Who was Benedict of Nursia? What is the Rule of Saint Benedict?

St. Benedict

As nearly all the monastic institutions throughout Europe, for more than six hundred years, were regulated by the Rule of St. Benedict, we need only to give some account of this celebrated order to know the constitution and character of them all. And, as their name is legion, we will thus save a great deal of repetition.

This remarkable man was the son of a Roman senator born at Nurcia, in Italy, A.D. 480. At the age of twelve he was sent to study at Rome. He had probably heard and read about the lives of the holy anchorites and hermits of the East. With these examples before his mind, and the irregularities of his fellow-students around him, he longed for solitude. When about fifteen, unable to endure any longer the corrupt state of Roman society, he separated himself even from his faithful nurse, Cyrilla, who had been sent with him to Rome by his parents, and left her to lament over his mental derangement. The ferocious Huns and Vandals had made even the heart of Italy a wilderness, so that the youthful hermit found a secluded spot not far from Rome. For years he lived in a lonely cave; the only person acquainted with the secret of his retreat was a monk, named Romanus, who supplied him with bread, by saving a portion of his own daily allowance. But as a steep rock lay between the cloister of Romanus and the grotto of Benedict, the bread was let down by a string to the mouth of the cave. At length he was discovered by some shepherds, who were delighted to hear his instructions and witness his miracles. As the fame of his piety increased, he was persuaded to become abbot of a monastery in the neighbourhood; but the strictness of his discipline displeased its inmates, and they agreed to rid themselves of the severe recluse by mixing poison in his wine. But on his making the sign of the cross, which he usually did over his meat and his drink, the cup flew into pieces; whereupon he mildly rebuked the monks, and returned to his mountain cave.

Benedict now became an object of greater interest than ever. His fame spread, great multitudes flocked to him, men of wealth and influence joined him, and large sums of money were placed at his disposal. He was now in a position to build twelve monasteries, each of them consisting of twelve monks, under a superior. Having succeeded in so far accomplishing the object of his residence in the district, and being disquieted by the jealous interference of Florentius, a neighbouring priest, he quitted Subiaco with a few followers in the year 528. After some wanderings, he arrived at Monte Cassino, where Apollo was still worshipped by the rustics. With great skill and energy he uprooted the remains of heathen idolatry among the peasants. He cut down the grove, destroyed the idol of Apollo, and on the site of the altar an oratory was erected, which he dedicated to St. John the Evangelist and St. Martin. This was the germ of the great and renowned monastery which became the parent root of the innumerable branches which in a short time covered the face of Europe. Here Benedict drew up his famous Rule, about the year 529. It consists of seventy-three chapters, we are told, which contain a code of laws regulating the duties of monks to each other, and between the abbot and his monks. He provides for the administration of an institution, composed of every variety of character, engaged in every variety of occupation, but all to be perfectly subject to one absolute ruler. The comprehensiveness of his system is astonishing, as being the result of one mind, and without example or precedent. It is regarded by the learned as the most celebrated monument of ecclesiastical antiquity, and was in its operations the very strength and watchword of the satellites of Rome.

Benedict (of Nursia, now Norcia) was a reformer. At the age of twelve he was sent with a nurse to Rome for study; but he was soon disgusted with the irregularities of his fellow-students, and at the early age of fourteen, leaving his nurse, he fled from the city, and lived for three years in a cave near Subiaco. No one knew where he was except a monk who had met with him in his flight, and he, taking an interest in the youth, supplied him with food, but only what he could spare from his own allowance. This he took to him occasionally, and lowered it by a string.

But persecution again followed him. A monk named Florentius, out of envy, did all he could to ruin his character by calumny, and to cut him off by poison. Again he retired with a few of his followers � whither he knew not. At length he reached Monte Cassino, where on a lofty spot stood a heathen shrine to Apollo, still receiving some sort of worship from the rustics of the neighbourhood. After many warnings from Satan, as is related, he succeeded in destroying the idol and cutting down the grove, and erected a place for private worship, called an oratory, dedicated to St. John the Evangelist and St. Martin, which became the germ of a most renowned monastery, and from which others arose.

Benedict now set to work to draw up a set of rules for his houses. He avoided extremes, hoping to have the rules the better carried out if they were moderate, being warned by the mistakes of others who had enacted such strict rules that none attempted to follow them, and even made that an excuse for many indulgences.

A few of his rules may be named. The abbot was to be chosen by the monks, and approved of by the bishop. He was to be cheerfully and implicitly obeyed: he stood "in the place of Christ." He must be addressed as Dominus. They were to call each other brother or father, according to age, and great respect was to be paid to the elder brethren.

The late third and early fourth century saw the beginnings of monasticism (from the Gr. monos, "alone"), which became so marked a feature of the religious life of the Middle Ages. It originated in the ascetic tendencies of early Christianity and may have been an expression of despair about social and economic conditions on the one hand and on the other a longing for a pure Christianity and a deep communion with God which they considered unattainable in the existing churches. The chief characteristics of early Christian monasticism were celibacy, fasting, prayer, surrender of worldly goods and the adoption of a hermit's life. This way of life developed in Egypt at the edge of the desert or in oases. Although he may not have been the earliest, Antony, an Egyptian peasant, was the first famous hermit, who started his monastic career in 285. His life, written by Athanasius, had a great influence on others, who followed his example. In this way unregulated monastic communities arose spontaneously out of loosely associated groups. From these unregulated colonies gradually evolved an organized form of monasticism, whose members lived a common life within a walled enclosure under the direction of new type of cleric, the abbot, who enforced rules governing their religious life and daily labour. This communal monasticism was begun about 320 by Pachomius, a converted soldier, who after discharge spent some time as a hermit before setting up his first ascetic community in upper Egypt. His "rule" of monastic life was widely adopted. He also opposed extremism by insisting on regular meals and worship and aimed to make his communities self-supporting through such industries as the weaving of palm mats or growing fruit and vegetables for sale.

We have seen that monasticism arose first out of eastern Christianity. But also in the West monasticism had the backing of church leaders such as Ambrose (who died in 397) from the very beginning. In this way it spread to Italy, Gaul and other parts of the western empire. Benedict became famous, founder of the monastery at Monte Cassino about 520. The Benedictine rule required monks to read as well as to work and to worship. This stimulated the collection of libraries in the monasteries and made the monks guardians of classical and biblical literature through the Middle Ages.

The Eastern monks were especially noted for their fanaticism. Everywhere the abuses of early unregulated monastic life led to attempts to subject those monks who were not regular clergy to the authority of bishops. In Asia Minor it was Basil himself a bishop (370) and an ascetic who integrated the monastic communities more closely with the church. He believed the bishop should have ultimate authority over a monastery. His rule also, which discouraged excessive asceticism and stressed study and useful labour, became very popular.

The late third and early fourth century saw the beginnings of monasticism (from the Gr. monos, "alone"), which became so marked a feature of the religious life of the Middle Ages. It originated in the ascetic tendencies of early Christianity and may have been an expression of despair about social and economic conditions on the one hand and on the other a longing for a pure Christianity and a deep communion with God which they considered unattainable in the existing churches. The chief characteristics of early Christian monasticism were celibacy, fasting, prayer, surrender of worldly goods and the adoption of a hermit's life. This way of life developed in Egypt at the edge of the desert or in oases. Although he may not have been the earliest, Antony, an Egyptian peasant, was the first famous hermit, who started his monastic career in 285. His life, written by Athanasius, had a great influence on others, who followed his example. In this way unregulated monastic communities arose spontaneously out of loosely associated groups. From these unregulated colonies gradually evolved an organized form of monasticism, whose members lived a common life within a walled enclosure under the direction of new type of cleric, the abbot, who enforced rules governing their religious life and daily labour. This communal monasticism was begun about 320 by Pachomius, a converted soldier, who after discharge spent some time as a hermit before setting up his first ascetic community in upper Egypt. His "rule" of monastic life was widely adopted. He also opposed extremism by insisting on regular meals and worship and aimed to make his communities self-supporting through such industries as the weaving of palm mats or growing fruit and vegetables for sale.

We have seen that monasticism arose first out of eastern Christianity. But also in the West monasticism had the backing of church leaders such as Ambrose (who died in 397) from the very beginning. In this way it spread to Italy, Gaul and other parts of the western empire. Benedict became famous, founder of the monastery at Monte Cassino about 520. The Benedictine rule required monks to read as well as to work and to worship. This stimulated the collection of libraries in the monasteries and made the monks guardians of classical and biblical literature through the Middle Ages.

The Eastern monks were especially noted for their fanaticism. Everywhere the abuses of early unregulated monastic life led to attempts to subject those monks who were not regular clergy to the authority of bishops. In Asia Minor it was Basil himself a bishop (370) and an ascetic who integrated the monastic communities more closely with the church. He believed the bishop should have ultimate authority over a monastery. His rule also, which discouraged excessive asceticism and stressed study and useful labour, became very popular.

The Rule of St. Benedict

The wisdom of this great monk as a legislator, and the superiority of his discipline to all that had previously existed, are mainly found in the place which he gives to manual labour. This was the distinctive feature of the new order — hard, healthy, bodily labour. Monasticism had been hitherto almost entirely a life of mere seclusion and contemplation, supported by the charity of the public, or the overawed peasantry in the neighbourhood of the monastery. Benedict had seen the evil effects of this idle, dreamy, state of existence, and made ample provision for the occupation of the monks. Idleness he branded as the enemy of both soul and body. They were not only to labour in the way of prayer, worship, reading, and the education of youth; but they were to labour with their hands, as with the axe in the forest, the spade in the fields, and the trowel on the walls. The advantages of this new system were great. The Benedictine abbeys became industrious agricultural settlements. Husbandry, and the arts of civilized life, were introduced into the most barbarous regions, and the wilderness, under the hands of the monks, blossomed with fertility.

Although the order of St. Benedict was in every way contrary both to the letter and spirit of the word of God, it had more of reason and common sense than the idle and languishing systems of the East. "He was one of those who held," says Travers Hill, "that to live in this world a man must do something — that life which consumes, but produces not, is a morbid life, in fact an impossible life — a life that must decay — and therefore, imbued with the importance of this fact, he made labour, continuous and daily labour, the great foundation of his rule." His penetration is also seen in his consideration for the unfriendly climate of the West, and for European constitutions. His laws were milder and more practicable than had been attempted in Eastern countries; the diet rather more generous, and he did not propose any extreme mortification, but permitted his followers to live according to the common habits of their respective countries. In these wise and reasonable considerations lay the whole secret of the wondrous success of the Benedictine order.

But with our modern notions of good living, and of comparatively few religious services in the course of a week, the reader may be disposed to question what we have said of the mildness of the monastic rules, and of the generous nature of the diet. We have spoken of these as compared with the East, where monasticism originated.

One thing that especially characterised the Benedictine order was occupation. They were to rise at 2 a.m. for early prayer (matins), to attend eight services daily, and to work seven hours. The Psalms were to be read over every week in their services, and time allowed for the study of the scripture, reading Cassian's "Conferences," "Lives of the Saints," and other books which they deemed edifying. At meals a book was to be read aloud, while all others preserved silence. In general the monks were to speak but little.

At dinner there were to be two dishes of pulmentaria, that those who could not relish one might be able to eat the other. It is not certain what was included in the word 'pulmentaria:' vegetables and grain certainly, but some suppose eggs, fish, and birds, because the flesh of four-footed beasts only was forbidden. In addition, uncooked fruit or salad might be eaten. A small measure of wine was allowed to each: Benedict would have preferred none, but feared to make the rule too stringent. A pound of bread was the daily portion, subject to the discretion of the abbot to increase it where needed. Flesh was allowed to the sick. The monks were to sleep ten or twelve in a room, each in a separate bed, with their clothes and girdles on. A light was kept burning. No talking was allowed after the last service of the day, called "compline."*

Each "house" had its garden, mill, well, and bakehouse, so that the monks need go abroad but little. When this was necessary, the abbot must give permission, and the messenger, on his return, was forbidden to relate to others his adventures. The occupation of each was chosen by the abbot, and if any one thought himself handy at any particular work, this work he was not to do.

Thus the long and tedious day of the self-doomed monk was spent; from his midnight vigils till his evening vespers, all his observances were merely mechanical. On entering the monastery, he renounced wholly every species of personal liberty. His vow of implicit obedience to his superiors in everything was irrevocable. No one could receive a present of any kind, not even from a parent, nor have any correspondence with persons outside the monastery, except by its passing under the inspection of the abbot. A porter always sat at the gate, which was kept locked day and night, and no stranger was admitted without leave from the abbot, and no monk could go out unless he had permission from his superior.

The garden, the mill, the well, the bakehouse, were all within the walls, so that there might be no necessity for leaving the monastery. The trade or the occupation of every monk was to be determined by the abbot. A monk who once was rich and of high birth was now penniless, and might be appointed cook or waiter, tailor, carpenter, or ditcher, according to the pleasure of the absolute superior; the quality and quantity of his food were prescribed and limited as if he had been the merest child. He was not allowed to speak but at certain times. All conversation was strictly prohibited during meals; some one read aloud the whole time.

He returned to his solitude; but his renown only increased the more, and monastery after monastery was erected to carry out his rules, each house holding twelve monks and an abbot. Even some members of the Roman nobility placed their children under his care for education.

For some twelve years, Benedict remained head of his system of monasticism, and from time to time sent out men to make known his rules to monks who had no regular organisation, and with the object of founding houses where there were none. This was carried on with spirit and perseverance until Benedictine monks were to be found all over Europe, including England.

He did not attribute any merit to keeping the law, and he denied that man had any power to keep it except he had help from heaven. But as to salvation, nothing is recorded. All is swallowed up in "how to become a good monk," though here and there glimpses are apparent of Benedict's having been beyond the standard of others. For instance, he found a hermit passing his life chained to a rock. He rebuked him, saying, "Brother, be bound only by the chain of Christ."