added a sermon in reference to the crusade. Toward the conclusion of his discourse, be turned to the em- peror, and addressed him frankly, as though he hud
2 BERNARD
been a private man. He described the day of judg- ment, when the men who had received such innumera- ble benefits from God, and yet had refused to minister to Him to the utmost of their power, would be left without reply or excuse. He then spoke of the lless- ings which God had in such overflowing measure pour- ed upon the head of Conrad — the highest worldly do- minion, treasures of wealth, gifts of mind and body — till the emperor, moved even to tears, exclaimed, ' I acknowledge the gifts of the divine mercy, and I will no longer remain ungrateful for them. I am ready for the service which He Himself hath exhorted me.' At these words a universal shout of joy burst from the as- sembly ; the emperor immediately received the cross, and several of the nobles followed his example." On this occasion he went so far as to claim inspiration, and to prophesy the success ofthe undertaking. This is the most reprehensible part of his career, and he attempted to cover the failure of his prophecy ly a poor quil hie. In the same year a council was held at Chartres, where the Crusaders offered Bernard the command of the army, which he refused. In 1147, at the Council of Paris, he attacked the doctrine of Gilbert de la Porree, bishop of Poitiers, on the Trinity ; and in the following year, at the Council of Rheims, procured its condem- nation. He was an earnest and zealous advocate of practical religion, and was undoubtedly one of the ho- liest men of his time. But it must be confessed that he was misled by the love of ecclesiastical conformity to false pretensions and persecuting principles. All ecclesiastical dignities he constantly refused ; hut his virtues and talents gained him a higher influence in the Christian world than was possessed even by the pope himself, and the disputes of the Church were often referred to his arbitration. Luther says of him, " If there has ever been a pious monk who feared God, it was St. Bernard; whom alone I hold in much high- er esteem than all other monks and priests throughout the globe." His devotional Meditations are still read and admired, even among Protestants. They were translated into English by Stanhope. There can be no question but that he saw with sorrow many of the errors, corruptions, and defilements of the Church of Rome, nor did he hesitate to do all in his power to cor- rect them. In the j'ear 115:?, just before his death, he put forth his Libri de Considtratione, addressed to Pope Eugenius III, in which he handles the subject at large, and strongly urges it. In the first book of this work he inveighs against the abuses of the ecclesiastical courts. In the second he admonishes Eugenius to con- sider, as to his person, who he is, and, as to the digni- ty of his office, what he is. He reminds him that he is not set over others to domineer over them, but to minister to them and watch over them ; that he had indeed given to him the charge of all the churches, but no arbitrary dominion over them, which the Gospel disallows. "To you," he says, 'indeed the keys of heaven have been intrusted, but there arc other door- keepers of heaven and other pastors besides you ; yet arc you so much the more above them as you have re- ceived the title after a different manner. They have eveiy one a particular flock, but you are superinten- dent over them all ; you are not only supreme pastor over all flocks, but likewise over all the shepherds." In the third book he treats of his duty toward infe. riors, and complains heavily of the grievance cause i b}' the appeals to Borne, which, he says, were the oc- casion of incalculable mischief, and, justly, a source of murmuring and complaint. He further inveighs against the multitude of exemptions which destroyed the, ecclesiastical hierarchy. In the fourth book he admonishes the pope to mind his duty toward the cler- gy, cardinals, and other officers of his court, and to re- press their intrigues, luxury, and sumptuousness. He advises him as to the qualifications of those whom he should retain near his person, and, lastly, makes a re- capitulation of the qualities requisite for the due ful-
BERNARD
BERXARDIN