The monastic system, which early gained an entrance into western Christendom, looked to St. Benedict as its organizer. While yet a young man, St. Benedict had sought to escape from the vice about him by retiring to a cave in the Sabine hills near Rome. Here he lived for three years as a hermit, shutting himself off from all human intercourse, wearing a hair shirt, and rolling in beds of thistles to subdue "the flesh." St. Benedict's experience of the hermit's life convinced him that there was a surer and better road to religious peace of mind. His fame as a holy man had attracted to him many disciples, and these he now began to group in monastic communities under his own supervision. St. Benedict's most important monastery was at Monte Cassino, midway between Rome and Naples. It became the capital of monasticism in the West. [Illustration: PLAN OF KIRKSTALL ABBEY, YORKSHIRE] RULE OF ST. BENEDICT, 529(?) A.D. To control the monks of Monte Cassino St. Benedict framed a Rule, or constitution, which was modeled in some respects upon the earlier Rule of St. Basil. The monks formed a sort of corporation, presided over by an abbot, [20] who held office for life. To the abbot every candidate for admission took the vow of obedience. Any man, rich or poor, noble or peasant, might enter the monastery, after a year's probation; having once joined, however, he must remain a monk for the rest of his days. The monks were to live under strict discipline. They could not own any property; they could not go beyond the monastery walls without the abbot's consent; they could not even receive letters from home; and they were sent to bed early. A violation of the regulations brought punishment in the shape of private admonitions, exclusion from common prayer, and, in extreme cases, expulsion. SPREAD OF THE BENEDICTINE RULE The Rule of St. Benedict came to have the same wide influence in the West which that of St. Basil exerted in the East. Gregory the Great established it in many places in Italy, Sicily, and England. During Charlemagne's reign it was made the only form of monasticism throughout his dominions. By the tenth century the Rule prevailed everywhere in western Europe. [21] 125. LIFE AND WORK OF THE MONKS A MONASTIC COMMUNITY St. Benedict sought to draw a sharp line between the monastic life and that of the outside world. Hence he required that, as far as possible, each monastery should form an independent, self-supporting community whose members had no need of going beyond its limits for anything. In course of time, as a monastery increased in wealth and number of inmates, it might come to form an enormous establishment, covering many acres and presenting within its massive walls the appearance of a fortified town. THE MONASTERY BUILDINGS