Page:The Classical Heritage of the Middle Ages.djvu/188

 170 THE CLASSICAL HERITAGE [chap. ble to God and sweet to men, if what is ordered is performed non trepide^ non tepide, non tarde, aut cum murmorio. The obedience which is yielded to supe- riors (majoribus) is offered to God ; for He Himself said : Whoso heareth you, heareth Me ; and, God loveth a cheerful giver. But if the disciple obeys with a bad will, and with murmuring, he will not be accepted of God nor will grace come to him from his act ; and he will incur the penalty of those who mur- mur, unless he make amends. The prologue of Benedict's regula exhorts the hearers, affects their mood, and impels them toward ready acceptance of all that follows : the fourth chap- ter contains the sum of the precepts constituting the piety of a monk ; while the fifth and sixth speak more specifically of obedience and silence. The seventh chapter is in itself an ethical system in which one virtue, that is, one fundamental principle of mo- nastic piety, is analytically expanded, to show that its fulfilment includes and requires a complete Christian life. This chapter " on the twelve stairs of humility '' is the great example of how the precepts of monastic and Christian living, having been gathered and sys- tematized by others, are by Benedict's regula made anew into an organic unity fitted to constitute the life of a Christian monk. This chapter pictures a type of character. The divine Scripture calls to us, brothers, saying : Every one that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Thus it shows us that every exaltation is a kind of pride. Therefore, brothers, if we wish to touch the summit