Letter CXXXIV. To Some Novices Recently Converted at Milan

(A.D. 1134.)

Bernard congratulates these Milanese novices on their conversion, and promises to visit them on his return from the Council.¹

To his beloved brethren at Milan lately converted to God, BERNARD, called Abbot of Clairvaux, sends greeting, and prays that they may worthily carry out in the spirit of counsel and strength what they have well begun.

Blessed be God who hath made the world's glory to be of none account in your eyes that He might bestow upon you His own. How full of vanity are the children of men, how deceitful are they upon the weights, for, according to the saying of the Gospel, they receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God alone (S. John v. 44); surely in this they all are alike deceitful from vanity. But with you it is not so. From this reproach God's mercy has set you free, to make you a sweet odour to God in every place, to be to His glory, to be a cause of rejoicing to the angels, and an example to men. If, indeed, there is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, how much more over so many and over such men as you, and especially over those who belong to such a city as yours. And I, brethren, induced by my great joy, and also invited by you, sent you word by my dear brothers, Otto and Ambrose, whom you sent to me with your invitation, of my decision to come with them. But on second thoughts, thinking it better not to see you for a few brief moments, nor merely in passing, I postponed my visit till my return. I am now going to the Council, but by God's help I will return by your way, and afford your holy purpose such counsel and help as reason shall enable me.

Footnotes

1. From this title Baronius infers that before the arrival of Bernard at Milan, i.e., before A.D. 1134, a community of Cistercians had removed thither, and had founded a monastery, to which these novices had submitted themselves. But Ughellus (lial. Sacr., Vol. iv.) thinks that Chara-vallis was the first house of Cistercians at Milan, and he proves it to have been founded about two miles outside the city not earlier than A.D. 1 135, and that, therefore, under the name of " novices " in this epistle we must understand those who had been recently converted by the influence of S. Bernard on his way to the Council of Pisa, and who had devoted themselves already to him in mind. The date given by Ughellus for the founding of the monastery is proved from the original inscription and from the first charters of the place, in which it is uniformly called Chara-vallis and not Clara-vallis. See Ep. 281. On the name of this monastery of Chara-vallis Mabillon, in his work entitled " Museum Italicum," writes in the first part (p. 18, §8): " For the reading Chara-vallis we have some original deeds of the place, and also an ancient inscription cut on the cloister-wall as follows: ' In the year of grace 1135, on the 22nd of January, this monastery was built by S. Bernard, of Clairvaux; in the year 1221 this church was consecrated by Henry, Archbishop of Milan, on the 2nd May, in honour of S. Mary of Chara-vallis.' " ↩