Chapter Thirty-Three
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Whether Monks Ought to Have Anything of Their Own
THE following vice must be torn out of the monastery by its very roots: that no one may presume to give or receive anything without the command of the Abbot. Neither should anyone regard anything whatever as his own—neither a book, nor a writing tablet, nor a pen, nor anything else whatsoever, since monks are permitted to hold neither their bodies nor their wills by their own power. Instead, everything that is necessary, they must hope to receive from the Father of the monastery; nor should they be allowed to have anything which the Abbot did not give or permit him to have. Let all things be common to all, as it is written; and let no one claim or presume to take anything as his own. (Cf. Acts 4:32). Now then, if anyone should be found to indulge this most detestable vice, he is to be warned once and then a second time. If he does not amend his ways, let him be subjected to punishment.