monks

"Squalidus hinc Within superas procedit ad auras. turtur ut exuvias mediis nudata pruinis primo vere redit,—vel, cum reditura iuventus implumes aquilas post multum sustinet aevum: illis deciduo spoliantur tegmine membra, perspicuamque aciem dudum tegit invida nubes, arma ruunt pedibus, frustantur guttura rostro, defessumque animum ref ovet spes nulla rapinae: sic Anglo, reducem dum cernit ab aequore lucem, calvities exesa apicem deterserat omnem, et cutis emissos excocta reliquerat ungues, palpebraque accrescens densas invexerat umbras, et nova lux oculos, tanta sub nocte gravatos, dum redit, offendit, nec cernere litus amoenum sufficiunt, ipsosque ruunt qui ex urbe propinquos vox vel sola manus, non visus munera produnt."

"Aut lego vel scribo, doceo scrutorve sophiam, obsecro celsithronum nocte dieque meum, vescor, poto libens, rithmizans invoco Musas, dormisco stertens oro Deum vigilans. Conscia mens scelerum deflet peccamina vitae: parcite vos misero, Christe Maria, viro."

"For honour of the Lord God and Our Lady dear And many holy men by Augia's house revered, This book with loving care, attentive to command, Was made by Reginbert the scribe; in earnest hope That long it should endure, long serve his brethren's need. He prays you all, lest vain his labour die, In Heaven's most gracious Name to offer it to none Outside our walls; save should the seeker pledge his word Our property in sound condition to return. Good friend, ponder this well: a writer's task is hard; Take, open, read, harm not; finish, refold, !"

"Quae rara sub isto Axe videre soles, aliis in partibus horum Copia tanta iacet, quantam vilissima tecum Efficiunt; rursus quaedam quae spreta videntur Forte tibi, magno mercantur ditia regna, Altera ut alterius potiatur foenore tellus, Orbis et in toto per partes una domus sit."

"Non patitur cunctas angustia carminis huius Pulei virtutes celeri comprendere versu. Hoc apud Indorum tanti constare peritos Fertur, apud Gallos quanti valet Indica nigri Congeries piperis. Quis iam dubitare sinetur Hac herba plures leniri posse labores, Quam pretiis inhianter emit ditissima tantis Gens hebenoque auroque fluens et mira volenti Quaeque ferens mundo?"

"Haec quia non Tyrio Germania tingitur ostro, Lata nec ardenti se Gallia murice iactat, Lutea purpurei reparat crementa quotannis Ubertim floris, tantum qui protinus omnes Herbarum vicisse comas virtute et odore Dicitur, ut merito florum flos esse feratur. * * * Huic famosa suus opponunt lilia flores, Longius horum etiam spirans odor imbuit auras, Sed si quis nivei candentia germina fructus Triverit, aspersi mirabitur ilicet omnem Nectaris ille fidem celeri periisse meatu. Hoc quia virginitas fama subnixa beata Flore nitet, quam si null us labor exagitarit Sordis et inliciti non fregerit ardor amoris, Flagrat odore suo. Porro si gloria pessum Integritatis eat, foetor mutabit odorem."

"O mater virgo, fecundo germine mater, Virga fide intacta, sponsi de nomine sponsa, Sponsa, columba, domus, regina, fidelis amica, Bello carpe rosas, laeta arripe lilia pace. Flos Tibi sceptrigero venit generamine Iesse, Unicus antiquae reparator stirpis et auctor, Lilia qui verbis vitaque dicavit amoena, Morte rosas tinguens, pacemque et proelia membris Liquit in orbe suis, virtutem amplexus utramque, Praemiaque ambobus servans aeterna triumphis."

"Richard S. Lambert, trans. Hortulus, or, The Little Garden (Wembley, Middx: The Stanton Press, 1924)"

"James Mitchell, trans. On the Cultivation of Gardens (San Francisco, CA: Ithuriel's Spear, 2009)"

"Vel qualis manibus quondam suspensa supinis Lucet agens circum lomenti bulla salivam, Ante recens maceretur aquis quam spuma refusis, Dum lentescit adhuc digitis luctantibus et se Alternis vicibus studioque fricantibus uno, Inter utramque manum parvo fit parvus hiatu Exitus, huc stricto lenis meat ore Noti vis, Distenditque cavum vitrea sub imagine pondus Et centrum medio confingit labile fundo, Undique conveniat camuri quo inflexio tecti."

"Ruris enim quaecunque datur possessio, seu sit Putris harenoso qua torpet glarea tractu, Seu pingui molita graves uligine fetus, Collibus erectis alte sita, sive iacenti Planitie facilis, clivo seu vallibus horrens; Non negat ingenuos holerum progignere fructus, Si modo non tua cura gravi compressa veterno Multi plices holitoris opes contemnere stultis Ausibus assuescit, callosasque aere duro Detrectat fuscare manus et stercora plenis Vitat in arenti disponere pulvere qualis. Haec non sola mihi patefecit opinio famae Vulgaris, quaesita libris nec lectio priscis; Sed labor et studium, quibus otia longa dierum Postposui, expertum rebus docuere probatis."

"Raef Payne, trans. Hortulus (Pittsburgh, PA: Hunt Botanical Library, 1966)"

"Wisdom enlightens human beings so that they may recognise themselves."

"This sensible world […] is almost like a book written by the finger of God, that is, created by divine virtue, and individual creatures are like figures, not invented by human arbitrariness, but established by divine will to manifest the invisible wisdom of God. [...] It is therefore good to contemplate assiduously and admire divine works."

"Tell me, I beg you, what – among all things – has become the one thing for you, the thing you want to embrace in a unique way and enjoy forever."

"Of all the things to seek, the first is wisdom, in which lies the form of perfect goodness."

"Delicatus ille est adhuc cui patria dulcis est; fortis autem iam, cui omne solum patria est; perfectus vero, cui mundus totus exsilium est."

"You have given me perfection of sensitivity, quickness of intelligence, strength of memory; you have given me the ability to express myself fluently, to present my thoughts pleasantly, to teach convincingly, to carry out my intentions, to behave pleasantly, to progress in my studies, to achieve my projects; you have given me comfort in adversity, caution in happy circumstances."

"When asked about the best conditions for learning, a scholar replied: “A humble spirit, commitment to research, a quiet life, silent inquiry, poverty, a foreign land; these circumstances make it easier to overcome the difficulties encountered during one's studies”. :*From Didascalicon."

"Love seems to be the satisfaction of a person's heart towards something, because of something: it presents itself as desire in the search, and happiness in the satisfaction of possession; it appears as a race, as far as desire is concerned, and as rest, as far as the joy of possession is concerned."

"(About the Assumption of Mary) She who was conceived without spot and borne without pain, who became mother without loss of virginity, who placed God in the world, who died without suffering, was also preserved from corruption; and we believe she lives in heaven with her body. It is piously believed."

"Omnia disce. Videbis postea nihil esse superfluum. Coartata scientia iucunda non est."

"The Saviour arose into heaven through His own power as Lord and Creator...Mary arose into heaven lifted up by grace, not through her own power. This is why one is called Ascension and the other Assumption."

"O my soul, what do you think that sweet and gentle thing is, which devout souls usually feel and taste when they remember their beloved, and which usually enamours them so sweetly that they seem to be alienated and out of themselves? They feel joyful and glad in their consciences and forget all their pain: their soul rejoices, their intellect becomes clear, their heart is illuminated, their will becomes joyful."

"And surely what joy, what delight can ever be found that far surpasses the announcement made to that blessed Virgin and Mother of joy? Rejoice, O mother of supernatural joy! Rejoice, O nurturer of sublime joy! Rejoice, capital seat of the joy of salvation! Rejoice, co-operator of immortal joy! Rejoice, O mystical dwelling place of ineffable joy! Rejoice, O most blessed source of inexhaustible joy! Rejoice, O treasure of eternal joy who bears God! Rejoice, O most luxuriant tree of life-giving joy!"

"The Holy Spirit descends upon you, who are the Immaculate, to make you purer and give you the virtue of fertility."

"(To the ever Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus) You have made the nature of men beautiful; you have surpassed the hosts of angels; you have overshadowed the dazzling splendour of the archangels; you have shown the seats of thrones to be inferior to you; you have lowered the height of dominions; you have surpassed the commands of the principalities; you have weakened the power of the powers; you have gone forth as a virtue more powerful than the virtues themselves; you, with earthly eyes, have surpassed the keenest sight of the cherubim; you, with divinely moved wings, have flown beyond the flights of the soul of the seraphim."

"Georges Gharib (editor), Testi mariani del primo millennio. Volume 2: Padri e altri autori bizantini, Città Nuova, Roma, 1989. ISBN 88-311-9216-7 (in Italian)."

"Rex Angliæ procedit armatus, vexillum draconis terribile præfertur expansum, clangor tubæ post regem movet exercitum. Refulsit sol in clipeos aureos et resplenduerunt montes ab eis; ibant caute et ordinate, et sine ludo res agebatur. Griffones, e diverso, clausis januis civitatis, armati stabant ad propugnacula murorum et turrium nihil adhuc metuentes, et ejaculabantur incessanter in hostes. Rex, qui nihil melius novit quam expugnare civitates et evertere castra, permisit primo pharetras eorum evacuari, et sic demum per suos sagittarios, qui præibant exercitum, primum fecit insultum. Sagittarum imbre cœlum tegitur, protensos per propugnacula clipeos mille tela transfodiunt, nihil contra pilorum impetum poterat salvare rebelles. Relinquuntur muri sine custodia, quia nullus potuit foris prospicere quin in ictu oculi sagittam haberet in oculo."

"In ipsa item catholica ecclesia magnopere curandum est, ut id teneamus quod ubique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus creditum est."

"At first we were confused. The East thought that we were West while the West considered us to be the East. Some of us misunderstood our place in this clash of currents, so they cried that we belong to neither side, and others that we belong exclusively to one side or the other. But I tell you, Irinej, we are doomed by fate to be the East in the West, and the West in the East, to acknowledge only heavenly Jerusalem beyond us and here on earth — no-one."

"The beatitudes firmly root those who hear them in the present, while at the same time opening them to a future of hope. They are addressed to people who are in difficult human conditions, experiencing trials and contradictions: it is in this state that they discover that they are the recipients of God's action, which is already today an occasion for happiness."

"The saint is the new man, the one who lives according to the model left by Jesus Christ; he is the man of the beatitudes; he is the man who has stripped himself of his selfishness and lives for God and others; he is the transfigured man. He is the truly and fully human man."

"In order that universalism does not degenerate into totalitarianism, it must be conceived as a universal need for the other and expressed as a vocation to exile, to diaspora, to dispersion among peoples and cultures: the Christian faith cannot coincide with a culture or an ethnicity or a system of thought. It is transcultural and must therefore be accompanied by a work of deculturation so as not to risk passing off as gospel what is cultural form. (III, 2)"

"One never encounters Islam or a religion, but rather men and women who belong to particular religious traditions and for whom this belonging is one aspect of a multifaceted and not monolithic identity. (II, 5)"

"Jesus, our bliss, teaches us a path to happiness, opening up before us every day the ways to happiness that every human being longs for."

"Our society is increasingly pluralistic in terms of religion, morals and customs: Christianity must live and find its place in it without hostility or creating enemies. (I, 2)"

"When political forces generously offer legal protection or financial support to churches, they are actually working for their own benefit. (I, 1)"

"The Gospel, in fact, inspires the historical action of Christians, but it is in history itself that it becomes understandable. The ethos is not given once and for all, it is not handed down from above or contained in books, but is constantly elaborated in history, in the journey made alongside and together with other people. (I, 5)"

"Hans Urs von Balthasar was a multifaceted and unique personality, probably a man greater than the times in which he lived: musician, Germanist, man of letters, philosopher, theologian, publisher, translator, spiritual master, lecturer, he was the author of a vast theological output in which he engaged in dialogue with the cultural heritage of the West."

"The experience of faith is an experience of beauty, of an encounter that is as real as it is indescribable, of a presence that is more intimate to us than our own innermost being. And it is an experience that also involves the body and the senses. In the East, the saint is the man with the luminous face, whose body exudes perfume, whose physicality is now an event of beauty and communion. Of course, it would be wrong to confuse the psychological and emotional with the spiritual, but the spiritual traverses the psychic and involves the senses of the body."

"Not technical solutions, not political recipes, but the voice of pastors will be all the more authoritative the more it is capable of being the voice of the Gospel and not of technical responses to the implementation of Gospel demands. (II, 4)"

"My childhood prayer is one I would never say today: God knows how many candles I lit before an exam or a test at school. It was a spontaneous, sincere way of praying, but today I practise other forms of prayer."

"For us Christians, rituals are not enough; we need adherence of the heart and intellect. It is not enough to repeat formulas whose meaning is unknown: those who pray must understand what they are saying, and in this sense the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council was fundamental for a more thoughtful faith, one that is not merely devotion."

"Among all the nations, there are some that possess a written law, while others simply observe certain fixed customs, for, among those devoid of law, their ancestral usage is accepted in its stead. To this class belong the Seres, who live at the end of the world, and apply as law the customs of their ancestors, which forbid them to commit adultery or incest, to steal, to bear false witness, to kill, or do any wrong whatsoever. The law of the Bactrians, called Brahmans or Islanders, which is derived from the forefatherly prescription, prohibits them for reasons of piety from eating meat, drinking wine, committing adultery, or doing any sort of wrong, solely in consequence of religious scruple. But among the Indians, who dwell beside them, are found murderers, criminals and doers of violence beyond all nature. In the most remote portion of their country, they practice cannibalism and kill travelers and, what is worse still, they devour them like dogs. The Chaldeans and the Babylonians have a different code, which allows them to marry their mothers, to commit carnal sin with their nieces, and to commit murder. They regard every shameless deed as a virtue when they commit it, even when they are far from their own country. The Gelaeans maintain other customs: among them, the women plough, build houses, and perform men's work. But they indulge in vice to the extent of their desire, for they are by no means restrained by their husbands, nor do the latter at all concern themselves about the matter. There are among them bold women who are capable of capturing wild beasts by virtue of their strength. The women have control over their husbands, and rule them. In Britain, many men sleep with one woman, and likewise many women have intercourse with one man. The people carry on without jealousy or restraint the vicious customs of their ancestors. The Amazons have no husbands, but like brute beasts they are filled with desire once each year in the springtime, and come together with the neighboring men. This season seems to them, as it were, a time of celebration and great festival. When they give birth to children and a male is born, they kill it, but if the child is of the female sex, then they nurse it and bring it up carefully."

"Hic breve vivitur, hic breve plangitur, hic breve fletur: Non breve vivere, non breve plangere retribuetur."

"Urbs Syon aurea, patria lactea, cive decora Omne cor obruis, omnibus obstruis et cor et ora Nescio, nescio, quae jubilatio, lux tibi quali Quam sociala gaudia, gloria quam specialis."

"Swami Rama was another major guide and teacher in my life. Most importantly he connected me with the world of nature through his towering Himalayan spirit and his indomitable will."

"Imagine, Ananda, a cesspool, of a man’s depth, brimful of dung and a man fallen in, head and all—though a man appear, ready to help, to do the friendly, to set him in safety, to lift him out; yet were he to go all round that cesspool, he would not see even the prick-end of a horse-hair of that man unsmeared with dung by which to grasp and lift him out. And it is even so with Devadatta, Ananda, when I saw not a bright spot in him—not even the prick-end of a horse-hair in size—then I declared: ‘Gone wayward, hell-bound for a kalpa, unpardonable is Devadatta.’"

"Emlekezzünk régiekről, A` Szitlyiából kijöttekről Magyaroknak eleikről, ´Es azoknak vitézségekről."