USA > Iowa > Dubuque County > History of the Trappist abbey of New Melleray in Dubuque County, Iowa > Part 6
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L'Observance de Senanque, ou moyenne Observance, se compose des six monastères suivants :
I. Abbaye de Senanque, Diocèse d'Avignon, Vancluse.
2. Abbaye de Lérins, Diocèse de Fréjus, Alpes-Maritimes.
3. N .- D. de Fontfroide, Diocèse Carcassonne, Aude.
4. N .- D. de Hautecombe, Diocèse de Chambéry, Savoie.
5. N .- D. de Ségries, Diocèse de Digne, Basses-Alpes.
6. Un Monastère des femmes, au même Diocèse, sous le vocable de N .- D. des Prés.
1 Le Petit et le Grand Exorde de Citeaux.
Preface, pp. 411-421, (Soligni-la-Trappe. Imprimerie de la Grande Trappe, ISS9).
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THE TRAPPIST ABBEY OF NEW MELLERAY.
Cette Congrégation, d'origine récente, est administrée par un Vicaire Général, qui est l'Abbé de Lérins.
L'Observance des Cisterciens réformes ou Trappists com- prend plus de quarante Monastères d'hommes et quatorze de femmes, répartis en trois Congrégations, dont l'une, la Con- grégation de la Grande-Trappe, suit les Constitutions primi- tives de l'Ordre de Citeaux, la seconde, celle de Sept-Fons, les règlements de l'Abbé de Rance, et la troisème, appelée Congregation de Belgique, les mêmes règlements lege rement modifiés. Chacune de ces Congrégations est gouvernée par un Vicaire General qui est, de droit, l'Abbe de la Grande- Trappe, pour la Congrégation qui observe les Constitutions primitives.
Outre ces trois Congrégations de la Trappe, il y a encore les Trappistes de Casamari en Italie, qui ne se rattachment à acune d'elles, et qui possèdent les trois Maisons de Casamari, Valviscioli et Saint Dominique de Sora.
LISTE DE MONASTÈRES DES TROIS CONGREGATIONS CISTERCIENNES DE LA TRAPPE.
Tous ces Monastères sont Abbayes, sauf quelques-uns nouvellement fondes.
CONGREGATION DE LA GRANDE-TRAPPE MAISON MÈRE.
N .- D. de la Grande-Trappe, près Montagne (Orne), au Dio- cèse de Séez (siége du Vicaire Général de la Congrégation ).
QUATRE PREMIERS MONASTÈRES.
N .- D. de Melleray, Bretagne ( Loire-Inferieure ), au Diocèse de Nantes.
N .- D. de Bellefontaine, près Cholet ( Maine-et-loire), Dio- cèse d'Angers.
.N .- D. d'Aiguebelle, près Grignan (Drôme), Diocèse de Valence.
V .- D. de Bricquebec, au Diocèse de Coutances (Manche).
AUTRES MONASTÈRES DE LA MEME CONGREGATION.
N .- D. du Mont-Melleray, près Cappoquin, Comte de Water- ford (Irlande).
İ
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N .- D. du Mont-Saint-Bernard, au Comté de Leicester (Angleterre).
N .- D. de Thymadeuc, Diocèse de Vannes (Morbihan).
N .- D. de Staouëli, Diocèse d'Alger ( Afrique ).
N .- D. de Gethsemani, au Kentucky (Etats-Unis).
N .- D. de la Nouvelle-Melleray, près Dubuque-Iowa (Etats- Unis).
N .- D. de Fontgombauld, Diocèse de Bourges (Indre). N .- D. des Neiges, au Diocèse de Viviers ( Ardèche).
Sainte-Marie du Desert, près Cadours ( Haute-Garonne ), au Diocèse de Toulouse.
N .- D. des Dombes, au Diocèse de Belley ( Ain).
Abbave des Trois-Fountaines, située aux Eaux Salviennes, près Rome, et dédiée aux saints martyrs Vincent et Anastase. Elle est commende. Outre l'Abbe commendataire, qui est un Cardinal, il y a un Abbé régulier.
N .- D. du Petit-Clairvaux, Nouvelle-Ecosse ( Amerique).
N .- D. de Divielle, près Monfort (Landes), Diocèse d'Aire.
N .- D. d'Acey, Diocese de Saint Claude (Jura).
N .- D. d'Igny, près d'Arcy-le-Ponsart (Marne), Diocèse de Reims.
.N .- D. de Bonnecomce, Diocèse de Rodez ( Aveyron).
N .- D. du Mont-Saint-Joseph par Roscrea, Comte de Tip- pérary (Irlande).
N .- D. du Lac, près Montréal ( Canada).
N .- D. de Reichenbourg, Styrie ( Autriche).
Na Sa de Bellpuig, province de Lérida ( Espagne). N .- D. du Sacré-Coeur, a Akbes, par Alexandrette (Syrie).
MONASTÈRES DE RELIGIEUSES DE LA CONGREGATION DE LA GRANDE-TRAPPE.
N .- D. des Gardes, au Diocèse d'Angers ( Maine-et-loire).
N .- D. de Vaise, a Lyon ( Rhone).
N .- D. de Maubec, Diocèse de Valence (Drôme).
N .- D. de la Cour-Pétral, près la Ferté-Vidame, au Diocèse de Chartres ( Eure-et-loir).
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THE TRAPPIST ABBEY OF NEW MELLERAY.
N .- D. de Blagnac, près Toulouse (Haute-Garonne).
N .- D. d'Espira de l'Agly, Diocèse de Perpignan (Pyrén- ées-Orientales ).
N .- D. de Bonneval, près Espalion ( Aveyron), au Diocèse de Rodez.
Monastère de San Vito, Colline de Turin (Italie).
N .- D. de Saint-Paul-aux-Bois, près Blerancourt, au Diocèse de Soissons ( Aisne).
N .- D. de Lanouvelle, au Diocèse de Nimes (Gard).
CONGREGATION DE SEPT-FONS.
.V .- D. de Saint-Lieu-Sept-Fons, près Dompierre (Allier), au Diocèse de Moulins.
V .- D. du Port-du-Salut, au Diocèse de Laval (Mayenne). N .- D. du Mont-des-Olives ( Alsace), Diocèse de Strasbourg. N .- D. du Mont-des-Cats, Diocese de Cambrai ( Nord). N .- D. de la Grace-Dieu, Diocèse de Besançon (Doubs). N .- D. de la Double, Diocèse de Périgueux (Dordogne).
N .- D. de Chambarand, près Roybon (Isère), au Diocèse de Grenoble.
.V .- D. des Iles, à Wagap (Nouvelle-Calédonie ).
N .- D. de Tamié (Savoie), Diocèse de Chambéry.
Monastère de Mariastern, près Banjaluca, en Bosnie (Tur- quie d'Europe ).
N .- D. de Résica, en Croatie ( Autriche ).
Et deux autres Maisons, nouvellement fondées, l'une dans la province du Cap ( Afrique méridionale), l'autre en Chine près Pékin.
MONASTÈRES DE RELIGIEUSES DE LA CONGRÉGATION DE SEPT-FONS.
N .- D. de l'Immaculée-Conception, près Laval (Mayenne).
N .- D. de la Miséricorde (ŒElenberg), au Diocèse de Stras- bourg, en Alsace.
Saint Joseph d'Ubexy, au Diocèse de Saint-Die (Vosges). (Cet trois Monastères sont gouvernés par une Abbesse).
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THE TRAPPIST ABBEY OF NEW MELLERAY.
N .- D. du Sacré-Cœur, près Mâcon (Saône-et-loire), au Diocèse d'Autun.
CONGREGATION DE BELGIQUE.
Abbaye de N .- D. de Westmalle (Province d'Anvers), au Diocèse de Malines.
Abbaye de Sainte-Sixte (Flandre-occidentale), au Diocèse de Bruges.
Abbaye de Saint-Benoit, à Achel, au Diocèse de Liege.
Abbaye de N .- D. de Scourmont, a Forges-les-Chimay Dio- cèse de Tournai.
APPENDIX III.1
With respect to the statement that De Rance established a stricter discipline than the Cistercian Institute, it is entirely incorrect; and likewise that he brought back the "austere primitive institute of St. Bennet." He desired to do so, but he feared that he and his religious would not be able to sup- port the rigorous fasts enjoined by the usages of Citeaux, and grounded upon the rule of St. Benedict. In 1672, on the Feast of All Saints, he commenced with his community the strict winter fast of taking but one meal in the day; and this not till after none, about half-past two P. M. They continued this fast till the following Easter, 1673. When De Rance had remarked the weakness, the exhaustion of his brethren, he trembled for their health and adopted the following mitiga- tions: During the winter season, from the 14th of September till Easter, dinner was to be taken at twelve o'clock, except on the fasts of the church, when it was taken half an hour later. In the evening, there was a collation of two ounces of bread, with salad, milk or cheese; and on fasts of the church,
1 Consult Les Reglemens de l'Abbaye de Notre Dame de la Trappe en Forme de Constitutions (1690); also Les Trappistes de l'Ordre de Citeaux au XIX. Siecle, etc., par M. Casimir Gaillardin (2 vols., IS44.)
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one ounce of bread. During the summer season, the dinner was taken at half-past ten A. M., and the collation at five in the evening. Compare these regulations of diet with the usages of Citeaux, or with the 4Ist chapter of St. Benedict's Rule, and it will be found as De Rance himself states, that the strict observance of Citeaux was not observed at La Trappe in his time.
On Sundays and festivals a public conference was held for an hour, in which the brethren were allowed to speak upon spiritual and edifying subjects. This was undoubtedly a relaxation of the strict and perpetual silence enforced by the usages of Citeaux, at least with respect to public conversation. The choir religious had not so much manual labor under De Rance as under St. Stephen.
APPENDIX IV.
OF ABSTINENCE.
1 All these examples, though so interesting, will not affect you, my brethren, so sensibly, as the remembrance of the austerities practiced by the holy founders of the Cistercian Order. The plan of life laid down by our fathers at the birth of this great Order, will place the dreadful state in which you behold it at present in the clearest light; and I doubt not, that when you shall have considered the almost infinite distance that exists between the father and the children, you will ex- claim with St. Bernard, "Oh! the monks of those times, and those of our unhappy days." What a difference! Those saints proposed, as we have already said, the literal observ- ance of St. Benedict's Rule; such was their end, and they were influenced by divine inspiration; wherefore they rejected every interpretation and meaning by which the severity of
1 De Rance, A Treatise on the Sanctity and on the Duties of the Monastic State. Vol. II., pp. 130-32.
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that rule might be alleviated or its purity altered. This same austerity they transmitted to their successors, as an obligation to which they called the attention of their minds and hearts, and commanded them to persevere unto the last moment of life; such is the express injunction of the charter of the foundation.
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Now to the end that they might live conformably to this duty, they would allow themselves no other food than pulse, herbs, roots and pottage; the sauce for which was nothing better than salt and water. Their bread was brown and coarse, they drank wine but very rarely, and it never appeared on their table without being previously mixed with water. On days of two meals their supper consisted only of plain vegetables, except during the harvest time. Eggs and fish were seldom known amongst them, except for the sick; they fasted conformably to St. Benedict's Rule, from the Exaltation of the Holy Cross to Easter, and from Whitsuntide to the mid- dle of September on all Wednesdays and Fridays; on all fasting days of the church they abstained from milk, butter, and cheese, which abstinence they likewise observed during Lent, Advent, and all Fridays throughout the year, except during the Pascal time. The first three Fridays of Lent they deprived themselves of one of the two ordinary dishes, and the three last they had nothing but bread and water; though their labors were extremely hard, and their night watchings very long. Yet so great was their love of Jesus Christ, that their penance was very agreeable to them, and they even found pleasure and satisfaction in their sufferings.
*
1 But if we desire to know what the spirit of Saint Benedict is in this particular, we cannot address ourselves to more en- lightened masters than the holy founders of the Cistercian Order. Like so many Esdrasses, they were chosen by God to re-establish the rule of that great saint, which was then no longer observed, and to revive his true spirit; for that end
1 De Rance, A Treatise on the Sanctity and on the Duties of the Monastic State. Vol. II., pp. 141-3.
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they resolved to take it in a purely literal sense, and to estab- lish its observance according to the true end of its institution, as we have before remarked; wherefore they rejected every meaning and explication which were not conformable to its purity: they began by renouncing the use of flesh granted by the assembly of Aix-la-chapelle; they established a rigorous and unlimited abstinence from all flesh, without distinction of quadrupeds or fowl.
It is declared in the fourth chapter of the institutes, that none but those who are very sick and infirm shall be allowed the use of flesh, within the enclosure of any monastery of the Order; which permission is also extended to servants or tradesmen, who work for hire in the monastery. This is absolute, and admits of no distinction.
This statute has been frequently renewed on several occa- sions, and we find it forbidden elsewhere under the pain of corporal chastisement, to all and every person of the Order, to eat flesh in any place out of the infirmary, though he should be commanded to do so by the Bishop. And it is morever enjoined, that no Abbot on account of recent bleeding, or any such like pretext, shall presume to eat flesh, unless he is attacked with a real malady, or fit of sickness. And this is also absolute.
We find a similar prohibition in another place: behold here a summary of what it enjoins. Let the injunctions of the rule, relative to the use of flesh meat, be inviolably observed, namely, that no member of the order shall eat meat out of the infirmary, under pain of excommunication,1 to be incurred, ipso facto, or by the very act; if the offender be an officer, he shall be deposed, nor shall he be reinstated in any charge or employment, without a permission being first obtained of the general chapter for that purpose; if he be only a private relig- ious, he shall be deprived of the religious habit during two months for every offense; this is also absolute.
There is also a constitution of Pope Benedict the XII.,
1 Monastic, not ecclesiastical excommunication.
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who having been a religious of the Cistercian Order, was per- fectly well acquainted with its true spirit and observances, for he drew up the constitution of which we speak, and proposed it as a remedy against the relaxations which were introduced. He speaks thus: "Let no religious or Abbot, in future, pre- " sume to eat meat out of the common infirmary, or any food "prepared with ingredients of the like nature, contrary to "what has been so long established in this Order: we re- "voke entirely the permissions which some Abbots pretend "to have obtained of the see apostolic, to use flesh meat, as "privileges that produce only scandal." After which he enjoins that every time a religious, whether of the choir or of the lay character, infringes the above ordinance, by eating flesh meat, or any food prepared with it, or partaking of it, of whatsoever sort it may be, he shall be condemned to fast on bread and water three days, and moreover that he be enjoined a penance, with the regular discipline; and if the Abbot neglect to enforce these injunctions, he shall fast on bread and water, as if he himself had eaten flesh.
* ** *
1 Saint Benedict, who orders that the superior should always eat with the visitors, and requires for that purpose, that there should be no separate kitchen for them, does not allow them any other food but that of the community. This is what the first religious of Citeaux, who were animated with his spirit constantly observed. Their first constitutions, called the Book of the Usages, inform us that the brother who was appointed cook of the Abbot's kitchen was to go into the garden after the office of prime, and there gather a sufficient quantity of legumes for the Abbot and strangers, who may have come to the monastery. But nothing can better demonstrate how exact they were in this point than what passed at Clairvaux, when Pope Innocent II. came to visit that house. He was received by the monks in a manner so simple, and so relig- ious, that his suite were no less surprised than edified. The
1 De Rance, A Treatise on the Sanctity and on the Duties of the Monastic State. Vol. II., pp. 157-S.
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bread, according to the author of Saint Bernard's life, instead of being made with pure white flour, was mixed, and the wine was also adulterated; vegetables appeared on the table in place of turbot, and legumes were served at every course; a dish of fish was by some chance found and laid before his Holiness, more for the purpose of being seen by the assembly than of being eaten.
Nevertheless, those holy religious did not treat their visitors according to all the rigor of the common rules, for we find by their first statutes, that the bread which was served to the strangers was white like that given to the sick; but whatever the mode observed in the reception of visitors might have been, they were careful that charity should never do any injury to regularity; every part of their lives evinced their spirit of penance, and the whole tenor of their conduct affords us as great a subject of edification as does the sim- plicity of their table.
Hence we must observe, my brethren, that although some- thing of the regular austerity may be diminished in favor of strangers, and although we are to condescend to a more gen- tle observance in the entertainment of those who visit us than what we allow ourselves, since both charity and the example of the saints inculcate and require it, yet we ought to be guided in the practice of this indulgence by exact rules; and be convinced that there is no time, no circumstance, nor oc- casion, in which monks ought not to remember how much they are bound to depart from the custom and manners of the world, according to this great maxim of Saint Benedict: that monks should be entire strangers to the ways and customs of worldlings. But now, unfortunately, there is a strange sub- version of order: when we consider that formerly the great ones of the world, princes and emperors found the condemna- tion of their profusion and voluptuousness in the temperance and sobriety of monks, whereas in these our times worldly people find in the abundance of the cloistral table a sufficient pretext to authorize their sensuality and love of pleasure This is an evil which Pope Clement VIII. endeavored to remove
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when he enjoined in a decretal, that if any person of distinc- tion should come to visit monasteries, whether from a motive of piety, or from any other, they should be allowed to dine in the refectory, and be served only with the common food; and that the religious should conduct themselves on such occasions with so much propriety that religious sobriety and poverty might appear in all their simple and amiable attractions.
* *
OF PERPETUAL SILENCE.
1There can be no advantage extracted from silence in a religious community unless it be uninterruptedly observed. For conversations, though short and seldom, will be found, if allowed, equally noxious and dangerous; the moments will be carefully managed, and the brethren will soon discover the secret of saying a great deal in a little time. When they shall be forced to break off, and leave their conversations imperfect, they will not forget to finish them at the next meeting. And as it is impossible that the desire of discoursing should not increase, so they will agree on the time and place to find out the means of satisfying themselves, without consulting either the will of the superior or the rules of the house, which would be in effect the ruin of discipline and the extinction of piety.
But if silence be perpetual, the brethren will consider its observance as indispensable, the most considerable advantages shall be derived from it, and it shall appear that nothing is better calculated to maintain good order, and promote the sanctification of the cloister.
First, having no communication with one another, and form- ing none of those familiarities which almost generally produce contempt, they shall behold each other with respect, and their charity will suffer no alloy.
Secondly, if any should be found inclined to evil, his pro- pensities shall be enclosed within himself, and all communica- tion of the evil shall be prevented by the barriers of silence.
1 De Rance, A Treatise on the Sanctity and on the Duties of the Monastic State. Vol. II., pp. 106-7.
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Thirdly, no factions or murmuring parties will be ever formed amongst the brethren, such an evil not being possible when there is no communication.
Fourthly, the correspondence and intimacy which ought to exist between the members and the head will be more con- nected when not divided by any particular conversations or friendships.
Fifthly, the superiors will never find any opponents, when they shall desire to make new arrangements, for the preserva- tion of good order and the perfection of the community. And though a religious might not have the same ideas, yet he will not presume to make it appear, lest he should find no one amongst the brethren who would side with him.
Sixthly, as the heart and interior man will find no means to diffuse and enervate its principles by vain and idle dis- course, so recollection will be more uninterrupted, thoughts more pure, contemplation more sublime and lively, prayer more fervent and continual; and thus the soul will ascend to a union with God, so much the more intimate and holy, as it shall have renounced for his love all communication with men.
1 Wherefore, my brethren, silence cannot be too rigorously observed, nor can the members of a religious community be too far removed from the dangers resulting from conversa- tion. For if they once obtain leave to speak, they will use the dangerous liberty in speaking of unlawful topics; they will transgress the bounds prescribed, if they perceive that they may speak, and entertain one another concerning things unconnected with their salvation; they will extend their con- versations to everything without restriction; they will mutu- ally unfold their thoughts, temptations, imaginations, pains and discontents; they will establish a place of refuge in each other's breasts against future wants and affairs; they will link in the bonds of a false and particular charity, which is never constructed but on the ruins of that love, which is, and ought
1 De Rance, A Treatise on the Sanctity and on the Duties of the Monastic State. Vol. II., pp. 108-9.
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to be, common amongst all the members. The words of Saint Ambrose on this subject are well deserving notice: "What necessity can you have," says he, "to expose yourself by keeping silence ? I have seen a great many fall by speak- ing, but never one by silence." * *
i Saint Benedict, who was well informed on this subject and who considered it in the same manner, was so exact in the observance of silence that he will not allow his disciples to speak, unless they are asked a question, or moved by some real necessity. He orders that the permission of speaking be only seldom granted to the religious, even to such as are per- fect (that is, such as would not make any bad use of a neces- sary permission to speak), though their words should be holy, and their subjects edifying. In fine, that holy legislator makes the observance of silence a constant rule, which ought to occupy the attention of religious persons at all times.
2 Saint Bernard and all his brethren observed a silence so profound that those that did not understand either the great- ness or the excellency of this secret, censured their conduct as being the effect of stupidity.
* *
*
3 The religious who were formed by that great saint, and filled with his spirit, were so zealous for this holy exercise, and thought it so important, that they instituted signs to treat of necessary matters, that so they might never be obliged to speak. The practice of silence sanctified the whole Cistercian Order : the Carthusians followed their example, and obliged their lay brethren to observe it with rigorous exactitude; so much so, that they have kept it ever since with the same fidelity as the fundamental rule of entire solitude.
It is difficult to resist the force of these convincing truths. And a Superior who applies himself to the duty of inculcating
1 De Rance, A Treatise on the Sanctity and on the Duties of the Monastic State. Vol. II., p. 113.
Ibid, p. 114.
3 Ibid, p. 115.
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them to his brethren in a proper manner, must at last succeed in persuading them that the practice of silence is absolutely necessary for their sanctification and perfection.
*
OF MANUAL LABOR.
1 Saint Benedict makes it a principal obligation. Idleness, says he, is the enemy of the soul; wherefore the brethren shall be employed at certain times in manual labor. He re- quires that they should work at the harvest, and in bringing home the corn, when the necessity or poverty of the place requires it; and he exhorts them to do it with pleasure; because, says he, they shall be then truly monks, when they shall live by the labor of their hands, as our fathers and apostles have done. And it appears by many passages of his Rule, that he considers manual labor as one of the most important practices of the religious life.
* % * **
2 Saint Bernard considered manual labor so important and so necessary that he obtained of God by his fervent prayers both the necessary skill and facility to reap the corn, and work at the harvest; and when the brethren were employed at labor that required more strength than he had, he com- pensated for his inability by digging, carrying wood on his shoulders, and applying himself to other humiliating employ- ments of the monastery.
As to the time they employed in this exercise, it may be learned by consulting the Rule of Saint Benedict, and by their first constitutions. In general, they labored during the sum- mer, from the end of the chapter, or daily assembly (which met always after prime), until tierce, and from none until vespers. In winter, from the conventual mass until none, and during Lent, until vespers; during the harvest, when they worked on the farms, they said prime, the conventual mass,
1 De Rance, A Treatise on the Sanctity and on the Duties of the Monastic State. Vol. II., p. 172.
* Ibid, pp. 178-9.
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and tierce without interruption; so that they might apply themselves to their work, without impediment, during the rest of the forenoon. They frequently said the divine office in the same place where they worked, and at the same time that their brethren at home sung it in the choir.
% :1:
1 One of the principal reasons which induced the solitaries of former times to apply themselves to manual labor, and to lay down such rigorous and general rules for that exercise, was that their whole time might be employed, that there might be no empty space in their lives, and to prevent the fatal consequence of sloth and idleness; being well persuaded, that as soon as they would cease to be employed in holy occupations, it would be impossible for them to avoid being engaged in evil ones; for inaction opens the door to every vice, and closes it to every virtue. Hence the ancient solitar- ies of Egypt used to say, that the religious who worked was tempted by only one devil, whereas he who spends his time in sloth and idleness is attacked by a great number; all of which combat against him in various ways.
In effect, as sloth destroys all the vigor of the soul, extin- guishes that holy fervour which is the principle of its motions in some sense, so it binds up its faculties in the links of dis- pirited affections, and obstructs its active powers, so that the heart can produce no good affection, nor the spirit form any good thought; and hence, when the passions are irritated and temptations take up arms, the religious is no ways prepared to resist their united efforts; the invisible enemies, taking advantage of his disordered and impotent state, attack him furiously, and carry him a resistless captive wheresoever they please; and this unfortunate soul fails not to rush into every snare they lay, for he may be considered as a man without defence, and exposed to all the darts of his malicious and cruel enemies.
When this vice becomes master of the soul, says Cassian,
1 De Rance, A Treatise on the Sanctity and on the Duties of the Monastic State, Vol. II., pp. 179-SI.
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it either engages the solitary to remain in his cell in a state of inaction, without doing anything for his spiritual advancement, or it drives him forth, and makes him wander from place to place in a constant round of instability; that so, becoming incapable of any good, he may do nothing more than run from one cell to another, from monastery to monastery, on pretext of visiting his brethren; but in effect, being led on by no other motive but that of finding a good repast, for the slothful are frequently influenced by the care of what they shall eat. Behold the true state of such persons; thus they go on, until they find some man or woman in the same sloth- ful and effeminate dispositions, in whose embarrassing affairs they may engage themselves without scruple. Thus they undertake the most dangerous occupations, without scruple, and by little and little they yield themselves up to the ser- pent's folds, from whence they cannot extricate themselves; hence they no longer enjoy that liberty, so necessary to labor in attaining the perfection of their state.
The holy fathers, whose rules we have before cited, were of this opinion, nor had Saint Benedict any other, for he takes express notice in his rule, that of the motives which induced him to enjoin manual labor, the greatest was to secure the brethren from idleness, which he considers as a cruel enemy of the soul. This was also the opinion of the holy Abbot Paul -this great anchoret, having labored with great assiduity, burned all his works at the end of the year, because he lived so remote from all society that he could not send them to any market.
The second reason that induced the ancient solitaries to recommend manual labor so earnestly was that they thought it unbecoming for persons who made profession of the solitary life to eat that bread which they had not gained by the sweat of their brow; they understood that sentence of the holy scripture as being literally addressed to themselves :- "Thou shalt cat thy bread in the sweat of thy brow." And they believed that nothing was more agreeable, nor more conform- able to the condition of penitents, who by their vocation were
1
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THE TRAPPIST ABBEY OF NEW MELLERAY.
charged with the sins of men, than to bear the punishment which God was pleased to inflict for their sins. They were persuaded that the prohibition addressed by Saint Paul to the Thessalonians, " If any one will not work, neither let him eat," was a precept which obliged all monks; and that the sentence which the same apostle made no difficulty to pro- nounce against those who were engaged in secular concerns, was with much more reason addressed to those who renounced them, by being consecrated to the exercises of a poor and penitential life.
1 The Cistercian monks were not less exact in observing this part of the rule, than they were in every other; but it is useless to repeat here what we have already said of their great and various labors.
*
APPENDIX V.
ASSESSED VALUATION OF ALL PROPERTY OWNED BY THE CORPORATION OF NEW MELLERAY OF DUBUQUE COUNTY, IOWA.2
NUMBER.
Acres,
2441.93
VALUE. $30,666.00
Horses,
54
1,000.00
Cattle,
285
1,735.00
Sheep,
270
270.00
Swine,
90
100.00
Vehicles,
3 30.00
Grand Total of all Property, . . $33.801.00 (Signed) GEORGE W. SHRUP, Deputy Auditor of Dubuque County, Iowa.
1 De Rance, A Treatise on the Sanctity and on the Duties of the Monastic State. Vol. II., p. 208.
2 The above is a transcript from the Auditor's book based on an assessment of 331/3 per cent. of actual value.
79
THE TRAPPIST ABBEY OF NEW MELLERAY.
APPENDIX VI.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE AS TO SOURCES.
That part of this monograph which has been written en- tirely from original and hitherto unpublished sources is embraced under the title "New Melleray." The material has been obtained from the records of New Melleray Abbey, from the manuscripts transmitted to the author by the monks of that monastery, and from oral communications of the Father Superior and of Father Placid.
APPENDIX VII.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
(Only works referred to in the notes are herein contained.) Felibien. Description de la Trappe. (Paris, 1671.)
Les Réglemens de l'Abbaye de Notre Dame de la Trappe en Forme de Constitutions (1690).
Gaillardin. Les Trappistes de l'Ordre de Citeaux au XIX Siècle, etc. (IS44).
Helyot. Histoire des Ordres Monastiques. (Paris, 1715- 1721.)
Le Petit et le Grande Exorde de Citeaux. (Imprimiere la Grande Trappe, IS84.)
Benoist. Notice sur l'Abbaye de Notre Dame de la Trappe de Melleray. (Nantes, ISS4. )
De Rance. A Treatise on the Sanctity and on the Duties of the Monastic State. (Translated at Melleray; printed at Dublin, 1830.)
The Rule of St. Benedict. (London, IS86.)
Chateaubriand. Vie de Rancé.
Ratisbonne. Life of St. Bernard.
Freeman. History of William Rufus.
Bond. Handy Book for Verifying Dates.
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