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 vn] WESTERN MONASTICISM 161 piler of information. He does not give positive direc- tions for the daily life of monks, but a systematic presentation of monastic customs. He may be ex- pected, also, to set forth the ethical principles of monasticism in such a way that they can readily be made into a mode of life. In the preface to the Institutes he says that he will not speak of the miracles wrought among the monks, but will set forth the " institutions and rules of their monasteries, and especially the origins, causes, and remedies, according to their traditions, of the principal vices, which they say are eight.'' He believes that nothing wiser can be found for the West than the customs and rules of the ancient monasteries of Egypt or Palestine, except that, owing to the difference of climate or habits, certain details may, for Gaul- ish monks, need to be balanced by borrowings from the other parts of the East. Whereupon, he tells in the first book what he has observed regarding the dress of monks in Egypt. In the second and third books he describes the "modus canonicus" of prayers and psalms by night and by day. The fourth book explains more generally the institutes of the renun- ciants, to wit, the monks, those who renounce this world; their probation before admission; why they may not bring anything into the monastery; why they must lay aside their clothes and receive others from the abbot; and other rules for their daily life and conduct. The author gives many examples of the proficiency of the Egyptian monks in virtues of obedience and humility, and he quotes an abbot's discourse to a candidate, in order to