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The Twelve Books on the Institutes of the Cœnobia, and the Remedies for the Eight Principal Faults

St. John Cassian · c. 420 AD

9h 11m read
Nicene

Cassian's practical manual of cenobitic discipline and the eight principal faults, foundational for later monastic spirituality.

Table of Contents

1Of the Dress of the Monks1Of the Monk's Girdle2Of the Monk's Robe3Of the Hoods of the Egyptians4Of the Tunics of the Egyptians5Of their Cords6Of their Capes7Of the Sheepskin and the Goatskin8Of the Staff of the Egyptians9Of their Shoes10Of the modification in the observances which may be permitted in accordance with the character of the climate or the custom of the district11Of the Spiritual Girdle and its Mystical Meaning2Of the Canonical System of the Nocturnal Prayers and Psalms1Of the Canonical System of the Nocturnal Prayers and Psalms2Of the difference of the number of Psalms appointed to be sung in all the provinces3Of the observance of one uniform rule throughout the whole of Egypt, and of the election of those who are set over the brethren4How throughout the whole of Egypt and the Thebaid the number of Psalms is fixed at twelve5How the fact that the number of the Psalms was to be twelve was received from the teaching of an angel6Of the Custom of having Twelve Prayers7Of their Method of Praying8Of the Prayer which follows the Psalm9Of the characteristics of the prayer, the fuller treatment of which is reserved for the Conferences of the Elders10Of the silence and conciseness with which the Collects are offered up by the Egyptians11Of the system according to which the Psalms are said among the Egyptians12Of the reason why while one sings the Psalms the rest sit down during the service; and of the zeal with which they afterwards prolong their vigils in their cells till daybreak13The reason why they are not allowed to go to sleep after the night service14Of the way in which they devote themselves in their cells equally to manual labour and to prayer15Of the discreet rule by which every one must retire to his cell after the close of the prayers; and of the rebuke to which any one who does otherwise is subject16How no one is allowed to pray with one who has been suspended from prayer17How he who rouses them for prayer ought to call them at the usual time18How they do not kneel from the evening of Saturday till the evening of Sunday3Of the Canonical System of the Daily Prayers and Psalms1Of the services of the third, sixth, and ninth hours, which are observed in the regions of Syria2How among the Egyptians they apply themselves all day long to prayer and Psalm continually, with the addition of work, without distinction of hours3How throughout all the East the services of Tierce, Sext, and None are ended with only three Psalms and prayers each; and the reason why these spiritual offices are assigned more particularly to those hours4How the Mattin office was not appointed by an ancient tradition but was started in our own day for a definite reason5How they ought not to go back to bed again after the Mattin prayers6How no change was made by the Elders in the ancient system of Psalms when the Mattin office was instituted7How one who does not come to the daily prayer before the end of the first Psalm is not allowed to enter the Oratory; but at Nocturnes a late arrival up to the end of the second Psalm can be overlooked8Of the Vigil service which is celebrated on the evening preceding the Sabbath; of its length, and the manner in which it is observed9The reason why a Vigil is appointed as the Sabbath day dawns, and why a dispensation from fasting is enjoyed on the Sabbath all through the East10How it was brought about that they fast on the Sabbath in the city11Of the points in which the service held on Sunday differs from what is customary on other days12Of the days on which, when supper is provided for the brethren, a Psalm is not said as they assemble for the meals as is usual at dinner4Of the Institutes of the Renunciants1Of the training of those who renounce this world, and of the way in which those are taught among the monks of Tabenna and the Egyptians who are received into the monasteries2Of the way in which among them men remain in the monasteries even to extreme old age3Of the ordeal by which one who is to be received in the monastery is tested4The reason why those who are received in the monastery are not allowed to bring anything in with them5The reason why those who give up the world, when they are received in the monasteries, must lay aside their own clothes and be clothed in others by the Abbot6The reason why the clothes of the renunciants with which they joined the monastery are preserved by the steward7The reason why those who are admitted to a monastery are not permitted to mix at once with the congregation of the brethren, but are first committed to the guest house8Of the practices in which the juniors are first exercised that they may become proficient in overcoming all their desires9The reason why the juniors are enjoined not to keep back any of their thoughts from the senior10How thorough is the obedience of the juniors even in those things which are matters of common necessity11The kind of food which is considered the greater delicacy by them12How they leave off every kind of work at the sound of some one knocking at the door, in their eagerness to answer at once13How wrong it is considered for any one to say that anything, however trifling, is his own14How, even if a large sum of money is amassed by the labour of each, still no one may venture to exceed the moderate limit of what is appointed as adequate15Of the excessive desire of possession among us16On the rules for various rebukes17Of those who introduced the plan that the holy Lessons should be read in the Cœnobia while the brethren are eating, and of the strict silence which is kept among the Egyptians18How it is against the rule for any one to take anything to eat or drink except at the common table19How throughout Palestine and Mesopotamia a daily service is undertaken by the brethren20Of the three lentil beans which the Steward found21Of the spontaneous service of some of the brethren22The system of the Egyptians, which is appointed for the daily service of the brethren23The obedience of Abbot John by which he was exalted even to the grace of prophecy24Of the dry stick which, at the bidding of his senior, Abbot John kept on watering as if it would grow25Of the unique vase of oil thrown away by Abbot John at his senior's command26How Abbot John obeyed his senior by trying to roll a huge stone, which a large number of men were unable to move27Of the humility and obedience of Abbot Patermucius, which he did not hesitate to make perfect by throwing his little boy into the river at the command of his senior28How it was revealed to the Abbot concerning Patermucius that he had done the deed of Abraham; and how when the same Abbot died, Patermucius succeeded to the charge of the monastery29Of the obedience of a brother who at the Abbot's bidding carried about in public ten baskets and sold them by retail30Of the humility of Abbot Pinufius, who left a very famous Cœnobium over which he presided as Presbyter, and out of the love of subjection sought a distant monastery where he could be received as a novice31How when Abbot Pinufius was brought back to his monastery he stayed there for a little while and then fled again into the regions of Syrian Palestine32The charge which the same Abbot Pinufius gave to a brother whom he admitted into his monastery in our presence33How it is that, just as a great reward is due to the monk who labours according to the regulations of the fathers, so likewise punishment must he inflicted on an idle one; and therefore no one should be admitted into a monastery too easily34Of the way in which our renunciation is nothing but mortification and the image of the Crucified35How the fear of the Lord is our cross36How our renunciation of the world is of no use if we are again entangled in those things which we have renounced37How the devil always lies in wait for our end, and how we ought continually to watch his head38Of the renunciant's preparation against temptation, and of the few who are worthy of imitation39Of the way in which we shall mount towards perfection, whereby we may afterwards ascend from the fear of God up to love40That the monk should seek for examples of perfection not from many instances but from one or a very few41The appearance of what infirmities one who lives in a Cœnobium ought to exhibit42How a monk should not look for the blessing of patience in his own case as a result of the virtue of others, but rather as a consequence of his own longsuffering43Recapitulation of the explanation how a monk can mount up towards perfection5Of the Spirit of Gluttony1The transition from the Institutes of the monks to the struggle against the eight principal faults2How the occasions of these faults, being found in everybody, are ignored by everybody; and how we need the Lord's help to make them plain3How our first struggle must be against the spirit of gluttony, i.e. the pleasures of the palate4The testimony of Abbot Antony in which he teaches that each virtue ought to be sought for from him who professes it in a special degree5That one and the same rule of fasting cannot be observed by everybody6That the mind is not intoxicated by wine alone7How bodily weakness need not interfere with purity of heart8How food should be taken with regard to the aim at perfect continence9Of the measure of the chastisement to be undertaken, and the remedy of fasting10That abstinence from food is not of itself sufficient for preservation of bodily and mental purity11That bodily lusts are not extinguished except by the entire rooting out of vice12That in our spiritual contest we ought to draw an example from the carnal contests13That we cannot enter the battle of the inner man unless we have been set free from the vice of gluttony14How gluttonous desires can be overcome15How a monk must always be eager to preserve his purity of heart16How, after the fashion of the Olympic games, a monk should not attempt spiritual conflicts unless he has won battles over the flesh17That the foundation and basis of the spiritual combat must be laid in the struggle against gluttony18Of the number of different conflicts and victories through which the blessed Apostle ascended to the crown of the highest combat19That the athlete of Christ, so long as he is in the body, is never without a battle20How a monk should not overstep the proper hours for taking food, if he wants to proceed to the struggle of interior conflicts21Of the inward peace of a monk, and of spiritual abstinence22That we should for this reason practise bodily abstinence that we may by it attain to a spiritual fast23What should be the character of the monk's food24How in Egypt we saw that the daily fast was broken without scruple on our arrival25Of the abstinence of one old man who took food six times so sparingly that he was still hungry26Of another old man, who never partook of food alone in his cell27What the two Abbots Pæsius and John said of the fruits of their zeal28The lesson and example which Abbot John when dying left to his disciples29Of Abbot Machetes, who never slept during the spiritual conferences, but always went to sleep during earthly tales30A saying of the same old man about not judging any one31The same old man's rebuke when he saw how the brethren went to sleep during the spiritual conferences, and woke up when some idle story was told32Of the letters which were burnt without being read33Of the solution of a question which Abbot Theodore obtained by prayer34Of the saying of the same old man, through which he taught by what efforts a monk can acquire a knowledge of the Scriptures35A rebuke of the same old man, when he had come to my cell in the middle of the night36A description of the desert in Diolcos, where the anchorites live37Of the cells which Abbot Archebius gave up to us with their furniture38The same Archebius paid a debt of his mother's by the labour of his own hands39Of the device of a certain old man by which some work was found for Abbot Simeon when he had nothing to do40Of the boys who when bringing to a sick man some figs, died in the desert from hunger, without having tasted them41The saying of Abbot Macarius of the behaviour of a monk as one who was to live for a long while, and as one who was daily at the point of death6On the Spirit of Fornication7Of the Spirit of Covetousness1How our warfare with covetousness is a foreign one, and how this fault is not a natural one in man, as the other faults are2How dangerous is the disease of covetousness3What is the usefulness of those vices which are natural to us4That we can say that there exist in us some natural faults, without wronging the Creator5Of the faults which are contracted through our own fault, without natural impulses6How difficult the evil of covetousness is to drive away when once it has been admitted7Of the source from which covetousness springs, and of the evils of which it is itself the mother8How covetousness is a hindrance to all virtues9How a monk who has money cannot stay in the monastery10Of the toils which a deserter from a monastery must undergo through covetousness, though he used formerly to murmur at the very slightest tasks11That under pretence of keeping the purse women have to besought to dwell with them12An instance of a lukewarm monk caught in the snares of covetousness13What the elders relate to the juniors in the matter of stripping off sins14Instances to show that the disease of covetousness is threefold15Of the difference between one who renounces the world badly and one who does not renounce it at all16Of the authority under which those shelter themselves who object to stripping themselves of their goods17Of the renunciation of the apostles and the primitive church18That if we want to imitate the apostles we ought not to live according to our own prescriptions, but to follow their example19A saying of S. Basil, the Bishop, directed against Syncletius20How contemptible it is to be overcome by covetousness21How covetousness can be conquered22That one who actually has no money may still be deemed covetous23An example drawn from the case of Judas24That covetousness cannot be overcome except by stripping one's self of everything25Of the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira, and Judas, which they underwent through the impulse of covetousness26That covetousness brings upon the soul a spiritual leprosy27Scripture proofs by which one who is aiming at perfection is taught not to take back again what he has given up and renounced28That the victory over covetousness can only be gained by stripping one's self bare of everything29How a monk can retain his poverty30The remedies against the disease of covetousness31That no one can get the better of covetousness unless he stays in the Cœnobium: and how one can remain there8Of the Spirit of Anger1How our fourth conflict is against the sin of anger, and how many evils this passion produces2Of those who say that anger is not injurious, if we are angry with those who do wrong, since God Himself is said to be angry3Of those things which are spoken of God anthropomorphically4In what sense we should understand the passions and human arts which are ascribed to the unchanging and incorporeal God5How calm a monk ought to be6Of the righteous and unrighteous passion of wrath7Of the only case in which anger is useful to us8Instances from the life of the blessed David in which anger was rightly felt9Of the anger which should be directed against ourselves10Of the sun, of which it is said that it should not go down upon your wrath11Of those to whose wrath even the going down of the sun sets no limit12How this is the end of temper and anger when a man carries it into act as far as he can13That we should not retain our anger even for an instant14Of reconciliation with our brother15How the Old Law would root out anger not only from the actions but from the thoughts16How useless is the retirement of those who do not give up their bad manners17That the peace of our heart does not depend on another's will, but lies in our own control18Of the zeal with which we should seek the desert, and of the things in which we make progress there19An illustration to help in forming an opinion on those who are only patient when they are not tried by any one20Of the way in which auger should be banished according to the gospel21Whether we ought to admit the addition of “without a cause,” in that which is written in the Gospel, “whosoever is angry with his brother,” etc22The remedies by which we can root out anger from our hearts9Of the Spirit of Dejection1How our fifth combat is against the spirit of dejection, and of the harm which it inflicts upon the soul2Of the care with which the malady of dejection must be healed3To what the soul may be compared which is a prey to the attacks of dejection4Whence and in what way dejection arises5That disturbances are caused in us not by the faults of other people, but by our own6That no one comes to grief by a sudden fall, but is destroyed by falling through a long course of carelessness7That we ought not to give up intercourse with our brethren in order to seek after perfection, but should rather constantly cultivate the virtue of patience8That if we have improved our character it is possible for us to get on with everybody9Of another sort of dejection which produces despair of salvation10Of the only thing in which dejection is useful to us11How we can decide what is useful and the sorrow according to God, and what is devilish and deadly12That except that wholesome sorrow, which springs up in three ways, all sorrow and dejection should be resisted as hurtful13The means by which we can root out dejection from our hearts10Of the Spirit of Accidie1How our sixth combat is against the spirit of accidie, and what its character is2A description of accidie, and the way in which it creeps over the heart of a monk, and the injury it inflicts on the soul3Of the different ways in which accidie overcomes a monk4How accidie hinders the mind from all contemplation of the virtues5How the attack of accidie is twofold6How injurious are the effects of accidie7Testimonies from the Apostle concerning the spirit of accidie8That he is sure to be restless who will not be content with the work of his own hands9That not the Apostle only, but those two who were with him laboured with their own hands10That for this reason the Apostle laboured with his own hands, that he might set us an example of work11That he preached and taught men to work not only by his example, but also by his words12Of his saying: “If any will not work, neither shall he eat.”13Of his saying: “We have heard that some among you walk disorderly.”14How manual labour prevents many faults15How kindness should be shown even to the idle and careless16How we ought to admonish those who go wrong, not out of hatred, but out of love17Different passages in which the Apostle declares that we ought to work, or in which it is shown that he himself worked18That the Apostle wrought what he thought would be sufficient for him and for others who were with him19How we should understand these words: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”20Of a lazy brother who tried to persuade others to leave the monastery21Different passages from the writings of Solomon against accidie22How the brethren in Egypt work with their hands, not only to supply their own needs, but also to minister to those who are in prison23That idleness is the reason why there are not monasteries for monks in the West24Abbot Paul who every year burnt with fire all the works of his hands25The words of Abbot Moses which he said to me about the cure of accidie11Of the Spirit of Vainglory1How our seventh combat is against the spirit of vainglory, and what its nature2How vainglory attacks a monk not only on his carnal, but also on his spiritual side3How many forms and shapes vainglory takes4How vainglory attacks a monk on the right had and on the left5A comparison which shows the nature of vainglory6That vainglory is not altogether got rid of by the advantages of solitude7How vainglory, when it has been overcome, rises again keener than ever for the fight8How vainglory is not allayed either in the desert or through advancing years9That vainglory is the more dangerous through being mixed up with virtues10An instance showing how King Hezekiah was overthrown by the dart of vainglory11The instance of King Uzziah who was overcome by the taint of the same malady12Several testimonies against vainglory13Of the ways in which vainglory attacks a monk14How it suggests that a man may seek to take holy orders15How vainglory intoxicates the mind16Of him whom the superior came upon and found in his cell, deluded by idle vainglory17How faults cannot be cured unless their roots and causes have been discovered18How a monk ought to avoid women and bishops19Remedies by which we can overcome vainglory12Of the Spirit of Pride1How our eighth combat is against the spirit of pride, and of its character2How there are two kinds of pride3How pride is equally destructive of all virtues4How by reason of pride Lucifer was turned from an archangel into a devil5That incentives to all sins spring from pride6That the sin of pride is last in the actual order of the combat, but first in time and origin7That the evil of pride is so great that it rightly has even God Himself as its adversary8How God has destroyed the pride of the devil by the virtue of humility, and various passages in proof of this9How we too may overcome pride10How no one can obtain perfect virtue and the promised bliss by his own strength alone11The case of the thief and of David, and of our call in order to illustrate the grace of God12That no toil is worthy to be compared with the promised bliss13The teaching of the elders on the method of acquiring purity14That the help of God is given to those who labour15From whom we can learn the way of perfection16That we cannot even make the effort to obtain perfection without the mercy and inspiration of God17Various passages which clearly show that we cannot do anything which belongs to our salvation without the aid of God18How we are protected by the grace of God not only in our natural condition, but also by His daily Providence19How this faith concerning the grace of God was delivered to us by the ancient Fathers20Of one who for his blasphemy was given over to a most unclean spirit21The instance of Joash, King of Judah, showing what was the consequence of his pride22That every proud soul is subject to spiritual wickedness to be deceived by it23How perfection can only be attained through the virtue of humility24Who are attacked by spiritual and who by carnal pride25A description of carnal pride, and of the evils which it produces in the soul of a monk26That a man whose foundation is bad, sinks daily from bad to worse27A description of the faults which spring from the evil of pride28On the pride of a certain brother29The signs by which you can recognize the presence of carnal pride in a soul30How when a man has grown cold through pride he wants to be put to rule other people31How we can overcome pride and attain perfection32How pride which is so destructive of all virtues can itself be destroyed by true humility33Remedies against the evil of pride