Letter CCXXXIX. To the Same
(A.D. 1145.)
Bernard urges upon him the deposition of William, Archbishop of York.
I am troublesome, I know, but I have a good excuse, viz., the Apostleship of Eugenius. They say that it is I, who am pope, not you, and all who have business come to me from every side. And amongst so great a number of friends there are some whom I cannot refuse to help with out causing scandal, or even committing sin. And now I have another excuse no less pertinent in the goodness of1 my cause. My pen is now directed against that idol at York, impelled by the very fact that though I have often aimed at him with this weapon, yet I have never stricken him through. And why is this? Perhaps because none of my darts was wielded like the sword of Jonathan, which never returned empty; but that was not the fault of the javelin but of him who hurls it. For it is evident that it has not been hurled with the necessary strength. And no wonder; for who save a son of the archers can shoot the arrows with a powerful hand? He who holds the place of Peter can at one blow destroy Ananias, at one blow Simon Magus. And to make what I say more plain, it is known to be the prerogative of the Roman Pontiff alone to peremptorily order the deposition of a Bishop, no doubt because, though many others have been called to a share of responsibility, yet he alone has the fulness of power. So, if I may be so bold as to say it, he alone is in fault, whenever a fault which deserves correction is not corrected, or is corrected with insufficient force. With what force the fault of the above-named intruder at York ought to be corrected, nay, destroyed as by a lightning stroke, I leave to your conscience. But I believe that what has not been done has been reserved for you, that in settling this scandal the Church of God, over which He has called you to preside, may see the fervour of your zeal, the power of your arm, and the wisdom of your mind; so that all people may fear the priest of the Lord, when they hear that the wisdom of God is in him to execute judgment.
Footnotes
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It may be asked, and not improperly, what is the cause that the Roman Pontiffs retain their office for so short a time, that Peter is generally considered the only one to have reached 25 years; why a premature death takes off most of them in a few years, or months, or even days, when we see Emperors and Kings enjoying a much longer reign. The question is worthy of discussion. But who knoweth the mind of the Lord? I see that the same question was put by Pope Alexander to Peter Damian, and treated carefully by him (epp. lib. i. ep. 17). He says: — " You once asked me anxiously what seems to me the cause of the short life of Popes; why within so short a time their reign comes to an end; so much is this the rule that since the time of the Apostle Peter, who presided for about 25 years, no one of the Popes has attained to so long a term of office. Nay, in modern times, scarcely one has been raised to the dignity who has exceeded four or five years. And when I think of this a great amazement fills me; because this necessity seems to be laid on no one else in the world. But, as far as the mystery of the will of God is revealed to mortals, it seems to me that this is done to strike fear of death into the mind of man, and to show plainly, by extinguishing the glory of the head, how worthless is the glory of all temporal things; for since the first of men has to die within so short a time, each one is filled with fear, and provoked to make provision for his own end; and the human race, which is a tree, when it sees its topmost bough so soon perish, is smitten with a gust of fear, and trembles in its smallest branches." Damian gives the Popes a very short time in fixing four or five years as their limit, but, if the histories of the Popes be studied, they are, it seems to me, to be given even less than that. S. Bernard, therefore, well exhorts Eugenius in this Letter, to learn to consider his own death close at hand, by reflecting on the brief reigns of his predecessors. — [Mabillon's note.] Looking forward from this date, the only Popes who have exceeded twenty years' pontificate have been Alexander III. (1159-1181); Urban VIII. (1623-1644); Clement XL (1700-1721); Pius VI. (1775-1799); Pius VII. (1800-1823); and Pius IX., who created a solitary exception to the rule which had obtained for his long line of predecessors, by a pontificate extending over thirty-two years (1846-1878). — [E.] ↩
Chapter 239 of 491