Chapter 47
FORTY-SEVENTH CHAPTER
The Signals for the Work of Gocl Announcing the hours for the Work of God during the day and at night shall be the responsibility of the abbot. Let him either do it himself or entrust it to a conscientious brother, so that everything may be performed at the proper time.2
Intoning of the psalms and antiphons shall be done by those appointed for it, but in their order of rank after the abbot. Let no one, however, presume to chant or read (a lesson) except those who can perform this task to the edification of their listeners.
This, however, shall be performed with humility, gravity,3 and reverence by him to whom that chore has been assigned by the abbot.
FORTY-EIGHTH CHAPTER
The daily manual Labor Idleness is an enemy of the soul; and for that reason, the brethren should at stated times occupy themselves with manual labor and at other specified times be engaged in holy reading.
We believe, therefore, that the hours for each can (best) be arranged in the following manner; namely, from Easter until the 14th day of September, after the first period of prayer until the fourth hour, they shall be occupied with what manual labor has to be done. The time from the fourth hour until approximately the sixth hour, they should devote to reading.
But after the sixth hour, upon rising from the table, let them ' The Rule is not dealing in this passage with Sacramental Confession but with an unburdening of one's soul to a spiritual father (cf. chap, xxii, Excursus II).
2 Cf. chapter xxii, comment 3. In the cloister of Pachomius, a trumpet announced the hours (Rule 2 & 3). It was a custom in Cassian's time for the "waker" to rap on cell doors (Institutes iv, 12). In Paul's convent at Bethlehem, the nuns were awakened by the call of "Alleluja." It is possible that hand bells were used at Montecassino, or perhaps chimes of metal or wood that had to be struck with a hammer or mallet. (In one large American abbey, there was a dedicated layBrother, using a hand bell, who had performed this chore with exemplary fidelity for upwards of 40 years. The translator)
3 Cf. chapter xliii, comment 1.
rest on their beds in complete silence; or should one prefer to read, let him so read as not to distrub the others. Then (the little hour of) Nones should be chanted in good time about the middle of the eighth hour. After that let them work at what has to be done until Vespers.
If, however, the exigencies of the locality or their poverty require that they gather in the crops themselves, let them not be disappointed; for then they are truly monks when they must live by the labor of their hands, as did our fathers and the Apostles.
But let everything be done in moderation on account of the faint-hearted.1
From the 14th of September until the beginning of Lent, let the brethren devote themselves to reading until the second hour.
At the close of that let the little hour of Tierce be said, and then until the office of Nones let everyone occupy himself at the task assigned him. Thereupon, at the first signal for the office of Nones, let each one leave off his work and be ready when the second signal is sounded. After the meal (following this office) let them devote themselves to reading or to the study of the psalms.* During the period of Lent, however, the brethren shall devote themselves to their reading until the end of the third hour and (after that) until the end of the tenth hour at the various tasks assigned them.
For the holy season of Lent, also, each one should receive a book from the library,1 which he should read through from be ginning to end. These books are to be given out at the beginning of Lent. First of all. of course, one or two elders should be ap pointed to make the rounds of the cloister at the hour when the brethren are engaged with reading, to see whether there is not 1 Long before St. Benedict's time, St. Pachomius had issued admonitions to his
"seconds" on this very thing (Rule 179).
* (Here again the word "study" must not be taken too literally. As the author has intimated previously, in St. Benedict's cloister there were many rude and some illiterate souls, from whom the most that could be expected in the way of mental activity was a bit of memory work on the psalms.)
1 It is possible, though it is by no means an established fact, that St. Benedict had in mind here the Holy Scriptures and their individual books (or scrolls), which were distributed to the monks in Lent. St. Pakome's cloister already had its library,
21K liere or there an apathetic brother,1 who is more interested in idling away his time and gossiping than in reading and is not only of no benefit to himself but is also a disturbance to others.
Should such a one be found—which heaven forbid—let him be reprimanded once and a second time. Should he not amend his ways, let him undergo the chastisement of the Rule, and in such wise that the others may be afraid. Nor let one brother associate with another at unseasonable hours.
Likewise on Sundays, let all the brethren occupy themselves with reading with the exception of those who have been assigned to the different tasks.2 But should one be so listless or negligent that he will not or cannot read or practice (e.g., the psalms), let him be given some work to look after, so that he may not be idle.
With regard to the sick brethren and those in delicate health, let such occupations be assigned them or such manual tasks be laid out for them that they may not be idle and, on the other hand, which was in charge of a different monk each week. The scrolls that had been read were placed at a specified place in the evening, probably in a window embra sure, where the "second" of the house counted them and lock them up. All the volumes that had been loaned out had to be turned in at the end of the week, so that the succeeding librarian could assume charge of the bookshelves. As we have said, Pachomius as matter of principal tolerated no illiterates in his cloister (Rules
25, 100 & 139). The monasteries of St. Augustine were surely well supplied with books: "Those who have charge of the kitchen, the wardrobe, and the library should serve the brethren without murmuring. The books should be called for at a set hour. And he who calls for a book out of time should not receive any (Rule
9; Life xxxi f & lxiv). In the monasteries of St. Fulgentius (f 532), animated as they were by the spirit of Augustine, the copying of books was an industry (Life of Fulgentius xiv). St. Caesarius' "Rule for Nuns" makes mention of a librarian
(chap, xxxii). Doubtless, in St. Benedict's cloister there was no real library as we know it, except a bookcase or two.—There were also hermits who had books in their cells. Abbot Theodore had a number of books which were later stolen from his cell by thieves. Another Abbot Theodore had "three beautiful volumes," but which, for the love of proverty, he sold on the advice of Abbot Macarius. The proceeds of the sale he then distributed to the poor. Among the twelve disciples of Abbot Silvanus, there was the calligrapher Marcus, who, at the call of his master, stopped his work in the middle of an Omega. The desert father Ammon kept himself busy with the writings of Origen, Didymus, and others, so that he succeed ed in reading 400 books, not to mention the fact that (like so many other monks of Christian antiquity) he knew the whole of the Scriptures by heart (Palladius, vitae Pat rum xi ).
1 Actually meaning "bored with life." For a better understanding of this taedium vitae, see the Excursus at the end of chapter iv.
2 According to St. Jerome, the monks (of Palestine) spent their Sundays only in prayer and holy reading (Letter xxii, 35).
that they may not feel weighed down with work or even be given occasion to leave the monastery. Their weakness is to be taken into consideration by the abbot.
Excursus.
Manual Labor.—Manual labor as a part of religious life is as old as monasticism. Work ministered to the support of both hermitage and cloister. There were, of course, monks who lived exclusively by begging, from alms, and from the hospitality of strangers. Eschewing manual labor as matter of principle, they harbored an erratic belief that it rendered unceasing prayer impossible
(cf. 1 Thess. v, 17). An exquisite story had come down to us in the Verba Seniorum: "A certain hermit once came to the monastery of Abbot Silvanus on Mount Sinai. Seeing the brethren at their labors, he said to the abbot:
'Labor you not for perishable food, since Mary has chosen the good part' (cf.
Luke x, 38 ff)! Whereupon the abbot said to his disciple Zacharias: 'Give this brother a book and take him to a cell that has nothing at all in it.' At the ninth hour of the day, the hermit glanced anxiously towards the door, wondering whether anyone would come to summon him to dinner. The hermit at last rose, went to the abbot, and said to him: 'Have the brethren dined yet to day?' The abbot answered him, 'Yes!' Thereupon the other, 'And why did you not call me?' Then the abbot: 'Because you are a man filled with the spirit, who has no need of food. But we are (men) of flesh and blood, and we want to eat. That is why we labor. But you have chosen the good part, in that you have been reading all day long and have had no need of bodily nourishment.'
The hermit then threw himself penitently at the feet of the abbot and said:
'Forgive me, Abba!' The abbot replied: 'Mary had by all means need of Martha; for with the help of Martha, Mary was glorified.' "
Origen had already applied the lesson contained in the story of Mary and Martha to the contemplative and to the active life, which, he said, could not be parted, but had to be intimately dovetailed into each other. About the year
400, St. Augustine wrote a booklet entitled, "Of the Manual Labor of Monks,'* in answer to those monks who had in their defense appealed to the passage in Matt ., vi, 26 ff: "Consider the birds of the air . . . Consider the lilies of the field! They labor not nor do they spin . . ." Augustine pointed emphatically to the obligation of manual labor. "So far as I am concerned, I (Bishop Augustine) would rather perform manual labor at fixed hours, as is the custom in well regulated cloisters, and have the other hours free for study, prayer, or explaining the Holy Scriptures than have to suffer under the moil and toil of strange court cases, during which I have to render decisions con cerning mere worldly squabbles."
"Drones and hypocrites in monkish clothing" were some of the epithets Augustine applied to those monks who thought that they did not need, on principle, to follow the primitive monastic and Apostolic custom of manual labor. He also thought that such monks should really not eat. Again and again in his writings, he noted how frequently the question as to the compatibility
of manual labor with a life of ceaseless prayer and self-oblation to God, came up for discussion among monks. He counseled his monks to imitate the "brethren in Egypt," who offered up to God short aspirations, or the so-called ejaculatory prayers, while they worked. He spurred them on to sing pious hymns during their labors together and so sweeten their work with heavenly harmony. "What should prevent the servant of God, while he labors, from meditating on the law of the Lord and praising in song the Name of the Allhighest?" The divine praises of the lips must necessarily at times be silenced, but not those of the heart. "Do you sing praises to God, so sing them with all your being. Let one's voice sing his praises; let one's life sing his praises; let one's deeds sing his praises" (On psalm cxlviii, 2)! "You praise him when you perform your daily manual tasks; you praise him when you take your daily food and drink; you praise him when you recline on your bed; and you praise him when you sleep. When do you not praise him" (On psalm cxlvi, 2)? So manual labor does not interfere with ceaseless prayer.
The manual labor of monks as such, moreover, never had a selfish motive.
Every preference for a specific kind of occupation and every species of greed was emphatically tabooed. No type of manual labor or handicraft is incom patible with a monk's calling, with the exception of occupations or diversions specifically unbecoming to his state, such as those of the trucker, the hunter, the thespian, or occupations accompanied with a great deal of clamor. More over, the raw materials for such and many other lines of work are usually hard to come by and their products difficult to market. Nor should the manual labor of monks foster the fashions and luxuries of the day. St. Basil especially recommended weaving and working in leather, construction and iron-work, and under certain conditions agriculture, as well as such crafts as did not disturb the peace and quiet of the monastic enclosure, or interfere with com munal life, recollection, and attendance at the hours of prayer (Longer Rules
38 & 40). The Egyptian monks preferred the weaving of mats, ropes, and bas kets, because these occupations called for the active participation of the body only (that is, of the hands) and not the attention of the spirit, and did not hind er the occupation of the mind in constant prayer. In general, it may be said that all excessive devotion to manual labor was frowned upon. Long before,
St. Pachomius, who had so expertly organized the manual labor of his monks, ordained that every excess in the matter of labor should be ruled out (cf. Rule
179). Through manual labor the hermits provided the means of livelihood for themselves as well as alms for the poor.
Manual labor was also a prophylactic against boredom, or the taedium vi tae (acedia). "The holy Abbot Antony was sitting one day in his desert soli tude when he was overcome by extreme boredom and desolation of spirit. So he prayed to God: 'Lord, 1 want to be saved, but my thoughts stand in the way. What shall I do in my need? How shall 1 be saved? Presently he arose and went out. There he saw someone—it was himself—sitting and working, then getting up from his work to pray, then sitting down again and weaving his rope, then once more rising up to pray. It was an angel of the Lord, who had