Blanquerna

AUORAMUS TE

The Cardinal of Adoramus Te was in great thought as to how he might bring it to pass that God should be more perfeftly adored by His people, and he reflected that he might go to live alone for some time with a holy hermit who dwelt upon a high mountain, and that in that place he might consider the manner wherein he could bring it to pass that God should be contemplated and adored, according as is beseeming, and according as He has com¬ manded His people. While the Cardinal went to the hermit and considered that which he so greatly desired, it chanced that he passed along a road wherein was a church which a poor man served by providing lights for worship, and wherein he caused Mass to be sung by begging for alms which men gave him. In that church there was a very great crucifix, right nobly sculptured and enchased. And there had entered a pilgrim, who was destroying the crucifix and knocking it to pieces with Slones, and the good man who served the church was forbidding him with all his power. While these two men thus Strove, the Cardinal 352

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passed by and entered the church, and marvelled greatly at the pilgrim who was thus Stoning the crucifix, and en¬ quired of the pilgrim wherefore he dishonoured the figure which is represented by the image of Jesus Christ. “ Sir 1 ” said the pilgrim : “ It was formerly the cuStom for people to adore idols, and in this present time there are many men who adore idols, and the Saracens and the Jews reproach us who are Christians because we adore images, for an image sculptured and enchased is more like in figure to an idol than is an image which is unadorned. Wherefore to signify that unadorned images are more seemly than those that are enchased, I have made it a cuStom to deStroy every graven image upon an altar, for its likeness to an idol.”

2. While the Cardinal and the pilgrim held this converse there entered a man who came from foreign lands, and he kneeled before the Altar and adored and prayed to God very earnestly. The Cardinal considered that God had set some virtue in this man, by reason of the which he adored God so devoutly, and he desired to know of this man the manner wherein he adored God. “ Sir 1 ” said that man : “ It is almoSt a cuStom among the men that are in this world that they adore God to the end that He may give them glory and not punishment; and many a time do they adore Him to the end that He may give them temporal possessions accord¬ ing to their need. Wherefore as it is a wrongful thing to adore God the rather in respeCt of the things of man, than for the goodness which is in God, therefore do I go to the Pope that he may give me his benediction, and I desire to cry aloud in all the squares and Streets of cities and towns that men should adore God chiefly and above all because He is good, and worthy, that through His very goodness and perfection men should adore Him and bring Him love and do Him reverence and honour.”

3. The Cardinal marvelled and rejoiced greatly, and with this man who desired to cry aloud concerning the beSt manner wherein man may adore God, he returned to the

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city of Rome to make representation to the Pope concern¬ ing these two men according as has been said above. As they went all three along the road speaking of the manner wherein man should adore God, they met an old Jew who was going to the Court and was very wearied by reason of the long journey which he had made. His face and his features gave significance of great trouble and sorrow. The Cardinal enquired of the Jew wherefore he went so sadly and pensively. “ Sir! ” said the Jew: “ For a long time I have been in grievous thought, from the which I cannot escape, and that thought so greatly torments my soul, that I have scarce any pleasure in aught that I hear or see.” The Cardinal desired to know at all coifs the thought wherein the Jew had entered, and the Jew spake to him of his trouble according to these words. “ Sir 1 ” said the Jew: “ In the beginning, as it pleased God, — Blessed be His Name 1 — He honoured the people of the Jews above all other peoples. Twice were we in captivity : the firif captivity was of four hundred years and the second of seventy years. In these two captivities were we because we committed many sins; yet after the punishment which we suffered in captivity, we recovered the liberty which we had had aforetime. But now, though we neither slay prophets nor adore idols, and live our life in this world with great trials, we have been in captivity more than one thousand and two hundred years and we know not why ; wherefore I have great fear that we have been guilty of the death of the Chriit, and that for this reason we are in captivity. Therefore go I as a man in exile throughout many lands to enquire if any man can show and make clear to me that we are in captivity because we adore not Jesus Chrift Whom we have crucified.”

4. When the Jew had ended his words, the Cardinal put to him this question : “ There was debate between three wise men which of the three adored God most perfeftly. The one had the office whereby he went over hill and dale 354

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and adored God in herbs, plants, beaSts, birds, and men, and in all the creatures. The second wise man adored God in that which He did in the works which He performed above nature, even as also in the miracles which He did, and in the creation of the world from nothing, and in the raising of the dead, and in everything that nature cannot perform. The third wise man adored God in those things which God is and in those things which God works in Himself, through Himself, and of Himself, and in that which God works in Himself with respett to the creatures. And it was a question which of these three adored God the moft perfe&ly; and if there should be another who adored God according to the three manners aforementioned, there would be question likewise if he adored Him more perfe&ly than any of the three sages aforementioned.” “ Sir I ” said the Jew: “ He that adores God for that which God works in Himself is he that adores Him the moSt perfectly, rather than he that adores Him for that which He does in others; and he that adores God according to the three manners aforementioned adores Him more perfeftly than he that adores Him in one manner only.” The Cardinal answered and said “ that he had rightly judged: and they that praise God for the works which He shows in the things of nature are the philosophers of olden time, and they that adore God in His miracles and in the works which they believe Him to do above nature are the Jews; but now the time has come wherein the Jews believe no more in miracles, and adore not God, for they believe not that which He does above nature to show forth His power; but the Christians believe that God performs in Himself a greater work than nature can either do or receive, in that the Father Who is God has engendered the Son Who is God, and from these proceeds the Holy Spirit Who is God, and yet together they are no more than one God. And God the Son has united with Himself the human nature of ChriSt, with Whom He is no more than one Person; and since this 355

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ChriSt was crucified and slain by you Jews, when He came among you to take His human nature, and suffered death to save you, and since ye adore Him not, therefore has He punished you by delivering you into the captivity of the Christians, and of the Saracens also, signifying thereby that in every wise ye are unworthy to be free, wherefore He has made you to be subje&ed to the faithful and the unfaithful alike.” Deeply did the Jew consider the words which the Cardinal had spoken, and through the questions and the arguments which he had made, he perceived the truth and became a Christian, and received the office that he should go into the synagogues of the Jews to adore God in the presence of all according to the three manners aforesaid; and the Pope gave him the privilege of that office.

5. As the Cardinal was before the Pope, and ordained his officers who were to help him in the fulfilment of his office, there came before the Pope an ancient and reverend Saracen, and on behalf of the Saracen king he presented to the Pope a letter, in the which the Saracen king prayed him that he would send to him to say if that which a certain Christian had related to him of the Holy Catholic Faith was true. This Christian, he said, had turned him from the faith of Mahomet which he had aforetime held, but since the Christian had told him that the Catholic Faith could not be proved by arguments, therefore he desired not to be a Christian, for he would not leave one faith for another, but he said that through understanding he would fain leave the faith of Mahomet and hold the Catholic Faith, providing that the Pope would send to him to say if it could be proved, and if this were so he would become a Christian and adore Jesus ChriSt as God, and make over all his domain to the Church of Rome, to the end that all that dwelt therein should adore Jesus ChriSt.

6. When these letters had been read in presence of the Pope and the Cardinals, there entered a Gentile1 who came

' i.'. a heathen. Cf. p. 3 1 1, above.

adoramus te

from a southern land which lies within the regions of the desert, and from a city which is called Gana. In that land there were many kings and princes who adored idols and likewise adored the sun and the Stars and the birds and the beaSts. The people of that land are very many, and they are black, and have no law. It came to pass one day that a man from that country considered that it was beseeming that there should be adored some one thing only, which should be nobler than any of those to which they did adoration in that land, and in honour of that thing the nature whereof he knew not, he went through every land crying out that man should seek and make enquiry con¬ cerning this thing which alone should be adored. For so long did that man continue in this office, and so diligently did he serve therein, that he moved the people in that land to devotion, and they had a desire to have knowledge of that thing which above all others should be adored; where¬ fore they held a Court, and came together, and ordained that messengers should be sent through divers lands to enquire what that thing could be which was worthy of adoration above all things else ; and one of the messengers was this man who came to the Pope. Straightway the Pope sent for the articles of the faith and the books whereby it is shown that these articles may be proved. He sent also for the friars that had learned Arabic, the which friars went to the Saracen king, who had sent these letters to the Pope, and by the grace of God they converted the Saracen king and a great multitude of people; and with the messengers of the Pope they went to those countries through the which the Gentile had passed, and they proclaimed and showed by necessary reasons that God was sovereign over all things, and that He it was Whom all the people of these lands should adore; and they destroyed the idols wherein they had been wont to believe. So agreement and friendship was made between these people and the Catholics ; and by the friendship and converse which the Catholics had with r 357

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them, many of these people in a brief space of time received baptism.

7. Upon a certain feaSt day the Pope made a procession with a great company of prelates and religious and other clerks. Many were the songs and praises which were made to our Lord God therein. The Cardinal of Adoramus Te walked in that procession, and he refle&ed how that there were many lands in the world wherein were numbers of people who praised not God neither adored Him, and he desired very earnestly that God should be adored in all these lands. While the Cardinal considered thus it chanced that he passed before a great company of silversmiths and shopkeepers, who had in their shops very many cups and basins, jugs, dishes, and bowls of gold and silver and many other precious things, to wit, rings, purses, girdles and precious Slones. The Cardinal commanded four squires to seize all these cups and jewels and to throw them into the Street and to say that he had commanded them to do this. The squires performed his commandment, and the men who owned these precious things were greatly scandal¬ ised thereat, and it seemed that all the procession would be disturbed because the Cardinal had commanded his squires to a£t in this wise, and because there was like to be Strife between them and the men who owned these precious

8 . After this adventure there came another, namely, that the Cardinal of Adoramus Te saw a lady who followed the procession, the which lady was richly adorned with gold and silver and precious Slones, and her face shone with the colours which she had placed thereon, even as images shine when man has placed varnish upon them. The Cardinal kneeled before the lady and made as though he would adore her, saying that she was like to an idol and for this reason he kneeled to her. Great was the shame of that lady and of all the others that were with her. When the Pope had ended the procession and had sung Mass, he 358

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desired to know for what reason the Cardinal had disturbed the procession and had kneeled before the lady; and the Cardinal related to him how that great devotion had come to him as he had refledted how many lands there were wherein God was not adored, and that the cups of gold and silver and the other precious things wherewith prelates adorn their tables and fill their cheats impeded this office1 ; wherefore he had commanded that these precious things should be destroyed. So the Pope made establishment from thenceforward that none of these jewels should be in any city or place wherein he was, left they should be an occasion to the unworthy will of any prelate. After this he made establishment likewise that no woman that was dressed and adorned after the manner of idols should walk in his procession nor be in any church wherein he sang Mass.