Blanquerna

The Cardinal of Laudamus Te took the office of praise; and in the Court of Rome and through all Chriftian lands he sent his representatives to praise God, and he, in his own person, went many times throughout these lands to give praise to God for the work which He has in Him¬ self, — that is to say, in His Divine Persons, — and for the work which He has in the creatures. It came to pass once that the Cardinal was praising God in a city wherein dwelt a lady who had two sons : the one son was a clerk, and the other a layman, and this lady and her sons praised God ; and there was queflion in that city which of the three praised God the more fervently. On either side there were persons who made argument, and recounted the praise which each gave to God according to the manner following:

2. The good lady, who was the mother of the two sons aforementioned, had brought up her sons to praise God, and since the death of her husband she was accustomed to go to other women and to reprove them for those things wherein they erred, and to praise God in their presence as well as she might. By reason of the reproofs which this lady made to others concerning the garments which they wore, and the painting of their faces, and their evil cufloms, many a woman embraced good cufloms in that city. And all feared this lady, because she reproved them so ffraitly, and knew and spied out their secrets and their faults.

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3. The clerk was a prieit, and he loved poverty, and sang Mass daily, and when it was the hour to dine he went to the house of some man to beg him to give him meat on that day, for the which favour he would sing Mass on the morrow for the welfare of his soul. Oftentimes came this clerk to eat and to beg alms with the poor at the gates of religious houses and of the palace of the Bishop; and he went to the clergy, reproving them for the faults which he saw in them, and feared not to speak the truth to any clerk whom he saw despising honefly and holiness of life : where¬ fore as he reproved them he praised God, and as he praised God he reproved them. That clerk was accustomed to go daily through the Streets of the city, and on the way, when¬ soever he encountered clerks whom he saw to be in sin, he reproved them; afterwards he went to the churches, wherein he remained in prayer and contemplation, praising God, and reproving the clerks in any church, when he saw them do aught that was wrong. And the same thing did he in all the churches.

4. The other brother, who was a layman, went through the Streets of the city, and when he found any layman who sinned in rcspett of his clothing, or his walking, or his speaking, or in anything soever, he reproved him incon¬ tinently, fearing no calumny neither harm to his person; and when he had reproved them he praised and blessed God in the presence of those whom he had reproved. And for the boldness which he had in reproving those who erred, and in praising God, all the men in that city feared him, and moSt of all was he feared by such as sinned.

5. Great was the good which that man did in the city, and great likewise was the good that was done by the lady and the clerk; wherefore there was question among the ladies and the clerks and the laymen of that city which of the three praised God the beft; and on behalf of each there were those that maintained that that one praised God the beft. Each of the three parties came before the Cardinal, 340

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and put to him the queftion. And the Cardinal was greatly pleased, and brought the question to Rome that the Pope might solve it, and that in the city of Rome also there might be ladies and clerks and laymen who in like manner should praise God, and that the Pope might make establishment that for all time in the city of Rome there might be these

6. When the Cardinal had come to Rome and had laid this question before the Pope and the Cardinals, Ramon the Fool came before them, and he brought fire and wood and flour and water, and a sieve, and he said that he desired to make a loaf compounded of hope, charity, justice, chaStity and humility, that he might give it to eat to those in whom was despondency, cruelty, wrong, lust and pride. After these words, the JcSter of Valour said to the Cardinal who had put the question, that he besought him to apprise Ram6n the Fool thereof, for in praise of God and to re¬ prove the vices of the Court of Rome Ramin the Sage had taken the office of fool. Greatly was the Cardinal pleased, and even so were all the reft, that Ramin the Fool should be apprised of that queftion.

7. While the Pope and the Cardinals debated the solu¬ tion of the question, a courier brought to the Jefter of Valour a letter from the Emperor, inftrufting him to request the Pope and the Cardinals upon his behalf to judge which of these four persons following praised God the most truly, the which persons praised Him in the manner related in these words:

8. In a certain monastery there was a brother who was a man of holy life and a notable clerk. That brother had devotion in praising God in those works which God has in Himself, to wit, in the generation of the Son by the Father, and in the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son. This brother had given himself up wholly to praising the Trinity, saying that in all these things praise should be given to the noblcft work which exists; and

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since the nobleil work of any is the generation of God and the procession of God, in the which generation and pro¬ cession there is infinity and eternity of goodness, power, wisdom, love and perfeftion, therefore the friar had no intent to praise God save in His Holy Trinity and Unity. That friar praised God in word and thought, according to the manner aforesaid, and with respeft to the creatures, and to the work which God has in the creatures, he en¬ deavoured with all his power to prove to Chriilians that concerning the which he praised God, and, from the praises which he spake and proved, there resulted devotion and charity in those to whom the friar praised God, and from this devotion and charity followed many good works and many evils ceased.

9. There was a bishop who had devotion in praising God in His Incarnation; for the nobleft work which the Creator can perform in the creature is to unite the creature with Himself, that they may be one person only. And through the great devotion which the bishop had in praising God as touching the noblefl work that God can have in the creature, the bishop had devotion to go and praise Him among the unbelievers, that by means of his praise he might convert them and suffer martyrdom. That bishop went to the land of the Saracens to praise the Holy In¬ carnation and Passion of the Son of God, and he did much good in that land, and suffered martyrdom in praise of God.

10. In that city wherein the bishop was martyred, there was a philosopher who was a very great mailer in philos¬ ophy, and through the words which he heard the bishop speak concerning the Incarnation of God he became a Christian, and had devotion to praise God in those lands wherein He is unknown, and whose inhabitants adore and believe in idols. That philosopher went to those countries to praise God, and to prove that God is, and is one only, the which God is the Firil Cause and Sovereign Good. 342

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He praised God likewise in the good which He performs in creatures who by their goodness give significance of the goodness of the Creator. While the philosopher, by means of the creatures, proved God to exist, and to be wholly good, the people of that city slew him, and he became a martyr in praise of God, Whom he praised as Lord of all

1 1 . After the death of the philosopher, a Christian knight came to that city wherein the philosopher had been martyred in praise of God. In that city God worked many miracles through the death of the philosopher, by the which miracles many people were converted. That knight came to the city to challenge in single combat any man who should say that God existed not, or that God was the sun or the moon or the other creatures which idolaters set in the likeness of God. With a great company of knights of that land the knight did battle, and conquered many, and at the last an archer wounded him with an arrow which cleft his heart, and the knight became a martyr, having praised God in the office of arms.

12. After this letter had been read, the Pope and the Cardinals praised and blessed God for the praise which was given to Him in the persons of the four men above men¬ tioned ; and many were the arguments that were put before the Court on the one side and the other; and the Stronger was the argument between the partisans of each of the four in judging which of them had praised God beSt, the more was devotion increased in the people who heard the arguments. So the Cardinal of Laudamus Te said to the Pope that he should defer for a long time the solution of the question aforementioned, and that men should be chosen in his Court, who should make argument daily upon either side, and that all the arguments should be set down in writing; for if one suit had laSted for twenty years in the court of two kings who made dispute concerning their empire, how much the more should sentence be de-

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ferrcd concerning the queftion aforementioned, to the end that devotion and good example might be the more increased in that Court, by the which devotion and ex¬ ample many should praise God and suffer martyrdom in

13. That which the Cardinal demanded was granted to him by the Pope and the other Cardinals, and endowment was made of advocates from the possessions of Holy Church, the which advocates were to make arguments upon either side all the days of their life. It came to pass one day that the advocate who made argument concerning the bishop who died in praise of the Incarnation of God put forward in his plea two arguments, namely, that God can be the better praised with respeft to juftice and mercy in a clerk that is a sinner, than in any other man; for since the clerk holds the office of Jesus Chrift, he is the greater sinner, when he sins, than another man, wherefore God can manifest greater juftice in punishing him or greater mercy in pardoning him his sins. And since this greater demonstration of praise is given in the Incarnation of the Son of God and in the Sacrifice of the Altar and in the Passion of Jesus Chrift, therefore the advocate thought it to be proved that the bishop praised God more than all the reft. Arguments of like kind were put forward by the other advocates, and many notable arguments and queftions were made in the plea aforesaid, from the which there followed much good in the Court.

14. While the aforementioned suit was being conduced daily in the Court, Ramdn the Fool made queftion to the Pope, and the Cardinals, as to how and why it could be that the Popes who had been poor in temporal possessions had been praised more greatly than the Popes who were richer, after they had acquired the Empire of Rome. The Pope answered and said to Ramdn the Fool that it was a light matter to solve this queftion.

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