Title: The evolution of the monastic ideal
Description: I have not set out to write the history of Monasticism. Nor have I attempted a mere criticism of Monasticism, whether past or present. Nor will the reader find in these pages any account of the dress of the monks, the architecture of their churches, or the arrangements of the monasteries, themes that have been amply treated by competent writers. I have strictly confined myself to the history of the Monastic Ideal, tracing out the various stages in its evolution, and drawing attention both to the varying, concrete forms in which the Ideal has embodied itself, and to the effect of the Ideal upon the life and thought of the centuries. - Preface.