A Source Book for Ancient Church History - Mirrors

444 A Source Book for Ancient Church History[405]they eat; nor outside of their dish or off the table shall they turntheir eyes toward anything else.9. And he made it a rule that during the whole day theyshould offer twelve prayers; and at the time of lighting the lamps,twelve; and in the course of the night, twelve; and at the ninthhour, three; but when it seemed good for the whole company toeat, he directed that each group should first sing a psalm at eachprayer.But when the great Pachomius replied to the angel that theprayers were few, the angel said to him: I have appointed thesethat the little ones may advance and fulfil the law and not bedistressed; but the perfect do not need to have laws given tothem. For being by themselves in their cells, they have dedicatedtheir entire life to contemplation on God. But to these, as manyas do not have an intelligent mind, I will give a law that as saucyservants out of fear for the Master they may fulfil the whole orderof life and direct it properly. When the angel had given thesedirections and fulfilled his ministry he departed from the greatPachomius. There are monasteries observing this rule, composedof seven thousand men, but the first and great monastery, whereinthe blessed Pachomius dwelt, and which gave birth to the otherplaces of asceticism, has one thousand three hundred men.(b) Basil the Great, Regula fusius tractata, Questio 7. (MSG,31:927.)The Rule of St. Basil is composed in the form of question andanswer, and in place of setting down a simple, clearly statedlaw, with perhaps some little exhortation, goes into muchdetailed argument, even in the briefer Rule. In the followingpassage Basil points out the advantages of the cenobitic lifeover the solitary or hermit life. It is condensed as indicated.Questio VII. Since your words have given us full assurance thatthe life [i.e., the cenobitic life] is dangerous with those who