Bellarmine · De Controversiis · On the Members of the Church · On Monks (Book II)
Chapter 3: On the Various Orders of Religious
Our translation, from the Latin of the Opera Omnia (Paris: Vivès, 1870–74), vol. II, De Monachis (De Membris Ecclesiae, Book II), On Monks (On the Members of the Church, Book II). The Latin source text is public domain; this English rendering is released with the site. Scripture quotations follow Bellarmine's Vulgate citations, rendered in Douay-Rheims wording where he quotes exactly. Click “Show the Latin” for the original (raw OCR of the scan; scanning errors remain — the scan itself is the authority).
As to the third point, the ancients recognize only two kinds of religious: one of anchorites or hermits, the other of cenobites. For thus teach Jerome (in the epistle to Eustochium, on virginity), Augustine (Book 1 On the Morals of the Church, chapter 31), and Cassian (Conference 18, chapter 4). And so Isidore errs (Book 2 On the Divine Offices, chapter 15), where he makes three kinds of monks — hermits, anchorites, cenobites — for anchorites and hermits are the same.
Jerome indeed adds a third kind, and Cassian a third and a fourth; but these are not truly kinds of religious, but certain relaxations and corruptions of the religious life. For they call the third kind that of those who live in monasteries but still retain some faculties of their own, and do not obey their superiors in all things — which is without doubt a corruption of the cenobitic life. The fourth kind they call that of those who pass from the monasteries to the desert, not to live more holily but more freely, having, namely, shaken off the yoke of superiors and of the cenobitic laws — which is a corruption of the eremitic life. Wherefore these two are called by the Fathers the worst kinds of monks. We can, with Blessed Thomas and the Scholastics, explain a little more fully and subtly the forms and kinds of religious life according to the ends for which they are instituted. Every religious life, then, is referred to the perfection of charity, as has been said.
Now we can love God and serve Him in three ways. In one way, through contemplation, by loving God Himself in Himself and clinging to Him. In another way, through action, by serving God in His members, as by feeding the poor, receiving strangers, and so forth. In the third way, by rendering service to God through both at once — that is, through contemplation that goes forth into action, or through action that necessarily requires contemplation. Which they do who serve the people by sermons and the administration of the sacraments.
According to these ends there are three kinds of religious life. One of those which profess the contemplative life alone, which kind can be divided into many forms according to the various constitutions and rules which they follow. For some follow the institutes of Saint Anthony, others of Saint Pachomius, others of Saint Basil, others of Saint Benedict, others of Saint Romuald, others of Saint Bruno, and so forth.
The second kind is of those religious orders which profess the active life, which is divided into as many forms as there are works of charity. For some serve God by soldiering and protecting the Church with arms, such as are the knights of Jerusalem, of Saint James, of Saint John; and certain others, by caring for the sick in hospitals; some, by burying the dead; and others, by other means, while they show benevolence toward their neighbors, render acceptable service to God.
The third kind is of those who profess the mixed life, which also is divided into various forms according to their various institutions. For some follow the rule of Saint Augustine, some of Saint Dominic, some of Saint Francis, and so forth.
And that this variety of orders was in use in the ancient Church, and is most useful, can easily be proved. For, as appears from Jerome, Augustine, and Cassian in the places noted, there always were both hermits and cenobites who professed the contemplative life. That there were also those who exercised the active life appears from Cassian (Conference 14, which is the first of Abbot Nestoros, chapter 4), where he says that of the religious of his time some gave their labor to contemplation, others to caring for a hospital, others to feeding the poor, others to receiving the wretched under their patronage, and so forth. Finally, that there were those who followed the mixed life is evident, both from the same Cassian in the same place, where he says that certain religious also gave their labor to instructing and teaching the unlearned, and from Blessed Augustine, who in two sermons on the common life of clerics asserts that he instituted in his bishopric the religious order of regular clerics.
And that in these three kinds of religious life there were many diversities according to various observances and rites of living, Epiphanius teaches at the end of the books against heresies, where he says that certain religious, by the institute of their order, abstained from meats, others even from eggs, others even from fish, others even from bread. Again, that some walked with bare feet, others wore a sackcloth underneath, others slept on the ground, and so forth.
Now that this variety of institutions, within the same agreement of faith, in no way harms the Christian religion, but rather greatly profits it, can be understood from this: that by this means provision is made for every kind of men, so that there is no one who wishes to tend toward perfection and cannot. For the dispositions of men are various, their inclinations various, and their strengths not equal in all. One loves solitude, another rejoices in company; one prays willingly, another more willingly reads or works, and so forth. If, then, every religious order required solitude, or every one community and company; or if every religious order enjoined abstinence from meats, or none enjoined it, and so forth — very few could be religious. But now, in so great a variety of religious orders, satisfaction can be made to all.
Another reason can be this: that since every order at the beginning is fervent, and rouses many men to piety, but afterward little by little relaxes that fervor, God, by rousing new orders from time to time, preserves as it were perpetual fervor in His Church, now through these, now through those. Certainly, if anyone read the life and deeds of the Saints Anthony, Benedict, Bernard, Bruno, Francis, Dominic, and others who either instituted new orders or restored old ones already nearly fallen, he will confess it most true which we have said of the wondrous ardor for the zeal of piety, and the conversion of many men from sins to God through the new religious orders.
Show the Latin (Vives edition, OCR)
CAPUT III. De variis Ordinibus Religiosorum. Quantum ad tertium, veteres duo tantum agnoscunt genera religiosorum ; unum Ana- (1) I. Joan. II, 5; Matth. XIX, 21. - (2) I. Tim. VI, 10. - (3) I. Joan. II, 16. 508 LIBER II. choretarum, sive Eremitarum ; alterum Coe¬ nobitarum. Ita enim elocet Hieronymus in epist. ad Eustoch. de Virginitate, Augustin. lib. I de moribus Ecclesiae cap. 31. et Cas¬ sianus collat. XVIII, cap. 4. Itaque errat Isi- dorus lib. II de divinis officiis cap. 15. ubi tria facit genera Monachorum, Eremitas, Ana¬ choretas, Coenobitas ; nam iidem sunt ana¬ choretae et eremitae. Addit quidem Hieronymus tertium genus, et Cassianus tertium et quartum , sed illa non sunt vere genera religiosorum, sed quae¬ dam relaxationes et corruptiones religionum. Nam tertium genus vocant eorum , qui in coenobiis vivunt, sed adhuc aliquas proprias retinent facultates , nec in omnibus obtem¬ perant praepositis ; quae sine dubio est cor¬ ruptio vitae coenobiticae. Quartum genus vo¬ cant eorum , qui ex monasteriis ad eremum transeunt , non ut sanctius , sed ut liberius vivant, nimirum excusso jugo superiorum, et legum coenobiticarum, quae est corruptio vitae eremiticae. Quare ista duo a Patribus vocantur deterrima genera Monachorum. Possumus nos cum B. Thoma, et Scholasti¬ cis paulo plenius et subtilius explicare for¬ mas , et genera religionum juxta fines , ad quos instituuntur. Omnis igitur religio ad perfectionem charitatis refertur, ut dictum est. Possumus autem tribus modis Deum dili¬ gere, eique servire: Uno modo, per contem¬ plationem ipsum Deum in se diligendo, ei¬ que inhaerendo : Alio modo , per actionem Deo in membris ejus serviendo, ut alendo pauperes, suscipiendo peregrinos etc. Tertio modo, per utrumque simul Deo obsequium praestando, id est, per contemplationem, quae in actionem prodeat, sive per actionem, quae necessario requirat contemplationem. Quod taciunt, qui concionibus, et Sacramentorum administratione populo serviunt. Juxta hos fines tria sunt genera religio¬ num. Unum earum , quae profitentur vitam contemplativam solum, quod genus in mul¬ tas formas dividi potest juxta varias consti¬ tutiones etregulas, quas sequuntur. Alii enim sequuntur instituta S. Antonii, alii S. Pacho- mii, alii S. Basilii, alii S. Benedicti, alii S. Romualdi, alii S. Brunonis etc. Alterum genus est earum religionum, quae profitentur vitam activam , quod in tot for¬ mas dividitur , quot sunt opera charitatis. Quidam enim militando, atque Ecclesiam ar¬ mis protegendo serviunt Deo. Quales sunt equites Hierosolymitani, S. Jacobi, S. Joan- nis , et alii quidam aegrotos curando in Xe¬ nodochiis , quidam mortuos sepeliendo , et alii aliis rationibus dum in proximos bene¬ volentiam ostendunt , Deo gratum obse¬ quium praestant. Tertium genus est eorum, qui profitentur vitam mixtam, quod etiam in varias formas dividitur juxta varias eorum institutiones. Quidam enim sequuntur regulam S. Augus¬ tini, quidam S. Dominici, quidam S. Fran- cisci etc. Quod autem hoc ordinum varietas fuerit in usu in veteri Ecclesia , et utilissima sit, facile probari potest. Nam, ut ex Hieronymo, Augustino, Cassiano locis notatispatet, sem- per fuerunt tam eremitae , quam coenobitae, qui vitam contemplativam profiterentur. Quod etiam fuerint, qui vitam activam exer¬ cerent , patet ex Cassiano collat. XIV. quae est prima Abbatis Nestoris cap. 4. ubi di¬ cit, ex religiosis sui temporis alios dedisse operam contemplationi, alios curando Xeno¬ dochio, alios aliendis pauperibus, alios mi¬ serorum suscipiendo patrocinio etc. Quod denique fuerint , qui vitam mixtam seque¬ rentur , perspicuum est tum ex eodem Cas¬ siano ibidem, ubi dicit, quosdam etiam reli¬ giosos dedisse operam instruendis et docen¬ dis imperitis , tum ex B. Augustino, qui in duobus sermonibus de communi vita Cleri¬ corum asserit, se instituisse in suo Episcopa¬ tu religionem regularium Clericorum. Quod autem in his tribus generibus reli¬ gionum multae essent diversitates, juxta va¬ rias observationes , et ritus vivendi , docet Epiphanius in fine librorum contra haereses, ubi dicit, quosdam religiosos ex instituto sui ordinis abstinuisse a carnibus , alios etiam ab ovis, alios etiam a piscibus , alios etiam a pane. Rursum , quosdam nudis pedibus ambulasse , alios saccum interius gestasse, alios humi cubasse etc. Jam vero quod haec varietas institutorum in eadem fidei consensione nihil obsit Chris¬ tianae religioni, sed potius valde prosit, hinc intelligi potest , quod hac ratione provisam est omni hominum generi , ut nemo sit, qui velit ad perfectionem tendere, et non possit. Varia enim sunt hominum ingenia, variae propensiones, nec pares omnibus vires. Unus diligit solitudinem, alius gaudet frequentia; unus libenter orat, alius libentius legit, vel operatur etc. Si ergo omnis religio require¬ ret solitudinem, vel omnis communionem et CAPUT IV. 509 frequentiam , aut si omnis religio abstinen¬ tiam a carnibus indiceret , vel nulla indice¬ ret etc. pauci admodum religiosi esse pos¬ sent. Nunc autem in tanta, varietate religio¬ num potest omnibus satisfieri. Altera ratio esse potest , quia cum omnis ordo initio ferveat, ac multos homines exci¬ tet ad pietatem ; paulatim autem postea fer¬ vorem illum remittat , Deus subinde novos ordines excitando, quasi perpetuo fervorem in Ecclesia sua nunc per hos, nunc per illos conservat. Certe si quis legat vitam, et res gestas sanctorum Antonii , Benedicti, Ber- nardi, Brunonis, Francisci, Dominici, et alio¬ rum, qui aut novos ordines instituerunt, aut veteres jam pene collapsos restituerunt, is fatebitur esse verissimum, quod diximus de mirifico ardore in studium pietatis, et mul¬ torum hominum conversione a peccatis ad Deum per novos ordines religiosos.