Benedict was born into a sort of new comings, where the emperor was just laid to rest and the Roman Empire was split into 3 sections, The Byzantine East, The Muslim World, The Byzantine West. He was raised in the Byzantine West, where church sects were able to be self sufficient and keep themselves afloat. Being raised with this idea in mind helped sculpt his ideals for a proper life and, while he did not write for most of his life, after his death was found a book detailing said ideals about living life to the fullest. These ideals were used in monetary life long after his death, since they were found, read, and were thought revolutionary in allowing a bit of freedom to be had even in life. His ideals were to not restrict people nearly as much as past rules did. Diets, sleep, fraternity, and mental training were all big parts that were both more lenient and more rigorous, along with set hours in the day where one would need to work and others that were needed for scripture reading. Some of the ideals in the book were related heavily to a prior rules book, Rules of the Master, however they were not nearly as popular or as loved. Madigan describes St. Benedict as a very influential character, and he was, and likewise his tone reflects it. He has an even romantic tone at points, painting a picture of St.Benedict higher than most others

The prologue talks of taking yourself away from the world and becoming much closer and simpler to talking to God and to take the prayers of others and using them in place of the person because they could be better heard by God, and that they had more time. This especially came into play when the king needed penance to go to heaven after mastering over so many wars. Benedict thought the monk lifestyle was so important because of his believed need to take yourself away from everything except God. While his rules were more lenient than others, they were still rules that monks should live by, keeping them away from the great things in this world to be closer to God.

People could be inducted into the Monasteries a few ways, one being given into one at a young age by your parents. This raises some modern day social ramifications due to the fact that you could effectively get tax breaks by doing this. Nobles did this especially because their estates costed more and they could therefore get more of a tax break. There were of course other instances, such as orphans who wanted to join the monastery life. The Rule separates lifestyles by restricting one and calling it the other, or at least calling it the closest we can get to kingdom life here on Earth.

Benedict imagined a simple way of life, one with little talking to each other, little worldly pleasure, a regular monks viewpoint with a bit extra. He also imagined a people who were so devout that not only would they be saved and go to Heaven, but all who they prayed for. This is almost a reflection of Augustine’s views. He believed that since he was King he could not go to Heaven, because he could not atone for his actions. However in Benedictine times, the kings just employed the Monks to do it for them, which meant they could simultaneously lead a Christian empire, be Christian, and still go to Heaven