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And although each one of them may bring in daily by his work and labour
so great a return to the monastery that he could out of it not only satisfy
his own moderate demands but could also abundantly supply the wants of
many, yet he is no way puffed up, nor does he flatter himself on account of
his toil and this large gain from his labour, but, except two biscuits,
which are sold there for scarcely threepence, no one thinks that he has a
right to anything further. And among them there is nothing (and I am
ashamed to say this, and heartily wish it was unknown in our own
monasteries) which is claimed by any of them, I will not say in deed but
even in thought, as his special property. And though he believes that the
whole granary of the monastery forms his substance, and, as lord of all,
devotes his whole care and energy to it all, yet nevertheless, in order to
maintain that excellent state of want and poverty which he has secured and
which he strives to preserve to the very last in unbroken perfection, he
regards himself as a foreigner and an alien to them all, so that he
conducts himself as a stranger and a sojourner in this world, and considers
himself a pupil of the monastery and a servant instead of imagining that he
is lord and master of anything.
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