The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-04-29

In his second chapter Mr.. wishart follows
tho fortunes Of the monastic system from III
Introduction In the western provinces Of the
Roman Empire 10 the time Of Benedict OF Nur.
sia. the founder Of the first great monastis
order. When Athanasius fed TO Rome in A. u
$40. to escape tho prosecutions Of the Arians,
he took with him two specimens Of monasiic
virtue. Ammonius and Isidorc. The hermlts
savage and filthy In appearance. excited gen
cral disgust. and their account OF the tortures
voluntarily undergone by their holy Egyptian
brethren was received with dcrision. Men,
however. who had faced and conquered the
terrors Of the desert were not to he easily re-
pulsed. Aided by other ascetic visitors from
the Fast. they persisted In their propaganda,
until contempt yielded to admiration, The
enthusiasm OF the uncouth ereInites became
contagious. The Christians In Rome soon
welcomed the story OF the ~recluses as a divine
call 10 abandon n d~issolute society for the
peace and 10Y Of a desert life. In s4s and $40,
Athanasius visited Gaul. He recounted the
same tale OF 81, Anthony and the Egy ptian
hermits, with similar results,
The Gallican eccleslastic whose name Ia
most intimately associated with the spread
OF monasticism In Western Europe before the
days Of Benedict was 81. Martin Of Tours. Ho
died about 1856 A. u. For q time he was a sol
der. but, after leaving the army, he became
a hermit. and, subsequently, Bishop OF Tours,
The monks whom he collected around him
dwell In caves cut out OF scarpe ed rocks. They
were clad in cancels hair, and lived on q diet
Of brown bread. sleeping on n straw couch.
According to tradition he was the uncle Of
st. Patrick, who il said to have established
monasteries in ireland, There is no doubt
that. before the birth Of Benedict Of Nursia,
there were monks in Great Britain. The Mon
astery of Bangor In North Wales il said to have
been founded about $50 A. D. In North Africa,
st, Augustine established religious houses. and
wrote a set Of rules for their government. These
rules were superseded in time by those of Bene-
dict, but they were r-snscita'ed under Charlie
magne, and reappeared in the famous Austin
Canons of the eleventh century. About 45O
A. n, monasticism suffered an eclipse that
lasted for over half a century. II seemed as
If the institution in the west was destined to
end in the same miscarriage which had over
taken lis Eastern predecessor. IL was rescued
from collapse. however. by a man who infused
new energy into the monastic body, and syste-
matized its established principles.
ST. Benedict, the founder Of the famous or
der that bears his name. was born at Nlirsia
about A. D.. 40. Tho monastery which he
founded on Monte Casino in A. d. $50. became
the mother OF innumerahle ~cloisters. His Or
der became. and remained by far the most
important monastic brotherhood up to the
thirteenth GENTRY. Nearly all the other or
ders which sprang UP during the interval were
based upon Benedicine rules. and were really
attempts TO reform the monastio system on
the basis of Benedict's original practice. OF
course, the term order" us applied to the Bene-
dictines, is used in a different sense from that
which It bears when applied 10 later monnstic
bodies. Each Benedictine house was prac-
tically independent Of every other. whereas
the houses Of the Dominicans, Franciscans or
Jesuits were TO he bound together under one
head. The family idea was characteristic Of
the Benedictinrs. The abbot was the father,
and the monastery was the home were the
was content TO spend his life. In
the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, now
ever. II was thought needful for the gem
eral good Of each monastic family TO secure
some kind Of union.
No new principle seems to be disclosed by
the Benedictine rules. The command to labor
had been emphasized even in the monas'eries
Of Egypt. Tho monastery that was to s. aleed
in the West must provide for men who not only
could toll hard, but who must do so IL they were
to he kept pure and true. II must welcome
men accustomed 10 the dangerous adventures
Of pioneer lie in the vast forests of the North.
The Denedictine system met the conditions
by a unique combination of well-known monas-
tic regulations; by q judicious subordination
OF minor matters to essential discipline. by
bringing into greater conspicuousness the
of labor; by tempering the austerities
OF the cell to meet the necessities OF a severe
and. lastly, by devlsing a scheme
of life equally adaptable TO the denizen of sunny
Italy and the rude inhabitant OF the northern
forest. Next to the religious services rendered
by the Benedictine monks, their greatest con-
to civilization was educational and
The rules Of Benedict provided for
two hours OF reading a day. and it was evidently
this regulation that stimulated literary tastes
and resulted in the collecting OF books and
the reproducing Of manuscripts. There was
great danger that the remains OF classic liter
ature might be destroyed in the general de-
v~astation Of Italy. The Benedictlnc houses
the literary fragments that escaped
and preserved and multiplied them. For a
period OF moro than six centuries the safety
Of tho literary heritage of Europe depended
upon the scribes of n few dozen scattered mon
The Benedictine monk, however.
was more than a collector and transcriber Of
books; he became the chronicler and the school,
teacher. The records that have come down
to us of several centuries of European history
In the earlier Middle Ages are due almost ex-
10 the labors OF the monastlc Chron-
BY the end of the ninth century nearly
MI the European lnonaSteiles conducted schools
which were open 10 the chi ldren OF the neigh
borhood. To appreciate the importance of
this function, we must remember that al the
time neither national nor provincial govern
ments had assumed any responsibility in con-
neCtion with elementary education. while mu-
uicipal authorities We're too ignorant and. in
cases. too poor TO make any provision
for the instruction Of children. The Bene-
by reclaiming deserted regions and by clearing
Roman taxation and barbarian in
vasion had ruined inultitudes OF farmers who
abandoned their lands and swelled the numbers
the homeless. The monks repeopled the
wllds never before tiled Many a monastery with
lts surrounding buildings became the nucleus
OF a city. Tho more depressing the gloom
of forest solitldes, the more the monks seemed
to love them, They cut dow trees in the
Of the wilderness and transformed a
soil bristiing, with ,hickets into pastures and
Try TO labor and taught them useful lessons
IA agriculture, Thus they became an indus
trial as we'll a. a spiritual agency for good.
rapidlty, II Is computed that, in the various
OF tine Bsnedictines there have been
no fewer than 5000 monasteries and 10000
ibbots For the space Of .3y years the Rpne-
Is Poprs chosen from their order They beast
Of 200 Cardinals, Z OOO Archbishops, 1860 Bishops
and 4'GO saints, The astonishing assertion
DerOrs and fCrty-seypn kings resigned their