'ACEDIA' 700-1200Author(s): SIEGFRIED WENZELReviewed work(s):Source: Traditio, Vol. 22 (1966), pp. 73-102Published by: Fordham UniversityStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27830807 .Accessed: 18/02/2012 07:31

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'ACEDIA' 700-1200*

By SIEGFRIED WENZEL

Among the seven deadly sins, none is more interesting to study for its his torical development and the complexity of its meaning than the sin of acedia. For while its companions

? with the possible exception of avarice ? re

mained fairly static through the centuries of medieval thought, and indeed have remained so to the present, acedia presented a variety of faces and changed in its very nature, from the moment when it entered Christian teaching in

the West to the fifteenth century. In Christian thinking, pride has always been pride; its psychological roots may have been explained in agreement with different philosophical and psychological systems, and its manifestations

may vary according to changing attitudes and experiences, but its nature

has remained essentially unchanged. The same is true of envy, wrath, lust, and the others. But not so with acedia. A reflection of the complexity which

this concept acquired during its medieval lifetime can still be seen in the

totally different connotations which its names have for the cognoscenti of

today. The ancient term acedia fascinates because it suggests such phenom ena as spiritual dryness, ennui or Weltschmerz, while its vernacular equiv alent sloth, as everyone readily agrees, stands for something so common

and ordinary that it hardly deserves a second thought. Such different features existed already in the medieval conception of the

vice and are, indeed, well known to students of the seven deadly sins and

of medieval theology, literature, or art. They are usually explained as the

result of a profound change which acedia underwent during the Middle Ages, the change from a monastic and spiritual vice to the plain laziness of Every man. The editor of the fourteenth-century Little Treatise on the Seven Deadly Sins summarized this evolution in a formula which neatly expresses the com

mon view about the history of acedia:

In Cassian and Gregory the Great acedia was a monastic vice, spiritual

dryness. In the later Middle Ages this sin lost its purely spiritual character and developed into laziness as regards one's religious duties.1

This statement admittedly depends on the findings of the most recent and

authoritative study of the medieval sin-scheme, Morton W. Bloomfield's The

* This study is part of a longer project carried out with the help of a fellowship awarded

by the American Council of Learned Societies. 1 J. P. W. M. van Zutphen (ed.), Richard Lavynham, A Litil Tretys on the Seven Deadly

Sins (Rome 1956) 32.

74 TRADITIO

Seven Deadly Sins; and although van Zutphen perhaps oversimplified Bloom

field's account, he paraphrased it correctly enough:

Gradually its spiritual meaning ?

dryness of the spirit ? wears off,

and more and more frequently it is used as a synonym for sloth. The inter

mediate step in this transformation is the common interpretation of sloth

in the later Middle Ages as laziness in performing one's duties to God in such matters as church attendance.2

The suggested development of acedia thus took its course from the monastic

vice of 'dryness of the spirit' through negligence in religious duties to plain laziness. While in the passage quoted Bloomfield did not include any chron

ological reference beyond 'later Middle Ages,' he implied elsewhere that by the end of the fourteenth century the older meaning of spiritual dryness had been lost,3 and that the change toward laziness was somehow caused by

bourgeois views.4

Yet the exact nature of the first phase in this supposed evolution ? from

spiritual dryness to neglect of religious duties ? demands further elucidation

than it could receive in Bloomfield's study of the larger concept of the seven

deadly sins. If I may anticipate the results of the folloing analysis, the com

mon view about this change needs to be rectified with regard to both chrono

logy and the notion of 'spiritual dryness.' To bring greater clarity to these

matters, I shall survey the usage of ' acedia

' in Latin writers from the eighth

to the twelfth centuries. In most respects, this period was the formative

stage in the history of medieval acedia and crucial to our problem. Before

700 the available evidence is too scarce and too imitative of earlier sources

to be of much interest. After 1200 the concept gained status and importance in scholastic theology as well as in popular preaching, leading to features that are beyond the scope of the present study. The available material from this

period can be divided into five fairly distinct groups: the early libri poeniten tiales, Carolingian theologians, writings of the eleventh century, twelfth

century spiritual writers (mostly Cistercian), and twelfth-century systematic theologians.

To investigate the early history of acedia is more than a matter of simple lexicography, because the supposed change is intimately connected with

questions of the purpose and audience of a work and with the history of the

capital vices. It will therefore be necessary, beyond determining the lexical

meaning of the term in a given passage (which can readily enough be found

2 M. W. Bloomfield, The Seven Deadly Sins. An Introduction to the History of a Religious

Concept, with Special Reference to Medieval English Literature (East Lansing 1952) 96. 3 Ibid. 415 n. 178 ; 416 n. 187. 4 Ibid. 226; 400, 256.

ACEDIA 700-1200 75

in standard dictionaries),5 to examine the context of each occurrence. We must consider the audience of a particular work, whether it was a monastic

community, the clergy, or laymen. Next, we must ask whether acedia occurs

as a technical term, i. e., denoting one of the chief vices within the conventional

series of seven or eight, or as a term used in isolation. And lastly, in some

instances it will also be necessary to look at passages where one should expect the term acedia but finds other words used ? a situation unfortunately more

frequent than one's initial expectation and patience in searching for the term

would like it.

By the year 700, Christian theologians had two different and well estab

lished schemes of vitia principalia or capitalia available: the Cassianic series

of eight, including acedia, which I shall refer to as A; and the Gregorian series of seven, with tristitia and not acedia (henceforth referred to as B). A third series (C) occurs in early texts, which raises the Gregorian list (with tristitia) to eight members by including superbia among the vitia capitalia,

which in Gregory's system was the root and queen of all the chief vices to

gether.6

The starting point for this survey, as also for the history of the chief vices in the Latin West, is John Cassian's De institutis coenobiorum, a description of the monastic life which Cassian had observed in Palestine and Egypt and

written about 425 for the monastic communities he had founded at Marseilles.

Book X treats the vice of acedia and begins with this classic description:

[1] Sextum nobis certamen est, quod Graeci ?xrj?lav uocant, quam nos

taedium siue anxietatem cordis possumus nuncupare. adfinis haec tristitiae

ac solitariis magis experta et in heremo commorantibus infestior hostis

ac frequens, maxime circa horam sextam monachum inquietans, ut quaedam febris ingruens tempore praestituto ardentissimos aestus accessionum sua

rum solitis ac statutis horis animae inferens aegrotanti. denique nonnulli

senum hune esse pronuntiant meridianum daemonem, qui in psalmononage simo nuncupatur.7

The attack of acedia is then further described in Chapters 2-6, after which

Cassian turns to a rather lengthy discussion of the monk's chief weapon against acedia, manual labor (chs. 7-25). Cassian's other main work, the Collationes

pairum (426-428), also deals with the eight vices and adds several details to

acedia, of which the most important for our purposes is its offspring:

5 By far the best coverage is given by the Mittellateinisches W?rterbuch bis zum aus

gehenden 13. Jahrhundert, edited by O. Prinz and J. Schneider, under the auspices of the

Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften (Munich 1959ff.). 6 For these schemes and their history, see Bloomfield, op. cit., esp. pp. 69-83. Scheme

G evidently started with Isidore's Diff., 2.161 (PL 83.96). 7

Cassian, De institutis coenobiorum 10.1 (ed. M. Petschenig GSEL 17, Vienna 1888).

76 TRADITIO

[2] De acedia [nascuntur] otiositas, somnolentia, inportunitas, inquietudo,

peruagatio, instabilitas mentis et corporis, uerbositas, curiositas.8

Among the first group of writings to be surveyed, the libri poenitentiales,9 several included the vitia principalia of scheme A. The libri poenitentiales are collections of more or less authoritative statements concerning the penance a confessor was to impose for specific sins. They usually contain lists of

misdeeds, such as manslaughter, fornication, augury, etc., with numerous

subdivisions, each accompanied by the appropriate measure of penance (fast

ing, prayer, abstinence from sexual intercourse or warfare, discipline) which

sometimes varies according to the status of the penitent (monk, secular priest, cleric, layman). Hence this form of penance has been called 'p?nitence tari

f?e.' These penitential acts were considered not only as expiatory punish ment but also ? and often predominantly

? as means of spiritual therapy to heal man of his vices. Acedia appears in these books from fairly early times on within scheme A. The first passage of this nature, still outside the period under consideration, is found in a short exposition, the De octo vitiis princi

palibus by St. Columban (end of sixth century).10 Its author says that the

vice is condemned by Ecclesiasticus 33.29, 'Multa mala docuit otiositas.'11 For its cure ('sunt sananda per contraria') he specifies:

[3] Instabilitas autem acediae, mansuetudine stabili et unius loci habita tione corrigenda est per sobrietatem, Scriptura dicente: 'Sispiritus potes tatem habentis ascenderit super te, locum tuum ne dimiseris' (Eccles. 10.4)

While Columban considered only the one aspect of instabilitas loci, later

penitentials extended the effects of the vice that were to be remedied to three. The Poenitentiale Cummeani (ca. 650), also of Irish origin, has this chapter [VII]: [4] De Accidia.

1. Otiosus op?re extraordinario oneretur et somnolentus uigilia propensiori, id est, tr?s uel [?] psalmis occupetur.

8 Collationes 5.16 (ed. Petschenig GSEL 13, Vienna 1886). 9 The best and authoritative survey of the libri poenitentiales is G. Le Bras, 'Peniten

tiels,' DThC 12 (1933) 1160-79. Collections of texts: F. W. H. Wasserschieben, Die Buss

ordnungen der abendl?ndischen Kirche (Halle 1851); H. J. Schmitz, Die Bussb?cher und die

Bussdisziplin der Kirche, 2 vois. (Mainz 1883, and D?sseldorf 1898; the second volume bears the title, Die Bussb?cher und das kanonische Bussverfahren); J. T. McNeill and H. M.

Gamer, Medieval Handbooks of Penance. A translation of the principal 'libri poenitentiales' and selections from related documents. (Columbia Records of Civilization 29; New York 1938); and L. Bieler, The Irish Penitentials (Scriptores Latini Hiberniae 5; Dublin 1963).

10 PL 80.259-260. Critical ed. by G. S. M. Walker, Sancti Columbani Opera (Scriptores Latini Hiberniae 2; Dublin 1957) 210 ff. (in Appendix, but considered genuine; cf. p. lxii).

11 Cf. Cassian, Inst. 10.20: 'quanta mala otiositas secundum scripturae sententiam in monachi mente parturiat'; direct quotation of Ecclus. 33:29 in 10:21.

ACEDIA 700-1200 77

2. Vagus instabilisque quis sanetur unius loci mansione operisque seduli

tate.12

This canon with its parts on otiositas, somnolentia, and instabilitas was

then expanded by several penitentials which originated after 700. The Poeni tentiale XXXV capitulorum (eighth century) keeps the same clauses on otiosus and instabilis as the P. Cummeani, but enlarges the section on somnolentus:

[5] Somnolentus vigilia propensiori, id est IV vel VII psalmis occupetur. Si quis non occurrit ad secundi psalmi consumationem, canat VIII in ordine

psalmorum. Si excitatus veniat post missam, quidquid cantaverint fratres,

replicet in ordine. Si vero ad secundam venerit, cena careat.13

A further and different kind of expansion characterizes the Poenitentiale

Bigotianum, written about 700-725 in Ireland.14 It preserves the three vices of the P. Cummeani and the tariffed penance for somnolentia, but adds homi letic material to be used in admonishing the penitent against the three vices. For this purpose the penitential gives six exempta from the Vitae Patrum. It should be noticed that the section on acedia begins with:

[6] Accedia otiositatem, sumnolentiam, inoportunitatem [for importunita tem], inquietudinem, peruagationem et reliqua gignit.

This is an abbreviation of Cassian's progeny of the vice. Part 1 explains that otiositas should be avoided by manual work 'ut habeat unde communicet

indigentibus'; and the part on instabilitas contains an addition on distrac

tion during psalm-singing. Similarly, the [7] Poenitentiale Merseburgense (ninth century) mentions

five vices from the progeny of acedia according to Cassian (with instabilitas

mentis where Bigotianum had pervagatio), but is otherwise closer to the earlier

passage by St. Columban (no. 3) in specifying remedies for only one aspect, instabilitas mentis, which is to be corrected by patience and remaining in the same place.15

Finally, a liber poenitentialis preserved in a manuscript (tenth or eleventh

century) from Bobbio, now at the Ambrosiana, enlarges the three parts of the P. Cummeani and the P. Bigotianum by giving more specific advice on

what to do with an otiosus (apparently referring to a monk) and by adding the other Cassianic branches of importunitas, inquietudo, pervagatio (to Part 3), uerbositas and curiositas (in a new Part 4). The added part is characteristic of the entire section on acedia:

12 Ed. Bieler, 120; ed. Wasserschieben, 484-485. 13 Ed. Wasserschieben, 524. 14 Ed. Bieler, 234 ff.; ed. Wasserschieben, 457-458. 15 Ed. Wasserschieben, 387f.

78 TRADITIO

[8] Verbosus autem et curiosus taciturnitate vel II sive III [dierum?] et

operis sedulitate vel plagis arbitrio sacerdotis multetur, donee discat mode

rate et in tempore loqui. Si contradixit, notetur.16

As in the libri poenitentiales, so in the writings of Carolingian theologians acedia is dependent on Cassian's Instituta and closely connected with the

confession of sins. The earliest text, actually predating the rule of Charlemagne, is the Scarapsus by St. Pirminius, Apostle of the Alamanni (710-724). A kind

of missionary's handbook in the form of a sermon, it deals with the main

points of Christian faith and morals. In the second part Pirminius enumerates

the octo principalia vitia (scheme A; 11.13) and goes on to elucidate them

briefly with Scriptural passages (11.14). When in ch. 14 he comes to acedia, Pirminius does not repeat the term but instead says:

[9] Nemo ociositatem vacit [read: ociositati vacet], quia scriptum est: 'Ani ma autem nihil operantis esuriit' [Prov. 19.15]. Et iterum: 'Ociositas ini

mica est animi.'17 Et apostolus ait: 'Qui non vult operare, nec manducit'

[2 Thess. 3.10].18

The three aspects of acedia specified in the early penitentials are here reduced

to one, ociositas, which almost becomes synonymous with acedia. In fact, the equation is made explicitly a few chapters later, where Pirminius deals

with the confession of sins and specifies by what efforts the chief vices ought to be overcome ('contraria contrariis sanantur,' 11.26):

[10] Qui fuit accidiosus, quod est ociositas, sit propriis manibus operans, aut quocumque artificio bonum laborans, unde et ipse vivat et aliis pro aeterna gloria tribuat, ut scriptum est: 'Honora dominum deum tuum

. . . ' [Prov. 3.9]. Et propheta: 'Labores manuum tuarum . . . '

[Ps. 127.2]. Et apostolus ait: 'Necessitatibus meis . . .

' [Act. 20.34].

Et dominus ait: 'Beatius est magis dare quam accipere' [Act. 20.35]. (11.27).

Like the Scarapsus, the Liber de virtutibus et vitiis ad Widonem comitem

(799-800) by Alcuin is directed to a lay audience19 and gives instruction on

Christian morals for the layman. Yet his portrait of acedia (in scheme A) contains mostly monastic traits:

[11] Acedia est pestis, quae Deo famulantibus multum nocere probatur, dum

otiosus homo torpescit in desideriis carnalibus, nec in opere gaudet spirituali, nec in desiderio animae suae laetatur, nec in adiutorio fraterni laboris

hilarescit: sed tantum concupiscit et desiderat, et otiosa mens per omnia

16 Ed. 0. Seebass, Deutsche Zeitschrift f?r Kirchenrecht 6 (1896-97) 37. 17 This quotation, a constant travel companion of acedia, comes from St. Benedict's

Regula, ch. 48, the chapter which also deals with the frater acediosus. 18 Ed. G. Jecker, 'Die Heimat des hl. Pirmin, des Apostels der Alamannen,

' Beitr. z.

Gesch. des alten M?nchtums u. des Benediktinerordens 13 (M?nster 1927) 45. 19 Cf. L. Wallach, 'Alcuin on Virtues and Vices. A Manual for a Garolingian Soldier/

Harvard Theological Review 48 (1955) 175-195.

ACEDIA 700-1200 79

discurrit. Haec est quae maxime monachos excutit de cella in saeculum, et de regulari conversatione eiicit eos in abrupta vitiorum. Quae cum

miserabilem obsidet mentem, multis earn inficit miseriis, quae multa docet

mala. De qua nascitur somnolentia, pigritia operis boni, instabilitas loci,

pervagatio de loco in locum, tepiditas laborandi, taedium cordis, murmura

tio et inaniloquia [al., magniloquia]. Quae vincitur per studium lectionis,

per assiduitatem operis boni, per desiderium futurae premiorum beatitudinis,

per confessionem tentationis, quam in mente habet, per stabilitatem loci

et propositi sui, atque exercitium cuiuslibet artis et laboris, vel orationum

et vigiliarum instantiam, ut nunquam otiosus inveniatur servus Dei. Dif

ficilius invenit diabolus tentandi locum in homine quern in opere invenit

bono, quam in eo quern otiosum reperit et nihil boni agentem. (PL 101.635).

Despite its derivation from Cassian, Alcuin's description contains several

features of its own. Notice especially the changes in the terminology of the

offspring, particularly pigritia operis boni (for otiositas) and tepiditas laborandi.

In another work Alcuin distributed the chief vices among the Platonic three

parts of the soul and made acedia with tristitia a corruption of irascibility.20 A more interesting use of the term occurs in a letter by one of Alcuin's dis

ciples (801-814?), where acedia seems to mean plain laziness:

[12] En, ut cerno, morbo torporis laboratis, aut nimium estis sapientes, aut,

ut ita dixerim, hebetes. Ergo huic morbo medicinam correctionis exhibere

conabor, excitans scilicet acediam segnitiae vestrae.21

Like Alcuin, Jonas of Orl?ans (f 843), too, wrote a book for a layman to

show 'how you and other married folk should live to please God.'22 The

De institutione laicali, addressed to Mathfredus, Count of Orl?ans (disgraced in 828), deals at length with virtues and vices, including the eight chief ones

(scheme A). The description of acedia follows Cassian and Alcuin, but here

the vice is said to attack laymen as well as clerics:

[13] Sextum vitium acedia, id est otiositas, de qua ait Salomon: 'Otiositas inimica est animae.' Item: 'Propter frigus piger arare noluit: mendicabit

aestate, et non dabitur ei' (Prov. 20:4). Otiosos vero Dominus arguit in

Evangelio dicens: 'Quid hie statis tota die otiosi? Ite in vineam meam'

(Mt. 20.6). Qua peste multi clericorum et laicorum laborant, et se delin

quere minime intelligunt. (PL 106.245-246)

The offspring which Jonas then lists is the same as Alcuin's.

The slight changes to be observed in Alcuin's and Jonas' accounts become

more pronounced in the De ecclesiastica disciplina by Hrabanus Maurus

(written 842-847).23 The work is addressed to Bishop Reginald and purposes

20 De animae ratione liber ad Eulaliam virginem 4 (PL 101.640). 21

MGH, Epist., IV; Appendix ad Alcuini epistulas, no. 2, p. 485. 22 PL 106.122-123. Cf. E. Amann, DThC 8 (1924) 1505f. 23 Cf. H. Peltier, DThC 13 (1937) 1614.

80 TRADITIO

to instruct him in what to teach his recently converted flock (PL 112.1191-92). After dealing with matters of faith, Hrabanus writes in the third book about

morals or 'de agone Christiano.' The section on acedia (PL 112.1251-53) is too long to be quoted in full, but the following details should be noted.

Hrabanus begins:

[14] Octavum ergo ac novissimum octo principalium vitiorum virus est

acedia, per quam tepor mentis et segnities noxia oritur, quae hominem

inutilem ad omne opus bonum ac proclivem ad interitum reddit. Unde

scriptum est: 'Otiositas inimica est animae,' quam inimicus totius boni

diabolus per memoratum acediae morbum homini ingerit: ita ut inutiliter

faciat eum torpere, et minime in bonis operibus desudare. Acedia enim

est pestis . . .

What follows is Alcuin's description, from which, however, the specific refer

ence to monks is omitted. To the borrowed passage Hrabanus adds the fol

lowing picture of a Christian who suffers from the vice:

[15] Qualis ergo ille est Christianus qui cum mane a lecto ebrietatis suae

surrexerit, non aliquo operi utili insistit, non ad ecclesiam orationis causa

vadit, non ad audiendum verbum Dei concurrit, non eleemosynas agere

satagit, non infirmos visitare, vel calumniam patientibus subvenire con

tendit: sed aut in venatum foras pergit, aut domi lites et contentiones excit?t

aut aleae vel fabulis et jocis se inutilibus impendit, donee edulium suum a servis laborantibus praeparetur. (PL 112.1252-53)24

The four works of instruction for the layfolk by Pirminius, Alcuin, Jonas, and Hrabanus speak of the chief vices predominantly as spiritual enemies or

diseases against which men must fight.25 Other instructions place them in

closer relation to the practice of confession. Several capitularies from the

reign of Charles the Great demand that confessors know the eight chief vices

and that penitents confess their sins according to the scheme.26 The most

explicit is the collection Capitula ad presbyteros parochiae suae by Theodulf

of Orl?ans (ca. 797):

[16] Confessiones dandae sunt de omnibus peccatis quae sive in opere, sive

in cogitatione perpetrantur. Octo sunt principalia vitia, sine quibus vix ullus inveniri potest. Est enim . . . tertio acedia sive tristitia. (PL 105.201)

24 It should be noted that in his De clericorum institutione 3.38 (PL 107.415-18) Hrabanus

used scheme B.; see also the more recent edition of this work by A. Knoepfler, ' Ver?ffentl.

a. d. kirchenhist. Seminar' 5 (Munich 1900). Another work, the De virtutibus et vitiis, com

posed in 843 and dedicated to Louis the Pious, does not mention the vitia principalia nor

acedia. Cf. W. Lazius, ed. Fragmenta quaedam Caroli Magni . . . (Antwerp 1560) 190ff.

and Peltier, loc. cit. 1615. 25 A much earlier poem, Aldhelm's (f 709) De octo principalibus vitiis, presents the vices

as leaders in the battle against virtues. The lines on acedia are essentially a versification

of the Cassianic offspring of the vice (PL 89.285). 26 Cf. the capitularies of Charlemagne and of the councils of Rheims and Chalons in 813,

conveniently reprinted in O. D. Watkins, A History of Penance 2 (London 1920) 675-677.

ACEDIA 700-1200 81

Theodulf was the first to identify acedia with tristitia, which was to become an important feature of the later scholastic attempt to reconcile schemes A

and B of the chief vices. Theodulf himself therefore used scheme C, but with

acedia as a synonym for tristitia.

This equation occurs once more in another collection, the Capitulare, when

Theodulf instructs his priests on how to guide their penitents in the confes

sional. First, he introduces the vice as acedia:

[17] Tertium principale vitium acedia, id est, instabilitas loci. Haec non

sinit hominem perseverare in bono. Haec per perseverantiam boni operis sananda. (PL 105.218)

The Cassianic offspring instabilitas loci here appears slanted towards the more general meaning of lack of perseverance in good works. Theodulf then

continues the sequence of the vices with ira, and in this section affirms that

wrath is not the same as tristitia:

[18] Non ipsum autem proprie tristitia quod ira. Tristitia ad acediam per tinet, tristitia saeculi generat mortem. Tristitia mala desperationem ope ratur et instabilitatem locorum. Unde et acediosus dicitur tristis. . . .

Et tristitia sive acedia, quae est vitium supradictum, gaudio spirituali sananda. (PL 105.218)

The connection of the vices with confession appears also in the De divinis

officiis, which goes under Alcuin's name but apparently is a later compilation from his and other works. Here the octo vitia criminalia form scheme C, but acedia is also mentioned as a vice which, with others, originates from the

eight:

[19] Acediosus ab acedia dicitur, qui anxietatem sive taedium cordis patitur, qui et inconstans vel vagus dicitur: ab aliquibus enim inter octo vitia repu tatur. (PL 101.1195)27

Before leaving the group of Carolingian theologians we must add a few occurrences of acedia that carry less importance. First, the term is sometimes included in confessional formulas,28 with either the other chief vices or a num

ber of general vices. These formulas do not offer much information for the

history of acedia because they merely name the vice without further explana tion. One confession makes it clear that it was written for monks: [20] 'Prop

27 The same awareness of two different lists of eight vices (A and G) appears in the third

book of the De vitiis et virtutibus (PL 112.1348L and 1377), which is printed in Migne's

Patrologia among the works of Hrabanus, but may or may not be by him; cf. Peltier, loc.

cit. 1615. 28 To my knowledge, the history of confessional formulas has not been fully explored.

The dissertation by G. Zimmermann, Die deutsche Beichte vom 9. Jahrhundert bis zur Re

formation (Leipzig 1934) is quite illuminating in general, but offers little on the Latin back

ground. On the Garolingian period, see also F. Hautkappe, ?ber die altdeutschen Beichten

und ihre Beziehungen zu C?sarius von Arles, 'Forschungen und Funde,' 4.5 (M?nster 1917).

82 TRADITIO

ter haec [vitia] delenda coenobium petii, sed semper in deterius eo.'29 Before

this statement the penitent had confessed himself as 'acedia dissolutus'

(PL 101.470D). A confessional prayer preserved in a tenth-century manuscript from Fleury places acedia in a context that would give it the meaning of in

dolence:

[21] De somno atque acidia, de omni torpore et otio sive de zelo iniquo . . .

veram et fructuosam nos poenitentiam agere tribue.30

Apart from these formulas, during the period under consideration acedia occurs in some scattered texts with meanings like weariness or laziness,31 and

in the eighth-century Vita Desiderii it is said to be caused by solitude.32 These

isolated meanings are duly listed in the Miltellateinisches W?rterbuch and

do not throw much light on the subject of this study.

The passages I have collected from writings of the eleventh century occur

all in strictly monastic contexts and show dependence on Cassian. A number

of them mention acedia in confessional formulas, such as the prayer book of

Archbishop Arnulph II of Milan33 and a confession by St. Anselm of Canter

bury (PL 158.876C). A long Oratio de vitiis et virtutibus by Jean de F?camp first describes the [22] 'spiritus accidiae, qui monachos maxime et spe cialiter impugnare non desistit,'34 in Cassianic terms and then gives a prayer for constancy and vigilance. Acedia is similarly a chief temptation for hermits

according to a letter addressed to monks by Ivo of Chartres:

[23] Non enim beatum faciunt hominem secreta silvarum, cacumina montium, si secum non habet solitudinem mentis, Sabbatum cordis, tranquillitatem

29 De psalmorum usa I.iii (PL 101.471A); printed among the works of Alcuin, but per

haps by one of his disciples. A very similar passage, with acedia following it, is attributed

to Egbert and printed by J. Morin, Commentarius historicus de disciplina in administratione

sacramenti poenitentiae . . . (Paris 1651), Appendix, p. 14b. Acedia occurs also in the

Pontificale of Poitiers, ibid. 55b, where it is one of many vices springing from the septem

principalia. 30 Ed. E. Mart?ne, De antiquis ecclesiae ritibus, editio novissima 3 (Venice 1788) 245a;

the term also appears on pp. 243, 244, 245 (a second time), 246, in series of chief vices; on

p. 249 as 'accidia vel torpor.' See also: 'Florilegium of Alagus' (ed. H. M. Rochais, Revue

B?n?dictine 67 [1957] 143) and Ratherius, Excerptum ex dialogo confessionali (PL 136.397). 31 For example: Ermanricus, Epistula ad Ruadolfum magistrum, the preface to Ermanri

cus' Vita sancti Svalonis (written 833-842); MGH, Scriptores, XV, 156, line 17. 32

MGH, Script, rer. Merov. IV. 575. 33 Ed. D. H. Turner, Revue B?n?dictine 70 (1960) 370. 34 The Oratio is an extension of a prayer by Abbot Ambrose Autpert (eighth century);

see PL 17.756ff. Ambrose used scheme B. Jean de F?camp also uses scheme B ('septem

principalia vitia'), to which, however, he adds a chapter on acedia, which has no model in

Ambrose. See: J. Leclercq, 'La pri?re au sujet des vices et des vertus/ Studia Anselmiana

31 (1953) 3-17.

ACEDIA 700-1200 83

conscientiae, ascensiones in corde, sine quibus omnem solitudinem comi

tantur mentis accidia, curiositas, vana gloria . . . (PL 162.201L)

Another treatise on the monastic life shows a good deal of confusion in its use of both schemes A and B. The Tractatus de ordine vitae, established by Dom Wilmart as the work of Jean L'Homme de Dieu (early eleventh century), fuses Gregorian and Cassianic material, adding nothing to the latter's descrip tion of acedia, which is said to have two species:

[24] Unum, quod ad opus Dei pigritare monachum ac dormitare compellit. Aliud, quod vagari hue illucque facit, ac fugere cohortatur de fratrum, cum quibus vivit, societate. (PL 184.579)35

By far the most interesting usage of acedia during this period occurs in the works of Peter Damiani. Like the very character of the saint, his use of the

principalia vitia is full of contradictions. He consistently speaks of seven, but the series which he enumerates agrees with none of the three schemes mentioned before. Twice he gives a series of seven with tristitia (lacking gula), but in a third series he lists gula but not tristitia, and includes acedia instead.37 Here the vice is synonymous with somnolence:

[25] Accedia te, vel somnolentia deprimit, sepulcrum te doceat pro aeternis

nunc praemiis vigilare, in quo videlicet, te necesse est diutissime sine ulla

postmodum remuneratione quiescere, quatenus qui aeternam requiem

gaudii coelestis expectas alacriter, nunc cum propriae torpore desidiae, momentaneo labore confligas. (PL 145.355)

In other words, acedia is the drowsiness or physical weariness which the monk has to overcome in his ascetic practices of waking and praying.38

In this sense the term appears several times outside the series of vices in Peter Damiani's writings about the monastic or eremitic life. In the De institutis ordinis eremitarum, for example, he gives precise instructions about

sleep and nocturnal prayer. The attack of acedia must be met head-on by the monks:

[26] Ut juxta diluculum, quo videlicet tempore gravius incumbit accidia, stantes nos et canonicis inveniat occupatos officiis. (PL 145.349)

Acedia almost amounts to heaviness of the eyelids. The unrelenting fervor of an old monk is praised:

35 See A. Wilmart, Auteurs spirituels et textes d?vots du moyen ?ge latin (Paris 1932),

chapter 6. For the two genera of the vice, cf. Gassian, Coll. 5.11. 36 Sermo 74 (PL 144.919D) and De horis canonicis 1 (PL 145.223). In both cases Peter

speaks of ' Septem principalia vitia.

'

37 De institutis ordinis eremitarum 23 (PL 145, 355); however, this chapter does not used

the phrase 'principalia vitia.' 38 Notice that the notion of weariness and indolence is expressed by torpor desidiae or

ignaviae. Beside the just quoted passage, cf. De perfectione monachorum II; III; V; VI; VII.

84 TRADITIO

[27] Illud etiam valde mirandum, quia numquam eius oculos acediae tedium

deprimit.39

Similarly, the abbot is admonished to guard his eyes, [28] 'ut eis acedia non obrepat.

'40 St. Romuald, whose life Peter Damiani wrote, could hardly read at the beginning of his saintly career and had a very hard time in keeping up with this teacher when they recited the psalter.

[29] Aperto psalterio, vix suorum versuum notas sillabatim explicare valebat, et hec oculorum in ima defixio intolerabilem sibi importunitatem accidie

generabat.41

Romuald not only suffered eye-strain but in addition got flogged on his head

by his austere but not very perceptive teacher. The same ascetic harshness

pervaded the life of St. Rodulphus, also told by Peter Damiani, who would overcome acedia [30] by tying ropes to the ceiling of his cell, putting his arms through, and singing the psalms thus in hanging position.42

Twelfth-century spiritual writers differ markedly from the authors of pre vious centuries by their great interest in the psychology of the spiritual and

moral life, an interest which, incidentally, they shared with contemporary

speculative theologians. This was the golden age of treatises on the 'inner

life, ' and the two greatest representatives of this trend, St. Bernard and Richard

of St. Victor, were by no means solitary figures. One can a priori expect to

find acedia in their writings frequently and with a more 'spiritual' meaning. Guibert, Benedictine abbot of Nogent-sous-Coucy (f 1124), reports in his

autobiography, the De vita sua, that soon after his entering the religious life he was tempted by acedia to leave his monastery:

[31] Cum enim aliquando spiritu acediae ventilarer (multas enim invidentias ab iis qui supra et juxta me erant, patiebar), parentum meorum adminiculis

aspirabam ad externa monasteria commigrare. (PL 156.870C)

The meaning of the term in this passage is not too clear, but it seems to denote

sadness or weariness caused by the envy of his confr?res. Sadness is certainly the central meaning of acedia in other passages where Guibert used the word.

In his commentary on Genesis he writes:

39 De perfectione monachorum 23 (ed. P. Brezzi, 'De divina omnipotentia' e altri opuscoli, Firenze 1943, p. 322); cf. also, PL 145.325D.

40 Ibid. 15, p. 280 (PL 145.313D). 41 Ed. G. Tabacco, P?tri Damiani Vita Beati Romualdi, 'Fonti per la Storia d'Italia,

'

94 (Rome 1957) 21. 42 Vita Sancti Rodulphi 2 (PL 144.1010). In addition, Peter Damiani used acedia in an

'idleness-prologue' where he says he is writing' quaedam opuscula . . . ut . . . acediae obre

pentis instantiam facilius propulsarem. ' Epistolae 4.11 (PL 144.321A-B).

ACEDIA 700-1200 85

[32] Humilitas confessionis et poenitentiae informat acediae moestitiam. (PL

156.262D) Solet enim utilis plerumque tristitia, nisi caute moderetur, in acidiae mor

bum verti. (272B)43

And in commenting on Hosea 5.12, 'Et ego quasi tinea Ephraim, et quasi

putredo domui Juda:'

[33] 'Tinea Ephraim' Deus fit cum inter tentationes mens accidiae nimie

tate tabescit; quasi a tinea enim absumitur qui moeroris angustia in nullo

lectionis, sive orationis studio animatur, sed 'oranem' juxta psalmum, 'escam anima eorum abominatur' [Ps. 106.18]. (PL 156.366)

Here acedia is synonymous with moeror. That Guibert thus equates acedia

with the vice of evil tristitia is also evident from the fact that he uses acedia in the exegesis of tinea, the moth, which was a figure for tristitia as early as

Cassian and remained so throughout the Middle Ages.44 The same passage contains another important detail. Guibert considers

acedia an internal state of the mind and distinguishes it sharply from physical weariness and indolence:

[34] Tinea est quodlibet mentis vitium, quod non est ex forastica causa; sed interius ex ipso statu suo accipit seminarium, ut est accidia, cenodoxia,

superbia, et si quod est aliud intimum. Putredo vero nihil aliud quam

torpor est et otium, unde sensim corruptio menti incidit, ac si putredinis malum. Quasi ergo vitalia sunt praedicta tria mala, et velut intra animum

motus habentia; est vero quasi inanimata desidia. (PL 156.367)

Similarly, in his De pignoribus sanctorum Guibert explains that mental unrest

and physical suffering do not of necessity run parallel, as can be seen in the

martyrs, who experienced physical pain with inner joy. Conversely,

[35] Super iis quos acrimonia consumit acediae, perspicuum est quantis la

cerum pectus disjiciatur angoribus, plane, ut putatur, corpore extrinsecus

requieto. (PL 156.668-669)

These two peculiar features of Guibert's acedia, that it is a state of mind and that it means sadness, appear together in his argument that the damned in hell do not suffer bodily pain but mental anguish:

43 The distinction between tristitia atilis and sinful tristitia (by Guibert evidently called

acedia), deriving from 2 Cor. 7.10, was a commonplace in medieval discussions of the vices,

starting with Gassian, Inst. 9.10-11. 44

Gassian, Inst. 9.2-3, quoting Prov. 25.20, 'Sicut tinea vestimentum. . . . ' Guibert

not only knew Gassian but considered him and St. Gregory the chief authorities on the inner

life, 'quorum lectio utilitatis immensae studiosis lectoribus fructum praestat' (PL 156.27G). As to the capital vices, Guibert once refers to 'octonus vitiorum capitalium numerus' (422C). It is not clear which scheme he had in mind, but I suspect it was C with tristitia replaced

by acedia.

86 TRADITIO

[36] Quod totum est, quia damnatum se aspicit, animi saeva exacerbatione

decoquitur. Vide hominem aeterno ergastulo relegatum, mortifera mortifi

catur acedia. (674D)

Like Peter Damiani, Guibert thus used acedia outside the series of capital vices. The same is true of St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), who does

not seem to have referred to the capital vices in his writings at all. Acedia

for him is a vice, though, which with pride, vainglory, gluttony, and faintheart

edness works against his efforts and care for the Lord's vineyard.45 It is

something neither good nor enjoyable.46 And it is clearly an affliction of the

mind:

[37] Turbatur aliquis vehementer, seu corporali quovo incommodo, seu tribu

latione aliqua saeculari, seu acedia spiritus et quadam animi defectione

languescens ?47

The term gains somewhat sharper contours in three other passages, where it is used together and synonymously with expressions for 'mental or spiri tual slackness.' In a letter to Abbot Suger of St. Denis, St. Bernard recom

mends the abbot's rule, under which the monastery's spiritual discipline has

greatly improved: Continence, silence, and lectio are duly observed now, and the variation in holy observances expels [38] 'taedium et acediam.'48 One useful practice of spiritual life, meditation on the name of Jesus, is espe

cially recommended in Sermon 15 on Canticles, because before the Holy Name spiritual slackness and hardness must yield:

[39] Cui aliquando stetit ante faciem salutaris nominis duritia (ut assolet) cordis, ignaviae torpor, rancor animi, languor acediae?

(Super Cant. 15; 1.86)

In Sermon 21 Bernard gives acedia the same meaning. He speaks of 'him who walks in the spirit' and states that progress in the spiritual life is not

always the same but 'nunc segnius, nunc alacrius.' But the religious must not desist:

[40] Ergo cum te torpore, acedia vel taedio affici sentis, noli propterea diffidere, aut desistere a studio spirituali. (Super Cant. 21; 1.124)

45 Bernard, Super Cantica, sermo 30.6 (ed. Leclercq, Talbot, and Rochais, Rome 1957-58,

1.214). The sermons are also printed in PL 183. 48 Sermo 80 de diversis (PL 183.699). 47 In psalmum 'Qui habitat,' sermo 12 (PL 183.235B). 48

Epist. 78.4 (PL 182.193G). The greater emphasis on identifying acedia with taedium

in St. Bernard and following authors of the twelfth century (in contrast to earlier authors

in our survey) may have been influenced by the Glossa ordinaria (early twelfth century),

which, in commenting on 'Dormitavit anima mea prae taedio' (Ps. 118.28), explains: 'Dormitatio est quae dicitur accidia' (ed. Antwerp 1617). The gloss comes from Gassiodorus

(PL 70.846) and ultimately relies on Cassian, Inst. 10.4. Dormitatio is glossed as acedia

also by Gerhoh of Reichersberg (PL 194.754) and Peter Lombard (PL 191.1058L).

ACEDIA 700-1200 87

In St. Bernard's vocabulary, therefore, the word denotes inner slackness,

weariness, boredom with the religious life, which tempt the monk to give up ?

a meaning which agrees precisely with the phenomenon described by Cassian.

But Bernard's sermons also contain a number of passages in which he analyzes, often at greater length, spiritual states and experiences which have since

come to be considered classic expressions of 'spiritual dryness,' a charac

teristic phenomenon of the mystical way. It must be said at once that in these

analyses Bernard does not use the term acedia a single time.

The modern term 'spiritual dryness' is usually applied to various states

which overlap and are extremely difficult to define, yet can as a rule be distin

tinguished from one another. Their common element appears to be absence

of spiritual joy, of 'consolation,' leading to disgust at religious exercises.

This experience can occur at different stages of the spiritual life, can have

various causes, and can be evaluated differently (i.e., whether it is sinful or

not). What interests us at the moment is the phenomenon of spiritual disgust itself. St. Bernard described it several times; and I think that one can dis

tinguish at least three separate occurrences of disgust. First, as the result of weariness, of exhaustion:

Sunt qui in studiis spiritualibus fatigati, et versi in tepore, atque in defectu quodam spiritus positi, ambulant tristes vias Domini, corde arente

et taedente accedunt ad quaeque iniuncta, frequenter murmurant . . .

(Super Cant. 32; 1.228)

But it often happens that in such a condition God in His mercy approaches them and begins to tell them of heaven, 'ita ut pellat omne fastidium ab

animo audientis, et a corpore fatigationem. ' Such souls are likened to the

Psalmist when he sang, 'Dormitavit anima mea prae taedio' (Ps. 118:28) ?

a verse often used in connection with acedia.

A second, related phenomenon is the ' cooling-off,

' especially in novices.

The gradual loss of fervor and joy is described in terms of coldness, hardness, and heaviness.

Hoc frigus49 si semel animam, animae (ut assolet) incuri?, spiritu dormitante,

pervaserit, ac nemine deinde (quod absit I) inhibente, ad interiora eius

pervenerit, descendent in viscera et cordis sinum mentis, con?ussent

affectiones . . . (Super Cant. 63; 11.165)

Bernard describes the phenomenon further with such verbs as contrahitur,

defervescit, ingravescit, refrigescit. In another sermon he reports it from his

own experience:

49 Frigus is connected with Ps. 147:17: 'A facie frigoris ejus quis sustinebit?' Before

that, Bernard had mentioned aquilo, the cold north wind, which in biblical exegesis was

traditionally connected with torpor mentis (cf. Cant. 4.16: ' Surge Aquilo et veni Auster . . . );

see Gregory, Moralia in Job 9.17 (PL 75.868).

88 TRADITIO

Frequenter ego ipse, quod fateri non verecundor, maximeque in initio

conversionis meae, corde durus et frigidus, quaerens quern vellet diligere anima mea . . . (Super Cant. 14; I.79L)

He employs such terms as torpens, languens, rigens; languebat, taedebat, dormi

tabat anima mea prae taedio; tristis, desperans, mussitans secum; and again

quotes Ps. 147.17.

The third phenomenon differs from the other two by the suddenness with

which the mind is jolted from joy into a state of dryness and desolation. It

is described in a classical passage in Sermon 54 on Canticles:

Non sine causa sane ab heri et nudiustertius invasit me languor iste animi

et mentis hebetudo, insolita quaedam inertia spiritus. Currebam bene; sed ecce lapis offensionis in via: impegi et corrui . . . Hinc ista sterilitas

animae meae, et devotionis inopia quam patior. Quomodo ita exaruit cor

meum ... ? Non sapit psalmus, non legere ?bet, non orare delectat, medi

tationes solitas non invenio . . . Ad opus manuum piger, ad vigilias somno

lentus, ad iram praeceps, ad otium pertinax, linguae et gulae indulgentior,

segnior obtusiorque ad praedicationem. (Super Cant. 54; 11.107)

This excruciating experience, which later mystics were to call 'God's with

drawal from the soul,'50 is explained by Bernard himself as the result of his

pride.51

Although the quoted passages describe a spiritual state which looks so very much like acedia, Bernard does not call it acedia, nor even employs the word

in connection with this state. How are we to explain this puzzling fact ? One

might of course say that in his sovereign use of traditional ideas and terminol

ogy and his fervent exploration of hitherto uncharted territories of the soul, Bernard refused to cling slavishly to a word. But I think it is closer to the truth to suggest that for him

' spiritual dryness

' as described in the three cases and

acedia were not entirely the same thing.52 This suggestion is borne out by later medieval thought on the relation between acedia and the absence of de

votion. In Bernard's third phenomenon, God withdraws devotion because

the soul has been proud. A century after St. Bernard, a very important trea

tise on the vices makes indevotio a species or 'branch' of acedia, but in doing so explains that indevotio, which is 'quaedam ariditas spiritualis,' can result

50 For a later discussion of God's withdrawal, see for example The Chastizing of God's

Children (ed. J. Bazire and E. Golledge, Oxford 1957, chapter 2.) The ultimate source is

Cassian, Coll. 4.2-3. 51 St. Bernard discussed the withdrawal also in Super Cant. 74 (2.243-244). For ariditas

in prayer, cf. Sermo 25 de diversis (PL 183.609A). 52 As they likewise were not for Cassian. See his discussion of sterilitas mentis and God's

withdrawal in Coll. 4.3. Notice that Bernard also used sterilitas mentis, a phrase which, before Bernard, I have been able to find only in Cassian. It occurs again in Bernard's Sermon

30 super Cant. (1.214).

ACEDIA 700-1200 89

from various causes: sometimes from spiritual undernourishment ('ex de fectu cibi spiritualis'), sometimes from acedia (which is here synonymous

with spiritual indolence), and sometimes from pride ?

whereupon the writer

copies the passage from St. Bernard's Sermon 54 on Canticles !53 At least in later medieval thought, therefore, acedia and spiritual dryness share the

phenomenon of indevotio but are not identified with each other. St. Bernard's immediate followers continued the linguistic usage of their

great spiritual master. On the one hand, they did not identify the phenom enon of God's withdrawal from the soul with acedia;5* on the other hand, they emphasized that acedia designates a state of mind and is not synonymous with somnolence or idleness. Especially the latter feature forms the common

denominator of acedia in the writings of three famous Cistercian abbots, Isaac of Stella (i.e., L'?toile, diocese of Poitiers), Adam of Perseigne, and

Aelred of Rievaulx. Isaac (middle of twelfth century) used scheme B of the chief vices, which

he called 'corruptiones nostrae g?n?rales,'55 but in one sermon he listed the vice we are concerned with as[41] 'tristitia sive acedia.'56 Elsewhere, however, the term appears outside the chain of capital vices. There it seems to have three different meanings: inner indolence which neglects to watch over disturb

ing and sinful thoughts; weariness and disgust (taedium); and tepidity or

absence of fervor (tepiditas). The first meaning occurs in a very moving sermon on the episode of Jesus

being asleep in the Apostles' boat while the storm rages (Mt. 8). Isaac develops the idea that, whereas the Word of God is spiritually active during bodily rest, many monks are outwardly quiet but also inwardly lazy: [42] 'abutili tate operis foris quieti, intus desides et acediosi. '57 As they rest in false security, ' the flow of evil thoughts arises like an inner and unbearable storm.

' There

fore, [43] ' vigilemus itaque, fratres, et plurimum contra acediae pestem.

'

Tedium of the spiritual life often springs from the hardships and efforts of spiritual exercises, especially before the soul has learned to bear these

joyfully in true Caritas. Then,

53 William Peraldus (or, Guillaume Peyraut), Summa de vitiis et virtutibus (ed. 1587, fol.

95v). The part on the vices was perhaps written as early as 1236; cf. A. Dondaine, Archivum

Fratrum Praedicaiorum 18 (1948) 186. For St. Thomas' view on indeuotio in relation to

accidia, see De malof q. 11, a. 1, obj. 7, and ad 7. 54

E.g., Aelred of Rievaulx, Sermo 25, de Beata Maria (PL 195.356) and Sermones de

oneribus 27 (476). ? Gilbert de Hoiland (| 1172), who continued St. Bernard's Sermones

super Cantica, uses acedia occasionally (PL 184.153D; 163G), but not where he speaks of

siccitas or sterilitas (35-36; 38; 185). 55 Sermo 6, in festo Omnium Sanctorum (PL 194.1709G). 56 Sermo 43, in die Pentecostes (PL 194.1835B). 57 Sermo 14, in dorn. IV post Epiph. (PL 194.1735B).

90 TRADITIO

[44] Omnia sub pond?re diei et aestus [cf. Mt. 20] vix tolerantur, vix por tantur; in dolore et angaria sub timor? et murmure, taedio afficiunt[ur ?] et acedia.58

But the same state comes also in the normal course of ups and downs in one's

spiritual life:

[45] Quandoque laetabundus et laudans . . . exsulto; . . . quandoque pave

bundus et plangens, tenebris obvolutus, et amaritudine plenus, tanta taedii

et acediae confusione tabesco ... 59

Finally, acedia means inner emptiness and is opposed to fervor. In a sermon

on the three temptations of Christ, Isaac explains that, when the devil sees

us [46] 'acediosos ac tepidos,' he approaches and, sensing our 'interior de

fectus, ' shows us by what we may be refreshed:

[47] Qui ad fortem, constantem, ferventem, appropinquare non audet, sed a

longe observ?t; ad acediosum et vacantem . . . malignus accedit ... Ad

hanc [i. e., avaritiam] ergo tentator mentem invit?t, quam a delectatione

Dei languere consid?r?t.60

The same connection with tepiditas is made in a later sermon.61

Adam of Perseigne (//. 1190) likewise used the Gregorian scheme (B) of the

vices and employed acedia separately.62 In the epistle De institutione novi

tiorum, acedia appears as a chief temptation among beginners of the religious life:

[48] Noviter conversi de saeculo, quantalibet devotione polleant, acediae tarnen vitio saepe laborant. (PL 211.586A)

The vice is also called morbus, as in Cassian. Against it, Adam recommends

the 'arnica et frequens collocutio magistri' (ibidem). From the following discussion it becomes clear that in Adam's vocabulary acedia means mental

torpor, the opposite of fervor (588C); for negligence in prayer Adam uses

torpor desidiae (585D). Aelred of Rievaulx (1110-1167) used the term many times and in very in

teresting ways. When he mentions a number of vices, even chief vices, he

58 Sermo 17, in dorn. Septuag. (PL 194.1748C). 59 Sermo 29, in dorn. Quinquag. (PL 194.1786-87). 60 Sermo 32, in dorn. I Quadrag. (PL 194.1796A-C). 61 Sermo 48, in Nativ. s. Ioannis Bapt. (PL 194.1853A). Cf. Sermo 25, in Sexag. (PL

194.1774B): 'Videte itaque, fratres, quanto fervore spiritus et infatigabili nisu opus est, nos . . . intendere in illud Deificum lumen . . . Acedia pessime dissolvit. Mens enim in otio

acediosa fructum actionis perdit, et contemplationis lucem minime invenit. '

62 However, Adam used acedia in a series of seven chief vices, with the meaning of exces

sive grief and unwillingness to suffer physical discomfort: Epistula 14: 'Ad B., canonicum

Parisiensem, '

(ed. J. Bouvet, Sources chr?tiennes 66; Paris 1960, p. 224).

ACEDIA 700-1200 91

usually puts down acedia and tristitia separately. For example, in a sermon on St. Benedict he distinguishes between vices proper to the active and to the contemplative life:

[49] Gerte in actuali conversatione maxime infestant luxuria, avaritia, ira, at in spirituali, accidia, tristitia, superbia.63

Acedia not only belongs to the spiritual life but is its greatest enemy be cause it upsets the state of quies, the inner tranquillity without which the

contemplative mind cannot rise to God:

[50] Ad spiritualium ergo contemplationem suspirantibus, primum quies ne cessaria est, quam impugnans accidia, animum reddere nititur inquietum.

[51] Spiritus acediae omnem statum meae tranquillitatis evertens, et horrorem

solitudinis, et quietis odium ingerens, discursiones inordinatas, signa vana

vel periculosa me sibi solvere comp ellebat.64

Discursiones in this passage probably means 'running about:' acedia robs its victim of mental as well as of physical quietude. Aelred thus emphasizes

what had been a major effect of acedia in Cassian's description, restlessness and flight from the cell.65

That the vice is one of the worst enemies of monks is again expressed in a sermon on St. Peter and St. Paul, where Aelred develops the allegory of the assault on the castle of man:

[52] [Glaustrales] debent observare, ne in labore sit aliqua desidia, nec per earn hostis intret et dissipet ilium magnum murum, quo soient pessimos

[viz., hostes] prohibere a nobis, acediam videlicet et tristitiam. (PL 195.

295C) Here acedia is obviously differentiated from neglect or indolence of 'work'

(desidia), as it is similarly differentiated from otiositas, of which it is said to

be an effect:

[53] Otiositas ... est enim omnium malorum parens, libidinis artifex, per

vagationum altrix, nutrix vitiorum, fomentum acediae, tristitiae incenti

vum.66

63 Sermo in festo sancti Benedicti (ed. G. H. Talbot, Sermones inediti b. Aelredi abbatis

rievallensis, 'Series Scriptorum s. ordinis Gisterciensis, 1; Rome 1952, pp. 68-69). Other

occurrences of acedia and tristitia within series of vices: Speculum charitatis 1.17 and 2.12

(PL 195.520G; 556D); Oratio pastoralis 8 (ed. Ch. Dumont, 'Sources chr?tiennes' 76; Paris

1961, p. 200). 64 Sermo in festo s. Benedicti, p. 69; Sermones de oneribus 16 (PL 195.424G). 65 Gf. Coll. 5.11. Two more passages by Aelred express the same: his Spec. char. 2.26:

' quia lev?s et acediosi, non valentes in domo consistere pedibus suis, nunc foris nunc intus

. . . ' (PL 195.576B); and his Sermo in Annuntiatione Beatae Mariae: 'Quotiens suggeri

tur monacho, . . . ut cernens accidiosum, ipse eius exemplo hue illucque discurrat' (ed. Talbot,

p. 88. Notice that in this text the accidiosus is neatly distinguished from the tepidus and

the dissolutus). 66 De inst, inclusarum 9 (ed. Dumont, 66; PL 32.1455).

92 TRADITIO

And finally, in the same work acedia appears closely related to fastidium which

can be warded off by variation of spiritual exercises and occupations:

[54] Si tibi [psalmi] coeperint esse onerosi, transi ad lectionem: quae si fas tidium ingerit, surge ad orationem: sic ad opus manuum, his fatigata, per

transiens, ut salubri alternatione spiritum recr?es et pellas acediam.67

To these major Cistercian authors two writers of different religious orders

should be added: Adam Scot and Richard of St. Victor. Adam Scot (ca. 1190), a Carthusian, wrote a manual for Carthusian monks on the spiritual life, the De quadripartito exercitio cellae. In it he described the phenomenon of

sudden 'spiritual dryness,' in a passage which shows several verbal remi

niscences as well as a close structural similarity to St. Bernard's Sermon 54

Super Cantica, although Adam indicates no cause for this joylessness and

eventually recommends that the monk overcome it by meditating on the

hardships and the rewards of companions (saints ?) that have gone before him.

Apprehendit te multoties cum solus in cella es, inertia quaedam, lan

guor spiritus, taedium cordis; quoddam et quidam valde grave fastidium sentis in te ipso; tu tibi oneri es, interna illa qua tarn f?liciter uti solebas suavitas, jam defecit tibi. Dulcedo quae tibi in erat heri et nudiustertius

jam in magnam amaritudinem versa est . . . (ch. 24; PL 153.841)

Although Adam calls this state taedium cordis (the Cassianic translation of

acedia), the word acedia itself does not occur here or in similar passages.68 Yet Adam did know the word and used it, although only within the series

of vitia capitalia. He employed the Gregorian scheme (B), but replaced tris

titia with [55] acedia.*9 That he thought of it as sadness of the mind is shown

by his opposing it with hilaritas, rather than fortitudo, which had been Cas

sian's antidote to acedia.70 In using this scheme of the seven chief vices Adam

evidently followed the example of contemporary systematic theologians, as

it had been established by Hugh of St. Victor (see below) [56].71

67 Ibid. (PL 32.1456). The basis for the idea that acedia can be overcome by a frequent

change of occupation seems to be an exemplum relating St. Anthony's vision of an angel who alternates prayer with work: Apophthegmata; Antonius 1 (PG 65.76); Vitae Patrum

V.vii,l (PL 73.893, without 'acedia'), whence it passed into later medieval literature

as a standard exemplum against the vice. See also St. Bernard's letter to Abbot Suger (no.

38). 68 For taedium cordis, see also PL 153.816f. Another portrayal of spiritual boredom

appears in Sermo 15 (PL 198.183L), again without acedia. 69 The seven vices appear in Adam's sermons: PL 198.256A ('rubigo acediae'), 317B;

319C; in De ordine, habitu et professione Canonicorum O. Praem.: PL 198.450L; 496B; 563D

(only four); in other works: PL 198.701C; 799A. 70 Hilaritas in PL 198.317B, 496B. For Cassian's remedy fortitudo, see Coll. 5. 23. 71

Particularly in the metaphor of the gradual corruption of man's soul: 'inflata per super biam . . . , fracta per acediam . . . , PL 198.799A; compare with Hugh, Summa de sacra

mentis 2.13.1 (PL 176.525L).

ACEDIA 700-1200 93

Somewhat earlier, Richard of St. Victor (f 1173) adopted the same prac tice: Acedia has taken the place of tristitia in scheme B, but still means 'sad

ness' [57] and is opposed to letitia or spiritualis exiiltatio.12 In a sermon on the feast of All Saints, for example, Richard admonishes: [58] 'Lugeat acediosus amissionem spiritualis exsultationis.

' (PL 177.961C). And another

sermon, which allegorizes the city of Rabylon in terms of the seven vices, shows how closely acedia was connected with tristitia in Richard's thought:

[59] Quarta platea urbis nefandae est acedia. Haec habet ex una parte tris

titiam, ex altera desperationem. (Sermo 38; PL 177.996)

In contrast to these sermons and the Liber exceptionum, Richard's commen

tary on the Canticles contains several passages where acedia occurs outside the scheme of vices. In one passage he speaks of a certain impurity brought into religious acts by tedium:

[60] Vigiliae et orationes sunt tibi inutiles, si sic ista exerceas, ut eo tempore dormias et torpeas quo debes orare et vigilare, si singularitatem quamdam in his teneas per quam communia, et ad quae magis teneris omittas, monere

proximum, consolari dolentem, et caetera charitatis opera quae Deo placent. Et tarnen contingit ut non semper pure in Deo fiant: nam interdum ad ista

promptus est aliquis, quia acedia laboratur, et taedio afficitur, et delectabile

illi est cum exterius implicatur, vel personis placet quibus loquitur, vel in his sibi placeat, et in tali gratia gloriatur. (PL 196.433B)

However, acedia in religious exercises is not necessarily sinful:

[61] Vehemens quippe taedium et amaritudo cordis virtutes exercet, non

evertit. Sive ergo aliquis acedia laborat, et ariditate cordis, et tentatione

aliqua, sive devotione perfruatur, tantum mereri potest in illo adverso

statu sicut in isto prospero. (460D)

Acedia is further associated with the downs of spiritual life, designating lack of consolation and joy:

[62] Solent autem boni nunc foveri consolationibus nunc repleri amaritudini

bus, nunc abundare gratia nunc laborare accidia. Sed docti sunt ex Scrip tum tentationem esse probationem, et ipsum gravamen accidiae soient

tentationi ascribere, dum scilicet caro reluctatur spiritui, et vult cordi

aequari, vel etiam praeferri. (498R)

The cure of this evil comes from God:

72 The scheme of seven vices occurs, with acedia oposed to letitia: Liber exceptionum

(ed. J. Chatillon, Paris 1958, p. 399); Sermones (PL 177.924B; 995; and 999). With acedia

opposed to (spiritualis) exultatio, cf. Liber exc, pp. 423, 437; Sermones; (PL 177.946A; 959A

961C). Notice, however, that in Adnotationes mysticae in Psalmos, also attributed to Richard, acedia occurs with tristitia and is characterized as 'saepe contra Dei flagella murmur?t*

(PL 196.281D).

94 TRADITIO

[63] Levigat enim et curat ex parte morbum accidiae quam patitur mens ex

inopia gratiae. (499A)73

The twelfth century not only brought a flowering of treatises on the inner

life and mysticism, but also witnessed the beginnings of scholastic theology. The last group of writers to be surveyed

? systematic theologians

? endeav

ored to collect the inherited doctrines on Christian faith and morals, to

elucidate them further than previous ages had done, and to arrange this ma

terial in some rational order, thus preparing the way for the scholastic summae

of the next century. Their work affected the development of acedia in three

particular aspects which can be followed through the century: the fixation

of one scheme of vitia principalia instead of the traditional three; the develop ment of definitions which would clarify the psychological root of acedia; and

the elaboration of a new progeny. As starting point, and belated echo of earlier views on the vices, we may

take the Florilegium morale Oxoniense. The first part of this work enumer

ates eight principalia vitia and uses scheme C, but calls tristitia also accidia;

^64] Octauum [uitium] accidia uel, ut Ysidoro placet, tristicia huius seculi...74

However, the two terms do not designate a single vice. The Florilegium

merely puts Gregory's tristitia and Cassian's acedia into the same pot without

stirring the ingredients into a mixture. Each has its own offspring, acedia

leading to seven vices which are reminiscent of the progeny given by Alcuin:

[65] ' Sompnolentia, socordia, giriuagatio, tedium laborandi, murmuratio, fasti

dium, uaniloquium. ' (p. 98)

The identification of acedia with tristitia was carried a step further in the work of Hugh of St. Victor. Hugh holds a place of very great importance in the history of the capital vices during the later Middle Ages. He established one scheme of seven vices as authoritative; he revived and elaborated the

psychological concatenation of these vices; he related vices with virtues, gifts of the Holy Ghost, petitions of the Pater Noster, and the beatitudes; and he made acedia sive tristitia one single vice.75 His use of acedia or tristitia varies

[66], but there is no doubt that he meant only one vice.76

73 Several minor passages with acedia can be briefly indicated: Guerric d'Igny, Sermo 1

(PL 185.49A); Conrad of Ebersbach, Exordium magnum Cisterciense 17 (PL 185.1167A);

Hildegard of Bingen, Epist. 13 (ed. Pitra, Analecta sacra 13 [1882] 375); Peter of Blois,

Epist. 97 (PL 207.306A); Martin of L?on, Sermo 11 (PL 208.721-723). 74 Ed. P. Delhaye, 'Analecta Mediaevalia Namurcensia' 5 (Louvain 1955) 98. 75 For these subjects, see Bloomfield 84-85. 76 Acedia is used in: Summa de sacramentis 2.13.1 (PL 176.525-526); Expositio in Abdiam

(PL 175.384), Allegoriae in Novum Testamentum (PL 175.776; 782f.), Sententiae 56 (ed.

Lottin, RTAM 27 [1960] 62); tristitia in: De quinque septenis 2 (PL 175.406), Expos, in

Abd. (PL 175.402), Miscellanea 1.173 (PL 177.569), De laude charitatis (PL 176.976); tris

titia seu acedia in: Expos, in Abd. (PL 175.400; 403).

ACEDIA 700-1200 95

To identify the two originally separate concepts, however, was no easy task, and even Hugh's solution is not profound or rationally satisfying; for

that, medieval theologians had to wait for Aristotelian psychology and St. Thomas. Consequently, Hugh's definition of acedia is a case of peaceful coexistence rather than genuine integration:

[67] Acidia est ex confusione mentis nata tristitia, sive taedium et amaritudo

animi immoderata; qua jucunditas spiritualis extinguitur, etquodam despera tionis principio mens in semetipsa subvertitur.77

Although Hugh makes a graceful bow towards Cassian's taedium, obviously Gregory's tristitia attracts his attention more strongly. And if the writings which discuss the vices further are indeed by Hugh himself, this split runs

through his whole work. The Expositio in Abdiam, for example, elaborates

the Gregorian idea that the vices are psychologically concatenated. Here the

fourth vice is called tristitia and apprehended as sadness or grief of a mind

'quae de alieno bono pie laetari noluit' (PL 175.402). Yet after this, when

the vices are related to the seven petitions of the Pater Noster, the fourth

vice appears as 'tristitia seu acedia' and clearly means spiritual loathing:

[68] Tristitia namque est animi taedium cum moerore: quando mens quodam modo tabefacta, et vitio suo amaricata, interna bona non app?tit, atque omni vigore emortuo, nullo spiritualis refectionis desiderio hilarescit. (PL

175.404A)

It should be noted that despite the different names the conception of this

vice as spiritual inapp?tence represents an innovation and a long step toward

the scholastic analysis of acedia. The Allegoriae in Novum T estamentum19 also links the vices in a psycho

logical chain and relates them to the petitions. But here the vice is called

acedia:

[69] Acedia, id est taedium animi, quod de fastidio interni boni nascitur* in qua animus amisso bono suo solitarius et desertus manens, sibi ipsi in

amaritudinem et dolorem commutatur. Deinde sequitur avaritia... (PL

175.776B)

77 Summa de sacramentis 2.13. 1 (PL 176.526). Compare with the definition of tristitia

in the Diffiniiion.es eiusdem magisiri Hugonis of MS. Douai 360, foi. 119r: 'Tristitia est

nata ex confusione mentis amaritudo animi immoderata qua iocunditas spiritualis extin

guitur' (ed. R. Baron, Cultura Neolatina 16 [1956] 130). 78 The authorship of Expos, in Abd. is a matter of debate. Yet the passage under consid

eration seems undoubtedly derived from the teaching of Hugh of St. Victor. Cf. R. Baron, ?tudes sur Hugues de Saint-Victor (Bruges 1963) 53-58; and older literature cited there.

79 Although parts of this work belong to Richard of St. Victor, the passage under consid

eration (PL 175.774-789) seems to be by Hugh; cf. J. Chatillon, 'Le contenu, l'authenticit?

et la date du Liber exceptionum et des Sermones centum de Richard de Saint-Victor, ' Revue

du moyen ?ge latin 4 (1948) 43 and 52.

96 TRADITIO

Hugh also used the term at least once outside the series of capital vices. In the Sententiae he speaks of four temptations from which God delivers those

who call unto Him: ignorance, concupiscence, tedium, and worldly affliction.

On the third temptation he writes:

[70] Homine autem recte ambulante et non secundum carnem uiuente, quan

doque tedium quoddam irripere solet. Tedium istud quidam torpor est, qui dicitur accidia, scilicet quando nec legere nec orare delectat nec ad

aliquid boni animatur homo. Unde: 'dormitauit anima mea pre tedio.'80

From Hugh's Summa de sacramentis on, the scheme of ' Septem capitalia

vitia sive principalia, sive originalia' as he had established it, that is, with

acedia as the fourth of the seven (thus in the Summa), remained authoritative for systematic theologians. Soon after Hugh of St. Victor's Summa (1136-41 )81 it appeared in the Summa sententiarum (1138-41), the Ysagoge in theologiam

(1148-52), and Peter Lombard's Sententiae (after 1139), with which it gained de facto authority for scholastic theology. In all these works, the fourth vice

is called either [71] 'accidia vel tristitia' (Summa sententiarum, Peter Lom

bard)82 or simply [72] 'accidia' (Ysagoge).83 The main definitions of the vice offered during the twelfth century are

also already contained in the works of Hugh of St. Victor. It would be tedious to list here the variety of definitions which sprang up during this century and remained in use to the end of the Middle Ages.84 For our purposes it will

suffice to point out that not only definitions with tristitia or taedium were

current, but also others with fastidium and, eventually, torpor. The impor tance of twelfth-century thought in this respect lies not so much in the varie ties of formulas it produced as in the preoccupation it displays with reducing the vice of acedia to a mental or psychological state which is applicable to

80 Sententiae 56 (ed. Lottin, RTAM 27 [1960] 62). 81 In this chronlogy I follow F. Stegm?ller, Repertorium commentariorum in Sententias

Petri Lombardi (W?rzburg 1947) I and 11.709 ff. 82 Odo of Lucca, Summa sententiarum 3.16 (PL 176.113; cf. 171.1143); Peter Lombard,

Sententiae 2.42.8 (PL 192.753; in the Quaracchi edition the seven vices form Chapter 6). But notice that in several sermons attributed to Peter Lombard the vice is called simply acedia (PL 171.432; 451); for attribution, see W. Lampen, Antonianum 19 (1944) 145 ff.

83 Ed, A= Landgraf, Ecrits tk?ologiques de l'?cole d'Ab?lard, ' Spicilegium Sacrum Lova

niense, ?tudes et documents' 14 (Louvain 1934) 105: 'accidia, que est interna tristitia';

cf. p. 218. The vice is called acedia also in the pseudo-Augustinian Tractatus de septem vitiis

et septem donis Spiritus Sancti (PL 40.1089); William of Doncaster, Aphorismata philosophica

(cf. M. Grabmann, in Liber floridus [St. Ottilien 1950] 314); Peter Gomestor, Sermo 11 in

Quadrag. (defined as 'saeculi tristitia,' PL 198.1754B). 84 Of some special interest is the entry in the important dictionary by Huguitius of Pisa,

of approximately 1200: ' Acci grece, cura latine. Unde hec accidia, e, id est, tristitia, sublestia,

anxietas vel tedium' (Brit. Mus. MS. Addit. 27,328, fol. 14r). The same definition reappears in the later Catholicon by Johannes Balbus of Genoa ('Januensis').

ACEDIA 700-1200 97

monks as well as to laymen. The literature we are considering at the moment

is remarkably free from specifications that this vice 'haunts monks especially ';

although such statements appear occasionally in some writings by speculative

theologians [73],85 the main concern in their systematic works was with the

psychological roots of the vice. Clearly, a definition like the very popular

[74] ' acedia est fastidium interni boni'86 does not restrict the vice to a particular

state of life.

The third contribution of twelfth-century theologians to the history of

acedia ? the elaboration of a new progeny ?

only began in this century and was to bear full fruit later. Two works introduced new aspects. The first

is the De fructibus carnis et spiritus, often attributed to Hugh of St. Victor but evidently written after him.87 It speaks of 'tristitia seu acedia' and gives the vice a comitatus of seven.

[75] Tristitia est ex frustrato rebus contrariis voto turbatae mentis anxietudo, et rei bonae bene gerendae taedium. Ejus comit?s sunt desperatio, rancor,

torpor, timor, acidia[ I ], querela, pusillanimitas. (PL 176.1000f.)

The definition clearly juxtaposes the ancient vices of tristitia (grief at frustra ted desires) and acedia (weariness in doing good) and demonstrates very well the desire to grasp the psychological root of the vice in abstract concepts which we noticed before. The same quality characterizes the definitions of the comit?s. Torpor, for example, is explained to be 'languentis animi pigritia, remissa motio, corporis totius hebetudo.' For the offspring 'acidia,

' inci

dentally, the writer has used a formula taken directly from Hugh of St. Vic tor (no. 67 above).

The abstract quality reappears towards the end of the century in the De

virtutibus et de vitiis et de donis Spiritus Sancti by Alanus of Lille. Here both the definition and the 'species' of acedia are quite new. Alanus first

copies Peter Lombard on the seven vices, but then he is on his own:

[76] Accidia est animi torpor quo quis aut bona negligit inchoare aut fasti dit perficere. Dividitur autem in has species: desidiam, pigritiam, pusillanimi

tatem, negligentiam, improvidentiam, incircumspectionem, tepiditatem,

ignaviam.88

85 For example, Radulphus Ardens (second half of twelfth century) speaks of 'acedia,

quae maxime contemplativos solet vexare' (PL 155.1426C; he uses the term also in longer series of vices, ibid., 1380D and 1726A); Petrus Cantor uses the word in connection with

psalmody. Cf. the Summa de sacramentis (ed. J.A. Dugauquier, Louvain 1954ff., 11.231); also the Verbum abbreviatum (PL 205.320D); and the Summa Abel, attributed to him, where

acedia is the fourth chief vice and is defined as 'saeculi tristitia' (Brit. Mus. MS. Royal 10 A. xvi, fol. lllr).

86 Ps.-Augustine, Tract, de Septem uitiis et Septem donis Spiritus Sancti (PL 40.1089).

87 Probably by Conrad of Hirsau. See R. Bultot, 'L'auteur et la fonction litt?raire du

De fructibus carnis et spiritus,' RTAM 25 (1963) 148-154. 88 Ed. O. Lottin, Mediaeval Studies 12 (1950) 42; reprinted in Psychologie et morale 6

98 TRADITIO

With Alanus we have reached the threshold, not only of the thirteenth

century, but also of a new phase in the history of acedia. For such terms as

'dividitur' and 'species' carry a strong odor of the scholastic schoolroom

and prepare the way for William of Auxerre, William of Auvergne, Alexander

of Hales, and so on. But also in a different way does Alanus point to the

future and new developments. His work De arte praedicatoria, a handbook for preachers, furnishes material ? the preacher's commonplaces, as it were

? for sermons on the chief vices, including acedia [77] . With this he heralds

the beginning popularization of the capital vices by means of preaching and,

especially, confession. For the thirteenth century was not only the century of scholasticism but also the era of a new impetus in the Church to fight ignorance and vice among Christians in the world, a new program officially declared by the Fourth Lateran Council (1215-16) and carried out to a large extent by the mendicant orders. In the two movements of scholasticism and

popular mission acedia gained new and interesting features. But these lie

beyond the scope of the present investigation.

What conclusions can be drawn from the presented material? First of

all, acedia not only started out as a monastic vice but remained so predominant ly throughout the period of 700-1200. With the exception of twelfth-century systematic theologians, practically all the authors whose names have appeared in the preceding pages were monks or had received monastic training. Again

with the exception of systematic theologians, they usually wrote for monastic audiences. And in descriptions of acedia, statements that the vice attacks monks more than anyone else can be found to the very end of the period. The hand book by Alanus (no. 77) still applies the vice specifically to monks and clerics, even though Alanus himself and earlier theologians were at the same time

stripping the vice of its monastic habit by using more abstract definitions. Yet in this continuity of monastic contexts there appears one decisive

and quite early break: the four treatises from the eighth and ninth centuries which taught Christian ethics to laymen (nos. 9-15). In them as well as in

contemporary instructions for the administration of confession and private penance, we witness a first attempt to apply acedia, within the scheme of chief

vices, to Christians living in the world. In one of them (no. 13) the Cassianic formula that acedia strikes predominantly monks is even modified to the effect that the vice attacks both religious and layfolk. Whether this early ' laicization

' of the concept continued through the following centuries I am

(1960) 44-92. Acedia is one of the 'septem criminalia vitia' in Alanus' Theologicae regulae

(PL 210.668C) and also appears in his De arte praedicatoria 7 (PL 210.125-128), Liber poe nitentialis (284A; cf. Michaud-Quantin, C?teaux 10 [1959] 93ff.), and Distinetiones, where

it is a gloss for both tristitia (980B) and piger (901A).

ACEDIA 700-1200 99

unable to tell, because of the lack of texts similar to those by Alcuin and

Hrabanus. It is probably not too far from the truth to think of the early ' laicization

' as a movement which did not get much further until the thir

teenth century. For, although private confession remained in practice (where the seven chief vices had their main practical value for laymen), there is evi

dence of a slackening in the twelfth century,89 and during the following cen

tury several writers still exclaimed at how little the sin of acedia was under

stood by common Christians.90 But the important fact is that the monastic

vice was extended to the layman at a very early date. The historical develop ment from monastic to Everyman's vice cannot therefore, be visualized as

following a simple straight line.

One would expect that in those four works for laymen acedia meant some

thing other than 'dryness of the spirit,' as indeed it did. But what about

spiritual dryness in strictly monastic literature? Again, the textual evidence

paints a picture which is much more complex than the view that acedia grad

ually lost its spiritual meaning would suggest. Before we trace its outlines, two qualifications need to be made. First, the expression 'spiritual dryness' is a bit unfortunate in this context because of its connection with mysticism.

During its long history, acedia was always something more common than the Dark Night of the Soul described by St. John of the Cross. Professor Bloom field very prudently avoided the term and used 'dryness of the spirit' in

stead, but in the popular view the two remain undistinguished, as the quoted passage by van Zutphen shows. What the supposed change from 'dryness of the spirit' to 'laziness in performing one's duties to God' really involves

is, I believe, the change in the conception of acedia from an internal state of mind to external behavior.

Before we can evaluate the evidence for this state of mind, a second qual ification must be made, concerning the distribution of the word itself. In the texts I have collected from the five centuries between 700 and 1200, the terms acedia and acediosus appear approximately as often in isolation as they do within the scheme of vitia principalia or capitalia.91 Where they occur in

isolation, they normally have the following meaning. In Carolingian and

slightly later writers they often denote physical weariness, exhaustion, or

89 Cf. P. Browe, 'Die Pflichtbeicht im Mittelalter/ Zoitschrift f?r kath. Theologie 57

(1933) 337-383. 90 Thomas of Chabham, Poenitentiale (1214-1230): 'Multi etiam sunt qui nunquam sci

verunt vel audierunt quid esset accidia et tarnen sepe peccaverunt per accidiam.' (Brit. Mus. MS. Royal 8 F.xiii, fol. 38r) and 'Accidia autem est gravissimum peccatum et fere

tarnen omnibus ignotum' (fol. 62r). St. Bonaventure (?), Vitis mystica 66 : 'Et hoc qui dem vitio religiosi homines maxime affliguntur. Nam saeculares admodum pauci, etiam

si hoc sit Vitium animadvertunt ' (ed. Quaracchi Opera VIII.197; PL 184.674).

91 The sizeable body of relevant (and much irrelevant) literature I have scanned yielded

100 TRADITIO

laziness (no. 12 and notes 30-31). In Peter Damiani's writings they clearly indicate a physical state of eye-strain and drowsiness (nos. 26-30). Only

with Guibert of Nogent, and from then on through the twelfth century, do

they designate a mental state of boredom, disgust, lack of fervor, or the like. But we noticed that even so St. Bernard and his followers were reluctant to

apply them in longer descriptions of phenomena like the spiritual cooling-off among novices and

' God's withdrawal from the soul.

' We shall see that this

change from physical to spiritual states runs parallel with the meaning of

acedia as it appeared within the scheme of vices. But was an author when he used acedia in isolation aware that he was re

ferring to a vitium capitale6! For our purposes: Can we count any occurrence

of acedia in isolation as evidence in the development of the chief vice? It

would seem that some of the early passages (no. 12, for exemple) with their

meaning of physical exhaustion or laziness, or even Peter Damiani's use of

acedia as drowsiness, urge us to draw a firm line of demarcation between the two modes of occurrence. In addition, there are a few cases where an

author uses acedia in isolation and elsewhere enumerates the chief vices with out it and tristitia in its place. Again, Peter Damiani provides a good example,

although his usage is not absolutely consistent.92 Another case is Isaac of

Stella, who always employs acedia in isolation and in one sermon dis cusses the seven 4corruptiones nostrae g?n?rales' with tristitia. Before

1150 it was of course quite possible for a writer to adopt the Gregorian list of vitia principalia (scheme B) yet retain acedia in his vocabulary as a general vice or evil which befalls monks (nos. 19, 22, and note 29). Despite these various pieces of evidence, however, I am not fully convinced of the need to to differentiate acedia in isolation from the term occurring within the scheme of chief vices; yet it may be safer not to count occurrences in isolation as first hand evidence for the development of acedia as a chief vice.93 Where texts use and enlarge upon acedia as a chief vice, its meaning shows

the following changes during the period of 700-1200. The early libri poeniten

approximately 145 passages with acedia or acediosus ? a rather meagre yield for five cen

turies. Of these, (a) 62 contain the terms within a scheme of vitia principalia; (b) 58 in

isolation; and (c) some 25 in a series of vices usually including some or all of the chief ones.

Many items of group (c) should therefore be counted with group (a); that is, in them acedia

probably meant the chief vice and was suggested to the author by association with the vitia

principalia. These figures should be taken cum grano salis because all three groups contain

some instances whose classification is arguable. 92 See supra, p. 83. 93 One might raise the question whether, in the twelfth century, the distribution of acedia

depended on the intended audience. It seems as though in isolation the word occurs only in treatises on the spiritual life (except for dictionaries and glossaries), addressed to monastic

audiences. At least one case substantiates this impression, the works by Richard of St.

Victor. His commentary on Canticles deals with the spiritual life; it contains three passages

ACEDIA 700-1200 101

tiales concern themselves only with the aspects of instabilitas (physical as

well as mental; nos. 3,7; also 17 and 19), somnolentia, and otiositas. In other

words, they restrict the much richer meaning that acedia had in Cassian's

analysis to three faults which regard external behavior rather than mental states (nos. 4-6, 8). Of course, the practical purpose of judging the gravity of criminal or sinful acts would exclude discussion of subtle spiritual phe nomena from this type of literature.94 Penitentials dealt with concrete faults, not with mental attitudes, and this 'casuistic' approach to acedia can be seen

very neatly in document 5. But the same drift to external behavior also char

acterizes descriptions of acedia in works by Carolingian theologians. Pirminius, Alcuin, Jonas, and Hrabanus (nos. 9-15) deal with it as if it meant only idleness, and sometimes they explicitly identify it with otiositas (nos. 10, 13). The

little character portrait of a slothful Christian which Hrabanus included in his

discussion of acedia (no. 15) demonstrates beyond doubt that in writing about acedia its author thought, not of dryness of the spirit, but of laziness

in performing one's duties to God and fellowman.

Writings of the eleventh century do not contain much that, beyond repeating Cassianic ideas, is of interest for the history of the vice (nos. 22, 24), except for the works of Peter Damiani. Where he used acedia as a chief vice he equat ed it with somnolentia (no. 25)

? a meaning quite parallel to his passages with acedia in isolation. This Carolingian and later emphasis on physical states, on external behavior, changed profoundly in the relevant literature

of the twelfth century. By systematic theologians as well as by spiritual writers the vice was now emphatically defined as an internal state, such as

tedium, loathing, bitterness of mind, and so on (nos. 67-69, 74, 76). I suggested earlier that this change was due to the greater interest in the psychology of

man's moral and spiritual life, a main feature of twelfth-century thought. At the same time, a second intellectual force of this age began to operate on

the concept of acedia and, in some measure, to reshape it: the rational ordering and explanation of traditional doctrines. This force was to weld acedia with the originally separate vice of tristitia. During the twelfth century, state

ments that acedia is tristitia of some form or another became quite frequent

(they had actually begun as early as Theodulf of Orl?ans; no. 16), although a satisfactory fusion was not achieved until the following century (nos. 41,

55, 57, 59, 64, 66, 67, 68, 71, 75). Incidentally, the tool for this fusion was

with acedia in isolation (nos. 60-63). On the other hand, at least one of his sermons (23) is addressed to priests and tells them what to teach their people (PL 177.946); here acedia

appears in the scheme of capital vices. 94 In addition, Benedictine monasticism from the eighth to the tenth century seems to

have stressed the contemplative life less than Cassian and Benedict had envisioned; see

A. Rousselle-Est?ve, ' S. Beno?t d'Aniane et Cassien. ?tude sur la Concordia regularum,'

Annales du Midi 75 (1963) 160.

102 TRADITIO

available by 1150, but seems to have escaped the attention of the earlier

Schoolmen.95 By the year 1200, thus, one finds a variety of meanings for

acedia, in which it appears as tristitia side by side with taedium and torpor. Therefore, the variations in the meaning of acedia which can be observed

in this phase of its history form a complex pattern rather than a linear change, and depended not so much on larger social changes as on the practical con

tingencies of audience (lay vs. monastic) and purpose of a given work and on the intellectual forces that were operative in a group of writers or a whole

period. Perhaps one should not speak of a change of meaning from spiritual

dryness to neglect of duties at all, but instead of a variation in emphasis on

one or the other aspect of a concept which, since its importation into Latin

theological literature, had contained both elements. For already in Cassian's

classical treatment of the vice (which remained authoritative throughout the

period, as is shown by verbal reminiscences and explicit acknowledgments), both ideas: internal state of 'dryness' or disgust and external behavior of

laziness in the religious life, are fully present. The tenth book of the Instituta describes the taedium sive anxietas cordis in six chapters, but then devotes

nineteen more chapters (7-25) to the argument for manual labor, in which Cassian speaks, not so much of acedia as of otium and otiositas and on one

occasion even identifies the two verbally: 'quisque somno otii vel acediae

superatus' (Inst. 10.21) Thus, the two features of acedia already appeared side by side in Cassian's

characterization and were stressed by later writers differently, according to

their varying needs. Masters of the ascetic and contemplative life would

naturally concern themselves more with the inner attitude contained in Cas sian's vice, as would speculative theologians in their attempt to penetrate to the psychological roots of sinful acts. On the other hand, the parish priest in his pulpit or confessional, and the layman who examined his conscience,

were more interested in the vice's external appearance, its visible effects. In thirteenth-century handbooks for priests and instructions on confession this interest eventually produced lengthy catalogues of faults in which acedia indeed meant negligence in performing one's duties to God and fellowman.

But this practical interest with the concomitant emphasis on external behav

ior, on spiritual negligence and laziness, had appeared much earlier and even

formed part of the genetic structure, as it were, of the meaning of acedia.

University of North Carolina

95 Burgundio of Pisa's translation of De fide orthodoxa by John Damascene (ca. 1150):

'Tristitiae vero species sunt quatuor: accidia, achos, invidia, misericordia. Accidia igitur est tristitia aggravans...' (ed. E. M. Buytaert, 'Franciscan Institute Publications, Text

Series,' 8, St. Bonaventure, N. Y. 1955, ch. 28). This definition of acedia reappears as early as the 1220s, in the Summa aurea of William of Auxerre (ed. Paris 1518, fol. 90v).