Letter CLXXVII. To the Same, in the Person of the Same

(Circa A.D. 1139.)

He complains of the pastoral charge laid upon him. He is hindered in its discharge by the envy of certain persons, not without fault in the Pope himself.

Did I ever seek the episcopate from you, my lord? And if ever I aspired to a bishopric it was certainly not that of Treves. For I knew it to be an exasperating house, a stiff-necked people. I hated them because they had always wallowed in discord, and always resisted the Church. For her if I have ever undergone any labours I grieve not, but I never hoped or wished for any such fruit as this. I have laboured arduously, but willingly, and not with any hope of reward. I have been assigned for my sins a difficult province. Amongst my other troubles there is this, that my suffragans are young and nobly born.¹ They ought to be assistants, and would that they were not opponents. But I pass this by. I prefer that their characters and pursuits be made known to you by another, if you are ignorant of them. Still, I say that law, right, integrity, and religion have perished out of our episcopates. The evil, which the duty I owe to my office will not allow me to conceal, I have briefly pointed out, that what it does not please your providence should be corrected by me may, at all events, be made known to you who can correct it, lest I seem altogether to bear in vain the name of archbishop. And, indeed, it would have been better for me not to have ascended my throne than thus shamefully to descend. But what does it matter about myself? Let me suffer what I deserve, inasmuch as I do amiss. Let me be, as I am, a scorn to my friends, who have been frustrated of the hope which they had conceived about me in wishing me to preside over them, whilst they see that the dignity of the Church is by me rather diminished, instead of its old losses being repaired, as they had expected they would be. All these tilings I bear patiently, if not willingly, that I may not seem to kick against the obedience I owe you, for which I confess I am willing, if need be, to lay down my life. But I wish ihat you would carefully consider this, that injury done to the thing created reflects on the creator. The strength which you withdraw from me you rob yourself of, and my scorn and helplessness casts disgrace on you. I have many things to complain of to you about yourself, but I leave them to be explained by the messenger, whom I know to be diligent and faithful for this purpose. I tell you also that we are in danger amongst false brethren. The ambassadors of the schismatics come and go to some of our supporters more freely than they used to, and the messages of the .Sicilian tyrant are admitted frequently.