De gradibus humilitatis et superbiae
The Three Groups of Contempt
The twelve steps of pride are gathered into three groups—contempt of brothers, contempt of superiors, and contempt of God—and the final two steps of pride must be ascended outside the community before one can descend within it.
It should be understood, then, that all the steps I have divided into twelve can be gathered into just three groups: in the upper six, contempt of one's brothers; in the next four, contempt of one's superior; and in the two that remain, contempt of God is brought to its completion.1 It should also be noted that these last two steps of pride — which are also the first steps of humility when ascending — just as they must be climbed outside the community, so they cannot be descended within it.2
Obedience as the Third Step
The Rule places total obedience to a superior at the third step, which occurs upon reception into the community, meaning the two preceding steps must already have been traversed beforehand.
That these steps ought to be climbed beforehand can be clearly understood from this: in the Rule, the third step is described as follows: 'The third step,' it says, 'is that for the love of God someone submits himself entirely in obedience to a superior.' If, then, subjection is placed on the third step — which clearly happens when a novice is first received into the community — it follows that the two preceding steps are understood to have already been passed through.
Scandal as the Fruit of Contempt
When a monk scorns the harmony of the brothers and the judgment of his superior, he causes scandal within the monastery.
Finally, when a monk scorns the harmony of the brothers and the judgment of his superior, what else is he doing in the monastery but causing scandal?
Read the original Latin
Sciendum namque, quod omnes gradus, quos in duodecim partitus sum, in tres tantummodo colligi possunt, ut in sex superioribus contemptus fratrum, in quatuor sequentibus contemptus magistri, in duobus, qui restant, consummetur contemptus Dei. Notandum quoque, quod hi duo ultimi superbiae gradus, qui et humilitatis ascendendo primi inveniuntur, sicut extra congregationem ascendendi sunt, ita in congregatione descendi non possunt.
Quod autem ante ascendi debeant, ex hoc aperte intelligi datur, quod de tertio gradu in Regula legitur: Tertius, inquit, gradus est, ut quis pro Dei amore omni oboedentia se subdat maiori. Si ergo in tertio gradu subiectio collocatur, quae procul dubio fit, quando primum novitius conventui sociatur, consequens est quod duo iam anteriores transcensi intelligantur. Denique ubi fratrum concordiam ac magistri sententiam monachus spernit, quid ultra in monasterio, nisi scandalum facit?
Notes
- 1 ↩The ut clause is rendered as a result/consequence ('so that' force resolved into the main assertion) rather than a purpose clause, following the candidate gloss's result reading.
- 2 ↩The sicut...ita correlative structure is rendered with 'just as...so' to preserve the parallel between ascending outside and descending within the community.
De gradibus humilitatis et superbiae (On the Steps of Humility and Pride) companion
Humility is climbed one day at a time
Take the next step each morning with a free daily devotional in Chosen Portion.
Bernard frames humility as a ladder climbed by small repeated acts; Chosen Portion turns that into practice with one daily devotional step at a time.
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