74. To The Monk Maurice.
The Letters of St. Anselm 201
74. TO THE MONK MAURICE.
Anselm assures Maurice of their mutual fraternal love despite their separation, which is to be borne in obedience to their superiors. He rejoices at the prospect of Maurice's return to Bee. Anselm informs him that he is sending Archbishop
Lanfranc the Monologion and instructs him to beg the archbishop to decide the fate of his work. Finally he extends greetings to friends at Canterbury.
TO HIS FELLOW-MONK, BROTHER AND DEAREST SON MAURICE:
BROTHER ANSELM OFFERS HIM THE REVERENCE OF A SERVANT, THE
AFFECTION OF A BROTHER AND THE LOVING CARE OF A FATHER.
I ALWAYS LONG FOR YOU, most beloved son, and I do not doubt you always long for me. But since neither of us is his own, nor are we bound to one another save through the affection of charity, I advise and exhort you that as long as those whom divine providence has set over us order us to be separated, we should in no way seek to hasten the opportunity of being able to dwell together against their will.
And if they did kindly consent to our desire we should brook no delay. Wherefore with regard to what we heard through Dom Robert,1 that our lord archbishop has promised to send your beloved person back to us in the near future: if he does graciously favor your wish, Dom Abbot will not be at all displeased and I shall be very gratified.2 If, however, he is not favorably disposed to your supplication but permits you to be taken away only under pressure, it will not please either Dom Abbot or me to have you return in such a way.
The work3 which I wrote at your request and that of cer tain other brothers, and which you asked to have sent to you, I am sending by Dom Robert to our lord and father, the archbishop, to examine. And I am asking him by letter to give the copy he received back to you, if he does not order it to be destroyed. Ask him, therefore, to give directions about what is to be done with this work before you return, if you are going to return soon, so you may either bring his approval of it or inform me of its destruction. But if, after having received it, you delay in returning, send me that copy as quickly as you can through a trusty messenger, so
The Letters of St. Anselm that, if the same lord our archbishop has corrected anything in it, the copy I have kept here should also be corrected according to it, and I shall then speedily return one of the two to you. If, however, this same little work so received a judgement of approval as not to be considered in need of any correction, keep that copy as long as you wish; in any case, whether this way or otherwise, whatever our lord archbishop may decide in this matter, or whatever title he orders to be given to it, let me know by letter as quickly as you can.4
Greet our beloved brother Dom Herluin,5 and encourage him in my place not to waver in any way from the good beginnings I have perceived in him for the love of transito ry pleasures; but he should so make haste from today towards the last day that he may daily progress in despis ing the things of this world and loving those of eternity.
Greet Dom Arnulf of Beauvais,6 Dom Hulvard7 the English man, my cousin Dom Osbern,8 and Dom Vitalis and Dom
Roger9 and brother Samuel10 of Caen. Farewell, and always advance in the Lord, dearly beloved. c. end of 1076.
NOTES 1. The monk Robert of Bee seems to have been a frequent messenger between Bee and Canterbury, see Epp 7, 14, 30.
2. Yet another reference to Maurice's hoped-for return to Bee; see Epp 60, 69.
3. Monologion; see Ep 72.
4. See Ep 72.
5. See Ep 5.
6. See Ep 38.
7. See Epp 33, 69.
8. See Ep 39.
9. For Vitalis and Roger see Rule I: 191f. Both came to Bee and made profession to Abbot Herluin shortly before his death on 26 August
1078; they are one hundred twenty-ninth and one hundred thirtysecond in the Bee profession-roll.
10. Samuel of Caen has not yet been identified.