Vitia potestatum ferenda sunt eo quod in eis
The Duty of the Ruler
The ruler, like the stomach in the body, must be honored and sustained for the sake of the common good, even if he is imperfect.
The signs of public safety are constant, and the fact that those who dispense salvation are like the stomach in the body, which distributes nourishment to the limbs, is a sentiment held by Lord Adrian. Go to the ant, you sluggard, Solomon says, so that you might learn providence. But the philosopher directs the statesman to the bees to learn his duty; if the Tyrians had listened to this, they never would have indulged in luxury and would still be enjoying the perpetual safety of their people. But because vice took root in the woman who was in charge, the effeminate citizens turned their necks away from virtue. Furthermore, even if a leader is somewhat lax in his duty to be virtuous, he must still be honored. Just as bees lift their king upon their shoulders, so too should subjects—whom we have already called the feet and limbs—offer him every kind of service, provided he isn't destructive through his vices. For even if he struggles with vices, he must be endured, as he is the one in whom the signs of salvation exist for the people of the province. When the king is safe, everyone is of one mind; once he is lost, they break their faith. The Illyrians and Thracians, hardened by daily exercise, terrified the neighboring Macedonians with their martial fame. But when they were driven back in battle, they placed the son of their deceased king—still in his cradle—behind the battle line and renewed the fight more fiercely. It was as if they had been defeated only because they lacked the presence of their king, and they were destined to be victors because they had drawn the spirit of conquest from either superstition or faith.
A Candid Conversation with the Pope
John of Salisbury recounts a frank dialogue with Pope Adrian IV regarding the corruption and perceived greed of the Roman Church.
For they were also held back by pity for the infant, whom they saw as someone they would make a captive of the king if they were defeated. Once the battle began, they routed the Illyrians with great slaughter, showing their enemies that in the previous war, it wasn't the king's courage that the Macedonians had lacked. How great, then, must someone be who is already advanced in age and dignity, if he is considered worthy enough to be promoted in both? Although it may seem a bit harsh to treat people this way, the authority of the office and the usefulness of the position ought to soften the spirits of the provincials. I remember that I traveled to Apulia to visit Pope Adrian IV, who had admitted me into a closer familiarity, and I stayed with him at Benevento for nearly three months. And so, as often happens between friends, we would frequently talk about many things, and when he asked me more familiarly and diligently what people were saying about him and the Roman Church, I used the freedom of spirit I had with him to openly explain the bad things I had heard in various provinces. For as many were saying, the Roman Church, which is the mother of all churches, shows herself to others not so much as a mother, but as a stepmother. Scribes and Pharisees sit in it, placing heavy burdens on the shoulders of others that they themselves won't lift a finger to move.✦ They dominate the clergy and don't set an example for the flock walking the straight path to life; they hoard expensive furnishings, load their tables with gold and silver, and are stingy even with themselves out of greed. For a poor man is either not admitted at all or only rarely, and when he is, it's often not Christ who brings him in, but empty glory. They shake up churches, stir up lawsuits, divide the clergy and the people, and have no compassion for the labors and miseries of the afflicted; they rejoice in the spoils of churches and consider all profit to be piety. They render justice not so much to the truth as to the price. Everything today is for a price, and you won't get anything tomorrow without a price either. They often do harm, and in this they imitate demons, for they are thought to be useful only when they stop doing harm, except for the few who fulfill the name and office of a shepherd. But the Roman Pontiff himself is also burdensome and almost intolerable to everyone; furthermore, everyone criticizes him because, while the churches that the devotion of the fathers built are falling into ruin and collapsing, and the altars themselves are neglected, he builds palaces and walks about not only dressed in purple, but gilded. The palaces of the priests shine, and in their hands the Church of Christ is defiled. They plunder the spoils of provinces as if they were eager to restore the treasures of Croesus. But the Most High deals rightly with them, since they themselves have been handed over to be plundered by others, and often by the most worthless of men. And, as I see it, while they wander off the path like this, the rod of the Lord will never be far from them. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken that by the judgment they use, they will be judged, and it will be measured back to them by their own standard. The Ancient of Days does not know how to lie. "Father," I said, "this is what the people are saying, since you want me to present their views to you." "And you," he asked, "what do you think?" "Distress," I replied, "is everywhere." I fear that if I stand alone against the people, I'll be branded a liar or a flatterer; but if I don't, I fear the charge of treason, lest by setting my own heaven in place, I appear to have earned the cross.
The Integrity of the Faithful
Despite systemic corruption, the author defends the presence of honorable and detached clerics within the Roman Church.
However, because Guido, Cardinal Priest of Saint Pudentiana, bears witness to the people, I don't presume to contradict him in any way. For he asserts that there is a certain root of duplicity in the Roman Church, as well as a fuel for greed, which is the head and root of all evils. . He didn't protest this in a corner, but publicly, while the brothers were sitting together with Saint Eugene presiding, at the time he had flared up without cause against my innocence at Ferentino. Yet I boldly profess, with my conscience as my witness, that I have never seen more honorable clerics than those in the Roman Church, nor any who detest greed more. Who could fail to admire the self-restraint and contempt for money shown by Bernard of Redon, Cardinal Deacon of Saints Cosmas and Damian? The person from whom he might have accepted gifts hasn't been born yet. Yet he was sometimes persuaded to accept what came to him by a more sincere right from the Communion of the brothers. Who wouldn't be amazed at the Bishop of Palestrina, who, fearing a prick of conscience, abstained from participating in common goods? There is such modesty and such gravity in many that they are not found to be inferior to Fabricius, whom they surpass in every way once they have recognized the path of salvation. Because you insist, urge, and command—and since it's certain that one must not lie to the Holy Spirit—I admit that what you command must be done, even if not all of you are to be imitated in your deeds. For anyone who disagrees with your teaching is either a heretic or a schismatic. But, God willing, there are those who do not imitate the deeds of all of you. The failings of a few, therefore, bring a stain upon the sincere and infamy upon the universal Church; and in my opinion, they die more frequently so that they do not corrupt the whole Church. But the good are also sometimes taken away so they aren't changed by malice, and because Rome, having become corrupt, is found unworthy of them before God. Since you hold this office, therefore, seek out and bring in the humble, those who despise vainglory and money.
The Call to Pastoral Reform
The author challenges the Pope to examine his own life and return to the apostolic standard of free, uncorrupted service.
But I fear that while you keep looking for what you want, you'll hear from an imprudent friend what you don't want. Why is it, Father, that you examine the lives of others but hardly ever look into your own? Everyone applauds you; you're called the father and lord of all, and every sinner's oil is poured upon your head. If you are a father, why do you expect gifts and payments from your children? If you are a lord, why don't you strike fear into your Romans and, by curbing their recklessness, call them back to the faith? Instead, you try to preserve the city of the Church with your own bribes. Did Sylvester acquire it with bribes like that? You're on a pathless road, Father, not on the right way. It must be preserved by the same means through which it was acquired. What you received for free, give for free. Justice is the queen of virtues, and she blushes to be bartered for any price. If a favor is to be gracious, let it be free. That which cannot be corrupted must never be sold for a price; it remains whole and always incorrupt. While you press others down, you yourself are pressed down all the more heavily. The pontiff laughed and congratulated me on such freedom, ordering that whenever anything sinister about him reached my ears, I should report it to him without delay.
The Parable of the Stomach
The Pope concludes the discussion with a parable illustrating that the ruler's consumption is necessary for the sustenance of the entire body politic.
After he had addressed many arguments both for and against himself, he proposed this parable to me. He said, 'It happened that all the members of the body conspired against the stomach, as if it were someone who, through gluttony, was draining away everyone else's labor.' The eye is never satisfied by seeing, nor the ear by hearing; the hands insist on their work, the feet wear themselves out on the journey, and the tongue itself usefully moderates both speech and silence. In the end, all the members keep watch for the public good, yet through all this worry and labor, the stomach alone rests; and once everything has been gathered that so much hard work has acquired, it alone devours and consumes it all. Why say more? They agreed to stop working and to finish off that lazy, public enemy through severe starvation. One day passed this way, and the next was even more tedious. The third day was so harmful that it brought almost everyone to the point of collapse. Urged on by necessity, the members met together again to discuss their own survival and the state of their public enemy. But when they all stood there, their eyes grew dim, the feet could not lift the weight of the body, the arms were sluggish, and even the tongue, stuck and joined to a failing palate, did not dare to explain their common cause. So, they all returned to the counsel of the heart, and after deliberating there, reason revealed that the one who had previously been denounced as a public enemy was the one causing these evils. From the moment taxes were withheld from him, he, as the public steward, cut off the food supply for everyone. And because no one can serve as a soldier without pay, when the pay stops, the soldier grows weak and breaks down. But the blame couldn't be shifted onto the steward, for he couldn't possibly distribute to others what he hadn't received. It's far safer that he be provided with what he needs to distribute than for him to be emptied out, leaving all the members to starve. And that is what happened; guided by reason, the stomach was filled, the members were refreshed, and peace was restored to all. The stomach was thus cleared of blame, for although it may be greedy and hungry for what belongs to others, it doesn't seek it for itself, but for those who would otherwise be unable to be sustained if it were empty. It's the same, brother, if you look at it rightly, in the body of the commonwealth: even if the magistrate seeks a great deal, he is gathering it not so much for himself as for others. For if he is emptied out, there is nothing he can share with the members. The stomach in the body and the ruler in the commonwealth serve the same function, according to the saying of Quintus Serenus: those who argue that the stomach is the king of the entire body seem to rely on sound reasoning. Its steady strength sustains all the members, yet conversely, they all break down in pain if it suffers; in fact, unless it is cared for, it is said to corrupt the brain and turn the senses away from their integrity. Don't, therefore, judge the harshness of our own leaders or those of the world; instead, consider the benefit of all.
Read the original Latin
auspicia publicae salutis constant, et quod dispensatores salutis sunt sicut stomacus in corpore animcdis nutritiua dispertit, et koc ex sententia domini Adriani. Vade, inquit Salomon, ad formicam, piger, ut prouidentia habeatur. At philosophus uirum politicum mittit ad apes ut ab illis suum discat officium; eui si Tyrii adquieuissent, nequaquam luxuriae indulsissent et de gentis a perpetua incolumitate gauderent. Sed, quia uitium in muliere domina radicauit, efFeminati ciues subduxerunt coUa uirtuti. Porro, etsi in officio uirtutum sit remissior principatus, colendus tamen est; et, sicut apes in humeris regem suum attoUunt, ita subiecti, quos pedes et membra esse praediximus, dummodo uitiis pemiciosus non sit, omnimodum ei exhibeant famulatum. Nam, etsi laboret uitiis, ferendus est tamquam in quo salutis auspicia prouincialibus extant. Rege incolumi mens omnibus una; amisso rupere fidem. IUirici et Traces cotidiano exercitio indurati gloria bellicae laudis finitimos Macedones terrebant, qui praelio pulsi, rege suo regis defuncti filio in cunis prolato et pone aciem posito, acrius certamen repetiere tamquam ideo uicti fuissent quod bellantibus defuerant auspicia regis sui, uictores futuri uel propterea quod ex superstitione uel fide animum uincendi ceperant.
Nam et miseratio infantis eos tenebat quem, si uicti essent, captiuum de rege facere uidebantur. Conserto itaque praelio magna caede IUiricos fuderunt ostendentes hostibus suis priore bello regem non mrtutem Macedonibus defuisse. Quanti ergo esse debet iam prouectus etate et dignitate, si tanti habetur utroque prouehendus? Licet autem duriuscule uideatur tractare populum, tamen auctoritas dignitatis et utilitas officii debent prouincialium animos mitigare. Memini me causa uisitandi dominum Adrianum pontificem quartum, qui me in ulteriorem familiaritatem admiserat, profectum in Apuliam, mansique cum eo Beneuenti ferme tres menses. Cum itaque, ut fieri solet inter amicos, saepe super plurimis conferremus, et ipse quid de se et ecclesia Romana sentirent homines a me familiarius et diligentius quaereret, ego apud eum usus spiritus libertate mala, quae in diuersis prouinciis audieram, patenter exposui. Sicut enim dicebatur a multis, Romana ecclesia, quae mater omnium ecclesiarum est, se non tam matrem exhibet aliis quam nouercam. Sedent in ea Scribae et Pharisei ponentes onera importabilia in humeris hominum quae digito non contingunt.
Dominantur in clero nec forma fiunt gregi qui recto calle pergit ad uitam, pretiosam suppellectilem congerunt, auro et argento onerant mensas, sibi etiam ab auaritia nimis parci. Nam pauper aut nullus aut rarus admittitur, quem interdum non tam Christus quam uana gloria introducit. Concutiunt ecclesias, lites excitant, coUidunt clerum et populum, laboribus et miseriis afflictorum nequaquam compatiuntur, ecclesiarum letantur spoliis et quaestum omnem reputant pietatem. lustitiam non tam ueritati quam pretio reddunt. Omnia namque cum pretio hodie; sed nec cras aliquid sine pretio obtinebis. Nocent saepius et in eo daemones imitantur quod tunc prodesse putantur cum nocere desistunt, exceptis paucis qui nomen et officium pastoris implent. Sed et ipse a Romanus pontifex omnibus grauis et fere intolerabilis est; praeterea omnes arguunt quod, ruentibus et collabentibus ecclesiis quas patrum construxit deuotio, altaribus quoque incultis, palatia extruit et ipse non modo purpuratus sed deauratus incedit. Palatia splendent sacerdotum et in manibus eorum Christi sordidatur Ecclesia.
Prouinciarum diripiunt spolia ac si thesauros Cresi studeant reparare. Sed recte cum eis agit Altissimus, quoniam et ipsi aliis et saepe uilissimis hominibus dati sunt in direptionem. Et, ut opinor, dum sic in inuio errauerint, numquam deerit eis flagellum Domini. Os siquidem Domini locutum est quia quo iudicio iudicauerint, iudicabuntur, et sua mensura remetietur eis. Antiquus dierum mentiri non nouit. Haec, inquam, pater, loquitur populus, quandoquidem uis ut illius tlbi sententias proferam, Et tu, inquit, quid sentis? Angustiae, inquam, sunt undique. Vereor enim ne mendacii uel adulationis contraham notam si solus populo contradixero; sin autem, reatum uereor maiestatis ne tamquam qui meum in celum posuerim, crucem uidear meruisse.
Verumtamen, quia Guido Dens sanctae Potentianae presbiter cardinalis populo testimonium perhibet, ei usquequaque contradieere non praesumo. Asserit enim in Romana ecclesia quandam duppKcitatis esse radicem et fomentum auaritiae quae caput et radix est malorum omnium. . Neque id quidem in angulo sed considentibus fratribus sancto Eugenio praesidente, quando aduersus innocentiam meam Ferentini gratis excanduerat, hoc publice protestatus est. Vnum tamen audacter conscientia teste profiteor quia nusquam honestiores clericos uidi quam in ecclesia Romana aut qui magis auaritiam detestentur. Quis Bemardi Redonensis sanctorum Cosmae et Damiani diaconi cardinalis continentiam, contemptumque pecimiae, non miretur? Nondum natus est a quo munua acceperit. Quod tamen a communione fratrum sinceriore iure proueniebat, interdum accipere persuasus est.
Quis non stupeat episcopum Praenestinum qui scrupulum conscientiae metuens et a participatione bonorum communium abstinebat? Plurium tanta modestia, tanta grauitas est ut Fabricio non ind ueniantur inferiores, quem agnita salutis uia modis omnibus antecedunt. Quia ergo instas, urges, praecipis, cum certum sit quod Spiritui sancto mentiri non licet, fateor quia quod praecipis faciendum est, etsi non sitis omnes operibus imitandi. Nam qui a doctrina uestra dissentit aut la hereticus aut scismaticus est. Sed, Deo propitio, sunt qui non omnium uestrum opera imitentur. Paucorum ergo labes sinceris maculam et uniuersali Ecclesiae infamiam ingerit; et mea opinione ideo frequentius moriuntur ne a totam corrumpant Ecclesiam. Sed et boni rapiuntur interdum ne malitia immutentur, et quia Roma corrupta apud Deum his repperitur indigna. Tu ergo quia id habes officii, quaere et insere humiles, uanae gloriae et pecuniae contemptores.
Sed timeo ne, dum pergis quaerere quae uis, ab imprudente amico audias quae non uis. Quid est, pater, quod aliorum discutis uitam et te ipsum minime perscrutaris? Omnes applaudunt tibi, pater omnium uocaris et dominus, et capiti tuo infunditur omne oleum peccatoris. Si ergo pater es, quare a filiis munera et retributiones expectas Si dominus, quare Romanis tuis S timorem non incutis et temeritate repressa eos ad fidem non reuocasl At urbem uis Ecclesiae tuis mimeribus conseruare. Numquid eam sic Siluester muneribus adquisiuif? In inuio, pater, es et non in uia. Eisdem est conseruanda muneribus quibus est adquisita. Quod gratis accepisti, gratis dato.
lustitia regina uirtutum est et erubescit quouis pretio permutari. Si gratiosa futura est, sit gratuita. Nequaquam prostituatur ad pretium quae corrumpi non potest; integra est et semper incorrupta. Dum premis alios, et tu grauius opprimeris. Risit pontifex et tantae congratulatus est libertati, praecipiens ut, quotiens sinistrum aliquid de ipso meis auribus insonaret, hoc ei sine mora nuntiarem. Et, cum plurima nunc pro se, nunc contra se respondisset, apologum huiusmodi michi proposuit. Ait ergo: Accidit ut aduersus stomachum membra omnia totius corporis conspirarent tamquam aduersus eum qui uoracitate sua labores omnium exhauriret. Xon satiatur oculus uisu, auris auditu, laboribus insistunt manus, pedes ab itinere caUum induunt, ipsaque lingua utiliter sermonem et silentium moderatur.
Omnia denique membra publicis inuigilant commodis et in tanta sollicitudine omnium et labore solus quiescit uenter et cum omnia parta fuerint quae labor multiplex adquisiuit, solus omnia deuorat et consumit. Quid multa "? Condixei unt ut a laboribus abstinerent et graui inedia conficerent illum inertem et publicum hostem. Exacta est sic una dies, secuta est altera tediosior. Tertia adeo pemiciosa fuit ut fere omnibus defectum indiceret. Vrgente itaque necessitate fratres item in unum conuenerunt acturi de salute sua et hostis publici statu. Cum uero omnes assisterent, oculi languerunt, pes molem corporis non erexit, torpebant brachia, sed et ipsa lingua inhers et deficienti palato sociata causam communem exponere non praesumpsit. Ad cordis ergo consilium omnia redierunt ibique habita deliberatione ratio patefecit quoniam haec mala ingerebat qui ante denuntiatus fuerat publicus hostis.
Ex quo enim ei tributa subtracta sunt et ipse quasi publicus dispensator omnibus alimenta subduxit. Et quia nemo potest sine stipendiis militare, cum stipendia non procedunt, debilitatur et frangitur miles. Sed nec in dispensatorem poterat culpa refundi, qui quod non acceperat, minime potuerit aliis erogare. Longeque tutius esse ut ei quod distribuat ministretur quam illo euacuato omnia membra esuriant. Factumque est ita; suadente ratione repletus est uenter, refocillata membra, et pax omnium reformata. Absolutus a est itaque stomachus, qui, licet uorax sit et auidus alieni, non sibi tamen petit sed aliis quae eo exinanito nequeunt sustentari. Tale est, inquit, frater, si recte attendas, in corpore rei publicae ubi, licet plurimum appetat magistratus, non tam sibi quam aliis coaceruat. Si enim exinanitus fuerit, nichil est quod membris ualeat impartiri.
Nam stomachi in corpore et principis in re publica idem officium est iuxta illud Quinti Sereni: Qui stomachum regem totius corporis esse contendunt, uera niti ratione uidentur. Huius enim ualidus firmat tenor omnia membra, at contra eiusdem franguntur cuneta dolore; quin etiam, nisi cura iuuet, uitiare cerebrum fertur et integros illinc auertere sensus. Noli ergo neque nostrum neque secularium principum duritiam metiri, sed omnium utilitat m attende.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Matt.23.4 — They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with their finger.
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