Caput 4
The Chosen King
By divine providence, Ladislaus was chosen and took up the kingdom without ambition, not hurrying to be crowned but serving.
Meanwhile, through the Creator's marvelous providence—so that such great excellence wouldn't stay hidden and such great virtue wouldn't rest idle, especially among the Hungarian people, who as newcomers still badly needed a prudent ruler—the right time had arrived: God was ready to make his chosen one known, protect his people through the virtue of such a patron, and shape them by his example. So the prince, chosen by divine appointment and having first served as duke with the deepest devotion, finally—after repeatedly defeating the kingdom's destructive citizens and their king Solomon, who kept up their malice until Solomon was imprisoned—took the helm of the kingdom with the consent of the princes and all of Hungary, a kingdom fortunate under such a ruler, without any ambition for power or honor and without any craving for worldly things.1 For though he was free to claim for himself the royal dignity God had assigned him, he did not hurry to be anointed or crowned as king; instead, having the royal insignia carried before him with honor, he fulfilled the office of royal dignity not so that he might rule, but so that he might do good.
The King's Interior Disposition
Ladislaus's character is beyond words; he despised temporal goods, longed for eternal good, and loved God above all, ordering all things rightly.
Once he had most worthily taken up the office of royal dignity, how far and what kind of man he showed himself to be is more than words can explain. For he didn't set his heart on abundant riches or other temporal goods; instead, always keeping the eternal good in mind, he longed for it with an insatiable desire. He pursued it with the greatness of soul shown in works that never ceased.2 Indeed, not doubting that God was the sum of all he desired, and lifted toward His majesty with the whole strength of his mind, he kept the dignity of kings and gave to each person what was due. He loved God for God's own sake, and the lowly things of the world for the sake of God.3
The Merciful and Just King
Ladislaus was faithful, merciful, just, and gentle; he tempered justice with mercy, sought Christ's interests, and was called the pious king.
So he was faithful and devout toward the Creator by vow and offering, kindly disposed toward his own people, generous to strangers, openhanded with his subjects, merciful to the afflicted, and a most powerful liberator of the oppressed. And so he was gentle in affection, prudent in counsel, truthful in speech, steadfast in his promises, just in judgment, and calm when he rebuked; but when examining cases, he feared not so much to judge as to be judged, and he believed a more terrible judgment hung over him than over those who were judged by him.4 By tempering the rigor of justice with the gentleness of mercy, he presented himself to his subjects in such a way that they loved him more than they feared him. The helm of the kingdom wasn't just an honor to him, but a burden; he didn't seek his own interests, but, following the Apostle, sought without complaint the things that are of Jesus Christ.✦✦5 For that reason, because of the true character of his deeds and his name—almost as if the name itself had been changed—all his people called him the pious king.6
Read the original Latin
Interea mira creatoris prouidencia, ne tantum decus occultum lateret, ne tanta uirtus quiesceret ociosa, presertim Ungaricis gentibus, utpote nouiciis adhuc prouido rectore plurimum indigentibus, aderat iam tempus oportunum, quo scilicet deus electum suum declararet et populum suum talis patroni uirtute protegeret et exemplis erudiret.
electus itaque diuinitus princeps et prius officio ducatus religiosissime perfunctus, tandem perniciosis regni ciuibus cum rege eorum Salamone sepius triumphans, nec tamen a malicia cessantibus, nisi Salomone rege carcerali custodia detento, cum consensu principum et consensu tocius Ungarie, felix regnum tali rectore ducencium, sine potestatis aut honoris ambicione, sine qualibet secularium rerum cupiditate, regni gubernacula suscepit.
cum enim in arbitrio haberet, regiam dignitatem diuinitus sibi uendicare, non inungi, non in regem coronari festinauit, sed insignia regis ante se faciens cum honore deferri, regie dignitatis officium non ut presit, sed ut prosit adimpleuit.
iam uero regie dignitatis officio dignissime suscepto, quantum se ac qualem exhibuerit, plus est quam uerbis queat explicari. non enim affluentibus diuiciis aut aliis temporalibus cor apposuit, sed eternum pro mente bonum semper habens, illud insaciabili desiderio cupiebat. illud indesinencium operum magnanimitate perquirebat. omnium quippe desiderabilium suorum deum esse non dubitans, et in illius maiestatem tota mentis uirtute erectus, regum dignitate seruata, quod suum est unicuique tribuebat. dilexit deum propter se, mundi contemptibilia propter deum.
erat ergo fidelis et deuotus in creatorem per uotum et oblatum, beniuolus in suam gentem, liberalis in extraneos, munificus in subiectos, misericors in afflictos, ualidissimus oppressorum liberator. erat itaque benignus in affectu, prouidus in consilio, uerax in sermone, constans in promissione, iustus in iudicio, serenus in corripiendo, in examinandis autem iudiciis tam non iudicare quam iudicari timuit, sibique magis terribile iudicium imminere credebat, quam his qui ab eo iudicabantur.
unde rigorem iusticie lenitate temperans misericordie, talem se erga subditos exhibebat, ut ab eis pocius amaretur quam timeretur. regni quippe gubernaculum non solum honori sibi erat sed oneri, non enim sua, sed secundum apostolum que Iesu Christi sunt sine querela querebat. propter quod a proprietate rerum et nominis, quasi mutato nomine, ab omni gente sua pius rex uocabatur.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Phil.2.21 — For all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.
- ↩Phil.2.14-Phil.2.15;Phil.2.21 — Do everything without grumbling and arguing, Phil.2.15 — so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world, Phil.2.21 — For all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.
Notes
- 1 ↩Parenthetical praise of the realm under Ladislaus: 'a kingdom fortunate under such a ruler' (ducencium as those guided/led). The apposition is slightly dense in the Latin and could also be read as a genitive of the subjects so led.
- 2 ↩magnanimitate rendered as 'greatness of soul'; the Latin also carries high-minded courage and generous resolve in action.
- 3 ↩mundi contemptibilia taken as object of dilexit in parallel with deum: the world's lowly/contemptible things loved for God's sake (Augustinian order-of-love cadence). Alternative reading would supply a different verb and treat the phrase as despising worldly things for God.
- 4 ↩Latin has 'tam non iudicare quam iudicari timuit'; rendered as non-tam...quam ('not so much to judge as to be judged'), which best fits the following clause about divine judgment on the judge.
- 5 ↩sine querela is taken adverbially with querebat (he sought blamelessly/without complaint), echoing Pauline diction; it could also color the quality of the things sought.
- 6 ↩a proprietate rerum et nominis is rendered as causal 'because of the true/characteristic quality of his deeds and of his name'; it could also stress how fittingly deed and name matched.
Legenda Sancti Ladislai regis (Life of Saint Ladislaus of Hungary) companion
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