Caput XII. Reclusa verbis lacessita ut se gerere debet.
Despising Judgment with a Clear Conscience
A recluse must not retaliate against provocation but should despise all insults from the calm heights of a clear conscience, echoing the Apostle's indifference to human judgment.
So a recluse shouldn't answer someone who picks a fight, shouldn't throw insults back at someone who tears her down, and shouldn't contradict someone who provokes her. But no matter what gets hurled at her in public or in private, whether openly or whispered, she should despise it all from the calm heights of a clear conscience, saying with the Apostle, "But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you" (1 Cor. 4:3).✦ 4:3).
Guarding the Eternal Inhabitant of the Heart
Above all, a recluse must preserve unbroken interior peace, cherishing the eternal dweller within her breast — the one whose place is made in peace.
For above all else, a recluse should strive to keep the tranquility of her spirit and the peace of her heart unbroken, holding the eternal inhabitant of her own breast — the one of whom it is written, "In peace his place is made" (Ps. 75:3).✦ 75:3).
The Lord Rests Upon the Humble and Quiet Soul
Through Isaiah, the Lord declares that His spirit rests only upon the humble, the quiet, and the one who trembles at His words.
And elsewhere the Lord says through the prophet, "Upon whom will my spirit rest, if not upon the humble and quiet one, and the one who fears my words?" (Isa. 66:2).✦ 66:2)?
Silence as the Highest Pursuit
Foolish speech overturns and perverts the sacred state of mind, so nothing should be pursued more eagerly than silence.
Not only does foolish talk overturn this most sacred state of mind — it perverts it. I think nothing should be pursued more eagerly by you than silence.
Read the original Latin
Inclusa igitur litiganti non respondeat, detrahenti non improperet, lacessenti non contradicat: sed in omnibus quae in publico, vel in occulto aut objiciuntur, aut susurrantur, ex conscientiae serenioris arce contemnat, dicens cum Apostolo, Mihi autem pro minimo est ut a vobis judicer (I Cor. IV, 3). Super omnia enim inclusa studere debet, ut tranquillitatem spiritus, et pacem cordis jugiter retinens, illum sui pectoris aeternum habeat inhabitatorem, de quo scriptum est, In pace factus est locus ejus (Psal. LXXV, 3). Et alias Dominus per prophetam, Super quem, inquit, requiescet spiritus meus, nisi super humilem et quietum, et timentem sermones meos (Isai. LXVI, 2)? Hunc sacratissimum mentis statum, non solum stultiloquia evertunt, sed et pervertunt. Nihil tam esse tibi censeo sectandum, quam silentium.
Scripture echoes
- ↩1Cor.4.3 — But to me it is a very small thing that I should be examined by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even examine myself.
- ↩Ps.75.3 — For I will take the appointed time; I will judge with uprightness.
- ↩Isa.66.2 — And all these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one I will look to: the poor and contrite in spirit, and the one who trembles at my word.
De institutione inclusarum (A Rule of Life for a Recluse) companion
A rule only lives if you keep it daily
Chosen Portion gives your new rule its anchor: one free devotional portion every day.
Aelred built his sister's day around fixed times of prayer and meditation; Chosen Portion supplies the fixed daily portion that makes a modern rule of life keepable.
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