On Humility

This document consists of brief comments with regards to Chapter Seven of the Rule of St. Benedict, “On Humility.” Like most communities of the Benedictine tradition, the Cistercian tradition to which I belong has the custom of reading a chapter or part of a chapter of the Rule at the conclusion of the noonday meal. We used to start the meal with this reading but some years back put it at the end when monks are likely to be more attentive! During one of these rounds–we go through the Rule approximately a little over two times each year–we hit upon Chapter Seven, the “First Degree of Humility” (of which there are twelve).

It is common among people living the monastic life to become somewhat jaded to texts they hear over again. Nevertheless, this can act as a background of sorts, and from time to time a word or passage jumps out at you. One such occasion was the phrase, “fear of the Lord.” To my limited knowledge, I’ve never heard much (if anything) about putting fear into practice. Maybe we associate fear with the Old Testament; there are other more inspiring texts about God, so we tend to put this negative one on the back burner. On top of this are the usual associations of fear we’ve garnered over the years either from parents, siblings or from the quickened pace of modern living. All conspire to turn us off from the richness hidden within the “fear of the Lord.” This turn-off made me jot down some thoughts with regards to such fear as connected with St. Benedict’s remarks on humility. Tradition has always considered it central to monastic life but there again, I have heard precious little as to its meaning except in passing references.

I figure the best approach is to first examine the biblical notion of fear in light of a four important excerpts with attention upon the Hebrew words. After that, I will highlight some aspects from Chapter Seven of the Rule, for humility seems to be a direct offspring of divine fear. Not only that, for St. Benedict it is the first step in growth within the monastic community.

-Ex 34.10: “And he said, ‘Behold, I make a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels such as not been wrought in all the earth or in any nations; and all the earth or in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord; for it is a terrible thing (nora’) that I will do with you.’”

-Dt 6.1-2: “Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the ordinances which the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it; that you may fear (yare’) the Lord your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments which I command you, all the days of your life; and that your days may be prolonged.” (It’s interesting that the speaker (Moses) is addressing the Israelites prior to their departure from Egypt, the land in which they are not to keep the divine ordinances.)

-Ps 111.10: “The fear (yir’ath)of the Lord is the beginning (re’shyth) of wisdom (chakmah); a good understanding have all those who practice it.”

-Prov 1.7: “The fear (yir’ath) of the Lord is the beginning (re’shyth) of knowledge (dahath); fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Obviously fear connotes something akin to reverence and respect with respect to God and what he bids his people to carry out. However, there seems to be more than a simple esteem; fear applied to God is a bit on the general side and can easily degenerate into an attitude like yes, God is supreme yet we humans have to carry on as well as we can with what we have during our lives. The Hebrew yare’ (to fear) bears a certain resemblance to another verb, ra’ah (to see). Often both verbs have similar forms or at least similar appearances which at first glance can be confused. This leads me to consider that in a sense they can be interchangeable: to fear is to see and to see is to fear...in short, to have that reverence first extended to God and then to any person or even object we encounter. A better way of putting this is that both yare’ and ra’ah deal with a type of beholding which is more encompassing than making visual contact.

The classic expression “fear of the Lord” was noted in the last two scriptural excerpts. Ps 111.10 had this fear as the “re’shyth of wisdom” or chakmah, the latter word pertaining to judging or estimating the worth of someone or something. It sets the stage for a way to comport oneself in a particular mode of life which in this instance is the monastic one. Re’shyth is more than just a “beginning.” For example, the Book of Genesis opens with it: “In the beginning.” From this flows the six days of creation plus the seventh one of rest. The Psalm verse continues with a praxis, a way of implementing this fear, namely, a “good understanding” or sekel. In other words, sekel directly follows upon the heels of fear. This verb pertains to beholding and acting in a prudent fashion. “Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth” [Ps 2.10]. In the Psalm verse sekel is literally “made” or “done,” hasah.

The verse from Proverbs (1.7) takes a similar though slightly different approach with regards to yare’, namely, says that fear is the “beginning of dahath” as opposed to wisdom. Dahath implies intimate knowledge, sometimes of a sexual nature, as in Gen 4.1: “Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain.” Contrary to this, the same Proverbs verse reads, “fools despise wisdom (chakmah) and instruction (musar).” The latter applies to physical chastisement as well as verbal exhortation. Thus for a fool to despise both, he deprives himself of intimate knowledge pertaining to God.

Because the focus of this document is upon humility (humilitas: related to humus, the earth, ground) presented through St. Benedict’s Rule, I give the first part of Chapter Seven in its entirety. First comes the English translation followed by original Latin. After that a few observations will be posted to clarify the texts. For the most part, the original form of the Latin words will be retained, especially verbs.

#1

Brethren, the Holy Scripture cries to us saying: “Every one who exalts himself shall be humbled; and he who humbles himself shall be exalted” (Lk 14:11; 18:14). Since, therefore, it says this, it shows us that every exaltation is a kind of pride. The Prophet declares that he guards himself against this, saying: “Lord, my heart is not puffed up; nor are my eyes haughty. Neither have I walked in great matters nor in wonderful things above me” (Ps 130[131]:1). What then? “If I was not humbly minded, but exalted my soul; as a child that is weaned is towards his mother so shall You reward my soul” (Ps 130[131]:2). Hence, brethren, if we wish to reach the greatest height of humility, and speedily to arrive at that heavenly exaltation to which ascent is made in the present life by humility, then, mounting by our actions, we must erect the ladder which appeared to Jacob in his dream by means of which angels were shown to him ascending and descending (cf Gen 28:12). Without a doubt, we understand this ascending and descending to be nothing else but that we descend by pride and ascend by humility. The erected ladder, however, is our life in the present world, which, if the heart is humble, is by the Lord lifted up to heaven. For we say that our body and our soul are the two sides of this ladder; and into these sides the divine calling has inserted various degrees of humility or discipline which we must mount.

The first degree of humility, then, is that a man always have the fear of God before his eyes (cf Ps 35[36]:2), shunning all forgetfulness and that he be ever mindful of all that God has commanded, that he always considers in his mind how those who despise God will burn in hell for their sins, and that life everlasting is prepared for those who fear God. And while he guards himself evermore against sin and vices of thought, word, deed, and self-will, let him also hasten to cut off the desires of the flesh. Let a man consider that God always sees him from Heaven, that the eye of God beholds his works everywhere, and that the angels report them to Him every hour. The Prophet tells us this when he shows God thus ever present in our thoughts, saying: “The searcher of hearts and reins is God” (Ps 7:10). And again: “The Lord knows the thoughts of men” (Ps 93[94]:11) And he says: “You have understood my thoughts afar off” (Ps 138[139]:3). And: “The thoughts of man shall give praise to You” (Ps 75[76]:11). Therefore, in order that he may always be on his guard against evil thoughts, let the humble brother always say in his heart: “Then I shall be spotless before Him, if I shall keep myself from iniquity” (Ps 17[18]:24). We are thus forbidden to do our own will, since the Scripture says to us: “And turn away from your evil will” (Sir 18:30). And thus, too, we ask God in prayer that His will may be done in us (cf Mt 6:10). We are, therefore, rightly taught not to do our own will, when we guard against what Scripture says: “There are ways that to men seem right, the end whereof plunges into the depths of hell” (Prov 16:25). And also when we are filled with dread at what is said of the negligent: “They are corrupted and become abominable in their pleasure” (Ps 13[14]:1). But as regards desires of the flesh, let us believe that God is thus ever present to us, since the Prophet says to the Lord: “Before You is all my desire” (Ps 37[38]:10). We must, therefore, guard thus against evil desires, because death has his station near the entrance of pleasure. Therefore the Scripture commands, saying: “Go no after your lusts” (Sir 18:30). If, therefore, the eyes of the Lord observe the good and the bad (cf Prov 15:3) and the Lord always looks down from heaven on the children of men, to see whether there be anyone who understands or seeks God (cf Ps 13[14]:2); and if our actions are reported to the Lord day and night by the angels who are appointed to watch over us daily, we must ever be on our guard, brethren, as the Prophet says in the psalm, that God may at no time see us “gone aside to evil and become unprofitable” (Ps 13[14]:3), and having spared us in the present time, because He is kind and waits for us to be changed for the better, say to us in the future: “These things you have done and I was silent” (Ps 49[50]:21).

Clamat nobis scriptura divina, fratres, dicens: Omnis qui se exaltat humiliabitur et qui se humiliat exaltabitur. Cum haec ergo dicit, ostendit nobis omnem exaltationem genus esse superbiae. Quod se cavere propheta in dicat dicens: Domine, non est exaltatum cor meum neque elati sunt oculi mei, neque ambulavi in magnis neque in mirabilibus super me. Sed quid si non humiliter sentiebam, si exaltavi animam meam?–sicut ablactatum super matrem suam, ita retribues in animam meam. Unde, fratres, si summae humilitatis volumus culmen attingere et ad exaltationem illam caelestem ad quam per praesentis vitae humilitatem ascenditur volumus velociter pervenire, actibus nostris ascendentibus scala illa erigenda est qu ae in somnio lacob apparuit, per quam ei descendentes et ascendentes angeli monstrabantur. Non aliud sine dubio descensus ille et ascensus a nobis intellegitur nisi exaltatione descendere et humilitate ascendere. Scala vero ipsa erecta n ostra est vita in saeculo, quae humiliato corde a Domino erigatur ad caelum. Latera enim eius scalae dicimus nostrum esse corpus et animam, in qua latera diversos gradus humilitatis vel disciplinae evocatio divina ascendendo inseruit.

Primus itaque humilitatis gradus est si, timorem Dei sibi ante oculos semper ponens, oblivionem omnino fugiat et semper sit memor omnia quae praecepit Deus, ut qualiter et contemnentes Deum gehenna de peccatis incendat et vita aeterna quae timentibus Deum praeparata est animo suo semper evolvat. Et custodiens se omni hora a peccatis et vitiis, id est cogitationum, linguae, manuum, pedum vel voluntatis propriae sed et desideria carnis, aestimet se homo de caelis a Deo semper respici omni hora et facta sua omni loco ab aspectu divinitatis videri et ab angelis omni hora renuntiari. Demonstrans nobis hoc propheta, cum in cogitationibus nostris ita Deum semper praesentem ostendit dicens: Scrutans corda et renes Deus; et item: Dominus novit cogitationes hominum; et item dicit: Intellexisti cogitationes meas a longe; et: Quia cogitatio hominis confitebitur tibi. Nam ut sollicitus sit circa cogitationes suas perversas, dicat semper utilis frater in corde suo: Tunc ero immaculatus coram eo si observavero me ab iniquitate mea. Voluntatem vero propriam ita facere prohibemur cum dicit scriptura nobis: Et a voluntatibus tuis avertere. Et item rogamus Deum in oratione ut fiat illius voluntas in nobis. Docemur ergo merito nostram non facere voluntatem cum cavemus illud quod dicit sancta scriptura: Sunt viae quae putantur ab hominibus rectae, quarum finis usque ad profundum inferni demergit, et cum item pavemus illud quod de neglegentibus dictum est: Corrupti sunt et abominabiles facti sunt in voluntatibus suis. In desideriis vero carnis ita nobis Deum credamus semper esse praesentem cum dicit propheta Domino: Ante te est omne desiderium meum. Cavendum ergo ideo malum desiderium quia mors secus introitum delectationis posita est. Unde scriptura praecepit dicens: Post concupiscentias tuas non eas. Ergo si oculi Domini speculantur bonos et malos et Dominus de caelo semper respicit super filios hominum, ut videat si est intellegens aut requirens Deum, et si ab angelis nobis deputatis cotidie die noctuque Domino factor um nostrorum opera nuntiantur, cavendum est ergo omni hora, fratres, sicut dicit in psalmo propheta, ne nos declinantes in malo et inutiles factos aliqua hora aspiciat Deus et, parcendo nobis in hoc tempore quia pius est et exspectat nos converti in melius, ne dicat nobis in futuro: Haec fecisti et tacui.

The first paragraph is a preface of sorts prior where St. Benedict lays out his twelve steps of humility. It begins with an urgent cry or clamat, reminiscent of Wisdom crying out in the streets in Prov 8.1: “Does not wisdom call, does not understanding raise her voice?” Right here at the beginning of Chapter Seven Benedict contrasts two verbs and thus two extremes, humilio and exalto; i.e., a vertical template, if you will. The latter is identified with superbia or pride.

This vertical image is further spelled out by equating the affinity between humilitas and culmen or height. A variation of the latter is columen, a projecting object or pillar.

Reach (attingere; connotes the sense of touch), speedily arrive (velociter pervenire): the first with respect to the “greatest height of humility” and the second with respect to “heavenly exultation.” I.e., two opposites again made to appear identical.

Attention upon the vertical nature of humility/pride or up/down reaches fullest expression in Jacob’s ladder (scala) which occurs at Bethel (“House of God,” Gen 28.10-22). In line with the biblical text, Benedict notes that this vision occurred in a dream (in somnio). The very fact that angels are ascending (ascensus = exaltatio) and descending (descensus = ascendere or humilitas) this ladder suggests that the monk does not practice humility alone but is accompanied by heavenly beings.

For Benedict, the ladder is equivalent to the monk’s life “in this present world” (saeculum). This term applies to a lifetime, age or generation. Compare with in the present life (per praesentis vitae) above.

Body (corpus) and soul (anima): the ladder’s sides....on which angels ascend and descend. Into both are inserted not only the rungs (later) of humilitas but discipline (disciplina). More precisely, it is the divine calling or evocatio (in the sense of evoking or summons) which effects this as visualized in terms of degrees (gradus). Here a gradus corresponds to later where both terms have a horizontal connotation compared with the vertical one of the ladder’s orientation: both body and soul are thereby “horizontal.” In the Benedictine view, what connects them–these latera and gradus–is humility. It is up to God who not only raises (erigatur) the ladder but to heaven (ad caelum) or in that direction.

In the biblical account of Jacob’s dream the Lord “stood above it” (the ladder, 28.12) while he gives to Jacob and his descendants “the land on which you lie” (vs. 13). With this hierarchical structure in place, we may say that Benedict posits the first step of the ladder as closest to the earth, keeping in mind that humilitas is related to humus, earth. Thus the first degree of humility is equal to it. As the term for all twelve steps, the Latin term gradus has a fuller connotation; it applies to an approach or position. All twelve steps are connected and not isolated from each other.

Keeping in mind the close relationship between the Hebrew verbs to fear (yare’) and to see (ra’ah) as noted above, we see that the first step of humility is loaded with allusions to sight or vision: “before his eyes,” “consider...that God always sees him,” “the eye of God beholds his works,” “angels report them,” “eyes of the Lord observe,” “the Lord looks down from heaven,” “actions are reported day and night,” “ever be on guard, “God may at no time see us...astray.” Closely allied to these references are similar phrases which pertain more to our thoughts or what we entertain in our minds out of sight from other people: “Shunning all forgetfulness,” “be ever mindful,” always considers in his mind,” “guards himself,” “God ever present in our thoughts” (used with three quotes from the Psalter), “on guard against evil thoughts.”

Fear (of the Lord): timor (connotes alarm, dread, respect). The verb poneo (to place, to set) has an active sense of sustaining fear; poneo does not imply anything easy but requires diligence to effect. Ante oculos or before eyes enhances such effort which is contrasted with its opposite, oblivio, forgetfulness; such neglect is more than being inadvertent but comes close to people who are physically alive yet spiritually dead. This forgetfulness is so offensive that the monk is to fugio or to “take flight” from it.

Mindful: memor (noun) or the opposite of “oblivion” just noted. Its importance is stressed by the adverb omnino, ever. Such “everness” is related not so much to God himself but what he has commanded (praecepit), a type of secondary awareness dependent upon the first.

Hell (gehenna) and life everlasting (vita aeterna): the former may has a parallel with oblivio and the latter with memor. Perhaps the real experience of hell is not so much physical or even spiritual burning but being lost in such “oblivion.”

Prepared (praeparata): not for the present but for the future or “life everlasting.”

Guards (himself): custodiens: in the sense of protecting not only oneself but one’s possessions. The constancy of such guard is emphasized by the phrase omni hora or evermore, literally, “at every hour.” The five objects of such a guard are sin, vices (of thought), word, deed and self-will.

Consider (aestimet): in the sense of making a determination or estimating the value of something. Such an estimation has a three-fold object: 1) God always sees (respici) the monk from heaven. This verb intimates a looking back upon, a seeing behind or respect. 2) The (singular) eye of God beholds his works everywhere. The Latin reads ab aspectu divinitatis videri or literally, “from the seeing (sense of sight) of the divinity.” Divinitas is a more inclusive word than “God;” it refers to his nature and transcendence. 3) Angels report (renuntio) or “carry back” “them” or the monk’s works (facta, “things done”) to God at every hour (hora: as in omni hora above, evermore). Thus in addition to God seeing and his eye beholding we have here angels who mediate between God and the monk.

The prophet St. Benedict mentions refers to King David, traditional author of the Psalter and the four verses he is about to cite. His task is to show (demonstro), that is, to both prove and lay out an argument.

Ever present (semper praesentem): this presence is situated in the monk’s thoughts or cogitatio which involves deliberation, opinion as well as planning. Such cogitatio is our inmost being where we think we are immune from prying eyes.

Four Psalm verses demonstrate the divine presence as connected with cogitatio:

1) 7.10: “The searcher (scrutans; present participle of scrutor) of hearts and reins is God.” The former is corda and the latter, renes or literally, “kidneys.”

2) 93.11: “The Lord knows the thoughts of men.” Cogitatio: as noted just above.

3) 138.3: “You have understood my thoughts afar off.” The second use of cogitatio, this time a longe.

4) 75.11: “The thoughts of man shall give praise to You.” The third use of cogitatio, this time (assuming they are “afar off”) they render praise to God. Confiteor is the verb which also pertains to confessing or making manifest.

On guard (sollicitus): the Latin verb pertains to being agitated, disturbed as well as being anxious, the object of which are “evil thoughts” (cogitatio again). The adjective is perversus which suggests not so much evil commonly understood but those thoughts which are “perverse” and can apply to sexual perversions.

Humble (i.e., the brother or monk): utilis: alternately, “useful,” “beneficial.” This applies to a monk who quotes literally from Ps 17.24 (in his heart), “Then shall I be spotless (immaculatus) before him, if I shall keep myself from iniquity” or as the Latin reads, “my iniquity.”

The next several sentences pertain to the monk doing his own will or voluntas and desires or desiderium, especially those which pertain to the flesh (carnis).

“Ever present” (praesentem). This phrase can be view in light of Genesis’ account of Jacob and the ladder with God being situated in heaven above it. Keep in mind that the ladder itself is composed of body and soul. This divine presence is expressed through the words of Ps 37.10, “Before you is all my desire” (desiderium). Such desiderium is before or ante God which may be paralleled with praesentem.

Station (posita est): the position of death or at the introitum of pleasure which mimics Wisdom’s location in Prov 8.2-3: “on the heights,” “beside the way,” “in the paths,” “beside the gates,” “at the entrance of the portals.”

“Eyes (oculi) of the Lord:” looks down (speculantur) from heaven and sees (respicit: in the sense of turning one’s attention, “looking back,” re-). Both are done by the Lord at the top of the ladder, so to speak, in line with his position there as already noted in conjunction with the Genesis text. The object: intellegens or requirens God.

Reported (nuntiantur): that is, by the angels ascending and descending the ladder, again, composed of body and soul. “Day and night” represent this continuous watching or beholding.

Be on guard (cavendum est): “at every hour.”

Spared (parcendo): that is, in hoc tempore, as related to being changed (converti) “for the better.” Converti suggests “conversion” in the sense of metanoia, a change of heart.

This brief outline of the first degree of humility is vital to understand the eleven which follow and are not listed here. The intent is to better comprehend the first gradus in terms of seeing or beholding coupled with fear. It immediately spills over into practice as the ensuing degrees describe:

2) not loving one’s will.

3) subjecting oneself to a superior in imitation of Christ’s obedience.

4) bearing with hard and distasteful things.

5) manifesting one’s evil thoughts to the Abbot.

6) being content with the meanest and worst of everything.

7) knowing that one is the lowest and vilest of men.

8) follows the common rule of the monastery.

9) keeps silence.

10) is not moved to laughter.

11) speaks gently and with discretion.

12) is humble not just of heart but allows it to appear externally.