Liber Quartus, Caput Primum. Tractat de iis quae circa ipsum sunt.
A Hesitant Beginning
Bernard confesses his uncertainty about how to proceed, given the distance between him and Eugenius.
If I had known more fully, my dear Eugenius, how you received the earlier things, I would have gone forward with greater confidence in what remains, or more cautiously — or, frankly, I would have stopped altogether. But now, because the distance between us makes that impossible, don't be surprised if what comes out is a thinner, more hesitant account — coming, I confess, only halfway.
Turning to What Surrounds You
Bernard announces the new subject — the things surrounding Eugenius — and warns that their nearness makes them more burdensome.
Now that the first parts of consideration have been treated in the earlier books, it's in hand to add what concerns the things around you. These things are indeed under your authority, but precisely because they're closer, they're more burdensome to you. Things placed right before your eyes, of course, don't allow negligence, don't allow pretense, and don't allow forgetfulness. They press more forcefully, they rush in more chaotically — and there's reason to fear they'll overwhelm you.
The Need for Attentive Consideration
Bernard urges sober reflection, warning that without it busyness will run unchecked.
How much sober and attentive consideration matters in cases like this, I have no doubt you've learned well enough from your own experience. Otherwise, if a careful and well-timed reflection doesn't step in, the busyness will carry on unchecked, and there will be no limit to the vexation and no end to the anxiety.
The Daily Press of Demands
Bernard describes the unrelenting busyness of Eugenius's life and the daily demands upon him.
There's no empty time, no heart at leisure: more work and less real good in it. I mean that daily press of demands on you — from the city, from the curia, from your own household church.1
Those Bound to the Bishop
Bernard names the people who surround Eugenius in his episcopal role — clergy, people, and household officials.
These, I say, are the things that surround you: your clergy and your people, to whom you're bound in a special way as bishop, and for that reason you owe them particular care.2 Then there are those who stand before you every day — the elders of the people, the judges of the world — and those who belong to your household and your table: chaplains, chamberlains, ministers, and others assigned to various offices in your service.3
The Familiar Intruders
Bernard describes those who approach most familiarly and disturb the beloved soul before she wishes to rise.
These are the ones who visit you more familiarly, knock more frequently, and make their requests more insistently. These are the ones who don't hesitate to rouse the one you love before she even wants to be woken.4
Read the original Latin
Si mihi plenius innotuisset, amantissime Eugeni, priora qualiter acceptaris, secundum hoc vel fidentius in reliquum processissem, vel cautius, aut certe substitissem omnino. Nunc vero quia ob locorum distantiam id minime datur, non mireris si prodit exilior sermo anceps, verecunde, fateor, ad medium veniens. Primis itaque considerationis partibus libris prioribus pertractatis, in manibus est de his addere, quae circa te sunt. Et ipsa quidem sub te, sed quod propiora, eo importuniora tibi. Nempe coram posita incuriam non admittunt, non dissimulationem, non oblivionem. Vehementius urgent, turbulentius irruunt: verendum ne obruant. Circa ejusmodi quam sobria et intenta consideratione opus sit, proprio te experimento edoctum satis non ambigo. Alioquin si non cauta opportunaque interveniat consideratio, occupatio continuabitur, et vexationis non erit modus, et sollicitudinis non erit finis.
Non tempus vacuum, non liberum cor: plus laboris, et minus utilitatis. Dico autem, instantia illa tua quotidiana, ab urbe, a curia, a domestica ecclesia tua. Haec, inquam, circa te sunt, clerus et populus tuus, cui specialiter episcoparis, ac per hoc specialis curae teneris debitor. Hi quoque qui tibi quotidie assistunt seniores populi, orbis judices; et qui item de domo et mensa tua sunt, capellani, cubicularii, ministri quique diversis deputati officiis in obsequium tui. Hi te familiarius visitant, frequentius pulsant, molestiusque sollicitant. Hi sunt qui non verentur suscitare dilectam, et antequam ipsa velit.
Notes
- 1 ↩instantia here means persistent, pressing demands (not merely 'instance' in the modern sense); rendered as 'press of demands' to capture the urgency of the bishop's obligations.
- 2 ↩episcoparis is a rare/episcopal term meaning 'you are bishop to them' or 'you hold the office of bishop over them'; rendered as 'as bishop' to keep it clear. teneris debitor = 'you are bound/indebted' — the obligation is both pastoral and canonical.
- 3 ↩orbis judices ('judges of the world') may echo the bishop's wider judicial role; kept as a concrete rendering rather than spiritualized.
- 4 ↩dilectam ('the beloved') is ambiguous: it could refer to the soul, the Church, or a specific person. Given the surrounding context of household demands, it most likely refers to the bishop's own soul or his church, disturbed before it is ready. Kept as 'the one you love' to preserve the ambiguity without over-interpreting.
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