Since they have but one heart and one soul and all things in common, there is concord and unanimity throughout, and they always put the general profit and the common good before their own individual convenience. They so far renounce themselves and what is theirs that none of them, if indeed he is truly one of them, whether in making decisions or in giving advice, presumes to make a stubborn defence of his own opinion, nor to strive hard after his own will and the desires of his own heart, nor to have the least thing which could be called his own. They live not by their own spirit, but by the Spirit of God. It is he who leads them to be sons of God, and it is he who is their love, their bond, and their communion. The greater their love, the stronger is their bond and the more perfect is their communion: and conversely, the greater their communion, the stronger is their bond and the more perfect is their love.
Baldwin of Forde
