9. To Hernost, The Monk.
The Letters of St. Anselm
9. TO HERNOST, THE MONK.
Anselm consoles Hemost by telling him that his illness is God's chastisement for his chosen ones and that suffering brings consolation.
TO HIS FELLOW-MONK AND DEAREST BROTHER, HERNOST,1
BROTHER ANSELM WISHES HIM HEALTH AS MUCH FOR HIS BODY
AS IS GOOD AND AS MUCH FOR HIS SOUL AS IS NECESSARY.
I LEARNED ABOUT the greatly increased suffering brought on by your illness, my loving and equally loved friend, first from the report of others and then by reading your letter.
Even if I am silent about how much compassion I feel in my soul, my conscience bears witness that I would gladly transfer all this suffering to my own body. But as it is cer tain that God chastises every son whom he accepts,2 that same charity, in an astonishing way, impels me to compassion, because you are being worn down by chastisement, while at the same time it induces me to congratulations because you are being trained for your heritage.
We have to ponder, most beloved, how much consola tion these sufferings bring with them. While they outwardly wash away the sins of us to whom external torments are directed, they transfer the destiny of the sons of God to us, to whom are promised the joys of the heavenly kingdom.
And while our outer man, who is bound to be corrupted daily, sighs and groans under the pressure of chastisement, our inner man, who ought to be renewed day by day, once relieved of the burden of his sins, rejoices and breathes free ly. This will undoubtedly come about, if the inner man does not oppose the exterior affliction with impatience but con sents to the chastising hand with acts of thanksgiving. For while we always please Almighty God as long as we do not in any way disagree with his will, we please the merciful
Lord most if we, the chastened, willingly consent to the chastiser. Since anger vents itself only against an enemy, if the accused associates himself with the offended by agree ing with his opinion, the passion of the person enraged will