De Consideratione

1. If I knew better, most loving Eugenius, how you received what I have already sent, I should proceed to the rest of my work with corresponding confidence or caution; or I might, of course, stop altogether. But since the distance which separates us renders such knowledge impossible, you must not be surprised if, as I approach (with some misgiving, I confess) the middle of my subject, my discourse flows less freely in its divided channel. Having fully treated the first part of consideration in the former books, I now take in hand the task of adding my views on the things around you. They, too, are really under you, but the nearer they are the greater is their importunity. For being before your very eyes they allow no pretence of carelessness or forgetfulness. They more furiously drive you; they more tumultuously mob you; there is reason to fear they may carry you away altogether. I do not doubt that you have learnt from your own experience what watchful and earnest consideration is required when things are so. Moreover, if careful and timely consideration does not step in, your vexation will be boundless, and your anxiety unceasing. You will not have a moment to spare, nor a free place in your heart; the labour will be greater, the profit less. I have in mind those things which come upon you daily from the city, from the court, from your own church. These things, I say, are around you; your clergy and your people, whose own bishop you are, and to whom you therefore owe a debt of special care. So are they, too, who day by day assist you, the elders of the people, the judges of the world; they, too, who belong to your household and sit at your table, your chaplains, gentlemen of the bedchamber, and inferior clergy appointed in their different offices to do you service. These are your more intimate acquaintance; they more frequently knock, disturb, and vex you.¹ These are they who are not afraid to wake the beloved before she wishes to be awakened.

2. Now, in the first place, your clergy, who set the pattern for the clergy throughout the Church, ought to be in the best of order. Secondly, whatever is amiss in your presence reflects the more discredit upon you. It concerns the glory of your Holiness that the men you have before your eyes be so ordered, so fashioned, that they may be the mirror and the very pink of a virtuous and well-regulated life. Above all other men they should be found ready for their duties, fit for the sacraments, eager to instruct the people, circumspect in keeping themselves free from all pollution. What am I to say about the people? It is the people of Rome. I could not more briefly, or more definitely, describe them. Yet I ought to let you know what I think of your parishioners. Is there anything in history more notorious than the wantonness and pride of the Romans? A race unaccustomed to peace, familiar with tumult; a race to this very day fierce and intractable; who will never submit except when they have no power to resist. Here is the mischief; this is the care that lies heavy upon you, and you must not disguise the fact. You perhaps smile as you read this, for you are convinced that they will never be cured. Do not despair: what is required of you is the care, not the cure. You have surely heard the words, 'Take care of him'; our Lord did not say 'cure' or 'heal' him. It was a true saying, 'The doctor cannot always cure his patient.' But set a better ideal before you in your work. Paul says, 'I laboured more than they all.'¹ He does not say, 'I did more good than all,' or 'I bore more fruit than all,' for he most scrupulously avoided any word of pride. The man whom God taught that every one shall receive according to his work, not according to the results of the work,² knew better than that. Hence it was that he thought he ought to glory more in labours than in successes, as you have him saying elsewhere, 'In labours more abundant.'³ So, pray, do your own work; for God will take good care of His without your solicitude and anxiety. Plant, water, bestow care: you have done your part. God, when He so wills, will certainly give the increase; it will not be you. If perchance He does not will to give it, you lose nothing, for the scripture says, 'God will render to the righteous the reward of their labours.'⁴ That labour is safe which no failure can render void. And I would say this without prejudice to the divine power and goodness. I know the heart of this people is hardened; but God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. Who knows if He will return and pardon, convert and heal them? But I do not propose to dictate to God what He ought to do; would that I could persuade you to do what you ought, and as you ought.

3. I know I am treading on dangerous ground, and have to deal with some very nice points. How shall I approach the perilous task of saying what I think? I see clearly what is hanging over my head. The cry of 'innovation' will be raised; for no one can deny the justice of my complaint. But I would not allow even the plea of novelty. For I am quite sure that what I urge was once the custom, and, like all other customs, it might fall into disuse; but nothing can disturb the fact that the custom once prevailed. Can any one with truth deny that to be a custom which was not only done once upon a time, but beyond a doubt was the practice for a considerable time? I will tell you what I refer to, though it will do no good. Why? Because it will not please the rulers⁵ of the Church, who have more regard for the splendour of their office than for the claims of truth. Before your day there were men who would devote themselves entirely to feeding the sheep; they gloried in the shepherd's work and name; they counted nothing humiliating except what they thought hindered the welfare of the sheep, for they did not seek their own interests, but spent upon the sheep. They spent care, they spent their substance, they spent even themselves. Wherefore one of them says, 'I will be spent out for your souls.'⁶ It is as though they said, 'We came not to be ministered unto, but to minister';⁷ and so, as often as it became them, they made the Gospel free of cost. The only gain they sought from those in their keeping, the only pomp, the only pleasure, was, if possible, to make them a perfect people for the Lord. That was their constant concern, even in much sorrow of heart, and pain of body, in labour and care, in hunger and thirst, in cold and nakedness.

4. Let me now ask what has become of this practice? A very different one has crept in: men's ambitions have undergone a great change, and I would that the change were not for the worse! We have still among us, I admit, anxious care, wholesome emulation, and a sense of responsibility. These have been passed on to you without diminution. In support of what I say, there is the fact that you do not spare your substance any more than your predecessors did. But it is the change in the investment that makes the difference. It is a great abuse. Few look to the mouth of the lawgiver : all have regard to his hands. And not without good reason. The hands do all the Pope's business. Show me a man in the whole city of Rome who welcomed you as Pope without having his price, or hoping to get it. Even when they profess to be your very humble servants, they aim at being your masters. They pledge their fidelity only that they may more conveniently injure the confiding. Hence it is that there can be no deliberation from which they think they ought to be excluded; there will be no secret into which they do not worm their way. If the doorkeeper keeps one of them waiting a minute or two, I should not like to be in his shoes. Now for a few illustrations, so that you may know whether I understand this people's ways, and how far. First of all, they are wise to do evil, but they know not how to do good. Hateful to heaven and earth, they have laid hands on both ; they are impious towards God, heedless in holy things ; turbulent among themselves, jealous of their neighbours, barbarous to foreigners, they love no man and are loved of none ; and when they aim at being feared by all, all must fear. These are they who cannot bear to be beneath, though they are not qualified to be at the head, faithless to superiors, insufferable to inferiors. They have no modesty in asking, and no shame in refusing. They worry you to get what they want ; they cannot rest till they get it ; they have no gratitude once they have got it. They have taught their tongue to speak great things, when there is but little doing. They are lavish promisers, niggardly performers ; the smoothest of flatterers, and the worst of backbiters ; artless dissemblers, and malignant traitors. I allow myself to digress thus far because I think you ought to be fully and precisely admonished of these things which are around you.

5. Let us now return to our subject. How is it that churches are robbed to provide the purchase-money of the flatterers who cry 'Well done! Well done!'? The sustenance of the poor is scattered broadcast in the streets of the rich. The money glitters in the mud; men rush from all sides to get it; the poor man does not pick it up, but the stronger, or, it may be, the swiftest runner. Still, I must in fairness say this custom, or rather this deadly disease, did not begin with you; would that it might end with you. But let us proceed. Amid these surroundings you, the shepherd, parade in cloth of gold, with every luxury at your command. The sheep, what do they receive? If I might speak the truth, these are the pastures of demons rather than of sheep. Did Peter, forsooth, do such things, or Paul thus sport himself? You see that the one object of the Church's zeal is the preservation of your dignity. Honour claims all, holiness nothing, or but little. If for good reason you attempt to waive ceremony, and show a little friendliness, 'No,' say they: 'it is not becoming': 'it does not suit the time': 'it is not accordant with your rank': 'bear in mind the important part you play.' The last thing mentioned is the will of God; there is no hesitation because men's salvation is at stake; let us call nothing salutary but what is high and mighty; and whatever gives the scent of glory, let that be righteousness. Thus all humility is reckoned a disgrace among the inmates of the palace, so that you may more easily find a man who really is humble than you will one who is willing to appear so. The fear of the Lord is counted simplicity, not to say folly. They revile a prudent man, who is on good terms with his own conscience, as a hypocrite. A lover of quiet, moreover, who sometimes finds leisure to think about himself, they call a useless drone.

6. How is it then with you? Are you not yet awake, and on your guard against those who have surrounded you with the snares of death? Pray bear with me yet a little while. Nay, rather, pardon me when I say these things with less temerity than timidity. I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy, and I would it were as profitable as it is strong. I know where you dwell; unbelievers and subverters are with you. They are wolves, not sheep; but you are the shepherd of these as well as of the rest. The consideration will be profitable if it leads you to the discovery of some means of converting them lest they subvert you. They were sheep and turned into wolves; why despair of their turning back again into sheep? Here, here, I do not spare you, so that God may spare you. At least either deny that you are shepherd over this people, or show that you are. You will not deny it, lest he, whose chair you fill, deny that you are his heir. I mean, of course, Peter, who never, so far as can be ascertained, paraded himself decked with gems, or robed in silks; he was not covered with gold, he did not ride on a white steed, he was not surrounded by soldiers, nor fenced off from his flock by noisy attendants. He thought that without all this he could amply fulfil the salutary command, ‘If you love me, feed my sheep.’¹ In all this painted pomp you are not Peter’s successor, but Constantine’s. What I insist on is that while you may tolerate such pomp and glory to suit the time, you must not claim it as a debt due to you. I rather urge you to consider those things which are a debt due from you. If on state occasions you are robed in purple and decked with gold, I am sure this does not mean that you, the shepherd's heir, shrink from the shepherd's toil, or the shepherd's care; it does not imply that you are ashamed of the Gospel. Albeit, if you willingly preach the Gospel, you, too, have a glorious place among the apostles. To preach the Gospel is to feed the sheep. Do the work of an evangelist, and you have done the work of a shepherd.

7. 'You are advising me', you say, 'to feed dragons and scorpions, not sheep.' For that very reason, I reply, set about them; but with the word, not with the sword. Why should you again try to use the sword, which you were once for all bidden to put into its sheath? Yet if any one should deny that you have the sword, he does not seem to me to have paid sufficient attention to his Lord's words, 'Put back thy sword into the sheath.'² To you, then, the sword belongs, and it should be unsheathed, it may be with your consent, though not by your hand. Otherwise, if it no way belonged to you, when the apostles said, 'Lo, here are two swords,'³ the Lord would not have replied, 'It is enough'; He would have said, 'They are too many.' Both swords belong to the Church, the spiritual and the material; the one is to be used to defend the Church, but the other must even be banished from the Church; the one is wielded by the priest, the other by the soldier, but of course with your consent, and at the command of the Emperor. More of this elsewhere. Now, however, seize the sword which was entrusted to you that you might strike; wound, for the saving of their souls, if not all, if not many even, at all events as many as you can.

8. You say, 'I am not better than my fathers.' I will not ask to which of your fathers this exasperating house ever hearkened, which of them it did not mock. Therefore do you the more firmly take your stand if haply they may hear, and be still; insist even when they resist. When I speak thus, I shall, perhaps, be said to use extravagant language. Was it I who said, 'Be instant in season, out of season'?⁴ Call the apostle 'extravagant' if you dare. The prophet is commanded to 'cry aloud and cease not'.⁵ To whom was he to cry unless it was to the wicked and to sinners? 'Declare unto my people their wickedness, and to the house of Jacob their sins.'⁶ Carefully observe that the same people are called 'wicked', and 'the people of the Lord'. Take the same view of those with whom you have to do. Although they are wicked, although they are unrighteous, see that you are not told, 'Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of my brethren, ye did it not to me.'⁷ I admit that this people has ever been of a hard forehead and of a wild heart; but I fail to see how you can know that their heart cannot be tamed. What has never been may yet be. You may despair, but with God no word shall be impossible.⁸ If they are of a hard forehead, do you also harden yours. Nothing is so hard that it does not yield to that which is harder. The Lord said to the prophet, 'I have made thy forehead harder than their foreheads.'⁹ If you have so dealt with that people that you can say, 'My people, what ought I to have done for thee that I have not done,' this is your only sound defence. If you have thus done, and yet have done no good, there is still something that you can do, something that you can say. Go forth from Ur of the Chaldees,¹⁰ and say, ‘I must preach the Gospel also to other cities.’¹¹ I think you will not regret your exile if you exchange Rome for the world.

9. Let us come to your colleagues¹ and coadjutors at the Lateran. They are busy on your behalf: they are the inner circle of your friends. It follows that if they are good, you more than any one else reap the benefit; if they are bad, you more than any one else bear the loss. Do not say you are well if you have a pain in your side; what I mean is, do not say you are good if you rely on bad men. To put it differently, suppose you are good, what fruit (as I remember saying in a former book) can your goodness, the goodness of an individual man, bear? What profit does your individual righteousness bring to the churches of God, when the prevalent views are those of men otherwise disposed? The truth is that not even your own goodness beset by bad men is safer than bodily health would be with a serpent hard by. There is no escaping from this internal mischief. And on the other hand, if you have good men about you, the oftener they assist you the better. But whether your colleagues relieve or aggravate your cares, who deserves the credit of it more than yourself for either choosing or admitting such men? I do not speak of all; for there are some whom you have not chosen; they have chosen you. But they have no power except what you have either given or allowed them. So we come back to the same point. Blame yourself for whatever you have to suffer at the hands of him who has no more power than what you have given him. As to the rest, with these exceptions, the men for the work of this ministry, as you perceive, are not to be elected or collected without due consideration. It is your duty, like Moses, to summon, whencesoever, and admit to their office, old men, not young men;² old, I mean, not so much in years as character; men whom you have got to know because they are the elders of the people. Surely they who are to judge the world ought to be chosen out of the whole world. By no means let a man meddle with this business because he begs the office. Deliberation, not entreaty, must be your guide to action. Some things we must yield to importunate request, or grant to deserving need. But in so doing we are disposing of our own. When, however, it is not lawful for me to do as I wish myself, the petitioner has no standing-place, unless, perchance, his petition is that his wish may lawfully be mine, and not simply that it may be mine. One man intercedes for another; another perhaps even asks for himself. Suspect the man on whose behalf you are entreated : the man who asks for himself is already judged. It does not matter whether a man himself asks, or does so through another man. If a cleric who does not belong to the court is always about the court, you may be sure he is the sort of person who is on the look out for favours. A flatterer, and a man who smooths his tongue to suit everybody, regard as a petitioner, even if he asks for nothing. There is nothing in the scorpion's face to cause alarm; the sting is in the tail.

10. If, as mostly happens, you find your heart softening under the blandishments of such men, remember what is written, 'Every man setteth on first the good wine, and when men have drunk freely, then that which is worse.'³ You should set the same value on the humility of the man who fears and of the man who hopes. The crafty and deceitful man has a peculiar knack of putting on the garb of humility when he wishes to get something; he is like those of whom the Scripture says, 'There is a wicked man who hangeth down his head sadly, but inwardly he is full of deceit.'⁴ To see how true this is, take a clear and familiar illustration from among yourselves. How many of suppliant mien have you admitted whom you have afterwards had to put up with in their moroseness, insolence, stubbornness, rebellion? The secret mischief, hidden at first, is at last revealed. The stripling full of words, aiming at eloquence, when he is void of wisdom, you should look upon as every way the enemy of righteousness. To guard you against false brethren of this sort your Master says, 'Lay hands hastily on no man.'⁵

11. So, then, having shut out the whole race of these pestilent men, make it your chief care to bring in those whose admission you will not afterwards regret. The frequent revision of your own acts is discreditable, and it is not fitting that your judgement should be frequently called in question. Accordingly, diligently examine for yourself, and with the assistance of the men who love you, whatever is to be done. Examine beforehand, because, once the thing is done, correction is too late. The wise man's counsel is, 'Do nothing without counsel, and when thou hast once done thou shalt not repent.'⁶ And be assured of this, that men fit to be admitted can hardly find favour with the court ; if possible, therefore, your choice should be of men approved, not to be proved. We, in our monasteries, welcome all sorts of men in the hope of doing them good, but the court has been accustomed to more readily welcome good men than make men good. If, however, as we have shown, there have been at the court more good men who have failed than bad men who have improved, we must certainly look for men whose failure we need not fear, and whose progress we need not desire, inasmuch as they are already perfect.

12. So then, in choosing men, select not him that willeth, nor him that runneth, but such as hesitate or refuse ; even put pressure on these, and compel them to come in. Your spirit may rest in such, I think, as are not of a shameless forehead, but are modest, and have the fear of God ; who fear nothing but God, and hope for nothing but from God ; who observe not the hands of those who approach them, but their necessities ; who stand up manfully for the afflicted, and judge in equity for the meek upon earth ; men who are of orderly life, proved holiness, ready to obey, meek in suffering, submissive under discipline, stern in censuring, who hold the Catholic faith, are faithful in their stewardship, lovers of peace and concord, consistent in maintaining unity ; men upright in judgement, prudent in counsel, discreet in commanding, careful in planning, strenuous in action, modest in speech; tranquil in adversity, devout in prosperity; as regards zeal, sober-minded; prone to pity; in leisure time not idle; given to hospitality, but not too convivial; careful in business affairs, but not anxious; not covetous of another man's goods, nor lavish of their own; everywhere, and under all circumstances, circumspect; men who when bidden, and necessity requires, would not decline to serve as ambassadors for Christ, nor unbidden would aspire to the office, nor make their modest excuses a plea for obstinate refusal; who when sent do not go after gold, but follow Christ; who do not regard their commission as so much gain, nor look for reward, but seek fruit; who in the eyes of kings are as John, to the Egyptians are as Moses, to fornicators as Phinees, to idolaters as Elijah, to the covetous as Elisha, to liars as Peter, to blasphemers as Paul, to traffickers as Christ; who do not despise the common people, but teach them; do not flatter the rich, but frighten them; do not oppress the poor, but cherish them; do not dread the threats of rulers, but despise them; do not make a great to-do when they enter on their work, nor show signs of anger when they leave it; who do not rob the churches, but improve them; do not empty men's pockets, but refresh their hearts, and correct their offences; who take care of their own reputation, and do not envy another man his; who zealously cultivate prayerful habits, and in everything rely more on prayer than on their own industry and labour; whose coming bringeth peace, whose departure we regret; whose speech is edifying, their life righteous, their presence a pleasure, their memory blessed; who to the individual are amiable not in word, but in deed, while they command the respect of the world at large, not by their arrogance, but by the discharge of their duties; who are humble with the humble, and innocent with the innocent ; who sternly rebuke the hardened, restrain the wicked, duly recompense the proud ; who are not swift to enrich themselves or their relations with the portion of the widow, and the patrimony of the Crucified ; who freely give what they have freely received, judgement to those who suffer wrong, vengeance on nations, rebuking peoples ; who, in short, like the seventy whom Moses chose, are perceived to have taken of your spirit, and by it, whether absent or present, strive to please you, and to please God ; who return to you, weary indeed, but not laden with gifts ; while they even glory, not because they have brought with them all the curiosities and treasures of the lands, but because they have left behind them peace to kingdoms, the law for barbarians, quiet for monasteries, order for the churches, discipline for the clergy, a people acceptable to God, zealous of good works.

13. I think it worth while to here plunge into the story of our dear brother Martin, whose memory is sweet to me. You have heard the story, but may not perhaps remember it. He was a Cardinal Presbyter,¹ and for some time was Legate in Dacia, but returned so poor that with his money almost gone, and the horses nearly worn out, he could scarcely reach Florence. There the bishop of the place gave him a horse, on which he rode as far as Pisa, where we happened to be at the time. The next day, I think it was, the bishop, who had a lawsuit pending, with the day of hearing rapidly approaching, followed Martin, and began to solicit the votes of his friends. One by one their support had been solicited, and then came Martin's turn. The bishop relied more upon him, because he could not be unmindful of the recent act of kindness. Martin thus replied: 'You have deceived me. I did not know that this business was so close. Take your horse: there it is in the stable.' And that very hour he gave it up to him. What say you to that, my dear Eugenius? To think of a legate returning from a land of gold without gold! Does it not sound like news from another world? To think of his passing through a land of silver, and not know silver! Above all, to have at once rejected a gift which might not have been free from suspicion!

14. But oh! how glad I am here to have an opportunity of reviving the memory of a man who bears a name of sweetest fragrance. I mean Gaufrid, Bishop of Carnotes, who for many years, at his own expense, vigorously conducted an embassy churches, where baptism might be administered, which were therefore called Ecclesiae vel Tituli Cardinales. Stillingfleet was of opinion that they were the chief Presbyters 'in large and populous cities . . . chosen out from the rest, to be as the Bishop's Council', and were therefore called Cardinales Presbyteri. See Bingham, Antiq. I, p. 276. 'As the name of "pope" or "papa" was originally common to all bishops, so the chief presbyters and deacons of any church to which a cure of souls was attached were apt to have the term "Cardinal" applied to them by way of distinction long before it was applied to the presbyters and deacons of the parish churches of Rome in particular' (Dict. Christ. Antiq., s. v. 'Cardinal'). There were twenty-eight chief parish churches in the city. in Aquitania. What I speak of, I saw myself. I was with him in that country when a certain priest presented him with a fish generally called a sturgeon. The legate inquired how much it would fetch. ‘I cannot’, said he, ‘accept it unless you receive the value’; and he paid the would-be donor, reluctant and blushing to take the money, five gold pieces. On another occasion, when we were in a certain town, a lady of the place devoutly offered him, together with a towel, two or three dessert-dishes, of beautiful workmanship, but made of wood. The man of tender conscience gazed at them for some time, and praised them, but he would not accept them. Was he likely ever to receive silver dishes after refusing wooden ones? Nobody could say to the legate, ‘We have made Abraham rich.’² But he, like Samuel, was thus speaking freely to all: ‘Witness against me before the Lord, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I taken a bribe? and I will this day despise it, and I will restore it to you.’³ Oh! that there were given to us plenty of men such as these we have glanced at. You would be the happiest man in the world, and the age the most delightful. Would not the blessedness of those times seem to you only next to the joys of eternity, when, wherever you turned, you saw yourself surrounded on all sides with so glorious a band of the blessed?

15. If I know you, you are perplexed; you sigh deeply and say to yourself, ‘Do you suppose that is ever likely to come to pass?’ Your thoughts run thus—‘Our present position is plain enough. How far is what you tell me possible? May I live and have the good fortune of seeing it accomplished! Oh! that I might be spared to behold the Church of God supported by such pillars! Oh! if I might see my Lord's spouse in the keeping of such fidelity, entrusted to such purity! How blessed would be my lot! how safe! if I might behold about me men of that class both guarding and bearing witness to my life, to whom I might safely impart my secrets, and communicate my plans; to whom I might pour out my heart as to a second self; who, if I wished to turn aside, would not allow me, would check me in my headlong course: would wake me out of my slumber; whose respectful freedom would check my pride and correct my error; whose constancy and courage would steady me when wavering, cheer me when desponding; whose faith and holiness would urge me on to whatsoever things are holy, whatsoever things are honourable, whatsoever things are modest, whatsoever things are lovely and of good report.' Now, my dear Eugenius, look once more at the present condition of the Court or Church, and the pursuits of the prelates, particularly of those who are about your person.

16. So far, so good. But I have only gently touched the wall, I have not dug into it.⁴ You may dig and see, like the son of the prophet. I must not go farther. One obvious remark I will make. Your attendants ridiculously endeavour to take precedence of their fellow presbyters. This is contrary to reason, to antiquity, and to the general consent of authority. And if trickery works, as is commonly the case, its own downfall, surely better this than that the highest order be despised. However that may be, their chief plea in defence of their ambitious efforts is very absurd. 'We', say they, 'are those who at every function are more closely associated with our master, the Holy Father; when he sits, we sit nearest to him; when he goes in procession, we follow next to him.' All this is not a privilege accorded to rank, but a debt due from assiduous service ; through the very formalities of service the work gives meaning to the name of 'deacon'. In short, while the presbyters in ordered session surround the throne, ye deacons stand at the foot. Ye stand near that your master may have you in greater readiness. In the Gospels we read that 'there arose a strife among the disciples as to which of them might seem to be the greatest'.⁵ You would be happy, Eugenius, if the rest of the things around you could be controlled after the same pattern.⁶

17. We are now tired of the Court ; let us leave the palace ; they are waiting for us at home. The inmates are not only around you, but in a way they are inside you. It is not superfluous to consider how you propose to order your household, to provide for those who are in your lap and in your bosom. I say that the consideration is not only not superfluous, but that it is necessary. Listen to Paul's words, 'If a man knoweth not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God ?'¹ And again, 'If any man provideth not for his own, and specially his own household, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever.'² When I say this, I am not admonishing you, occupied as you are with matters of the highest importance, to devote yourself to the lowest; in a way, to grow less, and spend on trifles what you owe to weighty affairs. Why entangle yourself in those things from which God has rescued you? ‘All these things’, He says, ‘shall be added unto you.’³ Still, you ought to do these things, and not leave the others undone. But while you personally attend to the great things, you should also personally provide representatives to see to your little things. For if a single servant cannot at the same time look after the cattle, and take charge of the tables, how can you without assistance attend both to your own house and to the house of the Lord? Of this latter we read, ‘O Israel, how great is the house of the Lord!’⁴ Your mind, intent on matters of so great and so varied importance, ought, in fact, to be relieved of all anxiety for more trifling and baser things. It should be free from all prepossessing and engrossing occupations. It should be of such nobility that no unworthy affection can drag it down. It should be so straightforward that no evil purpose can turn it aside. It should be cautious without harbouring stealthy suspicion. It should be watchful lest it be distracted by impertinent and inquisitive thoughts. It should be so rooted and grounded that it be not shaken by any sudden blast.⁵ It should be invincible, so that it sink not under even lasting tribulation. It should be so large that it can find ample room for any temporal loss.

18. Be quite sure that you must be stripped of these blessings, and smitten with these curses, if you divide your attention and wish to share yourself between the things of God and your own trivial affairs. You must get some one for the work, some one to do the grinding for you. For you, I say, not with you. There are some things you will do yourself, some with the assistance of other men, and some entirely through the agency of others. Who is a wise man, and he will understand these things? You must not let your consideration go to sleep over them. Now, in my opinion, the details of your household management belong to the class last mentioned. As I have intimated, you will do them by means of someone else. But your representative, if he be not faithful, will cheat; if he be not prudent, men will cheat him. So then, you must look out for a man both faithful and prudent to set over your household.⁶ Still, he will be useless if a third quality be lacking. Do you ask what this is? It is authority. For what is the good of his wishing to manage, and knowing how, as necessity arises, if he cannot act according to his wishes and his knowledge? You must therefore give him a free hand. If you think this is unreasonable, bear in mind that he is a faithful servant, who, nevertheless, desires to follow reason; and he is a prudent servant, who, nevertheless, knows how to follow reason. But a faithful and sagacious will can only avail when it is so adequately supported that it can act with perfect ease and freedom, and command the unhesitating obedience of all. All the rest must therefore be under him. Let him brook no opposition. Let there be no one to say, 'Why have you done so?' Let him have power to shut out and let in whom he chooses, to change the servants, to transfer the service to whom he likes and when he likes. Let all so fear him that all may benefit by him. Let him be before all that he may be a boon to all, and in all respects. Do not lend an ear when he is secretly disparaged by whisperers and backbiters; rather rebuke such slanderers. And I would like you to make a general rule of regarding with suspicion any man who is afraid to say openly what he has told you privately. But if in your judgement it ought to be told face to face, and he refuse, pronounce him an informer, not an accuser.

19. So then let one person assign their several duties to all the rest, and let the rest be responsible to the one person. You should trust him, and so gain time for yourself and the Church of God. If the choice lies between a trustworthy servant and a prudent one, it is better to appoint the former. Of the two this is certainly the safer course. However, if you cannot find a suitable person, even if a man be not so faithful as he ought, I advise you to put up with it rather than lose your way in this labyrinth of domestic care. Remember that Judas was our Lord's steward.⁷ What is more disgraceful for a bishop than that he should spend his energy on his furniture, and his bit of property? He should not be always prying into things, asking about every thing, eaten up with suspicion, and disturbed at every little loss or symptom of neglect. I say this to shame some of that sort, who never let a day pass without taking an inventory of all their belongings, reckoning up every item, and demanding an account of mites and farthings. Not so the Egyptian who gave up all to Joseph, and knew not what he had in his house.⁸ The Christian should blush who cannot trust a Christian with his property. He was not a believer, but he had faith in his servant, and set him over all his goods—and the servant was a foreigner.

20. Herein is a marvellous thing. The bishops can command men enough and to spare for the trust of souls, and yet cannot find a single person in whose hands they may place their small estates. They must be excellent judges of the relative values of things to take such great care of the smallest matters, and so little of the greatest. But, as we are given to clearly understand, we do more patiently suffer Christ's loss than our own. We meet our daily expenditure with a daily scrutiny, and know nothing of the constant damage which the Lord's flock sustains. There is a daily discussion with our servants about the price of food and the number of loaves: a conference with our presbyters to consider the sins of our people is a very rare occurrence. The ass falls, and there is some one to lift him up: the soul perishes, and no one takes account thereof. And no wonder, when we do not perceive our own unceasing defects! Are we not angry, do we not burn with indignation, are we not tormented with anxiety, whenever we cast up the figures? How much more patiently should we bear material than mental loss! 'Wherefore', says the Apostle, 'do ye not rather suffer to be defrauded?'⁹ You who teach others, pray teach yourself, if you have not already done so, to set a higher price upon yourself than upon your belongings. Those transitory things which cannot abide with you, make them pass away from you, not through you. The flowing stream hollows out a channel for itself; similarly temporal things coursing through the mind eat away the conscience. If the torrent can sweep across the fields without injuring the crops, you may confidently expect to handle such matters without mental hurt. I counsel you by all means to endeavour to divert the onset of these things. Many of them should be unknown to you, the greater number be unnoticed, some forgotten.

21. There are, however, some things as to which I would not have you ignorant : I refer to the character and pursuits of your various servants. You ought not to be the last to know the faults of your household, which, as we are aware, is the experience of very many. Wherefore, as I have said, let another manage the rest, but do you yourself see to the discipline. Trust that to nobody. If in your presence there is any tendency to arrogant conversation, or showy dress, stretch out your hand against such offences ; be yourself the avenger of the wrong done to you. Impunity is the mother of audacity, audacity brings forth excess. Holiness becomes the house of a bishop, modesty becomes it, good repute becomes it ; the guardian of all these is discipline. The priests of the household are either more highly esteemed than others, or they are the common talk. In the look, dress, gait of the priests about your person you should allow no trace of immodesty or indecency. Let your fellow bishops learn from you not to have about them boys with their hair curled, or effeminate youths.¹⁰ It is surely unbecoming for a bishop to go hither and thither surrounded by fops who wear the turban and use the curling iron. And remember the admonition of the wise man, ‘They are thy daughters : make not thy face cheerful toward them.’¹¹

22. And yet what I am commending to you is not austerity, but gravity. The former puts to flight the weaklings ; the latter checks the frivolous. If a man be austere, he is odious : if he be not grave, he becomes contemptible ; yet in everything there is a happy medium. I would not have you act with too great severity, nor with too great laxity. What is more pleasing than that moderation which prevents your severity making you oppressive, and your familiarity making you contemptible? In the palace be the Holy Father, at home the father of the family. Let your household love you; if they do not, make them fear you. It is always well to so keep the door of the lips as not to shut out the grace of affability. The hasty tongue must therefore always be bridled, but specially at the feast. Your deportment will be most fitting if in action you are strict, in look cheerful, in speech serious. Let not the chaplains, and those who are associated with you in the divine offices, be without honour. It is for you to provide yourself with such men as are worthy. Let all pay attention to them, as it is to yourself. Let them receive at your hand what is necessary for their support. Let them be content with the provision you make for them, and do you see that they want not. If you catch one of them begging more from your visitors, judge him as you would Gehazi;¹² and you must have the same rule for the doorkeepers, and the other officials. But all this is superfluous, for I remember that you long ago planned it all. What is more worthy of your apostleship? What more wholesome for your conscience, more conducive to good report, more profitable by way of example? It is an excellent rule to banish greed beyond the reach of scandal,¹³ and not only to be innocent of it.

23. I will now bring this book to a close, but in ending I should like by way of epilogue to either recapitulate some things already said, or add some which I passed over. Before all, consider that the holy Roman Church of which God has made you head, is the mother of churches, not their mistress ; but that you are not sovereign lord of the bishops, but one of them, the brother, too, of those who love God, and a partaker with them that fear Him. As for the rest, consider that you ought to be a model of righteousness, a mirror of holiness, a pattern of piety, theasserter of truth, the defender of the faith, the teacher of nations, the guide of Christians, the friend of the bridegroom, the leader of the bride to her spouse, the ordainer of the clergy, the shepherd of the people, the instructor of the foolish, the refuge of the oppressed, the advocate of the poor, the hope of the wretched, the protector of the fatherless, the judge of the widow, the eye of the blind, the tongue of the dumb, the staff of the aged, the avenger of wickedness, the fear of bad men, the glory of the good, a rod for the powerful, a hammer for tyrants, the father of kings, the mitigater of laws, the dispenser from canons, the salt of the earth, the light of the world, the priest of the Most High, the vicar of Christ, the Lord's anointed, and lastly the God of Pharaoh. Understand what I say : the Lord will give thee understanding. When power and wickedness go hand in hand, we must claim something for you more than human. Let your countenance be upon them that do evil.¹ Let him who fears not man, nor dreads the sword, fear the breath of your anger. Let him fear your prayer who has despised your admonition. Let him think that he who incurs your wrath incurs the wrath not of man but of God. He who has not heard you, let him quake at the thought that God will hear you, and will be against him. We now turn to the discussion of what remains, namely, the things above you. I shall hope, with God's help, to pay this debt in one book, and so be quit of my promise.