In spite of its peculiar, identifying tone, the Rule of St. Benedict which echoes through the literature of the monastic centuries, is itself a medley of quotations and echoes, particularly from the Old and New Testaments. The "Instruments of Good Works" quoted here, for example, all echo specific scriptural passages - this is so obvious in early medieval literature that it is often assumed and forgotten, even in an extreme example like the Rule. The identified, italicized quotations in the following selections come from the Psalms (9), Paul (9-Corinthians, Romans, Ephesians, Timothy, Matthew (5), Luke (3), Proverbs(3), Isaiah (2), John (2) and Apocalypse (1), Ecclesiasticus (1), and Genesis (1). Something should be said, also, of Chapters XXXIX, XL, XLI of the Rule, not printed here, which regulate the amount of the monks' food and drink and the times of their eating--two dishes of cooked food with fruit or young vegetables in season, the daily pound of bread and lack of meat, the maximum pint of wine a day, the late and few hours of eating, always in daylight. But through all the specific suggestions the Rule's attentions are not really diverted to detail, they remain fixed upon its guiding principles: moderation even in abstinence; discretion in the application of regulations; awareness of individual differences; charity; the spirit rather than the letter of communal life and Christian virtue.

The Rule of St. Benedict 1
The Prologue
Listen, my son, and turn the ear of thine heart to the precepts of thy Master. Receive readily, and faithfully carry out the advice of a loving Father, so that by the work of obedience you may return to Him, whom you have left by the sloth of disobedience. For thee, therefore, whosoever thou be, my words are intended, who, giving up thy own will, dost take the all-powerful and excellent arms of obedience to fight under the Lord Christ, the true King. First, beg of Him with most earnest prayer to finish the good work begun; that He who now bath deigned to count us among His children may never be grieved by our evil deeds. For at all times we must serve Him with the good things He has given us, that He may not, as an angry Father, disinherit His children, nor as a dread Lord provoked by our evil deeds, deliver us to everlasting punishment as wicked servants who refuse to follow Him to glory. Let us, therefore, arise at once, the Scripture stirring us up, saying, "It is now the hour for us to rise from sleep." And, our eyes now open to the divine light, let us with wondering ears hearken to the divine voice, daily calling to us and warning us, "Today if you shall bear His voice, harden not your hearts; and again, He that hath ears, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the Churches." And what does He say? Come, ye children, and hearken unto Me: I will teacb you the fear of tbe Lord. Run while ye have the light of life, that the darkness of death overtake ye not.

Therefore, with our loins girt by faith, and by the practice of good works under the guidance of His Gospel, let us walk in the path He has marked out for us, that we may deserve to see Him who has called us in His kingdom. If we would live in the shelter of this kingdom, we can reach it only by speeding on the way of good works (by this path alone is it to be attained).

So questioning the Lord, brethren, we have heard on what conditions we may dwell in His temple; and if we fulfil these we shall be heirs of the kingdom of heaven. Therefore must our hearts and bodies be prepared to fight under the holy obedience of His commands, and we must beg our Lord to supply by the help of His grace what by nature is not possible to us. And if, fleeing from the pains of hell, we will to attain to life everlasting, we must, whilst time yet serves and whilst we live in the flesh and the light is still on our path, hasten to do now what will profit us for all eternity. We are therefore now about to institute a school for the service of God, in which we hope nothing harsh nor burdensome will be ordained. But if we proceed in certain things with some little severity, sound reason so advising for the amendment of vices or the preserving of charity, do not for fear of this forthwith flee from the way of salvation, which is always narrow in the beginning. In living our life, however, and by the growth of faith, when the heart has been enlarged, the path of God's commandments is run with unspeakable loving sweetness; so that never leaving His school, but persevering in the monastery until death in His teaching, we share by our patience in the sufferings of Christ, and so merit to be partakers of His kingdom.

1] Of the several kinds of monks and their lives
It is recognized that there are four kinds of monks. The first are the Cenobites: that is, those who live m a monastery under a Rule or an abbot. The second kind is that of Anchorites, or Hermits, who not in the first fervour of conversion, but after long trial in the monastery, and already taught by the example of many others, have learnt to fight against the devil, are well prepared to go forth from the ranks of the brotherhood to the single combat of the desert. They can now, by God's help, safely fight against the vices of their flesh and against evil thoughts singly, with their own hand and arm and without the encouragement of a companion. The third and worst kind of monks is that of the Sarabites, who have not been tried under any Rule nor schooled by an experienced master, as gold is proved in the furnace, but soft as is lead and still in their works cleaving to the world, are known to lie to God by their tonsure. These in twos or threes, or more frequently singly, are shut up, without a shepherd; not in our Lord's fold, but in their own. The pleasure of carrying out their particular desires is their law, and whatever they dream of or choose this they call holy; but what they like not, that they account unlawful. The fourth class of monks is called Gyrovagi (or Wanderers). These move about all their lives through various countries, staying as guests for three or four days at different monasteries. They are always on the move and never settle down, and are slaves to their own wills and to the enticements of gluttony. In every way they are worse than the Sarabites, and of their wretched way of life it is better to be silent than to speak. Leaving these therefore aside, let us by God's help set down a Rule for Cenobites, who are the best kind of monks.

iv) The instruments of good works
First of all, to love the Lord God with all our heart, with all our strength.
2] Then, to love our neighbour as ourself.
3] Then, not to kill.
4] Not to commit adultery.
5] Not to steal.
6] Not to be covetous.
7] Not to bear false witness.
8] To respect all men.
9] Not to do to another what one would not have done to oneself.
10] To deny oneself in order to follow Christ.
11] To chastise the body.
12] Not to be fond of pleasures.
13] To love fasting.
14] To give refreshment to the poor.
15] To clothe the naked.
***
62] Daily in one's acts to keep God's commandments.
63] To love chastity.
64] To hate no man.
65] Not to be jealous or envious.
66] Not to love wrangling.
67] To show no arrogant spirit.
68] To reverence the old.
69] To love the young.
70] To pray for one's enemies for the love of Christ.
71] To make peace with an adversary before the sun sets.
72] And, never to despair of God's mercy.

Behold these are the tools of our spiritual craft; when we shall have made use of them constantly day and night, and shall have proved them at the day of judgment, that reward shall be given us by our Lord, which He has promised, Which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive what God hath prepared for those that love Him. Steadfastly abiding in the community, the workshop where all these instruments are made use of is the cloister of the monastery.

1. From The Rule of St. Benedict, translated by Francis Aldan, Cardinal Gasquet (London, Chatto and Windus, 1936), pp. 1-3, 5-17, 21-27, 71, 84-87, 111-114, 122-124. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.

Bibliography
The Early Middle Ages 500-1000. ed Robert Brentano. The Free Press: University of California, Berkeley, 1964. pp. 81-4, 87-8 .