Liber Secundus, Caput XIV. Personarum acceptionem in judiciis summopere vitandam.
Contempt of Wealth and the Fear of Judgment
Bernard dismisses greed and the fear of being judged for wealth, urging the reader to treat money as worthless chaff.
There's no reason to weary your eyes on greed, since you're said to have money as though it were chaff. Not at all — there's no reason to be feared for it by your judgments.1
The Hidden Snare of Conscience
A warning that the most dangerous trap for judges lies not in external threats but in what is hidden within one's own conscience.
But there is something no less frequent, and no less likely to lie in wait harmfully for those who judge: and what I most want kept from your notice is what may be hidden in your own conscience.2
The Acceptance of Persons
Bernard identifies the acceptance of persons—judging by outward appearance rather than merit—as a serious and subtle sin for those in authority.
What is that? The acceptance of persons. You should not consider yourself guilty of a small sin if you take the outward appearances of sinners rather than judging the merits of their cases.3
The Solitary Pride of Self-Exaltation
A prophetic warning that those who feel free from the sin of partiality have in fact exalted themselves above all others, leaving only God as their judge.
There is another fault as well: if you feel yourself free from it, among all those I have known from among those who have ascended to positions of authority, you will sit alone — with me alone as your judge — because you have truly and singularly raised yourself above yourself, in keeping with the prophet.45 .
The Cunning Fox of Self-Deception
Bernard compares the readiness to believe oneself above reproach to a cunning little fox whose tricks have ensnared even the great.
This readiness to believe is the mark of that most cunning little fox, and I've found no one among the great who's been sufficiently on guard against its tricks.
The Fruits of Unchecked Partiality
From self-deception come bursts of anger, condemnation of the innocent, and prejudging of the absent.
From this come those bursts of anger they treat as nothing, from this the frequent condemnation of the innocent, from this prejudgments against those who are absent.
A Candid Word of Praise and Caution
Bernard congratulates his reader on an unblemished record in office while leaving the question of inward blame to private judgment.
I congratulate you — and I don't fear, you see, that I'll earn the charge of flattery with you. I congratulate you, I say, on having presided over these matters up to now without complaint from any of them: whether you've done so without blame as well, you'll have to judge for yourself.
A Brief Transition to What Follows
Bernard redirects attention to the reader's duties, noting that the present discussion must be kept brief given the weight of those responsibilities.
Now attention must be directed to the things that fall under your care. But this is a matter of another kind, since a shorter discussion is more fitting for your responsibilities.
Read the original Latin
De avaritia non est quod tuum fatigem intuitum, cum pecuniam tanquam paleam dicaris habere. Non prorsus, non est quod pro illa timeatur a judiciis tuis. Sed est quod non minus saepe, nec noxie minus insidiari judicantibus solet: de quo maxime, quid in tua lateat conscientia, latere te nolim. Quid illud sit quaeris? Acceptio personarum. Non parvi te reum peccati existimes, si facies peccatorum sumis et non potius causas dijudicas meritorum. Est item vitium, cujus si te immunem sentis, inter omnes quos novi ex his qui cathedras ascenderunt, sedebis me judice solitarius: quia veraciter singulariterque levasti te supra te, juxta prophetam. .
Facilitas credulitatis haec est, cujus callidissimae vulpeculae magnorum neminem comperi satis cavisse versutias. Inde eis ipsis pro nihilo irae multae, inde innocentium frequens addictio, inde praejudicia in absentes. Gratulor autem tibi: nec enim assentationis apud te vereor incurrere notam: gratulor, inquam, praesidere te usque adhuc absque horum omnium querela multa: an et sine culpa, tu videris. Nunc ad ea quae sub te sunt, consideratio intendenda. At alterius principii hoc: siquidem tuis occupationibus sermo brevior competentior est.
Notes
- 1 ↩The sense is likely 'there is no reason for it to be feared in your judgments' (i.e., greed need not be dreaded when you render judgment); the Latin is compressed and the exact nuance is uncertain.
- 2 ↩latere te nolim is a voluntative subjunctive: 'I would not wish it to escape you' — i.e., 'I want you to be aware of it.' Rendered as 'kept from your notice' to preserve the double-negative force.
- 3 ↩facies peccatorum sumis: literally 'you take the faces of sinners' — i.e., you show partiality based on who someone is rather than on the merits of their cause. Rendered as 'take the outward appearances of sinners' to capture the idiom.
- 4 ↩me judice solitarius: ablative absolute, 'with me as judge, alone.' The phrase is compressed; rendered as 'with me alone as your judge.' The reference to 'the prophet' (juxta prophetam) is uncertain — possibly an allusion to a prophetic text about self-exaltation, but the specific source is unresolved.
- 5 ↩juxta prophetam: 'according to the prophet' — candidate allusion, specific prophetic text unresolved.
De consideratione (On Consideration) companion
Make consideration a daily appointment
Bernard told Eugene to set aside time every day. Chosen Portion holds that time for you, free.
Bernard's core prescription — a fixed daily time reserved for examining the soul — is exactly the habit Chosen Portion installs with its daily devotional portion.
- One 10-minute daily portion for self-examination and prayer
- Reflection prompts drawn from historic texts, not improvised journaling
- A visible streak that protects the daily interval Bernard insisted on