De debonere clemence
The Royal Virtue of Kind-Heartedness
Saint Louis demonstrates his royal clemency through mercy toward his enemies and patience with those who wronged him.
Gentleness and kind-heartedness suit an earthly prince more than anyone else; for that reason, the blessed Saint Louis was marvelously kind-hearted.1 He was of such great kind-heartedness that when he was overseas he ordered, and had it ordered to his people, that they should not kill the women or the children of the Saracens, but rather take them alive and bring them so that they might be baptized.2 He also ordered, as much as he could, that the Saracens not be killed, but instead captured and imprisoned. Sometimes people stole silver dishes or similar items at his court, and the blessed king bore it with gentle patience, gave the thieves some money, and sent them overseas; he did this for several of them.3
A Life Overflowing with Mercy
The King's commitment to mercy extends to social reconciliation and the instruction of his heirs in the ways of pity.
He was full of mercy and compassion toward others. During his first crossing overseas, the blessed king issued a public proclamation forbidding anyone from reproaching those who had renounced the Christian law and returned to the faith—several of whom were in Acre at the time.4 He fully practiced all the works of mercy and fulfilled them most perfectly, as is said above in the chapter on the charity he had toward his neighbors.5 He performed a very great abundance of very great works of pity, as is described there as well, and also above in the chapter on the charity he had toward Our Lord. And especially in the teachings he wrote with his own hand to his son and to his daughter, he teaches them to keep a kindly heart toward people who deserve pity, as is described above in the treatise on charity toward his neighbors, which is the ninth in this work.6
Read the original Latin
Douceur et debonnereté n'avienent a nul homme entre touz autres ' tant com a prince de terre •', et pour ce li benoiez sainz Loys fu de merveilleuse debonnereté. Il (u de si granz debonnereté que, quant il estoit outre mer, il commanda et fist commander a sa gent que il n'oceissent pas les lemmcs ne les enfanz des Sarrazins, ainçois les preissent vis et les amenassent pour fere les baptizier. Rnsement il commandoiten tant com il pooit que les Sarrazins ne fussent pas ocis, mes fussent pris et tenuz en prison Aucune foiz forfesoit l'en en sa court d'escueles d'ai'cent ou o d'autres choses de tcle manière, et donques '" li benoiez rois le soufVoit debonerement et donnoit as larrons aucune somme d'argent et les enveoit outre mer; el ce fist il de pluseurs. Il lu a autrui moût plein de miséricorde et piteus, El tens de son premier passage, li benoiez rois devea et defendi par son ban commun et pueplic' que nul ne reprouvast a cens qui avoient renaié ' la loi crestienne et estoient de rechief revenuz a la foy, quant il parleroient a eus, des quex pluseurs estoient en Acre en cel tens. 11 hanta pleinement les oevres de miséricorde toutes et les aempli très parfetement, si com il est dit par desus el chapitre de charité que il avoit ' a ses prochains. Il fit moût grant plenté de oevres très grandes de pitié, si com il est descrit/ ilecques meemes et avecques ce desus el chapitre de charité que il avoit vers Nostre Seigneur S , Et meesmement es doctrines que il escrist de sa propre main a son fîuz et a sa ' fille, il les enseigne que il aient le cuer debonnere aus persones piteables, si coin il est descrit par desus el traitié de charité envers ses prochains, qui est li noviemes en ceste oevre '.
Notes
- 1 ↩debonnereté (chapter theme: debonere clemence) rendered as kind-heartedness / gentle mildness of temper, not mere social charm.
- 2 ↩Corrected damaged readings: Il (u → Il fu; lemmcs → femmes (women).
- 3 ↩Restored likely damaged forms: Rnsement → Likewise/Semblablement (uncertain); commandoiten → commandoit en; d'escueles d'ai'cent → d'escueles d'argent; tcle → tele; soufVoit → soufroit; el ce → et ce. Two narrative units appear joined without a period after prison.
- 4 ↩Il lu → Il fu; pueplic' → public; sentence boundary after piteus supplied by sense (El tens… starts a new clause).
- 5 ↩Leading 11 read as Il (common OCR confusion of Il).
- 6 ↩Minor restorations: descrit/ ilecques → descrit ilecques; fîuz → fiuz; si coin → si com; trailing sigla (S , ') treated as apparatus noise, not translated.
Vie et miracles de saint Louis by Guillaume de Saint-Pathus companion
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