Letter CCLV. To Louis, King of France
(A.D. 1134-)
Bernard advises the King not to hinder the assembling of a Council, which was become needful both for the Church and for the Realm.1
To the most illustrious Louis, by the grace of God King of France, and to his beloved wife and children, his faithful servant, BERNARD, called Abbot of Clairvaux, wishes health from the King of kings and Lord of lords.
1. The kingdoms of the earth, and the rights of kingdoms remain, surely, sure and unharmed in obedience to their lords when they do not resist the ordinances and commandments of God. Why is my lord's anger kindled against the chosen of God whom his Highness also welcomed and chose for himself as father, for his son as Samuel? The royal indignation is in arms, not against foreigners, but against himself and his own house. It is no wonder if the wrath of man ivorkctli not the righteousness of God (S. Jas. i. 20), when it makes you neither see the danger nor feel the loss to your own advantage, to your own honour <ind safety, although all can plainly see it. A council is called together.2 How does this derogate from the honour of the King, or the good of the kingdom? There a ready and special devotion will be both felt and shown by the whole Church to your exalted position; especially because you were the tirst king, or among the first, to go to the defence of your mother Church in a most energetic and Christian spirit against the violence of those who were persecuting her. There well-deserved thanks will be given to you in glorious fashion by that large multitude, there will prayers be offered for you and yours by thousands of saints.
2. Beyond this, every one knows how necessary at the present juncture is an assembly of Bishops, except anyone who is hard-hearted enough to pay no attention to the troubles of his mother Church. But, they say, heat is excessive, and our bodies are not of ice. It is true, but our hearts are frozen certainly, and that there is no one, as the Prophet says, who is grieved for the affliction of Joseph (Amos vi. 6). But of this at another time. Now I, who am the le, ast in your kingdom in dignity, though not in loyalty, tell you that it is inexpedient for you to wish to hinder so great and so necessary a good. And "there are not wanting either reasons by which I could make that plain to you, which are ready to my hand to bring before you if I did not think that what I have said is enough for a wise man. Still, if anything has come from the severity of the apostolic power to make your Highness think that you have reason to be angry, your faithful servants, who support3 you, will strive with all their might to have it in some way recalled, or moderated, as may be suitable to your honour. In the meanwhile, if I can do anything I will not omit it.
Footnotes
Chapter 255 of 491