Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The Regula Magistri or Rule of the Master is an anonymous sixth-century collection of monastic precepts. It was probably used by Benedict of Nursia as source material for his own Rule of Saint Benedict. It is no longer in active use by any monastic community. The Rule of Saint Benedict (Regula Benedicti) is a book of precepts written by St. Benedict of Nursia for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. Since about the 7th century it has also been adopted by communities of women. During the 1500 years of its existence, it has become the leading guide in Western Christianity for monastic living in community for many Catholic Orders, and in Orthodoxy (since The Great Schism), and the Anglican Church (since the time of the Reformation). The spirit of St Benedict''s Rule is summed up in the motto of the Benedictine Confederation: pax ("peace") and the traditional ora et labora ("pray and work").