Solitude And Society

Melius est ergo duos esse... Quaeritur hic de vita solitaria, utrum sit praeeligenda societati. Quod sic, videtur: 1. Quia dicitur Threnorum tertio de bono adolescente: Sedebit solilarius et tacebit: ergo bonum est esse solum. 2. Praeterea, Bernardus dicit: Quoties fui inter homines, minus homo redii: non est ergo bonum esse inter homines. 3. Item , qui est in societate , necesse est , quod sit sollicitus, quomodo se conformet societati; sed Apostolus dicit primae ad Corinthios septimo', quod bonum est non nubere propter vitandam sollicitudinem de placendo uxori: ergo similiter bonum est omnem societatem fugere. CONTRA: 1. Genesis secundo: Non est bonum, hominem esse solum: ergo solitudo est vituperabilis, et per oppositum societas laudabilis. 2. Item, Matthaei decimo octavo: Ubi sunt duo vel tres congregati in nomine meo, ibi in medio eorum sum; non dicit: ubi unus, sed ubi duo vel tres: ergo melior est vita in congregatione quam solitaria. 3. Item, hoc probatur per litteram istam, quia societas fulcit, fovet et defendit, quae sunt tria bona, quibus solitarii privantur. Respondeo: dicendum, quod triplex est solitarium: unum per inopiam dilectionis, sicut avarus non vult habere consortem in divitiis, nec invidus in bonis, nec superbus in magnis; et solitudo haec mala omnino est. Alia solitudo per defectum consolationis, sicut dicitur in Psalmo: Unicus et pauper sum ego, et haec misera est. Est et alia solitudo per quietem contemplationis, et haec laudabilis et honesta. Similiter triplici modo est societas: quaedam scilicet turbans et impediens, sicut societas malorum; quaedam subsidio et solatio indigens, sicut societas uxorum et infirmorum; et quaedam adiuvans et promovens, sicut societas perfectorum. Prima est fugienda, secunda toleranda, sed tertia appetenda; et haec est in religione. Quando igitur Scriptura commendat societatem, intelligitur de hac; et haec non repugnat solitudini contemplationis , quia Bernardus in Canticis: Inter multos solus potest esse homo omnino, si curiositatem fugiat. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Ecclesiasten, Cap IV Source: Here, p 40

Therefore two are better than one... 1 It may be asked here concerning the solitary life, whether it is preferable to society. It seems it is: 1 Because it is said in the third chapter of Lamentations concerning the good youth: 'He shall sit alone and be silent.' 2 Therefore it is good to be alone. 2 Moreover Bernard says: 'As often as I was with men, I returned a lesser man.' 3 Therefore it is not good to be among men. 3 Similarly, for him who is in society, it is necessary that he shall have care for how he may accommodate himself to that society, but the Apostle says in the seventh chapter of the first letter to the Corinthians that it is good not to marry on account of the avoidance of care in pleasing one's wife. 4 Therefore it is a similar good to flee all society. On The contrary 1. The second chapter of Genesis says: 'It is not good that man be alone.' 5 Therefore solitude is to be despised and by opposition society is to be praised. 2 Likewise in the eighteenth chapter of Matthew: 'Where there are two or three gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them.' 6 He does not say where one is, but where two are, or three. Therefore life in a congregation is better than as a solitary. 3 Likewise it is proved in what follows this passage that society gives support, and preserves and defends, 7 of which three goods the solitary is deprived. I respond that it must be said that the solitary life is threefold. One is because of a poverty of love, as a miser does not wish to have an associate in in his wealth, nor does an envious man in his goods, nor does a proud man in his greatness, and this solitude is indeed an evil. Another solitude is because of a lack of consolation, as it is says in the Psalm: 'I am alone and needy, and it is wretched.' 8 But quiet contemplation is a different solitude, and it is praiseworthy and upright. Likewise society is threefold, a certain kind is troublesome and burdensome, as association with wicked men, and there is one that requires one's support and comfort, as an association with a wife, or with the infirm, and there is one that helps and promotes, which is the society of the perfect. One must flee the first, endure the second, desire the third, which is the religious life. When, therefore, Scripture commends society, it must be understood in this way, and that it is not hostile to the solitude of contemplation, because as Bernard says in his commentary on the Song of Songs, 'Among many men it is only possible to truly be a man, if one flees distraction.'9 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 4 1 Eccle 4.9 2 Lament 2.28 3 Bern In Cantic 40.4-5 4 1 Cor 7.32 5 Gen 2.18 6 Mt 18.20 7 Eccles 4.9-12 8 Ps 24.16 9 Bern In Cant 40.5

Declining Company

Εἴπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Μάρκος τῷ ἀββᾷ  Ἀρσενίῳ· Διατί φεύγεις ἡμᾶς; Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Ὁ Θεὸς οἴδεν, ὅτι ἀγαπῶ ὑμᾶς· ἀλλ' οὐ δύναμαι εἴναι μετὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ μετὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων. Αἱ ἄνω χιλιάδες καὶ μυριάδες ἔν θέλημα ἔχουσιν, οἱ δὲ ἄνθρωποι πολλὰ θελήματα ἔχουσιν. Οὐ δύναμαι οὖν ἀφεῖναι τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ ἐλεῖν μετὰ ἀνθρώπων. Ἀποφθεγματα Των Ἁγίων Γερόντων, Παλλαδιος Source: Migne PG 65.92a

Abba Mark said to Abba Arsenius, 'Why do you keep away from us?' The elder said to him, 'God knows that I love you, but I cannot live with God and with men. The thousands and ten thousands above have one will, while men have many. Thus I  cannot leave God and come among men.' Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia

Trouble In A Monastery

Gregorius: Non longe autem monasterium fuit, cuius congregationis Pater defunctus est, omnisque ex illo congregatio ad eumdem venerabilem Benedictum venit, et magnis precibus ut eis praeesse deberet, petiit. Qui diu negando distulit, suis illorumque fratrum moribus se convenire non posse praedixit: sed victus quandoque precibus assensum dedit. Cumque in eodem monasterio regularis vitae custodiam teneret, nullique ut prius per actus illicitos in dexteram laevamque partem deflectere a conversationis itinere liceret; suscepti fratres insane saevientes semetipsos prius accusare coeperunt, quia hunc sibi praeesse poposcerant: quorum scilicet tortitudo in norma eius rectitudinis offendebat. Cumque sibi sub eo conspicerent illicita non licere, et se dolerent assueta relinquere, durumque esset quod in mente veteri cogebantur nova meditari, sicut pravis moribus semper gravis est vita bonorum, tractare de eius morte aliqui conati sunt, qui inito consilio venenum vino miscuerunt. Et cum vas vitreum, in quo ille pestifer potus habebatur, recumbenti Patri, ex more monasterii, ad benedicendum fuisset oblatum, extensa manu Benedictus signum crucis edidit, et vas quod longius tenebatur, eodem signo rupit: sicque confractum est, ac si in illo vase mortis, pro cruce lapidem dedisset. Intellexit protinus vir Dei, quia potum mortis habuerat, quod portare non potuit signum vitae: atque illico surrexit, et vultu placido, mente tranquilla convocatos fratres allocutus est, dicens: Misereatur vestri, fratres, omnipotens Deus; quare in me facere ista voluistis? Nunquid non prius dixi vobis, quia vestris ac meis moribus minime conveniret? Ite, et iuxta vestros mores Patrem vobis quaerite, quia posthac me habere minime potestis. Tuncque ad locum dilectae solitudinis rediit, et solus in superni spectatoris oculis habitavit secum. Petrus. Minus patenter intelligo, quidnam sit, Habitavit secum. Gregorius. Si sanctus vir contra se unanimiter conspirantes, suaeque conversationi longe dissimiles, coactos diu sub se tenere voluisset, fortassis sui vigoris usum et modum tranquillitatis excederet , atque a contemplationis lumine suae mentis oculum declinasset. Dumque quotidie illorum incorrectione fatigatus minus curaret sua, et se forsitan relinqueret, et illos non inveniret. Nam quoties per cogitationis motum nimium extra nos ducimur, et nos sumus, et nobiscum non sumus, quia nosmetipsos minime videntes, per alia vagamur. An illum secum fuisse dicimus, qui in longinquam regionem abiit, portionem quam acceperat consumpsit, et uni in ea civium adhaesit, porcos pavit, quos et manducare siliquas viderit, et esuriret, qui tamen cum postmodum coepit cogitare bona quae perdidit, scriptum de illo est: In se reversus dixit: Quanti mercenarii in domo patris mei abundant panibus! Si igitur secum fuit, unde ad se rediit? Hunc ergo venerabilem virum secum habitasse dixerim, quia in sua semper custodia circumspectus, ante oculos Conditoris se semper aspiciens, se semper examinans, extra se mentis suae oculum non divulgavit . Vita Sancti Benedicti Ex libro II Dialogorum S Gregorii Magni excerpta, caput III Migne PL 66 134-135

Gregory: Not far from where Benedict was there was a monastery, the abbot of which had died, and the whole congregation came to the venerable man, and with great pleas sought that he should lead them. For a long time he refused, saying that their ways and the ways of their brothers did not harmonise with his, but eventually he was won over by their entreaties and assented. And when in that monastery he took charge of the oversight of the rule of life there, so that none of them could, as they used to do before, through unlawful acts, turn aside either to the left or right from the way of holy conduct, the monks having become aware of it, in a wild rage, began to accuse themselves of ever having asked him to be set over them, for by the straightness of his rule he offended their crookedness. And when they perceived that they could not live under him unlawfully, they grieved to abandon their customs and found it hard to be forced with old minds to meditate on new things, and as the life of the good is always a burden to those of depraved ways, some began to devise how they might encompass his death, and taking counsel together, they mixed poison in his wine, and when, according to the custom of the monastery, the glass with the poison was offered to the abbot that he bless it, Benedict, stretching forth his hand, made the sign of the cross, and the glass which was held far off, broke, as if he had cast a stone at it in place of the cross. And that man of God immediately understood that the glass had in it the drink of death, which could not bear the sign of life, and then rising, with peaceful face and tranquil mind, gathering the monks together he spoke to them, saying, 'May almighty God have mercy on you, brothers; why do wish to do this to me? Did I not say to you that your ways and my ways hardly harmonised at all? Go, and for your ways seek a father for yourself, because after this you can no more have me with you.' Then he returned to his place of delightful solitude and alone in the supernal sight of heaven he dwelt with himself. Peter: I am far from understanding what it means to say that 'he dwelt with himself.' Gregory: If the holy man, against those who conspired against him, whose ways were far dissimilar, had chosen to continue his rule, then perhaps he would have worn away his customary devotion and peacefulness, and the eye of his mind would have fallen away from the light of contemplation, and wearied by their daily strayings he would have had less care for himself, and perhaps lost himself and not found them. For as much as by disturbance of thought we are led away from ourselves, though we are ourselves we are not with ourselves, because with scant consideration for ourselves we wander amongst other things. For shall we say that he was with himself who went off into a far country and consumed the portion he had received, and came to serve one in that city, guarding his swine, he who would have eaten the husks he saw and hungered for, who then after he begin to ponder the goods which he had lost, as it is written, 'returning to himself,' said, 'How many hired men in my father's house abound with bread!' 1 So if he was with himself, how did he return to himself? This then I meant when I say that the venerable man dwelt with himself, because he was always keeping careful watch on himself, always seeing himself before the eyes of his Creator, always examining himself, not wandering far from the eye of his own soul. Pope Saint Gregory the Great,The Life Of Saint Benedict, from the Dialogues, Chap 3 1 Lk 15.11-17

Monks and Philosophy

Φιλοσοφία ἀποστρέφεται θόρυβον, καὶ γυνασὶα μοναχικὴ ἐξω κατορθοῦται συγχύσεως, ἵνα ταύτῃ χρήσηται ὑποβάθρᾳ τοῦ ὕψους τῆς ταπεινώσεως, τῇ κατὰ μόνας σχολῇ καὶ πραγμάτων ὀχληρῶν, καὶ ῥημάτων ἀπρεπῶν, σπουδαίως καὶ τελείως ἐκλαθόμενος. Εἰ δὲ τρίβωνα καὶ ὑπήνην, καὶ βάκτρον ἀρκεῖν ἡμῖν πρὸς ἐξάνυσιν τῆς ἀγγελικῆς πολιτείας οἰόμεθα, και μέσοι δήμων, καὶ θεαμάτων καὶ ἀκουσμάτων ἀστικῶν συμφυρόμεθα, τοῖς ὀργάνοις τῆς νίκης μόνοις ἐναβρυνόμενοι, τὴν δὲ πάλην καὶ μάχην ἐκκλίνοντες, ἐξ ἧς ἡ νικη προσγίνεται, μᾶλλον δὲ τὰς αἰτίας τὴς πάλης ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἀνακαίοντες, λανθάνομεν κύνες τυγχάνοντες, καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἔμετον ὑποστρέφοντες ἤ ὗς τῷ βορβόρῳ τῆς παλαίᾶς συνηθείας ἐγκαλινδούμενοι. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ϟΒ' Θωμᾳ Μονακῳ

Philosophy is averse to clamour and the monastic exertion is perfected far from tumult and confusion, that this might be a step to attain the height of humility, and that through the leisure of solitude forgetfulness may adhere to the troubles of business and every base speech . If we should think a cloak and a beard and a stick  sufficient to satisfy the angelic life and take to the crowds and spectacles and talk of the city, fleeing from the only instruments of victory, avoiding those struggles and fights by which triumph is acquired, rather than the cause of struggle in our selves inflaming, we will overlook that we have become like dogs turning back to vomit, or pigs wishing to wallow in old habits. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 92, To the Monk Thomas

The Weak and The Strong

Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε τὸν ἀββᾶν Ματόην, λέγων· Τί ποιήσω; ὅτι ἡ γλῶσσά μου θλίβει με· καὶ ὅταν ἔρχωμαι ἐν μέσῳ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, οὐ δύναμαι κατασχείν αὐτήν· ἀλλὰ κατακρίνω αὐτοὺς ἐν παντὶ ἔργῳ ἀγαθῷ καὶ έλέγχω αὐτοὺς. Τί οὖν ποιήσω; Καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ γέρων εἶπεν· Εἰ οὐ δύνασαι κατέχειν ἑαυτὸν, φύγε καταμόνας. Ἀσθένεια γάρ ἐστιν. Ὁ δὲ καθήμενος μετὰ ἀδελφῶν, οὐκ ὀφείλει εἶναι τετραγωνιαῖος, ἀλλὰ στρογγὺλος, ἵνα πρὸς πάντας κυλίηται. Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ γέρων· Οὐ κατὰ ἀρετὴν κάθημαι καταμόνας, ἀλλὰ κατὰ ἀσθενειαν· δυνατοὶ γάρ εἰσιν, οἱ ἔρχόμενοι εἰς τὸ μέσον τῶν ἀνθρώπων.  ᾽Αποφθεγματα των ἀγιων γεροντων, Παλλαδιος

A brother questioned Father Matoes, saying, ' What should I do? My tongue troubles me. When I go out into the midst of men I am not able to control it. I condemn them in every good work of theirs and dishonour them. What then should I do?' And the elder answered, ' If you are not able to control yourself, flee to solitude. For you are weak. Those who sit with men should not be a triangle but a sphere that they roll along with everyone. It is not by virtue that I sit alone but on account of weakness; the strong go out into the midst of men.' Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia

A Monk's Encouragement

᾽Αδελφος τις καθεζόμενος εις τα Κελλια ἐταράσσετο καταμόνας· και ἀπελθὼν πρὸς τον ἀββᾶν θεόδωρον τὸν τῆς Φερμης, εἷπεν αὐτῷ. ῾Ο δὲ γέρων εἶπεν· Ὓπαγε, ταπεινωσον τὸν λογισμόν σου, και ὑποτάγηθι, και μεινον μετὰ ἄλλων. Και ὑποστρεφει πρὸς τὸν γέροντα, και λεγει αὐτῷ· Οὑδε μετὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων αναπαύομαι. Και λὲγει αὐτῷ ὁ γερων· Ει μόνος οὐκ ἀναπαυῃ, οὐδε μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων, διατι ἐξῆλθες εισ τὸν μοναχόν; οὐχι ἵνα ὑποφερῃς τας θλιψεις; εἰπε δέ μοι· Ποσα ἔτη ἒχεις εις τὸ σχῆμα; Λὲγει· Ὀκτώ. Ἐἶπεν οὗν αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· φυσει ἐχω ἐν τᾡ σχήματι ἐβδομὴκοντα ἔτη, και οὐδὲ μιαν ἡμέραν εὗρον ἀνάπαυσιν· και σὺ εις ὀκτω ἔτη θέλεις ἀνάπαυσιν ἔχειν; Και τοῦτο ἀκούσας, ἑδραιωθεὶς ἀπῆλθεν.  ᾽Αποφθεγματα των ἀγιων γεροντων, Παλλαδιος

A certain brother dwelling in the region named 'The Cells' was troubled in his solitude. He went out to Father Theodoros of Pherme to speak to him. And the elder said, 'Begone, be humble in your thought, subject yourself, and abide with others.' He came back to the elder and said, ' I am not able to find rest with men'. The elder said to him, 'If you are not able to rest alone or with others, for what reason did you come out to be a monk? That you might endure suffering? Tell me how many years have you been a monk?' He said, 'Eight.' The elder said to him, ' I have spent seventy years in this state and not one day have I found rest. And you wish for peace in eight years?' Hearing this, he went away fortified. Sayings of the Fathers, Palladius of Galatia