Letters238 Letter CCXXXVIII. To pope eugenics: his first letter. (A.D. 1145)
Letter CCXXXVIII. To pope eugenics: his first letter. (A.D. 1145)
Bernard at once congratulates and condoles with the newly-elevated Pope.
To his loving father and Lord, EUGENIUS, by the grace of God, supreme Pontiff, his humble servant BERNARD, called Abbot of Clairvaux, sends greeting.
1. We have heard in this our country, and it is on the tongues of all, what the Lord has done with respect to you. Till now I have forborne to write, I considered the matter in silence. For I expected to hear from you, and to be prevented with the blessings of sweetness. I was waiting for some faithful man to come from your side to tell me everything in order, what was done, by what means, and in what manner. I was waiting to see if by any chance one of my sons should return to soothe the grief of his father, and to say: Joseph, thy son, is alive, and is ruler over all the land of Egypt (Gen. xlv. 26). Hence it is that this letter is not of free will, but of necessity, and is extorted by the requests of my friends, to whom I cannot deny the short remaining portion of my life. But as I have once begun, I will speak to my lord. For I dare not call you any longer my son, because the son has been changed into father and the father into son. He who came after me is preferred before me; but I feel no envy, because I am confident that what was lacking to me he will supply, who came not only after me, but also through me; for if you will let me say so, I begot you in one sense through the Gospel. What, then, is my hope and joy, and crown of rejoicing? Is it not you before God? A wise son is the glory of his father (Frov. x. i). But henceforward you will not be called a son, but a new name will be given you which the mouth of the Lord has spoken (Is. Ixii. 2). This change is of the right hand of the Most High, and many shall rejoice in this change. For as formerly Abram was changed to Abraham (Gen. xvii. 5), Jacob to Israel (Gen. xxxii. 28), and, to mention your predecessors, Simon was changed to Cephas (S. John i. 42), Saul to Paul (Acts xiii. 9), so my son Bernard, by what I hope is a joyous and beneficial translation, has been promoted to my Father Eugenius. This is the linger of God raising up the poor out of the dust, and lifting up the beggar from the dunghill, that he may sit with princes and may inherit the throne of glory.
2. It now remains that, since this change has taken place in you, the bride of your Lord who has been entrusted to your care may be changed for the better, and that no longer Sarai but Sarah shall she be called (Gen. xvii. 15). Understand what I say; for God shall give you understanding. If you are the friend of the Bridegroom, do not say, "His beloved is my princess," but "His beloved is a princess." Claim nothing of hers as your own, except Jthat for her, if need be, you ought to lay down your life. If Christ has sent you, you will feel that you have come not to be ministered unto, but to minister; and to minister not only of your substance, but, as I said before, your life itself. A true successor of Paul will say with Paul, Not because we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy (2 Cor. i. 23). The heir of Peter will listen to Peter, who says: Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock (i S. Peter v. 3). For by so doing it will no longer be as a handmaiden but as a freewoman, full of beauty, that the Bride will be admitted into the welcome embrace of her most glorious Bridegroom. By whom else if not by you is this freedom that is her due to be hoped for? By none, if you too (which God forbid), seek in the heritage of God the things which are your own, after having long ago learnt not to call anything your own which belongs to you, no, not even yourself.
ascended on high, be not high-minded, but fear, lest perchance it happen to you to utter at last that piteous cry, From the face of Thy indignation and wrath Thou hast lifted me up and cast me down (Ps. cii. 10). You have obtained, it is true, a higher place, but not a safer; a loftier, not a more secure. Terrible, indeed, a terrible position is it. The place, I mean, where you are standing is holy ground, it is the place of Peter, it is the place of the Prince of the Apostles, where his feet have stood. It is the place of him whom the Lord made lord of His house, and chief of all His possession. And if you should turn aside from the way of the Lord, recollect that he was buried in the same place that he may be for a testimony against you. Deservedly was the Church entrusted to such a shepherd, to such a foster-father; for while she was still tender, still in her swaddling clothes, she was taught by his precept and educated by his example to tread under foot all earthly things, for he had kept his hands clean from every gift, and could say with pure heart and good conscience: Silver and gold have I none (Acts iii. 6). But enough of this.
5. The reason why I am writing to you before the time is this. The Bishop of Winchester and the Archbishop of York do not walk with the same mind as the Archbishop of Canterbury; but they go contrary to him, and this is an old quarrel about the office of legate. But who is he, and who are they? Is not York- the same man who, while you were one of us, your brothers withstood to his face in your presence because he was to be blamed. But he has trusted to the multitude of his riches, and has obtained his way in his vanity. Yet it is certain that he has not entered into the sheepfold by the door, but climbed in some other way. If he had been a shepherd he was one to love; if a hireling to be borne with; but, as it is, he is to be avoided and rejected as a thief and a robber. What shall I say about my lord of Winchester? The works which he does himself they bear testimony to him. Moreover, the Archbishop of Canterbury, whom they are opposing, is a man of true piety and of mild character. On his behalf, I ask that his righteousness may answer for him, and that their iniquity may be upon them, as it is written: The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him (Ezek. xviii. 20). When you have an opportunity, recompense them after the works of their hands that they may know that there is a prophet in Israel.
6. Who will grant me to see before I die, the Church of God as in the days of old when the Apostles let down their nets for a draught, not of silver and gold, but of souls? How do I long that you may inherit the voice of him whose seat you have obtained! Thy money perish with thee (Acts viii. 20), he said. O voice of thunder! O voice of magnificence and power! at whose terror all who hate Sion are driven back and put to confusion. This voice your mother anxiously expects and demands from you; the children of your mother, both old and young, ask for it, sigh for it, in order that every plant which our heavenly Father has not planted may be uprooted by you. For you have been set over nations and kingdoms to uproot and destroy, to build and to plant. WThen they heard of your election many said: Now is the axe laid to the root of the trees (S. Matt, iii. 10). Many are still saying to themselves, "The flowers have appeared in our land, the time for purging is come, when the dead branches shall be cut away, so that those which remain may bring forth more fruit."
7. Be strong, then, and of a good courage; your hand is on the neck of your enemies. By constancy of mind and vigour of spirit show your right to the portion which the Almighty Father has given you above your brethren, which, too, he took from the Amorite with His sword and with His bow. Still, in all that you do, recollect that you are a man, and keep before your eyes the fear of Him who takes away the spirit of princes. How many Roman Pontiffs have you seen with your own eyes carried off in a short time by death! l Let your predecessors ever put you in mind of your own most sure and speedy death, and inform you of the short space you have to rule in, of the fewness of the days that you have to live. Amongst all the seductions of this transitory glory meditate constantly on your latter end, for, as you have succeeded others in the Apostolic See, so will you certainly follow them in death.
Amantissimo Patri et domino, Dei gratia summo Pontifici EUGENIO, BERNARDUS Clarae-Vallis vocatus abbas, modicum id quod est.
1. Auditum est in terra nostra, et celebri sermone vulgatum verbum hoc, quod factum est de vobis a Domino. Presseram stilum hactenus, rem tacitus considerabam. Exspectabam enim litteras vestras, et praeveniri a vobis in benedictionibus dulcedinis. Exspectabam virum fidelem, qui veniret a latere tuo, qui diceret cuncta per ordinem: quid, quomodo, vel qualiter actum esset. Exspectabam si quis forte de filiis meis reverteretur, qui leniret dolorem patris, qui diceret: Joseph filius tuus vivit; et ipse dominatur in tota terra Aegypti. Hinc est quod litterae istae non sunt voluntatis, sed necessitatis, et amicorum extortae precibus, quibus negare non possum modicum illud quidquid residuum est vitae meae. Jam enim de reliquo breves erunt dies mei, et solum mihi superest sepulcrum. Quia tamen semel coepi, loquar ad dominum meum. Jam enim filium dicere non audeo, quia filius in patrem, pater mutatus est in filium. Qui post me venit, ante me factus est: sed non invideo, quia quod mihi deerat, in eo me habere confido, qui non solum post me, sed etiam per me venit. Nam si dignaris, quodammodo per Evangelium ego te genui. Quae est ergo spes nostra, et gaudium nostrum et corona gloriae? Nonne vos ante Deum? Denique filius sapiens gloria est patris. Amodo tamen non vocaberis filius, sed vocabitur tibi nomen novum, quod os Domini nominavit. Haec est mutatio dexterae Excelsi, et multi in mutatione ista gaudebunt. Nam quemadmodum olim Abram in Abraham. Jacob in Israel; et, ut de tuis magis praedecessoribus tibi proponam, sicut Simon in Cepham, Saulus in Paulum: sic filius meus Bernardus in patrem meum Eugenium, laeta prorsus et utili, ut speramus, translatione promotus est. Digitus Dei est iste, suscitans de pulvere egenum, et de stercore erigens pauperem, ut sedeat cum principibus, et solium gloriae teneat.
2. Superest ut, facta hac mutatione tui, ipsa quoque quae tibi commissa est, Domini tui sponsa mutetur in melius, et jam nequaquam Sarai, sed Sarra de caetero nominetur. Intellige quae dico: dabit enim tibi Dominus intellectum. Si amicus sponsi es, ne dixeris dilectam ejus. Principem meam; sed, Principem: nil tuum in ea vindicans, nisi quod pro ea, si oportuerit, etiam animam dare debes. Si Christus te misit, aestimabis te non ministrari, sed ministrare venisse: et ministrare non solum substantiam, sed ipsam quoque animam, sicut praefatus sum. Verus successor Pauli dicet cum Paulo: Non quia dominamur fidei vestrae, sed adjutores sumus gaudii vestri. Petri haeres audiet Petrum dicentem: Neque ut dominantes in clerum, sed forma facti gregis. Sic enim jam non ancilla, sed libera etiam et formosa speciosissimi sponsi per te in desideratos adsciscetur amplexus. Alioquin per quem alium haec tam debita libertas sperabitur, si et tu (quod absit) in Christi haereditate quaeras quae tua sunt, qui jam et ante didiceras, non dico tua non retinere, sed nec tuus esse?
3. Ergo fiduciam talem habens in te, qualem in nullo praedecessorum tuorum a multis retro temporibus visa est habuisse, exsultat merito ubique et gloriatur in Domino omnis Ecclesia sanctorum: sed specialiter illa, cujus uterus te portavit, et cujus ubera tu suxisti. Quid ergo? Nonne et mihi licet gaudere cum gaudentibus? nunquid non ero unus de numero laetantium? Exsultavi, fateor, sed cum tremore: exsultavi, sed in ipso exsultationis meae articulo timor et tremor venerunt super me. Ego enim etsi nomen patris deposui, sed non timorem, sed non anxietatem, postremo nec affectum, nec viscera patris. Considero gradum, et casum vereor: considero fastigium dignitatis, et intueor faciem abyssi jacentis deorsum. Attendo celsitudinem honoris, et e vicino periculum reformido, pro eo quod scriptum est: Homo cum in honore esset, non intellexit Quod quidem ad causam magis, quam ad tempus arbitror esse referendum: ut sic intelligatur dictum, cum in honore esset, non intellexit, ac si diceretur, Honor absorbuit intellectum.
4. Et quidem elegeras abjectus esse in domo Dei tui, et recumbere in novissimo loco in convivio ejus; sed placuit dicere ei qui te invitavit: Amice, ascende superius. Itaque ascendisti in altum; noli altum sapere, sed time, ne forte contingat sero miserabilem illam emittere vocem: A facie irae et indignationis tuae, elevans allisisti me. Altiorem quippe locum sortitus es, sed non tutiorem; sublimiorem, non securiorem. Terribilis prorsus, terribilis est locus iste. Locus, inquam, in quo stas, terra sancta est; locus Petri est, locus Principis Apostolorum, ubi steterunt pedes ejus. Locus illius est, quem constituit Dominus dominum domus suae, et principem omnis possessionis suae. Si forte declinaveris a via Domini, sepultus est in eodem loco, ut sit tibi contra te in testimonium. Merito tali pastori, tali nutritio commissa est Ecclesia, cum adhuc tenera, cum adhuc in cunabulis esset; cujus edocta magisterio et exemplo educata, omnia terrena calcaret: utpote qui excusserat manus suas ab omni munere, qui dicebat de corde suo et conscientia bona: Argentum et aurum non est mihi. Haec hactenus.
5. Caeterum causa, quare ante tempus scripserim vobis, haec est. Wintoniensis episcopus et Eboracensis archiepiscopus non gradiuntur uno spiritu cum Cantuariensi archiepiscopo: sed incedunt sibi ex adverso, et haec vetus est de legatione querela. Verumtamen quis est ille, et qui sunt illi? Nonne Eboracensis ipse est, cui te praesente, cum adhuc esses quasi unus ex nobis, fratres tui restiterunt in faciem, eo quod reprehensibilis erat? Sed speravit in multitudine divitiarum suarum, et praevaluit in vanitate sua. Certum est tamen quod non intravit per ostium in ovile ovium, sed ascendit aliunde. Si pastor fuisset, diligendus erat; si mercenarius, tolerandus: nunc autem cavendus et repellendus, utpote fur et latro. Quid dicam de domino Wintoniensi? Opera quae ipse facit, testimonium perhibent de eo. Porro archiepiscopus Cantuariensis, cui adversantur, vir religiosus est, et suaveolentis opinionis. Pro ipso petimus, ut respondeat ei justitia sua. Verum illorum iniquitas super eos, ut sit sicut scriptum est: Justitia justi super eum erit, et impietas impii erit super eum. Cum acceperis tempus, secundum opera manuum illorum retribues illis, ut sciant prophetam esse in Israel.
6. Quis mihi det, antequam moriar, videre Ecclesiam Dei, sicut in diebus antiquis; quando apostoli laxabant retia in capturam, non in capturam argenti vel auri, sed in capturam animarum? Quam cupio illius te haereditare vocem, cujus adeptus es sedem! Pecunia, inquit, tua tecum sit in perditionem. O vox tonitrui! o vox magnificentiae et virtutis! ad cujus terrorem confundantur et convertantur retrorsum omnes qui oderunt Sion! Hoc vehementer exspectat et omnino expetit a te mater tua; hoc filii matris tuae, pusilli cum majoribus desiderant, hoc suspirant: ut omnis plantatio, quam non plantavit Pater coelestis, tuis manibus eradicetur. Ad hoc enim constitutus es super gentes et regna, ut evellas, et destruas; et aedifices, et plantes. Multi audito hoc verbo dixerunt apud se: Jam securis ad radicem arborum posita est. Multi dicunt in corde suo: Flores apparuerunt in terra nostra, tempus putationis advenit, in quo sarmenta sterilia recidentur, ut ea quae praevalent, uberius fructum afferant.
7. Confortare igitur, et esto robustus: manus tuae in cervicibus inimicorum tuorum. Vindica tibi animi constantia et vigore spiritus partem, quam dedit extra fratres tuos tibi omnipotens Pater, quam et tulit de manu Amorrhaei in gladio et arcu suo. In omnibus tamen operibus tuis memento te esse hominem, et timor ejus qui aufert spiritum principum, semper sit ante oculos tuos. Quantorum in brevi Romanorum Pontificum mortes tuis oculis aspexisti! Ipsi te praedecessores tui tuae certissimae et citissimae decessionis admoneant; et modicum tempus dominationis eorum paucitatem dierum tuorum nuntiet tibi. Jugi proinde meditatione inter hujus transeuntis gloriae blandimenta, memorare novissima tua: quia quibus successisti in sedem, ipsos sine dubio sequeris ad mortem.