The Testing of One Who Asks to Enter

One who asks to be admitted to the discipline of the monastery, then, is never received until, by lying outside the doors for ten days or even longer, he has given evidence of his perseverance and desire, as well as of his humility and patience. He lies prostrate at the feet of all the brothers who pass by, and is deliberately pushed away and scorned by all of them, as if he wanted to enter the monastery not for the sake of religion but because he had no other choice. Covered with many insults and affronts, he gives practical proof of his steadfastness, and shows by the way he has borne the disgrace what he will be like in trials. [a]

When the ardor of his soul has been proved in this way and he is admitted, they inquire with the utmost care whether he is still tainted by a single coin from his former possessions clinging to him. For they know that he cannot stay long under the discipline of the monastery, or ever learn the virtue of humility and obedience, or be content with the poverty and hard life of the monastery, if he knows that even the smallest sum of money has been kept hidden. Instead, as soon as any disturbance arises on some occasion or other, he will at once dart out of the monastery like a stone from a sling, driven to it by his trust in that sum of money.