Saint Pachomius of Tabenna, Abbot

^A most philanthropic and exceedingly beloved of God, so that he foreknew things to come, and frequently conversed with angels. Hence you may find the name of Pachomius celebrated with the highest praises both among ancient writers and in ecclesiastical fasti, whether Greek or Latin. Athanasius the Great indeed, as Jerome testifies ^B, fleeing to Rome as if to a most safe harbor of communion, was the first to bring into the City the Life of the blessed Anthony, who was still living at that time, and the Discipline of Pachomius from the monasteries in the Thebaid. Consequently, the learned man says ^C, it came about that the Roman Church was then first kindled with a love for the monastic institute. Hence many monasteries were built throughout Italy, and an institute of this sort thence flowed daily more widely through the West. The most holy abbot died in the year 348 ^D; and a certain Tabennesian monk, his contemporary, wrote his admirable deeds, which you may see among the Bollandists.

II. The version of the Rule is vindicated for Jerome, and at the same time the integrity of the work is asserted.

Other things concerning the saint

The rest of the matter was written by the Apostolic grace. Jerome rendered it into Latin letters, once it had been rendered into Greek. In which year the holy doctor finished his version.

Pachomius, says Gennadius, a man as adept in teaching as in performing signs, and of apostolic grace, wrote a Rule suitable for both types of monks, which he had received at the dictation of an angel. This indeed was reported long before by Heraclides, Palladius, Sozomen, and much later by Nicephorus. This Rule of Saint Pachomius, first written in the Egyptian tongue, then rendered into Greek, was translated into Latin by Saint Jerome, at the request of the man of God, the presbyter Silvanus; who for this reason had sent the presbyter Leontius and the other brethren with him to the holy Doctor in Palestine, so that they might seek, demand, and urge the interpretation of the Greek exemplar before his face. Therefore, to such men commanding, not to say requesting, the holy Father gave way, as he himself writes in the Preface to his version: where he also indicates the time when he set his hand to the work. The year was 404, when the holy Paula is found to have ended her final day, on the seventh day before the Kalends of February, on the third day of the week after sunset, during the consulship of Honorius Augustus VI and Aristenetus, as the same Jerome reports in her Epitaph. Thus, therefore, the greatest Doctor says in the aforementioned Preface: "Although a sharp and polished sword, if it has been hidden in its sheath for a long time, becomes dirty with rust and its splendor...

These Hieronymian matters, however, we have brought forward for this reason: to oppose William Cave and others who, while they refuse to recognize Jerome as the interpreter of the Pachomian Rule, seem also to call into question the sincerity of the same Rule: "Certainly," they say, "if Jerome had translated this Rule, he would have truly included Pachomius among ecclesiastical writers, or at least would have reviewed this among his own versions." But those learned men who argue thus have not noticed that Jerome did not finish his Catalogue until the year 392, and therefore could not include Pachomius among his Illustrious Men, nor enter into his versions the translation of the Rule of that most blessed abbot, whose Greek exemplar he received to be translated into Latin only twelve years later.

Against these Tillemont, although he admits that Jerome translated the Rule of Saint Pachomius, yet cannot persuade himself that the Precepts which are placed under the Pachomian Rule were rendered into Latin by the same Jerome, for the reason that a passage occurs in them expressed by these words: "Let us hate, therefore, the world and all things that are in it; let us hate also all bodily rest." Having recited these, he says: "Are we to think that Jerome spoke Latin so poorly? Would he not rather have written *oderimus*?" But besides the fact that those Precepts in the Collection of Rules of Saint Benedict of Aniane, who alone preserved for us the Hieronymian interpretation of the Pachomian works, hold a middle place between the Rule of Pachomius and his Epistles, of which the same Jerome is considered the undoubted interpreter; the holy Doctor himself openly professes that he imitated the simplicity of the Egyptian tongue, lest a rhetorical style should change men who were apostolic and full of spiritual grace. What, then, of the fact that the greatest Doctor himself, in his sacred...

regarding the interpretation of the Scriptures to have used a manner of speaking that proved less approved to Latin ears? But, to omit the rest, let us offer some examples from the use of the single verb *odisse* (to hate). We find, therefore, that Jerome, in translating or revising the sacred Bibles ^A, used the words *odientis* (of one hating) in Exod. XXIII, 5; *odientes* (hating ones) in II Reg. XIX, 6; *odibunt* (they will hate) in Prov. I, 22; *odiet* (he will hate) in Luc. XVI, 3: which are certainly not most Latin, to use a Hieronymian word. Indeed, the holy Doctor frequently professes that he did not avoid all the faults of speech, although he knew them well. For, he says, it is not our concern to avoid the faults of words, but to discuss the obscurity of the holy Scripture in whatever words we may. And elsewhere: I know, he says, that these things are troublesome to the reader: but it suffices for me to speak so as to be understood; so that, while discussing the Scriptures, I may imitate the simplicity of the Scriptures. And again, to the same effect, he has this: In ecclesiastical matters, words are not to be sought, but meanings; that is, life is to be sustained by bread, not by husks. Therefore, whether you look at the examples of the Hieronymian version just brought forward, or at the views regarding this very matter held by the same holy Doctor; I believe it is sufficiently evident on both counts that the word *odiamus* (let us hate) in the Pachomian Admonitions is not to be condemned, nor for that reason is their version to be judged away from Jerome. But let us return to the subject.

IV. Concerning the Epistles of Pachomius and his mystic Alphabet, from Gennadius and Sozomen. Pachomius also wrote, according to Gennadius, Epistles to the colleagues of his superiorate, in which he closed an Alphabet covered with mystic sacraments, as if exceeding the intelligence of human custom. But before Gennadius wrote this, the interpreter Jerome himself had anticipated him, saying thus: The Thebans say that an angel gave Pachomius the knowledge of a mystic language ^B, so that they might write to each other and speak through an Alphabet special, involving hidden senses by means of certain signs and symbols; which Epistles, as they are read among the Egyptians and Greeks, we have translated into our own language, placing the same elements as we found them. Sozomen recounts things akin to this: They say, he says, that a divine angel appeared to Pachomius and admonished him to gather up the junior monks and to dwell together with them: furthermore, that the whole congregation should be divided into twenty-four classes, and that these should receive a name from the letters of the Greeks: and indeed, the name itself was adapted to the life and customs of each one. For example, the simpler ones would be called [iota]; the crafty ones [zeta or xi], and so of the others, according as the institution of each class might aptly express the figure of some letter. [Greek text omitted in translation as it repeats the Latin.] Hence perhaps some light will come to the Pachomian Epistles.

V. The labor applied in preparing the edition of the Pachomian writings. Furthermore, we have carried out our edition according to the first Holstenian edition of the *Codex Regularum* by the Abbot of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire, which was published at Rome in the year 1661. For this is much more correct than the Parisian one issued in the year 1663, as is evident from the observations we have provided below. We have fitted in their proper places the notes of the most learned editor which exist at the bottom, and especially those which Holstenius extracted after his own edition from two manuscript codices, the Vatican and the Cassinese. Nor have we passed over the annotations of Vallarsi, which the illustrious man added to the Pachomian literary monuments in the second volume of the Hieronymian works. Finally, we have added the Precepts of the same holy Pachomius, brought to light from a Florentine manuscript codex by the Bollandists; to which we have additionally appended the observations of the most learned interpreter.

LIFE OF ST. PACHOMIUS, ABBOT OF TABENNA

RULE OF ST. PACHOMIUS, INTERPRETED BY ST. JEROME

OF THE SAME, PRECEPTS AND INSTITUTES, PRECEPTS AND JUDGMENTS, PRECEPTS AND LAWS, ADMONITIONS, EPISTLES AND MYSTIC WORDS

FROM THE PRECEPTS OF SAINT PACHOMIUS

PRECEPTS OF SAINT PACHOMIUS

This is the beginning of the foundations:

^A I. When you hear the sound calling you to the church, go meditating until the door of the church, in order to pray. II. Let no one look around at the brothers while they are praying. III. If anyone laughs or speaks in the assembly, let him receive penance before the altar. IV. He who neglects to come to the church by day, let him receive penance; he who is absent at night from the three prayers, let him likewise receive penance. V. Let no one leave the assembly, while the brothers are praying, without asking permission. VI. When you are dismissed from the assembly, meditate until you have entered the monastery. VII. Let no one have his head covered during meditation. VIII. Let no one look around at the brothers eating, nor stretch out his hand toward better things. IX. If anyone, carried away by the vice of immodesty, laughs or speaks in the place of eating, let him receive penance. X. He who neglects to offer prayers while eating, let him perform penance, or let him go back hungry. XI. If there is any need during the meal, do not speak, but knock. XII. Returning from the table, do not use many words. XIII. Let no one, while he eats, turn his head hither and thither to inspect the preparation of the table or the food of the brothers too curiously. XIV. Let the abbot procure the necessary things for a sick brother, seeking out those things that are necessary for the place of the infirm. XV. Let no one, when he is sick, eat or drink from those vessels from which the rest of the brothers [eat or drink], but he shall be ordered to eat separately, with all necessities provided.

XV. If anyone should come to the monastery wishing to become a novice, they shall offer him the prayer of the Gospel and teach him the psalms; but let him remain before the doors testing him, and they shall teach him all the customs of the brothers. After this, they shall take off his worldly garments and clothe him in the novice habit. ^A

XVI. If anyone comes to the monastery wishing to become a novice, they shall offer him the Evangelical prayer, and teach him psalms. Let him remain, moreover, by the doors of the monastery, and there let him be tested; and whatever else the brothers know, let him also learn there. Having done this, they shall strip him of his secular garments and clothe him in the habit of the novices.

XVII. The garments which he has put off, or any other possession of his, shall be in the power of the community, as the Father of the monastery shall ordain.

XVIII. If it happens that certain men, whether clergy or monks, enter the monastery, they shall receive them in this manner: they shall wash their feet, ^B according to the commandment of the Gospel, and shall perform the duties of hospitality towards them. Likewise, if secular men come down to the monastery, they shall be received with the same manner of service.

XIX. Let no one eat in the spiritual house, but rather in the church or the monastery of the same faith.

XX. When food is prepared for the brothers, let no one taste anything from it, nor shall they drink garum or wine.

XXI. Let no one be sent alone on business, but let two always go together.

XXII. When the brothers are called to work, let no one be excused from the work; let them not even ask where they are ^C going to depart, for the superior, just as those who go before, leads them forward.

XXIII. While the brothers are working at any material, let no one talk, but let them meditate or keep silence.

XXIV. Let no one sit down to work, unless he is ordered.

XXV. Let no one take a vegetable from the garden on his own, without the garden-keeper.

XXVI. Let no one drink an unmixed wine among the brothers, nor eat an ear of corn; and from the fruits that are in the fields, let no one eat before it is given to all the brothers.

XXVII. If they find fruits under the plants, ^D let them not eat of them, but having collected them, let them place them at the roots of the plants, and let the one assigned collect them.

^A

XXVIII. Let no one think anything is permitted to him. XXIX. Let no one possess anything besides those things which are given individually, and besides clothing—as they are: two tunics, one worn-out cloak, a skin, a sheepskin, sandals, two hoods, a belt, and a staff. XXX. Let no one ever depart anywhere without the permission of the Father. XXXI. Let no one sleep outside his assigned cell. XXXII. Let no one go out of the monastery without the Father's permission. XXXIII. Let no one in the place where he sleeps speak to his neighbor. XXXIV. Let no one place anything under himself on his bed, unless it be a mat. XXXV. Let no one, except when sick, anoint his whole body, nor let him wash or cleanse himself ^B indecently. XXXVI. Let no one have conversations with a brother in the dark. XXXVII. Let no one grasp the hand of another or any other part of him. XXXVIII. Whether standing or walking, let there be at least the space of one cubit between you; the same rule must be observed when sitting. XXXIX. Let no one shave his head without the Father's permission. XL. Let no one shave another’s head unless appointed for this. XLI. Let no one accept anything from the belongings of another without having consulted the Father. ^C XLII. Let no one ride bareback on an ass with another. XLIII. Let no one enter the workshops of the craftsmen without the permission of the head. XLIV. Let no one, even from his own brother, receive anything as a deposit. XLV. Let no one speak in the bakery of the brothers who are baking bread; but let them meditate in silence until they cease from their work. If they are in need of anything, let them not signify it by speech but by knocking. XLVI. If any of the brothers departs from this life, let no one be excused from attending his funeral by accompanying him to the mountain. XLVII. Let no one walk ahead of the superior ^D while traveling. XLVIII. Let no one perform any work without the Father, and let all defer to him. XLIX. Let no one go to the monastery of the virgins to visit any of them, unless they are those elders who have been appointed for this, who also provide them with necessary things. L. Whoever neglects these things shall accept penance without any contradiction, so that they may inherit the eternal kingdom in Christ. Amen.

YEAR OF OUR LORD 356. ST. ANTHONY THE GREAT, ABBOT. NOTICE.

(GALLAND., *Veterum Patrum Biblioth.*, t. IV, Proleg., p. xxvii.)

1. *Anthony’s deeds briefly proposed.* That Anthony was Egyptian by birth, surnamed the Great, and the founder of the monastic life, and that he flourished under Constantine and his sons who reigned, is handed down by St. Jerome (a). But that under Dionysius, the Alexandrian bishop, he withdrew to the desert and from thence gave the beginning to the anchoritic life, write Elmacinus, Makrisius, and others: although Abulfaragius places his withdrawal under the Emperor Philip, as the illustrious Renaudotius observes (b). Nevertheless, the opinions of these authors are known to be corrected by those things which St. Athanasius hands down about our Anthony. For that great bishop of the city of Alexandria followed his illustrious deeds in an outstanding volume, with the order of time diligently observed everywhere, as the most learned Montfaucon first perceived (c); and the blessed man, who was no less studious of the Christian faith and religion than of sanctity, ended his final day at the beginning of the year of Christ 356, at the age of 105. ^A Who, indeed, could rightly think—since, as Augustine says (g), it is the hallmark of fine minds to love the truth in words, not the words themselves—that it would be alien to our purpose to add here what was excellently said on this matter by the great father of Church annals (h): "Just as," he says, "unearthed gold, formless and raw, is usually held dearer because it appears to have nothing of another metal mixed in it, so the outstanding monuments of such a confessor, shining with his own antiquity and simplicity, in which things are usually more valued than words, will clearly be more pleasing and delightful than any writing of a more recent author, however much adorned with the finery of eloquence; for whatever is covered over with paint and pigments is rendered suspect, and simplicity itself shines forth more beautifully in its own purity, which, as it knows not how to lie, shrinks from every veil, even one composed for ornament."

^B II. *Endowed with no knowledge of literature, the blessed abbot is discovered to have been most expert in the divine Scriptures.* Anthony was not famous for his own writings, nor for secular wisdom, nor for any art whatever, as Athanasius writes (d). But although he was endowed with no knowledge of letters, he is nevertheless proclaimed, on the authority of Augustine (e), to have held the divine Scriptures in his memory by hearing them and to have understood them by prudent cogitation. Indeed, this is sufficiently clearly testified by those monuments of Christian doctrine that still survive, whether committed to letters by him or taken by others from his mouth; in which, to speak with Jerome (f), the magnitude of his sanctity will excuse the simplicity of his speech. For one should not, in the ancient Fathers of the Church especially, reprehend an ignorance of speech ^C as if it were a fault.

III. *It is set forth which things the holy Father wrote. And first, discussion is held concerning his Sermons.* Now, however, that we may briefly review the writings of so great a Father which still survive, we first present his Sermons; among which, the one truly to be deemed worthy of the first place is that which the great Athanasius has preserved for us (i). For in it the holy abbot, instructing his ascetics for spiritual warfare, suggests to them teachings that are truly admirable; imbued with which, against the struggles against principalities and powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the high places (Ephes. vi, 12), they might be rendered more prompt and stronger. Of course, Anthony alone, above others, having experienced every kind of aerial conflict, was able to uncover the inscrutable wiles of the devil, by which, now secretly, now openly,