Many of the problems of modern religious the may be traced back to the over-emphasis of one or other of the two elements already discussed in a previous article: the individualistic asceticism of the solitary, and the collective the of the liturgical servants of God. It is therefore possible that the solution of these problems may be sought in the realisation of a balanced monastic life paying more conscious attention to the two main sources of its natural existence. First, then, the modern difficulties springing from the individuaHstic and ascetical element in religious life. These are multiple, but they may usefully be classed as they refer to three main topics: Penance, Contemplation, and Perfection.

In the first place the penitential side of monastic observance has thrived too much upon the neoplatonic suspicion of the body, so that today the rules regarding the giving up of the good things of life have taken on a positive, objective character.