3. To Hernostus

Brother Anselm to his lord and dearest brother Hernostus wishes as much health of body as is good for him, and of soul as shall be sufficient for him.

The aggravated suffering of your illness, my loving and equally beloved friend, I knew first from the report of others, and then by reading your letter. To be silent as to how great compassion I felt therefor in my mind: my conscience bears me witness that I would gladly transfer all that suffering to my own body. But since it is certain that God "scourgeth every son whom He receiveth," the same love in a wonderful manner both urges me to pity because you are worn with chastisement, and, because you are being trained for your in heritance, draws me on to congratulation. For we ought to consider, beloved, what consolation those sufferings bring with them, which, while they outwardly wash away our sins, to which they, by external suffer ings, draw our attention, give to us the lot of God's children, to whom are promised the joys of the heavenly kingdom; and while our outward man, which must needs fail daily, groans and sighs, weighed down by heavy blows, our inward man, which ought to be renewed day by day, being relieved from its burden of sins, exults and breathes freely. This will most certainly be attained to, if the inward man starts not impatiently aside during the chastisement of the outward, but, by acts of thanks giving, submits freely to the chastising hand. For as we are always pleasing to Almighty God so often as we dissent from His will in no particular, we must assuredly appease the merciful Lord if, when chastiseciv we willingly yield ourselves to our chastiser. But since anger is shown against an adversary only: if the guilty one associates himself with the one offended, by agreement with his opinion, the impulse of the offended one must subside, since he can find no enemy to strike at. Wherefore, dearly beloved, since it is written that "we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God; "when we are scourged, let us be of the same opinion concerning God's dealings with us, as was blessed Job: "Haec mihi sit consolatio ut affligens me doloribus non parcat." Job vi. 10.