156 THIRD PERIOD. A.D. 311-590.
§ 29. Development of IfonasUcism.
In the liistorical development of tlie monastic institution we mnst distinguisli four stages. The first three were comj)leted in the fourth century ; the remaining one reached maturity in the Latin church of the middle age.
The first stage is an ascetic life as yet not organized nor separated from the church. It comes down from the ante- ISTicene age, and has been already noticed. It now took the form, for the most part, of either hermit or coenobite life, but continued in the church itself, especially among the clergy, who might be called half monks.
The second stage is hermit life or anchoretism.' It arose in the beginning of the fourth century, gave asceticism a fixed and permanent shape, and pushed it to even external separation from the world. It took the prophets Elijah and John the Baptist for its models, and went beyond them. Not content with partial and temporary retirement from common life, which may be united with social intercourse and useful labors, the consistent anchoret secludes himself fi'om all society, even from kindred ascetics, and comes only exceptionally into contact with liuman affairs, either to receive the visits of admirers of every class, especially of the sick and the needy (which were very frequent in the case of the more celebrated monks), or to appear in the cities on some extraordinary occasion, as a spirit from another world. Ilis clothing is a hair shirt and a wild beast's skin ; his food, bread and salt ; his dwelling, a cave ; Ills employment, prayer, atHiction of the body, and conflict with Satanic powers and wild images of fancy. This mode of life was founded by Paul of Thebes and St. Anthony, and came to perfection in the East. It was too eccentric and unpractical for the West, and hence less frequent there, especially in the rouo-her climates. To the female sex it was entirely unsuited. There was a class of hermits, the Sarabaites in Egypt, and the Ehemoboths in Syria, who lived in bands of at least two or
' From avaxoopf"' to retire (from human society), avaxf^pvr-h^, f^rjufrTj? (from ipr]iida, a desert). The word fiovax<is (from fxSvos, alone, and noud^dv, to Hve a.lonc), monacnus (whence monk), also points originally to solitary, hormit life, bW i< commonly synonymous with coenobite or friar.
§ 21). DEVELOPMENT OF MONASTICISM. 151
tliivivj togetlier ; but tlieir qiiarrelsomeuess, occasional iiitemper' ancc, and opposition to the clergy, brought them into ill repute. The third step in the progress of the monastic life brings uai to coenobitism or cloister life, monasticism in the ordinary sense of the word.' It originated likewise in Egypt, from the example of the Essenes and Therapeutas, and was carried by St. Pacbomius to tlie East, and afterward by St. Benedict to the West. Tlotb these ascetics, like the most celebrated orderfounders of later days, were originally hermits. Cloister life is a regular organization of the ascetic life on a social basis. It recognizes, at least in a measure, the social element of human nature, and represents it in a narrower sphere secluded from the larger world. As hermit life often led to cloister life, BO the cloister life was not only a refuge for the spirit weary of the world, but also in many ways a school for practical life in the church. It formed the transition from isolated to social Christianity. It consists in an association of a number of anchorets of the same sex for mutual advancement in ascetic holiness. The coenobites live, somewhat according to the laws of civilization, under one roof, and under a superintendent or abbot." Tliey divide tlieir time between common devotions and manual labor, and devote their surplus provisions to charity ; except the mendicant monks, who themselves live by alms. In this modified form monasticism became available to the female sex, to which the solitary desert life was utterly impracticable ; and with the cloisters of monks, there appear at once cloisters also of nuns.' Between the anchorets and the cce-
' Koivdfiiou, coenobium ; from Kon^hs )3ioy, vita coiiimuui3 ; then the congregation of monks ; sometimes also used for the building. In the same sense jxavSpa, stable, fold, and ixovaffrripiov, claustrum (whence cloister). Also Kavpai, laura; (literally, streets), that is cells, of which usually a number were built not far apart, so as to form a hamlet. Hence this term is often used in the same sense aa monasterium. The 8in"ular, Kavpa, however, answers to the anchoret life. On this nomenclature of monasticism comp. Du Cange, in the Glossarium mediae et iufimEB Latinitatis, under the respective words.
" 'HyoiVfos. apx'M«»'5piT-^s, a/3j8as, i. e. father, hence abbot. A female superintendent was called in Syriac au^uas, mother, abbess.
' iTom jionna, i. e. casta, diaste, holy. The word is probably of Coptic origin, and occuis as early as in Jerome. The masculine nonnui, monk, appears frequentlj In the middle age, Comp. the examples in Du Cange, s. v.