Benedict of Nursia, The Benedictine Rule (6 th Century CE) Author: Benedict of Nursia (c. 480-547) Text: The Benedictine Rule Genre: Monastic Rule Date: c. 529-547 Place: Monte Cassino, Italy Therefore we are constrained to found a school for the service of the Lord. In its organization we hope we shall ordain nothing severe, nothing burdensome; but if there should result anything a little irk- some by the demands of justice for the correction of vices and the persevering of charity, do not therefore, through fear, avoid the way of salvation, which cannot be entered upon save through a narrow entrance, but in which, as life progresses and the heart becomes filled with faith, one walks in the unspeakable sweetness of love; but never departing from His control, and persevering in His doctrine in the monastery until death, let us with patience share in the sufferings of Christ, that we may be worthy to be partakers in His kingdom. 1. Concerning the Kinds of Monks. There are four classes of monks: The first is of the Cenobites, that is, the monk of the monastery serving under rule and under an abbot. The second class is of anchorites, that is, those hermits who, not by the fresh zeal of conversion but by the long discipline of the monastery, have learned to strive against the devil, and now taught by the example of many and well-prepared, have withdrawn from the brotherly band to take up the single battle of the hermit, and secure in themselves without the aid of another, are able with the aid of God to carry on the warfare against the vices of the flesh and their own vain thoughts by their single hand and arm. But the third and the most abominable class of monks is that of the Sarabaites, who not being tested by any monastic rule or taught by experience, neither being tried as gold in the furnace, but softened after the manner of lead, keep faith with the world by their works, but lie to God in wearing a tonsure: who are shut up by twos and threes or even singly in their own folds, and not in the folds of the Lord, without a shepherd: the satisfaction of their desires is their law, since what they themselves think or desire they call holy, and what they do not like they call unlawful. And the fourth class of monks is of those called wandering, who pass their lives in being entertained three or four days at a time throughout the various provinces in different monasteries, always on the road, never settled, seeking their own wills and the delights of gluttony, and in every way worse even than the Sarabaites; of whose manner of life it is better to be silent than to speak. Therefore passing over these things, let us now proceed, with the help of God, to a consideration of the best class, that of the Cenobites. 2. What the abbot should be like. The abbot who is worthy to rule a monastery ought to remember by what name they are called, and to justify by their deeds the name of a superior. For he is believed to take the place of Christ
in the monastery, since he is called by his name, as the apostle says: "Ye have received the spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we call, Abba, Father." And so the abbot ought not (God forbid) to teach or decree or order anything apart from the precept of the Lord ; but his rules and his teaching ought always to be leavened with the leaven of divine justice in the minds of his disciples ; and let the abbot be always mindful that in the great judgment of God, both his teaching and the obedience of his disciples will be weighed in the balance. And let the abbot know that whatever the master finds lacking in the sheep will be charged to the fault of the shepherd. Only in case the pastor has shown the greatest diligence in his management of an unruly and disobedient flock, and has given his whole care to the correction of their evil doings, will that pastor be cleared at the judgment of God and be able to say with the prophet, "I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart, I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation, but they despising have scorned me ;" then let the punishment of eternal death itself fall upon the disobedient sheep of his care. Therefore when anyone takes on himself the name of abbot, he should govern his disciples by a twofold teaching, that is, let him show forth all the good and holy things by his deeds rather than by his words; to ready disciples he ought to set forth the commands of God in words, but to the hard of heart, and to the simple-minded he ought to illustrate the divine precepts in his deeds. And all things which he has taught his disciples to be wrong, let him demonstrate in his action that they should not be done, lest sometime God should say to him, a sinner: "Why dost thou declare my statutes or take my testimony in thy mouth? Thou hast hated instruction and cast My word behind thee;" and again: "Thou who hast seen the mote in thy brother's eyes, hast not seen the beam in thine own eye." Let him not be a respecter of persons in the monastery. Let not one be loved more than another, unless he shall have found someone to be better than another in good deeds and in obedience; let not a freeman be preferred to one coming from servitude, unless there be some good and reasonable cause; but if according to the dictates of justice it shall have seemed best to the abbot, let him do this with any- one of any rank whatsoever ; otherwise let each keep his own place, since, whether bond or fre, we are all one in Christ, and under one God we bear the same burden of service, for there is no respect of persons with God ; only in this regard are we distinguished with him if we are found better and more humble than others in our good deeds. Therefore let his love for all be the same, and let one discipline be put upon all according to merit. Above all, let him not neglect or belittle the saving of the souls committed to him and give more heed to transitory and earthly and mortal affairs, but let him ever recall that he has undertaken to care for souls, for whom he must render account. And, that he may not dispute about things of minor importance, let him remember what is written: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you ;" and again, "They that fear Him, shall lack nothing." And let him know that since he has undertaken to rule over souls, he must prepare himself to give account, let him know also that, whatever number of brothers he may have under his care, he must account to God in the day of judgment for the souls of every one of them, his own included. And so always having before him the fear of the future questioning of the shepherd concerning the sheep entrusted to him, let him at the same time keep free from the affairs of others and keep careful account of his own ; and when by admonitions he administers correction to others, let him correct himself of his sins.
3. About calling the brothers to council. Whenever anything especial is to be done in the monastery, the abbot shall convoke the whole body and himself set forth the matter at issue. And after listening to the advice of the brothers, he shall consider it by himself, and shall do what he shall have judged most useful. Now we say all should be called to the council, because the Lord often reveals to the younger brother what is best to be done. But let the brothers give advice with all subjection of humility and not presume to defend boldly what seemed good to them, but rather rely on the judgment of the abbot, and all obey him in what he has judged to be for their welfare. But just as it is fitting that the disciples obey the master, so is it incumbent on him to dispose everything wisely and justly. Therefore, let all follow the rule of the master in all things, and let no one depart from it rashly ; let no one in the monastery follow the desire of his own heart. And let no one strive with his abbot shamelessly either within or without the monastery: and if he shall have presumed to do so, let him be subjected to the regular discipline. And let the abbot himself do all things in the fear of God and in the observance of the rule, knowing that he must without doubt render account unto God, the most just judge, for all his judgments. If there are any matters of minor importance to be done for the welfare of the monastery, let the abbot take the advice only of the elders, as it is written: "Do all things with counsel, and after it is done thou wilt not repent." 4. What are the instruments of good works. In the first place, to love the Lord God with the whole heart, whole soul, whole strength, then his neighbor as himself. Then not to kill, not to commit adultery, not to steal, not to covet, not to bear false witness, to honor all men, and what anyone would not have done to him, let him not do to another. To deny himself, that he may follow Christ, to chasten the body, to renounce luxuries, to love fasting. To relieve the poor, to clothe the naked, to visit the sick, to bury the dead, to help in tribulation, to console the afflicted. To make himself a stranger to the affairs of the world, to prefer nothing before the love of Christ; not to give way to anger, not to bear any grudge, not to harbour deceit in the heart, not to forsake charity, Not to swear, lest haply he perjure himself, to utter truth from his heart and his mouth. Not to return evil for evil, not to do injuries, but rather to bear them patiently, to love his enemies, not to curse again those who curse him, but rather to bless them, to endure persecution for righteousness' sake. Not to be proud, not given to wine, not gluttonous, not addicted to sleep, not slothful, not given to murmur, not a slanderer. To commit his hope to God ; when he sees anything good in himself to attribute it to God, and not to himself, but let him always know that which is evil in his own doing, and impute it to himself. To fear the day of judgment, to dread hell, to desire eternal life with all spiritual longing, to have the expectation of death every day before his eyes. To watch over his actions at all times, to know certainly that in all places the eye of God is upon him ; those evil thoughts which come into his heart to dash to pieces on Christ,
and to make them known to his spiritual senior. To keep his lips from evil and wicked discourse, not to be fond of much talking, not to speak vain words or such as provoke laughter, not to love much or violent laughter. To give willing attention to the sacred readings, to pray frequently every day, to confess his past sins to God, in prayer, with tears and groans; from thenceforward to reform as to those sins. Not to fulfill the desires of the flesh, to hate his own will, in all things to obey the commands of the abbot, even though he himself (which God forbid) should do otherwise, remembering our Lord's commands: "What they say, do ; but what they do, do ye not." Not to desire to be called a saint before he is one, but first to be one that he may be truly called one ; every day to fulfill the commands of God in his deeds, to love chastity, to hate no one, not to have jealousy nor envy, not to love contention, to avoid self-conceit ; to reverence seniors, to love juniors, to pray for enemies in the love of Christ, to be reconciled with his adversary, before the going down of the sun, and never to despair of the mercy of God. Behold, these are the tools of the spiritual craft: when these things shall have been done by us night and day without ceasing, and shall have been reckoned up on the day of judgment, that reward will be given to us by the Lord which He Himself has promised: "What the eye has not seen, nor the ear heard, and what has not entered into the heart of man, whatsoever things God has prepared for those who love Him." And where we perform all these services diligently, there are the cloisters of the monastery and there is stability in the congregation. 7. Concerning humility. The Scripture calls to us, brethren, saying: "Everyone that exalteth himself, shall be humbled, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." In this saying, he shows us that all exaltation is a kind of pride; the prophet shows that he avoids this, saying: "Oh Lord, my heart was not exalted, nor my eyes lifted up : nor have I walked in the way of the great and marvelous above me. But what then, if I did not feel humbly, but exalted my soul? As a child weaned of its mother, so wilt thou repay it upon my soul." Wherefore, brethren, if we wish to attain to the height of the greatest humility, and to that divine exaltation which is attained by the humility of this present life, we must mount by our own acts that ladder which appeared in a dream to Jacob, upon which angels appeared unto him ascending and descending. For that ascent and descent can only be understood by us to be this : to ascend by humility, to descend through pride. For that ladder erected on high is our life in this world, which is erected to heaven by the Lord for the humble of heart; the aides of this ladder are our body and soul; upon which the divine calling has fixed various steps of humility and discipline by which to ascend. Now the first grade of humility is this: keeping the fear of God before his eyes, let him avoid forgetfulness and ever remember all the precepts of the Lord; and continually consider in his heart that eternal life which is prepared for those who fear God, just as the mockers of God fall into hell. And keeping himself every hour from sins and vices ; namely, of his thoughts, his tongue, his eyes, his hands and his feet, let him be zealous to cut off his own will and the desires of the flesh, and let him recall that man is ever watched from heaven by God, and his deeds are seen in the sight of God everywhere, and are announced every hour by the angels, as the prophet tells us
when he shows that God is ever present in our thoughts, saying "God looking upon the heart and the reins;" and again : "the Lord knows the thought of men." And again he says : "Thou hast understood my thoughts from afar ;" and "For the thought of man will be acknowledged unto thee." And that he may be ever anxious about his perverse thoughts, let the wise brother ever say in his heart : "Then shall I be clean in His sight, if I shall keep myself from mine iniquity." We forbid him to do his own will, since the Scripture says to us : "Turn also from thine own desires," and so let us ask God in prayer, that His will be done in us. So we are rightly taught not to do our own will, that we may avoid what the holy Scripture says: "These are the ways which are considered right by men, the end of which reach down even to the depth of hell ;" and that we may also beware of that which is written of the negligent : "They are corrupted and become abominable through their own desires." But let us believe that God is ever present in the desires of the flesh, as the prophet says to the Lord : "All my desire is before thee." And so we should beware of evil desire, for death is placed at the entering in of lust, of which the Scripture teaches, saying : "Go not thou after thine own lusts." Therefore, if "the eyes of God look upon the good and the wicked," and the Lord ever gazes from heaven upon the sons of men to see if anyone is wise and seeking after God, and if our works are announced day and night o God our Maker by the angels assigned to us : we should beware everywhere, brethren, lest the Lord at some time look down upon us as we are departing into evil and are become useless, and lest, sparing us at that time, because He is kind and desires us to turn to well-doing. He be forced to say in the end: "Thou hast done this, and I kept silence." This is the second grade of humility, if one loves not his own way, nor delights in obeying his own desires, but comes out in his life that word of God, in which He says : "I came not to do My own will, but His who sent me." And again the Scripture says : "Lust hath its punishment, and necessity prepares a crown." This is the third grade of humility, that one in the love of God subject himself to every obedience to his superior, following the example of the Lord, of whom the apostle says : "Becoming obedient to the father, even unto death." The fourth grade of humility is this : if in that obedience one endures silently hard and unjust things and every infliction whatsoever, and becomes not weary in suffering nor falls from the way, as the Scripture says: "He who shall have persevered to the end, shall be saved ;" and again, "Strengthen thou thy heart and endure the Lord." And to show that the faithful ought to endure all hurtful things for the Lord, He says in the person of one who suffers : "For Thy sake we are killed all the day long, we are counted as sheep for the slaughter," and yet secure in the hope of divine reward, they persevere with rejoicing, saying: "But in all things we conquer through Him who loves us" ; and again the Scripture says in another place : "Oh God, Thou hast proved us, Thou hast tried us with fire, as silver is tried with fire: Thou hast led us into the net, Thou hast placed tribulations upon our back ;" and to show that we should be under the control of a prior, he continues saying: "Thou hast placed men above our heads." And again those obey the command of the Lord in adversity and injury with patience, who being smitten on the cheek, give the other cheek also, who to him who takes their coat give up their cloak also, who being
compelled to go a mile, go two, who with the apostle Paul suffer for their false brethren and endure persecution and bless them that curse. The fifth grade of humility is this, if one reveals to the abbot in humble confession all the vain imaginings that come into his heart, and all the evil he has done in secret, as the Scripture exhorts us to this saying : "Reveal to the Lord thy way and trust in him ;" and again it says: "Confess thou to the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endureth forever :" and likewise the prophet says : "I acknowledged my sin unto Thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid ; I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord ; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin." This is the sixth grade of humility, if a monk be contented with all lowliness and extremity and consider himself as a poor workman unworthy of all things which are commanded to him, saying with the prophet : "I was reduced to nothing and was ignorant ; I was as a beast before Thee, and I am always with Thee." This is the seventh grade of humility, if he. not only declare himself with his tongue to be more worthless and vile than all things, but also believe it in the most intimate feeling of his heart, humbling himself and saying with the prophet: "But I am a worm and no man; a reproach of men and despised of the people: But I was humbled and confounded, "and again : "It is good for me that Thou hast humbled me, that I might learn Thy statutes." This is the eighth grade of humility ; if a monk do nothing except what the common rule of the monastery or the examples of his superior urges him to do. The ninth grade of humility is this : if a monk keep his tongue from speaking and keeping silence speaks only in answer to questions, since the Scripture says that "sin is not escaped my much speaking, and "a talkative man is not established in the earth." The tenth grade of humility is this, that he be not easily moved nor prompt to laughter, since it is written: "The fool raiseth his voice in laughter." The eleventh grade of humility is this : if, when the monk speaks, he says few words and those to the point, slowly and without laughter, humbly and gravely ; and be not loud of voice, as it is written : "A wise man is known by his few words." The twelfth grade of humility is this : that a monk conduct himself with humility not only in his heart but also in his bearing, in the sight of all ; that is, in the service of God, in the oratory-, in the monastery, in the garden, on the road, in the field ; and everywhere, sitting or walking or standing, let him always have his head bowed, and his eyes fixed on the ground. Always mindful of his sins, let him think of himself as being already tried in the great judgment, saying in his heart what that publican, spoken of in the gospel, said with his eyes fixed on the earth : "Lord, I a sinner am not worthy to lift mine eyes to the heavens;" and again with the prophet: "I am bowed down and humbled wheresoever I go." Therefore when the monk has climbed up by all these steps of humility he will arrive at that love of God, which, when made perfect, casts out all fear, by means of which he will observe without labor and as if by force of habit those things which formerly he could not keep without fear; not
now in the fear of hell, but in the love of Christ and in that good habit and delight in well-doing. These things the Lord will deign to show to His servant who is cleansed from his sins and vices by the Holy Spirit.