Chapter III. On the manner in which the Pontiff ought to deal with the roman people

What therefore art thou doing ? Hast thou begun as yet to keep a. watch on those men who have surrounded thee with the " snares of death " (Ps. xvii. 6) ? Have patience with me for a little, I implore thee, and take not offence at my words. But indeed I should rather apologise for addressing thee with too much timidity than with excessive boldness. " For I am jealous of thee with the jealousy of God " (2 Cor. xi. 2), and would 'that that jealousy were as profitable as it is vehement ! " I know where thou dwellest " (Apoc. ii. 13), in the midst of unbelievers and seducers. Wolves are they and not sheep. Nevertheless thou art their shepherd. It will be a useful consideration to endeavour to find out by what means thou mayest convert them, if it is possible, lest otherwise they should subvert thee. And why should we think it impossible to change them from wolves back again into sheep, seeing that they were capable of being transformed from sheep into wolves ? With regard to this duty, I shall be mercilessly insistent with thee, to the end that thou mayest obtain mercy from God. Therefore, either deny that thou art the shepherd of this people, or fulfil the duties of a shepherd in their regard. Dost thou refuse to acknowledge thyself their shepherd ? No, thou canst not, because otherwise thou wouldst deny thyself to be the successor of him on whose chair thou art seated. I speak of St. Peter. Now we nowhere rfind that Peter ever appeared in public adorned with silk and jewels, covered with cloth of gold, riding on a white horse, surrounded by a military escort, and a] throng of clamorous attendants. And nevertheless it \ seemed to him that even without such aids he could accomplish sufficiently well the task enjoined him in the words, " If thou lovest Me, feed My sheep " (John xxi. 17). In all that belongs to earthly magnificence thou hast succeeded not Peter, but Constantine. However, I would counsel thee to tolerate this pomp and this splendour at least for a time, yet not to desire them as if they were essential to thy state. But I exhort thee more particularly to attend to those things which I know to fall within the scope of thy duties. Even though thou art clothed in purple and gold, that is no reason why thou, who art a shepherd's heir, shouldst avoid the labours and solicitude of a shepherd ; that, I say, is no reason why thou shouldst be ashamed of the Gospel. But if, so far from being ashamed of the Gospel, thou dost preach it with a willing heart, thou hast glory even amongst the great apostles. To preach the Gospel is to pasture the flock. Consequently, " do the work of an evangelist" (2 Tim. iv. 5), that is, of a Gospel preacher, and thou hast also discharged the duties of a shepherd.

" What ? " thou wilt say, " dost thou tell me to pasture these who are not sheep but dragons and scorpions ? " All the more reason why thou shouldst endeavour to subdue them, not indeed with the sword, [ but with the word of God. For wherefore shouldst thou try again to wield that sword which thou wert commanded of old to replace in its scabbard ? Nevertheless, he who would deny that the sword belongs to thee, has not, as I conceive, sufficiently weighed the words of the Lord, where He said, speaking to Peter, u Put up thy sword into the scabbard " (John xviii. n). For it is here plainly implied that even the material sword is thine, to be drawn at thy bidding, although not by thy hand. Besides, unless this sword also appertained to thee in some sense, when the disciples said to Christ, " Lord, behold here are two swords" (Luke xxii. 3$), He would never have answered as He did, "It is enough," but rather, "it is too much." We can therefore conclude that both swords, namely the spiritual and the material, belong to the Church, and that although only the former is to be wielded by her own hand, the two are to be employed in her service. It isfor the priest to use the sword of the word, but to strike with the sword of steel belongs to the soldier, yet this must be by the authority and will {ad nutum) of the priest and by the direct command of the emperor, as I have said elsewhere. Do thou, there-

• In a letter written to Eugenius in 11 46, urging him to send help to the Christians in Palestine, the Saint says, " Now whilst Christ is enduring a second passion where He also endured His first, both swords, the material as well as the spiritual, must be unsheathed. And by whom but by thee ? For the two swords are Peter's, to be drawn whenever necessary, the one by his own hand, the other by his authority (ad nutum)." The Scottish jurist, Barclay, taking the phrase " ad nutum sacerdotis " to mean " with the priest's assent or sanction," employed these passages to prove that the Pope has no more to do with war than to pronounce it just or unjust. Cardinal Bellarmin, however, easily shows (De Potest, papae in Rebus temp., c. xix.) that St. Bernard uses " ad nutum " to signify absolute authority, as it is used in Genesis xlii. 6, 2 Kings xvii. 14, 2 Mach. viii. 18, and in the /Eneid, ix. 106 ; and he contends that the words " Gladius materialis manu militis exserendus est, sed sane ad nutum sacerdotis et jussum imperatoris " can only mean that the Pope has the right to command the prince to make war when the good of religion so requires, but that it belongs to the prince to give orders to the soldier. It is in this sense that St. Bernard has been interpreted by the Popes, Gregory IX., Epist. VI., and Boniface VIII., Const. Unam Sanctam. For Bossuet's interpretation, see Bouix, De papa, iii. s. 1. — (Translator.)

fore, take in hand at once the sword which has been given thee to strike with. Take it in hand, I say, and wound unto salvation, if not all, if not even many, at least such as thou canst.

But perchance thou wilt answer me, " ' I am no better than my fathers' (3 Kings xix. 4). Which of them all has not this ' provoking house ' (Ezech. ii. 5) — I do not say, refused to hear, but even mocked at ? " But this is just the reason why thou oughtest to be the more insistent, if haply they may heed and become docile. Insist with them, even though they resist thee. Thinkest thou I am asking too much ? But listen to this, " Preach the word : be instant in season, out of season" (2 Tim. iv. 2). Not mine are these words, but the Apostle's. Tell him, if thou darest, that he requires too much. The Prophet Isaias received the command, " Cry, cease not" (Is. lviii. 1). And to whom was he told to cry but to sinners and criminals ? " Shew My people," the Lord continued, " their wicked doings, and the house of Jacob their sins" (ibid.). Notice carefully that the same people are called sinners and the people of God. Apply this now to thine own people. Even though they are sinful, even though they are wicked, take care lest thou shouldst ever deserve to have addressed to thee the words, " As long as thou didst it not to one of these least, neither didst thou do it to Me " (Matt. xxv. 45). I freely acknowledge that this people have been until now " of a hard face and of an obstinate heart" (Ezech. ii. 4), but I do not see how thou canst be sure that they are entirely irreclaimable. That yet may be which has never been hitherto. If thou hast no confidence in thine own powers, remember that " no word shall be impossible with God "

(Luke i. 37). If their foreheads are hard, do thou harden thine against them. Nothing is so hard as that it will not yield to what is harder. Hence the Lord said to His Prophet, " Behold, I have made thy face stronger than their faces, and thy forehead harder than their foreheads" (Ezech. iii. 8). There is only one thing which can avail to excuse thee before God, and that is, if thou shalt have dealt with this people in such a manner as to be able to say, " My people, what is there that I ought to do more to thee that I have not done ? " (Is. v. 4). If thou wilt act in this way, then, even should thine efforts prove fruitless, thou shalt 'have a sufficient excuse and may est say to thyself, " Go forth from Hur of theChaldees" (Gen. xi. 31), and also, " To other cities also I must preach the kingdom of God" (Luke iv. 43). And it seems to me thou shalt have no cause to regret such an exile, receiving the universe in exchange for Rome.f f Although it is of faith that the successors of St. Peter must be Bishop of Rome (see Suarez, Defensio, 1. iii. c. xiii. n. 5), he is at liberty to reside where he pleases : the Popes made Avignon their residence from the year 1309 to 1378. — (Translator.)