The Latin:
71. In Christi amore pro inimicis orare;
72. cum discordante ante solis occasum in pacem redire.
73. Et de Dei misericordia numquam desperare.
Ecce haec sunt instrumenta artis spiritalis. Quae cum fuerint a nobis die noctuque incessabiliter adimpleta et in die iudicii reconsignata, illa merces nobis a Domino recompensabitur quam ipse promisit.
The English:
71. To pray for one’s enemies in the love of Christ.
72. To make peace with an adversary before the setting of the sun.
73. And never to despair of God’s mercy.
Behold, these are the instruments of the spiritual art, which, if they have been applied without ceasing day and night and approved on judgment day, will merit for us from the Lord that reward which He hath promised.
[All texts are from the Benedictine homepage.]
The Latin:
66. zelum non habere,
67. invidiam non exercere,
68. contentionem non amare,
69. elationem fugere.
70. Et seniores venerare, iuniores diligere.
The English:
66. Not to be jealous;
67. not to entertain envy.
68. Not to love strife.
69. Not to love pride.
70. To honor the aged, to love the younger.
The Latin:
61. praeceptis abbatis in omnibus oboedire, etiam si ipse aliter – quod absit – agat, memores illud dominicum praeceptum: Quae dicunt facite, quae autem faciunt facere nolite.
62. Non velle dici sanctum antequam sit, sed prius esse quod verius dicatur.
63. Praecepta Dei factis cotidie adimplere,
64. castitatem amare,
65. nullum odire,
The English:
61. To obey the commands of the Abbot in all things, even though he himself (which Heaven forbid) act otherwise, mindful of that precept of the Lord: “What they say, do ye; what they do, do ye not” (Mt 23:3).
62. Not to desire to be called holy before one is; but to be holy first, that one may be truly so called.
63. To fulfil daily the commandments of God by works.
64. To love chastity.
65. To hate no one.
The Latin:
56. Lectiones sanctas libenter audire,
56. orationi frequenter incumbere,
57. mala sua praeterita cum lacrimis vel gemitu cotidie in oratione Deo confiteri, de ipsis malis de cetero emendare.
59. Desideria carnis non efficere,
60. voluntatem propriam odire,
The English:
56. To listen willingly to holy reading.
57. To apply one’s self often to prayer.
58. To confess one’s past sins to God daily in prayer with sighs and tears, and to amend them for the future.
59. Not to fulfil the desires of the flesh.
60. To hate one’s own will.
The Latin:
51. et seniori spiritali patefacere,
52. os suum a malo vel pravo eloquio custodire,
53. multum loqui non amare,
54. verba vana aut risui apta non loqui,
55. risum multum aut excussum non amare.
The English:
51. And to disclose them to our spiritual father.
52. To guard one’s tongue against bad and wicked speech.
53. Not to love much speaking.
54. Not to speak useless words and such as provoke laughter.
55. Not to love much or boisterous laughter.
The Latin:
46. vitam aeternam omni concupiscentia spiritali desiderare,
47. mortem cotidie ante oculos suspectam habere.
48. Actus vitae suae omni hora custodire,
49. in omni loco Deum se respicere pro certo scire.
50. Cogitationes malas cordi suo advenientes mox ad Christum allidere.
The English:
46. To desire eternal life with all spiritual longing.
47. To keep death before one’s eyes daily.
48. To keep a constant watch over the actions of our life.
49. To hold as certain that God sees us everywhere.
50. To dash at once against Christ the evil thoughts which rise in one’s heart.
The Latin:
41. Spem suam Deo committere.
42. Bonum aliquid in se cum viderit, Deo applicet, non sibi;
43. malum vero semper a se factum sciat et sibi reputet.
44. Diem iudicii timere,
45. gehennam expavescere,
The English:
41. To put one’s trust in God.
42. To refer what good one sees in himself, not to self, but to God.
43. But as to any evil in himself, let him be convinced that it is his own and charge it to himself.
44. To fear the day of judgment.
45. To be in dread of hell.
The Latin:
36. non multum edacem,
37. non somnulentum,
38. non pigrum,
39. non murmuriosum,
40. non detractorem.
The English:
36. Not to be a great eater.
37. Not to be drowsy.
38. Not to be slothful (cf Rom 12:11).
39. Not to be a murmurer.
40. Not to be a detractor.
The Latin:
31. Inimicos diligere.
32. Maledicentes se non remaledicere, sed magis benedicere.
33. Persecutionem pro iustitia sustinere.
34. Non esse superbum,
35. non vinolentum
The English:
31. To love one’s enemies
32. Not to curse them that curse us, but rather to bless them.
33. To bear persecution for justice sake.
34. Not to be proud…
35. Not to be given to wine
The Latin:
26. Caritatem non derelinquere.
27. Non iurare ne forte periuret,
28. veritatem ex corde et ore proferre.
29. Malum pro malo non reddere.
30. Iniuriam non facere, sed et factas patienter sufferre
The English:
26. Not to forsake charity.
27. Not to swear, lest perchance one swear falsely.
28. To speak the truth with heart and tongue.
29. Not to return evil for evil.
30. To do no injury, yea, even patiently to bear the injury done us.
The Latin:
21. nihil amori Christi praeponere.
22. Iram non perficere,
23. iracundiae tempus non reservare.
24. Dolum in corde non tenere,
25. pacem falsam non dare.
The English:
21. To prefer nothing to the love of Christ.
22. Not to give way to anger.
23. Not to foster a desire for revenge.
24. Not to entertain deceit in the heart.
25. Not to make a false peace.
The Latin:
16. infirmum visitare,
17. mortuum sepelire.
18. In tribulatione subvenire,
19. dolentem consolari.
20. Saeculi actibus se facere alienum,
The English:
16. To visit the sick.
17. To bury the dead.
18. To help in trouble.
19. To console the sorrowing.
20. To hold one’s self aloof from worldly ways.
The Latin:
11. Corpus castigare,
12. delicias non amplecti,
13. ieiunium amare.
14. Pauperes recreare,
15. nudum vestire,
The English:
11. To chastise the body.
12. Not to seek after pleasures.
13. To love fasting.
14. To relieve the poor.
15. To clothe the naked…
The Latin:
6. non concupiscere,
7. non falsum testimonium dicere,
8. honorare omnes homines,
9. et quod sibi quis fieri non vult, alio ne faciat.
10. Abnegare semetipsum sibi ut sequatur Christum.
The English:
6. Not to covet.
7. Not to bear false witness.
8. To honor all men.
9. And what one would not have done to himself, not to do to another.
10. To deny one’s self in order to follow Christ.
The Latin:
1. In primis Dominum Deum diligere ex toto corde, tota anima, tota virtute;
2. deinde proximum tamquam seipsum.
3. Deinde non occidere,
4. non adulterare,
5. non facere furtum,
The English:
1. In the first place to love the Lord God with the whole heart, the whole soul, the whole strength…
2. then, one’s neighbor as one’s self.
3. Then, not to kill…
4. Not to commit adultery…
5. Not to steal…
