640 



M O N A C H I S M. 



Mom- 

 chism. 



Occupa- 

 tions. 



Vows. 



according to it, they were allowed twelve ounces of 

 bread, to be taken at two meals, one in the afternoon 

 and one in the evening: the small loaves of six ounces 

 each were called Paximaica. In some cases Pacho- 

 raius allowed his monks a larger portion of bread, but 

 they were obliged to work a longer period. The 

 Egyptian monks were permitted to eat the small dried 

 fish of the Nile : in process of time, different kinds of 

 sea and river fish were allowed. Meat was expressly for- 

 bidden to be served to his disciples, except when ill- 

 ness absolutely required it: afterwards the flesh of 

 birds, but not that of quadrupeds, was permitted : 

 Cheese, fruit, sallad, were permitted ; to abstain from 

 boiled vegetables was deemed a merit. At the first 

 institution of monachism, water was the only beverage. 

 Benedict, because he could not persuade the monks to 

 abstain altogether from wine, allowed them half a pint 

 daily: this, in northern climates, where wine could not 

 be easily and cheaply obtained, his disciples exchanged 

 for beer or cyder. 



III. As at the institution of monachism, the mo- 

 nasteries had regular or permanent revenues, the 

 monks were obliged to labour, in order to maintain 

 themselves: but the produce of their labour went to 

 the common stock ; there was no private or exclusive 

 property : such expressions as my book, my cloak, my 

 shoes, according to Cassian, were not only forbidden, 

 but severely punished. Their occupation consisted in 

 cultivating the gardens and fields that belonged to the 

 monasteries ; in making their dress, utensils, and fur- 

 niture; and sometimes, particularly latterly as was 

 particularly the case with the Benedictines, in culti- 

 vating science and classical literature. The Egyptian 

 monks made wooden sandals, mats, and baskets, sell- 

 ing those which they did not need themselves. The 

 monasteries, however, soon became rich, and then 

 manual labour was neglected. 



IV. The vows taken on becoming monks were those 

 of poverty, obedience, and chastity ; but originally 

 these vows were not perpetually binding. Then the 

 monastic life seems to have been a matter of free 

 choice, not only at the monks' first entrance, but in 

 their progress and continuance, and they might quit 

 it without any punishment. The monks who married 

 were not anciently obliged by law to dissolve their 

 marriage : afterwards restraints were imposed in these 

 respects. Whoever left his monastery was pursued 

 and restored to it by the aid of the civil power. " The 

 actions of a monk, his words, and even his thoughts, 

 were determined by an inflexible rule, and a capricious 

 superior : the slightest offences were corrected by dis- 

 grace or confinement, extraordinary fasts, or bloody 

 flagellations; and disobedience, murmur, or delay, were 

 ranked in the catalogue of the most heinous sins." 

 The Egyptian monks, who seem to have been under 

 the most rigid discipline, " were directed to remove 

 an enormous rock : assiduously to water a barren staff 

 that was planted in the ground, till, at the- end of 

 three years, it should vegetate and blossom like a 

 tree ; to walk into a fiery furnace ; or to cast their in- 

 fant into a deep pond." The spiritual exercises of the 

 monks were perpetual repentance, extraordinary fast- 

 ing, and extraordinary devotions. We have already 

 mentioned, that originally the laws of monachism did 

 not permit the monks either to wander about as men- 

 dicants, or to interest themselves in civil or ecclesias- 

 tical affairs ; nor were they permitted to encroach on 

 the duties or rights of the secular clergy, or to dwell 

 in cities, but they were confined to the wilderness. 



" Whenever they were permitted to step beyond the Mona. 

 precincts of the monastery, two jealous companions chim. 

 were the mutual guards and spies of each other's ac- *"Y 

 tions ; and after their return they were condemned to 

 forget, or at least to suppress, whatever they had seen 

 or heard in the world. Strangers who professed the 

 orthodox faith, were hospitably entertained in a sepa- 

 rate apartment ; but their dangerous conversation was 

 restricted to some chosen elders of approved discretion 

 and fidelity. Except in their presence, the monastic 

 slave might not receive the visits of his friends or kin- 

 dred ; and it was deemed highly meritorious, if he 

 afflicted a tender sister or an aged parent by the obsti- 

 nate refusal of a word or look." 



V. Monasteries were commonly divided into several Officer*, 

 parts, and proper officers appointed over them : every 

 ten monks were subject to one, who was called De- 

 canus or Deacon : a centenarius presided over every 1 00. 

 The principal monastic dignity was that of abbot : 

 his power was very great; he was generally of a noble 

 family, and his possessions as abbot were often very 

 great. They were allowed to sit and vote in councils; 

 originally their power was subordinate to that of the 

 Bishop, and no one could build either an oratory or 

 monastery without the consent of the Bishop of the 

 district in which it was to be erected. The Dean used 

 to keep an exact account of every man's daily task : 

 this was brought to the steward of the house, who 

 himself gave a monthly account to the abbot. The 

 prior was often at the head of a great monastic foun- 

 dation, but the abbey he ruled was generally subordi- 

 nate to a greater abbey, from whence the officers and 

 monks were brought; and the revenues were a part of 

 the common stock. In some cases the subordinate 

 abbey over which the prior presided, paid an annual 

 pension as an acknowledgment of their subjection ; in 

 other respects, however, they acted as an independent 

 body. The almoner had the oversight of the alms, 

 which were duly distributed: The Pitaneer distributed 

 provisions on certain days above the common allow- 

 ance. The chamberlain had the chief care of the dor- 

 mitory. The cellarer was to procure provisions ; the 

 infirmarius took care of the sick ; the sacrist of the holy 

 vestments and utensils ; the precentor or chanter di- 

 rected the choir service. 



The lands possessed by monasteries were held under 

 the same tenure as all other land ; and till a compara- 

 tively late period, the abbots themselves led their quota 

 of troops into the field. In the time of Charlemagne, 

 fourteen monasteries of the empire furnished their pro- 

 portion of soldiers. In 982 the Bishop of Augsburg 

 and the Abbot of Fulda were killed in the same battle. 

 Charles Martel was opposed by troops collected and 

 headed by an Abbot of Fontinelle. 



Before concluding this article, we may add a few Nuns, 

 words respecting nuns. Their origin, institutions, rules, 

 and presiding officers were very similar to those of the 

 monks. Originally there was a distinction between 

 ecclesiastical and monastic virgins. The former were 

 common in the church long before the latter. They 

 were enrolled in the canon of the church ; that is, in 

 the catalogue of ecclesiastics. They lived privately in 

 their fathers' houses, where they were maintained, or, in 

 case of necessity, by the church. At first monastic 

 virgins, or nuns, like monks, might mix again with the 

 world, and even marry, without censure or punishment ; 

 but in the fourth and fifth centuries, the censures of the 

 church began to be very severe against the marriage of 

 perfect virgins. Before a woman was finally admitted 



