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← De consideratione (On Consideration)/Book 1 · De consideratione
Chapter 35BernC.1.35

Liber Quartus, Caput IV. Quales collaterales et coadjutores a Pontifice adhibendi: ubi de virtutibus praelatorum.

The Weight of Your Companions

A pope's intimate companions profoundly impact his ministry, for good or ill, and he cannot claim personal righteousness while leaning on wicked advisors.

Let us turn to your close companions and helpers. These are the ones zealous for you; these are your intimates. For that reason, if they are good, they belong especially to you; if they are bad, they belong to you just as much, or even more. Do not call yourself sound while your sides ache—that is, do not call yourself good while leaning on evil.1 Or if you are good, what fruit can your goodness alone bring? I remember saying this in the previous book. What benefit, I ask, does the justice of one single person bring to the churches of God, where the prevailing judgment of those who are affected is otherwise?2 But your own affairs, besieged by evils, are not safe for you any more than health is safe next to a neighboring serpent.

Accountability for Those You Admit

You bear the responsibility for the harm caused by those you choose or allow into your service, and therefore must select them with careful deliberation.

There is no way you can escape an internal evil. And on the other side, a household good is all the more valuable the more often it helps. But whether they lighten your load or add to it, who should be held more accountable than you—you who either chose such men or let them in? I am not talking about everyone: there are some you did not choose, but who chose you. But they have no authority except what you either granted them or allowed them. So we come back to the same point. Take it on yourself—whatever you suffer from someone who can do nothing without you. That said, for the rest—as you see—each one must be chosen or gathered into the work of this ministry, and not without due thought.

Choosing Elders, Not Volunteers

Select proven elders of mature character rather than young men, relying on wise counsel rather than the pushy entreaties of self-seekers.

It is your responsibility to summon and enlist for yourself, following the example of Moses, the elders, not the young men; but the elders are not so much defined by age as by character, those you recognize as the elders of the people. Can it be that you are not choosing from the whole world those who are going to judge the world? In this matter, let no one push himself forward while asking. It must be done through counsel, not through pleading. There are things that necessarily demand our attention, either because of the persistence of those who ask or because of genuine necessity. But these things are ours. But where it is not permitted to do what I wish, what room is left for the one asking? Unless perhaps the one who asks is asking this so that what he wishes may be permitted to me, rather than what I wish.

Beware the Ambitious and Flattering

Treat those who seek positions on their own behalf as suspect, and recognize that flatterers and court-anglers hide a stinging tail.

One person asks on behalf of another, and perhaps someone even asks on his own behalf. The person on whose behalf you are asked should be regarded as suspect: whoever asks on his own behalf has already been judged.3 And it makes no difference whether a person asks through himself or through someone else.4 You should know that a cleric who frequents the court but is not of the court belongs to the same class as those who are angling for position.5 Consider someone who flatters and speaks to please everyone as one of those who are asking—even if he has not asked for anything at all.6 A scorpion has nothing on its face that you should fear—but it stings with its tail.7

Discerning False Humility

Be on guard against crafty men who feign humility to gain office, and do not lay hands hastily on such false brothers.

If you ever notice your heart growing soft from flatteries of this sort, as tends to happen, remember what is written: "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had plenty to drink."✦ You should weigh the humility of the one who fears and the humility of the one who hopes with equal seriousness. Crafty and deceitful people tend to put on a show of humility precisely when they want to gain something. About such people Scripture says: "There is one who humbles himself wickedly, and his inner thoughts are full of deceit." Take from your own experience a clear and familiar example of this. How many people did you admit as humble supplicants, only to find afterward that you had to put up with them as overbearing, insolent, stubborn, and rebellious? Whatever evil they conceal at the start, their later behavior reveals. A wordy young man who is eager to master eloquence, since he lacks true wisdom, you should regard as nothing less than an enemy of justice. In the case of such false brothers, the Master says to you: "Do not lay hands hastily on anyone."✦

Seeking Proven and Complete Men

Exercise careful deliberation to choose men already proven in virtue, rather than those who still need testing in the corrupting environment of the court.

So once this whole pestilent class of people has been ruled out, your chief concern should be to bring in only those you will not later regret having brought in. It is beneath you to keep second-guessing what you have done, and it is not fitting to put your own judgment at risk so often. So handle everything that needs to be done with care, both on your own and with those who are loyal to you. Plan it out beforehand, because once the deed is done, it is too late to reconsider. This is wise counsel: do everything deliberately, and afterward you will not look back with regret. And remind yourself of this: those who are to be admitted can hardly prove themselves worthy in the papal court. So if possible, proven individuals should be chosen, not those who still need testing. In our monasteries, we welcome everyone in the hope that they will improve, but the court has generally found it easier to accept good men than to make them. But if we have found that more good men have fallen away in that setting than bad men have grown in virtue, then we should clearly be looking for people who have nothing left to fear from failure and nothing left to hope for from advancement—those who are already complete.

Compelling the Reluctant and Reverent

Press reluctant, God-fearing men into service rather than eager volunteers, seeking those whose character is proven in virtue and obedience.

So do not take on people who are unwilling or running eagerly after the task, but those who hesitate and even refuse—yes, press them and compel them to come in.✦ In such people, I believe, your soul will find rest—those who are not brazen in countenance but modest, not fearless but reverent, who fear nothing except God and hope for nothing except from God. Those who attend not to the hands of those who come but to their needs. Those who stand firm for the afflicted and judge with fairness for the gentle of the earth.✦ Those who are well-ordered in character, proven in devotion, ready for obedience, gentle in patience, submissive to discipline, firm in correction, Catholic in faith, faithful in stewardship, harmonious in peace, and conformed to unity. Those who are upright in judgment, prudent in counsel, discerning in commanding, diligent in arranging, vigorous in acting, modest in speaking, secure in adversity, devout in prosperity, sober in zeal, not lax in mercy, not idle in leisure, not dissolute in hospitality, not excessive in feasting, not anxious in caring for their own affairs, not covetous of what belongs to others, not wasteful of what is their own, and watchful everywhere and in all things. Those who carry out a mission for Christ whenever it is needed, who do not refuse when commanded, and who do not seek it when not commanded. Those who, when they modestly excuse themselves, do not stubbornly refuse.

Ministers of Christ, Not Profit

True ministers follow Christ rather than seeking gold, confronting sin boldly, relying on prayer, and leaving a legacy of justice and peace.

Those who are sent should not go after gold, but follow Christ; they should not consider the profit of their mission a gain, nor seek a gift, but the fruit. Those who present John to kings, Moses to Egyptians, Phinehas to the sexually immoral, Elijah to idolaters, Elisha to the greedy, Peter to liars, Paul to blasphemers, and Christ to traders.8 Those who do not despise the common people, but teach them; who do not flatter the rich, but make them tremble; who do not burden the poor, but cherish them; who do not fear the threats of rulers, but despise them. Those who do not enter with a crowd, nor leave with anger; who do not plunder churches, but amend them.9 Those who do not empty purses, but refresh hearts and correct crimes; who provide for their own reputation, and do not envy another's. Those who carry zeal for prayer and have its practice, and who in every matter trust more in prayer than in their own effort or labor. Whose coming is peaceful, whose going is troublesome; whose speech is edification, whose life is justice, whose presence is welcome, whose memory is in blessing.10 Those who show themselves lovable not by word but by work; who show reverence not by action but by deed, not by haughtiness.11

The Fruit of a Faithful Mission

Faithful ministers humbly serve the innocent while rebuking the proud, freely dispensing justice, and returning with the spiritual fruit of peace and order rather than worldly riches.

Those who are humble with the humble and innocent with the innocent, let them harshly rebuke the harsh, restrain those who act maliciously, and pay back retribution on the proud. Let them not rush to enrich themselves or their own from the widow's dowry and the Crucified's patrimony, freely giving what they freely received, freely rendering judgment for those suffering wrong, vengeance among the nations, rebukes among the peoples.12 Those who are seen to have received from your spirit, after the manner of the seventy of Moses, through whom—whether absent or present—they strive to please you and to please God.13 Let them return to you weary indeed, but not overburdened, and at the same time boasting—not because they brought back whatever curious or precious things of the lands, but because they left peace for kingdoms, law for barbarians, quiet for monasteries, order for churches, discipline for clerics, an acceptable people for God, and a follower of good works.14

Read the original Latin

Veniamus ad collaterales et coadjutores tuos. Hi seduli tibi, hi intimi sunt. Quamobrem si boni sunt, tibi potissimum sunt: si mali, aeque plus tibi. Ne te dixeris sanum, dolentem latera: hoc est, ne te dixeris bonum, malis innitentem. Aut si bonus sis, bonitas tui solius quem fructum afferre potest? sicut in superiore libro dixisse me memini. Quid, inquam, emolumenti affert Ecclesiis Dei tua unius hominis justitia, ubi sententia praevalet aliter affectorum? Sed nec tuta tibi tua obsessa malis, non magis quam sanitas vicino serpente.

Non est quo te subducas malo intestino. Et e regione, bonum domesticum eo amplius, quo saepius juvat. Sed sive levent, sive gravent, cui rectius imputandum quam tibi, qui tales aut elegisti, aut admisisti? Non de omnibus dico: nam sunt quos non elegisti, sed ipsi te. At potestatem non habent, nisi quam tu eis aut tribueris, aut permiseris. Ad idem ergo revertimur. Tibi imputa quidquid patieris ab eo qui sine te potest facere nihil. His exceptis, de caetero non inconsiderate, ut vides, eligendi quique seu colligendi sunt in opus ministerii hujus.

Tuum est undecumque evocare et adsciscere tibi, exemplo Moysi, senes, non juvenes; sed senes non tam aetate quam moribus, quos tu nosti, quia senes populi sunt. An non eligendi de toto orbe, orbem judicaturi? Sane huic negotio non se ingerat rogans. Consilio, non prece agendum est. Sunt quae necessario a nobis rogantium aut extorquet importunitas, aut necessitas meretur. At istud in his quae nostra sunt. Ubi autem non licet quod volo facere, quis locus roganti? Nisi forte qui me rogat, hoc rogat, ut quod vult, velle liceat mihi, et non magis ut velim.

Alius pro alio, alius forte et pro se rogat. Pro quo rogaris, sit suspectus; qui ipse rogat pro se, jam judicatus est. Nec interest, per se, an per alium quis roget. Clericum curiam frequentantem, qui non sit de curia, ad idem noris pertinere ambientium genus. Adulantem, et ad placitum cujusque loquentem, unum de rogantibus puta, etiamsi nihil rogaverit. Scorpioni non est in facie quod formides: sed pungit a cauda.

Si ad talium blanditias cor tuum, ut assolet, molliri senseris, memineris scriptum: Omnis homo primum bonum vinum ponit; cum autem inebriati fuerint, tunc id quod deterius est. Pari pondere aestimaveris ejus humilitatem qui timet, et ejus qui sperat. Viri callidi et dolosi proprium esse solet tunc praetendere humilitatem, cum aliquid obtinere voluerit: de qualibus dicit Scriptura: Est qui se humiliat nequiter, et interiora ejus plena sunt dolo. De vobis ipsis sume sententiae hujus evidens ac familiare exemplum. Quantos quos supplices admisisti, postmodum sustinuisti graves, insolentes, contumaces, rebelles? Quod quidem interius malum tegunt principia, posteriora produnt. Verbosulum adolescentem, et studentem eloquentiae cum sapientiae sit inanis, non aliud quam justitiae hostem reputes. Pro hujusmodi falsis fratribus dicit tibi Magister: Manus cito nemini imposueris.

Excluso itaque universo hoc pestilenti genere hominum, curae tibi maxime sit introducere tales, quos postmodum introduxisse non poeniteat. Turpe est tibi saepius retractare quod feceris, et judicium tuum frequenter periclitari non decet. Diligenter proinde omne quod faciendum erit, tracta apud te, et cum his qui te diligunt. Tracta ante factum, quia post factum sera retractatio est. Sapientis consilium est: Omnia fac cum consilio, et post factum non poenitebis. Et hoc tibi persuade, qui admittendi sunt, difficile in curia posse probari: et ideo, si fieri potest, viros probatos oportere deligi, non probandos. Nos in monasteriis omnes recipimus spe meliorandi: at curia bonos facilius recipere, quam facere consuevit. Quod si plures in ea defecisse bonos, quam malos profecisse probavimus; quaerendi sane quibus nec defectus timeatur, nec profectus optetur, utpote jam perfectis.

Itaque non volentes, neque currentes assumito, sed cunctantes, sed renuentes: etiam coge illos, et compelle intrare. In talibus, ut opinor, requiescet spiritus tuus, qui non sint attritae frontis, sed verecundi, sed timorati: qui praeter Deum tantum timeant nihil, nihil sperent nisi a Deo. Qui adventantium non manus attendant, sed necessitates. Qui stent viriliter pro afflictis, et judicent in aequitate pro mansuetis terrae. Qui sint compositi ad mores, probati ad sanctimoniam, parati ad obedientiam, mansueti ad patientiam, subjecti ad disciplinam, rigidi ad censuram, catholici ad fidem, fideles ad dispensationem, concordes ad pacem, conformes ad unitatem. Qui sint in judicio recti, in consilio providi, in jubendo discreti, in disponendo industrii, in agendo strenui, in loquendo modesti, in adversitate securi, in prosperitate devoti, in zelo sobrii, in misericordia non remissi, in otio non otiosi, in hospitio non dissoluti, in convivio non effusi, in cura rei familiaris non anxii, alienae non cupidi, suae non prodigi, ubique et in omnibus circumspecti. Qui legatione pro Christo fungi, quoties opus erit, nec jussi renuant, nec non jussi affectent. Qui quod verecunde excusant, obstinatius non recusent.

Qui missi, post aurum non eant, sed Christum sequantur: qui quaestum legationem non aestiment, nec requirant datum, sed fructum. Qui regibus Joannem exhibeant, Aegyptiis Moysen, fornicantibus Phinees, Eliam idololatris, Elisaeum avaris, Petrum mentientibus, Paulum blasphemantibus, negotiantibus Christum. Qui vulgus non spernant, sed doceant: divites non palpent, sed terreant: pauperes non gravent, sed foveant: minas principum non paveant, sed contemnant. Qui non cum turba intrent, nec cum ira exeant: qui ecclesias non spolient, sed emendent. Qui marsupia non exhauriant, sed corda reficiant et crimina corrigant; famae provideant suae, nec invideant alienae. Qui orandi studium gerant, et usum habeant, ac de omni re orationi plus fidant, quam suae industriae vel labori. Quorum ingressus pacificus, molestus exitus sit: quorum sermo aedificatio, quorum vita justitia, quorum praesentia grata, quorum memoria in benedictione. Qui se amabiles praebeant, non verbo, sed opere: reverendos exhibeant, sed actu, non fastu.

Qui humiles cum humilibus, et cum innocentibus innocentes; duros dure redarguant, malignantes coerceant, reddant retributionem superbis. Qui non de dote viduae, et patrimonio Crucifixi se vel suos ditare festinent, gratis dantes quod gratis acceperunt, gratis facientes judicium injuriam patientibus, vindictam in nationibus, increpationes in populis. Qui de tuo denique spiritu, illorum instar septuaginta Moysi, accepisse cernantur, per quem sive absentes, sive praesentes contendant placere tibi, placere Deo. Qui ad te redeant fatigati quidem, sed non suffarcinati: simul et gloriantes, non quod curiosa seu pretiosa quaeque terrarum attulerint, sed quod reliquerint pacem regnis, legem barbaris, quietem monasteriis, ecclesiis ordinem, clericis disciplinam, Deo populum acceptabilem, sectatorem bonorum operum.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩John.2.10 — and says to him, 'Every man serves the good wine first, and when they have drunk freely, then the lesser. You have kept the good wine until now.'
  2. ↩1Tim.5.22 — Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
  3. ↩Luke.14.23 — And the master said to the servant, 'Go out into the roads and the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled.
  4. ↩Matt.5.5 — Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩dixeris is ambiguous between future perfect indicative and perfect subjunctive; read here as a perfect subjunctive in a ne clause ('don't say/think').
  2. 2 ↩affectorum is a rare form (possibly affectorum); rendered here as 'those who are affected' in the sense of those whose judgment is shaped by their condition or attachments.
  3. 3 ↩jam judicatus est ('has already been judged') carries a sharp moral verdict: self-interested petition is its own condemnation. The jussive subjunctive sit suspectus frames this as a standing rule of discernment.
  4. 4 ↩Nec interest is an impersonal idiom ('it does not matter / it makes no difference'). The an introduces an indirect disjunctive question. The point is that the channel of petition doesn't change the underlying problem of self-interest.
  5. 5 ↩noris = noveris, perfect subjunctive with jussive force ('you should know / you must recognize'). ambientium carries the sense of those who seek or court favor ambitiously. The sentence warns that a cleric who haunts the court without being genuinely part of it is still driven by the same ambitious impulse as those who openly seek advancement.
  6. 6 ↩rogaverit is ambiguous between future perfect indicative and perfect subjunctive within a concessive clause. The sense is concessive either way: 'even if he has asked / should ask nothing.' The deeper point is that flattery itself is a form of petition — asking for favor through charm rather than through explicit request.
  7. 7 ↩The scorpion image is a vivid analogy for the flatterer or ambitious courtier: the face (outward appearance) is harmless, but the tail (hidden intent) delivers the wound. quod formides is a relative clause with internal antecedent ('the thing which you should fear').
  8. 8 ↩The Latin pairs Old Testament figures with vices or corrupt groups to whom they are 'presented' — likely meaning the prelate's role in confronting or addressing these groups. The precise sense of 'exhibeant' here is whether they 'offer' these figures as examples or 'present' them for judgment/correction.
  9. 9 ↩The function of 'cum' here is ambiguous — it could be concessive ('not even with a crowd') or temporal ('do not enter accompanied by a crowd'). The translation takes it as accompaniment/temporal.
  10. 10 ↩'Molestus exitus sit' — the sense is that their departure should be troublesome (i.e., deeply felt, not casual), contrasting with peaceful entry. The translation preserves this contrast.
  11. 11 ↩The contrast between 'verbo/operere' and 'actu/fastu' is compressed. The sense is: show lovability through work not words, and show reverence through action not arrogance. The second 'sed' clause may be elliptical.
  12. 12 ↩The 'widow's dowry' and 'Crucified's patrimony' are traditional images for the goods of the Church and the spiritual riches of Christ's Passion; the triple gratis / gratis acceperunt / gratis facientes echoes 1 Cor 4:7 and the principle of free giving.
  13. 13 ↩The 'seventy of Moses' refers to the seventy elders of Num 11:16–17 (Septuagint numbering); the phrase 'de tuo spiritu' frames their authority as derived from the prelate's God-given spirit.
  14. 14 ↩The contrast between what they did not bring (curiosa seu pretiosa) and what they left behind (peace, law, quiet, order, discipline) inverts worldly measures of success; 'sectatorem bonorum operum' is the final self-description—a follower of good works.

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
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