Chapter Seventy
CHAPTER SEVENTY
That No One Presume to Strike Another
LET EVERY occasion for presumption be avoided in the monastery. We decree that no one be permitted to excommunicate or to strike one of his brothers, unless the Abbot has given him the authority. But let those who transgress be taken to task in the presence of all, that the others may fear. (Cf. 1 Tim. 5:20).
Children under the age of sixteen should remain under the careful watch and discipline of all; this endeavor too must be done with moderation and understanding. For if anyone should presume, without the Abbot’s instructions, to chastise young adults or to vex the children with a fiery display of temper, that monk should subject to the discipline of the Rule; because it is written: “What thou dost not wish to be done to thee, do thou not to another.” (Tob. 4:16).