David Bernard of Clairvaux

(1091-1153)

Born: 1091, Fontaines, near Dijon, in Burgundy, France

Died: August 21, 1153, Clairvaux, France

Buried: at the Clairvaux Abbey, France

Works about David Bernard of Clairvaux

David Bernard of Clairvauxan

(9th Edition of The Encyclopedia Britannica - Vol. III, 1878)

BERNARD, ST, one of the most illustrious Christian teachers and representatives of monasticism in the Middle Ages, was born at Fontaines, near Dijon, in Burgundy, in 1091. The son of a knight and vassal of the duke of Burgundy who perished in the first crusade, Bernard may have felt for a time the temptations of a military career, but the influence of a pious mother and his own inclinations towards a life of meditation and study led him to the cloister. While still a youth he is said to have been "marvellously cogitative" ("mire cogitativus," St Bern. Op., vol. ii. col. 1063), and the ascendancy of his mind and character were soon shown. He joined the small monastery of Citeaux in 1113 when twenty-two years of age, and such were the effects of his own devotion and eloquent enthusiasm in commending a religious life, that he drew after him not only his two younger brothers, but also his two elder ones, Guido and Gerard, both of whom had naturally taken to soldiering, and the elder of whom was married and had children. The effect of his preaching is said to have been that " mothers hid their sons,  wives their husbands, companions their friends," lest they should be drawn away by his persuasive earnestness.

The monastery of Citeaux had attracted St Bernard not only on account of its neighbourhood (it was only a few miles distant from Dijon), but by its reputation for austerity. The monks were few and very poor. They were under an Englishman of the name of Stephen Harding, originally from Dorsetshire, whose aim was to restore the Benedictine rule to its original simplicity and give a new impulse to the monastic movement. In Bernard, Harding found a congenial spirit. No amount of self-mortification could exceed his ambition. He strove to overcome his bodily senses altogether and to live entirely absorbed in religious meditation. Sleep he counted a loss, and compared it to death. Food was only taken to keep him from fainting. The most menial offices were his delight, and even then his humility looked around for some lowlier employment. Fortunately he loved nature, and found a constant solace in her rocks and woods. "Trust one who has tried it," he writes in one of his epistles, "you will find more in woods than in books; trees and stones will teach you what you can never learn from masters." ("Expertocrede: aliquid amplius invenies in silvis quam in libris; ligna et lapides docebunt te quod a magistris audire non possis," Epist. 106.)

So ardent a nature soon found a sphere of ambition for itself. The monks of Citeaux, from being a poor and unknown company, began to attract attention after the accession of St Bernard and his friends. The fame of their self-denial was noised abroad, and out of their lowliness and abnegation came as usual distinction and success. The small monastery was unable to contain the inmates that gathered within it, and it began to send forth colonies in various directions. St Bernard had been two years an inmate, and the penetrating eye of the abbot had discovered beneath all his spiritual devotion a genius of rare power, and especially fitted to aid his measures of monastic reform. He was chosen accordingly to head a band of devotees who issued from Citeaux in 1115 in search of a new home. This band, with Bernard at their head, journeyed northwards till they reached a spot in the diocese of Langres--a thick-wooded valley, wild and gloomy, but with a clear stream running through it. Here they settled and laid the foundations of the famous abbey of Clairvaux, with which St Bernard's name remains associated in history The hardships which the monks endured for a time in the new abode were such as to drive them almost to despair, and their leader fell seriously ill, and was only rescued from what seemed impending death by the kind compulsion of his friend William of Champeaux, the great doctor of the age, who besought and received the direction of Bernard for a year from his superior at Citeaux. Thanks to his considerate friend the abbot of Clairvaux was forced to abandon the cares of his new establishment, and in retirement and a healthful regimen to seek renewed health . The effect was all that could be desired, and in a few years Bernard had not only recovered his strength, but had begun that marvellous career of literary and ecclesiastical activity, of incessant correspondence and preaching which was to make him in some respects the most influential man of his age.

Gradually the influence of Bernard's character began to extend beyond his monastery. His friendship with William of Champeaux and others gave currency to his opinions, and from his simple retreat came by voice or pen an authority before which many bowed, not only within his own order but within the church at large. This influence was notably shown after the death of Pope Honorius II. in 1130. Two rival popes assumed the purple, each being able to appeal to his election by a section of the cardinals. Christendom was divided betwixt the claims of Anacletus II. and Innocent II. The former was backed by a strong Italian party, and drove his adversary from Rome and even from Italy. Innocent took refuge in France. The king, Louis the Fat, espoused his cause, and having summoned a council of archbishops and bishops, he laid his commands on the holy abbot of Clairvaux to be present also and give the benefit of his advice. With reluctance Bernard obeyed the call, and from the depths of seclusion was at once plunged into the heart of the great contest which was afflicting the Christian world. The king and prelates put the question before him in such a way as to invite his decision and make him arbiter. After careful deliberation he gave his judgment in favour of Innocent and not only so, but from that time forward threw himself with characteristic fervour and force into the cause for which he had declared. Not only France, but, England, Spain, and Germany were won to the side of Innocent, who, banished from Rome, in the words of St Bernard, was "accepted by the world." He travelled from place to place with the powerful abbot by his side, who also received him in his humble cell at Clairvaux. Apparently, however, the meanness of the accommodation and the scantiness of the fare (one small fowl was all that could be got for the Pope's repast), left no wish on the part of Innocent or his retinue to continue their stay at Clairvaux. He found a more dainty reception elsewhere, but nowhere so powerful a friend.

Through the persuasions of Bernard, the emperor took up arms for Innocent; and Anacletus was driven to shut himself up in the impregnable castle of St Angelo, where his death opened the prospect of a united Christendom. A second anti-pope was elected, but after a few months retired from the field, owing also, it is said, to St Bernard's influence. A great triumph was gained not without a struggle, and the abbot of Clairvaux remained master of the ecclesiastical situation. No name stood higher in the Christian world.

The chief events which fill up his subsequent life attest the greatness of his influence. These were his contest with the famous Abelard, and his preaching of the second crusade.

Peter Abelard was twelve years older than Bernard, and had risen to eminence before Bernard had entered the gates of Citeaux. His first intellectual encounter had been with Bernard's aged friend William of Champeaux, whom he had driven from his scholastic throne at Paris by the superiority of his dialectics. His subsequent career, his ill-fated passion for Heloise, his misfortunes, his intellectual restlessness and audacity, his supposed heresies, had all shed additional renown on his name; and when a council was summmoned at Sens in 1140, at which the French king and his nobles and all the prelates of the realm were to be present, Abelard dared his enemies to impugn his opinions. St Bernard had been amongst those most alarmed by Abelard's teaching, and had sought those to stir up alike Pope, princes, and bishops to take measures against him. He did not readily, however, take up the gauntlet thrown down by the great hero of the schools. He professed himself a " stripling too unversed in logic to meet the giant practiced in every kind of debate." But "all were come prepared for a spectacle", and he was forced into the field. To the amazement of all, when the combatants met and all seemed ready for the intellectual fray, Abelard refused to proceed with his defense. After several passages considered to be heretical had been read from his books he made no reply, but at once appealed to Rome and left the assembly. Probably he saw enough in the character of the meeting to assure him that it formed a very different audience from those which he had been accustomed to sway by his subtlety and eloquence, and had recourse to this expedient to gain time and foil his adversaries. Bernard followed up his assault by a letter of indictment to the Pope against the heretic. The Pope responded by a sentence of condemnation, and Abelard was silenced. Soon after he found refuge at Cluny with the kindly abbot, Peter the Venerable, who brought about something of a reconciliation betwixt him and Bernard. The latter, however, never heartily forgave the heretic. He was too zealous a churchman not to see the danger there is in such a spirit as Abelard's, and the serious consequences to which it might lead.

In all things Bernard was enthusiastically devoted to the church, and it was this enthusiasm which led him at last into the chief error of his career. Bad news reached France of the progress of the Turkish arms in the East. The capture of Edessa in 1144 sent a thrill of alarm and indignation throughout Christian Europe, and the French king was urged to send forth a new army to reclaim the Ho]y Land from the triumphant infidels. The Pope was consulted, and encouraged the good work, delegating to St Bernard the office of preaching the new crusade. Weary with growing years and cares the abbot of Clairvaux seemed at first reluctant, but afterwards threw himself with all his accustomed power into the new movement, and by his marvellous eloquence kindled the crusading madness once more throughout France and Germany. Not only the French king, Louis VII., but the German emperor, Conrad III., placed himself at the head of a vast army and set out for the East by way of Constantinople. Detained there too long by the duplicity of the Greeks, and divided in counsel, the Christian armies encountered frightful hardships, and were at length either dispersed or destroyed. Utter ruin and misery followed in the wake of the wildest enthusiasm. Bernard became an object of abuse as the great preacher of a movement which had terminated so disastrously, and wrote in humility an apologetic letter to the Pope, in which the divine judgments are made as usual accountable for human folly. This and other anxieties bore heavily upon even so sanguine a spirit. Disaster abroad and heresy at home left him no peace, while his body was worn to a shadow by his fasting and labour. It was, as he said, " the season of calamities." Still to the last, with failing strength, sleepless, unable to take solid food, with limbs swollen and feeble, his spirit was unconquerable. "Whenever a great necessity called him forth," as his friend and biographer Godfrey says, "his mind conquered all his bodily infirmities, he was endowed with strength and to the astonishment of all who saw him, he could surpass even robust men in his endurance of fatigue." He continued absorbed in public affairs, and dispensed his care and advice in all directions often about the most trivial is well as the most important affairs. Finally the death of his associates and friends left him without any desire to live. He longed rather "to depart and be with Christ." To his sorrowing monks, whose earnest prayers were supposed to have assisted his partial recovery when near his end, he said, " Why do you thus detain a miserable man? Spare me. Spare me, and let me depart." He expired August 20, 1153, shortly after his disciple Pope Eugenius III.

His character appears in our brief sketch as that of a noble enthusiast, selfish in nothing save in so far as the church had become a part of himself, ardent in his sympathies and friendships, tenacious of purpose, terrible in indignation. He spared no abuse, and denounced what he deemed corruption to the Pope as frankly as to one of his own monks. He is not a thinker nor a man in advance of his age, but much of the best thought and piety of his time are sublimed in him to a sweet mystery and rapture of sentiment which has still power to touch amidst all its rhetorical exaggerations.

His writings are very numerous, consisting of epistles, sermons, and theological treatises. The best edition of his works is that of Father Mabillon, printed at Paris in 1690 in 2 vols. folio, and reprinted more than once--finally in 1854 in 4 vols. 8vo. His life, written by his friend and disciple Godfrey, is also contained in this edition of his works. (J.T.)

Encyclopaedia Britannica

Ninth Edition, Vol. III

Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1878

August 20. -- David Bernard

By Alban Butler

August 20. -- David BERNARD.

         Bernard was born at the castle of Fontaines, in Burgundy. The grace of his person and the vigor of his intellect filled his parents with highest hopes, and the world lay bright and smiling before him when he renounced it forever and joined the monks at Citeaux. All his brothers followed Bernard to Citeaux except Nivard, the youngest, who was left to be the  stay of his father in his old age. "You will now be heir of everything," said they to him, as they departed. "Yes," said the boy; "you leave me earth, and keep heaven for yourselves; do you call that fair?" And he too left the world. At length their aged father came to exchange wealth and honor for the poverty of a monk of Clairvaux. One only sister remained  behind; she was married, and loved the world and its pleasures. Magnificently dressed, she visited Bernard; he refused to see her, and only at last consented to do so, not as her brother, but as the minister of Christ. The words he then spoke moved her so much that, two years later, she retired to a convent with her husband's holy example attracted so many novices that other monasteries were erected, and our Saint was appointed abbot of that of Clairvaux.

         Unsparing with himself, he at first expected too much of his brethren, who were disheartened at his severity; but soon perceiving his error, he led them forward, by the sweetness of his correction and the mildness of his rule, to wonderful perfection. In spite of his desire to lie hid, the fame of his sanctity spread far and wide, and many churches asked for him as their Bishop. Through the help of Pope Eugenius III., his former subject, he escaped this dignity; yet his retirement was continually invaded: the poor and the weak sought his protection; bishops, kings, and popes applied to him for advice; and at length Eugenius himself charged him to preach the crusade. By his fervor, eloquence, and miracles Bernard kindled the enthusiasm of Christendom, and two splendid armies were despatched against the infidel. Their defeat was only due, said the Saint, to their own sins. Bernard died in 1153. His most precious writingshave earned for him the titles of the last of the Fathers and a Doctor of Holy Church.

         Reflection. -- "David Bernard used to say to those who applied for admission to the monastery, "If you desire to enter here, leave at the threshold the body you have brought with you from the world; here there is room only for your soul." Let us constantly ask ourselves David Bernard's daily question, "To what end didst thou come hither?"

BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX

New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Vol. II: Basilica - Chambers

I.   Life and Far-reaching Activity.

      Bernard's Importance (§ 1).

      Early Career. Abbot of Clairvaux (§ 2).

      Activity for Innocent II and against Anacletus II (§ 3).

       The Second Crusade (§ 4).

II.   Ecclesiastical and Theological Significance.

        Asceticism (§ 1).

        Study of the Bible (§ 2).

        Grace and Works (§ 3).

        Bernard's Mysticism (§ 4).

        Doctrine of the Church (§ 5) .

        Monasticism (§ 6).

III.   Writings.

IV.  Hymns.

I. Life and Far-reaching Activity:

1. Bernard's Importance.

 David Bernard of Clairvaux (Bernardus Clarœvallis) is one of the most prominent personalities of the twelfth century, of the entire Middle Ages, and of church history in general. He gave a new impulse to monastic life, influenced ecclesiastical affairs outside of monasticism in the most effective manner, and contributed not a little toward awakening an inner piety in large circles. As he knew how to inspire the masses by his powerful preaching, so also he understood how to lead individual souls by his quiet conversation, to ease the mind, and to dominate the will. It was said in his time that the Church had had no preacher like him since Gregory the Great; and that this was no exaggeration is proved by Bernard's orations, which in copiousness of thought and beauty of exposition have few equals. Revered by his contemporaries as saint and prophet, his writings, which belong to the noblest productions of ecclesiastical literature, have secured him also a far-reaching influence upon posterity. Praised by Luther and Calvin, Bernard's name has retained a good repute among Protestants, though he represented many things which the Reformation had to oppose.

2. Early Career. Abbot of Clairvaux.

Bernard was born at Fontaines (20 m. n.e. of Dijon), France, 1090; d. at Clairvaux (in the valley of the Aube, 120 m. s.e. of Paris) Aug. 20, 1153. He was the third son of the knight Tecelin and Aleth, a very pious lady, whose influence decided his future. While yet a boy he lost his mother, and, not being qualified for military service, he was destined for a learned career. He was educated at Chatillon and for a time seemed to be influenced by the world (cf. MPL, clxxviii, 1857; Vita, I, iii, 6). But this period can not have been of long duration; the memory of his mother and the impressions of a solitary journey called him back, and he resolved quickly and firmly to break entirely with the world. He induced some of his brothers, relatives, and friends to follow him, and, after spending half a year together at Chatillon, they entered the "new monastery" at Citeaux (see CISTERCIANS). In 1115 a daughter monastery was founded at Clairvaux and Bernard became abbot. He gave all his energies to the foundation of the monastery, and spent himself in ascetic practises, which the famous William of Champeaux, then  bishop of Chalons, checked from time to time (Vita, I, vii, 31-32). Bernard soon became the spiritual adviser not only of his monks but of many who sought his advice and always left

Clairvaux impressed by the spirit of solemnity and peace which seemed to be spread over the place (Vita, I, vii, 33-34). His sermons also began to exercise a powerful influence, which wasincreased by his reputation as prophet and worker of miracles (Vita, I, x, 46). According to the constitution which the new order adopted, Clairvaux became the mother monastery of one oft he five principal divisions into which the Cistercian community was organized, and Bernard soon became the most influential and famous personality of the entire order. As early as the pontificate of Honorius II (1124-1130) he was one of the most prominent men of the Church in France; he enjoyed the favor of the papal chancellor Haimeric (Epist., xv), communicated with papal legates (Epist., xvi-xix, xxi), and was consulted on important ecclesiastical matters. At the Synod of Troyes (1128), to which he was called by Cardinal Matthew of Albano, he spoke in favor of the Templars, secured their recognition, and is said to have outlined the first rule of the order (M. Bouquet, Historiens des Gaules et de la France, xiv, Paris, 1806, 232).In the controversy which originated in the same year with King Louis VI, who was not antagonistic to the Church but jealously guarded his own rights, Bernard and his friars defended the bishop before the king (Epist., xiv), afterward also before the pope (Epist., xlvi, cf. xlvii), though at first unsuccessfully.

3. Activity for Innocent II and against Anacletus II.

With the schism of 1130 Bernard enters into the first rank of the influential men of his time by espousing from the very beginning the cause of Innocent II against Anacletus II. This partizanship of Bernard and others was no doubt induced by the fear that Anacletus would allow himself to be influenced by family interests. On this account they overlooked the illegal procedure in the election of Innocent, regarding it as a mere violation of formalities, defending it with reasons of doubtful value, and emphasizing the personal worth of that pope. At the conference which the king held at Etampes with spiritual and secular grandees concerning the affair, Bernard seems to have taken the part of reporter. He also worked for the pope by personal negotiations and by writing (Epist., cxxiv, cxxv). When Innocent was unable to maintain his ground at Rome and went to France, Bernard was usually at his side. Later, probably in the beginning of 1132, he was in Aquitaine, endeavoring to counteract the influence of Gerhard of Angouleme upon Count William of Poitou, who sided with Anacletus (Vita, II, vi, 36).

His success here was only temporary (Epist., cxxvii, cxxviii), and not until 1135 did Bernard succeed, by resorting to stratagem, in changing the mind of the count (Vita, II, vi, 37-38). When in 1133 Lothair undertook his first campaign against Rome, Bernard accompanied the pope from his temporary residence in Pisa to Rome, and prevented the reopening of the proceedings concerning the rights of the opposing popes (Epist., cxxvi, 8 sqq.). He had previously visited Genoa, animated the people by his addresses, and inclined them to an agreement with the Pisans, as the pope needed the support of both cities (cf. Epist., cxxix, cxxx).

Bernard who in the spring of 1135 induced Frederick of Staufen to submit to the emperor (Vita, IV, iii, 14; Otto of Freising, Chron., vii, 19). He then went to Italy,  where in the beginning of June the Council of Pisa was held; according to the Vita (II, ii, 8), everybody surrounded him here, so that it looked as if he were not in parte sollicitudinis, but in plenitudine potestatis. Nevertheless, resolutions were passed at that time regarding appeals to the papal see, which could hardly have been to the liking of Bernard. After the council he succeeded in inducing Milan and other cities of Upper Italy to submit to the pope and emperor (Epist., cxxix-cxxxiii, cxxxvii, cxl). In Milan they, attempted to elevate him almost with force to the see of St. Ambrose (Vita, II, ii-v). During the last campaign of Lothair against Rome, Bernard went to Italy for the third time, in 1137; he worked there successfully against Anacletus, and after the Pentecost of 1138 he finally brought about the submission of his successor to Innocent and thus ended the schism (Epist., cccxvii). After this he left Rome. How great Bernard's influence in Rome was at this time may be seen from his successful opposition to Abelard (q.v.).

The ecclesiastico-political affairs of France soon made a new claim upon Bernard's attention. The young king, Louis VII, by making reckless use of his royal prerogatives, caused friction, as when he refused to invest Peter of Lachatre, whom the chapter of Bourges had elected archbishop. The pope consecrated him, nevertheless, and thus provoked a conflict which was enhanced by the partizanship of Count Theobald of Champagne. After a while Bernard was asked to mediate; he faithfully performed this difficult task and enjoyed the confidence of the king to the end of his life (cf. Epist., ccciv), whereas his relations to the pope appear to have been troubled toward the end (Epist., ccxviii; ccxxxi, 3).

4. The Second Crusade.

A very unexpected event was the election of Bernard, abbot of Aqua Silvia near Rome, formerly a monk in Clairvaux, as Pope Eugenius III (1145-53). Bernard writes a little later (Epist., ccxxxix) that all who had a cause now came to him; they said that he, not Eugenius, was pope. And it is true that he exercised a remarkable influence in Rome especially at first, but Eugenius did not always follow his counsels and views; he had to consider the cardinals who were envious of Bernard. About this time Bernard, at the request of Cardinal Alberic of Ostia, undertook a journey to Languedoc, where heresy had advanced greatly and Henry of Lausanne (q.v.) had a large following. Bernard's presence there, especially at Toulouse, was not without effect, but to win permanent success continual preaching was required. A more important commission was given to him in the following year by the pope himself, to preach the crusade. At Vezelay, where the king and queen of France took the cross, Mar. 21, 1146, Bernard's address was most effective. He then traversed the north of France and Flanders, and the officious doings of the monk Radulf induced him to go into the regions of the Rhine; he succeeded in checking the persecutions of the Jews at Mainz, which Radulf had occasioned.

His journey along the Rhine was accompanied by numerous cures, of which the Vita (vi) contains notices in the form of a diary. But he regarded it as the wonder of wonders that he succeeded on Christmas day, 1146, in influencing King Conrad in favor of the crusade, in the face of all political considerations. During the crusade Eugenius sought a refuge in France.

Bernard accompanied him, and was present at the great council in Reims, 1148; in the debates against Gilbert of Poitiers (see GILBERT DE LA PORREE) following the council, Bernard appeared as his main opponent; but the jealousy of the cardinals brought it about that Gilbert escaped unhurt (Vita, III, v, 15; Otto of Freising, De gestis Frid., i, 55-57; Hist. pont., viii, MGH, Scrip., xx, 522 sqq.). About this time the first unfavorable news of the crusade became known, and tidings of its complete failure followed. No one felt the blow more keenly than Bernard, who with prophetical authority to speak had predicted a favorable issue (De consid., ii, 1). In the last years of his life he had to experience many things which caused him sadness. Men with whom he had had a lifelong connection died; his relations with Eugenius III were sometimes troubled (Epist., cccvi); the frailty and the pains of his body increased.

But his mental vitality remained active; his last work, De consideratione, betrays freshness and unimpaired force of mind.

II. Ecclesiastical and Theological Significance:

1. Asceticism.

Bernard's entire life was dominated by the resolution he made while a youth. To work out the salvation of his soul, and--which meant the same thing to him--to dedicate himself to the service of God, was thenceforth the sum of his life. To serve God demanded above all a struggle against nature, and in this struggle Bernard was in earnest. Sensual temptations he seems to have overcome early and completely (Vita, I, iii, 6) and an almost virginal purity distinguished him. To suppress sensuality in the wider sense of the word, he underwent the hardest castigations, but their excess, which undermined his health, he afterward checked in others (cf. Vita, I, xii, 60). He always remained devoted to a very strict asceticism (Epist., cccxlv; Cant., xxx, 10-12; Vita, I, xii, 60), but castigation was to him only a means of godliness not godliness itself, which demands of man still other things. The new life comes only from the grace of God, but it requires the most serious work of one's own nature. How much importance Bernard attached to this work, whose preliminary condition is a quiet collection of the mind, may be learned from the admonitions which he gives on that point to Eugenius. That he prefers the contemplative life to the active is nothing peculiar in him; and he doubtless had the desire to devote himself entirely to it. He may have believed that only duty and love impelled him to act. And yet, as he was eminently fitted for action, such work was probably also is harmony with his inclinations. From his own experience he received the strength to work, the thorough education of the personality, by which he exercised an almost ascinating power over others; on the other hand, his practical activity excited in him a stronger desire for contemplation and made it the more fruitful for him (De diversis, sermo iii, 3-5).

2. Study of the Bible.

Of Bernard's quiet hours, in spite of the many pressing claims on him, one part was devoted to study, and his favorite study was the Holy Scripture. His knowledge of the Bible was remarkable; not only does he often quote Bible-passages, but all his orations are impregnated with Biblical references, allusions, and phrases, to pay regard to which is often essential for the correct understanding. It is true that his exegesis did not go beyond the average of his time, yet he allows the great fundamental thoughts and vital forms of the Holy Scripture to influence him the more. As he was nourished by them he also knew in a masterly manner how to bring them near to others. All qualities of the great preacher were united in him; besides being vitally seized by the grace of God, he had a hearty desire to serve his hearers, an impressive knowledge of the human heart, and a wealth of thoughts and fascinating exposition, which was indeed not free from mannerism. What is missing in his sermons is reference to the variety of the relations of life, and this is intelligible, because he had monks as his hearers.

3. Grace and Works.

Religious geniality is the most distinguishing quality in the whole disposition of Bernard; his other rich gifts serve it, to it is due the impression which he made upon his time, and the importance which he obtained in the history of the Church. At the same time, Bernard is also a child of his time; above all, of the Church of his time, in which his religious life could develop without conflict. In this respect Bernard is related not to Luther, but to Augustine, and between Augustine and him stand Leo I, Nicholas I, and Gregory VII. Thus elements are found in Bernard which point to future developments combined with those which belong only to the ecclesiastical consciousness of the time. Bernard is most deeply permeated by the feeling of owing everything to the grace of God, that on the working of God rests the beginning and end of the state of salvation, and that we are to trust only in his grace, not in our works and merits. From the forgiveness of sin proceeds the Christian life (De diversis, sermo iii, 1). Faith is the means by which we lay hold of the grace of God (In vigil. nativ. domini, v, 5; In Cant., sermo xxii, 8; cf. also In Cant., lxvii, 10; In vigil. nat. dom., sermo ii, 4). Man can never be sure of salvation by resting his hope upon his own righteousness, for all our works always remain imperfect. On the other hand, Bernard does not deny that man can and should have merits, but they are only possible through the preceding and continually working grace of God; they are gifts of God, which again have rewards in the world to come as their fruit, but without becoming a cause of self-glory. Before God there is no legal claim, but an acquisition for eternity through the work of the pious, made possible and directed by God's grace.

A characteristic contrast to these thoughts, which lead man again and again to humility, is the excessive glorification which Bernard devotes to the saints, above all to the Virgin Mary. Though he opposes (Epist., clxxiv) the new doctrine of her immaculate conception, he nevertheless uses expressions concerning the mother of Jesus which go very far (e.g., In nativ. Beat. Virg. Mariœ, v, 7; In assumpt. Beat. Virg. Mariœ, i, 4; In adv. dom., ii, 5). The same concerns also other saints (e.g., In vigil. Petri et Pauli, § § 2, 4, and at the end of the second oration In transitu B. Malachiœ). But the importance of such expression which a Protestant consciousness will never be able to adopt is restricted by this, that they are only used on special occasions, such as a feast of the saints. Otherwise the saints stand in the background, Christ alone stands in the foreground.

4. Bernard's Mysticism.

Bernard has always been regarded as a main representative of Christian mysticism, and his writings have been much used by later mystics and were the main source for the Imitatio Christi. But just here becomes evident how different the phenomena are which are comprised under the name of mysticism. With the Neoplatonic-Dionysian mysticism that of Bernard has some points of contact, but it differs from it as to its religious character. It is known how depreciatingly Luther speaks of the Areopagite, but this animadversion does not concern Bernard's mysticism. It is not man who soars to divine height, but the grace of God in Christ, which first pardons the sin and then lifts up to itself the pardoned sinner. On this account the whole mysticism of Bernard centers about Christ, the humbled and exalted one; it likes to dwell upon his earthly appearance, his suffering and death, for it is the "work of redemption" which more than anything else is fit to excite love in the redeemed (In Cant., xx, 2; De grad. hum. in its first chapters). At the same time Bernard perceives that a sensual devotion, as it were, to the suffering of Christ is not the goal with which one must be satisfied; the thing necessary is rather to be filled with the spirit of Christ and through it to become like Christ. By Christ's work of redemption the Church has become his bride. To it, i.e., to the totality of the redeemed, belongs this name first and in a proper sense, to the individual soul only in so far as it is a part of the Church (In Cant., xxvii, 6, 7; lxvii; lxviii, 4, 11). What it receives from him is in the first place mercy and forgiveness of sins, then grace and blessing. The climax of grace is the perfect union, but in the earthly life this is experienced by the pious at the utmost in single moments (De consid., V, ii, 1; De grad. hum., viii; De dilig. Deo, x). When Bernard speaks of becoming one with Christ and with God, his thought is clothed with Biblical expressions; but that Bernard in point of fact does not intend to go beyond the meaning of these words can be seen by reading the explanations (In Cant., lxxi, 7 sqq.), where the union with God, to which the pious soul attains, is most keenly distinguished from a consubstantiality, as it exists between Father and Son in the Trinity. Bernard is entirely free from pantheistic thoughts, and that mysticism does not bring him in opposition to the Church his entire ecclesiastical attitude shows.

5. Doctrine of the Church.

The Church as organized, with its hierarchy, at whose head stands the Roman bishop, as successor of Peter and vicar of Christ, is to Bernard the exhibition of the kingdom of Christ on earth. On this account it must enjoy perfect autonomy, having a right of supervision over everything in Christendom, even over princes and states. It even has a right over the worldly sword (De consid., IV, 7; cf. Epist., cclvi, 1). Nevertheless Bernard is no blind adherent of the views of Gregory VII. In the first place Bernard demands a perfect separation between secular and spiritual affairs; the secular as such is to be left to the secular government, and only for spiritual purposes and in a spiritual sense is the pope to have supervision (De consid., i, 6). But Bernard is also an opponent of the absolute papal power in the Church. As certainly as he recognizes the papal authority as the highest in the Church, so decidedly does he reprove the effort to make it the only one. Even the middle and lower ranks of the Church have their right before God. To withdraw the bishops from the authority of the archbishops, the abbots from the authority of the bishops, that all may become dependent on the curia, means to make the Church a monster (De consid., iii, 8).

6. Monasticism.

Notwithstanding Bernard's many-sided activity, he was and remained above all things a monk, and would not exchange his monachism either for the chair of St. Ambrose or for the primacy of Reims. Monachism is to him the ideal of Christianity. He acknowledges indeed that true Christianity is also possible while living in the world (Apol., iii, 6; In Cant., lxvi, 3; De div., ix, 3), but such a life compared with monastic life seems to him a lower, and in spiritual relation, a dangerous position (De div., xxvii, 2), a partition of the soul between the earthly and heavenly. Monasticism itself he regards in an ideal manner; it appeals to him also not so much from the point of view of merit as from that of the safest way to salvation. To this the whole order of the monastery is subservient, aside from this it is of no value. Besides, Bernard had relations with the different monasteries and monkish associations and was interested in them (cf. with regard to the Premonstratensians Epist., viii, 4; lvi; and especially ccliii; concerning other regular canons, Epist., iii; xxxix, 1; lxxxvii-xc; and elsewhere). In his many relations with the Cluniacensians, frictions were not wanting (cf. Epist., i; clxiv; cclxxxiii; etc., and especially the Apologia ad Guilelmum), for the rise of the new order took place partly at the expense of the old. Nevertheless Bernard was highly esteemed by the Cluniacensians, and close friendship associated him with their head, the noble Peter the Venerable. That it was not interrupted is mainly due to Peter, who knew how to bear occasional lack of consideration by his great friend (cf. Epist., clxvi, 1; clxviii, 1) without resentment (Epist., ccxxix, 5). There existed a mutual true affection and admiration; the letters which they exchanged with each other are an honorable monument for both men, and without regard to differences of times and confessions modern readers can appreciate them.

III. Writings:

The works of Bernard include a large collection of letters; a number of treatises, dogmatic and polemic, ascetic and mystical, on monasticism, and on church government; a biography of St. Malachy, the Irish archbishop; and sermons. Hymns are also ascribed to him (see below). The most important are the letters, which constitute one of the most valuable collections of church history; and the sermons, of which those on the Song of Songs furnish the chief source of knowledge of Bernard's mysticism. The first and fifth books of his De consideratione are also of a mystic character, whereas ii, iii, and iv contain a critique of church affairs of his time from Bernard's point of view and lay down a programme for papal conduct which acontemporary pope would have found it difficult to follow.

S. M. DEUTSCH.

 IV. Hymns: s: s: s:

 Five hymns are ascribed to Bernard, viz.:

(1) the so-called Rhythmus de contemptu mundi, "O miranda vanitas! O divitiarum!"

(2)  the Rhythmica oratio ad unum quodlibet membrorum Christi patientis, a series of salves addressed to the feet, knees, etc. of the Crucified;

(3) the Oratio devota ad Dominum Jesum et Beatam Mariam matrem ejus, "Summe summi tu patris unice";

(4)  a Christmas hymn, "Lœtabundus exultet fidelis chorus";

(5) the Jubilus rhythmicus de nomine Jesu, "Jesu dulcis memoria," on the blessedness of the soul united with Christ.

All these poetical productions, besides being beautiful in form and composition, are distinguished by a tender and living feeling and a mystic fervor and holy love. If they are really Bernard's, he deserves the title of Doctor mellifluus devotusque. An addition to the Salve regina, closing with the words, "O clemens, O pia, O dulcis virgo, Maria," is also ascribed to him. Mabillon denies Bernard's authorship of all these hymns in spite of the ancient and prevalent tradition. But one is inclined to accept the tradition, especially since the scholastic Berengar, in his Apologia Abelardi contra S. Bernardum, states that Bernard was devoted to poetry from his youth. German adaptations of the last section of (2) by Paul Gerhard (1659),"O Haupt voll Blut and Wunden," and of (5), "O Jesu suss, wer dein gedenkt", are in common use; there are several English versions--as by J. W. Alexander, "O Sacred Head, now wounded" and "Jesus, how sweet thy memory is," and Ray Palmer's "Jesus, the very thought of thee."