The Order of Saint Patrick of Armagh

                                 The Rule

I. "Say for me to the son of Saran, That the charge he assumes is not light : He should be zealous, pure of conscience, Without assumption of pride, without vanity.

II. " Let him labour in silence : Let the words he shall speak be few ; Let him perform the desire of each infirm one, And help every one that is in sickness.

III. "He should be sedate, without the fault of dullness : He should be prompt to everything good : He should be the servant of all, And heal the wounds of every soul.

IV. " Without haughtiness, without double-dealing, . Let him be joyous without laughter, without shouting, Without self-sufficiency, without arrogance ; Let him shun pride and idleness.

V. "Without complaints, without grumbling at others' comforts : Let him not go without shoes : Let his mantle be without ruby-dye, Without blue, without red, without variety.

VI. " Without deceit, without cheating of others : Without going unasked to an assembly, Without revenge for injury in the heart, Without dislike for those who love him not.

VII. " Let him be sedate without haughtiness, Let him be a wise, devout sage, Vigilant against anger : Austere, humble, gentle.

VIII. " He should be mild, reserved, active ; He should be modest, generous, bountiful ; Against the darts of the world he should be watchful ; With the world's bounty he should be generous.

IX. "Though you possess the insipid world, Give not love to its treasures : For tribe-possessions be not importunate ; My entire love is not a royal treasure-house.

X. " The path of Baptism and Communion, And the precept of Requiems he shall observe: A holy Confession to another he shall give ; He shall be silent as to the things disclosed to him.

XI. " Mourn with each man his sins ; Should he err, give him aiding counsel : Do not leave the poor without visitation, Without the value of their love in all things.

XII. " Without insult, without offence, Without severe reproof, Without converse with a passionate man, Without a loud, high voice.

XIII. " Let not Satan take thee to his ways Be submissive to every one who is over you : It is this that is evil to Satan, That you be smooth against everything rough.

XIV. "Always let your offerings be greater To him that has affronted you ; With food and gifts To every one that refused you.

XV. "With friendliness, devoid of harshness, Without contention, without lust, Humble, patient, gentle, Without weakness, shall his countenance be.

XVI. " He should be active at praying ; The Canonical Hours he should not neglect ; In mind he must submit thereto, Without vanity, without boasting.

XVII. " A hundred genuflections at the Beatus In the beginning of the day before questions ; Thrice fifty psalms with their prefaces, A hundred genuflections every evening.

XVIII. "A hundred genuflections every Matins Are required, in a devout church, If you celebrate from John's festival To the heavy-fasting Easter.

XIX. " With diligence at prayers and Mass, With devotion and great reverence, Thirty Psalms every "Matins," Twelve Psalms at midnight.

XX. "Lections and celebrations, With invocation of the Son of God ; 'Deus in adjutorium' at the beginning of each Psalm, With a lesson at the end.

XXI. "Be silent and recollected, That your prayers may be fruitful : Give thanks and ask the blessing in the beginning, After that the Miserere is sung.

xxn. "The perfect observance of the Canonical hours Is reckoned the chief rule ; Correct "Matins," according to the Divines, Is at the close and the beginning of day.

XXIII. "Except you be a Ruler (i.e., Abbot) or Vice-Abbot Till the hour of one you speak not ; Afterwards, for those who perform penance, Each one in his silence shall be silent.

XXIV. "The Hymnum Dicat should be sung, At striking the bell for Canonical Hours ; All wash their hands carefully, The brethren assume their habit.

XXV. "Prostrate yourselves thrice earnestly, After journeying nobly to the chancel, Without pride, and without anger, Coming to meet the King of Angels.

XXVI. "With fighill and prayers, With frequent confessions, Obeying the rules of the gospel, And the chaste rule of the monks.

XXVII. "A prostration at the door of a church Is permitted in a devout place ; Prayers and blessings Whilst the brethren assemble.

XXVIII. "After 'the head monk, all proceed To the cross with melodious choir, With fast-flowing streams of tears From humble emaciated cheeks.

XXIX. "It is not permitted to the brethren to depart Until the hour of Tierce ; On the conscience of each one, let it be, That he await in his place, with strength.

XXX. " The striking of the little bell should be long, That all may be about it; A ready step with joyfulness, With profound humility.

XXXI. " The noble God is their Father, Holy Church is their Mother : It is not humility To serve your brethren in mere words.

XXXII. " When all come to receive their tasks, If anything seems most difficult, Let that be the desire of the brethren ; Such the rule I have observed.

XXXIII. " He shall be holy and pure of heart, He shall be a test of heresy Without controversy in words, With peace in his actions.

XXXIV. " When duties are distributed around, Let a task be given to every one : Give to each brother easily That which he desires.

XXXV. " Advance to None, with a chorus of Psalms, With fighill-geneflections, as enjoined : When the Beatus has ceased at the altar, Let the bell for the refectory be heard.

XXXVI. " At the Cross, before the head of the monks That Demons emit not shouts of triumph With humility, devoid of conflict, Let each one confess there his sins.

XXXVII. " When they are seated at table, let the roots be brought, Sprinkled with water, and on clean trenchers ; Apples and mead for the seniors, A slice of honeycomb for the inferiors.

XXXVIII. " Let the bell be rung for thanksgiving To the King who giveth food ; From the festival of John of good gifts, To the Easter of the glorious Lord.

XXXIX. "Thirty ounces of bread, With a cup of twelve inches : If hunger requires more It is given to each brother at None.

XL. "If the Airchinnech be a sage, His rule will not be rigid : As is the Vice-Abbot So shall be the Order.

XLI. " 'Be not too strict, be not too lax,' Is not a rule without knowledge ; He to whom the brothers give obedience Shall not go out of the enclosure.

XLII. " Without distraction in the place of prayer, Without excess of fair strong aliment ; Whether his food be fat or flesh, Whether ale, or cream, or new milk.

XLIII. " Whether mead or rich beer, Though desirable for those who are sick: It is dry bread and water-cresses That is meet for the seniors.

XLIV. "According to grade and obedience It is so that distribution shall he made ; Though a brother be retiring and humble Beware that he be not neglected.

XLV. " Any one that suffers not correction, And confesses not his fault, The confessor shall appoint for him To go to another monastery.

XLVI. " Let there be no layman or woman In the monastery with the religious : Anger-full and discontented are the brothers Where such people are found.

XLVII. "Patience, exact submission to everyone, Whether good, whether bad, whether poor, Is no fault to a cleric of seven grades Two-thirds of piety consist in silence.

XLVIIL " From the eighth of the Kalends of April, According to the Rule, be it said ; None is said in an open devout place Until the end of October.

XLIX. " When a person comes in friendships To visit the servants of God, Let their discourse be All the good that they have seen.

L. " With modesty and shunning of faults, Without reproaching any one ; Let him be in silence as if he had not seen And had not heard anything.

LI. " Let the Econome be humble and frank, Doing all things according to his ability ; He shall receive with charity and salutation All who present themselves.

LII. " A clean house for the guests, And a great fire ; Refection, and washing, With bed-preparation, without sadness.

LIII. " Let the Airchinnech be chaste and devout, Mild and meek against every injury; Let him so divide the tasks That the brothers be not over-burdened.

LIV. " Not too strict, not too sparing in correction, He shall speak nought of evil : He shall make known to the brothers their faults ; Let none be idle in his house.

LV. ' A mild, industrious Econome, A gentle, provident vice-Abbot, A sensible, gladsome cook, Doing all things under the Abbot's rule.

LVI. " Let the Priest be pious, clerical, Always engaged at his ministry ; The Rector accurate, without exception of persons, He shall maintain the rules.

LVII. " A sedate and truthful messenger, Who will treasure no ill ; The things that are best that he hears He shall relate in his monastery.

LVIII. " The religious shall be humble, submissive, Who will not say, I will not go; A mild, indulgent Airchinnech, Who covets not temporal things.

LIX. "All shall be obedient to the Airchinnech In the kingdom of heaven, Until the Abbot of Archangels shall say ' Come hither, my welcome to you.'

LX. " How delightful 'twould be then to go, To enjoy great constant pleasure, If without any violation of humility, Without transgression, till death.

LXI. " A precept to thee from Ailbhe, That thy abode be not sorrowful ; Thy soul shall be fixed there, Though it be not agreeable to thy body.

LXII. " To enforce the clerical rules, Thou shalt be always quick ; In the Recles (the oratory) in prayer, Not engaged in secular pursuits.

LXIII. " Not to walk in the broad way Is odious to Satan ; The neglect of prayer Will not lead to heaven.

LXIV. " The muinter (i.e., monastic family) is ruled by Satan If it be neglected ; Therefore, we rule the clerics That they may be saved.

LXV. " A blessing descend upon thee, And journey not from place to place, For exhortation 'or prayer, Leave not your enclosure 'till death.

LXVI. "It is befitting that you observe, Being engaged until death, Diligence in Mass-saying, with prayer, And a body growing slender.

LXVII. " If you practice all these observances You shall live to old age ; Your city (i.e., monastery) shall be great on earth, Your monks many in Heaven.

LXVIII "If you practice all these observances You will daily grow better and better ; You will be illustrious and noble Until your cell is occupied by another.

LXIX. " Read aloud these writings In Cluain-Caelain, hide them not, O Son, through reverence Thou shalt bring them to Eoghan."