A source-book of ancient history - The Search For Mecca

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Advice to a Monk 561
If on your part you desire to be a monk and not merely
Disdain
to seem one, be more careful of your soul than of your things.
property; for in adopting a religious profession you have
renounced this once for all.
to show that your mind is
to prove that you despise the world.
Let your garments be squalid
white, and your tunic coarse
But give not way to
pride lest your dress and language be found at variance.
Baths stimulate the senses and must therefore be avoided;
for to quench natural heat is the aim of chilling fasts. . . .
A frugal and temperate diet is good for both body and soul.
See your mother as often as you wish but not with other Avoid the
sociGtv of
W'omen, for their faces may dwell in your thoughts and women.
so
"a. secret wound may fester in your breast." The
maidservants who attend upon her you must regard as
so many snares laid to entrap you. . . .
If I wish you then not to live with your mother, it is
for the reasons above given, and most of all for the following:
If she offers you delicacies to eat, you will grieve her
by refusing them; and if you take them, you will add fuel
to the flame that already burns within you. . . . Never Keep your
take your hand or your eyes off your book; learn the cupied with
psalms word for word, pray without ceasing, be always a^'J^ifgion.
on the alert, and let no vain thoughts lay hold upon you.
Direct both body and mind to the Lord, overcome wrath
with patience, love the knowledge of the scripture, and
you will no longer love the sins of the flesh. Do not let
your mind become a prey to excitement, for if this effects
a lodgment in your breast, it will have dominion over you
and will lead you into the great transgression. Always
have some work on hand, that the Devil may find you
busy. . . .
Make creels of reeds or weave baskets of pliant osier.
Hoe your ground; mark out your garden into even plots;