In the Latin monastic rules (IV-XI centuries), manual labor is always understood as that undertaken by the monk to counteract idleness and sloth, that is, with a noneconomic purpose. Manual labor contributes to spiritual growth, but it is different from work for the sustenance of the community. The purpose of this contribution is to clarify this difference, beginning with the famous motto ora et labora (par. 1). In fact, only after this clarification is it possible to understand how the early Christian monk is above all a spiritual “inoperative,” who is explicitly precluded from those tasks that serve the livelihood of the monastery (par. 2). The only labor worthy of the name is the opus Dei (par. 3.), while others, mostly lay people, are entrusted with the task of put the community’s assets to good use (par. 4.).
University of Florence, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0002-6518-6657
Chapter Title
Il lavoro dei monaci nelle regole monastiche latine (IV-IX sec.)
Authors
Roberto Alciati
Language
Italian
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0319-7.23
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2024
Copyright Information
© 2024 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Book Title
Idee di lavoro e di ozio per la nostra civiltà
Editors
Giovanni Mari, Francesco Ammannati, Stefano Brogi, Tiziana Faitini, Arianna Fermani, Francesco Seghezzi, Annalisa Tonarelli
Peer Reviewed
Number of Pages
1894
Publication Year
2024
Copyright Information
© 2024 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0319-7
ISBN Print
979-12-215-0245-9
eISBN (pdf)
979-12-215-0319-7
eISBN (epub)
979-12-215-0320-3
Series Title
Studi e saggi
Series ISSN
2704-6478
Series E-ISSN
2704-5919