Chapter VI. That the Pontiff should charge himself personally with the Discipline of his Household, but should leave all other domestic affairs to the management of his major-domo

We are now tired of the court. Let us therefore go out into the palace : they are awaiting us at home. There we shall find those who belong rather to thine interior than to thine entourage, if I may so speak. Do not regard it as superfluous to consider how thou oughtest to regulate thy household and to provide for them who live under thy roof and belong to thy family. In my judgment, this is an indispensable consideration. Listen to St. Paul, " If a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the Church of God?" (1 Tim. iii. 5). Also, "If any man have not care of his own, and especially of those of his house, he haih denied the faith and is worse than an infidel " (r Tim. v. 8). But in speaking thus I must not be understood as recommending thee, who shouldst be occupied with the highest affairs, to give personal attention to the lowest as well, so that it would be necessary for thee to divide thyself, and to expend on the least things the solicitude which belongs to the greatest. Why shouldst thou again entangle thyself in cares from which the Lord hath delivered thee ?

I" Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His justice," says Christ, " and all these things shall be added unto you " (Matt. vi. 33). Nevertheless, He also declares, " These things you ought to have done, and not leave those undone" (Matt, xxiii. 23). But thou must attend personally to the more important matters ; as for the rest, it is also a personal obligation for thee to appoint subordinates who shall faithfully administer them in thy name. For if one and the same domestic is not capable of the double duty of serving his master's tables and looking after his horses, how canst thou expect to be able to govern at the same time thine own house and the house of the Lord, whereof it is written, " O Israel, how great is the house of God ! " (Bar. hi. 24) ? The mind that is occupied with such a multitude of important matters ought surely to be immune from all solicitude concerning s. smaller and meaner things ; it ought to be free, so that no worldly interest can exercise dominion over it ; it ought to be pure, so that no unworthy attachment can draw it down to earth ; it ought to be righteous, so that no evil intention can deflect it from v the straight way of truth and justice ; it ought to be circumspect, so that no vain suspicion can enter it unperceived ; it ought to be watchful, so that no idle and wandering thought can steal it away from itself ; it ought to be firm, so that no sudden excitement or commotion can rob it of its peace ; it ought to be invincible, so that no tribulation, no matter how continuous, can weary it out ; finally, it ought to be so broad that no temporal loss can straiten or contract it.

Rest assured that thou shalt be deprived of all these spiritual goods and be afflicted with all the contrary spiritual evils, if, dividing thy attention, thou endeavourest to devote half of it to the things of God and the other half to thine own paltry concerns (reculis tuis). Wherefore, thou must find some one to whom thy household affairs may be entrusted and who shall grind the corn for thee. I say " for thee/' and not, " with thee." There are some things which thou must do by thyself alone ; there are other things in which thou must co-operate with thy subordinates ; and there are other things again which must be left entirely to these latter. " Who is wise and will (understand) these things ? " (Ps. cvi. 43). There is here need of thy most diligent consideration. It appears to me that thy domestic affairs belong most properly to the third of the above-mentioned categories. That is to say, they should be committed entirely to the care of another. But if thy steward is not faithful, he will defraud thee, and he will be defrauded himself unless he is prudent. Consequently, thou must seek out a " faithful and wise steward" whom thou mayest set over thy family (Luke xii. 42). But there is one thing more necessary to him, without which he will be useless. Shall I tell thee what this is ? It is authority. For what avails v it that he knows how to regulate everything in the best possible manner and has the good will to act according to his knowledge, if he lacks the authority to do what he knows should be done and desires to do ? Therefore he ought to be allowed to act as he pleases. If it seems to thee unreasonable to allow a subordinate such liberty of action, remember that he is supposed to be faithful, and consequently willing to do what is, right ; remember also that he is supposed to be prudent, and therefore likely to know what is right. But his fidelity and prudence can profit little unless he has full power to carry out his plans without impediment, and to exact prompt obedience from those of thy household. Hence all must be subject to him ; and there must be none to oppose his will or to say to him, " Why hast thou done so ? " Let him have authority to exclude and to admit whomsoever he pleases, to change thy domestics, and to transfer offices from one to another when, and according as it shall seem good to him. Let him be feared and respected by all so that he may be helpful to all. Let him be over all that he may benefit all and in all things. Do not listen to any secret accusations or private complaints against him ; rather treat them as slanders. And I would recommend thee, as a general rule, to look with suspicion upon every accuser who fears to say openly what he whispers in thine ear. But if he still refuses to make a public denunciation when thou judgest it necessary that he should do so, then let him be dealt with as an informer, not as an accuser.

Accordingly, let there be one in thy household who shall appoint their duties to all the rest and to whom all the rest shall be responsible. He must be a man to whom thou canst with perfect confidence commit the charge of thy domestic affairs, so that thou mayest be free to attend to thyself and to the Church of God 1 But if it so happens that thou art not able to find one who is both faithful and prudent, entrust the office to him who is faithful without being prudent rather than to him who is prudent without being faithful. This I judge to be the wiser course. Nevertheless, should it be impossible to discover a steward whose fidelity is beyond suspicion, I counsel thee to be satisfied even with one less faithful rather than to entangle thyself in such endless solicitudes. Remember that Judas was Christ's procurator. Can there be anything less worthy of a bishop than to occupy himself with matters of domestic economy, looking after his furniture and the administration of his miserable revenue, examining minutely into everything, inquiring about everything, tormented with suspicions, disturbed at every instance of loss or neglect ? I speak to the shame of certain prelates who have the habit of making a daily scrutiny of all their possessions, passing over nothing, and demanding an account of expenditures, down to the last farthing. Very different from such narrowness was the conduct of that Egyptian who, having delivered all things to Joseph, " knew not what he had in his own house" (Gen. xxxix. 8). What a shame for a Christian not to have so much confidence in a fellow-Christian as to entrust him with the administration of his property, whereas this infidel had such faith in one who was only a servant and a stranger that he set him over all his goods !

A strange thing ! Bishops nowadays can find more persons than they need qualified to undertake for them the care of souls ; but none is to be found to whom, as they think, the care of their temporalities can be safely i4o ON CONSIDERATION entrusted. Most extraordinary valuators these, who manifest much solicitude for the least things and little or none for the greatest ! Thus it is plain to beseen that we are much more concerned at our own losses than at the losses of Christ. We keep ourselves exactly informed of our daily expenses, but of the reverses which the Church of God is constantly sustaining we are content to know nothing. Every day domestics are required to render an account of the price of provisions and of the number of loaves purchased and consumed. But it is very seldom we hear of a bishop consulting with his clergy about the sins of the people. An ass falls down beneath its burden and someone is always at hand to raise it up ; an immortal soul perishes and nobody minds. Nor is this any matter for wonder, seeing that we are so insensible to the spiritual losses which we are ourselves continually suffering. Do we not feel angry, impatient, and troubled as often as we take an account of our expenditures ? But surely the loss of grace ought to grieve us far more than the loss of our temporal possessions. " Why do you not rather take wrong ? " asks the Apostle, " why do you not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded ? " (i Cor. vi. 7). Therefore, I pray thee, do thou, that teachest others, teach also thyself (Rom. ii. 21), if thou hast not yet done so, to value thyself more than thy goods. All those transitory things, which cannot possibly remain with thee for ever, must be made to pass from thee, not allowed to pass through thee. For as surely as running water channels the earth through which it passes, so surely do the distractions of temporal cares corrode the conscience. If a torrent can inundate a field without injuring the seeds planted there, thou mayest also expect to be able to occupy thyself with worldly concerns without injury to thy soul. Therefore I most earnestly exhort thee to close thy mind against such a flood of vain solicitudes. Be content to be ignorant of many things, to overlook many more, and to forget not a few.

But there are certain matters concerning which I would have thee to keep thyself well informed, I mean the character and conduct of each member of thy household. Thou shouldst not be the last to know the faults of thy domestics, which, as I have reason to believe, is commonly enough the case with bishops. Wherefore, appoint another, as I have said, to administer thy temporalities ; but charge thyself personally with the discipline of thy house : this is a responsibility which ought not to be entrusted to any subordinate. Should any one offend in thy presence by disrespectful language or deportment, punish him immediately and avenge the insult to thine honour. For impunity encourages presumption, and presumption leads to every excess. "Holiness becometh thy house " (Ps. xcii. 5), as also the house of every other bishop ; and not holiness alone, but modesty as well, and decency ; of all of which discipline is the guardian. The priests of thy household must either be a model or a by-word and a scandal to all. Never suffer anything improper, anything unbecoming, to appear in the countenance, in the conduct, or in the carriage of those with whom thou livest. Let thy brother-bishops learn from thy example not to keep in their palaces longhaired boys or foppish young men : curly-headed coxcombs look particularly out of place in the midst of mitred prelates. And remember also the Wise Man's admonition, " Hast thou daughters ? Shew not thy countenance gay towards them" (Eccli. vii. 25).

Nevertheless, I would not have thee to be austere in thy manner, but only grave. Austerity is wont to repel the timid, whereas the effect of gravity is to sober the frivolous. The presence of the former disposition would render thee odious, the absence of the latter would make thee contemptible. Herein as in all things else thou wilt do best to observe moderation. Therefore avoid over-severity as much as excessive lightness. What can be more pleasing than such manners as are equally removed from the stiffness which freezes and from the familiarity which breeds contempt ? Be the Pope in the palace, but at home show thyself more as a father. Make thyself loved, if possible, by thy domestics ; otherwise let them fear thee. It is always good to keep a guard over thy lips, yet not so as to exclude the grace of affability. Consequently, I counsel thee to bridle the imprudence of thy tongue at all times, but most especially at table. But if thou wouldst regulate thy exterior in the best possible manner, let thy conduct be always grave, thy looks benign, and thy conversation serious. Thy chaplains and the other clerics who are accustomed to assist thee in all sacred functions ought not to be left without honour ; and it is thy duty to select such as shall be worthy of honour. They should be served by all thy domestics as respectfully as thou art thyself. All that is necessary to them they should receive from thy hand. They are to be content with what thou dost provide for them, whilst it is thy part to see that they shall want for nothing. But if thou shouldst ever find any one of them unsatisfied with such provision, and seeking perquisites from strangers, punish him as Eliseus punished Giezi (4 Kings v. 20-27). And thou shouldst treat thy ushers and all thy other officials in exactly the same way. But these counsels are superfluous, for I recollect that thou hast long ago adopted as the rule of thy conduct what I have just been recommending. What could be more worthy of thy pontificate, what more wholesome for thy conscience, what more honourable for thy fame or more useful as an example ? Admirable rule, which not only preserves thy conscience from the guilt of avarice, but also defends thy reputation against the suspicion thereof.