Letters11 Letter XI. To Guigues, the prior, and to the other monks of the grand Chartreuse. (Circa A.D. 1125)
Letter XI. To Guigues, the prior, and to the other monks of the grand Chartreuse. (Circa A.D. 1125)
He discourses much and piously of the law of true and sincere charity, of its signs, its degrees, its effects, and of its perfection which is reserved for Heaven (P atria}.
Brother Bernard, of Clairvaux, wishes health eternal to the most reverend among fathers, and to the dearest among friends, Guigues, Prior of the Grande Chartreuse, and to the holy Monks who are with him.
1. I have received the letter of your Holiness as joyfully as I had long and eagerly desired it. I have read it, and the letters which I pronounced with my mouth, I felt, as it were, sparks of fire in my heart, which warmed my heart within me; as coming from that fire which the Lord has sent upon the earth (S. Luke xii. 49). How great a fire must glow in those meditations from which such sparks fly forth!
This, your inspired and inspiring salutation, was to me, I confess, not as if coming from man, but like words descending surely from Him who sent the salutation to Jacob. It is not for me, in fact, a simple salutation given in passing, according to the custom and usage of men, but it is plainly from the very bowels of charity, as I feel, that this benediction, so sweet and so unhoped for, has come forth. I pray God to bless you, who have had the goodness to prevent me with benedictions of such sweetness, that confidence is granted to me, your humble servant, to reply, since you have first written; for though I had meditated writing, I had hitherto not presumed to do so. For I feared to trouble, by my eager scribbling, the holy quiet which you have in the Lord, and the religious silence which isolates you from the world. I feared, also, to interrupt, even for a moment, those mysterious whispers from God, and to pour my words into ears always occupied with the secret praises of heaven. 1 feared to become as one who would trouble even Moses on the mountain, Elias in the desert, or Samuel watching in the temple, if I had tried to turn away ever so little, minds occupied with divine communion. Samuel cries out: Speak, Lord, for Thy servant hearctJi (1 Sam. iii. 10). And should I presume to make myself heard? I feared, I say, lest presenting myself out of season before you, as it were to David engaged in flight, or abiding in solitude, you might not wish to listen, and might say, "Excuse me, I cannot hear thee now; I prefer rather to give ear to words sweeter than thine." I will hear what the Lord God will say unto me; for He shall speak peace unto His people, and to His saints, and to those who are converted at heart (Ps. Ixxxiv. 9, VULG.). Or, at least, this: Depart from me, ye evil-disposed, and I will study the commandments of my God (Ps. cxix. 115). For could I be so rash as to dare to arouse the much-loved spouse sweetly resting in the arms of her bridegroom as lone; as she will? Should I not hear from her on the instant: Do not be troublesome to me; am for My Beloved, and My Beloved is for Me; He feedeth among the lilies (Cant. ii. 16).
2. But what I do not dare to do, charity dares, and with all confidence knocks at the door of a friend, thinking that she ought by no means to suffer repulse, who knows herself to be the mother of friendships; nor does she fear to interrupt for an instant your rest, though so pleasant, to speak to you of her own task. She, when she will, causes you to withdraw from being alone with God; she, also, when she willed, made you attentive to me; so that you did not regard it as unworthy of you, not merely to benignantly endure my speaking, but more, to urge me to break the silence. I esteem the kindness, I admire the worthiness, I praise and venerate the pure rejoicing with which you glory in the Lord, for thejidvances in virtue which, as you suppose, I have made. I am proud of so great a testimony, and esteem myself happy in a friendship so grateful to me as that of the servants of God towards me. This is now my glory, this is my joy and the rejoicing of my heart, that not in vain I have lifted up mine eyes unto the mountains whence there has now come to me help of no small value. These mountains have already distilled sweetness for me; and I continue to hope that they will do so until our valleys shall abound with fruit. That day shall be always for me a / day of festival and perpetual memorial, in which I had they honour to see and to receive that worthy man, by whom it has come about that I should be received into your hearts. And, indeed, you had received me even before, if I may judge by your letter; but now with a more close and intimate friendship, since, as I find, he brought back to you too favourable reports concerning me which, doubtless, he believed, though without sufficient cause. For, as a faithful and pious man, God forbid that he should speak otherwise than he believed. And truly I experience in myself what the Saviour says: He-who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man 's reward (S. Matt. x. 41). I have said, the reward of a righteous man, because I am regarded as righteous, only through receiving one who is righteous. If he has reported of me something more than that, he has spoken not so much according to the truth of the case as according to the simplicity and goodness of his heart. You have heard, you have believed, you have rejoiced, and have written, thereby giving me no little joy, not only because I have been honoured with a degree of praise and a high place in the estimation of your Holiness, but also because all the sincerity of your souls has made itself known to me in no small measure. In few words, you have shown to me with what spirit you are animated.
3. I rejoice, therefore, and congratulate you on your sincerity and goodness as I congratulate myself on the edification which you have afforded to me. That is, indeed, true and sincere charity, and must be considered to proceed from a heart altogether pure and a good conscience and faith unfeigned, with which we love our neighbour as ourself. For he who loves only the good that himself has done, or, at least, loves it more than that of others, does not love good for its own sake, but on account of himself, and he who is such cannot do as the prophet says: Give thanks unto the Lord, because He is good (Ps. cxviii. i). He gives thanks, indeed, perhaps, because the Lord is good to him, not because He is good in Himself. Wherefore let him understand that this reproach from the same prophet is directed against him: They will praise thee when thou doest well unto thy own soul (Ps. xlix. 18). One man praises the Lord because He is mighty; another because He is good unto him; and, again, another simply because He is good. The first is a slave, and fears for himself; the second mercenary, and desires somewhat for himself; but the third is a son, and gives praise to his Father. Therefore both he who fears and he who desires are each working for his own advantage; charity which is in him alone who is a son, seeketh not her own. Wherefore I think that it was of charity that was spoken, The law of the Lord is pure, converting the soul (Ps. xix. 7), because it is that alone which can turn away the mind from the love of itself and of the world and direct it towards God. Neither fear nor selfish love converts the soul. They change sometimes the outward appearance or the actions, but never affect the heart. No doubt even the slave does sometimes the work of God, but because he does it not of his own free will he remains still in his hardness. The mercenary person does it also, but not out of kindness, only as drawn by his own particular advantage. Where there is distinction of persons, there are personal interests, and where there are personal interests there is a limit of willingness, and there, without doubt, a rusting meanness. Let the very fear by which he is constrained be a law to the slave, let the greedy desire, with which the mercenary is bound, be a law to him, since it is by it that he is drawn away and enticed. But of these neither is without fault or is able to convert the soul. But charity does convert souls when it fills them with disinterested zeal.
4. Now, I should say that this charity is faultless in him who has become accustomed to retain nothing for himself out of that which is his own. He who keeps nothing for himself gives to God quite certainly all that he has, and that which belongs to God cannot be unclean. Thus that pure law of the Lord is no other than charity, which seeks not what is advantageous to herself, but that which profits others. But law is said to be of the Lord, either because He Himself lives by it or because no one possesses it except by His gift. Nor let it seem absurd what I have said, that even God lives by law, since I declared that this law was no other than charity. For what but charity preserves in the supreme and blessed Trinity that lofty and unspeakable unity Avhich it has? It is law, then, and charity the law of the Lord, which maintains in a wonderful manner the Trinity in Unity and binds It in the bond of peace. Yet let no one think that I here take charity for a quality or a certain accident in God, or otherwise to say that in God (which God forbid) there is something which is not God; but I say that it is the very substance of God. I say nothing-new or unheard of, for S. John says God is lo~ce (i S. John iv. 16).
It is then right to say that charity is God, and at the same time the gift of God. Therefore Charity gives charity, the substantial: gives the accidental. Where the word signifies the Giver it is a name of the substance, and where the thing p-iven, it is a name of the accident. This is the eternal law, Creator and Ruler of the Universe. Since all things have been made through it in weight and measure and number, and nothing is left without law, not even He who is the Law of all things, vet He is Himself none other than the law which rules Him, a law uncreated as He.
5. But the slave and the mercenary have a law, not from God, but which they have made for themselves—the one by not loving God, the other by loving something else more than Him. They have, I say, a law which is their own and not of the Lord, to which, nevertheless, their own is subjected; nor are they able to withdraw themselves from the unchangeable order of the divine law, though each should make a law for himself. I would say, then, that a person makes a law for himself when he prefers his own will to the common and eternal law, perversely wishing to imitate his Creator; so that as He is a law unto Himself, and is under no authority but His Own, so the man also will be his own master, will make his own will a law to himself. Alas! what a heavy and insupportable yoke upon all the sons of Adam, which weighs upon and bows down our necks, so that our life is drawn near to the grave. Unhappy man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? (Rom. vii. 24) with which I am so weighed down that unless the Lord had helped me, my soul would almost have dwelt in the grave (Ps. xciv. 17). With this load was he burdened who groaned, saying: Why hast Thou set me as a mark against Thee, so that I am a burden to myself? (Job vii. 20). Where he says, am made a burden to myself, he showed that he was a law unto himself, and the law no other than he himself had made it. But when, speaking to God, he commenced by saying, Thou hast set me as a mark against Thee, he showed that he had not escaped from the Divine law. For this is the property of that eternal and just law of God, that he who would not be ruled with gentleness by God, should be ruled as a punishment by his own self; and that all those who have willingly thrown off the gentle yoke and light burden of charity should bear unwillingly the insupportable burden of their own will.
6. Thus the everlasting law does in a wonderful manner, to him who is a fugitive from its power, both make him an adversary and retain him as a subject; for while, on the one hand, he has not escaped from the law of justice, by which he is dealt with according to his merits, on the other he does not remain with God in His light, or peace, or glory. He is subjected to power, and excluded from happiness. O Lord, my God, why dost T/wit not take away inv sin, and pardon my transgression? (Job vii. 21). So that throwing down the heavy weight of my own will, I may breathe easily under the light burden of charity; that I may not be overborne any longer by servile fear, nor allured by selfish cupidity, but may be impelled by Thy spirit, the spirit of liberty, which i-; that of Thy children. Who is it who witnesses to inv spirit that I, too, am one of Thy children, since Thy law is mine, and as Thou art, so am I also, in this world? For it is quite certain that those who do this which the Apostle says owe no one anything except t) love one another (Rom. xiii. 8) are themselves as God is in this world, nor are they slaves or mercenaries, but sons. Therefore neither are sons without law, unless, perhaps, some one should think the contrary because of this which is written, the law is not made for a righteous man (1 Tim.. i. 9). But it ought to be remembered that the law promulgated in fear by a spirit of slavery is one thing, and that given sweetly and gently by the spirit of liberty is another. Those who are sons are not obliged to submit to the first.
but they are always under the rule of the second. Do you wish to hear why it is said that law is not made for the righteous? You have not received, he says, the spirit of slavery again in fear. Or why, nevertheless, they are always under the rule of the law of charity? But ye have received the spirit of tJic adoption of sons (Rom. viii. 15)..
Listen, now, in what manner the righteous man confesses that at the same time he is and is not under the law. became, he says, to those which were under the law as being under the law, although I myself was not tinder the law: but to those u'/io were without law, I was as being without law, since I was not without the law of God-but in the law of Christ (1 Cor. ix. 20, 21). Whence it is not accurately said the righteous have no law, or the righteous are without law, but that the law was not made for the righteous; that is, it is not, as it were, imposed upon unwilling subjects, but given freely to willing hearts by Him to whose sweet inspiration it is due. Wherefore the Lord also beautifully says, Take My yoke upon you (S. Matt. xi. 29). As if He would say, I do not impose it upon you against your will, take it if you are willing; otherwise you will find not rest, but labour, for your souls.
7. The law of charity, then, is good and sweet, it is not only light and sweet to bear, but it renders bearable and lio-lit the laws even of slaves and mercenaries. But it does not destroy these, but brings about their fulfilment, as the Lord says, am not come to destroy the law, but to fulfil (S. Matt. v. 17). The one it moderates, the other it reduces to order, and each it lightens. Charity will never be without fear, but that fear is good; it will never be without any thought of interest, but that a restrained and moderated one. Charity, therefore, perfects the law of the slave when it inspires a generous devotion, and that of the mercenary when it gives a better direction to interested wishes. So, then, devotion mixed with fear does not annul those last, but purifies them, only it takes away the fear of punishment which servile fear is never exempt from; and this fear is clean and filial, enduring for ever (Ps. xix. g). For that which is written, perfect love takes away fear (i S. John iv. 18), is to be understood of the fear of punishment, which is never wanting, as we have said, to slavish fear. It is, in fact, a common mode of speech which consists in putting the cause for the effect. As for cupidity, it is then rightly directed by the charity which is joined with it, since ceasing altogether to desire things which are evil, it begins to prefer those which are better, nor does it desire good things except in order to reach those which are better; which when, by the grace of God, it has fully obtained, the body and all the good things which belong to the body will be loved only for the sake of the soul, the soul for the sake of God, and God alone for Himself.
8. However, as we are in fleshly bodies, and are born of the desire of the flesh, it is of necessity that our desire, or affection, should begin from the flesh; but if it is rightly directed, advancing step by step under the guidance of grace, it will at length be perfected by the Spirit, because t/iat is not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural, and afterwards that which is spiritual; and it is needful that we should first bear the image of the earthly and afterwards t/iat of the heavenly (1 Cor. xv. 46, 49). First, then, a man loves his own self for self's sake, since he is flesh, and he cannot have any taste except for things in relation with him; but when he sees that he is not able to subsist by himself, that God is, as it were, necessary to him, he begins to inquire and to love God by faith. Thus he loves God in the second place, but because of his own interest, and not for the sake of God Himself. But when, on account of his own necessity, he has begun to worship Him and to approach Him by meditation, by reading, by prayer, by obedience, he comes little by little to know God with a certain familiarity, and in consequence to find Him sweet and kind; and thus having tasted how sweet the Lord is, he passes to the third stage, and thus loves God no longer on account of his own interest, but for the sake of God Himself. Once arrived there, he remains stationary, and I know not if in this life man is truly able to rise to the fourth degree, which is, no longer to love himself except for the sake of God. Those who have made trial of this (if there be any) may assert it to be attainable; to me, I confess, it appears impossible. It will be so without doubt when the good and faithful servant shall have been brought into the joy of his Lord, and inebriated with the fulness of the house of God. For being, as it were, exhilarate, he shall in a wonderful way be forgetful of himself, he shall lose the consciousness of what he is, and being absorbed altogether in God, shall attach himself unto Him with all his powers, shall thenceforth be one spirit with Him.
9. I consider that the prophet referred to this when he said: will enter into the powers of the Lord: O, Lord, I will make mention of T/iy righteousness only (Ps. Ixxi. 16). He knew well that when he entered into the spiritual powers of God he would be freed from all the infirmities of the flesh, and would have no longer to think of them, but would be occupied only with the perfections of God. Then, for certain, each of the members of Christ would be able to say of himself, what Paul said of their Head: If we Jiai'C known Christ according to the flesh, yet now li.cnccforth know ive Him no more (2 Cor. v. 16). There no one knows himself according to the flesh, because flesh and blood will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. xv. 50). Not that the substance of flesh will not be there, but that every fleshly necessity will be away; the love of the flesh is to be absorbed into the love of the spirit, and the weak human passions which exist at present will be absorbed into powers divine. Then the net of charity, which is now drawn through a great and vast sea, and does! not cease to bring together from every kind of fish, at length drawn to the shore, shall retain only the good, rejecting the bad. And while in this life charity fills with all kinds of fishes the vast spaces of its net, suiting itself to all according to the time, making, in a sense, its own, and partaking of the good and evil fortunes of all, it is accustomed not only to rejoice with them that rejoice, but to weep with them that weep. But when it shall have reached the shore [of eternity], casting away as evil fish all that it bore with grief before, it will retain those only which are sources of pleasure and gladness. Then Paul will no longer be weak with the weak, or be scandalized with those who are scandalized, since scandal and weakness will be far away. We ought not to think that he will still let fall tears over those who have not repented here below; and as it is certain that there will no longer be sinners, so there will be no one to repent. Far be it from us to think that he will mourn and deplore those whose portion is everlasting fire with the devil and his angels, when in that City of God which the streams of that river make glad (Ps. xlvi. 4), the gates of which the Lord loves more than all the dwellings of Jacob (Ps. Ixxxvii. 2), because in those dwellings, although the joy of victory is sometimes tasted, yet the combat always continues, and sometimes the struggle is for life; but in that dear country there is no place for adversity or sorrow, as in that Psalm we sing: The abiding place of all those who rejoice is in Thee (Ps. Ixxxvii. 7, VULG.), and again: Everlasting joy shall be unto them (Is. Ixi. 7). How, then, shall any remembrance be of mercy, where the justice of God shall be alone remembered? There can be no feeling of compassion called into exercise where there shall be no place for misery, or occasion for pity.
Inter patres reverendissimis, et inter amicos charissimis, GUIGONI priori Cartusiensi, caeterisque sanctis qui cum eo sunt, frater BERNARDUS de Clara-Valle, salutem aeternam.
1. Sanctitatis vestrae litteras tam laetus accepi, quam avidus et olim desideraveram. Legi eas, et quas volvebam in ore litteras, scintillas sentiebam in pectore: quibus et concaluit cor meum intra me, tanquam ex illo igne, quem Dominus misit in terram. O quantus in illis meditationibus exardescit ignis, e quibus hujusmodi evolant scintillae! Vestra illa succensa et succendens salutatio sic mihi, ut verum fatear, accepta fuit, et est, quasi non ab homine, sed certissime ab illo qui mandat salutes Jacob, descendere videretur. Non me sane arbitror salutatum in via, non in transitu, non veluti ex occasione, ut assolet, consuetudinis; sed plane ex visceribus, ut sentio, charitatis prodiit haec tam grata et inopinata benedictio. Benedicti vos a Domino, qui me in benedictionibus dulcedinis tantae praevenire curastis, ut daretur puero vestro, vobis primum scribentibus, fiducia rescribendi, scribere quidem ad vos jam pridem gestienti, sed non praesumenti. Verebar nimirum sanctam, quam in Domino habetis, importunis scriptitationibus infestare quietem, juge illud vestrum sacrumque silentium a saeculo, susurrium cum Deo, vel ad modicum interrumpere, nostraque ingerere auribus secretis penitus occupatis supernisque eulogiis. Timebam omnino molestus fieri vel Moysi in monte, vel Eliae in deserto, aut certe excubanti in templo Samueli, si divinis intentissimos confabulationibus aliquatenus avocare tentassem. Clamat Samuel, Loquere, Domine, quia audit servus tuus: et ego me audiri praesumerem? Timebam, inquam, ne si et David elonganti se et fugienti, manentique in solitudine, importunus insisterem, indignans excusaret et diceret: Sine me, non audio te modo; audiam potius quod dulcius ausculto. Audiam quid loquatur in me Dominus Deus; quoniam loquetur pacem in plebem suam, et super sanctos suos, et in eos qui convertuntur ad cor. Aut certe illud: Declinate a me, maligni, et scrutabor mandata Dei mei. Quid enim? egone tam temerarius essem, ut inter sponsi brachia suaviter quiescentem auderem suscitare dilectam, quousque vellet ipsa? Putarem illico auditurum me ab illa: Noli mihi molestus esse: Ego dilecto meo, et dilectus meus mihi, qui pascitur inter lilia.
2. Verum quod non audeo ego, audet charitas, et cum omni fiducia pulsat ad ostium amici, nequaquam putans pati se debere repulsam, quae amicitiarum matrem se novit; nec veretur vestrum, etsi gratissimum, paulisper inquietare otium, propter suum negotium. Ipsa profecto, ipsa cum vult, facit vos excedere Deo; ipsa et cum voluit, fecit sobrios nobis: adeo ut minime duceretis indignum, non modo sustinere loquentem, sed tacentem insuper benigne provocare. Amplector benignitatem, dignationem admiror, laudo et veneror puritatem, qua de nostris profectibus, quos putatis, tanta in Domino exsultatione gloriamini. Glorior et ego plurimum tanto testimonio, et servorum Dei tam grata, quam gratuita admodum familiaritate delector. Haec jam gloria mea, hoc gaudium meum, hae deliciae cordis mei, quod non frustra levarim oculos meos in montes, unde quippe jam non mediocre venit auxilium mihi. Hi jam nobis stillarunt montes dulcedinem; et adhuc spero quia stillabunt, quousque valles nostrae abundabunt frumento. Festivus enim erit mihi dies ille ducendus, et memoriale sempiternum, in quo virum illum videre ac suscipere merui, per quem factum est ut in cordibus vestris ego reciperer. Et quidem jam ante receperatis, ut apparet in litteris vestris: sed nunc arctius, ut comperi, et familiarius, cum ille vobis retulit de me quaedam, quae etsi non probaverit, putavit tamen, Fidelis quippe et religiosus, absit ut aliter loqueretur, quam credidit. En revera in me experior quod ait Salvator: Qui recipit justum in nomine justi, mercedem justi accipiet. Mercedem quippe justi dixerim, quod justus reputor, non ob aliud, nisi quod justum recepi. Nam si qua superaddita sunt, ea justus non tam ex veritate rei, quam ex puritate sui locutus est. Audistis, credidistis, exsultastis, scripsistis, et me non parum laetificastis, non solum quod aliquem locum gratiae, et locum non mediocrem, apud vestram merui sanctitatem, sed et quod nobis vestrorum non parva ex parte puritas animorum innotuit. Paucis pro certo aperuistis, cujus spiritus estis.
3. Gaudeo proinde mihi, gaudeo et vobis; meae utilitati, et vestrae sinceritati. Illa siquidem vera et sincera est charitas, et omnino de corde puro, et conscientia bona, et fide non ficta judicanda procedere, qua proximi bonum aeque ut nostrum diligimus. Nam qui magis, aut certe solum diligit suum, convincitur non caste diligere bonum, quod utique propter se diligit, non propter ipsum. Et hic talis non potest obedire prophetae, qui ait: Confitemini Domino, quoniam bonus. Confitetur quidem quia fortasse bonus est sibi, non autem quoniam bonus est in se. Quapropter noverit in se dirigi illud ab eodem propheta opprobrium: Confitebitur tibi cum benefeceris ei. Est qui confitetur Domino, quoniam potens est; et est qui confitetur, quoniam sibi bonus est: et item qui confitetur, quoniam simpliciter bonus est. Primus servus est, et timet sibi; secundus mercenarius, et cupit sibi; tertius filius, et defert patri. Itaque et qui timet, et qui cupit, uterque pro se agunt: sola quae in filio est charitas, non quaerit quae sua sunt. Quam ob rem puto de illa dictum, Lex Domini immaculata, convertens animas; quod sola videlicet sit, quae ab amore sui et mundi avertere possit animum, et in Deum dirigere. Nec timor quippe, nec amor privatus convertit animam. Mutant interdum vultum vel actum, affectum nunquam. Facit quidem etiam servus nonnunquam opus Dei: sed quia non sponte, in sua adhuc duritia permanere convincitur. Facit et mercenarius; sed quia non gratis, propria trahi cupiditate cognoscitur. Porro ubi proprietas, ibi singularitas; ubi autem singularitas, ibi angulus; ubi vero angulus, ibi sine dubio sordes sive rubigo. Sit itaque servo sua lex timor ipse, quo constringitur; sit mercenario sua cupiditas, qua et ipse arctatur, quando ab ipsa tentatur abstractus et illectus. Sed harum nulla aut sine macula est, aut animas convertere potest. Charitas vero convertit animas, quas facit et voluntarias.
4. Porro in eo eam dixerim immaculatam, quod nil sibi de suo retinere consuevit. Cui nempe de proprio nihil est, totum profecto quod habet, Dei est: quod autem Dei est, immundum esse non potest. Lex ergo Domini immaculata, charitas est, quae non quod sibi utile est quaerit, sed quod multis. Lex autem Domini dicitur, sive quod ipse ex ea vivat, sive quod eam nullus nisi ejus dono possideat. Nec absurdum videatur quod dixi etiam Deum vivere ex lege, cum non alia dixerim quam charitate. Quid vero in summa et beata illa Trinitate summam et ineffabilem illam conservat unitatem, nisi charitas? Lex est ergo, et lex Domini charitas, quae Trinitatem in unitate quodammodo cohibet, et colligat in vinculo pacis. Nemo tamen me existimet charitatem hic accipere qualitatem, vel aliquod accidens; alioquin in Deo dicerem (quod absit) esse aliquid quod Deus non est; sed substantiam illam divinam: quod utique nec novum nec insolitum est, dicente Joanne, Deus charitas est. Dicitur ergo recte charitas et Deus, et Dei donum. Itaque Charitas dat charitatem, substantiva accidentalem. Ubi dantem significat, nomen est substantiae; ubi donum, qualitatis. Haec est lex aeterna, creatrix et gubernatrix universitatis. Siquidem in pondere, et mensura, et numero per eam facta sunt universa: et nihil sine lege relinquitur, cum ipsa quoque lex omnium sine lege non sit; non tamen alia quam se ipsa, qua et se ipsam etsi non creavit, regit tamen.
5. Caeterum servus et mercenarius habent legem non a Domino, sed quam ipsi sibi fecerunt, ille Deum non amando, iste plus aliud amando. Habent, inquam, legem non Domini, sed suam, illi tamen quae Domini est subjectam. Et quidem suam sibi quisque legem facere potuerunt; non tamen eam incommutabili aeternae legis ordini subducere potuerunt. Tunc autem dixerim quemque sibi suam fecisse legem, quando communi et aeternae legi propriam praetulit voluntatem, perverse utique volens suum imitari Creatorem: ut sicut ipse sibi lex, suique juris est, ita is quoque se ipsum regeret, et legem sibi suam faceret voluntatem: grave utique et importabile jugum super omnes filios Adam, heu! inclinans et incurvans cervices nostras, adeo ut vita nostra inferno appropinquaverit. Infelix ego homo, quis me liberabit de corpore mortis hujus? (Rom. VII, 24.) quo utique sic premor, ut nisi quia Dominus adjuvit me, paulo minus habitasset in inferno anima mea. Sub hoc onere gravatus gemebat qui dicebat: Quare posuisti me contrarium tibi, et factus sum mihimetipsi gravis? Ubi dixit, Factus sum mihimetipsi gravis, ostendit quod lex ipse sibi esset, nec alius hoc quam ipse sibi fecisset. Quod autem Deo loquens praemisit, Posuisti me contrarium tibi; Dei se tamen non effugisse legem indicavit. Hoc quippe ad aeternam justamque legem Dei pertinuit, ut qui a Deo noluit suaviter regi, poenaliter a se ipso regeretur; quique sponte jugum suave et onus leve charitatis abjecit, propriae voluntatis onus importabile pateretur invitus.
6. Miro itaque modo aeterna lex fugitivum suum, et posuit sibi contrarium, et retinuit subjectum: dum videlicet nec justitiae pro meritis legem evasit, nec tamen cum Deo in sua luce, in sua requie, in sua gloria remansit; subjectus potestati, et submotus felicitati. Domine Deus meus, cur non tollis peccatum meum, et quare non aufers iniquitatem meam, ut abjecta gravi sarcina propriae voluntatis, sub levi onere charitatis respirem, nec jam servili timore coercear, nec mercenaria cupiditate illiciar, sed agar spiritu tuo, spiritu libertatis, quo aguntur filii tui: qui testimonium reddat spiritui meo, quod et ego sim unus ex filiis, dum eadem mihi lex fuerit quae et tibi; et sicut tu es, ita et ipse sim in hoc mundo? Hi siquidem qui hoc faciunt, quod ait Apostolus, Nemini quidquam debeatis, nisi ut invicem diligatis, procul dubio sicut Deus est, et ipsi sunt in hoc mundo; nec servi aut mercenarii sunt, sed filii. Itaque nec filii sunt sine lege, nisi forte aliquis aliter sentiat propter hoc quod scriptum est: Justis non est lex posita. Sed sciendum quod alia est lex promulgata a spiritu servitutis in timore, alia a spiritu libertatis data in suavitate. Nec sub illa coguntur esse filii, nec sine ista patiuntur. Vis audire quia justis non est lex posita? Non accepistis, inquit, spiritum servitutis iterum in timore. Vis audire quod tamen sine lege charitatis non sint? sed accepistis, ait, spiritum adoptionis filiorum. Denique audi justum utrumque de se fatentem, et quod non sit sub lege, nec tamen sit sine lege. Factus sum, inquit, his qui sub lege erant, quasi sub lege essem, cum ipse non essem sub lege; his qui sine lege erant, tanquam sine lege essem, cum sine lege Dei non essem, sed in lege essem Christi. Unde apte non dicitur: Justi non habent legem; aut, Justi sunt sine lege: sed Justis non est lex posita; hoc est, non tanquam invitis imposita, sed voluntariis eo liberaliter data, quo suaviter inspirata. Unde et pulchre Dominus: Tollite, ait, jugum meum super vos. Ac si diceret: Non impono invitis, sed vos tollite si vultis. Alioquin non requiem, sed laborem invenietis animabus vestris.
7. Bona itaque lex charitas et suavis, quae non solum leviter suaviterque portatur, sed etiam servorum et mercenariorum leges portabiles ac leves reddit, quas utique non destruit, sed facit ut impleantur, dicente Domino: Non veni legem solvere, sed adimplere. Illam temperat, istam ordinat, utramque levigat. Nunquam erit charitas sine timore, sed casto; nunquam sine cupiditate, sed ordinata. Implet ergo charitas legem servi, cum infundit devotionem; implet et mercenarii, cum ordinat cupiditatem. Porro timori permixta devotio ipsum non annullat, sed castificat. Poena tantum tollitur, sine qua esse non potuit dum fuit servilis; et timor manet in saeculum saeculi castus et filialis. Nam quod legitur, Perfecta charitas foras mittit timorem, poena intelligenda est, quae servili, ut diximus, nunquam deest timori, illo scilicet genere locutionis, quo saepe causa ponitur pro effectu. Deinde cupiditas tunc recte a superveniente charitate ordinatur, cum mala quidem penitus respuuntur, bonis vero meliora praeferuntur, nec bona nisi propter meliora appetuntur. Quod cum plene per Dei gratiam assecutum fuerit, diligetur corpus, et universa corporis bona tantum propter animam, anima propter Deum, Deus autem propter se ipsum.
8. Verumtamen quia carnales sumus, et de carnis concupiscentia nascimur, necesse est cupiditas vel amor noster a carne incipiat: quae si recto ordine dirigitur, quibusdam suis gradibus duce gratia proficiens, spiritu tandem consummabitur: quia non prius quod spirituale, sed quod animale, deinde quod spirituale; et prius necesse est portemus imaginem terrestris, deinde coelestis. In primis ergo diligit se ipsum homo propter se. Caro quippe est, et nil sapere valet praeter se. Cumque se videt per se non posse subsistere, Deum sibi quasi necessarium incipit per fidem inquirere et diligere. Diligit itaque in secundo gradu Deum, sed propter se, non propter ipsum. At vero cum ipsum coeperit occasione propriae necessitatis colere et frequentare cogitando, legendo, orando, obediendo, quadam hujuscemodi familiaritate paulatim sensimque Deus innotescit, consequenter et dulcescit; et sic gustato quam suavis est Dominus, transit ad tertium gradum, ut diligat Deum, non jam propter se, sed propter ipsum. Sane in hoc gradu statur, et nescio si a quoquam hominum quartus in hac vita perfecte apprehenditur, ut se scilicet homo diligat tantum propter Deum. Asserant hoc si qui experti sunt: mihi, fateor, impossibile videtur. Erit autem procul dubio cum introductus fuerit servus bonus et fidelis in gaudium Domini sui, et inebriatus ab ubertate domus Dei. Quasi enim ebrius, miro quodam modo oblitus sui, et a se penitus velut deficiens, totus perget in Deum, et deinceps adhaerens ei unus spiritus erit.
9. Arbitror hoc prophetam sensisse cum diceret: Introibo in potentias Domini; Domine, memorabor justitiae tuae solius. Sciebat profecto cum introiret in spirituales potentias Domini, exutum se iri universis infirmitatibus carnis, ut jam nil de carne haberet cogitare, sed totus in spiritu memoraretur justitiae Dei solius. Tunc pro certo singula Christi membra dicere poterunt de se, quod Paulus aiebat de capite: Etsi cognovimus secundum carnem Christum, sed nunc jam non novimus. Nemo ibi se cognoscit secundum carnem, quia caro et sanguis regnum Dei non possidebunt. Non quod carnis substantia illic futura non sit; sed quod carnalis omnis necessitudo sit defutura, carnisque amor amore spiritus absorbendus, et infirmae quae nunc sunt humanae affectiones in divinas quasdam potentias habeant commutari. Tunc sagena charitatis, quae nunc tracta per hoc mare magnum et spatiosum, ex omni genere piscium congregare non desinit, cum perducta ad littus fuerit, malos foras mittens, bonos solummundo retinebit. Siquidem in hac vita ex omni genere piscium, intra sinum suae latitudinis, charitatis rete concludit: ubi se pro tempore omnibus conformans, omniumque in se sive prospera, sive adversa trajiciens, suaque quodammodo faciens, non solum gaudere cum gaudentibus, sed etiam flere cum flentibus consuevit. Sed cum pervenerit ad littus, velut malos pisces omne quod triste patitur, foras mittens, sola quae placere et jucunda esse poterunt, retinebit. Nunquid enim tunc, verbi gratia, Paulus aut infirmabitur cum infirmis, aut uretur pro scandalizatis, ubi scandala et infirmitas procul erunt? aut certe lugebit eos qui ante non egerunt poenitentiam, ubi certum est, sic neminem sane fore qui poeniteat, quomodo qui peccet non erit? Absit autem ut vel eos qui ignibus aeternis cum diabolo et angelis ejus deputandi sunt, plangat et defleat in illa civitate, quam fluminis impetus laetificat, cujus diligit Dominus portas super omnia tabernacula Jacob; quod videlicet in tabernaculis etsi quandoque gaudetur de victoria, laboratur tamen in pugna, et plerumque periclitatur de vita: in illa autem patria nulla prorsus admittitur adversitas sive tristitia, quemadmodum de illa canitur: Sicut laetantium omnium habitatio in te; et rursum: Laetitia sempiterna erit eis. Denique quomodo misericordiae recordabitur, ubi memorabitur justitiae Dei solius? Proinde ubi jam non erit miseriae locus, aut misericordiae tempus, nullus profecto esse poterit miserationis affectus.
10. Longum quidem adhuc texere sermonem insatiabili colloquendi ad vos desiderio pulsor, fratres mei charissimi et desideratissimi; sed tria sunt quae finem indicunt. Primum quidem, quod maxime vereor ne fiam onerosus vobis: secundum, quia pudet loquacitatis: tertium, quod domesticis urgeor curis. In fine precor, miseremini mei; et si exsultastis in bonis de me tantum auditis, certis, quaeso, compatimini malis. Vidit fortassis qui vobis ea narravit, aliqua parva, et de parvis grandia aestimavit; vestra autem sinceritas facile credidit quod libenter audivit. Gratulor quidem de charitate, quae omnia credit; sed confundor pro veritate, quae omnia novit. Volo vos mihi credere de me magis quam alteri, qui tantum videt in facie. Nemo quippe scit quae sunt in homine, nisi spiritus hominis qui in eo est. Dico vobis ego qui de me loquor non ex conjectura, sed ex sententia: Non sum talis qualis putor vel dicor. Quod quidem tam securus fateor, quam certus experior: ita ut nil malim vestris orationibus specialiter obtinere, quam ut talis fiam, qualem litterae vestrae praedicant.