Rule For Solitaries

The monk Grimlaicus (ca. 900) wrote a rule for those who, like himself, pursued the solitary life within a monastic community. Never leaving their cell yet participating in the liturgical life of the monastery through a window into the church, these enclosed" sought to serve God alone. Beyond the details of horarium, reception of newcomers, diet, and clothing, Grimlaicus details practical measures for maintaining spiritual, psychological, and physical health, and for giving counsel to others. Scripture, the Rule of St. Benedict, and the teachings of early ecclesial and monastic writers form the kernel of Grimlaicus's wise and balanced rule, presented here for the first time in English translation. Andrew Thornton is a monk of Saint Anselm Abbey and associate professor in the department of Modern Languages at Saint Anselm College, where he teaches German language and Chinese philosophy. He is organist in the abbey church. He translated the poems of the twelfth-century recluse Ava, the first woman to write in a European vernacular (The Poems of Ava, Liturgical Press). "

Fifteen centuries after it was written, the Rule of St. Benedict still provides a deep and practical spirituality that helps lay people cope with everyday problems and challenges.

“An unforgettable look at the peculiar horrors and humiliations involved in solitary confinement” from the prisoners who have survived it (New York Review of Books). On any given day, the United States holds more than eighty-thousand people in solitary confinement, a punishment that—beyond fifteen days—has been denounced as a form of cruel and degrading treatment by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture. Now, in a book that will add a startling new dimension to the debates around human rights and prison reform, former and current prisoners describe the devastating effects of isolation on their minds and bodies, the solidarity expressed between individuals who live side by side for years without ever meeting one another face to face, the ever-present specters of madness and suicide, and the struggle to maintain hope and humanity. As Chelsea Manning wrote from her own solitary confinement cell, “The personal accounts by prisoners are some of the most disturbing that I have ever read.” These firsthand accounts are supplemented by the writing of noted experts, exploring the psychological, legal, ethical, and political dimensions of solitary confinement. “Do we really think it makes sense to lock so many people alone in tiny cells for twenty-three hours a day, for months, sometimes for years at a time? That is not going to make us safer. That’s not going to make us stronger.” —President Barack Obama “Elegant but harrowing.” —San Francisco Chronicle “A potent cry of anguish from men and women buried way down in the hole.” —Kirkus Reviews

This antique text contains a complete catalogue of Solitaire and Patience games, including tips, instructions, tactics, rules, and more. Written in plain language and compete with a plethora of helpful diagrams, this text is ideal for the novice card player and will be of interest to anyone looking to expand their card gaming repertoire. The chapters of this book include: 'About Solitaire Games', 'How to Choose a Solitaire Game', 'General Procedure of Solitaire', 'One-Deck Games', 'Two-Deck Games', 'Stripped-Deck and Four-Deck Games', and 'Russian Bank'. We are proud to republish this book complete with a new introduction on card games.

An essential guide to expand your spiritual practices for followers of Norse Paganism, Heathenry, Asatru, and other Northern Traditions. Northern Tradition for the Solitary Practitioner is a groundbreaking look at devotional work in religions from Theodism to Asatru to Norse Paganism, all of which comprise the umbrella of the Northern Tradition. Although interest in devotional and experiential work within these traditions has been growing rapidly in the past few years, this is the first book to show the diverse scope of such practices as a living, modern-day religion. It features an in-depth exploration of altar work, prayer, prayer beads, ritual work, sacred images, and lore, and a thorough examination of common cosmology that forms the foundation of belief for Northern Tradition communities and related Heathen practices. Northern Tradition for the Solitary Practitioner is not denomination-specific: rather, it seeks to provide an entry into interior practice for anyone involved in a branch of this broad family of traditions of the ancient Norse, Germanic, and Saxon peoples, using material suitable for the solitary, independent practitioner. Those outside of the Northern Tradition who wish to deepen their own devotional practice will find this book helpful in their own work, as well.

The Ancrene Wisse is a spiritual guide for female recluses, written at the request of three anchoresses who were voluntarily enclosed for life within small cells. Georgianna analyzes this complex and skillfully composed treatise and examines its detailed portrayal of the rich, alternately rewarding and frustrating inner life of the solitary.

This new edition of a classic religious text combines the timeless wisdom of Benedict of Nursia's Rule with the perceptive commentary of a renowned Benedictine mystic and scholar. In her new introduction to the Rule, the author boldly claims that Benedict's sixth-century text is the only one of great traditions that directly touches the contemporary issues facing the human community—stewardship, conversion, communication, reflection, contemplation, humility, and equality. Tracing Benedict's original Rule paragraph by paragraph, it expands its principles into the larger context of spiritual living in a secular world and makes the seemingly archaic instructions relevant for a contemporary audience. A new foreword, updated content, an appendix, and a recommended calendar for reading the entries and commentaries make this an invaluable resource for solitary or communal contemplation.

The transition from Latin to vernacular languages in the late Middle Ages and the dramatic rise of a new readership produced a huge bulk of translations, particularly of religious literature in its various genres. The solutions are so multifarious that they defy any attempt to outline general theories. This is particularly visible when the same text is translated or rewritten at different times and in different languages or genres. Through a minute analysis of texts this book aims at highlighting lexical, syntactic and stylistic choices dictated not only by the source but also by new readers and patrons, or by new destinations of the works. Established categories such as 'literalness' and 'fidelity' are thus questioned and integrated with these other factors which, while being more 'external', do nonetheless impinge on the very idea of 'translation', and consequently on its assessment. Far from being a mere transfer from one language to another, a medieval translation verges on a form of creative writing, and as such its study becomes a fascinating investigation into the very process of textual production.

From the deserts of Egypt to the emergence of the great monastic orders, the story of late antique and medieval monasticism in the West used to be straightforward. But today we see the story as far 'messier' - less linear, less unified, and more historicized. In the first part of this book, the reader is introduced to the astonishing variety of forms and experiences of the monastic life, their continuous transformation, and their embedding in physical, socio-economic, and even personal settings. The second part surveys and discusses the extensive international scholarship on which the first part is built. The third part, a research tool, rounds off the volume with a carefully representative bibliography of literature and primary sources.