The
Rule of the Master was written two or three decades before
Benedict of Nursia's the
Rule of Saint Benedict. Unlike the Rules of
Pachomius, which are a collection of regulations, instructions, and prohibitions concerning the life of the community, the
Rule of the Master contains precise regulations but also a theological and spiritual reflection showing the reason for the regulations. The
Rule of the Master consisted of an introduction followed by ninety-five chapters. Over twenty chapters are devoted to the
Divine Office. The four-part introduction comprises a prologue, the parable of the spring, a commentary on the
Lord's Prayer and the commentary on the
Psalms. The format follows the literary convention of a series of questions. The first part, through Chapter 10, discusses spiritual doctrine, the latter portion, monastic discipline. In the Parable of the Spring, the Master invokes Christ's appeal in
Matthew 11:29 to "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart ...". Adalbert de Vogüé points out that the Master viewed the monastery as a school where one learns from Christ. The first part of the Rule is characterized by the abbot's function to teach. ==Influence==