De ypocritis qui amhitionis lahem falsa
The Mask of Ambition
Ambition, when blocked from open power, adopts the guise of religious devotion to deceive the simple.
They try to hide behind a facade of religious life. Although the recklessness of the people or the license of those in power can be restrained by legitimate precepts and divine institution, ambition cannot be tamed. For if it doesn't dare to act in the open, it creeps in secretly and enters through fraud. If it cannot open the doors of the Church with bribes, or if they aren't forced open by its own or another's violence, it resorts to its own deceptive arts. Everything that attacks liberty, that tears down the statutes of the decrees, and that is contrary to religious life, the Spirit detests with total freedom. You'll be surprised that Sinon has returned to deceive the simple and the gullible. He pretends and dissembles, carrying a cunning fox in his heart; he is freer than any Stoic and more rigid than Cato. He is also sometimes simpler than Paul, more anxious than the teacher of the Gentiles, and more fervent than Peter; for him, to live is Christ and to die is gain; he boasts in nothing except the cross of Christ, which he carries constantly in his body so that his soul may be saved, desiring only to be dissolved and to be with Christ.
The Fruits of True Religion
While hypocrites mimic the habits of holy orders, the integrity of true monastic life remains untarnished by their fraud.
They mortify the flesh, therefore, with its vices and desires, and unlike others, they live an angelic life while dwelling among men, conversing in heavenly things. They fast constantly and pray without ceasing, yet they do so loudly so that a guest might hear; they dress in rough, dirty clothes and rebuke the people. They criticize the clergy, solicit leaders and authorities regarding the correction of morals, and secure for themselves a reputation for righteousness if they disparage the lives of others. But so that their fraud might thrive under the guise of honesty, they seek out the communities of praiseworthy men, take on difficult professions, show off their hardships, and more familiarly pursue what is possible for them and what is more humanly acceptable. They claim to be successors of Basil, Benedict, Augustine, or, if that isn't enough, of the Apostles and Prophets; they wear the habits of the Carthusians, Cistercians, or Cluniacs, and those who deign to be canons boast of their wool tunics and lambskins. For they come in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves; yet, as the Lord says, they are most clearly known by their fruits. Nevertheless, the glory of true religious life isn't diminished by the fraud of such people. For it's undoubtedly clear to everyone that the names they profess and the offices they promise are most honorable and faithful. For in these, the religious life is so genuine and so well-proven that it shrinks from the sting of no one's criticism; indeed, the Carthusians are everywhere celebrated as the foremost conquerors of greed; the Cistercians follow the precepts and footsteps of blessed Benedict—who, as is well known, was filled with the spirit of all the just—to the letter; and the Cluniacs have spread their form of religious life to many provinces. And for the canons, it should be enough for the highest praise that all clergy ought to imitate their rule. The hermits also have the Savior's Baptist and the sons of the prophets as the founders of their institution. The brothers of the Temple, following the example of the Maccabees, lay down their souls for their brothers. The keepers of hospitals follow the footsteps of the Apostles, and aspiring to the height of perfection, they most faithfully listen to Christ by living innocently and distributing everything they have to the poor. Yet in all these, both the faithful and the reprobate are found, and the truth of the religious life or profession is not deformed on that account. For what profession is there, or what society has ever existed, into which a stain hasn't crept? We read of an apostate angel, of parricide among the first brothers, of a reprobate prophet, of a traitorous apostle, and of faithless disciples of Christ; yet the purity of the persistent angels isn't corrupted, nor is the society of brothers loving one another any less holy, nor is the grace of prophecy in the elect blameworthy, nor is the apostolate in the faithful contemptible, nor is the discipline of Christ infamous because of the various errors of those who wander.
The Arrogance of the Hypocrite
Hypocrites use their feigned piety to manipulate secular and ecclesiastical power, seeking exemptions and personal gain.
Just as Satan's angel disguises himself as an angel of light, and false apostles hungered for apostolic authority rather than for the life itself, so too do hypocrites take refuge in the arrogance of the Pharisees; they widen their phylacteries and enlarge their fringes, and they won't even touch with a finger what is written in the law of God, except to be seen by people from whom they expect the reward of honor or some other payment. That is why they show off a pale face, draw deep, practiced sighs, and suddenly burst into artificial, obedient tears. They walk with a bowed head, eyes half-closed, hair cut short, and a nearly shaved scalp. They speak in a low voice, their lips moving as if in prayer, and they walk with a calm, measured gait. They go about in rags, unkempt, and sell their affected poverty, so that they might rise all the more easily the more zealously they appear to have cast themselves into the lowest place; and those who humble themselves of their own accord are forced to grow against their will. These are the people who, if any stain clings to the Church while she is on her pilgrimage, expose it to public view so that they themselves may appear immune to every stain. These are the ones who proclaim that benefits which haven't yet been granted to the saints should be taken away. These are the ones who persuade those in power that, because of the faults of individuals, the Church should be deprived of its rights. They withhold tithes and first fruits from the churches, and they take the churches themselves from the hands of laypeople without consulting the bishops. These are the ones who, by stripping the local people of their ancestral lands, turn villages and districts into wilderness, convert everything nearby to their own use, and tear down churches or turn them to secular purposes. What was once a house of prayer is turned into a stable for livestock, a shepherd's hut, or a wool-processing workshop. They commit greater wrongs with impunity and never stop stirring up the Church—the very place in whose bosom they rest and by whose shadow they are protected—as if they were the horns of a double power. They flee to the Roman Church, which, as the mother of piety, is accustomed to provide peace for the religious life. They beg for her help and obtain the shield of her protection so they can't be harassed by anyone’s malice; and so they can more fully display themselves and fulfill the duty of charity, they are fortified by apostolic privilege so they don't have to pay tithes. They go further, and to ensure they can do more things with impunity, they exempt themselves from the jurisdiction of all churches and become special sons of the Roman Church; yet they do this in such a way that while they may be sued anywhere regarding their property, they cannot be summoned to court except in Rome or Jerusalem. Then they beg for the help of secular powers and promise them divine grace. They become mediators between God and men, gather those who need forgiveness into their own societies, hear confessions, and—usurping the keys of the Church or stealing them from Peter—they presume to bind and loose, and even though the Lord forbids it, they put their sickle into another man's harvest. Yet, for those who are more powerful and wealthy, once they have received favor or payment, they provide relief more easily; and by placing their shoulders under these heavy sins, they order whatever those people confess to them to be cast off into their own tunics and garments. They magnify the mercy of the Lord, who does not want anyone to perish, but they declare that this mercy, which is open and accessible to the penitent, is closed off to those who despair alone. They are indulgent toward those who are more deeply and stubbornly caught up in their sins, letting them sin in the hope that, as long as they offer something for their redemption, they can boldly promise them forgiveness, claiming that just as water puts out fire, so does almsgiving extinguish sin. Repentance is never too late, provided it is genuine. They therefore consent to wicked behavior and, by using flattery to stir up popular affection, they block people's ears so they won't hear the rebukes of their superiors. Beyond this, they hunt for gossip, delight in turmoil, and pry into the secrets of those who disagree, carrying these things now to friends and now to enemies—pleasing to both, yet treacherous to both—and they seem better suited for this because they are less suspected under the guise of religious life. They are the only ones believed to know what is expedient in the palace, in the marketplace, in the fields, or in the military camp, because those who are constantly involved in these things seem to care about them more than anyone else. If the fathers meet in the curia, the citizens in the marketplace, or the soldiers on an expedition—or if, finally, a council or synod is called—this shadowy religious life will occupy the best seats. You'd think the bars of the cloisters had been broken, the hospitals or hostels emptied, and swarms of people living together had flown out from their venerable places. To such an extent does this appearance of religious life force itself upon the crowds and into public view.
The Judgment of False Piety
The author challenges the hypocrisy of those who claim religious privilege to avoid duties and usurp ecclesiastical authority.
They usurp the best seats, the places of honor, and the first greetings; and if you don't offer them these, they are deeply offended. If you speak against them, you're called an enemy of the religious life and a detractor of the truth. Bear it patiently, then, if those who seem to have obtained license for everything by apostolic and royal authority inflict injuries and losses upon you; for it's believed that this, too, is owed to their merits. Indeed, whoever resists authority resists what God has ordained; and I don't think one should struggle against apostolic and royal majesty. Yet I wonder—if I may speak with the peace of the faithful—what is it they aren't ashamed to usurp, such as tithes and the rights of others? They will perhaps say, "We are religious." Clearly, paying tithes is a part of the religious life, and it's only the religious who are required by God to pay them. But those who demand them are irreligious. But who made you judges over them? Or who are you to pass judgment on someone else's servants? Each one stands or falls before his own master. And he will stand. "We're safe," they say, "because of an apostolic privilege, by which we keep the tithes from the produce of our animals and our own labor." Certainly, all things are permitted to the apostles, but it's by no means fitting for those who follow them to do everything they do. Even if they have freely granted this to you, you should consider whether you were right to ask for it. Indeed, anyone who asks to be excused from what he owes isn't willingly obeying justice. Did Abel not look to the Lord regarding his produce? Cain offered produce; he was right to do so, because it was owed to the Lord, but he sinned in the unequal division by holding something back. The offerings of someone who shares the offspring of their animals with the Lord are accepted before his. And perhaps they are returned more rightly from animals, because they come about without our cultivation and care; after all, there is more labor in sowing and harvesting crops. They aren't forced to give from their own. For who is going to give an account for the labor of others? Why say more? Through many long arguments, they seem to claim that they don't forbid others from giving tithes, while they themselves remain exempt from giving them because they are so religious that they can, in this respect, disregard divine law. They are less grateful for the grace of God in that they experience it through greater benefits; for what comes from grace alone, such as hay and things that grow spontaneously, is not considered subject to religious discipline. At first, while the religious life rejoiced in poverty and poured out the depths of its own need for the necessities or uses of others, privileges were granted to these professions which, now that the necessity has ceased and charity has grown cold, are believed to be instruments of greed rather than of religious life. Look, because all these privileged people seek what is their own, and Jesus, who is preached in public, is either entirely absent or hidden away in secret places. That is why, when the blessed Adrian saw that these privileges were being dragged into the dishonest pursuit of greed, he didn't want to revoke them entirely, but he restrained their license with this moderation: that what they seize from their labors should be interpreted as applying only to newly cultivated land. For in this way, they'll be able to enjoy their privileges without a serious violation of another's rights. Yet there is one thing that such a great father allowed, and because it conflicts with the canons of the fathers, it is a marvel in our eyes. For the Knights Templar, by their own influence, claim the management of churches, occupy benefices, and in a way presume to minister the blood of Christ to the faithful, even though their profession is almost entirely to shed human blood. I don't mean to call them men of blood simply because they are almost the only ones among men who wage legitimate wars; for even David wasn't called a man of blood because of the wars he waged legitimately, but because of Uriah, whose blood he shed in sin. For as it is provided in the canons, no authority over these ecclesiastical matters is granted to laymen, however religious they may be. It would certainly be a sign of true religious life if they refrained from the management of that matter which, by the Lord's prohibition, they are not permitted to handle.
The True Path of the Cloister
True religious life is found in humble, silent obedience, standing in stark contrast to the noisy, self-serving vanity of the hypocrite.
But I don't believe the duty of hospitality should be fulfilled with stolen goods (I'm not just talking about the Church's property, but anyone's), because God hates bread gained by sacrilege and rejects offerings made from blood; and whenever He is called upon by such people, He closes His ears so they aren't open to their prayers. I’m not currently addressing the things these people commit in fraud of God's justice, even though it’s completely wrong that, lured by the love of money, they open churches that bishops have closed. They celebrate divine services while under suspension and bury the dead whom the Church has rejected, and once a year they act in such a way that for the whole year the misguided people grow deaf to the voice of the Church; and those who cannot be restrained despise being corrected. They go around to churches, boasting of the merits of their own orders, carrying pardons for sins, and sometimes preaching a new gospel. They adulterate the Word of God—announcing it not for grace but for profit, living for pleasure rather than for truth—and finally, when they meet in their hideouts late at night, having spoken of virtue during the day, they stir up trouble with their errors and nocturnal labor. If this is the way to Christ, then the teaching of the Fathers, which showed a narrow and difficult path to those heading toward life, is deceptive and empty. But when the Church is indignant at these people, no one is more rightly moved than those who are truly religious, for whose injury all these things are done. The people are angry, but religious orders are more justly embittered against this stain of hypocrisy. It isn't said that hypocrites have done this, but Cistercians or Cluniacs or others, whose habit these windbags and ventriloquists put on, faking the life. Those in the cloister who are truly and clearly religious are immune to this malice while they serve their calling. No life is more faithful, none simpler, none happier than that of those who live humbly in the cloister, rejoicing in their own lowliness, obedient to their superiors in every submission and reverence, not seeking under the name of obedience any power or license to cheat, wander, or be idle, but possessing their vessels in holiness and honor, waiting in silence and patience for the salvation of God, keeping themselves from detraction and murmuring, receiving in quiet from the mouth of the Lord the word that can save their souls, sharing pleasant conversations with God, and being like earthly angels, ignorant of all worldly disturbance. If there is anything that seems to sadden them, it must be referred to brotherly love, because even in heaven the angels in a way sympathize with our falls and rejoice over one sinner who repents. But since it's difficult to imitate the philosophers in our time—a time when virtue has been drained away and it's agreed that Astraea has left humanity and returned to the heavens—the life of those in the cloister incomparably surpasses the virtue of the philosophers, or, as I would rather believe, they philosophize most correctly and safely. Those who go out humbly to meet the needs of others and serve them faithfully, even if they don't lead a safer life, certainly lead a more useful one, worthy of the greatest praise and reverence, and they by no means join the faction of the Epicureans or hypocrites. You'll most correctly group hypocrites with the Epicureans, since they profess philosophy but serve their own will. Since they stir up quarrels, abuse their privileges, serve their own greed, by no means exercise the duties of charity, and seek their own glory, do they not walk according to the flesh, even though they falsely claim to be spiritual, rightly expecting the destruction of the flesh, as participants in the future hell of Him who is spirit and who, because He swelled with empty glory and wanted to be made like the Most High or preferred to Him, was cast down and plunged into the lake of eternal damnation? Truly, they are insane who walk this path, and they are more miserable than all other people, for they are deprived of the goods of both this present life and the eternal one, especially since He who endured becoming sin for sinners and showed Himself familiar to tax collectors and prostitutes could not have peace with the hypocrites who didn't need His righteousness. This is clear to those who diligently attend to the arguments He had with the Pharisees. Yet they strive to take the first place, following the example of the Pharisees.
Read the original Latin
religionis imagine nituntur occultare. Licet autem populi temeritas aut licentia potestatum praeceptis legittimis et diuina institutione reprimi possit, ambitio tamen domari non potest. Si enim in manifesto non audet, clanculo serpit et fraudulenter ingreditur. Si fores ecclesiae muneribus non aperiat, si nec sua nec aliena uiolentia reserantur, confugit ad artes fallaciae suae. Omnia, quae libertatem impugnant, quae decretorum statuta conuellunt, et quae religioni contraria sunt, tota libertate Spiritus detestatur. Synonem, ut simplices et credulos circumueniat, miraberis rediisse. Simulat et dissimulat et astutam gerit sub pectore uulpem; Stoico quouis liberior est, Catone rigidior. Est quoque interdum simplicior Paulo, doctore gentium soUicitior, feruentior Petro; et ei uiuere Christus est et mori lucrum; nec gloriatur in aliquo, nisi in cruce Christi, quam iugiter portat in corpore ut spiritus saluus sit, dissolui dumtaxat cupiens et esse cum Christo.
Mortificat ergo carnem cum uitiis et concupiscentiis et, non sicut ceteri hominum, cum hominibus degens uitam agit angelicam et in celestibus conuersatur. leiunant hi continue, sine intermissione orant, clare tamen et ut audiat hospes, asperis et sordidis uestibus induuntur et populum increpant. Arguunt clerum, de moribus corrigendis soUicitant principatus et potestates, testimonium sibi adquirentes iustitiae si uitae detrahant alienae. Vt uero fraus sub honestatis specie conualescat, laudabilium uirorum collegia expetunt, arduas subeunt professiones, ostentant difficilia et famiharius sibi propitii possibilia et quae humaniora sunt exequuntur. Se ergo Basilii, Benedicti, Augustini, aut, si hoc parum est, Apostolorum et Prophetarum fatentur successores; uestes Cartuariensium, Cisterciensium, Cluniacensium induunt, et qui dignantur esse canonici gloriantur in laneis tunicis et pellibus agninis. Veniunt enim in uestimentis ouium, intrinsecus autem sunt lupi rapaces; sed, ut ait Dominus, euidentissime cognoscuntur a fructibus suis. Non tamen a fraude istorum religionis uerae diminuitur gloria. Nam indubitanter omnibus constat quia nomina quae profitentur et quorum pollicentur ofiicia honestissima et fidelissima sunt.
Nam religio in his adeo uera, adeo probata, consistit ut nuUius reprehensionis aculeos a reformidet; siquidem Cartuarienses quasi auaritiae triumphatores praecipui ubique clarescunt; Cistercienses beati Benedicti, quem omnium iustorum spiritu plenum fuisse constat, praecepta et uestigia sequuntur ad unguem; Cluniacenses religionis formam multis prouinciis tradiderunt. Et canonicis sufficere debet ad plenissimam laudem quod regulam eorum oportet omnes clericos imitari. Hereb mitae quoque Baptistam Saluatoris et filios prophetarum institutionis suae habent auctores. Fratres Templi Machabeorum exemplo ponunt animas suas pro fratribus suis. Xenodochi siue hospitalium procuratores Apostolorum sequuntur uestigia et ad perfectionis cumulum aspirantes in eo fidelissime audiunt Christum quod uiuunt innocenter et omnia quae habent pauperibus erogant. In his tamen omnibus fideles inueniuntur et reprobi, nec ob id religionis aut professionis ueritas deformatur. Quae enim professio est aut quae legitur umquam fuisse societas in quam macula non irrepserit? Angelum apostatam legimus, in primis fratribus parricidium, prophetam reprobum, apostolum proditorem, discipulos Christi perfidos, nec tamen corrumpitur puritas persistentium Angelorum aut minus sancta est societas inuicem diligentium fratrum aut prophetiae gratia est in electis culpabilis aut apostolatus in fidelibus contemptibilis aut disciplina Christi per uarios errores aberrantium est infamis.
Sicut ergo angelus Sathanae transfigurat se in angelum lucis et pseudoapostoli ad auctoritatem apostolicam aspirabant potius quam ad uitam, sic et ypocritae ad supercilium Phariseorum confugiunt, dilatantes philacteria et magnificantes fimbrias, et quae in lege Dei scripta sunt, nolunt contingere digito, nisi ut uideantur ab hominibus a quibus honoris aut alterius remunerationis mercedem expectant. Inde est quod faciei pallorem ostentant, profunda ab usu trahunt suspiria, artificiosis et obsequentibus lacrimis subito inundantur, obstipo capite, luminibus interclausis, coma breui, capite fere raso, uoce demissa, labiis ab oratione mobilibus, incessu tranquillo et quasi gressu quadam proportione composito, pannosi, obsiti, sordes uestium et afiectatam uenditant uilitatem, ut eo facilius ascendant quo se studiosius uidentur in locum nouissimum deiecisse, et qui sponte sua decrescunt, crescere compellantur inuiti. Hi sunt qui, si quid maculae inhesit Ecclesiae dum peregrinatur, publicis aspectibus detegunt, ut ipsi ab omni macula uideantur immunes. Hi sunt qui beneficia, quae necdum sanctis collata sunt, praedicant auferenda. Hi sunt qui potestatibus persuadent ut propter uitia personarum iure suo priuentur ecclesiae. Decimationes et primitias ecclesiis subtrahunt, et ecclesias ipsas accipiunt de manu laicorum episcopis inconsultis. Hi sunt qui, praedia auita subtrahentes indigenis, uicos et pagos redigunt in solitudinem et in suos usus uicina quaeque conuertunt, ecclesias diruunt aut in usus reuocant seculares. a Quae domus orationis fuerat, aut efficitur stabulum pecoris aut opilionis aut lanificii officina.
Et quidem maiora impune faciimt et quasi comibus geminae potestatis ecclesiam, in cuius sinu quiescunt et proteguntur umbra, uentilare non cessant. Ad ecclesiam namque Romanam confugiunt, quae pietatis mater religioni consueuit prouidere quietem. Implorant opem eius, protectionis impetrant clipeum, ne cuiusquam possint malignitate uexari et, ut se possint plenius exhibere et caritatis implere munus, ne decimeis dent apostolico priuilegio muniuntur. Procedunt ulterius et, quo sibi plura impune liceant, a iurisdictione omnium ecclesiarum seipsos eximunt et efficiuntur Romanae ecclesiae filii speciales; ita tamen ut pro foro rei ubique conueniant, sed tamen conueniri non possunt nisi Romae uel lerosolimis. Deinde secularium potestatum implorant auxilium et eis diuinam gratiam pollicentur. Fiuntque mediatores inter Deum et homines et eos qui uenia indigent suis aggregant societatibus, confessiones excipiunt et, claues Ecclesiae usurpantes aut subripientes Petro, ligare praesumunt et soluere et Domino prohibente falcem mittunt in messem alienam. Potentiores tamen et ditiores fauore uel mercede recepta facilius exonerant et, peccatis ahenis humeros subponentes, iubent abire in tunicas et uestes puUas quicquid illi se commisisse deplorant. Amphficant misericordiam Domini, qui neminem uult perire, quam sicut apertam et patentem penit ntibus sic solis desperantibus praeclusam esse pronuntiant.
Indulgent interim hiis, qui criminibus ardentius et tenacius inuoluuntur, peccare in spe; dum tamen sibi in redemptionem eorum aliquid praerogent et audacter promittunt ueniam eo quod, sicut aqua ignem, ita elemosina peccatum extinguit. Penitentia quoque numquam sera est, si tamen uera. Consentiunt ergo moribus iniquis et, popularem prouocantes afFectionem assentationibus, obturant aures hominum ne increpationes audiant praelatorum. Ad haec rumusculos inquirunt, tumultibus gaudent, dissidentium secreta explorant et eadem nunc ad amicos perferunt, nunc ad hostes, utrisque grati, utrisque perfidi, magis tamen ad ista uidentur idonei quia ab imagine religionis minus habentur suspecti. Quid in palatio, quid in foro, quid in agris expediat, quid in castris, soli creduntur nosse, quia uniuersa haec prae ceteris uidentur curare qui istis iugiter immiscentur. Si conueniant patres in curia, ciues in foro, milites in expeditione, si denique concilium aut synodus conuocetur, praecipuam sedium partem praeoccupabit umbratilis ista religio. Claustrorum fracta credas repagula, exhausta tochia uel xenodochia, et a locis uenerabilibus examina conuiuentium euolasse. Adeo quidem se religionis species turbis et publicis aspectibus ingerit.
Primas cathedras, recubitus primos, primas salutationes usurpant et, si eas non deferas, uehementissime indignantur. a Si eis obloqueris, religionis inimicus et ueritatis diceris impugnator. Feras itaque patienter, si iniurias et damna intulerint qui licentiam omnium apostolica et regia auctoritate optinuisse uidentur; nam et hoc meritis eorum deberi creditur. Sane qui resistit potestati, Dei ordinationi resistit; nec ego apostolicae maiestati et regiae arbitror reluctandum. Miror tamen, ut fidelium pace loquar, quidnam sit quod decimas et iura aliena usurpare non erubescunt? Inquient forte: Religiosi sumus. Plane decimas soluere religionis pars est, et eas a Deo populus dumtaxat religiosus exigitur. At qui eas exigunt irreligiosi sunt.
Vos autem quis constituit iudices super eos? aut qui estis ut exerceatis iudicium in seruos alienos Vnusb quisque suo domino stat aut cadit. Stabit autem. Sumus, inquiunt, tuti apostolico priuilegio, cuius beneficio de nutrimentis animalium et laboribus nostris decimas retinemus. Nempe omnia apostolis licent; sed omnia ab apostolicis fieri nequaquam expedit. Elsto quod illi uobis hoc licenter concesserint; uos an recte petieritis, uideatis. Nempe qui petit ut quod debet non faciat iustitiae spontaneus non obedit. Numquid de nutrimentis Abel Dominum non respexit?
Cain fruges obtulit; recte quidem, quia Domino debebantur, sed in partitione inaequa, dum diuisioni aliquid subtrahit, peccatum committit. Acceptantur prae iUo munera eius qui fetus animalium cum Domino partitur. Et forte de animalibus redduntur rectius, quia sine cultura et cura nostra proueniunt; plus enim laboris est in frugibus serendis et metendis. Non coguntur dare de suis. Qms enim de laboribus alienis redditunis est rationem? Quid multa? Multis et longis allegationibus uidentur adstruere quoniam alios decimas dare non prohibent, dum ipsi ab eis dandis immunes sint quia adeo religiosi sunt quod in ea parte derogare possunt constitutioni diuinae et in eo licenter minus grati sunt gratiae Dei quo eam amplioribus beneficiis experiuntur; quae enim ex sola gratia proueniunt, ut sunt fena et sponte nascentia, non censentur obnoxia religioni. Primo quidem, dum religio paupertate gaudebat et in aliorum necessitates aut usus efi undebat uiscera inopiae suae, indulta sunt priuilegia professionibus quae, necessitate cessante et frigescente caritate, potius auaritiae quam religionis instrumenta creduntur.
Ecce enim quia omnes hi priuilegiati quae sua sunt quaerunt, et lesus, qui praedicatur in publico, aut omnino abest aut in abditis latet. Inde est quod, cum ad iniquum compendium auaritiae priuilegia trahi conspiceret beatus Adrianus, nolens ea omnino reuocare, licentiam eorum hac moderatione compescuit ut quae de laboribus usurpant, circa noualia dumtaxat interpretetur. Sic enim gaudere poterunt priuilegiis sine graui dispendio iuris alieni. Vnum a tamen est quod tantus pater utcumque sustinuit; et, quia patrum canonibus refragatur, mirabile est in oculis nostris. Milites namque Templi sui fauore ecclesiarum dispositionem uendicant, occupant personatus et quodammodo sanguinem Christi fidelibus ministrare praesumunt quorum fere professio est humanum sanguinem fundere. Non equidem quod eos uiros sanguinum dicam qui pene soli inter homines legittima gerunt bella, cum et Dauid non propter bella quae legittime exercebat uir sanguinum dictus sit, sed propter Vriam, cuius sanguinem nocenter efFudit. Vt enim canonibus cautum est, laicis quamuis religiosis nulla de hiiS rebns ecclesiasticis legitur attributa facultas. Esset utique uerae religionis indicium, si ab illius rei dispositione temperarent quam sibi, Domino prohibente, tractare non licet.
Sed nec de rapinis (non dico ecclesiarum sed nec quorumcumque fidelium) munus hospitalitatis implendum arbitror, quia panem sacrilegum odit Deus et aspematur oblationes quae ofieruntur ex sanguine et, quotiens inuocatur a talibus, claudit aures suas ut non pateant ad preces eorum. De his, quae in fraudem iustitiae Dei committuntur a talibus, ad praesens nequaquam sermo est institutus; licet omnino iniquum sit quod amore pecuniae illecti ecclesias, quas episcopi clauserunt, aperiunt. Diuina suspensis celebrant, sepeliunt mortuos quos reicit Ecclesia et semel in anno faciunt ut toto anno erroneus populus ad uocem Ecclesiae obsurdescat; et qui coherceri non potest emendari contempnit. Circumeunt ergo ecclesias, collegiorum suorum merita praeconantur, abolitiones criminum portant, et interdum praedicant euangelium nouum, adulterantes uerbum Dei, quod annuntiant non ad gratiam sed ad pretium uiuentes, ad uoluptatem non ad ueritatem, et tandem, cum in latibulis sero conueniunt, die de uirtute locuti clunem agitant errore et labore noctumo. Si sic itur ad Christum, fallax et uana est doctrina patrum quae artam et arduam monstrauit uiam homini tendenti ad uitam. Cum uero istis Ecclesia indignetur, nuUi omnino aequius commouentur quam uiri uere religiosi in quorum iniuriam haec omnia refunduntur. Succenset populus, sed religiosae prof essiones aduersus hanc ypocrisis labem iustius amaricantur. Non enim hoc fecisse dicuntur ypocritae sed Cistercienses aut Cluniacenses aut alii, quomm hi uentiloqui et uentriloqui habitum induunt et uitam mentiuntur.
Nam claustrales qui plane uere religiosi sunt, dum professionibus seruiunt, ab hac malitia immunes sunt. Nulla uita fidelior, nuUa simplicior, nulla felicior quam eorum qui in claustris humiliter degunt, abiectione sua gaudentes, obedientes praelatis suis in omni subiectione et reuerentia, nec appetentes sub obedientiae nomine dominatum aut fraudandi aut uagandi aut otiandi licentiam, uasa sua possidentes in sanctificatione et honore, praestolantes in silentio et patientia salutare Dei, a detractione et murmure a alieni, excipientes ab ore Domini in quiete uerbum quod saluare potest animas suas, grata miscentes cum Deo colloquia, et quasi terrestres angeli sunt totius mundanae perturbationis ignari. Si quid autem est quod eos contristare uideatur, ad caritatem fraternam referendum est, quia et in celis angeli nostris quodammodo lapsibus compatiuntur et super uno peccatore penitentiam agente congaudent. Cum uero philosophos imitari nostro tempoi-e (quo uirtus exinanita est, et Astream relictis hominibus ad celos constat rediisse) sit arduum, uita claustralium uirtutem philosophorum incomparabiliter antecedit aut, quod melius crediderim, rectissime et tutissime philosophatur, Qui uero ad explendas necessitates eorum egreb diuntur humiliter et in eis fideliter uersantur, etsi non securiorem, plane utiliorem exercent uitam, maxima laude digni et reuerentia, nequaquam ad Epicureorum uel ypocritarum factionem accedunt. Nam ypocritas Epicureia rectissime aggregabis, qui philosophiam profitentur et propria seruiunt uoluntati. Cum lites foueant, priuilegiis abutantur, seruiant cupiditati, caritatis officia nequaquam exerceant, propriam quaerant gloriam, nonne secundum camem ambulant, licet se spirituales mentiantur merito expectantes interitum camis, participes futuri gehennsie illius qui spiritus est et, quia inani gloria intumescens Altissimo conformari uoluit aut praeferri, deiectus et praecipitatus est in lacum dampnationis etemae? Sane insani sunt qui hac uia incedunt et miserabiliores omnibus gentibus qui et praesentis uitae bonis priuantur et etemae, maxime cum ille, qui pro peccatoribus peccatum sustinuit fieri et familiarem se exhibuit publicanis et meretricibus, cum ypocritis pacem habere nequiuerit qui non indigebant iustitia eius. Quod planum est his qui altercationes quas cum Phariseis exercuit diligenter attendunt.
Nituntur tamen Phariseomm exemplo locum tenere primum.
Policraticus companion
Study the argument weekly; pray the tradition daily
Pair the outline with the Chosen Portion app, which serves short daily portions from the same royal devotional tradition — free on iOS.
John of Salisbury argued that rulers must keep the law of God before their eyes daily; Chosen Portion gives modern readers that same daily discipline in five minutes a morning.
- 8 weeks, one book per week, with the 3-4 key chapters flagged in each
- Discussion questions usable for a reading group from week one
- A daily 5-minute companion portion in the app alongside your weekly study