To fear the Day of Judgement.
To dread Hell.
To desire eternal life with all spiritual longing.
To keep death daily before one’s eyes.
To keep constant guard over the actions of one’s life.
To know for certain that God sees one everywhere.
When evil thoughts come into one’s heart, to dash them at once on the
rock of Christ and to manifest them to one’s spiritual father.
To keep one’s mouth from evil and depraved talk.
Not to love much speaking.
Not to speak vain words or such as move to laughter.
Not to love much or violent laughter.
To listen gladly to holy reading.
To apply oneself frequently to prayer.
Daily in one’s prayer, with tears and sighs, to confess one’s past sins
to God.
To amend those sins for the future.
Not to fulfil the desires of the flesh.
To hate one’s own will.
To obey in all things the command of the abbot, even though he
himself (which God forbid) should act otherwise: remembering the
Lord’s precept: What they say, do ye; but what they do, do ye not.¹
Not to wish to be called holy before one is holy; but first to be holy,
that one may be truly so called.

¹Matt xxiii, 3