Prologus, caput 1 prologue| Prolog, Kapitel 1 Prologue, Chapter 1

Sanctissimi Patris Benedicti in Regulam Suam Prologus. ||||||prologue Prolog des Allerheiligsten Vaters Benedikt zu seiner Herrschaft. The Prologue of the Most Holy Father Benedict in his Rule Пролог Святейшего Отца Бенедикта к Его Правлению.

Ausculta, o fili, praecepta Magistri, et inclina aurem cordis tui, et admonitionem pii Patris libenter excipe, et efficaciter comple; ut ad eum, per obedientiae laborem redeas, a quo per inobedientiae desidiam recesseras. "Listen"|||instructions|||"incline" or "bend"|||||"admonition"|devout father||"willingly"|"Receive willingly"|and|effectively|"Fulfill effectively"|||||of obedience||"you may return"||to where||disobedience|"laziness" or "neglect"|"had withdrawn" Höre, o Sohn, auf die Gebote des Meisters, und neige das Ohr deines Herzens und nimm die Ermahnung des frommen Vaters gerne an und erfülle sie wirksam; damit du durch die Mühe des Gehorsams zu dem zurückkehrst, von dem du dich durch die Nachlässigkeit des Ungehorsams zurückgezogen hast. Hear, O son, the precepts of the Master, and incline the ear of your heart, and willingly receive the admonition of the pious Father, and accomplish them effectively; that you may return to him through the labor of obedience, from whom you have departed from the sloth of disobedience. Слушай, сын, повеления Владыки, и приклони ухо сердца твоего, и с радостью прими наставление благочестивого Отца, и исполни его действенно; чтобы вам возвратиться к тому трудом послушания, от которого вы удалились по небрежению непослушания. Ad te ergo nunc meus sermo dirigitur, quisquis abrenuntians propriis voluntatibus, Domino Christo vero Regi militaturus, obedientiae fortissima atque praeclara arma assumis. ||||||"is directed to"|"whoever"|renouncing|"own desires"|||||true King|about to serve||very strong|and also|excellent||You take up Therefore now my speech is directed to you, who, when renouncing your own wills, will fight for the Lord Christ, the true King, and take up the most powerful and illustrious arms of obedience. Речь моя обращена теперь к вам, кто откажется от своей воли, но будет служить Господу Христу Царю, вы примете самое сильное и превосходное оружие послушания.

In primis, ut quidquid agendum inchoas bonum, ab eo perfici instantissima oratione deposcas; ut, qui nos jam in filiorum dignatus est numero computare, non debeat aliquando de malis actibus nostris contristari. ||||thing to be done|begin||||complete|immediate||you may ask|||||||worthy|||to count||should not grieve|sometimes|||||to be saddened First of all, that whatever good you are beginning to do, you may beg to be performed by him with the most earnest prayer; so that he who has already deigned to count us among the number of his sons, ought not at any time to be saddened by our evil deeds. Во-первых, что бы ты ни начал делать добро, ты должен требовать от Него окончания его настоятельнейшей молитвой; чтобы тот, кто уже соизволил причислить нас к своим сыновьям, не должен иногда печалиться о наших злых делах. Ita enim ei omni tempore de bonis suis in nobis parendum est; ut non solum, ut iratus pater, non aliquando filios suos exhaeredet; sed nec, ut metuendus Dominus, irritatus malis nostris, ut nequissimos servos, perpetuam tradat ad poenam qui eum sequi noluerint ad gloriam. ||||||||||must be obeyed||||||angry|father|||||disinherit||||fearsome Lord|The Lord|angry|our evils|||wicked servants||perpetual|hand over||||||they will not|| For in this way we must at all times pay attention to his goods in us; that not only, like an angry father, he would not sometimes disinherit his children; but neither, as the Lord to be feared, irritated by our evils, as the most wicked servants, deliver up to perpetual punishment those who would not follow him to glory.

Exsurgamus ergo tandem aliquando, excitante nos Scriptura, ac dicente: “Hora est jam nos de somno surgere.” Et apertis oculis nostris ad deificum lumen, attonitis auribus audiamus, divina quotidie clamans quid nos admoneat vox, dicens: “Hodie si vocem ejus audieritis, nolite obdurare corda vestra.” Et iterum: “Qui habet aures audiendi, audiat quid Spiritus dicat Ecclesiis.” Et quid dicit? Let us rise|||sometimes|awakening||||saying|hour||||||to rise||||||divine||astonished|ears|let us hear|divine|||||admonish|||||||you have heard||harden|||||||ears||||||churches||| Let us therefore finally rise up, being stirred by the Scripture, which says: "It is time for us to arise from sleep." And with our eyes opened to the divine light, let us hear with astonished ears the voice that cries out to us daily, saying: "Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." And again: "He who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." And what does he say? “Venite, filii, audite me: timorem Domini docebo vos.” Currite, dum lumen vitae habetis, ne tenebrae mortis vos comprehendant.” ||||fear||teach you||run||||||||you|catch "Come, children, hear me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord." Run while you have the light of life, lest the darkness of death overtake you."

Et quaerens Dominus in multitudine populi, cui haec clamat, operarium suum, iterum dicit: “Quis est homo, qui vult vitam, et cupit videre dies bonos?” Quod si tu audiens, respondeas: Ego; dicit tibi Deus: Si vis habere veram et perpetuam vitam, “prohibe linguam tuam a malo, et labia tua ne loquantur dolum. |||||||||worker|||||||||||desires||||||||you should answer||||||||||||forbid||||||lips||||deceit And seeking the Lord among the multitude of the people, to whom he cries out, his worker, he again says: "Who is the man who desires life and loves to see good days?" If you, hearing this, respond: I; God says to you: If you want to have true and eternal life, "keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit." Diverte a malo, et fac bonum; inquire pacem et sequere eam.” Et cum haec feceritis, oculi mei super vos, et aures meae ad preces vestras. divert||||||seek|||||||||||||||||prayers| Et antequam me invocetis, dicam: “Ecce adsum.” Quid dulcius nobis hac voce Domini invitantis nos, fratres charissimi? |||you may invoke|||I am here||sweeter|||||inviting|||dear brothers Ecce pietate sua demonstrat nobis Dominus viam vitae. Succinctis ergo fide, vel observantia bonorum actuum lumbis nostris, per ducatum Evangelii pergamus itinera ejus, ut mereamur eum, qui nos vocavit, in regno suo videre. Having girded||||observance of||good acts|loins|||leadership||let us journey||||merit|||||in||| Therefore, let us proceed along his paths, firmly grounded in faith, and by the observance of good deeds, so that we may be deemed worthy to see Him who has called us in His kingdom.

In cujus regni tabernaculo si volumus habitare, nisi illuc bonis actibus currendo, minime pervenitur. In|||tent||||||||by running|| If we wish to dwell in the tabernacle of that kingdom, we cannot arrive there except by running with good deeds. Sed interrogemus cum Propheta Dominum, dicentes ei: “Domine, quis habitabit in tabernaculo tuo, aut quis requiescet in monte sancto tuo?” Post hanc interrogationem, fratres, audiamus Dominum respondentem, et ostendentem nobis viam ipsius tabernaculi, ac dicentem: “Qui ingreditur sine macula, et operatur justitiam; qui loquitur veritatem in corde suo; qui non egit dolum in lingua sua; qui non fecit proximo suo malum, et opprobrium non accepit adversus proximum suum.” |let us ask||||||||will dwell|||||||||||||question||||responding||showing us||way||tent||||||spot||||||||||||||||||||||||opprobrium||||| But let us ask the Lord with the Prophet, saying to Him: 'Lord, who will dwell in your tabernacle, or who will rest on your holy mountain?' After this question, brothers, let us hear the Lord answering, and showing us the way to his tabernacle, and saying: 'He who enters without stain, and works justice; he who speaks truth in his heart; he who does not bear deceit in his tongue; who has not done evil to his neighbor, and does not take up a reproach against his neighbor.'

Qui malignum diabolum aliqua suadentem sibi, cum ipsa suasione sua a conspectibus cordis sui respuens, deduxit ad nihilum, et parvulos cogitatus ejus tenuit, et allisit ad Christum. Who|evil|devil||tempting||||persuasion|||sights|||rejecting||||||thoughts||held||allured|| He who, rejecting the evil devil advising him, led him to nothingness with his own persuasion, and held the thoughts of little ones, and directed them to Christ. Qui timentes Dominum, de bona observantia sua non se reddunt elatos, sed ipsa in se bona, non a se posse, sed a Domino fieri existimantes operantem in se Dominum magnificant, illud cum Propheta dicentes: “Non nobis, Domine, non nobis, sed nomini tuo da gloriam.” Sicut nec Paulus Apostolus de praedicatione sua sibi aliquid imputavit, dicens: “Gratia Dei sum id, quod sum.” Et iterum ipse dicit: “Qui gloriatur, in Domino glorietur.” Who|||of||||||they become|elated|||||||||be able||||||working||||magnify|||||||||||||||As|||||preaching||||||grace|||||||||||glories||| Those who fear the Lord do not become proud due to their good observance, but considering the good within themselves not to come from themselves but to be done by the Lord, they glorify the Lord working in them, saying with the Prophet: 'Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory.' Just as the Apostle Paul did not attribute anything to himself from his preaching, saying: 'By the grace of God I am what I am.' And again he says: 'Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.'

Unde et Dominus in Evangelio ait: “Qui audit verba mea haec, et facit ea, similabo eum viro sapienti, qui aedificavit domum suam supra petram: venerunt flumina, flaverunt venti, et impegerunt in domum illam, et non cecidit: fundata enim erat supra petram.” Haec complens Dominus, expectat quotidie, his suis sanctis monitis, factis nos respondere debere. ||||||||||||||I will liken|||||built||||||||||struck against|||||||||||||fulfilling this||waits|||||warnings|deeds||| Wherefore the Lord also said in the Gospel: 'Whoever hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock: the rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.' Fulfilling this, the Lord daily expects that we ought to respond to His holy admonitions. Ideo nobis propter emendationem malorum, hujus dies vitae ad inducias relaxantur, dicente Apostolo: “An nescis, quia patientia Dei ad poenitentiam te adducit?” Nam pius Dominus dicit: “Nolo mortem peccatoris, sed ut convertatur, et vivat.” |||amendment||||||truce|are relaxed||Apostle|||||||repentance|||||||I do not want|||||to be converted|| Therefore, for the amendment of evils, the days of this life are relaxed for a while, as the Apostle says: 'Do you not know that the patience of God leads you to repentance?' For the merciful Lord says: 'I do not desire the death of the sinner, but that he may turn and live.'

Quum ergo interrogassemus Dominum, fratres, de habitatore tabernaculi ejus, audivimus habitandi praeceptum: sed si compleamus habitatoris officium, erimus haeredes Regni coelorum. ||we had asked||||inhabitant|||we heard|of living||||complete|of the inhabitant|duty||heirs||of heaven When therefore we asked the Lord, brothers, about the inhabitant of His tabernacle, we heard the commandment for dwelling: but if we fulfill the duty of the inhabitant, we shall be heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven. Ergo praeparanda sunt corda et corpora nostra sanctae praeceptorum obedientiae militatura; et quod minus habet in nobis natura possibile, rogemus Dominum, ut gratiae suae jubeat nobis adjutorium ministrare. |preparing||||||holy|teachers'||will fight||||||||possible|let us ask|||grace||||help| Therefore, our hearts and bodies should be prepared to strive in holy obedience to the commandments; and whatever nature lacks in us that is possible, let us ask the Lord to command His grace to minister assistance to us. Et si fugientes gehennae poenas ad vitam perpetuam volumus pervenire, dum adhuc vacat, et in hoc corpore sumus, et haec omnia per hanc lucis viam vacat implere, currendum et agendum est modo, quod in perpetuum nobis expediat. ||fleeing|gehenna|punishments||||||||it is allowed||||body|we are|and||||this|light||remains||to be run|and|to be done|||||||will be advantageous And if we wish to escape the torments of hell and reach everlasting life, while we still have the opportunity and are in this body, and all these things can be fulfilled through this path of light, we must run and act in a manner that is beneficial to us in eternity.

Constituenda est ergo a nobis Dominici schola servitii; in qua institutione nihil asperum, nihilque grave nos constituturos speramus. to be established|||||of the Lord||service|||||harsh||heavy||we will establish|hope Therefore, a school of the Lord’s service must be established by us; in which institution we hope to set nothing harsh or burdensome. Sed et si quid paululum, restrictius, dictante sequitatis ratione, propter emendationem vitiorum, vel conservationem charitatis processerit, non illico pavore perterritus refugias viam salutis, quae non est nisi angusto initio incipienda. ||||a little bit|more restrictively|dictating|of sequence||||of vices||preservation of charity|charity|has progressed||immediately|||refuges|||||||narrow||to be begun But even if anything, slightly stricter, shall have emerged, dictated by the reasoning of continuity, for the correction of vices or the preservation of charity, do not immediately flee in terror from the path of salvation, which must be begun only in a narrow way. Processu vero conversationis et fidei, dilatato corde, inenarrabili dilectionis dulcedine curritur via mandatorum Dei; ut ab ipsius nunquam magisterio discedentes, in ejus doctrina usque ad mortem in monasterio perseverantes, passionibus Christi per patientiam participemus, ut regni ejus mereamur esse consortes. process|indeed|of conversation|||expanded heart||ineffable||sweetness|one runs||of the commandments||||||mastery|departing from||||||||monastery|persevering|passions|||patience|let us participate||||||partners or companions In the process of conversation and faith, with an expanded heart, we run the way of God's commandments in the unspeakable sweetness of love; so that never departing from His teaching, we may perseveringly remain in His doctrine until death in the monastery, sharing in the passions of Christ through patience, so that we may be worthy to be companions in His kingdom.

Caput I. De Generibus Monachorum. |||of the kinds|Monks Chapter I. On the Types of Monks.

Monachorum quatuor esse genera manifestum est. It is evident that there are four types of monks. Primum Coenobitarum, hoc est, monasteriale, militans sub regula vel Abbate. |of the cenobites|||monastic|militant||||Abbot Deinde secundum genus est Anachoretarum, id est, Eremitarum, horum qui non conversionis fervore novitio, sed monasterii probatione diuturna, didicerunt contra diabolum, multorum solatio jam docti, pugnare; et bene instructi fraterna ex acie ad singularem pugnam eremi securi jam sine consolatione alterius, sola manu vel brachio, contra vitia carnis vel cogitationum, Deo auxiliante, sufficiunt pugnare. ||||of the Anchorets|||hermits||who||of conversion|fervor|novice||monastery|trial|long-lasting|have learned||||||learned|||||brotherly||battle line||single||of the desert||||||||||||||thoughts|to God|with God's help|| Then the second type is that of the Anchorites, that is, Hermits, those who have not learned to fight against the devil out of a fervor of novice conversion, but through the long test of the monastery, now taught by the consolation of many; and well-instructed, they are equipped to fight individually in the desert, secure now without the consolation of another, with only hand or arm, against the vices of the flesh or thoughts, with the help of God. Tertium vero monachorum deterrimum genus est Sarabaitarum, qui nulla regula approbati, experientia magistra, sicut aurum fornacis, sed in plumbi natura molliti, adhuc operibus servantes saeculo fidem, mentiri Deo per tonnsuram noscuntur. |||most detestable|||Sarabaites|who|||of the approved|experience|teacher||gold|furnace|||lead||softened by|||servants||faith|lie to|||shaving|are known The third and indeed worst type of monks is that of the Sarabites, who are approved by no rule, nor by experience as a teacher, like gold in a furnace, but softened in the nature of lead, still keeping faith with the world through their works, they are known to lie to God through their tonsure.

Qui bini aut terni, aut certe singuli sine pastore, non Dominicis, sed suis inclusi ovilibus, pro lege eis est desideriorum voluptas: cum quicquid putaverint vel elegerint, hoc dicunt sanctum, et quod noluerint, hoc putant non licere. Those who||||||||shepherd||Sundays|||enclosed|sheepfolds|||||of desires|pleasure||whatever they|thought they||chosen|this|||and||they will not want|||| Who in pairs or threes, or certainly individually without a shepherd, are enclosed not by the Lord’s, but by their own sheepfolds, their law is the pleasure of desires: for whatever they think or choose, they call it holy, and what they do not want, they believe is not allowed.

Quartum vero genus est monachorum, quod nominatur Gyrovagum, qui tota vita sua per diversas provincias ternis aut quaternis diebus per diversorum cellas hospitantur, semper vagi et nunquam stabiles, et propriis voluptatibus et gulae illecebris servientes, et per omnia deteriores Sarabaitis; de quorum omnium miserrima conversatione melius est silere, quam loqui. fourth|||||||wandering monk|||||||provinces|in threes||four days|||diverse|cells|are entertained||wandering||||||pleasures||gluttony|enticements of gluttony|||||worse inferior|Sarabaites||||most miserable|conversation|||be silent|| The fourth kind, indeed, is the monks, which is called Gyrovagus, who throughout their whole life wander through various provinces, staying for three or four days in different cells, always vagabond and never stable, serving their own pleasures and the allures of gluttony, and in every way worse than the Sarabaites; concerning whom, it is better to be silent than to speak about their miserable way of life. His ergo omissis, ad Coenobitarum fortissimum genus disponendum, adjuvante Domino, veniamus. ||omissions made|||strongest||to be arranged|helping|| Therefore, having omitted these, let us, with the Lord's assistance, proceed to the description of the most valiant kind of Coenobites.