The soldier's stabilitas consists in 'standing" (stare) in spite of the enemy who attempts to cut him down, and in 'holding his ground' instead of running away. This warlike vocabulary, which Saint Cyprian makes abundant use of in his exhortations to martyrs, reappears whenever Benedict depicts his novice face to face with the demands of the Rule and 'still standing firm'. Thse successive decisions to 'stand firm' prefigure and prepare the great commitment to standing firm one's whole life long which will be made at profession.
from Reading Saint Benedict, Reflections on the Rule
by Adalbert de Vogüé
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