other for any length of time, provided they be said within the twenty-four hours of the liturgical day.1

14. One is not required to conform to the rubrical directions concerning posture in Office, when he is not saying it with the choir; nor is it necessary when reciting the Office privately to articulate so that one can hear his own voice. It is possible to articulate without the words being audible.

15. It has been held for many centuries that hearing the Office said does not satisfy the obligation, unless one has taken his regular part in it. Among the ancient Egyptian monasteries, however, the Psalms were generally said by one person while the rest of the choir, sitting, listened in reverent silence, "following the voice of the singer with the utmost attention of heart." St. Basil says that in his time, however, "divided into two parts, they sing antiphonally with one another," and he resists a charge that this was an innovation, declaring that “the customs which here obtain, are agreeable to those of all the Churches of God . . . in a word all those among whom vigils, prayers, and common psalmody have been held in honour."

1 St. Alphonsus, Theol. Moral. Lib. v, No. 166. (Paris, 1855.) 2 Cassian, Institutes, Lib. ii, cap. xii. Migne, P. L., Tom. xlix, col. 102 seq.

3 St. Basil, Epis. ccvii, 3. (This Epistle was written in 375.)

CHAPTER XIV

MONASTIC OBSERVANCES

I. Of Religious Silence

SILENCE has been one of the chief exercises of the Religious Life in all ages. St. Basil and Cassian bear witness to the way in which it was regarded in their day; and the Rule of St. Benedict is very definite in its directions for its observance.1 The Dominican Order shows its reverence for it by the repeated use in its Constitutions of the expression sanctissima silentii lex-" the most sacred law of silence"; and testifies to the dignity of the practice by calling it a ceremony "-silentium est pulchra caeremonia.2 Each community arranges the details of silence according to its own custom, but the general principles laid down by St. Benedict are accepted practically by all.

The general rule in the monastery is that of silence. Exceptions are made regarding certain places and times. As a general custom the silence is broken only 1 St. Benedict, Regula, cap. 6.

2 Constitutiones Fratrum S. Ord. Praed. (Paris, 1886), p. 115. It must be remembered that the Latin word caeremonia, means much more than our English equivalent. It implies not a mere formality, but a rite that is essentially sacred and divine.

in certain rooms in the monastery appointed for such conversation as may be allowed by the Rule or the permission of Superiors, and certain hours of silence are set which are binding upon all.

The directions concerning silence set forth in the community Rule should be obeyed with great care and explicitness. Silence should not be broken in forbidden times and places to meet the mere convenience of circumstances. It should be observed with great strictness and not violated except for important reasons, and then not without the permission of the Superior when it may be had. What has been said in another chapter concerning permissions applies here. If a call of real necessity or charity requires, one would not hesitate to speak, but it is better to suffer much inconvenience than to break one's Rule and contribute to that laxity which is so prone to creep in if vigilant guard be not maintained. It must also be remembered that one who violates the Rule of silence can seldom do so without involving another in his fault.

""

Let no one," says an ancient English Rule of Augustinian Canons, "think himself a well-ordered Religious, or godfearing Canon, if he get into a habit of breaking silence, without urgent reason, at prohibited times and in prohibited places; for this want of control of the tongue is an evident sign of a dissolute mind and of a neglected conscience. Therefore let Canons Regular regard silence as a precious treasure, since through it a remedy against so many dangers is supplied to them."1

1 Clark, The Observances of Barnwell Priory, p. 141.

The chief period of silence is that which extends from Compline until after Prime or Mass on the following morning. Whatever elasticity may be permitted regarding the other silences, the "Great Silence" or " Solemn Silence," as it is usually called, is kept with great strictness. St. Benedict says: "Monks should keep silence at all times, but especially during the hours of the night,"1 and he directs that when Compline is finished, "let none be allowed to speak to any one, and if anyone should be found to evade this rule of silence, let him be subjected to severe punishment." The only exceptions he allows are in the case of guests arriving after this hour, or of some emergency arising which would require the Superior to give direction or permission to speak. On these occasions, however, he directs that such necessary conversations be conducted "with the greatest gravity and moderation" (cum summa gravitate et moderatione honestissime fiat), so that one may bear witness by his manner to the unusual character of the indulgence, and prevent the talk from becoming light or general. An old Benedictine custom was to begin the Great Silence with the words, Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips."

We have abundant Scripture evidence concerning the value and necessity of silence. The Psalmist prayed that God would keep the door of his lips, and the Wise Man says, "In the multitude of words there

1 St. Benedict, Regula, cap. 42.

2 Doyle, The Teaching of St. Benedict, p. 82. 8 Psalms cxli. 3.

wanteth not sin." St. James tells us that "the tongue is a little member," but " a world of iniquity," and again, If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.""

One who speaks much can never cultivate the spirit of prayer which is the chief work of the Religious. "Continual talk," says Scaramelli, “fills the mind with countless empty phantasms, dissipates the spirit, spoils recollection, indisposes for prayer, takes away the opportunity for practising virtue, and occasions a multitude of sins. In a word, it robs us little by little of every spiritual gift, and makes us wholly unable to recover our loss."

Thomas à Kempis has many precious counsels concerning silence: "It is easier not to speak at all than not to exceed in speech"; "No man doth safely speak, but he that is glad to hold his peace."4

The cell has ever been regarded as a place for prayer, study, and quiet labour, and is therefore one of the principal parts of the house in which silence is enjoined. Ordinarily no one is allowed to enter another's cell without permission, and general conversation there should be avoided unless special leave be given for it. An edifying custom prevails in some communities of the occupant of the cell, when anyone knocks, responding, not with an informal invitation to enter, as men in the world might give, but with

1 Proverbs x. 19.

2 St. James iii. 5, 6; and i. 26.

3 Scaramelli, Directorium Asceticum, Vol. ii, p. 163. 4 à Kempis, De Imit., i, 20.