Cap. LXV
DE PRAEPOSITO MONASTERII

[Ms P, fol. 163v - Paulus Diaconus]

Ch. 65
ON THE PRIOR OF THE MONASTERY

Translated by: Julie Hofmann

Congruum ordinem tenuit B. Benedictus in eo, quod prius dixit de abbate et postmodum de praeposito monasterii. Sequitur: ₁Saepius quidem contingit, ut per ordinationem praepositi scandala gravia in monasteriis oriantur, ₂dum sint [page 599] aliqui maligno spiritu superbiae inflati et aestimantes, se secundos esse abbates, assumentes sibi tyrannidem, scandala nutriunt et dissensiones in congregatione faciunt, ₃et maxime in illis locis, ubi ab eodem sacerdote vel ab eis abbatibus, qui abbatem ordinant, ab ipsis etiam praepositus ordinatur.

Blessed Benedict kept the right order in this place, because he spoke first about the abbot, and afterwards about the prior of the monastery. He continues: ₁It very frequently happens that through the installation of a prior, grave scandals arise in the monastery, ₂for there are [page 599] some who are puffed up with the evil spirit of pride, and consider themselves second abbots; behaving as tyrants, they nurture scandal and create dissent in the community, ₃especially in those places where the prior is installed by the same bishop or abbots who installed the abbot.

Cognovit B. Benedictus, magnum malum esse discordiam, et adeo magnum malum, ut omne bonum pro discordiae malo posse¹ deperire. Ideo studuit etiam hoc capitulum componere, quatenus corpus monasterii possit esse conjunctum, ne si separatum per discordiae malum fuerit, adversus hostem non possit consistere, quia si civitas vel exercitus pugnans adversus hostem divisa vel divisus fuerit, non poterit vincere, sed per eos, quos partis adversariae habet, in manus inimicorum suorum tradetur. Sic et monasterium si divisum fuerit, non solum ipsi pereunt, sed etiam illi, qui potuerant esse forte boni, solent perire. Et adeo malum discordiae S. Benedictus insequitur, ut etiam ipsum praepositum, si post electionem praepositurae humilis non fuerit, de monasterio jubeat expelli, ne diabolus, amator discordiae, suos² habere in congregatione possit, per quem alios possit decipere.

Blessed Benedict understood discord to be a great evil and indeed, such a great evil that all good can be destroyed by the evil of discord. He was therefore eager to compose this chapter, so that the body of the monastery might be united, for if it were divided by the evil of discord, it would not be able to stand against the enemy; because if a city or army fighting against an enemy were divided, it would not prevail, but [instead] would be given into the hands of its enemies by those whom it considers the opposition. And thus if the monastery is divided, not only will the opposition perish, but those who perhaps had been able to be good usually perish as well. And St Benedict attacks the evil of discord to such a degree that indeed, he commands that if after removal¹ from his office he is [still] not humble, the prior himself should be expelled from the monastery lest the Devil, that lover of discord, be able to have his own amongst the congregation, through whom he might deceive the others.

Tyrannidem, i. e. crudelitatem vel terrorem. Sed dicendum est, qualiter praepositus assumat crudelitatem. Quia enim se esse aestimat secundum abbatem, quibus potest blandiri, blanditur, ut ad se trahat, et quibus fratribus non potest blandiri, terrorem incutit aut aliquam crudelitatem exercet. Quasi diceret, cum dicit assumentes sibi tyrannidem, i. e. crudeles se esse ostendentes.³ Praepositus enim appellatur eo, quod sit subjectorum ac famulantium ordinator vel rector. [Isidore of Seville, Etymologiae X, c. 205]

Tyranny, i.e., cruelty or terror. Yet it must be said how the prior might behave with cruelty. Because he considers himself a second abbot, he flatters everyone he can flatter, in order to draw them [to himself] and he instills dread in the brothers he cannot flatter or inflicts some sort of cruelty. It is as if when he says behaving as tyrants it means they reveal themselves to be cruel. For the prior is so named because he is the administrator and director of underlings and servants. [Isidore of Seville, Etymologiae X, c. 205, transl. Barney et al., The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006, p. 226]

Sequitur: ₄quod quam sit absurdum, facile advertitur, quia ab ipso initio ordinationis materia datur superbiendi, [page 600] ₅dum ei suggeritur a cogitationibus suis, exutum eum esse a potestate abbatis sui, ₆quia ab ipso est ordinatus, a quibus et abbas. ₇Hinc suscitantur invidiae, rixae, detractiones, aemulationes, dissensiones, exinordinationes,⁴ ₈ut⁵ dum contraria sibi invicem abbas praepositusque sentiunt, et ipsorum necesse est sub dissensione animas periclitari, ₉et hi, qui sub ipsis sunt, dum adulantur partibus, eunt in perditionem; ₁₀cujus periculi malum illos respicit in capite, qui talibus in ordinatione se fecerunt auctores. ₁₁Ideo nos praevidimus expedire propter pacis caritatisque custodiam, in abbatis pendere arbitrio ordinationem monasterii sui.

He continues: ₄it is easy to see how absurd this is, because from the moment of his [the prior’s] appointment, he is given cause for pride, [page 600] ₅until he imagines himself to be no longer under the power of the abbot, ₆because he was appointed by the same men who appointed the abbot. ₇Hence envy, quarrels, slanders, rivalries, dissent, and confusions are aroused, ₈so that as long as the abbot and prior perceive themselves to be in conflict, and during this conflict, their souls are necessarily in peril; ₉and those who are under them, while courting both sides, go to ruin. ₁₀The responsibility for this evil rests on the heads of those who, in the appointment, made themselves its authors. ₁₁For that reason, we consider it expedient for the protection of peace and charity that an appointment in his monastery depends upon the judgement of the abbot.

Quod vero dicit quod quam sit absurdum, facile advertitur, et rel. - quasi diceret: hoc malum quantum vel quam sit absurdum - subaudis: ipsum malum, facile advertitur. Facile, i. e. cito; advertitur, i. e. cognoscitur vel intelligitur; quam absurdum, i. e. quantum malum; materia, i. e. occasio; aemulationes, i. e. invidiae; dissensiones, i. e. discordiae; exinordinationes, i. e. deordinationes. Bene dicit exinordinationes, quia quod abbas ordinat, praepositus deordinat, et quod praepositus ordinat, abbas deordinat.

But when he says It is easy to see how absurd this is and so on, as if he were saying, 'How great an evil and how absurd it is' you should understand, 'It is easy to see the evil itself.' Easy, i.e., quickly; sees, i.e., recognizes or understands; how absurd, i.e., how great an evil; cause, i.e., occasion; rivalries, i.e., envies; dissensions, i.e., discord; confusions, i.e., disorders. He does well to say confusions, because what the abbot orders [ordinat], the prior dis-orders [deordinat], and what the prior orders, the abbot dis-orders.

Quod autem dicit necesse est, non dicit, ut necessitas sit, perire, sed necesse est, i. e. non potest aliter fieri. Necesse est adverbium est confirmantis. Dum adulantur pertinet ad monachos; cum dicit partibus, attinet ad abbatem et praepositum. Partibus, i. e. dum adulantur monachi alii abbati, alii autem praeposito, quia alii dicunt abbati: Tu melius disponis, quam praepositus; et iterum alii vadunt ad praepositum et dicunt: Tu melius agis quam abbas. Et quod pejus est, cum sint alii:⁶ quod audiunt a praeposito, dicunt abbati, et iterum, quod ab abbate audiunt, dicunt praeposito.

Moreover, when he says necessarily, he is not saying that it is needful that they perish, but that it is inevitable, i.e., nothing else is possible. Necessarily is a supporting adverb. While courting pertains to the monks; when he says the sides, he means the abbot and the prior. Sides, i.e., while some monks court the abbot, and others the prior, because some say to the abbot, 'You manage things better than the prior' and again, others rush to the prior and say, 'You do things better than the abbot.' And what is worse, there are those who tell the abbot what they hear from the prior and then tell the prior what they hear from the abbot.²

Istud vero, quod dicit cujus periculi malum illos respicit in capite, qui talibus in ordinatione se fecerunt auctores, - ac si diceret: Inprimis ad illos episcopos vel abbates hoc malum respicit, qui illum [page 601] abbatem et praepositum ordinaverunt, vel etiam monachos, qui consenserunt. Deinde tunc ad abbatem et praepositum hoc malum respiciet, si illos salubriter ae caritatis studio non correxerint vel ordinaverint. Expedire, i. e. convenire vel advenire; pendere, i. e. constare.

But what he says here—the responsibility for this evil rests on the heads of those who, in the appointment, made themselves its authors—is as if he said that this evil rests in the first place on those bishops or abbots who [page 611] appointed that abbot and prior and likewise in those monks who consented. Then this evil will next turn its gaze on the abbot and prior, if they do not correct them [the monks] and put them in order, wholesomely and with the zeal of love. To be expedient, i.e., to be fit or suitable; to depend on, i.e., to be based upon.

Sequitur: ₁₂et si potest fieri, per decanos ordinetur, ut ante disposuimus, omnis utilitas monasterii, prout abbas disposuerit, ₁₃ut dum pluribus committitur, unus non superbiat. ₁₄Quod si aut locus expetit aut congregatio petierit rationabiliter cum humilitate, et abbas judicaverit expedire, ₁₅quemcunque elegerit abbas cum consilio fratrum timentium Deum, ordinet ipse sibi praepositum.

Next: ₁₂and if it is possible, as we said above, all of the well-being of the monastery should be managed by the deans, just as the abbot lays out, ₁₃so that when it [i.e., management] is entrusted to many, no one person becomes proud. ₁₄But if either the situation demands, or the community asks reasonably and humbly, and the abbot judges it expedient, ₁₅whomever the abbot chooses with the counsel of the God-fearing brothers, he himself should appoint as prior.

Quod vero dicit per decanos ordinetur, prout intelligo, antiqua consuetudo fuit, ut in omni officio et obedientia monasterii semper erat⁷ unus decanus super illos decem monachos; v. gr. si grammatici erant, qui discebant, unus decanus erat, i. e. prior super illos; et si portarii, similiter unus super illos decanus erat; et si super infirmos, unus decanus erat super illos. Et quid plus? Semper in omnibus officiis unus decanus erat super illos fratres, qui erant deputati ad illam obedientiam. Et isti decani habebant curam de eorum necessitate corporali, et illi necessitatem eorum quaerebant ab abbate, et illi erant solliciti de eorum negligentia, sicut legitur in instituta patrum, quando ad mensam sedebant, quomodo illi decani faciebant signum, si aliqua necessitas quaerendi erat fratribus. [cf. Cassian, Institutiones IV, c. 17, SC 105] Deinde, quando forte coquebant panes, ibant quatuor vel tres decani, prout necesse erat, cum fratribus; quando vero in horto ibant, quatuor decani cum decania sua ibant. Deinde non audebat ire de istius decania quis et ire ad illius decaniam et loqui, nisi jussus. Similiter et in capitulo semper decanus erat super decaniam suam et in omni loco, quo ibat decanus, cum decania sua ibat.

But when he says managed by the deans, as I understand was the customary practice, so that in every office and obedience of the monastery there was always one dean over ten monks; for example, if they were grammar-teaching monks,³ one was dean, that is, first among them; and if there were porters, similarly one was dean over them; and for those assigned to care for the ill, one dean was over them. And what more? Always, in every duty, one dean was over those brothers who were assigned to that obedience. And those deans had the care over their charges’ physical needs, and they sought their own necessities from the abbot, and they were concerned about neglect of their charges, just as it is read in the Instituta patrum when they sat at the table, how those deans made the sign, if any need was to be demanded from the brothers.⁴ Afterward, when they happened to be baking bread, four or three deans, according to what was needed, went with the brothers; however, when they went into the garden, four deans went with their deaneries. From there, no one dared to go from one’s own deanery and go to another deanery to speak, unless so ordered. And similarly in chapter there was always one dean over his deanery, and in every place where he went, he went with his deanery.

Et erat magna sollicitudo; sed modo non fit. Nam ille circator, sicut dixi, quando circabat monasterium, decanum corripiebat de negligentia sui subjecti, sicut jam dixi, eo [page 602] quod decanus cum sua decania legebat hic et alter decanus cum sua decania legebat illic.

And there used to be great care taken, but it is not done that way now. For the circator, as I said, when making his rounds of the monastery, rebuked the dean concerning the negligence of his followers, as I just said, [page 602] because one dean was reading with his deanery here, and another dean was reading with his deanery there.

Item quod autem dicit: si potest fieri, per decanos ordinetur, ut ante disposuimus, omnis utilitas monasterii, prout abbas disposuerit - ac si diceret: Quidquid ordinandum est in monasterio, decani debent ordinare, et decani ita debent disponere, sicut abbas constituerit. Et reddit causam, quare, cum dicit: ut dum pluribus committitur, unus non superbiat - ac si diceret: Ideo decani debent ordinare, quia, si unus solummodo ordinaverit, elatus efficitur in cogitationibus. Non dicit, ut superbiat ad abbatem, sed ne elatus in corde existat, cum videt, se solum regere monasterium. 

Again, however, when he says If it be possible, as we said above, all the monastery’s well-being should be managed by the deans, just as the abbot has laid out, it is as if to say that the deans ought to manage whatever is to be managed in the monastery, and thus the deans ought to do just as abbot directs. And he returns to the cause, therefore, when he says, so that when it [i.e., management] is entrusted to many, no one person becomes proud, as if he were saying, 'Therefore deans ought to manage, because if one were to manage all alone, pride would arise in his thoughts.' He is not saying that he would become prideful with regard to the abbot, but lest there be pride in the dean’s heart when he considers himself to rule the monastery alone.

Quod autem dicit: Quod si aut locus expetit aut congregatio petierit istud aut pro et ponitur in hoc loco, eo quod congregatio non debet petere nisi rationabiliter.

But if he says: But if either the situation demands, or the community asks he uses either rather than and, because the congregation ought not ask him, unless it is done reasonably.

Quod autem dicit quemcunque elegerit abbas cum consilio fratrum timentium Deum ordinet - quasi diceret: Quando elegerit abbas praepositum cum consilio timentium Deum, h. e. seniorum, [et] postmodum interroget omnes in capitulo, sicut superius diximus: seniorum tantum utatur consilio.

Moreover, he says the abbot should appoint whomever he chooses, with the counsel of the God-fearing brothers as if he were saying that when the abbot chooses a prior with the counsel of the God-fearing, that is the senior monks, [and] afterwards asks all in the chapter, just as we said above, he is only making use of the counsel of the senior monks.

Sequitur: ₁₆Qui tamen praepositus illa agat cum reverentia, quae ab abbate suo ei injuncta fuerint, nihil contra abbatis voluntatem aut ordinationem faciens, ₁₇quia quantum praelatus est ceteris, tantum eum oportet sollicite observare praecepta regulae. ₁₈Qui praepositus si repertus fuerit vitiosus aut elatione deceptus superbiae aut contemptor sanctae regulae fuerit comprobatus, admoneatur verbis usque quater; ₁₉si non emendaverit, adhibeatur ei correptio disciplinae regularis; ₂₀quod si neque sic correxerit, tunc dejiciatur de ordine praepositurae, et alius, qui dignus est, in loco ejus subrogetur. ₂₁Quodsi et postea in congregatione quietus et obediens non fuerit, etiam de monasterio expellatur. ₂₂Cogitet tamen abbas, se de omnibus judiciis suis Deo reddere rationem, ne forte invidiae aut zeli flamma urat animam.

Next: ₁₆Nevertheless the prior should do those things that are ordered by his abbot with reverence, doing nothing against the abbot’s will or orders, ₁₇because the more he is preferred to others, the more it behooves him to observe with great concern the teachings of the Rule. ₁₈If the prior is found to be full of vice, either deceived by proud conceit or proved to be someone with contempt for the Holy Rule, let him be admonished up to four times verbally. ₁₉Should he not mend his ways, the correction of the Rule’s discipline should be applied to him, ₂₀but if he not be corrected in this manner, then let him be removed from the position of prior, and someone worthy be substituted in his place. ₂₁And if after that he is not quiet and obedient in the community, let him be expelled from the monastery. ₂₂Yet let the abbot reflect that he shall himself render an account of all his judgements to God, lest it happen that the flame of envy or rivalry burns his soul.

Quod vero dicit: Qui tamen praepositus illa agat cum reverentia et rel. - usque modo dixit, qualiter ordinetur praepositus, modo vero, postquam ordinatus est, constringit illum dicens: illa agat [page 603] reverentia, i. e. cum honore et timore Dei.

When he says, Nevertheless the prior should do with reverence, etc.: up to this point, he said how the prior might be appointed, but once he is appointed, Benedict constrains him, saying: he should do those things [page 603] with reverence, i.e., with honor and the fear of God.

Quod autem dicit nihil contra voluntatem abbatis aut ordinationem faciens, duo dixit: Potest esse voluntas abbatis, quod non est ordinatio; v. gr. ordinat abbas, quae agi debent. Quia nullus est mortalis, qui sic possit definire omnia in primis, ut postmodum non sit etiam necessitas, iterum melius ordinandi; tunc ille praepositus non agit contra ordinationem, cum ea custodit. Et similiter non agit contra voluntatem abbatis, si in aliis rebus, in quibus non potuit abbas definitionem ponere, si praepositus ita illa agat, prout abbatis voluntatem cognoverit.

But when as he says, doing nothing against the abbot’s will or orders, he said two [things]. Something can be the will of the abbot that is not an order. Say, for example, the abbot orders what ought to be done. Because there is no mortal who can define everything in the beginning so that afterwards there is no need for improvement, then that prior is not acting against an order when he keeps to those things [that have been specifically commanded.]⁵ And likewise he is not acting against the will of the abbot, if in other things, concerning which the abbot was not able to specify, the prior acts according to his familiarity with the abbot’s will.

Quod autem dicit: quia, quantum praelatus est, ita eum oportet sollicite praecepta regulae observare, ita intelligitur, i. e. in cibo vel potu, in silentio, vel ubi potest, videlicet in lectione et obedientia, seu etiam in reliquis causis.

When he says because the more he is preferred to others, the more it behooves him to observe with great concern the teachings of the Rule, it is understood thus, i.e., in eating or drinking, in silence, or wherever he can, or in reading and in obedience, or indeed in in any other matters.⁶

Quod vero dicit vitiosus aut elatione deceptus - vitiosus attinet ad cibum vel potum, elatio autem attinet ad vestitum et ad equitandum. Contemptor sanctae regulae attinet ad silentium vel lectionem et cetera, quae regula dicit.

But when he says, full of vice, either deceived by conceit, full of vice refers to eating or drinking, conceit, however, refers to clothing and riding. Someone with contempt for the Holy Rule refers to keeping silent or reading, and so on, as the Rule states.

Quod autem dicit admoneatur usque quater et reliq., bene dicit usque quater, quia sicut major est in honore, ita etiam plures habere debet admonitiones; v. gr. monachus duabus vicibus dicitur corripi, decanus tribus, praepositus quatuor.

When he says let him be admonished up to four times and the rest, he does well to say up to four times, because just as he is greater in honor, thus also he ought to have more admonitions; for example, a monk is said to be rebuked two times, a dean three, and a prior four.

Istud vero, quod dicit si non emendaverit, adhibeatur ei correptio disciplinae regularis - quasi diceret: Si per quatuor vices fuerit admonitus et non se emendaverit, ducatur per gradus, h. e. publica correptio, excommunicatio, nimiis jejuniis, si dignus est, flagellum, deinde oratio, postea dejiciatur de ordine praepositurae, sicut ipse S. Benedictus dicit: tunc dejiciatur de ordine praepositurae, et alius, qui dignus est, in loco ejus subrogetur. Postea expellatur, sicut ipse S. Benedictus dicit: Quod si et postea in congregatione et rel., etiam de monasterio expellatur.

But when he says should he not mend his ways, the correction of the Rule’s discipline should be applied to him it is as if he is saying that if he should be admonished four times and not mend his ways, let him be taken through these steps: rebuke in public, excommunication, strict fasting, if appropriate, the scourge, then with prayer. After that let him be removed from the office of prior, just as St. Benedict himself says: then let him be removed from the position of prior, and let someone worthy be substituted in his place. After he is expelled, just as St. Benedict himself says: But if after, in the congregation, and so on, let him also be expelled from the monastery.

Hoc vero, quod dicit: Cogitet tamen abbas, se de omnibus judiciis suis Deo reddere rationem, et rel., attendendum est, quia, ubi S. Benedictus de judicio dicit dando ab abbate, ipsi abbati quasi frenum mittit, cum dicit quia in omnibus judiciis suis redditurus est Deo rationem [Regula Benedicti, c 21.9], sicut in hoc loco dicit.

What he says: Yet let the abbot reflect on [this], that he shall himself render an account of all his judgements to God, and so on – it must be noted carefully that where St. Benedict speaks of the judgement to be given by the abbot, he reins in the abbot, as it were, when he says that an account of all his judgements shall be rendered to God, just as he says here.⁷

Et bene dicit [page 604] ne forte zeli aut invidiae flamma urat animam, quia forte ille praepositus est bonus homo et sanctae conversationis, et ideo dicit ne zeli aut invidiae flamma urat animam. Zelum enim et invidia unum significat; quamvis namque unum significet, tamen zelum attinet ad praeteritum malum, invidia vero ad futurum - ac si diceret: ne, quia videt illum bonum esse aut futurum esse, ideo ejiciat de monasterio.

And rightly he says [page 604] lest the flame of envy or rivalry burn his soul, because it may happen that the prior is a good man leading a holy life, and for that reason he says lest the flame of envy or rivalry burn his [the abbot’s] soul. For envy and rivalry mean the same thing; on the other hand, although they might indicate one thing, nevertheless envy concerns evil in the past, rivalry properly concerns the future. It is as if he were saying lest, because he [the abbot] considers that man [the prior] to be good or that he will be good, he therefore expels [the prior] from the monastery.⁸

Sciendum est enim, quia cum abbas non fuerit in monasterio, eandem potestatem, quam abbas habet, debet habere praepositus, videlicet in arguendo vel in excommunicando seu etiam in flagellando atque in ceteris locis. Si praepositus non fuerit, debet habere decanus; si vero decanus non fuerit, debet habere ille, quem in suo loco constituerit. Et quod ita debet esse, ipse S. Benedictus dicit: in quibus partiatur onera sua [Regula Benedicti, c. 21.3]; et iterum: nisi cui potestas ab abbate data fuerit, nulli liceat quemquam excommunicare.

For it must be understood, because when the abbot is not in the monastery, a prior ought to have the same power that the abbot holds, namely in cases of accusations, excommunication, and likewise in scourging and in other cases. If there is no prior, a dean ought to have that power, but if there is no dean, the person whom appointed in his place ought to have it. St. Benedict himself says how it should be: in which he shares his burdens [Regula Benedicti, c. 21.3]; and again, unless power had been given to him by the abbot, no one may be allowed to excommunicate anyone.