Modus satisfactionis in ordine necessario, purgationisque describitur

The Necessary Order of Restraint

One who has sinned must restrain even lawful things, attending both to the manner of satisfaction and the necessity of purgation.

And indeed it is a necessary order that whoever has committed unlawful acts should restrain himself even from the use of lawful things. In this restriction, two things need to be considered: the manner of satisfaction, and the necessity of purgation.

The Manner of Satisfaction

Satisfaction requires continence proportioned to the fault, producing fruits worthy of repentance, though the author defers to the holy fathers on its finer points.

The manner of satisfaction is this: that the strictness of continence be extended in proportion to the measure of fault, so that, in the words of the Baptist, we may produce fruits worthy of repentance.¹ But as to the quality of satisfaction itself, since it pertains to pastoral care and books have been written and opinions set down by the holy fathers, I'll refrain from saying more.

The Necessity of Purgation

Beyond satisfaction, one must pursue purgation through demanding works that expel passions, using outer exercises as instruments to cleanse the inner person with discerning self-examination.

Yet it's not only the manner of satisfaction that must be observed, but also the necessity of purgation that must be investigated. Nor should someone hold back from lawful things for the sake of satisfaction alone, but also labor in demanding works to expel or diminish the passions that grow strong through vicious habit. For the exercises of the outer person are instruments of the inner person, by which the vicious passions that infect the soul itself are more easily cut off, and the stains of the inner countenance are more fully washed away, as if by a certain harsher preparation.² Therefore, for someone concerned with his own purgation, it's first necessary to consider the passions by which he's attacked; then to examine which ones weary him most; and finally, with keen discernment, to investigate which instruments most effectively oppose those passions.

Matching Remedies to Passions

Having discerned one's dominant passions, one sets fitting remedies against each—fasting against lust, vigils against instability, silence against anger, and labor against weariness of mind.

Once these things have been examined, let a person set before each passion whatever is fitting; and whichever passion attacks more fiercely, let that person press against it with more intense persistence, so that it may be overwhelmed. In short, the passion of lust is easily restrained by fasting from food; keeping long vigils weakens a wandering and unstable heart; silence calms anger; and the diligent labor of work chastises the weariness of the mind.³⁴

The Balance of Discernment and a Final Recommendation

One must pursue purgation with measured reason rather than reckless vehemence, and for fuller instruction on vices and their remedies, Cassian's work on monastic training is commended.

But even so, one must not press with full vehemence toward the extinction of a single passion, so that the bodily instrument fails for suppressing the other passions; nor should one labor too relentlessly, so that no passion whatsoever is felt at all; but when a passion has arisen, it should be restrained according to the judgment of reason.⁵⁶ Let it suffice to have touched briefly on these things concerning the manner of purgation. Moreover, whoever wants to know more fully about the attacks of vices and their remedies should read the book by John Cassian that he entitled On the Training of Those Renouncing the World, in which he laid out with a lucid style their origins, the manner of attack, and the remedy for their expulsion.⁷

Read the original Latin

Et quippe ordo necessarius ut qui commisit illicita ab usu quoque licitorum sese restringat. In qua restrictione duo consideranda sunt : modus scilicet satisfactionis, et necessitas purgationis. Modus satisfactionis, ut secundum modum culpae rigor continentiae extendatur : quatenus secundum Baptistae vocem, dignos poenitentiae fructus faciamus. Sed de ipsa satisfactionis qualitate cum ad pastoralem curam pertineat, et a sanctis patribus libri scripti, ac sententiae praefinitae sint, plura dicere supersedeo. Verum non satisfactionis modus tantum conservandus est, sed etiam purgationis necessitas perquirenda. Nec pro sola satisfactione a licitis continendum ; sed etiam pro expellendis vel minuendis passionibus, quae vitiosa consuetudine inolescunt, laboriosis operibus insistendum. Sunt enim exterioris hominis exercitia interioris hominis instrumenta ; quibus et passiones vitiosae, quae ipsam inficiunt animam, facilius absciduntur : et interioris faciei sordes, quasi confectione quadam asperiori plenius diluuntur. Proinde suae purgationis sollicito primo necesse est ut passiones quibus impugnatur attendat ; deinde quae sint quibus maxime fatigatur inspiciat; postremo quae instrumenta, quibus passionibus magis obvient sagaci circumspectione perquirat.

Quibus inspectis, congruum cuilibet passioni objiciat ; et quae magis impugnat, ferventiori instantia ut ipsa obruatur, insistat. Denique passionem libidinis facile comprimit ventris restrictio, vagum cor et instabile vigiliarum infirmat afflictio, iram silentium mitigat, taedium mentis operis sollicitudo castigat. Nec sic tamen unius passionis exstinctioni tota vehementia insistendum est, ut ad cetera comprimenda instrumentum corporale deficiat; nec importunius laborandum, ut non qualibet passio sentiatur; sed cum surrexerit, ut secundum rationis judicium compescatur. Haec de modo purgationis breviter tetigisse sufficiat. Ceterum qui vitiorum impugnationem atque remedia plenius nosse desiderat ; legat librum Joannis Cassiani, quem de instituendis abrenuntiantibus intitulavit ; in quo eorum origines, impugnationis modum, expulsionis remedium, luculento stylo digessit.

Notes

1 ↩Allusion to John the Baptist's words, likely echoing Luke 3:8 (Vulgate: 'facite ergo fructus dignos paenitentiae') or Matthew 3:8. Candidate scripture allusion pending Moses resolution.
2 ↩The distinction between 'outer person' (exterioris homo) and 'inner person' (interioris homo) reflects Pauline anthropology (cf. 2 Corinthians 4:16, Romans 7:22). The metaphor of bodily discipline as an instrument for interior purification is central to the ascetical tradition.
3 ↩ventris restrictio rendered as 'fasting from food' to capture the concrete ascetical practice; the literal sense is 'restriction of the belly.'
4 ↩vigiliarum afflictio rendered as 'the affliction of keeping long vigils' to convey the bodily discipline of extended night prayer.
5 ↩The two ut-clauses after insistendum est and laborandum are rendered as result/purpose clauses ('so that') to preserve the logical force of the Latin gerundive-of-necessity construction.
6 ↩instrumentum corporale rendered as 'the bodily instrument' — the body itself is the tool for spiritual discipline.
7 ↩de instituendis abrenuntiantibus rendered as 'On the Training of Those Renouncing the World' — this is Cassian's De institutis coenobiorum et de octo principalium vitiorum remediis, addressed to those renouncing the world for the monastic life.

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