De morali composicione.
The Twofold Discipline of Moral Composure
Blessed Bernard teaches that moral composure requires a twofold discipline: inner discipline of the soul through virtues like humility and love, and outer discipline of the body through orderly bearing and movement.
Furthermore, regarding the moral composure that each person ought to maintain within himself, blessed Bernard says in the aforementioned sermon on the apostles Peter and Paul: 'You ought to live in an orderly way, so that in all your conduct you are careful to watch your ways, both in the sight of God and in the sight of your neighbor, guarding against sin for yourself and against scandal for him.' Bernard says these things. And this ordering is produced by a twofold discipline, namely:1 inner toward oneself, and outer toward one's neighbor. Inner discipline consists in humility and kindness, patience and love, and the remaining virtues, about which has been said elsewhere above.2 Outer discipline, however, consists in a fitting arrangement of the members, concerning which Hugh in his book On the Instruction of Novices. 'Discipline,' he says, 'is the orderly movement and fitting disposition of all the members in every bearing and action.' .
Discipline as Restraint of the Body and Mind
Discipline restrains disordered desires and movements of the body, which in turn strengthens the soul's stability; conversely, inner disorder manifests outwardly in restless, faithless behavior as described by Solomon.
. Discipline is the restraint of desire, the prison of evil longings, the bridle of wantonness, the yoke of exaltation, the bond of anger. It tames intemperance, binds lightness, and suffocates every disordered movement of the mind and every unlawful appetite. Just as a disordered motion of the body arises from the inconstancy of the mind, so too, when the body is tightened through discipline, the soul is strengthened toward steadfastness. Gradually the mind within is composed to rest, since through discipline's guard the evil movement is not allowed to flow outward. Therefore the integrity of virtue is present when, through the inner guard of the mind, the limbs of the body are ruled in an orderly way. . . But whoever loses the stability of his mind flows outward into the inconstancy of motion. Whence it is said through Solomon: "A faithless man, a useless fellow, walks with a perverse mouth, nods with his eyes, rubs with his foot, speaks with a finger, plots evil with a crooked heart, and at all times sows quarrels."✦ From this, ruin will follow at once — and so on." . . . The body's limbs must therefore be restrained outwardly through discipline, so that inwardly the stability of the mind may be strengthened. . . Indeed, discipline restrains the impulses of all vices, and the more it suppresses bad desires from without by holding them in check, the more does good desire grow strong within through its influence. Gradually, by its practice, the very form of virtue is impressed upon the mind, and that same form is preserved outwardly through discipline in the bearing of the body.'
The Value of Outward Discipline for Inner Life and Neighbor
Outward discipline in dress, gesture, speech, and eating is essential not only for guarding the inner life but also for avoiding scandal and edifying one's neighbor, as taught by Augustine and Hugh.
Hugh says this. From this it's clear that restraining or composing the outer limbs is of no small value for guarding or disciplining the inner ones. It's also of great value for avoiding scandal or offense and for the edification of our neighbors. Whence Augustine, in the Rule of Clerics: 'In gait, posture, and movement, in all our motions, let nothing be done that would offend anyone's sight, but only what befits our holiness.'3 As Hugh says, as above: 'In four things especially is outward discipline to be preserved, namely—' in dress, in gesture, in speech, in eating.' Hugh says this. Dress, indeed, ought to be neither too neglected nor overly fussy, but suitable and fitting to each person's station.
The Discipline of Dress: Avoiding Vanity and Display
Dress should be suitable to one's station, neither neglected nor ostentatious; Hugo of Folieto and Hugo of St. Victor warn that soft, costly garments reveal pride and dissoluteness, and that even the manner of wearing clothing can betray inner lightness and vanity.
For as Hugo of Folieto says in the second book of his work The Cloister of the Soul, 'there ought to be a difference between the clothing of the palace and that of the monastery.' . . Those who dress in soft garments are found in the houses of kings.✦ In short, 'the soft,' he says, 'seek out soft things; the proud seek out costly ones; the self-indulgent seek out the exquisite.' So he writes. Still, let them hear what Hugo says in his book The Formation of Novices: 'Those who clothe themselves in soft, delicate, and fancy garments are following the path of that rich man in the Gospel who dressed in purple and fine linen, and who was afterward buried in the torments of hell to be tormented forever.'✦ What, then,' he asks, 'is condemned in purple if not its color and its cost? And what in fine linen if not its softness?' Since, then, he is said to have clothed his body in the beauty of purple and the softness of fine linen, it's clear beyond any doubt that he was both proud and dissolute.✦ . . But the standard of discipline is to be observed not only in the kind of garment and its color, but also in how it's shaped, made, and put together. . . . For there are certain foolish people who arrange their garments around themselves with care, while others, with even greater absurdity, ludicrously turn them inside out. Some, however, to make a show of themselves, spread their garments out and stretch them as wide as they can; others gather the wrinkled cloth tight around themselves; others twist and wrap themselves up; and still others, straining with all their might and splitting the fabric, expose every line of their body to onlookers with a kind of brazen shamelessness that begs to be counted. Others by boasting — . . Their garments reveal the lightness of their mind through the very restlessness of how they wear them. Still others, walking with a winding train, sweep the ground with hanging hems — or rather, with tails trailing behind them like foxes — and so cover their own footprints. . .
The Discipline of Gesture: Order in Every Movement
Gestures must avoid six faults—softness, carelessness, laziness, inconstancy, pride, and irascibility—and each limb should fulfill its proper role; the chapter catalogs absurd bodily habits and concludes that bearing should be graceful, composed, and temperate, since virtue is the mean between contrary vices.
Gesture. . . Likewise, gesture is found reprehensible in six ways. . . For a soft manner signifies wantonness; a loose one, carelessness; a slow one, laziness; a quick one, inconstancy; a bold one, pride; a troubled one, irascibility. . . So each limb should keep to its own role and not take over another's. . . as sc. Let each limb do what it was made for: let the hand not speak, the mouth not hear, and the eye not take over the tongue's role. For there are some who don't know how to listen without their mouths hanging open, as if the sense of taste should flow in through the mouth, and they open their palate to the words of the speaker.4 Others — and this is even worse — stick out their tongues like thirsty dogs when they're acting or listening, and drag them around to every little thing, as if twisting them into a pot. Some, while speaking, point with the finger, raise their eyebrows, and roll their eyes in a circle — or fix them with a studied depth of concentration, trying to give the impression of some kind of inner magnificence. Others toss their heads, shake out their hair, arrange their garments with careful adjustment, lean on their sides, and stretch out their feet — fashioning a posture of perfectly ridiculous display. Others, as though both ears were not made for hearing, twist their neck to one side and present only a single ear to the voice that comes to them. Others, striking some kind of pose I can't even name, close one eye while looking and keep the other open. Others, with still greater absurdity, speak with only half their mouth. Beyond all this there are a thousand masks, a thousand sneers and wrinklings of the nostrils, a thousand grimaces and contortions of the lips — all of which deform the beauty of the face and the decorum of discipline. . . Others row with their arms as they walk, and with a kind of twofold monster — at one and the same time they walk downward on the earth with their feet and fly upward through the air with their arms. What is this monster, I ask — which fashions in itself at once the gait of a man, the rowing of a ship, and the flight of a bird? It pleases me to proclaim this in a poetical saying, in mockery of that absurdity: If a painter wanted to join a horse's neck to a human head and overlay it with multicolored feathers, and so on— . . . So each person should guide and conduct himself in his own action in such a way that he never oversteps the boundary or the standard of temperance in any respect. That is, to give a few examples: laughing without baring the teeth, seeing without a fixed stare of the eyes, speaking without extending the hands and gesturing with the fingers, without twisting the lips, without tossing and throwing the head, without raising the eyebrows, walking without a studied rhythm of steps, without swinging the arms, without shrugging the shoulders, sitting without spreading the legs apart, without crossing one foot over the other, without extending or shaking the shins, without shifting the sides from one position to another, lying down without a dislocation of the limbs.5 And so that we may at last bring this part of our discussion to a close: the bearing of a person in every action ought to be graceful without softness, composed without looseness, serious without sluggishness, lively without restlessness, mature without impudence, and severe without turbulence.6 For a turbulent bearing tempers a soft one, a dissolute one tempers an impudent one, a slow one tempers a hasty one, since virtue is the middle boundary line between contrary vices.7 .
The Discipline of Speech: What, to Whom, When, Where, and How
Speech must be governed by five considerations: what is said (avoiding the useless, dishonorable, and harmful), to whom (according to age, knowledge, office, and rank), when, where, and how; each person should speak according to their station, and it is pride to teach the wise or folly to rebuke the obstinate.
. Furthermore, in speech there are five things to be considered. They are: what is said, and to whom, and when, and where, and how. What. . . That is to say,8 so that in well-ordered speech nothing idle or superfluous is ever used.9 . . That is, useless or dishonorable or harmful. Useless things are those that benefit neither speakers nor listeners. Dishonorable things are those that do not befit the person who speaks. . . Or it doesn't suit the dignity of the person being spoken about. Harmful, however, are those things that lead the minds of listeners either to error or to depravity. These three. . . They can be distinguished according to the quality of things . . and of persons. . . The quality of persons is considered in four ways, namely: according to age, according to knowledge, according to office, and according to rank. . . For one thing is fitting in the speech of old men, another in that of young men, and so on for the others. . . Older men, for their part, should speak about discernment and the art of giving good counsel; young men, about earnestness and the art of doing well; the wise, about the mysteries of Scripture; the simple, about examples of good works. Those who handle external affairs should speak about the skill of acquiring; those who lead a quiet life, about the discipline of living well; prelates, about providing for their subjects; subjects, about obedience to their teachers. . . Moreover, wanting to teach the wise is pride, and rebuking the obstinate is foolishness. . . .
The Discipline of Eating: Silence, Modesty, and Restraint at Table
At table, discipline requires silence (to guard the tongue from sin, especially when loosened by drink), modesty of gaze (eyes cast down, not roaming), and restraint of the limbs (avoiding gluttonous gestures, unseemly handling of food, and excessive haste); food should be taken cleanly, slowly, and with propriety.
And so, at table or during a meal there is a twofold discipline to keep. . . namely in dress and in food. In dress it is threefold, namely of keeping silence, of watching where you look, and of holding yourself in check. Silence is indeed necessary during meals, because the tongue — which at every moment is prone to slip into sin — is however loosened all the more dangerously toward speech when it has been inflamed through drunkenness.10 . . You also need to keep watch over your eyes, because that's especially where — . . She shouldn't stare shamelessly around at what's going on in other people's homes; instead, with her eyes modestly cast down, she should attend only to what's been set before her. Care in restraining yourself there mustn't be neglected, so that — Neither in dress nor in gesture should anything indecent or dishonorable be done, as certain people do who, when they've sat down to eat, reveal the lack of self-control in their own minds through a certain restless agitation and disorder of their limbs. They shake out their heads, stretch their arms, spread their hands on high, and — not without great disgrace — as if they were about to devour the whole feast, they display certain huge, unseemly efforts and indecent gestures. . . Sitting in one place, they run their eyes and hands over everything near and far; at the same time they break loaves, pour wine into cups and bowls, carry plates around in a circle, and like a king about to attack a besieged city, they hesitate over where to begin the assault first, while at the same time they long to make an incursion on every side. . . Therefore each person ought to preserve discipline in himself during feasts in these three ways, namely: so that he may both restrain his own tongue from loquacity and hold his own eyes back from gazing about, and so that he may also contain all his other limbs with modesty and calm. . . . When you eat, it's fitting to keep a sense of measure — that is, so that what's taken is taken cleanly and with restraint. . . For some people, while they're eating, want to empty their plates — they wrap square pieces of the courses, along with fat or stuffing, in round drippings over the tablecloths, or throw them on top, until once the inner parts have been stripped clean, they put back what had remained into its original place.1112 Others, when drinking, dip their fingers halfway into the cups. Others wipe their greased hands on their own clothes, then go back to handling their food again. Others scoop up their vegetables with bare knuckles instead of a spoon, so that in the same broth they seem to be seeking both a hand-washing and a belly-filling. Others nibble at half-eaten crusts and bitten-off seasoned morsels from the dishes, then thrust in the remains from their own teeth, about to make lumps in their cups. . . Food, too, should be taken with moderation — that is, slowly and not with excessive haste, not against propriety and not beyond what's necessary. . . The person for whom too little is enough stumbles into excess before even reaching the disgrace of gluttony. The person who needs a great deal — in that person the decency of eating is often harmed as well, before excess is even reached. So the one for whom too little is enough should beware of excess all the more, and the one who has great need should pay all the more attention to propriety.
Conclusion: The Great Task of Forming Good Character
The author concludes by recalling earlier teachings on the moderation of gestures and the governance of life, citing Cicero and Ovid to affirm that forming good character is the most extensive and noble of all tasks.
We have also set forth many other things about the moderation of gestures, the governance of actions, and everything else pertaining to the decency of life, earlier through various books and through various chapters of individual books. For as Cicero says in the fourth book of the Tusculan Disputations, 'The discipline of living well is the most extensive of all — some have pursued it more through life than through letters'; and as Ovid says in the third book of the Art of Love: It is a great task to have formed good character.
Read the original Latin
Porro de conposicione morali, quam debet obseruare quilibet in seipso, dicit beatus bernardus in supradicto sermone de apostolis petro et paulo: ‘Ordinabiliter debes viuere, ut in omni conuersatione tua uias tuas sollicitus sis obseruare et in conspectu dei et in conspectu proximi, cauens et tibi a peccato et illi a scandalo.’ Hec bernardus. Et hanc ordinationem facit duplex disciplina, sc. interior ad seipsum, et exterior ad proximum. Interior disciplina consistit in humilitate ac benignitate, paciencia et caritate, ceterisque virtutibus, de quibus alias dictum est superius. Exterior autem consistit in decenti conposicione membrorum, de quibus hugo in libro de institucione nouiciorum. ‘Disciplina,’ inquit, ‘est membrorum omnium motus ordinatus et dispositio decens in omni habitu et actione . .
. Disciplina est conpes cupiditatis, malorum desideriorum carcer, frenum lasciuie, elationis iugum, vinculum iracondie, que domat intemperanciam, leuitatem ligat et omnes inordinatos motus mentis atque illicitos appetitus suffocat. Sicut enim de inconstancia mentis nascitur inordinata mocio corporis, ita quoque, dum corpus per disciplinam stringitur, animus ad constanciam solidatur et paulatim intrinsecus mens ad quietem conponitur, cum per discipline custodiam mali motus eius foras fluere non sinuntur. Integritas ergo virtutis est, quando per internam mentis custodiam ordinate reguntur membra corporis . . . Sed qui statum mentis perdit, foras in inconstanciam mocionis defluit. unde per salomonem dicitur: “homo apostata vir inutilis graditur ore peruerso, annuit oculis, terit pede, digito loquitur, prauo corde machinatur malum et in omni tempore iurgia seminat.
Hinc extimplo ueniet perdicio sua etc.” . . . liganda ergo sunt foris per disciplinam membra corporis, ut intrinsecus solidetur status mentis . . . Omnium namque viciorum motus disciplina cohercet et quantum mala desideria foris cohercendo conprimit, tantum per eam bonum desiderium interius conualescit, paulatimque eadem uirtutis forma per consuetudinem menti imprimitur, que foris per disciplinam in habitu corporis conseruatur.’
Hec hugo. Ex quibus patet, quod restrictio siue conposicio membrorum exteriorum non parum valet ad custodiam siue disciplinam interiorum. Plurimum quoque valet ad scandali uel offense uitacionem et ad proximorum edificationem. unde augustinus in regula clericorum: ‘In incessu, statu, motu, in omnibus motibus nostris nichil fiat, quod cuiusquam offendat aspectum, sed quod nostram deceat sanctitatem.’ ut autem dicit hugo, ubi supra: ‘In quatuor precipue conseruanda est exterior disciplina, videl. in habitu, in gestu, in locucione, in comestione.’ Hec hugo. Habitus quidem nec nimis debet esse neglectus, nec ultra modum curiosus, sed statui cuiuslibet persone congruus uel ydoneus.
Nam ut dicit hugo de folieto in libro de claustro anime iio, ‘diuersitas esse debet inter indumenta palacii et monasterij . . . Qui enim mollibus vestiuntur, in domibus regum sunt. Denique, molles,’ inquit, ‘querunt mollia, elati preciosa, delicati speciosa.’ Hec ille. verumptamen audiant, ut dicit hugo in libro de nouiciorum institutione: ‘qui mollibus ac delicatis et curiosis uestibus induuntur, quod ille diues, qui in euangelio purpura et bysso induitur, postea in tormentis inferni eternaliter cruciandus sepelitur. Quid autem,’ inquit, ‘in purpura nisi color et precium et quid in bysso nisi mollicies reprehenditur.
Cum ergo carni sue et in purpura decorem et in bysso moliciem adhibuisse dicitur, procul dubio simul superbus et luxuriosus fuisse conprobatur . . . Non solum autem obseruandus est discipline modus in genere uestis et colore sed eciam in formatione siue factura et coaptacione. . . . Nam sunt quidam stulti, qui vestimenta circa se conponunt, alij vero maiori scurrilitate ridiculose transuertunt.
Alij autem, ut pompam de se faciant, explicant ea et quantum possunt, lacius distendunt, alij ipsis corrugata in unum colligunt, alij contorquentes et conplectentes inuoluunt, alij vero conamine toto stringentes et findentes ea, omnia corporis sui liniamenta inuerecondissima quadam turpitudine aspicientibus numeranda exponunt. Alij iactando . . . pannos suos leuitatem sue mentis ex ipsa sui habitus mobilitate ostendunt. Alij vero incedentes sinuoso sirmate terram vertunt et linibus dependentibus immo retro consequentibus caudis in similitudinem uulpium uestigia sua obducunt . . .
Gestus . . . quoque sex modis inuenitur reprehensibilis . . . Mollis namque significat lasciuiam, dissolutus negligenciam, tardus pigriciam, citatus inconstanciam, procax superbiam, turbidus iracondiam . .
. Itaque singula menbra suum teneant officium, neque usurpent alienum . . . ut sc. id agat unumquodque membrum, ad quod factum est, ut neque loquatur manus, neque os audiat, neque oculus lingue officium assumat. Sunt enim quidam, qui nisi buccis patentibus ascultare nesciunt et quasi per os sensus influere debeat, palatum ad uerba loquentis aperiunt. Alij, quodque adhuc peius est, in agendo uel audiendo quasi canes sicientes linguam protendunt et ad singulas actiones uelud in ollam torquendo circumducunt.
Alii loquentes digitum extendunt, supercilia erigunt et oculos in orbem rotantes aut profunda quadam consideracione defigentes cuiusdam intrinsecus magnificencie conatus ostendunt. Alij capud iactant, comam excuciunt, uestimenta adaptando conponunt et latera cubitando, pedesque extendendo ridiculam satis ostentationis formam fingunt. Alij quasi ambe aures ad audiendum facte non sint, alteram tantum collo detorto voci venienti opponunt. alij typum nescio quem figurantes oculum inter uidendum alium claudunt, alium aperiunt. Alij maiori ridiculo cum medietate oris loquuntur. Sunt preterea mille larue, mille subsannationes et corrugationes narium, mille ualgia et contortiones labiorum, que pulcritudinem faciei et decorem discipline deformant . . .
Alij nauigant brachiis incedentes et duplici quodam monstro uno eodemque tempore pedibus deorsum in terra ambulant et lacertis sursum in aere uolant. quid est queso monstrum hoc, quod simul in se fingit et hominis incessum et nauis remigium et auis volatum, libet in hoc poetice illius subsannacionis elogio proclamare:
Humano capiti ceruicem pictor equinam iungere si uelis et uarias inducere plumas etc.
. . . Itaque sic unusquisque in actu suo se dirigat et moueat, ut in nulla umquam parte temperancie limitem aut formam honestatis excedat. Hoc est, ut in paucis exemplificemus, ridere sine apertione dencium, videre sine defixione oculorum, loqui sine extensione manuum et intentacione digitorum, sine contorcione labiorum, sine extensione et iactacione capitis, sine eleuacione superciliorum, incedere sine modulatione gressuum, sine ventilatione brachiorum, sine gesticulacione scapularum, sedere sine diuaricatione crurium, sine alterutrum superiectione pedum, sine extensione uel agitatione tybiarum, sine alterna accubitacione laterum, iacere sine disiunctione membrorum. Et ut tandem de hac parte finem loquendi faciamus, gestus hominis in omni actu esse debet graciosus sine mollicie, quietus sine dissolutione, grauis sine tarditate, alacer sine inquietudine, maturus sine proteruia et seuerus sine turbilencia. Mollem enim gestum temperat turbidus, procacem dissolutus, citatum tardus, quoniam inter vicia contraria limes medius est uirtus . .
. Porro in locucione res quinque sunt considerande. Hoc est: quid dicatur et cui et quando et ubi et quomodo. Quid . . . uidel. ut nunquam in sermonibus disciplinatis adhibeantur ociosa .
. . id est inutilia uel inhonesta uel nociua. Inutilia sunt, que nec loquentibus nec audientibus prosunt. Inhonesta sunt, que illius, qui loquitur . . . uel illius, de quo loquitur, dignitati non conueniunt.
Nociua vero sunt, que animos auditorum uel ad errorem uel ad prauitatem inducunt. Hec tria . . . discerni possunt secundum qualitatem rerum . . . ac personarum .
. . Qualitas personarum quatuor modis consideratur, videl. secundum etatem, secundum scienciam, secundum officium, secundum ordinem . . . Aliud enim conuenit loquutionibus senum, aliud iuuenum et ita de aliis . .
. Senes quippe loqui debent de discretione bene consulendi, iuuenes de instancia bene faciendi, sapientes de mysteriis scripturarum, simplices de exemplis bonorum operum; hii, qui exteriora tractant negocia, de sollercia acquirendi, hii, qui quietam vitam ducunt, de disciplina viuendi, prelati de prouisione subditorum, subiecti de obediencia preceptorum . . . Ceterum velle docere sapientes est superbia et corripere obstinatos insipiencia. . . .
Denique in mensa siue in comestione duplex est custodia discipline . . . sc. in habitu et in cibo. In habitu triplex, sc. tacendi, respiciendi, sese continendi. Taciturnitas siquidem inter epulas est necessaria, quia lingua, que omni tempore prona ad peccatum labitur, periculosius tamen cum per crapulam inflammata fuerit, ad loquendum relaxatur .
. . Custodia eciam oculorum, quia non decet ibi precipue, ut . . . impudenter ea, que apud alios aguntur, circumlustrando prospiciat, sed ut pocius pudice demissis luminibus ea tantum, que sibi apposita sunt, attendat. Custodia quoque continendi sese ibi negligenda non est, quatinus videl. neque in habitu neque in gestu indecens aliquid aut inhonestum agatur, sicut quidam faciunt, qui, cum ad edendum assederint, inquieta quadam agitatione et confusione menbrorum intemperanciam animi sui designant.
Capud excuciunt, brachia exerunt, manus in altum expandunt et non sine magna turpitudine quasi totum epulum absorturi sint, quosdam ingentes conatus, indecoros gestus ostendunt . . . In uno loco sedentes oculis et manibus que prope que longe omnia circumcurrunt, simul panes conminuunt, vina in calices et pateras effundunt, discos in girum circumducunt et uelud rex super obsessam ciuitatem assultum facturus, dubitant, ubi primum expugnationem aggrediantur, dum simul in omni parte irrupcionem facere concupiscunt . . . Hiis ergo tribus modis debet quisque inter epulas conseruare disciplinam in semetipso, videl. ut et linguam suam a loquacitate restringat et oculos suos a circumspectione cohibeat, ut et cetera menbra omnia cum modestia et quiete contineat.
. . . In cibo quoque sumendo modum conuenit obseruare, videl. ut munde sumatur et temperate . . . Quidam enim inter comendum dum scutellas exhonerare uolunt, quadrata ferculorum frust(a) adipem siue sagimen super rotata distillancia mensalibus inuoluunt aut super iniciunt, donec iterum euisceratis interioribus ea, que remanserant, in pristinum locum reponunt.
Alij vero bibentes digitos mediotenus poculis immergunt. Alij manus unctas ad uestimenta sua detergentes rursus ad cibaria tractando redeunt. Alij nudis articulis uice coclearis olera sua piscantur, ita ut in eodem iure et manus ablutionem et ventris refectionem querere videantur. Alij semicorrosas crustas et premorsas colliridas cibariis gustando infigunt et reliquias dentium suorum offas facturi in poculis demergunt . . . Sumendus est eciam temperate, id est tractim et non cum nimia festinacione nec contra honestatem nec supra necessitatem . .
. Cui minus sufficit, iste, priusquam ad turpitudinem edacitatis perueniat, in superfluitatem offendit. Cui multum opus est, in eo sepe honestas comedendi leditur eciam, priusquam ad superfluitatem veniatur. Ergo ille, cui parum satis est, magis superfluitatem caueat; illi vero, cui multum opus est, magis ad honestatem attendat.’ Multa quoque alia de moderacione gestuum ac regimine actuum et ceteris ad honestatem vite pertinentibus superius per diuersos libros ac per diuersa singulorum librorum capitula posuimus. ut enim dicit tullius in tusculanario libro iiiio, ‘Amplissima omnium est bene uiuendi disciplina, quam vita magis quam litteris quidam persecuti sunt,’ et ut dicit ouidius in libro de arte iiio:
Magnum opus est mores conposuisse bonos.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Prov.6.12-Prov.6.14 — A worthless man, a man of iniquity, goes about with a crooked mouth. Prov.6.13 — who winks with his eye, who signals with his feet, who points with his fingers Prov.6.14 — Perversity is in his heart; he plots evil continually; he sows discord.
- ↩Matt.11.8 — But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Look, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.
- ↩Luke.16.19 — Now there was a certain rich man, and he used to dress in purple and fine linen, celebrating every day in splendor.
- ↩Luke.16.19 — Now there was a certain rich man, and he used to dress in purple and fine linen, celebrating every day in splendor.
Notes
- 1 ↩'sc.' is an abbreviation for 'scilicet' (namely, that is to say); rendered as a colon for readability.
- 2 ↩'caritate' rendered as 'love' per default lexeme policy for charitas; 'charity' is also theologically acceptable.
- 3 ↩The quoted passage is attributed to Augustine's Rule of Clerics; final source resolution deferred to tx-08 Moses.
- 4 ↩The phrase 'sensus influere' is rendered 'sense of taste should flow in' as the most plausible reading, but the construction is ambiguous; the author seems to be mocking people who gape rather than truly listen.
- 5 ↩The long catalogue of bodily actions is rendered with parallel 'without + noun' phrases to preserve the rhetorical rhythm of the Latin 'sine + abl.' series. Some Latin terms (e.g., 'apertio dentium', 'defixio oculorum') are abstract nouns where English more naturally uses verbal phrases ('baring the teeth', 'a fixed stare of the eyes'); the rendering stays faithful to sense while matching contemporary cadence.
- 6 ↩The six paired qualities are rendered as adjective + 'without' + abstract noun to mirror the Latin structure. 'Gestus hominis' is rendered as 'the bearing of a person' to capture the sense of overall demeanor or carriage. 'Mollicie' (softness/effeminacy) and 'turbilencia' (turbulence/agitation) are rendered to preserve the moral-physical double sense the Latin carries.
- 7 ↩The Latin presents a quasi-Aristotelian schema: each vice is corrected by its opposite rather than by a measured mean directly. 'Limes medius' (middle boundary) is the spatial metaphor for virtue as the dividing line between opposing vices. The rendering preserves this structure rather than smoothing it into a simpler 'golden mean' formula.
- 8 ↩uidel. is a medieval abbreviation of videlicet, rendered here as 'That is to say.'
- 9 ↩ut + subjunctive rendered as purpose clause ('so that') rather than result, following the prescriptive context.
- 10 ↩Fuerit (token 21) is ambiguous between future perfect indicative and perfect subjunctive; the cum-clause context favors the subjunctive ('when it has been inflamed'), which is the reading adopted here.
- 11 ↩frust(a): the form is abbreviated or possibly corrupt in the manuscript; expanded as 'frusta' (pieces/bits). The reading is plausible but uncertain.
- 12 ↩distillancia: a rare/medieval Latin form; precise sense uncertain, rendered here as 'drippings' based on context of food and sauces.
De eruditione filiorum nobilium (On the Education of Noble Children) companion
Formation starts with the parents' own practice
Model a daily devotional habit your children can see — Chosen Portion makes it a free 10-minute routine.
Vincent taught that children are formed by the daily practices of their household; Chosen Portion gives parents the daily devotional practice that anchors that household rhythm.
- A short daily devotional you can read before the kids wake up
- Family-friendly portions from the same historic tradition Vincent drew on
- Build a visible 30-day habit your children can imitate