Letter CCCLX. To William, Abbot of Rievaulx

(A.D. 1143.)

He again exhorts William to resignation and patience.¹

To his very dear brother and co-Abbot, WILLIAM of Rievaulx, Brother BERNARD, called Abbot of Clairvaux, wishes health and the spirit of wisdom.

I have striven to the utmost of my power against the common evil, and if I have not succeeded in obtaining what I wished, yet the fruit of my labour remains with Him who suffers no good work to remain without recompense. This, then, is the true consolation of us and of all who strive for the truth, that there is laid up for us a crown of righteousness, which the righteous Judge shall bestow upon us in that day. Furthermore, I beg you now to bear in mind [what He has said], that if we suffer for righteousness sake happy are we, and that the wrong-doing of another person to which we have not consented, but have, on the contrary, protested against, cannot defile us. This, then, is our consolation, so that in our patience we must now possess our souls; and since we are unable to obtain help from men, let us hope for it from God, who will not despise those who hope in Him. For I trust in the mercy of our Heavenly Father, that every plant which He has not planted shall be plucked up, and that He will wither up with His malediction the barren fig tree, so that it shall not occupy the ground any longer. I beg and entreat, therefore, of you, mv brother, to calm yourself, and not to trouble the flock which has been committed by God to your charge, but rather console yourself and strive bravely to serve the Lord in holiness, and He will deliver us from our enemies. I, however, have striven as far as I could to influence the Lord Bishop of Frascati,² who is charged with the functions of Legate in those parts, and he has faithfully promised me that if nothing better can be done for us, this, at least, he will observe, that under no circumstances will he deliver the pallium which he bears to the Archbishop if the Dean - (who is now become Bishop) shall not have made the statement on oath upon which the whole case depends; but that he will refer the cause to the Pope for decision.

Footnotes

1. Formerly No. 380; the former No. 360 is now No. 378. ↩

2. This was Ymar, who was Legate in England in the yea*r 1 143, in which this Letter was written. It was to him that Letters 219 and 230 were written. ↩