47. To Henry, King of the English

To Henry, by the grace of God king of the English, and his lord, Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, pre sents his faithful service and prayers.

In the letter which I lately received from your highness you deigned to assure me of your friendship, and that there was no man on earth you would rather have in your realm than me, if I would be with you as Archbishop Lanfranc was with your father. I thank you for your kindness and good-will. To what you say about your father and Archbishop Lanfranc, I answer that neither at my baptism, nor at any time of my being ordained did I promise to keep any law or customs of your father, or of Archbishop Lanfranc, but only the law of God and of all the orders I received. Wherefore if you wish me to be with you in such wise as I may live after the law of God and of my order, and if, according to the same law of God, you will invest me with everything you have received from my archbishopric since I left you, which were I present you ought not to receive without my consent, and will promise me this, I am ready to return to you in England, and to serve God and you and all committed to me according to the office assigned me by God, He helping me. For indeed with no other king or prince on earth would I so willingly live, no other so willingly serve. But if you will not agree to this, do you what pleases you; but I by God's grace will never deny His law. And I dare not, for I should not, omit to declare to you that God will not only require at your hands whatever the royal power may owe to Him, but also whatever pertains to the office of the primate of England. This burden is much more than you can sustain, and you ought not to be displeased at what 1 say. For no man is it more necessary to obey God's law, than for the king, and none disregards His law at a greater risk. For Holy Scripture says: — it is not I — "mighty men shall be mightily tormented," — which may God avert from you. In the answer you have already twice given me, I can discover nothing save a certain (if I may venture to say it) pretext for delay, which is inexpedient both for your own soul and for the Church of God. If therefore you put off longer giving me, in answer to this, a positive declaration of your will, I, since the cause is not mine, but entrusted to me by God Himself, fear long to put off making my appeal to God. Wherefore I pray, I adjure you, force me not to complain with sorrow, against my will, "Arise, O Lord, maintain Thine own cause." May Almighty God bend your inclinations to His will, that after this life He may bring you into His glory.