Letter CCLXXIII. To Pope Eugenius

(A.D. 1150.)

Bernard thanks the Pope for the affectionate letter he liad sent to the Chapter of Citeaux.

To his loving father and lord, EUGENIUS, by the grace of God Supreme Pontiff, Brother BERNARD, called Abbot of Clairvaux, sends humble greeting.

1. The voice of the turtle has been heard in our Chapter; we have exulted and rejoiced. Your words are pure, burning with zeal, prudent and discerning. The spirit of life breathes in your letters, a spirit mighty, thundering, chiding, and provoking us with a godly jealousy. I cannot say which pleased me most, your graciousness or our benefit; the condescension of your majesty, or the exaltation of our humility; the sharpness of your severity, or the soothing sweetness of your fatherly love. Those amongst us who in any small degree were hungering after righteousness were refreshed; those who cared little for it were moved; those who cared nothing were confounded.¹ 1 beseech you to act in this way always. That care which you are bound to take for all, is not to be withdrawn, nay, rather it is the more anxiously to be given to those whose special due it is. Charity is kind and can spread itself abroad, but not diminish aught. Let her call together others, then, but let it be in our company. It specially becomes your Apostleship to cherish all who can say with the Apostles, Lo! we have left all and followed Thee (S. Matt. xix. 27). They ought not to be left who have left themselves. They are the Lord's little ones, and put their trust in Him; they will not be abandoned by a faithful and wise servant, least of all by Him to whom the whole has been entrusted. This little flock is a part of the "whole, little, indeed, but, unless I am mistaken, they have merited to have God for their Father, and they will receive a crown of glory from the hand of their Lord, and a diadem from Him in the Kingdom of their God. For they do not think it robbery to be heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. They have heard the words: Fear not little flock, it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom (S. Luke. xii. 32). Enough of this.

2. The Abbot of Trois-Fontaines² had been planted well beside the streams of waters. But I am afraid that a good tree bringing forth good fruit may, when taken up, bring forth none. I have sometimes seen a vine fruitful when first planted, then barren. I have seen a tree when well planted flourish, and when transplanted wither away. And, therefore, if you do not send him back to me you will wound my feelings grievously, for we are one heart and one soul. As long as that heart is divided, each part must necessarily be stained with its own blood. How shall I, having lost the prop of my old age, be able to bear alone the burden which we found it heavy to bear together? If my trouble is of little account let the no small loss of the whole Order touch you, and do not wish, from the hope of some uncertain good, to bring about in the meanwhile evils that are certain. But if. finally, you determine to keep him, I beseech you, hold him in great esteem, and lift up your hands to God that He would vouchsafe to provide that house with a suit able man in his place. As to the rest, I earnestly ask for a speedy answer from your Benignity, and one of deed, not word, to those matters concerning the whole Order, and the other businesses which I thought it good to entrust to the above-named Abbot to convey to you.

Footnotes

1. These three classes are found in every Order, no matter how holy it may be, and chaff will never be wanting in the Lord's threshing-floor. See Sermon 3 on the Ascension; Sermon on the Dedication of a Church, n. 3; Sermon 30, " de Diversis," n. i; and Sermon 46, on Canticles, n. 6. ↩

2. This Hugh, to whom the following Letter was written, was Abbot of TroisFontaines, in Champagne, not of S. Anastasius, at Trois-Fontaines, near Rome, whatever Wion, Ciaconius, and others may say to the contrary. In the first place, the name of " Three Fountains," especially at that time, is restricted to the Abbey in Champagne, as appears from S. Bernard's life, and from the heading of ep. 69 to the'Abbot of Trois-Fontaines, while the monastery at Rome was wont to be called after the name of S. Anastasius, as is proved by the inscription of ep. 345, "to the Brethren of S. Anastasius." In the second place, Rualene, who had been Prior of Clairvaux, was then Abbot of S. Anastasius, as is seen from epp. 245, 258, and the two following, as well as from •ep. 43 of Nicholas of Clairvaux, to Rualene, Abbot of S. Anastasius. Besides this, the next Letter of S. Bernard's (274) is directed to "Hugh, Abbot of Trois-Fontaines, when he was at Rome," which clearly implies that his monastery was at some little distance from Rome. Moreover, Bernard in this Letter, 273, tells Eugeniusthat he is inconvenienced because Hugh had been summoned to Rome, doubtless to be made Cardinal; and he adds that he will suffer great loss if he is not sent back to him. This Hugh, then, was an Abbot in Gaul. Lastly, from ep. 274, it appears that Bernard, who was then in Gaul, was present to take part in the election of a successor to Hugh. Again, Hugh, A.D. i 150, was made by Eugenius, in the third creation, Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia, and at the same time Ciaconius says two other monks of Clairvaux were raised to the same dignity, whose names were Henry and Roland; it then happened that Velletri was united to Ostia because of the small population of the Jatter. Hugh is mentioned again in epp. 274, 287, 290, 296, 306, and 307. ↩