Sickened by the post-Roman turmoil of 5th Century Italy, Benedict renounced the world and retired to a life of Christian contemplation in a cave just west of Rome. Revered for his sanctity, local monks asked him to become their abbot. But Benedict's discipline proved too strict - the monks tried to poison him, and he left to establish many small monasteries, eventually founding the famous monastery on Monte Cassino and gaining the title 'Father of Western Monasticism'. This book is the saint's directions for establishing an orderly and pious monastic community, covering, among other matters,...