12. To Ralph.
The Letters of St. Anselm
lamentably tormented by manifold hardships and also by grief about her deceased son.5 I know, of course, that it could be considered presumption for a man of no account, to whom nothing is owed and who can repay nothing, to request that something be conceded at his intercession. But by the greatness of mutual affection which bound me and the aforementioned brother, the son of that widow, together as if making two into one, his life demanding this, I would like to substitute myself as his mother's son in place of the deceased; so much so that I am not ashamed to beg, even by persistent solicitation, for my mother. Indeed, let the im pudence of this persistence of mine be judged by anybody at all, if only the mercy of your generosity is praised by widows and orphans and approved by Christ who receives in their person and repays on their behalf.
Probably c. 1071
NOTES 1. Gerbert was abbot of Saint Wandrille in Normandy from 1062-4 Sep tember 1089; see OV II: xx-xxi, 296, 346.
2. Rm 2:20.
3. Gal 6:8.
4. Mt 5:7.
5. Perhaps Osbern, see Epp 4, 5, 7.
12. TO RALPH.
Anselm apologizes to Ralph for a letter which had been sent to him demanding the return of books and promises to lend him whatever books he requires at any time
TO DOM RALPH,1 HIS LORD REVERED FOR HIS MERITS AND WAY OF
LIFE, HIS DEAREST BROTHER BY HIS CHARITY AND INTENTIONS:
BROTHER ANSELM.
SOME TIME AGO I received your letter, from a truly be loved and true friend of mine, the letter, I say, which
The Letters of St. Anselm reported matters on the front that struck me with deep com passion, whereas the things written outside on the back wounded me with insupportable grief. Unless I manage to wash away the pain of this attack by clarifying the matter first, our spirit, faint with pain and speechless with shame, will not achieve what friendly compassion desires, and your mind will, quite rightly, scorn my expression of sincerity as the lies of hypocrisy. For my mind, which is deeply devot ed to you and to the other most beloved members, brothers of your, nay—I say more gladly if you permit, of our congregation—cannot allow you in any way to suspect that I ever said we would no longer lend you our books. For if I could at any time have said this, you should believe, and I would confess, that I had been never a true friend to you but a deceitful hypocrite. For, as far as I am con cerned, how could I possibly refuse anything to those to whom I would not hesitate to give my soul? For if not stomach disorder but mental dislocation spat this up, you answered with such sublime humility, such admirable pa tience, such humble satisfaction and apologetic submission, that it would more deeply shame and more greatly sadden me for ever having said anything like that. Moreover, the letter sent to you about the return of the books I neither ordered to be written that way, nor did I know until the report of those who brought the books back that it had been done that way. Therefore, with the consent of Dom Abbot,2 at my request and without any objections from the brothers, we will gladly send you any books you require, at least as far as we have them, whenever you need them for your convenient benefit and ours as well. And those books of ours which you now have we leave with you as long as you need them.
I would have written in a kinder fashion to my dearest friend who is struggling in spiritual combat and calling for his friend's compassion with righteous groans, and, as far as I could, give encouragement to him who longs for it, although he does not need it; and my excuse for doing this
The Letters of St. Anselm
is that my friend may not believe me to be an enemy. Yet since the former will be recoverable and the latter would be intolerable for a friend to suffer, nor could the limita tions of a letter catch the breadth of feeling on either side,
I have made known what pleased in order to exclude what injured. For, dearest brother, I am so sure of the purity of your charity in every way that if you believed my charity towards you to be diminishing, I am quite sure that you could not think about it without sorrow. How, therefore, can I avoid transferring such pain into my soul; or rather, how can I say that this grieving soul which grieves so much for my love is not mine? Therefore I beg you, dearest friend, if in the future you hear anything about me which appears to be outside the rule of charity, your soul, my other self, should not believe this without question, lest my soul, your other self, be hurt.
Greet on our behalf all my fellow-monks, your brothers.
For I cannot find among them one whom I do not love, nor can I choose from among them one as a special friend. May they, with you, through this quite protracted experience have greater confidence in my faithfulness and may neither your sincerity nor theirs be hidden. Fare you well and may they fare well.
Not later than 1078.
NOTES 1. This Ralph seems to have been either prior of Saint Stephen's, Caen, or Ralph d'Escures, prior of Saint Martin de Seez, who later, in 1114, succeeded Anselm as Archbishop of Canterbury. Schmitt, AOO III,
115, footnote, is unsure of the identity of this Ralph, noting that the name was very common at the time.
2. Abbot Herluin of Bee; see Ep 5.