Chapter 38
ond Life #67). This incident in his life is particularly instructive for the manner and method in which Pachomius went about visiting his cloisters, for the freedom with which one could approach him, and for the occasionally in considerate zeal of the strong.
THIRTY-EIGHTH CHAPTER
Of the weekly Reader There should not fail to be reading at the meals of the brethren.1 Nor should anyone who, on the off-chance, happens to pick up the book be allowed to read there; but let the one who begins to read on the Lord's day continue for the entire week. After the concluding prayers and Communion, let the one who is to begin that task beg all the brethren to pray for him that God may keep far from him the spirit of pride. And every one in the oratory shall repeat after him this verse, which he chants three times: "O Lord, open my Ups, and my mouth shall declare thy praise" (Ps. 1, 17). He shall then receive the bless ing and enter upon his service as reader.
And let the deepest silence prevail, so that one may hear there neither a whisper nor a voice from anyone save from the reader alone.2 Let the brethren hand to one another what each one requires in the way of food or drink, so that no one need ask for anything. If, nevertheless, something be needed, let it be asked for by a sign rather than by a word.
Likewise, let no one there presume to ask questions about the 1 According to Abbot Cassian, the custom of reading at meals originated not with the Egyptian monks but with the monks of Cappadocia (Institutes iv, 17).
Very likely it was St. Basil who introduced it (Shorter Rules #182). St. Pacho mius was not as yet acquainted with it. At his table (in Hippo), St. Augustine loved to converse companionably with his clergy. The talk was usually about tile happenings of the day, about their pastoral occupations, or turned on theolog ical and religious questions. He watched carefully that no uncharitable remarks were made at the table about absent confreres. As a constant warning, he had the following verse engraved on the dinner platters: "Should one abuse a brother this hour absent, know he that here he hath no place at table" (Possidius, Life of Augustine xxii). But for his monks St. Augustine laid down the following pre scription: "While at table they should observe silence and listen to the reading"
(Rule #7). "When you come to meals, give your attention to the customary read ing without any din or argument; for you ought not only to take nourishment into your mouths, but your ears also should be hungry for the word of God" (Rule#4).
2 Silence at meals was a very ancient monastic practice (cf. Cassian, loc. cit; Rule of Pachomius #33; and Rufinus, Historia Monachomm iii).