# Verified against Divinum Officium (Latin Regula, English translation).
canonicalDate: "01-25"
label:
  la: "Régula Sancti Patri Nostri Benedícti. Caput 7: De humilitáte"
  en: "The Rule of our Holy Father Benedict. Chapter 7: Concerning Humility_"
text:
  la: |
    Clamat nobis Scriptúra divína, fratres, dicens: Omnis qui se exáltat humiliábitur et qui se humíliat exaltábitur. Cum hæc ergo dicit, osténdit nobis omnem exaltatiónem genus esse supérbiæ. Quod se cavére Prophéta índicat dicens: Dómine, non est exaltátum cor meum neque eláti sunt óculi mei, neque ambulávi in magnis neque in mirabílibus super me. Sed quid, si non humíliter sentiébam, si exaltávi ánimam meam, sicut ablactátum super matrem suam, ita retríbues in ánimam suam.

    Unde fratres, si summæ humilitátis vólumus culmen adtíngere et ad exaltatiónem illam cæléstem ad quam per præséntis vitæ humilitátem ascénditur, vólumus velóciter perveníre, áctibus nostris ascendéntibus scala illa erigénda est quæ in sómnio Jacob appáruit, per quam ei descendéntes et ascendéntes ángeli monstrabántur. Non áliud sine dúbio descénsus ille et ascénsus a nobis intellígitur nisi exaltatióne descéndere et humilitáte ascéndere. Scala vero ipsa erécta nostra est vita in sǽculo, quæ humiliáto corde a Dómino erigátur ad cælum. Látera enim ejus scalæ dícimus nostrum esse corpus et ánimam, in qua látera divérsos gradus humilitátis vel disciplínæ evocátio divína ascendéndo inséruit.
  en: |
    In saying this it reveals that all exalting is a form of pride, against which the prophet shows that he is on his guard by saying: “Lord, my heart is not exalted nor mine eyes uplifted; and I have not concerned myself with great things nor with wonderful things above my reach.” But why? “If I have not been of humble mind, but exalted my soul, then as if a weaned child upon his mother’s breast, such let my soul’s retribution be.” Whence, brethren, if we wish to attain the highest point of humility and if we wish quickly to reach that heavenly exaltation which is attained through humility in this present life, we must by what we do to attain it set up that ladder which appeared in Jacob’s dream and by which angels were shown to be both descending and ascending; for without doubt we are not to understand that descending and ascending but as descending by exaltation and ascending by humility.

    For that ladder set up is our life in this world which, when the heart has been humbled by the Lord, is set up to heaven. And we say that the sides of this ladder are our body and soul, into which sides God-given vocation has inserted sundry rungs of humility and discipline by which we may ascend.
status:
  la: verified
  en: verified