ST.

BERNARD

OF CLAIRVAUX

.A..~D FRIENDSHIP

a. Introductory The twelfth century renaissance. lih that of the ninth century. marks i\ hirh r-ofnt in the medieval cult of friendship. so dee~lv rooted in that world that never forgot Cicero. Tn the twelfth century. friendship becomes more cleer I~,. mystically. chrlstian than ever before. especially in rr onastic circles. Thil' is seen very clearly in St. Bernard of Clairvaux. whose rirndships unite practical asceticism and tender mysticism. Unlih the ninth century renaissance. that of the twelfth century was a seerlar movement whose 'motivating concepts. rfLtiO and natura,' were secular in character. Thinkers such as Alan of J .ille, aIthou!th Christian. are at ar")other frontier of Christianity from St. Bernard. Yet Bernard and the school of Cistercian mysticism as well as the Carthusicm and Victorine schools. form rart of that renaissance, perhaps even its most rna-mihcent exnression. For it was an age of humanism. and. aIthon~h William and Bernard were anti-dialecticians, and not metaphysicians. they were products of secular literary formation which they brought into the cloister. Ovid was forbidden there. but Cicero had an important role to play in mystical theology and in Friendship ideals. For although it was not a source of Cistercian mysticism as such. Cicero's De Amicitia nevertheless affected it. through ideas that could be adapted to the needs of the tweHth century : benevolence. disinterestedness and reciprocity. Moreover. his description of the power of friendshin to make one soul is not unrelated to the mvstics' doctrine of unity of spirit (1). . . . To St. Bernard. all rove is rooted in the love of God and therefore is an affection , not a contract: Affectus est. non contractus. ; This affection of love is, if not the equivalent. at' least analogous to the vision
---'- -

Starc Ende

in den geeste vele begrlpende in therte (Beatrijs van Nazareth).

(I) Maria-Dominique C hen u , Naturalisme et Theologie au XIIe siecle. in' RechercllCs de Science Religieuse 37. 1950. 12. Etienne G i Iso n , La Theologie Mvstique de Saint Bernard. Paris 1931, pp. 14. 20-23. 1(;8. Cf. articles on St. Bernard in OTC. OS; Jean L ec Ie r c q , Etudes sur saint Bernard et le Texte de ses Ecrus, Analecta Sacri Ordinis Cislerciensis 1953. fasc. 1-2. The study of St. Bernard's idea of friendship Will be confined to his letters. .

A. FISKE

ST.

BERNARD

AND

FRIENDSHIP

of bodies. God is sensible :. to the heart that loves; Jove then is a vision. For Bernard. knowledge is based entirely on a lihness of the subject knowing to the object known. For man to know himself is to see the image of God; he is miserable. for he is nothing of himself. and the q: likeness :. has been lost by sin. but he is also great. for the image remains. though defaced. curva. bowed to the earth. The image for Bernard is in the will. in freedom. This is the hedrocI< of Cistercian' mysticism. and it may be perceived behind all that St. Bernard thought and felt about friendship. The link of union between the soul and God is charity. bound as sweetly as securely. adhering to God. one spirit with him. :. Unity of spirit is 4: rikeness. :. perfect accord of strncture and life. for the only way one spirit can become another without ceasing to be itself. is by perfect resemblance to the other. The distinctive characteristic of Bernard's mysticism is this linking of mystical union with the nature of the divine image in man (2). The opposition of memory to presence. which has technical imoort in Bernard and his followers. - memory being the movement by which the soul rises from remembrance of the passion of Christ to mystic union. while waiting for the beatific vision (3) - has its echo in his human friendships. As the memory of Christ is less desirable than his mystical presence, so is the memory of his friends. or any form of spiritua] presence less satisfying than their actual. visible presence. The wound and languor of love. of which he so often speaks to his friends. is, in his mysticism. the state of the lover in the absence of the beloved, which is cured and purified. not. as in later mystics. by its own anguish. but by the ardor and presence of ecstacy. One other aspect of his thought may clarify Bernard's attitude toward his friends. He maintains the Augustinian principle of the inviolability of soirits. the mutual impenetrability of angels to each other. of men, and angels. and of men to each other. There can be no direct. union of spirit to spirit, by the law of mutually dosed consciousness. Only God can penetrate the human soul. Therefore God must b(" the Bnl< between friends, who must remain obscure to each other in this life. even as God Himself is. St. Anselm's conscious Jove:. is rarely mentioned by Bernard. I!- is furthetinteresting to note that three di~tind but Interrelated thourht-crours in Bemard's doctrine of love have their parallels in the langualte of friendship. There is. first. the Scriptnral thought that God is love, that Jove must be his gift. that the presence of love in the soul is a substitute for the presence and vision of God. There is, secondly. lhe ecstatic element (excessus). the going out wholly to the beloved to exist wholly in him. 4: fused even in this life in love; and. most important. the image-likeness to God, formed by this Jove. There is. finally. the Benedictine ascesis, of renunciation of one's own will. of all
(2) G i Iso n , 72. 93, 172. 174. 177. (3) G i Iso n, 104-105.

,.,

------

that is one's own (proprium). an expropriation })which leads to charity (4). An equally interesting link between divine love and friendship appears in this ascesis, which is the means of restoring the likeness to God in love. For the school of love is the monastery. \Vhilc a Carthusian in his cell must Jove his solitude. the Cistercian must learn to cherish the perhaps heavier burden of common life like a friendship. Dwelling together 'with his brethren. - how good it is - the monk emerges from the land of unlikeness to the land of likeness. and monastic life becomes an analogy of heaven. a cloistered Paradise. Unlike Casstan, however, who makes the schooling mainly negative - love of the brethren meaning renouncement of self-will and of anger - Bernard makes love a positive. creative ascent : love and compassion for others grow oul of sell-knowledge and self-love. and still further expand to a carnal love for Christ. The love of friends. of brethren. thus leads to love of Christ. and as that love is spiritualized. the other loves are not destroyed. but perfected and fulfilled. For Bemard does not speak of any destruction of the creature; his concept of r ure love includes, rather than excludes. all otheraffections, for it orders }) them. Pure love means a daring confidence (fiducia) that is a liberation of the soul (5). The Charta caritatis may well have been the immediate inspiration for this interweaving of fraternal charity and love of God. of monastic life and paradise in St. Bernard's doctrine. It was the work of St. Stephen Harding, although the preface is of later composition. Bllt both prelace and body of the document use the language of friendship in speakinq of the mutual relations of members of the monastic communities. and its purpose is to create and preserve union of soul by likcmess of ideal and way of life. and by loving intercourse and mutual aid. thus helping one another to attain union with God (6). The aim of the Charta is. negatively. to prevent the differences and mitigations sanctioned in even good Benedictine houses that would affect the relations between the various houses in diversis mundi parttbus. " Its positive purr ose is to legislate for the sake of love (caritas) alone. and of what will profit souls in both divine and human things. Its decrees
(4) G i Iso n , 3(-44. The texts are all from 1 Joan. lv, 7. 9. 13. 16. 19. 19, 20. Gilson speaks of 8 fourth hloc. the doctrine of liberty derived from Romans, p. 44, n. I. Cr. p. 45. n. 1, on the influence of SI.. Augustine on Bernard's doctrine of love. (5) Ibid . 107 : regio dissimilitudinis ... similitudines; also 102-103. 145. 1(3: 112-113 : fiducia. St. Bernard uses the terms carnolis, carnoliter in ref<'fence to love of Christ's sacred humanity. Serra. 20 in Cant. 5-8 (PI.. 183, 869b. 8708). It is a good love. a love of feeling . (0 Chm'(a carilatis, in Sta:u~a capitulorum generalium ordinis cisterciansi!; ad anno 1116 ad annum 1786, ed. D. Josephus-M. Can i v e z , Louvaln, 10331941. I. pp. xxv-xxxi. Cf. Watkin Will i a m s , Monastic Studies. Manchester 1938, 77. Citeaux was founded 1098. confirmed in 1100 by a bull of Pascal II; 1108 at the death of Alberto, Stephen Harding was elected abbot; 1112 Bernard

A. FISKE
ST. BERNARD AND FRIENDSHIP
9

are to elucidate and regulate how the monks, separated in different parts of the world. are to be indissolubly united in soul. The statutes. of the document proper have as their aim the salvation of souls. whatever will profit them. This is to be attained by the graGr. of charity that is both unity and union. by a reformation of the good of peace and love. The unity is ordained by the divine Pieios, as the work of God's love. It is conceived in fidelity to the principles of early Benedictine monasticism as a domestic. a family unity. The Novum monasterium is called the ivlother. so too each house is <t Mother to its foundations and the order as a whole is Mother. The monks are sons, domestics and coheirs (7). They must bear. then. a family likem's3. For their unity is the product of similarity. All are under one Rule, and one interpretation of the one Rule: all follow the same customs, have the same liturgical observances. And all serve the one King. Lord and Master. Therefore all are bound by one love. Paternal authority provides union of will and opinion. for this unity is not the fruit of fidelity to the letter of a written constitution only. but of living a life of surrender to the will of persons. the abbot and the brethren (8). entered and. with the increase of monks. foundations were made of the .first four daughter monasteries : La Ferte (Firmttas) 1113. Pontigny (Pontiniacnm) 1114. Clairvaux and Morimond (Claravallis. Morimundus) in 111 '5. The charta caritatis determined the relations of these and future monasteries. Can i v e z I. p. xxvi : In hoc ergo decreto predieti [rairee mutne paeis futurum precavpnles naufragium ... Cf. G. deB e auf 0 r t , La charte de c1write eistereicnne ef Sari evolution. Revue d;histoire ecclesiastiqup 40. 1954. 403; 429 : Hoc eLiam decretum cartam carita tis vocari censebant quia eius statu/urn omnis exactionis gravamen prooulsans solam caritatem et unimarum utili/atem in divinis humanisque exequHur. (7) Can i v e z , 1. p. xxvi : In hoc ergo decreto predicti fralres ... elncidaverunt eJ. stotuerunt, suisque posteris reliquerunt. quo pacto quove modo. immo qua caritaie monachi eorum. per abbacias in diversis murul! partibus corpor-ibus divisi animis indissolubiliter conglutinaren/ur. The preface is. by infernal evidence. of later composition. Can i v e z . Statuta. 1. C. xvi, p. xxviit, Ibid .. C. II. p. xxvi : cum animarum; C. i. p. xxvi : Proclesse illis omnibusque sande ecclesie filii~ cupientes ... C. Ii, p. xxvi: Curam lamen animarum illortlln gratia carilalis retinere volumus ... C. xvi, p. xxviii: In quo capitulo : ... si quid est emcndandum vel augendum ordinent, bonum pacis ef carifatis inter se rejormf)nt. C. i, p. xxvi : ... quos per (Iiversa loca Dei pietas ... ordinaperit ... Also C. vi. p. xxxvii : C. xxii, p. xxix; C. xxix, p. xxx: C. xxvi, p. xxx, C., xxviii. p. xxx : it is curious that the language here is from the parable of the prodir,al son. but father is replaced by mother ). This is Bernard's concept of his relation to his sons. The text here says : ... si quis illorum ad se reversus de morle anime sue rcsurgere e/ ad matrem suam redire voluerit. tanquam filius penitens recipiatur. Also C. xxviit, C. xxx, p. xxx. '. (8) Ibid . C. Iv, p, xxvii : ... una regula ... vivamus ... - C. Hi, p. xxvii ; Nunc vero I'olumus illisque precipimus ut regulam beati Benedicti per omnia observent s'cuti in..novo monustorto observatur. Non alium inducant sensum in lectionem sande requle, sed sicut antecessores nostri saneti patres. monachi scilic~l

The obstacles to this union are foreseen to be discord of opmron and of will. and also avarice. which in early religious poetry was often described as the opposite of love. There must also he no exceptions: all must follow the same common institutions (9). The chief means of maintaining this bond of love is that of frequent intercourse. especially by visitations. The more often the father abbot comes to visit. the more the monasteries should rejoice. Joy and presence are thus identified. The general chapters provide yearly meetings of the abbots. And there are the obligations of correction, - to be given with charity. counsel. and mutual help (10). Love is seen as union. and as a fire that unites the monks, burning together with the very great fire of charity. There is nothing new in this. nor in the family character of the bond of fathers and sons and brothers. \\'hat is new is the language of friendship to the relations of monks. It can hardly be accidental that this document. of such !treat importance to all Cistercians. should contain already the very ideas that are characteristic of St. Bernard's teaching on love. and that Form his idea of friendship as well as of love of God. In the first place. the concepts of benevolence. disinterestedness. reciprocity and likeness. especially in union of will. all lead to unity of Spirit; and secondly. the Chw,ta insti tutlonalizes a necessary relation between fraternal love and the attainment of perfection and union with God. This is found in Christian thought from Augustine and Gregory the Great on. but Bernard incorporates it novi monaslerii. intellexerunt ei tenuerunt. et nos hodie intelligimus et tenemus. Ha et isii intellegant et teneant. - C. I, p. xxvi : Quia unius veri regis et domini et magistri nos omnes servos licet inuiiles esse cognoscimus ... C. IV. p. xxvit : ., .quatinus in actibus nostris nulla sit discordia. sed una cariloie, una regula. similibusque vivamus moribus. C. XIX. p. xxix : Si vero pro diTJersitatesenlenliarum in discordiam causa devenerit. illud inde irrefragabiliter teneatur quod abbas cisterciensis et hi qui sanioris consilii et magis Monei apparuerint indicabunt.... This applies to the General Chapter. But even the abbot of the New Monastery must respect the will of his brethren. C. VIII. p. xxvii : Abbas au/em novi monasterii caveat ne quicquam presumat tractare aut contingere de rebus illius loci ad quem uenerii contra abbatis vel fratrum voluntatem. (9) For example the hymn. De caritate et avarilia. PLAC II. pp. 255-257. in which the verses alternately praise caritas and condemn avaritia. In Cassian. it was anger that was considered contrary to caritas. This seemed to be the teaching of the desert fathers. and is found also in the Philokalia. see Writing., from the Philokalia. on Prayer of the Heart, tr. by K a dIe u b 0 v ski and Palmer. London 1951. - Canivez. C. V. p. xxvii. (10) Can i v e z , C. vi. p. xxvii. C. vi. p. xxvii. C. x, p. xxvii : Et si Iratres ampiius uisiiaoerit, inde magis gaudeant. C. xv, p. xxvii; C. Ix, p. xxvii : ... cum consilio presentis abbatis caritative studeat fratres corrigere. Also. C. xvtt, p. xxviii : correction of an abbot. C. xxv, p. xxix; xxvi, p. xxx; xxix, p. xxx [corriqere]. C. x, p. xxix : Tunc singuli abbates maximo caritatis igne Succensi illius ecclesia penuriam rehus a Deo sihi collalis. prout habuerint, sustentare festillent. C. xx, p. xxix : Maximo caritatisigne succensus.

10

A. FISKE

ST.

BERNARD

AND

FRIENDSHIP

11

into his system of thought as the Charta had Incorporated it into the institutions of Cistercian monasticism. It is, in fact, onlv in monastic circles that true Frienctshin FJomi-"lect, in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Feudalism had ado-ited tl-e Innguage of friendship, and so too did courtly poetry. But the monastic milcu formed a sharp contrast with the unchristian morals and customs in the contemporarv world. The monl<s were an element of civilizat'on and humanization as well as of christianization, bv tl'eir enrichment of human feeling and refinement of affectivity that revealed new resources in human nature. Their tenderness was shown to Christ and to their friends, and by the interplay of this double love, which they saw as only one, these men of God evolved a spirituality drawn not from boob but from their own souls. This was by no means confined to the Cistercians, as the letters of Peter de Celie and Peter the Venerable amr ly prove. These men and their contemporaries were not equal to Bernard. but made it possib!e for him to exist (u).

The first letter of Bernard to William of Saint Thierry is the most important, and also, perhaps, the most significant of all his letters, in regard to Bernard's mind on friendship. \Villiam has complained ~ Bernard does not love him as much as he loves Bernard. Plus amans., , minus diligar. Even the salutation of the letter forms part of Bernard's answer, for he wishes William love " from a pure heart and a good conscience and an unfeigned faith : purity and faith are conditions for love. For Bernard's thesis in this letter seems to he almost the contrary of St. Anselm's central theme. Where Anselm appeals to the friend's mutual consciousness of their friendship. Bernard questions whether one is conscious even of one's own love. The letter has three movements. First Bernard asks William, who is thus judging both hearts. what proof he has. He may be right, hut, how can he l<now?How can he be certain? Is William's evidence the fact that Bernard has not sent him any thing? that he has not answered his letters? (This, no doubt, was the cause of William's chagrin.) But, says Bernard, with a little malice, how can my scribblings satisfy your mature wisdom? A nd is not' love proved by deeds, not words? And have I ever failed you when you needed help? Then, in a second movement, he turns to the Lord. whom he addresses as Sum of Justice ; for William, he feels, is unfair to him. God knows how much Bernard loves William for his goodness; Bernard too feels that he loves him. But how much he loves __ that is kno,,'n only to God. No man can know how much he loves, until he beholds God and in God his own love. Moreover, love depends on a man's own virtue, his purity of heart, and on the virtue of his friend. Only the pure of heart can love perfectly; the better a man is, the more he deserves to be loved, and the more he loves, the better he is. Bernard's conclusion is like Anselm's and vet unlike. Where Anselm would say I love you as much as I can, i.e. as much as I love myself, but less than you deserve and less than I 6ughl (0 love you, Bernard says, I love you more' than myself, because you are better than I am, but I love you less than I should, because I myself am not better.

b. St. Bernard's Friendships Peter tTw Venerable.

with William

of

Saint

Thierry and St~

The friendships of St. Bernard as recorded in his letters are many and varied, and would require a detailed study (12). Only two will be mentioned here, as representative. William of Snint Thier'")' and Peter the Venerable seem to have been. with St. Melachy, the most inti~'ate of all his friends. although the relationshir- to el'd, man is different. There are on ly three extant letters from Bernard to William. but ten to Pe.cr, as well as several from Peter to Bernard (13). (11) Jean l.eclercq. Pierre le Venerable, Paris 194(;.51. - Gilsfln. Theol. Mysfique de St. Bernard, 193-215, discusses the relationship between courtly love and Cistercian mysticism. His conclusion is that they are two independent products of their age, each reflecting the environment in wl,i.ch they were born - court and monastery - and, as one must be renounced to posses the other, their similar terminology does not represent any definite concept common to both. See also p. 134; 39-40 : even in monasteries resta'ent des hommes grossiers. ~ Jean L e c I e r c q , La Spirifualite de Pierre de Celle (1115-1183), Paris 1946, 144. (12) This does not seem to have been made as yet. Tn Leclercq's study of Peter the Venerable there is an evaluation of his friendship with Bernard that differs from ihe traditional interpretation. (13) St. Malachy's friendship with St. Bernard will no! be studied here, but it is at least comparable with the other two friendships. The Cistercian Breviary and Missal allude to it in the collect for November '3 : Deus, qui bealurn Malachiam, pontifteem, sanctissimo Patri Bernardo verae caritalis foedere du[riler sociasfi; concede propitius : ut et pmvorum omnium consensus noxios canfe vitemus, et caelestis miCWae sacras amicitias semper optemus. Per Dominum ... A definitive edition of the letters of St. Bernard is in preparation by Jean Leclercq. There is also an edition by Lorenzo Giovando, of which only the first

In the third movement Bernard turns again to vViIIiflm. my father. Because William loves more, let him not despise Bernard's lesser love. For though he loves less, he loves as much as he can. Therefore Draw me after you, he prays, that with \ViIliam. Bernard may receive the POWN to Jove more. He warns William, you seek in me
---volume, up to JetteI' 106. is available. This will be used for leHel's 1-106; Migne's edition will be used for the other letters. save for some given in English by Scott and not available in the latin text. (S. Bernardo di Chiaravalle Leltc.>re, parte prima, ed. Lorenzo G i 0 van do, Comna Patrum Salesiana, Serie Latina. vol. xri, Socie!a Editrice Internazionale. Turin IQ44; CEuvres Completes de Saint Bernard, tr. hy C h a r pen tie r , Paris, Vives 1866, vols, i, Ii; The Lettel'S of Sf. Bernard, tr. by Bruno S cot t J ~ m e s , LonJon 1953) (PL.. 182, 67-722.)

12

A. FISKE

ST. BERNARD

AND

FRIENDSHIP

what is not me. I (10 not fail you, as you have satd, it is God in me who fails you. So may God grant you power, as he has given you the desire, to do all you rightly wish for yourself and your friends. He ends with all the affection he can bestow. The next letter opens with the salutation, st-o iJTi quod sno, ~ wich may be ipadequateiv' translated as, to his frierd all that a friend can wish. This is WillIam's own f'reetinq, which Bernard returns to Hm. Receive what is your own, and recognize my usur+al ion as proof that we are one soul. and that my sou] is not far absent from one ,,,;th whom 1 have a common language. The friends belong to each other; their souls and their words are one. The sequence of Bernard's tJ,ougT,t here is not oriqinal. but there are overtones of the : \Vord, of his doctrine of participation and likeness. He can' write onlv a short letter, because \Villiam's letter arrived on our Lady's birthday ~vhen he did not wish to occupy himself wit~ any other thougt than Mary, and the carrier would stav over onlv till the next morning. Bernard is sending a monk back to his monastery and asks William to befriend him. He tells of his health which is. as tlS~U\I. not very good. In veiled languarJe he discusses William's desire to leave his office as abbot and enter at Clairvaux. They rnav both desire it, hut, as Bernard sees things, God does not wish it. \ViIIiam's fear of office should not prevent his being useful: Woe to him if it does. The last letter to William is concerned only with Abelard. and a proposed meeting to discuss William's writing against him (I to). We will return again to this friendship, and its sirfOificancl:' for \Villiam. Holy and intimate as it was, it does seem that Peter, Ahhot of Clunv, was loved more than William by Bernard, though he would challenge 'such a judgment. The first letter from Bernard to Peter was written before thev met, and although full of deference and respect, is reserved. He than(s him for writing to him in his exile from his monastery. He thanks him for his letter, for his friendship; Peter is so great, he so insi::rnificant. But he is proud of Peter's letter, of his affection, and proud too of his own tribulations and proud of the Church. He plans to visit Peter on his way back to Clairvaux, and sends messages to Hugh and others, .: as well as all your holy brethren. The same diffidence appears in the next letter. He thanks Peter for his letter, plans a meeting, but writes very briefly because he fears his words might be troublesome to a man of such dignity. Their meeting, at the time Innocent IJ visited France, transformed their relations to an ever growing intimacy and tenderness. The first letter to follow is very short and lil<e the usual Bernard. gives advice in no uncertain terms. Peter should not claim a certain monastery, whate(14) Epistolae S. Bernardi, ed. G i 0 van do, t, ep. 85, 515-523. This edltton will be indicated by the letters CPS. - Ep. 86, (CPS, '527).... sed I'ae gralJius, si quia proessse mefuis. prodesse refugis. Ep. 327 (PT. 182, 533 ab). In the next chapter this friendship will be considered from William's point or
vtew,

ver his rights; he should be more moderate. TT,pn Pf'~f'r anparent]v T,lames or reproaches Bernard for not writing. Bernard justifies himself with great earnestness. Is Peter joking? It seems too much at Bernard's expense, for he wrote twice. and Peter answered "either lettt~r, He natural]v felt. then, that, when Peter returned from Spain, it would he presumption to send him any of his trifles. But he does not want to excuse himself; it will only waste their time in writing explanations to each other (he has already expjained at constderab]e length). He only wants to be truly open to Peter, as true friendship demands. A weakeninu of their friendship is implied, for he is glad to be called to renew it; he is a wounded friend, he has been chilled. but Peter's love will soon warm him a!),ain. He then thanks Peter for his letter, which he has read und reread avidly. He lil<es his humor tIlat is both gra\'e and gay. He tells Peter about himself : he j~ now allowed to leave his monastery only once a year for the General Chapter; he is sick waiting for death, but. - not to leave Peter the monopoly of jokes, he tells him he hopes Peter won't in his usual style call Bernard's silence - sloth. The next letter in 1149 is also one of pleasantries. Peter has praised Bernard the sinner, so much, that he feels he has now been beatified. How blessed I would be if I could be beatified by words 1 ,. He is happy and hlessed not because he deserves it, but because Peter loves, and Bernard loves. As to deserving it, if a man is at all just, he doesn't want to be l~ved beyond his merits. But if Bernard could live with Peter, then he would become worthy. If only he could see him, at least once a year. The sight of Peter's meekness and humility would be so great a grace that Bernard would learn of him to be humble at last, something he has not yet learned even from Christ. This is a very significant remark: the friend can communicate to him what he cannot get for himself directly from God, even from the humanity of Christ. Bernard rehuhs him"elf. then, for giving Peter just what he had been complaining of Peter's giving him : praise. The same vear Bernard wrote a brief note to tell Peter that his son, Gaucher, was now Bernard's - because he was Peter's. All my lhings are thine and thine arc mine. Peter should love his son now even more, since he belongs to both of them. In 1150 he wrote analn. If only he could send his heart with the letter, so that Peter could read the love God has written there. It is not that he needs to begin their friendship again; it is an old friendship, and their love makes them equal. Even their inequalities halance, for, without Peter, Bernard could not be humble, and without Bernard, Peter could not be sublime. Nicholas has told Bernard tha.t he saw a letter from him to Peter that was harshly worded (this may have been one of Nicholas' intrigues - he was the confidential secretary who finally left lhe monastery under a cloud) but bitter words could have come neither [rom Bernard's lips nor from his heart. Peter wrote a most loving letter in response. Bernard answered him more briefly, describing the reason graphically : there was such a crowd

14

A FISKE

ST. BERNARD

AND

FRIENDSHIP

at the monastery on business, - were they visiting abbots? that he had to go off with Nicholas and hide while they read Peter's letter. He has time only to thank him now; later he will ten Peter what the Jetter meant to him. He thanks him for his gift and tells him that the Cistercian Chapter commemorates him as their special lord. father and very dear friend. The last two letters are about important Church matters. the needs of the Eastern Church. the meeting of the French bishops with the king and princes at Chartres (May 7. 1150). He urges Peter to come and prove himself a friend in time of need, a friend to the Church. more than to Bernard. After the council he again writes to Peter to ask him to come to the assembly at Campiegne to organize the second crusade. He commends Gaucher. nephew of my Gaucher who is yours. and sends the greetings of Nicholas, mine and yours (15). In this correspondence with Peter the Venerable. it is Bernard who is somewhat unsure of their friendship. This alone makes it exceptional in his life. For other reasons it is perhaps also exceptional in the history of friendship. Peter's letters show nothing but affection; to no one else does he write as to Bernard - nothing can ever separate them. each sees in the other the image of God in which he himself parttcipates. There were indeed many things to separate them, and Bernard like Peter feared that the conflict of the orders of Citeaux and Cluny might harm their friendship. even as they both desired their friendship to bind the two orders together in love. Hence the many affirmations of friendship on both sides. letters. visits. jokes and treatises exchanged. Even at the end of their lives a new outbrea!< threatened between the orders. There was a secret between the two Abbots which is only guessed at. so well did they keep it. It is thought to have been Peter's wish to enter CIairyaux, a wish whose spectacular nature can be realized only hy those who know the enormous prestige and eminence of his position in Church and State. This was a mystical friendship, between great men, who appreciated each other's greatness. In their inmost depths each knew the gifts of God in the other, and knew too that their friendship came from God. Their differences were superficial. temperamental Bernard the extre mist, Peter the m~n of balance and harmony, but their friendship was heroic. above conflict. neither soft nor harsh. All that humanly speaking should have destroyed. only increased it. Yet the exigencies of their tender mutua! love were very great : constantly multiplying protestations and concrete proofs of affection, all in the order of the Incarnation. Bodv (15) Ep. 147 (PL 182. 30-1 b - 305 c), - Eo. 148 (305 c - 306 a). Ep, 149 (306 ab}. - Cf. 396 n. 603 (Mabillon's note). These three letters are duiee! by Mabillon 1133; the next he dates 1143, - Ep. 228 (PI. 182, 396 c .398 b); - ep. 2(:5 (PI. 182, 470 a-d); - ep. 267 (PI. 182, 472 a); - ep. 387 (PI. 182, 591 b-d); ep. 364 (PL 182, 568 c-570 a) Mabi!Ion dates this last letter 1146. Ep. 400, Jam e s' eel" 472-473, translated from an unpublished lettelC.

and soul. nature and grace. affection and charity unite : the most prosaic material sacrifices seal a wholly spiritual union. Such a friendship supposes a special grace. a gift of the Holy Spirit. for their union was inseparable from their union with God and had the same character of intensity, intimacy, transcendance (16).

c.

St. Bernard's Terminology

of

Friendship

..

(16) Lee Ie r c q , Pierre le Venerahle, 67-R7. He analyses the friendship from Peter's point of view. pointing out the change in style flsindicative of the friendship's growth. To those who object that this is purely conventional. he answers that the convention itself, i. e. the use of rhetoric. is a sign of friendship. respect, esteem, and that neither Peter nor Bernard use the same language to any other correspondent. (17) Caritas : ep. 53 (CPS, 351); - ep. 11,2 (CPS. 177). - Vera. peritas. amicus. amicitia : ep. 78, 13 (CPS, 489); ep. 281. 1 (PL 182. 397 a). Amicus: ep. 2. 4 (CPS. 51): ep. 5. 1 (CPS, 97); etc. Familiaris amicus: ep. 54 (CPS, p. 353); intimus amicus, ep. 2(6 (PL 182, 470 d); nmtcns corde, ep. 127, I (PL 182, 281 b). Political friendship: ep. 15 (CPS. 213); ep. 45 (CPS, 319); etc. Familiaritas : ep. 121 (PL 182. 266 a): ... specialis familiaritu3

--

Before analyzing friendship as Bernard conceived it, it might help to consider the terms he uses. He most frequently speaks of charity. often of friendship, sometimes of familiarity. Friendship is usually synonymous with charity, or related 10 it as the child of charity. :. It is true. Friend (amicus) often means an intimate friend. friend of the heart. but both words sometimes have a purely political sense. as does also familiarity. The common life of friends is very dear and necessary. and secure. Monastic life is an eternal. serene society of brothers. a spiritual love, concord and tranquillity of soul. Affection and affect or feeling are often used as a moral obligation. something owed. :. yet is also compelling force that one cannot whollv control. and that is opposed to pure duty. The antithesis of affect and effect is not infrequent. Caritas is, however. of most frequent use : charity is a mother, a queen or empress, a law. a wound. It is God himself. It is chaste. true, sincere. ordered. mutual. spiritual. Charity believes. forgives and forgets, dares all and knows no fear. sacrifices its own advantage. Nothing can weary or stop it. it is an irresistible force. Jt admonishes and refuses to grant certain requests. It can perceive love or the loss of it in another. It opens one up to suffer in proportion to one's love. It makes unequa]s. equal. Love causes the soul to go out of itself to Cod anrl also heco-,e sober for man. Above all. it unites; its whole strength is to make one. to create stability. unanimity, peace. Charity itself is peace, it is rest in loving and being loved. What is charitv? to loye anvone in God: to seek to be loved is to serve it. It is a"Iso need (17). .
- ---.-

16

A.

FISKE

ST.

BERNARD

AND

FRIENDSHIP

17

What is the relation of affection and Jove? Affection has compulsive necessity; it is a force that cannot be wholly controled. Yet it is not a blind passion. a fatal eros. for it is due as a rational obligation
... _

: we ought
ep. 267 (PL

to

feel

Charity also himself in ecstasy. of affection, in the and the voluntary

is a force that compels. that drives a man out of that wounds and inebriates. But it is free. The necessity sense that one cannot help loving and feeling intensely. nature of charity are not in opposition. therefore.

it . ep. 361 (PL 182. 562 cd): ep. ep. 409

182. 472 a); _

(pL

182.

618 b).

Vita

comes : ep. 147, 2 (PL 182. 305 b); -

1. 2 (CPS. 9) ; comitem

amplectere securus. Ep. 72. 5 (CPS. 441). Fratema societas. cordoederouo : ep. 142, 2 (PL 182. 298 a); aetema societas. spiritualis caritas : ep. 103 (CPS. 627). Quies animi. concordia. societas serena
ep. 233. 1 (PL 182. 420 bc). Affectio. Ep. 4. 1 (CPS,

89); ... flexissem forsitan affectione ... ; - ep. 70 (CPS. 425) : ... misericordia ... affectio est. - ep. 390, 1 (PL 182. 596 b) : .,. tanta stringis affectione. Ep. 12 (CPS. 205) : Non exspectafur ratio. ubi

'\

affectio trahn. Affectus. Ep. 35 (CPS. 237) : ... debitum sincerissimae dileclionis affectum; _ ep. 36 (CPS. 291) : ... irreverberatum sincerae dilectionis affectum; ep. 39 (CPS. 305) : .. , toto 110bis affeciu ... ; - ep. 70 (eps. 427) : ." necessario cogH affectu; _ ep. 30 (CPS. 495); ep. 107. 1 (PL 182. 242 d) : Loquantur nobis affectum tuum ... ; - ep. 116 (PL 182.262 d) : ... pium sanctae dilectionis affectum. _ Ep, 142. 3 (PL 182. 298 b) : ... quam. speciali complectatur affectu. _ Ep. 181 (PL 182. 344 b) : Desideriis dives sum. affectibus abundo. - Ep. 201 (PL 182. 369 b) : Epistola ... affectum tuum redolet. morJet meum. - Ep. 277 (PL 182. 482 d) : Sed scrtbo. etsi non necessarie ifli. satisfaciens lamen af .. fectui : afFectui dieo meo, non alterius. - Ep. 362. 1 (pL 182. 563 a) : Scripta Dilectionis vestrae eo affectu suscepimus. quo semper apud nos est in benedicLione memoria vestra. _ Ep. 389 (PL 182. 595 b); - ep. 398 (PL 182. 610 a) :
Guido should consider the needs of the situation. not his affection. ... non

Domina. Ep. 88. 2 (CPS. 555) : ... dominae charilati molest us [to, qua iamdudum imperante ... ; - ep. 357 (PL 182. 558 d) : ... totum sine dubio sibi uindicat tuae Dilectionis charitas. Lex. Ep. 11 (CPS. 185) : Lex est ergo, ef lex Domini charitas. quae Tl'initatem in Ttnitate quoJdammodo cohibet. et colligat in vinculo pacts. Vulnus. Ep. 73. 1 (CPS, 445); - ep. 154 (PL 182.313 c). Deus. Ep. 7. 1 (CPS, 107) : Caritas ipse Deus est. - Ep. 11. 4 (CPS, 185) : Dicitur ergo reete charitas et Deus et Dei donum. ltaque charitas dat charitatem. substantiva accidentalem. - Ep. 88. 2 (CPS. 555) : .,. domina est. imo Dominus est. Deus enim charitas est. Ep. 18. 3 (CPS. 225) : Et haec omnia Christus. Aeternitas est, ... Charitas est. quia Deus est : ... Castus. Ep, 11. 7 (CPS. 193) : Nusquam erit charitas sine timore, sed casto; numquam sine cupiditate. sed ordinata. - Ep. 107. 2 (PL 182. 243 b) : Pure siquidem nos amantes in vita nostra, morle quoque non erimus amantes in vita nostro, morte quoque non ertrnus separati. Ep. 384 (PL 182. 587 h) : .,. puriora apud Deum ... quo de sola gratia dantis proveniunt, praeter meritum accipientis.
VenLS. Ep. 11.3 (CPS. 181) : llla siquidem vera et sincera est charitas, ... qua proximi bonum aeque ut nostrum diligimus. - Ep. 11. 10 (CPS. 201). opposes charitas and veritas : Gratulor quidem de charitate. quae omnia credit: sed confundor pro Veritate, quae omnia novit. - Ep. 99 (CPS, 615) : QTtam vera sit nos ad invicem dileetio. - Ep. 186 (PL 182. 348 d) : 19itur in exhibitione operis liquebit veritas dilectionis, Sincerus. Ep. 11.3 (CPS. 181); - ep. 107.2 (PI, 182.213 b) : ." amantibus te sinceriter ... ; - ep. 178. 1 (PL 182. 340 a) : Nec enim sincerus est umor ubi dubietatis scrupulus .. , Ordinata. Ep. 11. 7 (CPS, 193). Mutuus. Ep. 142. 3 (PL 182. 298 b) : Non potest dici verbo. q[wd de mutua charitate inter nos et vos spiritualis infusio mirabiliter operetur. Spiritualis. Ep. 103 (CPS. 627) : ... spiritus Dei, qui ,"Villelmum aetema nobis societate et spirituali charitate devinxit. .,. - ep. 435 (PL 182. 636 a). ad dominum paparn : ... quoniam nos ipsum [a friend] tamqumn promptum litterarum et fidelem virum spirituali chari tate diligimus. Charitas believes : ep. 228. I (PL 182. 397 a) : ... quia charitas omnia credit ... (1 Cor. 13. 7). Forgives : ep. 2. 1 (CPS, 45) : Charitas patiens est. benigna est. Licet laesa. licet offensa. ... obviabit tibi ... Contemptus oblita sui. ruet in amplexum tui; ... _

affectum erga me tuum. .., Affectus / effectus. Ep. 70 (CPS. 525-427) : In quam utique misericordiam non propria utilitas inclinavit. sed ... miseria. Misericordia quippe affectio est. quae nec voluntate ceercetur. nec rationi subiicitur : ... sed necessario cogU affectu. ... _ Ep. 105 (CPS. 639) : ... si verociter stylus expressit affectum, efficaciter opus stylum testificetur. - Ep. 181 (PL 182. 344 b) : Aequabo ergo beneficia volis. quae {aclis non possum. Ep. 107, 8 (pL 182. 246 d) : Spiritus afficit et facit amari. - Ep. 227 (PL 182. 396 a) : Semper quidem egui officiis amicorum. homo nimirum mente semper et corpore miserandus : .,. ep. 357 (PL 182. 353 d) : Si quid affectionis., si quid devotionis. ... ; - ep. 72. 5 (CPS. 441) : ... nostris ... et affectibus et profectihus Dei est proponenda voluntas. Also ep. 390 (PL 182. 397 a). Cf. The traditional phrase : not in word or tongue but in deed and truth. which means that the one is empty. the other real; here both affectus and effectus are real and needed. Cf. ep. 184. Jam e sed .. 256. tr. from H ii f f e 1'. Der heilige Bernard. and ep. 162 (pL 182, 587 b). The proof of love is in the effectus; see the last two texts especially. Caritas. mater. Ep. 2. 1 (CPS. 43) : 0 bona mater charifas. . .. ; ibid (p. 45) : ... obviabit tibi quasi mater honorificata. - Ep. 11. 2 (CPS, 177) : charitas ... quae amicitiarum matrem se novit. - Ep. 7. 1 (CPS, 105) : Sola [charitas] quippe est quae illam [pacem. unitatem] generat. colligat. solidat, et conservat. _ Ep. 201 (PL 182. 369 b) : Sicut mater unicum amat filium, ita te diligeharn, haerentem lateri meo. plaeentem cordi mea.

177) : Verum. quod non audeo ego. auelet charitas. ef cum omni fiducia pulsat ad ostium amici .... ; ep. 28. 1 (CPS. 259) Praebet audaciam. charitas, ut fiducialius loquar tibi. Cf. ep. 39 (CPS. 305) : ... ausum fuisse .... Sacrifices : ep, 201 (PL 182. 369 c) : Atque hic vel maxime claret quam sincere te ,Iiligam. Hoelie nempe non te caruissem, si quaesissem quae mea sunt. nunc autem vides quod. spretis utilitatibus mets, tuis compendiis non invtdi. Compels : ep. 15 (CPS. 213) : Sentiant ... quod non sit amor otiosus, ...

There is here reference Dares : ep. 11. 2 (CPS.

to the Prodigal

Son.

18

A. FISKE
to a free grace:. or choice

ST. BERNARD
that very favour has absolved over into a free chaise (18).

AND

FRIENDSHIP
for necessity

19
has passed

but complementary. Debt is opposed that includes both feeling and will :

me from the debt.

I am a debtor to his condescension. through considered worthy to be taken up inlo this favour
-

which I have (his friendship).

been But

d. St. Bernard's Conception

of

Friendship

ep. 201 (PI. 182. 3(9 b). affectus; - ep. 2. I (CPS. 43) : Charitas enim ad Ie obiurgandum me compulit ... - ep. 90. I (CPS. 50) : ... sed nunquid spiritus gravantur amanda? Admonishes : ep. 2 (CPS. 43); - ep. 397. I (PL 182. C06 a) : Chari/as. [mires. nos admonet scribere ad vos et pro vobis ... Refuses : ep: 88. 2 (CPS. 555) : Qu:d ergo : choruos lilJi rlenegat quod lu pelis ex cfwritale? ... Quid me indignaris? Si pis. si aIlrl.('s.irascere charitaU. Perceives : ep. 7. 1 (CPS. 105) : Si maneres in chari la/e. quam in te olim aul novimus aul pulavimus. charitatis pro)ecto damna sentires ... Suffers: ep 415 (PL 192. (23 b) : ... el quantum diligo. tan/urn doleo. Makes equal : ep. 387 (PL 182. 591 be) : Jam pridem conglutilta/a est ... animos fecit parilita charitatis. Intoxicates: ep. II. 2 (CPS. 177) : Ipsa [charitas1 profecto. ipsa. cum (lult facit vos excedere Deo : ipsa et cum voluit. fecit sobrios nobis. - Ep. II. 8 (CPS. 197) : Quasi enim elmus, mira quodam modo oblitus sui. et a se penitus r"elut deficiens. totus perget in Deum. et deinceps adhael'en~ et unus spiritus erit.

The most important aspects of St. Bernard's concept of friendship seem to be its origin and end. God; its place in the order of love; its nature as union. as image. as presence. as experience. -an experience that is sweet, intense, like fire. - and as everlasting. What he says about fidelity and the mutual obligations of friends is for the most part conventional and need not. therefore. be treated here.

i.

Love in Fri.endship as Free

Most characteristic of Bernard's thought is' that love is free. For love is God. and the free gift of God : Love gives love. the Substance (lives the accident. For the giver is the Substance; the gift. a quality. God knows all our affections. and our good affections are from him : By God's gift. Bernard loves William of Saint-Thierry; for all real love is a divine bounty and it is propter Deum that each loves the other (10). crb invicem separamur. in olto saeculo simul felici et inseparabili societate. in eius amore lJilJamus... Ep. 7. 16 (CPS. 147) : Quomodo enim stabilitatis praevaricor votum. qui unanimitatis non rumpo vinculum. pads jirmamenftlm non desero? Pax : ep. 2. I (CPS. 43-45) : Ipsa est quae. hominum mater et Allgelorum. (CPS. 107). To obey charitas means : ... servondo rmitotem in vinculo pacis .... non solum quae in terris. sed etiam quae in caelo sunt pacificavi!. Cf. ep. 7. (CPS. 107). To obey charitas means: sCI'l'tmclo unitalem in vinculo pacis, ep. 7. 14 (eps. 145). Requies : ep. 90. 1 (CPS. 569) Nam qaos amamus. in ipsis profecto lequiescimlls; a quibus autem amamur. ipsis in nobis requiem paramus. Porro amare in Deo charitatem habere est ... cr. ep. 114. 4 (PL 182. 302 R) : ... in quo spiritus meus requiescii, Service : ep. 90. 1 (CPS. 569) Porro amare in Dao. charitatem habem ('st : studere vera propter Deum amari. charitati servire cst. Need: ep. 266 (PL 182. 471 e - 472 a) : Quamquam patens est Deus Ie adhuc nobis donare roqontilnss, servare indigentibus : ... (18) Ep. 277 (PL 182. 483 a) : Deouor sum clignationi ejus, per quam dignus habitus sum assumi in iel gra/iae. Sed debito ipsa absolvit gratia. quia necessitas in voluntatem transit. Jam e s translates this : I am so much
in his debt for the favour of his friendship. But his debt. for what was a duty has become a pleasure. merely the moral obli(1ation of repaying benefits. favour acquits

: it unites in virtue. ep. 2. 1 (CPS. 45) : Ipsa est. mi Fulco. quae cum quibus olim dulces capiebas cibos. halJitare faci! uruus morts conjoins. ep. 7. I (CPS. 105) : Nam se ipsam non potest negare. se divisa est. Novi! potius in se divisa conillngere : coniuncLa dividere nescii. Also (ibid) : Sola quippe est quae ... colligat. solidat. et conservet ubicunque seruari cognoscitur in vinculo pacis. This is Iil{e the work of love in the Trinity: ep. 7. 1 (CPS. 107) : ChariLas ipse Deus est. Pax nos/ra. Chrislus. qui fecit utraque unum. In trinita/e uniLas maxi me commendalur. - Ep. 11. 4 (CPS. 185) : Quid vero in summa et beala ilIa TriniLale summam eL ineffabilem illam. conservet unita:em. nisi chari/as? ... quae T ririiiaiern in unilaLe quocldammodo cohibet. et colligat in vinculo pac,s. Cf. ep. 53 (CPS. 353) : Tribus t'rgo in corporibus unum nos esse nooeriiis. non pari sanc:itaLe. .. sed eadem volunta/e et summa concordia animorum. Cur enim unitalem hanc inter diversos non faciat compago charitatis in uno spil'itu. si carnaiis copula efiicit ut sint drw in carne una? Cf. also glutino : ep. 142. 2 (PL 182. 296 b). reFerence to lso: 41. 7; ep. 2{;6. 2 (PL 182. 471 c) : ... cuius animae mea adhaesit glulino quod non disstoobuur, et incuio, quod non dirumpelur. God is the adhestve force thut now separates but will unile in heaven. ep. 324 (PL 182. '530 b) : Glu/inllm ertl tontne conjunctionis. qui cousa nunc est tonullce separationis. . .. - ep. 3$37 (PL 182. 59l be) : '" congluLinata est anima mea animae ves/rae : ... Also ep. 65 (CPS. 391) : nothing CRn separate those quos un us spiritus lJege'a/. una charitas ligat. Ep. 357 (PL 182. 558 d) : '" antmam pauperis. chari/atis nexibus adhaerentem tibi ... - ep. 143. 3 (PL 182. 300 a) : Ipsa [charltas] vos mihi inseparabiliter ;ungat ... Makes one: ep. 53 (CPS. 351) : '" qui amicitiae vim numquam ~ensit. qui virtutem charitatis ignorat. qui non credit multitudinis credentium [uisee cor unum. et animam unam. If it separates in time. it unites forever : ep. 32'5 (PL 182. 530 b). Ep. 111, 3 (PL 182.255 c) : '" qui eius amore hoc modico tempore

Unites /ralres tllos, in domo. It nec enim in

This necessitas

me of the may mean

(19) Ee. II. 4 185) : Dicitur ergo recte chwitas el Deus at Dei donum. IIClqne Charitas dat. charitatem. substan/iuu accidentolem, Ubi dantem significat. nomen est substantiae: ubidonum. qualitatis Haec est lex aeternn. creatrix et gubernatrix- universitatis. Ep. 80 (eps. 459) .... bonorum [affectuumJ immissor ... Ep. 85. 2 (CPS. 519) : quod eliligam iUum ex dona tuo et suo merito ... - Ep. 120 (PL 182. 265 b) : Quoties enim in corde comoli.

ict.

20

A. FISKE

ST. BERNARD

AND

FRIENDSHIP

21

The Spirit. then. dves affection and makes Himself loved; the Snirit binds men together also. in an eternal society and spiritual low'. The Spirit of Truth is witness to the sincerity of the love which the same Spirit pours out in our hearts. a spiritual infusion of mutual love which surpasses words. The Spirit is the finger with which God writes 10\'e of one's friend in the heart. Love. first. is of the flesh and of necessity. but if this love be rightly directed. grace will guide its ascent until it is consummated in the Spirit and in freedom
But because we are carnal and born of carnal concupiscence. it is necessary that our desire or love should begin with the flesh : and if it is guided in right order. It"d by g-race it w'II progress by rieg-rees till at length it is consummated by the Spirit (20).

To be loved for what he is not. is very distressing to Bernard as to Anselm. for such love is not founded on truth. Fe begs his friends to helieve him. he is the only authority on his own virtue :
Indeed I urn honored by the charitv that bei'ev"s all thjn~g. ~ but J am embarrassed because of Truth whirh Imows all thing'S. I want you to believe me in what concerns myself rat her than another who sees only the exterior face. No one knows what is within a man save the s-iirit of the man that is within him. I. tell you that I speak of myself not from any g-Uf'SSwork but Iror-i ex oer+ence : I am not what I am thoug-ht to be or said to be. And ipdeed I say this with all security for I experience it with absolute certainty.

Yet Bernard seems to speak paradoxicallv of this rift of God : it is free in that it has no necessitating' cause. vet also virtue. merit. goodness. love itself. are causes of love. He loves i1is friend in the Lord. serves him. honors him in Christ whose member he is. and looks for r!ood reports concerning a friend's life and conduct. As Anselm spoke of the fire of love breathing souls together into r-n itv. so Bernard s+eaks of t"c most sweet fragrance of holiness also breathing friends together. He himself expects to be loved only if he does not offend God. and is trulv one of the servants of the Most High. He loved a vouth for his beauty and lovableness. and especially for a certain presentiment he had of a still greater beauty that would come when. loved by the heavenly Bridegroom. he would be all beautiful (21). terrenis dignitatibus alto. uUa vel minima scintillula coeles/is amoris accensa videlur. ciiuinum sine dubio est munus. non hominis vir/as. - Ep, 10') (eps. <:25-(27) : Hane famicitiam] lihi. te nesciente. comparal'iI non caro et sannui3. sed spiritus Dei. qui Willelmum fratrem tuum ae/ema nobis societa/e e/ spiritual! charita!e devinxi/ ... - Ep. 271 (PL 182. 475 b) : Me quoque diliai a I'obis non duhito. sed propter Deum : ... (20) Ep. 107. 8 (PL 182. 246 d) : Spiritus aHicit e/ facil amari. - Ep. 3(52 (PL 182. 563 a-b) : ... testimonium perhihet Spiritus vp-ritatis. qrram sincere et diligamus vas et diligamur a vobts, tUe. inquam. Spiritus. pC'r quem ot diffunditur charitas ista in cordibus nostris. - Ep. 142. 3 (PL 182. 298 b) : Non palest dici uerbo, quod de mutua chari/ate infer nos et vos spiritualis infusto mirahililer operatur. - Ep. 116 (PL 182. 20 a) : 0 si legere posses in corde meo. quod i&i de amore tuo, suo digito Deus scribere rlignatus est! Ep. 11. 8 (eps. 195). Verumtamen. quia earnales sumus et de camis concupiscentia nascimur. necesse est cupidiux vel amor nosier a carne incipiat : quae si recto ordine dirigilui'. quihusdam suis gradihus duce gratia proficiens. spiritu tandem ccnsummnbitur : ... (21) Ep. 382. 1 (PI.. 585 c) : Diligam vos semper. [roires charissimi. in Domino. et cum omni amore serviam vobis in eo. cuius servi esii : imo Christus. cujus memhro estis. semper in vohis honoraho. - Ep. 361 (PL 182, )62 c) : ... [eum] commendo, utique tanto seeurius. qucmto sincerius et vita et mores hominis fidissimis relatoribus diclici. - Ep. 397. 1 (PL 182. 606' a) : Porro onimos facile in eamdem fJestrae fraternUa/is unallimitatem conflallit [raqrons

To love what does not exist is to be deceived. This is possible since we are exiles from Him who supremely is. It is not Bernard him~eIf. then. but somethinrr instead. which is not he. and this can he only nothingness. The love and the lover exist. but what is loved is nothing'. It is to be marvelled at. but still more to be grieved at. - that what is nothtnrr can be loved. He begs his friends not to love so rashly: when they know him better. they will have to blush at their own mistake or at the uselessness of their friend. realized at last. To be lovcd is a very sweet cup. but he dares not drink of it. for he sees in himself nothing to merit love. To want to be loved more than is just. is to be less than just (:!2).
-~
-.-~.-

uhique odor suavissimus famosissimae sanctitalis. - Ep. 271 (PL 182. 475 h) : Me quoque diligi a fJohis non duhito. sed proplCl' Deum : quem si oFrendel'o. non erit quod me diligere dcheatis. cum jam non fueri! in causa Deus. --4 Ep. 409 (PL 182. <:81 a) : ... et hoc ideo. quia unum de seruis Altissimi me esse credit tua l)eninnitas. (22) Ep, 34 (eps. 283) : Quam non inmerito I,ui iamdudum non mediocri [ueram. affect us umorc, nunc apparet. dilectissime Drogo. Et anle quidem totnm pulchrum, tolum erot amahile quod cernebcris ; sed ego nescio <[ukl aliud de Ie supra td quod videham aut audieham ex te .. prapspnspram. Nnnqnid forte eaelestis Sponsi ... iam tunc vocem audieras (l!centis ad pudicissimam tur/urem suum, an imam tuam : Tala pulchra est .... . Ep. 11. 10 (CPS. 201-203) : Gra/ulor quidem de chari/ale. quae omnia credit ; slld eonfundor pro Veritate. quae omnia nouit. Vola vas mihi credere de me magis quam aiteri. qui tantTlm ddet in facie. Nemo quippe scit quae sunt in homine. nisi spiritus hominis qui in eo est. DieD vohis ego qui de me loquOl' non ex coniectura, sed ex senlentia : Non sum lalis qualis putor vel die or. Quod quidam lam fnteor, qunm eertus experior : ... - Ep. 18. 2 (eps. 221) : Ex hac ergo caecitate descendit. quod plerumque, pro eo quod est. amamus vel approho.mus quod non est : quoniam dum sumus in hoc corpore. peregrinamur ah eo qui summe est. Ep. 18. 1 (eps. 219) : Pudet nimirum grandi/er exsultare. cum sentio in me r:enerari vel diligi. non quidem quod sum. sed quod pulor. Neqw, enim ego tunc diliqor. quando sic eliligor : sed nescio quid in me pro me. quod non sum ego. Imo ut verius Ioquar, non nescio : nam certissime scto quod nihil. Nihil enim procul duhio est. quidquid putatur et non est. Porro cum umulur quod non est sed esse putatur. non amor vel amans nihil est. sed quod amafur. Mirandum. sed magis dolendum ". quod id quod nihil est. amari potest. -

22

A. FISKE
needs cause

ST. BERNARD I

AND

FRIENDSHIP
Its fruit is itself.

21
I love be-

Yet apparently contrary to an this is the thought that love is free ~ - with no cause but itself. It is not reasonable ; it is not proportionate to merits. Bernard writes to Guigo :
an empty place in me for your brotherly love. but no merit. Pity me. not because I am worthy. but because I am needy and poor. Reason should not be expected where affection draws. So pity me. not because I deserve it but because I need it, pity not a deserving man. hut a loving one.

no cause save itself. and no reward. love: I love that I may love.

I have

Again writing of affection. he gives the same principle : Affection does not lool( for its own advantage nor can it be coerced by the will nor subjected to I:he reason. There is a necessity. an ineluctability about affection even if it were a sin to feel it. much as he would desire to avoid sin, he could not help feeling it
Indeed it tear reason or will can take from affection out the affection itself (23). its effect, but never

can

verbatim:

In this very necessity lies its paradoxical freedom. Love, then, is something given before being merited, To love those who love you is, in a sense, to love for merit. for though it mav deserve no great reward, yet, not to love in return. would be shameful, even criminal. But that love is most pure before God and pleasing to men which comes only from the favour of the giver, not the merit of the receiver. As Bernard says in his sermons on the CanucIe, quoting Cicero almost

In the same way he speaks of human love : whoever loves only for his own good. does not Jove chastely what he loves. for he loves it for himself. not for its own sake (24). Here. then. Bernard. facing the same dilemma as that of Anselm love must be merited. yet cannot be merited solves it hy a principle fundamental to his doctrine :. the identification of love with freed0nl. Love thus is its own cause; friendship is to be desired for its own sake. Although Bernard does mention an end of frienrtship; the salvation of the friends. it may be said that this is part of the friendship itself. Through each other. the love of God will visit them in joy or in compunction; the one who is better must draw the other after him - trahe me. Bernard usually expresses this as making his friend happy. making him blessed. To love and to be loved by a friend is to be happy and blessed. already. It is a foretaste of heaven. Joy in heaven will be full in the vision of one another. There. there we shall see each other. and our heart shall rejoice. Our heart. he says. not hearts. for friends will be one heart in that most joyful vision of eternal society. a corporeal vision. the very hope of which is even now a delight and happiness (25).
(24) Ep. 382, 1 (pL 182, 585 be) : Sed nec ego vereol' lJcrum dicerf' in hac parte : ego diligentes me diZigo. Sed non in hoc justificatus sum : nam ct Ethnici hoc [ociuni, Non mul/um lauelis habet. st amanles me amaperq : sed s! non amavero, scelerotus pro scelere judicabor. Dilexi vas, et ante meritum: quare e!iam posl merilum non diligerem? - Ep. 384 (PL 182, 587 b) : ... eo u/ique puriora apud Deum, et gratiora apud homines, quo de sola gratia clanUs proveniunt, praeier meritum accipienlis. Scrm. In Cant., 8'3, 4 (PL 183:, 1183 b). Is [amor] per se wfficit, is per se placet, et propter sc. Ipse meritum, ipse praemium esl s:bi. Amor praeter se non requirii cuusum, non fruc/um. FTUclus eius, usus ejus, Amo qlLia amo; amo ILt amem. Ep. 11, 3 (CPS.: 181) : Nam qui mag'is, aut certe solum diligil strum, convincitur non caste diligcre bonum. quod ulique propter se diligil, non propter ipsum. Bermtrd also speaks of benevolence coming From beneficia, but this is either for enemies (Serm. de dive,sis, 121. PL 182. 743 cd) or of political friendships, (ep. 181. PL 182, 344 ac). ,':25) Ed. (j., 3 ~CPS. 335-337) : Age ergo si ita vullis, imo quia sic cernilis ac deeernilis, et amico expediTe. et monacho can venire : date, qUOl'SO, operarn, qua/enus una uiriusque voluntas citius impleatur, quo et vobis IIideUce! salisfial ad justitiam, et mihi ad salutem animae consuuitur, - Ep. I, 1 (CPS. 3) : '" sifurte Dei pielas, el tuam per se, et me am per te anlmum dignaretur invisere : tibi scilicet inspirando salutarem compuncttonem. mihique de tua salute laeliliam. - Ep. 85, 4 (CPS. 521) : Trahe nos post te, ut te apprehendamus et tecum amplius accipiamus, unde largius diligamus. - Ep. 2, 4 (CPS, 51) : [iane solei beare amicos? - Ep. 9 (CPS. 171) : Sic mihi contingat semper beare amicos, ... : d. ep. 167, 3 (PL 182, 243 b): ep. 265 (PL 182, 470 b). Ep. 265 (PL 182, 470 b) : Beatum, quod (liligor a te, quod diligo te, - Ep. 204 (pL 182. 372 b). - Ep. 409 (pc.. 182. 618 b) : ... illam aeterna.e

Love suffices

of itself,

it pleases

of itself,

it is its own reward.

Love

Ep. 72. 3 (CPS, 437) : Quanrloque uidelicet cognoscentes plenius quem immoderatius laudant, et eonspquenler erubescentes vel errorcm swan, vel timid deprelwnsam inutilitatem. - Ep. 265 (PL 182, 470 b) : Scio autem quia plus [usto velle rldigi, minus est a justa.
(23) Ep. 12 (CPS, 205) : Ego uero fraternae pieiali locum in me astendo, lion mer-itum. Miseremini mei, non quia dignus, sed C{Honiam inops et pauper sum ego. Iustitia meritum quaerit : misericordia miseriam intuetur. '" Non enim exspectatur ratio, ubi affectio traha. J.uqebat Samuel Saul, miserans, non Jeliberans. Fundebat lacrimas David ... Ita et vas miseremini mei, non quia merui, sed quia egeo " f..'liseremini proinde, eisi nil meriti. eerte sic a/fecti. Guigo (1109-1136), 5th Prior of the Carthusians, organized the order, codified its constitutions, etc. Ep, 70 (CPS, 425-427) : Tn quam utique misericordiam non propria utilitas inclinavit, sed intimis eam visceribus p1'Oximi miseria et fra/emus dolor inflixil. Misericordia quippe affectio est, quae nee voluntafe coerce/ur, nec ratione subiicitur; quando non eam in se quisque pC/.trahi!: voluntcrio motu [al. nutu], sed ipsa pias mentes ad compassionem dolentlum neceesarto cogt! affectu, ita ut, etiam si peccaium. esset misereri, elsi mul/um

vellem, non possem non misereri. Polest quidem effectum subtrahere; sed nunquid ipsum affectum
speaking s~cificaJIy of pity, he means

ratio vel TJoluntas (tHectut eveUere? Although he is. the same For a1l Affections.

ST.

BERNARD

AND

FRIENDSHIP

25 it is for the

24 ii.

A.

FISKE

Friendship and the Order

of

Love

He first loves only himself; sweetness he experiences :

when

he begins

to Jove God,

Here is another paradox : love is ordered and yet it is also disruptive of all order. Bernard's love for Robert forces him to go against the order of justice. it does not allow him to deliberate. to consult reason. to submit to judgment: driven by its own urgency. it [mows no measure and order, obeys no reason nor rational wiIl(26). And yet it is itself law: the law of God himself :
there is a law. therefore. and a law of God. charttv, which in a certain manner binds the Trinity in unity and draws it together in the bond of peace (26).

In the second degree he loves God. hut for his own sake. not for God... by a certain familiarity. knowledge of God bt)ows. and as It result God grows sweet to him and he tastes how sweet is the Lord.

It is the eternal law that creates and governs the cosmos. In his letter to Guigo the Carthusian. Bernard contrasts this eternal Jaw. good and sweet. that is from God. since He himself lives bv it and no one can have it save by His gift. with the harsh laws of the slave and hireling. These too are made by love. but a love that is not love of God. a love which loves something more than it loves God. Yet even these laws cannot escape God' s law. which. however. is then no longer sweet. The lower laws of fear and self-interest. are not whoIly wrong'. but are taken up by the law of love and transformed. This is of particular interest to friendship, for Bernard states explicitly that the motive of self-interest becomes a desire for the good. a preference of the good over evil. of the better over the good : then all things are loved in order :
When by God's grace this is fuIJy attained. the hody and the goods of the body are loved for the sake of the soul. the soul the sake of God. hut God for his own sake (27). all for

The familiar acquaintance with God is sweet. an experience that is tasted. Then. led by this. the soul goes on to the third stage where God is loved for himself : Bernard does not believe it possible in thi~ life to reach the fourth stage where a man loves even himself only for God's sai<e. If anyone has experienced it. let him speak: as for Bernard, to him it seems impossible (28). The love of Christ must be put before human love. In friendship, it is love of self - this Jove that Bernard does not think can be purely for God's sake - that is the measure. For the gospel says (Matt. 22, 39) to love one's neighbour as oneself. Bernard quotes from a bishor> :. this Augustian interpretation :
Indeed I love your body. hut your soul more. for I love even my own body only for my soul's sake ... and as with my own. so I prefer your soul to your hody.

Moreover when Bernard speaks of the four degrees of love. he is speaking of the love of God. but using the language of humnn friendship.
societatis iucuruiissimam. Vlswnem ... - Ep. 204 (PL lR2. 372 h) : Interim vera delectabor et laetabor nihilominus in his quae dicta sunt mihi. sperans et exspectans quod reliquum est de visione corporaii in die Domini. ut gaudium meum plenum sit. (26) Ep. 1 (CPS. 5) : Unde et contra iuds ordinem cogor revocare. laesus, eum qui me laesit; ... Dolor quippe nimius non deliberat. non oerecundaiur, non consulit rationem. non metuit dignitatis damnum; legi non obtemperat, iudicio non acquiescit, modum ignorat et ordinem. : td omnimodo et solummodo satagente animo. quo vel careat, quod se dolet habere; vel habeat. quo se do let carere. Ep, 12 (CPS. 205). - Ep. 70 (CPS. 425-427). - Ee. 11. 4 (CPS. 185) : Lex est ergo. et lex Domini charitas,. quae Trinitatem in unitate quodammodo cohibet. et colligat in vinculo pacts. Haec est lex aetema. crealrix ef gubematrix universitatis. (27) Ep. 11. 4-6 (CPS, 181-193). See ep. 11. 7 (CPS. 193) : Numquam erit charitas sine timorI', sed casto; numquam sine cupiditate. sed ordinalCl. _ Ibid . p. 195 : Quod cum plene per Dei graHam assecutum {neril, diligetur corpus, et universa corporis bona lantum propter animnm. anima propter Deum, Deus autem propter se ipsum.

----

Right order requires further that not only should spiritua] interests go first. both for self and for another. but that one's own conscience must first be cared for. Then each must love in his own measure, i.e. as he loves himself (29). The thought of the Charta caritatis would seem to inspire another aspect of this order. In loving. the general good must be first consirlercd: it would violate order if one is preferred to unity. Unity comes before any one personal bond; the common peace and concord before what is private. So too justice must go before friendship. common sense hefore affection (30). This is of course not new; it is in Cassian. in Cicero.

; (28) Ep. 11. 7 (CPS. 195) : Diligit itaque in securuio gradu Dcwm. sed propter se ..non propter; ipsum .... quadam ... Famili~ritate ... DellS tnnotescit, consequenter et dulcescit; et sic gnstate quam suavis est Dominus ... ut diligat Deum. non iam propter se. Sfld propter ipsum ... Ep. 11. 8 (epS, 197). E:p. 421 (PL. 629 a) : ... sic se invicem diligere. TIt mutrio norint Christi amorem
praeporiere, This is written to a man and his wife. . (29) Ep. 440 (PL 182. 637 a). Bernard is quoting a bishop whom he does not name. - Ep. 8. 1 (CPS. 161-163) : Et quidem reclus orrlo requirit ut prius propriam. deinde alienas curare studeas conscienttas ... Ex hoc antem ad tnisercuujum. proximnm reclo iam tramite charitas ordinata procedi: : rruippe quem ad sui quisque mensuram amare praecipitur. Bernard concludes he .would not lil(e to be loved by Bruno as Bruno loves himself. . (30) Ep, 7. 14. 16 (CPS. 145-147) :A~stimo enim. quia melius agH iste I!IC inobediens abbati [Arnold. who had left Morimund with some monks on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He died in Belgium the next year. 11'2'11. sed non charitati. servando unitatem in vinculo pacis, quam illi qui Ua obtemperan~

'J.

26

A. FISKE

And it does not prevent Bernard from speaking of the private law ~ of close friendship; among friends he has those who are most clear. special friends. whose relations with him are unique. As he says. I love you and am loved hy you in a special way (31). (to be continued) A. Fiske.

DE CISTERCIENZERINNEN ABDIJ TER HAGEN

De translatie naar Merelbeke en de terugkeer naar Axel.

homini uni, ul unum praeferanl unftati ... Quandiu ergo tn eadem qua rntssus sum [Bernard had been accused of leaving Citeaux - he answers that thiswas done in obedience]. pace et concordia persevero; quandiu. in unitale stocommunibus privata non praeforo, ... quod promisi, firm iter feneo. - Ep. 15, (CPS. 213) : ... salva famen in omnibus iuslitia, contra quam ne amiclllrt quidem respicere [as est. Note the ne ... quidem. not even a friend. Bernard also speaks of the ius amicitiae in a ciceronian sense. i.e, as the obligation to do whatever is rightly [recte] desired by a friend. Cr. ep, 390, 2 (PL 182. 597 a); - ep. 85. 4 (CPS, 523). Ep. 398. I (pL 182, W9 d-1:19 a) : Verum tu. vel proprio judicio consulens, cogitare debueras, non affectum prga me tuum. sed meum in Ecclesia locum. Sane altitudo negolif non amicunt Jesiderat. sed eruditum, sed Jignum : ... (3 J) Ep, 147. 1 (pL 182. 304 c) : Glorior privilegio amoris tui ... (Also in Ep, 390 PL 182. 596 c). - Ep. 11 (salutation), (eps. 173) : ... inler amicos carissimis, ... ; - ep. 153. 1 (PL 182. 312 b) : ... amice charissime. et in Christi visceribus mihi potissimum in omni plenitudine dilectionins spiritualiter (or specialiter : another reading) amplectende frater. - Ep. 1'57 (pL 182. 31'5 a). - Ep. 390 (PL 182. 596 a). This is the Danish bishop, Eskilus. who was very particularly loved by Bernard. and who. like William and Peter the Venerable, also desired to enter Clairvaux. and did so at the end of his life.

In een vorige bijdrage onderzochten wij, aan de hand van het onuitgegeven archie] der abdij het ontstaan van een vrouwensticht te Zuiddorpe in Axel-Ambacht. het probleem van de affiliatie bij Ctteaux ,(1236). de lotgevallen van de eerste nederzetting tot en met dc eerste uittocht der monialen van Domus Gaudii juxta Axele, vermoedeltik rond 1266 (1). In deze nieuwe bijdrage pogen wij een Jdjk te geven op de -geschiedenis in de laatsle decennia van de 13e eeuw : de tweede stichting te Merelbeke bij Gent. de moeiltjkheden verwekl door de zusterabdijen Nonnenbosch en Bijloh. en de verplichte terugkeer naar Axel. krachtens een besltssing van het generaal Kapittei. Een milde weldoenster, Jonkvrouw van Breyen of van Brienne. poorteres van Gent, ontfermde zich over het lot der zusters van Ter Hagen en poogde het Huis der Rlijdschap onser Vrouwe herop te richten. Ze mag beschouwd worden fils de stich teres van het nicuwe Domus Gaudii in de parochie Merelbeke, op de pIek Ledermersch. De 6e Iebruart 1269 schonk zij de kloosterqemeente, in pure aalmoes, voor het heiI van haar ziel en van die van haar voorzaten, een jaarlijbc rente van 15 pond Vlaams. gewaarborl1d door haar goederen en inkomsten in de stad GP.nt. voor het onderhoud van een kapei. Hicrbij voegde zij een lancJgoed van 20 bunders. Jeels houw-. deeIs weidegrond, met woonhuizen. wateren, visrecht en bijhorigheden (2). Op tweede (1) L. C n 0 c k a e r t . De slichting Jer Cistt!rcienzerinnen ahdi; T er Hagen onder Axel (1236). in CUeaux in de NeJerlanclen 9. 1958. 121-131Aangaande het archle], loco cit. 121. vn. 1. (2) Gent. Archte] Bijlol<e. fonds Ter Hagen. Carton 1. 8. Daar de Paasstijl algemeen gebruikelijk was in Vlaanderen. alzou het stuk van 121:9zijn. Hel verzoel, van het generaal Kapittel zou de schenking van Juta van Erienne dus voorafgaan; Stat uta (Staluta capitulorum generalium O. Cisterciensis ab. anno 1116 ad annum 1786, edidit J. Can i v e z , 8 delen, Leuven 1931 en vv.) dl Hi O. a. 12(8. 31 : Petitio monialium Vallis Caoli et Domns Gaudti quae petunt transierri monasteria de Claromarisco el de Dunis abbatibus committilur auctorita!e Capituli generalis qui. ad loca personoliter accedenies pensalis omnibus ...