Regula Monachorum

The Rule of the Monks of Saint Isidore, Bishop of Seville. Preface. There are many precepts or institutions of the elders which are found scattered in the writings of the holy Fathers, and which some have also handed down to posterity composed more broadly or obscurely. Following their example, we have dared to select these few for you, using a common or rustic style of speech, so that you may most easily understand and, by the order of your profession, retain your vow. Moreover, if any one of you strives to seek the whole and universal discipline of the elders, let him proceed, as much as he pleases, and walk that steep and narrow path with a swift step. But whoever is unable to fulfill such great commands of the predecessors, let him set his steps within the limit of this discipline, and not plan to deviate beyond it, lest, while seeking lower things by deviating, he lose both the life and the name of a monk. Therefore, just as those precepts of the elders make a perfect and supreme monk, so do these make even the least. Let the perfect observe those; let those converted after sin follow these.

Chapter One. Concerning the Monastery. First of all, most beloved brothers, your monastery shall have the careful enclosure of a chamber, so that the fortifications of the cloisters may provide security; for our enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, prowls with open mouth, seeking each one of us whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). Moreover, the fortification of the monastery shall have only one outer door, and one postern gate, through which one goes out to the garden. The village, indeed, ought to be situated far from the monastery, lest, placed too near, it either bring danger of ruin or taint the reputation of dignity. The cells for the brothers shall be established next to the church, so that they may hasten as quickly as possible to the office. The place for the sick, however, shall be removed from the basilica or the cells of the brothers, so that they may not be disturbed by any unrest or clamor. The cellarium of the monks ought to be next to the refectory, so that, being situated close by, it may provide service to the tables without delay. The little garden, indeed, shall be enclosed within the monastery, so that, while the monks work inside, they may not wander outside on any occasion.

Chapter Two. On Choosing an Abbot. Meanwhile, an abbot is to be chosen who is hardened in the institution of holy life and tested by the proofs of patience and humility, who also, enduring a laborious life through exercise, and passing beyond the age of adolescence, has touched old age in his youth; to whom even the elders do not disdain to be obedient, obeying him as much for his age as for his proven probity. For he will show himself to be imitated in all examples of works; nor will it be permitted for him to command anything which he himself has not done. Moreover, he will rouse each one with mutual exhortations, addressing all, encouraging, or edifying in them whatever he perceives will benefit their life according to the rank of each. Also, preserving justice towards all, burning with the rancor of hatred against none, embracing all from the heart, despising no convert, ready even to sympathize with the weakness of some through mercy, following the Apostle who says: “We have become little ones in your midst, as if a nurse cherishes her chicks” (1 Thess. 2).

Chapter Three. On Monks. Monks, moreover, must strive with the utmost zeal that, holding to the apostolic life, just as they are known to be established as one, so they may have one heart, claiming nothing for themselves as their own, having not even the slightest love of private property, but, according to the apostolic example, holding all things in common (Acts 4), they shall advance by faithfully persevering in the precepts of Christ. They shall preserve due honor for the father, obedience toward their elders, incitements to virtue toward their equals, and the teaching of good example toward their juniors. Let no one judge himself better than the rest, but, deeming himself inferior to all, let him shine forth in humility as much as he outshines others in the height of virtues. Let him also refrain from rage, and let the monk spare his tongue from detraction. Let him not walk indecently or in a noteworthy manner; let him abhor the contagion of avarice as a deadly plague; let him turn his tongue away from base or idle words, and unceasingly exhibit a pure heart and lips. Let him also wipe away base affections of the mind from the intention of his thought, and exercise himself in the arena of holy meditation through compunction of heart.

He must flee the sluggishness of sleep and idleness, and devote himself without ceasing to vigils and prayers; he must suppress the desire of the gullet, and afflict himself through the study of subduing lusts with the virtues of abstinence, taming the flesh by fasts as far as bodily health allows; he must by no means waste away with the envy of jealousy over the progress of brothers, but, calm and peaceful through the love of fraternal affection, rejoice in the merits of all; rejecting the disturbance of anger, and patiently enduring everything; he must be affected by no sadness, no temporal grief, but, relying on inner joy against all adversities, finally he must cast far from himself the praise of vainglory, and strive to please God alone with a humble heart within, so that while he shines with these virtues, he may deservedly retain the name of his profession. Chapter Four. On Converts. He who, renouncing the world, comes to a monastery, should not immediately be chosen into the company of monks. For it is necessary to consider each one's life in the service of hospitality for three months; when these are completed, he will approach the company of the holy congregation; nor is it fitting to receive anyone within unless, first placed outside, his humility or patience is tested. Those who, having left the world, are converted to the militia of Christ with pious and salutary humility, should first either distribute all their goods to the poor or confer them upon the monastery.

Then indeed do the servants of Christ offer a free mind to divine service, when they cut off all the bonds of worldly hope from themselves. Those who are not converted with rigorous intention are quickly subjected either to the disease of pride or to the vice of lust. Therefore, those who renounce the world must by no means begin with lukewarmness, lest through that very lukewarmness they fall back into love of the world. No convert is to be received into the monastery unless he has first pledged in writing that he will remain. For just as those who are promoted to worldly military service do not pass into the legion unless they are first enrolled in the records, so also those who are to be enrolled in the spiritual camp for heavenly service cannot pass into the number and fellowship of the servants of Christ unless they are first bound by a profession of word or writing. He who enters the monastery first will be first in all rank and order; nor is it to be asked whether he is rich or poor, slave or free, young or old, rustic or learned; for among monks neither age nor condition is sought, because between the soul of a slave and that of a free man there is no difference before God. However, he who is bound by the yoke of another's servitude is by no means to be received unless his master has released his bonds; for it is written: "Who has let the wild ass go free? and who has loosed his bonds?" (Job 39). For the wild ass let go free is the monk serving without the lordship and hindrance of the world, and removed from the crowds.

Then indeed does each person serve God in free servitude, when he is weighed down by no burden of carnal condition. For where the sweet yoke and light burden of Christ already exist, it is harsh and heavy to bear the servitude of the world. Those who, having something in the world, are converted, should not be puffed up if they have contributed any of their resources to the monastery; but rather they should fear that they might be lifted up through pride and perish. It would be better for them to enjoy their riches with humility in the world than, having become poor, to be puffed up with the arrogance of pride from the distribution of them. Those who are converted to the monastery from poverty are not to be despised by those who have left behind the riches of the world, because before God all who are converted to Christ are considered of one rank; for it makes no difference whether someone has come to the service of God from a needy or servile condition, or from a noble and wealthy life. For many, striving from a plebeian estate with outstanding proofs of virtues, have been made more eminent than nobles, and have surpassed them by the excellence of their virtues; and those who were lowly in condition have, by the merit of virtue, become the first in wisdom.

For this reason God chose the weak things of the world, in order to confound the strong; and the ignoble things of the world, and those which are not, in order to empty out those which are, so that no one may boast before him (1 Cor 1:27). Those who come to the monastery from poverty should not be puffed up with pride, because they see themselves there as equals to those who seemed to be something in the world; for it is not fitting that where the rich, having laid aside their worldly eminence, descend to humility, the poor should become proud through elation of mind; rather, they ought, having laid aside arrogance, to think humbly, and always remain mindful of their own poverty and need. CHAPTER V. On the Work of Monks A monk should always work with his own hands, so that he may devote his effort to whatever various crafts and labors of artisans, following the Apostle who says: "We have not eaten bread for free, but have labored and toiled night and day"; and again: "He who does not wish to labor, let him not eat" (2 Thess 3). For through idleness, lusts and the nourishment of harmful thoughts grow; through the exercise of labor, however, vices likewise slip away.

A monk must by no means disdain to be engaged in some work necessary for the uses of the monastery. For the patriarchs tended flocks, and gentile philosophers were cobblers and tailors, and the just Joseph, to whom the Virgin Mary was betrothed, was a blacksmith. Indeed, even Peter, the prince of the apostles, carried out the office of a fisherman, and all the apostles performed manual labor, by which they sustained the life of the body. If, therefore, men of such great authority served in labors and works, even rustic ones, how much more so monks, whom it behooves not only to provide the necessities of their own life by their own hands, but also to relieve the need of others by their labors! Those who are strong in bodily strength and sound in health, if they are idle in work, are known to sin doubly, because they not only do not labor, but also corrupt others and invite them to their own imitation. For each one converts for this reason, that, serving God, he may have care for labor, not that, given over to idleness, he may be fed by sloth and laziness.

If they wish to devote themselves to reading, so that they do not work, they are themselves rebellious against that reading, because they do not do what they read there; for there it is written: Let those who work eat their own bread; and again: For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not restless among you, nor did we eat bread from anyone for free, but working day and night in labor and fatigue, so that we might not burden any of you (2 Thess. 3). Those who cannot work due to bodily infirmity are to be treated more humanely and gently. But those who are healthy and deceive are without doubt to be grieved and lamented, because they are sick not in body, but, what is worse, in mind; and even if they cannot be convicted by human eyes, they cannot, however, be hidden from God. Therefore, such men are either to be endured, if the sickness is hidden; or to be disciplined, if their health is evident. Working monks ought to meditate or to chant psalms, so that by the delight of song and of the word of God they may console the labor itself. For if secular craftsmen, amid their very labors, do not cease to sing base love songs, and thus engage their mouths in songs and tales so that they do not withdraw their hands from work, how much more ought servants of Christ, who must work with their hands in such a way that they always have the praise of God on their lips, and serve Him with their tongues through psalms and hymns! For one must labor with the body while the mind is fixed in intention upon God; and thus the hand is to be engaged in work so that the mind is not turned away from God.

At their own times, however, the monk ought to work, and at their own times to devote himself to prayer and reading. For the monk ought to have hours assigned to each of these duties. The seasons of the year are likewise assigned to their respective works in this manner. In summer, it is fitting to labor from morning until the third hour; from the third to the sixth hour to be free for reading; then until the ninth hour to rest; after the ninth hour, until the evening time, to work again. At another time, that is, in autumn and winter, or in spring, from morning until the third hour one should read; after the celebration of Terce until the ninth hour one should labor; after the meal of the ninth hour, however, one ought either to work, or to read, or to meditate on something with the sound of the voice. Whatever the monks work with their hands, they should bring to the prior; the prior, however, to the abbot of the monks; no work should remain with a brother, lest the care of his concern turn the mind away from the intention of contemplation. The brothers should cultivate garden vegetables or the preparation of foods with their own hands; the construction of buildings or the cultivation of fields, however, shall pertain to the work of servants. No monk should be bound by love of private work, but all, laboring in common, ought to obey the fathers without murmuring. For if they murmur, they shall perish, just as those who murmured in the desert perished.

For if it was by no means permitted to those still small in the law and untaught, how much more will it not spare those who have received the law of perfection, if they do such things. CHAPTER VI. On the Office. In the chanting of the offices, however, there shall be this discretion: for at the lawful times, when the signal is given for the canonical hours, all shall hasten with speed to the choir, and no one shall be allowed to leave before the office is completed, except him whom natural necessity compels. For those who hesitate, after the completion of each of the psalms, all shall prostrate themselves equally on the ground in adoration, and quickly rising, shall begin the following psalms, and do likewise through each of the offices. When the spiritual sacraments of the psalms are being celebrated, the monk shall avoid laughter or idle talk; but he shall meditate in his heart on what he chants with his mouth. At Terce, Sext, or None, three psalms are to be said, one responsory, two lessons from the Old and New Testaments, then lauds, a hymn, and a prayer. In the evening offices, first the lucernarium, then two psalms, one responsory, and lauds, a hymn, and a prayer are to be said.

After Vespers, however, with the brothers assembled, it is fitting either to meditate on something or to dispute about some questions of divine reading, conferring piously and wholesomely, and to linger in meditating and disputing only so long as Compline can be reached in time. Before sleep, however, as is the custom, after Compline has been performed, with mutual farewells exchanged among the brothers, one must rest with all caution and silence, until one rises for Vigils. In the daily offices of Vigils, first the three canonical psalms are to be recited, then three masses of psalms, a fourth of canticles, a fifth of the morning offices. On Sundays, however, or on the feast days of martyrs, by reason of the solemnity, single masses are to be added. Indeed, in Vigils the practice of reciting will be maintained; in Matins, the custom of chanting and singing, so that in both ways the minds of the servants of God may be exercised by the delight of variety, and be more eagerly aroused to the praise of God without disgust.

After the vigils, however, until matins, there shall be rest, or something shall be read through. After matins, however, either something shall be worked at, or reading shall be done; readings, moreover, from the New or Old Testament shall be recited at the time of the office on ordinary days; on the Sabbath day, however, and on the Lord’s day, only from the New Testament shall they be pronounced. A monk, moreover, who is in good bodily health, if he is absent from the vigils or the daily offices, shall lose communion, if his health permits. CHAPTER VII. Concerning the Collation. For hearing the collation, the brothers shall assemble three times a week after the celebration of Terce, at the given signal, to the gathering; they shall hear the senior teaching, instructing all with salutary precepts; they shall hear the father with utmost zeal and silence, showing the intention of their minds by sighs and groans. The collation itself shall be either for correcting vices and instructing morals, or for the remaining matters pertaining to the utility of the monastery. 2. But if such things are lacking, nevertheless for the sake of the custom of discipline the collation shall by no means be omitted, but on the appointed days, with all gathered together equally, the regular precepts of the Fathers shall be reviewed, so that those who have not yet learned may perceive what to follow; those who have indeed learned, reminded by frequent memory, may diligently observe what they know. All, moreover, sitting in the collation shall be silent, unless perhaps the authority of the father commands someone to speak.

CHAPTER VIII. On the Books. The keeper of the sacristy shall have charge of all the books, from whom individual brothers shall receive them, and after they have been prudently read or used, they shall always return them after vespers. At the first hour, books shall be requested each day; whoever asks too late shall by no means receive one. Concerning those questions which are read and perhaps not understood, each brother shall ask the abbot either at collation or after vespers, and, with the passage recited on the spot, shall receive an explanation from him, so that, while it is explained to one, the others may hear. A monk shall beware of reading books of the gentiles or volumes of heretics; for it is better to be ignorant of their pernicious teachings than to fall into some snare of error through experience. CHAPTER IX. On Meals. At the time when the debt of refreshment is paid, the cloisters of the monastery shall be barred, and no outsider shall presume to be present, lest his presence disturb the brothers' peace. At the time of refreshment, when the signal has been given, all shall come together equally. Whoever comes to table later shall either do penance or return fasting to his work or bed. Moreover, no one shall go to eat before the usual sound of the signal has rung to summon all.

There will be one refectory in common; at each table ten diners shall sit; the remaining crowd of the little ones shall stand. At the time of the brothers’ dining, all disciplines shall keep silence, obeying the Apostle, who says: “With silence working, they shall eat their own bread” (2 Thess. 3). One, however, sitting in the midst, having received a blessing, shall read something from the Scriptures; the rest, while eating, shall be silent, listening most attentively to the reading, so that just as bodily food provides refreshment for the flesh, so spiritual discourse may refresh their mind. No clamor shall be raised at the tables; only the provost shall have concern for those things necessary for the diners. The abbot, short of the necessity of illness, shall take his meals together with the brothers in their sight; nor shall he demand anything else than the others, nor anything prepared for himself more quickly than what is set in common; and this shall be so that, while he is present, all things are administered more diligently; and while they are common, they are taken up wholesomely and with charity. Indeed, the measure of all courses shall be equal, and all brothers are to be refreshed with similar foods.

Whatever the present meal provides, all shall receive without murmuring; nor shall they desire what the pleasure of eating craves, but what the necessity of nature seeks, for it is written: "Do not make the care of the flesh into desires" (Rom. 13). Throughout the entire week, the brothers shall use humble dishes of vegetables and pale legumes. On holy days, however, they shall have, along with vegetables, the lightest of meat foods. The body is not to be refreshed to the point of satiety, lest the spirit perish; for from fullness of the belly, the lust of the flesh is quickly aroused. Whoever restrains the appetite for gluttony undoubtedly curbs the movements of wantonness. The body is to be refreshed with such discretion that it is neither weakened by excessive abstinence nor moved to lust by superfluous gluttony. Therefore, moderation is to be employed in both respects, namely, so that the vices of the flesh do not prevail and that strength suffices for the service of good works. Whoever, while sitting at table, wishes to abstain from meat or wine is not to be prohibited; for abstinence is not forbidden, but rather praised, provided that the creature of God, granted for human use, is not rejected out of contempt.

Let no one defile himself with secret eating, nor indulge in shameless or private appetite apart from the common table; for he who tastes anything either secretly or outside the regular meal shall be subject to the sentence of excommunication. No one shall dare to eat before the time of refection, except one who is sick; for whoever anticipates the time for eating shall be subject to the subsequent penalties of abstinence. If someone is thirsty or suffering from any deficiency before the time for eating, provision should be made for him, with the abbot or prior ordering it, yet not openly, lest it compel others to thirst or hunger. Only the hebdomadary shall taste the food, nor shall anyone else dare to do so, lest under the pretext of tasting he satisfy his gluttony or gullet. Lay ministers shall by no means be present at the monks’ table, for there can be no common place at table for those whose purpose is different. When the monks have risen from table, all shall hasten to prayer. Whatever remains from the table shall be carefully kept and distributed to the needy.

In the monks' meal, from the days of Pentecost until the beginning of autumn, the whole summer shall invite midday meals; the remaining time shall suspend midday meals, and only supper shall be served. In both seasons, the table's refreshment shall consist of three dishes, namely of vegetables and legumes, and, if there is a third, that is, of fruits. The brothers' thirst is also to be refreshed with three cups. In the observance of Lent, however, as is customary after the fast has been broken, all shall be content with bread alone and water, and they shall abstain from wine and oil. CHAPTER X. On Feast Days. These are the feast days of the monks, on which fasts cease: first, the venerable Lord's Day, dedicated to the name of Christ. This day, just as it is solemn because of the mystery of His resurrection, so also among all His servants it shall retain the celebration of a banquet with joyful festivity. Likewise, from the first day of Easter until Pentecost, that is, for fifty consecutive days, the fast has been dissolved by the holy Fathers, on account of the resurrection of Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit, so that these days, not in the figure of labor, which the time of Lent signifies, but in the quiet of joy, with fasts relaxed, may be celebrated.

It also pleased the Fathers that from the day of the Lord's Nativity until the day of the Circumcision a solemn season be made, and that license to eat be had; likewise the days of the Epiphany have obtained the indulgence of refreshment by the old rule, since also when any of the brethren is converted, or brothers from other monasteries come for the sake of visiting, the fasts are interrupted for the sake of fulfilling charity. Beyond these times, let them freely and willingly serve the practice of fasts. But if any of the monks should choose to fast at the aforesaid times, they are by no means to be forbidden; for many of the ancient Fathers are read to have abstained in the desert on these days, and never to have broken their fasts, except only on the Lord's days because of the resurrection of Christ. CHAPTER XI. On Fasting. The ancients chose these days most especially for fasts. First, the daily fast of Lent, in which a greater observance of abstinence will remain in monks, when they abstain not only from meals but also from wine and oil. The second, the interdiurnal fast after Pentecost, begun on another day and extended until the autumnal equinox, is celebrated with a fast on three days in each week because of the summer heat of the sun.

The daily fast follows the feast, from the eighth day before the Kalends of October until the Lord's Nativity, during which the daily fasts are by no means relaxed. The fourth daily fast begins after the day of the Circumcision and continues until the solemnities of Easter. But those who are worn out by the decay of the body or held back by the frailty of tender age are not to be exercised with daily fasts, lest either the aging age fail before it dies, or the growing one fall before it advances, and perish before it learns to do good. CHAPTER XII. On the habit of monks. A monk must put aside conspicuous attire or adornment of garments. A monk ought to be equipped, not dainty; just as there ought not to be a notable habit in a monk, so neither one that is too abject; for costly clothing draws the mind to lasciviousness, while excessively mean clothing either produces grief of heart or contracts the disease of vainglory. Garments are not to be distributed equally to all, but with discretion, as the age and rank of each demands; for we read that the apostles did thus, as it is written: They had all things in common, and it was distributed to each as he had need (Acts 4).

The need or want of each brother is to be examined, so that those who have may be content, and those who do not have may receive; for it shall not be given to one who has, so that there may be something to distribute to those in need. Moreover, it is not fitting for a monk to be clothed in linen; it is not lawful to use a stole, hooded cloaks, or chasubles, nor garments or footwear which other monasteries generally abuse. But the servants of Christ will be content with three tunics, two cloaks, and one cowl each, to which shall be added a sheepskin melotes, a napkin, also sleeves, footwraps, and boots. They will be content with these only, presuming nothing else besides. Footwraps, however, are to be used in the monastery as long as the violence of winter compels it, or while the brothers are traveling on a journey or setting out for the city. Monks in the monastery are always to be covered with cloaks, so that they may walk covered for the sake of decency and run about unencumbered for the sake of the work of their ministry. But if by chance someone does not have a cloak, let him place a napkin over his shoulders. No monk is to care for his appearance, by which he might incur the charge of wantonness and petulance; for he is not chaste in mind whose bodily grooming or immodest gait is evident.

No monk should grow his hair; for whoever does this, even if they themselves do not do it to deceive people through a semblance of pretense, nevertheless scandalize others, placing a stumbling block before the weak, and leading the holy profession as far as blasphemy. Therefore, he ought to be shorn when and as all are, indeed at the same time and equally with all. For it is reprehensible to have a different appearance where there is not a different profession. CHAPTER XIII. On Bedding. The abbot ought to dwell together with the brothers in the community, so that common life and the witness of a good life may also provide reverence for discipline. It is fitting that all the brothers, if possible, dwell in one room. But if this is difficult, then at least ten, over whom one is to be set as a dean, as a ruler and guardian. A monk is not permitted to have fine or variegated furniture; his bedding shall be a rush mat and a coverlet, two woolen skins, also a cloak and a face-cloth, and a twin small pillow for the head.

Each month the abbot or prior should inspect the beds of all the brothers, to see whether they lack anything or have anything superfluous. At night, when they go to sleep or after they have settled, no one should speak to another. It is not permitted for two to lie in one bed. In the darkness of night, no one should speak to a brother he meets. Moreover, throughout the night, a lamp should illuminate the place where the brothers sleep, so that, with the darkness dispelled, the testimony of their solitary rest may be evident. A monk should not occupy himself with any base thoughts while lying down, but only with the contemplation of God; reclining, he should have both bodily rest and quiet of heart, and should drive away evil thoughts from himself, and, embracing good ones, reject shameful ones; for the mind’s movements are stirred by its own images, and whatever the thought of the waking person was, such an image also appears during sleep. Whoever is defiled by a nocturnal illusion should not delay in revealing this to the father of the monastery, and should attribute this to the merit of his own fault, and do secret penance, knowing that unless a luxury of the mind thinking shameful things had preceded in him, the sordid and impure pollutions would not follow; for whomsoever an illicit thought anticipates, impure temptation quickly defiles him.

Whoever has been deceived by a nocturnal phantasm shall stand in the sacristy during the time of the office, and shall not dare to enter the church on that same day until he has washed with water and with tears. For in the Law, whoever was polluted by a nocturnal dream was ordered to go out from the camp, and not to return until he had bathed at evening (Deut. 23). And if they did thus among the carnal people, what ought a spiritual servant of Christ to do, who must regard his own contamination with greater awe and, placed far from the altar, tremble in mind and body, and in the figure of water apply the tears of penance, so that he may strive to be washed not only by waters but also by weeping, because perhaps an unclean pollution has defiled him through a hidden fault? Whoever burns with the temptations of fornication should pray incessantly and abstain, and should not blush to confess the heat of lust by which he is consumed, because a vice that is brought to light is quickly cured, whereas one that is hidden, the more it is concealed, the more deeply it creeps in; indeed, he who neglects to make it known has little desire to be healed.

CHAPTER XIV Concerning Those Who Transgress If anyone, wavering, errs in some light offense, he is to be admonished once and again; if, after the second admonition, he has by no means been corrected, let him be restrained by a fitting penalty. Moreover, let no one conceal an offender; for it is a crime of consent to hide anyone who is offending after a second admonition. CHAPTER XV Concerning One Who Offends Repeatedly 1. If anyone sees someone offending repeatedly, let him first reveal this to one or two brothers, by whose testimony the offender may be convicted. If the one who has offended denies it, an offense committed openly is to be rebuked openly, so that while the manifest offender is corrected, those who have imitated him in evil may also be set right. For just as many often perish because of the offense of one, so many are often saved by the correction of one. CHAPTER XVI Concerning Forgiveness of Fault, or the Correction of the Guilty But whoever has sinned against a brother, if he immediately, repenting, has been inclined to ask for pardon, let him receive forgiveness from the one to whom he is known to have done injury. But whoever does not ask, or does not ask sincerely, when brought before the community, let him be subject to a discipline fitting the extent of the injury. Those who hurl insults at one another, if they quickly forgive each other in turn, are not to be judged by another, because they have hastened to grant pardon to each other equally, provided, however, that they do not presume to exceed against each other more frequently.

He who voluntarily confesses a fault he has committed ought to obtain the pardon he seeks. Therefore, let prayer be offered for him, and, if the fault is light, let the requested indulgence be granted to him immediately. He who, having been frequently excommunicated for a grave vice, has neglected to be corrected, shall remain subject to condemnation for as long as it takes for his ingrained vices to be laid aside, so that he whom a single infliction of punishment did not restrain may be deemed worthy of correction by repeated severity. Although someone may be immersed in a whirlpool of frequent and graver vices, he is nevertheless not to be cast out of the monastery, but restrained according to the nature of the offense, lest perhaps he who could have been corrected by prolonged penance, when cast out, be devoured by the mouth of the devil. CHAPTER XVII Concerning Offenses. Offenses, moreover, are either grave or light.

He is guilty of a lighter fault who has delighted in being idle; who has come late to the office, or to the collation, or to the table; who has laughed in the choir during the hours, or has occupied himself with idle tales; who, having left the office or work, has gone outside beyond the necessity of the cell; who has loved sluggishness or sleep; who has sworn too often; who has become talkative; who has undertaken a ministry of any work enjoined upon him without a blessing, or, upon completing the work, has not asked for a blessing; who has completed the enjoined work negligently or too slowly; who has accidentally broken something; who has caused damage to a small thing; who has used a codex carelessly; who has withdrawn somewhere for a moment; who has secretly received letters or any gift from anyone; or, receiving a letter, has written back without the abbot's consent; or has seen any relative or secular person, or spoken with them, without the command of a senior; who has been disobedient to a senior; who has answered a senior contumaciously; who has not restrained his tongue towards a senior; who has been lascivious in speech; who has walked dishonestly; who has joked; who has laughed excessively; who has spoken, prayed, or eaten with an excommunicated person; who has not revealed a nocturnal illusion to the Father. These things, therefore, and things similar to these, are to be corrected by a three-day excommunication.

He is liable to a graver fault if anyone is given to drunkenness; if he is quarrelsome; if he uses foul speech; if he is too familiar with women; if he sows discord; if he is wrathful; if he is stiff-necked and haughty; if he is puffed up in mind, or immoderate in a boastful gait; if he is a detractor; if he is a whisperer, or envious; if he is a superior, yet attached to private property; if he is entangled in the contagion of money; if he possesses anything superfluous beyond the regular dispensation; if he is a defrauder of property received or entrusted to him, or of that which was less entrusted. Among these, if he has carried off things brought with him, or has murmured against them out of disobedience; if he has spoken falsely; if he has loved contentions or quarrels; if he has offered open insult to a brother; if he has stained an innocent person with a false accusation; if he has with a contumacious spirit despised a senior; if he has held rancor against a brother; if he has not granted pardon to one who sinned against him and afterwards begged forgiveness; if he has played, laughed, or kissed with little children; if he has lain with another in one bed; if he has caused damage of a greater thing; if he has stolen; if he has committed perjury; if he has taken anything privately or secretly outside the common meal; if he has gone anywhere, without the counsel of the prior or abbot, and tarried for midday or longer; if, in order to be idle, he has feigned a false infirmity.

These and similar offenses are to be purged by prolonged excommunication and corrected by whippings, according to the judgment of the Father, so that those who are found to have sinned more gravely are restrained by harsher severity, with due consideration, however, of the persons, whether they be humble or proud. CHAPTER XVIII. Concerning excommunication The satisfaction of delinquents is this: during the office, with the brethren assembled, when the time of penance is completed, the one who is excommunicated is called; he immediately removes his belt, and lies prostrate on the ground outside the choir, performing penance, until the celebration is finished; and when he is ordered by the abbot to rise from the ground, and entering the choir, after a prayer has been said for him by the abbot, and all have responded "Amen," he rises, and asks pardon from all for his negligence, about to obtain indulgence after the censure of this corrective satisfaction. Those who are of a younger age, however, are not to be coerced by the sentence of excommunication, but are to be afflicted with appropriate blows according to the quality of their negligence, so that those whom the weakness of age does not recall from fault may be restrained by the discipline of the whip. Moreover, those excommunicated are forbidden to proceed from those places where they were placed before the time of penance is completed. No one is permitted to enter to the excommunicated person without the command of a superior. No one at all is permitted to eat with the excommunicated person, not even those who provide him with food for sustenance.

If the excommunication is for two days, no food is to be given to the excommunicated; certainly, if the suspension from communion is imposed for several days, only bread and water shall be provided for the evening meal. For the excommunicated, except in the harshness of winter, the bed shall be the ground, the bedding either a rush mat or a straw mat; the covering, a rough-spun garment or certainly a haircloth; the footwear, either esparto sandals or any kind of sole. The Father of the monastery or the prior shall have the power to excommunicate; the remaining offenses of the monks shall be brought to the abbot or prior in the assembly, so that he who is known to have transgressed may be restrained with appropriate severity. CHAPTER XIX. On the Common Life. Monks living in common shall not dare to make anything their own, nor presume to possess in their cells anything pertaining to food, clothing, or any other thing whatsoever, without the regular dispensation of the abbot. On Pentecost, however, which is the day of remission, all brothers shall bind themselves under their divine profession to have nothing of their own in their conscience. If any gift is sent to any monk by parents or outsiders, it shall be brought into the common property of the brothers, so that it may be given to whomever has need. For whatever a monk acquires, he acquires not for himself, but for the monastery.

No one is to seek out a separate cell for himself in which to live, removed from the community, except for one who, perhaps weakened by illness or age, has merited this by the counsel of the Father of the monastery. The rest, however, who are afflicted by neither infirmity nor old age, shall retain the common life and conversation in holy fellowship. No one is to seek out a separate cell, removed from the community, in which, under the pretext of seclusion, either idle leisure or hidden vice is served, and especially vainglory or the fame of worldly reputation. For many wish to be hidden in seclusion precisely so that they may become known; so that those who were of low account or unknown when placed outside may be known and honored when enclosed. For in truth, whoever withdraws from the crowds for the sake of a quiet life, the more he is separated from the public, the less he is hidden. Therefore, such persons ought to remain in holy fellowship and pass their life under witness, so that if there are any vices in them, they may be cured while not concealed; if there are any virtues, they may serve as an example for others to imitate, while others, confessing the examples of their humility, are instructed.

No one is to presume, without the knowledge of the abbot, to bestow upon the poor or upon anyone whatsoever anything from that which the monk is known to possess by regular dispensation; nor shall it be permitted to anyone to exchange anything with another brother, unless the abbot or the prior has ordered it; nor shall anyone have anything beyond those things which are granted by the common law of the monastery from the monastery's property. It shall not be permitted for an abbot or a monk of the monastery to set a slave free: for he who himself has nothing of his own ought not to grant freedom to another's property. For just as the laws of the world have decreed that possession cannot be alienated except by its own master, so also everything that enters the monastery in coin is to be received under the witness of the seniors. That same money is to be divided into three parts; of which one shall be for the sick and the elderly, and for purchasing something more refined for the sustenance of the brothers on holy days; another for the poor; the third for the clothing of the brothers and the boys, or for purchasing whatever is needed for the monastery's necessity. The keeper of the sacristy shall receive these three parts, and, at the command of the abbot, under the witness of the prior or the seniors, he shall expend from each part for its necessary causes.

CHAPTER XX. What Pertains to Whom. To the provost, however, pertains the care of the monks, the handling of cases, the oversight of possessions, the sowing of fields, the planting and cultivation of vineyards, the tending of flocks, the construction of buildings, and the work of carpenters or smiths. To the sacristan pertains the care and custody of the temple, also the giving of the signal for the evening and night offices, or the sewing of vestments, and the sacred vessels, also the codices and all instruments, the oil for the uses of the sanctuary, wax and lights. This one shall receive from the monastery's vestiary needles, and also various threads for sewing the brothers' garments, and shall minister to all as necessary. To him also shall pertain gold and silver, and the other broken metals of bronze and iron, and the ordering of linen-workers, fullers, shoemakers, and tailors. To the porter shall pertain the care of guests, the announcement of arrivals, and the custody of the outer enclosures. To him who is placed over the cellar shall pertain the care of those things which are in the storehouse: he provides to the weekly servers whatever is necessary for the sustenance of the monks, guests, and the sick; in his presence are dispensed those things which are to be brought to the table; he also shall preserve whatever remains for the uses of the poor; to him also the weekly server, upon completing his week, shall present the vessels entrusted to him, for inspection, indeed, if they have been kept too carelessly, and they shall be handed over to the succeeding weekly server in his presence.

To this one also pertain the granaries, the flocks of sheep and pigs, wool and flax, care of the threshing-floor, the provisioning of grain to the bakers, to the beasts of burden, to the oxen and to the birds, also the management of footwear, the care of shepherds, and of fishermen. To the weekly officer pertains the care of the dishes, the administration of the tables, the giving of the signal for the daily offices, whether for collation or for the collect after sunset. To the gardener also will pertain the fortification and guarding of the gardens, the beehives, the care of various seeds, and the announcement of what and when it is fitting to sow or plant in the gardens. But the baker's art will pertain to the lay brothers; for they shall clean the wheat, they shall grind it according to custom; the monks shall prepare the dough only, and they shall make the bread for themselves with their own hands. Moreover, for guests or the sick, the lay brothers shall make the loaves. The custody of tools and implements shall pertain to one whom the Father of the monks has chosen, who shall distribute them to those working and shall guard them when received. And although all these things remain specially distributed to individuals, nevertheless all things ordered by the Father will pertain to the care of the provost. But for guarding the cell in the city, one senior and most serious monk is to be appointed with two young monks, and there, if he lacks anything, it is fitting for him to remain perpetually.

Further, the care of the little ones to be nurtured will pertain to the man whom the Father has chosen, a holy and wise man, and grave in years, who instructs the little ones not only in the study of letters, but also in the teachings and discipline of the virtues. The care of pilgrims, or the almsgiving for the poor, will pertain to him to whom the power of administration has been entrusted. He shall give what he has and share, as much as he is able, not out of sadness or necessity: for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9). CHAPTER XXI. On the Sick. The care of the sick is to be entrusted to a man of sound and holy conversation, who can bear solicitude for them, and with great diligence promptly provide whatever their weakness demands. He himself shall serve the sick in such a way that he does not presume to eat from their provisions. More delicate foods are to be provided for the sick, until they reach health. After they have recovered their health, they shall return to their former custom.

The sick, because they are treated more delicately, should by no means cause scandal to the stronger; for those who are healthy ought to tolerate the infirm; but those who are infirm should not doubt that the healthy and those who labor are to be preferred to themselves. No one should either conceal a true bodily infirmity or pretend a false one. But those who are able should give thanks to God and work; those who are not able should make known their weaknesses and be treated more gently. Under the pretext of infirmity, nothing private is to be kept, lest the lust of covetousness lurk under the guise of sickness. Baths are not to be sought by any monk for the sake of washing the body, except only for the necessity of illness and nocturnal pollution. Nor is it to be delayed for the sake of a cure, if it is expedient; nor is murmuring to be allowed, because it is done not for the appetite of pleasure, but only as a remedy for health. CHAPTER XXII. Concerning guests. For arriving guests, a prompt and cheerful reception is to be offered, knowing that on this account a reward will be obtained in the end. For as the Lord says: "He who receives you, receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me; he who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive the reward of a prophet; and he who receives a just man in the name of a just man will receive the reward of a just man; and he who gives a drink to one of the least of these, even a cup of cold water only, in my name, I say to you, will not lose his reward (Matt. 10).

And although the good of hospitality ought to be offered with grace to all, yet greater honor of hospitality is to be shown to monks. Dwellings are to be provided for them, their feet are to be washed, so that the Lord's command may be fulfilled; and with suitable provisions, the grace of kindness is to be shown to them as well. CHAPTER XXIII. On Departure. No monk, without consulting the abbot, shall dare to go anywhere, nor presume to do anything without his command or that of the prior. If ever the abbot or prior sets out somewhere, he who is the second prior in order shall bear the care of the brothers. No one shall presume to see a relative or stranger, a guest or monk, a familiar or parent, without the permission of a senior, nor without the abbot's order shall anyone presume to receive or give a letter to anyone. When brothers set out abroad or return, with all gathered in the church, they shall receive a blessing. In the same way, the weekly server or any dispensers of things; but when they are sent out for some necessity of the monastery, two spiritual and most trustworthy brothers shall be chosen. Adolescents or recent converts, however, are to be removed from such a ministry, lest either weak age be polluted by desire of the flesh, or an untried conversion return to the desire of the world.

A monk, when he is sent to visit some monastery, as long as he is with those to whom he is sent, must live there as he sees the rest of the holy community live, on account of scandal, namely, and the disturbance of the weak. CHAPTER XXIV. Concerning the Dead. For brothers passing from this light, before they are buried, a sacrifice is to be offered to the Lord for the remission of their sins. The bodies of the brothers are to be buried in one place, so that those whom the unity of charity held while living, one place may embrace when dying. For the spirits of the dead, on the day after Pentecost, a sacrifice is to be offered to the Lord, so that, made participants in the blessed life, they may receive their bodies more purified on the day of resurrection. These things, therefore, O servants of God and soldiers of Christ, despisers of the world, we wish you to observe in such a way that you rather keep the greater precepts. Receive, then, among those, also this admonition of ours, guarding with humble heart what we say, willingly taking what we dispense; so that there may be glory for you from the fruit of the work, and for us, pardon may come as requested for the admonition itself. May almighty God keep you in all good things, and, as he began, so may he confirm his grace in you. Amen.