. . ._
"_Let the Prior carry out with reverence whatever shall be enjoined
upon him by his Abbot, doing nothing against the Abbot's will, nor
against his orders. . . ._"
Mark could not be otherwise than impressed by what he read.
_Ii qui sub ipsis sunt, dum adulantur partibus, eunt in
perditionem. . . ._
_Nihil contra Abbatis voluntatem faciens. . . ._
Mark looked up at the figure of St. Benedict standing in that holy group
at the foot of the Cross.
_Ideoque nos proevidemus expedire, propter pacis caritatisque
custodiam, in Abbatis pendere arbitrio ordinationem monasterii
sui. . . ._
St. Benedict had more than apprehended; he had actually foreseen that
the Abbot ought to manage his own monastery. It was as if centuries ago,
in the cave at Subiaco, he had heard that strident voice of Brother
Athanasius in this matchboarded Chapter-room, as if he had beheld
Brother Dominic, while apparently he was striving to persuade his
brethren to accept the Father Superior's advice, nevertheless taking
sides, and thereby travelling along the road that leads toward
destruction. This was the thought that paralyzed Mark's tongue when it
was his turn to speak, and this was why he would not commit himself to
an opinion.
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