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 cries of  a  multitude  of  frogs:  he  commanded  them  to be  silent,  and  they  instantly  obeyed. The holy  Doctor then took  occasion  to  say:  "Shall  senseless  animals, then,  be  silent  through  respect  for  prayer,  and  shall  men not  be  silent?"'  And  I  add,  will  religious  refuse  to  practise silence,  after  having  entered  the  monastery  in  order to become  saints,  to  observe  their  Rule,  and  to  maintain holy recollection;  or  will  they  perform  the  office  of  the devil, by  disturbing  their  sisters  who  wish  to  pray,  and to be  recollected  with  God? A certain  author  justly calls such  talkative  nuns  "the  home  devils  of  monasteries," who  do  great  injury  to  the  Community.

According to  St.  Ignatius  of  Loyola,  to  know  if  there is fervor  in  a  convent,  it  is  enough  to  ascertain  whether silence is  observed  or  violated. A monastery  in  which the sisters  speak  continually  is  an  image  of  hell;  for where there  is  not  silence  there  must  be  continual  disputes, detractions,  complaints,  particular  friendships, and factions. But, on  the  other  hand,  a  monastery  in which  the  religious  love  silence  is  an  image  of  paradise: it excites  devotion  not  only  in  all  who  live  in  it,  but  also in those  who  live  in  the  world. It is  related  by  Father Perez, of  the  Order  of  Discalced  Carmelites,  that  while a secular  he  entered  one  day  into  a  house  of  the  Order, and was  so  edified  and  filled  with  devotion  by  the  silence of the  brethren,  that  he  renounced  the  world  and  remained in  the  convent. Father Natalis,  of  the  Society of Jesus,  used  to  say,  that  to  reform  a  religious  house  it is  enough  to  establish  in  it  the  observance  of  silence. Because each  of  the  religious  would  then  practise  recollection, and  would  attend  to  his  own  advancement. Hence, also,  Gerson  says  that  the  holy  founders  of  religious Orders  have  prescribed  and  earnestly  recommended silence  to  their  religious,  because  they  knew how important  its  observance  is  for  the  maintenance  of