Blanquerna

DOMINE DEUS REX CCELESTIS, DEUS PATER OMNIPOTENS

In the ConsiSlory was the Cardinal of Domine Deus, and he said, in presence of the Pope and of the Cardinals, that he desired to have the office of honouring the power of God, Who suffered dishonour in this world through many men who dishonoured Him after divers manners. It came to pass one day that the Pope desired to send his messengers to a land called Georgia, whereof a Christian king is lord ; and the Pope sent to that king, begging him to send him certain religious from among the people of his land, that they might teach their language and their letters to Latin friars, and that they might learn Latin, and to- 368

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gether with the Latin friars return to their own land to preach the holy faith and do&rine of Rome. When the Pope Blanquerna ordained these things, the Chamberlain said that it would be a matter of great peril to cause these persons to be sent, and to learn their language, and to teach our Latin to them, and that this was a thing which required convenient place and time and great expense.

a. Greatly was the Cardinal displeased at that which the Chamberlain had said, and he related this ftory: “ Once on a time it came to pass that a certain man named Jofa was going along a road, and he came to a river, on the bank whereof was a great multitude of men who were gazing at a man who had drowned himself in the water. He enquired of them why that man had not gone up higher, to the source of the river, where he might have crossed to the other side. A man answered : “ But how long a time he would have taken to do this, seeing that it is five days’ journey to the source of the ftream 1 ” Jofa answered : “ But how much longer will he take to come to life again and rise from this place 1 ” In these words did the Cardinal flernly reprove the Chamberlain, saying that the power of man through long practice can direft and bring to an end all that which the Pope desires to ordain concerning the religious of Georgia ; but no power can bring back the damned in hell to a Sate of salvation, since they have passed from this present life. The Cardinal had a squire who had served him for long that he might gain a better promotion. It came to pass one day that the squire was very grievously sick of a fever. The Cardinal was greatly troubled at his sickness, and the squire begged him that he would heal him and take from him the fever which so severely tor¬ mented him. The Cardinal answered that he had no power to take the fever from him, for that power was from God alone, Whose power did all that it desired with the power of nature. The squire recovered from his malady, and he took the office of honouring the power of God in every land.

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crying aloud and saying that the power of God is superior to the power of nature, and that therefore God was able to make the firdt man, and to rise from the dead, and cause a woman that was a virgin to conceive and bring forth a child, through His Divine power ; and that the power of the dtars and of the heavenly bodies is vanquished and overcome, or given leave to work, by the Sovereign Power only. Right worthy was the office which was taken by the squire ; for oftentimes Catholics were confirmed thereby in their faith, and the unbelievers were vanquished and overcome in their belief that a virgin could not conceive or bring forth a child, and a man could not rise from the dead; whereas the power of God in these things is as effectual as in the creating of the world from naught, the which creation is superior to the power of nature.

3. “ Lord ! ” said the Cardinal to the Pope: “ I would fain know which has the greater power, whether truth or falsehood.” The Pope answered and said that truth has greater power than falsehood, because truth has greater aid of God and accords with being, and falsehood has no aid of God and accords not with being. Wherefore after these words the Cardinal asked the Pope how it came to pass that falsehood could have such power in the world that there should be more men who are idolaters and believe in idols than there are of men that believe in God. And the Pope answered that this thing came not to pass that falsehood might have power over truth, bat through defedt of de¬ votion and charity, which desires not that the truth be shown forth; wherefore even as darkness comes through defedt of light, even so come error and falsehood from the defedt of those that dare not to say or to preach the truth.

4. In a certain province it came to pass that the devout and blessed men who went to preach the word of God to unbelievers were refused a hearing, and banished from the country. And the Cardinal had recourse to the secular arm, and treated with the Chridtian princes, and with the Pope, 370

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to the end that by force of arms they should fight and conquer all such as allow not holy Christian men to enter their countries and preach therein the word of God, and that the Church should make no truce with any unbeliever who suffered not the Christians to show forth in his land the truth of the Catholic Faith. So great was the power of the Christians that the unbelievers of that land suffered that they should preach to them, and that there should be a truce between them for so long as they suffered the Christians to preach and to convert the unbelievers in their land.

5. It came to pass that a very powerful Saracen king desired not that Christian monks should enter his country to preach therein, and two friars whom the Saracens had banished from their land came to the Cardinal of Domine Deus saying that they could not remain in that land be¬ cause the Saracens desired it not. But the Cardinal said that they had dishonoured the power of the will, which is Stronger and nobler than the power of the body, and there¬ fore he made complaint to the Pope, saying these words : “ Lord Pope 1 The power of the will makes men to faSt and weep and labour to honour and praise the power of God, and God has bound and submitted the power of the body to the power of the spirit. Wherefore, if the king defends himself with bodily power againSt the power of our souls, it is seemly that his power should be vanquished and overcome, through loving and honouring greatly the Passion of God, and through the shedding of tears and of blood, and by means of holy men who shall go both secretly and openly among the unbelievers, that through long con¬ tinuance the power of the body may be vanquished by the power of the spirit, in significance that the power of God vanquishes spiritually the sensual and the intellectual power that is in creatures, according as is represented in the Sacred Hoft.”

6. So fervent and devout was this Cardinal in honour¬ ing the power of God, that he established divers offices to

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honour the power of God. To one man he gave the office that he should go through the world preaching and crying aloud that man should not truSl in the power of riches, neither in friends nor wisdom nor youth, nor omens nor fates nor divinations, nor in any other power soever whereby man loses the grace of the Divine power. Another office gave the Cardinal to one who should cry out that the power of God was so great that it could do all things, and that no sin could result therefrom. Another officer cried that God could do no sin, because sin and lack of power are things which agree with each other, and are contrary to power, and to the virtues, which agree together likewise. Another officer cried that God exhausted not His power in respedt of His creatures, for He had power to do many things more than He did. Another cried that God in His Trinity did all that was in His power. Many other officers were there who honoured the power of God, and all had rule and dodtrine whereby they were to bless and honour the power of God; and among the other officers was one whose duty it was to show by means of nature how man could mortify within himself the vices, and strengthen the virtues, and weep for his sins. Another office was held by a man who carried the branch of a tree and a bird, and led a dog, and he cried that there was no man who could create a leaf of that branch, neither a feather of that bird, neither a hair of that dog, neither a nail of his own hand.

7. So great was the fame of the Cardinal and of his officers in honouring the power of God, that whensoever a man had defedt of power. Straightway he went for succour and for counsel to the Cardinal and to his officers. And the same thing came to pass with the Cardinal who served the will of God, and with the Cardinal who served the wisdom of God ; so that whensoever a man had defedt of will or of knowledge or of power, incontinendy he had recourse to the Cardinals above-mentioned.

DOMJNE FI LI UNIGENITE JESU CHRISTE