On the New Knighthood
C H A P T E R T H R E E
ON THE NEW KNIGHTHOOD
B UT THE KNIGHTS OF CHRIST may safely do battle in the battles of their Lord, fearing neither the sin of smiting the enemy nor the danger of their own downfall, inasmuch as death for Christ, inflicted or endured, bears no taint of sin, but deserves abundant glory. In the first case one gains for Christ, and in the second one gains Christ himself, who freely accepts the death of the foe in vengeance, and yet more freely gives himself in consolation to his fallen knight.
The knight of Christ,1 I say, may strike with confidence and succumb more confidently. When he strikes, he does service to Christ, and to himself when he succumbs. Nor does he bear the sword in vain. He is God's minister2 in the punishment of evil doers and the praise of well doers.3 Surely, if he kills an evil doer, he is not a man-killer, but, if I may so put it, an evil-killer. Clearly he is reckoned the avenger of Christ against evildoers,4 and the defender of Christians. Should he be killed himself, we know he has not perished, but has come safely home. The death which he inflicts is Christ's gain, and that which he suffers, his own.5 At the death of the pagan, the Christian exults because Christ is exalted; in the death of the Christian the King's liberality is conspicuous when the knight is ushered home to be rewarded. In the one case
2 Tim 2:3.
Rom 13:4.
1 Pet 2:14.
Rom 13:4.
Phil 1:21.
In Praise of the New Knighthood a just person shall rejoice at regarding vindication;6 in the other man shall say, Truly there is a rewardfor the just; truly it is God who judges the earth.7
Yet this is not to say that the pagans are to be slaughtered when there is any other way of preventing them from harassing and persecuting the faithful; but only that now it seems better to destroy them than to allow the rod of sinners to continue to be raised over the lot of the righteous, lest perchance the righteous set their hand to iniquity.8
5. What then? If it is never legitimate for a Christian to strike with the sword, why then did the Saviour's precursor bid soldiers be content with their pay,9 and not rather ban military service to them? But if, as is the case, it is legitimate for all those ordained to it by the Almighty—provided they have not embraced a higher calling—then to whom, I ask, may it more rightly be allowed than to those into whose hands and hearts is committed on behalf of all of us Sion, the city of our strength?10 So that once the transgressors of divine law have been expelled, the righteous nation that preserves the truth may enter in surety.11
Surely then the nations who choose warfare should be scattered,12 those who molest us should be cut away,13 and all the workers of iniquity should be dispersed from the city of the Lord14—those who busy themselves carrying off the incalculable riches placed in Jerusalem by christian people, profaning holy things15 and pos-
Ps 57:11
Ps 57:12.
Ps 124:3.
Lk 3:14. The Precursor is John the Baptist.
Is 26:1.
Is 26:2.
Ps 67:31.
Gal 5:12.
Ps 100:8.
Lev 19:8.
On the New Knighthood
sessing the sanctuary of God as their heritage.16 Let both swords17 of the faithful fall upon the necks of the foe to the destruction of every lofty thing lifting itself up against the knowledge of God18 which is the christian faith, lest the Gentiles should then say, 'Where is their God?'19
6. Once they have been cast out, He shall return to his heritage and to his house, of which he said in anger in the Gospel,
Behold, your house will be l e f t to you desolate.20 And through the Prophet he had complained: I have left my house, / have forsaken my heritage.21 And he will fulfill that other prophecy: The Lord has ransomed his people and delivered them 22 They shall come to Mount Sion and exult, and rejoice in the good things of the Lord,'23
Rejoice Jerusalem,24 and recognize right now the time of your visitation!25 Be glad and give praise all at once, wastelands of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people. He has ransomed Jerusalem. The Lord has bared his holy arm in the sight of all the nations.26 O virgin Israel, you had fallen and there was no one to raise you up.27 Rise up now and shake off the dust, O virgin, captive daughter of Sion.28 Rise up, I say, and stand on high. Look at the happiness which is coming to you from your
Ps 82:13.
Lk 22:38. See above, chapter 1, note 10.
2 Cor 10:4-5.
Ps 113:2.
Mt 23:38.
Jer 12:7.
Ps 76:16.
23 Jer 31:11-12. Bernard has fused this passage with the above text from Ps 76.
Is 66:10. Introit for the Fourth Sunday of Lent.
Lk 19:44.
Is 52:9-10.
27 Amos 5:2.
Is 52:2.
In Praise of the New Knighthood God.29 You will no longer be referred to as forsaken, nor your land any more be termed a wilderness, for the Lord has taken delight in you, and your land shall be peopled.30 Raise your eyes, look around you and see; all these have gathered together and come to you.31 This is help sent to you by the Holy One!32
Through them already is fulfilled the ancient promise, I will make you the pride of the ages, a joy from generation to generation. You will suck the milk of the nations and be nourished at the breasts of kings.55 And again, As a mother consoles her children, so will I console you, and in Jerusalem you will be consoled,34
Do you not see how often these ancient witnesses authorize the new knighthood? Surely, what we have heard, we have now seen in the city of the Lord of hosts.35 At the same time, of course, we must not let this literal interpretation blind us to the spiritual meaning of the texts,36 for we must live in eternal hope in spite of such temporal realizations of prophetic utterances. Otherwise what is beheld would supplant what is believed, material penury threaten spiritual wealth37 and present possessions void future fulfillment. What is more, the temporal glory of the earthly city does not demolish its heavenly rewards, but demonstrates them, at
Bar 4:36; 5:5. Communion verse for the Second Sunday of Advent in the Roman Missal.
Is 62:4.
Is 49:18.
Ps 19:3.
Is 60:15-16.
Is 66:13.
Ps 47:9.
On the various sense of Scripture and their use by the Fathers, see Henri de Lubac, Exégèse Médiéval, 4 vols. (Paris: Aubier, 1959-1964). Translated as Medieval Exegesis by Mark Sebanc (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans-Edinburgh: T.
&T. Clark) Volume 1 (1998).
On the cistercian ideal of poverty, see, for example, Guerric of Igny, Sermon 53.5 for All Saints Day (CF 32:209): 'What I have said is not new to you, my brethren, but I still want to impress upon you that truly blessed poverty of spirit is to be found more in humility of heart than in a mere privation of everyday possessions,and it consists more in the renunciation of pride than in a mere contempt for property. Sometimes it may be useful to own things . . . .'
On the New Knighthood
least so long as we remember that the one is the figure of the other, and that it is the heavenly which is our mother.38
38 Gal 4:26.
