The Rule of St. Augustine
Written about the year 400, the Rule of St. Augustine is
one of the earliest guides for religious life.
Chapter I
Purpose and Basis of Common Life
Before all else, dear brothers, love God and then your neighbor,
because these are the chief commandments given to us.
1. The following are the precepts we order you living in
the monastery to observe.
2. The main purpose for you having come together is to live
harmoniously in your house, intent upon God in oneness of mind and heart.
3. Call nothing your own, but let everything be yours in
common. Food and clothing shall be distributed to each of you by your superior, not equally to all, for all do not enjoy equal
health, but rather according to each one's need. For so you read in the Acts of the Apostles that they had all things in
common and distribution was made to each one according to each one's need (4:32,35).
4. Those who owned something in the world should be careful
in wanting to share it in common once they have entered the monastery.
5. But they who owned nothing should not look for those things
in the monastery that they were unable to have in the world. Nevertheless, they are to be given all that their health requires
even if, during their time in the world, poverty made it impossible for them to find the very necessities of life. And those
should not consider themselves fortunate because they have found the kind of food and clothing which they were unable to find
in the world.
6. And let them not hold their heads high, because they associate
with people whom they did not dare to approach in the world, but let them rather lift up their hearts and not seek after what
is vain and earthly. Otherwise, monasteries will come to serve a useful purpose for the rich and not the poor, if the rich
are made humble there and the poor are puffed up with pride.
7. The rich, for their part, who seemed important in the
world, must not look down upon their brothers who have come into this holy brotherhood from a condition of poverty. They should
seek to glory in the fellowship of poor brothers rather than in the reputation of rich relatives. They should neither be elated
if they have contributed a part of their wealth to the common life, nor take more pride in sharing their riches with the monastery
than if they were to enjoy them in the world. Indeed, every other kind of sin has to do with the commission of evil deeds,
whereas pride lurks even in good works in order to destroy them.And what good is it to scatter one's weath abroad by giving
to the poor, even to become poor oneself, when the unhappy soul is thereby more given to pride in despising riches than it
had been in possessing them?
8. Let all of you then live together in oneness of mind and
heart, mutually honoring God in yourselves, whose temples you have become.
Chapter II
Prayer
1. Be assiduous in prayer (Col 4:2), at the hours
and times appointed.
2. In the Oratory no one should do anything other than that
for which was intended and from which it also takes its name. Consequently, if there are some who might wish to pray there
during their free time, even outside the hours appointed, they should not be hindered by those who think something else must
be done there.
3. When you pray to God in Psalms and hymns, think over in
your hearts the words that come from your lips.
4. Chant only what is prescribed for chant; moreover, let
nothing be chanted unless it is so prescribed.
Chapter III
Moderation and Self-Denial
1. Subdue the flesh, so far as your health permits, by fasting
and abstinence from food and drink. However, when someone is unable to fast, he should still take no food outside mealtimes
unless he is ill.
2. When you come to table, listen until you leave to what
is the custom to read, without disturbance or strife. Let not your mouths alone take nourishment but let your hearts too hunger
for the words of God.
3. If those in more delicate health from their former way
of life are treated differently in the matter of food, this should not be a source of annoyance to the others or appear unjust
in the eyes of those who owe their stronger health to different habits of life. Nor should the healthier brothers deem them
more fortunate for having food which they do not have, but rather consider themselves fortunate for having the good health
which the others do not enjoy.
4. And if something in the way of food, clothing, and bedding
is given to those coming to the monastery from a more genteel way of life, which is not given to those who are stronger, and
therefore happier, then these latter ought to consider how far these others have come in passing from their life in the world
down to this life of ours, though they have been unable to reach the level of frugality common to the stronger brothers. Nor
should all want to receive what they see given in larger measure to the few, not as a token of honor, but as a help to support
them in their weakness. This would give rise to a deplorable disorder - that in the monastery, where the rich are coming to
bear as much hardship as they can, the poor are turning to a more genteel way of life.
5. And just as the sick must take less food to avoid discomfort,
so too, after their illness, they are to receive the kind of treatment that will quickly restore their strength, even though
they come from a life of extreme poverty. Their more recent illness has, as it were, afforded them what accrued to the rich
as part of their former way of life. But when they have recovered their former strength, they should go back to their happier
way of life which, because their needs are fewer, is all the more in keeping with God's servants. Once in good health, they
must not become slaves to the enjoyment of food which was necessary to sustain them in their illness. For it is better to
suffer a little want than to have too much.
Chapter IV
Safeguarding Chastity, and Fraternal Correction
1. There should be nothing about your clothing to attract
attention. Besides, you should not seek to please by your apparel, but by a good life.
2. Whenever you go out, walk together, and when you reach
your destination, stay together.
3. In your walk, deportment, and in all actions, let nothing
occur to give offense to anyone who sees you, but only what becomes your holy state of life.
4. Although your eyes may chance to rest upon some woman
or other, you must not fix your gaze upon any woman. Seeing women when you go out is not forbidden, but it is sinful to desire
them or to wish them to desire you, for it is not by tough or passionate feeling alone but by one's gaze also that lustful
desires mutually arise. And do not say that your hearts are pure if there is immodesty of the eye, because the unchaste eye
carries the message of an impure heart. And when such hearts disclose their unchaste desires in a mutual gaze, even without
saying a word, then it is that chastity suddenly goes out of their life, even though their bodies remain unsullied by unchaste
acts.
5. And whoever fixes his gaze upon a woman and likes to have
hers fixed upon him must not suppose that others do not see what he is doing. He is very much seen, even by those he thinks
do not see him. But suppose all this escapes the notice of man - what will he do about God who sees from on high and from
whom nothing is hidden? Or are we to imagine that he does not see because he sees with a patience as great as his wisdom?
Let the religious man then have such fear of God that he will not want to be an occasion of sinful pleasure to a woman. Ever
mindful that God sees all things, let him not desire to look at a woman lustfully. For it is on this point that fear of the
Lord is recommended, where it is written: An abomination to the Lord is he who fixes his gaze (Prv. 27:20)
6. So when you are together in church and anywhere else where
women are present, exercise a mutual care over purity of life. Thus, by mutual vigilance over one another will God, who dwells
in you, grant you his protection.
7. If you notice in someone of your brothers this wantonness
of the eye, of which I am speaking, admonish him at once so that the beginning of evil will not grow more serious but will
be promptly corrected.
8. But if you see him doing the same thing again on some
other day, even after your admonition, then whoever had occasion to discover this must report him as he would a wounded man
in need of treatment. But let the offense first be pointed out to two or three so that he can be proven guilty on the testimony
of these two or three and be punished with due severity. And do not charge yourselves with ill-will when you bring this offense
to light. Indeed, yours in the greater blame if you allow your brothers to be lost through your silence when you are able
to bring about their correction by your disclosure. If you brother, for example, were suffering a bodily wound that he wanted
to hide for fear of undergoing treatment, would it not be cruel of you to remain silent and a mercy on your part to make this
known? How much greater then is your obligation to make his condition known lest he continue to suffer a more deadly wound
of the soul.
9. But if he fails to correct the fault despite this admonition,
he should first be brought to the attention of the superior before the offense is made known to the others who will have to
prove his guilt, in the event he denies the charge. Thus, corrected in private, his fault can perhaps be kept from the others.
But should he feign ignorance, the others are to be summoned so that in the presence of all he can be proven guilty, rather
than stand accused on the word of one alone. Once proven guilty, he must undergo salutary punishment according to the judgment
of the superior or priest having the proper authority. If he refuses to submit to punishment, he shall be expelled from your
brotherhood even if he does not withdraw of his own accord. For this too is not done out of cruelty, but from a sense of compassion
so that many others may not be lost through his bad example.
10. And let everything I have said about not fixing one's
gaze be also observed carefully and faithfully with regard to other offenses: to find them out, to ward them off, to make
them known, to prove and punish them - all out of love for man and a hatred of sin.
11. But if anyone should go so far in wrongdoing as to receive
letters in secret from any woman, or small gifts of any kind, you ought to show mercy and pray for him if he confesses this
of his own accord. But if the offense is detected and he is found guilty, he must be more severely chastised according to
the judgment of the priest or superior.
Chapter V
The Care of Community Goods and Treatment of the Sick
1. Keep your clothing in one place in charge of one or two,
or of as many as are needed to care for them and to prevent damage from moths. And just as you have your food from the one
pantry, so, too, you are to receive your clothing from a single wardrobe. If possible, do not be concerned about what you
are given to wear at the change of seasons, whether each of you gets back what he had put away or something different, providing
no one is denied what he needs. If, however, disputes and murmuring arise on this account because someone complains that he
received poorer clothing than he had before, and thinks it is beneath him to wear the kind of clothing worn by another, you
may judge from this how lacking you are in that holy and inner garment of the heart when you quarrel over garments for the
body. But if allowance is made for your weakness and you do receive the same clothing you had put away, you must still keep
it in one place under the common charge.
2. In this way, no one shall perform any task for his own
benefit but all your work shall be done for the common good, with greater zeal and more dispatch than if each one of you were
to work for yourself alone. For charity, as it is written, is not self-seeking (1 Cor 13:5) meaning that it places
the common good before its own, not its own before the common good. So whenever you show greater concern for the common good
than for your own, you may know that you are growing in charity. Thus, let the abiding virtue of charity prevail in all things
that minister to the fleeting necessities of life.
3. It follows, therefore, that if anyone brings something
for their sons or other relatives living in the monastery, whether a garment or anything else they think is needed, this must
not be accepted secretly as one's own but must be placed at the disposal of the superior so that, as common property, it can
be given to whoever needs it. But if someone secretly keeps something given to him, he shall be judged guilty of theft.
4. Your clothing should be cleaned either by yourselves or
by those who perform this service, as the superior shall determine, so that too great a desire for clean clothing may not
be the source of interior stains on the soul.
5. As for bodily cleanliness too, a brother must never deny
himself the use of the bath when his health requires it. But this should be done on medical advice, without complaining, so
that even though unwilling, he shall do what has to be done for his health when the superior orders it. However, if the brother
wishes it, when it might not be good for him, you must not comply with his desire, for sometimes we think something is beneficial
for the pleasure it gives, even though it may prove harmful.
6. Finally, if the cause of a brother's bodily pain is not
apparent, you make take the word of God's servant when he indicates what is giving him pain. But if it remains uncertain whether
the remedy he likes is good for him, a doctor should be consulted.
7. When there is need to frequent the public baths or any
other place, no fewer than two or three should go together, and whoever has to go somewhere must not go with those of his
own choice but with those designated by the superior.
8. The care of the sick, whether those in convalescence or
others suffering from some indisposition, even though free of fever, shall be assigned to a brother who can personally obtain
from the pantry whatever he sees is necessary for each one.
9. Those in charge of the pantry, or of clothing and books,
should render cheerful service to their brothers.
10. Books are to be requested at a fixed hour each day, and
anyone coming outside that hour is not to receive them.
11. But as for clothing and shoes, those in charge shall
not delay the giving of them whenever they are required by those in need of them.
Chapter V
The Care of Community Goods and Treatment of the Sick
1. Keep your clothing in one place in charge of one or two,
or of as many as are needed to care for them and to prevent damage from moths. And just as you have your food from the one
pantry, so, too, you are to receive your clothing from a single wardrobe. If possible, do not be concerned about what you
are given to wear at the change of seasons, whether each of you gets back what he had put away or something different, providing
no one is denied what he needs. If, however, disputes and murmuring arise on this account because someone complains that he
received poorer clothing than he had before, and thinks it is beneath him to wear the kind of clothing worn by another, you
may judge from this how lacking you are in that holy and inner garment of the heart when you quarrel over garments for the
body. But if allowance is made for your weakness and you do receive the same clothing you had put away, you must still keep
it in one place under the common charge.
2. In this way, no one shall perform any task for his own
benefit but all your work shall be done for the common good, with greater zeal and more dispatch than if each one of you were
to work for yourself alone. For charity, as it is written, is not self-seeking (1 Cor 13:5) meaning that it places
the common good before its own, not its own before the common good. So whenever you show greater concern for the common good
than for your own, you may know that you are growing in charity. Thus, let the abiding virtue of charity prevail in all things
that minister to the fleeting necessities of life.
3. It follows, therefore, that if anyone brings something
for their sons or other relatives living in the monastery, whether a garment or anything else they think is needed, this must
not be accepted secretly as one's own but must be placed at the disposal of the superior so that, as common property, it can
be given to whoever needs it. But if someone secretly keeps something given to him, he shall be judged guilty of theft.
4. Your clothing should be cleaned either by yourselves or
by those who perform this service, as the superior shall determine, so that too great a desire for clean clothing may not
be the source of interior stains on the soul.
5. As for bodily cleanliness too, a brother must never deny
himself the use of the bath when his health requires it. But this should be done on medical advice, without complaining, so
that even though unwilling, he shall do what has to be done for his health when the superior orders it. However, if the brother
wishes it, when it might not be good for him, you must not comply with his desire, for sometimes we think something is beneficial
for the pleasure it gives, even though it may prove harmful.
6. Finally, if the cause of a brother's bodily pain is not
apparent, you make take the word of God's servant when he indicates what is giving him pain. But if it remains uncertain whether
the remedy he likes is good for him, a doctor should be consulted.
7. When there is need to frequent the public baths or any
other place, no fewer than two or three should go together, and whoever has to go somewhere must not go with those of his
own choice but with those designated by the superior.
8. The care of the sick, whether those in convalescence or
others suffering from some indisposition, even though free of fever, shall be assigned to a brother who can personally obtain
from the pantry whatever he sees is necessary for each one.
9. Those in charge of the pantry, or of clothing and books,
should render cheerful service to their brothers.
10. Books are to be requested at a fixed hour each day, and
anyone coming outside that hour is not to receive them.
11. But as for clothing and shoes, those in charge shall
not delay the giving of them whenever they are required by those in need of them.
Chapter VI
Asking Pardon and Forgiving Offenses
1.Your should either avoid quarrels altogether or else put
an end to them as quickly as possible; otherwise, anger may grow into hatred, making a plank out of a splinter, and turn the
soul into a murderer. For so you read: Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer (1 Jn 3:15).
2. Whoever has injured another by open insult, or by abusive
or even incriminating language, must remember to repair the injury as quickly as possible by an apology, and he who suffered
the injury must also forgive, without further wrangling. But if they have offended one another, they must forgive one another's
trespasses for the sake of your prayers which should be recited with greater sincerity each time you repeat them. Although
a brother is often tempted to anger, yet prompt to ask pardon from one he admits to having offended, such a one is better
than another who, though less given to anger, finds it too hard to ask forgiveness. But a brother who is never willing to
ask pardon, or does not do so from his heart, has no reason to be in the monastery, even if he is not expelled. You must then
avoid being too harsh in your words, and should they escape your lips, let those same lips not be ashamed to heal the wounds
they have caused.
3. But whenever the good of discipline requires you to speak
harshly in correcting your subjects, then, even if you think you have been unduly harsh in your language, you are not required
to ask forgiveness lest, by practicing too great humility toward those who should be your subjects, the authority to rule
is undermined. But you should still ask forgiveness from the Lord of all who knows with what deep affection you love even
those whom you might happen to correct with undue severity. Besides, you are to love another with a spiritual rather than
an earthly love.
Chapter VII
Governance and Obedience
1. The superior should be obeyed as a father with the respect
due him so as not to offend God in his person, and, even more so, the priest who bears responsibility for you all.
2. But it shall pertain chiefly to the superior to see that
these precepts are all observed and, if any point has been neglected, to take care that the transgression is not carelessly
overlooked but is punished and corrected. In doing so, he must refer whatever exceeds the limit and power of his office, to
the priest who enjoys greater authority among you.
3. The superior, for his part, must not think himself fortunate
in his exercise of authority but in his role as one serving you in love. In your eyes he shall hold the first place among
you by the dignity of his office, but in fear before God he shall be as the least among you. He must show himself as an example
of good works toward all. Let him admonish the unruly, cheer the fainthearted, support the weak, and be patient toward
all (1 Thes 5:14). Let him uphold discipline while instilling fear. And though both are necessary, he should strive to
be loved by you rather than feared, ever mindful that he must give an account of you to God.
4. It is by being more obedient, therefore, that you show
mercy not only toward yourselves but also toward the superior whose higher rank among you exposes him all the more to greater
peril.
Chapter VIII
Observance of the Rule
1. The Lord grant that you may observe all these precepts
in a spirit of charity as lovers of spiritual beauty, giving forth the good odor of Christ in the holiness of your lives:
not as slaves living under the law but as men living in freedom under grace.
2. And that you may see yourselves in this little book, as
in a mirror, have it read to you once a week so as to neglect no point through forgetfulness. When you find that you are doing
all that has been written, give thanks to the Lord, the Giver of every good. But when one of you finds that he has failed
on any point, let him be sorry for the past, be on his guard for the future, praying that he will be forgiven his fault and
not be led into temptation.