The spirit and origin of Christian monasticism
Publisher: Methuen & Co.
Published: 1903
Place of publication: New York, USA
Language: eng
Table of contents: title: CONTENTS; title: Preface page xiii; title: List of Authorities and Authors cited page xvii; title: CHAPTER I; title: INTRODUCTORY - PROTESTANTISM AND THE ASCETIC SPIRIT; title: Divergence between Catholics and Protestants in their conception of the Christian life - The Catholic ideal — the ascetic life — The Protestant ideal — the life of good citizenship — Protestant opposition to the Catholic ideal — The ascetic ideal unrepresented in English literature — objections to the ascetic ideal easily understood in the case of philosophic historians — men of science — liberal thinkers of the nineteenth century — Harder to understand in the case of Protestantism, a religion — Probable reasons — degeneracy of monks at the time of the Reformation — Luther's assertion of "justification by faith alone" — the humanist spirit which found for itself a home in Protestantism — Protestantism has never succeeded in expelling the ascetic ideal — Ascetic spirit of the German and Dutch Anabaptists — the Quakers — John Wesley and the Methodists — the Shakers — the Plymouth Brethren — Tolstoi and his followers — Study of the ascetic spirit in Christianity to be approached from the historic standpoint page 3; title: CHAPTER II; title: ASCETICISM IN THE APOSTOLIC AGE; title: The Christian life in the apostolic age was highly ascetic — Asceticism the refusal to compromise with the world — Two beliefs which made for asceticism in this age — Expectation of an immediate second advent — Belief in the reality and power of demons — Demons regarded as ruling the world and the Roman Empire — as existing in the forms of pagan idols — Ascetic communism in the Church of Jerusalem — Early Christian views of wealth and poverty — Fasting — virginity — Philo's De Vitd Contemplivd quoted by Eusebius as a description of Christian life shows that Eusebius must have regarded the early Christians as ascetic — Early Christian asceticism instinctive, unreasoned, unorganised — flowed from love of a desire to imitate Christ — Soon the growth of the Church forced on her the question, "Must the Christian life be ascetic?" — Difficulties of magistrates — soldiers — artists — children of Christian parents — Importance of this question 31; title: CHAPTER III; title: CHRISTIAN ASCETICISM IN THE SECOND AND THIRD CENTURIES; title: The Church's struggle with Gnosticism — Gnostic dualism resulted in a kind of asceticism which was condemned by the Church — Struggle with Montanism — A struggle about morality, not doctrine — Montanist prophecy — The Church begins to compromise with the world — The Montanist protest — Their position with regard to second marriage — They declare all Christian life must be ascetic — They are condemned by the Church — Another protest in Rome — Hippolytus protests against Callixtus, Bishop of Rome, and forms an ascetic schism — The Novatian protest — The Church becomes a training school for righteousness — Narcissus of Jerusalem the first hermit — The ascetics of the pseudo - Clementine epistles — Ascetics mentioned by Eusebius — Methodius' Banquet of the Ten Virgins — Origen's ascetic teaching — poverty — virginity — deeds of mercy — contemplation — He is far in advance of his contemporaries — His influence more felt in after generations — Importance of the study of asceticism in the second and third centuries for a right understanding of later monasticism page 57; title: CHAPTER IV; title: ST. ANTONY AND EARLY EGYPTIAN MONASTICISM; title: Sketch of the life and character of St. Antony — Secrets of his greatness — Other Egyptian hermits — Reasons for their adopting the hermit life — Their attitude towards the Church — Their aim a return to apostolic Christianity — Their retirement from the world meant also a retirement from the Church — Their lives lived at first literally alone with God — Gradual formation of lauras and rules in Lower Egypt — Development of common worship — Churches and priests in the desert — Upper Egypt produced in the Pachomian monasteries far more perfect organisation — St. Pachomius' rule — Two stories illustrating the feeling of the monks for the clergy — Final close union of the monks with the Church in Egypt — Causes — Influence of St Antony — St. Athanasius — Ascetics' insistence on the virtue of obedience — Circumstances of the Egyptian Church. 95; title: CHAPTER V; title: THE LIFE AND IDEAL OF THE EGYPTIAN MONKS; title: List of eight principal faults — Gluttony — of two kinds — The remedy is fasting — Estimate of the spiritual value of fasting — Fornication — "Angelica ordo " — Evil thoughts — How conquered — The demon of impurity — This sin not overemphasised by the monks — Avarice — Its opposite, poverty — True poverty — Complete renunciation — Poverty and virginity necessary for monastic life — Anger — no such thing as righteous anger — Hermit life no safeguard against anger — The demon of anger — Patience the opposite of anger — Dejection — Two kinds of dejection — Depression — Despair — Terrible consequences of despair — Accidie — Meaning of the word — Description of a monk suffering from accidie — The remedy for accidie — Useless remedies — Vainglory — Distinction between vainglory and pride — It is an insidious fault — "Ama nesciri" — Pride — The demon of pride — Its opposite is humility — High estimate of this virtue — The highest expression of humility is discretion — Meaning of discretion — More than sanctified common sense — The discernment of spirits — Description of discretion by St. Antony — by St. Marcarius page 135; title: CHAPTER VI; title: ST. BASIL AND EASTERN MONASTICISM; title: Contrast between Egyptian and Eastern monasticism — Prejudice in the East against the monks — Ascetic eccentricities — Schismatic tendencies — The Boskoi — The Remoboth — The Audiani — TheEuchites — Eustathius of Sebaste — His dogmatic position — His monasticism — The Council of Gangra — The Constitution's Asceticae — Eustathius the friend of St. Basil — St. Basil's sympathy with the monks — His quarrel with Eustathius — St. Basil's work for monasticism — St. Basil not the author of a monastic rule — Tone of his ascetic writings — Contrasted with St. Benedict — St. Basil on (1) Silence, (2) Temperance, (3) Work — Aim of his ascetic teaching — Connects asceticism with the great truths of the creed — His preference for the ccenobitic life — His insistence on labour for monks — He moderates fasting — Gradual acceptance of the Basilian ideal in the East — Legislation, (1) ecclesiastical, (2) civil — The rule of Theodore the Studite — Its influence — Contrast between Eastern and Western monasticism — Western monks the true heirs of St. Basil's spirit 171; title: CHAPTER VII; title: THE DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN MONASTICISM UP TO THE TIME OF ST. BENEDICT; title: Great importance of the history of Western monasticism — Influence of St. Athahasius in the West — Monastic foundations in (i) Rome, (2) Northern Italy, (3) Southern Italy, (4) Gaul, (5) the islands — Clerical patronage of Western monasticism — Hold of the movement upon the upper classes — Intercourse between Eastern and Western monks — Milder discipline in the West — Tendency towards organisation — Early Western rules — St. Augustine's rule for nuns — The influence of Egypt through Cassian and of the East through St. Basil — The rule of St. Benedict — Compared with the writings of St. Basil and the Institutes of Cassian — Six points of advance — Their influence upon Western monasticism page 203; title: CHAPTER VIII; title: THE BENEDICTINE RULE — ITS SPREAD AND ITS IDEAL; title: The Benedictine rule fixed the development of Western monasticism — It became universal in the West — Monte Casino founded — The spread of the rule — The influence of Gregory the Great — The destruction of Monte Casino — The mission to England — Gregory's life of St. Benedict — The Benedictine rule supersedes others — Receives practical modification — The influence of St. Boniface — He is a missionary and a reformer — The restoration of Monte Casino — The Benedictine Order a vast brotherhood — Is it a true development of Egyptian monasticism? — The spirit of the rule — "Dominici scholaservitii" — The power and duty of the abbot — His care for erring souls — The obedience of the monks — Their labour — Their scholarship — Their charity and hospitality — Their virtues — The reception of new members — Their renunciation of property — Their separation from the world — Comparison of the Benedictine Order and the Jesuit Society — Superiority of the Benedictines — Causes of their superiority — Condition of their time — Spirit of their rule — Modern Anglican monasticism 227; title: Appendix I. — Pre-Christian Asceticism and its connection with the Christian Monastic Life page 255; title: Appendix II. — On the Value of the Sources of early Egyptian Monastic History made use of in Chapters IV. and V. 274; title: Appendix III. — The History and Meaning of the Patristic Distinction between Counsels and Precepts 287; title: Index 303