Caput XXI. Solitudo est hominum consortio praeferenda propter conservationem virginitatis.
The Call to Solitude
The recluse is called to prefer solitude to human company, surrendering to God's invitation to holiness in body and spirit.
But now, whoever has chosen this solitary life by renouncing the world, longing to hide, not to be seen, and to be buried with Christ in a cave as though dead to the world — let such a person hear and understand my words. First, you should prefer solitude to the company of others — consider this carefully. The Apostle says that the virgin thinks on the things of God, how to please God, so as to be holy in body and spirit (1 Cor. 7:34). This is a voluntary sacrifice, a spontaneous offering — one the law does not compel. But necessity compels; the commandment does not force the will. Whence the Lord in the Gospel: Let whoever is able to receive this, receive it (Matt. 19:12).
Entrusting the Treasure to Grace
The virgin is urged to commit her resolve to God in prayer, recognizing that preserved virginity is an incomparable treasure purchased by Christ and rewarded with himself.
Who can do it? Surely the one into whom the Lord has breathed this very desire and granted the ability. First then, as a virgin, entrust your good resolve to him who inspired it, with the deepest devotion of your heart, begging him in the most earnest prayer: that what is impossible through merit, you would experience as easy through grace. Always consider what a precious treasure you carry in how fragile a vessel, and what reward, what glory, what a crown preserved virginity bestows. And what punishment, what shame, what condemnation lost virginity brings — turn these things over in your mind without ceasing. What is more precious than this treasure? It is the price by which heaven is purchased, the gift in which the angel delights, the treasure Christ himself longs for, the lure by which he is drawn to love you and moved to give himself to you — what more need I say? I dare say it: himself and all that he has.
The Beautiful Bridegroom
Christ is celebrated as the bridegroom of surpassing beauty who desires the soul's fragrance, yet he will not crown her without first proving her through testing.
And so the nard of your virginity, giving off its fragrance even in the heavenly places, makes the king desire your beauty — and he himself is the Lord your God.✦ See what a bridegroom you've chosen for yourself, what a friend you've brought to yourself. He himself is beautiful in form above the sons of men.✦ More beautiful even than the sun, and above all the beauty of the stars.✦ His spirit is sweeter than honey, and his inheritance above honey and the honeycomb. In his right hand is length of days, and in his left hand riches and glory.✦ He himself has now chosen you as his bride. But he will not crown you unless you are proven.✦
The Furnace of Temptation
Virginity is gold tested in the furnace of the cell, where the devil seeks to destroy it through temptation.
And Scripture says: Whoever has not been tempted has not been tested (Sirach 34:9).1 Virginity is gold; the cell is a furnace; the devil is a smelter; temptation is fire; the flesh of a virgin is an earthen vessel in which gold is stored, nor is the vessel restored any further by any craftsman.2
Read the original Latin
Sed jam nunc audiat et intelligat verba mea, quaecumque abrenuntians mundo vitam hanc solitariam elegerit, abscondi desiderans, non videri, et quasi mortua saeculo in spelunca Christo consepeliri. Primum tibi solitudinem hominum debeas praeferre consortio, diligenter attende. Virgo, inquit Apostolus, cogitat quae sunt Dei, quomodo placeat Deo, ut sit sancta corpore ac spiritu (I Cor. VII, 34). Voluntarium hoc sacrificium est, oblatio spontanea, ad quam non lex impellit. Sed necessitas cogit, non urget praeceptum. Unde Dominus in Evangelio: Qui potest capere, capiat (Matth. XIX, 12).
Quis potest? Ille certe cui Dominus hanc inspiraverit voluntatem et praestiterit facultatem. Primum igitur ut virgo, bonum propositum tuum ipsi qui inspiravit cum summa devotione cordis commenda, intentissima oratione deposcens, ut quod impossibile est per meritum, facile sentiat per gratiam. Cogita semper, quam pretiosum thesaurum in quam fragili vasculo portes, et quam mercedem, quam gloriam, quam coronam virginitas servata ministret. Quam insuper poenam, quam confusionem, quam damnationem importet amissa, indesinenter animo revolve. Quid hoc pretiosius thesauro? quo coelum emitur, quo angelus delectatur, cujus ipse Christus cupidus est, quo illicitur ad amandum, et ad praestandum provocatur, quid? audeo dicere, seipsum et omnia sua.
Itaque nardus virginitatis tuae etiam in coelestibus dans odorem suum, facit ut concupiscat rex decorem tuum, et ipse est Dominus Deus tuus. Vide qualem tibi sponsum elegeris, qualem tibi amicum attuleris. Ipse est speciosus forma prae filiis hominum. Speciosior etiam sole et super omnem stellarum pulchritudinem. Spiritus ejus super mel dulcis, et haereditas ejus super mel et favum. Longitudo in dextera ejus, et in sinistra ejus divitiae et gloria. Ipse te jam elegit in sponsam. Sed non coronabit nisi probatam.
Et dicit Scriptura: Qui non est tentatus, non est probatus (Eccli. XXXIV, 9). Virginitas aurum est, cella fornax, conflator diabolus, ignis tentatio, caro virginis vas luteum in quo aurum reconditur, nec vas ulterius a quolibet artifice reparatur.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Song.1.3-Song.1.4 — The fragrance of your oils is good; your name is poured oil; therefore young women love you. Song.1.4 — Draw me after you—let us run together! The king has brought me into his chambers. We will rejoice and be glad in you; we will remember your love more than wine. The upright love you.
- ↩Ps.45.2 — My heart is stirred by a noble theme; I address my work to the king; my tongue is the pen of a ready scribe.
- ↩Song.6.10 — Who is this who looks forth like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, awesome as those with banners?
- ↩Prov.3.16 — Long days are in her right hand; in her left hand, riches and honor.
- ↩Jas.1.12 — Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love him.
Notes
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.
- Anchor your rule with a fixed 10-minute daily portion
- Practice Aelred's threefold meditation with guided daily prompts
- Review and adjust your one-page rule after 30 days of tracked practice