Lothair, Henry I. of England, and the Kings of Aragon and Castile, were represented by ambassador-prelates. The extraordinary influence which Bernard's strong mind and firm will had obtained over Innocent was here perceived; though the Pope in public preferred to consult his cardinals, he was always guided by the opinion which he had previously obtained from the Abbot of Clairvaux in private. In April, 1132, he crossed the Alps into Italy, pausing at Lyons to shower favours on Clairvaux and on the Cistercians as a body, including an entire immunity from tithes. He was still accompanied by Bernard, without whose counsel he was powerless, and to whose enthusiastic support he owed everything. Escorted by Lothair, with a body of 2000 horse, he entered Rome; but Anacletus still held a considerable portion of the sacred city, relying on the troops furnished by Roger, the Norman Duke of Sicily. The climate compelled the Emperor to retire; and soon afterwards Innocent was forced to abandon the field to his rival, and seek shelter at Pisa. Bernard, ever active on his behalf, for he had identified his cause with that of right and justice, addressed a note of rejoicing to the Pisans :"Pisa is chosen to take the place of Rome, and before all the cities of the earth to become the seat of the Apostolic dignity. Nor is this the result of chance, nor by the decree of man, but it hath been willed by the divine providence and favour of GOD, Who thus spake unto Innocent the Anointed :-'Choose Pisa for thy dwelling-place, and I will pour My blessing on that city, and the wickedness of the Sicilian tyrant shall not prevail against her. His menaces shall not shake her steadfastness; neither shall she be seduced by his gifts, nor beguiled by the subtlety of his cunning. O Pisa! Pisa! thou shalt be envied by all cities, for the sake of the glory shed on thee by the presence of him who is thy father, and the father of Christendom, the primate of the world, the judge of the earth.""

At Pisa, in May, 1136, a great council was held, when Anacletus was excommunicated, and sentence of deposition delivered against his partisans. Bernard was here the principal figure. He was treated with the greatest deference, and his voice really governed the decisions; but the honours with which he was loaded did not shake his calm self-reliance

or disturb his composure. From Pisa he repaired to Milan, that through his mediation its citizens might be reconciled with the Pope and the Emperor. At his approach the city poured forth its thousands and tens of thousands to do him honour. They contended with one another for the pri vilege of touching him; they drew out threads from his tunic, to be preserved as relics or employed as remedies for the sick. Bread and water were brought from a distance for his blessing, which was supposed to endue them with a sacramental virtue; and many miracles were wrought, partly through his own sanctity, and partly through the absolute faith which the people reposed in him. The reform which he accomplished was not the least wonderful of these! All gold and silver ornaments were removed from the churches, and shut up in chests, as being offensive to the man of GOD; men and women put on sackcloth and coarse woollen garments, and submitted to have their hair shorn, in token of their repentance. The fame of these things soon spread over the surrounding countries, and from all parts men came to be healed of their diseases, or to see the saint by whom such great deeds were performed.

The Milanese conceived so great an affection for the man of GOD" that they solicited him to accept their archbishopric. Bernard, however, perceived that he could do better and higher work as a simple monk, than as an ecclesiastical dignitary; that his influence would be greater, and his time more fully at his command. "To-morrow," he said to the crowd that pressed around him, "I will mount my horse, and if it carry me out of your city, I shall conclude that I may not accede to your request; but if, on the other hand, it should refuse to bear me beyond the walls, I will then agree to become your archbishop." Bernard's horse responded to Bernard's inclination, and did not refuse to bear him beyond the walls of the old Lombard capital. Thereupon, he took his departure from Milan, and travelled through the territories of Pavia and Cremona, in order to negotiate terms of peace between them and Milan, and secure the release of the Milanese prisoners. A new archbishop, Robald, was soon afterwards elected; and the influence of Bernard proved sufficient to extort from the Milanese their consent to his acceptance of the pallium

from Pope Innocent. This surrender of the ancient privilege of their church, which they had hitherto jealously preserved, is a striking testimony to the power he personally wielded.

Having thus successfully striven to compose the dissensions and heal the wounds of the Church in Italy, Bernard set out on his return to Clairvaux, of which he had seen but little in four busy years. The news of his coming spread before him; and on his crossing the Alps, crowds of shepherds and peasants came down from their heights to greet him, and receive his blessing (1135). Soon after his arrival at Clairvaux, he undertook the rebuilding of the monastery, which was no longer capable of containing the numbers who sought admission within its walls. At first he felt a natural hesitation. "Remember," he said to his monks, "remember the labour and cost of our present house; with what infinite pains did we at last succeed in constructing the aqueducts which supply our offices and workshops with water; and what will be said of us if we now destroy our own work? We shall be counted fools, and rightly, for we have no money. Let us not forget the warning of the Gospel, that 'he who would build a tower, must first sit down and count the cost.'" The brethren replied :-" You must either repulse those who are sent to you by GOD, or you must build lodgings for them; and surely it would be a miserable thing if through fear of the expense we opposed any obstacles to the development of GOD's work." This consideration decided him; and the labour of building was begun. Abundant offerings poured in from all parts. Many labourers were hired; many gave their services without payment. The monks themselves plied axe and hammer lustily; while some squared the stone, others felled the timber, and others raised the walls. The waters of the river were distributed into several channels, which were made to feed the various mills. "The fullers and the millers, the tanners and the carpenters, and other artificers erected the machines and appliances necessary to their respective trades; and the obedient water, brought by subterranean pipes throughout the offices, afforded a plentiful and gushing spring wherever it was wanted. At last, having fulfilled its various duties, it retired to its original bed,

G

and swelled to its ancient size. The walls were completed with unexpected celerity, enclosing the whole extent of the spacious monastery. The abbey rose from the earth; and, as if animated by a spirit of life, the new church seemed to grow and increase."1

Bernard was soon called from his peaceful duties at Clairvaux to act again on a wider stage. Gerard, Bishop of Angoulême, had been employed by several popes as legate for Aquitaine and the adjoining provinces of Spain. When the schism took place, he espoused the cause of Innocent; but that pope having refused to renew his legation, he joined the party of Anacletus, and was rewarded with a fresh commission. In his efforts to engage the support of Henry of England, and of the princes of Spain and Brittany, for Anacletus, he had failed; but he was more successful with William IX., Count of Aquitaine, and, with his consent and assistance, he filled the see of Bourges, and various abbacies and benefices, with his own partisans, men whose sole recommendation was that of noble birth. The learned and devout Geoffrey, Bishop of Chartres, was Pope Innocent's legate, and he now applied to Bernard to join him in reclaiming Count William from the error of his ways. They all met at Parthenay, where Bernard found it easy to engage the Count in the cause of Innocent, as he neither understood the merits of the dispute, nor cared for one competitor more than the other; but he found him resolute not to restore the bishops and abbots ejected by Gerard, protesting that they had deeply offended him, and moreover that he had solemnly sworn never to forgive them. Bernard abandoned all attempt at argument, and repaired to the church to celebrate mass. The Count, as a schismatic and excommunicate, durst not assist at the ceremony, and remained standing outside the door; until Bernard came forth with a stern countenance, and flashing eyes, and an air of solemn command which had in it something more than human.2 Holding the consecrated host in his hands, he addressed the Count in awful words: "Often have we solicited thee, and thou hast treated us, the servants of GOD, with contempt. Lo, here cometh to thee the Blessed

J. C. Morison, "Life and Times of S. Bernard," pp. 188, 189. 2 44 Jam non se agens ut hominem."-S. Bernard, ii. 38.

Son of the Virgin, He Who is the Head and the LORD of the Church which thou persecutest. Behold thy Judge, at Whose Name every knee is bowed both in heaven and in earth, the Judge into Whose hands thou must one day surrender thy soul. Wilt thou reject Him too, as thou hast rejected His servants ?" A breathless silence fell upon the spectators, who, with tears, and with inward prayer, awaited some miraculous sign from heaven. Overpowered by Bernard's enthusiasm, and believing that in his hands at that very moment rested his LORD and Judge, the Count, stricken in every limb, fell suddenly to the ground. His knights hastened to lift him up, but he could neither see nor speak, and foaming at the mouth, he again fell with his face upon the grass. Bernard then approached, touched him with his foot, and bade him arise and receive the command of God. "Here," he said, "is the Bishop of Poitiers, whom you have driven from his church; go and be reconciled to him with the kiss of peace. Lead him back to the episcopal throne from which you wrongfully expelled him. Give glory to GOD instead of contumely, and exhort all the separatists in your dominions to return to the unity of the Church." The Count could not speak, but he heard and obeyed; and Bernard's mission was fulfilled. Bishop Gerard of Angoulême, it is true, persisted in his schism; but he was soon afterwards found lifeless in his bed, having died excommunicate, and without the last Sacraments.

Bernard once more returned to Clairvaux; where, in a bower garlanded by wreaths of pease-blossoms, erected in the most secluded angle of the Bright Valley, he gave himself up for hours to meditation on divine things. To the monks he preached daily or almost daily; at morning, noon, or evening, as his own avocations or those of the monks permitted; always with a fervid eloquence and a profound earnestness that touched the souls of his hearers. It was at this time he composed and delivered his famous sermons on the Canticles; making that mystic book the text of his discourse, because he was so deeply convinced of the force of divine love as a motive of action. We have space only for a few brief extracts.

"Remember that no spirit can by itself reach unto our minds, that is, supposing it to have no assistance from our