On Loving GodSt. Bernard of ClairvauxChapter XIII.
Furthermore, the slave and the hireling have a law, not from the Lord, but of their own contriving; the one does not love God, the other loves something else more than God. They have a law of their own, not of God, I say; yet it is subject to the law of the Lord. For though they can make laws for themselves, they cannot supplant the changeless order of the eternal law.
Each man is a law unto himself, when he sets up his will against the universal law, perversely striving to rival his Creator, to be wholly independent, making his will his only law. What a heavy and burdensome yoke upon all the sons of Adam, bowing down our necks, so that our life draweth nigh unto hell.
O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?' (Rom. 7.24). I am weighed down, I am almost overwhelmed, so that If the Lord had not helped me, it had not failed but my soul had been put to silence' (Ps. 94.17). Job was groaning under this load when he lamented:
Why hast Thou set me as a mark against Thee, so that I am a burden to myself?' (Job 7.20).
He was a burden to himself through the law which was of his own devising: yet he could not escape God's law, for he was set as a mark against God. The eternal law of righteousness ordains that he who will not submit to God's sweet rule shall suffer the bitter tyranny of self: but he who wears the easy yoke and light burden of love (Matt. 11.30) will escape the intolerable weight of his own self-will.
Wondrously and justly does that eternal law retain rebels in subjection, so that they are unable to escape. They are subject to God's power, yet deprived of happiness with Him, unable to dwell with God in light and rest and glory everlasting. O Lord my God, why dost Thou not pardon my transgression and take away mine iniquity?' (Job 7.21).
Then freed from the weight of my own will, I can breathe easily under the light burden of love. I shall not be coerced by fear, nor allured by mercenary desires; for I shall be led by the Spirit of God, that free Spirit whereby Thy sons are led, which beareth witness with my spirit that I am among the children of God (Rom. 8.16). So shall I be under that law which is Thine; and as Thou art, so shall I be in the world.
Whosoever do what the apostle bids, Owe no man anything, but to love one another' (Rom. 13.8), are doubtless even in this life conformed to God's likeness: they are neither slaves nor hirelings but sons.
[
... keep reading on reddit โกOn Grotesques and Gargoyles: What are these fantastic monsters doing in the cloisters before the eyes of the brothers as they read? What is the meaning of these unclean monkeys, these strange savage lions, and monsters*? To what purpose are here placed these* creatures, half beast, half man, or these spotted tigers?
--Bernard of Clairvaux
A short note on gargoyles (and it's salacious church scandal) Gargoyles are carved figures often used to illustrate evil/pagan beliefs. They were used to decorate churches/cathedrals (later as spigots to siphon off rainwater to prevent erosion). Prior to that practical use they were considered controversial because of the gargoyle's association with evil.
I can only conclude that George read this honey tongued doctor's Apologia. The part I'm most curious about is his "spotted tigers," the only descriptor not used to date.
Gargoyle:
>Tyrion Lannister was sitting on the ledge above the door to the Great Hall, looking for all the world like a gargoyle. (Jon I AGOT)
>
>Motionless as a gargoyle, Tyrion Lannister hunched on one knee atop a merlon. (Tyrion XIII ACOK)
>
>It seems almost obscene to squander such sweet innocence on that gargoyle." (Sansa III ASOS)
>
>"Bugger Joffrey, bugger the queen, and bugger that twisted little gargoyle she calls a brother. (Arya IX ASOS)
>
>They hacked off her brother's head in the hope that it was mine, yet here I sit like some bloody gargoyle, (Tyrion VIII ADWD)
Unclean Monkeys:
>piping of a twisted little monkey demon. (Tyrion V ACOK)
>
>The dwarf, the evil counselor, the twisted little monkey demon. (Tyrion X ACOK)
>
>"The gods made you a dwarf. Must you be a fool as well? You were born a lion, not a monkey." (Tyrion IV: ADWD)
Strange Savage Lions:
>"Lions," she whispered, without thinking. She glanced about nervously, but there was no one close enough to hear. Lannister reached out and took her hand, and gave it a squeeze. "I am only a little lion, child, and I vow, I shall not savage you." (Sansa I ACOK)
>
>We were still king's men, he said, and these were the king's people the lions were savaging. (ACOK Arya III)
Monster:
>Only two sons, and one of them's a twisted little monster. (Catelyn IX AGOT)
>
>me in the center of it . . . me, the dwarf, the monster, ( Tyrion VIII ACOK)
>
>"Yes, and I
Of the fourth degree of love: wherein man does not even love self save for Godโs sake
>How blessed is he who reaches the fourth degree of love, wherein one loves himself only in God! Thy righteousness standeth like the strong mountains, O God. Such love as this is Godโs hill, in the which it pleaseth Him to dwell. โWho shall ascend into the hill of the Lord?โ โO that I had wings like a dove; for then would I flee away and be at rest.โ โAt Salem is His tabernacle; and His dwelling in Sion.โ โWoe is me, that I am constrained to dwell with Mesech! โ (Ps. 24.3; 55.6; 76.2; 120.5). When shall this flesh and blood, this earthen vessel which is my soulโs tabernacle, attain thereto? When shall my soul, rapt with divine love and altogether self-forgetting, yea, become like a broken vessel, yearn wholly for God, and, joined unto the Lord, be one spirit with Him? When shall she exclaim, โMy flesh and my heart faileth; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for everโ (Ps. 73.26). I would count him blessed and holy to whom such rapture has been vouchsafed in this mortal life, for even an instant to lose thyself, as if thou wert emptied and lost and swallowed up in God, is no human love; it is celestial. But if sometimes a poor mortal feels that heavenly joy for a rapturous moment, then this wretched life envies his happiness, the malice of daily trifles disturbs him, this body of death weighs him down, the needs of the flesh are imperative, the weakness of corruption fails him, and above all brotherly love calls him back to duty. Alas! that voice summons him to re-enter his own round of existence; and he must ever cry out lamentably, โO Lord, I am oppressed: undertake for meโ (Isa. 38.14); and again, โO wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?โ (Rom. 7.24)
>Seeing that the Scripture saith, God has made all for His own glory (Isa. 43.7), surely His creatures ought to conform themselves, as much as they can, to His will. In Him should all our affections center, so that in all things we should seek only to do His will, not to please ourselves. And real happiness will come, not in gratifying our desires or in gaining transient pleasures, but in accomplishing Godโs will for us: even as we pray every day: โThy will be done in earth as it is in heavenโ (Matt. 6.10). O chaste and holy love! O sweet and gracious affection! O pure and cleansed purpose, thoroughly washed and purged from any admixture of selfishness, and
... keep reading on reddit โก
On Grotesques and Gargoyles: What are these fantastic monsters doing in the cloisters before the eyes of the brothers as they read? What is the meaning of these unclean monkeys, these strange savage lions, and monsters*? To what purpose are here placed these* creatures, half beast, half man, or these spotted tigers?
--Bernard of Clairvaux
A short note on gargoyles (and it's salacious church scandal) Gargoyles are carved figures often used to illustrate evil/pagan beliefs. They were used to decorate churches/cathedrals (later as spigots to siphon off rainwater to prevent erosion). Prior to that practical use they were considered controversial because of the gargoyle's association with evil.
I can only conclude that George read this honey tongued doctor's Apologia. The part I'm most curious about is his "spotted tigers," the only descriptor not used to date.
Gargoyle:
>Tyrion Lannister was sitting on the ledge above the door to the Great Hall, looking for all the world like a gargoyle. (Jon I AGOT)
>
>Motionless as a gargoyle, Tyrion Lannister hunched on one knee atop a merlon. (Tyrion XIII ACOK)
>
>It seems almost obscene to squander such sweet innocence on that gargoyle." (Sansa III ASOS)
>
>"Bugger Joffrey, bugger the queen, and bugger that twisted little gargoyle she calls a brother. (Arya IX ASOS)
>
>They hacked off her brother's head in the hope that it was mine, yet here I sit like some bloody gargoyle, (Tyrion VIII ADWD)
Unclean Monkeys:
>piping of a twisted little monkey demon. (Tyrion V ACOK)
>
> The dwarf, the evil counselor, the twisted little monkey demon. (Tyrion X ACOK)
>
> "The gods made you a dwarf. Must you be a fool as well? You were born a lion, not a monkey." (Tyrion IV: ADWD)
>
>Strange Savage Lions:
>
>"Lions," she whispered, without thinking. She glanced about nervously, but there was no one close enough to hear.
>
>Lannister reached out and took her hand, and gave it a squeeze. "I am only a little lion, child, and I vow, I shall not savage you." (Sansa I ACOK)
>
> We were still king's men, he said, and these were the king's people the lions were savaging. (ACOK Arya III)
Monster:
> Only two sons, and one of them's a twisted little monster. (Catelyn IX AGOT)
>
> me in the center of it . . . me, the dwarf, the **mons
