Letters289 Letter CCLXXXIX. 1153.) to thk queen of Jerusalem

san Bernardo di Chiaravalle († 1153) · Epistolae · c. 1120-1153

Letter CCLXXXIX. 1153.) to thk queen of Jerusalem

Bernard instructs her how she should behave if she would be an honourable widow before God and queen before men.

To his beloved daughter in Christ, MlLLSENDLS, Queen of Jerusalem, BERNARD, called Abbot of Clairvaux, wishes mercy from God our Saviour.

1. I wonder why I have not seen any letter from you for so long a time, and have not had your usual salutations. I cannot forget your old affection for me, which I have ofttimes put to the proof. I have heard, I confess, some evil reports of you; and although I do not altogether believe them, yet I am grieved that, whether they are true or false, your good fame should be so compromised. But my dear Uncle Andrew has written, and I cannot disbelieve him in anything; he gives me a better account of you; he says how peaceably and meekly you bear yourself, how wisely you rule yourself and yours by the advice of wise men, how you love the brethren of the Temple, and cherish them, with what foresight and wisdom, according to the measure given you by God, you meet with sound counsels and aids the dangers threatening the Holy Land. These are the actions that become a brave woman, a lowly widow, an exalted queen. For though you are a queen, it is no disgrace to be a widow, and if you had wished it you would not be one. I think that it is your glory, especially among Christians, to live no less as a widow than a queen. One is of succession, the other of virtue; one of birth, the other of the gift of God; that came by good fortune, this by a brave spirit. The honour is twofold, one according to the world, the other according to God, but each from God. Nor let the honour of widowhood seem to you small, about which the Apostle says, Honour widows which are widows indeed (1 Tim. v. 3).

2. You certainly have before you a second familiar piece of advice in the wholesome words of the Apostle, who teaches you to "provide things honest not only in the sight of God, but also in the sight of men" (2 Cor. viii. 21). In the sight of God, as a widow; in the sight of men, as a queen. Recollect that you are a queen, and that your good deeds cannot lie in obscurity under a bushel. They are on a candlestick that they may be seen of all. Recollect that you are a widow, and that you have not now to please your husband, but to please God alone. Happy are you if you place your Saviour as a wall before you for a guard to your conscience, and a bulwark to repel infamy. Happy, I say, if like one desolate and a widow you entrust yourself wholly to God, for Him to rule you. Else, if you are not well ruled you do not rule well. The Queen of the South came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, that she might learn to be ruled, and so to rule. And behold! a Greater than Solomon is here (S. Matt. xii. 42). I speak of Jesus, and Him crucified. Commit yourself to Him to rule you, to be taught by Him how you ought to rule. Learn as a widow, for He is meek and lowly of heart (S. Matt. xL 29); learn as a queen, because he judges the poor with righteousness, and reproves with equity for the meek of the earth (Is. xi. 4). Therefore, when you think of your dignity, forget not your widowhood, because (to say to you plainly what I think) you cannot be a good queen if you are not a good widow. You ask how a good widow is to be known. From the words of the Apostle: If she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the Saints' feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work (1 Tim. v. 10). If thou doest these things, happy art thou, and well will it be with thee. May the Lord bless you out of Sion, my daughter renowned in the Lord, worthy of all veneration. My admonition has been sent first; I shall now expect a reply to follow. I have given you the occasion, and will admit of no excuse, if our friendship is not renewed by your sending me frequently for the future words and letters of friendship.

Dilectae in Christo filiae M. reginae Jerosolymorum, BERNARDUS Clarae-Vallis vocatus abbas, misericordiam a Deo salutari suo.

1. Miror quod a multo jam tempore non vidimus litteras tuas, non solitas salutationes habuimus: quasi nos obliti simus antiquae tuae erga nos devotionis quam in multis probavimus. Audivimus, fateor, nescio quae sinistra: quae etsi non pro certo credidimus, doluimus tamen sive veritate, sive mendacio tuam aliquatenus decolorari opinionem. Sane intervenit Andreas charissimus avunculus meus, cui in nullo decredere possumus, scripto suo nobis significans meliora: quod scilicet pacifice et mansuete te habeas, sapienter et consilio sapientium te et tua regas; fratres de Templo diligas, et familiares habeas; periculis imminentibus terrae, secundum sapientiam tibi a Deo datam, salutaribus consiliis et auxiliis provide et sapienter occurras. Talia prorsus, talia decent opera mulierem fortem, humilem viduam, sublimem reginam. Neque enim quia regina es, indignum tibi viduam esse, quod, si voluisses, non esses. Puto quod et gloria tibi est, praecipue inter Christianos, non minus vivere viduam, quam reginam. Illud successionis est, hoc virtutis: illud tibi ex genere, istud ex munere Dei: illud feliciter nata es, hoc viriliter nacta. Duplex honor; alter secundum saeculum, alter secundum Deum: uterque a Deo. Nec parvus tibi videatur honor viduitatis, de quo Apostolus: Honora, inquit, viduas, quae vere viduae sunt.

2. Habes certe penes te ipsam familiare commonitorium apostolicae iterum salutaris, sententiae, qua doceris ab eo providere bona, non tantum coram Deo, sed etiam coram hominibus: coram Deo, ut vidua; coram hominibus, ut regina. Attende reginam, cujus digna, indignave non possunt latere sub modio: super candelabrum sunt, ut appareant omnibus. Memento viduam, cui jam non est quod velit placere viro, ut soli possit placere Deo. Beata es, si Salvatorem ponas tibi murum ad protectionem conscientiae, et antemurale ad repulsionem infamiae. Beata, inquam, si veluti desolatam et viduam totam te Deo regendam commiseris. Alioquin bene non regis, si bene non regeris. Regina Austri venit audire sapientiam Salomonis, ut regi disceret, et sic regeret. Et ecce plus quam Salomon hic: Jesum loquor et hunc crucifixum. Huic te committe regendam, huic docendam, quomodo regere debeas. Disce tanquam vidua, quod sit mitis et humilis corde: disce tanquam regina, quod judicet in justitia pauperes, et arguat in aequitate pro mansuetis terrae. Ergo cum cogitas dignitatem, attende et viduitatem: quia ut pure apud te quod sentio proferam, non potes esse regina bona, si bona non fueris vidua. Quaeris unde bona vidua aestimetur? Ex his profecto quae Apostolus dicit: Si filios educavit, si hospitio recepit, si sanctorum pedes lavit, si tribulationem patientibus subministravit, si omne opus bonum subsecuta est. Si haec facis, beata es, et bene tibi erit. Benedicat te Dominus ex Sion, eximia in Domino filia, et omni veneratione digna. Admonitio praemissa est; prosecutio jam a vestra dignatione exspectatur. Occasio data est: excusatio jam non admittitur, si non renovata a nostra parte familiaritas, familiaribus deinceps a vobis verbis et litteris frequentetur.