Publisher's Synopsis
De opera monachorum ("On the Work of Monks") was written about 400. This was just before Augustine wrote On the good of marriage, On holy virginity, and On the good of widowhood, meaning that in a brief period he had written about all the major styles of living. De opera monachorum is the sole treatise on this subject coming from the early Christian Church. Augustine dedicated this work to Aurelius, Bishop of Carthage.This man had requested Augustine to write it because of some monks near Carthage whose unbalanced lifestyle concerned the bishop. These monks were begging in public places, refusing to work, and were untidy in appearance. Their application of the Latin term otium was not a positive instance of time available for the production of good purposes, but instances of wanton idleness and misspent activity. (They were lay persons, and, unlike in Augustine's community at Hippo, not specifically identified as being clerics, )In Chapters 1 - 30, Augustine reviews relevant passages apparently favoured "Do not worry about tomorrow, learn from the lilies of the field.. (Matt. 6:25-34), but paid little regard to "If anyone will not work, let him not eat" (2 Thes. 3:10). Augustine called them to have apostolic discipline. They were to work. This labour, whether in the monastery or outside its boundaries, was to be directed towards God, such that their monastery would become a miniature city of God.Augustine describes work as a basic part of God's plan for human nature. The ending of De opera monachorum in chapters 31-33 sees Augustine deftly counter the selective quoting of the Scriptures that the monks had offered as justification for their behaviour and practices. Even a lazy monk can attempt to quote Scripture selectively in an effort to prove his points
