A
weary climb for the weak, but not without profit to him who thinks
as he walks--for, as our dear brother Marcus has said, in those
verses we are never tired of repeating:--
"Semper difficili quaeruntur summa labore,
Arctam semper habet vita beata viam."'
The other monk, an older man, who walked less vigorously, echoed the
couplet with slow emphasis, as if savouring every word. Then both
together, bowing their cowled heads, exclaimed fervently:
'Thanks be to God for the precious gifts of our brother Marcus!'
Basil endeavoured to utter a few words, but he was now so feeble
that he could scarce make his voice heard above the creak of the
wheels. Again he closed his eyes, and his companions pursued their
way in silence. When at length they issued from the forest they
overlooked a vast landscape of hill and valley, with heads of
greater mountains high above them. Here rose the walls of the
citadel, within which Benedict had built his monastery. For some
distance around these ancient ramparts the ground was tilled, and
flourishing with various crops. At the closed gateway of the old
Arx, flanked by a tower, the monks rang, and were at once admitted
into the courtyard, where, in a few moments, the prior and all his
brethren came forward to greet the strangers.
Pages:
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470