99. To The Novice Ralph.
248 The Letters of St. Anselm
99. TO THE NOVICE RALPH.
Anselm writes from England to congratulate the novice Ralph on having entered the monastery of Bee and warns him of the devil's tricks which might lure him into betraying his decision.
BROTHER ANSELM, STYLED ABBOT OF BEC: TO HIS ONCE MOST
LONGED-FOR FRIEND, NOW HIS DEAREST FELLOW-MONK AND
BROTHER AND SON, RALPH,1 THE NEW SOLDIER OF CHRIST: BY
DESPISING THE FALSE RICHES OF THE EARTH MAY HE OBTAIN THE
TRUE RICHES OF HEAVEN.
'GLORY BE TO GOD ON HIGH', who gives good will to men on earth,2 whose mighty right hand, according to my desire, turned the will of my beloved and longed-for friend away from the vanity of this world, which in the end does nobody any good but harms all those who love it, towards truth which, far from harming anybody, does good to all who seek it.
I speak to you briefly in this letter, friend most dear to my heart, whom, my conscience attests, I desire to see more than anyone else and with whom I long to converse face to face, more than with any other human being in the land of the living. For I know the malicious jealousy of the devil who is grinding his teeth, wasting away with envy at the thought that you are escaping from his hands, nay rather from his jaws. So I am certain he will attempt to deceive you in countless ways, by showing you either the hardship of the service of God which you have chosen or the delights of serving himself through love of the world which you have relinquished. Therefore, since by God's grace I hope I can guard you against all his sly tricks—which abound in falla cy and folly, as long as your sure hope in God does not falter—and I know for certain that at the moment no ad vice can satisfy your longings better than mine. My soul will have no peace within me until my eyes have seen him whom 1 long for, and my mouth has spoken to my dearest son, and my heart has armed my new fellow-soldier against the devil's arrows.
The Letters of St. Anselm
Therefore I beseech almighty God, who has cut you off from love of worldly vanity, and his most holy mother, who received you into her protection when you fled to her, to guard you against all confusion at the outset of your newlybegun life. And I ask you also through him, by whose grace you were inspired to do this, not to let any of the enemy's snares or temptations terrify you. For this reason this same enemy endeavors to harm you that he may rejoice at hav ing overcome you. But God allows him to do this so you may thus earn the crown of victory which he may grant you.
For nobody will be crowned, says the Apostle, unless he has fought according to the rules of the gameA Wait patiently until
I return,4 therefore, for by God's gift you will receive con solation for everything that is now troubling you. May the Lord protect you from all evils.5 Amen. c. 1079/80.
NOTES 1. Ralph, son of Lanzelinus (see Ep 115), was treasurer of the cathedral of Beauvais; see Ep 117. He remained at Bee and was professed as one hundred forty-third in the Bee profession-roll. This is another
Tettre de vocation', see Epp 2, 37, 56, 95, 101.
2. Lk 2:14.
3. 2 Tim 2:5.
4. For Anselm's first journey to England see Ep 98.
5. Ps 120:7.