伯纳多小传
(BERNARD
OF CLAIRVAUX 1091~1153)
一一一二年的春天，有三十个意气飞扬的法国青年，风尘仆仆地奔向德众（Dijon）附近的细妥（Citeaux）。他们在做什幺呢？是投奔十字军的旗帜之下，去参加那个世代人的心目中，最伟大的圣职吗？还是去投奔某一个封地的公爵，开始他们飞黄腾达的政治生涯吗？不！他们告别了乡人亲友，舍下了他们手中的一切所有的，轻快地踏上了他们属天道路。他们所要去的地方，乃是当时最贫穷、最不为人知、最乏人问津、却是最严谨细妥修道院。这三十个人的领袖，是他们中间年龄最小的伯纳多，当时他才二十二岁，可是谁也没有料到这一位将自己埋下去的人，二十年以后居然是全欧洲政坛和教会人众望所归的人物，也是当时经院哲学界中的异端听了就胆寒的属灵权柄。但我们在这里所看重的不是这一些，我们只愿意踩着他的歌声——“哦！满了伤痕的头”、“耶稣，只要一想到你”，一同翳入他的心灵世界——在这里，十字军时代过去了，修道主义过去了，中世纪也过去了，但有一个永不过去，不是主那浑然完全的圣爱。
诗人从小就以“永远”做他一生的砝码
诗人伯纳多于一0九一年，即第一次十字军东征的前六年，出生在法国的芳田（Fontaines，Dijon）。他的父亲帖斯西临（Tescelin）和母亲阿蕾斯（Aleth），都是勃根第公爵（Duke
of Burgundy）手下的贵族，帖斯西临在公爵的宫廷中，是忠心耿耿而有智慧的武士。他们有五个儿子，一个女儿，伯纳多排行第三。他们全家除了母亲早逝之外，后来都进了修道院。
阿蕾斯是一位非常敬虔爱主的姊妹。当她怀伯纳多的时候，常常问主会给她怎幺样的孩子。有一晚，她得了一个梦，梦见有一只红棕点的小白狗，很凶悍地狂吠着。她就去请教一位长者，他说：“这孩子生下来，要成为神家中忠诚的看门者，而且是最有力的出口”。这句话，终身成为伯纳多的警惕。诗人就在这样敬虔的家庭中长大，在母亲悉心的管教下，培育出单纯、顺从、殷勤和勇敢的性格。伯纳多的才赋，从小在学校读书，就已经表现出来，同伴中没有一个能赶得过他的；但这些才赋，也成为他最容易受引诱、离开神的网罗。出身贵族，难免有许多世俗的朋友，他也渐渐和他们一同追逐世上的情欲快乐。当他发觉自己正在走下坡的时候，他就回到神面前祷告，求主帮助他对付他里头的情欲，他也完全地把自己献给主。除了借着祷告，还有一个力量帮助他的，就是他母亲的死。这时他已经二十岁了，他的母亲是在三年前去世的。阿蕾斯死的时候非常地安详、也非常地庄严，好象躺在主永远的怀抱里似的。诗人说：“以后在我的一生，我遇见每一件事情，我总要拿‘永远’来衡量它，看它是否是为‘永远’效力的呢？”
“永远”吸引他走上生命的窄路
这个思想，不但扶持他弃绝世界，更影响他一生服事主的路。当他自己到了面临抉择一生道路的时候，他既然知道，神已经定夺了他一生当走的道路——成为神家的看门者，他就去说服父亲，容许他去细妥修道院服事主。家中没有一个人赞成他，他们说：“你在经院哲学上，不是很出类拔萃的吗？这是今天教会最热衷的路，你为什幺要埋葬神给你的秉赋呢？”
也许我们要解释一下奥秘派，和经院哲学有什幺不同。这两条路都是在中世纪时才发展开来、蔚为风气的。前者，注重直接地与主交通、注视主；后者，则注重间接的推测与沉思。前者，注重里头的主；而后者，注重逻辑分析和定义。前者，比较和修道院有关联；而后者，则和学院有关联。就当时的背景来说，经院哲学的发展，要比奥秘派更兴旺。
虽然伯纳多的才智，在经院哲学方面的表现，很叫人激赏，但他知道走里面生命的路，才是惟一的出路。他后来曾说过，主的道路是让我们敬拜和默想的，而非叫我们分析和发明的。伯纳多所要去的细妥修道院，坐落在一处黑森林里，谁都知道去了那里，就等于将自己埋下去了。当时最叫人瞩目的，是克吕尼（Cluny）修道院，他们的路很宽，经常接受人献地建堂，纪律也比较松弛，而他们较注重经院哲学，所以跟当时社会很能一唱一和。相形之下，细妥就黯然失色了。
因着家人强烈的反对，连他自己也动摇了，后来就接受一项折衷的方案，改去德国的一家学院，因为在那里，他的“心智能够长大成熟”。他上路了，一路走，里头一直不平安，他就找到一间教堂进去祷告。主又借着他母亲给他的印象对他说话，他落泪了，就起身回家，对家人说，他要坚持到底，只为“永远”效力。
主也在他的家中和乡里做工。因着他的出来服事主，在一年之内，连续有三十个青年与他同去，其中有三位是他的亲兄弟！
基督之死的馨香开始熏透他的一生
修道院的头一年，可说是伯纳多一生最艰难的一年，他经常问他自己：“伯纳多啊，你来这里是为着什幺呢？”目的是要提醒他自己的初衷。他来的初衷是什幺呢？他后来自己说：“在我才出来服事主的时候，我知道我自己没有什幺，我也不为自己做什幺，我只是喜欢取下一小束没药，放在我的心旁。借着这一束没药，我默想我们的主一生所有的痛苦和患难特别是祂在十架上所喝的那一苦杯，还有祂埋葬时所裹的没药。只要我活着，我就要宝贵没药的香气，充满我所引起的回味。我永远只看重主为我所做成的恩典，因为在祂的死里，我找着了生命！”“这无穷的回味，一直为我存留，没有人能够夺去的，这束没药要一直藏在我的怀里。公义的完全、一切的智慧、救恩的丰富和主所做的一切，都藏在没药的奥秘里面。”“有的时候，我从这些奥秘里，畅饮一服叫我得益的苦剂，隔了一段时间，我发觉它变成安慰我的喜乐油，在我窘迫的环境中扶持我，也在我亨通的时候收敛我。这没药不只在我的心中，这是神所知道的，也从我的口中和笔尖流露出来，这是你们所知道的。认识耶稣和祂的十字架是我一生所学的全部！”因此，第一位为他写传记的，也是他最亲密的同伴威廉（William of St.Thierry）替他回答了这个问题：“伯纳多来细妥，只有一个心愿，向旧人和旧人的心思而死。”
从这三十个人隐入了黑森林以后，勃根第省和它的邻省，都开始注意到这间小小的修道院了。于是追求主的人络绎不绝地来到这里，使得细妥修道院在三年之间，连续分出去了三院，其中最有名的，就是伯纳多被打发出去，在光明谷所建立的修道院，而伯纳多日后所建立的修道院一共有六十八所，因此当时有一位弟兄说：“年老的母亲和年轻的姑娘，都很怕伯纳多，因为他所到之处，许多爱主青年人的心，都被基督夺去了！”
光明谷成为神同在满溢的圣所
一一一五年，也就是伯纳多进入细妥后的第三年，他被打发到奥伯河西岸的旷野，一个叫做“苦艾谷”的地方（Valley of Absinthe）去开工。与他同行的有十二个人，他们一到了那里，正好是六月艳阳天，阳光普照在整个山谷，他就将那谷改名叫光明谷。不到六个礼拜的时间，弟兄们就胼手胝足地盖好了很简陋的教堂和木屋。十六年以后，光明谷成为德王、法王、教皇和主教们经常访问资询的地方。他们无不惊讶，这样的属灵伟人，居然是住在这幺简陋的地方！光明谷的建筑和生活，虽然简朴，但是神的同在却是非常地满溢丰富。威廉告诉了我们当他第一次到光明谷时候的感受：
“我和伯纳多弟兄，在谷中同住了几日，无论我怎幺样地观察他们，我总是很惊讶，我想我是看见了一片新天新地了吧？当你一走下山谷的时候，你就能够感觉到神在那里，而静谧的山谷，在修道院简朴风格的陪衬下，似乎在对你轻语：在这里有属主穷人那种真正的卑微。午正的安宁，可比子夜，其中只有他们赞美神的歌声，和田园中间的锄犁声，偶尔会划破谷中的安宁。在这里，没有一根骨头是懒的，除了睡觉和灵修的时间以外，每一个弟兄都是拿着锄、犁、镰、斧，忙碌地做他们的农事。然而，神的同在弥漫了整个山谷。”
弟兄们在光明谷的信心生活，也是满了试炼的生活，光明谷地处旷野，很少有人来帮补他们，所以这些弟兄们必须完全自给自足，他们生活的苦，不是我们所能想象的。有一次，盐用完了，伯纳多就打发一位弟兄，带一头驴去市上，买一些盐回来。弟兄就问他说：“钱呢？”“你知道我没有钱的，但有一位在天上的，祂的手中握有我们的财富。”那弟兄就嘀咕说：“我若没有带什幺去，那不要怪我不带什幺回来。”伯纳多就鼓励他信靠天上的父而去，结果他带回来满载的盐，和一些奉献。原来那弟兄一进城，就有人来问他你需要什幺，而且给得比他所要的更多。伯纳多常在生活中，这样地教导他们：“有了信心，你们一生就可以享用不尽天上父亲的丰富。”
诗人口中的蜜流自救主十架伤痕
除了生活上的教导之外，伯纳多经常在话语上供应他们。他本人熟读圣经和教父作品，但他“向什幺样的人，就作什幺样的人”。在他的修道院中，有许多人是没有受过多少教育的，他也能用最浅显的话，把生命供应给他们。不过，出版成书的，都是他平日以拉丁文所释放出来的信息。这些信息，直到今日，读起来的时候，你仍可以尝到主的甘甜，因此伯纳多被人称为“口中流蜜的教会权威”（Honey-flowing Doctor of the Church）。
在他的信息中，有一篇是最基本的——“论降卑的阶梯”（Treatise on the Degrees of
Humility）,有的译本或翻作“卑微与骄傲的消长”。伯纳多说：“所有属灵的追求，若不是建造在卑微的根基上，都要崩溃瓦解的。”很奇怪的，他讲到卑微的时候，是先从讲骄傲下手的。什幺是骄傲呢？他引用奥古斯丁的话：“骄傲，是对我们自己优点的着迷。”所以，卑微，就是轻蔑自己的优点。人怎幺会轻蔑自己呢？他深信一个人只要是认识自己的脆弱、卑下、败坏、微小本相的话，没有不会降卑下来的。因此，他说了一句很中肯的名言：“卑微，不过是人认识了他自己恰好是什幺——看清了他自己的本相而有的态度。”
当一个人看见了自己本相的时候，他说：“他就会对自己不满意，而渴慕提升到他靠自己所不能达到更好的光景。他曾有一段时间，对自己就像个严厉的法官似的，审判自己的以往，而期待自己有所改善。然而，一而再、再而三地，他失败了，并发现他靠自己的力量不能成就什幺就在这时候，他的转机到了，他不再寻求自己的义，而转向神的怜悯了。”
其实，这些话正是他自己的经历，他自己曾是个严格苛待自己的禁欲主义者，他以为这会给他带来什幺转机。到了晚年，他会责备自己，若不是过度地苦待自己，他可以有更健康的身体服事神。那幺，到底是什幺因素，叫伯纳多的天然生命仆倒的呢？不是别的，乃是因为基督钉十架活画在他眼前时，基督之死的能力，就叫他顽强的旧人仆倒了，而新人就得以兴旺起来。那首著名的“哦，满了伤痕的头”，就是当伯纳多得着深刻的十架同钉经历时，所写下的。原诗有七段，通常以其头一段的首句“Salve mundi Salutare”为全诗名称，其意思是“世人救恩，我称颂”。
原诗的七段，每段有五十行，共有三百五十行，分别向主在十架上的七处伤痕祷告。哪七处呢？脚伤、膝伤、手伤、腰伤、胸伤、肋伤和头伤等七处。这首拉丁诗的最早版本，即一四九五年印行的，在全诗的序言中说：“这是圣伯纳多最神圣、最敬虔的祷告。做诗的缘起，是有一次在异象中，救主从十架上垂下来，伸开祂的膀臂拥抱着伯纳多。”
尽管到了后来，有人批判这种说法，但是十九世纪最有权威的圣诗学者特全曲主教（R.C.Trench
1807-1886），说：“本诗的内证，说明伯纳多是它的著者；如果不是的话，我真不知道还有谁，写得出来这幺逼真生动的十架伤痕诗呢？”现在在欧洲的几处细妥会修道院，还留下几幅古画，来描绘主从十架上垂下拥抱伯纳多的景象，并写着他的呼喊：“我的神！我的神！你何等地爱我啊！”
这首诗的翻译，最先是在一六五六年，由德国名诗人保罗格尔哈特（Paul Gerhardt,1607-1676）以自由笔法全译成德文，尤其是最后一段感人至深；他本人写了许多圣诗，但他最喜爱的仍是这首“O
Haupt voll Bluttund Wunden”（原诗第七段），当他临终弥留的时候，他请人唱颂的，也是这一首诗歌。诗评者说，这首诗译得几乎比原文的更好。
至于英译方面，有人全译过，但并不好，差不多的译文都集中在第七段，诗评者都说，这段是全诗的高潮与精华。而第七段的英译文，有的，是从德文转译过来的；有的，则是直接译自拉丁文的，可是很有趣的，其中最传神的，却是亚历山大（J.W.Alexander）于一八三?年，自格尔哈特的德译而译成“O Sacred Head，Once Wounden。”
中译方面，除了信义会的，是译自德文的以外，其他各本，都是译自英译的。教会史权威，也是中世纪圣诗学者的腓利沙夫（Philip Schaff，1819-1893），曾下过如此的评语：“这首古典的名歌，自拉丁文译成德文，又由德文译成英文，不但没有减低其原有的感力，且能以不同的言语，同样有力地表明来自救主舍身替死的大爱，以及我们由衷的感恩。”而今，这首诗，又由英文译为中文，其感力仍旧不减有增！说了这幺多，让我们来欣赏五种不同的中译吧！时间大约都在一九三?年先后。
第一种，“至圣之首受重创”，是
（一） 至圣之首受重创，希世痛苦难当；
遍压荆冠皆耻辱，讥评，嫌怨，懮伤；
仰瞻慈容何惨淡？想见满怀凄怆！
此刻愁云掩圣范，当年基督辉光。
（二） 眼见我主英勇力，战争中间消尽，
眼见冷酷的死亡，剥夺主身生命；
呜呼痛苦又死亡，因爱万罪身当！
恳求施恩的耶稣，转面容我仰望。
（三） 我用何辞来感谢，如斯高谊奇恩，
成仁临难之悲哀，无量慈悲怜悯？
恳求收我为弟子，忠爱永不变更；
千万千万莫容我，离开主爱偷生。
（四） 将来与世长别时，恳求迅速来临，
赐我自由与安慰，昭示宝架光明；
凡百守信而死者，因爱虽死犹生；
愿我微心起大信，与主永远相亲。
第二种则是
（一） 低眉垂首血迸流，主戴荆棘冠冕，
受尽嘲诮与怨尤，担当痛苦、憎怨；
慈容惨淡日阴翳，天地为人色变，
畴昔欢颜如晨曦，于今只成追念。
（二） 我当如何献感谢？至亲至爱灵友！
吾主垂死犹怜恤，此恩天高地厚；
我愿永远蹑圣踪，永远为主驰驱，
纵遇劳苦与险凶，此爱终当不渝。
（三） 恳求当我辞世时，指示十架于我，
引手援我莫迟延，解我重重羁束；
我举双眼注视祂，一心虔诚敬崇，
灵火满路向天家，翱翔于主爱中。
（一） 哀哉，我耶稣圣首，伤痕、血迹皆有，
戴上荆棘刺冠冕，如此凌辱甘受；
主在天上极荣显，天地都归掌管！
而今在世多愁苦，皆因世人罪愆。
（二） 哀哉，我耶稣苦像！精神全然失丧，
枪孔水血一齐流，便成衰病模样；
主受痛苦至死亡，将众罪奴释放；
施恩之主，莫弃我，转面，容我仰望。
（三） 哀哉，我救主受苦！全为罪人益处，
被钉十架为我死，因我作罪奴仆；
我今俯伏在主前，思想主爱无限，
求主看顾，仍施怜，赐我丰富恩典。
（四） 我用何辞来感谢，为我舍身良友？
因主怜悯无止息，极大悲苦忍受；
求主使我永属你，爱主之心长久，
恳求千万莫容我，忘主所受苦楚。
（五） 若我临终去尘世，愿主护我不离，
宝架恩光常照耀，使我惟主是依；
求主亲来释放我，助我笃信不疑；
信徒临终藉主爱安然朝见上帝。
第四种，“哦，满了伤痕的头”可能是倪柝声弟兄或他的同工译的。（见第59首）
（一） 哦，满了伤痕的头，满了痛苦谇诟，
受尽万般的试炼，又戴荆棘冠冕；
这头今日已得荣，已得圣徒歌咏，
可怜当日受死伤，在加略木头上。
（二） 你的面容原超凡，如同光明太阳；
父神一见就悦纳，竟受罪人唾打。
主，你所受的一切，都为我们罪孽；
我们债务得清付，你却被人剪除。
（三） 我们想到你痛苦，又想到你无辜；
我们又满心欢喜，又是感激无既！
阿，当我们正如此，念你十字架时，
就是生命全舍弃，损失还算利益。
（四） 我们救主——危难友，我们报恩无由！
当你流血为我死，你的痛苦谁知！
求你使我从今后，天天记念髑髅，
直到被提进荣耀，永远与你相交。
第五种，“主，你圣首满伤迹”，来源同上，但所根据的英译则不同。（见第60首）
（一） 主你圣首满伤迹，懮羞使你头垂；
你的冠冕是荆棘，蔑视辱骂四围。
何等苍白的脸面——滥被凌辱摧毁；
从前发光的荣颜，如今何等憔悴。
（二） 生命之主何荣耀，本享何等福乐；
奇妙故事我知晓，今你所受为我。
你的懮愁和苦情，皆为罪人福祉；
我的所有乃恶行，你的却是受死。
（三） 为你受死的懮苦，为你恩怜无极，
我口无语能尽述我心所有感激。
使我属你不变更，纵使我力败颓；
使我莫苟且偷生，若向你爱减退。
茱利安（John Julian）在他的巨作“圣诗学典考”（A Dictionary of Hymnology）中，于本诗考源的末了,说了这幺一段话：“虽然译诗者（指英译），对这首诗已经花了相当的心血，多次多方地来译，但仍有好几段被人忽略了，这件译事，当有能者兴起将它补全。”但愿更有精通拉丁文或德文的中国籍圣徒兴起，早日将本诗的全貌译出，使它得以呈现在使用中文的圣徒面前。
躺在主的胸怀而成为爱的使徒
我们再回头说到伯纳多的信息吧。他的信息中，有两集是最重要的，一集是“论神的爱”（Treatise
on the Love of God）,另一集则是“歌中之歌的信息”(Sermons on the Song of Songs),伯纳多被人称为“奥秘派之父”，因为他可以说是教会史上，第一位细述内住生命长进经历的人，这方面，他很像使徒约翰，他实在是一位躺在主怀里的爱的使徒；然而，在真道的战场上，对付异端的时候，他则凶猛忌邪地像只狮子，是神对付当代异端的“铁锤”，也是当代教会的“柱石”，这方面，他又很像保罗。
伯纳多最喜爱的经文是：“凡你们所作的，都要凭爱心而作。”（林前16:14）在他的“论神的爱”这集信息中，他所强调的，乃是“神按着祂被人所爱的度量，而被人认识”，人对神的爱有多少，对神的认识也就有多少。为什幺要爱神呢？因为神的自己就是爱，爱是人与神之间惟一的语言；爱神要爱到什幺地步呢？乃是没有限量的。爱怎幺生长呢？当人领略神的爱的时候，特别是加略山的爱，爱就生长。爱的本身是不问报酬的，真正的爱是不计报酬、不假外援的。在爱中消失自己，就像水滴入酒中，失去了原来的色彩，却更芳香。
不过，在这方面的话，说得较详尽的，是在“歌中之歌的信息”中，一般学者都承认，这本书是他的代表作。这集信息不是解经性的，而是讲到圣徒与基督之间联婚的奥秘经历。他所讲的，是他自己先经历过的。他说：“歌中之歌，是讲到爱的一本书，这爱，是新郎与新妇之间联合的一种爱情，只有当事人才能领略到。当我要预备讲给你们听的时候，整个晚上，我的心在我的里面，被神的爱烧得炙热。我所要讲的，也就是这团火焰，我愿意你们每一个人，都被这团火点燃起来。”
这集信息，共有八十六篇，是他在一一三五年以后，陆续释放出来的。在信息的起头，他就说明，爱是人与基督之间惟一的语言；必须要懂得这种语言，人才可以与神交通。那幺，要怎幺样才能明白这种爱的语言呢？
伯纳多说，最浅的爱神，是因为怕神，或要从神得好处，直到有一天，神的儿女眼睛打开了，看见了神的完全、伟大而来爱神，这才开始学会了爱的语言。然后，他还要进入一种更高的爱，就是单纯因为神的缘故来爱神，没有一点的搀杂。但是，他屡次强调说，只要人还活在肉身中，就只有相对的完全；他认为只有在进入主的喜乐以后，才能得着绝对的完全、没有任何搀杂的完全。
因此，伯纳多很看重主的人性，他很反对有些奥秘派所说的，人可以绕过主的人性，而直接进入主的神性。他说：“主在地上微行的一言一行，都是最摸着人心的，祂就借着这种有形的爱，引人一步一步地进入祂属灵的爱中。”然而，他仍说明：“在今生，不可能有一种阶段，是高得用不着主的人性的。”
里头爱的道路，是叫人渐渐失去自己，而与神的旨意相联合的。他说：“如果配偶向主的爱是完全的话，那幺，还有什幺事可比与祂的旨意完全合一要来得更喜乐呢？除了这个爱之外，还有什幺可求的呢？”
末了，伯纳多也讲到最高的奥秘经历——被提的狂喜（ecstasy）。他说：“在这个神圣的片刻里，整个魂的里面，一片平静，像进入了至圣所一样。整个魂又像是在歌唱，惟有被膏油涂抹的心，才会唱的，并且不是用口唱，而是用心唱。喜乐就像潮水，一阵一阵地冲过来，这歌是唱在基督与我之间！”“在狂喜的里面，人虽然没有离开肉身，但是至少脱开了肉身给人的感觉。”
因着成熟的生命而成为教会的柱石
伯纳多虽然是活在那幺高的属灵高原。但他也常常离开修道院，应王侯或教皇之请，去解决一些纷争。最有名的，是一一三?年的教皇双胞案，当时，谁是“真”教皇，要看法王支持哪一个教皇而定，并且也要赢得德王，以及义大利诸王侯的认可，才算数。这件事对当时的教会以及国家的前途都是息息相关的，法王拿不定主意，就问他的顾问。顾问说，只有伯纳多才可以下这个断案。从那个时候起，各国的王、侯和教皇、主教们，就成了光明谷的常客。
在这些事件中，还有两件事，我们要提及的。第一件，就是伯纳多和亚伯拉德（Peter
Abolard,1079-1142）之间神学的论战。关于亚伯拉德的性格和人品，我们在此不说了，只说到他的神学观点的错谬。他的天分很高，辩才在当时是无人可比的，而且他对一般群众有很大的吸引力量，不管他到哪里，总有一群人跟着他，要听他讲神学。而他本人是经院哲学家，喜爱用理性来发展他自己的神学思想，因此，他的说法很具说服力。教会史学家沙夫说：“亚伯拉德的‘新’神学思想，是超前他自己的时代了。”
他的神学是怎幺说的呢？首先，他发展出另一套三位一体论。根据他的论点，父、子、灵是三位大不相同，属性有异的神，这等于是亚流异端的翻版。其次，他的救赎论也是很动听的。他说，基督在十字架上，并没有代人付上赎价，祂的死，不过是父神的手段，为要藉祂舍身流血的大爱来打动人心而已，这点是最蛊惑人心的。此外，他还否定原罪说。
到了一一四一年，伯纳多的朋友威廉写信给他，劝他出来对付这个异端，因为当时他的声望高，只有他的断案别人才会信服，而且亚伯拉德也有几分怕他。伯纳多也发现，如果再容许这个毒疮烂下去，那幺，法国所有的学院中的信仰，都要受他影响，甚至连修道院，也会偏于邪谬。他就根据圣经和信经，指出亚伯拉德学说的十三点错误来。在短短的几个礼拜之内，法国的各主教和教皇，都接受他的断案。教会就正式宣布亚伯拉德为异端，不容许他的学说破坏教会正统的信仰。
十字军的失败驱使他追求属天的圣城
另一件事，则是他做了十字军第二次东征的赞助者。中世纪的欧洲人，为什幺那样地热衷十字军的运动呢？第一、当时的基督徒，逐渐养成一种错误的观念，以为一生中能到圣地去一次，并收集到一些圣物，那便有很大的赎罪功用。而回教势力已经占领了巴勒斯坦，他们就觉得应当夺回圣城，便利圣徒去朝圣。因此，十字军运动在他们的观念中，乃是一场“圣战”。其次是教皇本身的野心，想借着这个运动以夺取他对君士坦丁的控制权，并统一东正教。第三，要以军事行动扼阻回教势力的西侵。
伯纳多本人，并不赞成十字军以宗教热心的缘故，而开杀戒的，他主张以教导代替杀戮，来对待回教民族，我们不明白他为何要大力赞助这件事呢？在他的赞助之下，第二次的东征成行了，但不久就彻底失败，所有的指责都加在他的身上。那时，大概是一一四九年春。
当时，他已经进入暮年了。这次的失败，却给教会带来了另一个意外的收获。什幺收获呢？就是他在心灰意冷之余，又再次回到里头，重温主名的甘甜。他因此从主的自己得了大慰藉，就写下了他的另一首名诗Jesu dulcis memoria，即“耶稣的圣名”。这首诗与前诗一样，对作者是谁，也曾有一番争论。但是一般的圣诗学者都公认：这首诗是伯纳多的作品，而且支持的理由，比前首诗更强。因为这首诗的内容，和“歌中之歌的信息”相同之处甚多，在中世纪再也找不到第二位诗人，更适合做它的作者了。
不只如此，大家还争论这首诗写成的年代问题。有三种可能——一一三0年代，一一四0年代和一一五0年代。不过前两者都是伯纳多经常仆仆风尘于欧洲道上的岁月，心境不太适合写诗。因此，有的学者认为一一五0年左右，最为合适，因为这是十字军失败的时候，也是伯纳多一生感触最深的时刻，极可能刺激他写出这首上乘的作品。
当十字军败讯传来时，伯纳多曾发表过一篇谈话。他把十字军运动失败的原因，归诿于十字军和基督教世界的罪恶。他说：“神的审判是公正的。”当时有人攻击他说，应当为此次远征的失败，负起责任。他就答辩说：“难道旷野中的摩西，需要为以色列民的悖逆受责备吗？是的，我曾应许过你们，神要带领你们进应许地的。但是，我要问你们的是，难道不是你们的罪恶，阻拦了你们的征程吗？”
其实，你更可以从他的这番话里，摸着一个属灵人暮年的辛酸。他就像摩西一样，渴望得着一个神圣的东西，但却是属地等次的！而他们都是与神面对面说话而认识神的人。神向来不纵容祂所看重的仆人。因此，摩西的心愿落空了，伯纳多向着属地耶路撒冷的热望，也落空了。真的落空了吗？不！神抽去属地的，是为着给他们属天的真实、永存事物啊！因此，摩西在变形山上与主一同显现，而伯纳多心灰意冷之余，才在基督里发现那真正的迦南地，不是在地上，乃是在天上的。
“喜乐旋律”唱出基督成了他的世界
这首诗原文，有四十二节，常有人称它是伯纳多的“喜乐旋律”（Jubilee Rhythm）。他曾说过：“如果你写什幺，我若念不出有耶稣在里面，那于我便无滋味；如果你讲道说教，若没有耶稣的回声在里面，我也不敢赞同。耶稣是口中的甘蜜，是耳中的音乐，是心头的喜乐，也是我们的良药。有人愁烦吗？若让耶稣投入心间，就愁云消散又见晴朗了。”耶稣这名正是这首诗的主题，不断地在旋律中出现。前面提过的特全曲主教，对它有以下的评语：“虽然各节都很别致美丽，但就整体而言，它的结构似有呆滞不前的缺点。”这个评论是错了，它不是呆滞不前，而是绕着“耶稣”这名，旋转上升。沙夫对它的评价就很高：“这首诗，允称为中世纪最甜美、最具有福音性的圣诗。”茱利安的评论更为中肯：“这首诗的甜美，证实了弟兄被称为口中流蜜的教会权威，实在是名不虚传。”
这首诗因为太引人注目了，它的英译也非常多，但其中最好的，是卡斯渥尔（E.Caswall）在一八五八年的全译文，共有四段。下面的中译即是根据我们所能查到的英译文而翻成的：
第一段：耶稣，只要一想到你（Jesus，The Very Thought of Thee）（见第334首）
（一） 耶稣，只要一想到你，我心就满甘甜；
但这甘甜还远不及亲眼看见你面。
（二） 无口能唱，无心能思，也无记性能忆，
一种声音比你名字更为甘甜、可喜。
（三） 你是痛悔者的希望，温柔者的喜乐；
你对寻求者何善良，跌倒者何仁德。
（四） 但对寻得你者如何？无口无笔能述；
耶稣的爱，其深、其阔，惟被爱者略熟。
（五） 耶稣！你是世人之光，你是生命之源！
远超一切我所能享、一切我所能羡。
（六） 你外我无别的源头能解我心干渴；
无穷宝泉！活水涌流！别流全都干涸。
（七） 耶稣，你今是我喜乐，将来是我赏赐；
你是我的荣耀、诗歌从今直到永世。
第二段：哦，耶稣，最奇妙君王（O Jesus，King Most Wonderful）
（一） 哦，耶稣，最奇妙君王，所向披靡声扬；
你是说不出的甘甜，所有喜乐泉源。
（二） 自从你来叩我心门，真光开始照耀，
属地荣华失去吸引，点燃圣火爱苗。
（三） 你是死荫之地大光，生命火花之源，
远超一切我所渴望，所有动人心欢。
（四） 愿世人以你名为宝，渴享大爱奇妙；
一旦遇见，内心焚烧，得着还要得着。
（五） 但愿世上所有声音惟独我爱颂扬，
一生一世以我全人活出你的形象。
第三段：耶稣怜悯不可言喻（Jesus，Thy Mercies are Untold）
（一） 耶稣怜悯不可言喻，日过一日覆庇；
浩大的爱千倍超逾你口所能比拟。
（二） 这爱叫你在苦难里流尽宝血，我享；
因这大爱圣徒得以见神圣洁形象。
（三） 从我母腹你已爱我，赐以各样福气；
将来被提进入天国，盼望仍旧在你。
（四） 所以当我仍旧在世，助我进深你爱；
当我结束地上日子，得以配仰丰采。
第四段：耶稣荣美独秀灵界（O Jesus，Thou the Beauty Art）
（一） 耶稣荣美独秀灵界，所有天使失艳；
你的美名、我心音乐，挑旺内住爱焰。
（二） 你是天上纯净甜乐，你能创造渴慕，
吃喝你的更觉饥渴，惟独你能满足。
（三） 我们的灵深处呼叫，祷告随香上升；
甘甜的主！这是记号，请你侧耳垂听。
（四） 与我同住，你光照射每间心房明亮，
驱尽今生黑暗堵塞，散布喜乐洋洋。
（五） 耶稣，你是我爱、我歌，我的赞美对象，
荣耀权能惟你配得，在于永世无疆。
从绚烂归于平淡；脱朽坏进入荣耀
诗人的体力，不断地衰残下去；但是他里面的人，却一天新似一天。当他不久人世的那段日子，修道院里的弟兄们，都非常舍不得他，他自己也十分难过。有一天，他召聚了弟兄们来，劝勉他们，这也是他一生最后所说的话，他说：“我没有留下什幺好榜样给你们，但有三点，却是我盼望你们可以好好效法我的，这三点是我一生牢记在心，尽力遵守的。第一，我总是宁可多信任别人的意见，而少信任自己的意见。第二，当人家伤了我的时候，我绝不找机会报复他。第三，我尽我所能的，避免为难别人，万一我那样做了，我就尽力平息它。”也许你会惊讶，这幺伟大的人，他临终前的赠言，却是这幺地平实。是的，生活中的十字架，正是他一生超凡入圣和属灵美丽的秘诀。
一一五三年八月十九日的早晨，他很平安地被主接去了，结束了他绚烂的一生。
参考书目：
（一）History of the Christian Church,Vol5,by
P.Schaff,1907.
（二）St.Bernard of Clairvaux,by L.Cristiani,1975.
（三）Life and Teaching of St.Bernard.by
A.Luddy,1926.
（四）A
Dictionary of Hymnology,by John Julian,1905.
《本文诗人介绍取材于诗人与诗歌》
Works about St. Bernard of Clairvaux
§
Saint Bernard -- from Encyclopedia
Britannica (9th ed.)
§
August 20. -- St. Bernard -- from
from Lives of the Saints with Reflections for Every Day of the Year
§
St. Bernard of Clairvaux -- from
The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge
SAINT BERNARD of Clairvaux
(9th Edition of The Encyclopaedia Britannica - Vol. III, 1878)
BERNARD, ST, one of the most
illustrious Christian teachers and representatives of monasticism in the Middle
Ages, was born at Fontaines, near
The monastery of Citeaux had
attracted St Bernard not only on account of its neighbourhood (it was only a
few miles distant from
So ardent a nature soon found a
sphere of ambition for itself. The monks of Citeaux, from being a poor and
unknown company, began to attract attention after the accession of St Bernard
and his friends. The fame of their self-denial was noised abroad, and out of
their lowliness and abnegation came as usual distinction and success. The small
monastery was unable to contain the inmates that gathered within it, and it
began to send forth colonies in various directions. St Bernard had been two
years an inmate, and the penetrating eye of the abbot had discovered beneath
all his spiritual devotion a genius of rare power, and especially fitted to aid
his measures of monastic reform. He was chosen accordingly to head a band of
devotees who issued from Citeaux in
Gradually the influence of
Bernard's character began to extend beyond his monastery. His friendship with
William of Champeaux and others gave currency to his opinions, and from his
simple retreat came by voice or pen an authority before which many bowed, not
only within his own order but within the church at large. This influence was
notably shown after the death of Pope Honorius II. in 1130. Two rival popes
assumed the purple, each being able to appeal to his election by a section of
the cardinals. Christendom was divided betwixt the claims of Anacletus II. and
Innocent II. The former was backed by a strong Italian party, and drove his
adversary from
Through the persuasions of
Bernard, the emperor took up arms for Innocent; and Anacletus was driven to
shut himself up in the impregnable
The chief events which fill up his
subsequent life attest the greatness of his influence. These were his contest
with the famous Abelard, and his preaching of the second crusade.
Peter Abelard was twelve years
older than Bernard, and had risen to eminence before Bernard had entered the
gates of Citeaux. His first intellectual encounter had been with Bernard's aged
friend William of Champeaux, whom he had driven from his scholastic throne at
In all things Bernard was
enthusiastically devoted to the church, and it was this enthusiasm which led
him at last into the chief error of his career. Bad news reached
His character appears in our brief
sketch as that of a noble enthusiast, selfish in nothing save in so far as the
church had become a part of himself, ardent in his sympathies and friendships,
tenacious of purpose, terrible in indignation. He spared no abuse, and denounced
what he deemed corruption to the Pope as frankly as to one of his own monks. He
is not a thinker nor a man in advance of his age, but much of the best thought
and piety of his time are sublimed in him to a sweet mystery and rapture of
sentiment which has still power to touch amidst all its rhetorical
exaggerations.
His writings are very numerous,
consisting of epistles, sermons, and theological treatises. The best edition of
his works is that of Father Mabillon, printed at Paris in
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Ninth Edition, Vol. III
Charles Scribner's Sons,
August 20. -- St. Bernard
By Alban
August 20. -- ST. BERNARD.
Bernard was born at the
Unsparing with himself, he at first expected too much of his brethren,
who were disheartened at his severity; but soon perceiving his error, he led
them forward, by the sweetness of his correction and the mildness of his rule,
to wonderful perfection. In spite of his desire to lie hid, the fame of his
sanctity spread far and wide, and many churches asked for him as their Bishop.
Through the help of Pope Eugenius III., his former subject, he escaped this
dignity; yet his retirement was continually invaded: the poor and the weak
sought his protection; bishops, kings, and popes applied to him for advice; and
at length Eugenius himself charged him to preach the crusade. By his fervor,
eloquence, and miracles Bernard kindled the enthusiasm of Christendom, and two
splendid armies were despatched against the infidel. Their defeat was only due,
said the Saint, to their own sins. Bernard died in 1153. His most precious
writingshave earned for him the titles of the last of the Fathers and a Doctor
of Holy Church.
Reflection. -- "St. Bernard used to say to those who applied for
admission to the monastery, "If you desire to enter here, leave at the
threshold the body you have brought with you from the world; here there is room
only for your soul." Let us constantly ask ourselves St. Bernard's daily
question, "To what end didst thou come hither?"
BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX
New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of
Religious Knowledge, Vol. II: Basilica - Chambers
I.
Life and Far-reaching
Activity.
Bernard's Importance (§ 1).
Early
Career. Abbot of Clairvaux (§ 2).
Activity
for Innocent II and against Anacletus II (§ 3).
The
Second Crusade (§ 4).
II. Ecclesiastical and Theological Significance.
Asceticism
(§ 1).
Study of the Bible (§ 2).
Grace
and Works (§ 3).
Bernard's Mysticism (§ 4).
Doctrine of the Church (§
5) .
Monasticism (§ 6).
III. Writings.
IV. Hymns.
I. Life and Far-reaching Activity:
Bernard's Importance.
St. Bernard of Clairvaux
(Bernardus Clarœvallis) is one of the most prominent personalities of the
twelfth century, of the entire Middle Ages, and of church history in general.
He gave a new impulse to monastic life, influenced ecclesiastical affairs
outside of monasticism in the most effective manner, and contributed not a
little toward awakening an inner piety in large circles. As he knew how to
inspire the masses by his powerful preaching, so also he understood how to lead
individual souls by his quiet conversation, to ease the mind, and to dominate
the will. It was said in his time that the Church had had no preacher like him
since Gregory the Great; and that this was no exaggeration is proved by
Bernard's orations, which in copiousness of thought and beauty of exposition
have few equals. Revered by his contemporaries as saint and prophet, his
writings, which belong to the noblest productions of ecclesiastical literature,
have secured him also a far-reaching influence upon posterity. Praised by
Luther and Calvin, Bernard's name has retained a good repute among Protestants,
though he represented many things which the Reformation had to oppose.
2.
Early Career. Abbot of Clairvaux.
Bernard was born at Fontaines (
Clairvaux impressed by the spirit of solemnity and peace which seemed to
be spread over the place (Vita, I, vii, 33-34). His sermons also began to
exercise a powerful influence, which wasincreased by his reputation as prophet
and worker of miracles (Vita, I, x, 46). According to the constitution which
the new order adopted, Clairvaux became the mother monastery of one oft he five
principal divisions into which the Cistercian community was organized, and
Bernard soon became the most influential and famous personality of the entire
order. As early as the pontificate of Honorius II (1124-1130) he was one of the
most prominent men of the Church in France; he enjoyed the favor of the papal chancellor
Haimeric (Epist., xv), communicated with papal legates (Epist., xvi-xix, xxi),
and was consulted on important ecclesiastical matters. At the Synod of Troyes
(1128), to which he was called by Cardinal Matthew of Albano, he spoke in favor
of the Templars, secured their recognition, and is said to have outlined the
first rule of the order (M. Bouquet, Historiens des Gaules et de
3.
Activity for Innocent II and against Anacletus II.
With the schism of 1130 Bernard enters into the first rank of the
influential men of his time by espousing from the very beginning the cause of
Innocent II against Anacletus II. This partizanship of Bernard and others was
no doubt induced by the fear that Anacletus would allow himself to be
influenced by family interests. On this account they overlooked the illegal
procedure in the election of Innocent, regarding it as a mere violation of formalities,
defending it with reasons of doubtful value, and emphasizing the personal worth
of that pope. At the conference which the king held at Étampes with spiritual
and secular grandees concerning the affair, Bernard seems to have taken the
part of reporter. He also worked for the pope by personal negotiations and by
writing (Epist., cxxiv, cxxv). When Innocent was unable to maintain his ground
at
His success here was only
temporary (Epist., cxxvii, cxxviii), and not until 1135 did Bernard succeed, by
resorting to stratagem, in changing the mind of the count (Vita, II, vi,
37-38). When in 1133 Lothair undertook his first campaign against
Bernard who in the spring of 1135
induced Frederick of Staufen to submit to the emperor (Vita, IV, iii, 14; Otto
of Freising, Chron., vii, 19). He then went to
The ecclesiastico-political
affairs of
4. The Second Crusade.
A very unexpected event was the
election of Bernard, abbot of Aquæ Silviæ near
His journey along the
Bernard accompanied him, and was
present at the great council in Reims, 1148; in the debates against Gilbert of
Poitiers (see GILBERT DE
But his mental vitality remained
active; his last work, De consideratione, betrays freshness and unimpaired
force of mind.
II. Ecclesiastical and Theological Significance:
1. Asceticism.
Bernard's entire life was
dominated by the resolution he made while a youth. To work out the salvation of
his soul, and--which meant the same thing to him--to dedicate himself to the
service of God, was thenceforth the sum of his life. To serve God demanded
above all a struggle against nature, and in this struggle Bernard was in
earnest. Sensual temptations he seems to have overcome early and completely
(Vita, I, iii, 6) and an almost virginal purity distinguished him. To suppress
sensuality in the wider sense of the word, he underwent the hardest
castigations, but their excess, which undermined his health, he afterward
checked in others (cf. Vita, I, xii, 60). He always remained devoted to a very
strict asceticism (Epist., cccxlv; Cant., xxx, 10-12; Vita, I, xii, 60), but
castigation was to him only a means of godliness not godliness itself, which
demands of man still other things. The new life comes only from the grace of
God, but it requires the most serious work of one's own nature. How much importance
Bernard attached to this work, whose preliminary condition is a quiet
collection of the mind, may be learned from the admonitions which he gives on
that point to Eugenius. That he prefers the contemplative life to the active is
nothing peculiar in him; and he doubtless had the desire to devote himself
entirely to it. He may have believed that only duty and love impelled him to
act. And yet, as he was eminently fitted for action, such work was probably
also is harmony with his inclinations. From his own experience he received the
strength to work, the thorough education of the personality, by which he
exercised an almost ascinating power over others; on the other hand, his
practical activity excited in him a stronger desire for contemplation and made it
the more fruitful for him (De diversis, sermo iii, 3-5).
2. Study of the Bible.
Of Bernard's quiet hours, in spite
of the many pressing claims on him, one part was devoted to study, and his favorite
study was the Holy Scripture. His knowledge of the Bible was remarkable; not
only does he often quote Bible-passages, but all his orations are impregnated
with Biblical references, allusions, and phrases, to pay regard to which is
often essential for the correct understanding. It is true that his exegesis did
not go beyond the average of his time, yet he allows the great fundamental
thoughts and vital forms of the Holy Scripture to influence him the more. As he
was nourished by them he also knew in a masterly manner how to bring them near
to others. All qualities of the great preacher were united in him; besides
being vitally seized by the grace of God, he had a hearty desire to serve his
hearers, an impressive knowledge of the human heart, and a wealth of thoughts
and fascinating exposition, which was indeed not free from mannerism. What is
missing in his sermons is reference to the variety of the relations of life,
and this is intelligible, because he had monks as his hearers.
3.
Grace and Works.
Religious geniality
is the most distinguishing quality in the whole disposition of Bernard; his
other rich gifts serve it, to it is due the impression which he made upon his
time, and the importance which he obtained in the history of the Church. At the
same time, Bernard is also a child of his time; above all, of the Church of his
time, in which his religious life could develop without conflict. In this
respect Bernard is related not to Luther, but to Augustine, and between
Augustine and him stand Leo I, Nicholas I, and Gregory VII. Thus elements are
found in Bernard which point to future developments combined with those which
belong only to the ecclesiastical consciousness of the time. Bernard is most deeply
permeated by the feeling of owing everything to the grace of God, that on the
working of God rests the beginning and end of the state of salvation, and that
we are to trust only in his grace, not in our works and merits. From the
forgiveness of sin proceeds the Christian life (De diversis, sermo iii, 1).
Faith is the means by which we lay hold of the grace of God (In vigil. nativ.
domini, v, 5; In Cant., sermo xxii, 8; cf. also In Cant., lxvii, 10; In vigil.
nat. dom., sermo ii, 4). Man can never be sure of salvation by resting his hope
upon his own righteousness, for all our works always remain imperfect. On the
other hand, Bernard does not deny that man can and should have merits, but they
are only possible through the preceding and continually working grace of God;
they are gifts of God, which again have rewards in the world to come as their
fruit, but without becoming a cause of self-glory. Before God there is no legal
claim, but an acquisition for eternity through the work of the pious, made possible
and directed by God's grace.
A characteristic contrast to these
thoughts, which lead man again and again to humility, is the excessive
glorification which Bernard devotes to the saints, above all to the Virgin
Mary. Though he opposes (Epist., clxxiv) the new doctrine of her immaculate
conception, he nevertheless uses expressions concerning the mother of Jesus
which go very far (e.g., In nativ. Beat. Virg. Mariœ, v, 7; In assumpt. Beat.
Virg. Mariœ, i, 4; In adv. dom., ii, 5). The same concerns also other saints
(e.g., In vigil. Petri et Pauli, § § 2, 4, and at the end of the second oration
In transitu B. Malachiœ). But the importance of such expression which a
Protestant consciousness will never be able to adopt is restricted by this,
that they are only used on special occasions, such as a feast of the saints.
Otherwise the saints stand in the background, Christ alone stands in the
foreground.
4. Bernard's Mysticism.
Bernard has always been regarded
as a main representative of Christian mysticism, and his writings have been
much used by later mystics and were the main source for the Imitatio Christi.
But just here becomes evident how different the phenomena are which are
comprised under the name of mysticism. With the Neoplatonic-Dionysian mysticism
that of Bernard has some points of contact, but it differs from it as to its
religious character. It is known how depreciatingly Luther speaks of the
Areopagite, but this animadversion does not concern Bernard's mysticism. It is
not man who soars to divine height, but the grace of God in Christ, which first
pardons the sin and then lifts up to itself the pardoned sinner. On this
account the whole mysticism of Bernard centers about Christ, the humbled and exalted
one; it likes to dwell upon his earthly appearance, his suffering and death,
for it is the "work of redemption" which more than anything else is
fit to excite love in the redeemed (In Cant., xx, 2; De grad. hum. in its first
chapters). At the same time Bernard perceives that a sensual devotion, as it
were, to the suffering of Christ is not the goal with which one must be
satisfied; the thing necessary is rather to be filled with the spirit of Christ
and through it to become like Christ. By Christ's work of redemption the Church
has become his bride. To it, i.e., to the totality of the redeemed, belongs
this name first and in a proper sense, to the individual soul only in so far as
it is a part of the Church (In Cant., xxvii, 6, 7; lxvii; lxviii, 4, 11). What
it receives from him is in the first place mercy and forgiveness of sins, then
grace and blessing. The climax of grace is the perfect union, but in the
earthly life this is experienced by the pious at the utmost in single moments
(De consid., V, ii, 1; De grad. hum., viii; De dilig. Deo, x). When Bernard
speaks of becoming one with Christ and with God, his thought is clothed with
Biblical expressions; but that Bernard in point of fact does not intend to go
beyond the meaning of these words can be seen by reading the explanations (In
Cant., lxxi, 7 sqq.), where the union with God, to which the pious soul
attains, is most keenly distinguished from a consubstantiality, as it exists
between Father and Son in the Trinity. Bernard is entirely free from pantheistic
thoughts, and that mysticism does not bring him in opposition to the Church his
entire ecclesiastical attitude shows.
5. Doctrine of the Church.
The Church as organized, with its hierarchy, at whose head stands the
Roman bishop, as successor of Peter and vicar of Christ, is to Bernard the
exhibition of the
6. Monasticism.
Notwithstanding Bernard's many-sided activity, he was and remained above
all things a monk, and would not exchange his monachism either for the chair
of St. Ambrose or for the primacy
of
III. Writings:
The works of Bernard include a
large collection of letters; a number of treatises, dogmatic and polemic,
ascetic and mystical, on monasticism, and on church government; a biography of
St. Malachy, the Irish archbishop; and sermons. Hymns are also ascribed to him (see
below). The most important are the letters, which constitute one of the most
valuable collections of church
history; and the sermons, of which those on the Song of Songs furnish the chief
source of knowledge of Bernard's mysticism. The first and fifth books of his De
consideratione are also of a mystic character, whereas ii, iii, and iv contain
a critique of church affairs of his time from Bernard's point of view and lay
down a programme for papal conduct which acontemporary pope would have found it
difficult to follow.
S. M. DEUTSCH.
IV. Hymns:
Five hymns are ascribed to
Bernard, viz.:
(1)
the so-called Rhythmus de
contemptu mundi, "O miranda vanitas! O divitiarum!"
(2)
the Rhythmica oratio ad unum quodlibet
membrorum Christi patientis, a series of salves addressed to the feet, knees,
etc. of the Crucified;
(3)
the Oratio devota ad Dominum Jesum
et Beatam Mariam matrem ejus, "Summe summi tu patris unice";
(4)
a Christmas hymn, "Lœtabundus
exultet fidelis chorus";
(5)
the Jubilus rhythmicus de nomine
Jesu, "Jesu dulcis memoria," on the blessedness of the soul united
with Christ.
All these poetical productions, besides being beautiful in form and
composition, are distinguished by a tender and living feeling and a mystic
fervor and holy love. If they are really Bernard's, he deserves the title of
Doctor mellifluus devotusque. An addition to the Salve
S. M. HEROLD.
Bibliography: A very accurate list
of the literature (2,761 entries, arranged chronologically) is given by L.
Janauschek, in Bibliographia Bernardina,
For Bernard's hymns: H. A. Daniel,
Thesaurus hymnologicus, 5 vols., Halle, 1841-56; C. J. Simrock, Lauda Sion,
Cologne, 1850; J. F. H. Schlosser, Die Kirche in ihren Liedern durch alle
Jahrhunderte, Freiburg, 1863; P. Schaff, Christ in Song, New York, 1888; J.
Pauly, Hymni breviarii Romani, 3 vols., Aachen, 1868-70; F. A. March, Latin
Hymns with English Notes, pp 114-125, 276-279, New York, 1874; W. A. Merrill,
Latin Hymns Selected and Annotted, Boston, 1904.
Works by St. Bernard of Clairvaux
ON LOVING GOD
by St. Bernard of Clairvaux
DEDICATION
To the illustrious Lord Haimeric,
Cardinal Deacon of the Roman Church,
and Chancellor: Bernard, called
Abbot of Clairvaux, wisheth long life
in the Lord and death in the Lord.
Hitherto you have been wont to
seek prayers from me, not the solving
of problems; although I count
myself sufficient for neither. My
profession shows that, if not my
conversation; and to speak truth, I
lack the diligence and the ability
that are most essential. Yet I am
glad that you turn again for
spiritual counsel, instead of busying
yourself about carnal matters: I
only wish you had gone to some one
better equipped than I am. Still,
learned and simple give the same
excuse and one can hardly tell
whether it comes from modesty or from
ignorance, unless obedience to the
task assigned shall reveal. So,
take from my poverty what I can
give you, lest I should seem to play
the philosopher, by reason of my silence. Only, I do not promise to
answer other questions you may
raise. This one, as to loving God, I
will deal with as He shall teach
me; for it is sweetest, it can be
handled most safely, and it will
be most profitable. Keep the others
for wiser men.
Chapter I. Why we should love God
and the measure of that love
You want me to tell you why God is
to be loved and how much. I answer,
the reason for loving God is God
Himself; and the measure of love due
to Him is immeasurable love. Is
this plain? Doubtless, to a thoughtful
man; but I am debtor to the unwise
also. A word to the wise is
sufficient; but I must consider
simple folk too. Therefore I set
myself joyfully to explain more in
detail what is meant above.
We are to love God for Himself,
because of a twofold reason; nothing
is more reasonable, nothing more
profitable. When one asks, Why should
I love God? he may mean, What is
lovely in God? or What shall I gain
by loving God? In either case, the
same sufficient cause of love
exists, namely, God Himself.
And first, of His title to our
love. Could any title be greater than
this, that He gave Himself for us
unworthy wretches? And being God,
what better gift could He offer
than Himself? Hence, if one seeks for
God's claim upon our love here is
the chiefest: Because He first loved
us (I John 4.19).
Ought He not to be loved in
return, when we think who loved, whom He
loved, and how much He loved? For
who is He that loved? The same of
whom every spirit testifies: 'Thou
art my God: my goods are nothing
unto Thee' (Ps. 16.2, Vulg.). And
is not His love that wonderful
charity which 'seeketh not her
own'? (I Cor.13.5). But for whom was
such unutterable love made
manifest? The apostle tells us: 'When we
were enemies, we were reconciled
to God by the death of His Son' (Rom.
5.10). So it was God who loved us,
loved us freely, and loved us while
yet we were enemies. And how great
was this love of His?
answers: 'God so loved the world
that He gave His only-begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish, but have
everlasting life' (John 3.16).
Son, but delivered Him up for us
all' (Rom. 8.32); and the son says of
Himself, 'Greater love hath no man
than this, that a man lay down his
life for his friends' (John
15.13).
This is the claim which God the
holy, the supreme, the omnipotent, has
upon men, defiled and base and
weak. Some one may urge that this is
true of mankind, but not of
angels. True, since for angels it was not
needful. He who succored men in
their time of need, preserved angels
from such need; and even as His
love for sinful men wrought wondrously
in them so that they should not
remain sinful, so that same love which
in equal measure He poured out
upon angels kept them altogether free
from sin.
Chapter II. On loving God. How
much god deserves love from man in
recognition of His gifts, both
material and spiritual: and how these gifts
should be cherished without
neglect of the Giver
Those who admit the truth of what
I have said know, I am sure, why we
are bound to love God. But if
unbelievers will not grant it, their
ingratitude is at once confounded
by His innumerable benefits,
lavished on our race, and plainly
discerned by the senses. Who is it
that gives food to all flesh,
light to every eye, air to all that
breathe? It would be foolish to
begin a catalogue, since I have just
called them innumerable: but I
name, as notable instances, food,
sunlight and air; not because they
are God's best gifts, but because
they are essential to bodily life.
Man must seek in his own higher
nature for the highest gifts; and
these are dignity, wisdom and
virtue. By dignity I mean
free-will, whereby he not only excels all
other earthly creatures, but has
dominion over them. Wisdom is the
power whereby he recognizes this
dignity, and perceives also that it
is no accomplishment of his own.
And virtue impels man to seek eagerly
for Him who is man's Source, and
to lay fast hold on Him when He has
been found.
Now, these three best gifts have
each a twofold character. Dignity
appears not only as the
prerogative of human nature, but also as the
cause of that fear and dread of
man which is upon every beast of the
earth. Wisdom perceives this
distinction, but owns that though in us,
it is, like all good qualities,
not of us. And lastly, virtue moves us
to search eagerly for an Author,
and, when we have found Him, teaches
us to cling to Him yet more
eagerly. Consider too that dignity without
wisdom is nothing worth; and
wisdom is harmful without virtue, as this
argument following shows: There is
no glory in having a gift without
knowing it. But to know only that
you have it, without knowing that it
is not of yourself that you have
it, means self-glorying, but no true
glory in God. And so the apostle
says to men in such cases, 'What hast
thou that thou didst not receive?
Now, if thou didst receive it, why
dost thou glory as if thou hadst
not received it? (I Cor. 4.7). He
asks, Why dost thou glory? but
goes on, as if thou hadst not received
it, showing that the guilt is not
in glorying over a possession, but
in glorying as though it had not
been received. And rightly such
glorying is called vain-glory,
since it has not the solid foundation
of truth. The apostle shows how to
discern the true glory from the
false, when he says, He that
glorieth, let him glory in the Lord, that
is, in the Truth, since our Lord
is Truth (I Cor. 1.31; John 14.6).
We must know, then, what we are,
and that it is not of ourselves that
we are what we are. Unless we know
this thoroughly, either we shall
not glory at all, or our glorying
will be vain. Finally, it is
written, 'If thou know not, go thy
way forth by the footsteps of the
flock' (Cant. 1.8). And this is
right. For man, being in honor, if he
know not his own honor, may fitly
be compared, because of such
ignorance, to the beasts that
perish. Not knowing himself as the
creature that is distinguished
from the irrational brutes by the
possession of reason, he commences
to be confounded with them because,
ignorant of his own true glory
which is within, he is led captive by
his curiosity, and concerns
himself with external, sensual things. So
he is made to resemble the lower
orders by not knowing that he has
been more highly endowed than
they.
We must be on our guard against
this ignorance. We must not rank
ourselves too low; and with still
greater care we must see that we do
not think of ourselves more highly
than we ought to think, as happens
when we foolishly impute to
ourselves whatever good may be in us. But
far more than either of these
kinds of ignorance, we must hate and
shun that presumption which would
lead us to glory in goods not our
own, knowing that they are not of
ourselves but of God, and yet not
fearing to rob God of the honor
due unto Him. For mere ignorance, as
in the first instance, does not
glory at all; and mere wisdom, as in
the second, while it has a kind of
glory, yet does not glory in the
Lord. In the third evil case,
however, man sins not in ignorance but
deliberately, usurping the glory
which belongs to God. And this
arrogance is a more grievous and
deadly fault than the ignorance of
the second, since it contemns God,
while the other knows Him not.
Ignorance is brutal, arrogance is
devilish. Pride only, the chief of
all iniquities, can make us treat
gifts as if they were rightful
attributes of our nature, and,
while receiving benefits, rob our
Benefactor of His due glory.
Wherefore to dignity and wisdom we
must add virtue, the proper fruit
of them both. Virtue seeks and
finds Him who is the Author and Giver
of all good, and who must be in
all things glorified; otherwise, one
who knows what is right yet fails
to perform it, will be beaten with
many stripes (Luke 12.47). Why?
you may ask. Because he has failed to
put his knowledge to good effect,
but rather has imagined mischief
upon his bed (Ps. 36.4); like a
wicked servant, he has turned aside to
seize the glory which, his own
knowledge assured him, belonged only to
his good Lord and Master. It is
plain, therefore, that dignity without
wisdom is useless and that wisdom
without virtue is accursed. But when
one possesses virtue, then wisdom
and dignity are not dangerous but
blessed. Such a man calls on God
and lauds Him, confessing from a full
heart, 'Not unto us, O Lord, not
unto us, but unto Thy name give
glory' (Ps. 115.1). Which is to
say, 'O Lord, we claim no knowledge,
no distinction for ourselves; all
is Thine, since from Thee all things
do come.'
But we have digressed too far in
the wish to prove that even those who
know not Christ are sufficiently
admonished by the natural law, and by
their own endowments of soul and
body, to love God for God's own sake.
To sum up: what infidel does not
know that he has received light, air,
food--all things necessary for his
own body's life--from Him alone who
giveth food to all flesh (Ps.
136.25), who maketh His sun to rise on
the evil and on the good, and
sendeth rain on the just and on the
unjust (Matt. 5.45). Who is so
impious as to attribute the peculiar
eminence of humanity to any other
except to Him who saith, in Genesis,
'Let us make man in Our image,
after Our likeness'? (Gen. 1.26). Who
else could be the Bestower of
wisdom, but He that teacheth man
knowledge? (Ps. 94.10). Who else
could bestow virtue except the Lord
of virtue? Therefore even the
infidel who knows not Christ but does at
least know himself, is bound to
love God for God's own sake. He is
unpardonable if he does not love
the Lord his God with all his heart,
and with all his soul, and with
all his mind; for his own innate
justice and common sense cry out
from within that he is bound wholly
to love God, from whom he has
received all things. But it is hard, nay
rather, impossible, for a man by
his own strength or in the power of
free-will to render all things to
God from whom they came, without
rather turning them aside, each to
his own account, even as it is
written, 'For all seek their own'
(Phil. 2.21); and again, 'The
imagination of man's heart is evil
from his youth' (Gen. 8.21).
Chapter III. What greater
incentives Christians have, more than the heathen,
to love God
The faithful know how much need
they have of Jesus and Him crucified;
but though they wonder and rejoice
at the ineffable love made manifest
in Him, they are not daunted at
having no more than their own poor
souls to give in return for such
great and condescending charity. They
love all the more, because they
know themselves to be loved so
exceedingly; but to whom little is
given the same loveth little (Luke
7.47). Neither Jew nor pagan feels
the pangs of love as doth the
Church, which saith, 'Stay me with
flagons, comfort me with apples;
for I am sick of love' (Cant.
2.5). She beholds King Solomon, with the
crown wherewith his mother crowned
him in the day of his espousals;
she sees the Sole-begotten of the
Father bearing the heavy burden of
His Cross; she sees the Lord of
all power and might bruised and spat
upon, the Author of life and glory
transfixed with nails, smitten by
the lance, overwhelmed with
mockery, and at last laying down His
precious life for His friends.
Contemplating this the sword of love
pierces through her own soul also
and she cried aloud, 'Stay me with
flagons, comfort me with apples;
for I am sick of love.' The fruits
which the Spouse gathers from the
Tree of Life in the midst of the
garden of her Beloved, are
pomegranates (Cant. 4.13), borrowing their
taste from the Bread of heaven,
and their color from the Blood of
Christ. She sees death dying and
its author overthrown: she beholds
captivity led captive from hell to
earth, from earth to heaven, so
'that at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow, of things in heaven
and things in earth and things
under the earth' (Phil. 2.10). The
earth under the ancient curse
brought forth thorns and thistles; but
now the Church beholds it laughing
with flowers and restored by the
grace of a new benediction.
Mindful of the verse, 'My heart danceth
for joy, and in my song will I
praise Him', she refreshes herself with
the fruits of His Passion which
she gathers from the Tree of the
Cross, and with the flowers of His
Resurrection whose fragrance
invites the frequent visits of her
Spouse.
Then it is that He exclaims,
'Behold thou art fair, My beloved, yea
pleasant: also our bed is green'
(Cant. 1. 16). She shows her desire
for His coming and whence she
hopes to obtain it; not because of her
own merits but because of the
flowers of that field which God hath
blessed. Christ who willed to be
conceived and brought up in Nazareth,
that is, the town of branches,
delights in such blossoms. Pleased by
such heavenly fragrance the
bridegroom rejoices to revisit the heart's
chamber when He finds it adorned
with fruits and decked with
flowers--that is, meditating on
the mystery of His Passion or on the
glory of His Resurrection.
The tokens of the Passion we
recognize as the fruitage of the ages of
the past, appearing in the
fullness of time during the reign of sin
and death (Gal. 4.4). But it is
the glory of the Resurrection, in the
new springtime of regenerating
grace, that the fresh flowers of the
later age come forth, whose fruit
shall be given without measure at
the general resurrection, when
time shall be no more. And so it is
written, 'The winter is past, the
rain is over and gone, the flowers
appear on the earth' (Cant.
back with Him who dissolves icy
death into the spring of a new life
and says, 'Behold, I make all
things new' (Rev. 21.5). His Body sown
in the grave has blossomed in the
Resurrection (I Cor. 15.42); and in
like manner our valleys and fields
which were barren or frozen, as if
dead, glow with reviving life and
warmth.
The Father of Christ who makes all
things new, is well pleased with
the freshness of those flowers and
fruits, and the beauty of the field
which breathes forth such heavenly
fragrance; and He says in
benediction, 'See, the smell of My
Son is as the smell of a field
which the Lord hath blessed' (Gen.
27.27). Blessed to overflowing,
indeed, since of His fullness have
all we received (John 1.16). But
the Bride may come when she
pleases and gather flowers and fruits
therewith to adorn the inmost
recesses of her conscience; that the
Bridegroom when He cometh may find
the chamber of her heart redolent
with perfume.
So it behoves us, if we would have
Christ for a frequent guest, to
fill our hearts with faithful
meditations on the mercy He showed in
dying for us, and on His mighty
power in rising again from the dead.
To this David testified when he
sang, 'God spake once, and twice I
have also heard the same; that
power belongeth unto God; and that
Thou, Lord, art merciful (Ps.
enough and to spare in that Christ
died for our sins and rose again
for our justification, and
ascended into heaven that He might protect
us from on high, and sent the Holy
Spirit for our comfort. Hereafter
He will come again for the
consummation of our bliss. In His Death He
displayed His mercy, in His
Resurrection His power; both combine to
manifest His glory.
The Bride desires to be stayed
with flagons and comforted with apples,
because she knows how easily the
warmth of love can languish and grow
cold; but such helps are only
until she has entered into the bride
chamber. There she will receive
His long-desired caresses even as she
sighs, 'His left hand is under my
head and His right hand doth embrace
me' (Cant. 2.6). Then she will perceive
how far the embrace of the
right hand excels all sweetness,
and that the left hand with which He
at first caressed her cannot be
compared to it. She will understand
what she has heard: 'It is the
spirit that quickeneth; the flesh
profiteth nothing' (John 6.63).
She will prove what she hath read: 'My
memorial is sweeter than honey,
and mine inheritance than the
honey-comb' (Ecclus. 24.20). What
is written elsewhere, 'The memorial
of Thine abundant kindness shall
be showed' (Ps. 145.7), refers
doubtless to those of whom the
Psalmist had said just before: 'One
generation shall praise Thy works
unto another and declare Thy power'
(Ps. 145.4). Among us on the earth
there is His memory; but in the
Kingdom of heaven His very
Presence. That Presence is the joy of those
who have already attained to
beatitude; the memory is the comfort of
us who are still wayfarers,
journeying towards the Fatherland.
Chapter IV. Of those who find
comfort in there collection of God, or are
fittest for His love
But it will be well to note what
class of people takes comfort in the
thought of God. Surely not that
perverse and crooked generation to
whom it was said, 'Woe unto you
that are rich; for ye have received
your consolation' (Luke 6.24).
Rather, those who can say with truth,
'My soul refuseth comfort' (Ps.
77.2). For it is meet that those who
are not satisfied by the present
should be sustained by the thought of
the future, and that the
contemplation of eternal happiness should
solace those who scorn to drink
from the river of transitory joys.
That is the generation of them
that seek the Lord, even of them that
seek, not their own, but the face
of the God of Jacob. To them that
long for the presence of the
living God, the thought of Him is
sweetest itself: but there is no
satiety, rather an ever-increasing
appetite, even as the Scripture
bears witness, 'they that eat me shall
yet be hungry' (Ecclus. 24.21);
and if the one an-hungred spake, 'When
I awake up after Thy likeness, I
shall be satisfied with it.' Yea,
blessed even now are they which do
hunger and thirst after
righteousness, for they, and they
only, shall be filled. Woe to you,
wicked and perverse generation;
woe to you, foolish and abandoned
people, who hate Christ's memory,
and dread His second Advent! Well
may you fear, who will not now
seek deliverance from the snare of the
hunter; because 'they that will be
rich fall into temptation and a
snare, and into many foolish and
hurtful lusts' (I Tim. 6.9). In that
day we shall not escape the
dreadful sentence of condemnation, 'Depart
from Me, ye cursed, into
everlasting fire' (Matt. 25.41). O dreadful
sentence indeed, O hard saying!
How much harder to bear than that
other saying which we repeat daily
in church, in memory of the
Passion: 'Whoso eateth My flesh
and drinketh My blood hath eternal
life' (John 6.54). That signifies,
whoso honors My death and after My
example mortifies his members which
are upon the earth (Col. 3.5)
shall have eternal life, even as
the apostle says, 'If we suffer, we
shall also reign with Him' (II
Tim. 2.12). And yet many even today
recoil from these words and go
away, saying by their action if not
with their lips, 'This is a hard
saying; who can hear it?' (John
6.60). 'A generation that set not
their heart aright, and whose spirit
cleaveth not steadfastly unto God'
(Ps. 78.8), but chooseth rather to
trust in uncertain riches, it is
disturbed at the very name of the
Cross, and counts the memory of
the Passion intolerable. How can such
sustain the burden of that fearful
sentence, 'Depart from Me, ye
cursed, into everlasting fire,
prepared for the devil and his angels'?
'On whomsoever that stone shall
fall it will grind him to powder'
(Luke 20.18); but 'the generation
of the faithful shall be blessed'
(Ps. 112.2), since, like the
apostle, they labor that whether present
or absent they may be accepted of
the Lord (II Cor. 5.9). At the last
day they too shall hear the Judge
pronounce their award, 'Come, ye
blessed of My Father, inherit the
kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world' (Matt.
25.34).
In that day those who set not
their hearts aright will feel, too late,
how easy is Christ's yoke, to
which they would not bend their necks
and how light His burden, in
comparison with the pains they must then
endure. O wretched slaves of
Mammon, you cannot glory in the Cross of
our Lord Jesus Christ while you
trust in treasures laid up on earth:
you cannot taste and see how
gracious the Lord is, while you are
hungering for gold. If you have
not rejoiced at the thought of His
coming, that day will be indeed a
day of wrath to you.
But the believing soul longs and
faints for God; she rests sweetly in
the contemplation of Him. She
glories in the reproach of the Cross,
until the glory of His face shall
be revealed. Like the Bride, the
dove of Christ, that is covered
with silver wings (Ps. 68.13), white
with innocence and purity, she
reposes in the thought of Thine
abundant kindness, Lord Jesus; and
above all she longs for that day
when in the joyful splendor of Thy
saints, gleaming with the radiance
of the Beatific Vision, her
feathers shall be like gold, resplendent
with the joy of Thy countenance.
Rightly then may she exult, 'His
left hand is under my head and His
right hand doth embrace me.' The
left hand signifies the memory of
that matchless love, which moved
Him to lay down His life for His
friends; and the right hand is the
Beatific Vision which He hath
promised to His own, and the
delight they have in His presence. The
Psalmist sings rapturously, 'At
Thy right hand there is pleasure for
evermore' (Ps. 16.11): so we are
warranted in explaining the right
hand as that divine and deifying
joy of His presence.
Rightly too is that wondrous and
ever-memorable love symbolized as His
left hand, upon which the Bride
rests her head until iniquity be done
away: for He sustains the purpose
of her mind, lest it should be
turned aside to earthly, carnal
desires. For the flesh wars against
the spirit: 'The corruptible body
presseth down the soul, and the
earthly tabernacle weigheth down
the mind that museth upon many
things' (Wisdom 9.15). What could
result from the contemplation of
compassion so marvelous and so
undeserved, favor so free and so well
attested, kindness so unexpected,
clemency so unconquerable, grace so
amazing except that the soul should
withdraw from all sinful
affections, reject all that is
inconsistent with God's love, and yield
herself wholly to heavenly things?
No wonder is it that the Bride,
moved by the perfume of these
unctions, runs swiftly, all on fire with
love, yet reckons herself as
loving all too little in return for the
Bridegroom's love. And rightly,
since it is no great matter that a
little dust should be all consumed
with love of that Majesty which
loved her first and which revealed
itself as wholly bent on saving
her. For 'God so loved the world
that He gave His only-begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish but have everlasting
life' (John 3.16). This sets forth
the Father's love. But 'He hath
poured out His soul unto death,'
was written of the Son (Isa. 53.12).
And of the Holy Spirit it is said,
'The Comforter which is the Holy
Ghost whom the Father will send in
My name, He shall teach you all
things, and bring all things to
your remembrance, whatsoever I have
said unto you' (John 14.26). It is
plain, therefore, that God loves
us, and loves us with all His
heart; for the Holy Trinity altogether
loves us, if we may venture so to
speak of the infinite and
incomprehensible Godhead who is
essentially one.
Chapter V. Of the Christian's debt
of love, how great it is
From the contemplation of what has
been said, we see plainly that God
is to be loved, and that He has a
just claim upon our love. But the
infidel does not acknowledge the Son of
God, and so he can know
neither the Father nor the Holy
Spirit; for he that honoureth not the
Son, honoureth not the Father
which sent Him, nor the Spirit whom He
hath sent (John 5.23). He knows
less of God than we; no wonder that he
loves God less. This much he
understands at least--that he owes all he
is to his Creator. But how will it
be with me? For I know that my God
is not merely the bounteous
Bestower of my life, the generous Provider
for all my needs, the pitiful
Consoler of all my sorrows, the wise
Guide of my course: but that He is
far more than all that. He saves me
with an abundant deliverance: He
is my eternal Preserver, the portion
of my inheritance, my glory. Even
so it is written, 'With Him is
plenteous redemption' (Ps. 130.7);
and again, 'He entered in once into
the holy place, having obtained
eternal redemption for us' (Heb.
9.12). Of His salvation it is
written, 'He forsaketh not His that be
godly; but they are preserved for
ever' (Ps. 37.28); and of His
bounty, 'Good measure, pressed
down and shaken together, and running
over, shall men give into your
bosom' (Luke 6.38); and in another
place, 'Eye hath not seen nor ear
heard, neither have entered into the
heart of man, those things which
God hath prepared for them that love
Him' (I Cor. 2.9). He will glorify
us, even as the apostle beareth
witness, saying, 'We look for the
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who
shall change our vile body that it
may be fashioned like unto His
glorious body' (Phil.
of this present time are not
worthy to be compared with the glory
which shall be revealed in us'
(Rom. 8.18); and once more, 'Our light
affliction, which is but for a
moment, worketh for us a far more
exceeding and eternal weight of
glory; while we look not at the things
which are seen, but at the things
which are not seen (II Cor.
'What shall I render unto the Lord
for all His benefits towards me?'
(Ps. 116.12). Reason and natural
justice alike move me to give up
myself wholly to loving Him to
whom I owe all that I have and am. But
faith shows me that I should love
Him far more than I love myself, as
I come to realize that He hath
given me not my own life only, but even
Himself. Yet, before the time of
full revelation had come, before the
Word was made flesh, died on the
Cross, came forth from the grave, and
returned to His Father; before God
had shown us how much He loved us
by all this plenitude of grace,
the commandment had been uttered,
'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thine heart, and with all
thy soul and with all thy might'
(Deut. 6.5), that is, with all thy
being, all thy knowledge, all thy
powers. And it was not unjust for
God to claim this from His own
work and gifts. Why should not the
creature love his Creator, who
gave him the power to love? Why should
he not love Him with all his
being, since it is by His gift alone that
he can do anything that is good?
It was God's creative grace that out
of nothingness raised us to the
dignity of manhood; and from this
appears our duty to love Him, and
the justice of His claim to that
love. But how infinitely is the
benefit increased when we bethink
ourselves of His fulfillment of
the promise, 'thou, Lord, shalt save
both man and beast: how excellent
is Thy mercy, O Lord! ' (Ps.
For we, who 'turned our glory into
the similitude of a calf that
eateth hay' (Ps. 106.20), by our
evil deeds debased ourselves so that
we might be compared unto the
beasts that perish. I owe all that I am
to Him who made me: but how can I
pay my debt to Him who redeemed me,
and in such wondrous wise?
Creation was not so vast a work as
redemption; for it is written of
man and of all things that were made,
'He spake the word, and they were
made' (Ps. 148.5). But to redeem
that creation which sprang into
being at His word, how much He spake,
what wonders He wrought, what
hardships He endured, what shames He
suffered! Therefore what reward
shall I give unto the Lord for all the
benefits which He hath done unto
me? In the first creation He gave me
myself; but in His new creation He
gave me Himself, and by that gift
restored to me the self that I had
lost. Created first and then
restored, I owe Him myself twice
over in return for myself. But what
have I to offer Him for the gift
of Himself? Could I multiply myself a
thousand-fold and then give Him
all, what would that be in comparison
with God?
Chapter VI. A brief summary
Admit that God deserves to be
loved very much, yea, boundlessly,
because He loved us first, He
infinite and we nothing, loved us,
miserable sinners, with a love so
great and so free. This is why I
said at the beginning that the
measure of our love to God is to love
immeasurably. For since our love
is toward God, who is infinite and
immeasurable, how can we bound or
limit the love we owe Him? Besides,
our love is not a gift but a debt.
And since it is the Godhead who
loves us, Himself boundless,
eternal, supreme love, of whose greatness
there is no end, yea, and His
wisdom is infinite, whose peace passeth
all understanding; since it is He
who loves us, I say, can we think of
repaying Him grudgingly? 'I will
love Thee, O Lord, my strength. The
Lord is my rock and my fortress
and my deliverer, my God, my strength,
in whom I will trust' (Ps.
long for. My God and my help, I
will love Thee for Thy great goodness;
not so much as I might, surely,
but as much as I can. I cannot love
Thee as Thou deservest to be
loved, for I cannot love Thee more than
my own feebleness permits. I will
love Thee more when Thou deemest me
worthy to receive greater capacity
for loving; yet never so perfectly
as Thou hast deserved of me.
'Thine eyes did see my substance, yet
being unperfect; and in Thy book
all my members were written' (Ps.
139.16). Yet Thou recordest in
that book all who do what they can,
even though they cannot do what
they ought. Surely I have said enough
to show how God should be loved
and why. But who has felt, who can
know, who express, how much we
should love him.
Chapter VII. Of love toward God
not without reward: and how the hunger of
man's heart cannot be satisfied
with earthly things
And now let us consider what
profit we shall have from loving God.
Even though our knowledge of this
is imperfect, still that is better
than to ignore it altogether. I
have already said (when it was a
question of wherefore and in what
manner God should be loved) that
there was a double reason
constraining us: His right and our
advantage. Having written as best
I can, though unworthily, of God's
right to be loved. I have still to
treat of the recompense which that
love brings. For although God
would be loved without respect of
reward, yet He wills not to leave
love unrewarded. True charity cannot
be left destitute, even though she
is unselfish and seeketh not her
own (I Cor. 13.5). Love is an
affection of the soul, not a contract:
it cannot rise from a mere
agreement, nor is it so to be gained. It is
spontaneous in its origin and
impulse; and true love is its own
satisfaction. It has its reward;
but that reward is the object
beloved. For whatever you seem to
love, if it is on account of
something else, what you do really
love is that something else, not
the apparent object of desire. St.
Paul did not preach the Gospel that
he might earn his bread; he ate
that he might be strengthened for his
ministry. What he loved was not
bread, but the Gospel. True love does
not demand a reward, but it
deserves one. Surely no one offers to pay
for love; yet some recompense is
due to one who loves, and if his love
endures he will doubtless receive
it.
On a lower plane of action, it is
the reluctant, not the eager, whom
we urge by promises of reward. Who
would think of paying a man to do
what he was yearning to do
already? For instance no one would hire a
hungry man to eat, or a thirsty
man to drink, or a mother to nurse her
own child. Who would think of
bribing a farmer to dress his own
vineyard, or to dig about his
orchard, or to rebuild his house? So,
all the more, one who loves God
truly asks no other recompense than
God Himself; for if he should
demand anything else it would be the
prize that he loved and not God.
It is natural for a man to desire
what he reckons better than that
which he has already, and be
satisfied with nothing which lacks that
special quality which he misses.
Thus, if it is for her beauty that he
loves his wife, he will cast
longing eyes after a fairer woman. If he
is clad in a rich garment, he will
covet a costlier one; and no matter
how rich he may be he will envy a
man richer than himself. Do we not
see people every day, endowed with
vast estates, who keep on joining
field to field, dreaming of wider
boundaries for their lands? Those
who dwell in palaces are ever
adding house to house, continually
building up and tearing down,
remodeling and changing. Men in high
places are driven by insatiable
ambition to clutch at still greater
prizes. And nowhere is there any
final satisfaction, because nothing
there can be defined as absolutely
the best or highest. But it is
natural that nothing should
content a man's desires but the very best,
as he reckons it. Is it not, then,
mad folly always to be craving for
things which can never quiet our
longings, much less satisfy them? No
matter how many such things one
has, he is always lusting after what
he has not; never at peace, he
sighs for new possessions.
Discontented, he spends himself in
fruitless toil, and finds only
weariness in the evanescent and
unreal pleasures of the world. In his
greediness, he counts all that he
has clutched as nothing in
comparison with what is beyond his
grasp, and loses all pleasure in
his actual possessions by longing
after what he has not, yet covets.
No man can ever hope to own all
things. Even the little one does
possess is got only with toil and
is held in fear; since each is
certain to lose what he hath when
God's day, appointed though
unrevealed, shall come. But the
perverted will struggles towards the
ultimate good by devious ways,
yearning after satisfaction, yet led
astray by vanity and deceived by
wickedness. Ah, if you wish to attain
to the consummation of all desire,
so that nothing unfulfilled will be
left, why weary yourself with
fruitless efforts, running hither and
thither, only to die long before
the goal is reached?
It is so that these impious ones
wander in a circle, longing after
something to gratify their
yearnings, yet madly rejecting that which
alone can bring them to their
desired end, not by exhaustion but by
attainment. They wear themselves
out in vain travail, without reaching
their blessed consummation,
because they delight in creatures, not in
the Creator. They want to traverse
creation, trying all things one by
one, rather than think of coming
to Him who is Lord of all. And if
their utmost longing were
realized, so that they should have all the
world for their own, yet without
possessing Him who is the Author of
all being, then the same law of
their desires would make them contemn
what they had and restlessly seek
Him whom they still lacked, that is,
God Himself. Rest is in Him alone.
Man knows no peace in the world;
but he has no disturbance when he
is with God. And so the soul says
with confidence, 'Whom have I in
heaven but Thee; and there is none
upon earth that I desire in
comparison of Thee. God is the strength of
my heart, and my portion for ever.
It is good for me to hold me fast
by God, to put my trust in the
Lord God' (Ps. 73.25ff). Even by this
way one would eventually come to
God, if only he might have time to
test all lesser goods in turn.
But life is too short, strength
too feeble, and competitors too many,
for that course to be practicable.
One could never reach the end,
though he were to weary himself
with the long effort and fruitless
toil of testing everything that
might seem desirable. It would be far
easier and better to make the
assay in imagination rather than in
experiment. For the mind is
swifter in operation and keener in
discrimination than the bodily
senses, to this very purpose that it
may go before the sensuous
affections so that they may cleave to
nothing which the mind has found
worthless. And so it is written,
'Prove all things: hold fast that
which is good' (I Thess. 5.21).
Which is to say that right
judgment should prepare the way for the
heart. Otherwise we may not ascend
into the hill of the Lord nor rise
up in His holy place (Ps. 24.3).
We should have no profit in
possessing a rational mind if we
were to follow the impulse of the
senses, like brute beasts, with no
regard at all to reason. Those whom
reason does not guide in their
course may indeed run, but not in the
appointed race-track, neglecting
the apostolic counsel, 'So run that
ye may obtain'. For how could they
obtain the prize who put that last
of all in their endeavor and run
round after everything else first?
But as for the righteous man, it
is not so with him. He remembers the
condemnation pronounced on the
multitude who wander after vanity, who
travel the broad way that leads to
death (Matt. 7.13); and he chooses
the King's highway, turning aside neither to the right hand nor to the
left (Num. 20.17), even as the
prophet saith, 'The way of the just is
uprightness (Isa. 26.7). Warned by
wholesome counsel he shuns the
perilous road, and heeds the
direction that shortens the search,
forbidding covetousness and
commanding that he sell all that he hath
and give to the poor (Matt.
19.21). Blessed, truly, are the poor, for
theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven
(Matt. 5.3). They which run in a race,
run all, but distinction is made
among the racers. 'The Lord knoweth
the way of the righteous: and the
way of the ungodly shall perish'
(Ps. 1.6). 'A small thing that the
righteous hath is better than great
riches of the ungodly' (Ps.
37.16). Even as the Preacher saith, and
the fool discovereth, 'He that
loveth silver shall not be satisfied
with silver' (Eccles. 5.10). But
Christ saith, 'Blessed are they which
do hunger and thirst after
righteousness, for they shall be filled'
(Matt. 5.6). Righteousness is the
natural and essential food of the
soul, which can no more be
satisfied by earthly treasures than the
hunger of the body can be
satisfied by air. If you should see a
starving man standing with mouth
open to the wind, inhaling draughts
of air as if in hope of gratifying
his hunger, you would think him
lunatic. But it is no less foolish
to imagine that the soul can be
satisfied with worldly things
which only inflate it without feeding
it. What have spiritual gifts to
do with carnal appetites, or carnal
with spiritual? Praise the Lord, O
my soul: who satisfieth thy mouth
with good things (Ps. 103.1ff). He
bestows bounty immeasurable; He
provokes thee to good, He
preserves thee in goodness; He prevents, He
sustains, He fills thee. He moves
thee to longing, and it is He for
whom thou longest.
I have said already that the
motive for loving God is God Himself. And
I spoke truly, for He is as well
the efficient cause as the final
object of our love. He gives the
occasion for love, He creates the
affection, He brings the desire to
good effect. He is such that love
to Him is a natural due; and so
hope in Him is natural, since our
present love would be vain did we
not hope to love Him perfectly some
day. Our love is prepared and
rewarded by His. He loves us first, out
of His great tenderness; then we
are bound to repay Him with love; and
we are permitted to cherish
exultant hopes in Him. 'He is rich unto
all that call upon Him' (Rom. 10.12),
yet He has no gift for them
better than Himself. He gives
Himself as prize and reward: He is the
refreshment of holy soul, the
ransom of those in captivity. 'The Lord
is good unto them that wait for
Him' (L
to those who gain His presence?
But here is a paradox, that no one can
seek the Lord who has not already
found Him. It is Thy will, O God, to
be found that Thou mayest be
sought, to be sought that Thou mayest the
more truly be found. But though Thou
canst be sought and found, Thou
canst not be forestalled. For if
we say, 'Early shall my prayer come
before Thee' (Ps. 88.13), yet
doubtless all prayer would be lukewarm
unless it was animated by Thine
inspiration.
We have spoken of the consummation
of love towards God: now to
consider whence such love begins.
Chapter VIII. Of the first degree
of love: wherein man loves God for self's
sake
Love is one of the four natural
affections, which it is needless to
name since everyone knows them.
And because love is natural, it is
only right to love the Author of
nature first of all. Hence comes the
first and great commandment, 'Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God.' But
nature is so frail and weak that
necessity compels her to love herself
first; and this is carnal love,
wherewith man loves himself first and
selfishly, as it is written, 'That
was not first which is spiritual
but that which is natural; and
afterward that which is spiritual' (I
Cor. 15.46). This is not as the
precept ordains but as nature directs:
'No man ever yet hated his own
flesh' (Eph. 5.29). But if, as is
likely, this same love should grow
excessive and, refusing to be
contained within the restraining
banks of necessity, should overflow
into the fields of voluptuousness,
then a command checks the flood, as
if by a dike: 'Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself'. And this is
right: for he who shares our
nature should share our love, itself the
fruit of nature. Wherefore if a man
find it a burden, I will not say
only to relieve his brother's
needs, but to minister to his brother's
pleasures, let him mortify those
same affections in himself, lest he
become a transgressor. He may
cherish himself as tenderly as he
chooses, if only he remembers to
show the same indulgence to his
neighbor. This is the curb of
temperance imposed on thee, O man, by
the law of life and conscience,
lest thou shouldest follow thine own
lusts to destruction, or become
enslaved by those passions which are
the enemies of thy true welfare.
Far better divide thine enjoyments
with thy neighbor than with these
enemies. And if, after the counsel
of the son of Sirach, thou goest
not after thy desires but refrainest
thyself from thine appetites
(Ecclus. 18.30); if according to the
apostolic precept having food and
raiment thou art therewith content
(I Tim. 6.8), then thou wilt find
it easy to abstain from fleshly
lusts which war against the soul,
and to divide with thy neighbors
what thou hast refused to thine
own desires. That is a temperate and
righteous love which practices
self-denial in order to minister to a
brother's necessity. So our
selfish love grows truly social, when it
includes our neighbors in its circle.
But if thou art reduced to want by
such benevolence, what then? What
indeed, except to pray with all
confidence unto Him who giveth to all
men liberally and upbraideth not
(James 1.5), who openeth His hand and
filleth all things living with
plenteousness (Ps. 145.16). For
doubtless He that giveth to most
men more than they need will not fail
thee as to the necessaries of
life, even as He hath promised: 'Seek ye
the Kingdom of God, and all those
things shall be added unto you'
(Luke 12.31). God freely promises all things needful to those who deny
themselves for love of their
neighbors; and to bear the yoke of
modesty and sobriety, rather than
to let sin reign in our mortal body
(Rom. 6.12), that is indeed to
seek the Kingdom of God and to implore
His aid against the tyranny of
sin. It is surely justice to share our
natural gifts with those who share
our nature.
But if we are to love our
neighbors as we ought, we must have regard
to God also: for it is only in God
that we can pay that debt of love
aright. Now a man cannot love his
neighbor in God, except he love God
Himself; wherefore we must love
God first, in order to love our
neighbors in Him. This too, like
all good things, is the Lord's doing,
that we should love Him, for He
hath endowed us with the possibility
of love. He who created nature
sustains it; nature is so constituted
that its Maker is its protector
for ever. Without Him nature could not
have begun to be; without Him it
could not subsist at all. That we
might not be ignorant of this, or
vainly attribute to ourselves the
beneficence of our Creator, God
has determined in the depths of His
wise counsel that we should be
subject to tribulations. So when man's
strength fails and God comes to
his aid, it is meet and right that
man, rescued by God's hand, should
glorify Him, as it is written,
'Call upon Me in the time of
trouble; so will I hear thee, and thou
shalt praise Me' (Ps. 50.15). In
such wise man, animal and carnal by
nature, and loving only himself,
begins to love God by reason of that
very self-love; since he learns
that in God he can accomplish all
things that are good, and that
without God he can do nothing.
Chapter IX. Of the second and
third degrees of love
So then in the beginning man loves
God, not for God's sake, but for
his own. It is something for him
to know how little he can do by
himself and how much by God's
help, and in that knowledge to order
himself rightly towards God, his
sure support. But when tribulations,
recurring again and again,
constrain him to turn to God for unfailing
help, would not even a heart as
hard as iron, as cold as marble, be
softened by the goodness of such a
Savior, so that he would love God
not altogether selfishly, but
because He is God? Let frequent troubles
drive us to frequent
supplications; and surely, tasting, we must see
how gracious the Lord is (Ps.
34.8). Thereupon His goodness once
realized draws us to love Him
unselfishly, yet more than our own needs
impel us to love Him selfishly:
even as the Samaritans told the woman
who announced that it was Christ
who was at the well: 'Now we believe,
not because of thy saying: for we
have heard Him ourselves, and know
that this is indeed the Christ,
the savior of the world' (John 4.42).
We likewise bear the same witness
to our own fleshly nature, saying,
'No longer do we love God because
of our necessity, but because we
have tasted and seen how gracious
the Lord is'. Our temporal wants
have a speech of their own,
proclaiming the benefits they have
received from God's favor. Once
this is recognized it will not be hard
to fulfill the commandment
touching love to our neighbors; for
whosoever loves God aright loves
all God's creatures. Such love is
pure, and finds no burden in the
precept bidding us purify our souls,
in obeying the truth through the
Spirit unto unfeigned love of the
brethren (I Peter 1.22). Loving as
he ought, he counts that command
only just. Such love is
thankworthy, since it is spontaneous; pure,
since it is shown not in word nor
tongue, but in deed and truth (I
John 3.18); just, since it repays
what it has received. Whoso loves in
this fashion, loves even as he is
loved, and seeks no more his own but
the things which are Christ's,
even as Jesus sought not His own
welfare, but ours, or rather
ourselves. Such was the psalmist's love
when he sang: 'O give thanks unto
the Lord, for He is gracious' (Ps.
118.1). Whosoever praises God for
His essential goodness, and not
merely because of the benefits He
has bestowed, does really love God
for God's sake, and not selfishly.
The psalmist was not speaking of
such love when he said: 'So long as
thou doest well unto thyself, men
will speak good of thee'(Ps.
49.18). The third degree of love, we have
now seen, is to love God on His
own account, solely because He is God.
Chapter X. Of the fourth degree of
love: wherein man does not even love self
save for God's sake
How blessed is he who reaches the
fourth degree of love, wherein one
loves himself only in God! Thy
righteousness standeth like the strong
mountains, O God. Such love as
this is God's hill, in the which it
pleaseth Him to dwell. 'Who shall
ascend into the hill of the Lord?'
'O that I had wings like a dove;
for then would I flee away and be at
rest.' 'At Salem is His
tabernacle; and His dwelling in Sion.' 'Woe is
me, that I am constrained to dwell
with Mesech! ' (Ps. 24.3; 55.6;
76.2; 120.5). When shall this
flesh and blood, this earthen vessel
which is my soul's tabernacle,
attain thereto? When shall my soul,
rapt with divine love and
altogether self-forgetting, yea, become like
a broken vessel, yearn wholly for
God, and, joined unto the Lord, be
one spirit with Him? When shall
she exclaim, 'My flesh and my heart
faileth; but God is the strength
of my heart and my portion for ever'
(Ps. 73.26). I would count him
blessed and holy to whom such rapture
has been vouchsafed in this mortal
life, for even an instant to lose
thyself, as if thou wert emptied
and lost and swallowed up in God, is
no human love; it is celestial.
But if sometimes a poor mortal feels
that heavenly joy for a rapturous
moment, then this wretched life
envies his happiness, the malice
of daily trifles disturbs him, this
body of death weighs him down, the
needs of the flesh are imperative,
the weakness of corruption fails
him, and above all brotherly love
calls him back to duty. Alas! that
voice summons him to re-enter his
own round of existence; and he
must ever cry out lamentably, 'O Lord,
I am oppressed: undertake for me'
(Isa. 38.14); and again, 'O wretched
man that I am! who shall deliver
me from the body of this death?'
(Rom. 7.24).
Seeing that the Scripture saith,
God has made all for His own glory
(Isa. 43.7), surely His creatures
ought to conform themselves, as much
as they can, to His will. In Him
should all our affections center, so
that in all things we should seek
only to do His will, not to please
ourselves. And real happiness will
come, not in gratifying our desires
or in gaining transient pleasures,
but in accomplishing God's will for
us: even as we pray every day:
'Thy will be done in earth as it is in
heaven' (Matt. 6.10). O chaste and
holy love! O sweet and gracious
affection! O pure and cleansed
purpose, thoroughly washed and purged
from any admixture of selfishness,
and sweetened by contact with the
divine will! To reach this state
is to become godlike. As a drop of
water poured into wine loses
itself, and takes the color and savor of
wine; or as a bar of iron, heated
red-hot, becomes like fire itself,
forgetting its own nature; or as
the air, radiant with sun-beams,
seems not so much to be
illuminated as to be light itself; so in the
saints all human affections melt
away by some unspeakable
transmutation into the will of
God. For how could God be all in all,
if anything merely human remained
in man? The substance will endure,
but in another beauty, a higher
power, a greater glory. When will that
be? Who will see, who possess it?
'When shall I come to appear before
the presence of God?' (Ps. 42.2).
'My heart hath talked of Thee, Seek
ye My face: Thy face, Lord, will I
seek' (Ps. 27.8). Lord, thinkest
Thou that I, even I shall see Thy
holy temple?
In this life, I think, we cannot
fully and perfectly obey that
precept, 'Thou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart, and
with all thy soul, and with all
thy strength, and with all thy mind'
(Luke 10.27). For here the heart
must take thought for the body; and
the soul must energize the flesh;
and the strength must guard itself
from impairment. And by God's
favor, must seek to increase. It is
therefore impossible to offer up
all our being to God, to yearn
altogether for His face, so long
as we must accommodate our purposes
and aspirations to these fragile,
sickly bodies of ours. Wherefore the
soul may hope to possess the
fourth degree of love, or rather to be
possessed by it, only when it has
been clothed upon with that
spiritual and immortal body, which
will be perfect, peaceful, lovely,
and in everything wholly subjected
to the spirit. And to this degree
no human effort can attain: it is
in God's power to give it to whom He
wills. Then the soul will easily
reach that highest stage, because no
lusts of the flesh will retard its
eager entrance into the joy of its
Lord, and no troubles will disturb
its peace. May we not think that
the holy martyrs enjoyed this
grace, in some degree at least, before
they laid down their victorious
bodies? Surely that was immeasurable
strength of love which enraptured
their souls, enabling them to laugh
at fleshly torments and to yield
their lives gladly. But even though
the frightful pain could not
destroy their peace of mind, it must have
impaired somewhat its perfection.
Chapter XI. Of the attainment of
this perfection of love only at the
resurrection
What of the souls already released
from their bodies? We believe that
they are overwhelmed in that vast
sea of eternal light and of luminous
eternity. But no one denies that
they still hope and desire to receive
their bodies again: whence it is
plain that they are not yet wholly
transformed, and that something of
self remains yet unsurrendered. Not
until death is swallowed up in
victory, and perennial light overflows
the uttermost bounds of darkness,
not until celestial glory clothes
our bodies, can our souls be freed
entirely from self and give
themselves up to God. For until
then souls are bound to bodies, if not
by a vital connection of sense,
still by natural affection; so that
without their bodies they cannot
attain to their perfect consummation,
nor would they if they could. And
although there is no defect in the
soul itself before the restoration
of its body, since it has already
attained to the highest state of
which it is by itself capable, yet
the spirit would not yearn for
reunion with the flesh if without the
flesh it could be consummated.
And finally, 'Right dear in the
sight of the Lord is the death of His
saints' (Ps. 116.15). But if their
death is precious, what must such a
life as theirs be! No wonder that
the body shall seem to add fresh
glory to the spirit; for though it
is weak and mortal, it has availed
not a little for mutual help. How
truly he spake who said, 'All things
work together for good to them
that love God' (Rom. 8.28). The body is
a help to the soul that loves God,
even when it is ill, even when it
is dead, and all the more when it
is raised again from the dead: for
illness is an aid to penitence;
death is the gate of rest; and the
resurrection will bring
consummation. So, rightly, the soul would not
be perfected without the body,
since she recognizes that in every
condition it has been needful to
her good.
The flesh then is a good and
faithful comrade for a good soul: since
even when it is a burden it
assists; when the help ceases, the burden
ceases too; and when once more the
assistance begins, there is no
longer a burden. The first state
is toilsome, but fruitful; the second
is idle, but not monotonous: the
third is glorious. Hear how the
Bridegroom in Canticles bids us to
this threefold progress: 'Eat, O
friends; drink, yea, drink
abundantly, O beloved' (Cant. 5.1). He
offers food to those who are
laboring with bodily toil; then He calls
the resting souls whose bodies are
laid aside, to drink; and finally
He urges those who have resumed
their bodies to drink abundantly.
Surely those He styles 'beloved'
must overflow with charity; and that
is the difference between them and
the others, whom He calls not
'beloved' but 'friends'. Those who
yet groan in the body are dear to
Him, according to the love that
they have; those released from the
bonds of flesh are dearer because
they have become readier and abler
to love than hitherto. But beyond
either of these classes are those
whom He calls 'beloved': for they
have received the second garment,
that is, their glorified bodies,
so that now nothing of self remains
to hinder or disturb them, and
they yield themselves eagerly and
entirely to loving God. This
cannot be so with the others; for the
first have the weight of the body
to bear, and the second desires the
body again with something of
selfish expectation.
At first then the faithful soul
eats her bread, but alas! in the sweat
of her face. Dwelling in the
flesh, she walks as yet by faith, which
must work through love. As faith
without words is dead, so work itself
is food for her; even as our Lord
saith, 'My meat is to do the will of
Him that sent Me' (John 4.34).
When the flesh is laid aside, she eats
no more the bread of carefulness,
but is allowed to drink deeply of
the wine of love, as if after a
repast. But the wine is not yet
unmingled; even as the Bridegroom
saith in another place, 'I have
drunk My wine with My milk' (Cant.
5.1). For the soul mixes with the
wine of God's love the milk of
natural affection, that is, the desire
for her body and its
glorification. She glows with the wine of holy
love which she has drunk; but she
is not yet all on fire, for she has
tempered the potency of that wine
with milk. The unmingled wine would
enrapture the soul and make her
wholly unconscious of self; but here
is no such transport for she is
still desirous of her body. When that
desire is appeased, when the one
lack is supplied, what should hinder
her then from yielding herself
utterly to God, losing her own likeness
and being made like unto Him? At
last she attains to that chalice of
the heavenly wisdom, of which it
is written, 'My cup shall be full.'
Now indeed she is refreshed with
the abundance of the house of God,
where all selfish, carking care is
done away, and where, for ever
safe, she drinks the fruit of the
vine, new and pure, with Christ in
the Kingdom of His Father (Matt.
26.29).
It is Wisdom who spreads this
threefold supper where all the repast is
love; Wisdom who feeds the
toilers, who gives drink to those who rest,
who floods with rapture those that
reign with Christ. Even as at an
earthly banquet custom and nature
serve meat first and then wine, so
here. Before death, while we are
still in mortal flesh, we eat the
labors of our hands, we swallow
with an effort the food so gained; but
after death, we shall begin
eagerly to drink in the spiritual life and
finally, reunited to our bodies,
and rejoicing in fullness of delight,
we shall be refreshed with
immortality. This is what the Bridegroom
means when He saith: 'Eat, O friends;
drink, yea, drink abundantly, O
beloved.' Eat before death; begin
to drink after death; drink
abundantly after the resurrection.
Rightly are they called beloved who
have drunk abundantly of love;
rightly do they drink abundantly who
are worthy to be brought to the
marriage supper of the Lamb, eating
and drinking at His table in His
Kingdom (Rev. 19.9; Luke 22.30). At
that supper, He shall present to
Himself a glorious Church, not having
spot, or wrinkle, or any such
thing (Eph. 5.27). Then truly shall He
refresh His beloved; then He shall
give them drink of His pleasures,
as out of the river (Ps. 36.8).
While the Bridegroom clasps the Bride
in tender, pure embrace, then the
rivers of the flood thereof shall
make glad the city of God (Ps.
46.4). And this refers to the Son of
God Himself, who will come forth
and serve them, even as He hath
promised; so that in that day the
righteous shall be glad and rejoice
before God: they shall also be
merry and joyful (Ps. 68.3). Here
indeed is appeasement without
weariness: here never-quenched thirst
for knowledge, without distress;
here eternal and infinite desire
which knows no want; here,
finally, is that sober inebriation which
comes not from drinking new wine
but from enjoying God (Acts 2.13).
The fourth degree of love is
attained for ever when we love God only
and supremely, when we do not even
love ourselves except for God's
sake; so that He Himself is the
reward of them that love Him, the
everlasting reward of an
everlasting love.
Chapter XII. Of love: out of a
letter to the Carthusians
I remember writing a letter to the
holy Carthusian brethren, wherein I
discussed these degrees of love,
and spoke of charity in other words,
although not in another sense,
than here. It may be well to repeat a
portion of that letter, since it
is easier to copy than to dictate
anew.
To love our neighbor's welfare as
much as our own: that is true and
sincere charity out of a pure heart,
and of a good conscience, and of
faith unfeigned (I Tim. 1.5).
Whosoever loves his own prosperity only
is proved thereby not to love good
for its own sake, since he loves it
on his own account. And so he
cannot sing with the psalmist, 'O give
thanks unto the Lord, for He is
gracious' (Ps. 118.1). Such a man
would praise God, not because He
is goodness, but because He has been
good to him: he could take to
himself the reproach of the same writer,
'So long as Thou doest well unto
him, he will speak good of Thee' (Ps.
49.18, Vulg.). One praises God
because He is mighty, another because
He is gracious, yet another solely
because He is essential goodness.
The first is a slave and fears for
himself; the second is greedy,
desiring further benefits; but the
third is a son who honors his
Father. He who fears, he who
profits, are both concerned about
self-interest. Only in the son is
that charity which seeketh not her
own (I Cor. 13.5). Wherefore I
take this saying, 'The law of the Lord
is an undefiled law, converting
the soul' (Ps. 19.7) to be of charity;
because charity alone is able to
turn the soul away from love of self
and of the world to pure love of
God. Neither fear nor self-interest
can convert the soul. They may
change the appearance, perhaps even the
conduct, but never the object of
supreme desire. Sometimes a slave may
do God's work; but because he does
not toil voluntarily, he remains in
bondage. So a mercenary may serve
God, but because he puts a price on
his service, he is enchained by
his own greediness. For where there is
self-interest there is isolation;
and such isolation is like the dark
corner of a room where dust and
rust befoul. Fear is the motive which
constrains the slave; greed binds
the selfish man, by which he is
tempted when he is drawn away by
his own lust and enticed (James
1.14). But neither fear nor
self-interest is undefiled, nor can they
convert the soul. Only charity can
convert the soul, freeing it from
unworthy motives.
Next, I call it undefined because
it never keeps back anything of its
own for itself. When a man boasts
of nothing as his very own, surely
all that he has is God's; and what
is God's cannot be unclean. The
undefiled law of the Lord is that
love which bids men seek not their
own, but every man another's
wealth. It is called the law of the Lord
as much because He lives in
accordance with it as because no man has
it except by gift from Him. Nor is
it improper to say that even God
lives by law, when that law is the
law of love. For what preserves the
glorious and ineffable Unity of
the blessed Trinity, except love?
Charity, the law of the Lord,
joins the Three Persons into the unity
of the Godhead and unites the holy
Trinity in the bond of peace. Do
not suppose me to imply that
charity exists as an accidental quality
of Deity; for whatever could be
conceived of as wanting in the divine
Nature is not God. No, it is the
very substance of the Godhead; and my
assertion is neither novel nor
extraordinary, since St. John says,
'God is love' (I John 4.8). One
may therefore say with truth that love
is at once God and the gift of
God, essential love imparting the
quality of love. Where the word
refers to the Giver, it is the name of
His very being; where the gift is
meant, it is the name of a quality.
Love is the eternal law whereby
the universe was created and is ruled.
Since all things are ordered in
measure and number and weight, and
nothing is left outside the realm
of law, that universal law cannot
itself be without a law, which is
itself. So love though it did not
create itself, does surely govern
itself by its own decree.
Chapter XIII. Of the law of
self-will and desire, of slaves and hirelings
Furthermore, the slave and the
hireling have a law, not from the Lord,
but of their own contriving; the
one does not love God, the other
loves something else more than
God. They have a law of their own, not
of God, I say; yet it is subject
to the law of the Lord. For though
they can make laws for themselves,
they cannot supplant the changeless
order of the eternal law. Each man
is a law unto himself, when he sets
up his will against the universal
law, perversely striving to rival
his Creator, to be wholly
independent, making his will his only law.
What a heavy and burdensome yoke
upon all the sons of Adam, bowing
down our necks, so that our life
draweth nigh unto hell. 'O wretched
man that I am! Who shall deliver
me from the body of this death?'
(Rom. 7.24). I am weighed down, I
am almost overwhelmed, so that 'If
the Lord had not helped me, it had
not failed but my soul had been put
to silence' (Ps. 94.17). Job was
groaning under this load when he
lamented: 'Why hast Thou set me as
a mark against Thee, so that I am a
burden to myself?' (Job 7.20). He
was a burden to himself through the
law which was of his own devising:
yet he could not escape God's law,
for he was set as a mark against
God. The eternal law of righteousness
ordains that he who will not
submit to God's sweet rule shall suffer
the bitter tyranny of self: but he
who wears the easy yoke and light
burden of love (Matt. 11.30) will escape
the intolerable weight of his
own self-will. Wondrously and
justly does that eternal law retain
rebels in subjection, so that they
are unable to escape. They are
subject to God's power, yet
deprived of happiness with Him, unable to
dwell with God in light and rest
and glory everlasting. O Lord my God,
'why dost Thou not pardon my
transgression and take away mine
iniquity?' (Job 7.21). Then freed
from the weight of my own will, I
can breathe easily under the light
burden of love. I shall not be
coerced by fear, nor allured by
mercenary desires; for I shall be led
by the Spirit of God, that free
Spirit whereby Thy sons are led, which
beareth witness with my spirit
that I am among the children of God
(Rom. 8.16). So shall I be under
that law which is Thine; and as Thou
art, so shall I be in the world.
Whosoever do what the apostle bids,
'Owe no man anything, but to love
one another' (Rom. 13.8), are
doubtless even in this life
conformed to God's likeness: they are
neither slaves nor hirelings but
sons.
Chapter XIV. Of the law of the
love of sons
Now the children have their law,
even though it is written, 'The law
is not made for a righteous man'
(I Tim. 1.9). For it must be
remembered that there is one law
having to do with the spirit of
servitude, given to fear, and
another with the spirit of liberty,
given in tenderness. The children
are not constrained by the first,
yet they could not exist without
the second: even as St. Paul writes,
'Ye have not received the spirit
of bondage again to fear; but ye have
received the spirit of adoption,
whereby we cry, Abba, Father' (Rom.
8.15). And again to show that that
same righteous man was not under
the law, he says: 'To them that are
under the law, I became as under
the law, that I might gain them
that are under the law; to them that
are without law, as without law
(being not without law to God, but
under the law to Christ)' (I Cor.
that the righteous do not have a
law, but, 'The law is not made for a
righteous man', that is, it is not
imposed on rebels but freely given
to those willingly obedient, by
Him whose goodness established it.
Wherefore the Lord saith meekly:
'Take My yoke upon you', which may be
paraphrased thus: 'I do not force
it on you, if you are reluctant; but
if you will you may bear it.
Otherwise it will be weariness, not rest,
that you shall find for your
souls.'
Love is a good and pleasant law; it
is not only easy to bear, but it
makes the laws of slaves and
hirelings tolerable; not destroying but
completing them; as the Lord
saith: 'I am not come to destroy the law,
but to fulfill' (Matt. 5.17). It
tempers the fear of the slave, it
regulates the desires of the
hireling, it mitigates the severity of
each. Love is never without fear,
but it is godly fear. Love is never
without desire, but it is lawful
desire. So love perfects the law of
service by infusing devotion; it
perfects the law of wages by
restraining covetousness. Devotion
mixed with fear does not destroy
it, but purges it. Then the burden
of fear which was intolerable while
it was only servile, becomes
tolerable; and the fear itself remains
ever pure and filial. For though
we read: 'Perfect love casteth out
fear' (I John 4.18), we understand
by that the suffering which is
never absent from servile fear,
the cause being put for the effect, as
often elsewhere. So, too,
self-interest is restrained within due
bounds when love supervenes; for
then it rejects evil things
altogether, prefers better things
to those merely good, and cares for
the good only on account of the
better. In like manner, by God's
grace, it will come about that man
will love his body and all things
pertaining to his body, for the
sake of his soul. He will love his
soul for God's sake; and he will
love God for Himself alone.
Chapter XV. Of the four degrees of love,
and of the blessed state of the
heavenly fatherland
Nevertheless, since we are carnal
and are born of the lust of the
flesh, it must be that our desire
and our love shall have its
beginning in the flesh. But
rightly guided by the grace of God through
these degrees, it will have its
consummation in the spirit: for that
was not first which is spiritual
but that which is natural; and
afterward that which is spiritual
(I Cor. 15.46). And we must bear the
image of the earthy first, before
we can bear the image of the
heavenly. At first, man loves
himself for his own sake. That is the
flesh, which can appreciate
nothing beyond itself. Next, he perceives
that he cannot exist by himself,
and so begins by faith to seek after
God, and to love Him as something
necessary to his own welfare. That
is the second degree, to love God,
not for God's sake, but selfishly.
But when he has learned to worship
God and to seek Him aright,
meditating on God, reading God's
Word, praying and obeying His
commandments, he comes gradually
to know what God is, and finds Him
altogether lovely. So, having
tasted and seen how gracious the Lord is
(Ps. 34.8), he advances to the
third degree, when he loves God, not
merely as his benefactor but as
God. Surely he must remain long in
this state; and I know not whether
it would be possible to make
further progress in this life to
that fourth degree and perfect
condition wherein man loves
himself solely for God's sake. Let any who
have attained so far bear record;
I confess it seems beyond my powers.
Doubtless it will be reached when
the good and faithful servant shall
have entered into the joy of his
Lord (Matt. 25.21), and been
satisfied with the plenteousness
of God's house (Ps. 36.8). For then
in wondrous wise he will forget
himself and as if delivered from self,
he will grow wholly God's. Joined
unto the Lord, he will then be one
spirit with Him (I Cor. 6.17).
This was what the prophet meant, I
think, when he said: ' I will go
forth in the strength of the Lord
God: and will make mention of Thy
righteousness only' (Ps. 71.16).
Surely he knew that when he should
go forth in the spiritual strength
of the Lord, he would have been
freed from the infirmities of the
flesh, and would have nothing
carnal to think of, but would be wholly
filled in his spirit with the
righteousness of the Lord.
In that day the members of Christ
can say of themselves what St. Paul
testified concerning their Head:
'Yea, though we have known Christ
after the flesh, yet now
henceforth know we Him no more' (II Cor.
5.16). None shall thereafter know
himself after the flesh; for 'flesh
and blood cannot inherit the
Kingdom of God' (I Cor. 15.50). Not that
there will be no true substance of
the flesh, but all carnal needs
will be taken away, and the love
of the flesh will be swallowed up in
the love of the spirit, so that
our weak human affections will be made
divinely strong. Then the net of
charity which as it is drawn through
the great and wide sea doth not
cease to gather every kind of fish,
will be drawn to the shore; and
the bad will be cast away, while only
the good will be kept (Matt.
13.48). In this life the net of
all-including love gathers every
kind of fish into its wide folds,
becoming all things to all men, sharing adversity or prosperity,
rejoicing with them that do
rejoice, and weeping with them that weep
(Rom. 12.15). But when the net is
drawn to shore, whatever causes pain
will be rejected, like the bad
fish, while only what is pleasant and
joyous will be kept. Do you not
recall how St. Paul said: 'Who is weak
and I am not weak? Who is offended
and I burn not?' And yet weakness
and offense were far from him. So
too he bewailed many which had
sinned already and had not
repented, though he was neither the sinner
nor the penitent. But there is a
city made glad by the rivers of the
flood of grace (Ps. 46.4), and
whose gates the Lord loveth more than
all the dwellings of Jacob (Ps.
87.2). In it is no place for
lamentation over those condemned
to everlasting fire, prepared for the
devil and his angels (Matt.
25.41). In these earthly dwellings, though
men may rejoice, yet they have
still other battles to fight, other
mortal perils to undergo. But in
the heavenly Fatherland no sorrow nor
sadness can enter: as it is
written, 'The habitation of all rejoicing
ones is in Thee' (Ps. 87. 7,
Vulg.); and again, 'Everlasting joy shall
be unto them' (Isa. 61.7). Nor
could they recall things piteous, for
then they will make mention of
God's righteousness only. Accordingly,
there will be no need for the
exercise of compassion, for no misery
will be there to inspire pity.
Index of Scripture References