5. Of Obedience
The first degree of humility is obedience without delay.
This becomes those who, on account of the holy subjection which they have promised, or of the fear of hell, or the glory of life everlasting, hold nothing dearer than Christ.
As soon as anything has been commanded by the Superior they permit no delay in the execution, as if the matter had been commanded by God Himself.
Of these the Lord says:
"At the hearing of the ear he has obeyed Me" (Ps 17[18]:45). And again He says to the teachers: "He that hears you hears Me" (Lk 10:16).
Such as these, therefore, instantly quitting their own work and giving up their own will, with hands disengaged, and leaving unfinished what they were doing, follow up, with the ready step of obedience, the work of command with deeds;
and thus, as if in the same moment, both matters—the master's command and the disciple's finished work—are, in the swiftness of the fear of God, speedily finished together, whereunto the desire of advancing to eternal life urges them.
They, therefore, seize upon the narrow way whereof the Lord says: "Narrow is the way which leads to life" (Mt 7:14),
so that, not living according to their own desires and pleasures but walking according to the judgment and will of another, they live in monasteries, and desire an Abbot to be over them.
Such as these truly live up to the maxim of the Lord in which He says:
"I came not to do My own will, but the will of Him that sent Me" (Jn 6:38).
This obedience, however, will be acceptable to God and agreeable to men then only, if what is commanded is done without hesitation, delay, lukewarmness, grumbling or complaint, because the obedience which is rendered to Superiors is rendered to God.
For He Himself has said: "He that hears you hears Me" (Lk 10:16). And it must be rendered by the disciples with a good will, "for the Lord loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor 9:7).”
For if the disciple obeys with an ill will, and murmurs, not only with lips but also in his heart, even though he fulfil the command, yet it will not be acceptable to God, who regards the heart of the murmurer.
And for such an action he acquires no reward; rather he incurs the penalty of murmurers, unless he makes satisfactory amendment.
6. Of Silence
Let us do what the Prophet says:
"I said, I will take heed of my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I have set a guard to my mouth, I was dumb, and was humbled, and kept silence even from good things" (Ps 38[39]:2-3).
Here the prophet shows that, if at times we ought to refrain from useful speech for the sake of silence, how much more ought we to abstain from evil words on account of the punishment due to sin.
Therefore, because of the importance of silence, let permission to speak be seldom given to perfect disciples even for good and holy and edifying discourse, for it is written:
"In much talk thou shalt not escape sin" (Prov 10:19). And elsewhere: "Death and life are in the power of the tongue" (Prov 18:21).
For it belongs to the master to speak and to teach; it becomes the disciple to be silent and to listen. If, therefore, anything must be asked of the Superior, let it be asked with all humility and respectful submission.
But coarse jests, and idle words or speech provoking laughter, we condemn everywhere to eternal exclusion; and for such speech we do not permit the disciple to open his lips.
7. Of Humility
Brethren, the Holy Scripture cries to us saying: "Every one that exalts himself shall be humbled; and he that 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 shalt Thou 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 whilst 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 knoweth the thoughts of men" (Ps 93[94]:11)
And he says: "Thou hast understood my thoughts afar off" (Ps 138[139]:3).
And: "The thoughts of man shall give praise to Thee" (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 thy 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 Thee 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. Whence the Scripture commands, saying: "Go no after thy 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 that 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 thou hast done and I was silent" (Ps 49[50]:21).
The second degree of humility is, when a man loves not his own will, nor is pleased to fulfil his own desires but by his deeds carries out that word of the Lord which says:
"I came not to do My own will but the will of Him that sent Me" (Jn 6:38). It is likewise said: "Self-will has its punishment, but necessity wins the crown."
The third degree of humility is, that for the love of God a man subject himself to a Superior in all obedience, imitating the Lord, of whom the Apostle says: "He became obedient unto death" (Phil 2:8).
The fourth degree of humility is, that, if hard and distasteful things are commanded, nay, even though injuries are inflicted, he accept them with patience and even temper, and not grow weary or give up, but hold out, as the Scripture says:
"He that shall persevere unto the end shall be saved" (Mt 10:22). And again: "Let thy heart take courage, and wait thou for the Lord" (Ps 26[27]:14).
And showing that a faithful man ought even to bear every disagreeable thing for the Lord, it says in the person of the suffering: "For Thy sake we suffer death all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter" (Rom 8:36; Ps 43[44]:22).
And secure in the hope of the divine reward, they go on joyfully, saying: "But in all these things we overcome because of Him that has loved us" (Rom 8:37).
And likewise in another place the Scripture says:
"Thou, O God, hast proved us; Thou hast tried us by fire as silver is tried; Thou hast brought us into a net, Thou hast laid afflictions on our back" (Ps 65[66]:10-11).
And to show us that we ought to be under a Superior, it continues, saying: "Thou hast set men over our heads" (Ps 65[66]:12).
And fulfilling the command of the Lord by patience also in adversities and injuries, when struck on the one cheek they turn also the other;
the despoiler of their coat they give their cloak also; and when forced to go one mile they go two (cf Mt 5:39-41); with the Apostle Paul they bear with false brethren and "bless those who curse them" (2 Cor 11:26; 1 Cor 4:12).
The fifth degree of humility is, when one hides from his Abbot none of the evil thoughts which rise in his heart or the evils committed by him in secret, but humbly confesses them.
Concerning this the Scripture exhorts us, saying: "Reveal thy way to the Lord and trust in Him" (Ps 36[37]:5). And it says further: "Confess to the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endures forever" (Ps 105[106]:1; Ps 117[118]:1).
And the Prophet likewise says:
"I have acknowledged my sin to Thee and my injustice I have not concealed. I said I will confess against myself my injustice to the Lord; and Thou hast forgiven the wickedness of my sins" (Ps 31[32]:5).
The sixth degree of humility is, when a monk is content with the meanest and worst of everything, and in all that is enjoined him holds himself as a bad and worthless workman,
saying with the Prophet: "I am brought to nothing and I knew it not; I am become as a beast before Thee, and I am always with Thee" (Ps 72[73]:22-23).
The seventh degree of humility is, when, not only with his tongue he declares, but also in his inmost soul believeth, that he is the lowest and vilest of men,
humbling himself and saying with the Prophet: "But I am a worm and no man, the reproach of men and the outcast of the people" (Ps 21[22]:7).
"I have been exalted and humbled and confounded" (Ps 87[88]:16). And also: "It is good for me that Thou hast humbled me, that I may learn Thy commandments" (Ps 118[119]:71,73).
The eighth degree of humility is, when a monk doeth nothing but what is sanctioned by the common rule of the monastery and the example of his elders.
The ninth degree of humility is, when a monk withholds his tongue from speaking, and keeping silence does not speak until he is asked;
for the Scripture shows that "in a multitude of words there shall not want sin" (Prov 10:19); and that "a man full of tongue is not established in the earth" (Ps 139[140]:12).
The tenth degree of humility is, when a monk is not easily moved and quick for laughter, for it is written: "The fool exalts his voice in laughter" (Sir 21:23).
The eleventh degree of humility is, that, when a monk speaks, he speak gently and without laughter, humbly and with gravity, with few and sensible words, and that he be not loud of voice, as it is written: "The wise man is known by the fewness of his words."
The twelfth degree of humility is, when a monk is not only humble of heart, but always lets it appear also in his whole exterior to all that see him;
namely, at the Work of God, in the garden, on a journey, in the field, or wherever he may be, sitting, walking, or standing,
let him always have his head bowed down, his eyes fixed on the ground, ever holding himself guilty of his sins, thinking that he is already standing before the dread judgment seat of God,
and always saying to himself in his heart what the publican in the Gospel said, with his eyes fixed on the ground:
"Lord, I am a sinner and not worthy to lift up mine eyes to heaven" (Lk 18:13); and again with the Prophet: "I am bowed down and humbled exceedingly" (Ps 37[38]:7-9; Ps 118[119]:107).
Having, therefore, ascended all these degrees of humility, the monk will presently arrive at that love of God, which being perfect, castes out fear (1 Jn 4:18).
In virtue of this love all things which at first he observed not without fear, he will now begin to keep without any effort, and as it were, naturally by force of habit, no longer from the fear of hell, but from the love of Christ, from the very habit of good and the pleasure in virtue.
May the Lord be pleased to manifest all this by His Holy Spirit in His laborer now cleansed from vice and sin!