Asceticon 1 part 5/6

He, then, who is drawn away from the brothers because he is being harmed, let him not hide the cause within himself, but let him expose the harm, according to the manner handed down by the Lord, who said:

'If your brother sins, go and reprove him between you and him alone,' and so forth.

And if the matter in question is set right by him, he has both won the brothers, and does not dishonor their communion;

but if he sees them persisting in the evil and not accepting correction, he shall bring it before those competent to judge such matters;

and only after the testimony of several witnesses shall he then be separated.

But he will no longer be separated from brothers, but from strangers, since the Lord likens the one who persists in evil to a Gentile and a tax collector.

'For let such a one be to you,' he says, 'as the Gentile and the tax collector.'

But if it is on account of his own fickleness that someone leaps away from union with the brothers, let him attend to his own weakness; or, if he will not accept correction, let him be unacceptable to the brotherhoods.

But if, on account of a commandment of the Lord, one is drawn elsewhere, such men are not being separated, but are fulfilling a dispensation.

But reason admits no other cause for the separation of brothers;

first, because the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, which gathered them together, is thereby dishonored;

and next, because each one's conscience toward the other would no longer be able to remain pure, but they would be in mutual suspicion of one another.

And this plainly stands opposed to the command of the Lord, who said:

'If you are bringing your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,'

'leave your gift there before the altar, and go;'

'first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.'

Whether, on the pretext of prayers and psalmody, one ought to neglect works, and what times are suitable for prayer; and first, whether one must work.

Since our Lord Jesus Christ says that worthy is — not simply anyone, nor whoever it happens to be, but — 'the laborer is worthy of his food';

and since the Apostle commands us to labor and to work what is good with our own hands, so that we may have something to share with him who has need, it is at once evident that one must work diligently.

For we ought not to regard the aim of piety as a pretext for idleness, nor as an escape from toil, but rather as an occasion for contest, for more abundant labors, and for endurance amid afflictions, so that we too may be able to say:

'In labor and hardship, in watchings very often, in hunger and thirst;'

such a discipline being useful to us not only for the subduing of the body, but also for the sake of love toward our neighbor, so that through us God may also grant sufficiency to those brothers who are weak, according to the pattern given by the Apostle in the Acts, who said:

'I have shown you all things, that laboring thus, one must support the weak;'

'that you may have something to share with him who has need;'

so that we may be counted worthy to hear:

'For I was hungry, and you gave me food;'

'I was thirsty, and you gave me drink.'

And as for how great an evil idleness is, what need is there to say, since the Apostle plainly commands that whoever does not work should not eat either? Just as, then, daily food is necessary for each person, so also is work according to one's ability necessary.

For it is not without reason that Solomon wrote in praise:

And again the Apostle says of himself: 'Neither did we eat anyone's bread for nothing, but with labor and hardship, working night and day;'

even though, in proclaiming the Gospel, he had the right to live by the Gospel.

And the Lord likewise joined slothfulness with wickedness, when he said:

But wise Solomon too not only praises the one who works, through what has been mentioned, but also reproves the sluggard by comparison with the smallest of creatures, saying:

'Go to the ant, O sluggard.'

So we must fear lest this too be brought against us on the day of judgment, since he who gave us the power to work will require of us labor commensurate with that power.

But since some, on the pretext of prayers and psalmody, excuse themselves from works, one must know that, while for certain other matters each thing has its own proper time, according to Ecclesiastes, who said:

'There is a time for every matter;'

yet for prayer and psalmody, as indeed for many other things, every time is suitable — so that, while moving one's hands in the midst of one's tasks, one may sometimes pray also with the tongue, when this is possible, or rather profitable, for the edification of the faith;

but if not, let him praise God in his heart with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,

as it is written, and fulfill his prayer in the midst of his work;

giving thanks to him who has given both strength of hand for the works, and wisdom of mind for the acquisition of skill, and who has also granted the material — both that found in the tools, and that underlying the crafts — whatever craft we happen to be working at;

and praying that the works of our hands be directed toward the aim of being well-pleasing to God.

In this way we also secure steadfastness of soul against distraction, whenever, at each activity, we both ask of God success in the work, and render full thanksgiving to him who gave us the power to act, and guard the aim of pleasing him, as has been said before.

granted that thanksgiving is enjoined for every season and by law, and is shown to be necessary for our life according to both nature and reason — nevertheless the appointed times of prayer established in the brotherhoods, which we have of necessity selected, must not be disregarded, each one carrying its own particular reminder of the good things that come from God:

first the dawn hour, so that the first movements of the soul and of the mind may be offerings dedicated to God, and that one take up no other concern before being gladdened by the thought of God, as it is written:

'I remembered God, and was glad;'

nor is one to stir the body to work, before doing what is spoken: 'To you will I pray, O Lord;'

'and in the morning you shall hear my voice;'

'in the morning I will stand before you, and will watch.'

and again, at the third hour, to rise for prayer and to gather the brotherhood together, even if the members happen to be scattered among different tasks;

and, being reminded of the gift of the Spirit given to the apostles at the third hour, let all worship together with one accord, so that they too may become worthy to receive sanctification, asking of him guidance and instruction toward what is profitable, according to him who said:

'Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me;'

'do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me;'

'restore to me the joy of your salvation, and establish me with a governing spirit.'

Your good Spirit will guide me in a level land;

and thus in turn to take up one's labor again.

But if, on account of the nature of the work or of the places, they happen to remain further off, they must of necessity fulfill there each of the things that have been commonly resolved, without any dissent;

for the Lord says, Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

At the sixth hour, in imitation of the saints, we have judged prayer to be necessary, following those who say:

In the evening, and in the morning, and at noon I will tell it and declare it, and he will hear my voice;

so as to be delivered from the assault and the noonday demon — together also with the ninetieth psalm being recited:

The ninth hour, moreover, has been handed down to us by the apostles themselves as necessary for prayer, in the Acts, which relate that Peter and John were going up into the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.

When the day has been completed, thanksgiving should be offered for what has been given to us in it or accomplished by us, and confession made of what has been neglected — whether some fault, voluntary or involuntary, or even hidden, has occurred in word, or in deed, or in the heart itself — propitiating God for all these things through prayer.

For great is the benefit of reviewing what is past, so as not to fall again into the same faults.

The things you say in your hearts, be pierced with compunction over them upon your beds.

And again, as night begins, there is the petition that our rest may be untroubled and free from illusions;

the ninetieth psalm being necessarily recited also at this hour.

Midnight, moreover, has been handed down to us by Paul and Silas as necessary for prayer, as the narrative of the Acts sets forth, saying:

About midnight, Paul and Silas were singing hymns to God;

At midnight I arose to give thanks to you concerning the judgments of your righteousness.

And again it is necessary, anticipating the dawn, to rise for prayer, so as not to be overtaken by the day still in sleep and in bed, according to him who said:

My eyes anticipated the dawn, that I might meditate on your words.

None of these times ought to be overlooked by those who have deliberately chosen to live for the glory of God and of his Christ.

and in the alternation and variety of the psalmody, and of the discourse proper to each hour, the soul's desire is made fresh again, and its sobriety renewed.

To delimit certain crafts individually is not easy, because different crafts are sought after in different places, according to the particular character of the region and the suitability of the occupations found in each locality;

but it is possible to sketch out, in general terms, the selection of those crafts which preserve the peacefulness and tranquility of our life — requiring neither much business for the procuring of their raw material, nor much struggle for the disposal of what has been produced — nor any that afford us unseemly or harmful encounters with men or women;

but in everything we must consider that our proper aim set before us is simplicity and frugality, fleeing from serving the foolish and harmful desires of men by producing what is sought after by them.

But in weaving, we must accept only what belongs to the customary use of life, not what has been devised by the licentious for the hunting and snaring of the young.

Likewise also in the leather trade, let us serve those who seek the necessities of need through the craft.

Building, and carpentry, and smithing, and farming — these in themselves are necessary for life, and provide much that is useful, and on their own account are not to be rejected by us;

except whenever they cause disturbances for us, or tear apart the unity of the brothers' life; then we must of necessity avoid them,

preferring those crafts which preserve for us an undistracted life, given wholly to the Lord, and which draw away those devoted to the ascetic practice of piety neither from the time of psalmody, nor of prayer, nor of the rest of good order.

Since indeed, whenever nothing on their account proves harmful to our foremost way of life, they are preferable to many others, and especially farming, which of itself provides the supply of necessities, and delivers those who farm from much wandering and running about here and there — provided only that, in the manner we have said, it brings upon us no disturbances or troubles from neighbors or fellow-inhabitants.

How the sale of what comes from labor ought to be conducted, and how one ought to travel. ANSWER.

We must be diligent that what comes from our labors not be disposed of at any great distance, nor make ourselves conspicuous for the sake of selling.

For remaining in one place is more seemly, and more beneficial both for the mutual edification of one another and for the exact maintenance of daily life; so that it is preferable rather to lower the price somewhat than to travel abroad beyond our borders for a little profit.

But if experience shows this to be impossible, one should choose both places and cities of devout men, so that our journey may not prove fruitless for us; and at the appointed festivals, let a greater number of the brothers gather together at once, each one bringing what comes from his own labor.

And let the journey be undertaken in common, so that the way itself may be accomplished with psalms and prayers and mutual edification;

and having arrived at the place, let them choose the same lodgings, both for the sake of watching over one another, and so that no time of prayer, whether by day or by night, may escape us, and so that we may pass through encounters with the difficult and grasping more safely, being with more people than alone.

For even the most violent of men shrink from having many witnesses to their injustices.

Concerning transactions at gatherings.

But neither does reason show that the purchases made at the martyria are proper for us.

For it is fitting for Christians to appear at the martyria, or in the places around them, for no other reason than for the sake of prayer, and, being brought to remembrance of the saints' steadfastness in piety unto death, to be spurred on to the same zeal;

remembering the most fearful wrath of the Lord — that although he was always and everywhere gentle and lowly in heart, as it is written, it was only against those buying and selling around the temple that he raised the whip, since their trafficking was turning the house of prayer into a den of robbers.

Yet it does not follow that, because others before us have corrupted the custom that prevailed among the saints — instead of praying for one another, and worshiping and weeping together with many before God, and propitiating him for our sins, and giving thanks for his benefits, and edifying one another through the word of exhortation (a practice which we know is still kept even within our own memory) — making instead the time and the place into a market, and a festival-fair, and a common place of trade, that we too should now follow them, and confirm these improprieties by sharing in the practice;

but rather we ought to imitate the gatherings recorded of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospels, and to fulfill what has been ordained by the Apostle as contributing to such a pattern.

When you come together, each one of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation;

let all things be done for edification.

Question 41. Concerning authority and obedience.

In these permitted crafts, however, each one ought not to be allowed to practice the one he has, or wishes to learn, but rather the one for which he is judged suited.

For he who has denied himself, and laid aside all his own wishes, does not do what he wishes, but what he is taught.

Nor indeed does reason permit one who has once entrusted the management of himself to others to choose for himself what is advantageous; rather, those others, whatever they judge suitable in the name of the Lord, will appoint him to it;

since indeed he who chooses a work according to his own private desire brings against himself an accusation: first, of self-satisfaction; and further, that he has become attached to the occupation either for worldly glory, or for hope of gain, or for some such thing, or, through slothfulness and laziness, prefers what is easier.

And to be found in such things is proof that one has not yet been freed from the vice of the passions.

Neither has he denied himself who still wishes to carry out his own impulses, nor has he renounced the things of the world, if he is still agitated by the desire for gain and glory.

Nor indeed has he put to death his members that are upon the earth, who does not endure the toil involved in works;

rather, he produces against himself proof of self-will, thinking his own private judgment more accurate than the testing of the majority.

If, then, someone has a craft not condemned by the community, he ought not to leap away from it;

for it belongs to an unstable disposition and an unsettled purpose to despise what is at hand;

and if he does not have one, let him not take one up for himself,

but let him receive what has been approved by the superiors, so that in everything he may preserve compliance.

For just as it has been shown to be unbecoming to entrust the choice to oneself, so also not to accept what has been approved by others is likewise condemned.

But even if someone has a craft, yet its practice is not pleasing to the brotherhood, let him readily cast it aside, showing that he is not passionately attached to anything in the world.

Each one, however, must attend to his own work, and be zealously concerned for it, and, as though God were watching, fulfill it blamelessly with unwearied diligence and closer attention, so that he may always have confidence to say:

Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hands of their masters, so our eyes look to the Lord our God;

and not leap from one thing to another at different times.

For our nature is not able to accomplish many occupations at once;

and to carry out one thing diligently is more profitable than to touch upon many imperfectly.

For division among several things, and shifting from one to another at different times, besides bringing none of the works to completion, also either exposes an already-existing levity of character, or produces it where it did not exist.

But if ever a need should arise, it follows that one who is suitably capable should also help with other crafts.

Yet not even this of his own initiative;

but only if he should ever be called upon — this not being our habitual practice, but done according to circumstance —

just as also in the case of the members of the body, when, the foot having given way, we lean for support upon the hand.

And again, just as it is unprofitable to leap into a task of one's own accord, so not to accept what has been commanded is worthy of accusation, so that neither the passion of self-will be fostered, nor the boundary of obedience and compliance be dissolved.

And the care of the tools belongs, in the first place, to the craftsman of each work;

but if it should happen at some time that something is overlooked, let it, as a possession common to all, be deemed worthy of the appropriate care by those who first notice it.

For even though the use of them is particular to one, yet the benefit derived from them is common.

For to despise the things belonging to another craft, as though they were of no concern, gives proof of estrangement.

Nor indeed is it fitting for those who ply the crafts to claim ownership over the tools — either by not permitting the superior of the brotherhood to use them for whatever he wishes, or by allowing themselves to sell them or exchange them, or to dispose of them in some other manner;

nor to acquire yet others in addition to those already possessed.

For one who has once judged that he is not even lord of his own hands, but has entrusted to another the management of their activity — how could such a one act consistently, if he lords it over the tools of his craft and treats them with the standing of ownership? QUESTION 42.

With what aim and with what disposition ought those who work to labor?

This, however, must be known: that the one who works ought to labor not in order to serve his own needs through his works, but in order to fulfill the commandment of the Lord, who said:

"I was hungry, and you gave me food," and the rest.

For to be anxious on one's own behalf is altogether forbidden by the Lord, who said:

"Do not be anxious for your soul, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall put on;

for all these things the Gentiles seek after."

The aim, therefore, that ought to be set before each one in his work is the service of those in need, not his own personal need.

For thus he will both escape the charge of self-love, and receive from the Lord the blessing of brotherly love, who said:

"Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."

And let no one suppose that the Apostle contradicts what we have said, when he says:

"...that working, they may eat their own bread."

For this was said with regard to the disorderly and the idle;

meaning that it is more to be chosen than a life of idleness, that each should at least serve himself, and not become a burden to others;

"For we hear," he says, "that some among you walk disorderly, doing no work, but being busybodies;

such persons," he says, "we command and exhort, that working with quietness, they eat their own bread."

And the words, "working night and day, so as not to burden anyone," bear the same sense;

the Apostle, out of brotherly love, and for the cutting off of the disorderly, subjecting himself to labors beyond what was appointed to him,

was eager to work night and day, so that he might have something to share with the one in need.

For whoever places his hope in himself, or even in the one who has undertaken the care of the community's needs, and considers either his own labor or that of his companion sufficient provision for life — insofar as he has placed his hope in man — is in danger of falling under the curse which says:

"Cursed is the man who has his hope in man, and shall make flesh his arm, and whose soul shall depart from the Lord;

the saying, by "who has his hope in man," forbidding the hoping in another;

and by "and shall make flesh his arm," forbidding trust in oneself;

calling each of these an apostasy from the Lord, and appending the outcome of both: "for he shall be like the wild tamarisk in the desert;

and shall not see when good things come";

the saying thus showing that to place one's hope in oneself or in someone else is to fall away from the Lord.

The manner concerning works, then, has been sufficiently handed down to us;

except insofar as we may be taught by the very circumstances to discover something further.

But as to what sort of persons the superiors of the brotherhood ought to be, or how they should govern those who live with them, this we ask to have clarified.

ANSWER. This matter, too, has already been spoken of, summarily, as under a chapter heading;

but since you rightly wish this matter to be set forth more fully — for whatever the one who oversees and rules is like, such, for the most part, the one who is ruled tends also to become — it is necessary not to pass over it carelessly.

The superior, therefore, must, remembering the Apostle's injunction which says, "Be a pattern to the faithful," present his own life as a clear example of every commandment of the Lord, so as to leave those under instruction no occasion to consider the Lord's commandment impossible or contemptible.

First of all, then — what indeed comes first — humility in the love of Christ must be so perfected by him that, even when he is silent, the example arising from his deeds stands forth for instruction more powerfully than any word.

For if this is the definition of Christianity — the imitation of Christ, according to the measure of his becoming man, in the manner befitting each one's calling — then those who have been entrusted with the guidance of the many ought, through their own mediation, to lead those who are still weaker forward into conformity to Christ, according to the blessed Paul, who says:

"Be imitators of me, as I also am of Christ."

It is fitting, then, that they themselves, first perfecting in themselves the measure of humility handed down by our Lord Jesus Christ, should become an exact model.

"Learn from me," he says, "for I am gentle and lowly in heart."

Let gentleness of manner, therefore, and lowliness of heart characterize the one who presides.

For if the Lord was not ashamed to render service to his own servants, but consented to be the servant of the earth and the clay which he himself had formed and shaped into man ("for I am," he says, "among you as one who serves");

what then must we do, toward those of equal honor, to suppose that we have attained to the imitation of him? This, then, is one thing that must belong to the superior, and to such a degree.

Next, he must be compassionate, and patiently bear with those who, through inexperience, fall short in some of their duties — not passing over sins in silence, but gently bearing with those who resist, and applying to them remedies with all compassion and due measure.

He must be able to discover a treatment suited to each malady — not rebuking with self-will, but admonishing and instructing in gentleness, as it is written; sober-minded in present matters, foreseeing what is to come; able to strive together with the strong, and to bear the infirmities of the weak, and able to do and say all things for the perfecting of those who live with him;

...having given proof of his character in his past life.

"For let these also," he says, "first be tested; then let them serve, being blameless."

Thus also let such a one be entrusted with the presidency, and let him establish good order for the brotherhood, making the distribution of tasks according to each one's fitness.

To whom ought journeys away be entrusted?

And how should they be examined upon their return?

Let him entrust the journey to one who is able to accomplish it without harm to his own soul and to the benefit of those he meets.

So that, if no suitable person is at hand, it is better to endure, amid the lack of necessities, every affliction and distress even unto death, than for the sake of bodily relief to overlook an acknowledged harm to the soul.

"For it is good for me," says the Apostle, "rather to die, than that anyone should make my boasting void";

and this concerning matters within his own discretion;

how much more, then, in matters governed by commandment? And yet not even this does the law of love leave without consolation.

For if it should happen that one brotherhood lacks a suitably fit person to send, the neighboring communities shall supply what is wanting, making their journeys common and inseparable from one another, so that in such fellowship those weak in soul, or infirm in body, may be preserved together with the stronger — the one entrusted with this arranging it beforehand and from afar, so that relief may not, at the very moment of need, be found lacking on account of the pressure of the emergency.

After his return, let him examine the one who traveled: what were his actions, with what sort of men his encounters were;

what words he spoke to them;

what were the thoughts of his soul;

whether he lived out every day and every night in the fear of God, or whether he somewhere turned aside and disturbed some part of what had been decreed, either yielding to outward circumstances, or slipping away through his own laxity.

And whatever was rightly accomplished, let him confirm with approval;

but whatever was in error, let it be corrected by fitting and skillful instruction.

For thus those who travel will be more vigilant, out of concern for having to render an account, and we ourselves shall be seen not to have neglected their life even in the time of separation.

And that this was customary also among the saints, the narrative of the Acts hands down to us, teaching us how Peter, upon returning to Jerusalem, rendered to those there an account of the reception of the Gentiles;

and how Paul and Barnabas, having arrived, and having gathered the church together, reported all that God had done with them;

and again, that the whole multitude kept silence, and listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related all that God had done.

This, however, must be known: that roving about, and business dealings, and the profits of petty trade, must by every means be shunned by the brotherhoods.

QUESTION 45. That after the superior there must also be another who is able, in his absence or occupation, to care for the brothers.