day of October till the beginning of Lent they shall give themselves to reading till the end of the second hour. When the second hour is over, terce shall be said, after which they shall all busy themselves with the prescribed labor till nones. At the first stroke of nones, every one shall quit his work, and be ready for the second stroke. After the meal they shall devote themselves to reading or to the Psalms. During Lent they shall read from early morning until the end of the third hour, and shall then busy themselves with the prescribed labor till the end of the tenth hour. In this season of Lent every one shall receive a book from the library, which he shall read through consecutively; these books are to be given out at the beginning of Lent. Above all, let care be taken to delegate one or two of the elders, who shall go through the monastery at the hours which the brethren give to reading, in order to see if there be not found some listless brother who is idle, or engaged in trifling conversation, instead of being intent upon reading, in this way not only injuring himself but interrupting others. If such a one is caught - which God forbid !- he shall be admonished once and twice. If he does not amend, he shall be subjected to regular punishment in such a way as to intimidate the rest. One brother shall not join another at unreasonable hours. On Sunday the brethren shall all engage in reading, with the exception of those who are employed in various duties. If any one should prove so negligent that he either will not or can not read or meditate, some task shall be set him which he can perform, that he be not idle. To sick or delicate brethren there shall be assigned such an occupation or handicraft as shall keep them out of idleness, but shall not weigh them down with excess of labor, lest they run away.

5. ARTIFICERS IN A MONASTERY

Chap. 57

If there are artificers in a monastery, they are to ply their arts with all humility and reverence, if so the abbot allow. But if any of them grows vain on account of his knowledge of the art, as if he were conferring a benefit upon the monastery, he shall be removed from the practice of his art, and shall not again resume it unless he humble himself, and again receive a command to that effect from the abbot. If anything made by the artisans is to be sold, let them look well to it that those through whose hands the articles pass commit no fraud upon the monastery. Let them be mindful of Ananias and Sapphira,2 lest the death which these suffered in their bodies, they, and all who practise deception with reference to the goods of the monastery, should experience in their souls. Let not the evil of avarice creep into the price for which articles are sold, but on the contrary let the price be always a little lower than that charged by secular persons, that in all things God may be glorified.

6. RANK IN THE COMMUNITY

Chap. 63

The brethren shall observe their degrees in the monastery, according as the date of their conversion or the merits of their life shall determine, or as the abbot shall

1 This was the spirit which, as Ruskin says (Seven Lamps of Architecture: Lamp of Power, end), 'once lighted with white lines of cloisters the glades of the Alpine pine, and raised into ordered spires the wild rocks of the Norman sea; which gave to the temple gate the depth and darkness of Elijah's Horeb cave; and lifted, out of the populous city, gray cliffs of lonely stone, into the midst of sailing birds and silent air.'

2 Cf. Acts 5. 1 ff.

decree. However, the abbot is not to sow trouble in the flock committed to him, nor make unjust arrangements, as if his power might be arbitrarily exercised. Let him rather reflect continually on the account that he shall render to God for all his judgments and all his deeds. According to the order which he has determined, or which the brethren have observed, they shall go to the pax and to the communion, begin the Psalms, and take their places in the choir. No account shall anywhere be made of age in a decision as to rank, since Samuel1 and Daniel, while still boys, judged their elders. Except those, then, whom, as we have said, the abbot shall have advanced or degraded for good and sufficient reasons, the brethren shall be arranged according to the time of their conversion. For example, he who arrived at the monastery at the second hour of the day, whatever his age or dignity, must know that his place is below him who came at the first hour. . . . The younger are to honor their elders, and the elder to love the younger. When they speak to one another, no one shall call another merely by his name, but the elder shall give the younger the name of brothers, and the younger shall give the elder that of nonni, which denotes the respect due to a father. The abbot, being regarded as standing in the place of Jesus Christ, shall be called Master and Abbot, not because he makes such a claim, but through honor and love for Christ. Let him reflect on this, and show himself worthy of such honor. Wherever the brethren meet, the younger shall ask a blessing of the elder. When an elder passes, the younger shall rise and give him a seat, nor shall he presume to sit down unless his elder bid him, so that it may be fulfilled as it is written, ' In honor 1 Cf. 1 Sam. 3. 15 ff.

2 Cf. Dan. 4. 27.

preferring one another.'1 Boys, whether younger or older, shall keep their due places without confusion in the oratory and at table. But with these exceptions, wherever they are, they shall be under the charge and oversight of the brethren until they attain the age of discretion. ALBERT S. Cook

1 Rom. 12. 10.

INDEX