RB 1980- The Rule Of St Benedict

by Saint Benedict

  60.3 (English / Latin) “Friend. . .” (Amice. . .): In Matt 26:50 Jesus says this to Judas. St. Benedict uses the phrase, which had perhaps become a monastic cliché, without regard to its original context. However, it clearly suggests that a priest who does not wish to observe the full discipline of the Rule has, like Judas, come for the wrong reason.

  60.4 (English / Latin) “to celebrate Mass” (missas tenere): It is not certain that this phrase refers to the celebration of the Eucharist. See Appendix 3, pp. 411–412. The corresponding passage of RM (83.5) refers only to prayers and blessings. Tenere, however, is one of the regular words used with missa in the sense of Mass. It seems preferable, therefore, to keep that meaning.

  60.5 (English / Latin) “not make any exceptions” (ullatenus aliqua praesumat): See note on 26.1.

  60.8 (English / Latin) “Any clerics” (Clericorum. . .quis): The order of clerics as distinguished from the ordo sacerdotum included at this period: doorkeepers (porters), lectors, exorcists, acolytes and subdeacons.

  61.1 (English / Latin) “A visiting monk” (quis monachus peregrinus): See note on RB 53.2. The context here seems to favor the meaning “foreign” or “visiting” for peregrinus. It would hardly be proper to try to persuade (v.9) a genuine pilgrim to abandon his goal or to waylay him on his return journey. The early monastic literature (e.g., Pallad, hist.laus.) bears constant witness to the practice of visiting other monasteries or holy monks to learn more about the spiritual life. For some it became a way of life inimical to spiritual progress (cf. RB 1.10-11).

  61.12 (English / Latin) “orders” (gradibus): These are the ordo sacerdotum and the ordo clericorum. See notes to 60.1 and 60.8.

  61.13 (English / Latin) “another known monastery” (alio noto monasterio): This rule, which fosters peace between monasteries, seems to apply only to “known” monasteries. Synods of the fourth century required clerics to carry letters of recommendation from their bishop if they resided outside their diocese. The rule began to apply to monks in the second half of the fifth century (see de Vogüé 6.1381–82).

  62.1 (English / Latin) “Any abbot” (quis abbas): This is one of the indications that the Rule was written with more than one monastery in view. Cf. RB 18.22; 73.1.

  “priest or deacon” (presbyterum vel diaconem): In RB the word presbyter (elder) designates the priest as distinguished from the bishop and deacon. The term sacerdos, as is clear from the title of this chapter, includes all three. See notes on RB 60.1 and 61.12. This is the only reference in RB to the deacon; no indication is given of his function in the monastery.

  “to exercise the priesthood” (sacerdotio fungi): The phrase occurs in Sir 45:19 (Vulgate) in reference to Aaron. An example of those not worthy to exercise the priesthood may be found in 1 Sam 3:10-14.

  62.4 (English / Latin) “more and more progress” (magis ac magis. . .proficiat): Cf. the similar phrase in RB 2.25, ut in melius proficiant. The notion of spiritual progress is basic to the monastic life and is evident in many places in RB. It is implicit in the idea of a school for the Lord’s service (Prol.45), in the processu. . .conversationis et fidei of Prol.49 and above all in the climbing image of RB 7, where spiritual progress is equated with progress in humility. The first great Christian exponent of progress in the spiritual life was Origen, whose influence on all later writers is immeasurable. See Introduction, pp. 34–41.

  62.7 (English / Latin) “for deans and priors” (decanis vel praepositis): This seems to refer to 21.5-7 and possibly to ch. 65. The plural, praepositis, apparently refers to the succession of priors. Cf. note on 35.8 for a similar plural.

  62.9 (English / Latin) “as a witness” (in testimonio): In RM 83.18, where there is a question of asking priests to depart if they refuse to work, the abbot is instructed to do this in the presence of a number of “religious,” but no mention is made of the bishop. But in RM 87.36, which deals with the candidate who is making a donation of his property to the monastery, it is urged that the bishop be one of the witnesses. On the relationship of monastic communities and bishops, see K. Seasoltz “Monastic Autonomy and Exemption; Charism and Institution” The Jurist 34 (1974) 316–355.

  63.4 (English / Latin) “for Communion” (ad communionem): See Appendix 3, pp. 410–412.

  63.10 (English / Latin) “The younger monks” (Iuniores): In vv. 10-17, iuniores and minores are used for the younger monks, and priores, maiores and seniores for the older. It is difficult to discern any clear difference in usage or meaning. Cf. de Vogüé, La communauté, p. 503. Iunior and senior refer, etymologically, to age; maior and minor to size; and prior is the comparative of an obsolete preposition, pri, of which primus (first) is the superlative.

  63.12 (English / Latin) “brother” (fratrum): This is the ancient term for Christians (57 times in Acts, 343 in the New Testament) and is used freely in RB as well as the earlier monastic literature as a synonym for “monk.” On the respective usage of frater, discipulus and monachus in RM and RB, see de Vogüé 1.255–256 and Introduction, p. 80. See A Selected Latin Concordance.

  “which is translated” (quod intellegitur): Cf. the similar phrase (quod est interpretatum) in John 1:41. The need to give a translation suggests, of course, that we are dealing with a foreign word that had, however, become part of the common monastic vocabulary. For a discussion of the origin of nonnus and its feminine equivalent, nonna (nun), see Appendix 1, p. 321.

  63.13 (English / Latin) “holds the place of Christ” (vices Christi. . .agere): See note on 2.2.

  63.16 (English / Latin) “an older monk” (maiore): Cf. Lev 19:32, and see above on 63.10.

  “to sit down” (consedere): This word can mean “sit down,” “settle,” or “sit with.” If, when the younger monk offers the older a seat, the older sits down, the younger will not sit with him unless bidden; if the older does not sit down, the younger will not settle (sit) down again unless bidden.

  63.17 (English / Latin) “respect” (Honore): In the translation of honor and honorare, “honor” has been used where the one honored is God, or men in whom Christ is specially present (e.g., the abbot, guests) except in 4.8, where we keep the biblical term (but see note on 53.2).

  63.18 (English / Latin) “youths” (adulescentes): In Roman law one became an adulescens at the age of puberty (fourteen for males), but the term adulescens is probably used more loosely in RB. See following note.

  63.19 (English / Latin) “old enough to be responsible” (ad intellegibilem aetatem): The phrase means literally ‘the age of reason’ or ‘understanding.’ See note on 59.1.

  64.1 (English / Latin) “choosing” (ordinatione): The words ordinatio and ordinare seem to cover the whole action from the choice of an abbot to his installation. On this chapter generally, including the meanings of ordinare, eligere and constituere, see Appendix 2, pp. 370–378.

  “sounder judgment” (saniore consilio): For the meaning of this phrase and this manner of choice, see Appendix 2, pp. 372–374.

  64.5 (English / Latin) “God’s house” (domui Dei): There may be an allusion here to Ps 104 (105):21, where the reference is to Joseph being placed over Pharaoh’s house. See also Luke 12:42.

  64.7 (English / Latin) “Once in office” (Ordinatus): No rite of installation, such as that described at length in RM 93–94, is outlined in RB, but the word ordinatus may be a passing reference to a ritual. See Appendix 2, p. 375.

  64.8 (English / Latin) “profit. . .preeminence” (prodesse. . . praeesse): This jingle is a common-place. Cf. Aug. serm. 340,1; civ. 19,19; c.Faust. 22,56; Greg. past. 2,6; Lib.diurn. 46. It is not easy to reproduce the word-play in English: “profit. . .prominence” or “profit. . .preside over” (McCann) are less neat than the Latin.

  64.9 (English / Latin) “chaste, temperate and merciful” (castum, sobrium, misericordem): Cf. the requirements for bishops in 1 Tim 3:2-4; Titus 1:7-9; 2:2-5.

  64.10 (English / Latin) “win mercy” (idem ipse consequatur): This is probably a reference to Matt 5:7, where the word consequentur
is used in the same context.

  64.12 (English / Latin) “punish” (correptione): In all its other occurrences in RB (28.1; 33.8; 48.20; 64.19), correptio is contrasted with verbal reproof or warning. See note on 21.5.

  “avoid extremes” (ne quid nimis): The phrase is used in RM 27.25 in a different context. It translates mēden agan, a typical maxim of Greek ethics attributed to Chilon, Solon and most other Greek sages. Terence, the Roman playwright, seems to be the first to use the phrase in Latin (Andr. I,i,34).

  64.12-13 (English / Latin) “break. . .frailty” (frangatur. . .fragilitatem): The two Latin words are from the same root, underlining that the abbot shares the frailty of the brothers.

  64.15 (English / Latin) “to be loved rather than feared” (plus amari quam timeri): See K. Gross “Plus amari quam timeri. Eine antike politische Maxime in der Benediktinerregel” Vigiliae Christianae 27 (1973) 218–229.

  64.17 (English / Latin) “concerns. . .the world” (secundum saeculum): O. Chadwick, Western Asceticism (Philadelphia: Westminster Press 1958) pp. 332–333 suggests the translation “. . .examine his commands to see whether they are in accordance with God’s will or arise from worldly motives. . .” on the grounds that saeculum usually has a bad sense in RB, e.g., 1.7; 4.20. Against this, RB 7.8 is probably not pejorative, nor is the adjective saecularis in 57.8, and the order of the Latin is perhaps slightly against taking it as an indirect question.

  64.19 (English / Latin) “discretion” (discretionis): It may be recalled that Gregory the Great described the Rule as discretione praecipuam. See Introduction, p. 77.

  “that. . .to run from” (ut sit. . .refugiant): This is “prices are expensive” Latin. The author seems to have two pairs of ideas in mind: ut sit et fortes quod cupiant et non sit infirmi quod refugiant and ut fortes plus cupiant neve infirmi refugiant. Refugio can be transitive or intransitive, which may have added to the confusion. It is passages like this, not all that rare in the Rule, that make one feel that the author, though certainly capable of powerful writing, is a spiritual, not a literary, giant. See 65.1-3 for an example of sprawling syntax and the Introduction, pp. 96–102 for further discussion of the style of RB.

  65.1 (English / Latin) “prior” (praepositi): The term praepositus means, literally, ‘one who is placed before’ or over a community. It is the term used by Augustine to designate the superior of a community, and from it come the English “provost” and the German “Probst.” In RM the praepositi are deans or other officials. In RB the latter are called decani (ch. 21), and the praepositus is definitely the second in command. This office seems to have been of relatively recent origin in the time of St. Benedict (see Introduction, p. 81). The term “prior” has been used for this official since the tenth century. See de Vogüé, La communauté, pp. 388–404 and Thematic Index: MONASTIC LEADERS.

  “contention” (scandala): See note on 13.12.

  65.3 (English / Latin) “bishop” (sacerdote): De Vogüé, La communauté, p. 413, holds that the practice of having the same bishop and abbots appoint both abbot and prior was not widespread. See note on RB 60.1.

  65.7 (English / Latin) “envy, quarrels. . .” (invidiae, rixae): Cf. similar lists in 2 Cor 12:20 and Gal 5:20-21.

  65.18 (English / Latin) “the holy rule” (sanctae regulae): Although it has been doubted whether St. Benedict, who in 73.8 describes his work as “this little rule. . .for beginners,” would himself have applied the epithet “holy” to it, it may be noted that his contemporary Caesarius does the same in regard to his own rule (Caes.Arel. reg.virg. 43,62 and 64). In the last instance (64), which is perhaps reminiscent of Rev 22:18-19, Caesarius declares that any abbess or prioress who does anything contrary to the holy rule “which I have written with my own hand” will have to face the tribunal of Christ. The phrase “holy rule” occurs also in RB 23.1 in juxtaposition with the commands of the seniors. The description of the rule as “holy” is an important indication that these authors regarded their work not simply as their own original literary productions but as the adaptation of a common monastic tradition. The written rule is holy because it embodies that tradition, especially as that tradition was itself seen as embodying the tradition of the Gospel. This notion of a normative tradition can be traced especially to Cassian, who speaks of a monasteriorum regulam, of the Aegyptiorum regulam (inst. praef.) and of a communis usus (inst. 11,19). In inst. 4,39, Cassian speaks of the observance of a communis regula as his sixth indication of humility. The phrase becomes, by way of RM 10.72, the “common rule of the monastery” (communis monasterii regula) in St. Benedict’s description of the eighth step in humility (RB 7.55). This idea is closely related to the notion of the “holy rule.” See de Vogüé, La communauté, pp. 260–262 and the Introduction, pp. 85–86.

  65.19 (English / Latin) “discipline of the rule” (disciplinae regularis): See Appendix 4, pp. 434–435.

  66.t “The porter” (ostiariis): In spite of the plural in the title, the chapter legislates for only one doorkeeper. The plural refers to the succession of doorkeepers. Cf. 62.7 and 71.3 on praepositi. The English word “porter” has been retained in this translation because of its hallowed usage in monastic circles, even though it commonly has a very different meaning. It derives from the Latin porta, meaning ‘door.’ In its more common meaning the word ‘porter’ is derived from the Latin portare, meaning ‘to carry.’

  66.1 (English / Latin) “roaming about” (vagari): Although the critical texts read vacari (to be free from, to have leisure for, to be unoccupied), the context requires the meaning “to wander” (vagari). De Vogüé 1.396 regards vacari as a variant in spelling. See the long and enjoyable note in McCann, The Rule of Saint Benedict, n. 102.

  In RM 95.1-13, two decrepit brothers (aetate decrepiti) are to have a cell near the gate. They open and close the gate, but also attend choir and reading, do what manual labor they can, feed the dogs and other animals, and keep a lamp lit at the gate.

  66.3 (English / Latin) “Your blessing, please” (Benedic): RM 95.20, in discouraging monks from going outside the enclosure, gives as one reason that people may honor them by asking for their blessing when they are not worthy to give one.

  66.4 (English / Latin) “gentleness” (mansuetudine): The root meaning of the word, which occurs only here and at 68.1, is “accustomed to the hand,” and is used literally of training wild animals. It occurs in RM, but in quite different contexts.

  66.6 (English / Latin) “constructed” (constitui): This key and frequently used word in RB has a variety of meanings, depending of course on the context. It can mean ‘set up’ or ‘establish’ (e.g., Prol.45), ‘designate’ (43.5), ‘arrange,’ ‘lay out,’ ‘lay down,’ etc.

  66.7 (English / Latin) “is not at all good” (non expedit): Cf. RB 67.4-5 and RM 95.17-23.

  66.8 (English / Latin) “this rule” (Hanc autem regulam): This phrase seems to refer to the entire Rule and appears to be a primitive conclusion of the Rule. RB 66.8 corresponds to the end of RM. However, it seems likely that ch. 73 formed the real conclusion, even if chs. 67–72 are a later addition. See note on 73.t.

  67.7 (English / Latin) “the enclosure of the monastery” (claustra monasterii): The word claustra in its ancient pre-monastic usage signified any sort of space set off or closed to access by some sort of a barrier, natural or otherwise. In monastic circles it quickly became a technical term (as here and in 4.78). The enclosure was usually achieved by a wall and gates (cf. RB 66). The idea of enclosure, which can be traced to the earliest period of cenobitic monasticism in Egypt, is obviously related to, and the expression of, the more fundamental notion of separation from the world. See Introduction, p. 27, n. 79; H. Leclercq “Cloître” DACL 3.1991–92 and E. Renoir “Clôture monastique” ibid., 2024–34. The typical square or U-shaped “cloister,” normally located to the south of the church, seems to be an invention of the Carolingian period. See Walter Horn and Ernest Born, The Plan of St. Gall: A Study of the Architecture and Economy of, and Life in a Paradigmatic
Carolingian Monastery (Berkeley: Univ. of California Press 1979) 1.245.

  68.1 (English / Latin) “accept” (suscipiat): The Latin verb may mean either ‘accept’ or ‘undertake.’ It is tempting to think that the author intends the monk both to accept the order and to undertake the task. The monk would then be in a much stronger position for making his comments in v.2.

  70.1 (English / Latin) “presumption” (praesumptionis): The presumption in question is an encroachment upon the abbot’s right to punish. Cf. note on RB 26.1.

  71.3 (English / Latin) “priors” (praepositorum): The word is used in the plural in RB only here and at 62.7. Some have taken it to mean “officials,” its regular sense in RM. It may equally well, and perhaps better, refer to a succession of priors. See notes on RB 65; 62.7 and 66.0 as well as de Vogüé 2.668, n.3.

  71.5 (English / Latin) “objecting” (contentiosus): See 1 Cor 11:16, where the word is used. In RB 3.9 contendere refers to arguing with the abbot. In 4.68 contentionem is a general tendency to be contentious. The meaning here is closer to the former.

  72.t “zeal” (zelo): The word “zeal” derives from the Greek zēlos, which occurs many times in the New Testament, both in a good sense (e.g., John 2:17) and in a bad sense (e.g., 1 Cor 3:3). This no doubt provides the background of the usage in RB, where it likewise occurs in a good sense (e.g., 64.6) and in a bad sense (e.g., 4.66; 64.16; 65.22). The Greek word already had a wide range of meanings in classical times, including jealousy, rivalry, passion, ambition, fervor, etc. See Thematic Index: ZEAL.

  72.1 (English / Latin) “wicked zeal” (zelus amaritudinis): The phrase is taken from Jas 3:14.

  72.2 (English / Latin) “leads to God” (ducit ad Deum): The image of the two paths is derived from Matt 7:13-14. See also Gal 4:17-18. This image is a commonplace of Patristic literature and all later Christian preaching. See Thematic Index: LIFE, Image: the two ways.