51. To Farman, Orduvinus, and Benjamin

Anselm the archbishop to his beloved sons Farman, Orduvinus, and Benjamin, greeting, the blessing of God, and his own.

I know, beloved sons, that the greatness of your love makes you desire my presence, that as sons to a father you may open your hearts to me and receive advice as to your several difficulties. But although it is well to have a good and laudable zeal, yet if that be not according to knowledge, it is not acceptable to God. You want leave to come to me, but it is most certainly true that it is more difficult, nay, more impossible, than you are aware of; the distance very great, the people foreign, the journey dangerous; monks of the same nation are being seized, ill-treated, their horses and whatever they have, taken from them. The necessary expense would be great, the toil severe, many the breaches of rule; the utility not so great but that others would think me deserving of blame should I give an easy consent to this. If you wish to bring to my knowledge the evils which are being caused in Eng land and in the Church and which you see and hear, I know enough about them, I am powerless to remedy them; tell them to God, and while waiting for Him to remove them, pray. If you seek counsel concerning your souls, you have with you our venerable brother and son the Lord Prior Ernulph, a spiritual man, in whom abound by the grace of God both willingness and wisdom; whom as another self I sent unto you, in my place. Have recourse to him as if to me, believe him as you would me; acknowledge him in my place.

I grant the same in reference to the Lord Bishop Gondulph, should any desire so to do. To thee, son Farman, who wouldest have leave to live elsewhere, since amidst so much disquiet thou art as thou sayest, unable to save thy soul, I say that it is not fitting, while I cannot rule nor keep you together, that I should begin to disperse you. It is not therefore the part of wisdom either in you to ask, or in me to allow, this. Finally, if I permit one or two either to leave the realm because they desire to live elsewhere; or to leave the realm to come to me, there are so many with the same reason, that it could not be done without great scandal or great disturbance. Let therefore he who desires this have the same wisdom and patience that others have, that ye may all alike possess your souls in patience. To thee also, son Benjamin, who dost adjure me so forcibly and dost plead as an excuse that without me thy soul must be lost, I declare as to him whose soul I ought, and wish, to advise, that thou oughtest to do nothing so un reasonable, nor place thy soul and mine in so great danger. Since as far as in thee lies thou wouldest place thy soul in such peril, it is certain that for thy soul this is no salutary place. What thou dost ask for cannot in reason be done. It might perchance be done through headlong, excessive rashness; but it is not reasonable to follow whithersoever our soul's indiscreet inclination urges us, though it be with a good intention. I can't understand how thy soul can be in danger of perdition, just because thou canst not talk to me. For were I in some place thou couldst not possibly get to in this world or in the next life, yet oughtest thou not to despair of the salvation of thy soul. I therefore entreat and advise thee, dearest son, to bear without offence the ordinance of God concerning thy soul, and according as thou seest Him dispose of us and what belongs to us, study thou as one who is wise and hath hope in God, to save thy soul. As to what you, my brother and son Orduvinus, suggest to me as reasons for my not returning to England, know that I fly neither from death, nor loss of limb, nor any injuries whatsoever, but from sin, and dishonour to God's Church, and chiefly to that of Canterbury. For if I were so to return as that it should not be plain that the king ought not to despoil me and usurp the things of the Church which are in my charge, as he has done; I should establish the bad, yea servile and wicked, customs for myself and my suc cessors by my own example; which may God avert from me! Unless, therefore, he will acknowledge his error and make reparation to God for what he has done and is doing against me; so that neither himself nor his successor could on account of my example say to me or my successors that he is doing it according to custom, I cannot see, nor can any one of reasonable intellect, how I can be on terms with him or return to him, saving God's honour and my soul's health. If he doth to me what he ought to do, I will do what I ought for the honour of God. "The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds."