GREGORY THE GREAT 161 seen in Spain during the Visigothic period. But eventually it was to be universally employed through western Europe, and followed in thousands of monasteries and nunneries. Benedict profited both by his own experience and that of others, making discriminating use of various earlier rules, in drawing up this manual for the army of the Church — for ecclesiastical writers were constantly comparing monks and hermits to athletes in training or soldiers under discipline. He had begun his own ascetic career as a recluse, and once rolled about naked in a thorn bush, but he evidently came to the conclusion that the best religious life, at least for the average man, was in an organized community where he could practice the virtues of obedience, silence, humility, I and service of others. "Let no one follow what he thinks most profitable to himself, but rather what is best for another." The Rule is made up partly of general moral and religious precepts like that just quoted, which appeal to the better nature or ascetic enthusiasm of the reader ; partly of specific regulations which remind one of a boarding-school or military camp. The monks are instructed when they must stop talking, when they must go to bed, where and how they are to sleep, when they are to rise for prayers in the night, when they must be up in the morning, and what schedule of devotional exercises, manual labor, and reading they must carry out during the day. Also, whose weekly turn it is to cook and wash or to read at meals, at what hours the meals shall be and of what diet they shall consist, and what clothing the monks are to wear. There is a list, not too long, of penalties for tardiness or mistakes either in the devotional exercises or in other work. Then there are care- ful exceptions made for special cases, for very old monks, very young monks, sick monks, new monks, monks away from the convent on a journey or distant piece of work, priests who reside in the monastery, pilgrim monks or secu- lar guests who may stop there for shelter or entertainment, artificers employed at the monastery, and the special monastic offices of cellarer, doorkeeper, and provost. At the head of the monastery is an abbot, elected for life
