De atnbitione et quibusdatn aliis clericorum et religiosorum defectibus
The Danger of Ambition
The author warns against the vice of ambition, contrasting the humble flight of Christ from worldly honor with the reckless pursuit of status by the clergy.
Meditate on this and consider how the Lord truly—not in pretense—fled from and turned away from royal honor; he wasn't like those who, to avoid being held in low regard, refuse to pray for what they desire in their hearts. For there are many, especially among those in religious life, who pretend they don't seek positions of dignity; yet when these are offered, they rush to them with hands and feet, accept them gladly, and indeed, sometimes even offer themselves voluntarily. Some, once placed in positions of dignity, pretend they don't want to hold them; yet they still solicit them through themselves or others, and anxiously seek opportunities to remain in those very offices. There was no such simulation or pretense in the Lord, as his actions clearly show. He sent his disciples across the sea and didn't board the boat with them, so the crowds wouldn't look for him among them; then, while they weren't paying attention, he went up the mountain alone, and in this way, he escaped their grasp. Observe with what great care and caution he fled and turned away from honor. He gave us an example so that we might do the same. He didn't flee for his own sake, but for ours. He knew well how reckless it is to set our sights on honors. For honor is among the greatest of snares and the heaviest of burdens leading to the ruin of souls, whether that honor is one of rank, power, knowledge, or anything similar. It's hard to imagine that someone who delights in honor isn't already in danger or on the brink of a fall—or, worse yet, has already been crushed by that fall. Ambition is a most wretched vice, the root and cause of many other sins. This passion blinds so many that they fail to see what is obvious to everyone else, and so they fall into the pit of their first sin, and then into the pit of hell. And what good is it to them if they gain the whole world, but lose themselves and suffer the loss of their own souls? Some ambitious people might flatter themselves under the guise of winning souls, as if they could better attend to the salvation of others this way. To them, Bernard replies: "If only everyone who enters this way would serve as faithfully as they have pushed themselves forward!" It is perhaps difficult, even impossible, for the sweet fruit of charity to grow from the bitter root of ambition. But, alas! Commonly today, honor is sought as a prize rather than a burden, as glory rather than a penalty; the name of honor is held, but not the virtue. Hence the same Bernard says: 'The clergy everywhere, from every rank and order—the learned and the unlearned alike—rush toward ecclesiastical offices as if they were going to live without a care once they’ve attained them.' Many wouldn't run toward honors with such confidence and eagerness if they realized they also carried burdens. They would surely fear being weighed down, and they wouldn't seek the badges of any dignity with such labor and danger. But now, because only the glory is considered and not the penalty, it’s a source of shame in the Church to be a simple cleric; those who haven't been elevated to some higher position consider themselves worthless and inglorious. The same Bernard, as if mocking, addresses the ambitious man, saying: 'Go ahead, then! Since a most severe judgment will be passed on those who are in charge, and the powerful will suffer torments powerfully—if your pride always rises, follow your king, let your eyes see every high thing; hurry to multiply your prebends, fly to an archdeaconry, then aspire to a bishopric, and you won't find rest even there, for that is the way to the stars.' Where are you going, poor soul? Is it so that your fall might be all the more severe from a higher position? For you won't fall gradually; instead, you'll be cast down suddenly, like lightning with a violent force, as if you were another Satan—so says Bernard. Jerome also says: "We rejoice at the ascent, but let us fear the fall; it is not as much of a joy to have reached the heights as it is a terror to have fallen from them." Let the ambitious person fear, then, and correct himself, so he isn't exalted among men and flourishing for a time with false goods, only to be humbled before God and perish forever in true torments. For the greater the honor with which someone has been elevated, the greater the virtue he owes, or else he will be subject to a greater punishment. Honors are like firewood for increasing the fire of future punishment. Chrysostom says: "The magnitude of honor, for those who do not live worthily in that honor, begins to be a heap of punishments." And then the ambitious person will have no rest, just as they didn't want to have any in this life. The heart of the ambitious person never rests; they either crave the honor they lack, or they fear losing the honor they possess. Consequently, the devil is always stirring and spinning their heart like a mill that never stops.
The Call to Service and the Peril of Schemes
This section addresses the necessity of a divine calling for ecclesiastical office and the grave danger of self-promotion and carnal affection in appointments.
And note, regarding this matter, that beyond simony and other evils which are frequently committed not without grave scandal, there are still certain things that many people today get caught up in, as if they were not evils, but were actually permissible. The first evil is that many people, before they are called, anxiously seek to be promoted to dignities and ecclesiastical duties, both by themselves and through others; they don't humbly wait for a calling, but ambitiously anticipate it. Such people approach it wrongly, as the Apostle testifies: 'And no one takes this honor for himself, but only he who is called by God, just as Aaron was.' For no matter how capable and virtuous someone may be, he certainly won't be worthy if he isn't called against his own will. For when someone ambitiously seeks the primacy of honor, by that very fact he is rendered unworthy, because he presumes to act without a proper claim. Hence Augustine says: 'A superior status, without which the commonwealth cannot be governed, even if it is administered well, is nonetheless sought after improperly.' Hence also Gregory says: 'Let the one who is powerful in virtues come to the office of governance under compulsion; but the one who is void of virtues shouldn't approach it, even under compulsion.' Regarding those who force themselves into the patrimony of Christ, Bernard says this: 'Listen to the complaints of the Lord, and what He says about this rashness.' "They have reigned," he says, "but not by me; they have become princes, but I did not call them." What kind of recklessness is this, or rather, what kind of madness? Where is the fear of God? Where is the memory of death? Where is the fear of hell and the terrible expectation of judgment? So says Bernard. Therefore, if someone is chosen for a primary position in the Church, it's tolerable, though dangerous, because, according to Bernard, not everyone called to ministry is also chosen for the kingdom—as is evident from Saul in the kingdom and Judas in the priesthood, both chosen by God. But if someone pushes himself forward, trying to get himself chosen, it's damnable and entirely ruinous. For no one ought to be chosen, promoted, or placed in authority unless the Holy Spirit has inspired it; otherwise, an injury is done to the Holy Spirit himself. Note here that when Saint Louis, King of France, asked a certain devout man why bishops weren't as holy now as they were in the past, the man replied—as is believed, by divine inspiration—that in those days bishops were canonically chosen by electors through the invocation and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, but now they are provided for through petitions and other schemes. And for this reason, they aren't as holy now as they commonly were in the past. Hearing this, the king said that from now on he wouldn't ask for anything for anyone. It isn't just those who push themselves into positions of care and dignity who are in danger; it's also those who approach them with a sense of rejection, or who persist in them with a sense of delight. Hence Gregory says: 'Every proud leader slips into the sin of apostasy as often as he is cast down by the desire to rule over others and takes pleasure in the singularity of his own honor.' But where does this root of vices sprout in the hearts of those who rule, if not from the imitation of him who, having despised the company of the angels, said: 'I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, and I will be like the Most High'? Therefore, one must take great care that whoever is placed in charge of governing others should be at peace with himself, because it's barely enough to satisfy the strict Judge for one's own soul alone; and for as many as he is responsible for, he must render an account for each one of those souls, so to speak. For he who finds it pleasant to be a judge now won't find it pleasant to see the Judge then. For the sins committed out of a desire for power are countless: so says Gregory. He doesn't speak of the one who is a judge, but of the one who finds it pleasant to be a judge; he is rebuking the spirit, not the rank, and directing his criticism at the will, not the act. But whoever does not find it pleasant to see the Judge then, let him not doubt that he is among the number of the reprobate. Just as the elect will then rejoice at the sight of the Judge because their redemption is drawing near, so too will the reprobate grieve at the sight of the Judge because their destruction is drawing near.
The Burden of Office and the Woe of the Worldly
The author examines the heavy responsibility of those in authority and the corruption that arises when prelates prioritize worldly friends over their pastoral duties.
And so, in another place in the Gospel, the Lord says: "Woe!" That is, eternal damnation hangs over you who love the first seats. He doesn't say "those who have them," but "those who love them." He isn't condemning those who hold them by virtue of their office, but those who love them while they have them, or who crave them when they don't—which stems from ambition. In Holy Scripture, "Woe" certainly signifies eternal damnation and the punishment of hell; but, alas, it also signifies the pilgrimage of this world and our present exile. Hence Chrysostom says: "This word 'Woe'... ...is always used in the Scriptures regarding those who cannot escape future punishment." Ambitious people, however, are accustomed to excusing themselves by sometimes citing the Apostle and saying: "Whoever desires the episcopate, desires a good work." To them, it may be answered that the work is good, but to desire it is evil. In the same way, you could say: whoever steals gold steals a good thing, because gold is good, but the act of stealing is evil. The Apostle commends the work itself as good and fruitful; yet Christ condemns the very desire for it as evil and vain. So it’s clear from Christ’s words and the rest of the Scriptures that the ambitious person is not in a state of grace and salvation. This is also evident from certain reasons and causes; for in the midst of so many human failings, no room for excuse is left to the ambitious, and because of this, a grave danger of perdition hangs over them. Many are excused for their sins, either in whole or in part, because of infirmity or ignorance; but the ambitious person, who likes to be in charge, is defended by none of these. They aren't excused by infirmity, because they willingly took on and held the leadership of the flock, and therefore should have been stronger than the rest, like a ram in the flock; nor by ignorance, because it pleased them to assume and hold authority over others, and therefore they shouldn't have been ignorant, since they wanted to be masters. We ought, therefore, to deeply lament such a person—the ambitious one—and their blindness; for we see them imitating Lucifer himself, as mentioned above through Gregory, even though they were made in the image of God. And because the ambitious person is in such great danger, those who knowingly choose or promote such a person, or who foster and defend them in their position, gravely offend God and make themselves partners in their guilt. Therefore, those who consent to the ambitious must fear that they will fall with them, just as those who consented to Lucifer fell with him. This cursed plague of ambition infects the entire religious life of Christendom and brings scandal to the whole world, not only among the clergy but also among those in religious orders. Woe, then, to those miserable people to whom the vices of the Pharisees—whom the Lord cursed—have passed; they spend the brief and uncertain course of this life, in which they should have been mourning their sins, aspiring to dignity and honor, or for these things... ...they do not fear to labor or even to contend, having set aside the fear of God. A second evil regarding those seeking favors is a carnal affection that prefers the less worthy. This is a second evil because carnal friends are often preferred in the distribution of favors over others who are better and more worthy; the Prophet threatens their promoters with a voice of condemnation, saying, 'Woe to those who build Zion with blood.' For there are many who, to promote carnal friends, expose both body and soul to eternal fires; yet, conversely, they would hardly put the tip of a finger into torment for an hour for their liberation. The devil indeed secures a multitude of carnal friends for many prelates, so that through their carnal affection and promotion, he may obscure their dignity and holiness. Often, the relatives of prelates and other worldly friends, who were nowhere to be seen before those prelates were promoted, appear only after their promotion. They start showing up as if they were born on that very day—the day of the promotion. But regarding this, the Church can say what Isaiah said: "Who has borne these for me?" "I was barren and childless, exiled and a captive; who then has raised these?" "I was left alone and abandoned; and where were these people before the prelate's promotion?" Hence someone said: "When the Creator of all things deprived the clergy of offspring, a crowd of nephews succeeded by the devil's desire." Such people, who in their promotions prefer worldly friends over their own deeds and works, say this from the Psalmist: "Let us take possession of God's sanctuary as our inheritance." And for that reason, they have cause to fear the curse that follows there—a curse that not only the Church and others, but they themselves often call down upon their own heads when they pray, saying: "My God, make them like tumbleweed, and like chaff before the wind." Like a fire that consumes a forest, and like a flame burning up the mountains, you will pursue them in your storm and trouble them in your anger. Fill their faces with shame, Lord, and let them seek your name. Let them be ashamed and troubled forever and ever; let them be confounded and perish. Note here the vision of a certain prelate who was overly attached to his worldly friends, shown immediately after his death to a Church Legate while he was traveling. For one morning, when the same Legate had woken from sleep and wanted to pray as he was accustomed, a bed was lowered into the room where he was resting, surrounded by golden tapestries on its surface; in it, the deceased himself seemed to be sitting, dressed in the manner of a prelate. Around him, many of his own kin—whom he had promoted and enriched—were leading a dance, and singing mournful songs, they proclaimed in this way: 'Cursed be your promotion and your exaltation, for you are the cause of our ruin.' He looked around and cursed them in return, saying: 'Cursed are you by God, because it is on your account that I have been handed over to eternal fire.' As he said this, he lifted the golden cover, and a flame with a foul-smelling smoke rose from the bed; then the vision disappeared. This vision was shown to the aforementioned Legate—with an Angel revealing it to him—so that he might abstain from similar things, because he was to be the successor of the deceased. After this, at a certain time, another bishop who was overly focused on promoting his own flesh-and-blood friends was nearing death, having been neglected by his doctors during the illness he suffered. Despairing, as it were, of the salvation of both body and soul, he said to the many who were standing around listening: "The doctors have taken my body, and my friends have taken my soul." See the reward he received from the friends he loved and promoted so carnally. In the same way, many religious people today, by following their carnal nature too closely, set their hearts in their elections not on what belongs to the Spirit and to God, but on what belongs to the flesh and the devil, and they are more anxious to provide for the body than for the soul. For many would rather choose a good cook who can satisfy their carnal appetites than a devout man who can help the needs of their souls, so that they might spend their days in comfort with him. And as if they had no hope for another life, they receive their good things in this life, as if this were the way to the stars. Such people are like those of whom Seneca says: "Some immerse themselves in pleasures, and once they have made them a habit, they cannot do without them; they are most miserable because they have reached the point where things that were once unnecessary have become necessary." What happened to a certain father can also be applied to these people. Once, when he had refreshed himself better than usual, the devil stood by him the following night, gently stroking his belly as if with his hands, and then, as if mocking him, said: "Doing well, doing well." But he, understanding the devil's illusion, did penance for this excess and returned to his accustomed abstinence. This phrase, "doing well, doing well," can also be said to anyone living prosperously or delicately in this life. And similarly, that passage from the Gospel: "And indeed in this day of yours which is for your peace; but now they are hidden from your eyes," namely, the evils of the time to come.
The Corruption of Benefices and the Scandal of Negligence
The text critiques the practice of holding multiple benefices and the resulting neglect of pastoral care, highlighting the scandal this causes to the Church.
The third evil is that, because a bad motive is often at work and allowing it, unworthy people—and sometimes even wicked men and enemies of Christ—are promoted to ecclesiastical benefices; and more care is taken for persons than for churches, and more for private gain than for the common good, so that they don't become clergy or prelates for God, but for the world. Hence, many take great care to appoint useful officials in their own households, but have little care to install suitable ministers in the house of God; for, alas, there is almost no selection of Christ's ministers, even though the ministers of men are often chosen with great deliberation. What a tragedy! Often, those who are less qualified are chosen for the clerical state and for ecclesiastical benefices—even those with the care of souls—than for the status of a tradesman or other such positions. For if someone wants to be a tradesman, it's necessary that he knows or learns what pertains to his job; but this is often lacking in the clergy. How, then, can such people be excused by ignorance, especially if they have been promoted to dignities and benefices that involve the care of souls? Hence Bernard says: 'What ignorance can excuse a man who claims to be a master of children and a teacher of the foolish?' Indeed, when someone is promoted in such a way, he is rightly lifted up by the devil to the pinnacle of the temple; and the devil, as if mocking him, says: 'If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. Now you are counted among the sons of God; now you are seen by those who don't know you as being what you are not. Do something, therefore, for which you might be praised, for which you might be considered glorious, and for which you might be seen as great by men: throw yourself down.' For what is more characteristic of the devil than to persuade every unworthy person to submit themselves to the Church? And in truth, such people are always casting themselves down, because they seek only riches, honors, and glory, and they become worse every day. Even those who promote such people to positions of dignity—as if setting them on the pinnacle of the temple—are yielding to the devil’s persuasion and counsel, casting themselves down whenever they promote them or consent to their promotion out of carnal affection or some other blind, evil motive. For a monkey is placed on a roof, and a thief on a ladder, before the people—not for their own honor, but for their mockery; it is the same with an unworthy person who is exalted in the Church. Hence Seneca says: 'A position of dignity held by an unworthy person is a place of ignominy.' Hence Gregory also says: 'It is necessary for one who is in authority to carefully consider what kind of example they provide to their subordinates, and to know that they should live as strictly as they are expected to lead.' Therefore, as he also says, 'No one should take on the leadership of others if they don't know how to lead by living well; nor should they be chosen to correct the faults of others if they commit the very things they ought to cut away.' And again, it is foolish for someone who doesn't know how to hold the reins of their own life... ...to become the judge of another’s life: so says Gregory. Even today, among many religious people, the fear of God is set aside during elections and appointments. Jesus—that is, the good, worthy man and friend of God who strives to save himself and others—is rejected, while Barabbas, a notorious thief—that is, the evil, unworthy man and enemy of Christ who destroys himself and others in their soul—is chosen. Therefore, those guilty of such appointments, whether by acting or by consenting, are by their very deed or consent saying with the Jews: "Not this man, but Barabbas." So, let such people fear that, being alienated from Jesus the Savior, they may share the lot of Barabbas the thief. For such people, when chosen in this way, are to their subordinates more of a ruin and a scandal than a resurrection and a good example. This leaven of the prelates corrupts the whole mass of the subordinates, because when the head is sick, the other members suffer. They are indeed sick, but they aren't healed, because they seem to have the "noli me tangere" disease; remaining untouched, they aren't properly corrected by those whose duty it is. And so, alas! Already, among many, the tail has become the head; the last, the first; and the disciple, the master—and would that it were Christ's, not the devil's! But those guilty in these matters must fear that justice, neglected by them, will direct its complaint to the Supreme Judge; and He, receiving the voices of its lament, will in His just judgment bring His vengeance upon those who pervert righteousness. We know this has happened in many such cases, and we still see it happening frequently; but some miserable people are so blinded that they don't even want to acknowledge their own faults, which is where such scourges come from—and that's why even worse things often happen to them.1 It’s a great evil that someone isn't content with one position, to the prejudice and harm of other clergy; they occupy many, and while others go hungry, they intoxicate themselves with pomp and vanity. For whatever is added to the vanities of the rich is taken away from the needs of the poor, and a multitude of servants creates a multitude of poor. Hence the common saying: Whatever madness the kings commit, the people pay the price. And what’s worse, sometimes a person who is barely fit for even one position occupies many; and someone who would struggle to fulfill a single, modest duty claims the stipends of many for themselves. For those who hold multiple positions, the opportunity for wandering and wrongdoing is prepared; divine worship and hospitality within those very positions are diminished; the benefits and honor of the churches are detracted from, and because of this, they collapse in many ways, both spiritually and temporally. But suppose such people have a dispensation for holding multiple positions; will they be able to have a dispensation for committing the aforementioned evils? These evils are so great that they are enough for damnation on their own; they can drag the guilty into hell, where just as one person was like many in holding positions, they will be like many in suffering torments. According to Bernard, the devil leads these people up a very high mountain; he shows them all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and he promises to give them if they fall down and worship him. And in truth, after they have obtained many positions by serving their own greed, they worship him, they honor and venerate him, they follow him as if he were God, and they are plunged into darkness after him.
Warnings Against Plurality and Curiosity
Through historical examples and moral exhortation, the author warns against the dangers of holding multiple benefices and the vanity of worldly curiosity.
Consider some examples regarding this matter. William, the Bishop of Paris, once called a meeting of the masters while he was teaching theology. After the question of holding multiple benefices was raised, a careful and lengthy debate proved that it's impossible for one person to hold two benefices—provided one of them is worth fifteen Parisian pounds—and still be saved. The aforementioned Bishop determined this, and all the other masters of theology determined the same, with two exceptions: Master Philip, the Chancellor of Paris, and Master Arnold, who later became the Bishop of Amiens. But let us hear what happened to the aforementioned Philip. As he lay dying, Bishop William visited him like a good shepherd, asking him to yield his singular opinion on the plurality of benefices and to resign all his benefices, except for one, into the hands of the Church. But he refused, saying he wanted to find out for himself whether it was damnable for one person to hold multiple benefices. He died in that state; and a few days later, he appeared to the aforementioned Bishop of Paris in a grim and miserable form, saying, among other things, that he was damned because of the plurality of his benefices. Similarly, another cleric of great learning appeared to someone after his death and said he was damned for this one reason alone: that he held two benefices. On this same question, Robert, a Cardinal of the Roman Church and a master of theology, when asked about it while near death, replied: "I say, as I am about to depart this life, that it is a mortal and damnable thing to hold multiple benefices." Peter Cantor of Paris, of holy memory, both said and wrote this same thing. Master Guillard, Bishop of Cambrai, confirmed this same point with these words: "I wouldn't want to hold two benefices for a single night for all the gold in Arabia, and this because of the danger of an uncertain life." Furthermore, as Bernard, a former penitentiary to the Lord Pope, relates, when Pope Gregory IX of blessed memory was asked if he could dispense from the fullness of his power with those holding multiple benefices, he replied: "I cannot, except only to dispense regarding the vexation of those who hold them." He perhaps said this because, as it appeared, many evils and grave, unavoidable sins follow from it, for which a dispensation does not seem to apply, since sin is in no case permitted. Who, then, would be so wise as to deceive himself and commit himself to such danger? Even if many say this and many others think the contrary, this alone is judged mortal by Augustine, the greatest of doctors: when someone commits himself to the danger of uncertainty or the peril of mortal sin. In the same way, many religious people today are anxious to multiply not only their farms but their churches as well, incorporating them for their own use at the peril of their souls; they expose themselves to the danger of having to render an account for the souls of those churches whose tithes and income they collect. The fifth evil is that many do not reside in their benefices, and while they receive the fruits of them, they do not provide the labor or service owed to the churches in return. They rejoice and boast because they have so many florins brought to them; but they should fear that these florins might be the very things that carry them to hell, for they boast in vain of having a benefice or reward for which they perform no work. But even if such people have a dispensation for their absence, will they be able to get a dispensation for the sins and evils they commit, which inevitably follow from their absence and negligence? And so, it would be well for them if they had a substitute in their torments, just as they claim to have one in their benefices when they try to excuse themselves. For those who refuse to reside in their benefices have reason to fear that they will make a permanent residence in torments. In this, prelates and those who have the care of souls are even more at fault. This is because greater danger follows from their absence. Few among them are truly shepherds; many are hirelings, because they don't seek the profit of souls, but rather the reward of temporal comfort, gain, or honor. These words of Bernard fit them well, where he says: "Woe to you, cleric!" Death is in the pot; death is in luxuries like these. You consume the sins of the people, as if your own weren't enough. You think you're entitled to church income for free, but it would be better to dig and beg. And again: "He is proven unworthy of milk and wool if he doesn't feed the sheep, if he doesn't keep watch in guarding the flock." He eats and drinks judgment upon himself. Why, you fool, do these luxuries taste good to you? Why do those riches delight blind eyes, for which you earn such a grave judgment and bind yourself to such a harsh reckoning? "You will be held to account for everything, down to the very last penny," says Bernard. And again, regarding that word of the Prophet: "They eat the sins of my people," he says, as if to explain: "They demand the price of sins, yet they don't provide the care that is owed to those who are sinning." Can you show me anyone in charge who is more watchful in emptying the purses of their subjects than in rooting out their vices? Where is the one who turns away wrath through prayer, or who proclaims a year of favor to the Lord? We speak of lighter things, but a heavier judgment awaits the more serious ones. They are ministers of Christ, and yet they serve the Antichrist. "They walk about honored, living off the goods of the Lord, yet they have given no honor to the Lord," says Bernard. There are some, however, who abandon their own churches and sheep to serve other churches or preach to other people; but by doing this, they aren't excused before God for the neglect of their own churches and sheep, because they will render an account for everything, down to the very last penny. Sometimes, those who don't reside in their churches claim that the people there are rebels, tyrants, or unbelievers, and things of that sort. In this, they only condemn themselves further, because they see the wolf coming and run away, even though they should have stayed for the sake of those people and the good of the Church. It's the same today: many in religious life who have the care of souls flee the cloister as if it were a prison. Like Satan, they wander the earth and roam through it, running around like vagabonds, with little fear that their feet will be bound and they will be cast into the outer darkness. The early fathers of religious life, for their part, left cities and palaces behind and sought out solitude, saying with Jerome: 'The town is a prison to me, and the wilderness is a paradise.' But these wanderers, deserting the solitude, seek out cities and palaces, saying to themselves as it were: 'Solitude is a prison to me, and the town is a paradise.' So it fits such people well, and one could write of them what a certain poet wrote after the death of one of these types, as if for an epitaph: 'While he lived in the world, he lived by wandering through the world; this final day is his first rest.' The sixth evil is that many don't fear misusing the fruits of their benefices and the goods of the Church, converting the patrimony of Christ and the property of the poor into superfluous and illicit uses. No matter how usefully someone may labor in a benefice, they still shouldn't claim more than food and clothing for themselves; whatever is beyond that belongs to the poor. Hence Bernard says: "Suppose someone labors diligently and fruitfully; let him live from the altar, so that having food and clothing, he may be content with these." Let him not be proud, let him not live in luxury, and finally, let him not grow rich or become wealthier from his clerical office. He should not build grand palaces for himself from the goods of the Church, hoard money from them, or squander it in vanity or excess. He should not promote his own relatives or nephews with the resources of the Church—I might even say, he should not give his daughters away in marriage. Giving the property of the poor to those who are not poor is recognized as a crime equal to sacrilege. God did not ordain that those who serve the Gospel should seek or have luxuries or finery from the Gospel, but rather that they should live as the Apostle says: they should be content to receive nourishment for the body—not stimulants for gluttony or incentives for lust—and that with which they are covered, not that with which they are adorned. And again: "Very few are they who do not seek what is their own." They love gifts, but they cannot love Christ equally, because they have given their hands to mammon. Observe how they walk about, polished and adorned, wrapped in various colors like a bride coming forth from her bridal chamber. If you were to suddenly see one of them walking by from a distance, wouldn't you think them a bride rather than a guardian of the Bride? Where else do you think this abundance of things, this splendor of clothing, this luxury of tables, and this collection of silver and gold vessels comes from for them, if not from the Bride's own goods? That is why she is left poor, needy, and naked—a pitiable sight, unkempt, rough, and bloodless. Because of this, it isn't a time for adorning the Bride, but for stripping her; it isn't for guarding her, but for ruining her; it isn't for defending her, but for exposing her; it isn't for instructing her, but for prostituting her; it isn't for feeding the flock, but for slaughtering and devouring it, just as the Lord says about them: 'They who devour my people as they eat bread'; and: 'Because they have eaten Jacob, and have laid waste his dwelling.' So says Bernard. So it is today that many religious don't fear to abuse the monastery's goods; and by imitating the rich man clothed in purple and fine linen, they seek to wear not what is more useful, but what is more refined; not what keeps out the cold, but what compels them to be proud. They want to feast sumptuously every day just like that rich man, and instead of meat, from which they abstain, they put their effort into fish and various delicacies. And as it is said of some, they study more in the salmon than in Solomon; which, according to Prosper, is not cutting back on delicacies, but merely trading one for another. Hence Augustine also says: 'Those who abstain from meat in such a way that they seek out other foods that are more difficult to prepare and more expensive, are greatly mistaken.' For this is not taking up abstinence, but inviting luxury. They don't understand that they are taking the hook in these things, because they will pay the penalty for each one; and as much as they have glorified themselves and lived in luxury, so much will they have of torment and grief. If only those many hirelings and false shepherds would pay attention to this—those who are more concerned about themselves, even when they are healthy, than they are about their own subjects, even when they are sick; and who indulge themselves in pleasures more than they condescend to the needs of their subjects! That is why such hirelings are often punished by God with harsh scourges; yet they refuse to understand where these scourges come from, sometimes complaining about the blow while remaining silent about the cause that provoked it, just as the common saying goes: The boy is struck and complains, but the reason is left unsaid. Sometimes, by the just judgment of God, such people are even abandoned by others in their time of need, so that what they have done may be done to them as well; if only they would understand this, take it to heart, and amend their ways!
The Vice of Curiosity and the Scandal of the Clergy
The author condemns the vice of curiosity as a distraction from God and a source of pride, while lamenting the scandalous behavior of clergy who mirror secular vanity.
... The seventh evil, which is often linked to the previous one, is the cursed vice of curiosity, from which all of God’s servants must abstain—both in what they do and in what they use—as if from a poisonous snake. For those who engage in such curiosity, and those who wish to make use of it, are living for the world and serving it. Such things are merely the ornaments of the world and a blasphemy against God. But for anyone who intends to live with a pure conscience, it’s a wonder how they dare to soil themselves with such filth in their actions or their possessions. It is, in fact, a dangerous and very great vice. First, because the time granted for praising God is wasted and spent on vain things against Him. For curious work takes up far more time than is appropriate, and no wise person is unaware that this is a great evil. Second, because it leads to vanity and boasting for the person who does it. Oh, how often they think and rethink, turning it over in their mind—even when they aren't working, and even when they ought to be focused on divine things—just to make a beautiful piece of work! Oh, how often! They look at it, think well of themselves because of it, want others to think well of them for it, and brag about it! — Third, because it is also a cause and occasion of pride for the person for whom it is done. The fire of pride is fed and further ignited by such oil. For just as simple and plain things are a stimulus to humility, so curious and beautiful things are fuel for pride—fourth, because it is a source and occasion for drawing the soul away from God.2 For, according to Gregory, a person is separated from heavenly love to the degree that they find pleasure in lower things. Fifth, because it is a matter of lust and the pleasure of the eyes. These curiosities seem worthless, except to feed the eyes; consequently, the soul is distracted by them. Sixth, because it is a snare and a ruin for many others. Those who look upon such things can be offended in many ways: by gazing at them with delight and desiring similar things, by speaking ill and slandering, or by drawing scandal and bad examples from them for others. Consider, then, how often God can be offended before that curiosity is satisfied. sitas deieta sit. The person who created such a work, or arranged for it to be made, is the cause of all those offenses and, consequently, is at fault. See how many evils come from such curiosity. There is also another very great evil: that curiosity is directly opposed to poverty. Beyond everything I’ve mentioned, this is a real evil: it’s a sign of a fickle, vain, and unstable mind, and a mark of pride hidden in the heart. This evil of curiosity isn't just found in the clergy, but also in many who live the religious life. Some of them, having abandoned and practically despised the simplicity and humility of the ancient fathers, invent secular novelties in many things related to daily use, and they bring the devil—who corrupts—along with his followers into the religious life. Consequently, they don't seem to be true and legitimate children of the religious life, but rather adulterers, because they degenerate from the holy fathers, invent adulterous novelties and curiosities, and act in ways that reflect who they are. Hence, that common saying can be applied to them: 'As the woman was, so was the stew she cooked.' They are, therefore, ministers of the devil, because by doing his work, they serve him. And so, for no one in the world should anyone do such a thing, nor wish for it to be done for them, even if it were done for free; for one must never consent to sin for any reason, and one must abstain from offending God in every way. For, as Anselm says, every sin dishonors God through transgression. If, therefore, to sin is to dishonor God, a person should not do this, even if it were necessary to perish for everything that is not God. It is truly amazing, then, how a mere human—dust and ashes—presumes to offend God and such great Majesty so boldly. As Bernard says: "He touches the mountains and they smoke, yet a tiny speck of dust—destined to be scattered by a single light breath and never gathered again—dares to provoke such a tremendous Majesty!" And if you shouldn't be doing curious things for the sake of anyone else, how much more do you offend if you do such things on your own initiative, simply to please yourself, wanting to satisfy a creature more than the Creator? The gravity of the scandal caused by clerics. From what has been said, it's clear enough in what kind of danger the state of the clergy stands today, how many scandals come through them, and how much persecution they stir up in the Church. Those who persecute the Church with their vices and bad examples are the ones who truly persecute her. They shed blood more bitterly who, as much as lies within them, kill Christ in man. As Bernard says: "If the Lord gave His own blood as the price for the redemption of souls, doesn't it seem to you that he stirs up a more grievous persecution who, by evil suggestion, pernicious example, and the occasion of scandal, turns away from Him the souls He redeemed—away from Him who shed His own blood?" And again: "Who, I ask, among the laity acquires temporal things more greedily than clerics, and uses what they have acquired more foolishly?" When laypeople see such arrogance in the possessions of the clergy, aren't they being invited by them to love the world rather than to neglect it? They can say, "Physician, heal yourself"; if you preach that the world should be despised, despise it yourself first, and you'll invite others to do the same much more effectively. Give your voice the voice of virtue, and let your life harmonize with your words; then the word of God will immediately be living and effective in your mouth, and sharper than any two-edged sword. That is certainly not the case; but as the people are, so is the priest; as the layperson is, so is the cleric; both desire and love the world and the things that are in the world. Yet the layperson works for it, while the clergy want to possess the whole world without any labor. They want to share in the greed and excess of others, but not in their labor; they want to sin, but not to be scourged with others—and so it is to be feared that they will be scourged with the demons. How could secular people not spend their substance living luxuriously, even in the presence of priests? How could they not set their hearts on the vanities and allurements of this world? How could they not be arrogant and puffed up, when they see such pride and insolence in the clergy? Don't you irreverently squander the alms of the poor in their presence? You don't use the inheritance of Christ's cross to make books for the churches; instead, you feed mistresses, fatten dogs, and deck out horses. Truly, the stones of the sanctuary are scattered at the head of every street. The streets are wide, and wide is the way that leads to death. The stones of the sanctuary—that is, the priests—are therefore at the head, that is, at the entrance of the wide ways; for by their wicked examples they teach the people to enter the wide ways that lead to death, and they plunge them into the depths of hell. The pain of the head overflows into the members. Rightly does the holy Church cry out today: 'Behold, in peace is my bitterness most bitter.'
The Persecution of the Church and the Fourfold Conscience
The chapter concludes by reflecting on the internal persecution of the Church through clerical vice and categorizing the states of conscience, ending with a prayer for humility.
The persecution of the holy Church is great today, and far more severe than one could believe; it is a pressure such as has not existed from the beginning. The devil has persecuted her in many ways, but never more severely than today, because there has never been a greater ruin of Christians, nor a more unrestrained or confident violation of God's commandments. He persecuted the Church in its beginning through tyrants; he persecuted it in its growth through heretics; now that it is joyful and flourishing, he persecutes it through illicit impulses: so says Bernard. I'll add one more example concerning the clergy in closing. A certain cleric, compelled to preach at a synod of bishops, was quite distressed about what he could worthily preach before so many prelates of the Church. But while he was lying in prayer, preparing to go, the devil came to him and said, "Why are you distressed about preaching to these clerics?" "Tell them this, and nothing else: The prince of hell greets the princes of the Church." "We all gladly offer them our thanks, because through their negligence almost the whole world is falling to us, since along with the prelates themselves, their subjects are offered to us as well." I say this to you reluctantly, but I'm compelled by the command of the Most High. How true this is, the state of the Church undoubtedly shows, for it finds no comparison among clergy and prelates for the three evils that are in the world: pride, greed, and lust. Look at the rulers of the world and great kings, look at dukes, counts, and barons; you'll see nothing in their dress and display so uniquely refined, so pompous. If you consider their greed, you won't find any merchant or citizen like them; yet if they had legitimate heirs, their madness would seem more tolerable. As for their lust, I won't presume to define anything, except that only the Almighty knows it, for God is the searcher of hearts and minds. The examples of certain clergy should truly terrify them regarding this lust; I know of some who suddenly and unexpectedly ended their foul lives in a latrine and in filth, and one who died in the very act, at the same moment his work was finished. And if you ask about gluttony, which is the fuel for lust, you'll find that while the common people might practice fasting once a year, the clergy do it daily. It was the custom of the Jews, who were ignorant of the true Sabbath, to indulge in luxuries on that day; the clergy imitate them well enough in this, feasting more delicately on feast days and not considering it a feast day unless they gorge themselves more than usual. Hence Jerome says: "Since pride is proper to demons, lust to women, and greed to merchants, from these is made a monster, which is a bad cleric." Likewise, you can find among religious people a monster made up of these same evils. Sometimes a leader is proud and ambitious, eager to hold power and seeking by every means to stay in office. Sometimes, along with this, he is given over to the desires of the flesh, frequently looking for opportunities to indulge in pleasures and luxuries. Furthermore, he is sometimes blinded by the lust of the eyes and greed, running about to make a profit and acquiring temporal things by any means, or holding onto what he has acquired. And because he carries within himself these three things from which all the evils of this world arise—for as John testifies: "Everything in the world is either the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, or the pride of life"—he must expect as a fitting retribution all the miseries of the next world. If anyone gets angry at me for writing these things, such a person admits by his own reaction that he is exactly this kind of man. For many people take offense when the truth is put before them, and when they cannot escape it any other way, they reply that they have no conscience about such things; and this is a bad conscience, because it is contrary to truth and reason. It's worth noting that there are four kinds of conscience: two good, and two bad. The first is good and peaceful; it belongs to the person who punishes their past sins and carefully avoids committing new ones. This is the conscience spoken of in the Psalm: "Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute sin"; for whatever He has decided not to impute is as if it had never been. The second is good but troubled. It rises up—not in sweetness, but in the bitterness of a resisting sensual nature—so that the straight path, a simple life, long vigils, lengthy prayer, rough clothing, and plain food seem hard to it. Yet, it keeps itself in check with the bridle of fear. Such a person will hear from Christ, along with the Apostles: "You are those who have stayed with me in my trials," and that verse from the Psalm: "I am with him in tribulation." The third is bad and troubled; it fears sin not so much as it fears being caught in sin, and it fears the infamy of sin more than it fears offending God. This is the conscience described in the Psalm: "The sinner is caught in the works of his own hands." And again: "Fill their faces with shame, and they will seek your name, O Lord." The fourth is bad and peaceful, and for that reason, it is extremely dangerous. It neither fears offending God nor worries about scandalizing others. When it has reached the depths of sin, it is indifferent; and so, it remains at peace in its sin. But there is nothing that provokes the vengeance of the Judge as much as sinning with a sense of security and refusing to turn away from those sins. Such is the conscience of some who, when they err and do wrong—even when they can be proven wrong by Scripture or reason—cast aside the fear of God and say they have no qualms of conscience, thinking that God, in His judgment, will follow their own fanciful opinions and abandon justice. PRAYER: Lord Jesus Christ, who resist the proud and give grace to the humble, grant to all who humbly and without ambition accept a position of dignity and governance for the sake of obedience, and who persevere in it, grace in the present and glory in the future. And resist the ambitious, hedging their paths with thorns so they don't prosper in them, so that they may neither take pleasure in lording it over others nor rejoice in the singularity of their own honor. And so, enlightened and returned to their hearts, may they turn away from the pestilent vice of ambition and cease to be such people, that, by Your mercy, they may not perish eternally. Amen.
Read the original Latin
I — Circa praemissa meditare et considera quomodo Dominus vere, et non ficte honorem regium fugit et declinavit ; non sicut illi, qui ne apud homines vilescant, recusant orare quod corde desiderant. Sunt enim multi, et potissime religiosi, qui dignitates se non appetere simulant; sed cum offeruntur, manibus et pedibus promptissimi occurrunt, et laeti suscipiunt, imo et quandoque voluntarie se offerunt. Sunt etiam ex his aliqui, qui in dignitatibus positi fingunt se velle eas non habere; sed nihilominus per se, et mediatores procurant, et occasiones quaerunt sollicite, quod possint in ipsis officiis remanere. Non fuit hujusmodi simulatio et fictio in Domino , prout patet ex ejus facto. Misit enim discipulos per mare, nec cum eis navem intravit, ne turbae eum inter discipulos quaererent ; et deinde, ipsis non advertentibus, solus in montem ascendit, et sic manus eorum evasit. Vide cum quanto studio et cautela fiigit, et declinavit honorem. Exemplum dedit nobis, ut et nos ita faciamus. Non enim pro se, sed pro nobis fugit.
Cognoscebat namque quantae sit temeritatis, si ad honores aspiceremus. Honor enim de majoribus est laqueis, et gravioribus pondeHbus ad subversionem animarum, sive sit honor praelationis, sive potentiae, sive scientiae, sive similium. Vix enim fieri potest, quod qui in honore delectatur, in periculo vel praecipitio non sit; vel, quod est pejus, jam praecipitio collisus. Ambitio enim est vitium pessimum, ac causa et radix multorum aliorum vitiorum. Multos quippe haec passio si& excaecat, ut etiam ea quae multis aliis manifesta sunt ipsi non videant; sicque in foveam primae culpae, et deinde gehennae cadant. Et quid prodest eis si mundum lucrentur universum; seipsos autem perdant, et detrimentum sui faciant? Si forte blandiuntur sibi aliqui ambitiosi sub specie lucri animarum, quasi sic melius possent intendere saluti aliorum. Quibus Bernardus respondet, dicens : « Utinam quisquis sic intrat, si fieri posset, tam ndeliter ministraret, quam fiducialiter se ingessit !
Ac difficile fortassis et impossibile est, ut ex amara radice ambitionis suavis fructus prodeat caritatis. Sed, heu! communiter hodie honor et non onus, gloria et non poena attenditur : et honoris nomen non virtutis tenetur. » Unde idem Bernardus : « Curritur a clero passim ab omni Bjaete et ordine, a doctis pariter et indoctis, ad ecclesiasticas curas, tanquam sine curis jam quisque victurus sit, cum ad curas pervenerit. Multi non tanta fiducia et alacritate currerent ad honores, si esse sentirent et onera. Gravari profecto metuerent , nec cum tanto labore et periculo quarumlibet affectarent infulas dignitatum. Nunc vero quia sola attenditur gloria et non poena, purum esse clericum erubescitur in Ecclesia; seque viles aestimant et inglorios, qui quocunque eminentiori loco non fuerint sublimati. » Idem etiam Bernardus, quasi subsannando, alloquitur ambitiosum, sic dicens : « Age ergo, quoniam durissimum judicium his qui prcesunt fiet, et potentes potenter tormenta patientur s ascendit superbia tua semper, sequere regem tuum, omne sublime videant oculi tui ; festina multipiicare praebendas , in archidiaconatum vola , deinde spira ad episcopatum, nec ibi «quidem requiem habiturus, quoniam sic itur ad astra.
Quo progrederis, miser? An ut ab altiori gradu sit casus gravior? Neque enim sic paulatim decides; sed tanquam fulgur impetu vehementi, quasi aiter Satanas subito dejicieris : » haec Bernardus. Unde et Hieronymus : « Laetamur ad ascensum, timeamus lapsum; non est tanti gaudii excelsa tenuisse, quanti terroris de excelsis cecidisse : » haec Hieronymus. Timeat ergo ambitiosus et se corrigat; ne apud homines exaltatus et ad tempus falsis florens bonis, apud Deum humilietur, et in aeternum veris pereat tormentis. Quanto enim majori honore suWimatus quis fuerit ; tanto majoris virtutis debitor erit, aut majori supplicio subjacebit. Honores enim sunt quasi quaedam ligna ad augmentandum ignem in futura poena. Unde Chrysostomus : « Honoris siquidem magnitudo his, qui non digne vivunt in honore, cumulus incipit esse poenarum : » haec Chrysostomus.
Et tunc ambitiosus nullam requiem habebit; sicut nec in praesenti habere voluit. Cor enim ambitiosi nunquam quiescit; sed vel honorem , quem non habet appetit, vel eum quem habet amittere metuit; et sic diabolus cor ejus semper movet et rotat, tanquam molendinum quod nunquam pausat.
Et nota circa hanc materiam , quod praeter simoniam et alia mala, quae frequenter non sine gravi scandalo committuntur, sunt adhuc quaedam mak, quibus hodie multi, quasl non mala, sed licita essent, implicantur. Primum malum est, quia plerique antequam vocentur, promoveri ad dignitates et curas ecclesiasticas, per se, et per alios sollicite quaerunt; nec vocationem humiliter exspectant, sed ambitiose praeveniunt. Hi male accedunt, testante Apostolo, qui sic ait : Nec quisquam sumit sibi honorem; sed qui vocatur a Deo tanquam Aaron. Quantumcunque enim sufiiciens quis fuerit et virtuosus, profecto non erit dignus, si non assumatur invitus. Nam cum quis honoris primatum ambit, ex hoc solo efEeitur indignus, quia indebite praesumit. Unde AugusUnus : « Status superior , sine quo respublica non regitur, etsi bene administretur, indecenter tamen appetitur. » Unde et Gregorius : « Virtutibus pollens coactus ad regimen veniat; virtutibus vero vacuus, nec coactus accedat. » De his qui sese in patrimonium Christi ingerunt, sic dicit Bernardus : « Audi querelas Domini, quid super hac temeritate Ioquatur.
Ipsi, inquit, regnaverunt, et non ex me; principes exstiterunt, et ego non vocavi eos. Quid istud temeritatis, imo quid insaniae? Ubi timor Dci? Ubi mortis memoria? Ubi gehennae metus et terribilis exceptatio judicii? » haec Bernardus. Unde si aliquis ad primum locum in Ecclesia eligitur, tolerabile est, licet periculosum, quia, secundum Bernardum, non omnes qui vocantur ad ministerium, eliguntur et ad regnum , sicut patet de Saule in regno, et de Juda in sacerdotio electis a Deo ; sed si se ingerit procurando se eligi, damnabile est et perniciosum omnino; nemo enim debet eligi, vel promoveri, seu praefici, nisi de quo Spiritus Sanctus inspiraverit, alioquin ipsi Spiritui Sancto injuria fit. Ubi nota quod cum sanctus Ludovicus, rex Franciae, a quodam devoto quaereret, cur Episcopi modo, sicut olim, sancti non essent; ille, ut creditur, nutu divino, respondit, quia tunc Episcopi per invocationem et inspirationem Spiritus Sancti ab electoribus canonice eligebantur, nunc vero per supplicationes et procurationes alias de eis providetur ; et ob hoc modo sancti non sunt, 6icut olim communiter fuerunt.
Quo audito, rex dixit quod de cetero nullatenus pro aliquo supplicaret. Non solum autem qui ad curas et dignitates se ingerunt, in periculo sunt; sed etiam qui ad eas cum deiectatione accedunt, vel in eis cum delectatione perseverant. Unde Gregorius : « Unusquisque superbus rector toties ad culpam apostasiae dilabitur, quoties praeesse hominibus dejectatur, ac honoris sui singularitate laetatur. Unde autem haec vitiomm radix puliulat in corde regentium, nisi ex imitatione illius qui, despectis Angelorum societatibus, dixit : Ascendam super altUudmem rmbium; et similis ero Altissimo. Unde magnopere curandum est, ut qui regendis hominibus prtefertur, apud se peaset, quia ad satisfaciendum districto Judici de sua tantummodo anima vix sufficit; et quot regendis praesto estreddendaeapudeum rationis, ipse, ut ita dicam, tot solus animas habeL Nam cui esse nunc judicem iibet, huic videre tunc Judicem non libet. Numerari enim culpae nequeunt, quae habendae potestatis amore perpetrantur : » haec Gregorius. Non dicit qui judex est,sedcui Judicem esse libet ; animum videlicet, non gradum redarguens, et ad voluntatem, non ad factum vituperationem referens. Cui autem videre tunc Judicem non libet, de numero reproborum se esse non dubitet.
Sicut enim electi tunc de visione Judicis gaudebunt, quia appropinquat eorum redemptio; sic et reprobi de visione Judicis dolebunt, quia appropinquat eorum perditio.
Unde et in alio loco Evangelii Dominus dicit : Va? , id est aeterna damnatio, vobis, scilicet imminet, qui diiigitis primas cathedras. Non dicit, qui habetis; sed, qui diligitis, non arguens eos qui his utuntur ex officii ordine, sed eos qui haec dum habent amant, vel dum non habent affectant ; quod procedit ex ambitione. Vai quippe in Scriptura sacra notat aeternam damnationem et gehennae supplicium; sed heu hujus seculi peregrinationem et praesens exsilium. Unde et Chrysostomus : « Haec dictio va? semper in Scripturis dkitur de his qui non possunf evadere a futuro supplicio. » Solent autem ambitiosi se excusando quandoque aliegare illud Apostoli, et dicere : Qui episcopatum desiderat, bonum ojms desiderat. Quibus responderi potest, quod opus est bonum; seddesiderare est malura.
Sic et dici potest : qui aurum furatur, bonam rem furatur, quia aurum bona res est, sed furari malum est. Unde Apostolus ipsum opus, tanquam bonum et fructuosum, commendat ; Christus vero ipsum desiderare, tanquam malum et vanum, condemnat. Sic ergo patet ex Christi verbis et ceteris Scripturis, quod ambitiosus non est in statu gratiae et salutis. Patet hoc etiam ex quibusdam rationibus etcausis; quia in tot humanis defectibus, nullus relinquitur ambitioso locus excusationis, et per hoc grave ei imminet periculum perditionis. Multi enim per infirmitatem vel ignorantiam, aut in toto aut in parte de peccatis excusantur; sed ambitiosus, cui praeesse libet, per nullum horum defenditur. Non quidem per infirmitatem, quia ducatum gregis libens suscepit et tenuit, et ideo tanquam aries in grege fortis prae ceteris esse debuit; nec per ignorantiam, quia magisterium aliorum assumere et tenere sibi placuit, et ideo ignorare non debuit qui magister esse voluit. Talem ergo, scilicet ambitiosum, et csecitatem ejus valde plangere debemus; quia hominem ad Dei imaginem factum, ipsum Luciferum, ut supra per Gregorium dicitur, imitari videmus. Et quia ambitiosus in tanto versatur periculo, ideo qui scienter talem eligunt vel promovent, aut in statu suo fovent et defendunt, graviter Deum offendunt; et se participes cum eo in culpa faciunt.
Unde timendum est, consentientibus ambitioso, ne cadant cum eo; sicut consentientes Lucifero ceciderunt cum illo. Ista maledicta pestis ambitionis totam inficit religionem Christianitatis , et scandalum toti mundo parturit, non solum in clericis, sed et in religiosis. Vce ergo miseris ad quos Pharisaeorum, quibus Dominus vce imprecabatur, vitia transierunt; qui per breve et incertum hujus vitae suae curriculum, quo peccata plangere debuerunt, ad dignitatem, et honorem aspirare, vel pro his laCAPUT LXVIII. borare, seu etiam certare, Dei timore postposito, non metuunt. 4 Secundum malum beneficia petentium : affectio carnalis minus dignos PRiEFERENs. — Secundum malum est, quia saepe carnales amici in beneficiorum collatione aliis melioribus et dignioribus praeferuntur; quorum promotoribus vce damnationis Propheta comminatur, dicens : Vce qui cedificat Sion in sanguinibus. Multi sunt enim qui pro amicorum carnalium promotione, et corpus et animam aeternis exponunt incendiis; qui e conver— so pro eorum liberatione extremum digiti vix ad horam ponerent in tormentis. Multis quidem praelatis procurat diabolus amicorum carnalium multitudinem, ut eorum in carnali affectione et promotione obscuret dignitatem et sanctitatem.
Saepe namque nepotes praelatorum, et alii carnales amici, qui ante ipso- rum praelatorum promotionem non apparebant, post promotionem eo. rum apparere incipiunt; quasi una die, scilicet promotionis, nati videantur. Sed super hoc potest Ecclesia dicere illud Isaiae : Quis genuit mihi istos? Ego sterilis et non pariens, transmigrata et captiva, et istos quis enutrivit? Ego destituta et sola; et isti ubi erant, scilicet ante praelati promotionem? Unde ait quidam : Cum factor rerum privaret semine [ clerum ; Ad Satance votum successit turba [ nepotum. Hi tales qui in promotionibus amicos carnales praeferunt factis et operibus suis, illud Psalmistae dicunt : Hereditate possideamus sanctuarium Dei. Et ideo timere habent maledictionem, quae ibid<;m sequitur, quam non solum Ecclesia et alii, sed etiam psimet sibiipsis imprecantur saepius, cum orant, dicentes : Deus meus pone illos ut roiam; et sicut stipulam ante faciem venti.
Sicut ignis qui comburit silvam, et sicut flamma comburens montes, ita persequeris illos in tempestate tua, et in ira tua turbabis eos. Imple facies eorum ignominia; et qu&rent nomen tuum, Domine. Erubescant et conturbentur in seculum seculi; et confundantur et pereant. Ubi nota visionem de quodam Pontifice nimis ad carnales amicos affecto, quae statim post mortem ejus ostensa est cuidam Legato Ecclesiae in via jam posilo. Quodam enim mane, cum idem Legatus excitatus a somno vellet orare ut consueverat, submissus est quidam lectus, in superficie aureis tapetiis circumseptus, in camera ubi quiescebat, in quo residere videbatur ipse defunctus, ad modum Pontificis ornatus; et in gyro ejus multi de genere suo per eum promoti et ditati, choream ducebant; et cantilenas lugubres cantantes in hunc modum proclamabant : Maledicta promotio, et exaltatio tua, tu enim es perditionis nostrae causa. Ille vero circumquaque respiciens, maledictionem similiter eis imprecabatur, dicens : Maledicti vos a Deo, quia propter vos traditus sum igni perpetuo. Et haec dicens, coopertorium aureum elevavit, et flamma de lecto cum fumo foetidissimo ascendit; et sic visio disparuit. Haec autem visio praedicto Legato, Angelo sibi referente, ideo ostensa fuit, ut ipse a similibus abstineret, quia defuncti successor futurus esset.
Post haec, quodam tempore, quidam Pontifex alius, promotioni carnalium amicorum nimis intentus, cum ex infirmitate, in qua per medicos neglectus fuerat, morti esset propinquus, quasi de salute corporis et animae desperans, dixit pluribus circumstanti > 627 bus et audientibus : Medici abstulerunt mihi corpus, et amici animam. Ecce qualem retributionem de amicis habuit, quos sic carnaliter dilexit et promovit; sic et hodie multi religiosi carnalitatem nimis sequentes, non ea quae spiritus et Dei sunt, sed quae carnis et diaboli sunt, in electionibus suis sapiunt, et magis corpori quam animae providere solliciti sunt. Multi enim potius eligunt bonum coquum, qui carnalibus voluptatibus eorum satisfaciat, quam virum devotum, qui utilitatibus animarum proficiat, ut sic simul cum illo ducant in bonis dies suos; et quasi de alia vita desperati, recipiant bona in vita sua, ac si sic iretur ad astra. Hi tales similes illis sunt, de quibus Seneca sic dicit : « Quidam voluptatibus se immergunt, quibus in consuetudinem adductis carere non possunt; et ob hoc miserrimi sunt, quod eo pervenerunt, ut illis quae fuerunt supervacua, facta sint necessaria. » His etiam talibus applicari potest, quod de quodam patre factum est. Qui, cum quadam vice melius solito se refecisset; nocte sequenti diabolus sibi assistens, ventrem ejus suaviter quasi manibus contrectando dilinivit, et dein, quasi eum subsannando, dixit : Modo bene, modo bene. Ille autem, diaboli illusionem intelligens, pcenitentiam de hoc excessu egit, ct ad abstinentiam consuetam rediit; istud etiam verbum, scilicet modo bene, modo bene, potest dici cuilibet in hac vita prospere vel delicate viventi. Et similiter istud Evangelii : Et quidem in hac die tua quae ad pacem tibi; nunc autem abscondita sunt ab oculis tuis, scilicet mala futuri temporis.
Tertium malum est, quia plerumque, causa mala movente ct al liciente, indigiuu et quandoc^ue etiam mali et hostea Christi ad ecclesiastica beneficia promoven tur; et magis personia quam ecclesiis, magisque utilitati privata, quam communi provideturj nec fiunt clerici vel praelati Deo, sed mundo. Unde magna cura cst multis t ut in domo sua ofliciales utiles praeficiant; sed parva cura est eis, ut in domo Dei ministros idoneos instituant, quia* heul quasi nuila ministrorum Christi est electio, cum tamen ministri hominum saepe cum magno eligantur consilio. Proh dolor! saepe magis insufficientes assumuntur ad statum clericorum et ad ecclesiastica beneficia etiam curata, quam ad statum mechanicorum, vel ad aliqua hujusmodi officia. Qui enim mechanicus esse voluerit, necesse est ut ad suum officium spectantia sciat, vel addiscat ; sed plerumque in clericis hoc fallit. Quomodo ergo tales per ignorantjam poterunt excusari, maxime si ad dignitates et beneficia curata fuerint promoti ? Unde Bernardus : « Quae ignorantia excusare possit hominem, qui se magistrum infantium, doctorem insipientium profitetur ? Talium quippe dum quis promovetur, recte a diabolo supra templi pinnaculum elevatur; cui diabolus, quasi subsannando, tunc loquitur : Si filius Dei es, mitte te deorsunu Jam inter filios Dei computatus es, jam ab his qui te non cognoscunt, videris esse quod non es ; fac igitur aiiquid unde iauderis, unde gloriosus habearis, et unde magnus ab hominibus videaris : Mitte te deorsum.
Quid enim tam proprium diabolo quam suadere, ut unusquisqne indignus Ecclesiae se submittat > Et revera hi tales semper deorsum se mittunt, quia solas divitias, dignitates et gloriam quaerentes, quotidie deteriores fiunt. Promotores etiam talium in quacunque digmtate, quasi supra templi pinnaculum constituti^ se ad persuasionem et consilium diaboli deorsum mittunt, quando per carnalem affectionem» vel aliam causam maUam eos excaecantem, talibus condescendendo, eos promo>vent, vel eorum promotionibus acquiescttnt. Simia quippe ponitur in tecto^ et latro in scalis coram populo, non ad sui honorem, sed ad derisionem ; sic etiam est de indigno in Ecclesia exaltato. » Unde ait Seneca <t Loco ignominiae est apud indignum dignitas. » Unde etiam dicit Gregoriu» : « Necesse est ut is qui praeest, quee exempla subditis praebeat solerter attendat, et tantis se sciat vivere quantis praeesse. » Et ideo, ut idem dicit : tt Non debet hominum ducatum suscipere, qui nescit homines bene vivendo praeire; neque ad hoc eligatur, ut aliorum culpas corrigat, qui, quod resecare debuit, ipse committit. » Et iterum a Dumm quippe est ut qui nescit tenere moderamina vita? suae, judex fiat vitae alienae : » haec Gregorius.
Sic et hodie apud multos etiam religiosos in electionibus et provisionibus, timore Dei postposito, Jesus, id est vir bonus et dignus, ac Dei amicus, qui se et aiios salvare studet, reprobatur; et Barrabas, latro insignis, id est malus et indignus, ac Christi hostis, qui se et alios in anima perimit, eligitur. Unde qui in talibus promotionibus, faciendo vel consentiendo culpabiles sunt, ipso suo facto, vel consensu, cum Judaeis dicunt : Non hunc, sed Barrabam. Et ideo timeant tales, ne alienati a Jesu Salvatore, partem sortiantur cum Barraba latrone. Tales quippe sic electi sunt subditis, magis in ruinam et scandalum quam in resurrectionem et boni exempLum ; et hoc fermentum praelatorum corrumpit totam massam subditorum, quia, dum caput aegrotat, cetera metnbra dolent. iCgrotant quidem, ted non sanantur, quia morbum noli me tangere habere videntur; et intacti remanentes, per eos quorum interest debite non corriguntur. Et ideo, heu ! jam apud plures de capite fecta est cauda; de priore posterior; et de magistro discipulus, et utinam Christi, non diaboli! Sed timere habent homines in his culpabiles, ne justitia per eos neglecta ad supemum Judicem querelam suam dirigat; et ille, voces querimoniae ejus suscipiens, justo judicio suo vindictam suam super praevaricatores rectitudinis inducat.
Et istud in multis talibus factum novimus, et adhuc frequenter fieri videmus, sed quidam miseri sic sunt excaecati, quod nec cognoscere defectus suos volunt, unde talia flageUa procedunt ; et ideo saepe graviora eis superveniunt.
Quarcuin malum est, quia unus beneficio uno non est contentus, in aliorum dericorum praejudicium et damnum; plura occupat et, aliis esurientibus, ipse se pompis et vanitatibusinebriat. Pauperum enim necessitatibus subtrahitur, quidquid divitum vanitatibus accedit, et multitudo servorum multitudinem pauperum facit. Unde est quod communiter dicitur : Quidquid delirant reges, plectun[tur Achivi. Et, quod pejus est, interdum unus, ad unum etiam beneficium minus idoneus, plura occupat; et qui unicum quamvis modicum vix officium implere sufficeret, plurimorum stipendia sibi vendicat. Plura quidem beneficia habentibus paratur vagandi et delinquendi materia ; divinus cnltus et hospitalitas in ipsis beneficiis minuitur; ecdesiarum commodis et honori detrahitur, quae per hoc in spiritualibus et temporalibus multipliciter collabuntur. Sed esto quod tales habeant dispensationem , super pluraUtate benenciorum ; numquid dispensationem habere poterunt super perpetratione praedictorum malorum? Quae quidem mala tanta sunt, quod sola ad damnationem sufficiunt; et reum in infernum detrudere possunt ubi unus ut plures in beneficiis, erit unus ut plures in tormentis. Istos, secundum Bernardum, supra montem excelsum valde diabolus ducit; quibus etiam omnia regna mundi et eorum gloriam ostendit ; et ostensa, si procidentes eum adorent, dare promittit; et revera postquam avaritiae suae consulendo, multa beneficia adepti sunt, eum adorant, eum colunt et venerantur, eum quasi Deum sequuntur, et post eum in tenebris demerguntur.
Ubi nota quaedam exempla de hac materia. Guillelmus Parisiensis episcopus, in theologia regens, convocationem fecerat magistrorum. Et, proposita quaestione de pluraiitate beneficiorum, solerti et longa disputatione probatum est duo beneficia* dummodo unum quindecim libras Parisienses valeret, ab uno teneri cum salute non posse. Hoc determinavit praedictus Episcopus, hoc omnes alii magistri theologiae determinaverunt ; exceptis duobus , scilicet magistro Philippo, Parisiensi cancellario; et magistro Arnoldct, postmodum Ambianensi episcopo. Quid autem praedicto Philippo contigerit audiamus. Agonizantem in morte dominus Guillelmus episcopus, tanquam bonus pastor, visitavit, rogans eumut singulari opinioni de pluralitate beneficiorum cederet, et omnia beneficia sua, uno excepto, in manus Ecclesiae resignaret. Sed renuit, dicensse velle experiri utrum esset damnabUe plura beneficia ab uno teneri. Mortuus est ergo sic; et post paucos dies, dicto Parisiensi episcopo in tetra et miserabili forma apparuit, aicens inter cetefa, propter pluralitatem beneficiorum se esse damnatum.
Simiiiter alius quidam clericus magnae litteraturae , apparens cuidam post mortemsuam, dixit se damnatum ob hanc solam causam, quia duas tenuit praebendas. Super hac eadem quaestione, Robertus, Romanae EcclesiaeCardinalis, et magister in theologia, interrogatus morti vicinus, respondit : « Dico, jam migraturus avita, quod mortale et damnabile est plura tenere beneficia. » Hoc idem sanctae memoriae Petrus Cantor Parisiensis, et dixit, et scripsit. Hoc idem magister Guillardus, Cameracensis episcopus, verbo hujusmodi confirmavit : « Nollem, inquit, pro toto auro Arabiae una nocte duo beneficia detinere, et hoc propter discrimen incertae vitae. » Super hoc etiam, narrante Bernardo, quondam Domini Papae a poenitentiario, cum beatae memoriae Gregorius Papa nonus interrogaretur, si posset de plenitudine potestatis cum plurium beneficiorum detentoribus dispensare, respondit : « Non possum, inquit, nisi tantum super vexatione detinentium dispensare. » Quod forte ideo dixit, quia, ut visum est, plura mala ac peccata gravia et inevitkbilia inde subsequuntur, super quibus faciendis dispensatio cadere non videtur, quia peccatum in nullo casu conceditur. Quis ergo erit sapiens qui se fallat, et tanto discrimini committat? Esto quod multi dicant hoc, et multi alii in contrarium opinentur, hoc solum tamen mortale ab Augustino, doctorum maximo, judicatur, cum quis incertitudinis periculo, aut mortalis peccati discrimini se committit.
Sic et hodie multi religiosi non solum grangias, sed et ecclesias, non sine animarum periculo sibi incorporan do, multiplicare soliiciti sunt, exponentes se periculo reddendae rationis de animabus ecclesiarum, quarum decimas et fructus percipiunt.
Quintum malum est, quia plerique in beneficiis non resident, et fructus eorum percipientes debitum pro his laborem vel servitium ecclesiis non impendunt. Gaudent et se jactant, quia habent tot florenos sibi apportatos ; sed timeant ne sint floreni eos ad infernum portantes*, Frustra enim se jactant habere beneficium vel mercedem, cujus non exhibent operationem. Sed esto quod tales habeant dispensationem, super absentia seu non residentia; numquid dispensationem habere poterunt super peccatis et malis committendis, quae inevitabiliter sequuntur ex eorum absentia et negligentia? Et ideo bene eis esset, si haberent vicarium in tormentis, sicut excusando se dicunt habere in beneficiis. Qui enim residere nolunt in beneficiis, timere habent ne residentiam perpetuam faciant in tormentis. Et in hoc magis delinquunt praelati et curam habentes animarum. quia ex illorum absentia majus sequitur periculum. Pauci quidem ex eis pastores, sed muiti mercenarii sunt, quia non lucrum animarum, sed mercedem temporalis commodi, aut lucri, vel honoris quaerunt.
Istis bene congruit illud Bernardi, ubi ait : « Vae tibi, clerice! mors in olla, mors in hujusmodi deliciis. Peccata enim populi comedis, ac si propria minus suflicere viderentur. Sumptus ecclesiasticos gratis habere te reputas; sed bonum erat magis fodere et mendicare. » Et iterum : « Indignus lacte et iana convincitur, si non pascit oves, si non vigilat in custodia gregis. Judicium sibi manducat et vescitur. Quid tibi insipiens deliciae sapiunt? Quid divitiae illae caecos delectant oculos, quibus mereris tam grave judicium, tam durae temetipsum obligas rationi ?
Universa siquidem usque ad quadrantem novissimum exigeris : » haec Bernardus. Et iterum, super illo verbo Prophetae : Peccata populi mei comedent : <c Quasi dicat, ait, peccatorum pretia exigunt, et peccantibus debitam sollicitudinem non impendunt. Quem dabis mihi de numero praepositorum, qui non plus invigilet subditorum evacuandis marsupiis, quam vitiis exstirpandis ? Ubi qui orando flectat iram, qui praedicet annum placabilem Domino? Leviora loquimur, graviora gravius manet judicium. Ministri Christi sunt, et serviunt Antichristo. Honorati incedunt de bonis Domini, qui Domino honorem non fecerunt : » haec Bernardus. Sunt autem quidam qui ecclesiis, et ovibus suis propriis derelictis , aliis deserviunt ecclesiis vel praedicant populis; sed per hoc de negligentia ecclesiarum, et ovium suarum non excusantur apud Deum ; quia reddent rationem de omnibus usque ad novissimum quadrantem.
Allegant etiam quandoque non residentes, quod in ecclesiis eorum sunt rebelles et tyranni, vel infideies et hujusmodi. In quo seipsos magis re r darguunt, quia vident lupum, et fugiunt, cum tamen pro illorum et Ecclesiae utilitate deberent tunc potius residere. Sic et hodie muiti in religione curam animarum habentes, claustrum quasi carcerem fugiunt, et cum Satan circumeundo terram et perambulando eam quasi vagi discurrunt, parum timentes quod, ligatis vagis eorum pedibus, projiciantur in tenebras exteriores. Primi quidem religiohis patres,urbes et palatia relinquentes, solitudinem petebant, dicentes cum Hieronymo : « Oppidum mihi carcer est, et solitudo paradisus.» Sed isti vagi, solitudinem deserentes, urbes et palatia quaerunt, quasi intra se dicentes : Solitudo mihi carcer est, et oppidum paradisus. Unde talibus bene competit, et de eis scribi posset, quod de quodam hujuscemodi post mortem ejus, quasi pro epitaphio, quidam versificator sic scripsit : Dum fuit in mundo, per mundum \vixit eundo % Hoec postrema dies, hatc sibi prima [quies.
Sextum malum est, quia multi fructibus beneficiorum et bonis ecclesiasticis abuti non metuunt, ac patrimonium Christi et res pauperum in usus superfluos et illicitos convertunt. Quantumcunque enim utiliter in beneficio quis laboret, ultra tamen victum et vestitum sibi vendicare non debet; quidquid enim amplius est, pauperum est. Unde Bernardus : « Sed esto, studiose quis et fructuose laboret, vivat de altari, ut alimenta et quibus tegatur habens, his contentus sit. Non superbiat, non luxurietur, denique non ditetur, nec ex clericatu ditior fiat, non sibi de bonis Ecclesiae ampla palatia fabricet, nec loculos inde congreget, nec in vanitate aut superfluitate dispergat, non extollat de facultatibus Ecclesiae consanguineos suos aut nepotes, ne filias dixerim nuptui tradat; res pauperum non pauperibus dare, par sacrilegii crimen esse dignoscitur. Nec enim ordinavit Deus his qui Evangelio serviunt de Evangelio quaerere\aut habere delicias, aut ornatum, sed vivere, ait Apostolus de eo; ut videlicet sint contenti alimenta corporis, non gulae irritamenta , aut incentiva libidinis, et quibus tegantur, non quibus ornentur, accipere.» Et iterura : aPauci admodum sunt,qui non quae suasunt quaerant. Diligunt munera, non possunt pariter diligere Christum, quia manus dederunt mammonae. Intuere quomodo incedunt nitidi et ornati , eircumamicti varietatibus, tanquam sponsa procedens de thalamo suo ; nonne quempiam talium repente eminus procedentem aspexeris,Sponsam potius putabis, quam Sponsae custodem?
Unde vero hanc illis exuberare existimas rerum affluentiam, vestium splendorem, mensarum luxuriam, congeriem vasorum argenteorum et aureorum, nisi de bonis Sponsae? Inde est, quod illa pauper inops, et nuda relinquitur, facie miseranda, inculta, hispida, exsanguis. Propter hoc non est hoc tempore ornare Sponsam, sed spoliare; non est custodire, sed perdere ; non est defendere, sed exponere; non est instruere, sed prostituere; non est pascere gregem, sed mactare et devorare ; dicente de Ulis Domino : Qui devorant plebem meam ut cibum panis; et : Quia comederunt Jacob, et loatm ejus desolaverunt : » haec Bernardus. Sic et hodie multi religiosi bonis monasterii abuti non verentur; et divitem purpura ct bysso indutum imitando, quaerunt ad induendum, non quod utilius, sed quod subtiiius invenitur; non quod frigus expellat, sed quod superbire compellat; et cum eodem divite epulari quotidie splendide volunt; et pro carnibus, a quibus abstinetur, studium suum in piscibus et deliciis variis ponunt. Et secundum quod de quibusdam dicitur, plus in Salmone, quam in Salomone student; quod, secundum Prosperum, non est delicias resecare, sed unam in aliam commutare. Unde et Augustinus : « Qui sic a carnibus se temperant, ut alias escas, et difficilioris praeparationis et pretii majoris inquirant, multum errant. Non enim est hoc suscipere abstinentiam, sed invitare iuxuriam. » Isti non intelligunt quod in his hamum accipiunt, quia poenam pro singulis exsolvent ; et quantum se glorificaverunt et in deliciis fuerunt, tantum de tormento et luctu habebunt.
Utinam muiti mercenarii, et pseudopastores haec attenderent, qui plus de seipsis etiam sanis, quam de suis subditis etiam infirmis , solliciti sunt ; et plus sibi in voluptatibus, quam subditis in necessitatibuscondescendunt ! Et ideo saepe hujusmodi mercenarii diris a Deo castigantur flagellis; sed intelligere nolunt unde haec flagella procedunt, conquerentes quandoque de percussione, sed tacentes de causa movente, secundum illud quod communiter dicitur : Percutitur puer, et queritur; sed causa tacetur. Quandoque etiam justo Dei judicio tales in necessitate deseruntur abaliis, ut sicut fecerunt fiat et ipsis ; et utinam haec saperent, et intelligerent , et se emendarent !
rantur. — Septimum malum, quod praecedenti saepe malo est annexum t est maledictum curiositatis vitium, a quo tam in faciendo, quam utendo tanquam a venenoso serpente est omnibus Dei servis abstinendum. Cufiosa enim qui faciunt, et qui eis uti volunt, mundo vivunt et serviunt. Talia namque sunt ornamenta mundi, et blasphemia Dei. Qui vero in puritate conscientiae intendit vivere, mirum quomodo in faciendo vel utendo se audet hac fece foedare. Est enim periculosum, et est valde magnum vitium. Primo, quia tempus ad laudandum Deum concessum perditur, et contra ipsum in vanis expenditur. Multo enim plus de tempore occupat curiosum opus quam expediat ; et hoc valde jnalum esse nullus saptens ignorat.
— Secundo, quia facienti est causa vanae gloriae et jactantiae. O quoties cogitat et recogitat, ac mente revolvit, etiara quando non operatur, ac etiam quando divinis intendere debet, ut pulchrum opus faciat! O quotie! illud aspicit, et inde se reputat, et apud alios reputari vult et se jactat ! — Tertio, quia etiam ei cui facit, est causa et occasio superbiae. Tali enim oleo ignis superbiae nutritur, et magis accenditur. Nam sicut rudiaet grossa sunt humiiitatis fomentum; sic curiosa et pukhra sunt superbiae nutrimentum, — Quarto, quia est materia et occasio retrahendi animum a Deo. Nam, secundum Gregorium, tanto quis a superno amore disjungitur, quanto inferius delectatur.
— Quinto, quia est concupiscentia et voluptas oculorum. Ad nihil enim talia curiosa valere videntur, nisi ut inde oculi pascantur ; et per consequens eliam animus ex eis distrahitur. — Sexto, quia multorum aliorum est laqueus et ruina. Nam talia respicientes multis modis offendere possunt, veldelectabiliter aspiciendo et similia concupiscendo ; vel detrahendo et maledicendo, seu aliis scandalum et exemplum inde trahendo. Cogita ergo quoties Deus oflendi poterit antequam illa curio. sitas deieta sit. De omnibus autem illis offensis ipse qui tale opus fecit, vel fieri procuravit, est in causa, et per consequens in culpa. Ecce quot mala ex tali curiositate proveniunt 1 Adhuc est et aiiud magnum malum valde » quia curiositas directe obviat paupertati.
Et ultra omnia praedicta est hoc malura, quod levis ac vani et in<constantis animi est indicium, et superbiae in corde latentis signum. Hoc autem maium curiositatis non -solum reperitur in clericis , sed retiam in plerisque religiosis. Quidam enim eorum, relicta et quasi contempta antiquorum patrum simplicitate et humilitate, novitates seculares in multis ad usum pertinentibus adinveniunt, et diabolum adulterantem cum suis satellitibus in religionem introducunt; unde non videntur filii religionis veri et legitimi, sed potius adulteri, quia a sanctis patribus degenerantes, adulterinas novitates et curiositates adinveniunt, et quales sunt, talia opera faciunt. Unde de eis illud vulgare dici potest : Qualis efat mulier, iale coquebat [olus. Ministri ergo diaboli sunt quia oput ejus faciendo sibi serviunt. Et ideo propter nullum de mundo, tale opus quis facere debet, nec velle pro se heri, etiamsi gratis fieret; quia nulla de causa peccato est consentiendum, et ab ofFensa Dei est omnibus modis abstinendum. Nam, ut dicit Anselmus, omne peccatum per praevaricationem Deum exhonorat* Si ergo peccare est Deum exhonorare, hoc homo facere non deberet, etiamsi necesse esset perire orane quod Deus non est. Mirum ergo vaide quomodo homuncio, cinis et pulvis, tam audacter Deum et tantam majestatem praesumit ofiSendert.
Unde Bei-nardus : « Tangit montes et fumigant, et tam tremendam Majestatem audet irritare pulvisculus uno levi fiatu dispergendus, et minime recolligendus ! Et si propter nullum alium curiosa facertt deberes, quanto magis offendis si proprio motu ad solam complacentiam talia facis, volens magis coraplacere creaturae, quam Creatori? % 10 Gravitas scandah a clericis dati. — Ex praemissis igitur apparet aliquantulum in quali et quanto periculo sit hodie status clericorum, et quanta per eos veniunt 63 4 scandala, quantamque persecutionem suscitant in Ecclesia. Illi enim vere Ecclesiam persequuntur, qui vitiis et malis exemplis persequuntur. Illi acerbius sanguinem fundunt, qui Christum quantum in ipsis est in homine occidunt. Unde Bernardus : « Si Dominus proprium sanguinem dedit in pretium redemptionis animarum, nonne tibi videtur graviorem suscitare persecutionem , qui suggestione maia, exemplo pernicioso, scandali occasione, avertit ab eo animas quas redemit, ab illo qui sanguinem suum fudit? » Et iterum : a Quis, obsecro, laicorum avidius clericis acquirit temporalia, et ineptius utitur acquisitis?
Cum tantum fastum videant laici in supellectili clericorum, nonne per eos potius invitantur ad mundum diligendum, quam negligendum? Medice, cura teipsum, dicere possunt; si mundum praedicas contemnendum, contemne tu prius, et ad ipsum alios eflicacius invitabis. Da voci tuae vocem virtutis, consonet vita verbis; et statim erit in ore tuo vivax, et efficax sermo Dei, et penetrabilior omni gladio ancipiti. Non sic profecto est ; sed sicut populus, sic sacerdos; sicut laicus, sic et clericus; uterque cupit, uterque diligit mundum, et ea quae in mundo sunt. Laicus tamen cum labore, sed clerici sine labore volunt possidere totum mundum. Communicare volunt cupiditati et superfluitati hominum, sed non labori; peccare volunt, sed non flagellari cum hominibus, unde timendum est quod flagellentur cum daemonibus. Quomodo seculares non expenderent substantiam suam vivendo luxuriose etiam in praesentia sacerdotum? Quomodo non intenderent vanitatibus et lenociniis hujus seculi?
Quomodo non essent insolentes et elati, cum tantum fastum, tantam insolentiam videant clericorum? Nonne in praesentia eorum irreverenter abutimini eleemosynis pauperum? De patrimonio crucis Christi non facitis codices in ecciesiis; sed pascitis pellices, impinguatis canes, adornatis equos. Et vere in capitibus omnibus omnium platearum dispersi sunt lapides sanctuarii. Plateae latae sunt, et lata est via, quae ducit ad mortem. Lapides ergo sanctuarii, id est sacerdotes, sunt in capitibus, id est in introitu latarum viarum; docent enim populos per prava exempla ingredi vias latas, quae ducunt ad mortem, et demergunt in profundum inferni. Dolor capitis in membra redundat. Et merito clamat sancta Ecclesia hodie : Ecce in pace amaritudo mea amarissima.
Multa est hodie et longe gravior, quam credi possit persecutio sanctae Ecclesiae; et talis incumbit qualis non fuit a principio. Multis modis persecutus est eam diaboius, sed nunquam gravius quam hodie; quia nunquam fuit major perditio Christianorum, nec liberior aut securior transgressio divinorum praeceptorum. Ecclesiam incipientem persecutus est per tyrannos ; proficientem persecutus est per haereticos; jam laetam et florentem persequitur per motus illicitos : » haec Bernardus. Adhuc autem unum de clericis in fine subjungo exemplum. Clericus quidam in synodo Episcoporum praedicare compulsus angustiabatur non modicum, quidnam digne posset coram tot Ecclesiae praelatis praedicare. At ubi accessurus in oratione jaceret, venit ad eum diabolus, et dixit : Quid angustiaris istis clericis praedicare? Dic eis istud, et non aliud : Princeps inferni salutat principes Ecclesiae. Laeti omnes nos eisdem referimus gratias, quia per eorum negligentiam ad nos fere totus mundus devolvitur, quia cum ipsis praelatis nobis eorum subditi pariter offeruntur.
Invitus quidem tibi dico, sed Altissimi jussione coactus.
Quam vera ista sint, status procul dubio Ecclesiae monstrat, qui nullam trium malorum quae in mundo sunt, scilicet superbiae, avaritiae, luxuriae comparationem recipit in clericis et praelatis. Vide moderatores orbis et reges magnos, vide duces, comites et barones; nihil videbis in eorum cultu et apparatu tam singulariter exquisitum, tam pomposum. Eorum avaritiam si attendas, nullam mercatorum, nullam civium talem reperies; qui tamen heredes legitimos si haberent, tolerabilior insania videretur. De luxuria vero eorum nihil diffinire praesumo, nisi quod illam solus noverit omnipotens, qui renum et cordium scrutator est Deus. A qua quidem luxuria valde terrere deberent eos quorumdam clericorum exempla, de quibus novi quosdam subito et improvise in latrina et foetore vitam suam foetidam terminasse, et quemdam in ipso actu simul cum fine operis expirasse. Et si quaeris de gula, quae fomentum est luxuriae, invenies populum semel in anno carnisprivium facere, sed clerum quotidie. In sabbato quoque deliciis affluere mos erat Judaeis veri sabbati ignaris; quos clerici in hoc satis imitantur, in festis diebus delicatius convivantes, nec aliter diem festum, nisi plus solito se ingurgitent reputantes. Unde ait Hieronymus : « Gum superbia propria sit daemonibus, sive mulieribus, iuxuria pecudibus, avaritia mercatoribus, ex his factum est monstrum, quod est malus clericus.
» Similiter et in religiosis invenire poteris unum monstrum ex hujusmodi malis compositum. Quandoque enim praesidens est superbus et ambitiosus, diligens praeesse, et quxrens modis omnibus in officio remanere. Est etiam quandoque cum hoc concupiscentiae carnis deditus, quaerens frequenter occasiones vacandi deliciis et voluptatibus. Est insuper quandoque concupiscentia oculorum, et avaritia caecatus pro quaestu faciendo, discurrens et qualitercunque temporalia acquirens, vel acquisita recipiens. Et quia in se habet haec tria ex quibus oriuntur omnia hujus seculi mala, nam, testante Joanne : Omne quod est in mundo, aut est concupiscentia carnis, aut concupiscentia oculorum, aut superbia vitaf, ideo exspectare habet pro retributione condigna, omnia seculi alterius incommoda. Si quis propter praedicta mihi ea scribenti irascitur, talis de seipso quod hujusmodi sit confitetur. Multi enim cum eis veritas proponitur indigne ferunt, et cum aliter evadere non possunt, respondent quod de talibus sibi conscientiam non faciunt; et haec est mala conscientia, quia veritati et rationi contraria.
Unde notandum quod quadruplex est conscientia, sciiicet duae bonae, et duae malae. Prima est bona et tranquilla ; et haec est illius qui peccata praeterita punit, et committenda diligenter refugit, de qua in Psalmo : Beatus vir cui non imputavit Dominus peccatum ; omne autem quod ipse nbn imputare decrevit, sic est quasi non fuerit. — Secunda est bona, sed turbata, quae se levat, non tamen in dulcedine, sed in amaritudine repugnante sensualitate, ita ut dura videatur ei via recta, parca vita, longa vigilia, oratio prolixa, rudis vestis, cibus agrestis, et tamen retinet se freno timoris ; sed audiet iste a Christo cum Apostolis : Vos estis qui permansistis mecum in tentationibus meis et iJlud Psalmi : Cum ipso sum in tribulatione. — Tertia est mala et turbata, quae non tantum timet peccatum, quantum deprehendi in peccato, et minus timet Dei offensam, quam peccati infamiam; de qua in Psalmo : In operibus manuum suarum comprehensus est peccator. Et iterum: Imple facies eorum ignominia, et qucereni nomen tuutn, Dominc — Quarta est mala et tranquilla ac per hoc summe periculosa; ista nec timet Deum offendere, nec hominem veretur scandalizare; quae cum venerit in profundum peccatorum, contemnit; et ideo in peccatfc quiete manet. Sed nihil est quo tantum provocetur vindicta Judicis, sicut cum securitate peccare, et non desistere a peccatis. Talis est conscientia quorumdam, qui cum errant et malefaciunt, ita quod etiam Scriptura vel ratione convinci possunt, postposito Dei timore, dicunt quod non faciunt sibi conscientiam, putantes quod Deus, in judicando, eorum sequatur opinionem phantasticam, et relinquat justitiam. ORATIO Domine Jesu Christe, qui superbis resistis, et humilibus dasgratiam, da cunctis statum dignitatis et regiminis pro bono obedientiae humiliter et sine ambitione suscipientibus, et sic in eo perseverantibus, gratiam in praesenti, et gloriam in futuro; et resistere ambitiosis, sepiendo vias eorum spinis, ne prosperentur in eis, ita ut neque praeesse hominibus delectentur, neque honoris sui singularitate laetentur, sicque taadeni illuminati, et ad cor reversi, a pestifero vitio ambitionis desistant, et tales esse desinant, ut, te miserante, in aeternum non pereant.
Amen.
Notes
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