1. TO POPE INNOCENT II: A PLEA on BEHALF of ABELARD;

1. TO POPE INNOCENT II: A PLEA on BEHALF of ABELARD
Letter 168,  c.1141

Engl. tr. The Letters of Heloise and Abelard, ed. tr. M.M McLaughlin and B. Wheeler (Palgrave MacMillan/St. Martin’s Press, 2009

Latin: The Letters of Peter the Venerable, vol. 1 ed. G.Constable (Harvard Univ. Pr., 1967) 401-402.

To the supreme pontiff and our special father, the lord pope Innocent, brother Peter, the humble abbot of Cluny, sends his obedience and love.

Summo pontifici et nostro speciali patri domino papae Innocentio, frater Petrus humilis Cluniacensium abbas, obaedientiam et amorem.

When Master Peter, who is, I think, very well known to your wisdom, passed by Cluny recently on his way from France, we asked him where he was going. He replied that he was gravely troubled by the attacks of certain men who had called him a heretic, a name he abhorred, and that he had appealed to the apostolic majesty and wished to take refuge in its protection. We praised his plan and encouraged him to flee to this recognized and common refuge. We assured him that the apostolic justice, which has never failed anyone, even the stranger and pilgrim, would not be refused him. We promised him that he would find mercy as well, if it should be needed.

Magister Petrus' sapientiae uestrae ut credo optime notus, nuper a Francia ueniens, per Cluniacum transitum fecit. Quaesiuimus quo tenderet. Grauatum se uegationibus quorumdam, qui sibi quod ualde abhorrebat nomen hereticum imponebant, maiestatem apostolicam se appellasse, et ad earn confugere uelle respondit. Laudauimus propositum, et ut ad notum et commune refugium confugeret admonuimus. Iustitiam apostolicam quae nulli unquam nec etiam extraneo uel peregrino defuit, sibi non defuturam diximus; misericordiam ipsam ubi ratio postularet, sibi occursuram promisimus.

Meanwhile, the abbot of Citeaux [Raynard] arrived and discussed both with him and with me the restoration of peace between Master Peter and the lord of Clairvaux, who was the cause of his appeal to you. We did our best to make peace between them, and urged Master Peter to go with the abbot of Citeaux to visit the abbot of Clairvaux. We also advised him that if he had written or said anything offensive to Catholic ears, he should follow the abbot’s urging and that of other good and wise men to retract it verbally and erase it from his books. And so he did. He went and he returned, and on his return he reported that, through the mediation of the abbot of Citeaux, his quarrel with the lord of Clairvaux had been settled and they had met together peaceably.

Venit interim dominus Cysterciensis abbas, et de pace ipsius et domini Clareuallensis cuius causa appellauerat, nobiscum et cum ipso pariter egit. Dedimus et nos operam paci eius, et ut ad ilium cum ipso iret, hortati sumus. Addidimus hoc monitis nostris, ut si qua catholicas aures offendentia, aut scripsisset aut dixisset, hortatu eius et aliorum bonorum et sapientum, et a uerbis suis amoueret, et a libris abraderet. Et factum est ita. Iuit, rediit, cum domino Clareuallensi, mediante Cysterciensi sopitis prioribus querelis se pacifice conuenisse, reuersus retulit.

Meanwhile, on our advice, or rather by divine inspiration, I believe, Master Peter has decided to abandon the commotion of the schools and study and make his permanent home in your Cluny. Regarding this as suitable for one of his advanced years, his infirmity, and his monastic calling, and believing that his learning, which is well known to you, could benefit a multitude of our brothers, we assented to his wishes. If it should please your grace, we have courteously and joyfully agreed that he should remain with us, who are, as you know, yours in every way. Therefore I, who am yours whatever else I may be, beg you, the most devout congregation of Cluny begs you on its own behalf, through me and through your sons, the bearers of this letter, and by this letter that it has requested me to write, to permit Master Peter to spend in your Cluny the remaining days of his life and old age, which perhaps will not be many. We beg you, who cherish all good men, to protect with the apostolic shield this man also whom you have loved, so that no one’s pressure can drive him out or dislodge him from the home that, like the sparrow, from the nest that, like the turtle-dove, he is happy to have found (Ps. 83:4).

Interim a nobis admonitus, magis autem a deo ut credimus inspiratus, dimissis scolarum et studiorum tumultibus, in Cluniaco uestra sibi perpetuam mansionem elegit.Quod nos senectuti eius, debilitati eius, religioni eius, congruere putantes, et scientiam eius uobis ex toto non incognitam, magnae fratrum nostrorum multitudini proficere posse credentes, uoluntati eius assensimus, et si sic benignitati uestrae bene placitum esset, benigne et cum gaudio nobiscum uestris ut nostis per omnia, remanere concessimus. Rogo igitur ego qualiscumque tarnen uester, rogat deuotissimus uobis Cluniacensis conuentus, rogat ipse per se, per nos, per praesentium latores filios uestros, per has quas ut scriberem rogauit litteras, ut reliquos dies uitae et senectutis suae, qui fortasse non multi sunt, in Cluniaco uestra eum consummare iubeatis, et ne a domo quam uelut passer, ne a nido quem uelut turtura inuenisse se gaudet, aliquorum instantia aut expelli aut commoueri ualeat, more quo omnes bonos colitis, et etiam istum dilexistis, scuto defensionis apostolicae protegatis.

2. TO HELOISE CONCERNING HER SON, ASTROLABE;

2. TO HELOISE CONCERNING HER SON, ASTROLABE

To our venerable and dearest sister in Christ, the handmaid of God, Heloise, guide and mistress of the handmaids of God, brother Peter, humble abbot of Cluny: the fullness of God’s salvation and of our love in Christ.
I was happy, very happy, to read the letter from your Sanctity, where I learned that my visit to you was no transitory call, and which made me realize that I have not only been with you, but in spirit have never really left you. My stay, I see, was not one to be remembered as that of a passing guest for a single night, nor was I treated as ‘a stranger and a foreigner among you’ [Gen.23:4], but as ‘a fellow-citizen of God’s people and member of God’s household’ [Ephes.2:19]. Everything I said and did on that fleeting or flying visit of mine has remained so firmly in your holy mind and made such an impression on your gracious spirit that, to say nothing of my carefully-chosen phrases on that occasion, not even a chance, unconsidered word of mine fell to the ground unheeded. You noted all, you committed all to your retentive memory in the warmth of your unbounded sincerity, as if all were the mighty, the heavenly, the sacrosanct words or deeds of Jesus Christ himself. You may have been propmpted to remember them in this way by the injunctions on receiving guests in our common Rule, which belongs to us both: ‘Let Christ be worshipped in them, who is received in their persons’ [Bened.Rule, 53.7]. Perhaps you were also reminded of the Lord’s words concerning those given authority, though I have no authority over you: ‘Whoever listens to you listens to me’ [Luke 10:16].
May I ever be granted this grace from you: that you will think me worthy to be remembered, and will pray for the mercy of the Almighty upon me, along with the holy community of the flock entrusted to your care. I am repaying you now as far as I can, for long before I saw you, and particularly since I have come to know you, I have kept for you in the innermost depths of my heart a special place of real and true affection. I am therefore sending you, now that I have left you, a ratification of the gift of a trental I made you in person, in writing and under seal, as you wished. I am also sending the absolution for Master Peter you asked for, similarly written on parchment and sealed. As soon as I have an opportunity, I will gladly do my best to obtain a prebend in one of the great churches for your Astralabe, who is also ours for your sake. It will not be easy, for the bishops, as I have often found, are apt to show themselves extremely difficult when occasions have arisen for them to give prebends in their churches. But for your sake I will do what I can as soon as I can.

Venerabili et carissimae sorori nostrae, deique ancillae, Heloisae ancillarum dei ductrici ac magistrae, frater Petrus humilis Cluniacensium abbas, salutis a deo, amoris a nobis in Christo plenitudinem.
Gavisus sum et hoc non parum, legens sanctitatis vestae litteras, in quibus agnovi adventum meum ad vos non fuisse transitorium, ex quibus adverti non solum me apud vos fuisse, sed et a vobis nunquam postmodum recessisse. Non fuit ut video illud hospitium meum, velut memoria hospitis unius noctis pretereuntis, nec factus sum advena et peregrinus apud vos [Gen.23:4], sed civis sanctarum et domesticus utinam dei [Ephes.2:19]. Sic sacrae menti vestrae cuncta inheserunt, sic benigno spiritui vestro omnia impressa sunt, quae in illo fugaci seu volatico adventu meo dixi, quae feci ut non dicam ea quae studiose a me tunc dicta sunt, sed nec verbum forte negligenter prolatum, ad terram caderet. Ita notastis omnia, ita tenaci memoriae ex sinceritatis affectu dirivatae commendastis, quasi magna, quasi caelestia, quasi sacrosancta, quasi ipsius verba vel opera Ihesu Christi. Forte moverunt vos ad illa sic retinenda verba communis regulae, hoc est tam nostrae quam vestrae, quae de hospitibus praecipit: Christus in eis adoretur, qui et suscipitur [Bened.Rule 53.7]. Forsitan et illa de praepositis, licet ego praepositus vobis non sim: Qui vos audit, me audit [Luke 10:16]. Utinam haec michi semper gratia detur apud vos, ut mei memor esse dignemini, ut pro me omnipotentis misericordiam cum sacro gregis vobis commissi collegio, deprecemini. Rependo et ego in hoc vobis vicem quam possum, quia et longe antequam vos viderem, et maxime ex quo vestri notitiam habui, singularem vobis in intimis mentis meae recessibus verae non fictae caritatis locum servavi, donum quod de tricenario vobis praesens feci, absens ut voluistis, scriptum et sigillatum transmitto. Mitto etiam sicut mandastis magistri Petri absolutionem, in carta similiter scriptam et sigillatam. Astralabio vestro, vestrique causa nostro, mox ut facultas data fuerit, in aliqua nobilium aecclesiarum praebendam libens adquirere laborabo. Res tamen difficilis est, quia ut sepe probavi, ad dandas in aecclesiis suis praebendas variis obiectis occasionibus valde se difficiles prebere episcopi solent. Faciam tamen causa vestri quod potero, mox ut potero.

3. TO HELOISE on the DEATH of ABELARD;

3. TO HELOISE on the DEATH of ABELARD
Letter 115, c. 1143

Peter the Venerable Letter 15 in collection of correspondence of Heloise and Abelard: Letter 115 in newer collection of Peter the Venerable (pp. 303-308) [Long] Letter to Heloise [on the Death of Abelard], pp. 294-298  (c.1143)

TO ABBESS HELOISE

AD ELOYSAM ABBATISSAM.

To his venerable and best beloved sister in Christ, the abbess Heloise, brother Peter, the humble abbot of Cluny, wishes the salvation that God promises to those who love him.

Venerabili et in Christo plurimum dilectae sorori Eloysae abbatissae, frater Petrus humilis Cluniacensium abbas, salutem quam promisit deus diligentibus se.

I was delighted to receive the kind letter you sent to me some time ago by my son Thibaut, and I embraced it as a friend for the sake of its sender. I wanted to write immediately what was in my heart, but I could not do so, prevented as I was by the troublesome demands of my duties, to which I am very often— indeed, almost always—compelled to yield. I have only just snatched what time I could in a day of confusing interruptions.

Accaeptis litteris caritatis tuae, quas michi nuper per filium meum Theobaldumt misisti, gauisus sum, et eas mittentis gratia arnicabiliter amplexus sum. Volui statim rescribere quod animo insederat, sed impedientibus importunis curarum exactionibus, quibus plerumque immo pene semper caedere compellor, non potui. Vix tamen a tumultibus tandem interpolata die, quod concaeperam attemptaui.

I really should have hastened to make at least the recompense of words for your affection for me, of which both your letter and the gifts you sent me earlier made me aware. I should have shown you how large a place of love for you in the Lord I keep in my heart. Certainly, I have not just begun to love someone whom I remember having loved for a long time. I had not altogether left my first youth, I had not quite reached young manhood, when the fame, not yet of your piety, but of your distinguished and praiseworthy studies became known to me.

Visum est ut affectui tuo erga me quem et tunc ex litteris, et prius ex michi missis xeniis cognoueram, saltem uerborum uicem rependere festinarem, et quantum in corde meo locum tibi dilectionis in domino seruarem, ostenderem. Reuera enim non nunc primum diligere incipio quam ex multo tempore me dilexisse reminiscor. Necdum plene metas adolescentiae excesseram, necdum in iuueniles annos euaseram, quando nomen non quidem adhuc religionis tuae, sed honestorum tarnen et laudabilium studiorum tuorum, michi fama innotuit.

I heard then that a woman, though still not freed from worldly ties, was deeply devoted to literary studies, which is most unusual, and to the pursuit of wisdom, albeit wisdom of the world. I heard that she could not be prevented by worldly pleasures, frivolities, and delights from the useful purpose of learning the arts. In a time when a detestable laziness keeps almost everyone from these studies, and when the progress of wisdom can come to a standstill—I do not say among women, by whom it is entirely rejected, but when it can hardly fi nd virile minds among men—you, through your praiseworthy zeal, have completely excelled all women, and surpassed almost all men.

Audiebam tunc temporis, mulierem licet necdum saeculi nexibus expeditam, litteratoriae scientiae quod perrarum est, et studio licet saecularis sapientiae, summam operam dare, nec mundi uoluptatibus, nugis, uel deliciis, ab hoc utili discendarum artium proposito retrahi posse. Cumque ab his exercitiis detestanda desidia totus pene torpeat mundus, et ubi subsistere possit pes sapientiae, non dicam apud sexum femineum a quo ex toto explosus est, sed uix apud ipsos uiriles animos inuenire ualeat, tu illo efferendoz studio tuo, et mulieres omnes euicisti, et pene uiros uniuersos superasti.

In the words of the Apostle (Gal. 1:15), as it pleased him who brought you forth from your mother’s womb to call you by his grace, it was not long before you exchanged this devotion to learning for a far better one. Now fully and truly a woman of wisdom, you have chosen the Gospel instead of logic, the Apostle in place of philosophy, Christ rather than Plato, the cloister instead of the Academy. You have snatched the spoils from the defeated enemy and, passing through the desert of this pilgrimage with the treasures of the Egyptians, you have built in your heart a precious tabernacle for God. You have sung a song of praise as Miriam did when Pharaoh was drowned (Exod. 15:20), and carrying in your hands the tambour of holy mortification as she once did, you have sent forth with skilled musicianship a new melody to the very ears of God.

Mox uero iuxta uerba apostoli, ut complacuit ei, qui te segregauit ab utero matris tuae, uocare te per gratiam suam,g longe in melius disciplinarum studia commutasti, et pro logica aeuangelium, pro phisica apostolum, pro Platone Christum, pro academia claustrum, tota iam et uere philosophica mulier elegisti. Eripuisti uictis spolia hostibus, et thesauris Aegyptiacis per huius peregrinationis desertum transiens, preciosum in corde tuo tabernaculum deo erexisti. Cantasti cum Maria, demerso Pharaone, canticum laudis,b et beatae morti-ficationis tympanum, ut ohm ilia prae manibus gerens, noui modulaminis melos usque ad ipsas deitatis aures docta tympanistria, transmisisti.

In assuming the struggle that, with God’s grace, you will continue successfully, you have now trampled underfoot the ancient serpent who is always lying in wait for women, and you have so driven him out that he will never dare to tempt you further. “He has not his like among the strong things of earth, that fearless nature, that heaven-confronting eye. Over all the pride of earth he reigns supreme,” according to the words of God himself to the holy Job (41:24–25), and you have chained him up to lament for you and the handmaids of God who dwell with you. Truly this is a singular miracle, to be praised above all wondrous works, that he whom the prophet Ezekiel (31:8) called a tree so tall that “in God’s own garden cedar could not overtop it, fi r-tree match it for height,” was brought low by the frail sex, and the strongest of archangels overcome by the weakest of women. In such a duel, the Creator gains the very greatest glory and, on the other hand, the utmost humiliation is heaped upon the deceiver. In this struggle, he earns the reproach of having been not only foolish but, above all, ridiculous, because he aspired to equal the divine majesty when he could not even win a brief battle with woman’s weakness. The woman who is victorious in such a contest deserves to wear on her head a jeweled crown from the King of Heaven, so that, as she was the weaker physically in the battle just ended, she might seem the more glorious in her eternal reward.

Conculcasti iam incipiendo quod per omnipotentis gratiam bene perseuerando conteres, uetusti anguis ac semper mulieribus insidiantis caput, atque ita elides, ut nunquam ulterius contra te sibilare audeat. Ostentui facis et facies superbum principem mundi, et ilium qui diuina uoce uocatur rex filiorum superbiae,° iuxta ipsius dei ad beatum Iob uerba, tibi ac tecum cohabitantibus ancillis dei alligatumd ingemiscere coges. Et uere singulare miraculum ac super omnia miranda opera extollendum eum quo iuxta prophetam : Cedri non fuerunt altiores in paradyso dei, et cuius summitatem frondium abietes non adaequauerunt,e a fragili sexu uinci, et fortissimum archangelum a muliere infirmissima superari. Gignitur tali duello maxima gloria conditori, infertur econuerso summa ignominia decaeptori. Exprobratur ei hoc certamine non solum stultum, sed et super omnia ridiculum fuisse, illum aspirasse ad aequalitatem sublimissimae maiestatis, qui nec breue luctamen ferre praeualet femineae debilitatis. Sustinet caput cuiuslibet uictricis illius, merito talis uic-toriae, gemmeam a rege caelorum coronam, ut quanto in transacta pugna carne infirmior, tanto in remuneratione sempiterna appareat gloriosior.

I off er these words, dearest sister in the Lord, not to fl atter you, but to encourage your devotion to that great good in which you have persevered for some time. In this way you may be more eager to continue preserving it carefully and by your words and your example, according to the grace God gives you, you may inspire those holy women who serve the Lord with you to strive anxiously in the same contest. Although you are a woman, you are one of those creatures whom the prophet Ezekiel saw, who should not only burn like flaming coals but should glow and shine like torches (1:14).

Haec carissima in domino soror uere non adulando, sed exhortando dico, ut magnum in quo aliquamdiu perstitisti bonum attendens, ad caute illud conseruandum animosior reddaris, et sanctas illas quae tecum domino seruiunt, secundum gratiam a deo tibi collatam, ut in eodem sollicite agone contendant, uerbis pariter et exemplis accendas. Es enim unum de animalibus illis, quae Ezechiel propheta uidit,f licet sis mulier, quae non tantum ut carbo ardere, sed ut lampas ardere debes pariter et lucere.

You are truly a disciple of truth, but you are also by that very obligation, in so far as it concerns those committed to your care, a mistress of humility. Plainly, God has imposed on you the complete mastery of humility and of all celestial discipline. You should, therefore, be concerned not only for yourself, but also for the flock committed to your care and on behalf of everyone, you should in every way receive a greater reward. Surely the palm of victory awaits you as the leader of your flock since, as you know best, as many times as this world and the prince of this world have been overcome through your leadership, so many triumphs, so many glorious trophies, will await you with the eternal King and Judge.

Es quidem discipula ueritatis, sed es etiam ipso officio, quantum ad tibi commissas pertinet, magistra humilitatis. Humilitatis plane, et totius caelestis disciplinae tibi a deo magisterium impositum est, unde non solum tui, sed et commissi gregis curam habere, et pro uniuersis maiorem uniuersis debes mercedem recipere. Manet tibi certe palma pro omnibus quia ut optime nosti, quotquot ducatu tuo mundum mundique principem uicerint, tot tibi triumphos, tot gloriosa trophaea apud aeternum regem et iudicem praeparabunt.

It is not altogether unusual among mortals for women to be ruled by women and not entirely strange also for them to fi ght in battle, and even accompany men themselves to battle. If the saying is true that it is “not unlawful to learn from the enemy,” (Ovid, Metamorph.IV,428) it is written that among the pagans, Penthesilea, the queen of the Amazons, with her followers, who were not men but women, often fought in battle at the time of the Trojan War, and that among the people of God, too, the prophetess Deborah inspired Barach, the judge of Israel, against the heathen (Judges 4:9). Why, then, should it not be permitted for women of courage, going forth to battle against a strong army, to be made leaders of the Lord’s army, since that Deborah fought against the enemy with her own hand, which seemed most unbecoming? Why should not this Deborah of ours lead, arm, and inspire men themselves in the divine warfare? After King Jabin had been defeated, and the leader, Sisera, slain, and the godless army destroyed, that other Deborah at once sang a song, and she sang it devoutly in praise of God. With God’s grace, you shall be doing this, too, after the victory over enemies stronger by far has been given to you and your companions, and you shall never cease to sing, far more gloriously, that song of yours which, thus rejoicing, you shall sing, just as you shall never cease rejoicing. Meanwhile you shall be with the handmaidens of God—that is, with the celestial army—as that other Deborah was with her own Jewish people. Hence you shall never rest from so gainful a contest at any time or in any case, except in victory.

Sed nec omnino apud mortales insolitum est feminas feminis principari nec ex toto inusitatum etiam praeliari, ipsos insuper uiros ad praelia comitari. Nam si uerum est quod dicitur: Fas est, et ab hoste doceri,g et apud gentiles, Amazonum regina Penthesilea cum suis Amazonibus non uiris sed mulieribus Troiani belli tempore sepe pugnasse scribitur;h et in populo etiam dei, prophetissa Debora, Barach iudicem Israel contra ethnicos animasse legitur.i Cur ergo non liceat feminas uirtutis contra fortem armatum ad praelia procaedentes ductrices fieri exercitus domini, cum et illa quod quidem indecens uidebatur, manu tarnen propria contra hostes pugnauerit, et haec nostra Debora uiros ipsos ad bella diuina commouerit, armauerit, accenderit? Victo dehinc Iabin rege, occiso Sisara duce, deleto prophano exercitu, cecinit statim canticum illa, illudque dei laudibus deuota dicauit. Erit dei gratia hoc faciente post datam tibi tuisque de longe fortioribus hostibus uictoriam, longe tuum gloriosius canticum, quod sic laeta cantabis, ut nunquam postea laetari, nunquam cantare desistas. Interim eris ancillis dei, hoc est caelesti exercitui, quod illa suo Iudaico populo Debora, nec a tarn lucroso certamine aliquo tempore, quolibet casu, nisi uincendo cessabis.

Since the name, Deborah, as your learning knows, means ‘bee’ in Hebrew, you shall also be in this way another Deborah, that is, a bee. You shall make honey, but not for yourself alone, since whatever good you have gathered in different ways and from different sources you shall pour forth, by example, by words, and in every possible way, upon the sisters of your house and upon all others. In this short span of mortal life, you shall satisfy yourself with the secret sweetness of sacred learning and the holy sisters with public preaching, so that, according to the words of the prophet (Joel 3:18): “The mountain slopes will drip with new wine and the hills will fl ow with milk and honey.” Although these words may be said concerning this present time of grace, nothing prevents their being understood concerning the time of glory—indeed, it is even sweeter. It would be a pleasure for me to continue discussing this further with you, because I am not only delighted by your celebrated learning, but far more attracted by your piety, which is praised by many.

Et quia hoc nomen Debora, ut tua nouit eruditio, lingua Hebraica apem designat, eris etiam in hoc et tu Debora, id est apis. Mellificabis enim tu, sed non soli tibi,i quia quicquid boni per diuersos et a diuersis collegisti, exemplo, uerbo, modisque quibus poteris, domesticis sororibus, seu quibuslibet aliis totum refundes. Satiabis hoc exiguo uitae mortalis tempore, et te ipsam sacrarum litterarum secreta dulcedine, et beatas sorores aperta praedicatione, quousque iuxta uocem propheticam, in illa quae promittitur die distillent montes aeternam dulcedinem, et colles fluant lac et mel.k Hoc enim licet de hoc tempore gratiae dicatur, nil obstat, immo et dulcius est, ut de tempore gloriae accipiatur. Dulce michi esset diu tecum de huiusmodi protrahere sermonem, quia et famosa eruditione tua delector, et praedicata michi a multis religione tua longe magis allicior.

If only our order of Cluny had you! If only the pleasant prison of Marcigny held you, along with the other handmaids of Christ awaiting celestial freedom there! I should prefer to have the riches of piety and learning rather than the treasures of any king, and I should rejoice to see that illustrious body of sisters shine more brilliantly with you dwelling there. You yourself would gain no little benefit from them, and you would marvel to behold the highest worldly nobility and pride trampled underfoot. You would see all kinds of magnificence transformed into a wonderful austerity and what were once impure vessels of the devil turned into the purest temples of the Holy Spirit. You would see the daughters of God, snatched as if by theft from Satan and the world, building high walls of virtues on the foundation of innocence and extending the roof of this happy edifice even to the heights of heaven. You would rejoice to see those distinguished by angelic virginity, together with the most chaste widows, all now buried bodily in the tomb of blessed hope, and all alike awaiting the glory of that great and blessed resurrection beneath the narrow walls of this house.

Vtinam te Cluniacus nostra habuisset, utinam te iocundus Marciniaci carcer, cum ceteris Christi ancillis libertatem inde caeles-tern expectantibus inclusisset. Praetulissem opes religionis ac scientiae maximis quorumlibet regum thesauris, et illarum sororum illud praeclarum collegium cohabitatione tua clarius rutilare gauderem. Retulisses et ipsa ab ipsis non modicum quaestum et summam mundi nobilitatem, ac superbiam, pedibus substratam mirareris. Cerneres omnigenos saeculi luxus, miranda parcitate mutatos, et sordida quondam uasa diaboli, in mundissima spiritus sancti templa conuersa. Videres puellas dei Sathanae uel mundo uelut furto subtractas, super innocentiae fundamentum altos uirtutum erigere parietes, et usque ad ipsa caeli fastigia, felicis fabricae cacumen producere. Laetareris angelica uirginitate florentes castissimis uiduis iunctas, et uniuersas pariter, beatae illius et magnae resurrectionis gloriam sustinentes, infra arta septa domorum etiam corporaliter beatae spei uelut sepulchro iam conditas.

Since you may have all these blessings and perhaps greater ones in the companions whom God has given you, it may be that nothing can be added to your zeal for holiness. Yet our community would, I feel, be greatly enriched if your gifts were added to it. Although this may have been denied us in your case, by the providence of God that disposes all things, it was granted in the case of your own Master Peter, who is often and always to be named with honor, the servant and truly the philosopher of Christ, whom in the last years of his life the same divine providence brought to Cluny. And he enriched her in and by that gift which is more precious than gold and topazes (Ps. 118:127).

Quae licet omnia et fortassis maiora, cum tibi datis a deo collegis habeas, licet forte nichil ad sacrarum rerum studium pertinens tibi addi possit, augeretur tarnen augmento gratiarum tuarum, non paruis ut arbitror commodis, res publica nostra. Sed quamuis a dispensatrice omnium rerum prouidentia dei, hoc nobis de te negatum sit, concessum tarnen est de illo tuo, de illo inquam sepe ac semper cum honore nominando, seruo ac uere Christi philosopho, magistro Petro, quem in ultimis uitae suae annis, eadem diuina dispositio Cluniacum transmisit et earn in ipso et de ipso super omne aurum et topaZion' munere cariore ditauit.

A brief word cannot describe his holy, humble, and devout life among us, as Cluny bears strong witness. Unless I am mistaken, I do not remember ever having seen his like in the appearance and actions of humility, so that even to the very discerning, St. Germain would not have appeared more humble, or St. Martin poorer. When, at my command, he took a superior rank in the great assembly of our monks, he seemed the least in the plainness of his clothing. I often marvelled as he walked before me, according to custom, in processions with the others. Indeed, I was almost astounded that so famous a man could belittle and humble himself in this way. While some of those vowed to the religious life wish the habits they wear to be exceedingly expensive, he was most austere in this and, content with a simple garment of any kind, he asked for nothing more. He observed this same austerity also in food and drink and in all that concerned his body, and by his words and his life he condemned, I do not say excess alone, but everything except what was really necessary, both for himself and for everyone.

Cuius sanctae, humili ac deuotae inter nos conuersationi, quod quantumue Cluniacus testimonium ferat, breuis sermo non explicat. Nisi enim fallor, non recolo uidisse me illi in humilitatis habitu et gestu similern, in tantum ut nec Germanus abiectior, nec ipse Martinus bene discernenti pauperior appareret. Cumque in magno illo fratrum nostrorum grege, me compellente gradum superiorem teneret, ultimus omnium uestitu incultissimo uidebatur. Mirabar sepe, et in processionibus eo me cum reliquis pro more praecaedente, pene stupebam, tanti tamque famosi nominis hominem, sic se ipsum contempnere, sic se abiicere posse. Et quia sunt quidam religionis professores qui ipsum quem gerunt habitum religiosum nimis esse cupiunt sumptuosum, erat ille prorsus parcus in istis et cuiusque generis simplici ueste contentus, nil ultra quaerebat. Hoc et in cibo, hoc et in potu, hoc et in omni cura corporis sui seruabat, et non dito superflua, sed et cuncta nisi ualde necessaria, tam in se quam in omnibus, uerbo pariter et uita dampnabat.

He read constantly, he prayed often, and his silence was perpetual, except in familiar conversation with the brothers or in public discussion when they were assembled together and he was pressed to speak to them on sacred subjects. He frequented the sacraments as often as he could, offering the sacrifice of the immortal Lamb of God. Indeed, after the apostolic favor had been granted, by letters and through my efforts, his attendance at the sacraments was almost continual. What more can I say? With his mind, his tongue, and his work, always serving God, always philosophical, ever more learned, he meditated, taught, and spoke.

Lectio erat ei continua, oratio frequens, silentium iuge, nisi cum aut fratrum familiaris collatio, aut ad ipsos in conuentu de diuinis publicus sermo eum loqui urgebant. Sacramenta caelestia, immortalis agni sacrificium deo offerendo prout poterat frequentabat, immo postquam litteris et labore meo, apostolicae gratiae redditus est, pene continuabat. Et quid multa? Mens eius, lingua eius, opus eius, semper diuina, semper philosophica, semper eruditoria meditabatur, docebat, fatebatur.

Living in this way with us for some time, this simple and upright man, fearing God and withdrawing from evil, consecrated to the Lord the last days of his life. To end these days, since he was troubled more than ever by an eruption of the skin and other bodily afflictions, I sent him to Saint-Marcel-lès-Châlon. In that pleasant setting, which surpasses almost all regions of our Burgundy, I hoped to provide a proper place for him, near the city, to be sure, yet close by the River Saone. There, as much as his illness permitted, he renewed his former studies and was always bending over his books. He did not, in the words of Gregory the Great, allow a single moment to be wasted but was always praying or reading or writing or dictating. (Life of Gregory by John the Deacon, I,8)

Tali nobiscum uir simplex et rectus, timens deum, et recedens a malo, tali inquam per aliquantum temporis conuersatione, ultimos uitae suae dies consecrans deo, pausandi gratia, nam plus solito, scabie et quibusdam corporis incommoditatibus grauabatur, a me Cabilonem missus est. Nam propter illius soli amenitatem, qua cunctis pene Burgundiae nostrae partibus praeminet, locum ei habilem, prope urbem quidem, sed tarnen Arari interfluente prouideram. Ibi iuxta quodII incommoditas permittebat, antiqua sua renouans studia, libris semper incumbebat, nec sicut de magno Gregorio legitur momentum aliquod preterire sinebat, quin semper aut oraret, aut legeret, aut scriberet, aut dictaret.m

In these holy activities, the coming of the angelic visitor found him, not sleeping, as many are, but vigilant. It found him truly watchful, and summoned him, not as the foolish, but as the wise virgin to the marriage-feast of eternity. He brought with him a lamp full of oil, I mean a conscience filled with the testimony of a holy life. To pay the common debt of mortality, he was seized by illness and, as it worsened, he was in a short time brought to his end. Then, truly, how holy, how devout, how catholic was the confession he made, first of his faith and then of his sins! With what longing of his loving heart he received the last repast of the journey and the pledge of eternal life, the body of the Lord our Redeemer! How faithfully he commended to him his body and soul here and forever; his brothers in religion are witnesses along with all those who dwell in that monastery where the body of the holy martyr, Marcellus, lies.

In his sacrorum operum exercitiis, eum aduentus illius aeuangelici uisitatoris reperit, nec eum ut multos dormientem sed uigilantem inuenit. Inuenit eum uere uigilantem, et ad aeternitatis nuptias, non ut fatuam, sed ut sapientem uirginem euocauit. Attulit enim ille secum lampadem plenam oleo, hoc est, conscientiam refertam sanctae uitae testimonio. Nam ad soluendum commune mortalium debitum, morbo correptus, eoque ingrauescente, in breui ad extrema perductus est. Tunc uero quam sancte, quam deuote, quam catholice, primo fidei, dehinc peccatorum confessionem fecerit, quanto inhiantis tordis affectu, uiaticum pere-grinationis, ac uitae aeternae pignus, corpus scilicet redemptoris domini accaeperit, quam fideliter corpus suum et animam hic et in aeternum ipsi commendauerit, testes sunt religiosi fratres, et totus illius monasterii, in quo corpus sancti martyris Marcelli iacet, conuen-tus.

So Master Peter brought his days to a close, and he who was known throughout almost the whole world for his unique mastery of knowledge and was everywhere famous, persevered, meek and humble, in the discipleship of him who said (Matt. 11:29): “Learn from me; I am gentle and humble of heart,” and thus passed over to him, as we rightly believe. Now, venerable and dearest sister in the Lord, this man to whom you were bound first by the ties of the flesh and later by the much stronger and better bond of divine love, with whom and under whom you have long served the Lord—this man, I say, in your place and as another you, Christ cherishes in his own embrace. He holds him to be restored to you by his grace at the coming of the Lord, when he descends from heaven with the singing of archangels and the sound of the trumpet. Remember him in the Lord. Remember me also, if it pleases you. And solicitously commend to those holy sisters who serve the Lord with you, the brothers of our congregation and the sisters who everywhere in the world are serving, as well as they can, the same Lord as you do.

Hoc magister Petrus fine dies suos consummauit, et qui singulari scientiae magisterio, toti pene orbi terrarum notus, et ubique famosus erat, in illius discipulatu, qui dixit: Discite a me quia mitis sum et humilis corde;n mitis et humilis perseuerans, ad ipsum ut dignum est credere, sic transiuit. Hunc ergo uenerabilis et carissima in domino soror, cui post carnalem copulam tanto ualidiore, quanto meliore diuinae caritatis uinculo adhesisti, cum quo et sub quo diu domino deseruisti, hunc inquam loco tui, uel ut te alteram in gremio suo confouet, et in aduentu domini, in uoce archangeli, et in tuba dei descendentis de caelo, tibi per ipsius gratiam restituendum reseruat. Esto ergo in domino memor ipsius, esto etiam si placet et mei, et sanctis sororibus tecum domino famulantibus fratres congregationis nostrae, ac sorores quae ubique terrarum pro posse suo eidem cui et tu domino famulantur, sollicite commenda.

4. TO MARGARET and PONTIA on the CONSECRATED LIFE

4. TO MARGARET and PONTIA on the CONSECRATED LIFE

English translation by Vera Morton, Guidance for Women in Twelfth-Century Convents, with Interpretive Essay by Jocelyn Wogan-Browne (Cambridge: Boydell and Brewer, 2003), 98-108

I have read the letter written from you to me in which you sympathized with my trouble and in which you attempted to treat me with medical art as well as with spiritual prayers. I thank you for your dutiful care and I embrace your daughterly affection which befits a sweet and blessed heart. But I marvel from where the pupils of Jesus Christ imbibe the lessons of Hippocrates, why the daughters of Jerusalem should be trafficking in the merchandise of Babylon. Certainly, I do not despise medical assistance which is often of benefit to corrupt nature, especially since the physician was created by the Most High, and I have heard Christ say: ‘Those that are whole need not a physician, but those that are sick.’
Nevertheless I charge you, mortal enemies of nature which is innate in the flesh, you who are crucified with the Crucified, to think again and again of the ills and the significance of the body. Has the solemn word of Agatha, ‘I have never employed carnal medicine for my body’, slipped from your mind? Was she not indeed a handmaid to Christ; was she not a bride of Christ? Are you not handmaids, are you not brides? And indeed is not that virgin martyr more renowned than you, and far more exalted than you? But your object in life is not incompatible with hers when you serve God by the witness of the same kind, and grace the splendour of the field of heaven with a virgin flower. Assuredly, I am glad; I shall rejoice and be exceedingly glad, if, from my family, from my blood, those virgins sublime throughout the whole world - Agatha, Agnes and Faith and she who is far more worth than the rest, the Virgin of Virgins - shall have you as followers in their footsteps.
Indeed as I have said, if those worthy ones should hold you worthy to be as servants, I do not say as companions, I shall rejoice, rejoicing in the Lord, and my spirit will rejoice in Jesus my Saviour. And you, my virgins, as I may call you, O handmaidens, O brides in very truth of the everlasting king; if indeed you are not of the foolish virgins but the wise, with what joy will you join in the dances, with what happiness will you exult. With what joy, unknown to wretched mortals, will that be; with what a torrent of pleasure will you drink with insatiable satisfaction from him with whom is the fountain of life;2 after what dense and detestable Egyptian darkness shall you see light in his light?
What will be then, what will become of you when, after the prison of Marcigny, you escape into the free dazzling splendour of pure heavenly air and in ‘Jerusalem which is above’ and, according to the apostle, ‘is the mother of us all’, you will say and sing rejoicing with heart and body in the living God, ‘As we have heard, so we have seen in the city of the Lord of Hosts, in the city of our God.’ What will it be when Jesus, the king of the Heavens, in return for brief continence and gentle chastity, will greet his young girls, his handmaidens, his virgins, with his right hand? How great will that happness be, unimaginable indeed, so that I should pass over it in silence? What will that happiness be for those, the greatest apostles, in that life which God, who does not lie, has promised them? Yet they will not follow Christ everywhere, but he promised you that, with the choir of virgins, you should follow the Lamb, the virgin’s Son, wherever he goes. Indeed, the virgins will shine like the sun in the kingdom of the Father, and gleam like stars in unbroken eternity. They will gain glory that is greater by far, loftier by far, for the rewards of their nature. Yet they will not be able to equal you in this respect, nor will the privilege be granted to the uncountable throng of saints which has been promised to fortunate virginity, even though they shine like gold.
Augustine says: ‘Press on therefore holy youths and maidens of God, men and women, single and unwedded; press on persevering to the end; praise the Lord more sweetly, the Lord on whom you meditate so fruitfully. Hope with greater joy in him, whom you are the more eager to serve. Love him the more zealously, whom you are the more eager to please. With loins girded and lamps burning, wait for the Lord when he comes from the wedding. You shall bring to the wedding of the Lamb a new song to sing to your lutes. Not indeed such as the whole earth sings, to which it is said, “Sing unto the Lord a new song, sing unto the Lord the whole earth”, but such as no one but you will be able to sing. For thus he saw you in the Apocalypse, dear to the Lamb above all others, accustomed to lie on his breast, drinking and proclaiming wonderful thoughts on heavenly themes, the very word of God. He saw you, a hundred and forty-four thousand sacred harpists, untouched in virginity in the body, inviolate in truth in the heart. And because you follow the Lamb “wherever he goes”, he wrote this about you. Where do you think the Lamb goes, where no one has dared or been able to follow, save you? Where do you think that he goes, in what woods and fields, where, I believe, there are pastures of delight? Not the joys of this vain world and its deceiving frenzy; such joys as there are in the kingdom of God for others who are not virgins, but joys that are unlike all other joys. Joys which are fitting for the virgins of Christ, from Christ, in Christ, with Christ, after Christ, through Christ, because of Christ. Go then; in this you follow the Lamb, for the flesh of the Lamb is supremely virgin; though abundantly generous yet his integrity was untouched, for his conception and birth took away nothing from his mother.
What is “to follow” but to imitate? “Because Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example”, as says the apostle Peter, “so that we should follow his footsteps”. Each man follows him when he imitates him, not in that he is the Son of God, the one by whom all things were made, but in that he is displayed to the sons of men in himself and this we ought to imitate. Many things are set forth in him which all ought to imitate, but virginity of the body is not for all, for there is nothing that they can do to become virgins, when they have already ceased to be virgin. Therefore let the rest of the faithful who have lost their virginity of body follow the Lamb, not wherever he goes, but wherever they are able. For they are able to go everywhere, except where he goes in the comeliness of virginity.
But see this Lamb walking in the path of virginity. How can those who have lost what they can in no way regain follow after him? You, therefore, his virgins, follow him thither, since because of this one thing you follow him wherever he goes. We can urge the married to any other kind of holiness in which they can follow him, except to this, which they have irreparably lost. Do you, therefore, follow him tenaciously, holding fast to what you have ardently vowed. Do this while you can, lest the goodness of virginity fade away from you and you will be able to do nothing to bring it back. The rest of the multi¬tude of the faithful, who are unable to follow the Lamb in this will see you and not hate you; rejoicing with you over what they do not have themselves. They will possess it in you. For they will not be able to proclaim that new song which is fit only for you, but they will be able to hear and to rejoice in such a surpassing blessing. But you will both proclaim and hear it, since what you will proclaim you will hear in yourselves. You will rejoice more fully and will reign more joyfully.
But there will never be any lessening of your great joy. For the Lamb whom you follow wherever he goes will not desert those who are not strong enough to follow him as you do; he will go before you and he will not leave you when he shall be God, all in all. And those who have less than you will not shrink away from you, for where there is no jealousy, diversity is harmony. Take the lead then, be confident, take strength, persist in what you have vowed and fulfil the vow of everlasting continence which you have made to the Lord your God, not for this present world but for the kingdom of heaven.’
How great my daughters, how great is the praise of virginity. If she perseveres, my Margaret will deserve what Mary Magdalene did not. How so? Because neither patience, nor humility, not chastity itself, not any other virtue is said to be sister of the angels, but virginity. The blessed Jerome says: It was well that the angel was sent to the virgin, for virginity is always related to the angels. Certainly to live in the body, but yet not in the body, is not an earthly life but heavenly. Whence it follows that to gain the glory of an angel in the body is a greater glory than to receive it; for to be an angel comes by grace, but to be a virgin has the angel by nature.
Behold you are such now, because such you ought to be. These qualities added to virginity display the angelic life to men and the ways of heaven to earth. If therefore you have rejected the marriage of the sons of men, love with your whole heart what is, by nature, beyond the sons of men. You are not bound; your heart is free from the chains of marriage. Consider the beauty of your lover; think that he is the equal of the Father, subject also to his mother, ruling in heaven, yet serving on earth, creating all things, yet a creature among others. Consider how lovely is that very thing which the proud derided in him. With the light of your mind meditate on his wounds as he hangs on the cross, the wounds of him who rose again, the blood of the dying, the reward of the faithful, the ransom of the redeemer. Think how much these things are worth; weigh this in the balance of love, and weigh too whatever custom required that you should provide for your marriage; spend it on him.
It is well that he seeks your beauty of soul, when he has given you the power to become the daughters of God. He does not seek beauty of body from you. He is not one to whom someone can lie about you and deceive you about him, or make you serve him without reason. See with what confidence you can love him when you do not fear that he will be displeased by slanders about you. Husband and wife love one another because they see one another, and what they do not see they fear to discover in one another. Nor do they rejoice confidently because of what is in the open, since, in secret, they fear much that is not so. You do not see him with your eyes, yet you behold him through faith, but you have nothing to find fault with, nor do you fear to offend him by chance. If, therefore, you owe great love to your husbands, how much love do you owe to him on whose account you are unwilling to have husbands. He who was fixed to the cross for your sakes is wholly fixed to your hearts. May he hold entirely in your heart everything you have not wished to devote to marriage. It is not right for you to love meanly the one for whose sake you have rejected what you had a perfect right to love. Loving what is gentle and humble from your heart, I do not fear you will be proud.

Legi litteras a uobis scriptas michi, in quibus incommodo meo compatimini, et non spirituali suffragio tantum, sed et arte phisica michi mederi conamini. Ago gratias sollicitudini piae, et affectum filialem ea qua decet benigna dulcique mente complector. Sed miror unde Ihesu Christi scolasticae Hyppocratis scolas redolent, unde merces Babilonicas Iherusalem filiae mercatae sint. Non contempto quidem adiumenta medicinalia, corruptae plerumque naturae medentia, maxime cum legam medicinam ab altissimo creatam, Christumque dicentem audiam: Non egent qui sani sunt medico, sed qui male habent [Luke 5:31]. Accuso tamen hostes naturae interfectrices carnis propriae, crucifixas cum crucifixo, rursum de uita, rursum de remediis uitae, rursum de statu corporum cogitare. An mente excidit uerbum sollempne Agathae uirginis, medicinam carnalem corpori meo nunquam exhibui? 1 An illa tantum ancilla Christi, an illa tantum sponsa Christi? Nonne et uos ancillae? Nonne et uos sponsae? Et martyr illa quidem et uirgo, longe uobis praestantius, longe uobis sublimius. Sed non abhorret ab ipsa uestrum propositum, quando et sui generis martyrio deo seruitis, et uirgineo flore caelestium camporum speciem decoratis. Laetor plane, laetabor non parum michi credite filiae si de propaginae mea, si de sanguine meo sublimes illae totoque orbe celebres uirgines, Agatha, Agnes, Fides, ac reliquae ipsaque quod longe dignius est, uirgo uirginum, uos pedissequas quandoque habuerint. Ego quidem ut dixi, si illae uos famulas, ne dicam socias habere dignatae fuerint, gaudens gaudebo in domino, et exultabo in Ihesu salutari meo [Ps.9:16]. At uos o meae, ut sic dicam, uirgines, o ancillae, immo regis aeterni sponsae, si tamen non de fatuis, sed de prudentibus uirginibus fueritis, cum talium uos socias esse contigerit, quanto gaudio tripudiabitis, quanta laetitia exultabitis? Quae iocunditas ilia, miseris mortalibus ignota, qua torrente uoluptatis ipsius potatae, insatiabili satietate ab illo apud quem est fons uitae, post has tam densas, tam odibiles Aegypti tenebras in lumine eius uidebitis lumen? Quid erit tunc, quid fiet tunc apud uos, quando post Marciniacensem carcerem, in liberum puri aetheris fulgorem euaseritis, et in illa quae sursum est Iherusalem quae est iuxta apostolum mater nostra[Gal.4:26], carne uestra et corde exultante in deum uiuum dixeritis, cantaueritis sicut audiuimus, sic uidimus in ciuitate domini uirtutum, in ciuitate dei nostri[Ps.47:9]? Quid erit quando caelorum rex Ihesus pro breui continentia et sanctitate dementi dextera alluserit, puellis suis, ancillis suis, uirginibus suis? Quanta illa, quamque incogitabilis felicitas, ut alios taceam, ipsis summis apostolis in uita illa quam promisit non mendax deus, non ubique Christum sequentibus, et uos cum utriusque sexus choro uirgineo, agnum uirginis filium uirginali fiducia sequi quocumque ierit[Apoc.14:4]? Fulgebunt quidem illi ut sol in regno patris sui [Matth.13:43], et sicut stellae lucentes in perpetuam aeternitatem, longe maiorem, longe celsiorem pro meritis sui generis gloriam obtinebunt. Non poterunt tamen adaequari uobis in hac parte, nec illud priuilegium quod sola felix uirginitas promeretur, licet inaestimabiliter rutilans, sanctorum innumerabilium legio possidebit. Hinc Augustinus noster: Pergite itaque sancti dei pueri ac puellae, mares ac feminae, caelibes et innuptae, pergite perseueranter in finem, laudate dominum dulcius, quem cogitatis uberius. Sperate felicius, cui seruitis instantius. Amate ardentius, cui placetis attentius. Lumbis accinctis et lucernis ardentibus exspectate dominum quando ueniat a nuptiis. Vos affertis ad nuptias agni canticum nouum, quod cantabitis in citharis uestris. Non utique tale quale cantat uniuersa terra, cui dicitur: CANTATE DOMINO CANTICVM NOVVM, CANTATE DOMINO OMNIS TERRA, sed tale nemo poterit dicere nisi uos. Sic enim UOS uidit in apochalipsi quidam prae ceteris dilectus agno, qui discumbere super pectus eius solitus erat, et bibebat et eructabat mirabilia super caelestia, uerbum dei. Ipse uos uidit duodecies duodena milia sanctorum citharedorum, illibatae uirginitatis in corpore, inuiolatae ueritatis in corde. Et quia sequimini AGNVM QVOCVMQVE IERIT, scripsit ille de uobis. Quo ire putamus hunc agnum, quo nemo eum sequi uel audeat uel ualeat, nisi uos ? Quo putamus eum ire, in quo saltus et prata ? Vbi credo sunt graminea gaudia, non gaudia huius saeculi uana, et insaniae mendaces, nec gaudia qualia in ipso regno dei ceteris non uirginibus, sed gaudia a ceterorum omnium gaudiorum sorte distincta. Gaudia propria uirginum Christi, non sunt eadem non uirginum quamuis Christi. Nam sunt quidem aliis alia, sed nullis talia. Gaudia propria uirginum Christi de Christo, in Christo, cum Christo, post Christum, per Christum, propter Christum. Ite, in haec sequimini agnum, quia et agni caro, utique uirgo. Hoc enim se retinuit auctus, quod matri non abstulit concaeptus et natus. Merito sequimini uirginitate cordis et carnis quocumque ierit. Quid est enim sequi nisi imitarii ? QVIA CHRISTVS PRO NOBIS PASSVS EST, NOBIS RELINQVENS EXEMPLVM, sicut ait apostolus Petrus, VT SEQVAMVR VESTIGIA EIVS. Hunc in eo quisque sequitur in quo imitatur, non inquantum ille filius dei est, unus per quem facta sunt omnia, sed inquantum filiis hominum quae oportebat in se prebuit imitanda. Et multa in illo ad imitandum omnibus proponuntur, uirginitas autem carnis non omnibus. Non enim habent quid faciant ut uirgines sint in quibus iam factum est, ut uirgines non sint. Sequantur itaque agnum ceteri fideles qui uirginitatem corporis amiserunt, non quocumque ille ierit, sed quocumque illi potuerint. Passunt autem ubique preter quam cum in decore uirginitatis incedit. Sed ecce ille agnus graditur itinere uirginali. Quomodo post eum ibunt, qui hoc amiserunt quod nullatenus recipiunt? Vos ergo, uos ite post eum uirgines eius, uos illuc ite post eum, quae propter hoc unum, quocumque ierit sequimini eum. Ad quodlibet enim aliud sanctitatis, quo eum sequantur hortari possumus coniugatos, preter hoc quod irreparabiliter amiserunt. Vos itaque eum sequimini, tenendo perseueranter, quod uouistis ardenter. Facite cum potestis ne uirginitatis bonum a uobis pereat, cui facere nichil potestis, ut redeat. Videbit uos cetera multitudo fidelium, quae agnum ad hoc sequi non potest. Videbit nec inuidebit, et collaetando uobis quod in se non habet, habebit in uobis. Nam et illud canticum nouum propriae uestrum dicere non poterit. Audire autem poterit et delectari tam excellenti bono. Sed uos quae et dicetis et audietis, quia quod dicetis a uobis audietis. Felicius exultabitis, iocundiusque regnabitis. De maiore tamen uestro gaudio, nullus meror erit. Agnus quippe ille quem uos QVOCVMQVE IERIT sequimini, nec eos deserit qui eum quo uos non ualent sequi, et uobis praeibit, et ab eis non abibit, cum erit DEVS OMNIA IN OMNIBVS. Et qui minus habebunt a uobis non abhorrebunt. Vbi enim nulla est inuidia, concors est differentia. Praesumite itaque fidite, roboramini, permanete, quae uouetis et redditis domino deo uestro uota perpetuae continentiae, non propter praesens saeculum, sed propter regnum caelorum.2 Quanta filiae, quanta virginitatis est laus? Merebitur si perstiterit Margarita mea, quod non meretur Magdalena Maria. Quare hoc? Quia non patientia, non humilitas, nec ipsa caritas, non quaelibet alia virtus soror dicitur angelorum, sed virginitas. Hinc beatus Hieronymus: Bene angelus ad uirginem mittitur, quia semper est angelis cognata uirginitas. Profecto in carne preter carnem uiuere, non terrena uita est, sed caelestis. Vnde in carne angelicam gloriam adquirere,maius est meritum quam habere. Esse enim angelum felicitatis est, esse uero uirginem uirtutis, dum hoc obtinere uiribus nititur cum gratia, quod habet angelus ex natura.3 HINC RURSUM AUGUSTINUS: Ecce iam tales estis, quia et tales esse debetis. Haec addita uirginitati, angelicam uitam hominibus, et caeli mores exhibent terris. Si ergo nuptias contempsistis filiorum hominum, toto corde amate speciosum forma prae filiis hominum. Vacat uobis liberum est cor a coniugalibus uinculis. Inspicite pulchritudinem amatoris uestri, cogitate aequalem patri, subditum etiam et matri in caelis dominantem, et in terris seruientem. Creantem omnia, creatum inter omnia. Illud ipsum quod in eo derident superbi, inspicite quam pulchrum sit, internis luminibus inspicite uulnera pendentis, cicatrices resurgentis, sanguinem morientis, praecium credentis, commercium redimentis. Haec quanti ualeant cogitate, haec in statera caritatis appendite, et quicquid moris in nuptias uestras impendendum habebatis, illi impendite. Bene quod interiorem uestram pulchritudinem quaerit, ubi nobis dedit potestatem filias dei fieri. Non quaerit a nobis pulchram carnem. Non est qui de uobis quisquam mentiatur, et faciat seuire zelantem. Videte cum quanta securitate ametis, cui displicere falsis opinionibus non timetis. Vir et uxor amant se, quoniam uident se, et quod non uident timent in se. Nec certi gaudent ex eo quod in manifesto est, dum in occulto suspicantur plerumque quod non est. Vos in isto quem oculis non uidetis et fide conspicitis, nec habetis quod reprehendatis, nec eum metuitis ne falso forsitan offendatis. Si ergo magnum amorem coniugibus deberetis, eum propter quem coniuges
habere noluistis, quantum amare debetis ? Toto uobis figatur in corde, qui pro uobis fixus est in cruce. Totum teneat in animo uestro, quicquid noluistis occupari conubio. Parum uos amare non licet propter quem non amastis et quod liceret. Sic amantibus mitem et humilem corde, nullam uobis superbiam pertimesco.

The holy Ambrose also says: ‘But for you, holy virgins, there is the special defence against pride, that you serve the holy chamber of your Lord with inviolable modesty. Nor is it to be wondered at if the angels fight for you who yourselves do battle in the manner of angels. Chaste virgins deserve as defence the angels whose life they imitate. And what more shall I add in praise of chastity? Chastity indeed formed the angel. Whoever preserves it is an angel. She who has lost it is a devil. It is from this that he [the devil] received the name. She who weds the Lord is a virgin; she is a whore who makes gods for herself. For what shall I say about the Resurrection, for its rewards are now within your grasp? In the Resurrection they will neither marry nor be given in marriage but they will be like the angels of God in heaven. What is promised us is near at hand for you. You have the benefit of our prayers. You are in this world and not of this world. This age is entitled to have you, but it has not been able to hold you. For it is well-known that angels fell from heaven into this world because of their excesses, but virgins have passed from this world into heaven because of their purity. Blessed virgins whom no allurement of the body entices; no foulness of pleasures casts them down. The food of frugality, or rather abstinence, teaches them to be ignorant of vice and teaches them to be ignorant of the causes of vice.’
Again Ambrose says: ‘ “A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse, a fountain sealed”, so that there in a garden of this sort she is imprinted with the seal of the image of God as the waves of a pure spring should be clear, should not be stirred up, a wallowing place for the beasts of the spirit, spattered with mud. Because of this, modesty enclosed with spiritual walls does not lie open to ravage. So just as the garden shut off from thieves diffuses the scent of vines, burns with the olive and is resplendent with the rose, so religion grows in the vine, peace in the olive, and the modesty of consecrated virginity in the rose. This is the scent which Jacob the Patriarch smelled when he was found worthy to hear, “Behold the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed.” For although the field of the holy patriarch was filled with almost all fruits that exist, yet that field produced fruits with great expenditure of effort, but this one produces flowers. Then, virgin, gird yourself, even though the rule of this kind breathes to you like a garden with prophetic injunc¬tions to keep it closed: “Place a guard on your mouth, and on your lips” so that you will be able to say, “As is the apple among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight and his fruit was sweet to my taste. I found him whom my soul loves, I held him and would not let him go.”
After such sublime and sweet words of the saints, listen, my dear ones, to Hilary, of outstanding fame and repute, preserving his daughter according to the flesh in virginity of both body and mind; he placed before her the divine vesture and a celestial pearl, inviting her with great effort and exhorting her: “In the first year (said Saint Hilary) I saw the garment, I saw it, my daughter, I saw it, I cannot express what it was like; was not the fineness of silk like hessian in comparison to it, do not snowflakes grow black in comparison to its whiteness? Was not gold turned to lead by its brightness? For its many colours overpowered all other lovely things and, in short, nothing could be equal when compared to it. After that I saw the pearl. When I saw it, straightway I was prostrate, my eyes could not bear the fineness of its colour. For nothing seen in the sky, in the light of heaven, nor on earth was able to compare with its beauty.”
This indeed was written to Hilary’s daughter. But last of all there may come the great Cyprian of Carthage, equal to all his predeces¬sors in the performance of his office, equal in preaching, greater in his martyrdom. For he says: ‘Now our talk turns to virgins: so much the greater their glory, so much the greater [our] concern for them. That flower is the glory of the stem of the Church, the splendour and ornament of spiritual grace. A happy innate gift of praise and honour, the work of God whole and incorrupt, the picture which reflects the holiness of God, the more splendid part of the flock of Christ; through them, and in them, the glorious fruitfulness of our mother the Church flourishes more abundantly, and how much more abundantly does virginity add to its number. The joy of our mother increases. We speak about these virgins, we urge these things, with affection rather than authority. They are the equals of the angels, since they are daughters of the resurrection. What we shall become, you now begin to be. You already touch the glory of the resurrection in this age. You pass through this age without the contagion of the worldly. Since you persevere chaste and virgin you are equal to the angels of God. May virginity remain and live unimpaired and unharmed as it started boldly and perseveres perpetually. Since we carry the image of him [Adam] who comes from the slime, let us also bear the image of him [Christ] who comes from the heavens.’
‘Virginity bears this image, it bears integrity, it bears holiness and truth, and so do those who keep in mind the teachings of God, holding fast justice with religion, steadfast in faith, lowly in rever¬ence. Brave in all endurance, gentle in bearing injury, quick to show pity, united and harmonious in sisterly love. These things, good virgins, you ought to keep in mind, to love, to persevere to the end, you who are ready for God and Christ, to the Lord to whom you have made your vow and have dedicated your greater and better part. As you are carried on by the years, act as instructors to the younger ones. Though lesser by birth, provide rivals for an incentive. Urge one another on with mutual encouragement, by striving earnestly, give examples of virtue, incite to glory. Persevere boldly, press on spiritually, arrive happily, and be mindful of us when you begin to be honoured for your virginity.’
These, my dearest ones, from whose books, as from flowery meadows, I have gathered these delightful blossoms, are among the highest priests of God; after the apostles they are the most outstanding teachers of the faithful, doctors of the Latin Church; in truth if the many barbarities of various tongues did not prevent it they would stand out in the whole Christian world. I hold out their pearls to you from every side; I have poured out for you from their treasure valuables precious and desirable beyond gold and topaz. It remains for you to take up with eager heart what is freely offered, and keep it safe with greatest zeal and care, and, with angelic virginity, with the deepest humility, with sublimest love so that you should be made handmaidens of Jesus Christ, or rather his brides, worthy of his love, and make me, who am concerned about your salvation more than of all people in the world, rejoice with you.
Remember my blessed mother, your saintly grandmother. Remember, I say, with what great faith and what unimaginable fervour of love (which she took from above), when you were still little girls not knowing your left hand from your right, she fled the world, carried you away from the devil, presented you to God and attached you to the lay sisters. As I have often heard from her own lips at Marcigny, she was afraid that she might by chance be carried off at the will of the Lord from this wretched vale of tears when he summoned her, and you would be left to survive her before she could snatch you from the snare of the hunters, and join you to the number of saints in the school of virtue. The blessed Saviour had regard from on high to the humble prayers of his handmaiden and he who fills with good things the ardent desire of his people, and will fulfil the desire of them that fear him, at length fulfilled her desire. He has made you members of the virgin choir while you are still in the body. See how he will make you members in the mind. Not all your sister members are virgins in the flesh, but they are, as says our father Augustine, virgins in the faith. About them he makes a solemn pronouncement on the holy day of the birth of the Lord. For when the flesh is not untouched by intercourse, let it be considered (by common understanding) virgin in faith; according to this the whole Church is virgin. In accordance with this idea the trumpet of the apostle often sounds out about those who live chastely and holy, as about those who are virgins. I have promised you to one husband so that I may present you a chaste virgin to Christ. Placed by a happier fate, not only in the spirit, that is, but with unimpaired bodies, in the virgin chorus of those saints whom I have set before you, order your life, regulate your behaviour, fight the good fight, finish the race successfully by running earnestly the race begun for you in your tender years.
Copy the sisters and mothers with whom you serve God and, in particular, as I have reminded you, your happy grandmother who has gone before you and summons you (as you follow her), as she did not only while she lived but now too, even when she is dead. Give me, I entreat you, the voice of the great apostle, so that I may say confidently to each of you what he wrote to his disciple, Timothy, ‘I may be filled with joy when I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in you, which dwelt first, not indeed as he says, ‘in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice,’ but in your grandmother Raingard.

Inde et sanctus Ambrosius: Vobis autem uirgines sanctae speciale praesidium est, quod pudore intemerato, sacrum domini seruatis cubile. Neque mirum si pro uobis angeli militant quae angelorum moribus militatis. Meretur eorum praesidium castitas uirginalis, quorum uitam imitatur. Et quid pluribus exsequar, laudem castitatis? Castitas etiam angelum fecit. Qui eam seruauit angelus est. Qui perdidit diabolus. Hinc etiam nomen accaepit. Virgo est, quae domino nubit. Meretrix, quae deos facit. Nam de resurrectione quid dicam, cuius praemia iam tenetis? IN RESVRRECTIONE AVTEM NEQVE NVBVNT, NEQVE ducunt uxores, SED ERVNT SICVT ANGELI DEI IN CAELO. Quod nobis promittitur, uobis praesto est, uotorumque nostrorum usus apud uos est. De hoc mundo estis, et non estis in hoc mundo. Saeculum uos habere meruit, tenere non potuit. Quam praeclarum est autem, angelos propter intemperantiam suam in saeculum cecidisse de caelo, uirgines ueropropter castimoniam in caelum transisse de saeculo. Beatae uirgines, quas non illecebra sollicitat corporum, non colluuio praecipitat uoluptatum. Cibus parsimoniae,potus abstinentiae, docent uicia nescire, qui docet causas nescire uiciorum.4 Item idem Ambrosius: ORTVS CONCLVSVS SOROR MEA SPONSA, ORTVS CONCLVSVS PONS SIGNATVS, eo quod in ortis huiusmodi impressa signaculis imagine dei, sinceri fontis unda respondeat, ne uolutabris spiritualium bestiarum, sparsa caeno turbentur. Hinc ille murali septus spiritu pudor clauditur, ne pateat ad rapinam. Itaque sicut ortus furibus inaccessus uitem redolet, flagrat oleam, rosam renidet, sic in uite religio, in oleo pax, in rosa pudor sacratae uirginitatis inolescant. Hic est odor quem Iacob patriarcha flagrauit, quando meruit audire: ECCE ODOR FILII MEI, SICVT ODOR AGRI PLENI. Nam licet plenus omnibus fere fructibus fuerit ager patriarchae sancti, ille tamen fruges maiore uirtutis labore germinauit, hic flores. Accingere itaque uirgo, etsi ius huiuscemodi tibi ut ortus aspiret propheticis eum claude praecaeptis: PONE CVSTODIAM ORI TVO, ET OSTIVM CIRCVITVS LABIIS TVIS, ut etiam tu possis dicere: SICVT MALVM INTER LIGNA SILVARVM, SIC DILECTVS MEVS INTER FILIOS. SVB VMBRA ILLIVS QVAM DESIDERABAM SEDI, ET FRVCTVS EIVS DVLCIS GVTTVRI MEO. INVENI QVEM DILIGIT ANIMA MEA, TENVI EVM NEC DIMITTAM. Post ista tam sublimia, ac dulcia sanctorum uerba, audite michi carissimae excelsi nominis ac famae Hylarium, ipsam carnalem filiam suam ad uirginitatem tam corporis quam animae conseruandam, proposita quadam ueste diuina ac margarita caelesti toto conamine inuitantem, atque exhortantem: Anno primo ait sanctus Hylarius uestem uidi. Vidi filia uidi, quod aeloqui non possum. Nunquid non et sericum secundum suptilitatem eius spartum erat? Nunquid candori eius niues comparatae non nigrescunt? Nunquid aurum iuxta fulgorem eius non liuidatur? Ipsi enim multi colores eius, amena cuncta uincebant, et nichil prorsus poterat ei comparatum aequari. Post quae, uidi margaritam. Qua uisa, statim concidi. Non enim potuerunt oculi mei sustinere tantum eius colorem. Nam nec caeli, nec lucis, nec maris, nec terrae species, pulchritudini eius erat comparare.5 Haec quidem Hylarius filiae. Sed adhuc in fine omnium ueniat magnus Cyprianus Carthaginiensis cunctis praecaedentibus aequalis officio, par magisterio, maior martyrio. Ait enim: Nunc nobis ad uirgines sermo est, quarum quo sublimior gloria, maior et cura est. Flos est ille aecclesiastici germinis decus atque ornamentum gratiae spiritualis. Laeta indoles laudis et honoris, opus integrum atque incorruptum dei, imago respondens ad sanctimonium domini, illustrior portio gregis Christi. Gaudet per illas atque in illis largiter florens aecclesiae matris gloriosa fecunditas, quantoque plus copiosa uirginitas numero suo addit. Gaudium matris augescit. Ad has loquimur, has hortamur, affectione potius quam potestate. Aequales enim sunt angelis , dei, cum sint filiae resurrectionis. Quod futuri sumus, iam uos esse coepistis.
Vos resurrectionis gloriam, in isto saeculo iam tenetis. Per saeculum, sine saeculi contagione transitis. Cum castae perseueratis, et uirgines angelis dei aequales estis. Tantum maneat et duret, solida et illesa uirginitas, et ut coepit fortiter et iugiter perseueret. Quomodo portauimus imaginem eius qui de limo est, portemus et imaginem eius qui de caelo est. Hanc imaginem uirginitas portat, portat integritas, sanctitas portat et ueritas. Portant disciplinae dei memores iustitiam cum religione retinentes, stabiles in fide, humiles in timore. Ad omnem tolerantiam fortes, ad sustinendam iniuriam mites, ad faciendam misericordiam faciles, fraterna pace unanimes atque concordes. Quae uos singula, 0 bonae uirgines obseruare, diligere, implere debetis, quae deo et Christo uacantes, ad dominum cui uos dicastis, et maiore et meliore parte praecaeditis. Prouectae annis, iunioribus facite magisterium. Minores natu, prebete comparibus incitamentum. Hortamentis uos mutuis excitate, aemulis uirtute documentis, ad gloriam prouocate. Durate fortiter, spiritualiter pergite, peruenite feliciter, tantum mementote tunc nostri, cum incipiet in uobis uirginitas honorari. Ist carissime de quorum libris uelut de pratis florentissimis hos amenos flores excerpsi, de summis sacerdotibus dei sunt magistri post apostolos praecipui fidelium sunt, doctores Latinae aecclesiae, immo nisi multiplex diuersarum linguarum barbaries obstaret, totius Christiani orbis existunt. Horum uobis margaritas ostendi, horum ex aliqua parte super aurum et topazion preciosos et concupiscibiles thesauros coram uobis effudi. Superest ut quod gratis offertur ardenti animo suscipiatis, summo studio et cautela seruetis, meque de salute uestra plus cunctis mortalibus sollicitum, curri angelica uirginitate, altissima humilitate, sublimissima caritate Ihesu Christo ut ancillae, immo ut eius sponsae amabiles factae fueritis, uobiscum gaudere faciatis. Recordamini beatae matris meae, sanctae auiae uestrae. Recordamini inquam quanta fide, quam ignoto ac de supernis concaepto caritatis feruore, uos adhuc puellulas nec inter dexteram uel sinistram discernere ualentes, mundo furata fuerit, diabolo subtraxerit, deo obtulerit, sanctis sororibus adiunxerit. Metuebat illa sicut ab ore eius sepe apud Marciniacum audiui, ne forte ab hac misera ualle lacrimarum nutu uocantis domini, ante raperetur, quam uos de laqueo uenantium ereptas uideret, antequam in scola uirtutum numero sanctarum adiunctas, superstites sibi relinqueret. Respexit benignus saluator ex alto humilitatem et preces ancillae suae, et ille qui replet in bonis desiderium suorum [Ps.102:5], et qui uoluntatem timentium se facit[Ps.144:19], eius desiderium tandem impleuit. Sociauit uos choro uirgineo, corpore. Videte, uidete, ut et sociauerit mente. Non sunt quidem omnes uobis cohabitantes uirgines carne, sunt tamen ut ait pater Augustinus uirgines fide. De quibus sollempni die natalis domini, sollempniter clamat. Vbi iam non potest esse a concubitu caro integra, sit in fide uirgo conscientia, secundum quam uirgo est, omnis aecclesia. Iuxta quem sensum tam de uirginibus quam de continenter sancteque uiuentibus, apostolica tuba frequenter intonat: Despondi uos uni uiro, uirginem castam exhibere Christo [2Cor.11.2]. In hoc choro uirgineo feliciori sorte constitutae, hoc est non solum spiritu, sed et corpore illibatae iuxta monita eorum quos praemisi sanc¬torum, uitam uestram disponite, mores componite, bonum certamen certate, cursum a teneris annis inchoatum, instanter currendo, feliciter consummate. Imitamini sorores uestras et matres, cum qui¬bus deo seruitis. Specialiter uero quam commemoraui felicem auiam uestram, quae uos ad deum praecessit, et quae ut eam sequamini, non solum dum uiueret, sed et nunc etiam mortua inuitat. Date michi obsecro uocem magni apostoli, ut possim unicuique uestrum securus dicere, quod ille Timotheo discipulo scripsit: Gaudio impleor recorda¬tionem accipiens eiusfidei quae est in te nonficta, quae et habitauit primum non quidem ut ille ait in auia tua Loide et matre tua Eunice, sed in auia tua Raingarde, et in patre tuo Hugone, certus sum autem, quod et in te [2Tim.1:4-5].