,* because the one who claims to be serving God, yet * Pr 21:28
does not in his works carry out what he says, will perish
for ever; but the words of the one who strives to carry out
faithfully what he promises result in victory, because while
he is at pains to conquer his desires through obedience, he
afterwards receives the palm of victory through the justice of
the judge.15
That person is proved to be a false witness who does
not understand sayings in the same sense in which
they are said. Such were the men of whom the Gospel
says: Now last of all there came two false witnesses,* and so * Mt 26:60
forth. But monks who long to climb unimpeded to the
kingdom on high must be particularly on their guard
against the kind of falsehood of which the prophet says:
From the womb they have gone astray, and from the womb
they have spoken falsehood,* because as Solomon says: * Ps 58:3
A false witness will not go unpunished.* A false-speaking * Pr 19:5
witness is liable to punishment from three persons:
first, from God, whom he despises by speaking falsely,
committing perjury and lying; secondly, from the
judge he deceives by pretending, lying, and speaking
falsely; lastly, from the innocent person he injures and
oppresses by false testimony. For just as he who speaks
false witness against an innocent person is condemned
in God’s sight, so too is he who easily believes those
who speak it, and who readily lends an ear to their
accusations. For the just man’s speech must serve only
to save, not to condemn a brother.
8
To honor everyone.* A monk honors everyone * 1 P 2:17
when he despises himself and humbles himself before
all, and when, regarding everyone as his superiors,
he shows himself to be an inferior;* when not * RB 7.51
only does he have humility in his heart, but shows
lowliness and self-contempt in his body;* when he * RB 7:62
embraces everyone in fraternal love and reverences
15. Bede In Pr II.21; CCSL 119B:111.

them humbly as seniors; when he declares himself a

sinner before everyone, and proclaims himself a useless
RB 7:64-65 * servant;* when he honors the seniors as fathers and
RB 4:70-71 * loves the juniors as brothers.* Hence Peter the apostle
CCM 93 º
1 P 2:17 *
says: Honor everyone, ºlove the brotherhood.* Hence Paul
Rm 12:10 † admonishes: Anticipating one another in showing honor.†
Therefore a monk honors everyone when he submits
to all, is serviceable to all, and is counted generous and
agreeable. In the Sacred Writings honor is understood
to consist not so much in salutations and performing
the duties of obedience, as in giving alms, presents and
gifts.16
9
And let him not do to another what he does
Tb 4:16 * not want done to himself.* When this saying is
referred to love of God, everything shameful dies out;
and when it is referred to love of neighbor, all mis-
deeds die out. For someone who does not to another
what he does not want done to himself does not inflict
evil on a brother, or render evil for evil, or utter curse
for curse; he does not slander his neighbor in secret, or
envy his good works; he shuts off from himself the ap-
proach of all sins, so to say, and opens the door to char-
ity and all good virtues. For while he neither wishes
nor does evil to another, he both wishes and does good
to his neighbor as far as he can. But this saying must
also be understood in the same way as what we said
above about theft. No one wants the place where he
lives to be spoilt, so he must not spoil the place where
God lives, namely, himself; no one wants anyone to
steal his slave and hand him over to another as to an
unlawful owner; no one wants a robber to drive away
his beast of burden and hand it over to a plunderer; no
one wants anyone to plunder his dwelling and turn
his temple upside down. Therefore what a man does
not want done to himself, let him not do to God, that
16. Cf. Hier. In Mt II; CCSL 77:127.

is, let him not by evil living withdraw himself from

God and hand himself over to the devil; but while
persevering in good works let him say with David: I
am become as a beast before you, yet am I always with you.* * Ps 73:22
Let him not tear down God’s dwelling in himself, or
turn his temple upside down, for it is written:You are
the temple of God, and the Spirit of the Lord dwells in you;* * 1 Co 3:16
and: He who violates the temple of the Lord in himself, him
will God destroy.* Therefore by living evilly in him- * 1 Co 3:17
self a monk both withdraws the Lord’s slave from his
Master, and drives away his beast of burden, and tears
down the house of the Holy Spirit and overthrows his
temple; and in this way he does to another what he
does not want done to himself.
º 10To deny oneself to oneself so as to follow º CCM 94

Christ.* To deny means ‘to renounce’, ‘to forbid’, * Mt 16:24,
Lk 9:23
‘to refuse’. In the Gospel the Lord says: If anyone wants
to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross
and follow me.* And what does To deny oneself to * Mt 16:24,
Lk 9:23
oneself mean, if not to put off the old self † with his † Eph 4:22
deeds? And what does it mean to follow Christ, if
not to put on the new self who is made according to God
in justice and holiness,* who is to live spiritually and * Eph 4:24
not in the way of the flesh? For the flesh lusts against
the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh,* that is, the old * Ga 5:17
self against the new, and the new against the old. Our
inner self fights against the outer, and the outer against
the inner. For the flesh always desires useless and per-
ishable things, the spirit seeks what is useful and always
sighs for what is eternal. The flesh is frequently pulled
in all directions by the cares and anxieties of the world,
is snatched away by the allurements of pleasures, is in-
flamed by the desires of the flesh, is happy to live idly,
is weighed down by the vice of lethargy, is burdened
by sluggishness and drowsiness, is infected with laziness
of mind, seduced by gluttony and greed and distended
by a superfluity of food and drink; and while it is
immoderately nourished with all these things, it is

drawn away to the foul work of fornication. The spirit
which desires to please God by holy works forbids its
body to carry out these and similar things.
And this is To deny oneself to oneself so as to
follow Christ; that is, a man forbids himself to do
evil and spurs himself to do good. For Christ suffered for
1 P 2:21 * us, leaving us an example that we may follow his footsteps.*
What is to follow his footsteps, if not to walk as he
walked, that is, to despise all the prosperity he despised,
and not fear the adversity he bore; willingly to do
what he did, become what he commanded, hope for
what he promised, and follow where he himself has
preceded; to bestow a favor on the ungrateful, not
repay the ill-willed according to their deserts, and pray
for one’s enemies; to love the good, have mercy on the
perverse, attract the adverse, and in charity support the
converted; and to endure with equanimity those who
are somewhat deceitful and the proud.
corpus * 11
To chastise the body. The latin word for body*
comes from ‘corruption’, because once corrupted it
CCM 95 º perishes. It is destructible, perishable and ºmortal.17
This we must amend, afflict and correct by means of
fasts, and if necessary beat it with lashes. We can say
‘chastise’ when we mean ‘beat’, as Pilate said of the
Lk 23:16 * Lord: ‘I will chastise him and let him go’.* The body
is chastised with fasts, vigils and many afflictions, of
which Paul the apostle says: Now I do not run aimlessly,
1 Co 9:26-27 * but I chastise my body and bring it into subjection,* and
so on.
What else does To chastise the body mean, if not to
die to vices and sin? What does dying to sin mean, except
not living at all to works that deserve condemnation,
and not coveting anything in a fleshly way or seeking
it inordinately? As one dead in the flesh no longer
17. Cf. Isid. Etym. XI.1.14; PL 82:399B.

slanders anyone, does not oppose or slight anyone, is not

violent towards anyone, does not calumniate or oppress
anyone, does not envy the good or revile the afflicted,
behave wantonly or get drunk, burn with the flames of
hatred or pursue unjust gain, fawn upon the powerful
or rich, is not a prey to restless curiosity or tortured
by care and anxiety, is not delighted by the greetings
of others or wearied by the injuries inflicted by the
proud; pride does not inflate him, sinful ambition does
not cast him down headlong, vainglory does not toss
him shamefully this way and that, controversy does not
cause him to be agitated, daring does not make him
impudent, nor injustice unfair, nor harshness fierce;
inconstancy does not make him changeable, contumacy
obstinate, nor gluttony a slave of pleasure; disobedience
does not make him rebellious, boasting a windbag,
levity petty, cruelty savage, shameful gluttony a great
eater, fickleness impatient or instability fickle, animosity
easily provoked, vanity verbose or spite a scoffer. Such
a one is far removed from worldly allurements and
enmities, from lying in wait for others, from robberies,
lies and perjury; finally, he is removed from every kind
of shameful thing, every kind of misdeed.18 And as one
dead in the flesh can neither do nor suffer the things
I have mentioned, those who, in order to live to God,
chastise their body and crucify their flesh with its vices
and concupiscences,* do not live at all to these and * Ga 5:24
other such vices.
12
Not to embrace pleasure. He does not forbid us
to touch or to taste pleasure, but he does forbid us to
seize it greedily and embrace it with love and desire.
For a fast that is compensated for with pleasure in the eve-
ning is scorned,19 as the prophet says: ‘Behold, on the day
of your fast your own will is found’*. ‘Will’ here means * Is 58:3
18. Cf. Vita cont. II.21.2; PL 59:466C-467B.

19. Diad. Mon. 27; PL 102:623B.
CCM 96 º ‘pleasure’;20 all day ºlong he is thinking about a sumptuous

meal as he prepares delicious things for himself, to satisfy
his gluttony in the evening.21 And such a fast receives no
praise, because in the evening the belly is distended
with a full intake of delicious foods.22 That is not to
be regarded as abstinence, when delicious fullness of belly
follows.23
Carnal pleasure makes one greedy when about
to eat, and lazy and sleepy when sated; on the other
hand, spiritual pleasure makes the one filled with
it eager for more, and happy. Once consumed, the
former produces loathing, while the latter increases
the longing to eat; the former when consumed in
large amounts blunts the keenness of the mind, the
latter pours a spiritual light into the heart; the former
produces sleepiness, the latter watchfulness; the former
causes the body to be sluggish, and the soul as well,
while the latter continually brings the love of the Lord
to the clean of heart; the former causes one to desire
the bed, the latter, heaven; the former, sleep, the latter,
the kingdom ; the former seeks shameful and shadowy
bed-chambers, the latter wants to have a holy and
shining glory with the saints in heaven; the former
delights to dally with prostitutes in a brothel, the latter
delights to reign with the angels in heaven; the former
longs for voluptuous embraces, the latter hastens to
come to Christ’s embraces, so that they may enjoy rest
with him for ever as spouse with spouse.
It is called pleasure because it daintily nourishes the
one who eats of it, and because people take delight
in it. It makes one soft, flabby and delicate in God’s
service. Spiritual pleasure on the contrary makes one
spirited, strong and inflexible for zealously pursuing
20. Isid. Sent. II.44.11; PL 83:652B.

21. Ibid. 12 (l.c.).
22. Cf. ibid. 10 (l.c.); Diad. mon. 27 (l.c.).
23. Isid. Sent II.44.11 (652).
eternal glory.24 And therefore monks must strive

earnestly after the latter, and not cling to the former.
But what monks must love and embrace is shown by
the following remarks:
13
To love fasting. There are many who fast, but they
do not love fasting itself. Compelled by necessity, they
endure fasting as a burden laid on them, but they do
not love it. In animal fashion they bear the burden, but
do not taste its sweetness. And so they do not love the
thing itself that they bear. And just as someone loaded
with a burden wants to lay it down before he reaches
his destination, so the lazy monk wants to break his
fast before the appointed hour. He frequently looks
at the clock, and very often raises his eyes to heaven
to ºconsider the course of the sun; both by his words º CCM 97
and by his desires he proclaims that it is already meal-
time. Now a good monk must not act like this, but
he should love fasting as a medicine for the soul. By
fasting the soul is defended from all danger of allure-
ments, by fasting the demons’ temptations are driven
away, by fasting the power of the vices is broken, by
fasting the pleasure of the flesh is restrained, by fasting
the incitements of lust are extinguished.25 Through
fasting, prayer more freely penetrates heaven, and the
keen point of the fasting mind fixes its gaze more in-
tently on the gift of compunction; for through the
gifts of fasting both the hidden realities of heavenly
mysteries and the concealed realities of divine secrets
are revealed to one; through the gift of fasting, from
being carnal a person becomes spiritual and is joined
to the choir of all the saints and angels.26 And for this
reason the good monk must love fasting.
24. Cf. Greg. Hom. ev. II.36.1; PL 76:1266AB.

25. Cf. Diad. Mon. 27; PL 102:623A.
26. Isid. Sent. II.44.1-2 (PL 651A); Diad. mon. 27 (PL
622D-623A).
But because we have said that fasting is an overall

chastising of the body, we must fast not only from the
inordinate longing for food, but also from all rejoicing
in temporal pleasures. For if this virtue which is called
abstinence sanctifies the whole person, it is necessary not only
for the body but also for the soul, because the whole person
consists of body and soul. Now abstinence is spiritual and
perfect when it makes one a stranger not only as regards the
allurements of carnal pleasures but also as regards all sins.27
While this virtue is necessary for all, those especially who
Ac 4:32 * have one heart and one soul * fused by the fire of divine
charity have a greater familiarity with it. For them, just as
they have but one substance, so their life becomes one, because
in order for a holy union of minds to come about and to exist
there must be a resolve to share possessions. For the rest, of
what use is it for us to cast away our possessions if we do not
abandon our own wills?28
If Adam in paradise had been willing to observe
this abstinence he would not have lost the state of
happiness, or become subject to the misfortune of
corruption and mortality. For who can tell how many
good things his inability to restrain his desires deprived
him of, because he lost the dignity of an intellectual
mind, and destroyed the image of his Creator?29
Troublesome anxiety did not disquiet him there, nor did
anxious toil weary him; sleep did not oppress him, nor the
fear of death distress him; he had easy access to food and
drink, and a healthy body, calm emotions, and a clean heart;
CCM 98 º he was ignorant of evil, ºan inhabitant of paradise, without
experience of sin, and with a capacity for God.30 Finally, who
was more fortunate than he? The world was subject to him,
no one was hostile, his spirit was free and God was visible.
Therefore before he sinned Adam could see God, just as the
27. Vita cont. II.17.1; PL 59:462A.

28. Ibid. 2; PL 462BC.
29. Cf. ibid. 18.1; 463AB.
30. Ibid.; 463BC.
holy patriarchs saw him.31 But after he disobeyed him

he lost the freedom he had to see him. And therefore
we must love the abstinence of fasting, so that all
these things we have lost in Adam we may obtain in
Christ—no longer liable to perish, but eternal.
14
To relieve the poor. It is fitting that, after speak-
ing about the love of fasting, he should admonish us
about relieving the poor, for our best fasting is done
when we expend on the poor what we withdraw from
our stomach. Hence the prophet admonishes us say-
ing: Sanctify a fast.* As though to say: What you with- * Jl 1:14, 2:15
draw from your body in time of fast for its affliction,
offer to the poor for your soul’s sanctification, and to
win a blessing. For it is written: Stretch out your hand
to the poor man, so that your propitiation and blessing may
make progress*.32 And again: My son, do not defraud the poor * Si 7:32[36]
man of his alms, and do not avert your eyes from the poor. Do
not despise the hungry soul, and do not afflict the heart of the
needy. Do not turn your face away from the destitute, and your
eyes from the needy. Bend your ear to the poor man, and pay
your debt.* Because of the commandment receive the poor man, * Si 4:1-8
and because of his need do not send him away empty* but, * Si 29:9[12]
shut up an alms in the poor man’s bosom, and it will pray
for you to the Lord.* The angel Raphael also urges us * Si 29:15Vulg.
to make an alms with a willing spirit, saying: Prayer
with fasting and almsgiving is good, because it delivers from
death and purges away sins.* The only good there is in pos- * Tb 12:9
sessing things is if they are used to refresh the life of the
wretched.33 Therefore justly amassing wealth will not be
an obstacle to us if we distribute it generously. From it
we must offer to the needy a gift of mercy, cover the
nakedness of the poor, supply pilgrims’ wants, wipe
away the misery of orphans, ward off hunger from the
31. Ibid. 18.2; 463C.

32. ‘May make progress’. The CCM text has proficiatur, Migne
has proficiat, and the Vulgate perficiatur.
33. Sent. III.60.2; PL 83:733A.
hungry and thirst from the thirsty, and supply the needs
of the sick. Therefore we must give alms to the poor
with great alacrity of mind, seeing that what is given
joyfully to the poor is given to the Lord himself. For
the Lord himself is going to say to those on his right
hand: Come, blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom which
CCM 99 º ºhas been prepared for you from the beginning of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me to eat, I was thirsty and
Mt 25:34-35 * you gave me to drink,* and so forth.We shall have Christ
as our rewarder for ever, if for his sake we have offered
bread to the poor. We shall obtain from him eternal
mercy, if for his sake we have extended our right hand
to the poor. So let us give food and drink, that we may
deserve to reach the eternal banquet with Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, and that we may there receive heav-
enly things in place of earthly things, everlasting things
in place of what is temporal, great things in place of
small, things lasting for things perishable, things that
will endure for things that pass away. There is also an-
other kind of alms that is twofold, and with this monks
especially must relieve the poor. One kind is to be
employed for the sick and distressed, the other for the
foolish and ignorant. For he who through compas-
sion shares with a sick person and ministers a counsel
of comfort to the distressed is certainly relieving the
poor. Likewise he also who ministers teaching to the
foolish and the word of knowledge to the ignorant is
worthy to be praised with the praise reserved for the
almsgiver.
Mt 25:36 * 15
To clothe the naked.* Just as there is nakedness of
body, so also is there nakedness of soul. Nakedness of
body is due to lack of clothing, but nakedness of soul
comes from lack of virtues. Therefore just as we must
clothe the body with garments, so too must we clothe
the soul with virtues. I am clothed with justice, says Job,
Jb 29:14 * and it has clothed me like a garment.* And the prophet
says: He has clothed me with the garment of salvation, and
covered me with the robe of gladness.* The monk must * Is 61:10
clothe both himself and others with these and similar
garments. When he sinned in paradise Adam lost not
the body’s but the soul’s garment.* He lost innocence, * Gn 3
immortality and glory. He also who was going down
from Jerusalem to Jericho was despoiled by robbers of
the soul’s clothing.* So let us with great alacrity clothe * Lk 10:30
the naked poor bodily, because thereby we shall have
the Lord himself as a creditor, and a faithful rewarder.
For he is going to say to us amongst other things:
Come, blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom which has
been prepared for you from the beginning of the world,* for * Mt 25:34
I was naked and you covered me.* Let us also clothe our- * Mt 25:36
selves interiorly with holy virtues, because it is no use
clothing another with garments and leaving oneself
naked of virtues. Of course we must have pity on oth-
ers, but ºin such a way as not to forget ourselves. The º CCM 100
divine word thus admonishes us concerning the work
of mercy, saying: My son, have pity on your own soul,
while pleasing God.* Therefore as far as we can let us * Si 30:24 Vulg.
have pity on others, and ever solicitous for ourselves
let us have pity on ourselves, so that we may obtain an
eternal reward for others, and an everlasting reward for
watching over ourselves.
16
To visit the sick.* We must visit the sick, because * Mt 25:36
in them we visit the Lord. For he is going to say to
us, amongst all the other works of mercy: I was sick
and you visited me.* Let us visit the sick on account of * Mt 25:36
compunction, so as to be able to say with Paul: Who is
weak, and I am not weak?* Let us also visit them because * 2 Co 11:29
of life’s vicissitudes, that is, so that when we ourselves
are sick we may be visited by the healthy. Let us visit
them for love’s sake, because it is written: Let not visit-
ing the sick be irksome to you, for by them you will be made
strong in love.* Now someone also visits the sick when * Si 7:35[39]
he bestows alms on monks from what he owns. For of
monks it is written: The ants are a weak people, yet pre-
Pr 30:25 * pare themselves food in the harvest.* And someone truly

visits the sick when he bestows alms on widows and
orphans. Widows and orphans who are humble and
poor in spirit for the Lord’s sake, not being powerful,
are without doubt the weak in this world, and need
the help of visitation in this age. The apostle says of
such visitation: Religion clean and undefiled before God
and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their
Jm 1:27 * affliction,* and so on.
There is another sickness of soul as well, on account
of which monks must visit one another very often;
it is that of which David used to say: Have mercy on
Ps 6:2 * me, O Lord, for I am weak; heal me, O Lord.* And that
you might notice what sickness it was he was speaking
Ps 6:3 * of he added: And my soul is greatly troubled.* And
elsewhere: I said: O Lord, have mercy on me, heal my soul
Ps 41:4 * for I have sinned against you.* Therefore wherever we
see a brother oppressed by the blemish of this sickness,
let us lavish on him the zeal of our visitation until such
time as he is recalled to his pristine state of health,
so that both the one suffering from sickness of body
may receive the comfort of our visitation, and the one
suffering from sickness of soul may by Christ’s gift
find an everlasting remedy. It is not only one who is ill
who is said to be sick, but also one who is troubled in
mind and very sad.
CCM 101 º º 17To bury the dead.* After commanding us to visit

Tb 1:21, 2:7-9 *
the sick, it was fitting that he should command us to
bury the dead as well, because we owe it to the sick
to visit them, and we owe it to the dead to bury them.
For it is written: My son, shed tears for the dead, and
begin to lament as though you have suffered grievously; bury
Si 38:16 * his body with due honor, and do not neglect his burial.* It
seems very surprising to some that blessed Benedict
commanded monks to bury the dead. Surely, they say,
they could not leave their own dead unburied in the
monastery, or go about through villages and estates to
bury the dead belonging to someone else? Now since

neither of these things is fitting for monks, let us see
wherein lies the fittingness of this saying. The dead
means sin, as for instance: If a man washes himself after
touching the dead, and then touches him again, his wash-
ing is of no avail,* that is, if a man washes his sin away * Si 34:25[30]
with tears and repentance, and again commits sin, the
sighs of repentance and shedding of tears bear him no
fruit.34 For the soul that has sinned will itself die.* The * Ezk 18:20
girl the Lord raised in her home* signifies sin lurking * Mt 9:25
in the mind; in the man who was carried outside the
town gate, the only son of his mother,* is signified the * Lk 7:14
sin of the soul which has already gone forth in public;
and Lazarus, who was raised by the same Lord after
being dead four days,* indicates sin already committed * Jn 11:39-44
a long time.
All men, and particularly monks, must have the
custom of burying all these different kinds of dead.
It was of this kind of burying that blessed Benedict
commanded monks To bury the dead. That is, if
sin is still only lurking in the conscience like the girl
in the house, bury it there so that it may not make its
appearance in work; if it has already shown itself in
work—as we read about that only son of his mother,
who had already been carried outside the town gate—
in order that it may not grow and proceed further,
let it meet its end then and there and be buried in
the sepulcher of the heart. And if it has already been
going on for a long time, and has been manifest to all
in public, and all have judged it to be stinking—as we
read of Lazarus four days dead—in order that it may
not sprout and grow still more in a person, let it at
long last be put to death, laid out and buried. And in
this way every monk and everyone converted to the
Lord must bury the dead, that is, his sin.
34. Cf. Diad. Mon. 77; PL 102:672D-673A.

CCM 102 º º 18To aid those in distress.* 19To console the sor-
Is 1:17 * rowing.† This virtue also is very necessary among holy
Is 61:2, 2 Co †
1:4, 1 Th 5:14 monks, namely, that the one help the other, that the
one be consoled by the other, as it is written: Bear one
Ga 6:2 * another’s burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ,*
that is, charity. There is no doubt that charity comes
to the aid of one in distress, and charity consoles one
who is sorrowing. But we need to be aware that some-
times distress is caused to a monk from outside by man,
sometimes it is caused by the demon, while sometimes
it is caused only by his own body. For this reason he
frequently has need of a brother’s help when in dis-
tress. And we must not only help one another, but we
must also provide help and relief to others who are in
any kind of need whatever. According to the apostle’s
precept we must rejoice with those who rejoice and weep
Rm 12:15 * with those who weep.*
There are two ways in which everyone is made
sorrowful: through the loss of temporal things, or
through harm to spiritual virtues. Concerning the
Qo 1:18 * latter Solomon says: He who adds knowledge adds sorrow.*
And Job says of the former: What am I to do? Even if I
Jb 16:7 * keep silent, my sorrow does not rest,* and so forth. Now
one person sorrows in a fleshly way, another spiritually;
one sorrows because he has lost earthly consolation,
another because by sinning he has lost his store of
virtues; one sorrows because he has lost father and
mother, another because by being proud he has lost
humility, and by being wanton has lost chastity; one
sorrows because he has lost the solace of parents and
at the same time the support of possessions, another
because by sinning he has lost the eternal kingdom
and its reward; one sorrows because he has become
poor in earthly things, another because he has become
poor in virtues; one sorrows because he is despised
by the world, another because he is separated from
God. And therefore so that they may not perish in
their sorrow, let both receive the consolation of the
brothers. Monks then should visit both the one and

the other, because they will receive from both an
eternal reward.
20
To make oneself a stranger to the world’s ways.*
No one, says the apostle, while serving as God’s soldier in- * Jm 1:27
volves himself in worldly matters, so that he may please the
one who enlisted him.* Hence the Lord says: Someone * 2 Tm 2:4
who does not let go of all he possesses cannot be my disciple.* * Lk 14:33
Therefore whoever wants to become a stranger to the
world’s ways must comply with the sacred precepts
and become a ºkinsman to the Lord himself. For the º CCM 103
Lord’s precept is: Turn away from evil and do good.* * Ps 34:14
Therefore let the monk, having become a stranger to
the world’s ways, draw near to his Creator in order
to be enlightened. Let him yearn for him continually,
and love him with his whole heart; for love of him
let him abandon all the harmful actions of the world
and hang all his hope on his pleasure. Let him exercise
daily in the field of the divine writings, and there as in
a mirror look closely at his whole self. All that he finds
in himself of worldly behavior that deserves rejection,
let him reject, and what he finds that deserves to be
kept, let him gladly and resolutely hold on to. Let him
set right what is deformed, cultivate what is beautiful,
preserve what is healthy, strengthen what is weak.
Let him read the Lord’s precepts without growing
weary, love them insatiably, fulfill them effectively, and
instructed by them recognize what he must beware of,
and what pursue. Let him trust in the future promises,
and live very far removed from the din of worldly
affairs; let him be watchful in spiritual studies, so that
by their means he may become better and better each
day. Let him love holy leisure, in which he may exercise
the business of his soul. He should regard himself as
dead to the world, and show that he is crucified to its
enticements. He should direct the point of his mind at
the place he desires to reach; he should put before his
soul’s eyes the blessedness of the future life and fix his
love on it. He should neither fear nor desire anything
temporal, lest excessive desire soften the intentness of
his mind. Let him not be entirely glad or entirely sad
about things temporal, but always stretch out towards
that blessed future life so that there he may be able to
see the substance of God with face unveiled.35
21
To put nothing before the love of Christ. We
read in the life of blessed Antony that he restored
friendship between many disputants, saying to them
all that they should put nothing in the world before
the love of Christ.36 And Basil says: Have but one aim,
my son: If you desire to serve one Lord, cut off from
yourself completely all carnal love, so that it may not
shut out God’s love from you.37 In very truth we must
put nothing before the love of Christ, that is,
prefer, or value it more highly. The love of Christ is
charity. When love is perverse it is called cupidity or
lust; but when it is upright it is called charity or love.38
To Christ belongs everything we can do; we live because he
quickens us, we move39 and have our being because he
1 Jn 4:10 * enlivens us, we love because he first loved us.*
CCM 104 º ºIt was out of love he created and quickened us, nourished
and guarded us; he led us to the bath of rebirth, renewed us,
governed us and brought us to the age of understanding. All
this God did for us mercifully and through love. Therefore,
O monk, open the eyes of your heart, and know that you
are so much loved by Jesus Christ that you may have no
doubt his blood was shed for you. Hang your heart on his
love; love the Lord your God, not just a little but with your
whole heart and not only part of it, with your whole soul
Mt 22:37, * and with your whole mind,* so that you do not put the love
Dt 6:5
35. Cf. Vita cont. I.8; PL 59:425D-426A.

36. Cf. Ath. Vita Anton. 13; PL 73:134C.
37. Cf. Ps.Bas. Ad fil. 2; PL103:686AB.
38. Cf. Etym. VIII.2.7; PL 82:296B.
39. Smar. Via reg. 1; PL 102:935B.
of anything before the love of your Lord. Since he is teaching

you, come to understanding, for he says: ‘He who loves father
and mother more than me is not worthy of me. He who
loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me’.* * Mt 10:37
For truly, if we love the Lord God with our whole heart,
we must in no way whatsoever prefer the love of parents or
children to love of him.40 Blessed, therefore, is the virtue of
the love of Christ, which is called simply love and charity.
For it cherishes everyone, and in the secret place of the mind
it stores up the love of all as though they were one neighbor.
Truly blessed is that which nourishes virtues and wipes out
sins, quells anger, shuts off hatred, expels avarice, checks
quarreling, and routs all vices at the same time. It endures all
things, believes all things, hopes all things;* amidst reproaches * 1 Co 13:7
it is secure, amidst angry outbursts it remains calm, amidst
hatred it is kind and always remains firm in the truth; it is
not conquered by the assaults of evil, ravaged by plunderers,
stolen by robbers or burnt by fire; it remains unconquerable,
cannot be unsettled, perseveres unshaken, rejoices unspoilt. It
is the bond of all the virtues, the glue of souls, the harmony
of minds, the fellowship of the elect and the exultation of the
holy angels. The mind it powerfully strengthens to prevent it
from being broken by adversities; the heart it carefully tempers
to prevent it from being lifted up by prosperity.41
Therefore the blessed monk must hold this out-
standing virtue in his mind, be always in its company
and abide with it; with it let him rise, with it let him
journey on without deviating, and both here and
for ever may he always live with constant joy in its
company.42
º 22Not to yield to anger.* 23Not to store up iras- º CCM 105

cibility. Between anger † and irascibility* we make this dis- * Mt 5:22
† ira
tinction: Anger is a present indignation, born suddenly from * iracundia
some disturbance of the mind, while irascibility is a natural
40. Ibid.; Diad. mon. 4 (PL 102:600B); Via reg. 1 (935BC).
41. Via reg. 1 (PL 102: 937AB); Diad. mon. 4 (600CD).
42. Cf. Via. reg. 1 (l.c.); Diad. mon. 4 (601A).
and enduring vice.Therefore an angry person is stirred up for

a while, but the irascible frequently and easily gets angry.43
It is written of the latter: The irascible person digs out
Pr 15:18 * sins.*
And the apostle forbids us to sin through anger when he
Ps 4:5 * says:‘Be angry and do not sin;* let not the sun go down upon
Eph 4:26 * your anger. Do not make a place for the devil’.* Consider
then, O blessed monk, that he who through anger seeks
vengeance against a brother is building in his heart a place for
the devil to dwell, and as far as in him lies he is preparing
a place for Christ, who is the true sun, to set.44 Therefore
with God’s help fly from anger, and do not through anger
take vengeance on a brother. Pay careful attention to Paul’s
admonition to us when he says: Laying aside all anger and
Col 3:8 * indignation and malice.* James also says: ‘Man’s anger does
Jm 1:20 * not bring about God’s justice’.* But Solomon says: ‘Jealousy
Si 30:24[26] * and anger shorten a man’s days’;* 45 and elsewhere: ‘Does
a man store up anger against a man, and seek a remedy
from God? Does he, though he is flesh, store up anger, and
Si 28:3,5 * ask forgiveness from God’ * that is swift and speedy? So he
who is too slow in reconciling his brother with himself is also
too slow in appeasing God in his regard. It is in vain that
a person seeks to have God kindly disposed towards him,
when he neglects quickly to appease his neighbor. Our Lord
himself also, the boast and ornament, teacher and preacher of
his whole Church, its creator, ruler and governor, withdraws
us completely from anger towards our brother when he says:
‘Everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to
Mt 5:22 * judgment’.* Therefore monks who want to succeed in
climbing to the heavenly kingdom must be especially on their
guard against giving effect to their anger;46 they must rather
be gentle and very meek towards all. And should their mind
be battered by a burst of irascibility, let brotherly love restrain
it. Let brotherly gentleness moderate irascibility, brotherly
43. Isid. Diff. I.301; PL 83:41BC.

44. Via reg. 24; PL 102:963A.
45. Ibid.; 963B.
46. Ibid.; 963C.
charity temper animosity, brotherly love soften indignation.

For irascibility is a great vice, since ºthrough anger wisdom º CCM 106
is lost, through anger justice is abandoned, through anger
brotherly fellowship is destroyed, through anger the harmony
of peace is broken, through anger the law of truth is lost.
When agitated by the goads of this irascibility the whole
body trembles, the tongue stammers, the face grows fiery, the
pounding heart quivers and the disturbed eyes grow dark. So
to prevent these things happening to you, O monk, restrain
anger as far as you are able, and do everything with calmness
and patience, so that you may both govern yourself modestly
and patiently here, and rejoice for ever as the possessor of
your soul.47
24
Not to hold deceit in one’s heart.* Deceit gets its * Pr 12:20
name from the fact that one person deludes another.
For he holds one thing in his heart, and pretends in
his behavior to be doing something else. It is a cun-
ning of mind,48 and a hidden malice adorned with smooth
words.49 The more hidden this vice is in the heart, the
greater does it grow in malice; but when it is brought
out in the open it is reduced to naught and healed.
What else does holding deceit in one’s heart mean,
if not in a certain way to shut up the demon in one’s
mind? He is not expelled from the deceitful mind in
any way other than by brotherly love, for it is written:
You are the temple of God, and the Spirit of the Lord dwells
in you.* Therefore if we wish to become the temple of * 1 Co 3:16
the Holy Spirit, deceit must not lurk in our heart, but
rather it must be brought out in the open and so lose
its force, and with the love of the brotherhood grow-
ing is us, it will completely vanish. But monks must be
most particularly on their guard, lest by holding deceit
in their heart they lose the indwelling Holy Spirit;
they must beware lest they cease to be the temple of
47. Ibid.; 963D-964A.

48. Cf. Etym. V.26.7; PL 82:209C.
49. Diff. I.142; PL 83:25A.
the Holy Spirit, and through having deceit become

the dwelling of the demon. For the one heart will not
be able to keep hold of the Lord and of deceit at the
same time; the Lord possesses innocent hearts, not de-
ceitful ones; he does not love the soul that is polluted
with deceit, but the one that is innocent and pure.
Hence we must give up holding deceit in our heart
and learn to love our neighbors as ourselves, so that
even in the present world we may deserve to have the
Holy Spirit dwelling in us, and in the future receive
the eternal glory and inheritance of sons.
25
Not to give a false peace, that is, the kiss [of
peace] and pardon. Falsehood is so called from speaking
something other than what is true.50 For to deny and to
conceal with an evil mind what is true is falsehood;51
like Judas, who converted the sign of peace into de-
Mt 26:49, * ceit,* for he had been a false confessor, and symbolized
Mk 14:45, Lk false peace in the Church.
22:47-48
ºSince we have spoken about false peace, let us see
CCM 107 º
what are the advantages of true peace. True peace is
serenity of mind and tranquillity of spirit; the apostle
exhorts us to have this, saying: Pursue peace and the holi-
Heb 12:14 * ness without which no one will see God.* The Lord himself
in the Gospel also says: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they
Mt 5:7 * shall be called children of God’.* When he was very near his
passion he entrusted this commandment to us, saying: ‘My
peace I give to you, my peace I entrust to you’;52 and he
Jn 14:27 * added: Not as the world gives peace do I give to you,* that
is, not a deceitful or false peace, as Judas and his fol-
lowers give, and which blessed Benedict here forbids
us to give to one another; but when ascending into
heaven he gave us true peace to hold on to, and he left
it for us to have as an everlasting inheritance.53
50. Etym. V.26.9; PL 82:209C.

51. Cf. Diff. I.220; PL 83:33A.
52. Via reg. 17 ( PL 102:957C); Diad. mon. 12 (PL 102: 609A).
53. Cf. Via reg. 17 (957C); Diad. mon. 12 (609B).
If we are willing to hold on to and pursue this with a

sincere heart, we shall be children of God and heirs of Christ.
Therefore if we desire to be God’s children and Christ’s heirs,
let us live in Christ’s peace. For God’s children must be
peaceful and humble, meek in mind, simple in heart, pure
in word, innocent in spirit, having the same mind and heart,
cleaving faithfully and unanimously to one another.54
26
Not to forsake charity.* The greek word ‘charity’ is * 1 P 4:8
translated as ‘attachment’ in Latin.55 Charity is perfect love
of God and of neighbor;56 the person who forsakes it
loses both God and neighbor. This virtue of love em-
braces the eternal love57, to which according to the apostle
a special pre-eminence among the virtues is given, and an
eternal and abiding reverence.58 This we must not forsake,
nor must we have it only for a while, but we must
keep hold of it constantly and happily for ever, and
it must not at any time, even for a moment, be miss-
ing from our mind. For it is written: Let your garments
be white at all times, and let oil not be missing from your
head.* Oil on the head is charity in the mind. Oil is missing * Qo 9:8
from the head when charity departs from the mind.59 Hence
Peter the apostle urges us saying: Before all things have
a constant mutual charity among you.* And Paul says: Let * 1 P 4:8
the charity of brotherhood abide in you.* Therefore char- * Heb 13:1
ity must remain, and remain permanently with God’s
children, so that it may teach them to do God’s will
in the present, and may remain with them happily for
eternity.
ºFor charity is an upright will joined and united º CCM 108
inseparably to God, set alight by a certain fire of the Holy
Spirit, from whom it comes and to whom it returns; a stranger
54. Via reg. 17 (957D); Diad. mon. 12 (609B).

55. Etym. VIII.2.6; PL 82:296A.
56. Diff. II.36.139; PL 83:92A.
57. Cf. ibid.
58. Ibid. 140 (92B).
59. Greg. Moral. II.52.82; CCSL 143:109.
to all defilement, incapable of being corrupted or subject to

any vice, it is high above all that is carnally loved, the most
powerful of all affections, avid for divine contemplation,
always unconquered in everything; it is the health of morals,
the death of crimes, the life of virtues, the strength of fighters,
the palm of victors, the reward of the perfect. It raises those
who are dead in their sins, heals the listless, restores the lost,
inspires hope in the desperate, dwells in peaceful minds. It is
fruitful in the penitent, joyful in the proficient, glorious in
those who persevere, and at work in absolutely all believers;
faith conceives it, hope runs to it, everyone’s progress is of
service to it, every good work draws life from it. Under it
obedience grows, through it patience conquers, without it no
one has pleased or will please God; with it no one has been
or will be able to sin.This is true charity,60 which we must
not forsake but resolutely hold on to.
For this virtue is necessary to us above all; it separates us
from the devil, purifies us from sin, reconciles us with God.61
Therefore no trace of sin can remain in us and nothing good
can be lacking to us if charity, the mother of all that is good,
is present to us. For if, according to the apostle, ‘Charity is
patient, is kind’, if ‘it does not envy, does not deal perversely,
is not puffed up, is not ambitious, does not seek its own, is
not provoked to anger, does not think evil, does not rejoice
over iniquity, but rejoices in the truth’; if ‘it bears all things,
1 Co 13:4-7 * believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things,’* it
imparts to all in whom it is present these good things it
possesses; and what can be more perfect in this life than those
who, because charity reigns in them, abound in such great
virtues?62
Mt 5:33-34 * 27
Not to swear, lest one commit perjury.*
Swearing is not against God’s precept, because he
said:You shall swear by my name. But when we make
a habit of swearing we incur the charge of perjury.
Therefore it is necessary that the person who is afraid
60. Vita cont. III.13; PL 59:493BC.

61. Ibid. 14.2; 495A.
62. Ibid. 14.3; 495BC.
of committing perjury should never swear.63 For it is

written: Let not your mouth grow accustomed to swearing,* * Si 23:9
and: A man who swears much will be filled with iniquity.* * Si 23:11
And James the apostle warns us strongly not to swear
when he says: Before all ºthings, brethren, do not swear, º CCM 109
either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath; but let your
word be Yes, yes, No, no, that you may not fall in judgment.* * Jm 5:12
And our Lord Jesus Christ, everyone’s salvation and
savior, who wants everyone to be saved, and wants to
deliver them from the evil of perjury, admonishes us
saying:You shall not swear by heaven, for it is the seat of
God; nor by earth, for it is his footstool; neither shall you
swear by your own head, for you cannot make one hair white
or black. But let your word be Yes, yes, No, no; and what is
more is from the evil one.* Now the person who does * Mt 5:34-37
not swear does not sin and is far from sin, while the
person who swears, even if he swears the truth, is close
to sin. If he slips and stumbles, down he crashes and
incurs the penalty for perjury.Therefore false swearing
is destructive, true swearing is dangerous; it is only no
swearing that is sound and secure.
Someone says: It isn’t swearing when I say, God is
my witness; and: I call on God as witness, or things
like that. But what does it mean to swear,* if not to * iurare
call on God and give back a right to God?* What does * ius reddere
it mean to say: God is my witness, if not to swear by
God? For God himself, by whom a person swears,
is invisible; he has sworn by the invisible One, he is
struck by an invisible penalty. For the apostle also,
when he says: Before all things, do not swear,* puts us * Jm 5:12
on our guard against our tongue so that we may be
attentive and watchful, in case the habit of swearing
finds its way into us unawares. Before all things, he says,
to make you most attentive against the custom of
swearing, so that you might examine everything and
guard very carefully all the movements of your tongue.
There follows: That you may not fall in judgment.* * Jm 5:12
63. Cf. Sent. II.31.2; PL 83:633C.

Therefore, he says, I restrain you from the fault of swearing,

for fear that by frequently swearing the truth you may at
some time even fall into perjury, and so that you may be all
the further from the vice of perjury, the less willing you are
to swear the truth unless there be a very real need. But that
person does fall under a judgment of “Guilty” who, even
though he never commits perjury, swears the truth more often
than there is need, the reason being that he does wrong by the
very lack of need for his speech, and he offends the judge who
forbade both the useless word and every oath.64
CCM 110 º
Ps 15:2 * º 28To utter truth from heart and mouth.* Many
have one thing in their heart, yet utter something else
from their mouth. And since they are deceived by van-
ity they are eager to deceive others; and because the
Ps 5:9 * truth is not in their mouth, therefore their heart is empty.*
But the monk who desires with a pure heart to follow
the footsteps of Christ who said: I am the Way, the Truth
Jn 14:6 * and the Life,* must hold the truth in his heart, and must
utter it simply from his mouth, because that person is
said to dwell in the Lord’s tent and to rest on his holy
mountain who speaks the truth in his heart, and does not
Ps 15:2 * practice deceit with his tongue.* Deceit is practiced with
the tongue when the truth is concealed in the heart
and falsehood sounds from the mouth. For it is vanity
and great wretchedness, to hold one thing in the heart
and to utter another when speaking to a brother. The
human creature is subject to vanity and so does not
stand fixed in the truth, but is always prone to deceive
his neighbor.
But monks, whom the Lord has deigned to separate
from this world’s falsehood and vanity, must utter
truth from heart and mouth. Truth must always
dwell in their heart, and truth must sound in their
mouth: truth in thought, truth in word, truth in deed;
and in every respect in all their actions it must shine
64. Bede In Jac 5:12; CCSL 121:220.

resplendent and ever remain fixed in them. For truth

is in the angels, truth is in the patriarchs and prophets,
truth is in the apostles and virgins, truth is in the
martyrs and confessors, truth is in all those dwelling
in heaven, and truth is in all the saints sojourning in
the world. Now in and with all these there is always
our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Way, the Truth and the
Life,* and the salvation and glory of all the saints. * Jn 14:6
29
Not to render evil for evil.* According to the * 1 Th 5:15,
1 P 3:9
precept of the holy rule monks must altogether flee
forgetfulness,* and listen carefully to the warnings the * RB 7.10
Holy Spirit gives them* through his servants. For it is * RB Prol. 9
not fitting for a monk to be a forgetful hearer, but he
should be an active doer of the work.* Therefore let us * Jm 1:22
hear not only with the ear of the body but also with
that of the mind, and accomplish in our works what
Peter the prince of the apostles warns us saying: Be
merciful, humble, not rendering evil for evil.* You see, then, * 1 P 3:8-9
that in rendering evil for evil you lose both the work
of mercy you perform and the service of ºhumility º CCM 111
you give. For it is written: Do not be overcome by evil, but
overcome evil by good.* * Rm 12:21
That person is overcome by evil who, when provoked by
evils renders evil; but that person overcomes evil by good who,
when he has received evils, renders good.65 For a man who
wins another to his side is said to have overcome the other. So
if he makes you render to him in equal kind and measure, he
has overcome you by making you like himself.66
Paul the apostle also says: Do not be prudent in your
own estimation, and render no one evil for evil.* * Rm 12:16-17
If to inflict evil is a sin, to render evil for evil is not just,
but is a similar or even more serious sin. For he who first
inflicted the evil did so perhaps thoughtlessly on the spur
65. Origines In Rom IX.24; PG 14:1225AB.

66. Smar. Collect.; PL 102:93A.
of the moment. But he who renders evil for evil does so

voluntarily and with reflection.67
Again it is written: Do not defend yourselves, dearly
Rm 12:19 * beloved, but give place to anger.* He gives place to anger
who does not defend himself by taking revenge, who
does not render abuse for abuse, who does not inflict
blow for blow or cause injury for injury or wrong for
wrong, who does not return slap for slap but prepares
the other cheek to receive, and bears with patience
all the adversity that may befall him.68 And so there
follows:
30
Not to do a wrong, but to bear patiently
wrongs done. A wrong is abuse, insults and any in-
justice.69 It is called a wrong because it is done con-
trary to the order of law. Men are accustomed to do
wrong to other men in many ways, at different times
provoking them by insults, at other times taunting
them with accusations; sometimes they lay hands on
them and rob them, and even at times strike them.
Not only must the monk, and in fact every Catholic
Christian whatever, not do these wrongs to others, but
he must also suffer them patiently, even with sorrow,
when they are inflicted on him by others. For it is
written: Endure in sorrow and be patient in your humility,
Si 2:4-5 for gold is tried in the fire,* and so forth.
In order then that the virtue of patience may be
tested in the monk, let him show himself very brave
in bearing wrongs, for as has been said, just as gold
is tried in the furnace of fire, so is the monk tried
in the furnace of tribulation. Paul witnesses to this
when he says: Knowing that tribulation produces patience,
CCM 112 º ºpatience produces testing, and testing hope,* and so on.
Rm 5:3-4*
67. Origines In Rom IX.19 (PG 14:1222C); Smar. Collect.

(PL 102:91BC).
68. Cf. Origines In Rom IX.22 (1224A); Smar. Collect. (92A).
69. Cf. Etym.V.26.10; PL 82:209C.
But Peter says: So that the testing of your faith may be

much more precious than gold, which is tested by fire.* 70 The * 1 P 1:7
Lord also says in the Gospel: In your patience you shall
possess your souls.* Solomon also says: A man’s learning * Lk 21:19
is known through patience* And Paul says: Console the * Pr 19:11
timid, support the weak, be patient towards all.* For James * 1 Th 5:14
says: Patience has a perfect work, that you may be perfect
and complete, lacking in nothing.* 71 And elsewhere: He * Jm 1:4
tested them like gold in the furnace, and received them as
holocausts,* because those he has tested in the furnace * Ws 3:6
of tribulation he takes up as an acceptable offering
to enjoy the reward. For just as gold is shut in the
furnace and tested, and when that has been done it
will be seen, once outside, just how bright it is, so the
constancy of good monks seems contemptible in the
world, but when the time of recompense comes it will
be seen just how glorious they were.
Therefore, in order that we may be able to possess
our souls* let us hold resolutely to the virtue of * Lk 21:19
patience. And so that we may be perfect and complete
in all our actions, let us be patient towards all, lacking
in nothing.
For great is the virtue of patience, which does not injure,
but instead loves him from whom one suffers injury; it remits
an injury to the one causing it, and does not return it; it
does not hurt someone when it could, but spares him. It
is patience that commends us to God and keeps us safe
in mind from all evils. This virtue it is that tempers anger,
curbs the tongue, governs the mind; this it is that keeps the
peace, exercises discipline in moderation, valiantly crushes the
onset of inordinate passion, represses the violence of an angry
outburst, extinguishes the flame of enmity; this it is that
70. Smaragdus’s quotation from 1 Peter 1:7 includes a sit (multo

pretiosior sit auro) which is not in the Vulgate.
71. The habet of the Latin does not accurately correspond to
the echeto of the Greek of James 1:4, thus increasing the vagueness
of the expression. The Nova Vulgata published in 1979 brings
the Latin into line with the Greek, using habeat.
restrains the power of tyrants, assists the poor in their need,

makes people humble in prosperity and brave in adversity,
conquers temptations, bears with persecutions, and governs
us with moderation and justice so that we may be able to
hold fast the way of Christ. And so not only monks but
all Catholic Christians must love and cherish this virtue,
embracing it joyfully and with all their power.72
Mt 5:44, * 31
To love one’s enemies.* Because we are God’s
Lk 6:27
children we must as far as we can imitate our Father.
CCM 113 º For he loved his enemies when ºhe prayed for those
crucifying him, saying: Father, forgive them, for they know
Lk 23:34 * not what they do.* And he ordered us to love our ene-
mies and pray for them when he said: Love your ene-
mies, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who
persecute and calumniate you, that you may be children of
Mt 5:44-45 * your Father who is in heaven.* Let us then love our ene-
mies, because our God, when we were still enemies,
loved us first, and reconciled us to himself through the
Rm 5:10, * blood of his Son.* God, says the apostle, commends his
1 Jn 4:10
charity towards us, because while we were still sinners, that
Rm 5:8-9 * is, enemies, Christ died for us,* reconciling us to God.
Of course to love one’s enemies is a great and spiritual
virtue, which no one has been, is, or ever will be able
to have except the one to whom God, the giver of all
good things, has given it.
Therefore let us love our enemies as God has ordered,
and let us show them kindness to the extent of our
power. For it is written: If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
Rm 12:20, * if thirsty, give him something to drink,* and so forth. For love
Pr 25:21
of one’s enemy is most truly observed when we neither
rejoice in his downfall nor pine away at his success.
Love of one’s enemies is a great and very difficult thing,
but for those who practice it fully it prepares eternal
rewards.Therefore the love of enemies makes us children
of God and companions of the angels; it makes friends
72. Via reg. 7 (PL 102:947B); Diad. mon. 10 (PL 102:606C-
607A).
for us out of enemies, cherished persons out of hostile

ones, and very much-loved brothers out of hateful men.
Here it unites us to the brotherhood, and binds us to
it for ever with inseparable charity, so that we may live
here with one mind in brotherly love, and may likewise
reign together for ever.Therefore the more burdensome
love of enemies is to put into practice, the happier will
it be when it receives its reward; the more constricting
it is to fulfill, the more expansive will it be in receiving
gifts; the more laborious here, the more glorious no
doubt will it be in the future. Love of one’s enemies
separates us from the world and joins us happily to God;
it separates us from the actions of worldly men, and at
the same time joins us to the fellowship of the saints
and angels.
32
Not to return curse for curse, but rather to
bless.* And in case this seems to us impossible to ful- * 1 P 3:9,
Lk 6:28
fill, Paul admonishes us with his own example, saying:
We are cursed and we bless, we suffer persecution and put
up with it.* Peter, too, the prince of the apostles, urges * 1 Co 4:12
and orders us ºwhen he says: Not rendering evil for evil, º CCM 114
or curse for curse, but on the contrary, blessing, because you
have been called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.* * 1 P 3:9
The person who wants to inherit an eternal blessing
must bless his enemy, not curse him. It is no small
evil but a great one, to curse the one who curses you.
To frivolous people it seems a trivial matter, but the
apostle numbers it among the grave sins when he says:
Neither drunkards nor fornicators nor evil-speakers
will possess the kingdom of God.* As we have said, *1 Co 6:9-10
the sin of cursing is a grave one; it deprives a man of
the possession of the kingdom and plunges him into
the lower depths of hell, destroying him like a cloud of
vapor in eternal fire. For it is written: Before fire there is
vapor and smoke; curses and insults before blood.* * Si 22:24[30]
When cursing becomes entrenched, it makes God’s
children into children of wrath, heirs into strangers,
and just men into unjust. It takes away the kingdom

of heaven and plunges a man into the lower depths;
it takes away the glory of the saints and presses him
down into the pit of hell; it takes away his impious
soul from Christ and assigns it to the devil. For it is
written: When the ungodly curses the devil, he curses his
Si 21:27[30] * own soul.* Here Scripture shows that the devil is the
soul of the one who curses. Now God gave us a mouth
and tongue not for cursing but rather for blessing. But
as the apostle says: With it we bless our God and Father,
and with it we curse men who are made in the likeness of
God, and From our one same mouth proceed cursing and
Jm 3:9-10 * blessing.* But let us hear what the same apostle says. My
brothers, he says, this ought not to be so. Surely a spring does
Jm 3:10-11 * not pour forth from the same outlet sweet and bitter water?*
As though to say: Just as sweet and bitter water cannot flow
simultaneously from the one vein of a spring, so blessing and
cursing cannot flow simultaneously from the one cleft in the
heart. But whoever has formed the habit of blessing God by
praying and preaching, but in such a way that he has not
ceased to curse men, no doubt the bitterness of his cursing
consumes the sweetness of his blessing.73
But great as is the evil of the vice of cursing, so much
greater is the good service that blessing gives.Through
the former the penalty of cursing is procured, through
the latter, the grace and glory of blessing; through the
former a person brings on himself disgrace in hell,
through the latter, an everlasting reward is received in
heaven.
CCM 115 º º 33To bear persecution for justice’ sake.* The
Lord says in the Gospel: Blessed are those who suffer per-
Mt 5:10 * secution for justice’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.*
He did not say: Those who suffer persecution on ac-
count of their iniquity, but he added distinctly, ‘for justice’
sake’. For there are many who suffer persecution because of
73. In Jac 3:9-11; CCSL 121:207.

their sins,74 but they are not called either just or blessed.
Only those are considered just and blessed who suffer
persecution for justice’ sake. Hence Peter the apostle
says: But if you do suffer anything for justice’ sake, blessed
shall you be.* He says: Not only does he do no harm who * 1 P 3:14
inflicts evils on you when you do good, but even when your
enemy pursues you on account of the good that you do, he af-
fords you an occasion for greater blessedness, and strengthens
the power of your patience.75
Peter likewise says: For it is better that you suffer for
doing good, if God so wills it, than for doing evil.* This * 1 P 3:17
sentence neatly reproves the foolishness of those who, when
reproved for their faults or even corrected by their brethren
and seniors with fitting punishment for their deeds, bear it
with complete patience. For if they happen to be without
fault, and suffer verbal abuse or unjust beatings or any ad-
versity from their neighbors, they soon burst out in anger,
and those who till now seemed harmless make themselves
obnoxious through their impatience and murmuring,76 not
realizing that it would be better for them to suffer
injuries for justice’ sake rather than for having done
wrong. Therefore the just man who suffers imitates
Christ; but one who is corrected with beatings for
what he has done imitates the robber who, while on
the cross, came to know Christ, and after the cross en-
tered paradise with Christ. But one who even amidst
beatings does not desist from his faults imitates the
robber on the left who ascended the cross on account
of his sins, and after enduring the cross fell straight
into hell. Therefore it is much better for anyone, even
though innocent, to suffer persecution for justice’ sake
in the present world, and in the future to receive the
recompense for his toil in company with God’s chil-
dren, than to be scourged with sinners for being a
74. Hier. In Mt 1 (CCSL 77:25); Smar. Collect. (PL

102:546B).
75. Bede In 1 Pt 3:14 (CCSL 121:245); Collect. (372AB).
76. Bede In 1 Pt 3:17 (CCSL 121:246).
sinner, and after death to be plunged into hell, a rep-

robate with the reprobate.
CCM 116 º ºNot to be proud.* The Lord threatens the proud
Tt 1:7 * man through Jeremiah the prophet saying: Behold I am
against you, O proud one, says the Lord of hosts, because
your day will come, the time of your visitation. And the
proud will fall, sink to the ground, and there shall be none
to lift him up; and I shall kindle a fire in his cities, and it
Jr 50:31-32 * will devour everything around him.* And elsewhere it is
written: God will destroy the remembrance of the proud,
Si 10:17[20-21] * and will leave behind the remembrance of the humble.* For
divine Scripture speaks thus of pride itself: Pride is
hateful before God and men. He who holds it will be filled
Si 10:7,15 * with curses.* And:
Si 10:13 * ‘Pride is the beginning of all sin.’ * It does not say ‘of
some sin’, but ‘of all sin’, in order to show clearly that it is
the cause of all sins, because not only is it a sin itself, but
no sin, past, present or future, could be committed without
it.77 A proud will causes God’s precepts to be despised, a
humble will causes them to be kept; pride makes demons
out of angels, humility makes men like the holy angels; the
former subjects rebels to the devil, the latter joins the humble
to Christ.78 For indeed from pride are born heresies, schism,
detractions, envy, verbosity, boasting, contention, animosity,
ambition, self-conceit, presumption, vanity, restlessness, lying,
perjury, and many other evils.79 Let us now see by what signs
pride can be detected. I pass over those whose very dress and
gait show them to be proud, whose haughty neck, stern face,
fierce eyes and fearsome speech proclaim their naked pride.
With sorrow I point out only those—and denounce their
example as something to guard against—whom pride secretly
makes captive, although they are already converted and have
made some progress. Having gained dominion by fraud, it
hurls them headlong into the depths of evil, and unceasingly
77. Vita cont. III.2.1; PL 59:476B.

78. Ibid. 3.1; 478A.
79. Ibid. 4.1; 479C.
tramples them so that they can never rise from there.80 These
are the ones who do not observe their seniors’ orders, but in
fact pass judgment on them; when scolded for their negligence
they either rebel insolently or murmur; they argue over the
higher place, impudently aspire to be preferred even to their
betters, exaggerate the simplicity of their spiritual fathers,
and boldly utter their own opinions.81 They do not observe
reverence for their seniors in obedient service, or modesty in
their speech and discipline in their behavior; they are ºstubborn º CCM 117
in pursuing their aims, hard of heart and boastful in their
speech, deceitful in humility, obstinate in hate, impatient of
subjection; they are hateful to all the good, slothful as far as
good work goes, unyielding as regards obedient service, quick
to speak what they do not know; rash in hearing, noisy in
speaking, unrestrained in boisterous laughter.82
These are the signs of advancing pride, by which God is
offended and withdraws, and the devil is invited to come.
The devil feeds on all these evils and exults; he enters proud
minds to take hold of them, lifts them up to dash them down,
pampers them to destroy them, takes hold of them to possess
them and through them practice all kinds of evil.83 There are
two kinds of pride: the one casts spiritual men down when
they pride themselves on their virtues, the other makes the
carnal disobey their seniors’ orders.84 For it takes possession
of some by means of worldly things, and exalts others
by means of their spiritual virtues. It is called pride* * superbia
because it wants [to be] above* what it is.85 * super
Not a winebibber.* That person is called a winebibber

35
* 1 Tm 3:3
who drinks enough and yet is made drunk with difficulty.86
Hence Isaiah says: Woe to you who are powerful at drinking
80. Ibid. 8.1; 484C.

81. Ibid. 8.2; 484CD.
82. Ibid.; 485A.
83. Ibid. 8.3; 485B.
84. Diff. I.504; PL 83:60C.
85. Ibid.
86. Etym. X.280; PL 82:397A.
Is 5:22 * wine, and brave men at mixing strong drink.* Hence a cer-
Si 31:25[30] * tain wise man says: Wine has destroyed many* because
much [wine] drunk causes irritation and anger and many
Si 31:38Vulg. * ruins.* Much wine drunk is bitterness of soul.† Wine was
Si 31:29[39] †
Si 31:35 * made to bring joy, not for getting drunk.* Sober drinking is
Si 31:28[37] † health of soul and body.† The animosity caused by drunken-
Si 31:30[40] * ness is the stumbling-block of the fool.* Drunkenness pro-
duces disturbance of mind, stirs up fury of heart and the
flame of inordinate passion, and it so estranges the mind that
it does not know where it is. And so the evil that is committed
through drunkenness is not felt.87 Hence blessed Basil says:
Many have been seized by evil spirits through wine. And
drunkenness is nothing else than a most obvious evil spirit.88
And the prophet says: Fornication and drunkenness take
Ho 4:11 * away the understanding.* The prophet Joel cries out to
those who are sleeping as though estranged from their
mind: Wake up, you drunkards, and weep, all you who drink
Jl 1:5 * sweet wine, because it has perished from your mouth.*
CCM 118 º º 36Not a great eater.* The more the excessive eating
Si 37:29 * of carnal food fills the belly, the more it empties the
mind of spiritual virtues; the more the gluttonous body
grows fat, the more the soul grows weak while fasting
from virtues. Gluttony makes the flesh obese and the
mind empty, it makes the body’s members strong and
the soul languid; gluttony gives rise to laziness, laziness
Pr 19:15 * casts into a deep sleep,* and deep sleep leads to negligence.
Now negligence engenders a curse, as it is written:
Jr 48:10 * Cursed is everyone who does the Lord’s work negligently.*
Excessive eating causes surfeit, which in turn causes
somnolence. Now a somnolent person does not love
vigils or sing the psalmody to God at the appropriate
time; he does not raise his mind to heaven, rise to the
grace of compunction, or lift his soul to the heights
of contemplation. He is sluggish at prayer, disdainful
87. Sent. II.43.1-2; PL 83:649C-650A.

88. Ps.Bas. Ad fil. 14; PL 103:695B.
in lectio, insensitive when it comes to understanding

the Lord’s word, reluctant to obey the seniors, and is
lukewarm in performing any good work.
But since the rule does not want the monk to be a
great eater or a winebibber, it clearly wants him to be
temperate in all things. As blessed Ephrem says:
This is the general measure of self-restraint: each

person according to his capacity and strength should
allow himself as much food and drink as the sus-
tenance of his body requires, not as the desire for
satiety craves. Whoever fails to keep a balance on
both sides will sustain great loss; now he restrains
his stomach with severe fasts, now he releases it
with an excess of food. A mind weighed down by
excess and gluttony will not be able to dispatch pure
prayers to God.89 As long as the saints dwell in
this life they carry around a parched body because
of their desire for the kingdom of heaven. And so
the psalmist says: ‘My soul has thirsted for you;
my flesh, too, in how many ways!’ * For the flesh * Ps 63:1
thirsts for God when it grows dry through absti-
nence.90 For as mentioned above, a fast which is
refreshed in the evening with a great intake of food
is not thought much of. Abstinence is not to be im-
puted where fullness of belly has followed.91
Therefore the body must not be subjected to

immoderate abstinence, in case it be unable to finish
the good it has begun as a result of being unduly
burdened with fasting. But the physical needs of the
flesh are to be discreetly regulated, so that ºit be neither º CCM 119
completely destroyed nor immoderately relaxed.92 For
89. Cassian Conl. II.22; CSEL 13:61-62.

90. Sent. II.44.4 (PL 83:651BC); Diad. mon. 27 (PL
102:623AB).
91. Sent. II.44.10 (652B); Diad. mon. 27 (623B).
92. Cf. Sent. II.44.13; 652C.
the weakness of the body breaks the powers of the soul and
causes the natural capacity of the mind to grow feeble.93
Whatever is done with moderation fosters the health of body
and soul.94
Pr 20:13 * 37
Not given to much sleeping.* After the censur-
ing of much eating and of wine-bibbing there follows
fittingly the censuring of overmuch sleep. For just as
the rule does not want the monk to be a great eater
or a winebibber, so it does not want the monk to be
given to much sleeping. Just as a soldier loaded with
heavy equipment is hampered in war, so a monk is
hindered in his vigils when burdened with the reple-
tion of large quantities of food. We cannot keep vigil
when our belly is laden from feasting, but being over-
whelmed by sleep we lose the fruits of vigils and incur
very great loss for our soul; we experience great need
of, and poverty in, spiritual virtues. As it is written:
Sluggard, how long will you sleep? When will your rise from
your sleep? You will sleep a little, slumber a little, fold your
hands a little to sleep, and want will come upon you like a
Pr 6:9-11 * traveler, and poverty like an armed man.* Again: Do not
love sleep, lest want oppress you; open your eyes and be filled
Pr 20:13 * with bread.*
We must beware that our soul itself does not sleep.
The soul’s sleep is to forget its God. Any soul that
has forgotten its God is asleep. Therefore the apostle
Eph 5:14 * says: Arise, sleeper, and Christ will enlighten you.* But the
sleepy monk is soft, lukewarm and slack in his works.
It is written of him: He who is soft and slack in his work
Pr 18:9 * is the brother of him who dissipates his own works.* On the
other hand, it is written of the strong workman: He
Pr 12:11 * who works his own land will be filled with bread,* that is,
he who in his life subdues his body and reduces it to
the service of God, so that by his work he may please
93. Ibid. 15 (l.c.).

94. Ibid. 16 (l.c.).
him to whom he has subjected himself in obedience,

will be completely filled after the body’s dissolution by
receiving an everlasting reward. For the monk must be
steadfast and well trained in good works, robust and
strong, not soft and easy-going. And so Isidore says:
If men do not follow their profession as monks with

unwavering purpose, the more slack they are in
yearning for the goal of heavenly love, the more li-
able they are to be brought back to love of the world.
For an imperfect profession goes looking again for
the desires of the present life; and even though a
monk does not get caught up in them by what he
does, still he is already caught up in them by loving
to think of them.95
º 38Not lazy.* That is, not tardy and slow, not luke- º CCM 120
* Rm 12:11
warm or slothful. A person is called lazy† because he is † piger
suffering from some defect of the feet,* being tardy and slow at * pedibus aeger
moving along. Through common usage this term passes over
to the soul,96 so that it can be called lazy when it is slothful.
For it is written in Proverbs: ‘They kill the lazy man with
sloth, because his hands would not do any work’.* 97 Again * Pr 21:25
it is written there: ‘The lazy man wishes and wishes not,
but the soul of those who work will be made fat.’ * The word * Pr 13:4
‘lazy’ rightly denotes the man who would like to reign with
Christ, but yet does not want to work for him. He delights
in the idea of eternal rewards,98 but shrinks from hard
95. Ibid. III.20.1; 694CD.

96. Etym. X.213; PL 82:389D-390A.
97. The Vulgate for Pr 21:25 reads: Desideria occidunt pigrum,
‘Desires kill the lazy man.’ The Migne text reads: Desidia occidit
pigrum, ‘Sloth kills the lazy man.’ The CCM text has: Desidia
occidunt pigrum, ‘They kill the lazy man with sloth’. Smaragdus
almost certainly read desidia, ‘sloth’, because he has just twice
used a form of desidiosus, ‘slothful’. as a synonym for piger, ‘lazy’.
The Migne text gives desidia as a nominative, the CCM text as
an ablative.
98. Bede In Pr II.13.4; CCSL 119B:79.
work; he wants to have leisure in time, and yet receive

an eternal reward.The soul of those who work for the
eternal Lord will be made fat with everlasting gifts in
the kingdom. For those who toil and sweat here in
devoted labors for the Lord will rejoice when they
receive heavenly refreshment;99 they will hear that de-
sirable voice of the Lord saying: Come to me all you who
Mt 11:28 * labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.* Again it is
written: The lazy man has been pelted with a muddy stone,
Si 22:1 * and all will speak about his disgrace.* And again: Laziness
Pr 19:15 * casts into a deep sleep.* Every slothful man is said to be
lazy; by thinking correctly he, as it were, keeps watch,
though by doing nothing he grows sluggish. But lazi-
ness casts into a deep sleep; while fostering the right
sentiments, he loses sight of watchfulness by not doing
good.100 It is also written: Because of the cold the lazy
Pr 19:15 * man did not want to plough.*
Because of the cold, of course the lazy man does not plough;
while he is oppressed by the sluggishness of sloth he puts off
doing the good he ought to do, and while he fears small
hardships he neglects to do things of the greatest importance.
Rightly is it added concerning him: ‘In the summer he will
Pr 20:4 * beg and nothing will be given him,’ * because the monk who
does not labor in good works now, receives nothing in the
future world and, as it were, begs in the summer.101
Hence it is written again: I went through a lazy man’s
Pr 24:30-31 * field, and behold nettles had filled the whole place,* and so
forth. What does ‘to go through a lazy man’s field’ mean,
if not to inspect any negligent monk’s life and consider his
works? Nettles and thorns fill it, because in negligent monks’
hearts it is earthly desires and the pricks of the vices that
spring up.102
99. Cf. ibid.

100. Cf. Reg. past. III.15 (PL 77:74B) and Bede In Pr II.19
(ccsl 119B:101).
101. Reg. past. III.15; PL 77:74D-75A.
102. Moral. XX.25.54 (CCSL 143A:1043); Taio Sent. IV.32
(PL 80:949AB); Bede In Pr II.24.30,31 (CCSL 119B:124).
º 39Not a murmurer.* A monk murmurs either º CCM 121

* Ws 1:11
against the Lord’s scourges, or against the discipline
imposed on him by the seniors, against the obedience
enjoined on him by his superiors, or only by reason
of the gluttony of his own belly. If he had not been
a forgetful hearer* he would have heard the consola- * Jm 1:25
tion of the Scriptures* concerning all these things and * Rm 15:4
would not have murmured. For Scripture says: God
scourges every son he receives.* It also says: My son, do not * Heb 12:6
throw away the discipline of the Lord,* because he who * Pr 3:11
loves discipline loves knowledge.* It also says: Obedience is * Pr 12:1
better than sacrifice.* Therefore the monk must attend to * 1 Sm 15:22
all these authorities found in the Scriptures, and live
without murmuring in such a way that he may not
incur the evil of murmuring and lose the reward of
his hard work.
Hence the apostle forbids us to murmur and inspires
great fear, saying: Do not murmur, as certain ones murmured
and perished by the serpents.* As though to say: And keep * 1 Co 10:9-10
yourselves from the evil of murmuring, because just
like those who murmured against the Lord in the desert
and perished as a result of the serpents’ bites, so will
you be torn to pieces and perish by the demons’ bites,
unless you keep yourselves from the evil of murmuring.
And so again it is written: Therefore keep yourselves from
murmuring, which is of no benefit.* Unjust murmuring * Ws 1:11
is of no benefit to monks because it proceeds from a
disobedient and contentious spirit. By murmuring a
man condemns himself, and does not amend the one
against whom he murmurs. By murmuring he finds
fault with his teacher and greatly increases his own
punishments.And even if while murmuring he does the
work enjoined on him, he does not gain a reward for
his toil, but only detriment to his soul. For it is written
in this same rule of blessed Benedict: If the disciple
obeys with an ill will and murmurs not only
with his mouth but even in his heart, then even
if he fulfills the order it will not be acceptable
to God who sees his heart murmuring, and for

such a deed he gains no reward; in fact he incurs
the penalty of murmurers, if he does not amend
RB 5.17-19 * with satisfaction.*
40
Not a slanderer. That is, not one who defames,
censures or finds fault. For a person is said to slander
who changes good into evil. Now he who says that
what is evil is evil must not be regarded as a slanderer
but as the friend of truth; in that he chooses virtues
CCM 122 º and condemns vices, ºhe complies with the divine will
in every respect. The Lord himself says through the
psalmist David: The man who slandered his neighbor I pur-
Ps 101:5 * sued.* Therefore we ought to distance ourselves from
agreeing with a slanderer and, as far as we can, align
ourselves with the Lord; with him we should pursue
our neighbor’s slanderer, all the time exercising fore-
sight so as to aim at what is useful both to ourselves
and to the slanderer, and not listen willingly, thus giv-
ing him room to sin. For slander is a greater sin, if pos-
sible, than fornication. The reason for this is that the
fornicator kills only himself; but the one who slanders
plunges both himself and the person who agrees with
him into the pit of death.
Thus it is written in the book of Proverbs: Remove
from yourself the crooked mouth, and let slandering lips be
Pr 4:24 * far from you.* This can be understood in two ways: that
we should keep close guard over our mouth lest it
speak anything perverse, and over our lips lest they
slander our neighbor. And if we should see any others
whatever given up to this vice, let us not make them
our neighbors by agreeing with them, but rather drive
them far away from us and make them strangers, lest
we both perish in the vice of slander,103 for it is written:
My son, fear God, and have no truck with slanderers, because
Pr 24:21-22 * their destruction will arise all at once, and the ruin of each,*
103. Cf. Bede In Pr I.4.24; CCSL 119B:47.

that is, of the slanderer and the one who agrees with
him.104 It is written: If the serpent bites in silence, no less
does he who slanders secretly.* Hence James says: Do not * Qo 10:11
slander one another, my brothers, because he who slanders
his brother or judges his brother slanders the law and judges
the law.* * Jm 4:11
41
To put one’s hope in God.* For hope is said to be * Ps 73:28
& 78:7
the expectation of future good things,105 which expresses a
feeling of humility and the compliance of assiduous service.
It is called hope [spes] because it is the foot by which one
advances, as though saying ‘est pes’: ‘it is the foot’. On the
other hand despair is so called because one who despairs lacks
the faculty for advancing, for while anyone loves sin he cannot
expect future glory.106
For blessed is he who puts his hope in God and
in eternal happiness and glory; blessed is he whose
hope that he will live forever is placed in the Lord
and persists uninterruptedly. Hence the psalmist says:
It is good for me to cling to God, to put my hope in the
Lord.* That person of course clings ºclosely to God who * Ps 73:28
º CCM 123
puts his hope in him, because nothing can be more blessed
than to entrust everything to him who knows how to provide
what will benefit his worshipers.107 Hence the apostle says:
Rejoicing in hope.* But he especially must rejoice in the * Rm 12:12
hope of heaven who, by God’s help, is already ceasing
to do wrong. For those who do not desist from wrongdoing
are deceived by a vain hope when they look for forgiveness
from God, and for eternal life; they would be right to do this
if they were to cease from wrongdoing.108
Of course every just man needs to have hope and
dread; at one time hope must raise him up to eternal
104. Cf. ibid. II.24.22; 123.

105. Diff. II.36.139; PL 83:92A.
106. Etym.VIII.2.5 (PL 82:296A); Diad. mon. 53 (PL 102:650C).
Smaragdus’s text omits Isidore’s deest pes as the source of desperatio.
108. Isid. Sent. II.4.1; PL 83:603C.
joy, and at another terror must give him up to dread

of Gehenna.109 Therefore let the monk fear the Lord,
hope in him, and implore his help without ceasing,
for it is written: Those who fear the Lord have hoped in
Ps 115:11 * the Lord; he is their helper and their protector.* Let him
earnestly request of the Lord’s mercy to be girded, as
it were, with a belt of righteousness and not despair of
pardon, for it is written: Mercy will surround those who
Ps 32:10 * hope in the Lord.* Let him by a right faith and holy
works cling to God and say: The Lord is my hope since
Ps 71:5 * my youth,* and: Remember your word to your servant by
Ps 119:49 * which you gave me hope,* because it is better to hope in
Ps 118:8-9 * the Lord than to hope in a mere human.*
42
When he sees something good in himself, let
him apply it to God and not himself. Whatever
good a monk sees in himself let him apply to God,
he says, that is, let him attribute it to God, thank God
for it, and not say that it belongs to him, but let him
realize that it belongs to God. For all the good things
men possess are ministered to them by God alone. God
is spirit. And to one through the Spirit is given the word of
wisdom, to another the word of knowledge, to another vari-
1 Co 12:8, 10 * ous kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of words;*
everything else of the kind is granted by the one Lord
to the saints, and everyone must continually give him
thanks. For if we receive all good things from the Lord,
we must thank not ourselves but him for them all. For
what have you, O man, that you have not received?, says
the apostle. And if you have received, why do you boast as
1 Co 4:7 * though you have not received?* So it is better for the per-
CCM 124 º son who boasts to make ºhis boast not in himself but
1 Co 1:31, * in the Lord,* as it is written: My son, let your boasting be
2 Co 10:17 in the fear of the Lord.† Now when the apostle had said:
† Si 9:16[23]
I know both how to be poor and how to abound, how to be
filled and how to be hungry and suffer need, he added: I can
Ph 4:12,13 * do all things in him who strengthens me.* He attributed
109. Cf. ibid. 2 (l.c.).
nothing to himself because he knew that his power

to do all things lay not in his own strength but in
him who was strengthening him. And in another place
when he said: I have labored more than everyone,* he * 1 Co 15:10
added, so as not to apply it to himself but to God: Not
I, but the grace of God with me.* For we owe to God the * 1 Co 15:10
fact that we exist, that we are alive, that we under-
stand, that we are human beings, that we live good
and upright lives, that we understand rightly and in a
Catholic way; we are in debt to God in every respect.
Nothing is ours except the sin and evil we have done.
And so there follows:
43
But to know always that the evil is one’s own
and to impute it to oneself. Therefore whatever
evil a monk finds has been done in himself, he should
be fully convinced that it was devised by him or in-
stigated by the devil, but not created by God, because
God has done no evil110 and does not rejoice in the de-
struction of the living. Though the devil was a good angel
he became evil by becoming proud,111 and by deceiving
man, who had been made naturally good, he made
him evil and proud. And thus through the fault of the
first man the whole evil of sin ensnared the human
race;112 this in its turn through long practice holds on
to it and performs it, as though naturally; and just as
the natural law, so also sin reigns in human members,
fighting against the law of the mind and all holy vir-
tues. Hence the apostle also says: But I see another law in
my members fighting against the law of my mind, and lead-
ing me captive in the law of sin which is in my members.* * Rm 7:23
The monk should therefore know that evil has been
done by him, and every sin; and while he imputes it
to himself let him say to the Lord: Against you alone
have I sinned, and I have done evil in your sight.* Let * Ps 51:4
110. Ibid. I.9.1; 552A.

111. Ibid.
112. Cf. ibid. 8; 553A.
him acknowledge it and repent with shedding of tears,

saying with the prophet: Clearly this is my own evil, and
Jr 10:19 * I will bear it.* Again let him groan and say with David:
Wash me more from my iniquity and cleanse me from my
sin, because I acknowledge my iniquity, and my fault is
Ps 51:2-3 * always before me.* Therefore we must accuse ourselves
of every perverse work and impute it to ourselves and
do penance with our whole heart. But any good that
CCM 125 º is ºin us, as was said above, we should attribute not to
our own powers or merits, but to him who dwells in
heaven and who from his treasures supplies virtues to
all the saints. For in Christ are hidden all the treasures
Col 2:3 * of the wisdom and knowledge of God,* and when he
gives, all the saints receive portions according to his
way of arranging things. And so we must honor God
not only with the substance of the money we dispense
to the poor, but also with all the good works we do,
and by ministering with the grace we receive, and we
must seek his praise, not our own, in everything.
Si 7:36 *
44
To fear the Day of Judgment.* The Day of
Judgment is greatly to be feared by sinners, because
although it is mild for the upright, it is exceedingly
terrible for sinners and the unjust, who will hear in
that day: Depart from me, ye cursed, into eternal fire, which
Mt 25:41 *
has been prepared for the devil and his angels.* Of this day
we find written in the prophet Zephaniah:
The great day of the Lord is near, it is near and
exceeding swift; the voice of the day of the Lord is
bitter, the mighty man shall find tribulation there.
That day is a day of wrath, a day of tribulation
and distress, a day of calamity and misery, a day of
darkness and fog, a day of cloud and whirlwind, a
day of trumpet and alarm.There men will be dis-
tressed, and they will walk like the blind who have
sinned against the Lord;113 and their blood will be
Zp 1:14-17 * poured out as earth and their bodies as dung.*
113.The CCM text has Ibi tribulabuntur homines et ambulabunt

ut caeci qui domino peccaverunt, whereas the Vulgate reads Et tribu-
labo homines, et ambulabunt ut caeci, quia Domino peccaverunt.
That day is greatly to be feared by sinners, because

at that time and on that day the whole earth will be
consumed in the fire of the Lord’s zeal, and with haste
the Lord will make an end of all the inhabitants of
the earth* on that day. Hence the apostle also says: For * Zp 3:8
dreadful is the expectation of judgment and the raging of a
fire that will consume the adversaries in judgment.* * Heb 10:27
We must think now, brethren, of what we shall be
able to do when we come to that last judgment to be
judged. What shall we do when the judge begins to
probe the secrets of our heart and to expose to view not
only our deeds and words but even our thoughts? What
shall we do when placed before the majesty of so great
a judge? To whose help shall we fly, or whose aid shall
we seek, or what excuse shall we be able to offer? With
what method of defense shall we fight? What penance
will come to our help, seeing that we scorned to do it
in this life? What good works are going to defend us,
seeing that we did not do them in this mortal body? To
which saints shall we flee, seeing that we despised their
example and also their words?114 Therefore what answer
are we going to make when the ºLord begins to say to º CCM 126
us in judgment: If you were able, why did you not do
good works and resist the desires of sins? And if you
were not able, why did you not seek my help against
sins?115 And so it is now, while we are alive and are able,
that we must turn away from evil and do good, and in
all things continually seek his help, so that with his aid
we may persevere till the end in the good work we have
begun, and that on the Day of Judgment we may be put
with the lambs at his right hand and hear: Come, blessed
of my father, receive the kingdom that was prepared for you
from the beginning of the world.* * Mt 25:34
45
To dread Gehenna. Gehenna is a place of fire and
brimstone which some think is called after a valley, conse-
crated to an idol, which is near the wall of Jerusalem. For
114. Cf. Vita cont. III.12.1; PL 59:491AB.

115. Cf. ibid. 2; 491C.
there the Hebrews immolated their children to demons.116 It

was in fact the valley of the children of Ennon, and for this
reason it was called Gehennon, in which many corpses have
lain.117 And so the place of future torment where sinners are
to be tortured is designated by the name of this place.118 For
the pain of the damned in Gehenna is twofold: sadness burns
their minds, and flame their bodies.119
Not only the monk but every Christian must dread
this place, a place that is so terrible. Into it are cast all
the damned, who are destined for torment. The Lord
says of them: Bind their hands and feet and cast them into
the outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of
Mt 22:12 * teeth,* where their worm will not die and their fire will not
Is 66:24 * be extinguished.*
A place so terrible as this is mightily to be dreaded,
where there is a great weeping of many people,
continual groaning, eternal torment, most piercing
pain, and awareness of punishment. There the souls of
the impious are racked with pain and yet do not faint
away, their bodies are punished and yet do not come
to an end. Unquenchable fire endures, so as always
to burn the souls of the reprobate, surrounding them
to make them suffer rather than live, and so that it
may always be putting the living to death in its living
flames.120 As for all who are said to be put to death in
Gehenna, it is not a matter of their being consumed
with pains that at some time cease, but of their living
in those pains by way of punishment.121 We must bring
these and similar things continually before the eyes of
CCM 127 º our mind and have a terrible dread of the Gehenna ºof
116. Etym. XIV.9.9; PL 82:526B.

117. Collect.; PL 102:405A.
118. Etym. XIV.9.9 (526B).
119. Isid. Sent. I.28.1; PL 83:597B.
120. Cf. Vita cont. III.12.2; PL 59:492A.
121. Cf. ibid. (492B): Omnes enim qui in gehenna dicuntur occidi,
non hoc cum illis agitur, ut . . , an example of nominativus pendens;
cf. CCCM 68: p.LXXIV, n.(9).
eternal fire; moreover we must think most diligently

and, with our mind’s eyes wide open, most intently
what an evil it is to be excluded from that joy of divine
contemplation and to be plunged into the lower depths
of hell and the place called Gehenna; to be deprived
of the most blessed company of all the saints and
joined to demons; to become exiles from the heavenly
homeland and inhabitants of hell; to die to the blessed
life and live to everlasting death. What is experienced
there is not what enlightens but what torments,122 and
everything found there is filled, not with light and joy,
but with darkness, pains and torments.
46
To desire eternal life with all spiritual longing.
Holy monks must desire eternal life with all spiritual
longing; when they reach it they will receive many
good things that beggar description. There they will
possess eternal joy and receive the prize of immortality.
Stored up there for those who love God are all those
things Paul speaks of: What eye has not seen or ear heard,
neither has it entered into the human heart what things God
has prepared for those who love him.* For monks must de- 1 Co 2:9 *
sire eternal life because there they will cease from hard
labors and possess an eternal inheritance and perpetual
rest. There they will have the heavenly kingdom and
glorious dominion; there they will eagerly acquire the
company of patriarchs and partnership with prophets;
there they will receive the company of all the saints
and equality with the angels; there the pure of heart
will see God and, having been made children from
being slaves, will reign with Christ.
Therefore holy monks must love and desire eternal
life, because there they will find laid up that sweetness
of which the prophet David used to say: How great is
the abundance of your sweetness, O Lord, which you have
hidden for those who fear you, and perfected for those who
122. Cf. ibid. 3; 492BC.

Ps 31:19 * hope in you.* There they will receive an abundant

possession of paradise, and flourishing kingdoms; there
they will be clothed with the garment of joy and with
royal purple; there pain and groaning will flee, and
health and everlasting joy will run to meet them;
affliction and sadness will flee, and peace and eternal
gladness will come; there they will hear from the Lord:
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will
Mt 11:28 * give you rest,* and: Come blessed of my Father, receive the
kingdom which was prepared for you from the beginning of
Mt 25:34 * the world.* ºAnd he will make them take their place at
CCM 128 º
table in eternal glory, and the Lord himself will pass
through their midst and minister to them all good
things. Amen.
47
To keep death daily before one’s eyes. As blessed
Isidore says:
Each person must live his life carefully, and always have
its end in mind, because it is written: ‘In all your works
Si 7:36[40] * keep in mind your last end, and you will never sin’ * We are
uncertain, ignorant of how things will turn out, and while
someone is not thinking of death he is taken.123 Hence
each one must keep death daily before his eyes,
and must be anxious and fearful lest he be suddenly
seized amidst his sins and his life come to an abrupt
end at the same time as his fault.124
For assuredly those the devil impels to vices during their
living he drags down to torments suddenly in their dying.125
Although a person may be just in this life, when he is going
forth from this body he is greatly afraid that he may be de-
serving of punishment. For there is no one without sin, nor
can anyone be quite sure of God’s judgment, since an account
must be given even of idle words.126
123. Isid. Sent. III.62.3-4; PL 83:736C.

124. Cf. ibid. 4; 736C.
125. Ibid.; 736C-737A.
126. Ibid. 9; 738A.
Human life is short, and therefore we must always

keep death before our eyes. Because our present life
grows daily weaker it shortly comes to an end, and
therefore the danger of death is to be feared. For the
present life does not last long; but just as a piece of
cloth is made up of threads, so too is human life daily
completed by each passing day.127
Accordingly we must fear death while keeping
anxious watch, in case we be suddenly seized by it.
For it is written: Blessed is that servant whom his master
finds watching when he comes,* that is, fearing death * Mt 24:46,
Lk 12:37
and thinking anxiously of his soul’s salvation. Blessed
therefore is that monk who is always in dread,* and * Pr 28:14
because he is always in fear of what his death will
bring, he is always watchful and ready, so that when
at midnight the cry goes up: Behold the bridegroom is
coming, go forth and meet him,* without delay he may * Mt 25:6
go forth to meet him with lamps trimmed, and may as
a joyful dweller go with him into the eternal bridal-
chamber, where surrounded by the embraces of the
spouse he may live happily for ever. Amen.
48
To keep guard at every hour over the acts of
one’s life. That monk keeps good guard over the acts
of his life at every hour, who as far as he can keeps
himself free from sin in thought, speech, and action.
Every day indeed the monk ºmust examine his acts º CCM 129
with watchful care, and if in any of them he perceives
that he is guilty of sin, before sunset, and if possible
before he eats, sleeps or does any work, he must swiftly
have recourse to penance and thereafter keep himself
from every deed of crookedness. For it is not only in
what we do that we sin; we also frequently sin in our
thoughts and speech.128 For evil works proceed from
evil thoughts, and in turn from crooked works evil
127. Cf. ibid. 61.3; 735C-736A.

128. Cf. ibid. II.25.3 (626C); Diad. mon. 36 (PL 102:631C).
thoughts burst forth. And even though someone be

free of evil works, nevertheless because of the malice
that attaches to an evil thought alone he will not be
innocent of wickedness. Hence the Lord calls to the
people saying through Isaiah: Take away the evil of your
Is 1:16 * thoughts from my eyes.* 129 For just as a female viper is
destroyed if she is torn by the offspring in her womb, so too
if evil thoughts are nourished within us they kill us and con-
sume us with the poison of vipers; and unless while they are
Cf RB 4:50 * still small they are dashed against the rock, that is, Christ,*
they destroy our soul with a cruel wound 130 and kill it if we
unlawfully consent to them and unhappily endeavor
to carry them out. Therefore we must exercise a great
deal of attention in guarding our heart, because from
it come forth crooked thoughts, and from crooked
thoughts proceed crooked works.131 And therefore at
every hour we must anxiously keep guard over the
acts of our life, lest we slip like fools in thought or
speech or work, and be drawn unguarded into sin, be
mocked by demons for being unarmed, and be torn
to pieces.
49
To know for certain that God beholds one in
every place. So immense is the divine greatness that
it sees everything, fills everything and is above every-
thing, and there is no place so shut in that God is not
there. Hence David used to say: If I go up to heaven
you are there; and if I go down to the underworld you are
Ps 139:8 * present.* And therefore every creature of God, whether
it is in heaven or on earth or under the earth, is trans-
parent and manifest to him. And so Paul says:
The word of the Lord is living and effectual and

more piercing than any two-edged sword, reaching
CCM 130 º right through to the division of soul ºand spirit, of
129. Cf. ibid. 2 (626BC); Diad. mon. 36 (631C).

130. Sent. II.25.4 (626C); Diad. mon. 36 (631D).
131. Cf. Sent. II.25.8 (627AB); Diad. mon. 36 (631D).
joints also and marrow, and a discerner of the

thoughts and intentions of the heart; and there is
no creature that is invisible in his sight, for all
things are naked and open to his eyes.* * Heb 4:12-13
And Solomon says: In every place the eyes of the Lord

behold the good and the evil.* Now since we know that * Pr 15:3
at every hour and in every place we are seen by God,
we must not sin in his sight and that of his angels; but
in every place and at every hour we must live with
justice and truth, and with fear and trembling stand
in his full view. And just as blessed Job feared him, we
too must fear and say truthfully with him: I have feared
God as waves ever swelling over me, and his weight I was
not able to bear.* * Jb 31:23
50
Straightway to dash against Christ the evil
thoughts that come into one’s heart,* and to * Ps 137:9
reveal them to one’s spiritual senior. For there are
thoughts that are passing, empty and fleeting; the more
swiftly they pass, the less they defile the person who
thinks them. Solomon says of these: And the women
who grind shall be idle, being few in number,* that is, those * Qo 12:3
thoughts that during a man’s life revolve in his mind
like millstones, once the soul leaves the body will all
remain empty and idle. Therefore because no one can
retain all these thoughts in his memory, he is never
forced by anyone to express them. But there are other
thoughts of a harmful kind, which frequently delight
the mind and seek to win it over and plunge it into
sin. And so Solomon says: The thought of a fool is sin.* * Pr 24:9
Again he says: Evil thoughts are an abomination to the
Lord, and pure speech is most beautiful.* Blessed Benedict * Pr 15:26
exhorts us not to hide these thoughts in our inmost
heart, but to dash them against Christ and reveal them
to a spiritual father. For it is written: He who hides his
sins will not be directed; but he who confesses them and for-
sakes them will obtain mercy.* * Pr 28:13
Therefore that monk will most easily obtain mercy

from the Lord, who with a pure mind and a humble
heart has not concealed his thoughts from his spiritual
father. And so to dash against Christ the evil thoughts
that come into our hearts means this: to implore Christ’s
help against the allurements of those pleasures, to put
one’s hope in Christ so that one may be able to emerge
as victor, faithfully to believe in him and firmly to hope
in him, and not to pride oneself on the victory and
triumph, but to give thanks to Christ. He orders the
monk to reveal these thoughts to his spiritual father, so
CCM 131 º that from him he may find salutary advice, and ºfrom
the Lord a very swift remedy for sin, as it is written: I
said, I will confess to the Lord against myself my injustices,
Ps 32:5 * and you forgave the wickedness of my heart.*
The merciful God washes away the sins of the heart the
more quickly, in that it does not permit these to issue in
deeds; and the wickedness thought of is the more quickly
loosed, in that it has not been the more tightly bound through
having been put into effect. And he shows how easily these
are pardoned: while a person is still promising to ask, he
has already obtained what he was promising to ask for, and
because the fault had not reached the stage of being put into
effect, the repentance was not to reach the stage of inflicting
torture; the affliction thought about was to wipe clean the
mind that had been stained by an iniquity that was only
thought about.132
51
To keep one’s mouth from evil and crooked
speech. Hence Solomon warns us saying: Remove from
yourself the crooked mouth, and let slandering lips be far from
Pr 4:24 * you.* And Paul says: Let no evil speech proceed from your
mouth; but if there is some good [speech] for meeting a current
Eph 4:29 * need, that it may give grace to the hearers.* In fact from the
monk’s mouth there should come, not evil or crooked
speech, but such as edifies and gives grace. For the Lord
132. Reg. past. III.29; PL 77:109C.

draws and the good monk runs after him; and so that
others too may follow, he must frequently bring forth
for his brothers not spiteful but encouraging speech.
For it is written: He who hears, let him say, Come,* that * Rv 22:17
is, every monk who has merited to receive in his mind
the internal light of faith and charity should not cease
to invite others to this as well.
Now this is why we must keep our mouth from
evil and crooked speech: that it may not first infect us
with the blemish of its malice, and afterwards spread to
others its death-dealing poison. For it is written: The
stroke of a whip makes a bruise; but the stroke of the tongue
breaks bones.* As James the apostle says, the tongue is * Si 28:17[21]
full of deadly poison* and therefore we must guard it * Jm 3:8
most carefully. For it is written: He who guards his mouth
guards his soul; but he that is thoughtless in his speech will
meet with evil.* No doubt the person who does not * Pr 13:3
cease to sow scandal while he lives will meet with evil
in the future. And so Solomon says: The wicked man
digs for evil, and a fire burns on his lips.* And again: A dart * Pr 16:27
and a sword and a sharp arrow is the man who speaks evil
against his neighbor.* For it usually happens that while * Pr 25:18
we do not avoid certain insignificant evils pertaining
to the vices, we fall insensibly into serious sin ºof the º CCM 132
tongue. And while we are not afraid to commit certain
deeds that are not grave, from the habit of sinning we
slip into worse crimes; and while we are speaking
incautiously about many things, without doubt we sin
either against God or against our brother. And so there
follows a warning that is appropriate for us:
52
Not to love much speaking. A monk must love
silence rather than much speaking. Concerning si-
lence Isaiah says: The service of justice is silence.* For the * Is 32:17
justice of the mind is forsaken when one does not refrain from
immoderate speech.133 Of much speaking Solomon says:
133. Ibid. 14 (73D); Taio Sent. IV.26 (PL 80:943B); Diad.
mon. 39 (PL 102: 635B).
Pr 10:19 * In much speaking sin will not be lacking.* And so again we

find written: Like a city lying open and not encompassed by
Pr 25:28 * walls, so is a man who cannot restrain his spirit in speaking.*
A monk who does not have the wall of silence is ex-
posed to the enemy’s darts.The enemy has less trouble
overcoming him, the more he fights against himself by
much speaking.134 And so James says: If anyone thinks
he is religious while not restraining his tongue but seducing
Jm 1:26 * his heart, his religion is empty.* And he says again: Let
Jm 1:19 * every man be swift to hear but slow to speak.* As blessed
Gregory says:
Those who devote themselves to much speaking are

to be warned to look closely and see from what a
condition of rectitude they are going to their ruin
when they fall away through a multiplicity of words.
The human mind is like water: when enclosed, it
is gathered to higher things, and when released it
loses itself, because it scatters itself uselessly through
the lowest things.When it becomes dissipated from
its censoring silence by superfluous words, it is car-
ried outside itself as by so many streams. From there
it is not able even to return to itself interiorly, be-
cause being scattered through much speaking it
shuts itself out from the secret place of intimate
consideration.135
53
Not to speak vain words or such as move to
laughter. Vain words are those that are also called idle,
namely, those that lack a reason of just necessity, or
where there is no intention of being genuinely use-
CCM 133 º ful.136 Vain speech is a great ºvice, and one that monks
must beware of in every way; its raw material is vanity,
134. Cf. Reg. past. III.14 (73B);Taio Sent. IV.26 (942D-943A);

Diad. mon. 39 (635A).
135. Reg. past. III.14 (73AB);Taio Sent. IV.26 (942CD); Diad.
mon. 39 (634D).
136. Cf. Moral. VII.17.58 (CCSL 143:379); Taio Sent. IV.26
(943C); Diad. mon. 39 (635C).
and by smooth persuasion, as it were, it deceives the

light-minded man. For vanity is a lightness of mind,
ever bearing in the heart the raw material of overflow-
ing talkativeness and idleness, and always producing
in the mouth vain speech. It is a certain simulation of
the virtues, a longing for esteem, a morbid and rest-
less hollowness; it is sweet to the wretched, bitter to
the mature, dangerous for the resistant, domineering
towards its subjects; it captivates the light-minded, en-
tertains the captivated, harasses the ambitious, puffs up
the petty and brings low the puffed up; those swollen
with self-importance are its slaves, those who are lifted
up are lying down under it, those who are lost find it,
those liable to a fall hasten towards it.
This is vanity. It not only drains certain virtues of
their content, as some think, but when it has been
admitted it strengthens the boldness of the vices. It
does not gain entrance into minds that are filled with
virtues, but tempts those that are empty of virtues; it
casts its lovers down headlong, that is, those who boast
basely, who take unlawful delight in having themselves
praised by all, who rejoice in the greetings of those
they happen to meet, show favor to those who flatter
them, give way to pleasures, and are pleasing to all
base folk. They eagerly desire to teach what they do
not know, want to be thought very highly of, rejoice
in what gives delight, call their vices virtues, deceive
themselves and trick those well-disposed to them;
swift to promise, they are shown up as liars; ponderous
in speech, base in mind, everywhere treacherous;
joyful when things go well, easily shattered when
they go badly, puffed up at flunkey service, uneasy at
reproaches, immoderate in rejoicing.137 This is the vice
of vanity, which monks must avoid at all costs; instead,
loving and speaking the truth from heart and mouth,* * RB 4.28
they must follow and imitate Christ the Lord so as
137. Cf. Vita cont. III.10.2; PL 59:488B-489A.

to be able to reign happily with him for ever. Now

this vanity mentioned above loiters in an empty heart
and an empty mind. It is always making some people
laugh and arouses guffaws in others. Proof of it is often
found both in vain speech and in much and violent
laughter. And so there follows:
54
Not to love much or violent laughter. A monk
ought to weep more than laugh, for it is written:
Laughter shall be mingled with sorrow, and mourning occupy
Pr 14:13 * the end of joy.* In the Gospel the Lord says: Blessed are
Mt 5:5 * those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.* For we
are in a vale of tears, and so we should not laugh but
CCM 134 º mourn.We should shed tears for our sins, ºtears for the
dissolution of our body, tears of desire for our Creator
and the company of all the angels and saints, tears that
we may be delivered from the pains of hell and the
snares of the devil. For those who sow in tears, says
Ps 126:5 * the psalmist, shall reap in joy,* that is, those who, while
they are living in their mortal body, pour forth prayers
with tears and groaning to the Lord, after death will
reap the reward of their labor in eternal joy, that is, in
that joy of which the Lord says to his disciples: I will see
you again and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take
Jn 16:22 * your joy away from you.*
Therefore it is more fitting for a monk to have
salutary sadness than empty joy. For it is written: The
heart of the wise is where there is mourning, and the heart of
Qo 7:4[5] * fools where there is mirth.* And again it is written: Anger
is better than laughter, because by sadness of countenance the
Qo 7:3[4] * mind of the offender is corrected.* Hence James the apostle
gives us a terrible warning when he says: Be afflicted and
mourn and weep; your laughter will be turned into mourning,
Jm 4:9 * and your joy into sadness.* 138 And the Lord says: Woe to
Lk 6:25 * you who laugh, for you shall mourn and weep.* A monk
138.The CCM text of the quote from James 4:9 has converte-
tur, the Vulgate convertatur.
ought not to laugh much, but to serve his Lord with

contrite and humble heart. A monk ought not to love
violent laughter, that is, laughter that bursts forth in loud
guffaws and actually shakes the person giving vent to it,
in case he should be marked out by people as a fool, for
it is written: The fool lifts up his voice in laughter,* and: As * Si 21:20[23]
the crackling of thorns burning under a pot, so is laughter in the
mouth of a fool.* Laughing comes naturally to the human * Qo 7:6[7]
being, and so cannot be entirely forbidden him; but we
may allow to be done, with restraint, circumspectly and
becomingly, what cannot be entirely relinquished, since
we are under nature’s compulsion.
55
To listen willingly to holy readings. The knowl-
edge of sacred reading provides those who cultivate
it with keenness of perception, increases their under-
standing, shakes off sluggishness, does away with idle-
ness, shapes their life, corrects their behavior, causes
wholesome groaning and produces tears from a heart
pierced by compunction; it bestows eloquence in
speaking and promises eternal rewards to those who
toil; it increases spiritual riches, curbs vain speech and
vanities, and enkindles the desire for Christ and our
heavenly homeland. It is always associated with prayer,
and must always be joined to prayer.
For prayer cleanses us, while reading instructs us. And
therefore he who wishes to be always with God must
frequently pray and frequently read. For when we pray, we
speak with God; but when we ºread, God speaks with us. All º CCM 135
progress, then, proceeds from reading, prayer and meditation.
What we do not know we learn by reading; what we have
learned we retain by meditations; and by prayer we reach the
fulfillment of what we have retained. Therefore the reading
of the Sacred Scriptures confers a twofold gift: it instructs the
mind’s understanding, and it brings the one who is withdrawn
from the world’s vanities to the love of God.139
139. Isid. Sent. III.8.1-4 (PL 83:679AB); Diad. mon. 3
(597CD).
Hence Paul warns Timothy, saying: Until I come

attend to reading . . . to doctrine . . . meditate upon these
things, be wholly in these things, so that your progress may be
1 Tm 4:13, 15 * manifest to all.* For no one will be able to come to full
knowledge of Sacred Scripture unless he has gained
familiarity with it by repeatedly reading or hearing it,
as it is written: Love her and she will exalt you; you will be
Pr 4:8 * glorified by her when you embrace her.* 140
Lk 18:1, * 56
To devote oneself frequently to prayer.* To
1 Th 5:17
devote oneself means to pursue [something] eagerly
and to brood over [it].141 And fittingly has he ordered
us, after listening to reading, to devote ourselves
frequently to prayer. Prayer is not opposed to
reading, nor is reading foreign to prayer. Sometimes
oratio *
they express the same thing, sometimes different things.
ratio * But because prayer* gets its name from being a reason* of
oris * the mouth*,142 neither of them is deprived of the name
of prayer; both are decreed in keeping with reason,
both in fact are dictated in keeping with reason. Each
is much commended by God to what is closely related to it,
so that work may be supported by prayer, and prayer by work.
Hence Jeremiah says:‘Let us lift up our hearts with our hands
Lm 3:41 * to God’.* For that person lifts up heart with hands who lifts
up prayer with work.143
And Paul warns us about urgency in prayer when
Rm 12:12 * he says: Be urgent in prayer,* and Praying at all times in the
Eph 6:18 * Spirit.* For since we offend at all times, as it is written:
Jm 3:2 * We all offend in many matters,* we must pray for our
offenses at all times. And Paul says again: Pray without
1 Th 5:17 * ceasing.* And Peter says: And so be prudent and watch
1 P 4:7 * in prayers.* For as often as we are defiled by any vice
140. Cf. Isid. Sent. III.9.1; 680BC.

141. Smaragdus’ second synonym for incumbere is incubare, here
rendered by ‘to brood’, which is not meant to convey pensive
moodiness so much as attentive presence to the task in hand.
142. Etym. I.5.3; PL 82:81C.
143. Isid. Sent. III.7.18; 675B.
we must apply ourselves to prayer, because frequent

prayer conquers vices.144
ºNow prayer must involve not only our lips but º CCM 136
also our hearts. For God does not pay attention to a
multiplicity of words, but he beholds the heart of the
person praying.145
One must never pray without groaning, for the remembrance
of sins engenders mourning. For when we pray we bring to
mind our sins, and then we know all the more that we are
guilty. And so when we stand before God we ought to groan
and weep as we remember how grave are the crimes we have
committed, and how horrible are the punishments of hell
that we fear. The mind should keep itself after prayer in the
condition it is in when it offers itself in prayer. For prayer
brings no profit if one again commits what one is now asking
pardon for. He who does not by sin repeat what in prayer he
asks to have washed away, doubtless receives in his prayers
the desired effect.146
57
Daily in prayer to confess to God with tears
and groaning one’s past evils. Confession can
be understood in two ways: either as praise, as when
the Lord says to his Father: I confess to you, Father of
heaven and earth,* or as when someone confesses his * Mt 11:25
sins which need forgiveness from him whose mercy is
unfailing. God’s mercy comes to the aid of those who
confess while still in this world; after death, however,
the pain and groaning of repentance torment souls
without setting them free from the punishment for
sin. For a sin which brings on the soul eternal punish-
ment after death must not be concealed. As Cassian
says:
The devil will not be able to assail and bring down

a young monk, unless it be one he sees concealing
144. Cf. ibid. 1 (671B-672A); Diad. mon. 1 (594C).

145. Cf. Isid. Sent. III.7.4 (672AB); Diad. mon. 1 (594D).
146. Isid. Sent. III.7.5-6 (673A); Diad. mon. 1 (595AB).
his thoughts from his senior either through pride or

through shame. For the fathers said that a thought
was evidently diabolical if a junior is ashamed to
lay it bare to his senior.147
It is better to confess one’s sins to the Lord and con-

fidently hope for pardon from his mercy, than to con-
ceal one’s crime for a short space of time and suffer
the eternal loss of one’s soul. And so Solomon says: He
that hides his sins shall not be directed; but he who confesses
Pr 28:13 * and forsakes them shall obtain mercy.* For a person more
easily appeases God who is not convicted by human
judgment, but who of his own accord acknowledges
the sin committed, and having become a judge and
avenger towards himself punishes with tears what
he committed by perverse works; he is not ashamed
rightly to punish with tears what he was not ashamed
wrongly to commit. Hence it is written again: Be not
CCM 137 º ºashamed to confess your sins to the Lord.* Each of us
Si 4:26[31a] * should confess his sins to the Lord, certain that, if he
perseveres in repentance, and after having confessed
brings forth worthy fruits of repentance, not only will
he receive pardon of sin, but he will be made a citizen
of the heavenly city, and receive everlasting rewards
as well.
58
To make amends for those evils in the future.
That person therefore does worthy penance who so deplores
past evils as not to commit them again in the future. For one
who bewails a sin and then commits it again is like someone
who washes an unbaked brick: the more he washes it, the
more mud he makes.148 Therefore, he does penance wor-
thily who no longer commits the sins he previously
committed, but promises amendment along with sat-
147. RCass. 29:3-4 (R Ben. 94:183); Conc. 15.7 (PL 103:849B);

cf. Cassian Inst. IV.9 (CSEL 17:53).
148. Isid. Sent. II.13.7 (PL 83:615B); Diad. mon. 15 (PL
102:612B).
isfaction for what he has done.149 Each must hasten to

God by repenting while he can, in case while able he refuses
to, and when later he wants to he is quite unable. And so the
prophet says: ‘Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on
him while he is near’ *.150 One who repents of his sins * Is 55:6
ought not to have a feeling of security, because secu-
rity breeds negligence, and negligence draws a man to
his former vices.151 But the penitent must foresee the
enemy’s cunning ambushes against him, and must not
return to past vices, or do what is evil any more.
59
Not to carry out the desires of the flesh.* The * Ga 5:16
desires of the flesh means the pleasures and eager
longings of the body; Not to carry out means not to
bring them to effect, that is, not to fulfill them in one’s
deeds. And so Paul says: Walk in the spirit, and you will
not fulfill the desires of the flesh.* To fulfill the desires of * Ga 5:16
the flesh is to carry out in deed the lusts of the flesh
and the base movements of the body. And so Peter
says: Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims,
to abstain from carnal desires that war against the soul.* For * 1 P 2:11
while the flesh is being feebly subjected to flattering lusts, the
army of the vices is being strongly armed against the soul.152
Carnal desires are fondness for sordid pleasure153 and
the allurements of carnal vices; enticed by these a
monk delights in empty fables and superfluous words,
he ºdelights in the spectacles of earthly things and in º CCM 138
earthly joys;154 he burns with his belly’s voraciousness
and his gullet’s desire,155 is consumed with ambition
for honors and bewitched by human praises and the
149. Cf. Isid. Sent. II.13.6 (615A); Diad. mon. 15 (612B).

150. Isid. Sent. II.13.13 (616A); Diad. mon. 15 (612C).
151. Cf. Isid. Sent. II.13.18 (616C-617A); Diad. mon. 15 (612D).
152. Bede In 1 Pt 2:11 (CCSL 121:239); Collect. (PL 102:288)
and Diad. mon. 57 (PL 102:654D).
153. Cf. Isid. Diff. II.31.109; PL 83:86B.
154. Cf. ibid. 110; 86C.
155. Cf. ibid. 111; 86D.
allurements of vainglory; he lifts up his wretched heart

to pride156 and flings it, all unhealthy, headlong into
the multitude of all the vices.157
On the contrary, the monk who takes no delight
at all in fulfilling the desires of the flesh is armed
with sacred virtues; he fights strongly against the
desires and vices of the flesh, and struggles against the
attacks of the vices with the contrary virtues. Against
impurity he employs cleanness of heart,158 and tames
lust with abstinence;159 he prepares love against hatred,
sets patience against anger, trust against fear, generosity
against avarice, humility against pride.160 And thus
he sets the individual virtues against the individual
vices,161 so that he is not overcome and forced to yield,
but emerges as victor, with the vices overcome.
Si 18:30 * 60
To hate one’s self-will.* He says one’s self-will,
that is, what is private and uniquely one’s own, which
no one else approves and no one declares to be just,
because even if it seems good to the one who tries
to fulfill it, it is not good because it is self-will, and is
not approved by the counsel of any father. And so it
is written: Do not go after your lusts, but turn away from
Si 18:30 * your own will.* And so the Lord says: I have not come to
Jn 6:38 * do my own will, but that of him who sent me.* Holy men
renounce their own wills and die to this world in such
a way that they find their delight in living for God
alone; and to the extent that they withdraw them-
selves from the pleasures of this world, they contem-
plate with the mind’s eye the presence of God and the
numerous assembly of the angelic company. A person
cannot reach perfection after denying all he possesses,
156. Cf. ibid. 112; 87A.

157. Cf. ibid. 113; 87B.
158. Cf. Isid. Sent. II.37.2; PL 83:638C.
159. Cf. ibid. 3 (l.c.).
160. Cf. ibid. 2 (l.c.).
161. Cf. ibid. 1; 638B.
unless he also renounces his own wishes. What is it to

deny oneself, except to forsake one’s own wishes?
61
To obey in all things the precepts of one’s
abbot. The abbot’s precepts must always be just and
holy, and therefore they must be obeyed by his disciples
always and in all things. For if he issues commands
to his disciples otherwise than he should, he must be
given the answer the apostles gave: We must obey God
rather than men.* Therefore the abbot’s precept must * Ac 5:29
never be at ºvariance with the Lord’s command, in º CCM 139
case while the abbot’s precept is being obeyed, one
is at variance with the Lord’s precepts. Therefore one
must obey the abbot, so that it may be the same as
obedience to Christ. For he says to his disciples: He
who hears you hears me, and he who spurns you spurns me.* * Lk 10:16
And so Paul the apostle says: Obey your superiors and be
subject to them, for they are keeping watch as men who are
going to render an account for your souls, so that they may
do this with joy and not with grief.* And Solomon says: * Heb 13:17
Obedience is better than sacrifice.* And Paul says again: * 1 Sm 15:22
We beseech you, brothers, to get to know those who labor
among you and who are over you in the Lord and admonish
you. Esteem them more abundantly in charity, and on ac-
count of their work have peace with them.* For the abbot is * 1 Th 5:12-13
seen to take the place of Christ in the monastery*, and * RB 2.2
for this reason the good of obedience is to be shown
him. For if, as is fitting, he does an excellent job, he
must needs be imitated by his disciples. But if through
body’s frailty or mind’s weakness he refuses to fulfill
by his deeds what he preaches by his words, let the
subjects hear what follows, and fulfill by their deeds
the precept of the Lord Jesus Christ, that is, Even if
he does otherwise, which God forbid, [let them
be] mindful of the Lord’s precept: Do what they
say, but not what they do.* * Mt 23:3
Not to wish to be called holy before one is,

62
but first to be what one can then more truly be

called. When blessed Benedict says this, in order that

the monk may not succumb to the vice of boasting he
prudently and briefly reproves and admonishes him.
For there are some monks who desire, not to be, but
to be called holy; they want to have a name for holi-
ness, but do not desire to exercise the work of holiness.
Therefore the person who desires to have a name for
holiness must first of all not cease to perform the work
of holiness. The Lord did not say to the children of
Israel: Be called holy, because I too am called holy, but
Lv 19:2 * Be holy, he said, because I, the Lord your God, am holy.*
And so one who wants to be called holy should first
hasten to perform the work of holiness and shrewdly
seek spiritual fruits, so that filled with these he can
justly be called, and be, holy. For no one will rightly be
able to be called holy except one who has deserved to
receive the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Now the fruit of the
Spirit, as the apostle says, is charity, joy, peace, longanimity,
Ga 5:22-23 * goodness, kindness, faith, modesty, meekness,* and the as-
sembly of all the other virtues; filled with all of these,
as has been said, the monk will rightly be able both to
be called and to be holy.
CCM 140 º º 63To fulfill God’s precepts daily in one’s deeds.*

Si 6:37 * And James says: Be doers of the word and not hearers only.†
Jm 1:22 †
And Paul says: It is not the hearers of the law who are just
Rm 2:13 * in God’s sight, but the doers of the law will be justified.*
And when John in his Apocalypse had said: Blessed is
he who reads and they who hear the words of prophecy in this
book, he immediately added, and who keep those things
Rv 1:3, 22:7 * that are written in it.* 162 Hence in the Gospel the Lord
Jn 14:15 * says: If you love me, keep my commandments.* And again
he says: The one who has my commandments and keeps
Jn 14:21 * them, that man is the one who loves me,* that is, he who
has them in his memory and keeps them in his life, who has
them in his speech and keeps them in his behavior, who has
162. Cf. Bede In Jac 1:22 (CCSL 121:191-2); Collect. (PL

102:300A).
them by hearing and keeps them by doing, or who has them

by doing and keeps them by persevering.163 And the Lord
says again: He who hears my words and does them will be
likened to a wise man who built his house upon rock,* and * Mt 7:24
so forth. And the Lord himself again says: Not everyone
who calls me Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven will
enter the kingdom of heaven.* And: Amen I say to you, if * Mt 7:21
anyone keeps my word he will not see death for ever.* * Jn 8:51
Hence the Lord warns us through Solomon when
he says: My child, do not forget my law, and let your heart
keep my precepts; for they shall add to you length of days and
years of life and peace.* And again the same Solomon * Pr 3:1-2
says: My child, keep my words and lay up my precepts for
yourself. Keep my commandments and you shall live.* * Pr 7:1-2
64
To love chastity. Chastity means incorruption of
body and of heart.164 Certain persons have said that
chastity is in the mind, virginity in the body. But true
and genuine chastity allows neither the mind to be
stained nor the body defiled.165 It shines out not only
in virgins but also in the continent, and it is bright
with the luster of its own beauty. Admiring its beauty
Scripture says: O how beautiful is the chaste generation.* * Ws 4:1
For Isaiah bears witness that virgins will be happier in eter-
nal life when he says: ‘Thus says ºthe Lord to eunuchs: I will º CCM 141
give them a place in my house and within my walls, and a
name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an
everlasting name that will not perish.* Therefore we must * Is 56:4-5
love chastity’s beauty;166 it separates its lovers from the
world’s cares, and prepares in the heavenly Jerusalem a
most sublime name and a place full of light; it bestows
on those who cultivate it the reward for continence
163. Aug. In Jo ev. 75.5 (CCSL 36:517); Collect. (PL 102:325A).

164. Cf. Diff. I.84 ( PL 83:19B).
165. Cf. ibid.; 19C.
166. Isid. Sent. II.40.4-5 (PL 83:643C); Diad. mon. 28 (PL
102:623D-624A).
and the name of sons; it gives them an eternal name

and joins them to the choir of angels. Therefore we
must love chastity’s beauty, which makes virgins and
the continent equal to the angels.167
Chastity of body is made holy and perfect by
humility and purity of heart. For incorruption of body is
of no benefit where there is not integrity of mind, and to be
clean of body is of no avail to him who is defiled in mind.168
For just as one who is chaste in heart and body makes a
sweet odor for angels and men, so one defiled in heart
and body sends out a horrid stench everywhere. The
chaste person is bright with the virtue of purity, the
defiled person stinks with filth and dirt; the chaste and
pure person is joined to the holy angels, the unclean
is joined to the unclean demons; the defiled demons
plunge the defiled person into the infernal regions,
while the holy angels receive the chaste person into
heaven; the former, because he was never ashamed
to commit evil in the dark, is justly condemned and
plunged into the dark abyss; the latter, because he had
been placed in the light and loved chastity’s brightness,
will reign brightly in the light of an eternity that is full
of light. Let us then love chastity’s cleanness, so that it
may keep us chaste in the present life; it will enable us
in the future to receive eternal rewards.
65
To hate no one. With weeping must we lament those
who are consumed with hatred towards a brother, and store
up destructive deceit in their soul against others. For those
who dissociate themselves from fraternal charity separate
themselves from the kingdom of God.169 Hence the apostle
John says: He who says that he is in the light, and hates
1 Jn 2:9 * his brother, is still in the darkness.* He likewise says: He
who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness,
and does not know where he is going, because the darkness
167. Cf. Sent. II.40.5 and 4 (643C); Diad. mon. 28 (624A).

168. Sent. II.40.8 (644B); Diad. mon. 28 (624A).
169. Sent. III.27.1-2; 701B.
has blinded his eyes,* that is, because of his hatred for a * 1 Jn 2:11
brother he is unawares cast headlong into the Gehenna
of the underworld, and in his ignorance and blindness
is plunged into the dark punishment of hell.170
He says again: He who hates his brother ºis a murderer.* º CCM 142
He does not move his hand to kill a man, yet he is already * 1 Jn 3:15
regarded by God as a murderer.171 For when the time of

retribution comes, he who is held fast by this kind of murder,
that is, of hatred, will be condemned with Cain ‘who was
from the evil one’ *.172 * 1 Jn 3:12
He says again: If anyone says, I love God, and hates his
brother, he is a liar.* This is what proves that he is a liar: * 1 Jn 4:20
he claims to love God whom he does not see, yet does
not love but hates the brother he does see. For this
commandment have we received from God, that he who loves
God is to love his brother also*.173 * 1 Jn 4:21
Not to be jealous or envious.174 Envy of another’s

66.67
good punishes the one who entertains it, for the very thing
from which a good man derives profit causes an envious man
to pine away.175 He is thereby a member of the devil, by
whose envy death entered the world.176 For to be jealous
and to envy another’s good is no small sin, but a great and
important one. Right at the beginning of the world the devil
was at once smitten with envy and jealousy; he perished first,
and so destroyed177 others. Jealousy and envy of another’s
good is the root of all evils and the source of vices. From this
arises hatred, from this proceeds animosity, and jealousy stirs
170. Cf. Bede In 1 Jo 2:11; CCSL 121:292.

171. Ibid. 3:15; 307.
172. Ibid.
173. Cf. ibid. 4:20; 318.
174. Smaragdus here follows an interpolated text of RB,
combining the two instruments: Zelum non habere and Invidiam
non exercere.
175. Isid. Sent. III.25.1; PL 83:700A.
176. Ibid. 3; 700B.
177. Cypr. Zel. et liv. 4; CSEL 3.1.421.
up avarice. Through jealousy the fear of God is spurned, the

Day of Judgment is not foreseen, pride becomes puffed up,
humility is provoked to anger, perfidy engages in double-
dealing, patience is shattered, discord rages, anger grows hot.
From this it comes about that every bond of peace is ruptured,
fraternal charity is violated, truth is adulterated, unity is
rent asunder;178 hence the threatening countenance, the grim
aspect, the pale face, the trembling lips, the grinding teeth.179
Why should I say more? From envy and jealousy all vices
have their origin, as James the apostle says: ‘Where there is
jealousy and contention, there is inconstancy and every evil
Jm 3:16 * work’ *.180 Hence there also aptly follows here:
Jm 3:14 * 68
Not to love contention.* ‘Contention’ means ‘con-
troversy’, ‘stubbornness’ and ‘quarrelsome discussion’.
Therefore a monk must not love contention in words,
but rather must hold firmly to fraternal love. For if we
Rm 6:10 * are dead to sin, we must not live to the world* and
CCM 143 º utter a contentious ºword to a brother, because vicious
contention181 is the raw material from which come all
evils; it is perilous to souls and ruinous to the hearers.
Hence Paul says to Timothy: Do not contend with words;
2 Tm 2:14 * it serves no purpose, except to ruin the hearers.* We need
then to ponder how violently this useless contention
disturbs those who engage in it, seeing that it ruins
even those who hear it. For if there had not previously
been a violent disturbance in the heart, there would
have been no contention to come into the open. And
so Paul again says: Lest perhaps contentions, envyings, ani-
2 Co 12:20 * mosities and dissensions be among you.* And James also
178. Ibid. 6; 422-423.

179. Ibid. 8; 424.
180. Via reg. 22; PL 102:961C-962A. Smaragdus’ quotation—
ending here—from his own quote-filled work, begins immedi-
ately after the reference in the text to note 175.
181. Where the CCM text reads contentio vitiorum, ‘vicious
contention’, Migne has contentio verborum, ‘verbal contention’.
says: But if you have bitter zeal and there are contentions in
your hearts, do not boast.* * Jm 3:14
Amongst carnal monks contention is always prone
to occur, as it is written: The evil man is always looking
for quarrels.* And so Paul himself says: Since there are * Pr 17:11
among you jealousy and contention, are you not carnal and
are you not walking according to the flesh?* For through * 1 Co 3:3
useless contention anger is roused, discord is generated
between brothers, animosities are nurtured, strife
makes progress, dissensions are brought into being,
envy emerges, scandals are stirred up, and to put
it briefly, every sort of evil is produced among the
brothers. Hence what Solomon says is true: There is
honor for the man who separates himself from contentions.* * Pr 20:3
For the apostle numbers contention among the works
of darkness, saying: Therefore let us cast off the works of
darkness.* And about these works he added: Not in * Rm 13:12
rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and impurity,
not in contention and envy.* For contention is present * Rm 13:13
in those who live according to the flesh and walk in
darkness. But the man who is in the light does nothing
through contention or conceit or vainglory. And so
there follows:
69
To flee conceit. ‘Conceit’ means ‘boasting of mind’
and ‘boldness of heart’, ‘confidence in one’s virtues’,
rashness and commotion of hearts. For if the mind’s hid-
den conceit has not preceded, as blessed Isidore says, the
avowed boasting because of praise does not follow.182 It is more
advantageous, he says, for people to slip and fall through any
vice at all, than to become proud through conceit.183
Sometimes the Christian is attacked by the devil with
a twofold vice: in secret through conceit, in public through
violent desire. But while a person is busy avoiding violent
182. Isid. Sent. II.38.9; PL 83:640A.

183. Ibid. 11; 640AB. CCM has Utilius est . . . a ruentibus,
while PL 102:791 has ruentibus without a. It is not clear what
function the a would have here.
desire he falls into conceit; likewise when he carelessly turns

aside from conceit he falls into violent desire. And thus from
the hidden vice of conceit a person goes into the open vice
CCM 144 º ºof violent desire, and from the open vice of violent desire he
goes into the secret one of conceit. But God’s servant, keeping
them both discreetly in mind, guards against violent desire in
such a way as not to rush into conceit; he so avoids conceit as
not to relax his mind in the direction of violent desire.184
To reverence the seniors. The humility of good

70
subjects consists in reverence for the senior brothers.

The person whose mind is not humble, but rather is
swollen and conceited, will not be able sincerely to
reverence a senior. Reverence for seniors must be in
words and in deeds; in words, so that one speaks to a
RB 7.60 * senior few and reasonable words, humbly* and with
RB 20.1 * reverence*; in deeds, so that at his passing by a junior
RB 63:16 * rises, at his order he again sits down,* listens in silence
when he speaks, and humbly answers when he puts a
question; when the senior gives an order the junior
obeys, with head bowed he humbly asks a blessing
RB 63:15 * from a passing senior,* and in everything where the
situation reasonably calls for it the junior monk obeys
the senior. Hence Paul says to Timothy: Do not rebuke
1 Tm 5:1 * a senior, but appeal to him as to a father.* And: Children, be
Col 3:20 * obedient to your parents in the Lord.* For the Lord also
went down from Jerusalem to Nazareth with his par-
Lk 2:51 * ents and was subject to them.* And so through a certain
wise man it is said: With all your soul fear God, and sanc-
Si 7:29[31] * tify his priests.* And he says again: With all your strength
Si 7:30[32]* love him who made you, and do not forsake his ministers.*
But a senior needs to be careful that, upon receiving
reverence from a junior, he does not become swol-
len with pride and thus foster scandal; let him more
and more humble himself and, with fatherly love, love
the juniors as sons; in this way he will urge them to
humble obedience. And so there follows:
184. Ibid. 39.3; 640C.
71
To love the juniors. Juniors must receive from
seniors a double love: first because they are brothers,
for it is written: We have received this commandment from
God, that he who loves God is to love his brother also;* * 1 Jn 4:21
then because they obey and humbly serve the seniors.
Hence it is written: Let a wise servant be dear to you as
your own soul; treat him as a brother.* If this is said of a * Si 7:21[23],
33:31
servant, how much more must it be understood of a
son and a beloved brother.
72
To pray for one’s enemies in the love of
Christ.* The love of Christ makes us love our enemy, * Mt 5:44
it also makes us even pray for him, because if we are
his children, as far as we can we must imitate him. For
he himself prayed ºfor his persecutors, saying: Father, º CCM 145
forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.* * Lk 23:34
Therefore, in order that we may be his children by
imitation, just as we already are by his grace of adop-
tion, according to his command let us love our enemies
also, and pray for them. For our commander himself
commands us saying: Love your enemies, do good to those
who hate you, and pray for those who persecute and calum-
niate you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is
in heaven, who causes his sun to rise upon the good and the
bad, and his rain to fall on the just and the unjust.* When * Mt 5:44-45
he had said: So that you may be sons of your Father who is
in heaven, he said, who causes his sun to rise upon the good
and the bad, and so forth, so that we might understand
these things and do good to our enemies and extend
to them our love and pour out prayer for their salva-
tion; so that having become children of God already
through adoption, we might also become his children
through imitation. Christ suffered for us, says the apostle
Peter, leaving us an example that we may follow his foot-
steps.* We must understand this not only with respect * 1 P 2:21
to his passion, but also with respect to love of one’s
enemies, and to prayer made on their behalf.
73
Before sunset to return to peace with one’s
Eph 4:26 * opponent.* Just as our loving mother the Church is hard-
pressed by all who live evil lives or by heretics, but yet em-
braces with kindly charity those who come to her, so too must
we, in imitation of our mother, immediately embrace all the
enemies we may have who come back to us,185 [because] he
who reconciles a brother to himself too slowly, appeases God
too slowly.186
For the Lord says: If you are offering your gift at the altar,
and there you remember that your brother has something
against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go first
and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer
Mt 5:23-24 * your gift.* And so Paul the apostle says: Be angry and do
Eph 4:26 * not sin; let not the sun go down upon your anger.* In this
way he shows that before sunset both the one at fault
must seek and receive pardon, and the person hurt
must forgive the sins by forgiving the offender. Anyone
who asks forgiveness must be quickly forgiven187 because a
person who is not ready to forgive gains no advantage
by being free from fault. For fault grows and increases
when a brother’s sins are too slowly loosened.188
CCM 146 º º 74And never to despair of God’s mercy. Should

there be a thousand sins, one must not despair of
forgiveness. For God is both compassionate when it
comes to forgiving, and omnipotent when it comes to
saving. It is enough for each sinner to turn away from
Ps 37:27 * evil and do good.* Let him confess his sins to the Lord
and do penance according to the measure of fault, be-
cause every sinner who is converted to the Lord with
all his heart will be saved. He himself says this when he
Is 45:22 * says to sinners: Be converted to me and you will be saved.*
Again he says: I want, not the death of a sinner, but that
Ezk 33:11, * he be converted and live;* So since the compassionate
cf 18:23
185. Ibid. III.27.3; 701C.

186. Ibid. 7; 702A.
187. Ibid. 4; 701C.
188. Cf. ibid. 6; 701D-702A.
Lord desires not the death but the life of the sinner, he
himself closes mercy’s door on himself who despairs of
receiving from him forgiveness of his sins.
Hence he says again through the prophet: The
sinner, in whatever day he is converted * wholeheartedly * Ezk 33:12
to the Lord, ceases to be a sinner. And so Jerome says:
Let no one doubt concerning the Lord’s forgiveness,
let no one despair. For this was he sent, for this he
came, not to destroy but to save sinners who confess.
Let no one despair for the sheer number of his sins,
because a compassionate and merciful Lord is ready to
pardon. If he commanded his disciple Peter to forgive
his brother his sin up to seventy times seven times,
much more does he, the fountain of compassion and
forgiveness, forgive up to a thousand times a thousand
times the fault of those who sin against him and who
ask for pardon. For he himself washed away the sins of
the whole world; how much more will he wash away
the faults of one man. It is enough for each one to
be converted from his impiety, and having produced
worthy fruits of repentance, he may live forever filled
with the power of good works.
75
These then are the instruments of the spiritual
art. These then are, he says, that is, these aforemen-
tioned divine commandments, which have been set
forth above, individually and in order. And so These
are the instruments of the spiritual art. Art is so
called because, constrained by the precepts and rules of art189
it gives good and right guidance. For just as there is an
art that concerns the body, there is also a spiritual art.
Now just as spiritual life is better than bodily life, so
also is the art of it more subtle. And while the art con-
cerning the body requires few instruments, the other
needs many. Just as craftsmen, writers and other skilled
workers have their instruments, by means of which
189. Etym. I.1.2; PL 82:73A.

they perform their work, so too are there the instru-

ments of the virtues, by means of which the spiritual
life is shaped. If the art of ruling one’s own soul and
those of others were not a spiritual art, Gregory would
not say: With what rashness then is the pastoral teaching
role taken on by those without experience, when the ruling
CCM 147 º of ºsouls is the art of arts.190 Hence Paul the apostle says:
I know both how to be brought low and how to abound,
Ph 4:12 * how to be filled and how to be hungry and suffer need.* To
the less perceptive all these things do not seem to be
a spiritual art, but simply what has to be done. But if
it were not an art, the apostle would not have said: ‘I
know how’; when he said: ‘I know how’, he showed
that there was an art in the performance of this work.
The one whose personal need does not break him or
draw him back from giving thanks, or inflame him
with the desire for temporal things, knows how to be
brought low. The one who is not lifted up when he
receives things, and does not twist them to the ser-
vice of vainglory, who does not retain sole possession
of them but mercifully shares them with the needy,
knows how to abound. The one who on receiv-
ing food does not use it for gorging his belly, but for
restoring his strength, knows how to be filled. One
who bears the lack of food without murmuring, and
does not because of his need for food do anything by
which his soul may incur the snare of sin, knows how
to be hungry. And so he whom pride does not lift up
in time of abundance, or eager desire provoke in time
of need, knows how to abound and to suffer need as
well. He who is not lifted up in prosperity, broken in
adversity, drawn to evil by persuasive words, or turned
back from a good work by spiteful criticisms, is well
supplied with the spiritual art; he is not weakened for
the worse, but always like a healthy man makes prog-
ress for the better.
190. Reg. past. I.1; PL 77:14A.

76
When these have been fulfilled by us day and
night without ceasing and handed back on the
Day of Judgment. These aforementioned most sa-
cred precepts of the Lord are consigned to us in the
present life so that we may work with them and guard
them as we work. They will again be handed back by
us in eternal life, so that we may merit to receive the
worthy reward of our labor: that [life] namely which
the Lord himself promised to his workers when he
said: Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and
I will give you rest;* and: Come, you blessed of my Father, * Mt 11:28
receive the kingdom which was prepared for you from the
beginning of the world,* and of which the apostle used * Mt 25:34
to say:
What eye has not seen nor ear heard, what things
77
God has prepared for those who love him.* 191 * 1 Co 2:9
78
Now the workshop where we are diligently to
do all these things is the enclosure of the mon-
astery and stability in the community. From
‘doing’* comes ‘dutiful action’† and from that word is * faciendo
† officium
derived ‘workshop’.* 192 The workshop is the dwellings * officina
of the workers and the enclosure of all the monks liv-
ing in the same place. The person who wants to dwell
191. According to the CCM text, Smaragdus omits the di-

rect quotation of v. 76b: illa merces nobis a Domino recompensabi-
tur quam ipse promisit, paraphrasing in the commentary: Iterum
nobis in vita reconsignabuntur aeterna, ut laboris nostri digna recipere
mereamur praemia; illa videlicet quam [Migne: quae] ipse dominus
operariis suis promisit dicens . . . et de qua [Migne: quo] apostolus
dicebat ‘Quod oculus non vidit. . . . ’ The Migne text here inserts
v. 76b immediately before v. 77. It seems to me that the CCM
text shows Smaragdus as concentrating on the vita aeterna, ‘eter-
nal life’, as the object of the Lord’s promise, while the Migne
text has him presenting the digna praemia, ‘worthy rewards’, as
the object of the promise.
192. Cf. Isid. Etym.VI.19.1; PL 82:252A.
among them must have firmness of mind and stability

in community, so as not to begin wandering through
various territories or migrating from one monastery
to another, and from what is his rightful place to what
CCM 148 º is not, in case it ºbe said of him what is found written
in the book of Solomon: Like a bird migrating from its
Pr 27:8 * nest, so is a man who leaves the place where he belongs.*
What is meant by the bird that leaves its nest, if not
the monk who leaves his place and his superior? It
were better for him to abandon his mind’s tendency
to wander, and hold firmly to stability of heart and of
place, and bring to perfection the good he has begun
to do; for it is written: Not he who begins, but he who
Mt 10:22, * perseveres will be saved.*
24:13
CHAPTER 5
ON THE OBEDIENCE
OF THE DISCIPLES
1
And so the first step of humility is obedience
without delay.1 There are very many who ask why
blessed Benedict should have said in this Rule that
there are two first steps of humility: the one being that
which we are now dealing with, the other, that which
is put first in the twelve steps. What we have to realize
is that the latter is first in the heart, while the former
is first in action; and just as the latter is first in order,
so is it also in thought, will, desire and conversion.2
1. ‘And so’. The itaque, not in RB 5:1, seems to have crept in

here by contamination from RB 7:10.
2. CCM has primus in ordine, ita et in cogitatione. . . . PL has
primus in ordine, ita secundus in cogitatione. . . . I suspect the
copyist got a bit confused, as I do, with the sequence of ille
and iste.
On the Obedience of the Disciples 247
But the former, which here comes first, is found sec-

ond in order in the other place. This is how he speaks
here: Such as these immediately leaving what
is theirs and forsaking their own will,* imitate * RB 5.7
that saying of the Lord in which he says: I have
not come to do my own will, but that of him who sent
me.* But in the other place he says: The second step * RB 5.13;
of humility is that a person does not love his Jn 6:38
own will and delight in fulfilling his own de-
sires, but imitates by his deeds the voice of the
Lord saying: I have not come to do my own will, but
that of him who sent me.* * RB 7:31-32;
So you see how we show that the one here put first Jn 6:38
is found to have been there put second. Therefore the

one mentioned later is first in order and thought, the
one mentioned here is first in the doing of the work;
the former is first at the beginning of conversion, the
latter at the beginning of action; the one is first in the
soul spiritually, the other in obedience bodily. And so
even the title of this chapter is not On Humility, but
On the Obedience of the Disciples. In the one
the treatment is of thought, will and desire, while in
the other what is discussed is the obedience of the dis-
ciples. Now the disciples’ obedience is first to be shown
to God in the heart, and afterwards to their teacher
in action. Everyone touched ºinwardly by the fear of º CCM 149
the Lord goes forth in public to obey, as a disciple his
master. For unless the fear of the Lord impelled him,
one person would never place himself under another
in the regular life; but it comes about that one man,
impelled by the fear of the Lord, and likewise by his
love, is subjected to another, and one man is ruled by
another. After the fear of the Lord penetrates a man’s
heart, he hurries off in search of someone else to be
his guide to life, so that with another leading him he
may reach where he cannot go by himself.
And so here too blessed Benedict points out in a
highly ordered way to those wanting to reach eternal
life, in what the beginning of the work and of the

way consists, saying: The first step of humility is
obedience without delay. When about to discuss
obedience, blessed Benedict did not set down the first
step in order as already mentioned, but, reasonably, the
first step of hard work. It is fitting for the disciple to
fulfill this without delay, since he wants to climb
to the kingdom of heaven without delay. For the
monk must perform obedience without delay and
slowness, if he wants to receive the reward for his hard
work without slowness. The person who in humble
obedience fights strongly against the enemy, gains the
victory without slowness. For it is written: The obedient
Pr 21:28 * man speaks of victories.* What wonder is it if a sinful
man subjects himself to obedience in the shortness of
the present life, when the very mediator between God
1 Tm 2:5 * and men* emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, and
Ph 2:7 * became obedient unto death*? And while holding dear
man whom he redeemed by his own death, he has
shown himself to be dear to all his saints. And so there
follows:
2
This is fitting for those who consider nothing
dearer to them than Christ. The Christian must
hold absolutely nothing so dear to him as Christ,
because he knows that Christ himself and no one
else is his creator, redeemer and Lord. Therefore we
must hold nothing so dear to us as Christ, because
he held nothing so dear as the band of the elect. For
he deigned to hold us so dear that he did not refuse
to shed his sacred blood for us. Therefore may he be
dear to us as a father, and we to him as sons. Let us
1 Jn 4:10 * love the Lord Jesus Christ, because he first loved us,*
Ga 2:20 * and gave himself up* for us. We must prefer nothing to
his love, but we must love and cherish him above all
things, because we hope to reign with him for ever.
For he says: He who loves father or mother more than me is
CCM 150 º not ºworthy of me.* Who can be so foolish and stupid as
Mt 10:37 *
not to want to love his life and salvation? For Christ is

our life and salvation, who said: I am the Way, the Truth
and the Life.* * Jn 14:6
Therefore, while we live in this mortal body Christ
is our hope, Christ our defense, Christ our guidance,
Christ our fortitude, Christ our solace, Christ our
redemption, Christ our shepherd, salvation and pro-
tection, Christ our justification, sanctification and en-
lightenment. And in the future world our glory will be
Christ, our exultation Christ, our glorification Christ,
our peace Christ, our inheritance Christ, our eternity
Christ, our light Christ, our brightness Christ, our
health Christ, our crown Christ, our wisdom Christ,
our kingdom Christ, our reward Christ, our joy Christ,
our gift Christ, our honor Christ, our refreshment
Christ, our rest Christ, everything of ours that is good,
everything holy, everything lovable, everything desir-
able Christ; and therefore it befits us to hold nothing
dearer to us than Christ. For in him and through him
we live and move and have our being.* Therefore we * Ac 17:28
must hold nothing else whatever dearer than him. But
those who want to reign with him for ever must obey
the one who commands without delay, and do what
follows, that is:
3
On account of the holy service they have pro-
fessed, or because of the fear of Gehenna or
the glory of eternal life, 4as soon as anything
has been ordered by the superior, as if it were
divinely ordered, let them be unable to suffer
any delay in doing it. On account of the holy
service they have professed, he said, that is, in con-
formity with the profession the monk has promised
before the altar in the presence of all, saying: I prom-
ise concerning my stability and the conversion of my
conduct 3 and obedience in the presence of God and
3. In this place the CCM text has conversione, whereas at 58:17
it has conversatione. Migne has conversione in both places.
RB 58.17 * his saints.* And so if this regular profession is fulfilled

in deeds in the monastery up to the end of one’s life,
it is rightly called a holy service, because having be-
come holy through it, the monk is joined to the holy
Lord. And whether in conformity with this service,
that is, so that they may be able to fulfill it, because
it is better not to make a vow than after making it not to
Qo 5:4 * perform the thing promised,* or because of the fear
of Gehenna, that is, so that they may not go down
into an eternal Gehenna to be tormented, or [because
of] the glory of eternal life, that is, so that they
may reach that glory and become bright and shine
and flash like the sun in the Father’s sight, as soon as
anything has been ordered by the superior, as if
it were divinely ordered, let them be unable to
suffer any delay in doing it.
CCM 151 º º 5About these the Lord says: At the hearing of

Ps 18:44, * the ear they [the gentiles] obeyed me,* that is, in the
cf 2 Sm 22:45 very hearing in which they heard my voice, straight-
way and without delay they complied and obeyed me.
Vulgate; * This testimony is taken from the seventeenth psalm,*
Ps 18 Hebrew
where the ease with which the gentiles believed is
praised by the Lord; they did not see our Lord Jesus
Christ with their bodily eyes, but speedily believed
the apostles when they preached about him. Obedient
monks too now follow their example, when they eas-
ily obey the seniors sent by God. And so that they may
understand that they are not so much obeying man,
but rather God, and that the obedience they show
their superiors they are entrusting to the Lord who
rewards all good men, let them hear the Lord saying
to teachers what follows:
Lk 10:16 * 6
He who hears you hears me.* Those people are clearly
shown to be hearing the Lord, who incline the ear
of their heart to teachers so as to obey them; and
those who are not slow humbly to obey their seniors
will receive from the Lord the reward of obedience.

Therefore those who merit to have such a one to re-
ward their work must always obey with great alacrity
of heart. About these there is added:
7
Therefore such as these immediately leaving
what is theirs and forsaking their own will,
8
with their hands at once free, and leaving un-
finished what they were doing, with the near
foot of obedience follow with their deeds the
voice of the one giving the order. Those people
certainly leave what is theirs who, for the sake of what
is useful to others, leave what is useful to themselves
unfinished; they strive to please their neighbors rather
than themselves, and try to carry out not their own
will but rather that of their neighbors. And with their
hands at once free, that is, unyoked from all the
work they were involved in, and separated and disen-
gaged from all activity, they leave unfinished what
they were doing. On account of the perfection of
obedience the doing of all other works is to be relin-
quished, because obedience is more pleasing to God
than sacrifice.* Obedience to be sure is rightly preferred to * 1 Sm 15:22
sacrifices, because through sacrifices the flesh of something else
is slain, whereas through obedience one’s own will is slain.4
With the near foot of obedience they follow
with their deeds the voice of the one giving the
order. The foot of obedience approaches, so that it
may be able to run quickly, and fulfill swiftly, without
any trace of slowness, what is being enjoined on it. Its
swiftness must be shown by both body and heart to
the one commanding, so that slowness may not hold
back the body, nor a lukewarm will the heart; but let
the swift hearer fulfill by a worthy work the voice of
the one giving the order, so that when the time of
retribution ºcomes he may be able to receive a worthy º CCM 152
4. Greg. Moral. XXXV.14.28 (CCSL 143B:1792); Taio Sent.

III.31 (PL 80:889A).
reward from the Lord. In keeping with the desire for

this reward, what follows must be effectively carried
out. For he says:
9
And as it were in one moment the aforesaid
order of the master and the disciple’s completed
work—the one and the other—are performed
with great rapidity in the swiftness of the fear
of God. A moment means a very short time,5 because in
a short time the work of obedience enjoined is car-
ried out.When for charity’s sake a good master’s order
and an obedient disciple’s work are harmoniously knit
together, without doubt they bring forth good fruit,
Mt 7:14 * because a union brought about by the Holy Spirit
cannot fail to produce fruit where there is no harmful
disunion of souls. For hearts bound to the fear of the
Lord swiftly bring forth the medicine of salvation for
feeble souls.
10
[These] on whom the love of striding towards
eternal life weighs, 11for that reason lay hold of
the narrow way, of which the Lord says: Narrow
is the way that leads to life.* In this place blessed
Benedict left the pronoun ‘these’ to be understood;
if you add it, you can more clearly perceive what is
being said, that is, if you say: These on whom the
love of striding towards eternal life weighs, for
that reason lay hold of the narrow way, so that
not living by their own decision, and everything
else that follows; in a wonderful manner, and one so
arranged by the Lord that by a narrow and strait way
the elect may ascend to the very wide fatherland, and
by a broad and very wide way the reprobate descend to
the very narrow enclosure of the infernal regions. For
it is by the very narrow way that the saints come to the
5. Isid. Etym. V.25.25; PL 82:208B.

very broad kingdom, and by the broad way the wicked

finish up in the very narrow abyss. Time changes for
the ill-willed rich, and it changes also for the holy
poor: for the former, so that from the spacious way of
pleasure they may cross over to the narrow punish-
ment of hell, for the latter, so that from the present
narrowness of the world they may cross over to the
very wide and very bright glory of heaven; the former,
that they may change from a soft and dissolute life to
the narrowness of the lower depths, the latter, that they
may cross over from the narrow and restricted activity
of the body to the broad kingdom of heaven. Hence
the Lord says: The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and
the violent bear it away.* For it is not the person who * Mt 11:12
lives a soft and slack life who will possess the kingdom
of God, but the one who acts manfully for its sake.
Hence blessed Jerome says: The pleasure of the world that
men long for is the wide way; the narrow way is that which is
opened by labors and fasts. But many walk by the wide way,
while few find the narrow.6
12
So that not living by their own decision. It is
dangerous for a monk to live by his own decision, be-
cause he may say that something is good which others
judge not to be so, but which is in fact evil. And while
he thinks he sees well and is running in the right way,
he may fall sightless into the pit of ruin, as it is written:
There is a way that seems right to men, but the ends of it
lead to the ºinfernal regions.* And therefore monks must º CCM 153
not be slaves to their own desires, but must humbly * Pr 14:12
comply with the Lord’s precepts; they must not live for
their own pleasures, but with the fear of the Lord be
humbly subject to his commandments, so as to be able
to say with David: I am a partner of all who fear you and
keep your commandments.* * Ps 119:63
6. Hier. In Mt I; CCSL 77:43.

But walking by another’s judgment and

command. He put judgment here in place of discretion
and decision. For another must discern the work a good
and mortified monk must do for Christ, and in order
that he may obtain from the Lord the reward of his work,
he must obey the other’s command. A person runs the
way of the Lord’s commandments more sweetly when
another discerns and judges his work.
Dwelling in cenobia, they desire to have an
abbot over them. ‘Cenobia’ are monasteries of many
monks living in community; the name seems to be
composed from a greek word. Coenon is the greek
word for what we call common.7 Therefore dwelling
in cenobia, that is, living in community with many
men, they desire to have an abbot over them, so
that under his governance they may run the way of
the Lord’s commandments more lightly, and live more
lightly under his rule, and more sweetly grasp the
rewards that have been promised them in the future,
knowing that the more they consent to be subject to
the other’s power for love of Christ, the more they
will be exalted and rejoice in the future world with
the Lord himself. And because by their deeds they
imitate the Lord who said: 13I have come not to do
Jn 6:38 * my own will, but that of him who sent me,* they will
without doubt reign happily with him for ever.
14
But this very obedience will be acceptable
to God and sweet to men, if what is ordered
is done, not anxiously, or slowly, or tepidly, or
with murmuring, or with an answer expressing
unwillingness. Obedience is acceptable to God
if it is done swiftly, with a pure heart and without
murmuring; and sweet to men if it is done without
laziness, and with alacrity and cheerfulness of mind.
Hence there is added: Not anxiously. To be anx-
7. Cf. Etym. XV.4.6; PL 82:544B.

ious means to be afraid and to hesitate. That person is

anxious about doing obedience who does not firmly
hope in the Lord’s help; but the person who has put
his trust in Christ’s help will not be anxious about
doing obedience for Christ’s sake, because it is written:
Those who fear the Lord have hoped in the Lord; he is their
helper and their protector.* * Ps 115:11
Not slowly. That monk does obedience slowly,
who does not desire to receive eternal rewards from
it. The person whom love of God does not rouse to
obedience, finds delight in the body’s repose, and is
slow to obey his seniors, not ºrealizing that he who sows º CCM 154
sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows with a
blessing, that is, with an abundance of blessing, will also
reap eternal life abundantly with a blessing.* * 2 Co 9:6
Not tepidly. Tepidly means without commitment,
sluggishly and slackly. That monk does obedience
tepidly, who does not fear what the Lord says of the
tepid; for he says: Because you are tepid and cause nausea, I
will begin to vomit you out of my mouth.* Nor does he lend * Rv 3:16
his ear to Paul when he says: Being fervent in spirit. Serving
the Lord.* For monks should be fervent and not tepid * Rm 12:11
in the service of Christ, so that burning with the fire
of charity they may do what they do not tepidly but
swiftly and readily. For that divine fire that the Lord sent
upon the earth and wanted to blaze,* swiftly arouses * Lk 12:49
the hearts of good monks to obey, so that the speed
they show in seeking to please him by obeying is in
proportion to the desire they have to reign with him.
Or with murmuring. For the person who does
obedience with murmuring receives neither praise
from the one who gives the order nor reward from the
Lord, but rather he receives corporal discipline from
his abbot, and from the Lord that just punishment due
to murmurers. He unhappily loses the two things first
mentioned, and collects the other two as punishment:
he loses the grace of praise and reward, and collects
punishment of both body and soul.
Or with an answer expressing unwillingness.

That monk who begins an obedience with an answer
expressing unwillingness either speedily amends both
his will and his answer or quickly falls into the sin
of murmuring. But if he speedily amends both his
answer and his will he will not lose the reward of his
obedience, because the merciful and compassionate
Lord quickly forgives the penitent.
15
Because the obedience which is given to supe-
riors is shown to God. Obedience, which the Lord
receives as done to his own person, should be done
with great love of heart and swiftness of body, so that
when the time of recompense comes he may bestow
a very full reward on those who do it. For when the
time of eternal refreshment comes, he will say to all
who labor in obedience: Come to me, all you who labor
Mt 11:28 * and are burdened, and I will give you rest.* Therefore the
monk who hopes to have such a one repaying him for
his obedience must do it with great eagerness of heart.
And so there follows:8
CCM 155 º º 16And the disciple ought to obey with a good

2 Co 9:7 * will, because the Lord loves a cheerful giver.* This say-
ing is understood not only of the alms that one gives
specifically to the poor, but also generally of all the
obedience of monks, because whatever the good monk
does by obeying he gives entirely to God, to whom
he has also vowed himself entirely. To God he gives
entirely his fasting, vigils, abstinence, the extra jour-
ney laid on him, and absolutely every act of heart and
body; from him he hopes to receive a hundredfold the
fruit of his labor. Therefore the person who wishes to
receive the fruit of his labor from the Lord with cheer-
fulness, and many times over, must obey his superiors
8. The CCM text has Smaragdus omitting v. 15b: ipse enim

dixit: ‘Qui vos audit me audit’ (Lk 10:16).
with cheerfulness, because he who disdains to obey his

superiors is no doubt contradicting the Lord’s com-
mand, who says to disciples and to all teachers: He who
hears you hears me, and he who spurns you spurns me.* * Lk 10:16
Therefore the obedience enjoined by superiors
must not be spurned, but loved rather and cherished,
and inasmuch as our strength makes possible, carried
out cheerfully in our works. For it is written: In every
gift show a cheerful countenance.* And so a person shows * Si 35:8[11]
a cheerful countenance in every gift when, without
sadness or rancor, but with serene countenance and
happy mind he offers the word to the hearers, bread to
the poor, and a humble and obedient heart to superiors.
In every gift he shows a cheerful countenance, and
therefore his gift is believed to be received and found
suitable by the Lord. However, those who fast, but
not cheerfully, watch, but not cheerfully, abstain, but
not cheerfully, and do many other good things, but not
with a good will or cheerfully, do not receive from the
Lord a reward for their labor, but from the Evil One
condemnation for murmuring. And so there follows:
17
For if the disciple obeys with an ill will, and
murmurs not only with his mouth but even
in his heart, 18then even if he fulfills the order,
still it will not be acceptable to God who sees
his heart murmuring. 19And for such a deed
he gains no reward; in fact he incurs the pen-
alty of murmurers if he does not amend with
satisfaction. For the disciple must obey his master
with a good will and a pure heart and a humble spirit,
so that he may receive from God recompense for his
obedience. For when he obeys with an ill will, he is
regarded by God as both proud and murmuring and
disobedient. Now God, to whom all things are naked
and open,* condemns the hearts of those who mur- * Heb 4:13
mur even when they are silent. Therefore whatever
monks do they are to do without murmuring, lest
(God forbid) by murmuring they perish by the same

sentence as did those who murmured against the Lord
1 Co 10:10 * in the desert;* they perished while eating the manna;
CCM 156 º may these latter not perish even ºwhile reading the
Scriptures aloud in the monastery and yet murmuring.
The former died while eating the manna, and these
die daily from spiritual hunger while reading the
Scriptures and hearing them; the former because of
their murmuring did not enter the promised land,
and the latter because of their murmuring will lose
paradise, and will not enter the promised land, that is,
the eternal fatherland of heaven. For what does it profit
murmurers to perform exteriorly the work enjoined,
and to remain interiorly empty of the prize of the
reward? Therefore it is better to obey superiors with
joy and receive an everlasting reward, than to obey
with a sad heart and lose the rewards of one’s toil. For
although by his deeds a man fulfills his master’s order,
still he does not fulfill that of the apostle who said: Do
Ph 2:14 * everything without murmuring and hesitation.*
CHAPTER 6
ON RESERVE IN SPEECH
Reserve in speech is the strength of humility and a

token of gravity; it is the nurse of the virtues and the
guardian of souls. Hence Solomon says: He that guards
Pr 21:23 * his mouth and his tongue, guards his soul from distress.* That
is, a man delivers his soul from the distress of eter-
nal punishment when he loves reserve in speech, and
guards and restrains his tongue from evil, wicked and
every type of foolish speech, saying with the prophet:
I said: I will guard my ways, so that I do not sin with

1
Ps 39:1 * my tongue.* That person keeps a good guard over his

On Reserve in Speech 259
ways, that is, over the acts of his life, who does not of-
fend with his tongue. The tongue is a small member,* * Jm 3:5
but it causes many quarrels and often commits many
scandals. James the apostle says of it: No man can tame
the tongue, an unquiet evil, full of deadly poison,* and so * Jm 3:8
forth. Therefore one who does not wish to sin with
his tongue must first carefully foresee his ways, that is,
the acts of his life, in case he should suddenly slip in
using his tongue where he has previously neglected to
foresee his ways.
There follows: I placed a guard over my mouth.* A * Ps 39:1
person places a good guard over his mouth when his
tongue does not boldly let forth a stream of evil, vain, or
much speaking, but who, according to Solomon, waits
for a time to ºkeep silence and a time to speak.* Again it is º CCM 157
* Qo 3:7
written: A wise person will keep silence until the right time,
but the wanton and foolish does not observe the right time.* * Si 20:7
Now he also places a guard over his mouth who admits
that he is not just, but—and this is very true—a sinner.
So in order that our tongue may not slip into evil
speech, let each of us place a guard over our mouth,
and pay earnest attention to what the apostle says
of those who speak evil. Among the other evils
mentioned further back or below he says: Neither
drunkards, nor evil-speakers, nor extortioners will possess the
kingdom of God.* But also in the Law the Lord ordered * 1 Co 6:10
the children of Israel, saying: Do not allow evil-speakers
to live in the land.* * Ex 22:18
So in order that our tongue may not descend to
vain speech, let us hear what the psalmist says about
those of vain speech. For he says: Each one has spoken
vain things to his neighbor; there are deceitful lips in their
heart, and with their heart they have spoken evil things. May
the Lord destroy all deceitful lips,* and so forth. * Ps 12:2-3
In order that our tongue may not fall thoughtlessly
into much speaking, let us hear what Solomon says. For
he says: In much speaking you shall not escape sin,* and: * Pt 10:19
He who uses many words hurts his own soul.* Therefore * Si 20:8
we must place a guard over our mouth, so that we

may not, while speaking unrestrainedly, either through
evil, vain, or much speaking, offend the Lord our
God. Through the unbridled use of the tongue, says blessed
Augustine, annoyances are sown, quarrels arise, the flames
of hatred are enkindled, peace of heart is extinguished,1 and
the flood of all the other vices pours forth. I was dumb
Ps 39:2 * and was humbled and kept silence from good things.*
Blessed Benedict expounded this saying in praise of
reserve in speech when he said, 2Here the prophet
shows that, if one ought at times keep silence
from good speech on account of reserve in
speech, how much more must we cease from
evil words on account of the punishment for
sin. This is what a certain man says: An account is given
for an idle word, a penalty is paid for unjust speech.2 I was
dumb, he said, that is, I voluntarily imposed silence
on myself so that I might not sin by talkativeness. For it
Si 19:5 * is written: He who hates talkativeness extinguishes malice.*
Is 32:17 * And so Isaiah says: The service of justice is silence,* plainly
CCM 158 º indicating that the justice of the mind is forsaken when ºthe
tongue is not curbed from immoderate speech.3
Reserve in speech, as has been said, is the strength of
humility, because the humbled mind is lifted up to the
highest things in the measure that the tongue is bridled
by reserve in speech; and the more it sinks down under
silence, the more earnestly does it direct the point of
compunction heavenwards; and in proportion as the
humbled spirit raises itself to the grace of compunction,
so much does it again humble itself, being pierced with
compunction.
1. Actually Greg. Moral. VII.17.57 (CCSL 143:378) and Reg.

past. III.14 (PL 77:73C); Taio Sent. IV.26 (PL80:943A).
2. Isid. Sent. II.29.4; PL 83:629B.
3. Moral. VII.17.58 (CCSL 143:378) and Reg. past. III.14 (PL
77:73D); Taio Sent. IV.26 (PL 80:943B); Smar. Diad. mon. 39
(PL 102:635B).
And so there also follows: I was humbled and kept

silence from good things.* If he had not previously * Ps 39:2
been humbled, he would not have kept silence from
good and evil things. Humbled means ‘thrown to the
ground’. Therefore he who loves the virtue of reserve
in speech must needs keep silence for a time even
from good speech, so that by thus keeping silence for a
time he may nourish the rest of the virtues; and when
they have been nourished, he may wisely exercise
them in their turn at the opportune time. And so a
certain wise man says: There is one who keeps silence and
is found wise; and there is one who is hateful, being bold
in speech.* As though to say: The former by keeping * Si 20:5
silence nourished himself and became wise, while the
latter was found to be brash for exceeding the measure
of speaking.
3
Therefore although it be for good, holy and
edifying speech, let leave to speak be rarely
granted to perfect disciples, on account of the
seriousness of reserve in speech. He says that the
Lord’s words are good and holy and suitable for edify-
ing souls, because unless the soul is formed by them it
will not be able to ascend to the heavenly fatherland,
or receive with the saints the reward of holiness. For
the psalmist says of these words: The words of the Lord
are chaste words, silver tried by fire,* and so forth. And he * Ps 12:6
says again: The judgments of God are justified in them-
selves, more desirable than gold and many precious stones,
and sweeter than honey and honeycomb. For your servant
keeps them; in keeping them there is great reward.* And so * Ps 19:9-11
Paul says: We know that the Law is good and holy and
just.* These are the Lord’s words, which are preparing * Rm 7:12,
eternal life for those who believe and do them. On ac- 1 Tm 1:8
count of the seriousness of reserve in speech it is rarely
granted to disciples to proclaim them, in case while
someone leaves the enclosure of his reserve in speech
incautiously, he should fall headlong into the pit of
conceit, or pass beyond the boundary of his silence

and suffer harm to his soul, lose profitable seriousness
of reserve in speech and fall into harmful levity of
mind. And so there follows:
CCM 159 º º 4For it is written: In much speaking you shall not

Pr 10:19 * escape sin.* And so blessed Gregory says: The prophet
bears witness that anyone enslaved to much speaking can in
no wise hold fast the uprightness of justice, when he says:
Ps 140:11 * ‘The talkative man will not be directed on the earth’ * 4
Hence blessed Ambrose says: There is one who indeed makes
a pretense of silence, but his heart condemns him greatly; such
a one as this actually talks a lot. And another there is who
talks from morning till evening, yet with discretion he keeps
great silence.5
For it is better to keep silence than to say something
maliciously, since fault is avoided more easily by
keeping silence than by speaking. And so it is written:
Si 4:29[34] * Do not be hasty with your tongue;* and: Before you hear,
do not answer a word, and in the midst of the seniors do
Si 11:8 * not interrupt to speak*.6 Do not speak unless you have
Si 32:7[11] * been asked a question;* it is being asked a question
that should open a monk’s mouth. Let him measure
his words and be balanced in his speech. His words
should always be moderate, he should not go beyond
the measure of speech, and always love listening more
than speaking.
5
And elsewhere: Death and life are in the hands of
Pr 18:21 * the tongue.* The tongue does not have hands, but
through a metaphor for works the tongue is said to
have hands, as the psalmist also says: Deliver my soul
from the sword, O God, and my only one from the hand
Ps 22:20 * of the dog.* Therefore death and life rest in the hands
4. Moral. VII.17.58 (l.c.); Taio Sent. IV.26 (943B).

5. Defensor Liber scintillarum XVI.39; CCSL 117:75-76.
6. The CCM text and Migne have seniorum, the Vulgate
sermonum.
of the tongue, because as James the apostle says: From

the mouth itself proceed cursing and blessing.* For when * Jm 3:10
we speak the truth, and when we bless the Lord who
said: I am the Way, the Truth and the Life,* we hold life * Jn 14:6
in the hands of the tongue; but when we lie, curse
and slander our brother out of hatred, we hold death
in the hands of the tongue, for it is written: The
mouth that lies kills the soul;* and: He who hates his brother * Ws 1:11
is a murderer.* * 1 Jn 3:15
And so James says again: The tongue is a fire, a universe
of iniquity.* The tongue is a fire, because by speaking evilly it * Jm 3:6
devours the forest of the virtues,7 and almost all crimes are
either planned or executed or defended by it.8 They are
planned, as, for example, robberies and debaucheries;
they are executed, as, for example, perjuries or the
bearing of false witness; they are defended, as, for
example, when a person on being questioned denies
sins that have in fact been committed. He says again:
Behold how small a fire sets fire to how great a forest.* º * Jm 3:5
º CCM 160
For just as from a small spark a fire grows and often sets
fire to a large forest, so the inability to restrain the tongue,
nourished by its own fickleness, destroys a great quantity of
good works; it destroys the many fruits of the spiritual life
when it contaminates them, but it also consumes the countless
leaves of what is generally good speech which were beginning
to make their appearance.9
6
For to speak and to teach are becoming to the
master, to be silent and to hear befit the disciple.
To speak and to teach suit the master, because to
him it is said through the prophet: Cry, cease not, says
the Lord, lift up your voice like a trumpet, and declare to my
people their wicked doings, and to the house of Jacob their
sins.* Again through the same prophet he is given the * Is 58:1
7. Bede In Jac 3:6; CCSL 121:204-205.

8. Cf. ibid.; 205.
9. Ibid. 3:5; 204.
command: Go up upon a high mountain, you who bring

Is 40:9 * good news to Zion. Say to the cities of Judah,* and so forth.
To be silent and to hear befit the disciple. For to
Mt 11:15 * disciples it is said: He who has ears to hear, let him hear.*
Hence James the apostle says: Let everyone be swift to
Jm 1:19 * hear but slow to speak.*
He is right in first admonishing everyone to be very quick
to lend his ear to the one teaching, but to be slow to open
his mouth to teach. Therefore he who loves wisdom should
first request this from God, then as a humble listener seek a
teacher of truth; and all the while he should not only be very
careful to restrain his tongue from idle words, but also keep it
from preaching the very truth he has just recently learned.10
For it is even safer to listen than to preach, because when
one listens, humility is guarded; but when one preaches, it is
with difficulty that some measure, however small, of human
boastfulness does not steal one away. And so Jeremiah, in
describing the life of a well-educated adolescent, does well
to count a modest silence among the first of the aims of the
virtues. ‘It is good for a man’, he says, ‘when he has borne the
Lm 3:27-28 * yoke from his youth. He shall sit solitary and be silent’ *.11
7
And therefore if anything is to be asked for
from the superior, let it be asked for with all the
humility and the subjection of reverence. The
one who asks from the superior a counsel of salvation
and words of teaching, must ask with all humility and
subjection, because humility is the highest virtue of a
monk, and pride his greatest vice. Now each one may
judge himself a monk when he considers himself the
least, even when he has performed greater works of
virtue. For the conscience of God’s servant must be
always humble and sorrowful, that is, so that through
humility he may not become proud, and through use-
ful mourning he may not relax his heart and give way
to wanton self-indulgence.
10. Ibid. 1:19 (190); Smar. Collect. (PL 102:293C).
11. Bede, ibid.; 190.
º 8But we condemn with an eternal ban in all º CCM 161

places scurrility and idle words and such as move
to laughter, and we do not permit a disciple
to open his mouth for such speech. Scurrility
means jokes that are base and morally bad and deserv-
ing of scorn; these things must be completely alien
to monks. Indeed it befits a monk to utter a word of
teaching, not the scurrility of a joke. He must have
gravity of mind, not the light-headedness of a joke and
of scurrility. He must have an upright, decent and rea-
sonable word, not one that is light, empty and foreign
to the grace of gravity.Therefore the monk must med-
itate on hymns, psalms and canticles, not on words that
are empty, vain and idle. It is usually by degrees that
the slothful mind slips and is pushed into the pit; and
while we are neglecting to beware of idle words, we
arrive at ones that are harmful; so that first it is agree-
able to speak of what concerns others, and afterwards
one bites by slanders into the life of those of whom
one is speaking. The Lord warns us to beware of this
when he says: For every idle word that men speak they
shall render an account on the Day of Judgment.* Therefore * Mt 12:36
if an account is to be exacted for an idle word, let us ponder
what punishment remains for much speaking, in which one
also sins through harmful words.12
Idle words themselves are usually such as move
to laughter. Therefore we must all beware of lack of
moderation and wantonness in joking and laughter,
through which generally the most bitter scandals are
born among the brothers. And so Solomon also says:
A fool works mischief as it were through laughter.* For who * Pr 10:23
does not know that laughter beyond due measure is
the door to undisciplined behavior and levity, and
through it the devil subtly supplies pernicious food to
the wretched soul.
12. Moral. VII.17.58 (CCSL 143:379) and Reg. past. III.14

(PL 77:74A); Taio Sent. IV.26 (PL 80:943C); Diad. mon. 39 (PL
102:635C).
CHAPTER 7
ON HUMILITY
1
Divine Scripture calls out to us, brothers, say-
ing: Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
Lk 14:11, * and he who humbles himself will be exalted.* We must
18:14, Mt 23:12
clearly understand and hold this most firmly, that ev-
eryone who thoughtlessly lifts himself up on account
of his merits, or, what is worse, without merits, will be
justly humbled by the Lord; and he who with fore-
thought humbles himself concerning his good deeds,
will be justly exalted by him.1 Hence Solomon says:
CCM 162 º ºHumiliation follows the proud, and glory shall uphold the
Pr 29:23 * humble spirit.* Humiliation follows the proud, because
he who continues proud in the present life goes down
humbled into hell after death. For it is written of the
proud: They spend their days amid good things, and in a
Jb 21:13 * trice go down to hell.* For this damnable and wretched
humiliation follows the proud, and glory shall uphold the
humble spirit, that is, the glory of the kingdom of
heaven will uphold all who live with a humbled spirit.
And so the Lord says of the humble: Blessed are the poor
Mt 5:3 * in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.* And again he
says: Suffer the little children to come to me and do not for-
Lk 18:16; cf. * bid them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such.* And
Mt 19:14,
Mk 10:14
therefore he calls the little ones and the poor in spirit
humble, and mercifully promises them the kingdom of
heaven after death.
2
Therefore when it says this it shows us that all
exaltation is a kind of pride. All pride lies prostrate in
the depths in proportion as it lifts itself on high; the higher it
is lifted up, the deeper it falls. For he who is raised up through
1. Cf. Bede In Lc ev. 4 (CCSL 120:277); Smar. Collect. (PL

102:470D).
266
On Humility 267
his own pride is bowed down through the justice of God.2

Therefore just as pride is the origin of all sins, so is it the ruin
of all virtues. It is first in the sin and last in the conflict; this
it is that either in the beginning brings the mind low through
sin, or in the end casts it down from the virtues. And so of all
sins it is the greatest, because both through the virtues and
through the vices it destroys the human mind.3
3
The prophet shows that he is on his guard
against it, saying: O Lord, my heart is not exalted,
nor are my eyes lifted up.* For this psalm preaches humility, * Ps 131:1
teaches temperance and advises patience,4 and to those
who do good it discloses all humility, and produces
and shapes it in them. Therefore if the humbled heart is
a sacrifice to God, that person offered sacrifice who said: O
Lord, my heart is not exalted. So if some hermit who
spends his time in his cell were to say this, he would shine
with praise for great patience; how much more, in that a king
robed in purple and outstanding among prophets said it?5
So if holy men think meanly of themselves even
when they do courageous things, what are they going to
say in excuse for themselves who become swollen with
pride without having practiced virtue? But whatever
the works may be, they are naught unless they are
seasoned with humility. Action deserving of admiration
ºbut joined with conceit does not raise a man up, but º CCM 163
rather weighs him down. For he who gathers virtues
together without humility is carrying dust in the wind;
and though he is perceived to be carrying something,
that something produces even greater blindness in his
eyes because they are lifted up.
I have not walked in great things, nor in marvels beyond
me.* This means: I imputed nothing to my own merits, * Ps 131:1
I attributed nothing to my own knowledge, but if I had
2. Isid. Sent. II.38.3; PL 83:639B.

3. Ibid. 38.7; PL 83:639C-640A.
5. Smar. Diad. Mon. 11; PL 102:608BC.
anything good, I assigned it all to the glory of God. I

did not want to become known to people for things
regarded as marvels, nor did I seek anything beyond my
powers for which I might become conspicuous among
those without experience. In other words, to walk in
great things is for one to think great things of oneself;
to go in marvels is to have a marvelous estimation of
oneself. Here the prophet says that he does not do this,
when he says I have not walked in great things,
nor in marvels beyond me. Now every kind of
humility is not so much in our speech as in our mind,
so that our conscience knows we are humble; and let
us never consider that we either know or understand
or are anything, and let us not attribute anything to
our own merits, because we have nothing of our own
except sin.
Ps 131:2 * 4
If I did not think humbly, if I exalted my soul.*
Therefore in all we do we think humbly of ourselves
if we hold fast to humility at the very beginning of a
good work, and do not look at those we are superior
to but at those we are still inferior to, so that while
we are putting before ourselves the examples of our
betters, we may by humility be always able to ascend
to greater things. Now when we meditate on humble
things in this dwelling which is the body, we exalt our
soul, since Scripture says: God resists the proud, but gives
Jm 4:6 * grace to the humble.* And there is that saying as well: Be
Jm 4:10 * humbled in the sight of the Lord and he will exalt you.*
And so everyone becomes of less value to God the
more precious he is to himself, because [God] has a
Ps 138:6 * care for lowly things and knows high things from afar.* This
is usually a special sign of the elect, that they always
think less of themselves than they are, and speak more
humbly of themselves than is warranted.
Like a weaned child upon its mother, so you will
Ps 131:2 * reward my soul.* The person who does not lift up
his heart or raise his eyes on high or walk in great
On Humility 269
things or marvels beyond him, is found to be like a

suckling at the breast, as Scripture says: O God, out of
the mouths of babes and sucklings you have perfected praise.* * Ps 8:2
For this virtue has a place of special honor amongst the
most distinguished virtues, because majesty has thought fit
to adopt it. Let us consider further how much humility is
honored; it is known to have been placed ºopposite pride º CCM 164
in twelve steps. The latter, through the seven principal vices,
plunges one into the lower depths; the former, through the
twelve steps of humility, leads one to heaven.6
5
And so, brothers, if we wish to reach the sum-
mit of the highest humility. As some would have
it, the summit of the highest humility is achieved
in four ways:
Firstly, that a monk should have mortified all the wishes
he has in him; secondly, that he should conceal from his senior
not only none of his acts, but also none of his thoughts; thirdly,
that he should entrust nothing to his own discretion, but
everything to his senior’s judgment, and listen eagerly and
willingly to his advice; fourthly, that in everything he should
observe the constancy of obedience, meekness and patience.7
Consequently, blessed Benedict wanted and defined
the highest and perfect humility to consist not of four
steps only, but of twelve. For the highest humility
can be seen in this: that a person should humbly and
patiently fulfill what the Lord says: Now I tell you not
to resist evil, but if someone strikes you on the right cheek,
offer him the other as well,* and so forth. The person * Mt 5:39
who humbly and patiently bears these things, and
moreover does what the Lord ordered when he said:
Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, and pray
for those who persecute and calumniate you, so that you may
be children of your Father who is in heaven,* such a one, * Mt 5:44-45
6. Expos. ps. 130[131]:3 (CCSL 98:1194); cf. Smar. Via reg. 16

(PL 102:956D-957A).
7. RCass 42:3 (R Ben. 94:192); Ben. Anian. Conc. 12.2 (PL
103:842A). Cf. Cassian Inst. IV.39.2 (CSEL 17:75).
it seems to me, has the highest humility and occupies

the highest peak of humility.
And if we wish swiftly to reach that heavenly
exaltation that one ascends to through the
humility of the present life. He calls that heavenly
exaltation, of which the Lord says: The saints will shine
Mt 13:43, cf * like the sun in the presence of my Father;* of which Daniel
Ws 3:7 says: And they that instruct many unto justice shall shine
Dn 12:3 * like stars for all eternity.* The psalmist also says: Your
friends, O God, are exceedingly exalted; their principality
Ps 139:17 * is exceedingly strengthened.* The heavenly and highest
exaltation is for holy monks to be like the angels, be
Rm 8:17 * children and heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ,* and
hear from the Lord: Come, you blessed of my Father,
receive the kingdom which was prepared for you from the
Mt 25:34 * beginning of the world,* and that he make them recline
at table in the same kingdom and, as he passes, deign
Lk 12:37 * to provide them with all good things.*
CCM 165 º º 6By our ascending acts. Our acts go straight up

to heaven when they progress from day to day to-
wards what is better by our living good lives; when
supported by many different virtues they humbly rise
to the contemplation of our Creator, and ascend as it
were by steps to the vision of him through the soul’s
virtues, so that it may be said of us: They shall go from
Ps 84:7 * virtue to virtue, and the God of gods will be seen in Zion.*
That ladder must be erected which appeared in
a dream to Jacob, by which angels were shown
Gn 28:12 * to him descending and ascending.* 7We under-
stand that descent and ascent as nothing else
than that we descend by exaltation and ascend
by humility. Although other teachers8 had wanted
to understand this ladder and the angels descending
and ascending by it differently, blessed Benedict in this
8. Cf. Isid. Quaest. in VT Gn 24:3 (PL 83:258B); Greg. Moral.

V.31.54 (CCSL 143:256).
On Humility 271
place preferred to understand our life, which must be

daily raised up to heaven full of virtues. He understood
the angels ascending and descending to be souls living
in the regular life. Of these, some by humbling them-
selves ascend to heaven, but others become proud and
fall from the very steps of the virtues into the lowest
depths, and the saying is fulfilled in them: Everyone who
exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself
will be exalted.* * Lk 14:11
8
Now the ladder that is raised up is our life in
the world, which for the humbled heart is to be
raised up to heaven by the Lord. The ladder, that
is, our life, is in effect raised up to heaven by the Lord
when we lift up our hearts on high with our hands,
that is, with good works, when according to the ad-
monition of the apostle we savor the things that are
above, not the things that are on earth,* when sending * Col 3:2
up sighs to heaven we meditate on and seek heavenly
things, when we forget the things that are behind us
and stretch ourselves out to those that lie ahead, when
with our mind’s complete attention9 we press towards
the prize of the heavenly vocation,* when meditating * Ph 3:13-14
on heavenly things we can say with Paul: But our way
of life is in heaven.* * Ph 3:20
9
For we call the sides of that ladder our body
and soul. With wise forethought he calls our body
and soul the two sides of this ladder, because every
person is composed of both, and for love of Christ
and for the sake of eternal life he does what good
he can in each part of him; and in order that in the
ºglory of the resurrection he may receive the rewards º CCM 166
of his labor in each part of him, he takes careful pains
9. Intentio here and elsewhere in Smaragdus and his sources

presents a difficulty to the translator; see M. Casey, ‘Intentio
cordis (RB 52:4)’, Regulae Benedicti Studia 6/7 (1981) 105-120.
to keep the Lord’s commandments in each part. For

we raise our whole ladder to heaven when with God’s
help we offer him our bodies also as a victim, as the
apostle beseeches us saying: I beseech you, brothers, by
the mercy of God, that you present your bodies as a living
Rm 12:1 * sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, your reasonable service.* The
word ‘ladder’ comes from the word for climbing, that
is, ascending;10 a ladder is not complete if it does not
consist of sides and steps.
Into these sides the divine summons has
inserted the different steps of humility and
discipline to be climbed. These are called steps
of humility and discipline, because both these
virtues are very beautifully interconnected; for the
person whom humility makes meek, the instruction of
discipline shapes and makes learned, and the one whom
humility makes tranquil and gentle, the instruction of
discipline makes provident and wise. And because it is
Ws 7:28 * written: God loves only the one who dwells with wisdom,*
discipline needs to be joined with humility, because
the instruction of discipline is the guardian of humility,
and humility lends due proportion to instruction. A
summons is delivered when not only soldiers but everyone
else is called to engage in a most important war.11 And so
to summon means to lead out or call forward. This
word is rather aptly used here, because we are daily
being summoned, led out and called forward by the
Lord to rise and do battle courageously against the
devil, armed with the twelve steps of humility, so that
triumphant and victorious under his leadership, we
may climb by the twelve steps of humility and arrive
rejoicing at the kingdom of heaven. Amen.
And so the first step of humility is that a per-

10
Ps 36:1 * son always put the fear of God before his eyes.*
This step is deservedly put first among the twelve,
10. Cf. Isid. Etym. XIX.18.4; PL 82:680B.
11. Ibid. IX.3.54; 347C.
On Humility 273
both in dignity and in order. It is first in order because

it is the first in thought, in heart and in will; first in
dignity because it begins with the fear of the Lord. It
is written of fear: The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom;* and: The fear of the Lord is the discipline of * Si 1:14
wisdom.* The fear of the Lord is glory and honor and glad- * Si 1:34
ness and a crown of joy, and it will give joy and gladness in
length of days.* All these and many other good things * Si 1:11-12
the fear of the Lord ºwill supply to those who have º CCM 167
placed it continually before their eyes, and have said
with blessed Job: I have always feared God as waves swell-
ing over me, and his weight I was not able to bear.* * Jb 31:23
Let him altogether shun forgetfulness. Because
the single dwelling that is the heart cannot retain both
remembrance and forgetfulness at the same time, we
need to drive from our hearts harmful forgetfulness
and retain profitable remembrance. For when harmful
forgetfulness is driven from the enclosure of our heart,
then fruitful remembrance grows and overflows in us;
it brings back before the eyes of our mind both God
and his precepts, makes diligent inquiry as to how we
may please him and be able to keep his precepts, and
pays vigilant attention both as to what must be done
and what must not be done. And so the Lord warns the
people of the Jews saying: Therefore guard yourself and
your soul carefully, and do not forget the words of the Lord;
and let them not go out of your heart all the days of your
life.* And so the psalmist says: Bless the Lord, my soul, and * Dt 4:9
do not forget all his retributions.* For the remembrance * Ps 103:2
of the fear of the Lord makes one careful, modest, just,
upright and respectable, compassionate, kind, merciful,
prudent, humble, gentle, sober, and temperate and
provident in all one does. Forgetfulness of mind, on
the contrary, makes one stupid, careless, insensitive,
foolish, improvident, unjust, ready to inflict injury,
prone to anger, envious, impure, harsh, lacking self-
control, given to mockery, a slanderer, puffed up, proud,
conceited, vain, and depraved and wretched in all one
does. Such people do not renew the remembrance

of the Lord and his precepts; they wander about as if
blind, miss the mark and perish. Now as to how this
harmful forgetfulness may be shunned, listen to what
follows:
11
And let him always be mindful of what God
has commanded. The remembrance of God’s pre-
cepts offers salvation to the soul when it effectively
puts into practice what the mind shrewdly remembers
of the Lord’s precepts. For when the Lord’s precepts
are remembered and not fulfilled, they bring condem-
nation rather than salvation to the soul. But when they
are remembered and put into practice, they drive sins
far from those who do them, and promise uninter-
rupted salvation and eternal rewards to those who
persevere; they will bestow glory on those who do
them, but they threaten those who do not with eternal
CCM 168 º Gehenna. And so there follows:º
How Gehenna will burn for their sins those
who disdain God. The disdainful are those who do
indeed hear the Lord’s precepts, but disdain to obey.
Monks disdain God when they refuse to obey their
abbot, and obstinately resist. For the Lord says of all
preachers sent by him: He who hears you hears me, and
Lk 10:16 * he who spurns you spurns me.* Gehenna rightly burns
for their sins these disdainful people and those who
despise the just precepts of the abbot; they could have
avoided it if they had complied with the precepts of
the Lord and of their abbot. As fire receives pieces of
wood, so Gehenna receives the sins of the disobedient;
and as fire is kindled from pieces of wood, so Gehenna
is kindled from the sins of those who disdain God, so
that it torments each one according to the number of
his sins. Gehenna’s fire kindles flame for each one in
keeping with the quantity of sins he has provided it
with; each wretch will be tormented in Gehenna in
keeping with the number of logs, that is, sins, he has
On Humility 275
brought with him, and will find torment there as great

and harsh as the sins he has heaped up there. And in
this way the fire of Gehenna burns each one for his
own sins. Hence blessed Isidore says:
Just as each saint will be glorified in the future

judgment according to the number of his virtues, so
also each impious person will be condemned accord-
ing to the number of his wicked deeds. And there
will not be lacking in the future punishment an
order of damnation, but there will be different pen-
alties according to the kind of sins.12
And blessed Gregory says:
The justice of almighty God, with foreknowledge

of the future, created the fire of Gehenna from the
very beginning of the world, so that it would once
begin to exist to punish the reprobate, but would
never cease to burn even without fuel;13 but it
would be for the wretched death undying, end
unending, failure unfailing, because even death lives,
and the end is always beginning, and failure cannot
fail to be; and death destroys and does not extin-
guish, grief torments but does not at all banish fear,
the flame burns but in no wise wards off the
darkness.14
And let him always turn over in his mind the

eternal life which has been prepared for those
who fear God; that is, let him always turn over in
his heart what is said of those who disdain God: The
impious will go into eternal punishment;* and of those * Mt 25:46
who fear ºGod: But the just will go into eternal life,* º CCM 169
* Mt 25:46
12. Isid. Sent. I.29.2; PL 83:598A.

13. Moral. XV.29.35 (CCSL 143:770); Taio Sent. V.33 (PL
80:988D).
14. Moral. IX.66.100 (528); Taio Sent. V.33 (PLS 4:1674-75).
where there is everlasting glory, great exultation, a

crown bedecked with virtues, a brightness full of light
from the illumination of the true Sun, the compact
dwelling of all the saints, eternal peace, and complete,
ever-enduring goodness. Those who, supported by
the virtues of good works, reach this, will be like the
blessed angels; they will happily rejoice together with
their God, and reign for ever without end.
12
And guarding himself at every hour from sins
and vices, that is, of thoughts, tongue, hands,
feet and self-will. What he says about guarding
oneself at every hour from sins is understood of all
crooked works that are done by thought, speech and
deed. And so here he aptly put of thoughts, tongue,
hands, feet, and so forth. From these raw materials, as it
were by certain stages, every sin is formed. For evil thought
gives birth to pleasure, pleasure to consent, consent to action,
action to habit, habit to necessity. And so, entangled in these
bonds, a person is held tight by the chain of the vices, so that
he cannot be plucked from it unless divine grace seizes the
hand of the one lying there ill.15
We ought to adapt ourselves, body and all, so as
to be able to offer attentive service to our Creator
with all the powers of our members. For the eye offers
such service to God when it declines to look at base
things; the tongue will merit a reward when it busies
itself with blessings; the hearing will please God if it
does not get mixed up in slanders. The feet will be
able to praise God if they hurry to recall their course
from all malice; and the hands bestow blessings if they
renounce robberies and hasten to do mercy.
In fact, what he says about guarding oneself from
vices is understood of the seven principal ones, that
is, gluttony, fornication, avarice, anger, sadness, accidie,
15. Isid. Sent. II.23.3 (PL 83:624BC); Diad. mon. 34 (PL

102:630AB).
On Humility 277
vainglory, and the eighth, which is their mother, pride;

and from absolutely all their harmful little branches,
which are born like poisoned offspring from poisoned
parents, the list of which is too long to enumerate here.
For in the hearts of the reprobate the vices on the list
succeed one another, so that when one departs another
takes its place, according to the testimony of the prophet
who says: What the caterpillar has left the locust has eaten;
and what the locust has left the wingless locust has eaten; and
what the wingless locust has left the mildew has eaten*,16 and * Jl 1:4
so forth. And so it is said again through the prophet:
All the families of the earth will come from the north, and
they will each one set his throne in the entrance of the gates
of Jerusalem.* The ºkingdoms of the north are the vices, * Jr 1:15
º CCM 170
which reign in the very gates, that is, in the very senses
of the soul.17 For we do not sin by other means than by
seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting and touching. And so elsewhere
it is said: ‘Death has entered through our windows’ *.18 But * Jr 9:21
when he says and of self-will, this is understood thus:
Let him guard himself from sins and vices of self-will.
But also the desires of the flesh. Understand,
Let him not delight to fulfill them. For what is more
laborious in this life than to burn with carnal desires?
Or what is more secure here than not to fulfill the
desires of the flesh and not to long for anything
belonging to this world? For those who love this
world and strive to fulfill the desires of the flesh are
thrown into confusion by the turbulent cares of the
world. But those who die to this world in such a way
that their delight is to live for God alone, already begin
to have here in a certain way the rest characteristic of
the future peace they are waiting for there. Therefore
our spirit must be perseveringly intent on praying and
knocking, until such time as we overcome with most
courageous purpose the importunate suggestions of
16. Cf. Isid. Sent. II.33.4; 635C.
17. Cf. ibid. 28.1; 628C.
18. Ibid. 2; 629A.
carnal desires that clamor for the attention of our

senses, and we must be urgent until such time as we
overcome by our persistence.
13
Let a person consider that at every hour God
is looking at him from heaven, and that his
deeds are seen in every place by the divinity
and are reported at every hour by the angels.
The more anxious anyone is when he considers that
God is looking at him, the more carefully must he live,
and guard his life most virtuously, lest he offend those
eyes of the divinity which he wants to have well-dis-
posed to him. He looks upon concealed and secret
things, and considers hidden things, and no one can
evade the eyes of God when he says: I am God near
at hand, and not a God afar off. If a man be hidden in
concealed places, shall I then not see him? Do I not fill
Jr 23:23-24 * heaven and earth?* And so the psalmist says: The eyes of
Ps 34:15 * the Lord are upon the just, and his ears unto their prayers.*
Now what he says here, and are reported every
hour by the angels, can be understood from that
place where the angel said to Tobias: When you were
praying with tears and were burying the dead, I offered your
Tob 12:12 * prayers to the Lord.* And the Lord also, when he had
said in the Gospel: Whoever humbles himself like this little
child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And he that
Mt 18:4-5 * shall receive one such little child in my name receives me,*
added after a short while: See that you do not disdain one
of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven
CCM 171 º always ºsee the face of the Father.* Great is the dignity of
Mt 18:10 *
souls, for each soul to have from its origin and birth an angel
appointed to guard it,19 to keep it from sin, and not cease
reporting to God the good things it has done.
The prophet demonstrates this to us when he

14
shows God ever present in our thoughts, saying:
19. Hier. In Mt 3 (CCSL 77:159); Collect. (PL 102:479D).

On Humility 279
Searcher of hearts and minds is God.* As Cassiodorus * Ps 7:9

says:
This power is proper to God alone: both to exam-

ine our hearts, and with the light of his might to
penetrate the activity of our mind. For although the
powers of heaven are much higher than we are, still
it is not given to any creature to know fully the se-
crets of our thoughts. Only the One who judges
knows perfectly what is in us.20
Now he himself says: All the churches shall know that I

am he who searches minds and hearts.* And Jeremiah says: * Rv 2:23
And you, O Lord of hosts, prover of the just, who see mind
and heart.* And it is written again: For God is witness * Jr 20:12
of his mind and true searcher of his heart.* Therefore the * Ws 1:6
Lord searches our hearts when he closely investigates
the thoughts of our hearts, so that things hidden to
men take place for him in the open. For it is written:
Man sees what is on the surface, but God what is in
the heart*.21 He searches the mind when he scrutinizes * 1 Sm 16:7
the constant activity of our spirit, or clearly penetrates
our bodily delights.
15
And likewise: The Lord knows the thoughts of
men.* Hence Jeremiah says: My eyes are upon the ways * Ps 94:11
of men; they are not hidden from my face, and their iniquity
was not hidden.* And Solomon says: The Lord beholds * Jr 16:17
the ways of a man, and considers all his steps.* And David * Pr 5:21
says: I have kept your commandments and your testimonies,
because all my ways are before you.* We sin not only in our * Ps 119:168
deeds but also in our thoughts, if we take unlawful plea-
sure in those that occur to us.22 For if we resist the wrongful
thought beforehand, we do not incur a fall in what we do.23
20. Expos. ps. 7:10; CCL 97:84.
21. Cf. Responsory Quae sunt in corde; R.-J. Hesbert, ed.,
Corpus Antiphonalium Officii 4 (Rome, 1970) 362.
22. Isid. Sent. II.25.3; PL 83:626C.
23. Ibid. 8; 627B.
16
And he likewise says: You understood my thoughts
Ps 139:2 * from afar.* And so through Solomon it is said: All men’s
Pr 16:2 * ways lie open to his eyes.* Hell and perdition are before the
CCM 172 º Lord; how much more the ºhearts of the children of men.*
Pr 15:11 * The from afar he speaks of does not signify place but time,
because not only does God foresee our deeds, but he even
knows our thoughts before we ourselves exist.24
We must not be afraid if good and evil things come into our
thinking, but must rather glory if the mind distinguishes the
evil from the good by reason’s understanding,25 and because
it distinguishes between good and evil by a more prudent
sense, let it beware of the evil things it has recognized, and do
the good things it has understood.26
Ps 76:10 * 17
And: The thought of man will confess to you.* Now
the thought of man confesses to God when he condemns
his past sins and makes humble satisfaction,27 because when
anyone is overtaken by a divine illumination, he is imme-
diately buffeted by the annoyance of base thoughts,28 but is
not afraid to confess them humbly to the Lord.
18
For in order that he may be solicitous concern-
ing his perverse thoughts, let the useful brother
says always in his heart: Then shall I be stainless
Ps 18:24 * before him, if I keep myself from my iniquity.* The life
of happy monks is accurately described: when they know that
they have reached some grace of the Lord, they take care not
to get entangled again in the misfortunes of earlier iniquity.29
The fact that illicit thoughts occur is due to the demons, but
that pleasure is taken in evil thoughts is due to us.30
24. Expos. ps. 138[139]:4; CCSL 98:1243.

25. Isid. Sent. II.25.9; PL 83:627B.
26. Ibid. 10 (l.c.).
27. Expos. ps. 75[76]:11; CCSL 98:696.
28. Isid. Sent. II.25.7; PL 83:527A.
29. Expos. ps. 17[18]:24; CCSL 97:160.
30. Isid. Sent. II.25.5; PL 83:626D.
On Humility 281
In this place he put ‘iniquity’ for ‘thought’, for

everything that is not fair or even* is sinful.† The person * aequum
† Iniquum: uneven
who keeps himself from crooked thoughts keeps himself
more easily from crooked works. And so he said: Then
I shall be stainless before him, if I keep myself
from my iniquity, as though to say: Then shall I be
able to lead a stainless life, if a crooked thought has not
stained me. For the person whose mind is defiled by a
sinful thought cannot live without stain. But only that
person really lives without stain who guards himself from
the iniquity of crooked thought. And in case anyone
should say: Only to have the thought and not perform
the action is no great sin, let him hear what is written
about the thoughts of the evil. For Scripture says: The
thoughts of the foolish are a sin.* And so that you might * Pr 24:9
understand what kind of sin, the same Scripture says in
another place: Perverse thoughts separate from ºGod.* Now º CCM 173
* Ws 1:3
it is not a small sin, but a great one, to be separated from
God and to be joined to the devil. The man who takes
hold of his sinful thoughts while they are still small and
dashes them against the rock* keeps himself well and * Ps 137:9.
RB Prol. 28
truly from this fate.
19
But we are forbidden to do our own will when
Scripture says to us: And turn away from your own
wishes.* It has already been said in many places that * Si 18:30
no one must ever be allowed to do his own will, unless
by the judgment and with the approval of the major-
ity, or of those who are in charge. We regard as perfect
that self-restraint by which a person restrains himself
from his own wishes. But how great a risk that per-
son runs who wants to do his own will and not the
Lord’s is evident from what the apostle says: Fulfilling
the wishes of the flesh and of our thoughts, we too were once
by nature children of wrath, just like the rest.* * Eph 2:3
And again we ask God in prayer that his will

20
be done in us.* The Lord, showing the weakness of * Mt 6:10

the man he was carrying,31 says: Father, if it is possible

Mt 26:39 * let this cup pass from me.* And giving his disciples an
example so that they might not do their own will but
God’s, he added: Nevertheless not what I will but what you
Mt 26:39,* will.* And he says in another place: I have come down
Mk 14:36
from heaven not to do my own will but that of him who sent
Jn 6:38 * me.* Now if the Son obeyed and did his Father’s will,
how much more must a servant obey, and not do his
own but the Lord’s will.
21
Rightly therefore are we taught not to do our
own will, when we guard against what Scripture
says: There are ways that to men seem right,
Pr 16:25; 14:12 * whose end plunges into the depths of hell.* This
is that wide and spacious way that leads those who
Mt 7:13 * walk by it to perdition;* through it many, by following
their own will, perish and go down into hell. Hence a
certain wise man says: The way of sinners is planted with
stones, and in their end is hell and darkness and punish-
Si 21:10[11] * ment*.32 Of these we read in the book of Job: They
exult in games, they take the timbrel and harp and rejoice
at the sound of the organ; they spend their days amid good
Jb 21:11-13 * things, and in a trice go down to hell.* It can be under-
stood of those who seem now to be the chosen; but because
they are not, they are rejected by the Lord, as the prophet
says: ‘The Lord called for judgment unto fire, and it devoured
Am 7:4 * a part of the house.* A part of the house will be devoured
CCM 174 º because hell will also swallow up ºthose who now boast that
they stand firm in the heavenly precepts.33
It can also not unfittingly be understood of those
whom the vices deceive under pretense of virtues.
Certain vices seem to have the appearance of virtues, but
31. CCM reads Dominus infirmitatem hominis quem por-

tabat . . . . Migne has Dominus infirmitatem hominis quam
portabat. . . .
32. The CCM text of the quote from Sirach has complantata,
‘planted’. Migne and the Vulgate have complanata, ‘made level’.
33. Isid. Sent. I.29.7; PL 83:598C-599A.
On Humility 283
virtues they are not. For sometimes under pretext of justice

cruelty is practiced,34 and some are confident that they are just
for the very reasons that make them especially deserving of
reprobation in the Lord’s sight.35 But generally, through their
insensitivity of mind carnal people do not recognize a vice as
deserving of such blame as to seem worthy of damnation.36
And so it is said through Solomon: The Lord knows
the ways that are on the right hand, but those on the left
are perverse.* It is understood also of heretics, whose * Pr 4:27 Vulg.
opinion seems right to them, but is discerned and
judged by Catholic men to be wrong because it leads
its followers to the depths of hell. And so Solomon
says: The way of the impious is dark; they know not what
makes them stumble.* And again he says: In the way of * Pr 4:19
scorners there is a chasm.* * Pr 13:15
22
And when we likewise dread what is said of
the negligent: They are corrupt[ed] and have become
abominable in their delights.* They are corrupted by * Ps 14:1
following the freedom of their own will, and they
have become abominable as they follow the wishes
of their own heart. For the apostle says of these: Men
corrupted in mind, reprobate, without affection, pre-
varicators, without kindness, their conscience seared,
and so forth.* * 2 Tm 3:8, 3:3,
1 Tm 4:2
23
But in the desires of the flesh let us believe
that God is always present to us in this way,
when the prophet says to the Lord: Before you is
all my desire.* He does not say ‘before men’, who can- * Ps 38:9
not see the heart, but before you is all my desire,
from whom the contents of the thought and desire of
my heart are not hidden.
34. Ibid. II.35.3; 636CD.

35. Ibid; 636B.
36. Ibid. 2; 636C.
24
Therefore evil desire must be guarded against,
because death is positioned by the entrance of
mors * delight. Death* is so called from the word ‘bite’† or
morsu †
amara * because it is bitter*. The reason why ‘death’ is said to
Gn 3:6 * derive from the word ‘bite’ is that Eve found delight*
in eating from the forbidden tree of paradise; persuaded
by the devil, she took an apple and bit it, and straight-
way incurred the peril of death.37 Delight in the apple
entered her soul, and with it at the same time entered
death; and for this reason blessed Benedict says that
death is positioned by the entrance of delight.
Indeed human beings are now deceived by the devil with
the same enticement of pleasure with which our first parents
CCM 175 º were deceived in ºparadise.38 When the devil wants to deceive
someone, he pays close attention to each one’s nature and
applies himself to that area in which he has noticed that a
person is liable to sin.39 The devil is a slippery serpent; if
he is not resisted at the very beginning of his suggestion he
insinuates himself completely and unnoticed into the interior
recesses of the heart.40 But if he is resisted strongly by holy
men at the beginning, his whole suggestion is quickly
brought to naught. Hence the psalmist also says: The evil
Ps 15:4 * one has been brought to naught in his sight;* and: Blessed is
Ps 137:9 * he who takes and dashes his little ones against a rock.*
25
Hence Scripture gives this precept: Do not go
Si 18:30 * after your lusts.* And James the apostle says: But every
Jm 1:14 * man is tempted by his lusts, drawn away and enticed;* drawn
away, that is, from the right path, and enticed to evil.41 And
so he says again: Then when lust has conceived it brings
Jm 1:15 * forth sin; but sin, when consummated, gives rise to death.*
David was tempted by the sight of another man’s wife,
and was drawn away and enticed by his own lust, and when
37. Cf. Etym. XI.2.31; PL 82:418C.

38. Isid. Sent. III.5.22; PL 83:664A.
39. Ibid. 24; 664B.
40. Ibid. 14; 663A.
41. Bede In Jac 1:14; CCSL 121:189.
On Humility 285
he consummated the crime that had been conceived, he was

judged by his own mouth and incurred the sentence of death,
but avoided this by repenting. Judas was tempted by love of
money, and because he was a miser who was drawn away
and enticed by his very own lust, he was drawn away to
destruction by consenting.42 Joseph was tempted by the words
of his mistress, but because he had neither the lust of unlawful
passion nor delight in the flesh, he escaped victorious from the
temptation.43
26
Therefore if the eyes of the Lord behold the
good and the evil, 27and the Lord is always look-
ing down from heaven on the children of men to see if
there is one who understands and seeks God,* 28and if * Ps 14:2
our deeds are daily, day and night, reported to
the Lord by the angels deputed to us. The eyes
of the Lord is the divine gaze with which he always
looks upon the good to defend them from the enemy’s
ambushes, guard them from sins and make them per-
severe continually in good works. Thus the eyes of the
Lord looked upon Peter, and he immediately turned
back from the sin of denial, recognized the Lord, and
amended his fault with bitter weeping. Thus the eyes
of the Lord behold the good and the evil, so as
to repay the good with good things and the evil with
evil ºthings; so as to reward the former for their good º CCM 176
works, and inflict everlasting punishment on the latter
for their crooked actions; so as to hear and save the
former, and destroy and condemn the latter, as it is
written: The eyes of the Lord are upon the just and his ears
unto their prayers; but the Lord’s face is upon those who do
evil, to destroy their remembrance from the earth.* * Ps 34:15-16
He looks also upon the children of men to see
if there is anyone among them who understands
and seeks God. For in God’s sight that person is
regarded as having understanding who believes in him
42. Ibid. 1:15;188.
43. Ibid.
correctly and who keeps the Lord’s precept and does

his work in him. He is regarded as seeking God who in
every work and prayer seeks no one else and implores
no one else but him alone as his helper, who puts his
care, hope and trust in no one else except in the Lord
himself alone, Jesus Christ. His care: Cast your care upon
Ps 55:22 * the Lord;* his hope: The Lord has been my hope since my
Ps 71:5 * youth;* his trust: It is good to trust in the Lord.†
Ps 118:8 †
He says that the angels are deputed to us, concerning
whom the Lord says: Their angels always see the face of my
Mt 18:10 * Father who is in heaven,* and on account of whom Paul
1 Co 11:5 * the apostle forbids women to enter church unveiled.*
The same man says of them in another place that the
angels have been sent to minister, for the sake of those who
Heb 1:14 * are receiving the inheritance of salvation.*
29
Therefore, brothers, we must be on our guard
at every hour, as the prophet says in the psalm,
lest God see us at any hour turning aside to
Ps 14:3 * evil and become unprofitable,* 30and though he
spare us for the present time because he is mer-
ciful and waits for our conversion to something
better, he may yet say to us hereafter: These
Ps 50:21 * things you did and I held my peace.* That person turns
aside to evil who previously stood firm in the good;
and if he who previously stood firm in a state of recti-
tude turns aside to evil, he has become an unprofitable
and wicked servant. The prophet says of such a soul:
How exceedingly base you have become, going your ways
Jr 2:36 * again.* That soul becomes wretched which frequently
descends from its state of rectitude and commits faults;
in this way it has become both wretched and unprofit-
able. But pardon must not be forbidden to such a one.
What he has to do, though, is bewail the past misdeed
and not commit a serious fault of that kind again. The
Lord, who sees him sinning frequently and waits a
long time for him to turn back and repent, may say to
him if he continues in his refusal: These things you
On Humility 287
did and I held my peace. Earlier the Lord had said

to the sinner: But you hated discipline and cast my words
behind you,* and all the many other evils and sins de- * Ps 50:17
scribed there which are retained; then he added these
ºthings, saying them to the sinner in vengeance. As º CCM 177
though to say: You have frequently committed these
aforementioned sins, and I have not repaid you the
vengeance you deserved for your evil deeds; rather I
have held my peace and waited for you to be con-
verted to repentance. I did not wish to render you evil
for your evil works, but I held my peace and waited,
in order to render you rewards for doing penance. For
the Lord to hold his peace means that he does not
render to the sinner evil for evil, but waits a long time
for him to do penance. The Lord would be answering
the sinner and not holding his peace if he immedi-
ately sought vengeance for his wicked actions. But if
he waits a long time for a man to repent and he does
not, he suddenly smites him so that he perishes.
31
The second step of humility is that a man,
not loving his own will, does not take delight
in fulfilling his own desires, 32but imitates by
his deeds that word of the Lord saying: I have
not come to do my own will but that of him who sent
me.* Just as man cannot serve God and mammon at * Jn 6:38
the same time,* so he cannot fulfill his own will and * Mt 6:24, Lk
God’s will at the same time. A vessel filled with one 16:13
potion cannot be filled with another; unless the harm-

ful stuff has been emptied out, it cannot be filled by
letting in something beneficial. And one heart cannot
hold within it at one and the same time the desires of
the flesh and of majesty, but as one set recedes another
takes its place, that is, as vices recede from the mind
the abundance of the virtues succeeds them and takes
possession of it.Therefore carnal desires must be emp-
tied out from the container of our heart so that it can
be filled with the abundance of spiritual virtues, and
also hold the spiritual desires that come from God.

Pr 13:12 * And so it is written: Desire when it comes is a tree of life;*
Pr 10:24 * and: To the just their desire shall be given.* But concern-
ing the desire of the impious it is written: The desire
Pr 12:12 * of the impious is the rampart of the evil.* And elsewhere
it is written: To meet their desire quails came up from the
Ws 19:12-13 * sea, but vexations came upon sinners.* Therefore we must
abandon our wishes and desires, so that we may by
our deeds be able to imitate that word of the Lord in
which he says: I have come not to do my own will but
Jn 6:38 * that of him who sent me.*
Now as to what follows: 33Scripture likewise says:
Delight has punishment and necessity gains a
crown, I confess that, unless I am mistaken, I have
never read this in the divine Scriptures, and so I want
to look for the real meaning of this sentence, and not
just its sound. He says Delight has punishment and
necessity gains a crown, as though to say: Wide
and spacious is the way that leads to the punishment
of death, strait and narrow that which leads to the
CCM 178 º crown ºof eternal life.* For what else does Delight
Mt 7:13-14 *
has punishment mean except: Wide and spacious is
the way that leads to where eternal punishment is due
to those who are given up to the search for pleasure?
And what else does Necessity gains a crown mean
except: Strait and narrow is the way that leads to life,
where those who suffer necessity for the Lord receive
everlasting crowns? Hence the Lord says again: He who
wants to come after me, let him deny himself and take up
Mt 16:24 * his cross and follow me.* What else is it to deny oneself,
except to abandon the wide and spacious way and to
hate one’s own wishes?44 What is let him take up his cross
and follow me, except: Let him lay hold of the strait and
narrow way, and there undergo many necessities for
my sake; let him thus follow me and come to perpetual
joys, to receive the eternal crown which I bestow?
44. Cf. Isid. Sent. III.18.2; 693C.

On Humility 289
34
The third step of humility is that a man for
love of God subject himself in all obedience to
the superior, imitating the Lord of whom the
apostle says: He became obedient even unto death.* * Ph 2:8
For if we love God as is fitting, we must be ready not
only to be subject in all obedience to the superior, but
if necessary even to die for him just as he died for us,
as the apostle says: God commends his charity towards us,
because when we were still sinners Christ died for us.* And * Rm 5:8-9
not only must we be ready to die for him, but also to
lay down our lives for the brothers, as the same apostle
says: By this do we know his charity, that he laid down his
life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the broth-
ers.* Let us then love God as children do their father, * 1 Jn 3:16
and let us for love of him be subject to our superiors
even unto death, because he also though he was in the
form of God, did not think equality with God a thing to be
grasped, but he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant,
being made in the likeness of men and in habit found as
man; he humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death.* * Ph 2:6-8
See therefore, the same apostle says, what kind of charity
the Father has given us, that we should be called and should
be children of God.* In this way we shall be perfected * 1 Jn 3:1
in charity, if as he first loved us for the sake of our
salvation, so we also, for love of nothing other than his
love, are ready both to be subject to superiors and to
die for him.
º 35The fourth step of humility is that, in obedi- º CCM 179

ence itself, if things hard and contrary or even
any injustices have been inflicted, he embrace
patience quietly in his conscience. It is liable to
happen frequently that the more a monk subjects
himself to humility and obedience, the more he finds
it hard for him to bear. And so it is necessary for any-
one coming to the service of God bravely to prepare
his mind to put up with everything, as it is written:
My child, when you come to the service of God, stand in
justice and fear, and prepare your soul for temptation. Humble
Si 2:1-2 * your heart and endure;* and let him endure with a quiet
conscience, whether it be injustices inflicted by an-
other, or temptations coming from his own mind, and
with God’s help overcome all things with patience.
For it is written: In your patience you shall possess your
Lk 21:19 * souls.* And so James says: Knowing that the testing of
your faith produces patience, and patience brings the work to
Jm 1:3-4 * perfection.* Therefore, he says, you are tempted by adversity
so that you may learn the virtue of patience, and through
this be able to show and prove that you bear in your heart
a firm faith in the future recompense.45 Paul likewise says:
Because tribulation produces patience, and patience produces
Rm 5:3-4 * proof.* Patience produces proof, because he is proved to be
perfect whose patience cannot be conquered. The reason why
the faithful must be exercised through patience is, so that their
faith may be proved to be perfect.46 While the just man
provides us with useful examples out of his prosperity,
it is necessary that he be touched again by adversities,
so that his patience may give a good example to the
rest, and after his death he may receive the rewards of
his patience; because he who praises God for an injus-
tice inflicted on him, without doubt does away with
the crimes he has committed, and will also at some
time receive the rewards God has promised.
36
And let him endure, neither growing weary
nor running away, since Scripture says: He who
Mt 10:22 * perseveres to the end will be saved.* The reward is not
promised to those who begin, but is given to those who per-
severe.47 For our way of life is pleasing to God when we
complete with a persevering finish the good we begin.48 That
monk grows weary and runs away who does not bring
to completion the work of the Rule which he begins;
45. Bede In Jac 1:3-4; CCSL 121:184.

46. Ibid.
47. Isid. Sent. II.7.1; PL 83:606C.
48. Ibid. 2; 607A.
On Humility 291
little by little he grows weary and lukewarm in the

very work that he began with such a fervent spirit, and
withdraws either from the work only, or from both
the work ºand the monastery at the same time, hav- º CCM 180
ing grown lukewarm; he does not set before his eyes
what Scripture most especially encourages monks to
do when it says: Trust in God and remain in your place.* * Si 11:21[22]
So there follows:
37
Again, Let your heart be strengthened and wait for
the Lord.* As though to say: Act manfully, do not fall * Ps 27:14
into despair, and do not think that what you do not
receive, even though it has been promised for a long
time, has been denied you.Wait for the Lord and hope
in him without fail, so that at the opportune time
you may reap what you are here daily carefully work-
ing at. This exhortation is for good monks and for
all Christians as well, so that they may not withdraw
from their upright purpose because their flesh is weak,
but continue in good works, strive for perseverance,
and persevere steadily in the things enjoined on them
in keeping with the Rule. The hearts of those who
wait are strengthened in this way if, putting their hope
in the Lord’s power they strive for perseverance in a
good work, and while waiting for the Lord’s promises
do not despair of receiving the reward from the Lord.
38
And showing that the faithful man must en-
dure all things, however contrary, for the Lord,
he says in the person of those who suffer: For
your sake we are put to death all day long, we are
counted as sheep for the slaughter.* Now to be put to * Ps 44:22,
death means to come by sufferings of long duration to the end Rm 8:36
of the present life.49 The good monk’s fortitude must not

be beaten down and overcome by various difficulties,
or succumb to any of the enticements of pleasure; it
49. Expos. ps. 43[44]:33; CCSL 97:400.

must not be cast down by adversities or lifted up by

prosperity, but strengthened against all vices it must
remain constant and unshaken. And just as a sheep led
to the slaughter does not cry out or fight back, so the
monk because he has patience must not murmur and
cry out, or fight back and resist injustice, but he must
rather, when affected by many tribulations, say to the
Lord with the psalmist: Because of the words of your lips I
Ps 17:4 * have kept hard ways.*
39
And secure in the hope of a divine recom-
pense they go on their way rejoicing and say-
ing: But in all these things we overcome because of him
Rm 8:37 * who has loved us.* The saints, with God’s help and for
God’s sake, overcome all the tribulations of the present
world, acting bravely for the sake of an eternal rec-
ompense. They overcome all adversity, and since they
have the Lord they are not overcome by any adversity.
Rm 8:31 * For if God is for us, who is against us?* Hence Peter the
apostle says: And who is there that can hurt you if you are
1 P 3:13 * zealous for the good?* He says this about the things that
befall us from our adversaries, through insulting words, the
CCM 181 º loss of temporal things, ºthe torments of the body. When any
of these things are inflicted on the faithful they cannot hurt
them; rather, they bring the prize of patience to those who
endure them with equanimity. But if anyone, conquered by
such adversities, grows faint, it is not the one who inflicted the
evil that has hurt him, but he has hurt himself by refusing to
bear these things patiently.50
40
And again in another place Scripture says: You
have tried us, O God, you have tested us with fire, as
Ps 66:10 * silver is tested.* The trial of monks takes place in the
furnace of temptations and diverse tribulations. We
must, says the apostle, enter the kingdom of God through
Ac 14:21 * many tribulations.* You have tested us with fire, he
50. Bede In 1 Pt 3:13 (CCSL 121:245); Collect. (PL 102:371D).

On Humility 293
says, as silver is tested. The elect are tested by the fire

of tribulation, so that cleansed of all dross they may
deserve to come to the crown of the eternal kingdom.
For if silver is not tested by fire, it remains dirty by
reason of where it comes from; so too, unless our hearts
have been cleansed by the fire of the Holy Spirit, they
remain naturally filthy and unclean.Therefore in order
that they may not become soft like lead in the furnace
of humility and tribulation, they must bravely take
hold of the weapons of endurance and patience. For
it is written: Wait for God’s support, join yourself to God
and wait, so that your life may increase in the end. Receive
all that is brought upon you, and in your sorrow endure, and
have patience in your humility; for gold and silver are tried in
the fire, but acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation.* * Si 2:3-5
You have led us into a snare, you have laid tribulations
on our back.* You have led us into a snare; he says * Ps 66:11
this by way of heaping up tribulation so that you may
understand that in this world every kind of tribulation
comes upon the elect, who are waiting to receive
every kind of glory from the Lord in the world to
come. Because they are waiting to receive the rewards
of the future life, they bear all the evils of the present
life with equanimity, since he tempers the bitterness of
this life with the sweetness of that which is to come.
What he says here: You have laid tribulations on our
back, agrees with the statement of the psalm which
says: I am bowed and brought exceedingly low, and I roared
from the groaning of my heart.* Tribulations on the back * Ps 38:8
signify a humble spirit and a bowed body; they indicate
a body chastised by fasts and a heart broken to pieces
and humbled. For those who do not bear on their
backs the tribulations of a salutary discipline go about
with their head erect, their look fierce and their spirit
all puffed up. But the words that follow next:
º 41And in order to show that we ought to be º CCM 182

under a superior [Scripture] goes on to say: You
Ps 66:12 * have placed men over our heads,* signify abbots ac-
cording to blessed Benedict’s exposition. The rule’s
institution decreed that monks should live under ab-
bots and comply with their instructions; it is fitting for
monks to subject their heads under them and fulfill
their just commands.
42
But fulfilling the Lord’s precepts by patience
in adversity and injustice, when struck on the
cheek they offer the other as well; to someone
who takes away their tunic they also surrender
their cloak; for someone forcing them to go
Mt 5:39-41,*
Lk 6:29 one mile they go two;* 43with Paul the apostle
2 Co 11:26 * they bear with false brothers,* and bless those
1 Co 4:12 * who curse them.* Other doctors51 have interpreted
this statement in a mystical sense, but blessed Benedict
has used it only to give us in this place an example of
humility and patience; the person who tries to carry
it out in adversity and injustice will be able to climb
quickly to the highest point of humility. In fact no
one will be able to carry this out perfectly unless he
has previously established deep in his heart a founda-
tion of enormous patience, and has previously attained
the peak of the highest humility. The one who does
not return evil for evil when made to suffer injus-
tice, offers one and then the other cheek to the one
who strikes him, does not repay curse with curse, to
someone who takes away [his] tunic [he] also
surrenders [his] cloak, is not overcome by evil but
overcomes evil with good, of his own accord goes
two miles for the person who forces him to go
one—such a one as this without a doubt patiently
endures false brothers with Paul, and by blessing
those who curse him really fulfills the precept of
humility.
51. Cf. Hier. In Mt 1 (CCSL 77:33-34); Aug. S. Dom. I.19.58

(CCSL 35:66-67).
On Humility 295
44
The fifth step of humility is that through
humble confession he hide not from his abbot
all the evil thoughts coming into his heart or
the evils committed by him in secret. And so
Solomon says: He who hides his sins will not be directed,
but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.* * Pr 28:13
For the bitterness of repentance causes the mind to examine
its deeds more subtly, and to remember with weeping the gifts
of God that is ºhas scorned.52 It is already an important º CCM 183
part of justice that a person knows himself interiorly, knows
that he is crooked, so that he may thereby be more humbly
subject to the divine power,53 and hence knowing his sins
he confesses them to another. So Solomon again says:
Reveal your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be
directed.* And so there is also added here: 45Reveal your * Pr 16:3
way to the Lord and hope in him.* 54 That is, reveal * Ps 37:5
your actions, in which there lurks an awareness of sin,
by confessing them to the abbot the Lord has given
you as a vicar for himself, and hope in the Lord, that
he may mercifully grant you pardon for what you have
done amiss. And so Cassiodorus says:
The thickness of sins forms a kind of veil with
which our way, that is, our life, is clothed and en-
veloped in darkness as with a garment.This is what
we reveal when we very promptly confess our dark
sins.55 Now Paul revealed his way when he said:
‘The flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit
against the flesh’.* But he hoped in the Lord when * Ga 5:17
he cried: ‘O unhappy man that I am, who will
deliver me from the body of this death? The grace
of God through Jesus Christ our Lord’ *.56 * Rm 7:24-25
52. Isid. Sent. II.13.4 (PL 83:615A); Diad. mon. 15 (PL

102:612B).
53. Isid. Sent. II.13.2; 614C.
54.The CCM text has Smaragdus omitting the first part of v.
45: hortans nos de hac re scriptura dicens. . . .
55. Diad. Mon. 1; PL 102:613AB.
56. Expos. ps. 36[37]:5; CCSL 97:326.
Hence Augustine says: What you have in your heart

make plain in speech through confession. Hope in him
and he will do it, that is, he himself will forgive you your
sins, and he will bring your works into the bright light.57
There follows:58 46Confess to the Lord for he is good, for
Ps 106:1, 118:1 * his mercy is for ever.* And so Cassiodorus says:
He designates that confession so as to apply the

medicine of penance. Now there is no doubt that
this also pertains to proclaiming the Lord, since
compassion has greater glory when it spares one
who confesses than when it is shown to one who
lives without confession. And so that no one might
be terrified by the sheer number of his faults, he
added for he is good. Who indeed can hesitate to
have recourse to him, on hearing that he can come
very swiftly to his aid? He added, for his mercy
is for ever. So that human negligence, having heard
that the Lord is good, may not hang back from at-
tentive and careful supplication, he mentions the
cause of the remedy, so that by the Lord’s gift it
CCM 184 º may hasten to make speedy confession.59 ºFor ever
signifies the course of this life, where all those who
commit sin are wretched, where it is possible for our
hearts to be converted and for mercy to be implored.
For to confess one’s sins when judgment is clearly
already present is damnation.60
47
And the prophet likewise says: I made my sin
Ps 32:5 * known to you, and I did not hide my unrighteousness.*
‘Making known’ means ‘bringing sins to confession’; ‘hiding’
means ‘covering something’ by a complete silence or ‘conceal-
ing it’ by dissimulation of heart. This is what fools do, who
think that God can be ignorant of what they do. On the
57. The quotation attributed to Augustine is unidentified.

58. Smaragdus’s sequitur supplies for RB’s et item dicit at the
beginning of v. 46.
59. Diad. Mon. 16; PL 102:613BC.
60. Expos. ps. 105[106]:1; CCSL 98:958.
On Humility 297
contrary, those who know that he has all things manifest

to him, lower themselves to make humble confession and
promises of repentance, so that they may not experience as
a hostile judge one they could have had as a favorable ad-
vocate.61 There follows: 48I said: I will declare to the
Lord against myself my injustices; and you forgave the
wickedness of my heart.* And so the great compassion of * Ps 32:5
the Divinity is shown, that at the mere declaration of devo-
tion he immediately loosed sins, since he considers a devout
wish as if it were a work done. For he said that in his heart
what he had done was not silent as far as the Lord was con-
cerned; what he wanted to confess has been forgiven him as
though he has already made everything known.62 Therefore
my confession was still in my heart, and had not yet
reached my mouth. I had said, I will declare against
myself, but God has heard the voice of my heart and
has forgiven the wickedness of my heart.
49
The sixth step of humility is that a monk be
content with anything considered mean or ex-
treme. In God’s presence, anyone contemptible and vile
in the eyes of the world shines with great grace. It is indeed
necessary that God should love one whom the world hates.63
The saints who cherish what is considered mean and
renounce possessions and honors, mortify themselves
as regards every earthly possession so that they may
live happily with God in an eternal inheritance. And
therefore they love what is considered mean and ex-
treme, so that from the mortification of this life they
may rise stronger into that eternal life which is being
prepared for them.64 There follows: And that in re-
gard to everything enjoined on him he regard
himself as a bad and unworthy workman. The
61. Ibid. 31[32]:5; CCSL 97:278.

62. Ibid.
63. Isid. Sent. III.16.3 (PL 83:692A); Diad. mon. 14 (611A).
64. Cf. Isid. Sent. III.16.6; 692B.
monk regards himself as a bad workman because he

does not know how his work is being received by the
Lord. We work exteriorly, but we do not know inte-
riorly how our work is being received by the Lord.
CCM 185 º He regards himself as unworthy,65 ºbecause just as the
sufferings of this world are not worthy to be compared to
Rm 8:18 * the future glory that will be revealed in us,* so our works,
though good, are not worthy to obtain glory and
everlasting rewards.
50
Saying to himself with the prophet: I have been
Ps 73:22 * brought to nothing and did not know.* This is the voice
of humility, not of pride; the words are those of a wise
man rather than of one who does not know; it is the
statement of one who is humbling and not exalting
himself. Before this world the just man knows himself
to be a fool, so that he may be found wise before God.
And so Paul says: God has chosen the foolish things of the
world to confound the wise; and he has chosen the weak
1 Co 1:27 * things of the world to confound the strong.* I did not
know, he said, that is, I knew myself as not know-
ing, I considered myself foolish and like a child, and I
perceived myself as one lacking wisdom. For he who
now humbly knows himself in his own heart as not
knowing, will at some time be exalted and rejoice as a
wise man in God’s presence.
I am become as a beast of burden in your presence,
Ps 73:22-23 * and I am always with you.* Not such a beast of burden
as to be foolish of heart, but such as to carry God with
my whole body and heart. For a tamed beast does not
refuse to carry whatever burden has been laid upon it,
but enduring patiently it carries it until it reaches its
destination. So too the monk must endure patiently,
and without murmuring suffer everything whatsoever
that has been laid upon him by the abbot or any other
superior in accordance with the Rule, until he reaches
65. Cf. ibid. 19.4; 694B.

On Humility 299
the end of his life; then laying aside the burden of

toil he may expect to receive from the Lord a worthy
recompense for his work.
51
The seventh step of humility is that he not
only with his tongue declare himself lower and
of less value than everyone, but also believe it
with heartfelt inner disposition. The person who
wants to be higher in the kingdom must become
lower in this world; and the one who wants to be
more distinguished has to become of less value and
more despised, according to the saying of the Lord:
He who wants to be first among you will be your
slave, and he who wants to be greater among you
should be your servant,* and so forth. So let a monk * Mk 10:43-44
think himself a monk when he considers himself the least,
lower and of less value than everyone else.66 It is for this
purpose a monk lives in a monastery, that having his
spirit humbled he may give an example of humility to
everyone else. Hence the apostle Peter also says: All of
you, show humility to one another.* A person really shows * 1 P 5:5
humility to everyone else when he really carries it in
his heart, and does not present and project himself ºas º CCM 186
great and important but as a worthless and despicable
slave, who considers that he is poor in spirit and like
a small boy in the midst of the brothers, and shows it.
And so blessed Gregory says: It must be especially realized
that each soul is more precious in the eyes of God, the more
despicable it is in its own eyes from love of the truth.67
52
Humbling himself and saying with the
prophet: But I am a worm and no man, the reproach
of men and the outcast of the people.* But I am a * Ps 22:6
worm, he says, in an excess of humility. For a worm
seems to be lowlier than all other animals, and of less
value. The frailer a worm, fed on wood as it is, the
66. Ibid. III.19.1 (694A); Diad. mon. 11 (607C).

67. Moral. XVIII.38.59; CCSL 143A:925.
purer also is it proved to be. This is what the monk

is compared with; the more despised he is and weak
and of little value, the holier and cleaner he is found
Pr 30:25 * to be in God’s sight. Solomon says of these:* The ants
are a weak people, yet prepare themselves food in the har-
vest. But what [Benedict] then says,—The reproach
of men and the outcast of the people—aims at
the proud and rude people who always despise the
humble and degrade the poor; they bring against them
any reproaches they can, hurl words of opposition at
them, and never stop slandering them in secret. Hence
Solomon says: Men of blood hate the simple man, but the
Pr 29:10 * unjust seek his soul.* 68 This is what distinguishes God’s
children from the devil’s children: the devil’s children
love and cherish the world, whereas God’s children
love and cherish God. Now the devil’s children can-
not love the child of God, who is separated from love
of the world and is intent only on heavenly desires.
Religion, as Scripture says, is an abomination to the
Si 1:25[31] * sinner.*
Ps 88:15 * 53
I was lifted up and humbled and put to confusion.*
This is proved to be especially fitting for the elect. Any of
them can say that he was lifted up when earlier he used to
think of human affairs with a swollen heart; I was humbled,
he says, when by the mercy of divine grace he came to the
medicinal gift of confession; put to confusion, when by
professing repentance he condemned the evil he had done.
O blessed confusion, which takes away an eternal reproach!
For whatever guilt has been incurred by those who repent has
been absolved for everlasting ages.69
CCM 187 º º 54And likewise: It is good for me that you have
Ps 119:71 * humbled me, that I may learn your commands.* He
was beginning to taste of that sweetness which demonstrably
68. The CCM text’s quote from Proverbs 29:10 has iniusti
autem quaerunt animam eius, the Vulgate has iusti, Migne has in-
justi [justi].
69. Expos. ps. 87[88]:16; CCSL 98:800.
On Humility 301
exceeds all kinds of pleasantness,70 and he says, It is good

for me that you have humbled me, that is, you humbled
me so that I might learn the variety and richness of
your commands, which previously I could not take
in, swollen as I was with pride. This humility touches
the glorious heights of Jerusalem. For as pride plunges one
into the lowest depths, this humility raises one up to heaven.
And what kind of reward this humiliation has he subse-
quently expounds71 when he says That I may learn your
commands. For the commands are perfectly learned
when the Lord’s precepts are faithfully fulfilled, when
what the heart rightly understands is effectively put
into practice.72
55
The eighth step of humility is that a monk
do nothing except what the common rule of
the monastery and the example of his superiors
commend. As though to say: A monk should not of
his own free choice devise some new-fangled arrange-
ment, but rather let him do all he has seen others do,
and do it entirely; let him observe steadfastly all that
is written and contained in the Rule, and promptly
carry it all out in his works. In this way he may at
length attain, in due order, to the example of the older
Fathers, and receive an example of humility from
Christ, of devotion from Peter, of charity from John,
of obedience from Abraham, of patience from Isaac, of
endurance from Jacob and Job, of chastity from Joseph,
of meekness from Moses, of constancy from Joshua,
of kindness from Samuel, of mercy from David, and
of abstinence from Daniel. Thus also should the holy
monk, in imitating the above, consider thoughtfully
the toil, moderation, attention and compunction with
which all that the superiors do is done,73 so that with
70. Ibid. 118[119]:71; 1087.

71. Ibid.
72. Cf. ibid.
73. Cf. Isid. Sent. II.11.12; PL 83:613A.
Christ’s aid what he does may eventually measure up

to their example.
56
The ninth step of humility is that a monk re-
strain his tongue from speaking, and maintain-
ing reserve in speech, not speak until questioned,
57
since Scripture shows that in much speaking
Pr 10:19 * sin will not be avoided.* The monk must restrain
his tongue from speaking so as not to fall into the sin
of much-speaking. Reserve in speech nurtures many
virtues, but talkativeness scatters even those that have
been nurtured. Hence Solomon says: Like a city lying
open and without walls around it, so is a man who can-
CCM 188 º not ºrestrain his own spirit in speaking.* A city lying open
Pr 25:28 *
and without an enclosure cannot preserve unharmed
what it has inside it, unless it is closed at a suitable time
with either bars or a wall. Likewise a monk through
the vice of talkativeness loses the virtues he has within
him, unless he restrains his tongue from speaking and
places a guard and a door over his mouth. There fol-
lows: 58Because the talkative man is not directed on the
Ps 140:11 * earth.* Although eloquent and articulate people can
also be called talkative, it is well known that this des-
ignation is given particularly to those whose verbosity
issues in unconsidered speech.The apostle James warns
those who are opposed to the wise and who behave
differently from them: ‘Let every man be swift to hear,
Jm 1:19 * but slow to speak’.* Such men are not directed on the earth,
because in their levity they often go to excess. It is difficult for
speech that is not carefully weighed to be upright.74
59
The tenth step of humility is that he be not
ready and prompt to laughter, for it is written:
Si 21:20[23] * The fool lifts up his voice in laughter.* It is levity of
mind that makes a monk always ready and prompt to
laughter. Because he does not carry the fear of the
74. Expos. ps. 139[140]:12; CCSL 98:1259-1260.

On Humility 303
Lord in his heart, he is always wanting to laugh im-

moderately and at the top of his voice. He does not
pay attention to the apostle James’s warning when he
says: Be afflicted and mourn and weep.Your laughter will be
turned into mourning, and your joy into sadness.* And so * Jm 4:9
Solomon says: Laughter will be mingled with sorrow, and
mourning will occupy the end of joy.* And he says again: * Pr 14:13
Laughter I considered a mistake, and to joy I said: Why
are you vainly deceived?* Therefore mourning more be- * Qo 2:2
fits a monk than laughter, because through mourning
one comes to joy, as it is written: Blessed are they who
mourn, for they shall be comforted,* but through laughter * Mt 5:5
one comes to mourning, as it is written: Woe to you
who laugh now, for you shall weep and lament.* Laughter * Lk 6:25
is not entirely forbidden to man, as has already been
said above* for we know that it is nature’s gift to him * At RB 4.54
alone amongst all creatures; but in order that the vice
of levity may be guarded against, readiness to laugh
and laughing at the top of one’s voice are forbidden.
60
The eleventh step of humility is that when
a monk speaks he do so gently and without
laughter, humbly and seriously, in few and sen-
sible words. It befits a monk to speak gently, that
is, ºmoderately and calmly, for it is written: The words º CCM 189
of the wise shall be weighed in a balance.* Gentleness * Si 21:25[28]
proceeds equally from the source of sweetness and of
peace. So Solomon says: A sweet word multiplies friends
and appeases enemies, and a gracious tongue will abound
in a good man.* And he says again: Well-ordered words * Si 6:5
are as a honeycomb.* Well-ordered words lend honor * Pr 16:24
to the one who utters them, and minister grace to
the hearers. [Benedict] added, And without laugh-
ter. Words that are full of laughter show clearly that a
monk is either foolish and light-minded, or at any rate
an empty fellow. For a monk must speak humbly and
seriously, because it is written: Do not be hasty with your * Si 4:29[34]
tongue;* and: He that hates gossip extinguishes malice.* * Si 19:5
And that he speak few and sensible words. Few,

because it is written: In much speaking you shall not avoid
Pr 10:19 * sin;* and: He who uses many words shall harm his own
Si 20:8 * soul.* Sensible, because it is written: He who controls
Pr 10:19 * his lips is most wise.* Few, because it is written: The fool
Qo 10:14 * multiplies words;* and: Where there are many words there
Pr 14:23 * is often want.* Sensible, because it is written: A wise
man will hold his peace until the proper time, but the wanton
Si 20:7 * and the fool will not observe the proper time.* And one there
Si 20:5 * is who is hateful, who is bold to speak.* And: One who is
Pr 13:3 * thoughtless in speaking shall experience evils.*
And let him not be loud of voice. The monk as
one who imitates Christ must be silent and not noisy.
For it is written of the Lord: He shall not cry out, nor shall
Is 42:2 * his voice be heard abroad.* Silence befits the monk more
than does shouting. Therefore a subdued voice shows
a noble character, and a loud voice indicates levity. A
loud voice often makes a man hateful, but a subdued
voice makes him lovable. Hence it is written: A wise
Si 20:13 * man makes himself lovable by his words.* Lovable, because
he prudently speaks sensible and lovable words. And
so Basil says:
What is needed for hearing has determined the
measure of the voice. For if the voice is louder than
the situation requires—since the one we are speak-
ing to can hear even if we speak more softly—it
CCM 190 º will no ºlonger be a speaking voice but a shout, and
that draws attention; unless perchance the hearing
of the person we are speaking to is not so keen, and
necessity compels us to shout.75
So Fructuosus says: A monk ought not to be noisy or full of

laughter in his speech. Such a person, who though often cor-
rected does not amend, must be cured with stripes and sharply
corrected.76 There follows:
75. RBas 130:1-3 (CSEL 86:160); Conc. 21.2 (PL 103:865A).
76. Fructuos. RComplut. 15 (PL 87:1106B); Conc. 31.10 (PL
103:991AB).
On Humility 305
61
A wise man is known by the fewness of his
words. He is known, he says, that is, he makes known
to everyone else exteriorly what manner of man he is
in himself interiorly. By speaking he shows others the
wisdom he was keeping secretly in his heart. And he
who was lurking in hiding known only to himself, by
speaking shows himself in public. For where this tra-
dition says, A wise man is known by the fewness
of his words, there is another that says: A wise man
shows himself by his words,* that is, by speaking he shows * Si 20:29
himself exteriorly to others as the kind of person he is
interiorly by holding his peace.
62
The twelfth step of humility is that a monk
not only have humility in his heart, but also
show it always in his very body to those who
see him. A monk must truly keep humility interiorly,
and show it in his exterior behavior to those who see
him, so that he may both interiorly please his internal
judge, and give to all exteriorly an example of humil-
ity. And being thus fashioned by the virtue of humility
in both dimensions, let him be found humble of heart
and humble also in body. Let him be found humble of
mind interiorly and in his bodily deportment exteri-
orly, so that those who see his example may praise and
glorify God, who has granted him the foundation of
humility and constancy in work.
63
That is, at the Work of God, namely, while pray-
ing, singing psalms, hymns, canticles, or exercising any
work of God in the sanctuary itself, he should always
have his head bowed.
In the monastery,77 in the garden, on the road,
in the fields, or anywhere else, whether sitting,
walking or standing, let him always have his
77. In the CCM text—but not in Migne, which reads in opere

[omitting Dei] in oratorio—Smaragdus omits in oratorio from v.
63, but it is implied in his commentary on in opere Dei.
head bowed; with his gaze fixed on the ground,

64
thinking himself at every hour guilty of his
sins, let him consider himself already present
at the dread judgment, 65saying to himself con-
stantly in his heart what the tax-collector in the
Gospel said, his eyes fixed on the ground: Lord,
I a sinner am not worthy to raise my eyes to
Lk 18:13,* heaven.*
Mt 8:8 What great confidence of pardon it gives to those who
repent, that the tax-collector, who was perfectly aware of the
CCM 191 º guilt of his wickedness, ºwept and confessed; and if he came
to the temple unrighteous, he went home from the temple
justified.78 For one man by being proud withdrew humbled,
while the other merited by his lamenting to be exalted and
draw near, ‘because everyone who exalts himself will be
Lk 14:11,* humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted’ * 79
RB 7.1
Therefore even from the proud Pharisee’s words, for which
he deserved to be humbled, we can by contrast assume the
form of humility by which to be raised on high. Just as he,
after first considering the vices of those who were worse than
himself, and then his own virtues, was lifted up to his ruin,
so we, after looking not only at our laziness but also at the
virtues of those who are better than we, may be humbled to
our glory. So each of us, with suppliant submission, should
make the entreaty within himself: Almighty God, have mercy
on your suppliant, because I am not like countless servants of
yours, distinguished by their contempt of the world, glorious
through the merit of their righteousness, angelic in the praise
of their chastity, even like many of those who by repenting
after shameful and public acts have deserved to be devoted to
you. Even if I have done something good through the gift of
your grace, I do not know for what end I do it, or with what
sternness you regard it.80
78. Bede In Lc ev. 5 (CCSL 120:325); Collect. (PL 102:436AB).

79. Bede ibid. (325); Collect. (436B).
80. Bede ibid. (325); Collect. (436BC).
On Humility 307
66
And again with the prophet: I am bowed and
humbled on every side.* The person who remembers * Pss 38:6-8,
119:107
how sublime eternal rest is, sees how much he is hum-
bled by this corrupt flesh. We should therefore wail
and groan as we make confession, recognize where
we are, remember how sublime eternal rest is, and pa-
tiently wait for what he promised who showed us in
himself an example of patience and humility. He said
that he was bowed from a state of self-exaltation, and
humbled from the swollenness of pride. I am bowed
and humbled, that is, I who was a short time ago lifted
up in the world have now been bowed and humbled
under God; I who was a short time ago exalted in
worldly glory have now been bowed and humbled in
the need for penance; I who but a short while ago
was exalted in my condition in the world have now
been bowed and humbled under the hand of almighty
God, that is, bowed in body and humbled in spirit.
The expression on every side means from every direction
and from every point of view,81 because it is necessary for
humility, the mistress and mother of all virtues, to be
firmly maintained in the heart and shown to all with
the body.
67
Therefore after climbing all these steps of hu-
mility, the monk will soon come to that love of
God which, having been made perfect, casts out fear.* * 1 Jn 4:18
ºThe Lord says in the Gospel: Love your enemies, and º CCM 192
pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children
of your Father who is in heaven.* For this is the perfect * Mt 5:44-45
charity of which John the apostle says: There is no fear
in charity;* in such charity, evidently, which in imitation of * 1 Jn 4:18
the divine goodness knows how to do good even to enemies
and to love them. ‘But perfect charity’, he says, ‘casts out
fear’; that fear, clearly, of which it is written: ‘The fear of the
Lord is the beginning of wisdom’.* Anyone beginning the * Si 1:14
81. Expos. ps. 37[38]:9; CCSL 97:347.

works of righteousness fears with this kind of fear that the

strict judge may come and, finding him altogether lacking in
amendment, condemn him. But perfect charity casts out of
the soul even the fear of present adversities. It is this charity
that someone was seeking who used to say in entreating the
Ps 64:1 * Lord: ‘Deliver my soul from fear of the enemy’;* and it is this
charity that he had who used to say: ‘Who will separate us
from the charity of Christ? Will tribulation or distress or per-
Rm 8:35 * secution?’* and so forth. For fear acts as a goad, but do not be
afraid. Charity enters in and drives out fear, and heals what
was wounded by the sorrow caused by fear.82
68
Through this [charity] everything that at first
he observed not without fear he will begin to
observe without any toil, as though naturally,
out of habit. Someone first came to the monastic
habit with fear of mind and great dread. But after he
has stood fast in Christ’s service for a long period, and
his way of acting has been marked by continued good
habit, charity takes over, and he is henceforth free from
fear and dread.And what he formerly did with fear and
dread he now begins to observe with a sweet love; and
he begins as though naturally to observe with delight
what at first he had begun to do with much effort and
with dread. And so there also follows:
69
No longer from fear of Gehenna but from love
of Christ and by good habit itself and delight
in the virtues. 70These things the Lord will now
deign to show forth by the Holy Spirit in his
workman, who is clean from vices and sins.
Many, as was said above, begin to do good from fear of
punishment, but complete it from love of Christ.They
begin from fear, but going from virtue to virtue they
pass over to the perfect charity of Christ. And what at
first they were afraid to do, being under the harmful
influence of ignorance, they are now no longer afraid
82. Bede In 1 Jo 4:18; CCSL 121:317-318.
On Humility 309
to do, since habit and knowledge are teaching them.

They long to have a rich store of virtues, and so they
are at pains to do good, and are anxious to be cleansed
speedily from vices. Having received the gift of the
Holy Spirit, they find their delight in what is just and
holy and upright, and strive earnestly to fulfill the
things that delight them, so that they may deserve to
become the consecrated temple of him to whom from
the beginning of their conversion they have vowed
themselves as monks. This is in order to have ºfulfilled º CCM 193
in them that saying of the apostle: You are the temple of
God, and the Holy Spirit dwells in you.* With this Holy * 1 Co 3:16
Spirit teaching them they do what has to be done, and
with his help they bring to perfection what they do;
with him drawing them they run by desire the whole
length of the stadium of good action, and as they run
they advance from virtue to virtue and strain eagerly
to reach the everlasting goal, where they will be filled
with every good thing and with eternal joy.
And in order that the inexperienced may not
suppose that these twelve steps of humility have been
set down in a confused way by blessed Benedict, I
shall briefly lay open and show forth in what ways
they are distinct.The first step of humility begins with
fear. The second is that a monk fulfill not his own will
but the Lord’s. The third speaks of the perfection of
obedience. The fourth is concerned with the long-
suffering of patience. The fifth is that each reveal his
hidden thoughts to his abbot. The sixth, that a monk
love what is considered mean or extreme.The seventh,
that he proclaim with his voice, believe in his heart,
and show by his deeds that he is lower and of less
worth than everyone else. The eighth is that a monk
do nothing except what the common rule of
the monastery and the example of his superiors
commends. The ninth, that a monk restrain his
tongue from speaking. The tenth, that he be not
ready to laugh. The eleventh, that he speak gently
and without laughter. The twelfth, that in every

place he show to all who see him humility in heart
and body.
When all these steps of humility have been climbed,
the monk will happily come to the vision of the
Almighty, where he may enjoy with his Lord a happi-
ness and joy that can never be taken away from him.
Ps 84:7 * For they shall go from virtue to virtue,* that is, from
one step of virtue they climb to another; and thus they
Ps 84:7 * will see the God of gods in Zion* and the heavenly
Jerusalem, with exultation and joy.
º
book three of the º CCM 194
commentary
CHAPTER 8
ON THE DIVINE OFFICE

AT NIGHT
1
In wintertime, that is from the first of November
until Easter, they must rise at what is reasonably
estimated as the eighth hour of the night, 2so
that their rest extends a little beyond the middle
of the night. This expression, a little beyond the
middle of the night, can be understood as including
the whole of the seventh hour of the night and half
the eighth.Then, once the signal has been sounded, let
all rise at the same time, and let the remaining half of
the eighth hour elapse in the interval between signals,
so that the nocturnal praise itself begins to be cele-
brated from the ninth hour of the night. For in an-
other place he says After Sext, on rising from table
let them rest, and let None be celebrated at the
middle of the eighth hour.* He shows there that * RB 48:5-6
the time for sleep lasts the whole of the seventh hour
of the day and half the eighth. This seems to me to
be the meaning here also: after six hours of the night
they may still rest for the whole of the seventh hour
and half the eighth. And having allowed an interval of
about half an hour between signals, beginning from
the ninth hour of the night let them discharge the
duty of divine praise to the Lord Jesus Christ, with an
eager mind and a body free from sluggishness.
When he says, 2And they may rise with their
digestion completed, it seems to those who lack
311
312 Commentary on The Rule of Saint Benedict: Book Three
experience an absurd if not ridiculous thing to put

down, but those who understand correctly consider it
a useful statement and a point well made. ‘Digested’ in
fact means ‘cooked, consumed’; it also means ‘brought
down’, or at any rate ‘breathed out’. And that is how
They may rise with their digestion completed is
understood here; that is, they may rise, their food hav-
ing already been cooked by the pot which is the stom-
ach, and brought down into the belly and breathed
out by sleep. Elsewhere concerning the same matter a
certain master of monks says: For this reason we have
said that Nocturns are joined with Matins after cock-
CCM 195 º crow,1 ºso that, once sleep has completed their digestion, the
brothers may soberly perform the Work of God with vigilant
and ready mind2 and may recognize what they are saying.
An interval is laid down for this reason, that the heaviness of
sleep may be thrown off by a good long night,3 so that when
the brothers are forced to rise before cock-crow on short nights,
they may not find themselves still unprepared because their
sleep has been cut short; for then in the very pulsing of the
veins the blood and fluid bubbles through their veins, and the
members, in the disturbance and heaviness of sleep cut short,
go on digesting. When that happens, and they continue di-
gesting the food they had taken, the brothers are not so much
roused as killed in the very burning of incomplete digestion;
they begin to rise with their heads still heavy and their diges-
tion broken off, and may well put to flight the charisms of the
Holy Spirit.4 There follows:
3
The time that remains after Vigils is to be
used for study5 by those brothers who need [to
learn] something of the psalter or the readings.
1. Cf. RM 33:15 (SCh 106:178); Conc. 23.6 (PL 103:876AB).

2. RM 33:8,15 (176,178); Conc. 23.6 (875AB).
3. RM 33:8-9 (178); Conc. 23.6 (875C-876A).
4. RM 33:19-21 (180); Conc. 23.6 (876BC).
5. A useful literature is developing on the significance of me-
ditatio in RB and in the monastic tradition before and after it.
See, for example, RB 1980: The Rule of St. Benedict, T. Fry &
On the Divine Office at Night 313
Blessed Benedict does not here bid us to sleep, as some

would have it, but to watch; he bids the healthy not to
rest on their beds but to apply themselves to study. For
it is written: On my bed I sought him whom my soul loves;
I sought him and did not find him.* For Christ the be- * Sg 3:1
loved is not found in the bed of carnal pleasures, but is
found in holy labors,6 in sacred watches and frequent
prayers; not in the torpor of sleep but in the prayer
of Vigils and in the compunction of prayer. Hence
Cassian says: Some ignorant people, once the chanting
of the Matins hymns is over, go back to sleep again;
this should not happen at all, in case a kind of overflow
of our natural humors should emerge, staining the pu-
rity we gained by suppliant confession before dawn, or
in case an illusion of the enemy should corrupt it, or
at any rate in case the refreshment even of a pure and
simple sleep should intervene, interrupting our fervor
of spirit; after we have been made tepid by sleep’s tor-
por, it would leave us sluggish and listless the whole
day through.7 And so he says again: After the purification
of nocturnal Vigils, no one is to relax again into ºthe rest of º CCM 196
sleep until with the coming of day the divine work8 succeeds
the night’s meditation, in case an envious devil by a certain
illusion during sleep contaminate the purity we have gained
by psalms and prayers.9
And so Aurelius [Aurelian] says in his rule: After the
prayers of Matins let them not be allowed to go back to
sleep;10 but as the Rule says, 4From Easter until the
others, eds. (Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 1981),
445-48, and the references given there.
6. Cf. Bede In Cant. II.3.1/2; CCSL 119B:230-231.
7. Cf. Cassian Inst. III.5; CSEL 17:40; Conc. 23.3 (PL
103:874AB).
8. CCM (p. 196) and Migne (102:830C): operatio divina, ‘the
divine work’; Ménard (1:325): operatio diurna, ‘the day’s work’;
cf. Inst. II.12.3; CSEL 17:28.
9. RCass 10:1 (R Ben. 94:174-5); Conc. 23.4 (PL 103:874C);
cf. Inst. II.13.1; CSEL 17:28.
10. Aurel. Reg. 28 (PL 68:391B); Conc. 23.5 (875A).
aforesaid first of November, let the hour [of ris-

ing] be so arranged that there is a very short
interval after Vigils, during which the brothers
may go out for the necessities of nature, with
Lauds following at once; these are to be cele-
brated at dawn.
CHAPTER 9
HOW MANY PSALMS

ARE TO BE SAID
AT THE NIGHT OFFICE
1
In the winter season mentioned above, that is,
already referred to in the preceding chapter, first of
all the verse, that is, O God, come to my assistance;
Ps 70:1 * O Lord, make haste to help me.* To be said three
times: O Lord, you will open my lips, and my mouth
Ps 51:15 * shall declare your praise.1* Just as from reverence for
the Holy Trinity the sanctus is said three times, so too
in this supplication we three times beseech the Holy
Trinity to open our lips, so that after the opening of
their lips the mouth of the Lord’s servants may be able
worthily to declare praise to the Lord. Now ‘mouth’
stands for one of the body’s members, and also for the secret
place of the heart where the divine praise is sung with ef-
ficacy.2
1. As Engelbert shows in his introduction to the CCM text

(pp. XXXII-XXXIV), Smaragdus is commenting on a text of
the Rule which would generally be classed as ‘pure’. In v. 1 of
the present chapter, however, as the translation shows, his Rule
text is closer to the textus receptus, the normalized and standard-
ized text current before the Carolingian reform (see RB 1980,
pp. 102-112).
How Many Psalms Are to be Said at the Night Office 315
2
To this is to be joined Psalm 3 and the Glory.
‘Psalm’ here stands for the work we do; the Glory is the
divine praise which the angels sing in heaven and men on
earth, as that divine hymn begins, ‘Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace to men of good will’ * 3After * Lk 2:14
this Psalm 94 with antiphon, or at any rate to
be chanted. ‘Antiphon’, from the Greek, means a ‘re-
ciprocal voice’, as when two sides sing psalms alternately in
changing order. Tradition has it that the Greeks devised this
way of singing psalms.3 Among the Latins the most blessed
Ambrose was the first to introduce antiphons.4
º 4Let the ambrosian, that is, the hymn, follow º CCM 197
next. ‘Ambrosian’ means ‘divine and heavenly’, that
is, ‘inspired divinely and from heaven’; others want
‘ambrosian’ to be named from Ambrose, the teacher
of hymns.5 Then six psalms with antiphons.
5
When these, and the verse, have been said, let
the abbot give a blessing. That is, after the verse
said by the cantor, let the abbot say: By the prayers of
all his saints may the Lord save and bless us. Or let him
say some other blessing of this kind. And all being
seated on the benches, let the brothers read in
turn from the book. In turn, he says, that is, follow-
ing one another, alternately and mutually, that is, now
this one, now that, now from this side, now from that.
[From the book] on the lectern three readings.
The lectern* is so called because the divine word is ei- * analogium
ther read or preached from it; for amongst the Greeks
a discourse is called a logos.6 5Between which, three
responsories are to be sung. 6Two responsories
should be said without a Glory, but after the
third reading let the one singing say the Glory.
7
When the cantor begins to sing this, all should
3. Isid. Etym. VI.19.7; PL 82:252C.

4. Isid. Offic. I.7; PL 83:744A.
5. Cf. ibid. 6.2; 743B.
6. Cf. Etym. XV.4.17; PL 82:545C.
rise at once from their seats out of honor and

reverence for the Holy Trinity.
8
At Vigils the books to be read are those of
divine authorship of both the Old and the
New Testaments. That is, the five books of Moses:
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.
Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Kings, Chronicles. Job, Psalms,
Solomon, the book of Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus. Tobit,
Esther, Judith, Esdras. Those of the prophets, that is,
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel, Hosea, Joel,
Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habbakuk,
Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. And of the
Maccabees. The four books of the Gospels, that is,
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The fourteen letters
of Paul, that is, to the Romans one, to the Corinthians
two, to the Galatians one, to the Ephesians one, to
the Philippians one, to the Thessalonians two, to the
Colossians one, to Timothy two, to Titus one, to
Philemon one, to the Hebrews one. One of James, two
of Peter, three of John, one of Jude. The Acts of the
Apostles and the Apocalypse. 7But also the exposi-
tions of them made by renowned and ortho-
dox catholic Fathers. ‘Orthodox’ means ‘Catholic
men, correct in their faith and of commendable life’.
The word ortho among the Greeks means ‘right, cor-
rect’; doxa means ‘glory’. Therefore orthodox men can
CCM 198 º ºrightly be said to be people of glory.8 ‘Catholic’ means
‘universal or general’.9 For they are not separated from
the universal Church through heresy or schism.
7. Cf. Offic. I.11.4-6 (PL 83:746A-C). Migne omits Jesu Nave

[Joshua]. CCM and Migne omit Ecclesiastes [Qoheleth] and
the Song of Songs, though one or both may be indicated by
‘Solomon’.
8. Cf. Etym. VII.14.5; PL 82:294B. CCM has recte gloriae dici
possunt; PL has rectae gloriae, though e and ae were not infre-
quently used interchangeably at the time of Smaragdus.
9. Cf. ibid. 4.
On Celebrating Nocturnal Praise in Summer 317
After these three readings and their respon-

9
sories let there follow the remaining six psalms,

to be sung with Alleluia. 10After these let there
follow a reading from the apostle, to be recited
by heart, the versicle, the supplication of the
litany, that is, Lord, have mercy, 11and so let the
nocturnal Vigils end. Among the Greeks Kyri 10
means ‘Lord’, eleison means ‘have mercy’. Likewise
Christe eleison means ‘Christ, have mercy’.
10. CCM has kyrieleison in the rule text, and kyri when ex-
plaining the word separately.
CHAPTER 10
ON CELEBRATING
NOCTURNAL PRAISE
IN SUMMER1
1
From Easter until the first of November, the
number of psalms is to be kept entirely as said
above, 2except that the readings from the book
are omitted because of the shortness of the
nights. But in place of the three readings let one
be said by heart from the Old Testament, to be
followed by a short responsory; 3and everything
else is to be done as said, that is, never less than
a total of twelve psalms is to be said at noctur-
nal Vigils, not counting Psalms 3 and 94.
1. This is the only chapter of the Rule on which Smaragdus

offers no commentary.
CHAPTER 11
ON CELEBRATING VIGILS
ON SUNDAYS
1
On Sunday the brothers are to rise earlier for
Vigils. 2In these Vigils measure is to be observed,
that is, when the six psalms and verse have been
chanted, as we arranged above. Earlier, he said,
temperius * that is, sooner, previously or beforehand. For ‘earlier’*
is formed as the comparative of a primitive adverb
tempere * ‘early’*, just as ‘later’ comes from ‘late’ and ‘sooner’
from ‘soon’. When six psalms have been chanted,
he said, that is, sung, shaped and formed by the voice.
For chanting means the sweetness and pleasantness of
singing, produced in a modulated melodious voice.1
CCM 199 º ºWith everyone seated in their proper order
on the benches, let four readings be read from
the book as we have said above, with their re-
sponsories 3But the Glory is to be sung by the
cantor only at the fourth responsory. Benches
are used by the general run of men, but the chairs of
doctors are called cathedrae. The word ‘seat’, in the sin-
gular and properly speaking, is a mark of kingship, but
subsellia * benches* are called such from the verb ‘to sit’.2
3
When he begins this let all rise at once with
reverence. 4After these readings let six more
psalms follow in order, with antiphons like the
previous ones, and a verse. 5After these let four
more readings be read, with their responsories,
in order as above. Just as he wants us on Sunday to
1. Smaragdus’s definition of modulatio—here translated ‘chant-

ing’—reminds us of the need for flexibility in translating a num-
ber of words Benedict uses when speaking of the performance
of the psalms: cantare, canere, modulare, psallere, dicere, decantare.
2. Cf. Isid. Etym. XX.11.9-10; PL 82:723B.
318
On Celebrating Vigils on Sundays 319
sing twelve complete psalms, so he wants us to read

twelve readings and chant the same number of re-
sponsories. 6After these let three canticles be said
from the prophets, which the abbot has des-
ignated. The abbot should designate those canticles
that suit the seasons, festivals and days. These can-
ticles are to be sung with Alleluia.
Moses was the first to introduce a canticle. It was when,
after Egypt had been smitten by the ten plagues and Pharaoh
drowned, he went out with the people to the desert by an
unaccustomed journey through the sea, praising God and
saying: ‘Let us sing to the Lord, for he is gloriously magni-
fied’.* Next the noble woman Deborah is found in the book * Ex 15:21
of Judges to have performed this ministry; afterwards many
people, not only men but women too, were filled with the
Holy Spirit and sang the mysteries of God.3
7
After the verse and the abbot’s blessing,
let four more readings be read from the New
Testament, as above. 8After the fourth respon-
sory let the abbot begin the hymn We praise
you, O God. 9When this is finished let the abbot
read the lesson from the Gospel while all stand
with respect and awe. 10When this has been read
let all answer Amen, and let the abbot at once
follow with the hymn To you be praise. After
the blessing let Lauds begin.
(8)
He says Let the abbot begin the hymn and
read the Gospel reading. But not all abbots can and
should do this. For there are those who either should
not, being impeded by some canonical defect, or who
cannot, being rendered incapable by some injury. And
so there are abbots who do not share in the ministry
of either priest or deacon and therefore cannot read
the holy Gospel. Or they do not perform the office of
cantor and therefore cannot introduce the ambrosian
3. Isid. Offic. I.4; PL 83:741B-742A.

hymn in a suitably solemn way.4 They can, however,

CCM 200 º with help from ºabove, govern the flock entrusted to
them, and for this reason they are elected to carry out
the ministry of abbot. But if the abbot should do the
task in question and can do it well, let him do it; but
if he cannot, he should allow someone else who can,
in keeping with the precept the same blessed Benedict
gave in another place: But let no one presume to
chant or read unless he is able to fulfill this duty
RB 47.3 * so that the hearers are edified.*
(10)
His statement: When the Gospel reading is
finished let all answer Amen, seems to a num-
ber of people out of place. They claim that answer-
ing Amen does not suit all Gospel endings, and that
therefore it seems superfluous for it to be assigned and
pronounced. The answer to these must be: ‘Amen’ has
two meanings amongst Latins. In one case it is used
by a person when expressing a request or a wish, in
which case it stands for Let it be done, as for example
when we say: ‘And all the people say, Amen, Amen’, in
place of ‘Let it be done, let it be done’. And secondly,
it is used by a person when affirming something, as in
‘Amen I say to you’, and so forth.You will never find
a Gospel ending that does not have one of these two
meanings, and so it is not out of place, rather it is apt
and reasonable that at all Gospel endings we should
answer Amen, so that by saying Amen we may show
either that we faithfully believe what has been said be-
4.The Latin is altiboando, apparently from a rare compound of

the verb bo-o, -are (or bo[v]o, -ere), ‘to roar’, ‘to resound’. It does
not feature in the Oxford Latin Dictionary nor its predecessor
Lewis and Short, but does appear in A. Blaise, Lexicon Latinitatis
Medii Aevi (Brepols: Turnhout, 1975) where one reference is to
this place in Smaragdus; the meaning given is chanter solennele-
ment. Du Cange (Glossarium mediæ et infimæ latinitatis, vol. 1:207)
has: ‘ALTIBOARE, Clamare, in Gloss. Arabico-Lat. [Tr. de Rit.
pag. 244. A: Stent in choro vestiti Cantores Altiboando decantantes
Letanias.]’.
On Celebrating the Solemnity of Lauds 321
fore, or that we want to obtain the promised benefits

by desiring and asking for them.
11
This arrangement for Vigils on Sunday is
to be observed at all times, summer and win-
ter, 12unless—which God forbid!—they happen
to be late in rising, in which case readings or
responsories must be shortened somewhat.
13
However, let every care be taken to prevent
this happening, but if it does happen, let the one
through whose neglect it came about make due
satisfaction for it to God in the oratory. To make
due satisfaction means to suffer the punishment of the
rule according to the measure of the fault. One who
receives a heavy judgment for a light fault, or a light
judgment for a serious fault, does not seem to be mak-
ing due satisfaction. But he orders the one through
whose fault it came about to make satisfaction in the
oratory, so that he who by his negligence has sinned
against all the brothers may be seen by all as he makes
satisfaction, and the mercy of the Almighty may be
implored by all for the forgiveness of his sin.
ºCHAPTER 12 º CCM 201
ON CELEBRATING THE
SOLEMNITY OF LAUDS
Solemnity means ‘a festivity of a religious nature’,

‘a joyful assembly’, a festivity usually accompanied
by a cheerful assembly. Solemnity comes from solet
[it is usual].1 1At Lauds on Sundays, first of all
let Psalm 66 be said straight through without
an antiphon; 2then let Psalm 50 be said with
1. Cf. Isid. Etym. VI.18.1; PL 82:250A.

Alleluia; 3after this let Psalms 117 and 62 be said,

4
then the Blessings [canticle of the Three Young
Men], the [psalms of] praise(s), a reading from
the Apocalypse said by heart, a responsory, an
ambrosian hymn, the verse, the Gospel canticle,
the litany and the conclusion.
CHAPTER 13
ON CELEBRATING LAUDS
ON ORDINARY DAYS
privatis * On ordinary* days, he says, that is, on those not

related to or separated from public duties.1 To be de-
prived is regarded as an evil, as Jacob says to Rachel:
Am I as God, who has deprived you of the fruit of your
Gn 30:2 * womb?* A friend is also spoken of as private, that is,
separated from others and united more intimately in
friendship than the rest.
1
On ordinary days the solemnity of Lauds shall
be celebrated as follows: 2that is, let Psalm 66
be said without an antiphon, somewhat drawn
out as on Sunday, so that all may be present
for Psalm 50, which is to be said with an an-
tiphon. 3After this let two more psalms be
said according to custom, that is, 4on Monday
Psalms 5 and 35, 5on Tuesday Psalms 42 and 56,
6
on Wednesday Psalms 63 and 64, 7on Thursday
CCM 202 º Psalms 87 and 89, 8on Friday ºPsalms 75 and 91,
9
and on Saturday Psalm 142 and the canticle
from Deuteronomy, which should be divided
into two Glories. 10On the other days let there
be a canticle from the prophets, each on its
1. Cf. Isid. Etym. IX.4.30; PL 82:351B.
On Celebrating Lauds on Ordinary Days 323
own day, as sung by the Roman Church. 11After

this [the psalms of] praise(s) are to follow, then a
reading from the apostle to be said by heart,
a responsory, the ambrosian hymn, the verse,
the canticle from the Gospel, the litany and the
conclusion.
12
Of course the celebration of Lauds and
Vespers is never to pass by without the Lord’s
prayer being recited in the last place by the su-
perior for all to hear, because of the thorns of
scandal which are apt to spring up, 13so that
warned by the covenant contained in the prayer
itself, in which they say: ‘Forgive us as we for-
give’,* they may purge themselves from this * Mt 6 :12
kind of vice. 14But at the other Offices let the
last part of that prayer be said so that all may
answer: ‘But deliver us from evil’.* * Mt 6:13
(12)
‘Of course’* is sometimes used in place of the * plane
adverb ‘truly’ or ‘certainly’, characteristic of a person
affirming something, as when the prophet says: I said:
Of course this is my own iniquity, and I shall bear it.* But * Jr 10:19
here it is used in place of the conjunctions ‘however’
or ‘for’. Now in this place thorns of scandal mean
‘angry outbursts, quarrels, dissensions, slanders, rival-
ries’, or any of the disturbing disputes* and commo- * Ga 5:20
tions that are wont to spring up among the brothers.
Morning and evening, even though the monks have
peace* and preserve continual charity† among them- * Rm 12:18
selves, they should purge themselves from these things. † 1 P 4:8
In the morning, so that none of these faults may re-

main until sunset, for it is written: Let not the sun go
down upon your anger;* in the evening, so that a fault * Eph 4:26
may not remain overnight with him until sunrise, and
in the morning render the monk answerable for sins
and foul in the Lord’s sight.
(13)
So that warned, that is, won over and drawn
by the covenant contained in the prayer itself,
that is, by the promise contained in the Lord’s prayer
Mt 6:12 * which says: Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors,*

each one may forgive his brother from his heart. And
thus purged, that is, cleansed from vices, let him in the
morning proceed to perform the work of obedience,
and in the evening celebrate the night watches. (14)But
at the other Offices, that is, in celebrating the other
hours only the last part of that prayer, that is: And lead
Mt 6:12 * us not into temptation,* is to be said aloud, so that hear-
Mt 6:13 * ing it all may answer: But deliver us from evil.*
CCM 203 º ºCHAPTER 14
THE CELEBRATION OF VIGILS

ON BIRTHDAYS OF SAINTS
On the birthdays of saints means on their feasts

and solemnities, on which they passed happily from
this world to heaven. Being dead to us, they are living
for ever to God and his angels and saints; being absent
from us, they are fully visible and present to them; they
Ws 3:1-3 * are dead to us, but they have been born to them.* And
it should not seem novel to anyone if one who has
departed this life is said to have been born. For just as
someone who, coming forth from his mother’s womb,
enters into this light is usually spoken of as being born,
so also can a person released from the bonds of the
flesh and exalted to eternal light very rightly be re-
ferred to as having been born. And from this the cus-
tom has obtained in the Church whereby we call the
days on which the blessed martyrs and confessors of
Christ passed from the world their birthdays; their sol-
emn rites are not called funeral but birthday rites.
1
On the feasts of saints and on all solemnities,
the celebration is to be held as we have said it
shall be on Sunday, 2except that the psalms, or
At What Seasons Alleluia Is To Be Said 325
antiphons and readings belonging to the day

itself are to be said. But let the procedure laid
down above be observed.
CHAPTER 15
AT WHAT SEASONS
ALLELUIA IS TO BE SAID
1
From holy Easter until Pentecost let Alleluia
be said without interruption with both psalms
and responsories. Without interruption, he says,
so that when it must be said with both psalms and
responsories it is not to be omitted haphazardly, but
said carefully and steadily. 2But from Pentecost till
the beginning of Lent let it be said every night
with the last six psalms only at Vigils. Although
blessed Benedict orders us to say Alleluia atVigils from
Pentecost till the beginning of Lent with the last
six psalms, the synod assembled in the ºkingdom of º CCM 204
the Franks has decided that, just as the leading roman
churches omit Alleluia in Septuagesima, so too the
monks who live in that kingdom are to omit it.1
3
But every Sunday outside Lent, the canticles,2
Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, and None are to be
said with Alleluia; but Vespers with antiphon.
1. Cf. Synodi primae Aquisgranensis acta praeliminaria 23 (CCM

1:436); Statuta Murbacensia 19 (CCM 1:447); Synodi primae
Aquisgran. decreta authentica 28 (CCM 1:465); Regula S. Bene-
dicti Anian. sive collectio capitularis 24 (CCM1:522). See also PL
97:386A.
2. Even though I agree with RB1980’s ‘Vigils’ for cantica (p. 210),
explained on p. 404 as based on metonymy, Smaragdus has made
no comment on this section, so I must assume that this point of
exegesis escaped him, and so I translate it literally as ‘canticles’.
The responsories, however, are never to be said

4
with Alleluia, except from Easter to Pentecost.
CHAPTER 16
THE CELEBRATION OF
DIVINE OFFICES DURING
THE DAY
1
As the prophet says: Seven times a day have I given
Ps 119:164 * praise to you.* The seven times a day he speaks of means
always. For this number is usually an indication of the
whole,1 because the entire world revolves in seven days,
and in seven days the Lord created the whole range
of seasons.2 This number is also held to be especially
sacred because of the grace of the sevenfold Spirit that
is mercifully distributed to those who fear God. And
so there follows:
2
This sacred number of seven will be fulfilled
by us in this way, if we perform the duties of
our service at Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None,
Vespers, and Compline, 3because it was of these
day hours that he said: 4Seven times a day have I
given praise to you. For the same prophet himself
says of the nocturnal Vigils: At midnight I rose to
Ps 119:62 * give you praise.* 5Therefore let us at these times
give praise to our Creator for the judgments of
his justice, that is, at Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext,
None, Vespers, and Compline; and let us rise at
night to praise him. And Cassian has this to say
about these hours:
1. Aug. Enarr. in ps. 118[119] s. 31:4 (CCSL 40:1771); cf. Isid.

Etym. VI.17.17 (PL 82:248C).
2. Cf. Aug. Enarr. in ps. 118 [119], as cited in note 1.
The Celebration of Divine Offices During the Day 327
Now this is the prayer of the hours themselves in

which we render service to God throughout the
whole space of the day: Prime for the start of the
day; then Terce, because the Holy Spirit is acknowl-
edged to have come down upon the apostles at the
same hour; Sext, because the spotless victim, our
Lord Jesus Christ, while hanging on the cross at
the same hour, freed those liable to punishment from
the eternal bonds of their sins; None, because at
that same hour our Lord went down to hell and
set free from there the souls of the saints which were
ºbeing held there shut up in darkness, and took º CCM 205
them with him to heaven; the Twelfth is sung for
the ending of the day, as Prime is at the beginning.
But Prime and Twelfth for the beginning and end-
ing of the day were later additions of the Fathers,
whereas we read that Terce, Sext and None were
celebrated even by the apostles. For at the third hour
the Holy Spirit came down on the apostles, who
were assembled for prayer;* and we read that at the * Ac 2:1-4
sixth hour Peter, while praying in an upper-room,
all at once in ecstasy saw a vessel which was let
down from heaven by the four corners like a sheet;* * Ac 10:9-12
concerning the ninth hour we read: ‘But Peter and
John were going up into the temple at the ninth
hour of prayer.’ * We read that morning and evening * Ac 3:1
prayers were offered not only by the apostles, but
also in the Old Testament they were always offered
in the Lord’s temple. And so David says of evening
prayers: ‘Let my prayer be directed like incense in
your sight; the raising of my hands like an evening
sacrifice.’ * But of morning prayers he says:‘O God, * Ps 141:2
my God, unto you do I keep watch at break of
day’;* and: ‘I will meditate on you in the morning * Ps 63:1
hours, for you have been my help’.* 3 * Ps 63:6-7
3. RCass. 15:2-5 (R Ben. 94:177); Conc. 24.3 (PL 103:907A-

909B). Cf. Cassian Inst. III.3 (CSEL 17:34-38).
CHAPTER 17
HOW MANY PSALMS

ARE TO BE SAID AT THESE
HOURS
1
We have already settled the order of the psalm-
ody for the Night Office and Lauds; let us now
see about the hours that follow. 2At the hour of
Prime three psalms are to be said, separately
and not under one Glory; 3the hymn for the
same hour is said after the verse: O God, come to
Ps 70:1 * my assistance,* before the psalms begin. 4At the
end of the three psalms let one reading be said,
the verse and the Lord, have mercy, and the dis-
missal. 5At Terce, Sext and None likewise the
prayer is to be celebrated in that order, that is,
the verse, the hymn appropriate to those hours,
three psalms, the reading and verse, the Lord,
have mercy, and the dismissal. 6If the commu-
nity is rather large the psalms are to be sung
with antiphons; but if it is rather small, they are
to be sung straight through.
CCM 206 º º 7The office of Vespers is to be limited to four

psalms with antiphons. 8After these psalms a
reading is to be said, then the responsory, the
ambrosian hymn, the verse, the Gospel canticle,
the litany, and with the Lord’s prayer let the dis-
missal take place.
9
Compline is to be limited to the saying of three
psalms; these psalms are to be said straight
through without antiphon. 10After these the
hymn for this hour, one reading, the verse, the
Lord, have mercy, and let the dismissal take
place with a blessing.
328
In What Order the Psalms are to be Said 329
Where in other places he says and the conclu-

sion,* in this section of the text he says and the dis- * RB 12.4, 13.11
missal, and twice let the dismissal take place. For
the prayers of the office which are concluded by us
are sent off to God, because they are celebrated in
his honor. In another way the prayers, that is, the col-
lects which are said by the priest at the end of the
prescribed arrangement, are called dismissals,* that is, * missae
sent off to God. They are sent by the priest, but are
received by God. And so when any solemnity has been
celebrated in the church, the deacon calls out to the
people in a loud voice: Ite missa est, that is: The solem-
nity is completed, and it has now been sent to God
through the ministry of the priest.
CHAPTER 18
IN WHAT ORDER THE PSALMS

ARE TO BE SAID
Let the verse: O God, incline to my aid; O Lord,

1
make haste to help me,* be said. Glory.1 And so * Ps 70:1

Cassiodorus says:
We ask for aid when subject to dangers, so that

supported by some remedy we may be able to con-
quer various disasters and sufferings. Incline means
look kindly; because the Lord is aware of every-
thing, even when he is not asked. He says: ‘O
Lord, make haste’, because he was in a hurry to
be set free from this world’s disaster.2
1. Here Smaragdus (according to CCM) either omits, or is
using a text of the Rule that omits in primis, but as Lentini says,
poco importa pel senso (Lentini, p. 204). Migne has In primis semper
diurnis horis dicatur versus: Deus . . . .
In his tenth Conference the eloquent Cassian dis-

courses extensively and in great detail about this par-
ticular versicle and its usefulness; he praises it so highly
that [he says] whatever the monks undertake they do
not begin without saying this versicle three times. He
repeats and praises it again and again, showing how
exceedingly useful is its remembrance.3
1
Next the hymn of each hour. 2Then at the
hour of Prime on Sunday four sections of Psalm
118 are to be said. 3At the remaining hours, that
CCM 207 º is, at ºTerce, Sext and None let three sections
of the same Psalm 118 be said. 4At Prime on
Monday let three psalms be said, that is, Psalms
1, 2 and 6. 5And so at Prime each day until
Sunday let three psalms be said in their order as
far as Psalm 19, with Psalms 9 and 17 being di-
vided into two parts. 6Thus it comes about that
at Vigils on Sunday we always begin with Psalm
20. 7At Terce, Sext, and None on Monday the
nine remaining sections of Psalm 118 are to be
said, three at each of these hours. 8Having fin-
ished Psalm 118 in two days, that is, on Sunday
and Monday, 9let three psalms each be sung at
Terce, Sext, and None on Tuesday, from Psalm
119 to Psalm 127, that is, nine psalms. 10These
psalms are to be said again in this way at the
same hours every day until Sunday; but the ar-
rangement of hymns, readings and verses is to
be kept the same every day. 11And so on Sunday
they will always begin with Psalm 118.
12
Vespers shall be sung every day with the chant-
ing of four psalms, 13beginning from Psalm 109
as far as Psalm 147, 14except for those among
them that are reserved for various hours, that is,
from Psalm 117 to Psalm 127, and Psalms 133
and 142; 15all the rest are to be said at Vespers.
3. Cf. Cassian Conl. X.10.2-5; CSEL 13:297-298.
In What Order the Psalms are to be Said 331
16
And because that leaves three psalms short,
the longer ones in the above number are to
be divided, that is, Psalms 138, 143 and 144.
17
But let Psalm 116 since it is short be joined
with Psalm 115. 18Having arranged the order
of Vesper psalms, let the rest be done as we
have prescribed above, that is, reading, respon-
sory, hymn, verse and canticle. 19Every day at
Compline let the same psalms be repeated, that
is, Psalms 4, 90 and 133. 20With the order of
the daytime psalmody being thus organized, let
all the psalms left over be distributed equally
among the Vigils of the seven nights 21dividing
the longer psalms and assigning twelve for each
night. 22And especially do we give this advice,
that if anyone does not like this distribution
of the psalms, he should make some other ar-
rangement if he judges it better.
Blessed Benedict has left this distribution of the
psalms, but not the whole office, to the judgment of a
discerning person, while giving this advice especially,
that he who wants to keep this distribution of the
psalms according to his ºarrangement should do so; º CCM 208
but he who decides that another distribution is bet-
ter may leave aside the former and observe the latter
without fault. For our part, we exhort the one who
has promised to live according to this Rule to hold
firmly to it and keep it as far as he can; let him trust
in the mercy of God and believe that the heavenly
kingdoms will be open to those who do keep it.There
follows:
23
Provided that he takes every care to have
the entire psalter with all its one hundred and
fifty psalms said every week, and taken up again
from the beginning at Vigils on Sunday. 24For
monks who sing less than the psalter with the
customary canticles in the course of a week
show an exceedingly indolent approach to the
service they have vowed, 25when we read that

our holy Fathers strenuously accomplished this
in one day. May we, lukewarm as we are, man-
age to get through this in the course of a whole
week.
CHAPTER 19
ON THE DISCIPLINE OF
PERFORMING THE PSALMODY
1
We believe that the divine presence is every-
where. For all things are naked and open to the eyes of
God, as the apostle says, and there is no creature invisible
Heb 4:13 * in his sight.* And so we must stand before his eyes as
before the eyes of our Creator and Judge. For no one
when seeing his leader and judge and speaking with him
dares to allow his eyes to wander and to look elsewhere; how
much more must one who approaches the Lord not move
the eye of his heart anywhere, but be attentive to him who
searches minds and hearts.1 For when we are making
humble entreaty for our sins, we know we are speak-
ing to the Lord. And we understand that the eyes of
the Lord in every place behold the good and the
Pr 15:3 * evil,* 2but especially when we assist at the divine
office.2 And therefore we must be afraid in case, if we
start thinking about something other than what we
are asking for, we do an injustice to the divine majesty
before whom we appear to be standing.
3
Therefore we should always be mindful of
Ps 2:11 * what the prophet says: Serve the Lord with fear;*
Ps 47:8 † and again: Sing ye wisely.† Therefore let the tongue al-
1. RBas. 108:1-2 (CSEL 86:135-36); Conc. 25.5 (PL 103:919A).

2. In CCM (but not in Migne) Smaragdus omits hoc sine
aliqua dubitatione after maxime tamen.
On the Discipline of Performing the Psalmody 333
ways utter what is pleasing to the Creator, according to that

jubilant cry of the psalm writer: ‘Serve the Lord with fear,
and rejoice unto him with trembling’.* Therefore we are serv- * Ps 2:11
ing the Creator, who is to be feared, if a good work is joined
to the praises uttered by the voice. As elsewhere the psalmist
ºsays: ‘Sing ye wisely’. Everyone sings wisely who does not º CCM 209
by his harmful deeds contradict the praise his voice is express-
ing, and who studies with careful solicitude and all zeal how
one should wait upon the Divine Power.Therefore our mind
should approach the singing of the psalms with attention, so
that it may not be hindered by any obstacle of worldly desire
or darkened by any vice of the temporal order, but always
intent on heavenly things, and adorned with humility, purity
and very prompt devotion, it may strive to reach eternal re-
wards. Let it be so on fire with compunction of heart that it
may rouse the Creator’s mercy in its regard.3
5
And: In the presence of the angels I will sing praise
to you.* Our reverent seriousness and discipline in perform- * Ps 138:1
ing the psalmody should be so great that the Lord listens
more lovingly than we say it, as Scripture says: ‘You shall de-
light in the outgoings of the morning, and in the evening’*.4 * Ps 65:8
And again: ‘Sing ye wisely to the Lord.’ So if he orders us
to sing wisely and with fear, the person singing should stand
with motionless body and bowed head, and sing praises to
the Lord with composure, since he is performing his ministry
before the divinity.The prophet teaches this when he says: ‘In
the presence of the angels I will sing praise to you’. For he
who sings the psalms must always be on the watch not to let
his mind wander elsewhere, in case our mind should wander
off to some other thought, and God say to us: ‘This people
honors me with its lips, but its heart is far from me’.*5 * Mt 15:8,
Mk 7:6, Is 29:13
3. Conc. 26.5; PL 103:933BC. In a note on this passage,

Ménard (PL l.c.) remarks: Haec videntur potius ex cuiusdam Patris
concione sumpta, quam ex aliqua Patrum regula (1:409).
4. CCM has delectaberis, the Vulgate and PL have delectabis.
5. RM 47:1-10 (SCh 106:212-214); Conc. 25.17 (PL 103:927B-
928A).
Therefore let us consider how we ought to

6
be in the presence of the divinity and his angels,

7
and let us stand to sing the psalms in such a
way that our mind may be in harmony with
our voice. Therefore for a duty of such a kind and of such
importance the heart is to be in agreement with the tongue,
in order to render to the Lord with fear what is due each day.
And let him who is singing the psalms note in his heart what
he is saying at each separate testimony, because if each single
verse is noted, they all profit the soul for its salvation, and
in them is found all that we are seeking; because the psalm
says everything so as to edify, as the prophet says: ‘I shall sing
Ps 101:1-2 * psalms and understand’*.6
6. RM 47:14-17 (215-216); Conc. 25.17 (928B).
ON REVERENCE IN PRAYER
1
If when we want to present some request to
powerful persons we only presume to do so
with humility and reverence, 2how much more
must we make supplication to the Lord God
of all things with all humility and pure devo-
tion. If when we are asking them for some temporal benefits
prayer addressed to people of flesh is only made with humil-
ity, how much more fitting is it for us to implore Christ for
our sins and crimes with all the prayer that is at our disposal.
Therefore there must be no duplicity in prayer; let there not
be one person in the mouth, and another in the heart.1 Purity
1. RM 48:1-4 (SCh 106:218); Conc. 26.4 (PL 103:931AB).
Where the CCM text has non unus in ore, alter in corde inveniatur,
Ménard has non unum in corde, alterum in corde inveniatur (1:406;
PL l.c.).
On Reverence in Prayer 335
of heart excludes all vices and gains all virtues. ‘Let the heart
of those who seek the Lord rejoice’,* because where there is * Ps 105:3
purity of heart, there the Holy Spirit is dwelling.2 And so
there follows:
3
And we should know that it is not for our
much speaking but for our purity of heart and
compunction of tears that we are heard. 4And
therefore prayer must be short and pure. The
reason why prayer must be short is so that they may not
go to sleep through the opportunity provided by prolonged
prayer, or perhaps while they are lying prone for a long period
the devil may bring various images before their eyes, or slip
something else into their hearts. Therefore we ought to pray
with fear and humble supplication, so that he who prays
should seem to be holding the feet of Christ there present.
And we must pray with such great fear as to be deeply aware
we are speaking with God.3 And let no one think he is
heard for much speaking, but rather for purity of heart and
abundance of tears. For it is not the prolixity of long prayer
that arouses the compassion of the indulgent Judge, but the
attention of an alert mind.Therefore we must always ask him
to bestow pardon on sinners, seeing that through the suffering
of the cross he poured out medicine on a feeble world—the
eternal salvation of the world, Christ Jesus4 our Lord.
4
Unless it happens to be prolonged under the
influence of an inspiration of divine grace. 5In
community, however, prayer is to be made quite
short. And therefore our Fathers gave the useful order that
prayer itself should be speedily concluded, in case while we are
lingering over it some coughing or the noise of phlegm or other
2. Conc. 25.16 (927A). Ménard attributes these words to the

Dicta Caesariae, the Caesaria being the successor to the identi-
cally-named sister of Caesarius of Arles as superior of the wom-
en’s monastery founded by him at Arles (1:399-400; PL
103:925Bg).
3. RM 48:10-13 (220); Conc. 26.4 (931B-932A).
4. Conc. 26.5 (933C-934A). See above, Ch. 19, n. 3.
things interrupt it; and while prayer is still fervent, it should,

CCM 211 º as it were, be snatched ºswiftly from the devil’s jaws. Although
he is always hostile to us, he is most especially so when he
sees us offering prayers to the Lord against him; he hastens to
distract us from attention to prayer either by thoughts or by
stirring up our passions. Therefore our Fathers ordered that
our prayers be short, certainly, but frequent: short, so that by
their very brevity we may be able to avoid the ambushes of
the devil lying in wait for us, especially when we are praying;
frequent, so that through their very frequency we may be able
to cleave to God continually in prayer.5 On account of this
frequency of prayer, it is also useful for us to divide the longer
psalms, not saying them right through without a break to the
end, but dividing them into two or three sections of equal
length, and finishing each with attentive prayer. We must
find our delight not in the large number of verses but in the
mind’s understanding, making this our earnest aim. ‘I shall
1 Co 14:15 * sing with the spirit, I shall also sing with the mind’*.6
And when the signal is given by the superior,
let all rise together. This was the custom amongst
the ancient bands of monks, that on hearing the signal
for each hour they would quickly assemble for prayer,
would apply themselves at the same time to prayer,
would pray at the same time, and all rise together from
prayer when the superior gave the signal. But now
things are rather different with us. The more distant
we latecomers are from the early monks, the more
distant we are from the ancient Fathers in merit of
Rm 12:11 * life. They were fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;* but we
RB 18.25 * are lukewarm* and cause nausea. Nevertheless we are
people who hope in the Lord’s mercy.
5. Cf. Cassian Inst. II.10.2-3; CSEL 17:25.

6. Cf. ibid. 11.1 (26). This and the preceding reference appear
in this form in RCass. 7:1-4 (R Ben. 94:173-74); Conc. 26.7
(934B-936A).
CHAPTER 21
ON THE DEANS OF THE

MONASTERY
1
If the community is a large one, let there be
chosen from amongst them brothers of good re-
pute and of holy life, and let them be appointed
deans; 2let them take charge of their deaneries
in all things according to the commandments
of God and the orders of their abbot. For the
abbot’s orders must be in harmony with the Lord’s
commandments; and therefore both deans and other
subjects must submit to him. Subjects must obey deans,
deans must obey priors, and the whole community
must at the same time comply with the orders of the
abbot. Men were formerly called deans because they were put
in charge of ten soldiers,1 but now they are called deans
whether they have charge of ten or of more.
Now the solicitude a dean has, and the instruction ºhe º CCM 212
gives, will therefore have this aim: to teach anyone the abbot
has entrusted to him first and foremost to overcome his self-
will. He should train him diligently in this, always by design
commanding him things that he perceives to be contrary to his
spirit. Wide experience has taught us that a monk can never
bridle his lusts unless he has first learnt through obedience
to mortify his self-will. For one who has not first learnt to
overcome self-will will not be able to extinguish anger or
sadness or the spirit of fornication, or maintain firm and
lasting humility with the brothers, or remain very long in the
community.2
3
And let such men be chosen as deans that
the abbot may confidently share his burden
with them. Let them be chosen not by order
1. Isid. Etym. IX.3.31; PL 82:345B.

2. RCass. 28:1-4 (R Ben. 94:182); Conc. 28.5 (PL 103:962AB).
337
of seniority, but according to merit of life and

learning in wisdom. Deans, that is those placed over
deaneries, should exercise such care over the brothers entrusted
to them that these do not do their own will. They are not
to speak unless questioned, or do anything by their own
decision—only what they are told—or go elsewhere unless
ordered. They should fear their seniors as masters, love them
as parents, and carry out whatever command they receive from
them.They should believe that whatever these have ordered is
salutary for them, if they do it without murmuring, cheerfully
Dt 6:3,4; 9:1 * and with reserve of speech, as Moses says: ‘Hear, Israel’ *, and
Ga 6:2 * hold your peace. ‘Bear one another’s burdens’ *, and let no one
judge another, no one slander another, for it is written: Every
Pr 15:5 Vulg. * slanderer shall be rooted out.* Let one receive from another
what he does not have, learn humility from another, learn
charity, patience, silence and meekness from another. They are
to eat without complaint whatever is put before them, and
wear what they receive. The brothers should not conceal from
their deans whatever thoughts they have through the course
of each day. The deans are to be their directors as it were, and
guardians, since they are going to render an account for them
Heb 13:17 * to the Lord.* They are to anticipate the negligences of all, and
have power to correct them; and let them not delay to bring
to the prior what they themselves have been unable to correct.
The priors for their part should carry out this task of correction
strictly and also reasonably, in such a way as not to presume to
cause their abbots any disquiet, except concerning matters that
neither [deans nor priors] have been able to expedite.And on
this point let the one man have such humility towards the other
that never does anyone cause anyone to stumble; let the one
be constant in treating the other as a person of worth, that is,
juniors in relation to deans, deans to priors, and priors to abbots,
one bearing another like dressed stones in a wall.As mentioned
above, the apostle bears witness to this: One bearing burdens
Ga 6:2 * for the other, thus you will fulfill the law of Christ’ *.3
3. Fructuos. Rcomm. 12 (PL 87:1120B-D); Conc. 28.3 (PL

103:958C-959B).
On the Deans of the Monastery 339
º 5Should any of these deans be found to be º CCM 213

puffed up with pride and deserving of censure,
he is to be reproved once, and a second and
a third time. If he refuses to amend, let him
be removed from office 6and another who is
worthy be put in his place. 7And we make the
same ruling concerning the prior. Those whose
duty it is to correct and chastise others and keep
guard over them in all matters must not be proud but
humble. Accordingly abbots for their part, with their priors
and deans, need first of all to subject themselves to scrutiny,
and reprove the juniors as they do themselves, plucking out of
their hearts by the roots all leaven of wickedness,4 and thus
strive to chastise, correct and amend others who are
entangled in a variety of cares and vices.
That is, if they hear a brother speak without having been
asked a question, they should admonish him, saying: Brother,
why are you doing what the Rule forbids when it says, Keep
quiet until a question is asked? Say with the prophet: ‘Set,
O Lord, a guard over my mouth, and a door round about my
lips.5 Do not incline my heart to wicked words.’* Let wisdom * Ps 141:3-4
take its seat over your mouth, with the key of justice and of
fear of God; let it open your lips to good speech and close
them to evil speech.6 If they hear a brother telling lies they
should admonish him, saying: Brother, why are you lying,
even though you know it is written: ‘The lying mouth slays
the soul’*; and: ‘You will destroy all those who lie’†.7 * Ws 1:11
† Ps 5:5
If they hear a brother swearing a lot they should
admonish him, saying: Brother, hold your tongue!
Why are you swearing, since it is written:8 ‘You shall
not swear by heaven, for it is the throne of God; nor by the
earth, for it is his footstool; nor shall you swear by your
4. Fructuos. Rcomm. 13 (1121A); Conc. 28.4 (960A).

5. RM 11:41-44 (SCh 106:16); Conc. 28.2 (PL 103:955B).
6. RM 11:57 ( SCh 106:20); Conc. 28.2 (956A).
7. RM 11:63-64 (SCh 106:20-22); Conc. 28.2 (955B.).
8. Cf. RM 11:66 (SCh 106:22); Conc. 28.2 (956B).
head’, and so forth; but ‘Let your speech be Yes, yes; No,
Mt 5:34-37, * no’.* If they see one venting his anger they should admonish
Jm 5:12
him, saying: What are you doing, brother? Do your work in
meekness and charity, for it is written: ‘Cease from anger and
Ps 37:8 * leave aside rage’;* and: ‘He who says to his brother, Raca,
Mt 5:22 * shall be liable to judgment’ *.9
In like manner priors must every day admonish and
chastise brothers who are caught up in various other
hindrances like these, and in different moral failings;
for while they do this every day in their solicitude
CCM 214 º for the brothers entrusted to ºthem, they themselves
are making progress, and by admonishing others they
cause them to make progress as well. For priors have
many monks to restrain in many different areas of
concern.
Some, from a sense of duty, are wont to be anxious for
their wives and children, or even for each of their relatives.
But most who are not entangled in such concerns are anxious
about food. Still others are consumed interiorly by the disease
of sadness, and are devoured within by covetousness of heart
as a garment by a moth; they slip into despair from the
feebleness caused by rancor. Others there are who are inflamed
with the spirit of fornication, and being often aroused by
this sting of the flesh are blinded in their inner eye, bound
by the chain of perdition and led away captives. Others,
inflated with a spirit of accidie, desire to give themselves to
idleness and sleep and are excited by talk that feeds their
curiosity; what is worse, they make plans for withdrawing
from their own monastery. Others are pierced in different
places by the dart of conceit and vainglory; and others who
defend different things and magnify their own causes, since
they do not want to be like Christ’s poor, fall each of them
into such vain thoughts as these, and, like people who have
received nothing from God, are lifted up by reason of their
own strength; when they do not find anyone to praise them
they break out in self-praise. One boasts of his genealogy,
9. RM 11:69-72 (SCh 106:22); Conc. 28.2 (956C).

On the Deans of the Monastery 341
claiming there are princes in the family; another boasts of

parents, another of full brothers and sisters, another of kin,
another of brothers and blood-relations and servants;10 one
boasts of riches, another of a youthful appearance, another of
courage in war, another of world travels; one boasts of skill in
crafts, another of wisdom, one of eloquence in speaking and
another of reserve in speech; one boasts of humility, another
of charity, another of liberality; one boasts of chastity, another
of virginity, another of poverty, another of abstinence; one
boasts of frequent prayer, another of keeping watch, another of
obedience, another of renunciation of possessions; one boasts
of reading, another of writing, and another of a fine singing
voice. As often as people, without being told to, speak without
restraint about all such things as we mentioned above, they
fall into the conceit of vainglory, and while striving under the
influence of this sickness to substantiate their claims they
are thrown headlong into pride.11 Therefore all must fight
against the very vice they know they have a real struggle
with;12 when rebuked for it they must amend, so that
having amended they may be saved, and thus may
both prepare eternal salvation for themselves, and for
their teacher an everlasting reward.
10. ‘Servants’, here for [de] idoneis. Ménard’s note on the word
in his edition of the Concordia regularum, which is reproduced in
Migne, is helpful: Idonei sunt servi, sive liberti honorabiliores. Id patet
ex libro 3 legis Visigothorum tit. 3.l.9. ‘Si idoneus servus est, qui com-
misisse detegitur, et idoneum libertum rapuisse invenitur, si voluerit
Dominus e solido cum eo componat.’ & paulo post: ‘Sin autem rusticus,
& vilissimus servus esse noscitur, &c’ Ubi vides distinctionem inter ido-
neum servum, & vilissimum servum, & mentionem idonei liberti, qui
necessario a communi & vili liberto distinguendus est, iuxta mores Vi-
sigothorum, inter quos vivebat hic S. Fructuosus’ (1:451; PL
103:962b).
11. Fructuos. Rcomm. 13 (PL 87:1121A-C); Conc. 28.4 (960A-
961B).
12. Fructuos. Ibid. (1121D); Conc. 28.4 (962A).
HOW THE MONKS ARE TO SLEEP
The monks are to sleep each in a separate bed.

1
And so Isidore says:
At night a lamp should light up the place where

they are sleeping, so that darkness may be driven
away and there may be clear evidence that each one
is resting. A monk’s lying down should not involve
him in any base thought, but as he lies there in the
sole contemplation of God let him have rest of body
and peace of heart, drive away crooked thoughts,
and by bringing thoughts that are good before his
mind reject such as are base. For the mind’s move-
ment is driven by its images, and the image that
occurs in the course of sleep will be of the same kind
as the thought that occurs while one is awake.1
Fructuosus says:
Two shall not lie in one bed, nor shall anyone be

allowed to sleep outside his own resting-place.There
shall be a cubit’s space between the individual beds,
so that they may not nurture what incites to lust
while their bodies are near each other. No one shall
speak to another in the dark, nor shall any junior
go anywhere near another’s bed after Compline.2
Ferreolus says:
For the sake of secret prayer, which is better directed

towards God when there is no witness, one bed is
1. Isid. Reg. 14 (PL 103:567B); Conc. 29.5 (PL 103:969B).

2. Fructuos. RComplut. 17 (PL 87:1107C); Conc. 29.6
(969B-970A).
342
How the Monks are to Sleep 343
not to hold two persons, even though they be rela-

tives or friends. And so let the mind, pierced with
compunction, believe that it has been granted greater
freedom to pray, since it is not afraid that anyone
might be a witness or judge of its vigil.3
Let them receive bedding in keeping with their

2
way of life according to the abbot’s direction.

Bedding* means where people are accustomed to lie * lectisternia
and to sit.4 But Augustine says:
The people, having been for a long time greatly fa-

tigued, thought they should make a display of new
lectisternia, which they had never done before. Beds
were spread in honor of the gods, and hence this
sacred rite, or rather sacrilege, received its name.5
If possible they should all sleep in one place;

3
but if the numbers do not allow this, let them

take their rest in groups of ten or twenty, with
seniors to be watchful over them. For Isidore also
says: If possible, it is fitting for all the brothers to stay together
in one lockable room. Should this be difficult, then at least
ten of them should be together, with one to be put in charge
as dean, to be a kind of director and guardian.6
º 4There is to be a light burning in the same º CCM 216
room until morning. This light is to be lit every day
before Compline so that different ones may see how
each arranges his bed and settles down in it.7 There let
3. RFerreol. 33 (PL 66:971AB); Conc. 29.7 (970A).

4. Isid. Etym. XV.5.1; PL 82:345C.
5. Aug. Civ. Dei III.17 (CCSL 47:83); Conc. 29.2 (965AB). On
this quotation from Augustine, Ménard comments: ‘Haec verba ha-
bentur libr.3. de civitate Dei cap.17. Nulla autem alia ratione a nostro
auctore [Benedict of Aniane] proferri video quam quia S.B. lectisterniorum
mentionem facit, etsi alio sensu’ (1:451; PL 103:965c).
6. Isid. Reg. 14 (PL 103:567B); Conc. 29.5 (PL 103:969A).
7. Cf. RM 29:5 (SCh 106:160); Conc. 29.4 (968B-969A).
each one say over and over again: Every night I will wash
Ps 6:6 * my bed, I will water my couch with tears.* Having fulfilled
this by his deeds, let him say in addition: At night I
Ps 119:55 * remembered your name, O Lord, and I kept your law.* So
that every devout person, once leisure has been granted, may
fulfill this saying more profitably, let him be the sole occupant
of his couch, as we said above, having for company not a
sleeping brother but a watching Lord—a far better thing.8
5
They are to sleep clothed, and girded with
light belts or cords; they should not have their
knives by their sides while they sleep, lest they
wound the sleeper during his sleep. For this
reason a certain master says:
When the monks sleep they should do so clothed

and girded, that is, with either belts or ropes or a
strap.We forbid a brother to use a large belt at night,
in case while he is overcome by sleep and turns over
the point of his knife comes through the sheath and
pierces his flesh. (Now) we have said that the broth-
ers sleep clothed and girded for this reason, that
when the hour for the Work of God arrives and the
signal for the oratory sounds at night they may rise
already prepared;9 and for this reason the brothers
must sleep clothed and girded, because a brother is
not allowed to touch his naked members, for from
this impure desires are introduced into the mind.
When he touches his naked members he is straight-
way titillated by the heart’s desire for women, and
as a result his members are defiled during sleep.10
6
And in order that the monks may always be
ready and, rising without delay when the signal
is given, hasten to be before one another at the
Work of God, yet with all gravity and modesty.
8. RFerreol. 33 (PL 66:971BC); Conc. 29.7 (970B-971A).

9. RM 11:111-112.114 (SCh 106:30); Conc. 29.3 (966A).
10. RM 11:118-119 (30-32); Conc. 29.3 (967A).
How the Monks are to Sleep 345
Gravity is understood as fortitude or firmness of soul;11

modesty means meekness, propriety and temperance.12
Monks must always be ready with these virtues, and
when the signal is given, rising with haste for the Office
let them make the sign of the cross on their foreheads, saying
silently at the same time: ‘O God, come to my assistance; O
Lord, make haste to help me’*.13 * Ps 70:1
º 7The younger brothers are not to have beds º CCM 217
next to one another, but interspersed with the
seniors. 8But when they rise for the Work of God
let them gently encourage one another because
of the excuses of the drowsy. The young brothers
must not have their beds next to each other, but let
the priors have their beds near those of the young brothers,
so as to be able to correct in them any faults and vices, as we
have said, and so that they may sleep more reverently with a
superior present;14 guarded by the superiors and suitably
admonished by them, let the brothers rise and eagerly
fulfill their duty to the Lord.
11. Cf. Etym. IX.4.31; PL 82:351B.

12. Cf. ibid. X.169; 385A.
13. RWal. 14 (PL 88:1065C); Conc. 29.8 (972A).
14. RM 11:121 (SCh 106:32); Conc. 29.3 (967B-968A).
CHAPTER 23
ON EXCOMMUNICATION
FOR FAULTS
1
If any brother is found to be stubborn or proud
or a murmurer, or in some point disdainfully at
variance with the holy rule and the precepts of
his seniors, 2he is to be admonished by his se-
niors once and a second time in secret, accord-
Mt 18:15 * ing to our Lord’s precept.* When he says Or in
some point at variance with the holy rule, this
is not to be understood of more serious faults but of
lighter ones. For more serious charges a monk is to be
subjected to public penance according to the rule, not
to be admonished once and a second time by the
seniors. 3If he does not amend he should be re-
buked publicly in everyone’s presence. 4But if he
still does not correct himself, let him undergo
excommunication if he understands the nature
of the penalty. 5But if he is impudent, let him
undergo corporal punishment. We have thought
fit to put here the opinions that various Fathers have
had about this chapter. A certain father says:
Now if any brother at the devil’s instigation shows

himself stubborn or proud or disobedient or a mur-
murer, or has slipped and fallen in anything, and
has attempted to violate the precepts of the seniors
or the norm of the holy rule, he is to be reproached
secretly by the seniors once or twice, according to the
Lord’s precept. If he refuses to amend, then he should
be rebuked by the whole community at the same
time. And if he still will not amend, then he is to
be judged according to the rule as demanded by the
magnitude of the fault, that is, let him either undergo
excommunication, if this has previously been prop-
346
On Excommunication for Faults 347
erly grasped, or else if he is pertinacious in his fault

and the wickedness of an obstinate mind and heart,
then let him undergo corporal discipline.1
ºAnd so blessed Fructuosus says: º CCM 218
A liar, a thief, a striker too and perjurer—which ill

becomes a servant of God—ought to be reproached
verbally by the seniors in the first place, in order
that he may abandon his fault. But if after this he
does not amend, on the third occasion he shall be
summoned before the brothers so that meanwhile
he may desist from going astray. But if even so he
does not amend, let him be harshly beaten, and
receive for a space of three months the penalty of
excommunication; under strict penance let him be
locked up alone in a cell from evening to evening,
to receive six ounces of barley bread and a smallish
measure of water as sustenance.2
So too blessed Basil says:
If we are going to render an account on the Day of

Judgment for every idle word,* nothing ought to * Mt 12:36
be despised as small. For one who despises the
smallest things sinks down by little and little.* * Si 19:1
Besides, how could anyone dare say a crime is slight
or small, since the apostle says that through trans-
gression of the law God is dishonored?* Further- * Rm 2:23
more, sin is said to be the sting of death;* and he * 1 Co 15:56
did not say a sin of this kind or that, but every sin.
Therefore a person who overlooks and neglects any-
thing is not so merciful as one who reproves; just
as one who in a case of snake-bite allows the poison
to lie hidden within is less merciful than one who
extracts it. But according to Scripture one who
1. RWal. 18 (PL 88:1067B); Conc. 30.15 (PL 103:981AB).

2. Fructuos. RComplut. 16 (PL 87:1106D-1107A); Conc. 30.13
(980AB).
spares the rod and hates his son destroys charity;

Pr 13:24 * but one who loves, diligently rebukes him.* 3
And blessed Augustine says in his rule:
If after a person has been admonished you see him

do the same thing again, on that or on any other
day, whoever comes to know of it should hand him
over as a wounded man in need of healing. But
there must be eyewitnesses on the first, second and
third occasion, so that he can be convicted by the
mouth of two or three, and restrained with appro-
priate severity. Nor should you regard yourselves
as being persons of ill will when you indicate this.
In fact, you are not innocent of blame if by keeping
quiet you allow your brothers to perish, when by
indicating them you can correct them. For if your
brother had a wound in his body that he wanted
to hide because he was afraid to seek a cure, would
it not be cruel of you to be silent, and merciful to
point it out? How much more, then, must you show
him up, lest he grow rotten at heart to his very great
harm. But before he is shown to others whose duty
it is to convict him, should he deny the charge, that
is, if after being admonished he neglects to reform,
he must first be shown to the prior, in case he can
CCM 219 º be corrected secretly ºwithout it coming to the
knowledge of the rest. If however he denies the
charge, then others are to be summoned without his
knowledge, so that in the presence of all he can be,
not reproved by one witness, but convicted by two
or three. Having been convicted according to the
decision of the prior and also of the priest to whose
pastoral care they belong, he must undergo corrective
punishment. If he does not care to endure this, even
though he himself does not depart he should be cast
forth from your society. This too is not to be done
out of cruelty but out of mercy, in case he should
3. RBas. 17:1-6 (CSEL 86:66-67); Conc. 30.11 (978B-979A).

On Excommunication for Faults 349
ruin a large number by his diseased and contagious

behavior.4
And concerning this chapter the abbots Paul and

Stephen wrote as follows:
If anyone sees another in any place whatever doing

anything unlawful, in speech or in deed, and delays
to inform the superior, let him know that he is
nurturing sin, and is in every respect as much to
blame as the sinner, because he is a most harsh
enemy to his own soul and to the one he is hiding.
For this reason, in the sight of God who hates evil,
and of the whole brotherhood, he will be considered
detestable and unfaithful, because from abundance
of malice* he refused to hand over an erring brother * Jm 1:21
when he could have had him corrected, and by
hating discipline he loved malice and took his stand
by every evil way*.5 * Ps 36:4
4. Aug. Reg. 7 (PL 32:1381-1382); Conc. 30.19 (983C-984B).

5. RP et St. 36 (PL 66:957CD); Conc. 30.20 (984BC).
CHAPTER 24
WHAT THE MEASURE OF

EXCOMMUNICATION
SHOULD BE
1
The measure of excommunication and disci-
pline must be determined according to the de-
gree of fault.1 When asked, What kinds of correction
1. The CCM text—but not Migne’s—has Smaragdus omit-

ting v. 2: Qui culparum modus in abbatis pendet iudicio, ‘The degree
of fault depends on the abbot’s judgment’.
should be used among the brothers for the amendment of

wrongdoers, blessed Basil replied: Let it be left to those in
charge to judge for how long a time or in what way they are
to be corrected, because age and level of instruction will make
quite a difference to the punishment.2 Likewise from the
rule of a certain person:
As to what should be the measure of excommunica-

tion, let the degree of fault be the indicator for those
who know how to weigh out a just judgment. For
a lighter correction is to be used for lesser faults, but
for more serious ones a more severe condemnation
is to be displayed. Accordingly the abbot must care-
fully weigh matters, so that if any brother is found
liable in lighter faults, he is to be deprived of food
until the hour appointed for him. For more serious
faults, however, the determination of days and
weeks and months should result in a more pro-
tracted form of correction.3
CCM 220 º º 3But if a brother is found guilty of lesser

faults, let him be deprived of table fellowship.
As Isidore says:
That person is guilty of a lesser fault who loves to

be idle, comes rather late for the Office, a conference
or a meal, laughs in choir or wastes time in stories;
who leaves the Office or work without necessity and
goes outside, loves sluggishness and sleep, swears
rather often, is given to much speaking, begins to do
some work of service enjoined on him without ob-
taining a blessing, or on completing a task does not
ask for a blessing; who negligently or tardily fulfills
a task enjoined, or accidentally breaks some vessel
or damages some small object, uses a book negli-
2. RBas. 194:interr. & 1 (CSEL 86:212); Conc. 31.8 (PL

103:989AB).
3. RWal. 19 (PL 88:1077C); Conc. 31.11 (992A).
What the Measure of Excommunication Should Be 351
gently, goes off somewhere on his own for a moment,

secretly receives a letter or any kind of gift from
someone, or on receiving a letter hides it and answers
it without the abbot’s consent; who sees or speaks
with any relatives or with seculars without the order
of a senior, is disobedient to a senior or answers him
disrespectfully, and does not restrain his tongue with
regard to a senior; who is lewd in speech, tends to
unseemly gloating, jokes and laughs a lot; who
speaks, prays or eats with an excommunicated per-
son, or does not reveal a nocturnal illusion to his
father. These and like faults are to be amended by
a three days’ excommunication.4
Elsewhere too we find the following faults numbered

amongst the lesser:
If someone while singing a psalm falters even a

little, if he murmurs even slightly, if when service
is over he does not hurry to return to his cell, if he
prefers reading to work or to obedience and executes
the appointed tasks rather slackly, if he remains
standing with someone even for a short while, if he
takes hold of another’s hand.5
If he presumes to jest or utter something de-
signed to cause laughter in an assembly of the
brothers, or wants to exchange idle words with the
juniors or have friendships [with those] of tender
age, he shall undergo a rebuke as he deserves. If
anyone finds something he is not to conceal what
he has found, nor hide things that need to be
known; but if he is found guilty of having kept
back for the space of one day things that have been
found, let him know that he is stained with the
contagion of theft. If anyone is aware that someone
who cannot bear ºthe strictness of the monastery is º CCM 221
4. Isid. Reg. 16 (PL 103:568C-569B); Conc. 31.9 (989B-990A).

5. Conc. 31.5 (987AB); cf. Cassian Inst. IV.16.1-2 (CSEL
17:57).
contemplating flight, and does not immediately

make it known, he should be in no doubt that he
is a sharer in that man’s ruin; he is to be separated
from the assembly of the brothers until such time
as the fugitive can be recalled. If anyone does not
strive with all his power to observe these things,
things that will be pleasing to the Lord, and being
rebuked once and a second time does not amend, it
is fitting that he be punished for his faults according
to his age.6
Spiritual censure goes thus far, as regards both
faults of this kind and their like. But as for all other
faults committed without distinction among us, and
which we regard as worthy of blame, such as open
wrangling, manifest contempt, contradicting arro-
gantly, free and unrestrained going out of the mon-
astery, being overly familiar with women, angry
outbursts, quarrels, dissensions and disputes, the
RB 55.16 * presumption of private ownership,* the contagion
of covetousness, the longing for and possession of
superfluous things which the rest of the brothers do
not have, taking food outside the proper times and
doing so furtively; these and similar faults are not
dealt with by that spiritual chastisement which we
mentioned, but they are amended by stripes or
purged by expulsion.7
4
This shall be the procedure for one deprived
of table fellowship: in the oratory he is not to
intone psalm or antiphon, or read a lesson until
he makes satisfaction. And so a certain master of
monks says:
A brother who has committed a light fault, and

after a first, a second and a third warning has not
amended from a vice, whatever it is, should be ex-
6. RTarn. 13:4 (R Ben. 84:32); Conc. 31.24 (PL 103:997B-

998A).
7. Inst. IV.16.2-3 (CSEL 17:58); Conc. 31.5 (988A).
What the Measure of Excommunication Should Be 353
communicated from table, not from oratory. This

excommunication is to remain in force until the
guilty man makes humble satisfaction, until with
head bowed humbly to the knees he promises to
amend for the future. Now the brother who has
been excommunicated from table and not from ora-
tory is not to intone antiphon or lesson until he
promises amendment and makes satisfaction for
that fault, bowing at the knees either of the abbot
if he is present, or of his prior. But if excommuni-
cated brothers are so proud that they persevere in
pride of heart, and by the ninth hour of the third
day have refused to make satisfaction to their abbot,
they are to be taken in custody and beaten with
rods to the point of death. And if the abbot thinks
fit, they are to be expelled from the monastery, be-
cause such a life has no bodily kin, nor does a so-
ciety of brothers have those whom death possesses
in their proud soul. For it is right that such people
should be punished with blows and expelled; they
do not deserve to be with Christ the humble Lord.
But let them be separated from the everlasting
promises of God with their master the devil, who
was cast out of the kingdom of heaven because of
his pride.8
º 5He is to take his meal alone after the meal º CCM 222
of the brothers, 6so that if, for example, the
brothers eat at the sixth hour, he shall eat at the
ninth; if the brothers take theirs at the ninth,
he shall eat in the evening, 7until by fitting
satisfaction he obtain pardon. Satisfaction is said
to be fitting when penance is done according to the
measure of fault. For care must be taken in case serious
penalties are inflicted for lesser faults, slight penalties for
serious faults. For the father and superior must be outstanding
for his moderation and fairness in weighing matters, for his
8. RM 13:60-61.66-73 (SCh 106:44-48); Conc. 33.4
(1013B-1016A).
kindly justice and continual compassion, so that he may care

for the sick person’s wound in such a way as to promote the
member’s health, not weakness; because as the superior judges
the vices of his subjects, so too will God personally judge the
negligences of superiors.9
9. Fructuos. RComplut. 15 (PL 87:1106D); Conc. 31,10

(991C-992A).
CHAPTER 25
ON GRAVER FAULTS
1
A brother who is involved in the harm of a
noxa * graver fault. The word harm* means ‘a fault’; it also
means ‘transgressions’. For noxious things are harmful
things, and noxious things are serious sins.1 Is to be
suspended from both table and oratory. On this
matter blessed Isidore says:
Anyone is guilty of a graver fault who does any of

the following: gets drunk, continually disagrees,
speaks obscenely, is overly familiar with women,
sows discord, is inclined to anger; is haughty, proud
of mind or ostentatious in his bearing, given to
slander, murmuring or envy; presumes private own-
ership, is entangled in the contagion of money, pos-
sesses anything superfluous and beyond what the
Rule provides, cheats with a thing he has received
or with anything, entrusted to him or not. Amongst
these latter items, if he he has become conceited
about the things he brought with him, and mur-
murs about them through disobedience; damages a
1. Smaragdus’s effort to explain the meaning of noxa is not a

model of clarity.
On Graver Faults 355
significant piece of property, steals, commits perjury,

speaks falsehood, loves strife or quarrels; loudly re-
viles a brother, brings dishonor on an innocent per-
son with a false charge, stubbornly despises a senior,
keeps ill-feeling against a brother, does not forgive
someone who sins against him and who later sues
for pardon; if he jokes or laughs with boys or kisses
them, or lies in the one bed with another person;
eats anything in private or stealthily, apart from the
common table; goes anywhere in the middle ºof the º CCM 223
day without leave of prior and abbot, or stays too
long; if in order to indulge idleness he alleges a
spurious illness. These and similar faults must be
purged according to the superior’s judgment by a
long excommunication, in order that those who are
known to sin gravely may be restrained with keener
sternness.2
In the letter to the Galatians the apostle Paul enumer-

ates these serious vices:
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, and they

are: fornication, uncleanness, lechery, idolatry; sor-
cery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dis-
sension, factions, envy, killings, drunkenness, orgies
and suchlike. Regarding these, I tell you as I told
you before, that those who do such things will not
attain the kingdom of God.* * Ga 5:19-21
And the same apostle in his letter to the Romans re-

proaches those who are attached to such vices, saying:
For this reason God has delivered them up to

shameful passions. For their women have exchanged
the natural use for that which is against nature.
And in like manner the men, too, have left the
natural use of women and have burnt with desire
for one another, men doing base things with men,
2. Isid. Reg. 16 (PL 103:569AB); Conc. 31.10 (PL 103:990B-
991A).
and receiving in themselves the reward they should

have for their aberration. And as they did not think
fit to keep God in mind, God has delivered them
up to a wicked frame of mind so that they do what
is not fitting; they are full of all iniquity, malice,
fornication, avarice, wickedness; they are full of
envy, murders, contention, deceit, ill-will; murmur-
ers, slanderers, enemies of God, insolent, proud,
haughty, plotters of evil, disobedient to parents; fool-
ish, disorderly, lacking affection, without fidelity,
without mercy. Although they knew God’s justice,
they did not understand that those who do such
things are deserving of death; and not only those
who do them, but also those who consent with those
Rm 1:26-32 * who do them.*
These sayings of the apostle should suffice, so let

us see now the kind of judgment that the rest of the
Fathers and blessed Benedict himself make concerning
these noxious and grave faults. For in what follows the
latter says:
2
None of the brothers should join him by way
of fellowship or in conversation. 3Let him be
alone at the work enjoined on him, abiding in
penitential sorrow. And so other Fathers too have
said:
If any monk should commit a theft—it could more

appropriately be called a sacrilege—we have estab-
lished that a junior guilty of so great a crime be
beaten with rods and never receive the office of the
clerical state. But if one who is already a cleric
should be caught at that crime, let him be deprived
of the dignity associated with the very name. Simple
communion can suffice for him, once he has done
penance and made satisfaction for the foolishness
of his deed.3
3. 3RP 13 (PL 103:446B); Conc. 32.2 (999AB).

ºOn this subject blessed Ferreolus says: º CCM 224
If we can still call one conscious of theft a monk,

we order him to be subjected to stripes and crushed
with great affliction, like one who commits adultery
a second time; we give him the one sentence with
the fornicator, because he also indulged in wanton
behavior when he stole. Not unfittingly do we say
that they are similar in character, since we find them
placed together in the sacred reading.Therefore the
Lord says through the prophet: ‘There is no knowl-
edge of God upon the earth’ *; and shortly after- * Ho 4:1
wards:‘Theft and adultery have overflowed’.* And * Ho 4:2
again in the psalm: ‘If you saw a thief you ran to-
gether with him, and you shared with adulterers.’ * * Ps 50:18
We read also in the Gospel that the Lord said:
‘Fornication, theft,’ adding without delay:‘these are
what defile a man’.* From this the slaves of these * Mt 15:19, 20
heinous actions can clearly understand that, to the
degree that the vices have dominion over them, a
penalty is equally due.4
And so blessed Fructuosus the bishop says:
A monk who chases after the small boys or is

caught gaping after them with a kiss or on any base
pretext, after the case has been proved clearly by
most honest accusers or witnesses, is to be beaten in
public. He is to lose the special tonsure he was
wearing, and with head shamefully shaved be open
to scorn; his face besmeared with everyone’s spittle,
let him justly receive their scorn for his shameful
deed, then tightly bound with iron chains let him
undergo punishment in a narrow prison cell for six
months; on three days each week let him be sus-
tained by a meal of a small barley-loaf in the eve-
ning.When these six months are over let him spend
the next six months under the guardianship of a
4. RFerreol. 39 (PL 66:976BC); Conc. 32.3 (1000AB).

spiritual senior; living in a segregated cell, content

with manual work and continual prayer and sub-
dued by vigils and tears and humility, let him ob-
tain forgiveness by his laments and penance;
furthermore, let him always walk in the monastery
in the custody and care of two spiritual brothers; he
must not thereafter join the young men for any
private conversation and counsel.5
3
Aware of that terrible sentence of the apostle:
4
Such a man is delivered up to the destruction of the
flesh, so that the spirit may be saved in the day of the
1 Co 5:5 * Lord.* Jerome says of this sentence:
To deliver up such a man to Satan for the destruc-

tion of the flesh so that he may have power to seize
him bodily. Because when he sees that he is going
to have no rest for his body here, and that his spirit
CCM 225 º will have no rest in the future, ºhe may in fact re-
pent and be saved; or whoever in this way is ex-
pelled from the church for his deserts, is handed over
to the power of Satan so that, while his flesh suffers
a certain destruction through penance, his spirit may
be saved. For Scripture has the custom of under-
standing the whole man in the part; or it is this
way because here too Scripture’s usage is: the act
involving the flesh is shown to perish in the flesh,
and by spirit a spiritual way of life is shown to be
saved.6
[Benedict] likewise shows that the reason why a

person cast out of the Church must be torn by the
fierce mouth of demons, if he goes on refusing to
mortify the vices of the flesh so as to be able to acquire
again a holy life, is so that the spirit may be saved in
5.Fructuos.RComplut. 16 (PL 87:1107AB);Conc. 32.4 (1000B-

1001B).
6. Ps.Hier. (actually Pelagius) In 1 Co 5:5; PLS 1:1194.
the day of the Lord Jesus; because Satan cannot receive

power over the spirit, so that it may be reserved for the
Lord’s judgment. There follows:
5
He shall take his meals alone, in the measure
and at the hour that the abbot considers suitable
for him. For the abbot must consider carefully what
type of discipline and penance is suitable for whom.
He must consider whether it is a boy or an old man,
someone with a weak or delicate, a strong or feeble
body. And according to the condition of each one he
must apply a measure of penance and impose a weight
of discipline in such a way that a medicinal discipline
may restore and not oppress the person, may lift him
up to life and not weigh him down to death.
6
He is not to be blessed by anyone passing by,
nor is the food that is given him. Concerning this
sentence other Fathers have spoken in this way:
No one is to console him by their speech, everyone

is to pass by with a wordless glance. If he asks for
a blessing, let no one answer: God. Anything
handed to him is not to have the sign of the cross
made on it, and whatever he does privately and of
his own accord apart from the work assigned him
is to be scattered and demolished. Let him be alone
everywhere, his fault his only solace.7
7. RM 13:45-49 (SCh 106:42); Conc. 32.6 (1004B).

CHAPTER 26
ON THOSE WHO WITHOUT

LEAVE ASSOCIATE WITH
THE EXCOMMUNICATED
1
If any brother presumes without the abbot’s
leave to associate in any way with an excom-
municated brother or to speak with him or send
him an order, 2let him receive a like punishment
of excommunication. And so Isidore says:
Let no one be allowed to go in to an excommuni-

cated person without the order of a senior; it will
not be lawful for anyone either to pray or to speak
with the excommunicated; no one at all is allowed
to eat with the excommunicated, not even the one
who gives him his food.1
CCM 226 º ºAnd so Cassian says:
If anyone for any fault of his is suspended from the

prayer, no one may have permission to pray with
him before he has done penance on the ground be-
fore all the brothers, and the abbot grants him par-
don at his entreaty. Clearly one who through
thoughtless compassion presumes to associate with
him in prayer or conversation before he is accepted
back by the superior becomes like him in his con-
demnation, since he voluntarily hands himself over
to Satan, to whom the excommunicated person, in
keeping with the apostle’s sentence, had been as-
signed for the amendment of his offense. And in
this respect the one who associates with him sins
the more gravely, because while giving him solace
1. Isid. Reg. 17 (PL 103:569D); Conc. 33.2 (PL 103:1012AB).
360
On those Who Without Leave Associate with the Excommunicated 361
he makes his heart grow harder, not allowing him

to think about the very reason for his being segre-
gated from the prayer—his satisfaction and forgive-
ness—but he fosters for the worse the delinquent’s
stubbornness and increases the raw material of
pride.2
And so a certain master of monks says:
But if any brother either openly or secretly speaks

or associates with him, let him straightway contract
a shared penalty of excommunication with him; he
is to be held guilty by all, and himself be seques-
tered by his prior in some other work, and be sepa-
rated both from the guilty person and from all; let
him be on his own, and thereafter be a stranger as
well to everyone’s conversation. For he is not to
gain the superior’s pardon either, unless a similar
penance and satisfaction has been performed by
them equally—the one, because he was disobedient
in vice and sin, the other, because he bestowed the
reward of consolation on a doer of evil. 3
2. RCass. 14:1-3 (R Ben. 94:176); Conc. 34.5 (1017B); cf.

Cassian Inst. II.16 (CSEL 17:30).
3. RM 13:54-59 (SCh 106:42-44); Conc. 34.7 (1018AB).
CHAPTER 27
IN WHAT WAY THE ABBOT

MUST BE SOLICITOUS FOR THE
EXCOMMUNICATED
1
With all solicitude the abbot must exercise
care for delinquent brothers, because it is not the
Mt 9:12 * healthy who need a physician, but the sick.* By all so-
licitude he means ‘all care, all shrewdness, all diligence’;
for delinquent brothers, that is, for brothers who are
sinning. Here he likens delinquent brothers to those
who are sick, and compares the abbot to a physician.
Without doubt when the soul sins it is sick, because
it departs equally from goodness and from health. Just
CCM 227 º as there is sickness of the body, there is also ºwithout
doubt sickness of the soul; and just as one who is sick
in body needs a physician, one who is sick in soul also
needs one. Wishing to be freed from this sickness, the
psalmist said to the Lord, the true physician: I said: Lord,
have mercy on me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against
Ps 41:4 * you.* The Lord’s place is taken in the monastery by a
good abbot, who must take care of sick souls so that
they may be healed from sins and vices, and having
recovered their former health and being once again
whole, they may serve their Creator.
2
And therefore he must use every means
that a wise physician would: send in senpectae.
Senpectae is a greek, not a latin word, and according to
the interpretation of blessed Benedict himself it means
‘seniors’ and ‘wise brothers’, 3who may as it were
secretly console the wavering brother. He says
wavering, that is, hesitating, stumbling, and swayed
by contrary thoughts.
And urge him to make humble satisfaction.
Humble satisfaction is made when a man knows he
has sinned through pride and, with humbled heart
362
In What Way the Abbot Must be Solicitous for the Excommunicated 363
and body, produces worthy fruits of penance for his

sins. The senior brothers should urge him to humble
satisfaction, saying: Humble yourself through penance
beneath the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt
you in the time of visitation;* Because God resists the * 1 P 5:6
proud, but gives grace to the humble;* and Everyone who * 1 P 5:5
humbles himself shall be exalted.* * Lk 14:11
And console him so that he may not be
absorbed by more abundant sorrow, and so forth.
He says more abundant sorrow, that is, greater and
deeper than he had previously when he committed the
fault. He says absorbed, that is, devoured or swallowed
up. For a brother who is weak in spirit is usually more
saddened by immoderate correction than by the fault
that has been perpetrated. And so it is necessary that,
when the wound of sin in subjects is being bandaged by
correction, the very act of bandaging should moderate
itself to become great solicitude, so that it exercises
the rights of discipline against the delinquent in such
a way, however, as not to forsake deep compassion. Of
this sentence: Lest perchance such a one be absorbed by
more abundant sorrow,* Jerome says: * 2 Co 2:7
Lest perchance through despairing of forgiveness he

be absorbed by the whirlpool of the vices, and, per-
suaded by the devil, be led away to the greater
precipices of unbelief and blasphemy. ‘For this rea-
son I beseech you to strengthen charity towards
him’;* when this has been made perfect, let him * 2 Co 2:7
recognize that he has obtained pardon.1
º 4But as the apostle says: Let charity be strength- º CCM 228

ened towards him,* and let everyone pray for him. * 2 Co 2:8
And so Gregory of Nazianzen says:
Paul received unto repentance the man who had

committed in Corinth a sin of such a kind as is
not found even among pagans;* and not only did * 1 Co 5:1
1. Ps.Hier. (actually Pelagius) In 2 Co 2:7; PLS 1:1241.

he receive him, but he also strengthened charity

towards him precisely because he saw the amend-
ment, and he explained the reason for this action,
saying: ‘Lest perchance such a one be absorbed by
2 Co 2:7 * greater sorrow’,* that is, be overburdened by an
excess of chastisement.2
For the abbot is bound to exercise solicitude

5
zealously. Zealously means ‘with great eagerness,

great care and great earnestness’, for the abbot must
exercise care for the souls entrusted to him without
slackness or sluggishness, but with strength and vigi-
lance. And so there also follows:
Hastening with all shrewdness and industry, so
that he may not lose any of the sheep entrusted
to him. Shrewdness means ‘vigilance, solicitude, and
beneficent carefulness’; industry is skill and foresight,
and relying on this every abbot must exercise foresight,
and hasten not with his body but with the steps of his
mind and understanding, so that he may not lose any
of his sheep through his own negligence, slowness and
inactivity. Good monks, on account of their innocence
of life, are called Christ’s sheep. Concerning them he,
Jn 10:27 * their Lord and Shepherd, said: My sheep hear my voice;*
Jn 10:14 * and I know mine and mine know me;* and: The good
Jn 10:11 * shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.*
6
He should know that he has received the care
of weak souls, not a tyranny over healthy ones.
Strictly speaking a tyrant is one who rules in a state
without the right to do so.Therefore every proud man
in his own particular way exercises tyranny. Tyranny is
a greek word, meaning ‘unjust usurpation of kingship’,
honor that is not due, unjust power, proud behavior,
an inequitable ordering of affairs proceeding from a
swollen mind and a proud heart. The abbot has not
2. Conc. 35.3 (PL 103:1021A); cf. Greg. Naz. Oratio ad sancta

lumina (PG 36:375A).
In What Way the Abbot Must be Solicitous for the Excommunicated 365
undertaken this ministry to exercise it over healthy

souls, that is, over strong and good-living monks, but it
is over weak souls, which have not yet become strong
enough to bear bravely the sufferings and temptations
of the world, that he has received the care of curing
and healing. For he has undertaken to care for sinners,
to strengthen those of weak character, to consolidate
those who are wavering in God’s service, not to upset
or disturb the healthy and right-living and cause them
to turn aside from the road.
º 7And let him fear the threat of the prophet º CCM 229
through whom God says: What you saw to be
fat you took to yourselves, and what was feeble you
cast away.* This saying, What you saw to be fat * Ezk 34:3-4
you took to yourselves, means ‘you devoured,
put to death and consumed’. Blessed Augustine says
concerning this sentence:
There are very few sheep that are sound and fat,
that is, made firm by feeding on the truth, making
good use of the pastures by God’s gift. But those
evil shepherds do not spare such sheep. It is not
enough that they do not take care of those sheep
that are weak, straying and lost; as far as in them
lies, they also slay those that are strong and fat.
And yet these go on living. By God’s mercy they
go on living. But as far as the evil shepherds are
concerned they kill them. How, you ask, do they
kill them? By evil living, by giving bad example.
For often even a strong sheep, should he turn his
eyes from the Lord’s regulations and look at the
man, sees his leader living evilly. He begins to say
in his heart: ‘If my leader lives like this, who am I
not to do as he does?’ He is killing the strong sheep;
what is he doing now about the rest? Because what
he had not himself strengthened but had found
strong or robust, he is killing by evil living. I say
to you, dear brothers, again I say: Although the
sheep are living, although they are strong in the
word of the Lord and hold fast what they have

heard from their Lord: Do what they say, but do
Mt 23:3 * not do what they do,* yet he who lives evilly in
the sight of the people, as far as lies in him is killing
the man who pays attention to him. So everyone
who lives an evil life in the sight of those he has
been placed over, as far as lies in him is killing the
strong sheep as well.The person who imitates him
dies; the one who does not imitate him lives.Yet as
far as concerns him he is killing both.3
8
And let him imitate the example of the good
shepherd. The good shepherd is Christ, who said: I
Jn 10:11 *
am the good shepherd.* And again he says of himself: The
Ibid. *
good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.* The abbot
has to imitate his loving example and love his flock of
sheep, in other words his monks, just as he too loved the
human race, to such an extent that he delivered himself
up to death for its sake; and rising from the dead he
CCM 230 º raised it to ºheaven and joined it with the angelic choir,
and thus made whole again the number of his sheep.
For the abbot too has to correct the erring monk, and
having corrected and at the same time loved him, has to
join him with the band of the rest of his monks.
And then he really imitates the one who, leaving
the ninety-nine sheep in the mountains, went to
look for the one that had strayed. 9He took such
compassion on its weakness that he deigned to
place it on his sacred shoulders and thus carry it
Lk 15:4-5, *
back to the flock.* The hundred sheep is the complete
Jn 10:11 number of angels and men. Now one strayed, in other
words the human race sinned. He left the ninety-nine
in the mountains, in other words the nine choirs of
angels in heaven, and came to look for the one in a vale
of tears.When it has been found, there is more joy over
it than over the ninety-nine that had not strayed.4
3. Aug. S 46.9 (CCSL 41:535-536); Conc. 35.5 (1021B-1022B).
4. Cf. Greg. Hom. ev. II.34.3 (PL 76:1247B-1248A); cf. Bede In
Lc ev. IV (CCSL 120:285); cf. Smar. Collect. (PL 102:360D.361B).
CHAPTER 28
CONCERNING THOSE WHO

THOUGH FREQUENTLY
REPROVED DO NOT AMEND
1
If any brother has been reproved frequently
for any fault, if he does not amend even after
being excommunicated, let a more severe form
of reproof be applied to him, that is, let the
punishment of a beating be used against him.
Reproved means ‘chastised and upbraided’. This is the
difference between reproving, chastising and upbraiding: we
reprove with a beating, we upbraid with words, but we chas-
tise with both words and a beating.1
2
But if even so he does not amend, or
perchance—which God forbid!—lifted up by
pride wishes to defend his behavior, then let
the abbot do what a wise physician would
do: 3if he has applied warm dressings, the
ointment of exhortations, the medicines of
the divine Scriptures, if, finally, the cautery
of excommunication and strokes of the rod.
Chastisements applied with compassion and meekness
are rightly called warm dressings; exhortations made
with softness and gentleness are called ointments; the
testimonies of the divine Scriptures and the sacred
precepts of the Law are fittingly called medicines,
for they heal the wounds caused by sin in the souls
of those who keep and observe them. And so the
psalmist, while keeping the Lord’s precepts, used to
say: I said: Lord, have mercy on me; heal my soul, for I
have sinned against you.* But the severity and strictness * Ps 41:4
of excommunication, which is inflicted on the sinner
1. Isid. Diff. I.96; PL 83:21A.
367
for his sin, is suitably called a cautery. For just as fire

CCM 231 º scorches and ºburns up a body, so the strictness of
excommunication afflicts the soul and at the same time
burns up the body. But this cautery purges the humble
soul from the rust of sin, while it makes the proud soul
heavy as lead. Solomon says of the punishment of the
rod: Strike your son with the rod, and you will free his
Pr 23:14 * soul from death;* and: If you love your son, frequent
Si 30:1 * beatings for him.*
4
And if he now sees that his industry is of no
avail, let him also employ a greater remedy—
his own prayer for the man, and that of the
brothers— 5that the Lord, who can do all things,
may bring about the health of the sick brother.
And so the apostle says: Confess your sins to one another
and pray for each other that you may be saved; for the
unceasing prayer of a just man has great power. Elijah was a
Jm 5:16-17, * man like us, subject to suffering, and he prayed and prayed,*
1 K 17:1
and so forth. If one man, Elijah, obtained such great things
by his prayers, how much more will the frequent prayer of
many just men avail.2 And so we are ordered to pray and
sing psalms to the Lord as often as we are battered by any
adversities;3 and we must pray not only for the health
of our bodies but also for the health of our souls. For if
to deliver from death flesh that will one day die brings great
reward, how great a reward comes from delivering from death
a soul that will live forever in the heavenly fatherland.4
6
But if he is not healed even by this measure,
then let the abbot use the knife of amputation,
as the apostle says: Remove the evil one from among
1 Co 5:13 * you.* And indeed we find it written in the rule of a
certain father:
If a brother though frequently reproached refuses to

amend, he should be corrected by excommunication
2. Bede In Jc 5:18; CCSL 121:222.

3. Ibid. 5:19; CCSL 121:223.
4. Ibid.
Concerning Those Who Though Frequently Reproved Do Not Amend 369
according to the measure of his fault. If the correc-

tion of the one who rebukes him is of no avail, then
he shall undergo the punishment of a beating. If he
still refuses to amend, but rather lifted up and swol-
len with pride defends the works and deeds for
which he is being corrected, then let him be corrected
by the guidance of the abbot’s expert knowledge,
for it is written: ‘Unhappy is he who rejects disci-
pline.’ * Let such care be taken as the art of healing * Wi 3:11
the discharge from a wound directs. But if the
wound is such that it is not restored to health
through the warm dressings of chastisements and
the ointments of compassion and gentleness, then
he shall incur the sentence of excommunication or
ºthe penalty of corporal discipline. But if he is not º CCM 232
broken by fear of excommunication or the punish-
ment of stripes, let compassion be fuelled and aug-
mented, with the result that the whole community
beseeches our common Master on his behalf in duti-
ful prayer, that the one held enmeshed in the devil’s
snare may be cured by the Lord’s mercy and com-
passion. But if even so he refuses to be corrected, he
should be segregated from everyone, except his
guards, within the walls of the monastery and
undergo a course of penance; he should be chastised
with various forms of reproof, until such time as his
humility is so patent to all as to be fully believable,
because health is often granted even against one’s
will.5 The reason why he has to be separated from
the community is, so that he may not spoil the in-
nocent with his vice. Those of a tender age who
cannot grasp the force of excommunication are to
be corrected not with excommunication but with
bodily stripes.6
5. CCM text: quia et invitus saepe salus praestatur; PL text: quia

et invita. . . .
6. RWal. 20 (PL 88:1067D-1068B); Conc. 37.13 (PL
103:1035B-1036B).
And so Isidore says:
He who though often excommunicated for a grave

fault neglects to amend, should undergo condemna-
tion until such time as he lays aside the vices that
have become ingrained in him, so that he who was
not restrained by a single censure may through the
experience of repeated severity resolve to amend.
Although someone is immersed in the abyss of re-
peated and most serious vices, still he must not be
cast out of the monastery but restrained in keeping
with the type of sin, in case he who could have been
amended by a penance of long duration, should on
being cast out be devoured by the devil’s mouth.7
However, blessed Macarius says otherwise in his

rule: One who is often rebuked and does not amend should
be regarded as an outsider, as the Lord says: ‘Let him be to
Mt 18:17 * you as the heathen and tax-collector’ *.8 Blessed Basil has
this to say: He who does not do penance for sin should
be cut off like a putrefied member from the body. For
it is written: It is better for you that one of your members
should perish than that your whole body should be cast into
Mt 5:30 * Gehenna*;9 because it is not your business to want to spare
him whom the Lord has condemned.10 We find it put this
way in the Regula Orientalis:
If there is anyone so hard and such a stranger to

the fear of the Lord that he is not amended by so
many chastisements and so many pardons, he
should be cast out of the monastery and regarded
as an outsider, in case others should be endangered
by his vice.11
7. Isid. Reg. 15 (PL 103:568BC); Conc. 37.8 (1034B).

8. RMac. 17 (Wiener 76:154); Conc. 37.2 (1031B).
9. Cf. RBas. 76:2-3 (CSEL 86:110); Conc. 37.6 (1033C).
10. Conc. 37.7 (1034A); cf. RBas. 175:3 (199).
11. RO 35 (Benedictina 23:269); Conc. 37.10 (1034C).
Concerning Those Who Though Frequently Reproved Do Not Amend 371
And so there also follows:

7
If the faithless one departs, let him depart,* that is, * 1 Co 7:15
if he wants to go away, let him go. And the abbot is
not to worry greatly about this, or judge ºhimself to º CCM 233
be at fault if his faithless monk departs, because if he
abandons the monastery’s enclosure through his own
fault, the stain of his sin does not spread to the abbot.
For a person who has previously departed in his mind
must afterwards leave bodily, so that he may not bring
about in the flock what follows:
8
Lest one sick sheep bring contagion to the
whole flock. The ancients called it a sickness* in order by * morbus
this name to show forth the power of death* that is born from * vim mortis
it. For in a middle position between health and sickness there
is a process known as curing; unless this latter is suited to the
sickness, it does not lead to health.12 When he says Lest
it bring contagion, we understand ‘lest it pollute
and defile’. For contagion means the contamination caused
by crimes, wretchedness of spirit, sickness, misfortune and
pollution of mind. ‘Contagion’ comes from ‘contacting’; it
pollutes whatever it touches.13
12. Isid. Etym. IV.5.2 (PL 82:184C).

13. Etym. IV. 6.18 (187A).
CHAPTER 29
WHETHER BROTHERS WHO

LEAVE THE MONASTERY ARE TO
BE RECEIVED AGAIN
1
If a brother who by his own fault leaves the
monastery, or is cast out,1 wishes to return, he
should first promise full amendment of the fault
which led to his leaving. 2Let him be received
back in the lowest place, so as thereby to test his
humility. 3If he leaves again, he may be received
back in this way up to a third time, knowing
that after this all way of return is denied him.
And so a certain master of monks says:
If a brother leaves the monastery repeatedly, he

should be received back up to three times, but no
more. What need is there in the monastery of one
whom God does not possess? And so after a third
reprimand let him justly be to the monastery, ‘as
Mt 18:17 * the heathen and tax-collector’ *.2
And Ferreolus says: It has been decided to recall a fugi-

tive monk who abandons discipline and ruins himself as one
guilty of contempt.3
And Saint Fructuosus the bishop says:
When someone slips away from the monastery

through a moral failing, he should not be received
1. In v. 1 of this chapter, Smaragdus follows the interpolations

already current, inserting aut proicitur, ‘or is cast out’, after egreditur,
‘leaves’, and vitii, ‘of the fault’, after emendationem, ‘amendment’.
For differences of opinion among editors and translators, see Mc-
Cann, p. 183 n.50; Lentini, pp. 264-65; G. Colombás, pp. 510-11.
2. RM 64:1-4 (SCh 106:290); Conc. 38.4 (PL 103:1038AB).
3. RFerreol. 20 (PL 66:966C); Conc. 38.7 (1040B).
372
Whether Brothers Who Leave the Monastery are to be Received Again 373
into another monastery, or be received for charitable

hospitality and the kiss of peace, but should im-
mediately have his hands tied behind his back and
be taken back to ºhis own abbot.4 He also says: º CCM 234
Of course, if the apostates themselves have been
expelled by everyone, and wandering hither and
thither in different places, unstable and uncertain,
are compelled by necessity and ask to return to their
own monastery, let them be taken to the community
of their superiors and be tested, like earthenware
vessels in the furnace. And when they have been
tested, let them be restored to their own monastery;
and they are not to be received in the first seat, but
in the last.5
And likewise from the rule of a certain person:
If at any time a brother—may such a thing be far

from the Christian religion!—leaves the confines
of the monastery and flees outside, then remember-
ing his former religious state and struck by fear of
eternal judgment returns, he should first promise
amendment of all his ways; afterwards, if his re-
pentance is recognized as worthy of approval, let
him finally be received back within the monastery’s
confines. And if he does this a second or a third
time, he should be supported with similar compas-
sion, in such a way however that, having been re-
ceived in the last place among those doing penance,
he be examined until such time as his life is found
worthy of approval.6
4. Fructuos. Rcomm. 20 (PL 87:1127A); Conc. 38.3 (PL

103:1037AB).
5. Fructuos. ibid. (1127BC); Conc. 38.3 (1038A).
6. RWal. 21 (PL 88:1068C); Conc. 38.5 (1038B-1039A).
CHAPTER 30
HOW YOUNGER BOYS

ARE TO BE REPRIMANDED
1
Every age and degree of understanding should
have its appropriate measure of discipline. In
other words, a judicious discipline is not such that it
must be shown uniformly to all, but such as is to be
applied with great moderation in keeping with each
one’s age and understanding. For boys must be judged
in one way, adolescents and young men in another, old
men in another way, and those who are very old in yet
another way.1
2
And therefore as often as boys and adolescents,
or those who cannot understand how great is
the penalty of excommunication, 3commit a
fault, they should be punished with severe fasts
or restrained with sharp beatings, so that they
may be healed. Solomon says of such persons: Folly
is bound up in the heart of a boy, and the rod of discipline
Pr 22:15 * shall drive it away.* And Isidore says:
Those of a younger age are not to be restrained with

a sentence of excommunication, but are to be
amended with strokes befitting the type of negli-
gence, so that the discipline of the lash may curb
those whose tender age does not turn them back
from fault.2 But those brothers beyond the age of
fifteen who commit a fairly serious fault, be it of
theft and flight or one of a criminal nature, are to
be whipped.3
1. Cf. Greg. Reg. past. III.1; PL 77:50C.

2. Isid. Reg. 17 (PL 103:569CD); Conc. 39.2 (PL 103:1041A).
3. RM 14:87 (SCh 106:62); Conc. 39.5 (1042B).
374
WHAT KIND OF MAN

THE CELLARER OF THE
MONASTERY SHOULD BE
1
As cellarer of the monastery let there be cho-
sen from the community a wise man. The cel-
larer, who ministers to God’s servants what they need,
and dispenses their allowance of food, must be full
of prudence and endowed with wisdom, so that he
may prudently and wisely dispense what has to be
dispensed and preserve what has to be preserved; be-
cause he who is wise according to God is blessed. And
Scripture says: The Lord loves only the one who dwells
with wisdom.* And Isidore says: * Ws 7:28
It is of no use to know all prudence and be ignorant

of God; and ignorance of the world is no obstacle
to those who know God. But that person knows
perfectly who in the first place knows God, and
who knows these things not for his own sake but
with a view to God.1
Of mature character. A mature character means

one that is ‘pleasant, modest and duly qualified by
experience of many things over a long period’. For
it is written: The understanding of a man is gray hairs,
and a spotless life is old age.* Therefore the gray hairs * Ws 4:8-9
that one must honor, and venerable old age and
maturity, are found not merely in the body but in the
understanding of a man, where all the good things
that are received from God are discreetly harmonized,
reasonably discerned and steadfastly preserved.
1. Isid. Sent. II.1.13; PL 83:691A.
375
Sober. ‘Sober’ means ‘careful and considerate, frugal

and sparing in food and drink, and temperate in word
and deed’. Hence Paul says: Not to esteem oneself more
Rm 12:3 * than one ought, but to do so soberly,* that is, temperately.
The cellarer must esteem himself temperately, must
live temperately, speak temperately, and temperately
minister what has to be ministered to the brothers.
Sober in mind, discreet in deed, pleasant in word and
agreeable in speech. For it is written: A wise man makes
Si 20:13 * himself lovable in his words;* and: He who is wise in heart
will be called prudent, and he who is agreeable in speech will
Pr 16:21 * receive greater things.*
Not a great eater. A ‘great eater’ means a glutton,
one who devours and consumes large quantities; it
does not become a monk, especially a cellarer, to be
like this. For it is not the prayer of a glutton, but that of
an abstemious monk, that penetrates heaven. For the
abstemious man becomes spiritual, is associated with
the angels, and more easily draws near to his Creator,2
as it is written: Draw near to God and he will draw near
CCM 236 º
ºto you.* Therefore it is good to beware of the belly’s
Jm 4:8 *
gluttony, in case the soul which lives forever should
be subjected to the belly which is destined to be
destroyed, and be dominated by foods that are likewise
destined to be destroyed. Now concerning the belly
and food the apostle writes: Food is for the belly and
the belly is for food; but God will destroy both the one and
1 Co 6:13 * the other.* Therefore no one can win mastery over the rest
of the vices unless he first restrains the gluttony of the belly.3
Hence a certain master of monks says:
But let a brother be appointed cellarer whom the

abbot has definitely found to be faithful and abste-
mious, who is never at any time overcome by any
gluttonous desires and does not love much eating
2. Cf. ibid. 44.1; 651A.

3. Ibid. 42.11; 649A.
What Kind of Man the Cellarer of the Monastery Should Be 377
or drinking, so that the devil may not be given

room, as Scripture says: Do not give an opportunity
to those who seek it* and lest provision appear to * 2 Co 11:12
be made for the gluttony and greed of voracious and
gluttonous brothers, instead of its being curbed.4
Not conceited. Conceited means ‘lifted up in

pride, bold, boastful and arrogant’. Of such Solomon
says: Every arrogant person is an abomination to the Lord;* * Pr 16:5
and: He who boasts and puffs himself up stirs up quarrels.* * Pr 28:25
Arrogance is born of pride. For if the hidden conceit of the
mind has not gone before, the open boasting of [self-]praise
does not follow.5 Divine Scripture rebukes such a person:
Do not extol yourself in your thoughts like a bull, lest your
strength be crushed and you be left like a dry tree in the
desert.* * Si 6:2-3
Not excitable. A man is called excitable who is
greatly moved by a whirlwind of fury or blinded in his
heart’s eye by his mind’s anger, as it is written: My eye is
disturbed by anger.* Solomon says of such a one: He who * Ps 6:7
disturbs his own house feeds the winds.* For he disturbs * Pr 11:29
his own house who from levity of mind quickly rouses
his mind to anger. The impatient cellarer, seeing many
asking him for many things, is disturbed in spirit by
reason of levity and does not return an agreeable
answer to his petitioners, but instead he utters speech
that hurts. This he is energetically forbidden to do
when there is added:
Not hurtful. A person is called hurtful when
he inflicts injuries on the brothers and insults them.
For it is written of such a one: A person prone to anger
provokes quarrels;* and: The mouth of the wicked overflows * Pr 15:18
with evils.† And: The evil man always seeks quarrels; but a † Pr 15:28
cruel angel shall be sent against him;* and: Among the proud * Pr 17:11
4. RM 16:62-66 (SCh 106:82-84); Conc. 40.10 (PL 103:1051C-

1052A).
5. Isid. Sent. II.38.9; 640A.
CCM 237 º ºthere are always quarrels.* ‘The proud’ here refers to bad
Pr 13:10 *
monks who, neglecting the counsels of their seniors,
live by their own laws as they like; they frequently
wrangle among themselves and often stir up quarrels.
A cruel angel is sent against them, because since they
give the opportunity, the devil, warlike enemy of souls,
is roused against them.
Not slow. Slow means ‘lazy,unhurried and lukewarm’.
It does not become the cellarer to be slow and lazy, in
case it should be said of him: The lazy man hides his hand
Pr 19:24 * under his armpit, and does not bring it to his mouth.* It ill
becomes a man to be slow when he is bound to render
Jm 1:19 * service to many, but let him be swift to hear,* swift to serve,
Ibid. * slow to make excuses and slow to anger.*
Not prodigal. A person is called prodigal when he
is over-generous, extravagant and causes ruin, and is
a consumer and squanderer of the monastery’s goods
and a waster of the brothers’ property.
2
But a God-fearing man who may be like a
father to the whole community. For the cellarer
must fear and love God, and for love and fear of him
must love the brothers and obey them—the juniors
like a father, the seniors like a son. With fatherly
compassion let him give suitable service to all. For it
is written: With all your soul fear God and reverence his
priests. With all your strength love him who made you, and
Si 7:29-31 * do not forsake his ministers.*
3
Let him take care of everything; 4let him do
nothing without the abbot’s order. For there are
many who say: If he may not do anything without the
abbot’s order, how can he take care of everything? But
he explains this when he goes on to say:
5
Let him keep to his orders. As if to say: Because
I said above that he takes care of everything, he should
do this in regard to those things I have ordered him
to look after. But as regards everything else, let him do
nothing without the abbot’s order.
He should not sadden the brothers. For the

6
reason why he is not to sadden the brothers, listen

to what follows: 7If any brother, he says, happens
to make an unreasonable request, let him not
sadden him by scorning him, but let him
reasonably, with humility, refuse the improper
request. A request is made improperly when what
is asked for unreasonably should not be asked for, or
what has to be asked for is requested ºat an unsuitable º CCM 238
time. What is asked for like that is asked for, received
and possessed in a blameworthy way. The cellarer is
forbidden to give it in such circumstances, especially
when he says of him what follows:
8
Let him keep watch over his own soul. In other
words, let him not offend by giving what must not be
given, or by answering what must not be answered,
mindful always of that saying of the apostle,
that he who has ministered well acquires a good
standing for himself.* This is certainly that standing * 1 Tm 3:13
which the faithful and prudent steward acquired for
himself, whom the Lord set over his household to give
them their measure of wheat in due season.* In company * Lk 12:42
with him the cellarer will certainly hear: Blessed is
that servant whom his master, when he comes, shall find so
doing,* that is, ministering well. Truly, I tell you, he will * Lk 12:43
set him over all his possessions,* that is, over all the joys * Lk 12:44
of the heavenly kingdom. See how good a standing
he who has ministered well acquires for himself: to
be honored in heaven among the Lord’s stewards and
ministers. For he who toils more in God’s service in
the present age will receive a more abundant reward
in the future.
9
Let him with all solicitude exercise care for
the sick, for children, for guests and for the
poor. Let him minister to sick brothers with diligent
care and most ready affection. For it is written: I was
sick and you visited me.* With fatherly affection he * Mt 25:36
should minister to the children what they need, taking
into account their tender age and frailty of body. He

should provide guests with what they need, for it is
Mt 25:35 * written: I was a guest, and you received me;* and because
Lk 6:30 * there is the order: To everyone who asks you, give.* He
should not withhold an alms from poor folk, for it is
written: He who stops his ear against the cry of the poor
Pr 21:13 * shall also himself cry out and not be heard.* Rather let him
offer them what they need with cheerfulness, for it is
2 Co 9:7 * written: God loves a cheerful giver.*
Knowing without doubt that he is to render an
account for all of these on the day of judgment.
The apostle says: We must all stand before the judgment
seat of Christ, so that each may receive according to his works,
2 Co 5:10 * whether good or bad.* And thus each of us will receive
the due reward for his toil.
10
Let him look upon all the utensils of the
monastery and all its possessions as upon the
sacred vessels of the altar. And so some ancient
fathers of monks said:
Such a man must be chosen cellarer as is able in

CCM 239 º all things to manage ºthe sustenance and living
conditions for his brothers in a gospel manner, and
fears the sentence of Judas, who was a thief from
Jn 12:6 * the beginning.* The one appointed to this office
must aim to hear ‘that he who has ministered well
1 Tm 3:13 * acquires a good standing for himself’,* and makes
a profit for his soul. The brothers must also know
that everything whatever that is handled in the
monastery, be it utensils or iron tools or anything
else, has been consecrated. Should any of the broth-
ers treat anything negligently, let him know that he
has his portion with that king who drank with his
concubines from the consecrated vessels of God’s
house, and what sort of punishment he deserved.
These precepts must be kept, and must be read
aloud every day in the hearing of the brothers,6 so
6. RIVP [12]:24-31 (R Ben. 77:85); Conc. 40.2 (1045B-
1046A).
that they may not be condemned in their

sins.
Let him consider that nothing must be

11
neglected. 12Let him not pursue avarice, or be

a prodigal and a squanderer of the monastery’s
property, but do everything with measure and
according to the abbot’s order. And so according
to the rule of the Oriental Fathers it is said:
In keeping with the usual daily expenditure, the

cellarer shall give what is necessary for seasoning
the food, without being either extravagant or mi-
serly, so that the monastery’s property may not be
wasted through fault of his, or the brothers suffer
harm. But taking into consideration both the needs
of weak brothers and their hard work, he should
not refuse anything of what he has to the wishes
of the sick, as much as is needful for them. He shall
prepare food for the various brothers who arrive.
This shall be the care of the keeper of the cellar, al-
ways having recourse to the advice of the seniors
and inquiring about everything, and especially
about those things which he cannot carry out with
his own understanding.7
Above all things let him have humility, and if

13
he has nothing to give to someone let him give

a kind word in reply, 14as it is written: A kind
word is above the best gift.* Now without doubt he * Si 18:17,
Jm 1:17
who has true humility in his heart utters a kind word
with his mouth; and whether or not he has something
to give, let him offer to all a pleasant and kind word.
It is written in Ecclesiastes: Shall not the dew assuage the
heat? So also a word is better than a gift. Behold, is not a
good word above a gift?* * Si 18:16-17
7. RO 25:6-10 (Benedictina 23:263-64); Conc. 40.9 (1048C-

1049A).
15
Let him have under his care all the abbot
has enjoined on him; let him not presume to
deal with what he has forbidden him. Here
he shows that if he subjects to his authority things
other than those the abbot has enjoined on him, or
presumes concerning things that have been forbidden
him, it is not the reward for obedience but the blame
for disobedience that will be imputed to him. For if
he has not come to the monastery to do his own will,
he must not rashly take control of what has not been
enjoined on him.
16
Let him provide the brothers with their
appointed allowance without any arrogance
or delay, so that they may not be scandalized.
annona * The allowance* means ‘the supply of food and all
CCM 240 º the nourishment of the monks’. The ºancients were
accustomed to eat at the ninth hour, and so all the
nourishment for man’s life has appropriately received
the name annona, from the time at which they used
to take their food, namely, the ninth hour.8 Many
names are derived from an act and from a time. When
he says Let him provide what has to be provided
without any arrogance, it means, Let him give and
provide what he has to with heart undisturbed and
countenance unchanged, but with a cheerful spirit
and a serene and calm countenance. Typhus is a greek
word for what we call a figure or a form. For by a
typhus a thing is made clear through other things, and
interior things are shown exteriorly. Typhus also means
a kind of grass that inflates itself with water. And so the
swelling of ambitious self-pleasers is also called typhus.9
Mindful of the divine saying as to what he
deserves who scandalizes one of the little ones.
It is written in the Gospel: But he who scandalizes
one of these little ones who believe in me, it were better for

9. Ibid. XVII.9.101; 635A.
him to have a millstone hung around his neck and to be

plunged into the depths of the sea.* What is signified by * Mt 18:6
the millstone, if not the round of care that belongs
to this present world? And what by the sea, if not
the same present world? For it would have been less
serious for the monk, who while in the monastery
scandalizes others, to be thrown out into the sea of
this world with a millstone tied around his neck—in
other words, that having got entangled in the world’s
cares he should carry out the world’s business and the
round of earthly care—than to destroy both himself
and others by scandal in the haven of the monastery.10
And so blessed Gregory says:
The millstone represents the round and toil of worldly

life, and the depths of the sea signifies final damna-
tion.Therefore, rather than come to have the appear-
ance of holiness, and then ruin others either by word
or by example, it would indeed be better for a man
to have his earthly deeds bind him over to death
while wearing secular attire, than have sacred duties
which point him out to everyone else as one who can
be imitated in his fault; for surely if he were to fall
alone, it would in some way be a more bearable
punishment that would torment him in hell.11
If the community is a large one let helpers

17
be given him, so that assisted by these he may

fulfill calmly the office entrusted to him. For this
reason especially is help to be given him, that he may
perform the duty entrusted to him without there being
any murmuring. For if he cannot perform well on his
own the laborious ministry assigned to him, he will
doubtless give rise to dangerous murmuring in others.
18
Let what is needed be given and asked for
at the proper hours. By proper hours he means
10. Cf. Greg. Moral. VI.37.57; CCSL 143:328.

11. Greg. Reg. Past. I.2; PL 77:16B.
CCM 241 º ‘convenient and suitable hours’ when ºeach activity is

permitted to each party, that is, the petitioner may ask
and the giver may give. For when they are bound to
apply themselves to reading and prayer and to keep
silence, except for a reason of necessity it will not be
permitted for one to ask or for the other to give, in
case by indiscreet asking and giving both parties suffer
disturbance from the regular order. And so there also
follows:
19
So that no one may be troubled or saddened
in the house of God. For the Lord’s house is the
holy hearts of good monks, and theirs are the most
pure dwellings in which they offer to their Lord a
most spotless dwelling. For the Lord himself says: I
shall dwell in them and walk among them, and I shall be
2 Co 6:16, * their Lord, and they shall be my people;* And the apostle
Lv 26:12
says: You are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God
1 Co 3:16 * dwells in you.* In this temple, in other words in the
house of God, it will not be lawful for one to disturb
or sadden another, because it is fitting for the children
of peace always to be peacemakers.
CHAPTER 32
ON THE TOOLS AND PROPERTY

OF THE MONASTERY
1
For the care of the monastery’s property,
whether tools or clothing or anything else, let
the abbot appoint brothers on whose life and
character he may rely, 2and let him as he thinks
fit consign the individual items to them to be
looked after and collected again. 3The abbot
is to keep a list of these things, so that when
the brothers succeed each other in their assign-
On the Tools and Property of the Monastery 385
ments, he may know what he gives out and what

he receives back. 4But if anyone treats the mon-
astery’s property in a slovenly or negligent way,
he should be reproved; 5if he does not amend let
him undergo the discipline of the rule. When the
question was put to him:
How must those who are working take care of the

tools and utensils they work with?, blessed Basil
replied: Firstly, they must use them like the vessels
of God, and like things already consecrated to God.
And then, as people do who without these very
things cannot obtain the benefits of their devotion
and zeal.1 When he was asked again: What if
any of these things gets lost through negligence, or
is left lying about through contempt?, he replied:
The contemptuous person is certainly to be judged
as sacrilegious; and one who has lost something
through negligence incurs a similar charge as well,
because everything assigned for the use of God’s
servants is undoubtedly consecrated to God.2
ºAnd so Isidore says: º CCM 242
The care of the tools shall belong to one person

whom the father of the monks has chosen; let him
distribute them to the workers, and look after them
when he gets them back. And although all these
items may remain distributed to specific individuals,
yet they shall all, as ordained by the father of the
monastery, pertain to the care of the prior.3
Let the monastery’s tools be kept in one room, and

let the abbot entrust their keeping and care to one
1. RBas. 103 (CSEL 86:132-33); Conc. 41.5 (PL 103: 1054C-

1055A).
2. RBas. 104 (133); Conc. 41.6 (1055A).
3. Isid. Reg. 19 (PL 103:571A); Conc. 41.9 (1055B-1056A).
brother who he knows is careful. Each day he shall

consign them by number to the brothers for the work
that has to be done, and likewise receive them back
clean when they hand them in, and put them away.
The abbot is to keep a list of everything.4
4. RM 17:1-5 (SCh 106:84); Conc. 41.11 (1056AB).
CHAPTER 33
WHETHER MONKS SHOULD

HAVE ANYTHING OF THEIR
OWN
1
This vice especially is to be cut out of the mon-
astery by the roots; 2no one should presume ei-
ther to give or to rceive anything without the
abbot’s leave. Of the things he has received from
the abbot according to the needs of the present time
a monk must not either give or lend anything to anyone,
unless he has received a regulation from the abbot. For what
worldly object may someone who for Christ’s sake has sur-
rendered his wishes in all things to the abbot’s power confer
on another brother?1 Hence blessed Fructuosus says:
A special arrangement has been established, so that

no monk may make use of anything as though by
exclusive right, or insist that it be distributed to
whomever he likes; nor is any work at all to be un-
dertaken, begun or carried out without an injunction
and the tacit support of a senior, but, in every case,
whatever the abbot and prior orders is to be done.2
1. RWal. 17 (PL 88:1066D); Conc. 42.23 (PL 103:1068A).

2. Fructuos. RComplut. 6 (PL 87:1103C); Conc. 42.13 (1063A).
Whether Monks Should Have Anything of Their Own 387
Nor [presume to] have anything as his own,

3
anything whatsoever, either book or tablets

or pen, but nothing at all, since they may not
have either their bodies or their wills in their
own power. For what can a holy monk have ºas his º CCM 243
own, when he has not reserved his own body or his own
will to his own power, but has denied himself totally
in order to follow Christ? From the world what can
a person have as his own, since the world is crucified
to him, and he to the world? Having once died to the
world, he must not live again to the world by desiring
or possessing things that belong to the world. He must
not get entangled in a world he has left once for all.3
5
Hoping for everything necessary from the
father of the monastery. The Lord has given the
monk a father who is to be solicitous and exercise care
concerning all those necessary things, so why is he
solicitous about earthly things, especially as the Lord
says: Do not be anxious about what you are to eat, or what
* Mt 6:31,
you are to drink, or what you are to put on?* We must seek Lk 12:22,29
first the kingdom of heaven,† and afterwards all these † Mt 6:33,
things are to be hoped for, not from ourselves but Lk 12:31
from the Lord, through the father of the monastery.
Therefore there is no need for a monk to have any
private property, since everything is ministered to him
by the father of the monastery.
It shall not be allowed to have anything that
the abbot has not given or permitted. He says that
the abbot has not given, that is, with his hands; or
permitted, and here is understood: either to be given
or to be kept. Here he shows that a monk should not
receive anything either from relatives outside or from
brothers inside, nor should he exchange anything
freely with any other person, but he should be glad to
have, and find quiet delight in, what is given him by
the abbot and at the abbot’s behest.
3. RWal 17 (l.c. 1066 CD); Conc. 42.23 (l.c. 1067B).

6
And let all things be common to all, as it is
written, so that no one says or presumes that
anything belongs to him. And so Ferreolus says: Let
him consider as his own only what he possesses undividedly
with his brothers. For the reading from the Acts of the
Apostles recalls that Christ’s faithful lived in this way at the
time of the emerging Church. ‘No one’, it says, ‘said that
anything he possessed was his own, but they had all things
Ac 4:32 * in common’*.4 Again somewhere else [we read]:
For in regard to their property Ananias and Sap-

phira did not deserve to gain credence from the
apostles; when they were making over all their pos-
sessions at the feet of the apostles, because of the
private things they fraudulently withdrew they were
condemned to a sudden death. Because God cannot
be deceived, since nothing is hidden that shall not
Mt 10:26 * be revealed by him.* 5
7
But if anyone is found indulging in this
most wicked vice, after being warned once and
a second time, 8if he does not amend let him
undergo a reprimand. And so Cassian says:
CCM 244 º º And let him not claim even by a word that any-
thing is his own, and let it be regarded as a serious
fault for a monk to have said: My tunic, my book,
my writing material, my pen, or anything else of
the kind. Should he utter a word of this kind be-
cause he is deceived or simply ignorant, he is to
make satisfaction for this by worthy penance, asking
for pardon while lying prostrate on the ground.6
Likewise another master of monks says: Therefore if

anyone is found with private property or anything in his
possession, the abbot should condemn him to a serious and
4. RFerreol. 10 (PL 66:963D); Conc. 42.15 (1064A).
5. RM 82:20-22 (SCh 106:340); Conc. 42.21 (1066B).
6. RCass. 32:3-4 (R Ben. 94:184); Conc. 42.17 (1064B-1065A);
Whether All Should Receive in Equal Measure What is Necessary 389
lengthy excommunication, in order that no one may dare to

imitate this example that brought on such punishment.7
7. RM 82:26-27 (340); Conc. 42,21 (1066C-1067A). CCM
and PL have exemplum illius vindictae, the de Vogüé text of RM
has exemplo illius vindictae.
CHAPTER 34
WHETHER ALL SHOULD

RECEIVE IN EQUAL MEASURE
WHAT IS NECESSARY
1
As it is written: Distribution was made to each
according as each had need.* 2By this we do not * Ac 4:35
mean that there should be respect of persons—
which God forbid!—but regard for infirmities.
3
Whoever needs less should thank God and not
be saddened; 4but whoever needs more should
be humbled because of his infirmity, and not
made proud because of the mercy shown him;
5
and thus all the members will be at peace. And
so blessed Augustine says:
Food and clothing shall not be distributed equally

to all, because you are not all equally strong; but
rather to each according as he has need. For thus
we read in the Acts of the Apostles that ‘they had
everything in common’, and ‘Distribution was
made to each according as each had need’*.1 * Ac 4:32, 35
Likewise it is written elsewhere:
Do not regard anything as your own, but have all

things in common. Things handed out by order of
1. Aug. Reg. 1 (PL 32:1378ff.); Conc. 43.3 (PL 103:1069B).
the abbot are not to be distributed equally to all,

but as required by the nature of the thing being
distributed or by reason of infirmity; however, let
distribution be made to each according to what he
needs.2 Nor should they consider more fortunate
those who, because of infirmity, are given what is
withheld from the healthy, in keeping with a rigor-
ous observance. And if food and clothing are given
more generously to those whose parents have
brought them up more delicately, the brotherhood
should not be upset because those who are stronger
in body are denied by a disposition of the rule what
is granted to the former out of regard for charity.3
CCM 245 º º 6Before all things, let not the evil of murmuring
show itself by any word or sign whatsoever, for
any reason whatsoever. 7But if anyone is caught
at it, he should be subjected to more severe
discipline. And so Ferreolus says:
Let no murmuring or slander be heard in the com-

munity—monks are very familiar with this—
against the abbot or any other brother, in case God’s
anger, which often condemned a wretched people to
destruction for this fault, should be roused in the
same way against a crowd of murmurers, and in case
our own murmuring should lose the promised
land—due in virtue of a divine promise—which
we rightly take as being the place of future happi-
ness. For thus the psalm declares that those who
practice this vice must be condemned:‘The man who
Ps 101:5 * in private slandered his neighbor, I pursued’ * And
again the apostle says in reproof: ‘Whisperers, slan-
Rm 1:29-30 * derers, hateful to God’ *. And again: ‘These are
murmurers, quarrelsome folk, living according to their
Jude 16 * own desires, and their mouth speaks pride’ *.4
2. RTarn. 14:3-5 (R Ben. 84:33); Conc. 43.6 (1071A).

3. RTarn. 16:5-7 (36-37); Conc. 43.7 (1072B).
4. RFerreol. 7 (PL 66:962D-963A); Conc. 43.5 (1070AB).
CHAPTER 35
ON THE KITCHEN SERVERS

OF THE WEEK
1
Let the brothers serve one another, and let no
one be excused from kitchen duty, except for
sickness or because he is occupied in a matter
of grave importance, 2for from this service one
acquires a greater reward and charity. The body’s
very sickness excuses the sick from kitchen duty, for
the sick must be borne with patiently from brotherly
love and charity, and not forced to work. The mat-
ter of grave importance he refers to means some-
thing of great and sizeable importance. ‘Grave’ is often
understood to replace ‘great’, ‘big’, ‘perfect’; as the
psalmist says: I will acknowledge you in the great assembly,
among a grave people I will praise you.* When he says For * Ps 35:18
from this service one acquires a greater reward
and charity, he means that one acquires a greater
reward in God’s sight, and charity is increased in the
sight of God and men. For the one who prepares food
for all with a calm spirit will receive from all the grace
of charity, and on behalf of all an everlasting reward.
For it is written that he who toils more will receive
more by way of reward.* * 1 Co 3:8
º 3Now let help be provided for the weak so that º CCM 246
they may not perform this work with sadness,
4
and let all have help according to the size of the
community and the position of the place. The
‘weak’ are the frail, the delicate and the feeble of body.
This word ‘weak’ * is used for someone who as it were * imbecillis
lacks the comfort and support of a ‘staff ’*.1 According * baculus
to the size of the community means: According
to the size of the number, according to how many
1. Cf. Isid. Etym. X.129; PL 82:380C.
391
monks there are. In keeping with the large number of

the community, a smaller or larger number of servers
is to be appointed. And the position of the place
means the building and construction of the monastery.
For if the construction of the monastery is located in
a suitable place, where according to a chapter of this
rule it can contain in the enclosure all the necessary
RB 66:6 * things,* the cook has less need of others’ help. But if
it is located in a confined and narrow place, and on
an arid site, where water cannot be had without hard
work, nor a garden without scarcity, more help must
be provided for the cooks.
5
If the community is rather large, the cellarer
is to be excused from the kitchen, and also
those who, as we have said, are occupied in
more important business. 6Let the rest serve
each other in charity. Let everyone serve everyone
in the kindness of charity, and while receiving service
from one another let them render service, supporting
Eph 4:2 * one another,* and each one awaiting from the Lord a
worthy reward for his toil.
7
The one who is ending his week shall do
the washing on Saturday. 8They shall wash the
towels with which the brothers wipe their hands
and feet. 9Let the outgoing and the incoming
server wash the feet of all. 10He shall return the
utensils he uses for his service clean and in good
condition to the cellarer. 11The cellarer in his
turn shall consign them to the incoming server,
so that he may know what he gives out and
what he receives back. And so Cassian says:
The incoming servers [begin] on Monday, the

Lord’s day being over.The outgoing servers consign
the utensils with which they served, and the vessels,
to those succeeding them. These they shall keep
with so much solicitude and care that nothing is
either damaged or lost. They should believe that
they are to render an account, not only to a man
On the Kitchen Servers of the Week 393
but also to the Lord, for each smallest vessel as if

for holy and important items, should any of them
be broken or lost through negligence.2 In this way
the weekly server should faithfully perform his ser-
vice, so that he does not suffer even one bean to be
lost from his hands through negligence; for our fa-
thers have ordered us to treat everything that has
once come into the monastery with the utmostº º CCM 247
reverence, as sacrosanct, and as already consecrated
to the Lord.3
The weekly servers themselves shall see to all the

serving, exercising all attentiveness, and look after the
cleaning of the monastery; they shall minister water
for the hands, wash the feet, and wash the table-nap-
kins, cleaning-cloths and face-towels.4
12
An hour before the mealtime the weekly serv-
ers shall each receive some drink and some
bread beyond the appointed allowance, 13so that
at mealtime they may serve their brothers with-
out murmuring or hardship. An hour before the
mealtime means: Within the hour before the broth-
ers take their meal, during that very hour, they shall
receive beyond the appointed allowance, in other
words, above their measured amount of food as estab-
lished by common usage and by the rule; they shall
each receive a drink above their measure, and a little
bread above their pound weight, so that they may not
be overburdened by fasting as well as by serving.
14
But on solemn days let them wait until Mass.
Let them wait until Mass means: Until the principal
Mass which is solemnly sung for all. For there are quite
a few monks in a position of service who hear Mass in
2. Cf. Cassian Inst. IV.19.3; CSEL 17:60.

3. RCass. 38:1-4 (R Ben. 94:186); Conc. 44.6 (PL 103:1077
AB); cf. Inst. IV.20 (CSEL 17:60).
4. Cf. RM 19:19-23 (SCh 106:96); Conc. 44.8 (1080C-1081A).
the morning, and eat and go where they will, and they
say they have heard Mass and so have eaten.5 Blessed
Benedict, foreseeing and forbidding this fault, said On
solemn days let them wait until Mass.
15
As soon as Lauds are over on Sunday, the in-
coming servers and the outgoing shall prostrate
themselves at the feet of all in the oratory and
ask their prayers; trustfully seeking from them this bless-
ing and an abundant reward for the whole week’s toil, so that
the prayer uttered by all the brothers together may accompany
them as they carry out Christ’s command, and may also
commend their completed service to God as a devout sacrifice;
and let them humbly intercede for any sin they may have
committed through ignorance or human frailty.6
16
The outgoing server shall say this verse:
Blessed are you, Lord God, who have helped me and
Dn 3:52, * comforted me*. 17When this has been said three
Ps 86:17
times, and the outgoing server has received a
blessing, let the incoming server follow and say:
O God, come to my aid; O Lord, make haste to help
Ps 70:1 * me*. 18This verse shall be repeated three times
by all, and having received a blessing let him
enter [his service]. The outgoing server is to receive
this blessing from the priest: ‘O God, who have said:
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened and I
CCM 248 º ºwill refresh you,* refresh these your servants with an
Mt 11:28 *
everlasting reward for their labors. Through [our]
Lord.’ And the incoming server is to receive this
blessing: ‘We beseech you, O Lord, help these your
servants as they labor in the service of their brothers,
and grant them perseverance without murmuring and
5. This passage implies that there was more than one Mass
celebrated on solemn days. This fact, together with the com-
ments on vv. 16-18, gives some indication of the degree of
clericalization of western monasticism that had already taken
place by the ninth century.
6. RCass. 37:3 (R Ben. 94:185); Conc. 44.5 (PL 103:1077A);
cf. Inst. IV.19.2 (CSEL 17:60).
Concerning Sick Brothers 395
the perpetual reward for their personal toil. Through

[our] Lord.’ Now the outgoing weekly server rightly
says to the Lord: Blessed are you, Lord God, who have
helped me, because the Lord himself helps man in his
toil, and himself promises the reward of consolation to
the laborer. And the incoming server rightly says to the
Lord: O God, come to my aid, because he is entering
a duty involving hard work, in which he has need of
the Lord’s help, that is, the help of him who said to
those willing to toil for him: Without me you can do
nothing*. When he says Having received a blessing * Jn 15:5
let him enter [on his service], this refers either to
the prayer uttered beforehand by all the brothers, or to
the petition gathered* by the priest. * collecta
CHAPTER 36
CONCERNING SICK BROTHERS

1
Before all things and above all things care must
be taken of the sick, so that they may really be
served as Christ, 2for he said: I was sick and you
visited me*; and: What you did for one of these least * Mt 25:36
ones you did for me.* When he was asked: With what * Mt 25:40
attitude must we minister to sick brothers?, blessed Basil
replied: [We must do it] as if offering humble service to the
Lord himself, who said: ‘When you did it for one of these my
least brothers you did it for me.’ 1 And another father of
monks says:
The author of compassion makes clear what kind

of care there must be for those who are detained by
infirmities when he says: ‘Whatever you want
1. RBas. 36:interr. & 1 (CSEL 86:81-82); Conc. 45.9 (PL

103:1087AB).
people to do for you, do you also likewise for

Mt 7:12, * them’.* Although this must be done in all things,
Lk 6:31
this precept is to be observed especially in the care
of the sick, because the Lord said: ‘I was sick and
you came to me’. Therefore care must be procured
for the sick as though this ministry were being ex-
ercised in Christ’s presence. Because in fact whoever
lavishes care on the sick for Christ’s sake, ministers
to Christ in the sick.2
4
But the sick on their part should consider
that they are being served for the honor of God,
and not sadden their brothers who are serving
them with their superfluous demands. Blessed
CCM 249 º Basil says:º
It is helpful for preserving the affection with which

we serve, if these sick ones who receive our services
are such that the service ought deservedly be offered
them, and not such as indulge the flesh and the
belly. Let them rather be found worthy of approval
in their love for God and for his Christ, and
through their patience and the merit of their life
deserve their brothers’ services, so that they may be
held in esteem for the glory of God and the disgrace
of the devil, as was holy Job.3
5
Yet they must be patiently borne with,
because from such as these is gained a more
abundant reward. Blessed Isidore says: Those who are
healthy must bear with the sick; but the sick should have
no doubt that those who are healthy and working must be
preferred to them.4 The healthy in body must be healthy
in mind as well; for this reason it is appropriate for the
healthy to bear the sick rather than be borne by the
2. RWal. 15 (PL 88:1065CD); Conc. 45.25 (1092BC).

3. RBas. 36 (CSEL 86:82); Conc. 45.9 (1087B).
4. Isid. Reg. 20 (PL 103:571C); Conc. 45.11 (1088A).
sick. For we must patiently bear the sick, so that when

we are sick we may in turn be patiently borne by the
healthy. During the time when they are sick let us by
our serving seek an abundant reward from them, so
that during the time when we are sick they also may
by their serving seek an abundant reward from us. And
so the apostle says: Bear one another’s burdens, and so you
will fulfill the law of Christ.* * Ga 6:2
6
Therefore let the abbot take the greatest
care that they do not suffer any neglect. 7For
these sick brothers let a separate room be set
aside, and an attendant who is God-fearing,
attentive and solicitous. Let the abbot take care that
they have a separate room with all conveniences, so that those
who are bearing suffering in weak flesh may not experience
any exterior hardship.5 A sufficiently reliable and energetic
person must be put in charge of the sick and those who are
laboring under some disability. Let him both serve the sick
with compassion, and keep the regular monastery discipline,
and let him duly dispense what is appropriate to the sick.6
Let him also promptly prepare portions of tasty food, and
attend on them with devoted ministry; from what they have
over let him not commit fraud, nor secretly defile himself by
unlawful eating.7 The sick should be cared for with such great
mercy that they do not seek the sympathies of relatives or the
delights of cities, but let the cellarer and prior foresee what
they need.The sick themselves, however, are to be admonished
with such great solicitude that not even the slightest word of
ºmurmuring comes from their mouth; but let them in their º CCM 250
sickness always give thanks to God with cheerfulness of mind
and true compunction of heart.8 Let no one dare to visit them
without the superior’s permission, and neither relative nor
full-brother shall have the right to minister without the prior’s
5. RWal. 15 (1065D); Conc. 45.25 (1092C-1093A).

6. RTarn. 21:1-2 (R Ben. 84:43); Conc. 45.19 (1091A).
7. Fructuos. RComplut. 10 (PL 87:1105A); Conc. 45.8 (1087A).
8. Fructuos. Rcomm. 7 (PL 87:1116BC); Conc. 45.24 (1092A).
command.9 So as to safeguard our good name, we have been

especially anxious about this: that no monk who is laid up by
sickness should leave the monastery and be entrusted to his
parents’ care, because we think that, rather than be purged of
his sickness, he could incur defilement by seeing and hearing
worldly spectacles.10
8
Let the use of baths be offered to the sick
as often as is expedient, but to the healthy,
and especially the young, let it be granted less
readily. Hence Saint Isidore says:
No monk is to go to the baths out of fondness for

washing his body, but only by reason of the necessity
caused by illness. If it is helpful as a remedy, this is
not to be put off, nor is there to be any murmuring,
because it is done not out of a longing for pleasure
but only as a health-giving remedy.11 The use of
baths as a healing remedy is to be applied with the
utmost care. But to the healthy, and especially the
young, let it be granted less readily.12
And so blessed Augustine says: A bath is in no way to

be refused to the sick if necessity compels, but even if
one does not want it, on the prior’s order it is to be
taken, for health’s sake. But should a person himself
want it, and perchance it is not advisable, his desire is
not to be heeded.13
9
Moreover, the eating of meat is to be allowed
to the sick and the very weak14 for their recovery;
9. RPachom. Praec. 47 (PL 23:69D); Conc. 45.6 (1086AB).

10. 3RP 12 (PL 103:446B); Conc. 45.29 (1096A).
11. Isid. Reg. 20 (PL 103:571D); Conc. 45.11 (1088B).
12. RWal. 15 (PL 88:1065D); Conc. 45.25 (1093A).
13. Cf. Aug. Reg. 9 (PL 32:1383); Conc. 45.15 (1089A-1090A).
14. CCM: carnium esus infirmis omnino debilibusque. . . ; Migne:
carnium esus infirmis omninoque debilibus. . . . The que in either
position is usually held to be an interpolation; see, e.g., Lentini,
p. 310.
but when they are better, let all abstain from

meat as usual. And so Augustine says:
Of course, just as the sick need to receive less so that

they may not be overburdened, so once the sickness
is thrown off they must be treated in such a way as
to recover more quickly.15 But when they do recover
their former strength, they should return to their
happier and usual practice, which is so much more
becoming to God’s servants the less they need. And
let not pleasure keep them, now that they are active,
where necessity had held them when they were sick.
Those who have been stronger in enduring a sparing
regime should consider themselves the richer, for it
is better to need less than to have more.16
The abbot must make diligent inquiry to find out

and establish the facts, so that ºno one may pretend º CCM 251
to be sick on account of his fondness for eating.17 For
someone who says he is sick and does not rise for the
Work of God, but just goes on lying there, should not
be taken to task; but at mealtime let him receive only
juice and eggs or hot water, so that if he is pretend-
ing he may be compelled to rise at least by hunger.18
But someone who declares that he is not able to work
is likewise to be regarded as not able to eat, because
it is a matter of justice not to be able to do either.
But if, when it comes to working, we say, ‘We cannot’,
let us also say ‘We cannot’ when it comes to eating.19
O wickedness of injustice! The head is tortured by
pains because of work, and the belly is not tormented
through being swollen with food.20
15. Aug. Reg. 5 (1380); Conc. 45.13 (1088C-1089A).

16. Aug. ibid.; Conc. 45.14 (1089A).
17. Cf. RM 28:17 (SCh 106:154); Conc. 45.26 (1093B).
18. Cf. RM 69:1-3 (SCh 106:296); Conc. 45.27 (1093C).
19. Cf. RM 69:21 (300); Conc. 45.27 (1094B).
20. Cf. RM 69:27 (SCh 106:300); Conc. 45.27 (1095A).
The abbot is to take the greatest care that

10
the sick be not neglected by the cellarers and

attendants; whatever is done wrong by his
disciples concerns him as well. A certain master of
monks says: The abbot should take such care of the sick as
he hopes to receive from the Lord, in order that the sick may
not experience any neglect either from the cellarer or from a
minister.21 For it concerns the abbot that whatever
is done wrong by his disciples be amended. But if
it is not amended by him, the abbot is not acquitted
from neglect of the fault.22
21. RWal. 15 (PL 88:1065D); Conc. 45.25 (1093A).

22. ‘[A] culpae negligentia abbas non liberatur.’ It is tempting to
want to turn this as if it read a culpa negligentiae etc., although
the given reading yields a tolerable sense.
CHAPTER 37
CONCERNING OLD MEN

AND CHILDREN
1
Although human nature itself is drawn to mercy
towards these times of life, namely, old men and
children, still the authority of the rule should
also provide for them. Here the word for ‘although’
is licet in place of quamvis. As if to say: Although human
nature itself—the inmost part that is full of compas-
sion—draws a human being naturally to mercy, so that
he pities old men and children, still the authority of
the rule should also provide for them. As to how
it should provide, listen to what follows:
2
Let their weakness always be taken into
consideration, and the strictness of the rule
in regard to food should certainly not be kept
Concerning Old Men and Children 401
in their regard, 3but let a kind consideration

be shown them, and let them eat before the
canonical hours. Blessed Isidore says:
Those who are worn out by bodily old age or lim-

ited by the frailty of tender years, must not be ex-
ercised by daily fasts, in case one who is growing
old should grow disheartened before he dies, or a
growing person ºshould fall before making any º CCM 252
progress, and perish learning to do good.1
And so a certain other master of monks says:
Small children are to fast on Wednesday, Friday

and Saturday, but only when the days are short,
that is in winter; on the other days they shall take
their meal at the sixth hour. On Wednesday, Friday
and Saturday in summer, the children shall take
their meal at the sixth hour; on the other days they
shall dine at the third hour, because on other days
their age makes them less strong and less able to
endure. But we allow this relaxation only to those
children who are under twelve years of age; one who
is older shall be held to the practice of the adults.
For small children, those advanced in age, and the
sick, should with equal reason and by a just judg-
ment enjoy a relaxation as regards mealtimes.2
Let them eat before the canonical hours. The

canonical hours mean the ‘regular hours’. A canon
means a ‘rule’.3 The canonical hours that he asks old
men and children to ‘prevent’, that is, to anticipate
as far as food and drink are concerned, are the sixth
and ninth hours. He says Let them eat before the
canonical hours, in other words, if the brothers eat at
1. Isid. Reg. 12 (PL 103:566AB); Conc. 46.6 (PL 103:1101A).
2. RM 28:19-26 (SCh 106:154-156); Conc. 46.2 (1097A-
1098A).
3. Isid. Etym. VI.16.1; PL 82:243A.
the sixth hour, they shall eat at the third; if the brothers
eat at the ninth, they shall receive food at the sixth.
But those old men who we know are quiet, simple,
humble, obedient, and who frequently take their
stand in prayer, and always have Christ in their mouth
and bewail their sins, who depend not on their own
but on their superior’s decision, completely abandon
attachment to their kinsfolk and hold fast with all
their mind to love of God and of neighbor, and who
day and night meditate on the law of the Lord—these
we order to be cared for like children with loving
compassion, and to be honored like fathers.4
4. Cf. Fructuos. Rcomm. 8 (PL 87:1117B); Conc. 46.4 (1099B-

1100A).
CHAPTER 38
ON THE WEEKLY READER

1
Reading must not be lacking at the brothers’
meals. Reading must not be lacking while they are
eating, so that while attending to sacred reading the
brothers may, according to the apostle, eat their bread
2 Th 3:12 * with silence.* For just as the body is refreshed with
bodily food, so too ought the mind be refreshed with
spiritual food.1 Therefore let them be silent as they sit at
table. And each day at every season let a lesson be read while
food is being taken, so that in both ways man may be re-
freshed—the outer man with food, the inner with the Word
of God—because it is written: ‘Not by bread alone does man
Lk 4:4 * live, but by every word of God’ *.2
1. Cf. Isid. Reg. 10 (PL 103:564B); Conc. 47.7 (PL 103:1107A).

2. Aurel. Reg. 49 (PL 68:383A); Conc. 47.9 (1108A).
On the Weekly Reader 403
ºNor anyone who picks up the book casually º CCM 253

read there. Understand: Nor must anyone, nor
should anyone venture. Casually means ‘suddenly and
without preparation’. The reading, which has to be
read to so many for their edification, must be carefully
prepared, lest unprepared reading provide the hearers
with nourishment that is not only not life-giving but
even gives rise to harmful murmuring. Sacred reading
must be done in such a way that, just as the food fills
the bodies of those eating, so the reading may fill the
hearts of those listening to it.
But let the one who is to read begin on
Sunday. This incoming reader, after Mass and
Communion, shall ask all to pray for him, that
God may keep away from him the spirit of
pride. It is reasonable that the reader should enter
on his reading on the first of all days, and so perform
for a whole week the task of reading he has begun.
He must not begin this task without both his own
prayer and that of the brothers. For in all things that
monks have to do, the prayer of the brothers must
constantly precede. For the prayer of good monks
quickly penetrates heaven.* Therefore it is fitting that * Si 35:17[21]
the reader ask all to pray for him, that God may
keep away from him the spirit of pride, because
from pride is born the arrogance of haughtiness, and
unless the secret haughtiness of the mind goes before,
the open boastfulness of [self-]praise does not follow.
3
And let this verse be said three times by all in
the oratory, he himself beginning: O Lord, you will
open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.* * Ps 51:15
4
And so, having received the blessing, let him
enter on his reading. We must ask him to open our
lips, since it was he who made the distribution of all
languages in the first place. From the very one who
made the tongues of infants eloquent we must ask for
our lips to be opened and our hearts enlightened, so
that the reader’s mouth may declare the duty of praising
him by whose mercy it recognizes it has been opened.

The sentence: And so, having received the blessing,
let him enter on his reading means: Having received
a prayer from the brothers, and a collect of blessing from
the priest, let him enter on his task of reading. If it seems
right, this collect may be given in this way to the reader
by the priest in front of the altar; at the end of Mass
let him say: Turn away, we beseech you, O Lord, from
this your servant, the spirit of pride, so that reading
humbly he may grasp the sense and understanding of
the reading. Through [our] Lord.
5
And let there be complete silence, so that no
one’s muttering or voice may be heard there,
only the reader’s. There is a difference between
simple silence and complete silence. Complete silence
is when no voice and no muttering makes itself heart;
simple silence is when they speak, but gently and
quietly.Thus in the Gospel Martha called Mary quietly,
Jn 11:28 * saying: The Master is here, he is calling you.* About this
latter silence the rule says: Monks should be zealous for
silence at all times. About the former it says: At table
RB 42:1 * and during the night let there be complete silence.*
CCM 254 º º 6The brothers shall minister to one another
in turn what is necessary for them as they eat
and drink, in such a way that no one need ask
for anything. 7But if something is needed, let
it be asked for by the sound of some kind of
sign rather than with the voice. Thus blessed
Fructuosus says: If there is anything missing on the table,
the one in charge should quietly ask for it by giving a sign
and by movements of the head, and indicate to the server
what needs to be brought in and what taken away from the
table.3 Likewise somewhere else: If something is needed
on the table, no one should venture to speak, but let him give
a sign to the servers by means of a sound.4
3. Fructuos. RComplut. 5 (PL 87:1102A); Conc. 47.8 (1107C-
1108A).
4. RPachom. Praec. 33 (PL 23:68D); Conc. 47.6 (1106A).
On the Weekly Reader 405
And no one should presume in that place to

8
ask a question about the reading or anything

else, lest an occasion be given. Understand:
Lest an occasion be given to the malign devil
for tempting, and to the brothers for unnecessary
speaking, as blessed Cassian says: Let holy readings be
read to the brothers as they take their meal, on account of
unnecessary and idle stories and especially disputes, which
are wont to be stirred up frequently at the meal of people as
they are eating.5
9
Unless perchance the superior wishes to say
something briefly for purposes of edification.
Thus a certain master of monks says:
At table no one at all, apart from the abbot and

one he himself may have ordered because of some
common need, should venture to speak. But let all,
as they earnestly give thanks to the Creator in their
hearts, enjoy the freely given accustomed measure
of food and drink.6 And: Let no one allow his eyes
to wander here and there in his excessive curiosity
to know how much another is eating, but let each
one look in front of him.7
The brother who is reader for the week shall

10
receive a mixtum before he begins to read, on

account of the Holy Communion and in case
the fast be hard for him to bear. 11But he shall
take his meal afterwards with the weekly kitchen
servers and the attendants. When he says He shall
receive a mixtum, this is understood as bread and
wine together. For in many regions the simple bread
and wine offered on the altar is called a mixtum. He
5. RCass. 36:1 (R Ben. 94:185); Conc. 47.10 (1108B); cf. Cas-

sian Inst. IV.17 (CSEL 17:58; PL 49:174A-175A).
6. RWal. 9 (PL 88:1061CD); Conc. 47.14 (1112B).
7. RCass. 36:3 (as in n. 5); Conc. 47.10 (1108B); cf. Inst. IV.17
(CSEL 17:59).
says On account of the Holy Communion, so

that he may not, while clearing his throat, spit out
anything of what he has received there.
The brothers are not to read or sing in their

12
order, but those [read] who edify the hearers.

And so again a master of monks says:
The reader shall read in an orderly way, taking his

time, so that the hearers, though occupied, may
clearly recognize what it is they have to fulfill in
their deeds. And if some things are ambiguous or
obscure, they may understand them more easily
since they are read more clearly.8
8. RM 24:18-19 (SCh 106:126); Conc. 47.13 (1110C). The

last sentence in the CCM text reads Et si qua sunt ambigua aut
obscura, apertius lecta facilius intellegant (PL has intelligantur) which
yields a rather different sense from that given by the critical
edition of de Vogüé: . . . et ut, si qua sunt ambigua aut obscura, et
apertius ea non intellegunt fratres, aut interrogatus a fratribus aut ultro
aliqua abbas exponat.
ON THE MEASURE OF FOOD

1
We believe that it is sufficient for the daily
meal of both the sixth and the ninth hour in
all months1 that there should be two cooked
dishes, on account of individual weaknesses, 2so
that he who cannot eat of the one may make
his meal of the other. 3Therefore two cooked
1. CCM has omnibus mensibus where most editions give omni-
bus mensis. For an interesting discussion of the phrase, see Lentini,
pp. 327-328.
On the Measure of Food 407
dishes should suffice for all the brothers; and if

fruit or young legumes are available, let a third
be added. And so Isidore says: In both seasons the meal
shall consist of three dishes, namely of green vegetables and
legumes, and if there is a third, of fruit.2 And so a certain
master of monks says:
We believe that it is sufficient at the daily meal,

whether at the sixth or the ninth hour, in all
months, to have two cooked dishes and a third un-
cooked dish with fruit.3 But on feast days, out of
reverence for the sacred solemnity, their bodies are
to be refreshed with several kinds of food, that is,
with three or four courses; in such a way, however,
that if there are several kinds of food, the amounts
should be smaller, so that our bodies may be re-
freshed with the necessary food, not harmed by
excessive fullness.When the food is laid out on the
table, no one is to eat the food before the signal
sounds for the blessing. And when they hear the
signal, let them ask for the blessing with one voice.
The abbot shall comply, saying: May the Lord
deign to bless [us].We decree especially that no one
should presume to give another any of his portion
or receive anything from another, except the abbot
and the prior to whom it has been entrusted by the
abbot.4
Let a pre-weighed pound of bread suffice

4
for the day, whether there be one meal or both

dinner and supper. 5But if they are going to have
supper, let a third of this pound be kept by the
cellarer, to be given back to them for supper.
Hence the same master above-mentioned says:
2. Isid. Reg. 10 (PL 103:565B); Conc. 48.4 (PL 103:1118B).

3. RM 26:1 (SCh 106:136); Conc. 48.9 (1120B).
4. RWal. 10 (PL 88:1062C); Conc. 48.10 (1122B-1123A).
A half-loaf of bread weighing a pound should suf-

fice per day for each of the brothers, in keeping with
the example of the divine dispensation, when a
crow had prepared half a loaf of heavenly bread for
the servant of God, Paul, to eat every day.5 There-
fore when they have a meal at the sixth hour, in
summer or at other seasons, the cellarer shall with-
hold in the cellar a third part of the Lord’s bread
from everyone’s allowance; in the evening this shall
be placed on the tables before the uncooked dish is
brought in.6
The pre-weighed pound of bread he mentions is

CCM 256 º understood as weighed or ºbalanced beforehand. The
pulmentum * above-mentioned word for a dish of food*, derives its
name from the word for a thick pap made from meal
puls, pultis * or pulse*. For whether pulse is taken on its own, or
something else of the same consistency is put with
it, it is properly called a dish.7 Young legumes are
understood as being the shoots of the same legumi-
nous plants; when put together with vinegar and other
fruits, they are suitable for eating.
6
But if the work happens to be heavier, it shall
be within the abbot’s power to decide—should
it be expedient—to add something. And so Basil
says:
Those who are in charge shall observe the rule

which says: ‘Distribution was made to each accord-
Ac 4:35 * ing as he had need’.* Therefore he must anticipate
each one, so that he may find the solace of a meal
to match the heavy work.8 A person must abstain
entirely from refreshments in quantities that foster
vice; but the amount needed for food as demanded
5. Cf. Hier. Vita S. Pauli primi eremitae; PL 23:25D-26A.

6. RM 26:2-3 (136); Conc. 48.9 (1120B).
7. Cf. Isid. Etym. XX.2.7; PL 82:707B.
8. RBas. 94:3 (CSEL 86:126-27); Conc. 48.14 (1125A).
On the Measure of Food 409
by custom and age, the hardness of the work and

the strength or weakness of the body, shall moderate
the measure and quality of food.9
7
Above all things avoiding overindulgence, and
that a monk be not overtaken by indigestion,
8
for there is nothing so contrary to everything
Christian as overindulgence, 9as our Lord says:
See that your hearts be not burdened by overindul-
gence.* Overindulgence means unrestrained voraciousness. * Lk 21:34
‘Overindulgence’ * comes from ‘rich, uncooked food’ †. The * crapula
† cruda epula
heart is burdened by its rawness and the stomach is made to
suffer from indigestion.10 And so there also follows And
that a monk be not overtaken by indigestion,
that is, the belly’s inability to carry food away. Indeed
the Lord says about overindulgence: See that your hearts
be not burdened by overindulgence and drunkenness, and so
forth. It is of no use whatever to a monk, and contrary to
every good work, for his belly to be filled and weighed down
with food,11 because in the case of one who eats too
much food, the more the belly is fed, the more the
mind’s perception is blunted.
10
As for younger boys, they shall not receive
the same quantity of food as their elders, but
less, sparingness being observed in all things.
And so a master says: For those less than twelve years old
less than a pound of bread per day should suffice.12 Quantity
means ‘smallness or greatness’; the word comes from
the measure that answers the question: ‘How much
is there?’ It shows that there is either more or less.13
Sparingness is temperance, the name coming from the
verb ‘to spare’.
9. RBas. 9:1-2 (46); Conc. 48.16 (1127B).

10. Etym. XX.2.9 (as n. 7).
11. RBas. 9:8 (CSEL 86:47); Conc. 48.16 (1127D-1128A).
12. RM 26:14 (SCh 106:138); Conc. 48.9 (1121B).
13. Cf. Etym. I.7.19; PL 82:83C.
CCM 257 º º 11Let everyone, except the sick who are very
weak, abstain completely from eating the flesh
of four-footed animals. And so Aurelius says: Meat
should never be taken as food. No chickens or birds of any
kind should be served up in the community; they shall be
provided only for the sick, and only they shall be allowed to
receive them.14 And Fructuosus says:
Leave to taste or eat meat is not to be granted to

anyone, not because we consider a creature of God
unworthy, but because abstinence from meat is
thought to be useful and suitable for monks. Mod-
eration and compassion, however, are to be kept in
regard to the needs of the sick and of those setting
out on a long journey, and so both the sick and
those sent on a long journey should be sustained
by the eating of fowl. But if they are expected by
a prince or a bishop, let them not be afraid to have
a taste of something on account of the blessing and
for obedience’s sake, while for the rest observing in
themselves the customary restraint. But if a monk
violates this and presumes, contrary to the sanction
of the rule and ancient usage, to eat meat, he shall
undergo confinement and penance for a space of six
months.15
The words The sick who are very weak refer to the
one person only, not to two different ones, as many
think. Therefore a ‘weak sick person’ refers to one
who, having been oppressed by a long and severe ill-
ness, has been reduced to a state of weakness; for his
restoration a meat diet is to be used.
14. Aur. Reg. 51 (PL 68:393A); Conc. 48.7 (1119B-1120A).

15. Fructuos. RComplut. 5 (PL 87:1102BC); Conc. 48.11 (1123
BC).
CHAPTER 40
ON THE MEASURE OF DRINK

1
Everyone has his own gift from God, one in
this way, another in that.* When he says one in * 1 Co 7:7
this way, another in that, he means that one person
has from God a greater gift of abstinence, while an-
other has a lesser. And therefore their food and drink
are to be regulated with great caution, in case while
a person who needs less is exercising moderation, one
who needs more is suffering scarcity and need. And so
there follows:
2
And therefore it is with some scrupulosity
that we determine the measure of other men’s
sustenance. Scrupulosity means ‘sadness and anxiety,
solicitude and uneasiness of mind’.1 º º CCM 258
3
But having regard for the feebleness of
the sick, we believe a hemina of wine per day
is sufficient. 4But those to whom God grants
the strength to abstain should know that they
will have their own reward. Here he says The
feebleness of the sick, not meaning the body’s
illness but the mind’s inability. For the body is not able
to observe abstinence outwardly unless the mind has
given its interior consent to abstain. There are many
who could abstain because of the health granted them,
but they are not able to because of the feebleness of
their mind. A hemina of wine weighs one pound, and
when doubled makes a sextarius [a pint].2
5
But if the local requirements and work or
the heat of summer call for more, the decision
shall lie with the superior, every care being
1. Cf. Isid. Etym. XVI.3.5; PL 82:563A.

2. Ibid. 26.5; 594A.
411
taken that satiety or drunkenness not creep in.

And so Ferreolus says:
I think it unnecessary for a monk to be reminded

forcibly about drunkenness, since if he receives even
a small amount of wine he turns aside from the
mortification of the body that has been laid on
him.3 And therefore if a monk happens at any time
to seem drunk—it is shocking to say this!—blaz-
ing against him and full of anger I order that he be
suspended for thirty days from drinking wine, so
that in this space the soul may be emptied, by the
process of digestion, of the infusion allowed it.4
Although we read that wine is by no means a

6
drink for monks. Listen to where blessed Benedict

read this written down. A certain ancient amongst the
Fathers says:
Meat and wine, or intoxicating drink, must be re-

jected and not received by monks; the world has
been crucified to them for Christ’s sake, and they
to the world. And there is no holiday for a monk
upon the earth, except infrequently, at the arrival
of brothers as though of Christ; then food should
be more appetizing, for charity’s sake.5
But since in our times monks cannot be per-

suaded of this, let us at least agree to drink spar-
ingly and not to satiety, 7because wine makes even
Si 19:2 * the wise apostatize.* To apostatize means ‘to depart
3. RFerreol. 39 (PL 66:975B); Conc. 49.4 (PL 103:1131B-

1132A).
4. RFerreol. 39 (975D); Conc. 49.4 (1132B).
5. Rcuiusd. 11 (PL 66:990B); Conc. 48.17 (1128C-1129A).
Since the Regula cuiusdam dates from the seventh century, Sma-
ragdus is mistaken in citing it as the source of Benedict’s reading
that ‘wine is by no means a drink for monks’.
On the Measure of Drink 413
from the way of justice’, ‘to go over from the faith’,

‘to go backwards and walk crookedly, away from the
good’. But pay careful attention to how wine makes
the wise apostatize. For Noah, a wise, holy and very
old man, whom such huge masses of water had not
overcome, was overcome by a little wine and, while
in a drunken sleep, was stripped naked.* Wine made * Gn 9:21
the patriarch Lot apostatize, when contrary to nature
he shamelessly had intercourse with his daughters.* * Gn 19:33-35
Therefore if the drunkenness of wine has not spared
holy and eminent men, how much more will it over-
come a poor weak monk?
º 8But where the local circumstances require º CCM 259
that the aforesaid measure cannot be found, but
much less or nothing at all, let those who live
there bless God and not murmur. For since the
apostle writes to the sick Timothy: ‘Use a little wine for your
stomach’s sake and your frequent infirmities’ *, let the monks * 1 Tm 5:23
receive as much wine per day as is offered by command and
arrangement of the abbot in keeping with the monastery’s
abilities; and they should not look for any more.6
9
This admonition we give above all: that
they refrain from murmuring. It is becoming
for monks to refrain from murmuring, in case they
perish by murmuring, as did those who murmured in
the desert*,7 and in case they lose the name of God’s * 1 Co 10:10
children and receive another name, according to the
apostle, that is, ‘murmurers, complainers’*, ‘enemies of * Jude 16
God’*. * Rm 1:30
6. RFerreol. 39 (975BC); Conc. (1132A).

7. Cf. Fructuos. Rcomm. 5 (PL 87:1114D); Conc. 49.2 (1131B).
CHAPTER 41
AT WHAT HOURS
MEALS ARE TO BE TAKEN
1
From holy Easter until Pentecost the brothers
shall dine at the sixth hour and take supper at a
late hour. And so blessed Isidore says:
These are the monks’ festivals, on which the fasts

come to rest: In the first place, the venerable day of
the Lord, dedicated to the name of Christ; just as
it is solemn on account of the mystery of his resur-
rection, so too among all his servants will it retain
the festal character of a banquet by its votive joy.
Likewise from the first day of Easter until Pente-
cost, that is for fifty continuous days, the fast was
abolished by the holy Fathers on account of Christ’s
resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit, so
that these days may be celebrated, not by the figure
of hard work, which is what the time of Lent signi-
fies, but by that of quiet joy, the fasts being
relaxed.1
And so Cassian says: From the Saturday evening which

shines on the Lord’s day, until the evening of the Sunday
itself, and for the whole fifty days, the Fathers’ ordinances
have decreed that there be no genuflecting or keeping the
rule of fasting.2 When he said Let them take sup-
CCM 260 º per at a late hour, he put ‘at a late ºhour’ instead
1. Isid. Reg. 11 (PL 103:565BC); Conc. 50.3 (PL 103:1139AB).

CCM: in quietae laetitiae laxatis ieiuniis celebrentur; PL has quiete
laetitiae. I have translated it as though figura, used shortly before
in in figura laboris is—awkwardly—to be understood with quietae
laetitiae, leaving laxatis ieiuniis as an ablative absolute.
2. RCass. 4:1 (R Ben. 94:172); Conc. 50.7 (1144A); cf. Cassian,
Inst. II.18 (CSEL 17:31).
414
At What Hours Meals Are to be Taken 415
of ‘late’, just as ‘at eventide’ can be used instead of ‘in

the evening’. Supper [cena] is so called from the com-
munion of those who are eating. For the greek word
for ‘common’ is cenon.3 Hence the word cenaculum
[supper-room] comes from the community that exists
between those who are eating,4 and cenobium [mon-
astery] from the community that exists among those
who are living.5
2
But from Pentecost for the whole of the
summer, if the monks do not have work in the
fields or the excessive heat of summer does not
trouble them, let them fast on Wednesday and
Friday until the ninth hour. And so Isidore again
says: The second fast, a daylong one, begun the second day
after Pentecost, extends until the autumn equinox, for three
days a week that is, on account of the heat of the summer
sun.6 And Fructuosus says: From Easter until Pentecost
they are to take their meal at the sixth hour; from Pentecost
until the eighteenth of the calends of October the all-day fasts
are to be kept.7
3
On other days let them dine at the sixth
hour; 4if they have work in the fields or the
summer heat is excessive, this dinner at the
sixth hour should continue; it is a matter for
the abbot’s foresight. ‘Dinner’* gets its name from * prandium
the process of preparing the meal.8 He says that dinner
at the sixth hour should continue, that is, it should take
place at that time daily, without interruption.The fasts
are to be relaxed in summer time on account of the
tiring nature of the work and the degree of heat. ‘To

4. Cf. ibid. XV.3.7; 542AB.
5. Cf. ibid. XV.4.6; 544B.
6. Isid. Reg. 12 (PL 103:566A); Conc. 50.4 (PL 103:1140B).
7. Fructuos. RComplut. 17 (PL 87:1107D-1108A); Conc. 50.5
(1141A).
8. Cf. Etym. XX.2.11; PL 82:707C.
continuare * continue’ * means ‘to do daily’,† ‘to double or repeat’,

cotidie agere †
and ‘to do without intermission’.
5
And let him temper and arrange everything
in such a way that souls may be saved and the
brothers may do what they do without just
murmuring. All the shepherd’s shrewdness and care
must daily tend towards this: that the souls of his sheep
may be saved and that they may be richly fed with
sacred virtues and on eternal pastures. And what the
sheep do, let them do without just murmuring.
‘Just murmuring’ means that which is done by monks,
not voluntarily or without cause, but reluctantly and
under compulsion; the just murmuring of one person
occurs after being stirred up by an evil done by or to
another. The just murmuring of monks usually arises
from the unjust oppression of teachers, as blessed
Gregory says: The earth cries out against its possessor, when
the Church justly murmurs against its shepherd.9
CCM 261 º º 6But from the thirteenth of September until
the beginning of Lent they shall take their meal
at the ninth hour. The question arises: How is it that
here he says they must fast daily from the thirteenth
of September, when in the forty-eighth chapter he is
going to say From Easter until the first of October
. . . after Sext on rising from table let them
RB 48.3,5 * rest?* It is explained in this way: If they have work
in the fields or grape-picking in the vineyards where
they are personally occupied, they should take their
meal at the sixth hour until the first of October; but
if they do not have such work, the general fast should
begin on the thirteenth of September.
7
But in Lent until Easter let them take their
meal in the evening. Isidore again says: The first fast
is the daily fast of Lent; in this season a greater observance of
abstinence shall prevail among the monks, when they abstain
not only from lunch but also from wine and oil.10 Monks
9. Greg. Hom. ev. I.17.8; PL 76:1142D.
10. Isid. Reg. 12 (565D-566A); Conc. 50.4 (1140B).
At What Hours Meals Are to be Taken 417
base their practice of taking their meal in the evening

on the example of the Lord himself, who, we read, did
not have dinner but supper,11
when Scripture says: ‘When evening came, Jesus

reclined at table with the twelve apostles, and while
they were having supper he said to them’ *. It has * Mt 26:20-21
been laid down that the fast is to be broken every
day at the ninth hour, so that something more ex-
tended may be added in the days of Lent, that is,
they fast till the evening.12
8
Vespers should be celebrated at such a time that
they do not need the light of a lamp while eat-
ing, but let everything be accomplished in day-
light. 9In fact at every season the hour, whether
for supper or for the daily meal, should be so
arranged that everything takes place by day-
light. Everything must be accomplished, completed
and finished by daylight, so that the light of a lamp is
not needed and everything is done carefully and with
moderation at the proper hours, and so that rising
during the night with greater speed and alacrity they
may fulfill the prophet’s word of exhortation: During
the night lift up your hands to the holy place and bless the
Lord.* When he says Whether supper, understand: * Ps 134:2
Whether there be supper. Supper refers to the meal
taken after lunch, at times when the brothers have two
meals. The hour for the daily meal here means:
when having completed the fast they take a meal only
once, in the evening.
11. Cf. RM 28:6 (SCh 106:152); Conc. 50.8 (1145A).

12. RM 28:7-8 (152); Conc. 50.8 (1145A-1146A).
THAT NO ONE IS TO SPEAK

AFTER COMPLINE
1
Monks should be zealous for silence at all
times, but especially during the hours of the
night. And so we read elsewhere:
A series of texts from Scripture shows clearly that

the rule of silence is to be kept all the time, when
through the prophet it says: ‘The service of justice
Is 32:17 * is silence’ *; and: ‘Set, O Lord, a guard over my
Ps 141:3 * mouth, and a door round about my lips’ *.1
Therefore as soon as Compline is finished let silence

reign among the brothers, and let them settle them-
selves on their beds in such wise2 that no one speaks
to another.3 We must keep silence after Compline so that
we may deserve to say for the first time at the Night Office:
‘Lord, you will open my lips, and my mouth shall declare
Ps 51:15 * your praise’ *; that is, that we may ask the Lord to open our
lips during the Night Hours, lips he had closed with his
guard at Compline.4
2
And therefore at every season, whether of fast
or non-fast days, 3as soon as they have risen
from supper5 let them all sit together, and let
1. RWal. 9 (PL 88:1061B); Conc. 51.8 (PL 103:1150BC).

2. Cf. RM 30:12-13 (SCh 106:164); Conc. 51.7 (1149AB).
3. RO 44:1 (Benedictina 23:271); Conc. 51.5 (1149A).
4. RM 30:14-15 (164); Conc. 51.7 (1149B).
5. Smaragdus omits the first part of v. 3: Si tempus fuerit prandii,
‘If it be a time when lunch is taken’. Lentini (p. 352) remarks
on the significance of these words for establishing what Saint
Benedict intends by the expression dies or tempus prandii.
418
That No One is to Speak After Compline 419
one of them read the Conferences or the Lives

of the Fathers, or at any rate something that may
edify the hearers, but not the Heptateuch or the
Books of Kings, because it will not be helpful for
weak minds to hear this Scripture at that hour;
but they are to be read at other times. When he
says Or at any rate something that may edify
the hearers, he is understood to have been speaking
about the homilies of the Fathers, in which we find
written plenty of things to edify the hearers, and cer-
tainly about the exposition of Catholic books made
by orthodox men, in which holy doctrine abounds
for monks who are sufficiently holy. But when he says
But not the Heptateuch or the Books of Kings,
we must pay careful attention to what follows. He says
Because it will not be helpful for weak minds
to hear this Scripture at that hour. At no time are
sincere, sound, and sharp minds forbidden to read the
Heptateuch or Kings or any history whatever of the
divine Scriptures, because they are able to distinguish
in them various figures and senses, and derive from
them in their reading an example of salvation. But he
rightly forbids those who are not able to draw from
them a spiritual understanding to read the Heptateuch
or Kings at that hour. At ºthat time each person needs º CCM 263
to be edified by the divine word and then proceed to
the office of Compline, and then go to his bed edified.
For the rest, they are to be read at other hours, either
in the presence of everyone at their due time in the
church, or else each one must read them in school as
part of their learning to read.* * pro legendi
doctrina
5
But if it is a fast day, having said Vespers and
after a short interval they shall proceed to the
reading of the Conferences, as we have said;
6
and when four or five pages have been read, or
as much as time permits, 7while all are coming
together in the delay provided by the reading,
in case someone was occupied in some task
entrusted to him. A ‘conference’ means a ‘bringing,

speaking and chatting together’, in which while
some bring questions about the divine Scriptures,
others bring suitable answers, and in this way things
that had long remained hidden become open and
manifest to those taking part in the conference. When
he says In case someone was occupied in some
task entrusted to him, understand: Let him come.
‘Entrusted’ means ‘committed, commended’. And so
there follows:
8
And so when all are assembled let them say
Compline. Here he does not make an exception for
the abbot, or the prior, or the deans, who sometimes
at this hour, while others are singing in church, devote
themselves to drinking or telling stories or giving and
receiving counsel. But he orders absolutely everyone
to come together during this delay provided by the
reading of the Conferences, and orders all to sing
Compline together.
And when they come out from Compline,
no permission is to be given to anyone to do
any further talking. 9But if anyone is found
transgressing this rule of silence, let him
undergo severe punishment, 10unless a need of
the guests occurs, or perchance the abbot gives
someone an order. 11But this is to be done with
the utmost gravity and the most becoming
restraint. Somewhere else as well we find it written:
From the time of Compline, when the prayer ‘For

going to sleep’ is being said, no one at all shall
presume to speak unless some great need of the
monastery calls for it.The one who does this speak-
ing shall be the one ordered to by the abbot, and
also by the prior, who carries the burden of caring
for others.6
6. RWal. 9 (1061C); Conc. 51.8 (1151A-1152A).

OF THOSE WHO ARRIVE LATE

AT THE WORK OF GOD
OR AT TABLE
1
As soon as the signal is heard at the time for the
Divine Office, leaving everything they had in hand let
them run with the greatest haste, 2yet with gra-
vity, so that there be no grounds for buffoonery.
3
Therefore let nothing be preferred to the Work
of God. And so a certain master of monks says:
Whenever in the hours of the day or of the night

the signal sounds for the Work of God, they must
rise immediately with the greatest haste as if the
king’s herald were sounding his trumpet, leaving
behind every work they had in hand, so that noth-
ing may be preferred to the Work of God.The mind
attentive to the herald’s sounding and intent on the
Work of God should, with all gravity and meekness
run and make haste to intone the glory of his
majesty and give thanks for his compassion.1
And Cassian says:
Therefore when the sound of the signal for these

prayers is heard, the monk must leap up with such
speed that—not to mention other crafts—he who
is practicing the art of writing, at the very moment
when the sound of the signal reaches his ears, does
not venture to complete a letter he has begun.2
And another master says: When the signal in the
oratory has been struck, immediately all on hearing
1. RWal. 8 (PL 88:1060D); Conc. 52.34 (PL 103:1164B).

2. RCass. 16:1 (R Ben. 94:178); Conc. 52.26 (1162B); cf. Cas-
sian Inst. IV.12 (CSEL 17:54).
421
it, before they begin to run, are to make the sign of

the cross on their forehead and answer:Thanks be
to God.3
And then
those working are to throw down their work, crafts-

men to lay aside their tools; writers are not to com-
plete a letter, the hand of every brother is to abandon
what it was doing, the foot shall hasten immedi-
ately, with gravity, to the oratory, the mind to God,
so that they may soon come together for the first
prayer. Let the crowd of brothers as they enter the
oratory swarm like bees to honey, so that the place
of the holy oratory, heretofore quiet, may be filled
all at once with the cries of the psalms. 4
4
But if at Vigils anyone comes after the Glory
be following Psalm 94, which for this reason we
wish to be said very slowly and protractedly, he
should not stand in his rank in choir, 5but let
him stand last of all, or in a place apart which
the abbot has appointed for such negligent per-
sons, so that they may be seen by him and by
all, 6until such time as, the Work of God being
finished, he does penance with a public satis-
CCM 265 º faction. 7The reason for ºour determining that
they should stand in the last place or apart is,
that being seen by all they may amend for very
shame. And so Cassian says:
In the night prayers a late arrival is allowed up to

the second psalm. But once the psalm is finished
and before the brothers bow down for prayers, he
should hasten to join and mingle with the com-
munity. But if he is even a little later, when Vigils
3. RM 54:5 (SCh 106:258); Conc. 52.12 (1157AB).

4. RM 54:1-4 (256-258); Conc. 52.12 (1157A).
Of Those Who Arrive Late at the Work of God or at Table 423
are finished let him not fail to ask pardon for his
negligence, as we have said above, bowing down
with true humility;5 that is, let him be ordered to
stand in the last place, which has been designated
for such negligent ones, and wait there with shame
and fear, and after the completion of the Office,
make satisfaction with lengthy penance in front of
the assembly of the brothers as they go out.6
8
For if they remain outside the oratory, there
will perhaps be such a one as will go back to
bed and sleep, or at least sit down outside and
spend the time in gossip, and an occasion is
given to the evil one; 9but let them go inside so
that they may not lose the whole lot, and may
amend for the future.
Elsewhere also we read:
They are not to be segregated outside at all, in case

being overcome by drowsiness they go to sleep, or
in some matter the evil enemy be given an oppor-
tunity to draw near. And in fact, if he takes his
place inside he does not lose the whole of what he
had begun, and he is subdued by shame and fear
when he is seen by all. And when at the end of the
Office the rest go out, he is to take his place in the
church and sing twelve psalms above the appointed
number for his late-coming. But if he misses the
whole Office, especially during the hours of the
night when no other work needs doing, he is to be
condemned to an extra penance.7
At the Day Hours, one who does not ar-

10
rive for the Work of God after the verse and

the Glory be of the first psalm said after the
5. RCass. 17:3-4 (as in n. 2); Conc. 52.27 (1162C); cf. Inst.

III.7.2 (CSEL 17:41).
6. RWal. 8 (PL 88:1060D); Conc. 52.34 (1165A).
7. RWal. 8 (1060D-1061A); Conc. 52.34 (1165A-1166A).
424 Book Three of the Commentary
verse, in keeping with the law we laid down

above, let them stand in the last place 11and not
presume to join the choir of those singing the
psalms until they have made satisfaction, unless
perhaps the abbot gives permission by grant-
ing pardon. 12Even so the guilty one is to make
satisfaction for this. And so Saint Fructuosus says:
At the day prayers one who does not arrive for the first psalm
should not make bold to enter the oratory with the rest, but
CCM 266 º will be assigned to do penance.8 And Cassian says:º
But if anyone does not arrive before the first psalm

begun is finished, he should not make bold to go
further into the oratory among the brothers who are
singing the psalms; but let him stand outside and
wait at the door until, after the psalms are finished,
the community disperses.Then lying on the ground
let him by humble penance for his negligence and
late-coming, in everybody’s presence, ask and receive
pardon from the abbot. But if he disdains to make
satisfaction, he shall not be allowed to join the
brothers for prayer.9
When he says Even so the guilty one is to make

satisfaction for this, we take this to mean that he is
received in choir by permission of the abbot on the
understanding that after the psalmody is over, being
still guilty, he makes satisfaction for the negligence
he has committed until he receives pardon from the
abbot, and full and peaceful remission follows.
13
But one who does not arrive at table before
the verse so that all may say the verse and
the prayer together and all sit down at table
together, 14one who through his own negligence
or fault does not arrive shall be reproved for
8. Fructuos. RComplut. 18 (PL 87:1108A); Conc. 52.15 (1159B).

9. RCass. 17:1-2 (as in n. 2.); Conc. 52.27 (1162BC); cf. Inst.
III.7.1 (CSEL 17:41).
this up to the second time. 15If he still does not

amend, he shall not be admitted to a share in the
common table, 16but shall eat alone separated
from the company of all, and let his portion of
wine be taken away until he makes satisfaction
and amendment. 17And one who is not present
for the verse said after the meal shall undergo
similar treatment. And so a certain master of monks
says:
Those who are not present for the antiphon and

verse before the meal shall eat and drink apart,
without a sign of the cross and without a blessing
being given or received, and without conversing with
anyone. He who has not spoken with God before
the meal is deservedly obliged to eat without human
converse. But one who is not present for the verse
after the meal shall receive the same punishment
as the one who has not spoken with God before
the meal. However, these reproofs and excommu-
nications are established only for those who are late
through willful negligence, who are not engaged in
necessary business.10 For those who are occupied
for the monastery’s benefit are absent for a worthy
cause, and are to be remembered by those present
in the oratory.11
And Isidore says: One who comes late to table should

either do penance or return fasting to his work or to his
cubicle.12 And Basil says: If someone though able has not
taken pains to arrive, he should confess his fault of negligence
and remain without food until the time when they gather for
food on the next day.13
10. RM 73:8-12 (SCh 106:308-310); Conc. 52.13 (1158AB).

11. RM 73:15 (310); Conc. 52.13 (1158B).
12. Isid. Reg. 10 (PL 103:564A); Conc. 52.21 (1161A).
13. RBas. 97:2 (CSEL 86:129); Conc. 52.23 (1161C).
CCM 267 º º 18And let him not presume to take any food
or drink before the appointed hour.14 And so
Fructuosus says: Let none of the monks presume to break
the fast or dare to taste and touch anything that has to do with
drinking and eating before they take their meal in common
with the rest, or after their meal. And let no one presume to
hide away and keep anything secretly for himself.15
And Cassian says:
This too is to be guarded against in every way: no

one should presume to eat anything however small
outside the meal, before or after the hour at which
all the brothers eat in common, so that it is a sac-
rilege not only to taste but even to touch the fruit
in season lying under the trees.16 He who tastes
anything either secretly or outside the ordinary meal
shall undergo the sentence of excommunication.17
19
But if anyone is offered anything by the
superior and refuses to accept it, come the time
when he wants what he has previously refused,
or something else, he should receive nothing
at all until he has made fitting amends. This
is an example of hyperbaton: arranged another way,
this is how it can be understood: If anyone is offered
something by the superior and refuses to accept
it, when he wants—understand to accept—it, he
should either receive what previously he has refused,
or nothing at all. And so blessed Basil says:
14. The CCM text omits quis in v. 18. PL has Nec quis-
quam. . . .
15. Fructuos. RComplut. 5 (PL 87:1102CD); Conc. 52.17
(1160A).
16. RCass. 35:1-2 (R Ben. 94:185); Conc. 52.29 (1163AB); cf.
Inst. IV.18 (CSEL 17:59).
17. Isid. Reg. 10 (PL 103:564D); Conc. 52.21 (1161B). This
quotation from Isidore does not feature in the Migne text of
Smaragdus.
What has here been said about food can also be kept in the
same form concerning everything that pertains to the body’s
needs.18 Therefore, such a one as refuses to accept what has
been offered does not deserve to receive it even if he asks for
it, until the one in charge tests him; and if he sees that the
mind’s vice has been cured, then he will also give him what
is required for the body’s needs.19
18. RBas. 95:4 (CSEL 86:127-28); Conc. 52.24 (1162A).

19. RBas. 96:1 (128); Conc. 52.25 (1162AB).
HOW THE EXCOMMUNICATED

ARE TO MAKE SATISFACTION
Those who are excommunicated from the

1
oratory and from table for grave faults, at the

hour when the celebration of the Work of God
is being concluded in the oratory, let him lie
prostrate before the door of the oratory saying
nothing, 2but just lying there with his head on
the ground, prostrate at the feet of all as they
come out of the oratory. 3And let him do this
until such time as the abbot judges he has made
satisfaction. We have already said above what the
more serious faults are. As Isidore says, their meal is to
be only bread and water in the evening.Their clothing
is to be either a thin covering or perhaps sackcloth;
their bed either the bare earth or perhaps a rush-mat
on the earth.1 And so a certain master of monks says:
1. Cf. Isid. Reg. 17 (PL 103:569D); Conc. 33.2 (PL 103:1012A-

1013B).
But a brother who has committed a grave fault is

to be excommunicated from both, that is, from the
oratory and from table; he shall not obtain the su-
perior’s pardon unless, prostrate before the threshold
of the oratory, in the interval during which they
pause in the psalms of the hours, with tearful voice
he make satisfaction to God and to all, having
promised amendment.2
4
When he comes at the abbot’s order, let him
cast himself at the abbot’s feet, then at the feet
of all, so that they may pray for him. 5And then
if the abbot so orders, let him be received back
in choir in the order the abbot shall decide.
6
Even so he shall not presume to intone psalm
or reading or anything else in the oratory, unless
the abbot again gives the order. 7And at all the
hours, when the Work of God is being completed,
he is to cast himself on the ground in the place
where he is standing, 8and so make satisfaction
until the abbot again gives the order to rest from
this satisfaction. And so Isidore says: The satisfaction
of delinquents is this: having completed the time of
penance let him come when he is called, lie prostrate
on the earth, rise from the ground when ordered by
the abbot, and while rising ask pardon from all for his
negligence, so as to obtain forgiveness after the severity
of this correction.3
CCM 269 º º 9But those who for light faults are
excommunicated only from table are to make
satisfaction in the oratory; until the abbot’s
order 10let them do this, until he gives a blessing
and says: That is enough. The blessing referred to
means, May the Lord forgive you; when he says, That
is enough, what is meant is the satisfaction done for
this fault.
2. RM 13:62-63 (SCh 106:44-46); Conc. 33.4 (1014A).

3. Cf. Isid. Reg. 17 (569C); Conc. 33.4 (1011B-1012A).
CHAPTER 45
ON THOSE WHO MAKE

MISTAKES IN THE ORATORY
If anyone makes a mistake while reciting a

1
psalm, responsory, antiphon or reading, unless he

humbles himself there before all by a satisfaction,
he shall undergo a greater punishment, 2since
he refused to correct by humility what he did
wrong through negligence. 3But children for
such faults are to be whipped. When he says Let
him undergo a greater punishment, understand:
than if he had humbled himself there before all. But
when he says Children for such faults are to be
whipped, understand: unless they humbled themselves
there before all. This concerns those who rarely make
a mistake. But those who make frequent mistakes and,
though often reproved, do not amend, even if they do
humble themselves there they are to be whipped, so
that they may amend and no longer make frequent
mistakes.
CHAPTER 46
ON THOSE WHO COMMIT

FAULTS IN ANY OTHER
MATTERS
1
If anyone while engaged in any work what-
ever—in the kitchen, in the cellar, in serving,
in the bakery, in the garden, in some craft, or
in any place whatever—does something wrong
429
2
or breaks or loses something, or transgresses
in any other way in any other place, 3and does
not come immediately before the abbot and the
community and make satisfaction of his own ac-
cord and own up to his fault, 4when it becomes
know through someone else he shall undergo
a more severe correction. And so Cassian says: If
anyone breaks or loses something, he shall not wipe our his
negligence otherwise than if, in the presence of all the brothers
and prostrate on the ground, he humbly beseeches God until
such time as he is released by the abbot’s prayer.1 For the
above-mentioned cases of negligence
are to be weighed according to their own proper

measure, and must be corrected according to the age
CCM 270 º of the delinquents, be it tender, elderly, ºor that of
manhood. But if someone falls in these matters of
negligence and immediately makes a confession to
the abbot and prior, and it is ascertained that what
happened did so by accident and was not voluntary,
let it be sufficient for him to amend his wrongdoing
with a satisfaction that wins pardon. However, if it
is made known not by his own confession but by
another person’s report, he shall undergo penance
according as the magnitude of the fault demands.2
5
But if the cause of the soul’s sin lies hidden,
he should make it known only to the abbot or
to spiritual seniors, 6who know how to care for
their own and others’ wounds, without expos-
ing and making them public. But we strongly urge
that
if a brother commits any of the major faults which
lead to the soul’s greater condemnation, let him
manifest it in private to his abbot by an unadorned
1. RCass. 39:1 (R Ben. 94:186); Conc. 36.2 (PL 103:1026A);

cf. Cassian Inst. IV.16.1 (CSEL 17:57).
2. RWal. 16 (PL 88:1066AB); Conc. 36.3 (1027AB).
confession, lest while at this time he feels ashamed
to disclose his heart’s fault, along with the guilt
of his fault he hide within him the devil’s face.3
3. RWal. 16 (1061A); Conc. 36.3 (1027B-1028A).
CHAPTER 47
ON SIGNALING THE HOUR

FOR THE WORK OF GOD
1
It shall be the abbot’s responsibility to an-
nounce the hour for the Work of God, day and
night. He shall either do this personally, or en-
join this charge on such a careful brother that
everything may be carried out at the proper
times. And so a certain Father says:
Whoever has been ordered, that is, the person who

because of his careful and untiring attitude has been
found suitable for this work, must look after the times
for the cursus [Divine Office] according to the ab-
bot’s arrangement, so that the Work of God may not
be delayed;1 [who] shall not presume to rouse the
brothers for Vigils at any hour he likes, [but] shall
invite the whole community to the duty of prayer in
such a way that he may not be found careless in ei-
ther matter, that is, he shall neither through being
oppressed by sleep go beyond the appointed hour of
the night, nor in his haste anticipate it.2 But if on
1. RWal. 9 (PL 88:1061A); Conc. 54.11 (PL 103:1174A).

2. RCass. 11:1.2.3. (R Ben. 94:175); Conc. 54.4 (1170A-
1171A); cf. Cassian Inst. II.17 (CSEL 17:31).
431
any occasion he deviates from the right order, so that

the hours are not kept according to their order, he
shall be condemned to an extra penance.3
CCM 271 º º 2Those so commanded shall intone the

psalms and antiphons in their order after the
abbot. 3No one should presume to sing and read
unless he can fulfill this duty to the edification
of the hearers. 4But this should be done with
humility and reverence, and by one the abbot
has so ordered. When he says They shall intone in
their order after the abbot, he does not mean the
order of their entry, but he is speaking of those who
have a command from the abbot and can do this task
well; of them he said earlier The brothers are not to
read or sing in their order, but [only] those who
RB 38.12 * edify the hearers.* And just as they must do this in
an orderly way, so too they must do it carefully and
with humility. And so there follows No one should
presume to sing and read unless he can fulfill
this duty to the edification of the hearers, and
so forth.
3. RWal. 9 (1061A); Conc. 54.11 (1174AB).
CHAPTER 48
ON THE DAILY MANUAL WORK
Idleness is the enemy of the soul.

1
A monk idle in body can never be idle in mind

from unclean thoughts.1 It is through idleness that
1. RP et St. 34 (PL 66:957A); Conc. 55.16 (PL 103:1185A).

On the Daily Manual Work 433
the lusts and desires arising from harmful thoughts

gather strength,2 as Solomon says: In desires every-
one is idle*, and: Idleness thinks up many evils †.3 * Pr 21:25
So then, we exhort you, brothers, not to love idle- † Si 33:29
ness, but by sincere and unanimous agreement let
each one toil as he is able;4 [but] let a person who
has been like this up to now cast off this vice and
come ready for every work, for it is written: ‘Do not
hate hard work, and the husbandry ordained by
the Most High’ *.5 For if the apostles used to do * Si 7:16
bodily work with which to sustain the life of the
body, how much more should monks; they are
obliged not only to produce with their own hands
what is necessary for their own life, but also by their
labors to restore others in their soul. If those who
are strong in body and sound in health are lazy in
work, they are known to be committing a twofold
sin, because not only do they not work, ºbut they º CCM 272
also infect others and invite them to imitation. For
someone is converted to God so as to serve him in
careful toil, and not to feed on inactivity and lazi-
ness, surrendering to idleness. Those who wish to
apply themselves to reading but do not work, are
wilfully disobedient to the reading itself, because
they do not do what they read there. For it is writ-
ten there: ‘Let them work and eat their own
bread’ *.6 * 2 Th 3:12
And so through the prophet it is said of the idle soul:

The enemy have seen her and have mocked her sabbaths.* * Lm 1:7
The enemy mock on seeing her Sabbaths, when the evil
spirits draw idle leisure to illicit thoughts.7
2. Isid. Reg. 6 (PL 103:561A); Conc. 55.17 (1185B).

3. RP et St. 34 (957AB); Conc. 55.16 (1185A).
4. RP et St. 33 (957A); Conc. 55.15 (1184BC).
5. RP et St. 34 (957B); Conc. 55.16 (1185A).
6. Isid. Reg. 6 (561AB); Conc. 55.17 (1186AB).
7. Greg. Moral. V.31.55; CCSL 143:257.
For this reason the brothers must be occupied

at fixed times in manual work, and again at
fixed hours in lectio divina. 2And therefore we
believe that both times are best organized in
this way, 3that is, from Easter until the first of
October, from the morning when the brothers
go out from Prime until the fourth hour, let
them work at whatever is necessary. 4But from
the fourth hour until almost the sixth, they will
do their best to apply themselves to reading.8
The meaning of they will do their best is: Let them
hasten and let them be busy; this is how we understand
they will do their best. And so Isidore says:
A monk is obliged to work at the proper times, and

to apply himself to prayer and reading at the proper
times. For a monk must have suitable hours allotted
to each individual task, but the portions of time are
allotted to each of his tasks as follows: In summer
from the morning until the third hour he ought to
work, from the third hour until the sixth apply
himself to reading, and after that until the ninth
hour, rest. After the ninth hour until evening time
he ought to work again.9
After Sext, on rising from table let them rest

5
on their beds in perfect silence, or if someone

wants to read, let him read to himself so as
not to disturb another. 6And let None be said
somewhat early, at the middle of the eighth hour,
and let them again work at what has to be done
until Vespers. 7But if local conditions or poverty
8. Ab hora autem quarta usque horam quasi sextam agent lectioni

vacent. The words quasi sextam agent seem to me a lectio difficilior
than qua sextam agent. Smaragdus explains agent as equivalent to
‘let them hasten’, ‘let them be busy’. I have translated it as the
principal verb with ut understood before lectioni vacent.
9. Isid. Reg. 6 (562A); Conc. 55.17 (1187B).
require that they be personally occupied in

gathering the crops, let them not be saddened,
8
because then are they truly monks if they live
by the labor of their hands, as did our fathers
and the apostles. For it is written: Because you will eat
the labors of your hands, you are blessed, and it will be well
with you.* So then, as blessed Ferreolus says: We decree * Ps 128:2
that a monk who goes through a day without working, unless
it be for certain solemnities or because of obvious illness, is to
be excluded from the common meal, since the apostle orders:
He who does not work, let him not eat*.10 * 2 Th 3:10
º 9However, everything is to be done in mod- º CCM 273
eration on account of the pusillanimous. A pu-
sillanimous person is one who has a petty spirit, small
and mean, or at any rate one that gives up easily.11 And
so blessed Pachomius says:
The brothers should not be compelled to do more

work, but moderate labor should entice all to work.
Let there be peace and harmony among them, and
let them willingly be subject to their superiors, sit-
tings, walking and standing in their order, and
vying with one another in humility.12
From the first of October until the beginning

10
of Lent they are to apply themselves to reading

until the end of the second hour. 11Let Terce be
celebrated at the second hour, and let all labor
until None at the work enjoined on them. 12When
the first signal is given for the hour of None, let
each one break off from his work and be ready
when the second signal sounds. 13After the meal
let them apply themselves to their readings or to
the psalms. The remembrance of the Work of God should
10. RFerreol. 28 (PL 66:969B); Conc. 55.20 (1190A).

11. Cf. Isid. Etym. X.231; PL 82:391C.
12. RPachom. Praec. ac Leges 179 (PL 23:83C); Conc. 55.11
(1183BC).
be sustained; in other words, while their hands are occupied

outwardly in what is of temporal benefit, their minds should
be sweetened with the tongue’s meditation of the psalms and
the remembrance of the Scriptures. If someone breaks this rule
and takes pleasure in story telling, he should be chastised with
the penalty of silence.13
14
But in the days of Lent they shall apply
themselves to their reading from morning until
the end of the third hour, and until the end of
the tenth hour let them work at what is enjoined
on them. Now the monks as they work should meditate
and sing psalms, so that they may lighten the work itself
with song and with delight in God’s word.14 But especially
in the time of Lent they must work with the body, the
mind’s attention being fastened on God. And the hand must
be engaged in the daily work in such a way that the mind is
not turned away from God.15
15
In these days of Lent let them all receive a
book each from the library, which they are to
read straight through in its entirety; 16these books
are to be given out at the beginning of Lent.
He says from the library, that is, from the small cell
where the books are stored. For what in Greek is called
the bibliotheca is called in Latin the book repository.16
17
Above all, one or two seniors should certainly
be deputed to go around the monastery at the
hours when the brothers are applying them-
selves to reading, 18and see that there be no
CCM 274 º brother affected with accidie who spends ºhis
time in idleness or gossip and is not intent on
reading, and is not only unprofitable to himself
but distracts others as well. 19If such a one—
which God forbid!—should be found, let him
13. RWal. 12 (PL 88:1063D-1064A); Conc. 55.17 (1187AB).

14. Isid. Reg. 6 (PL 103:561D); Conc. 55.17 (1187A).
15. Isid. Reg. 6 (561D-562A); Conc. 55.17 (1187AB).
16. Cf. Etym. VI.3.1 (PL 82:235C); XVIII.9.3 (647C).
be reproved once and a second time; 20if he does

not amend, let him undergo the punishment of
the Rule in such a way that the rest may have
fear. Affected with accidie means: ‘bored’, ‘anxious’,
‘empty-headed and light-minded’, someone who is
affected by weariness of mind and lifted up by lev-
ity of spirit, does not permit himself to read or allow
others to apply themselves to reading, who is both
unprofitable to himself by his wandering about,
and is at cross purposes with others who are reading.
He loves idleness and gossip, and therefore he dis-
tracts both himself and others from sacred reading,
that is, he takes them away from it and disturbs them.
He must be reproved in such a way that the rest on
seeing his very sharp reproof may no longer dare to
commit such a disturbance; nor should a brother dare
to associate with a brother for such idle conversation
at unsuitable hours. And so he adds:
21
Nor should one brother associate with
another brother at unsuitable hours. For those
hours which are suitable for sacred readings are
unsuitable for empty stories.When he says Nor should
one brother associate with another brother at
unsuitable hours, he does not forbid profitable and
holy association among holy men, but he does forbid
an association that is harmful and full of harmful gossip
among idle persons suffering from accidie.
22
On Sundays likewise let all apply themselves
to reading, except those who have been deputed
to various duties. And so the ancient Fathers said:
On Sunday let them do nothing except devote

themselves to God, and they should not seek to
excuse themselves or others on any pretext. I call
the brothers to witness, however: Let no work take
place on that holy day; it is to be spent only in
hymns and psalms and spiritual songs*.17 * Eph 5:19,
Col 3:16
17. RIVP [9]:6-7 (R. Ben. 77:83); Conc. 55.6 (1182B-1183A).
23
But if someone is so negligent or slothful
that he will not or cannot study or read, let a
task be assigned him to do, so that he may not
be idle. Slothful means ‘full of sloth and negligent’.
A slothful person is so called from the word ‘settling
down’, that is, from ‘sitting down a lot and loving
idleness’.18 Solomon says of such a one: The lazy man
hides his hand under his armpit, and does not bring it to his
Pr 19:24 * mouth.* He is speaking here of two persons: one who,
though he can read and study, through sloth of heart
wants to do neither, but wants rather to apply himself
to idleness and empty gossip; the other is the person
who, though he wants to, is unable through ignorance
either to read or study. And therefore, to prevent either
from being idle, a task must be assigned them in which
each of them can work.
CCM 275 º º 24Such a task or craft should be enjoined
on sick or delicate brothers that they may
not be idle or overburdened by the physical
demands of the work to the point of being
driven away. 25Their feebleness must be taken
delicatus * into consideration by the abbot. ‘Delicate’ * means
deliciis pastus * ‘fed on delightful things’ *,19 and nourished on various
lavish foodstuffs, and therefore mentally incapable
of more vigorous labors. On account of this softness
and feebleness of body he must be compassionately
tolerated, together with the sick, and treated rather
humanely and kindly. And those who have the
strength to work must not murmur against them, but
rather both these and the sick must be excused by the
healthy, and, as has been said, treated rather humanely
and kindly. Their feebleness, that is, their frailty20
and inability must be taken into consideration by
the abbot as by one who is both a compassionate
father and director.
18. Cf. Etym. X.77 (375A).
19. Ibid. X.70 (374B).
20. Cf. ibid. X.129 (380C).
CHAPTER 49
ON THE OBSERVANCE OF LENT

1
Although the life of a monk should be at all
times an observance of Lent. Licet ‘although’ is
put here in place of quamvis. For the monk, to whom
the world is crucified and he to the world,* ought * Gal 6:14
without doubt to chastise his body and bring it into
subjection,* and at all times show himself to be God’s * 1 Co 9:27
servant by exercising himself in tribulations, toils, vig-
ils and fasts,* and in the rest of the virtues. * 2 Co 6:4-5
2
However, because such virtue belongs to few,
those, namely, of whom it is written: Many are called,
but few are chosen,* therefore we urge that in these * Mt 20:16
days of Lent they keep their life in all purity.
In all purity means: ‘in all sincerity and simplicity of
heart’, doing nothing for vainglory or human praise,
but with a simple heart and a pure mind doing what
follows, that is: 3And to wash away at the same time
all the negligences of other times in these holy
days. For it is written of this time of Lent: Behold, now
is the acceptable time, behold, now is the day of salvation.* * 2 Co 6:2
In these days each one of us, insofar as his strength
allows, should mortify the flesh and its desires, repel
base concupiscences from his heart, and in this way by
practicing penance in these holy days wipe away the
negligences of other times. And so there follows:
º 4This is done worthily if we abstain from all º CCM 276
vices. We abstain means: ‘we withhold and restrain
ourselves’ from all vices. [If we apply ourselves] to
prayer with tears. For it is written: Blessed are they
who mourn, for they shall be comforted;* and: Those who * Mt 5:5
sow in tears will reap in joy,* if we apply ourselves * Ps 126:5
to reading and compunction of heart and
abstinence. And so Isidore says:
439
All progress proceeds from reading and meditation.

For the reading of the Sacred Scriptures confers a
twofold gift: it instructs the mind’s understanding,
and brings the person withdrawn from the world’s
vanities to the love of God.1 Compunction of heart
is humility of mind springing up together with tears
from the remembrance of sin and the fear of judg-
ment. For those who are converted, the perfect at-
titude of compunction is that which drives away
from them all the longings of carnal desires, and
which fixes their attention, by the mind’s total con-
centration, on the contemplation of God.2 For that
person really abstains from food who abstains both
from acts of malice and from worldly ambitions.3
5
Therefore in these days let us add something
to the usual burden of our service. The usual
burden means the ‘customary and ordinary fast of our
abstinence’, to which something still more is to be
added in the days of Lent. And so he continues:
5
Private prayers, abstinence in food and drink,
6
so that each one of his own will is to offer to
1 Th 1:6 * God, with the joy of the Holy Spirit,* something
beyond the measure prescribed for him. It is with
the joy of the Holy Spirit that a monk must offer to the
Lord God his votive offering, because it is from him
that he hopes to receive the kingdom of heaven. For
he who serves the Lord with cheerfulness and joy and
gives him something will receive from him a hundredfold,
Mt 19:29 * and will moreover possess eternal life as well.* Let him
offer with joy and do what follows:
7
That is, let him withdraw from his body
some food, drink, sleep, talkativeness and
scurrility, and with the joy of spiritual desire
look forward to holy Easter. Such people deservedly
1. Isid. Sent. III.8.3-4; PL 83:679B.

2. Cf. ibid. II.12.1-2; 613B.
3. Cf. ibid. II.44.8; 651A.
On the Observance of Lent 441
rejoice with Christ at Easter over the Lord’s resurrection,

seeing that they have consented to have their body crucified
for him through abstinence.4 For those who in the
present life have withdrawn from the flesh something
of its desires and physical needs, must deservedly be
nourished abundantly, and for ever, with the divine
delights of the soul. Because ºthey have been willing º CCM 277
to be afflicted for the Lord to some small extent in this
short time, they will rightly merit to rejoice with him
in the future.5
8
This very thing, however, that each one is
offering, he should propose to his abbot, and let
it be done with his prayer and approval, 9because
what is done without the permission of the
spiritual father will be attributed to presumption
and vainglory, deserving no reward. 10Therefore
everything must be done with the approval of
the abbot. And so a certain master of monks says:
Let the abbot say to all the brothers:To him who wants to
toil for his own soul and to abstain from something we grant
our free approval. But one who does not so wish is to abide
by the prescriptions of the Rule in this chapter, and be content
with the measure for Lent. Those of the brothers who wish
to abstain from something should now bow humbly at the
abbot’s knees, giving thanks for the approval granted for their
good act; and after expressing their humility, let them at the
same time indicate by speech to the abbot, each for himself,
the abstinence he wishes to practice.6
4. RM 53:19 (SCh 106:246); Conc. 56.4 (PL 103:1199C-

1200A). The CCM text and PL have pro eo consenserunt crucifigi,
whereas SCh has cum eo, etc.
5. Cf. RM 53:24-25 (246); Conc. 56.4 (1200A).
6. RM 53:12-15 (244); Conc. 56.4 (1199B).
CHAPTER 50
ON BROTHERS WHO ARE

WORKING FAR FROM THE
ORATORY OR ARE
ON A JOURNEY
1
Brothers who are engaged in work a long way
away and cannot come to the oratory at the
proper time—2the abbot judging that such is
the case—3shall celebrate the Work of God in
the same place where they are working, bend-
ing their knees in reverence for the divinity.
4
Likewise those who have been sent on a jour-
ney—the appointed hours shall not pass them
by, but they shall celebrate them as best they
can, and not neglect to discharge their duty of
service. And so blessed Pachomius says: And should
they be on a ship, in the monastery, in the fields, on a journey,
in any kind of service, they shall not let pass the times for
praying and singing the psalms.1
And Basil says:
Each one must in his work observe his own rule,

like a member in the body, because he will suffer
harm if he neglects to fulfill what has been enjoined
on him, and while neglecting the common benefit
of the brothers will incur greater danger. And there-
fore with mind and devotion he must fulfill what
is written: ‘Chanting and singing psalms in your
Eph 5:19 * hearts to the Lord’*. For if he does not come to be
present with the rest at the place of prayer, wherever
CCM 278 º he is he should ºfulfill the requirements of devotion.
1. RPachom. Praec. 142 (PL 23:78C); Conc. 57.2 (PL

103:1205A).
442
On Brothers Who Are Working Far From the Oratory or Are on a Journey 443
A watch should be kept, however, in case someone

is in fact able to complete in good time what he has
to do, and then come; but while he is wanting to
talk, he invents opportunities as though engaged
in a work of service. The one who does this and
provides a stumbling block to the rest, that person
also incurs the charge of being negligent.2
And so another master of monks says:
When spiritual brothers are walking, there being

no layman with them, they shall join together and
sing, kneeling down a little distance from the road,
and after the prayer they shall go back to the road,
keeping silence from every irrelevant word out of
reverence for the Work of God; and walking in this
way, after first asking a blessing, they shall burst
forth in the psalm that is intoned.3
2. RBas. 107:1-5 (CSEL 86:134-35); Conc. 57.3 (1205A-

1206A).
3. RM 56:1-2 (SCh 106:262-264); Conc. 57.4 (1206A). CCM
and PL here have cantantes, SCh RM has camsantes.
CHAPTER 51
ON BROTHERS WHO
GO NOT VERY FAR
1
A brother who is sent on some business, and
is expected to return to the monastery that day,
shall not presume to eat outside, even though
he be earnestly invited by someone, 2unless per-
haps he is ordered by his abbot. 3Should he do
otherwise, let him be excommunicated. And so
the ancient Fathers said:
Let no one eat or drink outside the monastery.The

discipline of the rule does not allow even cheap
pieces of fruit to be eaten; nor shall they presume
to drink water itself before the lawful meal.1 But
if anyone without the knowledge of abbot or prior
goes out somewhere and joins in gluttony and
drunkenness, or if after being sent somewhere near
does not, by reason of his levity or gluttony, return
immediately to his cell on completion of his charge,
or when he has been detained for that very crime,
let him, as the canons teach, either be separated
from the community for thirty days, or be forced to
amend by being beaten with rods.2
1. RTarn. 9:14-15 (R Ben. 84:29); Conc. 55.25 (PL 103:1193B).

2. 3RP 9 (PL 103:445C-446A); Conc. 58.2 (1211A).
444
CHAPTER 52
ON THE ORATORY
OF THE MONASTERY
1
Let the oratory be what it is called, and let
nothing else be done or kept there. 2When the
Work of God is over, let all go out with the ut-
most silence, and let reverence for God be ob-
served, 3so that a brother who perchance wishes
to pray privately on his own may not be hin-
dered by another’s misbehavior. 4But if some-
one else1 as well wants to pray secretly, let him
simply go in and pray, not in a loud voice but
with tears and devotion of ºheart. 5Therefore º CCM 279
he who is not engaged in a similar work shall
not be allowed to remain in the oratory once
the Work of God is finished, as has been said, in
case another is subjected to hindrance. And so
blessed Augustine says:
Let no one do and let nothing be done in the ora-

tory other than what it has been made for, from
which it has received its name.2 Or if some happen
to be free outside the established hours and wish to
pray, those who may have thought that something
needed doing there should not be a hindrance to
them.3
Again elsewhere:
1. In v. 4, both the CCM text and Migne have alter. ‘the other’
or ‘another’. instead of aliter, ‘at other times’.This follows closely
on a reference to alterius inprobitate, ‘by another’s misbehaviour’,
in v. 3 and yields an acceptable meaning.
2. Cf. Isid. Etym. XV.4.4; PL 82:544AB.
3. Aug. Reg. 3 (PL 32:1379); Conc. 59.2 (PL 103:1213A-
1214A).
445
Let nothing at all be done in the oratory besides

the worship of God in prayer and psalmody, so that
what is continually performed there will be in har-
mony with this name. And so, if anyone outside
the established hours goes in to supplicate the Lord,
someone else’s occupation is not to hinder his
desire.4
4. RTarn. 15:1-2 (R Ben. 84:35); Conc. 59.4 (1214A).
CHAPTER 53
ON THE RECEPTION OF GUESTS

1
All guests arriving should be received as Christ,
for he is going to say: I was a stranger and you re-
Mt 25:35 * ceived me.* And so the apostle also exhorts us, saying
Rm 12:13 * among other things: Pursuing hospitality.*
For he says that hospitality must be pursued; this

shows not only that we are to receive a guest who
comes to us, but we are also to look for, be anxious
about, follow up and search diligently everywhere
for guests, lest perchance they be sitting in the streets
or lying down without a roof over them. Remember
Lot, and you will find that it was not guests who
sought him, but he who sought guests; and this was
‘to pursue hospitality’.1
And so blessed Macarius also says:
1. Orig. In Rm IX.13 (PG 14:1220C); Smar. Collect. (PL

102:83AB).
On the Reception of Guests 447
Pursuing hospitality in every way, and do not turn

your eye away or send the poor man away empty,
lest perchance the Lord come to you in a guest or
a poor man and see you hesitating, and you will
be scorned. But show yourself cheerful to all and
act like a believer.2 An eager reception must be
given to guests when they arrive, ºknowing that for º CCM 280
this one obtains the final reward,3 when in the
judgment the Lord will say to those on his
right hand: I was a stranger and you took me in,
and: What you did to one of these my least ones
you did to me.* * Mt 25:40
And fitting honor should be shown to all.

2
Fitting means ‘suitable, proper and worthy’; this

happens when what is expended, and the manner of
doing it, is of advantage to each one. For although
the one charity embraces all inwardly, it is fitting to
minister outwardly to the poor in one way and to the
powerful in another. The same sitting-place should
not be made ready for all, nor is the same preparation
of food suitable for all; but with discerning charity
we must show to each one a fitting place, fitting food,
a fitting bed, and fitting honor, so that having been
received fittingly by us they may without murmuring
return to their own affairs as our friends.
Especially to those of the household of faith* and to * Ga 6:10
pilgrims. A member of the household means a familiar
friend and comrade; these we understand in two ways:
either as all Christians in general, who have with us
one faith and one baptism, or monks especially, who
offer to God a special worship of faith and religious
service. A pilgrim is one who is in a territory far from
his native land.4
2. RMac. 20 (Wiener 76:155); Conc. 60.5 (PL 103:1219B-

1220A).
3. Isid. Reg. 21 (PL 103:571D); Conc. 60.7 (1220B).
4. Cf. Isid. Etym. X.216; PL 82:390B.
3
Therefore, when a guest has been announced,
the superior or the brothers are to meet him with
all the kindness of charity. Because two kinds of
persons usually come to the monastery, he reasonably
orders two kinds of persons to meet them. For the
superior must meet superiors, a brother must meet
brothers. For if the king, a bishop, or some powerful
person of the highest honor comes, the abbot should
meet him. But if someone else comes, someone else
should meet him.
4
First of all, let them pray together and so let
them be united in peace. In peace, he says, that is,
in the kiss of peace. For they ought to be peacemakers,
and the children of peace ought to be united with
another in a holy kiss.5 And so there also follows: 5This
kiss of peace is only to be offered after prayer,
on account of the devil’s illusions. For if the devil,
full of darkness as he is, can be transfigured into an
angel of light, he can also certainly be transformed
CCM 281 º into the person of a ºguest.That this has happened, we
read in the Dialogues and in the Lives of the Fathers.6
This illusion of the phantasm cannot stand its ground
or cause harm if prompt prayer proceeds from the
heart of a holy monk.
6
Now in the greeting itself let all humility be
shown. All humility means ‘total, full, and perfect’,
not feigned but from a pure heart, remaining true
and sincere. As to how this is to be shown, listen to
what follows: 6As all guests arrive or depart, 7with
head bowed or the whole body prostrate on the
ground, let Christ be adored in them, who is
also received. Here too, as above, he brings in the
two persons of those who arrive, the one of middle
5. Cf. Smar. Via reg. 17 (PL 102:957D) and Diad. mon. 12 (PL
102:609B).
6. Cf. Greg. Dial. I.4 (PL 77:168AC); Rufin. Hist. mon. 1 (PL
21:404A).
standing, for whom the brother only inclines the head,

the other of very high standing, who is reverenced
with the whole body as well prostrated on the ground.
But yet in each the Lord Jesus Christ is adored, who
is also received.
8
When the guests have been received they
should be taken to the oratory, and afterwards
let the superior or the one he has ordered sit
with them. 9Let the divine law be read in the
guest’s presence so that he may be edified. And
after this let all kindness be shown him. ‘All
kindness’ means ‘all the goodwill of a compassionate
person’, and the full and perfect service of love, which
ought to be shown to guests in the serving of food and
drink and everything appropriate to them.
10
The superior should break the fast for
the sake of a guest, unless perchance it be a
principal fast day which may not be violated;
11
but the brothers shall continue to observe
the customary fasts. The fast days that cannot be
violated are understood to be the days of holy paschal
Lent, the Litanies, and Ember Days,7 or the vigil of
7. When Smaragdus here mentions Litanies and Ember Days

(dies . . . Letaniarum et Quattuor anni Temporum) in connection
with fasting, he may be referring first of all to what are called
the Minor Litanies. Instituted around 470 ad by Mamert, Bishop
of Vienne in Gaul, to seek divine protection from various natural
disasters then afflicting the countryside, the litanies were sung
and prayers recited at stations (stopping places) in procession on
each of the three days preceding Ascension Thursday. Fasting
was practised as part of the observance, which spread to other
parts of Gaul and was adopted for the whole Church of Gaul at
a Council in Orleans in 511. The Major Litanies, celebrated on
25 April in much the same way at Rome from the fourth century,
spread to Gaul in Carolingian times, when Smaragdus flourished.
See Henri Leclercq, DACL, IX, 2: 1559 and XIV, 2:2459-2461.
There is some uncertainty about Smaragdus’s reference, however,
because in his Collectiones in Epistolas et Evangelia, where, to help
preachers in their task of preaching on Sundays and major feasts,
some feast day that has to be kept, when not only

canonical clerics but also Catholic lay people fast. But
the brothers are to continue to observe the customary
fasts, so that for one guest the solemnity of the fast
may not be taken away from the whole monastery.
For in order to show that he has charity towards a
guest, he orders the fast to be broken only by the
superior, and it is chiefly on account of the honor of
the guest himself that he orders the fast to be broken
by the senior himself of the monastery. But even this
is not to be done for all guests, but only for pilgrim
brothers, or for those of very high standing who visit
the monastery late.
12
Let him pour water on the guests’ hands,
13
and let both the abbot and the whole
community wash the feet of all guests. And so
Fructuosus says:
With the supreme reverence of charity and service,

guests and pilgrim brothers must be offered expres-
he gathers extracts from the Church Fathers relating to the day’s

Scripture texts, the only heading he gives for Litanies is in the
singular, In Litania Majori. This immediately follows the Fourth
Sunday after the Octave of Easter (the modern Sixth Sunday of
Easter) and precedes the feast of the Ascension of the Lord.
Consequently, he seems here to give the name Major Litany to
what were generally known in Gaul as the Minor Litanies (see
PL 102:303-307).
Ember Days, also known as Quarter Tense (Quattuor [anni]
Tempora). Well established by the time of Pope Saint Leo the
Great († 461), they were a roman christianising of a pagan reli-
gious custom seeking the gods’ blessing on harvest (June), vintage
(September) and sowing (December). By the time of Pope Gela-
sius († 496) a fourth had been added early in Lent . After some
fluctuations, they came to be held on the Wednesday, Friday, and
Saturday of the third week of Advent, the week following the
First Sunday of Lent, the week following Pentecost, and in the
middle of September. See Henri Leclercq, DACL, XIV,
2:2014-2017.
sions of humble service; towards evening their feet

must be washed, and if they are worn out from a
ºjourney they must be anointed with oil. Bedding, º CCM 282
a lamp and soft straw must be provided for them,
and, according as the monastery is able, food for the
journey must be given them as they set out.8
14
When these been washed, let them say this
verse: O God, we have received your mercy in the midst
of your temple.* As though to say: In this guest we have * Ps 48:9
received the visitation of your mercy in the midst of
your temple, that is, in the midst of the temple of your
monastery. In another sense: O God, we have received
your mercy in the midst of your temple, that is, in the
midst of our heart, which your apostle calls a temple,* * 1 Co 3:16,
6:19, 2 Co 6:16
we have received the coming of this guest with the
love of charity.
15
In the reception of the poor and of pilgrims
in particular, special care is to be shown.9 And so
Pachomius says: When any people come to the door of the
monastery, if they are clerics or monks they are to be received
with greater honor.They shall wash their feet according to the
Gospel precept, and take them to the guesthouse and offer
them all that is suitable for the use of monks.10 And Isidore
also says:
And although the good of hospitality ought to be

shown graciously to all, still, to monks and clerics
a more abundant display of honor and hospitality
must be shown. Let them be offered rooms, let their
feet be washed in fulfillment of the Lord’s precept,
8. Fructuos. RComplut. 10 (PL 87:1105A); Conc. 60.6 (PL

103:1220A).
9. Surprisingly, the CCM text—but not Migne—has Smaragdus
omitting a most important part of v. 15: quia in ipsis magis Christus
suscipitur, ‘because especially in them is Christ received’.
10. RPachom. Praec. 51 (PL 23:70C); Conc. 60.4 (1219B).
and with appropriate expense let the same gracious

kindness be shown.11
For the fear that the rich inspire exacts honor

for them. Because fitting honor must be shown to all,
it is not so much from fear and dread as for discretion’s
sake that humble service must be made ready for the
rich. For we must, according to the apostle, render fear
Rm 13:7 * to whom fear is due, and honor to whom honor is due.*
16
The kitchen for the abbot and guests should
be by itself, so that when guests—who are
never lacking in a monastery—arrive at uncer-
tain hours, the brothers may not be disturbed.
17
So that they may fulfill that duty properly,
two brothers are to take office in that kitchen
for a year. 18Let helpers be given them as they
require, so that they may serve without mur-
muring; and again, when they have less to oc-
cupy them, let them go out to work where they
are bidden. 19And not only in their case, but
in all the duties of the monastery let this be
CCM 283 º a consideration, 20that when ºthey need help it
be given them, and again when they are not
occupied let them obey the orders given them.
Many are of the opinion that just as a kitchen other
than that of the brothers was established, which was
in another place, so also the abbot’s table was not put
with all the other tables in the common refectory, but
was separated in another little room, so that guests who
came often might find it prepared with food. But now
this wholesome resolution has been taken by a great
council of the bishops, the abbots and the rest of the
Franks, that for his own and the brothers’ safekeeping
he should have his table in the common refectory; let
him take his meal there with the guests when there
11. Isid. Reg. 21 (PL 103:572A); Conc. 60.7 (1220B-1221A).

are some there, and when there are none let him take
his meal with those he wishes, in the presence of the
brothers.12
21
Likewise a brother whose soul is possessed by
the fear of God shall have the guesthouse as-
signed to him; 22sufficient beds are to be made
up there, and the house of God is to be admin-
istered by wise men and in a wise manner. From
the word ‘strewing’ or ‘spreading out’ * comes the ex- * sternendo
pression ‘beds made up’.* Made up,† when referring * lecti strati
† strati
to beds is like ‘mats spread’.* Storia means what we * storiati
call a ‘mat’, a floor covering made of straw or rushes.
The ancient monks were accustomed to sleep only
on these,12 and they used to spread their beds only
on these. A person whose soul is possessed by the
fear of the Lord must no doubt be considered as al-
ready among the wise. For it is written: The beginning
of wisdom is the fear of the Lord; all those who practice it
have good sense.* The house of the Lord, in other words * Ps 111:10
the house built in the monastery for the Lord’s poor,
or established for fulfilling his commandments, is to
be administered by such wise men and in a wise
manner. And so a certain master of monks also says:
Let the quarters for pilgrims be set up away from the mon-
astery, with beds made up, where brothers who arrive—and
especially those who are not known—may sleep and put
their saddle-bags.13
12. Cf. Synodi primae Aquisgranensis acta praeliminaria 9 (CCM

1:435); Statuta Murbacensia 23 (CCM 1:448); Synodi primae Aquis-
gran. decreta authentica 25 (CCM 1:464); Synodi secundae decreta
authentica 14 (CCM 1:476). Subsequent monastic experience
would support Smaragdus’s view that this was a ‘wholesome
resolution’, the non-observance of which was one cause of mo-
nastic decline; cf. D. Knowles, The Monastic Order in England
(Cambridge: CUP 19632) p. 460.
12. Cf. Etym. XX.11.1; PL 82:722A.
13. RM 79:1-2 (SCh 106:322); Conc. 60.11 (1221C).
23
One who is not so ordered is not to associ-
ate with the guests or converse with them; 24but
if he meets them or sees them, after greeting
them humbly, as we have said, and having asked
a blessing, let him pass on, saying that he is
not allowed to speak with a guest. He says He is
not to associate with the guests, that is, he is not
to join them to make conversation. But if he meets
them or sees them standing near him, having asked
a blessing let him pass on. But if a guest asks him a
question, he should answer: I am not allowed to speak
with a guest. And so blessed Macarius also says: No
one except the one who has been entrusted with the
care of the guest-quarters is to give an answer to those
who come; nor shall it be lawful for any brother to
converse, pray or make peace with them,14 except only
the one in charge or those he has so ordered.15
14. Pacem facere here is equivalent to socientur in pace (RB 53.4)

and pacis osculum non prius offeratur (53.5). RIVP in the following
note has pacem offerre.
15. Cf. RIVP [8]:37-40 (R Ben. 77:81); Conc. 60.2 (1219A).
WHETHER A MONK
SHOULD RECEIVE LETTERS
OR ANYTHING
1
On no account shall a monk be allowed to re-
ceive from his parents or anyone else—includ-
ing confreres—letters, devout tokens or any
little gifts, or to give the same, without the
abbot’s permission. 2But if something is sent
to him even by his own parents, he shall not
Whether a Monk Should Receive Letters or Anything 455
presume to receive it unless the abbot has first

been informed. 3If he allows it to be received,
it shall be in the abbot’s power to give it to
whom he will; 4and the brother it was sent to
should not be saddened, lest occasion be given
to the devil. 5He who presumes to act otherwise
shall undergo the discipline of the Rule. Hence
blessed Augustine says: Whoever is so far gone in evil that
he secretly receives letters or any small gifts from anyone, if he
confesses secretly he should be spared and prayed for; but if
he is caught or proved to be at fault, he should receive a more
serious correction according to the superior’s decision.1
Hence blessed Basil also says: No monk may receive
any gift or letters,2 nor presume to give them to anyone
without the abbot’s permission.3 Hence it is also
written elsewhere:
Anyone who presumes to receive anyone’s letters

and gifts, if he does not at once make public what
he received and from whom, shall undergo a very
severe punishment. But the things sent shall be
allotted to pilgrims and strangers, or at any rate be
burnt in the fire. For example, a man has bestowed
something on his sons or those who belong to him
in virtue of some relationship; let it be brought back
into the common property and given to one who
needs it. But if the abbot orders it to be given to
the one it was sent to, he shall receive it with
thanksgiving like the rest of the faithful’s gifts.4
When he says He should not be saddened lest

perchance occasion be given to the devil, under-
stand: either through sadness, envy or murmuring. For
through the sadness a monk keeps in his heart the
1. Aug. Reg. 7 (PL 32:1382); Conc. 61.4 (PL 103:1226A).

3. Cf. Isid. Reg. 22 (PL 103:572B); Conc. 61.8 (as n. 2).
4. RTarn. 19:1-4 (R Ben 84:40-41); Conc. 61.12 (1228AB).
devil is given an occasion for harming him, because

according to the apostle there is a sadness that pro-
2 Co 7:10 * duces death in the soul through the devil’s snares.*
And if envy is felt towards the recipient, through
envy the devil is given an occasion for harming the
monk, for it is written: Through the devil’s envy death
CCM 285 º came into the world; for those on his ºside imitate him. * Or
Ws 2:24-25 *
if perchance he murmurs because the thing sent was
not given to him, in this way too the devil is given an
occasion for harming the monk. For even those who
1 Co 10:10 * murmured in the desert were killed by the snakes.*
Every monk who does one of these things because he
is not given what is sent to him shall undergo the
discipline of the Rule, so that he may not, through
lack of discipline, perish for ever for these vices.
CHAPTER 55
ON THE BROTHERS’ CLOTHING

AND FOOTWEAR
1
Let clothing be given to the brothers accord-
ing to the nature of the places where they live
and the climate, 2because in cold regions more is
needed, but in warm regions less. 3So then, this
is something for the abbot to consider. When he
says clothing is given according to the nature of the
places, I think he is speaking of a place where there
is a lot of work, and of a place that is not so busy. For
there are monasteries already completed and situated
in a pleasant spot where there is less work, and there-
fore less clothing is needed. But there are others which
are still incomplete, and situated in a rough, rocky and
wooded spot, where since the monks work more and
harder, more clothing and footwear is needed. His ref-
On the Brothers’ Clothing and Footwear 457
erence to climate he himself explains when he says

because in cold regions more is needed, but in
warm regions less. Being a considerate man, he very
prudently said this. So now let the prudent abbot con-
sider very carefully the climate and the places in which
he lives, how they are warm, cold or temperate, rough,
hard or pleasant; and according to his ability let him
faithfully minister to his monks what is needed, so that
they may serve the Lord without experiencing need,
and live peacefully without just murmuring.* * RB 41.5
4
We think, however, that in moderate places it
is enough for the monks each to have a cowl* * cuculla
and tunic, 5the cowl thick and woolly in winter,
thin and worn in summer, 6and a scapular
for work. He speaks of moderate places, that
is, temperate, neither very cold nor very warm. He * cuculla
calls a cowl* what we now call a cape.† Cuculla is a † cappa
diminutive from casulla, as ‘cottage’ * is from ‘house’ †; * casula
and so from ‘house’ comes ‘cottage’, from ‘cottage’ † casa
comes ‘little cottage’, and from this comes ‘cowl’.1 But
what he refers to as a scapular for work we now º CCM 286
call a cowl.º For footwear: sandals* and half- * pedules
boots.† He calls sandals what we now call slippers,* † caligas
* calces
and half-boots† what we now call subtalares or soccos † caligas
[light shoes].2 Caligae comes from the callum—the hard
skin—of the feet, or from their being tied up;3 for they
are also called caliciarii. Concerning sandals Isidore
says: Sandals are to be used in the monastery as long as the
harshness of winter makes it necessary, or when the brothers
go on a journey or set out for the city.4 And Fructuosus
1. Cf. Isid. Etym. XIX.24.17; PL 82:691B. Smaragdus’s use of

Isidore’s Etymologies to provide equivalents for the terms Bene-
dict uses for items of clothing and bedding points up the diffi-
culty of giving accurate translations for these, both in RB and
in the Commentary.
2. Cf. ibid. 34.7; 705A.
3. Ibid. 34.12; 706A.
4. Isid. Reg. 13 (PL 103:566C); Conc. 62.10 (PL 103:1244A).
says: Those who wish may wear slippers [or sandals?] in the
winter, that is, from the first of November till the first of May.
For the remaining—the summer—months they are to protect
themselves only with the comfort of half-boots.5
7
The monks should not complain about the
color or coarseness of all these things, but [be
given] such as can be found in the province
where they live, or can be purchased more
cheaply. Hence Ferreolus says:
In these things let him avoid—that is, not seek to

have—the color white, or anything too red, which
often serves to commend his bodily appearance to
those who see him, to his ruin. Let him avoid these
colors so as not to carry around with him the evi-
dence of his own boastfulness, in case while wishing
to adorn his body with clothes he fails to take care
of his soul’s adornment.6
And Isidore says:
A monk must be protected, but not delicate. And

just as a monk’s habit should not attract attention,
neither should it be too mean. Expensive clothing
draws the mind to wantonness, while unduly cheap
clothing produces sorrow of heart or causes the dis-
ease of vainglory.7
And Basil says: If we must strive to be least and last of all,

it is certain that we must regard ourselves as last of all in our
clothing.8
And Cassian says:
A monk’s clothing ought to be such that, while

covering the body, it wards off the shame of naked-

6. RFerreol. 32 (PL 66:970D-971A); Conc. 62.16 (1248A).
7. Isid. Reg. 13 (566B); Conc. 62.10 (1243A).
8. RBas. 11:3 (CSEL 86:52); Conc. 62.4 (1239AB).
ness and blunts the harshness of the cold, not such

that it fosters an occasion of vanity. It is to be suf-
ficiently commonplace for it not to be thought re-
markable among the rest of the spiritual brothers
for its novel color or shape; it is to be free of signs
of superfluous carefulness, but in such a way that
no one is unsightly as a result of stains acquired
through neglect or affectation. Finally, let the cloth-
ing itself be so removed from this world’s fashions
as to be common to the whole style of dress of God’s
ºservants. For whatever is not held in common by º CCM 287
all God’s servants, but is claimed by one or a few,
must be judged either superfluous or a sign of pride,
and so harmful, because it shows a kind of vanity
rather than a kind of virtue.9
But the abbot should see to the size, so that

8
the garments are not too short for those who

wear them, but of the right length. If the garments
are short they will attract ridicule, if too long they will
cause injury. For just as ridicule is generated by a short
garment, so injury is caused by too long a garment. So
to prevent these things occurring, everything should
be of the right length.
9
When they receive new items of clothing,
they should always return the old then and
there, to be stored in the wardrobe for the poor.
Hence blessed Fructuosus says: Whatever has become old
and worn in the monks’ clothing, footwear and bedding is
to be entirely made over to the poor by the abbot when they
receive new items.10 And Aurelian says:
If there is anything left over from what the brothers

need in money, clothes or provisions, the holy abbot
shall have it distributed to the poor, to pilgrims or to

Cassian Inst. I.2.1-2 (CSEL 17:9).
10. Fructuos. RComplut. 4 (1102A); Conc. 62.17 (1249B).
captives, through the hands of the provider or through

some reliable person. But when they receive new
clothes, let them restore the old ones to the abbot, to
be distributed to beginners or to the poor.11
10
For it is enough for a monk to have two
tunics and two cowls, for night wear and
for washing these things; 11more than that is
superfluous and must be cut off. 12And let them
return sandals and whatever else is old when
they receive a new item. Hence Isidore says: Monks
are to be content with three tunics, two cloaks and a single cowl
apiece, presuming nothing else besides this in their attire.12
And Saint Fructuosus says: Monks are not to have many
or unnecessary clothes; any complaint of need is to be met
with only two cowls—one woolly and one simple—a little
cloak, three tunics and two linsey-woolsey shirts.13 Hence
Ferreolus says:
A monk should not look for unnecessary clothes,

since the Lord says to the disciples: ‘You are not to
Lk 9:3 * have two tunics’ *. We have to understand these
two tunics not by the number but as being necessary
for winter; but they are counted as beyond what is
needed if they are kept back.Therefore if something
CCM 288 º is left over, it will be ºreckoned as belonging to
someone else.When a covetous possessor shuts any-
thing whatever up, it is he who uses the chest rather
than the master. So as to forbid this, the very great
and blessed apostle rises up as a witness and tells
us: ‘Having food and clothing, we are content with
these. For those who want to become rich fall into
temptation and the devil’s snare, and into many
11. Aur. Reg. 44.45 (PL 68:392BC); Conc. 62.19.20 (1249C-

1250A).
12. Isid. Reg. 13 (566C); Conc. 62.10 (1244A).
13. Fructuos. RComplut. 4 (1101BC); Conc. 62.17 (1248B-
1249A).
useless and harmful desires, which plunge human

beings into pain and perdition’ *.14 * 1 Tm 6:8-9
Those who are sent on a journey shall receive

13
drawers from the wardrobe, which they shall

wash and restore upon their return. 14And their
cowls and tunics shall be a little better than the
ones they usually have; they shall receive these
from the wardrobe when they leave on their
journey and restore them when they return.
Hence blessed Fructuosus says: Anyone at all is to be
allowed the use of drawers, especially those who are involved
in the ministry of the altar. But one who does not wish to
bother about this is not to be censured, since it is now quite
well known that many monasteries even in these regions do
not have this custom.15
What [Benedict] says about cowls and tunics—Let
them be somewhat better for a journey than those
they usually have—is to be observed in those regions
where they are accustomed to use very mean garments.
But where one finds clothes of medium quality, they
are not be changed for journeys. Drawers* are so called * femoralia
because they cover the thighs*.16 We also call these items * femora
trousers and breeches*—breeches because they are * bracas
short.17 Brachin is Greek for ‘short’.
* sagum
15
For bedding let a mat, a coverlet*, a blanket† † lena
and a pillow* suffice. Sagum† is a gallic word. It de- * capitale
noted a square coverlet, because among them it was origi- † Coverlet, cloak
nally square or fourfold.18 We now derive the diminutive
* A small
sagellum* from sagum. A lena is a kind of woolen gar- military cloak
ment that we call a quilt †, while others call it a rug*. † toxa
‘Pillow’ means what we call a feather-pillow.† Isidore * galnapis
† plumacium
14. RFerreol. 14 (964CD); Conc. 62.15 (1247AB).

15. Fructuos. RComplut. 4 (1101C); Conc. 62.17 (1249A).
16. Etym. XIX.22.29; 687C.
17. Cf. ibid.; 687C-688A.
18. Ibid. 24.13; 691A.
says about this sentence: It is not lawful for a monk to

have a fine-looking and varied outfit; his bedding will be a
mat and a bedspread and two woolly skins, a rug, too, and a
face-towel, and a couple of cushions for the head.19
16
These beds, however, are to be frequently
examined by the abbot, on account of private
property, in case it should be found there. 17And
if someone is found to have what he has not
received from the abbot, let him undergo very
severe discipline. 18And in order that this vice
of private ownership may be cut out by the
roots, let everything that is necessary be given
by the abbot, 19that is, cowl, tunic, sandals, half-
boots, belt, knife, pen, needle, handkerchief and
CCM 289 º writing tablets, to remove all ºexcuse of need.
Hence blessed Fructuosus says:
Twice a week the abbot and prior should turn over

and examine carefully each one’s bed, to see that
no one has anything superfluous concealed there.20
Of course the abbot must give them awls, needles
and various threads for sewing and mending items
of clothing, and when necessity requires it they shall
have the means for washing and mending them.21
And Saint Pachomius says: No one shall have anything

other than what is laid down in the common law of the
monastery: neither tunic nor cloak nor skin, neither coin nor
head-cushion, apart from what is distributed by the father of
the monastery through the priors.22
The abbot, however, should always consider that

20
saying of the Acts of the Apostles: Distribution was

Ac 4:35 * made to each according as he had need.* 21Therefore
19. Isid. Reg. 14 (567A); Conc. 62.11 (1245A).

20. Fructuos. RComplut. 17 (1107C); Conc. 62.18 (1249C).
21. Fructuos. RComplut. 4 (1101A); Conc. 62.16 (1249B).
22. RPachom. Praec. 81 (PL 23:73D-74A); Conc. 62.3 (1238A).
On the Abbot’s Table 463
let the abbot too consider in this way the weak-

nesses of the needy, not the ill will of the en-
vious. 22But in all his judgments let him think
about the retribution of God. Hence Isidore says:
Clothing will not be distributed equally to all, but

with discretion, as each one’s age and rank demands.
For we read that the apostles also acted in this way,
as it is written: ‘They had all things in common’ *; * Ac 4:32
and ‘Distribution was made to each as there was
need’.* Now what each of the brothers has and * Ac 4:35
what each needs should be looked into, so that those
who have may be content, and those who have not
may receive.23
23. Isid. Reg. 13 (566BC); Conc. 62.10 (1243AB).
CHAPTER 56
ON THE ABBOT’S TABLE

1
The abbot’s table shall always be with the guests
and pilgrims. 2Whenever there are no guests,
however, it shall be in his power to call any of
the brothers he wishes. 3Yet one or two of the
seniors must always be left with the brothers, for
the sake of discipline. Hence the ancient Fathers
said: A pilgrim brother shall not be allowed to eat with the
brothers, unless it be with the father who is in charge, so that
he may be edified.1 But when there are no guests, the
abbot shall eat with whom he wishes of the brothers.
But he shall leave seniors with the brothers to keep
watch.
1. RIVP [8]:41 (R Ben. 77:81); Conc. 63.3 (PL 103:1259A-

1260A).
ON THE CRAFTSMEN
OF THE MONASTERY
1
If there are craftsmen in the monastery, let
them practice their crafts will all humility, if
the abbot gives permission. 2But if any of them
grows proud on account of the knowledge he
has of his craft, because he thinks he is con-
ferring something on the monastery, 3such a
one as this shall be removed from his craft and
not spend time at it again, unless he humbles
himself and the abbot again orders him. Hence
Cassian says:
If anyone by his own toil and hard work brings in

more income for the monastery than others, he should
not be puffed up, nor should he pride himself on
gaining so much from his work; he should not take
for himself anything more than, or anything more
dainty than, the usual moderate daily sustenance,
but let him consider himself a pilgrim and live this
virtue of freely-chosen poverty to the end.1
When he says Such a one as this shall be removed

from his craft, it means: Let him be suspended from
what he was doing in pursuance of his craft; let him
spend no more time at it—in other words, let him
not work at it—unless he again humbles himself. ‘To
remove’ and ‘to suspend’ are understood to be one
thing.
4
But if anything from the craftsmen’s works
is to be sold, let those through whose hands the
1. RCass. 33:1 (R Ben. 94:184); Conc. 64.3 (PL 103:1260B);

464
On the Craftsmen of the Monastery 465
business is transacted see to it that they do not

commit any fraud. 5Let them always remember
Ananias and Sapphira,* lest perchance the death * Ac 5:1-11
these suffered in the body, 6they and all who
commit any fraud with the monastery’s property
should suffer in the soul. The death that monks
suffer in their soul by committing fraud is worse and
harsher than the death of the body that Ananias and
Sapphira suffered. For bodily death is common to all,
and takes place in time, while the death of the soul is
a mark of the wicked and has a penal character. The
former separates the soul from the body, while the
latter separates it from the Creator; the former sends
the body to the grave, while the latter sends the soul
to hell.2
7
Let not the evil of avarice secretly take over3
with regard to the prices themselves, 8but let
the items be sold a little more cheaply than they
can be by people in the world, 9so that in all
things God may be glorified.* Hence a certain master * 1 P 4:11
of monks says:
When any craft produces some benefit over and

above the monastery’s needs, and beyond its re-
quirements for sending devout tokens, after inquiry
has been made as to the price at which it can be
sold by seculars, let it always be sold for a lower
sum and at a smaller price, so that spiritual men
may be recognized as separated from ºseculars in º CCM 291
this respect by their deeds as well as by distance.
They do not seek a greater profit than is just for
reasons of business—a thing inimical to the soul—
but they even agree out of kindness to receive a
2. Cf. Greg. Moral. IX.65.97; CCSL 143:525.

3. Awkward, but a closer translation of surripiat than Mc-
Cann’s ‘creep in’, for which he provides subrepat in brackets as a
footnote; cf. J. McCann, The Rule of Saint Benedict in Latin and
English (London: Burns & Oates, 1952) p. 128.
lower price than justice itself demands, so that they

may not be thought to practice their crafts out of
greed and avarice.4
Avarice is no small, but rather a great evil. It is a fire in

the heart of the avaricious that cannot be extinguished
and burns unceasingly. And so in the book of blessed
Job it is written: Fire shall devour the tents of those who
Jb 15:34 * willingly accept bribes*.5 Blessed Gregory explains this
as follows: Fire devours the tents when the heat of avarice
lays waste the thoughts of the mind.6 And Solomon says:
Pr 15:27 * Anyone who pursues avarice greatly disturbs his own house;*
Qo 5:9 * and: The avaricious shall not be filled with money.* For
from avarice many other vices spring up, as it is writ-
1 Tm 6:10 * ten: Avarice is the root of all evil.* For this vice gives rise
not only to many hidden evils, but to many open ones
as well.7
4. RM 85:1-6 (SCh 106:346-348); Conc. 64.4 (PL 103:1260C-
1261A).
5. Cf. Smar. Via reg. 26; PL 102:965B.
6. Moral. XII.54.62; CCL 143A:667.
7. Cf. Via reg. (as in n. 5).
CHAPTER 58
ON THE PROCEDURE FOR

RECEIVING BROTHERS
1
When anyone is newly come to be a monk, let
him not be granted an easy entrance, 2but as
the apostle says: Test the spirits to see whether they
1 Jn 4:1 * are from God.* Hence some ancient Fathers also said:
If someone on fire with the ardor of faith and renouncing
the world chooses a monastery of strong regular observance
to come to, leave to enter should not immediately be given
On the Procedure for Receiving Brothers 467
for his new state, but first let careful inquiry be made as to
whether he has come of his own accord or compelled by some
necessity.1
But since the apostle says Test the spirits to see
whether they are from God, let him be carefully tested,
lest perchance he be one of those of whom the Lord
says: They will come to you in sheep’s clothing, but within
they are ravenous wolves; by their fruits you shall know them.* * Mt 7:15-16
The testing distinguishes whether it is a temptation of
the devil or Christ’s call that has brought him to the
monastery.2
º 3Therefore if the one coming perseveres in º CCM 292
his knocking, and it is seen after four or five
days that he patiently bears the wrongs inflicted
on him and the difficulty of admission, and
persists in his request, 4let entrance be granted
him, and let him be in the guesthouse for a few
days. The wrongs inflicted refers either to those he
suffers from the difficulty of admission, or those he
suffers from the porter of the guesthouse to test him,
as blessed Fructuosus says of such a one:
He shall bring straw for the guests and pilgrims,

and water for their feet, and shall humbly exercise
all ministries; he shall bring a bundle of sticks every
day on his back and give it to the weekly servers;
and having been thus subjected in all affliction and
meanness, when a year is complete, having been
tested in his conduct and refined by hard work, after
receiving a blessing in the church he shall be admit-
ted to the company of the brothers.3
There follows:
1. RTarn. 1:1-2 (R Ben. 84:14); Conc. 65.17 (PL 103:1284A).

2. Cf. RM 90:71-72 (SCh 106:390-392); Conc. 65.29
(1298A).
3. Fructuos. RComplut. 21 (PL 87:1109B); Conc. 65.12 (1277B-
1278A).
5
After that let him be in the novitiate, where
the novices study, eat and sleep. The novitiate
means not the quarters of the guests but the quarters
of those who are knocking; there the one newly
come—either with those he finds there or with the
master he has—is to meditate on the canticles, the
psalms and the hymns, or the precepts of the rule, to
the observance of which he must surrender himself.
So then he who is renouncing the world must in no
way begin from a state of lukewarmness, lest through
his very lukewarmness he again fall in love with the
world.
6
And a senior shall be assigned them, one
who is fit for the work of winning souls, and
he is to watch over them with the utmost care.
7
The concern should be to find out whether
the novice is truly seeking God, whether he is
solicitous for the Work of God, for obedience
and for trials. He says Whether he is solicitous for
the Work of God, in other words, for what properly
concerns God, namely: prayer, lectio divina, the Night
Offices and the Day Hours, fasting, and every divine
duty. He says for obedience, because obedience is better
1 Sam 15:22 * than sacrifice.* He says for trials, so that if these come
he should bear them patiently for the sake of Christ’s
name. About this blessed Fructuosus says: One who has
turned from the world—so we are taught by the decrees of
the Fathers—must not be received unless he has first given
proof of himself in doing work and bearing affliction, trials
and abuse.4 And blessed Basil also says:
Before the novice is inserted in the body of the

brotherhood, he ought to have enjoined on him
CCM 293 º certain laborious tasks, and things that seem ºto
entail trials; he ought to be observed to see if he
willingly and confidently fulfills these things, in case
4. Fructuos. RComplut. 21 (1109AB); Conc. 65.12 (1277AB).

he bears the confusion arising from them with cha-

grin, and also to see if he is energetic and prompt
in his work.5
Let him be clearly told all the hard and

8
harsh things by which the journey to God is

made. Let him be clearly told the hard things,
he says, that is, the rigors and labors and demands on
his courage, so that he may be able to say with the
psalmist: Because of the words of your lips I have kept hard
ways.* Harsh things refers to the strict and violent * Ps 17:4
things, or the strait and narrow things, of which6 the
Lord says: ‘Strait and narrow is the way that leads to
life’,* that life, namely, who said: I am the Way, the Truth * Mt 7:14
and the Life.* Hence the ancient Fathers also said: * Jn 14:6
When men of this kind wish to be freed from the

world’s subterfuges and approach the monastery,
they should be brought together for a week in front
of the doors, and hard and laborious things should
always be proposed to them. Now if they persevere
in knocking, entrance should not be denied them,
but the father superior should allow such men to
enter, and should show them how they can hold to
the life-style of the brothers and keep the rule.7
If he promises to persevere in his stability,

9
after a period of two months this rule is to be

read through to him, 10and he is to be told: This
is the law under which you wish to do military
service; if you can observe it, enter; but if you
cannot, freely depart.
5. RBas. 6:9-10 (CSEL 86:38); Conc. 65.8 (1274C-1275A).

6. ‘Way’ is supplied here. Smaragdus makes an easy transition
from the accusative of the neuter plural to the ablative of the
feminine singular: Aspera dicit districta, violenta vel arta et angusta,
de qua dominus dixit ‘Arta et angusta via . . . . ’ (CCM 293).
7. RIVP [7]:25-28 (R Ben. 77:79); Conc. 65.3 (1271B).
If you can observe it, enter, he says. Understand:

If you can observe the precepts of this rule, enter to
do military service; but if you cannot, before you
submit your neck to the yoke of the rule and become
subject to its service, freely depart. It must be noted
that he does not say: This is the law under which you
may rest and live quietly and at leisure, but he says
under which you wish to do military service,
so that you may understand that the life of man on earth
is a military service, and his days are like the days of a
Jb 7:1 * mercenary.* So then, he who desires to pass over into
his military service must endure everything for the
Lord, for the sake of an eternal reward, and be tested
like gold by the file, by hammers and by the fire of
the furnace, so that he may be able to reach the Lord’s
crown and diadem.
11
If he still stands firm, then let him be taken
back to the above-mentioned novitiate and
again tested in all patience. Hence Isidore says:
It is not fitting for anyone to be received inside who has left
the world and is turning to serve as the Lord’s soldier with
loving and salutary humility, unless he has first been put
outside and his humility and patience tested.8 Now the
reason why we do military service under the abbot’s
command with various kinds of testing, and bear with
rejoicing the hard and rough things the abbot orders
CCM 295 º is, that after the ºpilgrimage of this life we may deserve
to reign with the Lord. When he says, Then let him
be taken to the above-mentioned novitiate,
although he had already said previously, Let him be
in the novitiate, we understand that he has left the
novitiate itself and come to the lecture-room or to
the place the abbot has chosen, and there he hears
the precept of the rule; and then he again goes back
to the novitiate. Hence Saint Aurelius [Aurelian] says:
By God’s order we have in the first place laid this down as
8. Isid. Reg. 4 (PL 103:558C); Conc. 65.10 (1275C-1276A).

something to be observed: that if anyone comes to be a monk,

the rule is to be read to him in the visitors’ parlor.9
12
After a lapse of six months let the rule be
read to him, so that he may know on what he
is entering. Hence Ferreolus says: After this let the
monastery’s rule be read to him at the abbot’s order, so that
there may be nothing new or unusual in the future. If he
intends to depart, let him take no notice; if he intends to stay,
let him get to know it.10 So let him be assigned to one
of the seniors and be formed by the discipline and
teachings of the rule, so that he may come to know
what he has to do, and whom it befits him to serve,
and everything else in turn.11
13
And if he still stands firm, after four months
let the same rule be read to him again. This
course of a year is completed for the novice from the
time at which he came knocking at the monastery.
In this period of a year the rule has been read to him
in an orderly way three times, while he is still living
in the novitiate. Not only blessed Benedict but other
Fathers as well have ordered the novice to observe
this period of time. For they said: No one is to be
allowed to change his dress except after a full year. But if
the penitent’s compunction is so great that he demands by
earnest supplication that this be not denied him, yet what is
granted to one who asks urgently and faithfully should not
be regarded as something he has a right to.12 Hence blessed
Fructuosus says:
And thus having been handed over to one spiritual
senior for a whole year, he must not mix at once
with the community,13 but he must first be thor-
oughly taught by all the practices of good works.
9. Aur. Reg. 1 (PL 68:387D-388A); Conc. 65.30 (1300A).

10. RFerreol. 5 (PL 66:962A); Conc. 65.11 (1277A).
11. Cf. RTarn. 1:3 (R Ben. 84:14-15); Conc. 65.17 (1284A).
12. RTarn. 1:21 (17); Conc. 65.17 (1285AB).
13. Fructuos.RComplut. 21 (PL 87:1109C); Conc. 65.12
(1278A).
But if any convert distinguished for his good and

pure conduct is approved by the judgment of the
abbot and other spiritual brothers for the merit and
purity of his conscience, if he is a cleric he will be
able to mix with the community of brothers, accord-
ing as the abbot’s deliberation, and that of the best
of the brothers, decides should be done.14
14
And if, having had deliberation with himself,
he promises to keep everything and to observe
everything he is commanded, let him then be
received into the community; 15but let him
know that it is laid down by the law of the rule
that from that day he is not allowed to leave the
CCM 295 º monastery º 16or withdraw his neck from under
the yoke of the rule, which he was able, during
such a prolonged deliberation, either to refuse
or to accept. ‘Having had’ comes from ‘having’,
while ‘deliberation’ means ‘meditation or discussion’.
retractatio * And so a reconsideration* is defined as a deliberation
that has been had.
Concerning this sentence a certain master of monks
says: When this reading of the rule to the novice is
finished, the abbot should give him this answer in
the first place, that perhaps he is not able to keep the
prescriptions of the rule. Now when the new brother
says he is able to obey in everything, and replies that he
will observe everything the abbot says and is ready for
everything,15 and if he promises to fulfill everything,
let him then be received into the community of
monks. But having once been received, until his death
14. Fructuos. RComplut. 21 (1109B); Conc. 65.2 (1277B).

Where in this quotation from Fructuosus the CCM text has
clericus, ‘cleric’, Ménard (2:955) also had clericus, with celerius,
‘more quickly’, apparently suggested as an amendment. Migne
has simply incorporated the amendment into the text.
15. Cf. RM 87:4 (SCh 106:356); Conc. 65.26 (1288A).
he should not presume or be allowed to leave the

monastery, on account of the prophet’s saying: One
thing I have asked of the Lord, this shall I seek: to live in the
house of the Lord all the days of my life.* 16 * Ps 27:4
17
Now the one to be received shall promise, in
the oratory in the presence of all, his stability,
a monastic way of life, and obedience 18before
God and his saints, so that if at any time he
acts otherwise, he may know that he will be
condemned by him whom he mocks. He shall
make his promise in this form of words:
‘I, N.N.,17 in this monastery of Saint N.N.,

promise my stability, a monastic way of life,
and obedience according to the Rule of Saint
Benedict, before God and his saints.’
And when he has bound himself by this promise, let him

be subject to the rules written above through his industry in
good works, inasmuch as he intends to please the Lord.18 But
if at any time he acts otherwise, that is, if he willingly
departs from the regular life, let him know that he will
certainly be condemned by the God he mocks.
19
Concerning this promise of his let him draw
up a petition in the name of the saints whose
relics are there, and of the abbot who is present.
This petition is to be pronounced by the novice with
this general sense: As I pay careful attention to the
first beginning of my monastic life, I can see that an
easy entrance into the monastery was not granted to
my request at first. But when I had been knocking
for a long time I was scarcely—and this was out of
16. Aur. Reg. 1-2 (PL 68:388D-389A); Conc. 65.30 (1300AB).

17. Ego ille in hoc monasterio sancti illius . . . : the first and sec-
ond examples in the Commentary of the use of ille meaning N.N.,
[so-and-so]; cf. CCCM 68, p. LXXV n. (12), and Ch. 59 n. 11
below.
18. Fructuos. RComplut. 22 (1110B); Conc. 65.13 (1279A).
mercy—assigned a place in the guesthouse, where I

remained for a few days, and then proceeded to the
novitiate. There, at first hard and harsh things were
clearly told me by a senior, and I was simply asked to
promise my stability. This senior used to threaten me,
and intimate these words in my fearful ears:You must
CCM 296 º know for ºcertain that if, after promising to observe
the rule, you turn and look back, you will not be
fit for the kingdom of heaven. Moreover, you must
know that you will be cast out of the enclosure of the
monastery in the very same clothes in which you were
received into it. And because the world had lost you
for good you were stripped of your old clothes, and
likewise stripped of vices; it is only right that it should
receive back its slave clothed in both of these, as being
one whom all must hold forever in disgrace. But I,
strengthened by the example of David, used to cry out
to the Lord: Because of the words of your lips I have kept
Ps 17:4 * hard ways,* knowing with the utmost certainty that,
if I am a sharer in the passion of Christ, I shall also
be a sharer in his resurrection. Strengthened by these
and similar divine utterances, I used to promise that I
would suffer everything with constancy for the sake
of eternal life.
The father, seeing this constancy of ours, ordered the
rule to be read to us three times in the year, right through,
and also ordered the rule to be handed over to us, with
the express warning: This is the law under which
you wish to serve; if you can observe it, enter; if
you cannot, freely depart. Therefore, seeing this very
well-ordered and prolonged space given to me, leaving
aside all hesitation I earnestly beg of you with tears to
deign to make me a member of your community. I have
already held wholesome deliberation with myself about
salvation, and I promise, with the Lord’s help, to keep
the ordinances of this rule in all matters, willingly to
observe the precepts of my abbot, and by the Lord’s
favor to comply with all the commands of the older
brothers. And I promise faithfully to be subject to the

laws of this rule for the sake of eternal freedom, so that
I am no longer free from this day to leave the monastery
and to withdraw my neck from under the yoke of the
rule, which I was free either to refuse or to accept
during a year-long process of making a choice. But as
I stated before, leaving aside all reluctance I promise
my stability in the monastery, and a monastic way of
life, and on account of the service of my profession
and the reward of eternal life and fear of Gehenna, I
humbly subject myself to do the military service of holy
obedience, in the presence of God and his angels. And
in order that you may hold this petition containing my
promise firmly in your keeping, I have written it out in
the name of the saints whose relics are kept here, and
abbot N.N., who is present, and I hand it over to be
held in perpetuity. I now place it, signed with my own
hand, on the altar, to be kept in this monastery for all
time. And so there follows:
20
He shall write this petition with his own
hand, or at least if he is illiterate another shall
write it at his request, and the novice shall put
his mark to it and place it on the altar with his
own hand. Thus we find it written elsewhere:
If the novice enters with his own possessions, ºthe º CCM 297
inventory and donation made of his things to God
and the monastery shall be placed by the donor’s own
hand on the altar.While doing this the brother him-
self shall say: See, O Lord, with my soul and my
poverty I give back and offer to you whatever you
have given me, and I want my possessions to be there
where my heart and soul are, but under the control
of the monastery and of the abbot whom you,
Lord, are placing over me to fear in your place,
since you say to them: ‘He who hears you hears
me, and he who spurns you spurns me*’.19 * Lk 10:16
19. RM 89:17-20 (374); Conc. 65.28 (1293BC).

21
When he has placed it there, let the novice
himself at once begin this verse: Receive me, O
Lord, according to your word and I shall live; and do
Ps 119:116 * not disappoint me in my expectation.* 22The whole
community shall repeat this verse three times,
adding a Glory be to the Father. 23The novice
brother shall then prostrate himself at the feet
of all so that they may pray for him, and from
that day he shall be counted as one of the
community. It is the voice of one who is repenting
and turning to God that says Receive me, O Lord,
according to your word and I shall live, and so forth. For
he who has gone far away from God by sinning, and
has been hiding through long-standing habit from the
knowledge of God like a dead man in the sepulcher
of sin, is once again humbled by doing penance; he
implores the Lord with weeping, that having been
received he may live forever. And so, prostrate at the
feet of all the brothers, he must ask them earnestly to
pray for him, continuing to do this even when he has
been received into the community. Hence a certain
master of monks says:
After these words the new brother himself shall say

this responsory: ‘Receive me, O Lord, according to
your word and I shall live; and do not disappoint
me in my expectation’. After this responsory the
abbot shall say this verse: ‘Confirm, O God, what
Ps 68:28 * you have wrought in us’.* After this verse has been
said, all shall at once give him the [kiss of] peace,
and the abbot shall say the concluding prayer.20
Thus we are given to understand that after that Glory

be said by all as mentioned above, all again must say the
Lord’s Prayer with the novice, silently, as is the custom,
and when the abbot says: And lead us not into tempta-
tion, all shall answer in the usual way: But deliver us
20. RM 89:24-26 (376); Conc. 65.28 (1293C-1294A).

from evil.* And then the abbot, praying over the novice, * Mt 6:13
shall say this prayer:
We beseech you, O Lord, receive this your

servant who is fleeing to you from the storms
of this world and from the snares of the devil,
so that having been received by you he may
rejoice at being saved in the present world
and at being happily rewarded by you in the
world to come. Through our Lord.
And then when the kiss [of peace] has been given to
all, let him also be counted among the community.
º 24If he has any possessions, let him either give º CCM 298
them beforehand to the poor, or make a solemn
donation conferring them on the monastery,
keeping back nothing at all for himself, 25aware
that from that day he will not have power even
over his own body. When he says Make a solemn
donation, we understand that it should be done in
a religious way, in the presence of witnesses and the
whole community of the monastery. And so elsewhere
the fathers of monks said: If a novice wishes to bring any
property into the cell, it shall be put on a table in front of all
the brothers.21 And a certain master of monks also says:
Together with his own soul he shall offer everything

to God and the oratory of the monastery by means
of a donation, which is subscribed to by religious
witnesses: the bishop, priest, deacon and clergy of
the territory. And in the deed of bond itself he shall
state clearly that if at any time he should wish to
leave the monastery, he is to do so without his
possessions, and depart from God without pardon
for his sins.22
21. 3RP 1 (PL 103:443D); Conc. 65.2 (1270A).

22. RM 87:35-37 (360-362); Conc. 65.26 (1290A).
26
At once therefore let him be stripped of
his own clothes which he is wearing, and be
dressed in the monastery’s clothes. It seems to me
that at this point if he is in lay dress he is to be given
the tonsure and so dressed in the monastery’s clothes.
And so on this account a certain ancient master of
monks also says: When therefore he has completed a whole
year without blame in the monastery in company with the
rest of the brothers, then at length without any delay let him
be given the tonsure, and let his clothes be changed for those
of his holy resolve.23 For this reason Cassian also says:
But when anyone is received into the monastery,

he is to be stripped so thoroughly of his previous
abundance that he is no longer permitted to have
even the clothing he was dressed in when he came
from the world, but let him be brought out in the
center, stripped of his own things, and clothed by
the abbot’s hands in the garments of the
monastery.24
But before the novice to be tonsured actually receives

the tonsure, let the priest says this prayer for him:
Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that as

this your servant loses the hair of his head, he
may at the same time lose the vices of heart
and body, so that renewed both in body and
in mind he may happily be able to reign with
you forever. Through [our Lord].
27
But the clothes he was wearing should be
put in the wardrobe and kept there, 28so that if
at any time he consents to the devil persuad-
ing him to leave the monastery—which God
23. RM 90:79-80 (392); Conc. 65.29 (1298B).

24. RCass. 24:1 (R Ben. 94:181); Conc. 65.22 (1286C); cf.
Cassian Inst. IV.5 (CSEL 17:50).
forbid!—he is to be stripped of the monastery’s

clothes and then cast out. And so Cassian says:
Now the clothes he has taken off are to be handed

over to the prior; ºthey are to be kept by him until, º CCM 299
by different kinds of testing and trial, his progress
in monastic life may be more clearly recognized. But
if there is detected in him any murmuring or dis-
obedience, the monastery clothes he had been dressed
in are to be taken from him; he is to be dressed again
in his old clothes which the prior is keeping, and
cast out, because it is not right for him to leave with
the monastery clothes he has received.25
Now the secular dress that was taken off him when
he was changing his attire is to be carefully put
away and kept, whether it was that of layfolk or
that of an already full-fledged religious.26 This is
in case—far be it from religious!—he should ever
want to return to his vomit* and chooses to return * 2 P 2:22
to the world’s ways, and cannot be restrained by
any bonds of the Scriptures and of admonitions. If
that happens, let him give back to Christ what is
his, in other words let him be stripped of the holy
garments and the sacred habit, be dressed in his
own clothes, which he was wearing when he came,
and again imitating the world return to the devil,
his counselor. And let not the habit of Christ he
was formerly given be defiled in the world by a
fugitive.27
25. RCass. 25:1 & 26:1 (as in n. 24); Conc. 65.23-24 (1287AB);
cf. Inst. IV.6 (CSEL17:51).
26. ‘full-fledged religious’ is Fr Luke Eberle’s translation of
firmato converso at RM 90:83. A note there refers to an earlier
explanatory note on conversus at Ch 87, note 1.
27. RM 90:83-86 (394); Conc. 65.29 (1299A).
But he is not to get back that petition of his

29
which the abbot took from the altar; it is to be

kept in the monastery. He orders that petition to
be kept in the monastery, so that by means of it the
abbot may, should he so wish, bring him back to the
monastery even against his will, and keep him subject
there; or if perhaps he says he is not a monk, he may
be refuted by means of that petition and brought back
to the service of monastic life.
CHAPTER 59
ON THE SONS OF NOBLES

AND OF THE POOR
WHO ARE OFFERED
1
If anyone from the nobility offers his son to
God in the monastery, if the boy himself is
under age, his parents shall draw up the petition
we spoke of above; 2and let them wrap the peti-
tion and the boy’s hand with the offering in the
altar cloth and so offer him. Hence Basil says:
Children ought to be received by the will and with

the consent of their parents; in fact, they ought to
be offered by the parents themselves with many
people as witnesses, so that every opportunity for
wicked men to curse may be ruled out. If they are
CCM 300 º received and then break ºtheir resolution, should
they not be viewed rather as persons who have
sinned against the Lord? They have broken the
covenant they made acknowledging him when they
made their profession. If a man sins against a man,
On the Sons of Nobles and of the Poor Who Are Offered 481
he will pray for him to the Lord; but if he sins

against God, who will pray for him? *1 * 1 Sm 2:25
Hence Isidore says:
Whoever is made over in the monastery by his own

parents should know that he is to remain there al-
ways. For Hannah out of piety offered the boy
Samuel to God once he had been weaned*; he both * 1 Sm 1:24
remained in the ministry of the temple, which he
had discharged from [the time] his mother [left him
there], and served where he was stationed.2
We are given to understand from this that the par-

ents he refers to here are none other than the father
or mother who begot or gave birth to him, because
Hannah herself and no one else offered Samuel, whom
she bore, to serve the Lord in his temple.
3
As regards his property, they shall either
promise under oath in the present petition.
Under oath,* he says, that is, with an oath.† For ev- * sub iureiurando
† cum juramento
eryone swears by someone superior to him, and there-
fore he says under oath, because he who takes an
oath is under the oath by which he swears, and under
him by whom he swears. That they will never of
themselves, never through a substitute or in any
way given him anything or provide him with
the opportunity of having anything. A substitute
is a person who is put in place of someone else, a sur-
rogate. A substitute means ‘one who takes another’s place,
made under’,* as it were. And so we call a man a substitute * suffactus
consul* if he is substituted for someone else.3 * suffectus
4
Or at any rate if they are unwilling to do this
and wish to offer something by way of alms
1.RBas. 7:4.14-15 (CSEL 86:39-40); Conc. 66.2 (PL

103:1307A.1308A).
2. Isid. Reg. 4 (PL 103:558D-559A); Conc. 66.3 (1308B).
3. Isid. Etym. X.256; PL 82:394C.
to the monastery for their advantage, 5let them

make a donation of the things they wish to give
to the monastery, reserving for themselves the
usufruct, if they wish. He calls usufruct what we
call ‘use and enjoyment’. In other words, let them
donate those things to the monastery by means of a
testament, reserving to themselves the use and enjoy-
ment.4 From these things let them every year pay the
amount appointed for them.
6
And in this way let all avenues be blocked,
that is, let every opportunity be closed off, made dif-
ficult and denied, as a result of which the boy might
be further endangered. For it is sinful for someone
who aims to escape this world’s snare to keep back
something whereby the devil’s hostility may be able to
enmesh him. So that the boy may not have any
slight idea by which he may be deceived and
so perish—which God forbid!—which we have
CCM 301 º learnt by experience. He ºhad seen young men
leave the monastery at an opportunity like that, and for
the sake of earthly things leave God’s service and love
the world; and so he says which we have learnt by
experience. And if this used to happen rarely then, we
know that it now happens very frequently.
A certain master of monks says concerning this
chapter:
When the son of some nobleman wants to fly to

the monastery for the service of God, he shall not
be received before he has promised to do all that
obedience requires, as we said above.Then his par-
ents should come together, so that their wish in his
regard may be ascertained.5 If his parents agree with
his wish, the abbot shall call them to the monastery
to question their son’s wish for the monastic life, so
that it may seem rather that those who brought him
4. Cf. ibid. V.25.29; 208C.

5. RM 91:1-2 (SCh 106:398); Conc. 66.6 (1309A).
into the world are the ones who are dedicating and
offering him. So when the parents answer that they
are willing to fulfill joyfully what he desires, the
abbot shall say to them:6 ‘In the light of these con-
siderations, dear parents, we are right to encourage
you according to God on behalf of your sons. If you
desire to offer your son worthily to God, first divest
him of the world. But if anything of the world re-
mains with you in reserve for him, there will come
a day when he will experience the arousal of a dia-
bolical desire, as a dog delights to return to his
vomit;* and having put his hand to the plough, * 2 P 2:22
then looking back, he may no longer be fit for the
kingdom of heaven.* Some day, certain of the por- * Lk 9:62
tion that you have kept for him, he will leave the
monastery, desiring to return to your home in the
world, wanting to be a co-heir with his brothers. He
may begin to return as spouse and master of his
possessions, and having been reinstated in his for-
mer delights and displays he will be wanting noth-
ing else than to get married. So then, as we said
above, if you want to offer him worthily to God,7
let his inheritance be divided into three equal parts:
let one part be distributed by the abbot’s hands and
given to the poor and needy; let him leave the sec-
ond to you and his brothers as a farewell gift, since
he is proceeding to the court of the saints; let him
bring the third part with him as a contribution to
his own upkeep, for the benefit of the monastery’s
saints.8 But if both these sayings are hard for you
to accept, so that you neither heed God by giving
to the poor and ºredeeming your son’s soul, nor heed º CCM 302
our counsel by dividing his worldly substance into
parts and taking it away from him, at any rate give
God your son without anything, on his own, in
such a way that you promise him on oath on the
6. RM 91:5-7 (as n. 5); Conc. 66.6 (1309B).

7. RM 91:35-41 (404-406); Conc. 66.6 (1311BC).
8. RM 91:49-52 (406-408); Conc. 66.6 (1312AB).
holy Gospels that he shall henceforth have nothing

from your patrimony. Thus persevering steadfastly
in the Lord he shall know that he has nothing to
hope for from the world when he sees that he is a
stranger to you and to it.9 The main thing is that
he should have nothing in the world that he can
still hope for from you and your property, while you
are alive or when you are dead. For he to whom
the world is once and for all crucified must not once
more find pleasure in it.’ 10
There follows:
7
Poorer people shall do likewise. 8But those
who have nothing at all shall simply draw up a
petition and offer their son with the gifts in the
presence of witnesses. When this handing over of
the sons of those of noble or of low birth, of the rich
or of the poor is taking place, something worded along
these lines may be recommended: Since it is held to be
sanctioned by law and provided for from ancient times,
that parents hand over their own sons with the offer-
ings to serve the Lord happily in the Lord’s temple,
without doubt we are offered a wholesome example
to follow as regards our sons. For it is a right decision:
to give back to our Creator what we have produced.
Therefore, in the presence of witnesses, I hand over
this son of ours, whose name is N.N.,11 with the of-
fering in his hand and the petition all wrapped up in
the altar-cloth, in the name of the saints whose relics
are kept here, and of the abbot who is present. I hand
him over to remain here in keeping with the rule, so
that from this day on it is no longer lawful for him to
RB 58.16 * withdraw his neck from under the yoke of the rule;*
9. RM 91:55-57 (408); Conc. 66.6 (1312B-1313A).

10. RM 91:61-62 (408-410); Conc. 66.6 (1313A).
11. Idcirco hunc filium nostrum nomine illo . . . : the second ex-
ample of a form of ille in the sense of N.N., [so-and-so]; cf.
CCCM 68, p. LXXV n. (12), and Ch. 58 n. 17 above.
instead he is to know that he is to observe faithfully

the ordinances of the same rule and serve the Lord in a
joyful spirit with the rest. And in order that this hand-
ing over of ours may continue in force, I promise with
an oath before God and his angels that I will never of
myself, never through a substitute, in any way at any
time by means of my property and possessions provide
him with opportunities of leaving the monastery. And
in order that this petition may remain in force, I have
signed it with my own hand and have handed it over
to the witnesses to be confirmed by them.
ON PRIESTS WHO MAY WISH

TO LIVE IN THE MONASTERY
1
If anyone from the order of priests asks to be
received into the monastery, consent should
not be given him too quickly. He says: Consent
should not be given him too quickly, so that his
constancy in seeking may be tested and his persever-
ance in knocking examined, for it is written: Seek and
you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you.* And * Mt 7:7, Lk 11:9
certainly for this reason: to test whether he comes in-
spired by the Holy Spirit or moved and tempted by
another spirit.
2
If, however, he resolutely persists in this
request, he should know that he will have to
observe the whole discipline of the rule. The
discipline of the rule means the rule’s teaching in all
matters and the precepts of holy instruction. Discipline
comes from the verb [discere] ‘to learn’.1 For whatever is
1. Isid. Etym. I.1.1; PL 82:73A.

learnt in a holy way in the school of the rule is fit-

tingly called ‘discipline’. For the instruction of regular
discipline consists in keeping the precepts of the same
rule, as well as in its chastisements and reproofs and its
various judgments, in which he who perseveres to the end
Mt 10:22, * will be saved.*
24:13 3
Nor shall anything be relaxed for him, so
that it may be as it is written: Friend, what have
Mt 26:50 * you come for?* For Judas had come to betray the Lord,
and by way of excuse he was offering him a false kiss.
The Lord said to him: Friend, what have you come for?;
understand: ‘Do that (that is, what you have come for).
For you have come to betray me, not to kiss me. So
don’t bother giving a false kiss, and make haste to hand
over your Lord and Master.’2 This is how one must
speak to priests and to all living in the regular life who
do not take care to obey its precepts in all things.They
should be told Friend, what you have come for, that
do. For you have come to obey, not to command; to
work, not to be idle; to be exercised by various tasks,
not to devote yourself to gossip; to be humbled, not
be become proud. So, Friend, what you have come for,
that do.You have come to observe the precepts of the
rule; as far as you are able with the Lord’s help, observe
them, so that you may be justified by observing them,
not endangered by spurning then.
4
Let it be granted him, however, to stand after
the abbot and give the blessing, or to celebrate
Mass, provided the abbot bids him; 5otherwise,
let him not presume anything at all, knowing
that he is subject to the regular discipline, and
let him rather give examples of humility to all.
2. Cf. Smar. Collect.; PL 102:182A. In its RB text and once in

the commentary on v. 3 of this chapter the CCM text has Amice
ad quod venisti?, and twice the same words without a question
mark; the relative quod fits better with Smaragdus’s explana-
tion than the interrogative quid used in the Latin Vulgate of Mt
26:50 and in the Migne text of the Commentary.
On Priests Who May Wish to Live in the Monastery 487
A priest has ºwatched over himself carefully in the º CCM 304

world; for love of God, the integrity of his morals, and
the balanced nature of the regular life, he comes to the
monastery so as to serve the Lord quietly there, and
grow more and more in the virtues. If he lives there as
a father to the community’s monks, and while show-
ing an example of holiness excels the rest in holy vir-
tues, he is rightly granted to stand after the abbot
and give the blessing and celebrate Mass. He
must do this not through any rashness of his own but
at the order and by appointment of the abbot. But one
who, weighed down by the burden of sin, has already
been deposed in God’s sight from the honor of the
priesthood, and who in order to be saved seeks the en-
closure of the monastery so as to live there subjected
to penance and always humbled, must not seek such
a position; instead, he must be humbly content with
the place that is his by order of entry. And so there
also follows:
6
And if perchance he is in the monastery be-
cause of ordination or something else,3 7let him
keep to that place [which he has from] when
he entered the monastery, not that which has
been bestowed on him out of reverence for the
priesthood. When he says If perchance . . . [be-
cause] of ordination, understand: either because he
has been ordained priest, or because he has received a
ministry of organizing, that is, he has received from the
abbot authority to organize something in the monas-
tery, or [because of] something else, understand:
he is placed high in rank in the monastery, let him
keep to that place, and so forth. Concerning this
chapter a certain master of monks also says:
3. Et si forte ordinationis aut alicuius rei causa fuerit in monaste-

rio . . . Smaragdus clearly takes causa as an ablative modifying
ordinationis aut alicuius rei, leaving an understood sacerdos as the
subject of fuerit.
If priests choose, for love of God and for the sake

of discipline and a measure of holy life, to dwell in
monasteries, they shall be called fathers of the mon-
astery in name only; they shall not be allowed to
do anything else in the monastery except to say the
collects and the conclusions, and to give the blessing.
Let them neither presume nor be allowed to do
anything else, nor claim any role in the organiza-
tion, control or administration; but the abbot who
is appointed over the whole flock shall adjudicate
and vindicate with the rule every kind of permission
and controlling power in the monastery. For we
have determined that they be called fathers of the
monastery only by nominal title of honor, because
of their consecration or ordination as priests.4 For
if the priests choose rather to enjoy each day the
monastery’s food, clothing or footwear, they must
also work in community according to the apostolic
precept,5 mindful always of the holy apostle Paul,
who points to himself as an example saying: We
2 Th 3:8 * did not eat your bread without paying.* Again he
says: We toiled with our own hands so as not to
Ibid. * be a burden to any of you.* And again he says: If
CCM 305 º a man does not work, let him not ºeat.* So if they
2 Th 3:10 * remain idle for a very long time, refusing to earn
their keep by the labor of their own hands, they
shall be respectfully summoned by the abbot with
the witness of many religious, and shall return to
their churches. But if—which God forbid!—they
do not want to leave peacefully, but rather with
some scandal, they shall be seized, divested of the
monastery’s things and shut out, and the gate closed
behind them, because they themselves should, with
more reason, do what they preach to others.6
4. RM 83:3-8 (SCh 106:342-344); Conc. 67.2 (PL 103:1315A).

5. RM 83:10-11 (344); Conc. 67.2 (1316AB).
6. RM 83:14-21 (344-346); Conc. 67.2 (1316AB).
How Pilgrim Monks Are to be Received 489
If any clerics have the same desire and wish

8
to join the monastery, they should be put in a

middle position, 9but only if they also promise
observance of the rule and their own stability.
Here too he orders that those clerics be placed in a
middle position who are not weighed down by the
burden of sin, but who wish to join the brothers in
the monastery out of love for God and a desire for the
regular life. But as has already been said above con-
cerning priests, the rest shall each of them be content
with the place due to him by the time of his entry.
CHAPTER 61
HOW PILGRIM MONKS

ARE TO BE RECEIVED
1
If a pilgrim monk arrives from distant prov-
inces and wishes to live as a guest in the monas-
tery, 2provided he is content with the custom of
the place as he finds it and does not disturb the
monastery with his superfluity, 3but is simply
content with what he finds, let him be received
for as long a time as he wishes. Content, that is,
as regards food, drink and clothing, or as regards the
kinds of work and the monastery’s customs in other
matters. If in all these things he does not disturb the
monastery with his superfluity, that is, by his ex-
cessive demands and his faultfinding, then let him be
received for as long a time as he wishes. Hence
Basil says:
It is indeed fitting that he be granted admission,

because of the uncertainty as to how things will
turn out. For it can happen sometimes that over a

period of time he derives benefit from, and finds
delight in, the holiness of the life, and perseveres in
what he has begun, as we know has frequently
happened. However, one ought to act in his regard
rather cautiously and carefully, so that whether he
abides and progresses in the truth, or it is the liberty
of our institutions that is being spied out, it may
be found worthy of approval and pure. For in this
way we shall please God, and he will either make
progress if he is genuine, or be put to shame if he
is an impostor.1
4
Of course if he finds fault with something or
draws attention to it in a reasonable way and
with the humility of charity, let the abbot pru-
dently consider it, in case it was for this precise
CCM 306 º reason that the Lord has sent him. ºWhen he
says If he finds fault with something with the hu-
mility of charity, he is speaking about the service
of God and the observance of the rule and keeping
the Lord’s precepts. As regards all these matters, if with
charity a guest corrects something or says it should be
corrected, he should be heard willingly; things need-
ing correction should be speedily corrected, because
when the Lord is at work, one man is frequently cor-
rected through another.
5
But if afterwards he wishes to fix his stability
there, such a wish should not be refused, espe-
cially as his mode of life and character could
be discerned while he was a guest. It is not stated
clearly here how he is to fix his stability, whether in
the heart only, or both in the heart and by word. But
we are given to understand that, as the novice prom-
RB 58.9 * ised his stability* before God and his saints, so
1. RBas. 87:3-4.5-6 (CSEL 86:121-22); Conc. 68.4 (PL

103:1322A).
that if at any time he acts otherwise he may

know that he will be condemned by him whom
he mocks,* so also this man, although he does not * RB 58.18
promise since he has already promised, should fix his
stability both in his heart and by word before God
and his saints and suitable witnesses, so that he may
not deserve to be condemned for his much and un-
lawful wandering.
6
But if during his time as a guest he is found
excessively demanding or prone to vice, not
only must he not be made a member of the
monastic community, 7but he should even be
politely told to leave, so that others may not
be corrupted by his wretchedness. As has already
been said, the expression excessively demanding
refers to matters of food and drink and the other ob-
servances of the rule. Prone to vice means ‘to have
grown accustomed to, and often have incurred the
stain of, vice’. One who loves vice is in the habit of
practicing it frequently; having been made wretched
by it, he is fittingly said to be prone to vice. And so
there also follows here: So that others may not be
corrupted by his wretchedness. Wretchedness
means a life that is ‘full of vice and sordid with sins’.
It is called wretchedness because it makes those who
love it wretched, as it is written: Sins have made us
wretched.* * Pr 14:34
8
But if he is not the kind who deserves to be
cast out, not only should he be received at his
request and made a member of the community,
9
but he should even be persuaded to stay, so that
others may be instructed by his example, 10and
because in every place we serve one Lord, we
are at the service of one King. For the evil must
be cast out and driven out, lest others be corrupted by
their company; but the good must be received, held
on to and attracted, so that others may be improved
by their company; the former must be cast out so that
their vices may be guarded against, the latter must be

held on to so that their holy and honorable life may
be imitated by others. The persuasion to be employed
for holding on to a good guest is as follows: he should
be told: Brother, stay with us in this monastery and
do not move on, so that others may be instructed by
your good example. For there is no need to seek God
in some other place; he is everywhere, at all times and
totally. We ourselves also serve the Lord in this place
and do military service for the same King. For there
is one Lord in every place, who is served every day
CCM 307 º by his servants, and there is one ºKing of kings, who
is being served by his soldiers always and everywhere.
And so there is no need for you to look for another
place where you may serve the Lord better, because by
toiling well here and serving the Lord you will be able
to gain the kingdom of heaven.
11
If the abbot sees that he is that kind of man,
he may put him in a somewhat higher place. He
says If he sees that he is that kind of man, that is,
the kind who deserves to be put in a higher place. It is
a holy and proven life that ought to be placed in a high
rank in the monastery, not a person of noble birth. For
a servant of God must be honored, not according to
the generosity of his parents or the elegance of his
clothes, but according to the merit of his life.
12
And not only in the case of a monk, but
also in that of the aforesaid orders of priests
and clerics, the abbot has the power to establish
them in a higher place than is theirs by entry, if
he sees that their life deserves it. These men must
not be exalted because they are priests and ordained
clerics, but because they are approved by the merit of
their life and are found to be holier than the rest in a
holy way of life. And so it is not the abbot’s temerity
that exalts them, but the holiness of their behavior.
13
But the abbot should be careful never to re-
ceive a monk from another known monastery
to live there, without the consent of his abbot or

a letter of recommendation, 14for it is written:
Do not to another what you do not want done
to yourself.* On this account the ancient Fathers * Tb 4:16
said:
It shall not be lawful to receive brothers from an-

other monastery without the permission of the
father in charge there; and not only to receive them,
one should not even see them, since the apostle says:
‘For he who has broken his first troth is worse than
an unbeliever’.* But if he is entreated by the father * 1 Tm 5:12, 8
in charge to enter another monastery, the latter
should commend him to the one in charge in the
place where he desires to be, and so let him be re-
ceived. But that monk should know that he has as
many seniors as he has brothers in the other mon-
astery. Attention must not be directed to what he
was before, but what must be put to the test is what
manner of man he has begun to be. If the one re-
ceived is seen to have anything in the way of pos-
sessions or books, it will no longer be lawful for him
to possess them, so that he who was not able else-
where to be an old man can be perfect.2
Hence blessed Ferreolus says:
We absolutely refuse, forbid and prohibit a monk

or cleric belonging to another place or monastery to
be received for any reason, exercising precaution in
such matters out of zeal for charity, in case he in-
troduces some novelty, thus giving rise to the sordid-
ness of scandal. For Scripture says: ‘Whatever you
do not want done to you, do not to another’ *.3 * Tb 4:16
2. RIVP [13]:4-12 (R Ben. 77:87); Conc. 68.2 (1320A-1321A).

3. RFerreol. 6 (PL 66:962B); Conc. 68.5 (1322B).
ON THE PRIESTS OF THE

MONASTERY
1
If any abbot asks to have a priest or deacon
ordained, he should choose from his monks one
who is worthy to exercise the priesthood. The
confessio * abbot must examine the profession of faith* of all his
monks, and then he should order the one he has cho-
sen out of them all as being worthy, to be ordained for
him as deacon or priest.The criteria for his choice are,
merit of regular life and understanding of wisdom.
2
The one ordained, however, should beware
of haughtiness or pride, 3and not presume any-
thing except what he is commanded by the
abbot, knowing that he has to be much more
subject to regular discipline. 4Nor should he
under pretext of the priesthood forget the obe-
dience and discipline of the rule, but he should
make more and more progress towards God.
For it is written: The greater you are, humble yourself in
Si 3:18[20] * all things, and you will find grace before God.* The monk
must therefore beware of the boastfulness of conceit,
and of pride, the mother of vices, which just as it is the
origin of all crimes, so is it the ruin of all virtues.1 For pride
is worse than every vice, because it is assumed by very high
and eminent persons, and it arises out of works of justice
and the virtues. Rightly then is ‘pride the beginning of every
Si 10:13 * sin’,* because unless disobedience has gone before, the fault
of transgression does not follow.2
5
Let him always keep the place he had on en-
tering the monastery, 6except for his duty at the
altar. In other words, let him always hold fast to hu-
1. Isid. Sent. II.38.7; PL 83:639C.
2. Ibid. 38.1-2; 639AB.
494
On the Priests of the Monastery 495
mility and keep his own place, being regular in all his
observance; and so let him come for the kiss of peace
and Communion, to intone a psalm and stand in choir,
and in absolutely all places* except for his duty at * RB 63.4-5
the altar, that is, except when he ministers at the
altar. For when he is assisting at the altar he stands first,
offers sacrifice and is the first to pray on behalf of all,
even if he is last in rank. So position is not to be kept
there, or rank held.
And if the community’s choice and the abbot’s
will should want to promote him for the merit
of his life. To be promoted means ‘to be honored and
exalted and raised up from a lower to a higher place’.
For it is entirely fitting that a person be raised up among
men, who relying on the love of God consents to be
humbled more than everyone else. For a monk who is
distinguished more than everyone else for his careful-
ness and moderation, his modesty, faith, humility, charity,
and obedience, and his complete and sheer uprightness,
ought to be honored more than everyone else.
º 7Yet he should know how to keep the rule º CCM 309
laid down for deans and priors. 8Should he pre-
sume to act otherwise, let him be judged not
as a priest but as a rebel. If he observes well the
rule laid down for him he will be honored both by
the dignity and by the name of priest; but if he does
not observe it, he will not be called a priest or even a
monk but a rebel, because the pact he previously made
of his own accord and peacefully, he afterwards broke
through pride and obstinacy. For a rebel is one who,
after making peace, again resumes war.
9
And if though often admonished he does not
amend, let even the bishop be brought in as a
witness. 10But if even so he does not amend, and
his faults are becoming notorious, he is to be
cast out of the monastery, 11provided that his
obstinacy is such that he refuses to submit or to
obey the rule. For if he is so perverse that he will not
amend either for love of Christ or out of reverence for

the bishop, it being known to all the neighbors, he is
to be cast out of the monastery, [as] his faults
are becoming notorious.
CHAPTER 63
ON THE ORDER
OF THE COMMUNITY
1
Let them keep their order in the monastery as
fixed by the time of their entry into monastic
life and the merit of their life, and as the abbot
has decided. Hence blessed Fructuosus says:
He who was first to enter the monastery shall walk

first, sit first, be first to receive a devout token, first
to communicate in church, first to speak when the
brothers are questioned on any matter, first to say
a psalm, first to sit down in choir, first to do a week
of duty, and first to extend his hand at table. The
brothers should not ask how old a person is, but
how monastic his life is, and what his attitude to
work is, and how zealous he is. And so this discre-
tion too must be expected of a senior: that he honor
someone in the measure that he has seen him to be
fervent for the love and worship of God.What we
have to look for is not how well born or rich some-
one was in the world, or how very old he is, but we
must consider the uprightness of his life and the
merits of a most ardent faith. For that person is to
be judged better who is closer to God.1
1. Fructuos. RComplut. 23 (PL 87:1110BC); Conc. 70.6 (PL

103:1332AB).
On the Order of the Community 497
Yet the abbot should not disturb the flock

2
entrusted to him. How the abbot disturbs the flock

entrusted to him, the following statement makes
clear when it says: Nor should he arrange any-
thing unjustly as though he enjoyed ºunlimited º CCM 310
power. Therefore by arranging anything unjustly the
abbot disturbs the flock entrusted to him. In return
for this he both makes the flock worse and heaps up
condemnation for himself because of the unjust ar-
rangement. And so there follows:
3
But let him always be thinking that for all
his judgments and works he is going to ren-
der an account to God. Other people are going to
render an account to the Lord in judgment only for
their own works, but abbots and all who have charge
of others are going to render an account to the Lord
not only for their own crooked works, but also for
their unjust judgments, when they come with him in
the final judgment. The abbot must be greatly afraid,
seeing that he must render an account to the Lord for
his thoughts and works and likewise his judgments.
He must also pay diligent attention to what the Lord
says: With what judgment you judge you will be judged;
and with what measure you measure will measure be made
to you.* But he must also be dreadfully afraid of what * Mt 7:2
is written: There shall be a most severe judgment for those
who bear rule; the mighty are mightily tormented.* * Ws 6:5-6
4
Therefore the brothers should come for
the kiss of peace and Communion, to intone
a psalm and stand in choir, according to the
order the abbot has decided or the brothers
themselves have. 5And in no place whatsoever
shall age decide or prejudice the order, 6because
Samuel and Daniel as boys judged their elders.* * 1 Sm 3, Dn 13
Hence Isidore says: Whoever enters the monastery first
takes his seat first, walks first, is first to say a psalm, first to
extend his hand at table, and first to receive Communion in
church. The question among them is not how old they are,
but when they made profession.2
When he says Samuel and Daniel as boys
judged their elders, this is understood of Eli and of
those who wanted to oppress Susanna. Samuel judged
the elders when he saw the sons of Eli commit sin, and
in his heart judged and condemned them as transgres-
sors. He likewise found fault with Eli and judged him,
because he did not curb them with strict punishment
and restrain them from sin. Daniel also judged elders
when he found fault with those men who, filled with
evil thoughts, wanted to condemn Susanna with false
witness; he condemned them and foretold that they
would be cut to pieces with the angel’s sword.
7
Therefore with the exception of those whom,
as we said, the abbot has for a special purpose
promoted, or has for certain reasons demoted,
everyone else shall be ranked according to the
time of their entry, 8so that, for example, he
who came to the monastery at the second hour
of the day should know that he is junior to one
CCM 311 º who ºcame at the first hour of the day, no mat-
ter what his age or dignity. On this account it is
written elsewhere: The abbot must take care that they be
placed in their own order, in the order they had on joining
the monastery, except where someone’s fruitful religious life
merits his being promoted, or where a grave fault requires that
he be downgraded.3
9
Discipline for the boys being kept by all in all
matters. The more frail the abbot sees a certain age
to be in wrongdoing, the more effort must he put into
looking after them. 10The juniors therefore shall
honor their seniors. What is here exacted is not
an honor consisting in things, but respect in speech
2. Actually Hier. RPachom. prf. 3 (PL 23:63C); Conc. 70.3

(1331A).
3. RWal. 22 (PL 88:1069B); Conc. 70.7 (1333C-1334A).
and conduct is required. And the seniors shall love

their juniors. For the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the
first-born among many brothers,* loved his juniors, the * Rm 8:29
apostles, giving them an example and saying: This com-
mandment I give you, that you love one another as I also
have loved you.* * Jn 13:34
11
As regards the use of names, no one shall be
allowed to call another by his simple name;
12
but the seniors shall call their juniors ‘brother’,
while the juniors shall call their seniors nonnus,
which is understood as the reverence due to a
father. Just as among people living then the rever-
ence due to a father was shown by calling the se-
niors nonnus, so now today among us it is required
by the very reverence due to a father that we call
our seniors dominus. For whether our seniors are called
nonnus or dominus, or whether the juniors are called
brother, all these are quite suitable, as long as none of
the brothers is called by his simple name.
13
The abbot, however, because he is believed
to take the place of Christ, shall be called ‘lord’
and ‘abbot’, not through any pretensions of his
own but out of honor and love for Christ. 14But
he himself should think about it, and conduct
himself in such a way as to be worthy of such
an honor. Note that he did not say: Because he pre-
sides over all, excels all and is above all, the abbot shall
be called lord and abbot, but he says Because he is
believed to take the place of Christ, he shall be
called ‘lord’ and ‘abbot’. Therefore an abbot who
does not rightly take the place of Christ among the
brothers unworthily receives and assumes this name.
And so there also follows: Not through any preten-
sions of his own but out of honor and love for
Christ. For he must by his moral conduct, speech,
judgments and life, and in absolutely all the Lord’s
precepts, live without grounds for complaint, say-
ing truthfully to the Lord: I have not turned from your

Ps 119:102 * judgments,* and so fulfill this name for the honor and
love of Christ. He must first fittingly take the place
of Christ, and so receive his most sacred name, other-
CCM 312 º wise he might be wanting to assume it ºunworthily or
rashly, and as a result receive condemnation rather than
win justification for himself. When he says But he
himself should think about it, understand: about
his salvation, and he should fear to be condemned by
such a name should he live crookedly; but if he lives
uprightly, let him rejoice in being justified by such a
name.
15
But wherever the brothers meet each other,
the junior shall ask the senior for a blessing.
16
When an older monk passes by the younger
shall rise and give him a place to sit; and the
junior shall not presume to sit down unless his
senior bids him, 17so that it may be as it is writ-
Rm 12:10 * ten: In honor anticipating one another.* Hence an-
other father of monks also says:
When brothers meet each other on the way or in

any place whatever, let them bow with all humility
and ask each other for a blessing. If one of them is
senior, let the junior first ask a blessing, and then
finally let the senior follow.4 When some brothers
are sitting together, if another comes on the scene
those who are juniors in rank should rise and offer
the senior a place. Juniors should in no circum-
stances proudly contradict their seniors, but when
questioned or reproved answer with all humility. If
a junior sees a senior falling into any sin, he should
direct him to confess to the abbot or prior, not so
much by upbraiding as by grieving. A senior should
do likewise for a junior.5
4. RWal. 22 (1069A); Conc. 70.7 (1333B).

5. RWal. 22 (1069BC); Conc. 70.7 (1334A).
Small boys and adolescents, in the oratory

18
and at table, should adopt their order with dis-

cipline. They should adopt, he says; that is, they
should receive and keep their order with discipline,
integrity and chaste fear, and wherever they may be
they should walk, stand, and take their seat in order.
And so there also follows: 19But outside or any-
where else they should have supervision and
discipline, until they reach the age of under-
standing. As has already been said above, the more
fragile the abbot sees a certain age to be for sinning,
the more watchfulness should he exercise over it in
order to save it.* * Cf 63.9 above
ON APPOINTING AN ABBOT
1
In the appointment of an abbot the aim shall
always be to place that man in office who is
chosen by the whole community unanimously
in the fear of God, or even by a part of the
community, however small, possessed of more
prudent counsel. 2The one to be appointed
should be chosen for the merit of his life and
the wisdom of his teaching, even though he be
the last in order in the community. Hence blessed
Fructuosus says:
As abbot let there be chosen, always from the mon-

astery’s own monks, a man who is holy, discreet,
serious, chaste, affectionate, humble, meek and
learned, whose experience is shown by proofs given
over a long period, and who is accomplished in all
the aforesaid matters. He should be one who excels
in abstinence, shines in teaching, disdains exquisite

banquets and the custom of maintaining an elegant
table, rejects the taking of too much wine, and pro-
vides for all the brothers living in community like
their own most affectionate father. Sudden and im-
moderate anger should not bring him down, or pride
lift him up, or sadness and faint-heartedness break
him, or unlawful desire corrupt him. He should
show discernment in patience, and with anger,
gentleness; he should wait upon the needy and the
poor in such a way that he is recognized by his
Christ-like compassion as a minister, and not a
prelate only.The harmony between his speech and
life must be so great that what he teaches by words
he confirms by unremitting deeds; leading the way
with the two-edged sword, he should apply himself
to doing continually whatever he formulates for
others by word, so that what he says may not be
weakened by what he does, nor his good work be
shattered on the other hand by unbecoming
speech.1
3
But if even the whole community—which
God forbid!—should choose by joint resolution
a person who goes along with their vices, 4and if
these vices somehow come to the knowledge of
the bishop to whose diocese the place belongs,
and become obvious to the abbots or Christians
of the neighborhood, 5they should prevent the
conspiracy of the crooked from prevailing, and
Ps 105:21, * set a worthy steward over the house of God.*
Lk 12:42 6
They should know that for this they will re-
ceive a good reward if they do it with a pure
intention and out of zeal for God, just as, on the
contrary, they will be committing a sin if they
neglect to do it. The reason he orders the bishop,
1. Fructuos. RComplut. 20 (PL 87:1108CD); Conc. 4.2 (PL

103:759A-760A).
On Appointing an Abbot 503
abbots, and even neighboring Christians to prevent a

man prone to vice from becoming abbot is, that there
is no one left in the community whose duty it is to
prevent it.
ºAs though to say: Even if all those inside agree to º CCM 314
have an abbot who is prone to vice, these Catholic
men outside should strongly resist them and not go
along with them, so that the vice that has been nur-
tured by all to evil effect may not become established
in the monastery. If that were to happen, its inhabit-
ants would be held in odium by all in the neighbor-
hood. Rather, let all repudiate the vice so that it may
die, trample on it so that it may vanish, in order that
among the monks virtues may grow and vices die out,
and their neighbors seeing their good works may glo-
rify the Lord* who has enabled them to want what is * Mt 5:16
good, and has bestowed on them a worthy pastor and
steward.
7
The one appointed abbot should always be
thinking what a burden he has undertaken and
to whom he is going to render an account of
his stewardship.* For the person who undertakes to * Lk 16:2
rule monks receives not a small but a large burden to
carry; from it he will get much hard work and toil, not
pleasure and honor. He is beginning to rule the souls
of the brothers, and he will be required to present
to the Lord an account of his stewardship concern-
ing them. Of his stewardship, he says, that is, of his
administration and management. Properly speaking, a
steward* is the manager of an estate†, hence the name. * vilicus
† villa
However, sometimes a man is called a steward, not be-
cause he manages an estate but because he administers
an entire household.2
8
He should also know that his task is rather to
be of benefit than to preside. By being of benefit
the abbot profits both himself and others. He engenders
2. Cf. Isid. Etym. IX.4.33; PL 82:551C.

gain for himself and brings forth profit for others; he

wins the Lord’s grace for himself and lavishes on oth-
ers the teaching of salvation; he instructs others unto
justice and wins eternal prizes for himself. By pre-
siding, however, he makes hard work for himself and
strikes fear into others as long as he lives. He creates
unnecessary worry for himself and the penalty of hard
work for others; he inflicts much anxiety on himself
and frequent unjust harm on others. But if those who
preside do all these things well and with discretion
and for God, if they put the fear of punishment into
those who want to sin so as to prevent them sinning,
and if they hold sinners in check by severe punish-
ment and upright judgment, they shall gain at least
a little grace with the Lord. If, however, they neglect
to do these things, but only wish to make themselves
important because they are prelates, they will not only
remain empty of the prize of a reward, but will also
bewail the punishment of their pride in hell. And so
he said He should know that his task is rather to
be of benefit than to preside; from presiding he
sometimes obtains some small good, but sometimes
he acquires great evil for himself; by being of benefit
he always acquires some good, always wins an eternal
prize.
9
He ought therefore to be learned in the di-
vine law, so that he may know how, and there
may be a source from which, to bring forth new
Mt 13:53 * things and old *. As though to say: The abbot should
be learned in the divine law which consists of the
New and Old Testament, so that he may know and
CCM 315 º learn ºhow to bring forth from it for the brothers new
proofs and old. When he says And there may be,
understand: there may be laid up in his heart a treasure
of wisdom and knowledge, from which at need he is
able to bring forth new and old proofs. At any rate the
abbot should be learned, intelligent, skillful, wise, and
a vessel full of wisdom, such that when he wishes he
has at hand a source from which to bring forth a new

and an old proof.
9
Chaste, sober and merciful; 10and let him al-
ways exalt mercy above judgment* so that he * Jm 2:13
himself may obtain the same. For it is written:
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.* And * Mt 5:7
on the contrary: There will be judgment without mercy for
him who does not practice mercy.* So then, that person * Jm 2:13
exalts mercy above judgment who, after judgment has
been passed, does not punish the impious severely, but
mercifully spares them and frees them from the con-
demnation that was due. Hence it is also written else-
where: He exalts mercy above judgment, that is, mercy is put
above judgment, because when the work of mercy is found
in someone, even if he should have something deserving of
punishment in the judgment, the fire of sin is extinguished
as though by a wave of mercy.3
11
He should hate vices, and love the brothers.
For in one and the same person we can at one and
the same time love the brotherhood and hate vices,
if they are present. It is one thing that he is a brother,
another thing that he is a man prone to vice.Therefore
we should love in him the fact that he is a brother, and
hate in him the fact that he is prone to vice.We should
persecute vice in him, and once he is corrected love
our neighbor as ourselves. Hence blessed Gregory also
says: In this way we must show our neighbors the distinction
between kinds of hatred, so that we both love in them the fact
that they exist, and hate the fact that they obstruct us on the
journey to God.4
12
In reprimanding he should act prudently,
that is, he should do what he does carefully, in a bal-
anced way, with great moderation. And nothing to
extremes. This saying has already been used by our
3. Bede In Jac 2:13; CCSL 121:196-197.

4. Greg. Hom. ev. II.37.2 (PL 76:1276A); Smar. Collect. (PL
102:533A).
poets and teachers and by many Catholic and learned

men in many suitable contexts; it can be understood
in relation both to good and evil acts. In relation to
something good, for example: Do not be too just, and
the like. But as regards something evil it is not our
business to give an example, because both too much
and very little are completely forbidden by the Lord.
But as to why blessed Benedict uses this saying here,
let us hear what follows:
CCM 316 º ºLest while he is trying too hard to scrape off
the rust he break the vessel. He puts rust here for
the contagion of sin, and vessel for the frailty of the
spirit. As though to say: Clean the monk’s spirit in such
a way that you don’t break it and plunge him in despair.
And if you can win him by judging him with modera-
tion, do not lose him by condemning him very harshly.
For the vessel of the monk, when it is unhealthy, is bro-
ken more quickly when, after being harshly rebuked
for a fault, his mind is either greatly disturbed by the
loss of hope of being pardoned, or daily contemplates
the sin of flight and departure from the monastery. To
prevent this happening the abbot should always make
anxious, wise and careful provision, and always pay
careful attention to what follows, which is:
13
Let him always mistrust his own frailty. For
while he heeds and considers his own frailty with mis-
trust, the abbot is patient, discreet and careful in judg-
ing the frailty of others. And so the apostle Paul also
says: Brothers, even if a person is caught in some wrong-doing,
you who are spiritual must instruct such a one in a spirit of
gentleness, considering yourselves, in case you are tempted as
Ga 6:1 * well.* As though to say: Because you too are a human being
and can be tempted in something and need help, you too
must support one who is tempted. For those who are subject
to a condition where weakness holds sway rightly support the
weak.5 There follows:
5. Smar. Collect. (457A); cf. Pelag. In Ga 6:1 (PLS 1:1286).

Let his remember that the bruised reed must

not be broken,* that is, a monk broken to pieces * Is 42:3
by sins’ stains and crushed by various vices, must not
be pushed towards the pit of despair and the sin of
flight, as was said earlier. For a person will undoubt-
edly break the bruised reed if he furnishes the sinner
with an opportunity not of salvation but of perdition.
Hence blessed Jerome also says: He who does not extend
his hand to a sinner, or carry his brother’s load, breaks the
bruised reed to pieces.6
14
By this we do not mean that he should allow
vices to be nurtured. Because further up he has,
rightly, laid down a balanced approach to issuing rep-
rimands, here he warns that there be no nurturing of
vices, so that the raw material of the vices may not
grow and increase while the sinner’s punishment is
being tempered. And so there aptly follows:
But let him prudently and with charity cut
them off as he sees expedient for each one, as
we have already said. For whatever is done from
a duty of charity is doubtless advantageous to salva-
tion. The very process of applying salvation is suitably
exercised for one person in one way, for another in
another. And therefore after the manner of a physician
the abbot must strive to heal one in one way, another
in another, according to the amount and type of sin.
ºAnd in all these holy and discreet actions 15let him º CCM 317
study to be loved rather than feared, in other
words, let him exercise the work of love rather than
of fear in his subjects, and win them over by a father’s
love rather than deter them by a tyrant’s punishment.
And so there also follows:
16
Let him not be turbulent and anxious.
Turbulent means ‘disturbed by the passion of anger,
sad, troublesome and gloomy’. Anxious means ‘full
of accidie and anxiety’. Let him not be extreme or
6. Hier. In Mt 2; CCSL 77:91.

obstinate. Extreme means ‘over-generous, prodigal’,

and an excessive and overabundant dispenser of the
monastery’s property. Obstinate means ‘unconquer-
able, resolute, pertinacious and obdurate’.
Let him not be jealous and over-suspicious, for

he is never at rest. Jealous means ‘full of zeal and
worry, filled with typical suspicion’, one who even
suspects that things that are not being done are being
done behind his back, and who is very afraid that sins
no one is committing are being committed in secret;
and therefore his spirit is never at rest.
17
Let him show foresight and consideration
in his very commands, and whether the work
he enjoins concerns God or the world, let him
be discerning and moderate. Works concerning
God are: vigils, fasts, abstinence, and the like; those
concerning the world are those done for the body
only, not for the soul, such as ploughing, digging, har-
vesting and all other like works of the body. But in all
these works, both spiritual and bodily, moderation and
discretion must be maintained, lest hearts and bodies
alike grow faint from an overabundance of work, and
there remain only a harmful murmuring.
18
Thinking of the discretion of holy Jacob,
who said: If I cause my flocks to be overdriven, they
Gn 33:13 * will all die in one day.* In this place church rulers are
designated by Jacob, and their subjects by the sheep.
Those who, after his example, are occupied either in
spiritual action or in bodily work, must have what
they actually do and are able to do, when it comes
to hard work, tempered in such a way that the spirit’s
power does not succumb, or the body’s strength grow
weary. Their whole involvement in hard work should
be tempered, so that with a lively spirit they may long
to be exercised yet more in works than their own pri-
ors are willing to entrust to them. And so there also
follows:
19
So then, taking these and other testimonies
of discretion, the mother of virtues, he should
so temper all things that the strong may have
something to long for, and the weak may not
run away. For the monks’ work must be so ºtempered º CCM 318
with discretion, which is the mother of all the virtues,
that the strong may have something, that is, such
work as they may long to do and complete, and the
weak may not run away, be it understood, from the
work itself or the burden of work.
20
And especially let him keep this rule in all
things. Blessed Benedict orders the abbot to observe
this rule especially and above all things, so that he
who is first in name may also be first in doing, and
may complete in his work what he preaches by his
word. And let the superior carry on his own shoul-
ders and neck what he orders the brothers to carry,
and let him know by actual experience whether the
burdens he imposes on the brothers are light or heavy.
The superior holds the first place at table; let him
be the first to vindicate it by the virtue of frugality,
and let him know by experience the abstinence he
preaches with his tongue, in case his subjects say in
the silence of their thoughts: O how beautifully a full
belly preaches abstinence to us! Therefore that preach-
ing about abstinence is acceptable which is proclaimed
by mouths that are fasting. And in all these things the
abbot should be aware of this: that it befits him to be
the first to enter on the narrow path of the rule by
which he admonishes others to enter.7
21
So that when he has ministered well, he
may hear from the Lord what the good ser-
vant heard who gave his fellow servants grain in
due season: 22Amen I tell you, he will set him over all
his goods.* The good minister, that is the good abbot, * Mt 24:47
7. Cf. Ps.Caes. Epistola hortatoria (PL 67:1136D-1137B); Conc.

5.11 (PL 103:781AB).
will hear from the good Lord, who is the rewarder of

all the good, what that good servant merited to hear
who faithfully disbursed grain to his fellow servants.
For he heard: Amen I tell you, he will set him over
all his goods. This is the desirable and lovable voice
that the good abbot also will hear who has faithfully
ministered grain, that is, the word of preaching, to his
fellow servants, that is, to his brothers, and has himself
fulfilled it in his deeds. When he says He will set him
over all his goods, understand: over all the heavenly
joys of the kingdom; not that they are to be the only
ones there to have hold of the Lord, but so that they
may enjoy the eternal possession of these other things
more abundantly than the rest of the saints. For the
learned shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and
those who instruct many unto justice shall shine like stars for
Dn 12:3 * all eternity.* And the apostle says: Presbyters who rule well
are held worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in
1 Tm 5:17 * the word and in doctrine.*
ON THE PRIOR OF THE

MONASTERY
1
Too often it has happened that grave scandals
arise in monasteries through the appointment
of a prior. It is now our duty to correct what we
have heard has happened too often, and so we must
choose such a person under the abbot as may receive
the care of the monastery and the name of prior.1 And
so that he may faithfully fulfill and observe the du-
1. Cf. RFerreol. 17 (PL 66:965C); Conc. 27.4 (PL 103:940B).

On the Prior of the Monastery 511
ties enjoined on him,2 and do nothing rashly through

pride, he should not be among those referred to in the
following words:
2
For there are some puffed up by an evil spirit
of pride who think of themselves as second ab-
bots, assume a kind of tyranny, and foster scan-
dals and cause dissensions in the community.
Tyranny means ‘honor not due and acquired through
pride of heart’.3 The prior proudly assumes this tyr-
anny when he seeks to have paid to him an honor that
is not due to him, namely, the abbot’s; and so he fosters
scandals among the brothers and causes dissensions in
the monastery.
3
And especially in those places where the
prior is appointed by the same bishop and by
the abbots who appoint the abbot. It was the cus-
tom among them at that time that, when the abbot
was being appointed, the prior was also appointed
by the same bishop and in front of the other abbots
present. But because from this the vice of pride was
born, amongst us at the present day he is no longer
appointed by someone else, but the obedience of the
priorship is enjoined on him by his own abbot, so
that whenever it seems good to the abbot he may be
changed from the ministry of prior, so that the raw
material of pride may not come to birth in him. And
so there also follows:
4
It is easy to see how absurd this procedure
is, because from the very beginning of his ap-
pointment he is provided with grounds for
being proud, 5it being suggested to him by his
thoughts that he is freed from his abbot’s au-
thority, 6since You too were appointed by the same men
as appointed the abbot. So that we may guard against
these evils occurring, such a one ought to be chosen
2. Cf. RO 29:1 (Benedictina 23:266); Conc. 27.9 (944A).

3. Cf. Greg. Moral. XII.38.43; CCSL 143A:654.
and appointed prior as is known by experience to

build others up by the example of his life,4 not one
who pulls down by his evil life; one who gives a pat-
tern of humility, not one who flaunts the obstinacy of
his pride, for as it is written below:
CCM 320 º º 7From this arise envy,* that is, between the prior
2 Co 12:20, *
Ga 5:20 and the abbot, since the one does not want to see the
other superior to him. For there is no virtue, and prac-
tically no type of ministry, that does not have the cor-
responding evil of envy. Quarrels, slander, rivalry,
Ibid. * dissensions, disorders.* Quarrels and slander, and
all these things, are produced between prior and abbot,
especially through their followers. Dissensions occur
because what one, along with his followers, agrees to
being done, the other, along with his followers, does
not agree to. Disorders occur because what one ar-
ranges and sets in order, the other upsets by arranging
the opposite. And so there occurs what follows:
8
And while the abbot and prior are at odds,
their souls must needs be endangered as long as
this dissension lasts, 9and those who are under
them, taking sides, go to their ruin. 10The re-
sponsibility for this dangerous state rests on the
head of those who have become the promot-
ers of such men by appointing them. Alas, alas!
Those whose duty is was to save themselves and others
lose both themselves and others by their evil living;
and those whose duty it was to go to the kingdom
of heaven and lead others there, themselves go into
the pit of perdition and the depths of hell, and plunge
their followers into it. When he says: The responsi-
bility for this dangerous state rests on the head
of those who have become the promoters of
such men by appointing them, this seems to be
said of those who appointed the prior just as they did
the abbot. They should have laid the task of organiz-
4. Cf. RTarn. 11:1 (R Ben. 84:30); Conc. 27.5 (PL 103:941A).

ing one monastery on one man, not on two. And to

prevent dangerous scandals arising between the two,
they should have entrusted the care of his community
to the abbot alone. And so there also follows:
11
And so we have thought it expedient, for
the preservation of peace and charity, that the
organization of his monastery should depend
on the abbot’s judgment. For he must personally
make provision for the needs, both of body and soul,
of all his monks, and extend the help the present need
calls for; he must by his admonitions raise the hearts of
his subjects to the praise of their Creator, and correct
by rebuke or strokes, according to the measure of fault
and the age of the person, those he finds at fault for
latecoming and laziness.
12
If possible, all the monastery’s business—as
we previously laid down—should be organized
through deans, as the abbot shall arrange, 13so
that while it is entrusted to several, one person
may not become proud. For us now, both abbot
and prior and deans are equally and simultaneously
and always necessary, so that each one may not cease
to toil humbly in the office entrusted to him and in
the order appropriate to him. Nor are they regularly
given room for becoming proud, but a weighty re-
sponsibility is laid on them so that they may go on
their way groaning under the burden.
º 14But if the place requires it, or the com- º CCM 321
munity asks for it reasonably and with humility,
and the abbot judges it to be expedient, 15he
should appoint as his prior whomsoever he
chooses with the counsel of God-fearing broth-
ers. 16This prior, however, should do with rev-
erence what has been been enjoined on him
by his abbot, doing nothing against the abbot’s
will and arrangement, 17because the more he is
raised above the rest, the more carefully ought
he to observe the precepts of the rule. Blessed
Benedict orders this prior also, as well as the abbot, to

observe the rule carefully in all things. If through pride
or negligence or sloth he leaves undone any of the
things contained in the rule, he shall undergo all the
condemnations that the rule contains.5 And so there
also aptly follows here:
18
If this prior is found to be prone to vice, or
is led astray and yields to pride, or is found to
be a contemner of the holy rule, he should be
warned verbally up to four times. 19If he does
not amend, let the punishment of regular disci-
pline be applied to him. 20But if even so he does
not amend, then he should be deposed from his
rank as prior, and another who is worthy should
be put in his place. 21But if even afterwards he
is not quiet and obedient in the community, he
should be expelled from the monastery. What
has been set forth so far is what kind of man the prior
should not be; but now we must show from the say-
ings of the Fathers what kind of man he should be.
The prior of the monastery must be constituted not

in virtue of his advanced age but in virtue of his
moral conduct. Length of years lifts many up, but
the disgrace of a sluggish life reduces them by tepid-
ity to the immaturity of infancy. Therefore there
must be constituted as prior a person of serious
disposition, accomplished in speaking, strong in
character, watchful and thoughtful, diligent and ac-
tive, compassionate in administering a reproof, mod-
erate in exercising discipline, chaste in act, sober in
moral conduct, fair in administration, well-regulated
in humility, patient, meek, not excitable, not prone
to anger, not stained with the vice of pride and ar-
rogance, not garrulous, but adorned with every act
characteristic of religion. He should know how to
help those who are listless in their conduct, and how
5. Cf. RO 29:3.5 (as n. 2); Conc. 27.9 (944AB).

to stir up the lukewarm from their laziness. The

abbot should be able to rely on him not to turn
aside in any matter from his precepts. He should
be subject in every respect and occupied in doing
what his senior orders; he should in no way be op-
posed to his abbot’s will, or do anything or arrange
for anything to be done against it, but he should
do everything after asking him, according to what
is written: ‘Ask your father and he will make it
known to you, your elders and they will tell you’ *. * Dt 32:7
It is ºnecessary to ask so that subject souls may not º CCM 322
in any way disagree with the seniors’ counsel, and
sheep may in no way turn aside without their
shepherd’s permission.6 The prior himself shall do
only what the father has ordered, especially in any
new matter; for in a matter of custom he will ob-
serve the monastery’s rules.7 Acting in such a way
that he does not cause the abbot weariness, and the
brothers are not over-worked as a result of his lack
of moderation. The senior of the monastery who
has been placed over the brothers will observe these
things, referring everything to the abbot, and par-
ticularly what he has not been able to put in order
personally.8
The abbot, however, should reflect that for all

22
his judgments he must render an account to

God, lest the flame of envy or jealousy burn
his soul. The spite of envy must not be present even
among lay people; how much less should it be present
among religious men and the priors of a monastery.
The abbot must love the prior, and the prior the
abbot, as brother must love brother. For if the flame
of envy and spite touches him, the abbot must call to
mind, so as to avoid sharing in it, the sinful envy of
6. RWal. 2 (PL 88:1054D-1055B); Conc. 27.16 (948A-949A).

7. RPachom. Praec. et Inst. 158 (PL 23:80A); Conc. 27.10
(944B).
8. RO 3:4-5 (254); Conc. 27.7 (942B).
Cain, who through the spite of jealousy slew his up-

Gn 4:8 * right brother Abel;* and Esau became an enemy to his
Gn 27:41 * brother Jacob through the spite of jealousy;* and Joseph
Gn 37:19-28 * was sold by his brothers through the spite of jealousy*.9 For
although the spite of jealousy is listed under the name of
one vice, it produces very many branches through the various
vices.10 For the spite of envy burns up all the seeds of the vir-
tues; it devours all good things by its pestilential heat, it eats
up a man’s good sense, burns his breast, affects his mind, and
consumes his heart like some plague.11 Against this vice
the weapons of peace and charity must be made ready
in the abbot’s soul, and in the souls of all holy church
leaders and their subjects.
9. Smar. Via reg. 22; PL 102:961C.

10. Ibid.; 961D.
11. Ibid. (962B); cf. Cypr. Zel et liv. 5-6 (CSEL 3,1:421-422).
ON THE PORTERS OF THE

MONASTERY
1
At the gate of the monastery let there be placed
a wise old man, who knows how to receive and
return a message, and whose maturity does not
allow him to wander about. It should be noted that
he did not say: At the gate let there be placed one who
is in age an old man, but he says Let there be placed
a wise old man. Here we are given to understand
that it is not the age of the body that must be looked
for in the porter, but that which comes from wisdom
and understanding. For on this account it is also said
through a certain wise man: Venerable old age is not that
On the Porters of the Monastery 517
of a long time, nor is it counted by the number of years; but

gray hairs are the understanding of a man, and old age is a
spotless life.* Hence it is also said to Moses: Gather for * Ws 4:8-9
me seventy men from the old men of Israel, men you know
are the ancients of the people.* What else is sought for in * Nm 11:16
them other than old age of the heart? For when it is said:
‘Men you know are the ancients of the people’, it is perfectly
obvious that he is saying mental and not bodily old age must
be chosen.1
2
This porter should have a room near the
gate, so that those who come may always find
someone there from whom they may receive an
answer. Hence another ancient father of monks also
said: It shall be the porter’s care to receive all who come inside
the doors, giving them a proper answer with humility and
reverence, letting the abbot and seniors know who has come
and what he has asked for. But if something is sent to any of
the brothers, nothing should reach him before being shown to
abbot and seniors.2
3
And as soon as someone knocks or a poor
man calls out, let him answer: ‘Thanks be to
God’, or ‘Bless [me]’. Blessed Benedict has judi-
ciously mentioned here two types of persons among
those who come: one is the man of power, who when
he comes to the monastery door and finds it closed
knocks on it with his hand or with a heavy stick; the
other is the poor man just mentioned, who does not
knock but only calls out humbly at the door. He has
composed rather appropriate answers for the porter
to give them, namely, that on hearing the poor man’s
voice he should give thanks to God, but as he goes to
meet the man of power he should humbly ask him for
a blessing.
1. Greg. Moral. XIX.17.26; CCSL 143A:977-978.

2. RO 26:1-2.5 (Benedictina 23:264-65); Conc. 71.6 (PL
103:1342AB).
4
And with all the meekness of the fear of God
let him quickly return an answer with the fervor
of charity. Hence another master of monks also says:
CCM 324 º ºThe monastery’s porters must be the kind of men

who at the same time build up everybody’s reward,
old men to whom the world is crucified,3 who no
longer desire anything from its showy displays, but
clinging to the Creator with all their heart’s longing
they can each of them say: ‘It is good for me to cling
Ps 73:28 * to God, to put my hope in the Lord God’ *.4 They
should always show such an example to those who
arrive that on the outside as well the Lord’s name
may be glorified by strangers, according to the Lord’s
saying: ‘So let your light shine before all that they
may see your good works and glorify your Father
Mt 5:16 * who is in heaven’ *. And inside let them prepare a
rich reward for their fellow monks, while in everyone’s
stead they take care of the outside world.Thus they
should be careful in their behavior, moving about
with humility, the mistress of virtues, so as to show
the charm of complete patience by their affable con-
versation,5 taking care of the poor, of pilgrims and of
guests in the midst of everything, because in them
Christ is received, as he himself says:‘What you did
Mt 25:40 * to one of these my least ones you did to me’ *. In no
way should they presume without the abbot’s leave
to give anything and minister to anyone outside, and
to receive anything from outside.6 From the evening
signal until the end of the second hour the leaves of
3. After quibus mundus. ‘to whom the world’, the CCM text
(p. 324) has as a conjectural reading crucifixus est, ‘is crucified’.
The critical apparatus gives a few variant readings, one of which
is quibus mundus sit indignus, ‘of whom the world is unworthy’.
The Migne text has quibus mundus silet, ‘for whom the world is
silent’.
4. RWal. 3 (PL 88:1055D); Conc. 71.4 (1339B).
5. RWal. 3 (1056A); Conc. 71.4 (1340A).
6. RWal. 3 (1056B); Conc. 71.4 (1340B).
On the Porters of the Monastery 519
the gates are not to be opened, nor is any way of en-

tering from outside to be left open, but should a need
arise the whole matter should be discussed through
the window.7
If the porter needs help, let him receive a ju-

5
nior brother. Hence another Father also says:
A room should be set up for two brothers within

the monastery’s gates; they are to close the monas-
tery after those who leave, and open it for those
entering, and announce those arriving to the abbot.8
They should guard the vessels and other utensils
they bring for the guests to use as if they were con-
secrated to God, lest through neglect of these they
fail to receive a reward from him whose property
they destroy rather than look after.9
6
If possible the monastery should be so con-
structed that all the necessary things, that is,
water, mill, garden, and various crafts may be
exercised within the monastery, 7so that there
is no need for the monks to wander abroad,
for that is not at all expedient for ºtheir souls. º CCM 325
Hence another father of monks also says: All the nec-
essary things ought to be within, inside the gates, that
is, ovens, mills and presses, a place for relieving and
washing themselves, gardens and everything necessary,
so that there may not be need for the brothers to go
outside frequently. Therefore since all these things
have been set up within, the monastery gate should
always be closed; this should have an iron ring on the
outside, so that anyone who comes can knock and his
7. RWal. 3 (1056D); Conc. 71.4 (1341AB).

8. RM 95:1-3 (SCh 106:442-444); Conc. 71.3 (1337B-
1338A).
9. RWal. 3 (1056D); Conc. 71.4 (1341B).
arrival be signaled within.10 The miller’s craft shall belong

to layfolk. They should ordinarily clean the grain and crush
it.The monks should make just so much dough and bread for
themselves with their own hands.11
8
We want this rule to be read often in the com-
munity, so that none of the brothers may excuse
himself on pretext of ignorance. Hence blessed
Augustine says:
So that you may be able to look closely at your-

selves in this little book as in a mirror, and not ne-
glect anything through forgetfulness, it should be
read to you once a week. And when you find that
you are doing what is written, give thanks to the
Lord, the giver of all good things. But when any of
you sees that he is lacking in something, he should
be sorry for the past and take care for the future,
praying that his debt may be forgiven him, and that
he may not be led into temptation.12
Hence also Aurelius [Aurelian] the bishop says: So

that you may not neglect anything through forgetfulness, re-
read these things once during thirty days, that is, within a
month.13 Yet we read our rule not only within a month
or a week; we even read it daily during the confer-
ence, so that we may be able to learn its precepts and
understand them clearly, so that understanding them
and as far as possible keeping them in our memory we
may, with the help of Christ, be able to fulfill them in
our deeds.
10. Cf. RM 95:17-18.22.24 (446-448 ); Conc. 71.3 (1339AB).

It is perhaps an indication that Smaragdus shared RB’s reserve
about RM’s rather exalted notions of the heavenliness of life in
the monastery, when he omits any reference to RM 95:23: ut
intus clausi cum Domino fratres veluti a saeculo sint iam causa Dei in
caelestibus separati.
11. Isid. Reg. 19 (PL 103:571A); Conc. 71.7 (1342C).
12. Aug. Reg. 12 (PL 32:1384); Conc. 71.10 (1343A).
13. Aur. Reg. 55 (PL 68:394B); Conc. 71.11 (1343B).
ON BROTHERS WHO ARE SENT

ON A JOURNEY
1
Brothers who are to be sent on a journey
should commend themselves to the prayer of all
the brothers and of the abbot. While these broth-
ers who are to be sent on a journey are lying prostrate
before the altar and asking prayers from all, the priest
shall say these verses—he intoning, the others respond-
ing—Save your servants: who put their hope in you, O my
God.* Perfect my steps in your paths: that my footsteps may * Ps 86:2
not be moved.* Your word is a lamp for my feet, O Lord: and * Ps 17:5
a light for my paths.* He has given his angels charge over you: * Ps 119:105
to keep you in all your ways.* Having finished these the * Ps 91:11
priest shall say this prayer-collect: ‘May the Lord’s good
angel accompany you, so that having completed the
journey of obedience you may again return to us in
joy. Through our Lord.’ But we are taught not to send
a brother alone on a journey by a saying of the Fathers
which goes: The brothers should go out in twos or threes to
seek what is necessary, and only those to whom it is entrusted,
not such as eagerly pursue gossip or gluttony.1
2
And always at the last prayer of the Work of
God let a commemoration be made of all the
absent. At this point, before Psalm 50 begins, the priest
shall say:‘Let us pray for our absent brothers’.When the
brothers respond: Save your servants: who put their hope in
you, O my God,* the priest shall continue and say: Send * Ps 86:2
them help, O Lord, from your holy place;* and the broth- * Ps 20:2
ers shall respond: And from Zion defend them.* Again * Ibid.
the priest shall say: O Lord, listen to my prayer,* and the * Ps 102:2
brothers shall respond: And let my cry come to you.* And * Ibid.
then let Psalm 50 follow, to be chanted by all.
1. 3RP 8 (PL 103:445C); Conc. 72.2 (PL 103:1345A).
521
3
When brothers return from a journey, at all
the canonical hours when the Work of God is
finished on the very day of their return, they
shall lie prostrate on the floor of the oratory,
4
and ask all to pray for them, on account of
any excesses that may have overtaken them on
the journey, the seeing or hearing of some evil
thing or idle talk. On account of any excesses,
he says, that is, on account of lapses and transgressions.
But he himself explains what excesses he is speak-
ing about when he says that may have overtaken
them, the seeing or hearing of some evil thing
CCM 327 º or idle talk. Understand what ºthe evil thing is he
refers to from what the prophet says: Who shakes his
hands free from every bribe, and blocks his ears lest he hear of
blood[shed], and closes his eyes so that they may not see evil.
Is 33:15-16 * This man shall dwell on the heights.* When they return
from a journey and have prostrated themselves on the
floor of the oratory asking for prayer, the priest shall
say this collect for them: ‘Almighty God, you have en-
abled these your servants to return to us safely from
their journey. Graciously grant them forgiveness, we
beseech you, for whatever faults they have commit-
ted through human frailty while on their journey.
Through our Lord.’ Hence Isidore also says: When
brothers go abroad or return, after all have gathered together
in the church they shall receive a blessing.2
5
Nor should anyone presume to tell another
whatever he has seen or heard outside the
monastery, because that causes a great deal of
harm. 6But if he presumes to do this, let him
undergo the punishment of the rule. Hence
blessed Pachomius says: When brothers return to the
monastery they shall not venture to tell any others at
all whatever they have done or heard outside.3 Hence
another Father also says:
2. Isid. Reg. 22 (PL 103:572B); Conc. 72.22 (1351B).
3. Cf. RPachom. Praec. 86 (PL 23:74B); Conc. 72.4 (1346A).
On Brothers Who Are Sent On a Journey 523
Let them by no means lend their ear to the gossip

they hear from seculars or from anyone; and if they
hear and understand something against their will,
let them by no means relate it to their fellow monks.
But if they transgress in any of the things we have
mentioned, let them be chastised with the penance
of the rule. But if they open themselves by humble
satisfaction, the fault of the delinquent should be
judged in proportion to the humility he shows in
confessing. But if he incurs the charge of obstinacy,
then he will increase the measure of penance.4
Likewise the person who presumes to leave

7
the enclosure of the monastery and go anywhere

or do anything however small without the ab-
bot’s leave. Hence the same blessed Pachomius says:
No one should have leave to go out into the field or go walk-
ing in the monastery or proceed outside the monastery’s wall,
unless he has asked the superior of the house, and he has
granted permission.5 And Cassian also says:
The junior must be imbued with such strict obedi-
ence to the rule that without his senior’s permission
he does not presume, not only to leave his cell, but
even by his own authority to satisfy a need of na-
ture. ºWithout the knowledge and ordainment of º CCM 328
his senior he should not claim the right to even
those things that are useful, in other words, either
to clean his cell or bring water or anything else that
is opportune.6 When the brothers are meditating,
no one should be allowed to get involved in other
things or judge himself free to leave the meditation
place. But one who breaks out in this presumption
4. RWal. 3 (PL 88:1056BC); Conc. 71.4 (1340B-1341A).

5. RPachom. Praec. 84 (74B); Conc. 72.6 (1347A). Walking in
a pachomian monastery might well take one quite a distance
from one’s own house and work!
6. RCass. 30:1-2 (R Ben. 94:183); Conc. 72.19 (1350A); cf.
Cassian Inst. IV.10 (CSEL 17:53).
shall undergo excommunication, as he deserves.7

But if one is sent on monastery business and re-
fuses to go, or at any rate murmurs as he walks, or
chooses to leave after some delay, if it please the
abbot he should not be sent, and should immedi-
ately receive the punishment of excommunication.
And he should know that he has gone as far as
pride, and is resisting a divine injunction.8
7. RTarn. 7:1-3 (R Ben. 84:23); Conc. 72.20 (1350A).

8. RM 57:14-16 (SCh 106:270); Conc. 72.24 (1354B).
CHAPTER 68
IF IMPOSSIBLE THINGS ARE

ENJOINED ON A BROTHER
1
If any brother happens to have heavy or impos-
sible things enjoined on him, he should receive
the command of the one giving the order with
all meekness and obedience. 2But if he sees that
the weight of the burden altogether exceeds the
measure of his strength, he should patiently and
seasonably present to his superior the reasons
for his incapacity. With all meekness, he says, that
is, with all modesty and gentleness. For a meek person
is one who inflicts injury on no one.1 The latin word for
‘meek’, mansuetus, means ‘accustomed to the hand’.2 A
monk should be like this, not obstinate or proud. And
so there also follows:
3
Not by being proud or by resisting and con-
tradicting. By being proud one who contemptu-
1. Isid. Diff. I.352; PL 83:46C.

2. Cf. Isid. Etym. X.169; PL 82:385A.
If Impossible Things Are Enjoined on a Brother 525
ously contradicts his words and commands resists his

master. One contends by resisting who openly re-
fuses to carry out an order. One opposes by contra-
dicting who with a clear voice cries out that he will
not do what he is being told to do. A monk is prohib-
ited from doing this when there is added:
4
But if after his representation the superior
persists in his command, let the junior know
that it is expedient for him to do this, 5and let
him obey, trusting in the help of God. Hence
Basil says: Willingly comply with everything enjoined
on you for religion’s sake, even if it is beyond your
strength. Do not scorn it, but honestly explain the
reason for your incapacity to the one who enjoins it
on you, so that what was burdensome for you may
be lightened by his moderation, and you may be able
to remain free of the ºfault of contradicting.3 He who º CCM 329
loves God faithfully and purely, and is certain of the Lord’s
recompense, does not consider what is enjoined sufficient for
him, but always seeks an increased workload, and desires and
longs for things greater than those enjoined, even if what he
does seems beyond his strength.4 Hence Cassian also says:
That is true obedience which, even though some-
thing difficult is commanded it, endeavors to carry
it out without any discussion or hesitation. There
is no murmuring about the thing being impossible,
but with complete faith and devotion he receives
whatever has been said not as coming from a man
but as commanded him by God. For obedience
must be preferred to all the virtues, so that every-
thing is put after it; and a monk should be content
to endure all possible loss, provided that he does
not seem to violate this good thing in any way.5
3. Cf. RBas. 69 (CSEL 86:104-05); Conc. 73.2 (PL 103:1357C-

1358C).
4. RBas. 82:1-2 (116); Conc. 73.3 (1359A).
Cassian Inst. IV.10.12 (CSEL 17:53-55).
CHAPTER 69
THAT IN THE MONASTERY

ONE MAN NOT PRESUME TO
DEFEND ANOTHER
1
Care must be taken that on no grounds what-
ever should one monk presume to defend an-
other monk in the monastery, or as it were to
protect him. To protect means ‘to support, to bring
help and be a safeguard’. Hence Basil has this dread-
ful thing to say: He who agrees with sinners and defends
another in his fault will be cursed before God and men, and
will be rebuked with a most severe reprimand.1 And the
blessed Pope Gregory also says: Sinners defend another
sinner in the very matter in which they are themselves aware
of sin.2 Everyone is afraid for himself when he sees
another being rebuked. And so they rise up of one ac-
cord against the words of those rebuking them. Hence
Solomon says: The congregation of sinners is like tow gath-
Si 21:9[10] * ered together.* There follows:
2
Even if they be joined by some bond of con-
sanguinity. 3Monks should not presume to do
this in any way whatever, because from this can
arise a very serious occasion of scandals. 4But
if anyone transgresses in this matter, let him
be sharply punished. Hence also another Father
CCM 330 º says: ºIf anyone agrees with another’s mistaken behavior and
counsels him to be slow in humbling himself, let him know
that he must be judged with him as in like manner culpable.3
Hence also blessed Columban says:
1. Actually RPachom. Praec. atq. Iud. 176 (PL 23:84B); Conc.

74.2 (PL 103:1360D-1361A). See also RO 47 (Benedictina
23:271); Conc. 74.8 (1364B).
2. Greg. Moral. XXXIII.4.10; CCSL 143B:1678.
3. RO 33:1-2 ( 268); Conc. 74.8 (1364B).
526
That In the Monastery One Man Not Presume to Defend Another 527
In no way do we permit anyone in the monastery

to defend a neighbor or blood-relation.Why should
he who no longer lives for himself, but has imitated
Christ and remains crucified with him, defend an-
other? Why then should he who has completely
done away with his own wishes so as to fulfill in
himself Christ’s will, defend others’ sins? Therefore
let him have equal love both for his blood-relation
and for another brother who is not joined to him
by a relationship of blood; let him not be eager to
protect someone who is subject to the control of
discipline, in case he lets loose in others the vice of
defending.4 If a man who fears the Lord sees his
brother going astray, he is obliged to show him what
is holy, and point out to him the straight road, so
that marching along with the fear of God he may
fulfill that saying of Solomon: Free those who are
being led to death, and do not cease to free them
from destruction*.5 * Pr 24:11
4. Columban. Fragmenta operis monastici in Conc. 74.10 (1365A-

1366A).
5. Orsiesius Lib. Orsiesii 25 (PL 103:463A); Conc. 74.3
(1362AB).
CHAPTER 70
THAT NO ONE PRESUME TO

STRIKE AT RANDOM
At random means ‘inordinately, indiscriminately,

without reason’s measure’. 1Every occasion of pre-
sumption should be forbidden1 in the mon-
astery; 2we ordain and decree that no one be
allowed to excommunicate or strike any of his
brothers unless he has been given the power by
the abbot. For a brother must not extend his hands
to strike a brother simply because he feels disturbance
and animosity of heart, but he must chastise him hum-
bly and correct him with the zeal of charity. On this
account blessed Aurelian says: If a brother dares to raise
his hand against a brother, he should receive the discipline of
the law.2
3
Let those who offend be reproved in the pres-
1 Tm 5:20 * ence of all, that the rest may have fear*. And in
In fact, *
Leviticus Deuteronomy* it is written: Do not hate your brother in
your heart, but reprove him publicly, lest you incur sin because
Lv 19:17 * of him.* Hence blessed ºAugustine says: Because he
CCM 331 º says: Reprove those who sin in the presence of all, that the rest
1 Tm 5:20 * may have fear,* the apostle is not opposed to the Lord,
Mt 18:15 * who says: Reproach him between yourself and him alone.*
In fact both things have to be done. As the different
sicknesses of those we have undertaken to correct and
care for, not destroy, suggest, one must be healed in this
way, and another in that.3
1. The CCM text shows Smaragdus using the well-attested

vetetur, ‘let it be forbidden’, without the preceding ut, although
he does have the ordinamus, ‘we ordain’, that may have occasioned
the use of an initial ut. See Lentini, p.593.
2. Aur. Reg. 13 (PL 68:390A); Conc. 75.3 (PL 103:1367A).
3. Cf. Aug. S 82.8.9; PL 38:509-510.
528
That No One Presume to Strike at Random 529
4
Care for disciplining and looking after chil-
dren until they reach the age of fifteen is to
be exercised by all, 5but this too with all mod-
eration and common sense. For this very reason
a master of monks says: We direct that children not be
excommunicated for faults until their fifteenth year, but that
they be flogged; indeed after they turn fifteen it is no longer
fitting for them to be flogged but to be excommunicated, be-
cause they can now understand how they must repent and
amend.4
6
For he who without the abbot’s command
presumes in any measure in regard to older
ones, or who without discretion blazes out
against children themselves, is to undergo regu-
lar discipline. Hence Ferreolus says: A monk inflamed
against a monk—a most disgraceful thing—should not pre-
sume to lay hands on him, apart from those whose task it is
to gauge and decide on the measure of correction required, so
that one person’s sin may not lead to an increase of boldness
and presumption in the rest.5 There follows:
7
For it is written: Do not to another what you
do not want done to yourself.* No one wants to * Tb 4:16
be hurt by anyone else, and so he himself must not
hurt anyone, but rather fraternal charity must grow
between the two of them; and when someone is re-
buking others, he must preserve in their regard the
affection of a father for his son, or of a doctor for a
sick person.
4. RM 14:79-81 (SCh 106:60); Conc. 75.5 (1368A).

5. RFerreol. 21 (PL 66:966CD); Conc. 75.2 (1366C).
THAT THEY BE OBEDIENT TO

ONE ANOTHER
1
The good of obedience is to be shown by all
not only to the abbot, but the brothers should
also obey one another, 2knowing that by this
way of obedience they will go to God. Hence
other Fathers also said: The virtue of obedience must be
eagerly sought and exercised according to each one’s strength.
And at the first word of a senior all the brothers who have
heard it ought to rise; and he who does not rise is to ask
pardon and do penance as judged appropriate by the senior;
and let him fulfill what was ordered.1
3
Therefore an order of the abbot or of the
priors appointed by him being put first. Being
put first means ‘being preferred, ordered, arranged,
and commanded before’. To which we do not
allow private orders to be preferred. Private
means the ‘specific or particular and general [order] of
individuals’.2 These private orders of individuals must
be left aside because of the orders of the abbot and
priors, and must not be carried out in preference to
their order. There follows: 4For the rest, let all the
juniors obey their seniors in all charity and so-
licitude. 5But if anyone is found to be conten-
tious, let him be reprimanded. Although it may
seem a hard thing, obedience must be practiced until death,
after the example of the Lord obeying his Father until death;
and each one ought to serve his brother as he does his own
1. Rcuiusd. 3 (PL 66:988D); Conc. 76.14 (PL 103:1374A).

2. Privata dicit singillata vel propria et communia singulorum. I am
indebted to Fr Placid Spearritt for his help in analysing and
translating this puzzling expression.
530
That They Be Obedient to One Another 531
abbot and father, as the apostle says: ‘Serve one another in

the fear of Christ’ *.3 * Eph 5:21
6
If any brother, for any reason at all, however
insignificant, is reprimanded in any way by the
abbot or by any one of his seniors, 7and if he
feels that any senior at all is slightly angry with
him and upset, however little, 8he should at once
without delay prostrate himself on the ground
before his feet and lie there making satisfaction,
until that disturbance is allayed with a blessing.
Hence blessed Basil says:
The one who encourages us to do what has been

ordered ought to be obeyed with the same eagerness
with which a hungry infant complies with his nurse
when she invites him to her breasts, and with the
eagerness with which every man receives from any-
one the things he needs in order to live. In fact even
more so, because the future life is much more pre-
cious than the present, as the Lord also said: For
my commandments are eternal life*.4 * Jn 12:50
º 9He who disdains to do this should either º CCM 333

undergo corporal punishment or, if he is obsti-
nate, be expelled from the monastery. Hence it is
written elsewhere: At the first word of reproof from a senior,
whether the econome or some brother, one must ask pardon,
and lie prostrate on the ground until the senior has finished
his reproof. But if the senior repeats the reproof, then he must
repeat his request for pardon. If anyone is found too slow in
asking for pardon, whether he utters some words that are con-
trary to his religious life or seeks to make excuses for his fault,
he must be sent into confinement, and he should do penance
according to the senior’s judgment until he amends. But if he is
found obstinate, he must be separated from the brothers.5
3. Rcuiusd. 3 (988D-989A); Conc. 76.14 (as n. 1).

4. RBas. 84:interr. & 1-2 (CSEL 86:118); Conc. 76.11 (1372C).
5. Rcuisud. 7 (989BC); Conc. 76.13 (1373AB).
CHAPTER 72
ON THE GOOD ZEAL WHICH

MONKS OUGHT TO HAVE
1
Just as there is an evil zeal of bitterness which
separates from God and leads to hell, 2so there
is a good zeal which separates from vice and
leads to God and to eternal life. The evil zeal of
bitterness which separates from God and leads to hell
proceeds without doubt from envy and fraternal ha-
tred. Concerning this zeal blessed Cyprian also says:
To be jealous and to envy another’s good is not a small but a
great and important evil.1 Solomon also says: Jealousy and
Si 30:24[26] * anger shorten one’s days.* Without doubt it is not a small
but a great and important evil which separates man
from God and subjects him to the devil. It separates
from the Father and leads to the deceiver; it separates
from life and leads to death; it separates from glory and
leads to punishment. Smitten with this zeal of envy
Gn 4:8 * Cain killed his brother*;2 smitten with this zeal the
Gn 37:28 * sons of Jacob sold their brother Joseph*; smitten with
this zeal the Pharisees and scribes handed the Lord
Mt 26:49 * over to death by means of Judas’s deceitful kiss*.
Therefore it is not this zeal of bitterness that God’s
servants ought to have, but rather that which separates
from the devil and leads to Christ; which separates
from death and leads to life; which separates from vices
and leads to virtues; which separates from torment and
CCM 334 º leads to the kingdom of heaven.This zeal is ºborn from
love of virtues, not fraternal hatred, from the source
of charity, not the raw material of hatred. For this zeal
bestows salvation on the soul, keeps faith, and loves all
1. Smar. Via reg. 22 (PL 102:961C); cf. Cypr. Zel et liv. 1 (CSEL
3,1:419).
2. Cf. Smar. Via reg. 22 (961C) and Cypr. Zel et liv. 5 (421-422).
532
On the Good Zeal Which Monks Ought to Have 533
uprightness. The Lord exercised this zeal when he flogged

and drove out of the temple those who were buying and sell- * Mk 11:15,
ing there.* Phineas deserved to receive the pre-eminence and Lk 19:45,
Jn 2:15
honor of a priest by his zeal for uprightness†.3 † Nm 25:11,
3
Therefore the monks should exercise this zeal 1 M 2:26
with the most fervent love, 4that is, let them an-
ticipate one another in honor. And so the apostle
also says: Loving one another with fraternal charity, antici-
pating one another in honor, fervent in spirit, serving the
Lord.* We are fervent in spirit if we are cold to the * Rm 12:10-11
world. And because the Lord does not love those who
are cold, and is nauseated by the lukewarm,4 he wants
us who live under the law of the Spirit to have in us
no slackness, no tepidity, but to do everything with
fervor of spirit and with the warmth of charity and of
faith.5 And so there also aptly follows:
5
Let them most patiently bear one another’s
weaknesses, whether of body or of character.
He truly fulfills this who truly has charity in himself,
of which it is written: Charity is patient.* Hence the * 1 Co 13:4
apostle also says: Bear one another’s burdens, and so you
will fulfill the law of Christ,* that is, charity. * Ga 6:2
6
Let them earnestly pay obedience to one an-
other. For it is written: Obedience is better than sacrifice.* * 1 Sm 15:22
And the apostle says: Obeying one another in the bond
of peace.* 7Let no one follow what he considers * Eph 4:2-3
useful for himself, but rather what is useful for
another. Hence the apostle says: Charity does not seek
what is its own,* that is, it does not think only of what * 1 Co 13:5
is to its own advantage, but of what ministers to others
by serving them usefully.6
3. Smar. Via reg. 17; 958A.

4. Cf. Pelag. In Rm 12:11 (PLS 1:1165) and Smar. Collect. (PL
102:82C).
5. Cf. Orig. In Rm IX.9 (PG 14:1219C) and Smar. Collect.
(82C).
6. Cf. Pelag. In 1 Co 13:5 (PLS 1:1223) and Smar. Collect.
(114C).
Let them practice fraternal charity with chaste

8
9
love. For charity is not two-faced, nor does it envy
anyone, as it is written: Charity does not envy, does not act
1 Co 13:4 * wrongly,* that is, does not do perverse things, because it
does everything according to order7 and completely ex-
cludes all vices,8 and willingly embraces another’s happiness as
though it were its own.9 And so there also aptly follows:
CCM 335 º º 9Let them fear God, 10let them love their
abbot with sincere and humble charity. For it
Qo 7:19 * is written: He who fears God does not neglect anything.*
And because he truly fears God he loves his abbot
with sincere and humble charity. It is a sincere
and humble charity that the Lord commands us to
have when he says: This is my commandment, that you
Jn 15:12 * love one another as I have loved you.* For we must love one
another for this purpose: that we may have God and may
dwell in God. And this is the love by which God becomes ‘all
1 Co 15:28 * in all’ *,10 and with which we must love one another.
11
Let them prefer nothing at all to Christ,
12
and may he bring us all together to eternal life.
Therefore as to why we must prefer nothing to Christ,
RB Prol. 9 * let us hear with ears pricked up* what is said sub-
sequently. For he says And may he bring us all to-
gether to eternal life. No one else is able to bring us
to eternal life, only he is able to bring us to the eternal
kingdom. For according to the psalmist, he is the Lord
Ps 95:7 * our God, and we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.*
Since he is omnipotent, he did not give anyone else as
the price, but delivered up only himself to death for our
sake; he has mercifully adopted us as his children and has
promised us as his joint-heirs the kingdom of heaven.
And therefore we must prefer nothing to him, since he
is our God, nor place anything in the whole world on
an equal footing with the Creator of all things.
7. Cf. Pelag. In 1 Co 13:4; 1223.

8. Smar. Collect.; 114A.
9. Pelag. In 1 Co 13.4 (1223); and Smar. Collect. 114A.
10. Smar. Collect. (530B); cf. Aug. In Jo ev. 83.3 (CCSL 36:536).
CHAPTER 73
THAT THE OBSERVANCE

OF ALL JUSTICE IS NOT
LAID DOWN IN THIS RULE
1
We have written this rule so that by observing
it in monasteries, we may show that we have
attained some degree of good moral conduct
and the beginning of a monastic life. We should
find it all the easier to observe the prescriptions of
this rule, the lighter the form of monastic life we dis-
cern described in it. For he who neglects to observe
these least things cannot climb by a straight path to
the greater things which can lay up for him the perfect
life. For there follows:
2
For the rest, for him who hastens to the per-
fection of monastic life there are the teachings
of the holy Fathers, the observance of which
leads a man to the heights of perfection. ºFor the º CCM 336
life, the teaching and the deeds of Elijah and the other
prophets of that time are nothing other than a model
and a norm for the monks of this time. In the New
Testament also those of John and of all the apostles are
a norm for all right-living monks. And so there also
follows:
3
For what page or what word of the divine
authority of the Old and New Testament is
not a most correct norm for human life? 4Or
what book of the holy catholic Fathers does
not loudly proclaim how we may by a straight
course come to our Creator? 5And also the
Conferences of the Fathers, their Institutes and
their Lives, as well as the Rule of our holy father
Basil, 6what else are they but instruments of the
535
virtues for good-living and obedient monks?

On this account blessed Isidore says:
There are many precepts and prescriptions of our

forefathers which are found uttered by the holy
Fathers here and there, and which some have put
together and handed down to posterity for its deeper
instruction in more obscure matters.1 Therefore
whoever among you is striving to grasp that uni-
versal discipline of the ancients should continue as
far as he likes, and make his way into that arduous
and narrow passage with lightened step. But he
who cannot fulfill such great orders given by the
first monks should take a step into the discipline
of this first stage and take care not to turn away,
lest while daintily seeking lower things he lose both
the life and the name of a monk.Therefore just as
those precepts of the first monks make a man perfect
and raise him very high, so these latter will make
a man occupy at least the last place. The perfect
observe the former, while those converted after sin
should follow the latter.2 Therefore, O servants of
God, soldiers of Christ, despisers of the world, we
want you to keep these things in such wise that
you may in all matters observe the greater precepts
of the Fathers.3 Now the fullness of a holy way of
life and the perfect teaching of a spiritual life is
daily read aloud to us in the rules of those holy
Fathers, whose proven life and teaching authority
was bestowed by a divine gift.4
7
But for us who are slothful and ill living and
negligent there is the blush of confusion. For
when we hear that the life of the earlier saints was
rich with such great virtues, we are covered with the
1. Isid. Reg. Praef. (PL 103:555B); Conc. 1.8 (PL 103:720B).

2. Isid. Ibid. (556B-557A); Conc. 1.8 (720B-721A).
3. Isid. Reg. 23 (572D); Conc. 1.8 (721A).
4. RP et St. 41 (PL 69:958CD); Conc. 1.9 (722A).
That the Observance of All Justice Is Not Laid Down in This Rule 537
blush and the shame of confusion, because we are not

at all able to reach their perfection. But the words that
follow give us boldness and confidence:
º 8Therefore, whoever you are who are hasten- º CCM 337
ing to the heavenly homeland, fulfill with the
help of Christ this little rule for beginners, 9and
then at last you will arrive under God’s protec-
tion at the greater heights of the teaching and
virtues we mentioned above. Amen. The one
who does these things will have eternal life.5
Blessed Benedict encourages us after the fashion of a
father: If we wish to climb to the heavenly homeland,
we should hasten first to fulfill this little rule for
beginners, and so with the help of Christ we should
aim to ascend to the teaching of the greater Fathers
and hasten to scale the sublime heights of the virtues.
We must willingly obey him, and willingly hear his
precepts, because happy the one who will be able to
fulfill this rule properly; happy the one who while still
posted in the present life will be able to climb to the
heights of the virtues. But happier than all these is
the one who after the present life will have eternal
life; happy the one who will be able to reign always
with the saints, live with the angels, rejoice with both
and live happily with the Lord himself forever. May
he lead us happily to this life, who in the present rules
and governs mercifully:
Jesus Christ our Lord,
who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
5. CCM and Migne print Facienti haec vita erit aeterna in italics
as part of the text of the Rule; cf. Lentini, p. 615.
Scripture index
Old Testament Numbers

11:16 517
Genesis 20:17 44, 88
1:14 67 21:1 63, 117
3 181 25:11 533
3:6 284
3:15 62 Deuteronomy
3:19 98 4:9 273
4:8 516, 532 5:18 167
9:21 413 5:21 169
19:33-35 413 6:3,4 338
27:41 516 6:5 50, 163, 186
28:12 270 9:1 338
30:2 322 16:20 88, 124
33:13 508 20:8 107
37:19‑28 516 32:7 515
37:28 532
1 Samuel
Exodus 1:24 481
15:21 319 2:25 481
20:12 50 2:27‑34 141
20:13 166 3 497
20:13‑15 50 3:4 155
20:14 167 4:12‑18 141
20:15 168 15:22 209, 233, 251,
20:17 169 468, 533
22:18 259 16:7 279
Leviticus 2 Samuel
18:20 94 22:45 250
19:2 234
19:15 134 1 Kings
19:17 528 8:46 95
19:18 165 17:1 65, 73, 368
21:17 118
22:18‑20 93 2 Kings
26:12 384 1:8 89
539
540 Scripture Index
2 Chronicles 14:2 285

6:40 86 14:3 286
15:1 91
Tobit 15:2‑3 92
1:21 182 15:2 62, 194
2:7‑9 182 15:4 284
4:16 160, 172, 493, 17:1 86
529 17:4 292, 469, 474
12:9 179 17:5 521
12:12 278 18:24 280
18:44 250
Job 19:9 77
5:7 81 19:9-11 261
7:1 116, 136, 470 20:2 521
15:34 466 22:6 60, 299
16:7 184 22:20 262
21:11‑13 282 23:2 75, 121
21:13 266 27:4 473
29:14 180 27:14 291
31:23 221, 273 31:19 87, 108, 218
36:7 58 32:5 51, 222, 296, 297
38:3 89 32:10 212
33:18‑19 86
Psalms 34:8 105, 164
2:10 58 34:9 149
2:11 332, 333 34:11 77
4:5 188 34:12 80
5:5 339 34:14 75, 83, 84, 85, 86,
5:6 83 185
5:9 194 34:15 86, 278
5:12 165 34:15-16 285
6:2 182 35:1-2 116
6:3 182 35:18 391
6:6 344 36:1 272
6:7 377 36:4 349
7:9 279 37:5 87, 295
8:2 269 37:8 340
11:7 124 37:27 61, 242
12:2-3 259 38:6-8 307
12:3 84 38:8 293
12:6 261 38:9 283
14:1 283 39:1 258, 259
Scripture Index 541
39:2 260, 261 86:17 394

40:10 128 88:15 300
41:4 182, 362, 367 91:11 521
43:1 137, 155 94:11 279
44:22 291 95:7 534
45:7 58 95:8 74
45:10 66 97:10 75
46:10 105 101:1‑2 334
47:8 332 101:5 83, 210, 390
48:9 451 102:2 521
49:14 129 103:2 273
50:16 132 105:3 335
50:17 132, 287 105:21 502
50:18 357 106:1 296
50:21 286 111:10 453
51:2-3 214 115:1 53, 92, 96
51:4 213 115:11 78, 149, 212, 255
51:15 314, 403, 418 118:1 296
55:22 286 118:8 286
58:3 171 118:8‑9 212
63:1 205, 327 118:25 49
63:6-7 327 119:5, 23 96
64:1 308 119:5, 133 117
65:8 333 119:20 169
66:10 292 119:32 78, 108, 109
66:11 293 119:49 212
66:12 294 119:55 344
68:28 476 119:62 326
70:1 314, 328, 329, 119:63 253
345, 394 119:71 300
71:5 212, 286 119:102 500
72:1 58 119:105 521
73:22 173, 298 119:107 307
73:22-23 298 119:116 476
73:28 211, 518 119:164 326
76:10 280 119:168 279
78:7 211 126:5 105, 226, 439
78:20 149 128:2 435
84:2 169 130:2 86
84:7 78, 109, 270, 310 131:1 267
86:1 86 131:2 268
86:2 521 134:2 417
542 Scripture Index
137:9 92, 221, 281, 284 13:24 348

138:1 333 14:12 253, 282
138:6 268 14:13 226, 303
139:2 280 14:23 304
139:8 220 14:26 78
139:17 270 14:34 491
140:11 262, 302 15:3 221, 332
141:2 327 15:5 Vulg 338
141:3 418 15:11 280
141:3‑4 339 15:18 188, 377
149:5 72 15:22 153
15:26 221
Proverbs 15:27 466
1:7 133 15:28 54, 377
3:1‑2 235 16:2 280
3:11 133, 209 16:3 295
4:8 228 16:5 377
4:19 283 16:21 376
4:24 210, 222 16:24 303
4:27 Vulg 283 16:25 282
5:21 279 16:27 223
6:1-3 150 17:3 148
6:9-11 206 17:11 239, 377
7:1-2 235 18:5 134
10:1 67 18:9 71, 206
10:19 224, 259, 262, 18:21 262
302, 304 19:5 171
10:23 265 19:11 197
10:24 288 19:15 54, 75, 204, 208
10:27 77 19:20 133
10:32 54 19:24 378, 438
11:9 94 20:3 239
11:29 377 20:4 54, 208
12:1 209 20:13 74, 206
12:11 80, 206 21:13 380
12:12 288 21:23 258
12:20 53, 189 21:25 207, 433
13:3 223, 304 21:28 52, 171, 248
13:4 207 22:15 374
13:10 378 23:14 142, 368
13:12 288 24:6 153
13:15 283 24:9 221, 281
Scripture Index 543
24:11 527 1:6 279

24:21‑22 210 1:11 83, 166, 209, 263,
24:30‑31 208 339
25:18 223 2:24‑25 456
25:21 198 3:1‑3 324
25:28 224, 302 3:6 120, 197
26:24 94 3:7 270
27:8 246 3:11 369
27:9 153 4:1 49, 235
27:21 119 4:8‑9 155, 375, 517
28:13 221, 230, 295 5:4, 6-9, 13 102
28:14 219 6:5-6 497
28:19 80 6:21 169
28:25 377 7:28 272, 375
29:10 300 11:24 140
29:19 142 13:5 58
29:23 266 16:14 166
30:25 54, 182, 300 19:11 197
19:12-13 288
Ecclesiastes (Qoheleth)
1:18 184 Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)
2:2 303 1:11‑12 273
3:7 259 1:13 149
4:10 122 1:14 273, 307
5:4 250 1:18 78, 160
5:9 466 1:20 78
7:3[4] 226 1:22 78
7:4[5] 226 1:25[31] 300
7:6[7] 227 1:34 273
7:19 534 2:1 116
7:21 141 2:1-2 290
9:8 191 2:3‑5 293
10:11 211 2:4‑5 196
10:14 304 2:5 117
12:3 221 2:6 87
12:11 50 2:8 78
2:10 78
Song of Songs
2:20 160
3:1 313
3:18[20] 494
4:7 93
4:1‑8 179
Wisdom 4:26[31a] 230
1:3 281 4:29[34] 262, 303
544 Scripture Index
6:2‑3 377 25:15 78

6:5 303 28:3 188
6:37 53, 234 28:5 188
7:16 433 28:17[21] 223
7:21[23] 241 29:12 179
7:29, 31[31, 33] 240 29:15 179
7:29, 31 378 30:1 368
7:30[32] 240 30:24 Vulg 181
7:32[36] 179 30:24[26] 188, 532
7:36 214 31:25[30] 204
7:35[39] 181 31:28[37] 204
7:36[40] 218 31:29[39] 204
9:16[23] 212 31:30[40] 204
10:7, 15 202 31:35 204
10:13 202, 494 31:38 Vulg 204
10:17[20-21] 202 32:7[11] 262
11:8 262 32:24 158, 160
11:21[22] 291 33:28 84
15:9 132 33 :29 433
18:16‑17 381 33:31 241
18:17 381 34:25[30] 183
18:30 57, 232, 281, 284 35:8[11] 257
19:1 347 35:17[21] 403
19:2 412 37:29 204
19:5 260, 303 38:16 182
20:5 261, 304 40:25 161
20:7 259, 304 40:27 78
20:8 259, 304
20:13 304, 376 Isaiah
20:29 305 1:2 71
21:2 71, 158, 170 1:16 220
21:9[10] 526 1:17 184
21:10[11] 282 2:2 92
21:16 161 5:22 204
21:20[23] 227, 302 11:2‑3 77
21:25[28] 303 11:5 88
21:27[30] 200 29:13 333
22:1 208 32:11‑12 168
22:24[30] 199 32:17 223, 260, 418
23:9 193 33:15‑16 522
23:11 193 40:9 264
25:10 78 42:2 304
Scripture Index 545
42:3 507 34:3-4 365

45:22 242 34:4, 18‑19 151
46:12 130
51:23 73 Daniel
52:11 132 3:49 65
53:7 110 3:52 394
55:6 231 6:22 65
56:4‑5 235 12:3 270, 510
58:1 263 13 497
58:3 175 13:45 155
58:9 87 Hosea
61:2 184 4:1 357
61:10 117, 181 4:2 357
65:13‑14 71 4:11 204
66:24 72, 216 13:14 129
Jeremiah
Joel
1:15 277
1:4 277
2:36 286
1:5 204
3:19 51, 66, 77
1:14 179
9:21 277
2:15 179
10:19 214, 323
11:19 110 Amos
16:17 279 7:4 282
20:12 279
23:23‑24 278 Zephaniah
48:10 204 1:14‑17 214
50:31‑32 202 3:8 215
Lamentations Malachi
1:7 433 3:20 78
1:12 49
3:27‑28 264 1 Maccabees
3:41 228 2:26 533
Ezekiel
1:21 93 New Testament
18:4 166
18:20 183 Matthew
18:23 242 2:12 55
20:27 128 3:10 84
33:11 102, 242 5:3 266
33:12 243 5:5 226, 303, 439
546 Scripture Index
5:7 505 9:12 362

5:9 190 9:25 183
5:10 53, 200 10:22 64, 70, 107, 109,
5:16 503, 518 246, 290, 486
5:21 167 10:26 388
5:22 187, 188, 340 10:37 187, 248
5:23-24 242 10:38 75
5:28 89, 167 11:12 253
5:30 370 11:15 51, 76, 264
5:33‑34 192 11:25 229
5:34‑37 193, 340 11:27 82
5:39 269 11:28 53, 80, 90, 208,
5:39‑41 60, 294 218, 245, 256,
5:44 61, 198, 241 394
5:44‑45 198, 241, 269, 11:29 92
307 11:30 106
6:8 87 12:29 100
6:9 51, 69 12:36 265, 347
6:10 281 13:8 68
6:12 323, 324 13:43 66, 270
6:13 323, 324, 477 13:53 504
6:24 56, 287 15:8 333
6:25 146 15:19, 20 357
6:31 387 16:24 53, 89, 173, 288
6:33 148, 387 18:4‑5 278
7:1 160 18:6 383
7:2 497 18:10 278, 286
7:3 133 18:15 138, 346, 528
7:7 485 18:15‑17 159
7:12 396 18:17 370, 372
7:13 73, 282 18:22 68
7:13-14 288 18:30 69
7:14 53, 73, 107, 252, 18:32 71
469 19:14 266
7:15-16 121, 467 19:18 167
7:16 85 19:28 62, 66, 89, 90
7:19 84 19:29 440
7:21 235 20:1-6 74
7:24 98, 235 20:16 80, 439
7:26 99 22:11 69
7:27 99 22:12 68, 216
8:8 61, 306 22:12‑13 69
Scripture Index 547
22:13 79 12:31 165

22:30 81 14:36 282
22:37 50, 186 14:38 65
22:37-39 163 14:45 190
22:39 165
23:3 233, 366 Luke
23:9 51 2:14 315
23:9‑10 50 2:51 240
23:12 266 4:4 402
24:13 64, 70, 246, 486 6:25 226, 303
24:46 219 6:27 61, 198
24:47 509 6:28 61, 199
25:6 219 6:29 60, 294
25:18 69 6:30 380
25:22 68 6:31 396
25:23 71 6:45 94
25:34 90, 181, 215, 218, 7:14 183
245, 270 8:8 102
25:34-35 180 8:15 68
25:35 380, 446 9:3 460
25:36 180, 181, 379, 9:23 68, 173
395 9:62 107, 483
25:40 395, 447, 518 10:16 127, 233, 250,
25:41 214 257, 274, 475
25:46 275 10:27 163, 165
26:20‑21 417 10:30 181
26:39 282 10:30-35 101
26:41 65 11:9 485
26:49 190, 532 12:13 168
26:50 486 12:22, 29 387
26:60 171 12:31 387
26:75 86 12:35 61
12:37 219, 270
Mark 12:42 379, 502
3:27 100 12:43 379
7:6 333 12:44 379
10:14 266 12:48 142
10:19 170 12:49 255
10:21 89 13:24 107
10:43‑44 299 14:11 266, 271, 306,
11:15 533 363
12:30 163 14:33 185
548 Scripture Index
15:4‑5 366 14:6 82, 88, 100, 194,

16:2 503 195, 249, 263,
16:9 92 469
16:13 287 14:13 66
17:5 108 14:15 68, 234
18:1 65, 228 14:21 234
18:13 61, 306 14:27 190
18:14 266 14:30 100
18:16 266 15:5 96, 395
18:20 168 15:9 66
19:45 533 15:12 534
21:19 197, 290 15:15 66
21:34 409 16:22 66, 226
22:47-48 190 16:23 66
23:16 174 17:11, 22 67
23:34 198, 241 17:22 62
23:43 65 17:24 62, 67
John Acts of the Apostles

1:12 66, 70 2:1‑4 327
2:15 533 2:42 109
6:38 56, 158, 232, 247, 3:1 327
254, 282, 287, 4:12 98
288 4:27 58
8:12 79, 165 4:32 115, 154, 178,
388, 389, 463
8:34-35 71, 169
4:34‑35 115
8:47 102
4:35 389, 408, 462,
8:51 235
463
10:1 169
5:1‑5 119
10:2,9 87
5:1-11 465
10:11 151, 364, 366
5:29 233
10:11, 14 75
5:41 60
10:14 121, 364
10:4 65
10:27 102, 364
10:9‑12 327
10:27‑28 75
10:34 134, 155
11:28 404
10:35 155
11:39-44 183
12:5 65
12:6 380
14:21 107, 292
12:35 78, 79
17:28 249
12:50 531
13:34 499 Romans
14:2 169 1:26‑32 356
Scripture Index 549
1:29‑30 390 13:7 452

1:30 413 13:8 165
2:4 101 13:9 169
2:11 136 13:11 74
2:13 124, 234 13:12 103, 239
2:23 347 13:13 239
5:3‑4 196, 290 15:4 209
5:8‑9 198, 289
5:10 198 1 Corinthians
5:19 51 1:27 298
6:10 238 1:30 101
6:12 170 1:31 97, 212
6:12‑14 103 2:9 109, 217, 245
7:12 261 3:3 239
7:18 104 3:8 391
7:23 213 3:11 98
7:24‑25 295 3:16 65, 76, 87, 173,
8:15 66, 69, 124 189, 309, 384,
8:16 76 451
8:16‑17 69 3:17 173
8:17 66, 110, 270 4:7 98, 212
8:18 298 4:12 199, 294
8:29 499 5:1 363
8:30 87 5:5 358
8:31 87, 292 5:13 368
8:35 308 6:9‑10 91, 167, 199
8:36 291 6:10 83, 168, 259
8:37 53, 292 6:11 95
12:1 272 6:13 376
12:1‑2 103 6:16 154
12:3 376 6:19 451
12:10 172, 500 7:7 411
12:10‑11 533 7:15 371
12:11 207, 255, 336 9:22 145
12:12 53, 211, 228 9:24 109
12:13 446 9:26‑27 109, 174
12:15 145, 184 9:27 53, 80, 132, 439
12:16‑17 195 10:4 98
12:18 323 10:9‑10 83, 209
12:19 196 10:10 258, 356, 413,
12:20 198 456
12:21 195 11:5 286
550 Scripture Index
12:8, 10 212 5:19‑21 355

12:13 136 5:19‑24 103
13:4 533, 534 5:20 323, 512
13:4-7 192 5:22‑23 234
13:5 533 5:24 59, 175
13:7 187 5:25‑26 103
14:15 336 6:1 143, 506
14:30 155 6:2 184, 338, 397,
14:38 75 533
15:10 97, 213 6:8 105
15:28 534 6:10 105, 447
15:56 347 6:14 439
2 Corinthians Ephesians
1:4 184 2:3 66, 281
2:7 363, 364 2:8‑9 98
2:8 363 3:15 51, 69
2:17 167 3:21 98
5:10 380 4:1‑4 91
6:2 105, 439 4:2 392
6:4-5 439 4:2‑3 533
6:4-10 91, 104 4:5 154
6:5 53 4:22 173
6:16 384, 451 4:24 75, 173
7:10 456 4:26 188, 242, 323
9:6 255 4:28 168
9:7 256, 380 4:29 222
10:17 97, 212 4:30 67
11:12 377 5:8 79
11:26 294 5:14 206
11:29 145, 181 5:19 437, 442
12:20 238, 512 5:21 531
6:1 127
Galatians 6:9 136
1:6 90 6:11, 13 118
1:15 90 6:14 88
2:20 248 6:16, 17 118
3:28 135, 154 6:18 228
5:14 165
5:16 103, 231 Philippians
5:17 173, 295 1:2 160
5:19 118 2:6‑8 289
Scripture Index 551
2:7 248 2:5 248

2:7‑8 129 3:3 203
2:8 51, 55, 127, 289 3:13 379, 380
2:10 98 4:2 283
2:11 98 4:13, 15 228
2:13 96 5:1 240
2:14 258 5:12, 8 493
3:13-14 108, 271 5:17 510
3:20 73, 271 5:20 528
4:12 244 5:23 413
4:12, 13 212 6:8‑9 461
6:10 466
Colossians 6:15 58
1:10 108
2:3 214 2 Timothy
3:2 271 2:4 59, 107, 185
3:3‑4 62 2:5 117, 118
3:4 72 2:14 238
3:8 188 3:3 283
3:9 75 3:8 283
3:14 107 4:2 124, 138
3:16 437 4:7-8 109
3:17 97
3:20 240 Titus
3:25 136 1:7 202
4:2 65 1:7‑9 123
1:9 128
1 Thessalonians 2:14 55
1:6 440
2:12 90 Hebrews
5:12‑13 233 1:14 286
5:14 184, 197 3:13 74, 75
5:15 61, 195 4:12-13 221
5:17 228 4:13 257, 332
9:15 70
2 Thessalonians 10:27 215
3:8 488 12:6 69, 209
3:10 435, 488 12:14 190
3:12 402, 433 13:1 191
13:17 233, 338
1 Timothy
1:8 261 James
2:4 136 1:3‑4 290
552 Scripture Index
1:4 197 2:21 55, 90, 109, 174,

1:14 169, 284 241
1:15 142, 169, 284 2:22 55, 84, 100
1:17 381 3:8‑9 195
1:19 224, 264, 302, 3:9 53, 61, 195, 199
378 3:13 292
1:20 188 3:14 201
1:21 349 3:17 201
1:22 195, 234 3:22 117
1:25 209 4:7 65, 228
1:26 224 4:8 107, 191, 323
1:27 182, 185 4:11 465
2:13 505 5:3 145
2:26 88 5:4 117
3:2 228 5:5 299, 363
3:5 259, 263 5:6 127, 363
3:6 263 5:10 72
3:6‑10 84
3:8 223, 259 2 Peter
3:9-10 200 1:4 170
3:10 263 2:22 479, 483
3:10‑11 200 3:9 101
3:14 238, 239 3:14‑15 101
3:16 238
4:4 167 1 John
4:6 268 2:5 164
4:8 376 2:9 165, 236
4:9 226, 303 2:10 165
4:10 268 2:11 237
4:11 211 2:16 170
5:12 193, 340 3:1 289
5:16 65 3:10 165
5:16‑17 368 3:12 237
5:20 153 3:14 165
3:15 166, 237, 263
3:16 289
1 Peter 3:24 164
1:4 70 4:1 466
1:7 197 4:7-8 165
1:13 168 4:10 186, 198, 248
2:11 231 4:11 165
2:17 171, 172 4:12 165, 166
Scripture Index 553
4:16 165 1:4 76

4:18 307 1:13 89
4:20 237 2:7 76
4:21 166, 237, 241 2:23 279
3:16 84, 120, 255
Jude
19:16 58
163 90, 413
22:5 81
Revelation (Apocalypse) 22:7 234
1:3 234 22:17 223
INDEX OF AUTHORS AND WORKS
ATHANASIUS De sermone Domini in monte

Vita beati Antonii abbatis I 19:58 294
13 186 II 16:53 149
AURELIANUS
AUGUSTINUS
Regula ad monachos
De civitate Dei
1 471
III 17 343
1‑2 473
Epistulae 13 528
167:11 51 28 313
44.45 460
In Iohannis Evangelium 49 402
Tractatus 51 410
75:5 235 55 520
83:3 534
124:5 83 BASIL (see REGULA BASILII)
In epistolam Iohannis ad Parthos BASIL (PSEUDO)

V 7 165 Admonitio ad filium spiritalem
VII 11 166 2 186
VIII 12 166 14 204
Enarrationes in Psalmos BEDE THE VENERABLE

77[78]:3 154 Super epistolas catholicas expositio
81[82]:1 154 In Jac
118: Sermo 31:4 326 1:3‑4 290
1:14 284
Regula ad servos Dei (Praeceptum) 1:15 285
1 389 1:19 264
3 445 1:22 234
5 399 2:13 505
7 349, 455 3:5 263
9 398 3:6 263
12 520 3:9‑11 200
4:4 167
Sermones 5:12 194
46:9 366 5:18 368
82:8.9 528 5:19 368
554
Index of Authors and Works 555
In 1 Pt 1.9 536
1:4 70 3.4 122
2:11 231 3.6 119, 122
2:18 105 4.2 502
2:21 90 5.11 509
3:13 292 12.2 269
3:14 201 15.7 230
3:17 201 21.2 304
23.3 313
In 1 Jo 23.4 313
2:5 164 23.5 313
2:11 237 23.6 312
2:16 170 24.3 327
3:10 165 25.5 332
3:15 237 25.16 335
3:24 165 25.17 333, 334
4:12 166 26.4 334, 335
4:18 308 26.5 333, 335
4:19 166 26.7 336
4:20 237 27.4 510
In Cantica Canticorum 27.5 512
III 3.1/2 313 27.7 515
27.9 511, 514
Hexaemeron I 63 27.10 515
27.16 515
In Lucae Evangelium expositio 28.2 339, 340,
IV 266, 366 343
V 306 28.3 338
In Proverbs 28.4 339, 341,
I c. 4.24.22 210, 211 343
II c. 13.4 207, 208 28.5 337
c. 19.15 75, 208 29.2 343
c. 21 171 29.3 344, 345
c. 24.22 211 29.4 343
24.30, 31 208 29.5 342, 343
29.6 342
De Tabernaculo 29.7 343, 344
2 92 29.8 345
30.11 348
BENEDICT of ANIANE 30.13 347
Concordia Regularum 30.15 347
1.8 536 30.19 349
556 Index of Authors and Works
30.20 349 42.21 388, 389

31.5 351, 352 42.23 386, 387
31.8 350 43.3 389
31.9 351 43.5 390
31.10 304, 354, 43.6 390
355 43.7 390
31.11 350 44.5 394
31.24 352 44.6 393
32.2 356 44.8 393
32.3 357 45.6 398
32.4 358 45.8 397
32.6 359 45.9 395, 396
33.2 360, 427 45.11 396, 398
33.4 353, 428 45.13 399
34.5 361 45.14 399
34.7 361 45.15 398
35.3 364 45.19 397
35.5 366 45.24 397
36.2 430 45.25 396, 397,
36.3 430, 431 398, 400
37.2 370 45.26 399
37.6 370 45.27 399
37.7 370 45.29 398
37.8 370 46.2 401
37.10 370 46.4 402
37.13 369 46.6 401
38.3 373 47.6 404
38.4 372 47.7 402
38.5 373 47.8 404
38.7 372 47.9 402
39.2 374 47.10 405
39.5 374 47.13 406
40.2 380 47.14 405
40.9 381 48.4 407
40.10 377 48.7 410
41.5 385 48.9 407, 408,
41.6 385 409
41.9 385 48.10 407
41.11 386 48.11 410
42.13 386 48.14 408
42.15 388 48.16 409
42.17 388 48.17 412
49.2 413 60.4 451

49.4 412, 413 60.5 447
50.3 414 60.6 451
50.4 415, 416 60.7 447, 452
50.5 415 60.11 453
50.7 414 61.4 455
50.8 417 61.8 455
51.5 418 61.9 455
51.7 418 61.12 455
51.8 418, 420 62.3 462
52.12 422 62.4 458
52.13 425 62.10 457, 458,
52.15 424 460, 463
52.17 426 62.11 462
52.21 425, 426 62.15 461
52.23 425, 427 62.16 458, 462
52.24 427 62.17 458, 459,
52.25 427 460, 461
52.26 421 62.18 462
52.27 423, 424 62.19, 20 460
52.29 426 62.21 459
52.34 421, 423 63.3 463
54.4 431 64.3 464
54.11 431, 432 64.4 466
55.6 437 65.2 472, 477
55.11 435 65.3 469
55.15 432 65.8 469
55.16 432, 433 65.10 470
55.17 432, 433, 65.11 471
434, 436 65.12 467, 468,
55.20 435 471
55.25 444 65.13 473
55.26 435 65.17 467, 471
56.4 441 65.22 478
57.2 442 65.23‑24 479
57.3 443 65.26 472, 477
57.4 443 65.28 475, 476
58.2 444 65.29 467, 478,
59.2 445 479
59.4 446 65.30 471, 473
60.2 454 66.2 481
66.3 481 CASSIAN

66.6 482, 483, Conferences (Conlationes)
484 II 22 205
67.2 488 X 10.2‑5 330
68.2 493 XVIII 5.1 115
68.4 490 5.4 115
68.5 493 6.1 116
70.3 498 6.2 116
70.6 496 7.1 119
70.7 498, 500 10 153
71.3 519, 520
71.4 518, 519,
523 De institutis coenobiorum
71.6 517 I 2.1‑2 459
71.7 520 II 10.2‑3 336
71.10 520 11.1 336
71.11 520 12.3 313
72.2 521 13.1 313
72.4 522 16 361
72.6 523 17 431
72.19 523 18 414
72.20 524 III 3 327
72.22 522 5 313
72.24 524 7.1 424
73.2 525 7.2 423
73.3 525 IV 5 478
73.4 525 6 479
74.2 526 9 230
74.3 527 10 523
74.7 526 10.12 525
74.8 526 12 421
74.10 527 13 388
75.2 529 14 464
75.3 528 16.1 430
75.5 529 16.1-2 351
76.11 531 16.2-3 352
76.13 531 17 405
76.14 530, 531 18 426
19.2 394
19.3 393
CAESARIUS (Pseudo) 20 393
Epistola hortatoria 509 39.2 269
CASSIODORUS FRUCTUOSUS
Expositio Psalmorum Regula communis
7:10 279 5 413
14[15]:1 92 7 397
17[18]:24 280 8 402
31[32]:5 297 12 338
33[34]:12‑1 77 13 339, 341
13 80 20 373
14 84
15 85 Regula Complutensis
36]37]:5 295 4 458, 459,
37[38]:9 307 460, 461,
43[44]:33 291 462
50[51]:17 314 5 404, 410,
69[70]:2 329 426
72[73]:28 211 6 386
75[76]:11 280 8 455
87[88]:16 300 10 397, 451
94[95]:7 74 15 304, 354
105[106]:1 296 16 347, 358
118[119]:71 301 17 342, 415,
130[131]:1 267 462
3 269 18 424
138[139]:4 280 20 502
139[140]:12 302 21 467, 468,
471, 472
COLUMBANUS 22 473
Fragmentum operis monastici 23 496
(Conc. 74 10) 527
FULGENTIUS of RUSPE
CYPRIANUS Contra Fabianum fragmenta
De zelo et livore III 10 104
1 532
4 237 GREGORY of NAZIANZEN
5 532 Oratio ad s. lumina 364
5‑6 516 Oratio prima
6 238 [secunda] 145
8 238
GREGORY THE GREAT
DEFENSOR Dialogues
Liber scintillarum I 4 448
XVI 39 262 II 7 158
Homilies on the Gospels 1 374

I hom. 17.8 416 4 150
II hom. 25.1 64 14 223, 224,
34.3 366 260, 261,
36.1 177 265
37.2 505 15 54, 75, 208
38.13 79 29 222
Moralia HIERONYMUS (Jerome)

I 36.54 63 Epistulae
II 52.82 191 22.15 56
V 31.54 270 125.15, 2 122
31.55 433
VI 37.57 383 In Matthaeum
VII 17.57 260 I 201, 253,
17.58 224, 260, 294
262, 265 II 172, 507
IX 65.97 465 III 278
66.100 275 IV 50
XII 38.43 511
Regula Pachomii, Praefatio
54.62 466
3 498
XV 29.35 275
XVIII 38.59 299 Vita S. Pauli primi
XIX 17.26 517 eremitae 408
XX 25.54 208
XXIV 25.54 156 HIERONYMUS (PSEUDO)
XXVI 28.53 58 actually Pelagius
XXVIII 3.12 89 In 1 Cor 5:5 358
XXXIII 4.10 526 In 2 Cor 2:7 363
XXXV 14.28 251 In Eph 6:14 88
In 2 Tim 4:2 138
Regula pastoralis
I 1 244 ISIDORE
2 383 Quaestiones in Vetus Testamentum
10 131 Gn 24.3 270
11 118
II 2 132 Differentiae
4 128 I 84 235
5 143 96 367
6 139, 143 142 84, 189
10 145 220 190
III Prol 145 301 69, 188
352 524 7.17 64

364 51 13.1 115
490 152 13.2 116
504 203 13.3 116
578 56 14.4 316
II 17.55 51 14.5 316
31.109 231 VIII 1.1 76
31.110 231 1.3 76
31.111 231 2.4 108
31.112 232 2.5 211
31.113 232 2.6 107, 191
36.139 191, 211 2.7 186
36.140 191 11.18 95
IX 3.31 337
Etymologiae 3.54 272
I 1.1 485 4.30 322
1.2 243 4.31 345
5.3 65, 228 4.33 503
7.19 409 5.15 49
II 26.7‑10 148 6.3 94
26.11 148 X 8 96
IV 5.2 371 37 110
6.18 371 51 110
V 25.25 252 70 438
25.29 482 75 139
26.7 189 77 53, 438
26.9 190 84 52
26.10 196 117 141
27.2 71 129 391, 438
29.1 67, 68 169 345, 524
30.18 74 171 50
VI 3.1 436 213 207
8.3‑4 56 216 447
8.10 50 231 435
16.1 114, 401 256 481
17.17 326 270 119
18.1 321 280 203
19.1 245 XI 1.1 104
19.7 315 1.3 82
19.50 57 1.13 106
VII 3.2 76 1.14 174
3.5 76 1.46 51
2.3 180, 284 6 433, 434,

XIII 10.12-13 79 436
XIV 9.9 104, 216 10 402, 407,
XV 3.7 415 425, 426
4.4 445 11 414
4.5 109, 153 12 401, 415,
4.6 116, 254, 416
415 13 457, 458,
4.17 315 460, 463
5.1 343 14 342, 343,
XVI 3.5 411 462
26.5 411 15 370
XVII 9.101 382 16 351, 355
XVIII 1.10 118 17 360, 374,
9.3 436 427, 428
15.2 93 19 385, 520
XIX 18.4 272 20 396, 398
22.29 461 21 447, 452
24.13 461 22 455, 522
24.17 457 23 536
34.7 457
34.12 457 Sententiae
XX 2.7 408 I 7.2 68
2.9 409 9.1 213
2.11 318, 415 9.8 213
2.13 382 28.1 105, 216
2.14 415 28.3 105
2.19 126 29.2 275
11.1 453 29.7 282
11.9-10 318 II 1.13 375
4.1 211
De ecclesiasticis officiis 4.2 212
I 4 319 7.1 290
6.2 315 7.2 290
7 315 11.12 301
11.4-6 316 12.1‑2 440
II 16.7 122 13.2 295
16.9 119 13.4 295
13.6 231
Regula monachorum 13.7 230
praef. 536 13.13 231
4 470, 481 13.18 231
23.3 276 III 5.14 63, 284

25.2 220 5.22 284
25.3 219, 279 5.24 284
25.4 220 7.1 229
25.5 280 7.4 229
25.7 280 7.5‑6 229
25.8 220, 279 7.18 228
25.9 280 8.1‑4 227
25.10 280 8.3‑4 440
28.1 277 9.1 228
28.2 277 16.3 297
29.4 260 16.6 297
31.2 193 18.2 288
33.4 277 19.1 299
35.2 283 19.4 298
35.3 283 20.1 207
37.1 232 25.1 237
37.2 232, 233 25.3 237
37.3 232 27.1‑2 236
38.1‑2 494 27.3 242
38.3 240, 267 27.4 242
38.7 267, 494 27.6 242
38.9 239, 377 27.7 242
38.11 239 60.2 179
39.3 240 61.3 219
39.14 167 62.3‑4 218
40.4 236 62.4 218
40.4‑5 235 62.9 218
40.5 168, 236
40.8 236 IULIANUS POMERIUS
42.11 376 De vita contemplative
43.1‑2 204 I 8 186
44.1 376 II 5.1 138
44.1‑2 177 17.1 178
44.4 205 17.2 178
44.8 440 18.1 178
44.10 176, 205 18.2 179
44.11 176 21.2 175
44.12 176 III 2.1 202
44.13 205 3.1 202
44.15 206 4.1 202
44.16 206 8.1 203
8.2 203 84: interr. & 1-2 531

8.3 203 87:3-4.5-6 490
10.2 225 94:3 408
12.1 215 95:4 427
12.2 215, 216 96:1 427
12.3 217 97:2 425
13 192 103 385
14.2 192 104 385
14.3 192 107:1-5 443
15.1 164 108:1-2 332
15.4 164 130:1-3 304
175:3 370
LIBER ORSIESII 194: interr. & 1 350
25 527
REGULA S. BENEDICTI
ORIGENES ANIANENSIS SIVE COLLECTIO
Commentary on Romans CAPITULARIS
IX n. 9 533 24 325
n. 13 446
n. 19 196 REGULA CASSIANI
n. 22 196 1:2-5 459
n. 24 195 4:1 414
7:1-4 336
PELAGIUS (see also Pseudo-Jerome) 10:1 313
Expositiones XIII Epistolarum 11:1-3 431
S. Pauli 14:1-3 361
In Rm 12:11 533 15:2-5 327
In 1 Cor 13:4 534 16:1 421
13:5 533 17:1-2 424
In Gal 6:1 506 17:3-4 423
24:1 478
REGULA BASIL II 25:1& 26:1 479
6:9-10 469 28:1-4 337
7:4.14-15 481 29:3-4 230
9:1-2.8 409 30:1-2 523
11:3 458 31:1-2 525
17:1-6 348 32:3-4 388
36: interr. & 1 395 33:1 464
36:2 396 35:1-2 426
69 525 36:1 405
76:2-3 370 36:3 405
82:1-2 525 37:3 394
38:1-4 393 13:66‑73 353

39:1 430 14:79‑81 529
42:3 269 14:87 374
16:62‑66 377
REGULA CUIUSDAM AD 17:1‑5 386
MONACHOS 19:19‑23 393
3 530, 531 24:18‑19 406
7 531 26:1 407
11 412 26:2‑3 408
26:14 409
REGULA FERREOLI 28:6‑8 417
5 471 28:17 399
6 493 28:19‑26 401
7 390 29:5 343
10 388 30:12‑13 418
14 461 30:14‑15 418
17 510 33:8‑9 312
20 372 33:8.15 312
21 529 33:19‑21 312
28 435 47:1‑10 333
32 458 47:14‑17 334
33 343, 344 48:1-4 334
39 357, 412, 48:10‑13 335
413 53:12‑15 441
53:19 441
REGULA MACARII 53:24‑25 441
17 370 54:1-4 422
20 447 54:5 422
56:1‑2 443
REGULA MAGISTRI 57:14‑16 524
11:41-44 339 64:1‑4 372
11:57 339 69:1‑3 399
11:63-64 339 69:21 399
11:66 339 69:27 399
11:69-72 340 73:8‑12 425
11:111-112.114 344 73:15 425
11:118-119 344 79:1‑2 453
11:121 345 82:20‑22 388
13:45-49 359 82:26‑27 389
13:54‑59 361 83:3‑8 488
13:60‑61 353 83:10-11 488
13:62‑63 428 83:14‑21 488
85:1‑6 466 Praecepta ac Leges

87:4 472 179 435
87:35‑37 477
89:17‑20 475 REGULA PATRUM TERTIA
89:24‑26 476 1 477
90:71‑72 467 8 521
90:79‑80 478 9 444
90:83‑86 479 12 398
91:1‑2 482 13 356
91:5‑7 483
91:35‑41 483 REGULA IV PATRUM
91:49‑52 483 [7]:25-28 469
91:55‑57 484 [8]:37-40 454
91:61‑62 484 [8]:41 463
95:1‑3 519 [9]:6-7 437
95:17‑18.22.24 520 [12]:24-31 380
[13]:4-12 493
REGULA ORIENTALIS
3:4-5 515
REGULA PAULI ET STEPHANI
25:6-10 381
33 433
26:1-2.5 517
34 432, 433
29:1 511
36 349
29:3.5 514
41 536
33:1-2 526
35 370
44:1 418 REGULA TARNATENSIS
47 526 1:1-2 467
1:3 471
REGULA PACHOMII 1:21 471
Praecepta 7:1-3 524
33 404 9:14-15 444
47 398 11:1 512
51 451 13:4 352
81 462 14:3-5 390
84 523 15:1-2 446
86 523 16:5-7 390
142 442 19:1-4 455
21 373
Praecepta et Instituta 21:1-2 397
158 515
Praecepta atque Iudicia RESPONSORIUM
176 526 Quae sunt in corde 279
RUFINUS 16 269
Historia monachorum 1 448 17 190, 191,
448, 533
SMARAGDUS 20 161
Collectiones in epistolas et evangelia 22 238, 516,
(Expositio libri comitis) 532
70, 88, 195, 196, 201, 216, 231, 24 188, 189
234, 235, 264, 266, 278, 292, 306, 26 466
366, 446, 486, 505, 506, 533, 534
STATUTA MURBACENSIA
Diadema monachorum (ACTUUM PRAELIMINARIUM
1 229, 295 SYNODI PRIMAE
3 227 AQUISGRANENSIS
4 187 COMMENTATIONES)
6 78 19 325
10 198 23 453
11 267, 299
12 190, 191, SYNODI PRIMAE
448 AQUISGRANENSIS ACTA
14 297 PRAELIMINARIA
15 230, 231, 9 453
295 23 325
16 296
27 175, 176,
SYNODI PRIMAE
177, 205,
AQUISGRANENSIS
206
DECRETA AUTHENTICA
28 168, 235,
25 453
236
28 325
34 276
36 219, 220
39 223, 224, SYNODI SECUNDAE
260, 265 AQUISGRANENSIS
53 211 DECRETA AUTHENTICA
57 231 14 453
77 183
78 88 TAIO
Sententiae
Via regia III 31 251
1 107, 186, IV 26 223, 224,
187 260, 261,
3 78 262, 265
7 198 31 75
32 54, 208 10 407

V 33 275 12 436
14 345
(WALDEBERTUS) 15 396, 397,
Regula ad virgines 398, 400
2 515 16 430, 431
3 518, 519, 17 386, 387
523 18 347
8 421, 423 19 350
9 405, 418, 20 369
420, 431, 21 373
432 22 498, 500

Commentary On The RB

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CISTERCIAN STUDIES SERIES: NUMBER TWO HUNDRED TWELVE

Smaragdus of Saint-Mihiel, fl. 809-819

Translated from Smaragdi Abbatis Expositio in Regulam S. Benedicti, edd. Alfredus

The work of Cistercian Publications

Library of Congress: Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Printed in the United States of America

Introduction: Smaragdus and His Work ••

The Commentary of Abbot Smaragdus on

smaragdus and his work

S MARAGDUS OF SAINT-MIHIEL was one of the most

Life and Works

Smaragdus was of gothic parentage, born about 770 ad in southwest-

Expositio in Regulam S. Benedicti

It is his commentary on the Rule of Benedict that constitutes Smaragdus’

from Benedict of Aniane, but no one can deny that he produced a

. See my study of Smaragdus’ work on the RB Prologue: ‘The Earliest Com-

the key words Benedict employed. Although some of these etymolo-

Although Smaragdus does not expand much on the few verses of

. Translated by C. Misrahi (New York: Fordham University Press, 1961).

biblical quotations, which at times he piles up in great mounds. Still,

Smaragdus of lack of originality because he had no wish to be origi-

Aquisgranensis Acta 9 [283], 23 [203]; Synodi Primae Aquisgranensis Decreta Authentica

Daniel Marcel LaCorte

I N THE YEAR 1957, Jean Leclercq published The Love of Learning

reform. Smaragdus’ words strengthened and elucidated their interpre-

Smaragdus is thought to have come from Aquitania and thus to have

. A. Spannagel-P. Engelbert, Smaragdi Abbatis Expositio in Regulam S. Benedicti

duced the Expositio Libri comitis, a companion piece to aid priests in

12. See Capitula Aquisgranensia I, Consuetudines Monasticae 3 (Monte Cassino, 1907)

The number of extant copies of Smaragdus’ texts demonstrate his au-

Cîteaux and the ‘new monastery’

As the twelfth century dawned, the Cistercians, like other Benedictines,

After some years, he studied carefully the Rule of St. Benedict,

While the founders insisted on observing the Rule more literally

Therefore, two of the fraternity, of equal faith and learning,

Only an handful of commentaries can have been available to the monks

the Cistercians for profession:28 the cistercian vow of ‘my stability, my

The reforming Cistercians are best remembered for their revitaliza-

Smaragdus’ view of the Rule’s requirement of labor as a way to gain

28. Jean Leclercq, ‘Introduction’ to On Precept and Dispensation, CF 1 (Spencer,

evils come through idleness, and he therefore exhorts monks ‘. . . not to

In structuring their horarium the Cistercians allowed ample time for

the importance of monastic lectio.34 Smaragdus’ several works demon-

before them, attempted to reestablish an intimate personal contact

He ought to be good. He ought to have those qualities which

The qualities that make a man acceptable as abbot, Smaragdus teaches,

. . . takes its name from ‘a passion’ (fervore). Because used in

In this community of fraternal love, Smaragdus advises the benedic-

With respect to this strictness. It is not that [the abbot] should

In this way Smaragdus seeks to eliminate tyrants in the abbatial chair

Indeed, the abbot is a father and he should nourish in a paternal

While Smaragdus acknowledged the responsibility of the abbot in

the other that of encouragement, according to the need of each.’47 It is

Saint Ambrose University

D OES SMARAGDUS HAVE any relevance today? Does a

1.The list of manuscripts is given in Smaragdi abbatis expositio in Regulam S. Bene-

little. But the heritage of monasticism—of the East as well as of the

3. Jean Leclercq, ‘Diversification et identité dans le monachisme au XIIe siècle’,

turn, had some influence on the Rule of Fontevrault in the fifteenth

must be interpreted first of all by having recourse to philology.Thus, in

8. Smaragdi abbatis expositio (above, note 1) pp. 366-367.

when Benedict recalled the feats of the Fathers, he easily comforted

personal ideas of one particular abbot; what readers heard resounding