religious. "If," says St. Basil, "a worldling make use of scurrilous expressions, he is not noticed. But if a man who professes to lead a perfect life appear to depart in the slightest degree from his duty, he is instantly remarked by all." In a secular, no one observes indecent words, because they are common in the world; but if religious who profess to aspire to sanctity be guilty of the smallest impropriety, universal attention is immediately directed to their conduct.
To observe modesty in words at the common recreations, you must attend to the following rules:
1. You must abstain from all murmurings, even against manifest abuses.
2. You must never interrupt the person that is speaking. And, says the Holy Ghost, interrupt not others in the midst of their discourse.[1] How scandalous is it to see a religious engrossing to herself the whole conversation! — to see her ready to stop the sisters in the middle of a word, or of a sentence, and thus show her pride by pretending to know everything, and constituting herself mistress of all! Such conduct is a source of great annoyance to all that join in the conversation. However, every religious should speak occasionally during the hours of recreation, and particularly when the others are silent; for, should all abstain from speaking, the end of the rule which prescribes recreation would be frustrated. But modesty requires, particularly from the young, that, after speaking as much as will be necessary for the ends of the recreation, they show a stronger inclination to listen than to speak. The best rule, then, is to speak when others are silent, and to be silent when others are speaking.
- ↑ Ecclus. xi. 8.
