Great Throughts Treasury

"Discretion is the mother of virtue."

"Idleness is the enemy of the soul; and therefore the brethren ought to be employed in manual labor at certain times, at others, in devout reading. "

"To pray is to work, to work is to pray."

"And let them first pray together, that so they may associate in peace."

"For at all times we must so serve Him with the good things He has given us, that he may not, as an angry Father, disinherit his children, nor as a dread Lord, provoked by our evil deeds, deliver us to everlasting punishment as wicked servants who refuse to follow Him to glory."

"For what page or what utterance of the divinely inspired books of the Old and New Testaments is not a most exact rule of human life?"

"He should first show them in deeds rather than words all that is good and holy."

"He should know that whoever undertakes the government of souls must prepare himself to account for them."

"He who labors as he prays lifts his heart to God with his hands."

"Idleness is the enemy of the soul; and therefore the brethren ought to be employed in manual labor at certain times, at others, in devout reading."

"Listen and attend with the ear of your heart."

"Prayer ought to be short and pure, unless it be prolonged by the inspiration of Divine grace."

"The abbot ought ever to bear in mind what he is and what he is called; he ought to know that to whom more is entrusted, from him more is exacted."

"The first degree of humility is prompt obedience."

"The first step of humility is to obey. This will be natural to those who love Christ above all. Because of the holy service they have promised or because of fear of hell, they will carry out the abbot's order as quickly as if the command came from God. This will be accepted by God only if it is done without making faces or slowly or half-hearted. God sees his heart. The monk will receive no prize for service of this kind. Just the opposite, he will get punished, unless he changes for the better and makes things right."

"The prophet shows that, for the sake of silence, we are to abstain even from good talk. If this be so, how much more needful is it that we refrain from evil words, on account of the penalty of the sin!"

"Wherefore let us consider how it behoveth us to be in the sight of God and the angels, and so let us take our part in the psalmody that mind and voice accord together."

"For at all times we must so serve Him with the good things He has given us, that he may not, as an angry Father, disinherit his children, nor as a dread Lord, provoked by our evil deeds, deliver us to everlasting punishment as wicked servants who refuse to follow Him to glory."

"And let them first pray together, that so they may associate in peace."

"He should first show them in deeds rather than words all that is good and holy."

"He should know that whoever undertakes the government of souls must prepare himself to account for them."

"He who labors as he prays lifts his heart to God with his hands."

"The abbot ought ever to bear in mind what he is and what he is called; he ought to know that to whom more is entrusted, from him more is exacted."

"The first degree of humility is prompt obedience."

"The prophet shows that, for the sake of silence, we are to abstain even from good talk. If this be so, how much more needful is it that we refrain from evil words, on account of the penalty of the sin!"

"Wherefore let us consider how it behoveth us to be in the sight of God and the angels, and so let us take our part in the psalmody that mind and voice accord together."

"Listen and attend with the ear of your heart."

"If we desire to dwell in the tabernacle of His kingdom, we cannot reach it in any way, unless we run thither by good works."

"Prayer ought to be short and pure, unless it be prolonged by the inspiration of Divine grace."

"The first degree of humility is prompt obedience."