A letter from Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury (after 1086)

Translated letter:

To his reverend and dearest lady, countess Ida(1): brother Anselm, wishing that she may reach eternal through temporal riches. Just as the true love I bear for your reverence for God's sake cannot fail in its purity, so it should never fail in giving wholesome advice. Although I would continually hope, therefore, that your prudence will in every respect be vigilant, lest the crafty enemy by some trick harm your intention of leading a good life, nevertheless, if I go so far as to suggest that you carry out even more assiduously what you are already doing well, this should not be adjudged superfluous. Nobody can maintain the degree of goodness in life which he has already achieved if he does not continually seek to progress towards even higher virtues. Someone who wants to avoid falling back, therefore, must continually strive for perfection. So may your reverence guard itself, nay, rather, may God guard your heart and lips and actions always and everywhere, that your life may never and nowhere fall into any sin great or small. I told the king of the English(2) what you had asked with regard to your monastery,(3) but he was certainly not pleased that I did so. Please send us Dom Richard's(4) money through the bearer of this letter. Farewell.(5)

Original letter:

Reverendae et carissimae dominae suae comitissae Idae: frater Anselmus per bona temporalia ad aeterna pertingere. Sicut verus amor, quem secundum deum erga reverentiam vestram habeo, a sua integritate non potest deficere: ita numquam debet a salubri exhortatione deficere. Quamvis igitur semper sperem prudentiam vestram undique sibi prospicere, ne callidus hostis aliqua fraude violare valeat bonae vitae propositum: nequaquam tamen, si vel tantum suggero, ut instantius faciatis quod bene facitis, iudicandum est esse superfluum. Nullus enim gradum bonae vitae, quem iam conscendit, custodire sufficit, qui semper ad altiorem proficere non appetit. Semper igitur necesse est, ut nitatur ad profectum, qui semper vult vitare defectum. Sic itaque se reverentia vestra, immo deus cor et os et actus vestros semper et ubique custodiat, ut vita vestra numquam et nusquam in magna vel parva culpa decidat. De monasterio vestro quod a me petebatis regi Anglorum retuli, sed certe non laudavit ut facerem. Argentum domni Ricardi per praesentium latorem mittite nobis. Valete.

Historical context:

Brother Anselm of Bec reminds the countess that one can never rest in the pursuit of virtue, tells her that the king of the English, William I, was not receptive to her request about a monastery, and asks her to send Dom Richard’s money (cf. ep.82).

Scholarly notes:

(1) See Ep 82. (2) William I, during Anselm's second visit to England from mid-Lent till just after Whitsun 1086; see Epp 108, 118. (3) Possibly the monastery of Saint Vaast near Le Touquet where Countess Ida is buried. (4) See Ep 114. (5) The translation is reproduced with the permission of the translator and the publisher, Cistercian Publications Inc. Editorial Offices, Institute of Cistercian Studies, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49008. All rights are reserved; downloading and copying for any purpose other than private research is prohibited.

Printed source:

Sancti Anselmi Cantuariensis Archiepiscopi, Opera Omnia, ed. F.S. Schmitt (Edinburgh: T. Nelson, 1946-63), ep.131, 3.273-74; translation and annotation from The Letters of Saint Anselm of Canterbury, trans. Walter Fröhlich, Cistercian Studies 96, 3v (Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 1990-94), 1.307.

Date:

after 1086