Editing Rule of Saint Benedict (section)

==Overview==
The ''Rule'' opens with a hortatory preface, drawing on the ''[[Admonitio ad filium spiritualem]]'',<ref>James Francis LePree, [https://www.heroicage.org/issues/13/lepree2.php "Pseudo-Basil's ''De admonitio ad filium spiritualem'': A New English Translation"], ''The Heroic Age: A Journal of Early Medieval Northwestern Europe'' '''13''' (2010).</ref> in which Saint Benedict sets forth the main principles of the religious life, ''viz.'': the renunciation of one's own will and arming oneself "with the strong and noble weapons of [[Vow of obedience|obedience]]" under the banner of "[[Christ the King|the true King]], Christ the Lord" (Prol. 3). He proposes to establish a "school for the Lord's service" (Prol. 45) in which the "way to salvation" (Prol. 48) shall be taught, so that by persevering in the monastery till death his disciples may "through patience share in the [[passion of Christ]] that [they] may deserve also to share in his Kingdom" (Prol. 50, ''passionibus Christi per patientiam participemur, ut et regno eius mereamur esse consortes''; note: Latin {{lang|la|passionibus}} and {{lang|la|patientiam}} have the same root, ''cf.'' Fry, RB 1980, p.167).<ref name="Catholic">{{Catholic|wstitle=Rule of St. Benedict|inline=1}}</ref>

*Chapter 1 defines four kinds of [[monk]]: 
# [[Cenobite]]s, those "in a monastery, where they serve under a rule and an abbot".
# [[Anchorite]]s, or [[hermit]]s, who, after long successful training in a monastery, are now coping single-handedly, with only God for their help.[[File:Benedictus - Regula, Anno domini MCCCCLXXXXV die XXVII otubrio - 2472028 ib00310000 TMD MASTER IMG Scan00011.tif|thumb|''Regula'', 1495]]
# [[Sarabaites]], living by twos and threes together or even alone, with no experience, rule and superior, and thus a law unto themselves.<ref name="Catholic" />
# [[Gyrovagues]], wandering from one monastery to another, slaves to their own wills and appetites.<ref name="Catholic" />
[[File:St. Benedict delivering his rule to the monks of his order.jpg|thumb|Saint Benedict delivering his rule to the monks of his order, Monastery of St. Gilles, [[Nimes]], France, 1129]]
*Chapter 2 describes the necessary qualifications of an abbot, forbids the abbot to make distinctions between persons in the monastery except for particular merit, and warns him that he will be answerable for the salvation of the souls in his care.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter 3 ordains the calling of the brothers to council upon all affairs of importance to the community.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter 4 lists several "tools for good work", "tools of the spiritual craft" for the "workshop" that is "the enclosure of the monastery and the stability in the community". These are essentially the duties of every Christian and are mainly Scriptural either in letter or in spirit. There are around 72–74 "tools", depending on how phrases are split up and counted in various translations, as the original was not numbered.<ref name="Catholic"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Doyle |first1=Leonard J. |title=St. Benedict's Rule for Monasteries by Abbot of Monte Cassino Saint Benedict |date=Sep 22, 2015 |publisher=The Liturgical Press |location=St John’s Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota, USA |url=https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/50040 |access-date=24 April 2025 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Verheyen |first1=Boniface |title=The Holy Rule of St. Benedict |date=1949 |publisher=St. Benedict's Abbey |location=Atchison, Kansas, USA |url=http://www.ccel.org/ccel/benedict/rule |access-date=24 April 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Rule of St. Benedict |url=https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/5d0e482b-2222-455a-b75e-d8ca73e93c6b/ |website=digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk |access-date=24 April 2025 |language=latin}}</ref>
*Chapter 5 prescribes prompt, ungrudging, and absolute obedience to the superior in all things lawful,<ref name="Catholic"/> "unhesitating obedience" being called the first step (Latin {{lang|la|gradus}}) of humility.
*Chapter 6 recommends taciturnity (Latin {{lang|la|taciturnitas}}), i.e. the state or quality of being reserved or reticent in conversation, in the use of speech.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter 7 divides humility into twelve steps forming rungs in a ladder that leads to heaven:<ref name="Catholic"/>(1) Fear God; (2) Subordinate one's will to the will of God; (3) Be obedient to one's superior; (4) Be patient amid hardships; (5) Confess one's sins; (6) Accept the meanest of tasks, and hold oneself as a "worthless workman"; (7) Consider oneself "inferior to all"; (8) Follow examples set by superiors; (9) Do not speak until spoken to; (10) Do not readily laugh; (11) Speak simply and modestly; and (12) Express one's inward humility through bodily posture.
*Chapter 8–19 regulate the Divine Office, the Godly work to which "nothing is to be preferred", namely the eight [[canonical hours]]. Detailed arrangements are made for the number of [[Psalm]]s, etc., to be recited in winter and summer, on Sundays, weekdays, Holy Days, and at other times.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter 19 emphasizes the reverence owed to the omnipresent God.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter 20 directs that prayer be made with heartfelt compunction rather than many words.<ref name="Catholic"/> It should be prolonged only under the inspiration of [[divine grace]], and in community always kept short and terminated at a sign from the superior.
*Chapter&nbsp;21 regulates the appointment of a [[Dean (religion)|Dean]] over every ten monks.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter&nbsp;22 regulates the dormitory. Each monk is to have a separate bed and is to sleep in his habit, so as to be ready to rise without delay for the Divine Office at night; a candle (Latin "candela") shall burn in the dormitory throughout the night.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapters&nbsp;23–29 specify a graduated scale of punishments for [[contumacy]] (refusal to obey authority), disobedience, pride, and other grave faults: first, private admonition; next, public reproof; then separation from the brothers at meals and elsewhere;<ref name="Catholic"/> and finally [[excommunication]] (or in the case of those lacking understanding of what this means, [[corporal punishment]] instead).
*Chapter&nbsp;30 directs that a wayward brother who has left the monastery must be received again, if he promises to make amends; but if he leaves again, and again, after his third departure all return is finally barred.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapters&nbsp;31 & 32 order the appointment of officials to take charge of the goods of the monastery.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter&nbsp;33 forbids the [[Voluntary poverty|private possession]] of anything without the leave of the abbot, who is, however, bound to supply all necessities.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter&nbsp;34 prescribes a just distribution of such things.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter&nbsp;35 arranges for the service in the kitchen by all monks in turn.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapters&nbsp;36 & 37 address care of the sick, the old, and the young. They are to have certain dispensations from the strict Rule, chiefly in the matter of food.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter&nbsp;38 prescribes reading aloud during meals, which duty is to be performed by those who can do so with edification to the rest. [[sign language|Signs]] are to be used for whatever may be wanted at meals, so that no voice interrupts the reading. The reader eats with the servers after the rest have finished, but he is allowed a little food beforehand in order to lessen the fatigue of reading.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapters&nbsp;39 & 40 regulate the quantity and quality of the food. Two meals a day are allowed, with two cooked dishes at each. Each monk is allowed a pound of bread and a [[hemina]] (about a quarter [[litre]]) of wine. The flesh of four-footed animals is prohibited except for the sick and the weak.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter&nbsp;41 prescribes the hours of the meals, which vary with the time of year.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter&nbsp;42 enjoins the reading of an edifying book in the evening, and orders strict silence after [[Compline]].<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapters&nbsp;43–46 define penalties for minor faults, such as coming late to prayer or meals.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter&nbsp;47 requires the abbot to call the brothers to the "work of God" (''Opus Dei'') in choir, and to appoint chanters and readers.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter&nbsp;48 emphasizes the importance of daily manual labour appropriate to the ability of the monk. The duration of labour varies with the season but is never less than five hours a day.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter&nbsp;49 recommends some voluntary self-denial for [[Lent]], with the abbot's sanction.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapters&nbsp;50 & 51 contain rules for monks working in the fields or travelling. They are directed to join in spirit, as far as possible, with their brothers in the monastery at the regular hours of prayers.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter&nbsp;52 commands that the [[Oratory (worship)|oratory]] be used for purposes of devotion only.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter&nbsp;53 deals with [[hospitality]]. Guests are to be met with due courtesy by the abbot or his deputy; during their stay they are to be under the special protection of an appointed monk; they are not to associate with the rest of the community except by special permission.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter&nbsp;54 forbids the monks to receive letters or gifts without the abbot's leave.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter&nbsp;55 says clothing is to be adequate and suited to the climate and locality, at the discretion of the abbot. It must be as plain and cheap as is consistent with due economy. Each monk is to have a change of clothes to allow for washing, and when travelling is to have clothes of better quality. Old clothes are to be given to the poor.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter&nbsp;56 directs the abbot to eat with the guests.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter&nbsp;57 enjoins humility on the craftsmen of the monastery, and if their work is for sale, it shall be rather below than above the current trade price.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter&nbsp;58 lays down rules for the admission of new members, which is not to be made too easy. The postulant first spends a short time as a guest; then he is admitted to the [[novitiate]] where his vocation is severely tested; during this time he is always free to leave. If after twelve months' probation he perseveres, he may promise before the whole community ''stabilitate sua et conversatione morum suorum et oboedientia'' – "stability, conversion of manners, and obedience". With this vow he binds himself for life to the monastery of his profession.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter&nbsp;59 describes the ceremony of indenturing young boys into the monastery and arranges certain financial arrangements for this.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter&nbsp;60 regulates the position of priests who join the community. They are to set an example of humility, and can only exercise their priestly functions by permission of the abbot.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter&nbsp;61 provides for the reception of foreign monks as guests, and for their admission to the community.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter&nbsp;62 deals with the ordination of priests from within the monastic community.
*Chapter&nbsp;63 lays down that precedence in the community shall be determined by the date of admission, merit of life, or the appointment of the abbot.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter&nbsp;64 orders that the abbot be elected by his monks, and that he be chosen for his [[charity (virtue)|charity]], zeal, and discretion.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter&nbsp;65 allows the appointment of a [[Prior (ecclesiastical)|prior]] or deputy superior, but warns that he is to be entirely subject to the abbot and may be admonished, deposed, or expelled for misconduct.
*Chapter&nbsp;66 appoints a [[porter (doorkeeper)|porter]], and recommends that each monastery be self-contained and avoid intercourse with the outer world.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter 67 instructs monks how to behave on a journey.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter&nbsp;68 orders that all cheerfully try to do whatever is commanded, however apparently impossible it may seem.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter&nbsp;69 forbids the monks from defending one another.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter&nbsp;70 prohibits them from beating (Latin {{lang|la|caedere}}) or excommunicating one another.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter&nbsp;71 encourages the brothers to be obedient not only to the abbot and his officials, but also to one another.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter&nbsp;72 briefly exhorts the monks to zeal and fraternal charity.<ref name="Catholic"/>
*Chapter&nbsp;73 is an epilogue; it declares that the Rule is not offered as an ideal of perfection, but merely as a means towards godliness, intended chiefly for beginners in the spiritual life.<ref name="Catholic"/>