• Two Kinds of Beings: The Doctrine of Discovery.15th Century on
  Two Kinds of Beings: The Doctrine of Discovery And Its Implications for Yesterday and Today by Robert Francis

  Our son John is 14 years old and in his eighth-grade year. He's been home educated for the past five years, as have all four of our children.... or offspring. (Three of the four hardly qualify as children anymore.) Eight years ago, John was in kindergarten, Sarah was in third grade, Peter was in fourth. Luke was still enjoying Barney and Friends and Sesame Street. At the beginning of the public school year, I spoke to the children's teachers, "If you'd like me to come in and talk to the class about American Indian history, cultures or contemporary life, just let me know," I said. "I'll be glad to do it."

  John's kindergarten teacher invited me to come to her class on Tuesday before Thanksgiving. As I entered the room, I looked around to see paper cutouts of red leaves, orange pumpkins and brown turkeys taped to the walls along with modestly clad Pilgrims and nearly naked Indians. Before I arrived, the children had been busy preparing their costumes for the next day's Thanksgiving parade. Half the class was making Pilgrim hats, bonnets and aprons. The other half was making paper-sack Indian vests along with construction-paper headbands and feathers. Quietly, I wondered what the celebration of Martin Luther King's Birthday might be. Would half the class be in black-face and half in Ku Klux Klan robes?

  Among other things, I shared the story of Tisquantum called "Squanto" in the history books). Kidnapped by the English and taken as a slave to Europe not once but twice, upon his second return to his homeland, Tisquantum still had enough charity or naivete to help the starving Pilgrims get a foothold in this land. After the story, I asked if anyone had a question. A hand belonging to a little red-headed girl with a freckled face and blue eyes was first to shoot up. "Are you a person, or are you an Indian?" was the question she asked.

  This spring (April 2003) I was asked by the Colorado Baptist Convention to travel to Denver and speak to the ethnic Baptist ministers and their families from all over the state. "Ethnic" here is used to mean all who are outside the dominant Anglo-Saxon ethnicity. I went to the event dressed in full Cherokee regalia of the 1830s period, in order to illustrate the point of my talk, that being, "Whoever you are, your story is sacred, and the story of your people is sacred." Before the program got underway that evening, everyone was milling around, meeting one another and looking at the various displays from the different ethnic groups involved. I was standing there, looking at one of the displays, when I noticed a little boy, about five years old, intently looking at me. This little boy had short straight black hair, coppery brown skin and dark brown eyes. He was standing there with his father. I found out shortly that their family had moved to Colorado from Mexico. But the first words this little boy said to me were, "Are you a person or are you an Indian?"

  >From the mouths of children, the truth is revealed. According to the prevailing wisdom of five-year-olds, there are two kinds of beings inhabiting this country. The majority are non-Indians. The remainder are non-persons. Now, before you laugh or pass this this off as childish foolishness rather than a statement of how things really are, please consider a few things.

  On August 6, 2001, Ralph Boyd, Jr., U.S. Assistant Attorney for Civil Rights and Lorne Craner, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, testified before the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Among many other questions concerning race relations in the United States, the two high-level U.S. officials were asked, "What is the United States position with respect to its 1863 treaty with the Western Shoshone Indians?"

  The treaty in question was the Ruby Valley Treaty, which, in 1863, clearly recognized the sovereignty and the territorial boundaries of the Western Shoshone Nation. But now, there seemed to be an issue of 24 million acres of that land that the U.S. wanted to buy from the Shoshones. When the Shoshones refused to sell the land and refused to accept the money, the U.S. government paid the Secretary of Interior's office $26 million. The government claimed that paying itself a little over a dollar an acre for the land in question extinguished the Western Shoshone's title.

  How did Boyd and Craner answer the U.N. committee's question concerning the U.S. treaty with the Western Shoshones? They referred to the 1823 United States Supreme Court decision of Johnson v. McIntosh. Boyd and Craner said the Johnson decision held that, "as a result of European discovery, the Native Americans had a right to occupancy and possession." But "tribal rights to complete sovereignty were necessarily diminished by the principle that discovery gave exclusive title to those who made it."

  Well, whatever this Johnson decision was, it must be pretty important, if the United States Government can rely on it as legal grounds for arbitrarily taking possession of another 24 million acres of Indian land pretty much anytime they want. What is this thing? And what's behind it? In 1823, writing for the Court who had unanimously sided with Johnson, Chief Justice John Marshall observed that European nations had assumed "ultimate dominion"over the lands of America during the Age of Discovery, and that upon "discovery" the Indians lost "their rights to complete sovereignty, as independent nations," and retained only a right of "occupancy" in their lands. Marshall went on to write that the United States, upon winning independence, became successor nation to the right of "discovery" aquiring the power of "dominion" from Great Britain. "As early as 1496," Marshall continued, "her (England's) monarch granted a commission to the Cabots, to discover countries then unknown to Christian people, and to take possession of them in the name of the king of England."

  Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story wrote, "As infidels, heathens, and savages, they (the Indians) were not allowed to possess the preterogatives belonging to absolute, sovereign and independent nations." Christian versus heathen.

  That sort of language did not begin in 1823. In 1452, Pope Nicholas V became aware that Portugal had begun a slave trade along the west coast of Africa. Pope Nicholas really liked this. To make it look as though he had come up with the idea himself, Pope Nicholas V issued to King Alfonso V of Portugal, the bull Romanus Pontifex.

  ... [W]e bestow suitable favors and special graces on those Catholic kings and princes, ... athletes and intrepid champions of the Christian faith ... to invade, search out, capture, vanquish, and subdue all Saracens and pagans whatsoever, and other enemies of Christ wheresoever placed, and ... to reduce their persons to perpetual slavery, and to apply and appropriate ... possessions, and goods, and to convert them to .... their use and profit ...

  This was a basic declaration of war against all non-Christians throughout the earth, specifically sactioning and promoting the conquest, colonization, and exploitation of non-Christian nations and their territories. In today's rhetoric, this papal bull would be called a mandate for terrorism. Non-Christians were considered enemies of the Catholic faith. As such, they were considered less than human, in effect, non-persons.

  When Columbus sailed toward this hemisphere in 1492, it was with the understanding that he was to "take possession" of any lands he "discovered" so long as they were "not under the dominion of any Christian rulers." As soon as he set foot on the beach of Guanahani Island, Columbus performed a ceremony to "take possession" of the land for the king and queen of Spain, in accordance with the bull Romanus Potifex.

  The Taino people discovered Christopher Columbus on their shores in the Caribbean Islands in October of 1492. At that time, the Taino were a nation of more than 15 million human beings. The largest population was on the island of Bohi'o (around eight million). Bohi'o is known today as Espaniola. The countries of Haiti and the Dominican Republic are on this island. On Christmas Eve, 1492, Columbus wrecked the Santa Maria near the shore of Bohi'o. The people helped Columbus get all the goods of the ship to dry land before it sank. Afterward, of the people and the country, Columbus had this to say....

  .... They are an affectionate people, free from avarice and agreeable to everything. I certify to Your Highnesses that in all the world I do not believe there is a better people or a better country. They love their neighbors as themselves, and they have the softest and gentlest voices and are always smiling.... - Columbus' Log.

  When Columbus returned to Europe, Pope Alexander VI issued a new papal document, at the request of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, granting Spain the right to conquer the lands Columbus had already "discovered" as well as any that might be "discovered" in the future. This document was the bull Inter Caetera of May 3, 1493. It reads as follows.

  Alexander, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to the illustrious sovereigns, our very dear son in Christ, Ferdinand, king, and our very dear daughter in Christ, Isabella, queen of Castile...

  We have indeed learned that you, who for a long time had intended to seek out and discover certain islands and mainlands remote and unknown and not hitherto discovered by others, to the end that you might bring to the worship of our Redeemer and the profession of the Catholic faith their residents and inhabitants, having been up to the present time greatly engaged in the siege and recovery of the kingdom itself of Granada were unable to accomplish this holy and praiseworthy purpose; but the said kingdom having at length been regained, as was pleasing to the Lord, with a wish to fulfill your desire, chose our beloved son, Christopher Columbus ....whom you furnished with ships and men equipped for like designs, not without the greatest hardships, dangers, and expenses, to make diligent quest for these remote and unknown mainlands and islands through the sea, where hitherto no one had sailed; and they at length with divine aid and with the utmost diligence sailing in the ocean sea, discovered certain very remote islands and even mainlands that hitherto had not been discovered by others; wherein dwell very many peoples living in peace, and, as reported, going unclothed, and not eating flesh...

  Wherefore, as becomes Catholic kings and princes ... you have purposed ... to bring under your sway the said mainlands and islands. ... And in order that you may enter upon so great an undertaking with greater readiness and heartiness endowed with benefit of our apostolic favor, we, of our own accord, not at your instance nor the request of anyone else in your regard, but out of our own sole largess and certain knowledge and out of the fullness of our apostolic power, by the authority of Almighty God conferred upon us in blessed Peter and of the vicarship of Jesus Christ, which we hold on earth, do by tenor of these presents, should any of said islands have been found by your envoys and captains, give, grant, and assign to you and your heirs and successors, kings of Castile and Leon, forever, together with all their dominions, cities, camps, places, and villages, and all rights, jurisdictions, and appurtenances, all islands and mainlands found and to be found, discovered and to be discovered towards the west and the south, by drawing and establishing a line from the Arctic pole, namely the north, to the Antartic pole, namely the south, no matter whether the said mainlands and islands are found and to be found in the direction of India or towards any other quarter, the said line to be distant one hundred leagues towards the west and south from any of the islands commonly known as the Azores and Cape Verde. With this proviso, however, that none of the islands and mainlands, found and to be found, discovered and to be discovered, beyond that said line towards the west and south, be in the actual possession of any Christian king or prince up to the birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ just past from which the present year 1493 begins

  ... Furthermore, under penalty of excommunication LATE SENTENTIE to be incurred IPSO FACTO, should anyone thus contravene, we strictly forbid all persons of whatsoever rank, even imperial and royal, or of whatsoever estate, degree, order, or condition, to dare without your special permit or that of your aforesaid heirs and successors, to go for the purpose of trade or any other reason to the islands or mainlands ... apostolic constitutions and ordinances and other decrees whatsoever to the contrary notwithstanding...

  Let no one therefore, infringe, or with rash boldness contravene,this our recommendation, exhortation, requisition, gift, grant, assignment, constitution, deputation, decree, mandate, prohibition, and will. Should anyone presume to attempt this, be it known to him that he will incur the wrath of Almighty God and of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul. Given at Rome, at St. Peter's, in the year of the incarnation of our lord 1493, the fouth of May, and the first year of our pontificate.

  In his absense, the Spanish seamen left behind took advantage of the Taino hospitality on Bohi'o by attempting to take control of the island. After seeing the true intent of the invaders, the Taino faught back, but were overcome when Columbus came the second time with 17 ships, loaded with canon, war dogs, armed soldiers and horses. Bohi'o was turned into a giant concentration camp where two objectives were met: the mining of gold through forced labor and the extermination of the people. By the time Columbus was relieved of his duties as governor of the Island in 1500, only 100 thousand Taino were left alive there. This is a population reduction of 7.9 million people within a period of less than eight years! After he left the Caribbean, Columbus' policies remained in effect. Within 50 years the entire area was depopulated. By then slaves were being brought from Africa as well as from the mainlands of North and South America.

  Of course, Ferdinand and Isabella decreed that a statement be read to any "discovered" people before the advent of hostilities. The "Requirement" was read in Latin or Spanish, witnessed by a notary. That the people could neither speak nor understand Latin or Spanish was of little note.

  On the part of the king, Don Fernando, and of Doņa Juana, his daughter, queen of Castile and Leon, subduers of the barbarous nations, we their servants notify and make known to you, as best we can, that the Lord our God, living and eternal, created the heaven and the earth, and one man and one woman, of whom you and we, and all the men of the world, were and are descendants, and all those who come after us. ... Of all these nations God our Lord gave charge to one man, called St. Peter, that he should be lord and superior of all the men in the world, that all should obey him, and that he should be the head of the whole human race, wherever men should live, and under whatever law, sect, or belief they should be; and he gave him the world for his kingdom and jurisdiction. ... One of these pontiffs, who succeeded that St. Peter as lord of the world in the dignity and seat which I have before mentioned, made donation of these isles and Terra-firma to the aforesaid king and queen and to their successors, our lords, with all that there are in these territories,....

  ... Wherefore, as best we can, we ask and require you that you consider what we have said to you, and that you take the time that shall be necessary to understand and deliberate upon it, and that you acknowledge the Church as the ruler and superior of the whole world, .....

  ... But if you do not do this, and maliciously make delay in it, I certify to you that, with the help of God, we shall powerfully enter into your country, and shall make war against you in all ways and manners that we can, and shall subject you to the yoke and obedience of the Church and of their highnesses; we shall take you, and your wives, and your children, and shall make slaves of them, and as such shall sell and dispose of them as their highnesses may command; and we shall take away your goods, and shall do you all the mischief and damage that we can, as to vassals who do not obey, and refuse to receive their lord, and resist and contradict him: and we protest that the deaths and losses which shall accrue from this are your fault, and not that of their highnesses, or ours, nor of these cavaliers who come with us. .... Some of the hostilities which, according to the "Requirement" the people brought upon themselves, were described in some detail by the Spanish Priest Las Casas.

  "And the Christians, with their horses and swords and pikes began to carry out massacres and strange cruelties against them. They attacked the towns and spared neither the children nor the aged nor pregnant women nor women in childbed, not only stabbing them and dismembering them but cutting them to pieces as if dealing with sheep in the slaughter house. They laid bets as to who, with one stroke of the sword, could split a man in two or could cut off his head or spill out his entrails with a single stroke of the pike. They took infants from their mothers' breasts, snatching them by the legs and pitching them headfirst against the crags or snatched them by the arms and threw them into the rivers, roaring with laughter and saying as the babies fell into the water, 'Boil there, you offspring of the devil!' ... They made some low wide gallows on which the hanged victim's feet almost touched the ground, stringing up their victims in lots of thirteen, in memory of Our Redeemer and His twelve Apostles, then set burning wood at their feet and thus burned them alive. To others they attached straw or wrapped their whole bodies in straw and set them afire. With still others, all those they wanted to capture alive, they cut off their hands and hung them round the victim's neck, saying, 'Go now, carry the message,' meaning, Take the news to the Indians who have fled to the mountains. They usually dealt with the chieftains and nobles in the following way: they made a grid of rods which they placed on forked sticks, then lashed the victims to the grid and lighted a smoldering fire underneath, so that little by little, as those captives screamed in despair and torment, their souls would leave them."

  All these behaviors were understood by the Conquistadores to be justified by the papal bulls, which, in turn, were understood to be based on the Bible, such Old Testament passages as these from the Psalms:

  "Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with a an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery." - Psalm 2:8-9 N.I.V.

  May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands, to inflict vengeance on the peoples, to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackled of iron, to carry out the sentence written against them. This is the glory of all his saints. Praise the Lord. - Psalm 149:6-9 N.I.V.

  Add to this the Old Testament Book of Joshua which tells the story of the "chosen" people of Israel entering the "promised land" of Canaan, destroying whole cities of people: men, women, children, even livestock.

  Captain John Smith was an admirer of Columbus and the Conquistadores, as were the Puritans of Massachusetts and the Founding Fathers of the United States. Just as the Spanish before them, these English immigrants to North America imagined themselves as the "chosen" people of Israel and the Indian inhabitants of the land as the Canaanites, doomed to destruction or subjection. In this country, a pre-contact population of from 12 to 20 million indigenous human beings was reduced to 200 thousand by 1920. The present American Indian population of the United States is around four million, most of which are of mixed ancestry.

  According to recent U.S. Government statistics, 110 of every 1,000 American Indians in the U.S. were victems of violent crime within a given period of five years (1993-1998). This compares to 43 per 1,000 for blacks and 38 per 1,000 for whites. It is also noted that while most violent crimes committed against blacks were committed by blacks, and most violent crimes committed against whites were committed by whites, most violent crimes committed against Indians were committed by non-Indians. Another government study found that one-in-ten hate crimes in the U.S. are committed against American Indians. American Indians comprise less than 2% of the U.S. population! In the United States, Children are taught in school that while it is wrong to kill human beings, a person may kill thousands, millions, even entire nations of Indians and be celebrated, even worshipped as a hero. When attempts are made at teaching about American Indians, it's often done by teaching children to play Indian, promoting stereotypical thinking or mocking the complex cultures of Indian peoples. In church, children often learn a hateful theology that says God left Indian people in spiritual darkness for thousands of years, until Europeans arrived and brought God to this land.

  As a follower of Jesus, this theology of racism that gives legitimacy to conquest and genocide, is most offensive to me. I understand Jesus to be Eternal Creator-Son, not bound by time or distance or oceans or anything. According to John 1:9, Jesus is "The true light that gives light to every [person]...." The good news Jesus came to bring, the news of Creator's awesome love is not foreign to any people. Jesus himself said his followers are not identified simply by words professed, ie. "Lord, Lord," but by love shown to neighbors and even to enemies (Matthew 7:21; John 13:35; Matthew 5:44-45). Columbus himself testified to Creator's presence with the people of the Caribbean, saying they were "In-Dio" (With God). Those who say Columbus or even the missionaries brought God to America are making Columbus and the missionaries out to be greater than God. This theology justifies the theft, the rape, the murder, anything and everything, for all is done in the name of Christ.

  Even our Indian people believe these lies. American Indians are five-times more likely to commit suicide than are people of any other ethnicity in this country. Most of these are our young people, our teenagers, who are taught in school and even in church, that our ancestors were worthless savages, standing in the way of progress, and so had to be wiped out. If it was all in the past, maybe we could forget it. But it's not all in the past.

  The U.S. Supreme Court's decision for Johnson in 1823 has been used by the United States to justify the breaking of hundreds of treaties the U.S. entered into with Indian nations, despite the fact that the United States Constitution says all such treaties are "the supreme Law of the Land." This ruling has been used to justify the stealing of the homelands of Indian peoples living east of the Mississippi through the Indian Removal Act of 1835. It was used to justify the General Allotment Act of 1887, robbing Indian people of an additional 90 million acres of their lands. It was used to steal the Black Hills from the Sioux in violation of the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie. It was used to justify the U.S. Government paying itself for 24 million acres of Western Shoshone land, extinguishing the title granted in the 1863 Ruby Valley Treaty. These are just a few examples.

  In the case of Standing Bear vs. Crook (April 1879), Judge Elmer S. Dundy ruled that an Indian is a person. As a result of this case, the United States government did allow Chief Standing Bear and a small group of Poncas to remain on a fragment of their ancestral homeland in Nebraska, rather than being forceably sent back to Indian Territory. However, within a short time, General William T. Sherman arbitrarily decreed that Judge Dundy's ruling "does not apply to any other than that specific case."

  In 1973, a federal judge told the Blackfeet Tribe, "The blunt fact.... is that an Indian tribe is sovereign to the extent that the United States permits it to be sovereign - neither more nor less."

  All this is based on the decision of 1823, which in turn is based solely on the Doctrine of Christian European Discovery. This doctrine, in turn, is based on the papal bulls of the 1400s, which are themselves based on an ethnocentric and racist reading of the Christian scriptures.... a theology of conquest, a holdover of the Dark Ages, which, indeed, has brought an age of darkness to us.

  James Madison wrote, "Religion is not in the purview of human government. Religion is essentially distinct from civil government, and exempt from its cognizance; a connection between them is injurious to both."

  Thomas Jefferson said that when the state uses church doctrine as a coercive tool, the result is "hypocricy and meanness." This is the understatement of the past millenium!

  You may have thought there was a healthy separation of church and state in this country. However, the U.S. Indian policies of today are based on the assumption that since our American Indian ancestors did not possess the Christian Bible and had no connection with any European church at the time of first European contact, our ancestors were simply brute animals occupying the land. Furthermore, because of our ancestral connections and regardless of any present religious connections, Indians of today are ourselves, non-persons, with no true sovereign rights within our own ancestral homelands.

  In 1993, 500 years after its issuance, the Indigenous Law Institute petitioned Pope John Paul II to renounce the Inter Caetera bull. Seven years later, in March 2000, the Pope openly begged God to forgive the sins of the "sons and daughters" of the Church. His stated goal was to purify the memory of the Church by expressing sorrow for misdeeds committed by Christians over the past 2,000 years. The Pope failed to mention particular historical cases and made only an extremely obscure reference to American Indians. In response to the petition to renounce the Inter Caetera bull, there has been nothing but stony silence.

  In conclusion, I will say again: There are two kinds of beings inhabiting this country: non-Indians and non-persons.

  If you agree with this conclusion, do nothing.

  If you disagree with this conclusion. If you actually believe that American Indians are, in fact, persons and that American Indian tribes and nations are, in fact, peoples, then I challenge you to do something to prove your belief. Educate yourself on these issues. A good place to start is with the Indigenous Law Institute website. Discuss these issues in your home, in your church and within any other groups to which you belong. Write your congressman. Ask him why in the world current U.S. Indian policy is based on archaic church doctrine. While you're at it, ask your congressman why our tax dollars (including the tax dollars of non-persons like me) are used to fund a national holiday that celebrates a mass murderer. Finally, talk to a Roman Catholic clergyman in your hometown. Ask him why the church has not renounced these papal bulls that continue their damage to this very day. Discuss this also with non-Catholic clergy. Most Christian denominations in the United States have roots in the Roman Catholic Church of the 15th Century, and non-Catholic church leaders and governments have taken the Doctrine of Christian European Discovery as their own in these past centuries. If churches and denominations openly renounce (even ceremonially burn ) the bull Romanus Pontifex and the bull Inter Caetera, the evil of the Doctrine of Discovery will be revealed. This could start a stir that could ultimately lead to a complete change in U.S. Indian policy and in government policy toward indigenous peoples throughout the earth.

  "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' (You worthless thing!) is answereable to the Sanhedrin (Council or Court). But anyone who says, 'You fool!' (You who have no relationship with Creator!) will be in danger of the fire of hell.

  "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

  "Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny."

  Mathew 5:21-26 N.I.V.

• TALMUDIC_QUOTATIONS.--UN-DATED

  1. "We beg Thee, 0 Lord, inflict Thy wrath on the nations not believing in Thee. Take away, 0 Lord, all hope from them. Destroy all foes of Thy nation." -Synagaga Judaica, p. 212. Minhagen, p. 23. Crach Chain, 480 Magah.

  2. "The teachings of the Talmud stand above all other laws. They are more important than the laws of Moses." -Rabbi Issael, Rabbi Chasbar, et. al.

  3. "The decisions of the Talmud are words of the living God. Jehovah Himself asks the opinion of the earthly rabbis when there are difficult affairs in heaven." -Rabbi Menechen Commentary on Fifth Book

  4. "Jehovah Himself studies the Talmud standing, he has such respect for that book." -Tract Mechillo

  5. "It is more wicked to question the words of the rabbis than those of the Torah." -Michna Sanhedryn 11:3

  6. "It is forbidden to disclose the secrets of the law. He who would do it would be as guilty as though he destroyed the whole world." - Jektat Chadasz, 171, 3

  7. "Every goy who studies the Talmud and every Jew who helps him in it, ought to die." -Sanhedryn, 59a, aboda Zora 8-6, Szagiga 13

  8. "To communicate anything to a goy about our religious relations would be equal to the killing of all Jews, for if the goyim knew what we teach about them they would kill us openly." -Libbre David 37

  9. "If a Jew be called upon to explain any part of the rabbinic books, he ought to give only a false explanation. Who ever will violate this order shall be put to death." -Libbre David 37

  10. "A Jew should and must make a false oath when the goyim asks if our books contain anything against them." -Szaaloth-Utszabot, The Book of Jore Via 17

  11. "The Jews are human beings, but the nations of the world are not human beings but beasts..." -Saba Mecia 114, 6

  12. "When the Messiah comes every Jew will have 2800 slaves." -Simeon Haddarsen, fol. 56-D

  13. "Jehovah created the non-Jew in human form so that the Jew would not have to be served by beasts. The non-Jew is consequently an animal in human form, and condemned to serve the Jew day and night." - Midrasch Talpioth, p. 225-L

  14. "As soon as the King Messiah will declare himself, He will destroy Rome and make a wilderness of it. Thorns and weeds will grow in the Pope's palace. Then He will start a merciless war on non-Jews and will overpower them. He will slay them in masses, kill their kings and lay waste the whole Roman land. He will say to the Jews: 'I am the King Messiah for whom you have been waiting. Take the silver and gold from the goyim.' " -Josiah 60, 6. Rabbi Abarbanel to Daniel 7, 13

  15. "A Gentile girl who is three years old can be violated." -9boda Sarah 37a

  16. "A Jew may violate but not marry a non-Jewish girl." -&ad. Shas. 2:2

  17. "A Jew may do to a non-Jewess what he can do. He may treat her as he treats a piece of meat." -Hadarine, 20, B; Schulchan 9ruch, Choszen Hamiszpat 348

  18. "A Jew may misuse the non-Jewess in her state of unbelief." - Maimonides, Jak. Chasaka 2:2

  19. "IF a goy kills a goy or a Jew he is responsible; but if a Jew kills a goy he is NOT responsible." -Tosefta. 9boda Za,-a 8, 5

  20. "It is permitted to kill a Jewish denunciator everywhere. It is permitted to kill him even before he denounces." -Schuichan Qruch, Choszen Hajpiszpat jog

  21. "Thou shalt not do injury to thy neighbor (Bible), but it is not said, 'Thou shalt not do injury to a Goy.' " -Mishna Sanhedryn 57

  22. "When you go to war do not go as the First, but as the last, so that you may return as the first. Five things has Kanaan recommended to his sons: 'Love each other, love the robbery, hate your masters and never tell the truth.' " -Pesachis F. 113B

  23. "A Jew is permitted to rape, cheat and perjure himself; but he must take care that he is not found out, so that Israel may not suffer." -Schulchan Aruch, Jore Dia

  24. "A Jew may rob a goy - that is,.he may cheat him in a bill, if unlikely to be perceived by him." -Schalchan Arach, Choszen Hamiszpat 348

  25. "If a goy wants a Jew to stand witness against a Jew in a Court of Law, and if the Jew could give fair evidence, he is forbidden to do it; but if a Jew wants a Jew to be a witness in a similar case against a goy, he may do it." -Schalchan .9ruch, Choszen Hasiszpat 28, Art. 3 and 4

  26. "Those who do not confess the Torah and the Prophets must be killed. Who has the power to kill them, let them kill them openly with the sword. If not, let them use artifices, till they are done away with." -Schulchan Qruch. Choszon Haviszpat 425.5

  27. "All property of other nations belongs to the Jewish nation, which, consequently, is entitled to seize upon it without any scruples. An orthodox Jew is not bound to observe principles of morality towards people of other tribes. He may act contrary to morality, if profitable to himself or to Jews in general' " - Schalchan arach. Choszen Hasisxpat 348

  28. "Should a Jew inform the goyish authorities that another Jew has much money, and the other will suffer a loss through it, he must give him emuneration." -Schalchan Oruch, Choszen Maipiszpat 388

  29. "How to interpret the word 'robbery.' A goy is forbidden to steal, rob, or take women slaves, etc., from a goy or from a Jew. But a Jew is NOT forbidden to do all this to a goy." -Tosefta, Qbda Zara VIRZ, 5

  30. "On the house of the goy one looks as on the fold of cattle." - Tosefta, Erabin VZZ, 1

  31. "All vows, oaths, promises, engagements, and swearing, which, beginning this very day or reconciliation till the next day of reconciliation, we intend to vow, promise, wear, and bind ourselves to fulfill, we repent of beforehand; let them be illegalized, acquitted, annihilated, abolished, valueless, unimportant. Our vows shall be no vows, and our oaths no oaths at all." -Schulchan 9ruch, Edit. 1, 136. The Jewish Kol Nidre "All Vows" Oath has been set to a morbid Jewish music, and is often heard on the radio. It is sung as a chant at each Yom Kippur [Jewish New Year service September 17]

  32. "Everything a Jew needs for his church ritual no goy is permitted to manufacture, but only a Jew, because this must be manufactured by human beings and the Jew is not permitted to consider the goyim as human beings." -Schulchan Oruch, Orach Chaiw 14, 20, 32, 33, 39. TaIDud Jebamoth 61

  33. "A Jewish mid-wife is not only permitted but she is compelled to help a Jewish mother on Saturday (Jewish Sabbath) and when so doing to do anything which otherwise would desecrate the Saturday. But it is forbidden to help a non-Jewish woman even if it should be possible to help her without desecrating the Saturday, because she is to be considered only as an animal." -Schulchan gruch, Orach Chaim 330

  34. "At the time of the Cholhamoed the transaction of any kind of business is forbidden. But it is permitted to cheat a goy, because cheating of goyim at any time pleases the Lord." -Chuichan Qruch, Orach ChaiD 539

  35. "The Jews are strictly Forbidden to cheat their brothers and it is considered cheating already if onesixth of the value has been taken away from him. Whoever has cheated his brother has to return it to him. Naturally all that only holds towards the Jew, to cheat a goy he is permitted and he is not permitted to return to him what he cheated him out of. Because the Bible says: 'Thou shalt not cheat thy next brother,' but the non-Jews are not our brethren, but as mentioned above, worse than dogs." -aruch hoszen Haniszpat 227

• ND_MARTIN LUTHER.--Martin Luther's Last Will and Testament

  The following measures are in a sense Martin Luther's last will and testament, his legacy to the world. The legacy of a man is what his descendants derive from him, a living memorial to who he was long after he is dead. In one of these formal, systematic presentations of his mature convictions he summarized the wisdom his 32 years of Bible study had gained for him into seven recommendations. They are found in the treatise, "On the Jews and Their Lies":

  What shall we Christians do with this rejected and condemned people, the Jews? Since they live among us, we dare not tolerate their conduct, now that we are aware of their lying and reviling and blaspheming. If we do, we become sharers in their lies, cursing, and blasphemy. Thus we cannot extinguish the unquenchable fire of divine wrath, of which the prophets speak, nor can we convert the Jews. With prayer and the fear of God we must practice a sharp mercy to see whether we might save at least a few from the glowing flames. We dare not avenge ourselves ... I shall give you my sincere advice:

  Set fire to their synagogues and schools, burying and covering with dirt what won't burn, so no man will see a stone or cinder of them. This is to be done in honor of our Lord and Christendom.

  Second, I advise that their houses be seized and destroyed.

  Third, I advise that all their prayer books and Talmudic writings be taken from them.

  Fourth, I advise that the rabbis be forbidden to teach henceforth on pain of life and limb.

  Fifth, I advise that safe conduct on the highways be abolished completely for the Jews, for they have no business in the countryside, since they are not lords, officials, or tradesmen. Let them stay at home.

  Sixth, I advise that usury be prohibited to them, and all cash and treasures be taken and kept for safekeeping.

  Seventh, I recommend putting a flail, an axe, a spade, a distaff, or a spindle into the hands of young, strong Jews and Jewesses, letting them earn their bread by the sweat of their brow, as was imposed on the children of Adam (Genesis 3:19). For it is not fitting that they should let us accursed Goyim toil in the sweat of our faces while they, the holy people, idle away their time ... boasting blasphemously of their lordship over the Christians by means of our sweat ... For, as we have heard, God's anger with them is so intense that gentle mercy will only tend to make them worse and worse, while sharp mercy will reform them but little. Therefore, in any case, away with them!

  [The whole tract may be found in English in "Luther's Works," Volume 45, pages 199-229. A number of English books have translations of these directives. Among them is "The Christian in Society," ed. Franklin Sherman (1971), pages 268-272. The "Ideas in Conflict" book, "Religion and Politics — Issues in Religious Liberties," by Gary E. McCuen, also quotes them on pages 16-23.]

MIDDLE AGES THROUGH 1800

• 12thCent_CISTERCIANS.--THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT, THIS IS >NOT<.
  Treatise written in the early 12th century by the Cistercian abbot Bernard of Clairvaux, on behalf of the fledgling Knights Templar. It might be viewed as a combination of exhortation to the Knights, and advertisement to the population in general. Officially it is an answer to a letter written to Bernard by his friend Hugh de Payens, one of the founders of the Templars.
  

  Prologue

  TO HUGH, KNIGHT OF CHRIST AND MASTER OF CHRIST'S MILITIA: BERNARD, IN NAME ONLY, ABBOT OF CLAIRVAUS, WISHES THAT HE MIGHT FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT

  IF I AM NOT MISTAKEN, MY DEAR HUGH, you have asked me not once or twice, but three times to write a few words of exhortation for you and your comrades. You say that if I am not permitted to wield the lance, at least I might direct my pen against the tyrannical foe, and that this moral, rather than material support of mine will be of no small help to you. I have put you off now for quite some time, not that I disdain your request, but rather lest I be blamed for taking it lightly and hastily. I feared I might botch a task which could be better done by a more qualified hand, and which would perhaps remain, because of me, just as necessary and all the more difficult.

  Having waited thus for quite some time to no purpose, I have now done what I could, lest my inability should be mistaken for unwillingness. It is for the reader to judge the result. If some perhaps find my work unsatisfactory or short of the mark, I shall be nonetheless content, since I have not failed to give you my best.

  CHAPTER ONE

  A WORD OF EXHORTATION FOR THE KNIGHTS OF THE TEMPLE

  IT SEEMS THAT A NEW KNIGHTHOOD has recently appeared on the earth, and precisely in that part of it which the Orient from on high visited in the flesh. As he then troubled the princes of darkness in the strength of his mighty hand, so there he now wipes out their followers, the children of disbelief, scattering them by the hands of his mighty ones. Even now he brings about the redemption of his people raising up again a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David.

  This is, I say, a new kind of knighthood and one unknown to the ages gone by. It ceaselessly wages a twofold war both against flesh and blood and against a spiritual army of evil in the heavens. When someone strongly resists a foe in the flesh, relying solely on the strength of the flesh, I would hardly remark it, since this is common enough. And when war is waged by spiritual strength against vices or demons, this, too, is nothing remarkable, praiseworthy as it is, for the world is full of monks. But when the one sees a man powerfully girding himself with both swords and nobly marking his belt, who would not consider it worthy of all wonder, the more so since it has been hitherto unknown? He is truly a fearless knight and secure on every side, for his soul is protected by the armor of faith just as his body is protected by armor of steel. He is thus doubly armed and need fear neither demons nor men. Not that he fears death--no, he desires it. Why should he fear to live or fear to die when for him to live is Christ, and to die is gain? Gladly and faithfully he stands for Christ, but he would prefer to be dissolved and to be with Christ, by far the better thing.

  Go forth confidently then, you knights, and repel the foes of the cross of Christ with a stalwart heart. Know that neither death nor life can separate you from the love of God which is in Jesus Christ, and in every peril repeat, "Whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's." What a glory to return in victory from such a battle! How blessed to die there as a martyr! Rejoice, brave athlete, if you live and conquer in the Lord; but glory and exult even more if you die and join your Lord. Life indeed is a fruitful thing and victory is glorious, but a holy death is more important than either. If they are blessed who die in the Lord, how much more are they who die for the Lord!

  2. To be sure, precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his holy ones, whether they die in battle or in bed, but death in battle is more precious as it is the more glorious. How secure is life when the conscience is unsullied! How secure, I say, is life when death is anticipated without fear; or rather when it is desired with feeling and embraced with reverence! How holy and secure this knighthood and how entirely free of the double risk run by those men who fight not for Christ! Whenever you go forth, O worldly warrior, you must fear lest the bodily death of your foe should mean your own spiritual death, or lest perhaps your body and soul together should be slain by him.

  Indeed, danger or victory for a Christian depends on the dispositions of his heart and not on the fortunes of war. If he fights for a good reason, the issue of his fight can never be evil; and likewise the results can never be considered good if the reason were evil and the intentions perverse. If you happen to be killed while you are seeking only to kill another, you die a murderer. If you succeed, and by your will to overcome and to conquer you perchance kill a man, you live a murderer. Now it will not do to be a murderer, living or dead, victorious or vanquished. What an unhappy victory--to have conquered a man while yielding to vice, and to indulge in an empty glory at his fall when wrath and pride have gotten the better of you!

  But what of those who kill neither in the heat of revenge nor in the swelling of pride, but simply in order to save themselves? Even this sort of victory I would not call good, since bodily death is really a lesser evil than spiritual death. The soul need not die when the body does. No, it is the soul which sins that shall die.

  CHAPTER TWO

  ON WORLDLY KNIGHTHOOD

  WHAT, THEN IS THE END OR FRUIT of this worldly knighthood, or rather knavery, as I should call it? What if not the mortal sin of the victor and the eternal death of the vanquished? Well then, let me borrow a word from the Apostle and exhort him who plows, to plow in hope, and him who threshes, to do so in view of some fruit.

  What then, O knights, is this monstrous error and what this unbearable urge which bids you fight with such pomp and labor, and all to no purpose except death and sin? You cover your horses with silk, and plume your armor with I know not what sort of rags; you paint your shields and your saddles; you adorn your bits and spurs with gold and silver and precious stones, and then in all this glory you rush to your ruin with fearful wrath and fearless folly. Are these the trappings of a warrior or are they not rather the trinkets of a woman? Do you think the swords of your foes will be turned back by your gold, spare your jewels or be unable to pierce your silks?

  As you yourselves have often certainly experienced, a warrior especially needs these three things-- he must guard his person with strength, shrewdness and care; he must be free in his movements, and he must be quick to draw his sword. Then why do you blind yourselves with effeminate locks and trip yourselves up with long and full tunics, burying your tender, delicate hands in big cumbersome sleeves? Above all, there is that terrible insecurity of conscience, in spite of all your armor, since you have dared to undertake such a dangerous business on such slight and frivolous grounds. What else is the cause of wars and the root of disputes among you, except unreasonable flashes of anger, the thirst for empty glory, or the hankering after some earthly possessions? It certainly is not safe to kill or to be killed for such causes as these.

  CHAPTER THREE

  ON THE NEW KNIGHTHOOD

  BUT THE KNIGHTS OF CHRIST may safely fight the battles of their Lord, fearing neither sin if they smite the enemy, nor danger at their own death; since to inflict death or to die for Christ is no sin, but rather, an abundant claim to glory. In the first case one gains for Christ, and in the second one gains Christ himself. The Lord freely accepts the death of the foe who has offended him, and yet more freely gives himself for the consolation of his fallen knight.

  The knight of Christ, I say, may strike with confidence and die yet more confidently, for he serves Christ when he strikes, and serves himself when he falls. Neither does he bear the sword in vain, for he is God's minister, for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of the good. If he kills an evildoer, he is not a mankiller, but, if I may so put it, a killer of evil. He is evidently the avenger of Christ towards evildoers and he is rightly considered a defender of Christians. Should he be killed himself, we know that he has not perished, but has come safely into port. When he inflicts death it is to Christ's profit, and when he suffers death, it is for his own gain. The Christian glories in the death of the pagan, because Christ is glorified; while the death of the Christian gives occasion for the King to show his liberality in the rewarding of his knight. In the one case the just shall rejoice when he sees justice done, and in the other man shall say, truly there is a reward for the just; truly it is God who judges the earth.

  I do not mean to say that the pagans are to be slaughtered when there is any other way to prevent them from harassing and persecuting the faithful, but only that it now seems better to destroy them than that the rod of sinners be lifted over the lot of the just, and the righteous perhaps put forth their hands unto iniquity.

  5. What then? If it is never permissible for a Christian to strike with the sword, why did the Savior's precursor bid the soldiers to be content with their pay, and not rather forbid them to follow this calling? But if it is permitted to all those so destined by God, as is indeed the case provided they have not embraced a higher calling, to whom, I ask, may it be allowed more rightly than to those whose hands and hearts hold for us Sion, the city of our strength?

  Thus when the transgressors of divine law have been expelled, the righteous nation that keeps the truth may enter in security. Certainly it is proper that the nations who love war should be scattered, that those who trouble us should be cut off, and that all the workers of iniquity should be dispersed from the city of the Lord. They busy themselves to carry away the incalculable riches placed in Jerusalem by the Christian peoples, to profane the holy things and to possess the sanctuary of God as their heritage. Let both swords of the faithful fall upon the necks of the foe, in order to destroy every high thing exalting itself against the knowledge of God, which is the Christian faith, lest the Gentiles should then say, "Where is their God?"

  6. Once they have been cast out, he shall return to his heritage and to his house, which aroused his anger in the Gospel, "Behold," he said, "your house is left to you desolate." He had complained through the Prophet: "I have left my house, I have forsaken my heritage," and he will fulfill that other prophecy: "The Lord has ransomed his people and delivered them. They shall come and exult on Mount Sion, and rejoice in the good things of the Lord."

  Rejoice Jerusalem, and recognize now the time in which you are visited! Be glad and give praise together, wastes of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people. He has ransomed Jerusalem. The Lord has bared his holy arm in the sight of all peoples. O virgin of Israel, you were fallen and there was none to raise you up. Arise now and shake off the dust, O virgin, captive daughter of Sion. Arise, I say, and stand on high. See the happiness which comes to you from your God. You will no longer be referred to as the forsaken one, nor your land any more termed a wilderness; for the Lord takes his delight in you, and your land shall be peopled. Raise your eyes, look about you and see; all these are gathered together and come to you. Here is the help sent to you from the Holy One! Through them is already fulfilled the ancient promise, "I will make you the pride of the ages, a joy from generation to generation. You will suck the milk of the nations and be nourished at the breasts of their sovereignty." And again, "As a mother consoles her children, so will I console you, and in Jerusalem you will be comforted."

  Do you not see how frequently these ancient witnesses foreshadowed the new knighthood? Truly, as we have heard, so we have now seen in the city of the Lord of armies. Of course we must not let these literal fulfillments blind us to the spiritual meaning of the texts, for we must live in eternal hope in spite of such temporal realizations of prophetic utterances. Otherwise the tangible would supplant the intangible, material poverty would threaten spiritual wealth and present possessions would forestall future fulfillment. Furthermore, the temporal glory of the earthly city does not eclipse the glory of its heavenly counterpart, but rather prepares for it, at least so long as we remember hat the one is the figure of the other, and that it is the heavenly one which is our mother.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  ON THE LIFE STYLE OF THE KNIGHTS OF THE TEMPLE

  AND NOW AS A MODEL, or at least for the shame of those knights of ours who are fighting for the devil rather than for God, we will briefly set forth the life and virtues of these cavaliers of Christ. Let us see how they conduct themselves at home as well as in battle, how they appear in public, and in what way the knight of God differs from the knight of the world.

  In the first place, discipline is in no way lacking and obedience is never despised. As Scripture testifies, the undisciplined son shall perish and rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, to refuse obedience is like the crime of idolatry. Therefore they come and go at the bidding of their superior. They wear what he gives them, and do not presume to wear or to eat anything from another source. Thus they shun every excess in clothing and food and content themselves with what is necessary. They live as brothers in joyful and sober company, without wives or children. So that their evangelical perfection will lack nothing, they dwell united in one family with no personal property whatever, careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. You may say that the whole multitude has but one heart and one soul to the point that nobody follows his own will, but rather seeks to follow the commander.

  They never sit in idleness or wander about aimlessly, but on the rare occasions when they are not on duty, they are always careful to earn their bread by repairing their worn armor and torn clothing, or simply by setting things to order. For the rest, they are guided by the common needs and by the orders of their master.

  There is no distinction of persons among them, and deference is shown to merit rather than to noble blood. They rival one another in mutual consideration, and they carry one another's burdens, thus fulfilling the law of Christ. No inappropriate word, idle deed, unrestrained laugh, not even the slightest whisper or murmur is left uncorrected once it has been detected. They foreswear dice and chess, and abhor the chase; they take no delight in the ridiculous cruelty of falconry, as is the custom. As for jesters, magicians, bards, troubadours and jousters, they despise and reject them as so many vanities and unsound deceptions. Their hair is worn short, in conformity with the Apostle's saying, that it is shameful for a man to cultivate flowing locks. Indeed, they seldom wash and never set their hair--content to appear tousled and dusty, bearing the marks of the sun and of their armor.

  8. When the battle is at hand, they arm themselves interiorly with faith and exteriorly with steel rather than decorate themselves with gold, since their business is to strike fear in the enemy rather than to incite his cupidity. They seek out horses which are strong and swift, rather than those which are brilliant and well-plumed, they set their minds on fighting to win rather than on parading for show. They think not of glory and seek to be formidable rather than flamboyant. At the same time, they are not quarrelsome, rash, or unduly hasty, but soberly, prudently and providently drawn up into orderly ranks, as we read of the fathers. Indeed, the true Israelite is a man of peace, even when he goes forth to battle.

  Once he finds himself in the thick of battle, this knight sets aside his previous gentleness, as if to say, "Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord; am I not disgusted with your enemies?" These men at once fall violently upon the foe, regarding them as so many sheep. No matter how outnumbered they are, they never regard these as fierce barbarians or as awe-inspiring hordes. Nor do they presume on their own strength, but trust in the Lord of armies to grant them the victory. They are mindful of the words of Maccabees, "It is simple enough for a multitude to be vanquished by a handful. It makes no difference to the God of heaven whether he grants deliverance by the hands of few or many; for victory in war is not dependent on a big army, and bravery is the gift of heaven." On numerous occasions they had seen one man pursue a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight.

  Thus in a wonderous and unique manner they appear gentler than lambs, yet fiercer than lions. I do not know if it would be more appropriate to refer to them as monks or as soldiers, unless perhaps it would be better to recognize them as being both. Indeed they lack neither monastic meekness nor military might. What can we say of this, except that this has been done by the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes. These are the picked troops of God, whom he has recruited from the ends of the earth; the valiant men of Israel chosen to guard well and faithfully that tomb which is the bed of the true Solomon, each man sword in hand, and superbly trained to war.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  THE TEMPLE OF JERUSALEM

  THEIR QUARTERS indeed are in the very temple of Jerusalem, which is not as vast as the ancient masterpiece of Solomon, but is no less glorious. Truly all the magnificence of the first temple lay in perishable gold and silver, in polished stones and precious woods; whereas all the beauty and gracious charming adornment of its present counterpart is the religious fervor of its occupants and by their well-disciplined behavior. In the former, one could contemplate all sorts of beautiful colors, while in the latter one is able to venerate all sorts of virtues and good works. Indeed holiness is the fitting ornament for God's house. One is able to delight there in splendid merits rather than in shining marble, and to be captivated by pure hearts rather than by gilded paneling.

  Of course the facade of this temple is adorned, but with weapons rather than with jewels, and in place of the ancient golden crowns, its walls are hung round about with shields. In place of candlesticks, censers and ewers, this house is well furnished with saddles, bits and lances. By all these signs our knights clearly show that they are animated by the same zeal for the house of God which of old passionately inflamed their leader himself when he armed his most holy hands, not indeed with a sword, but with a whip. Having fashioned this from some lengths of cord, he entered the temple and ejected the merchants, scattered the coins of the money changers, and overturned the chairs of the pigeon venders, considering it most unfitting to defile this house of prayer by such traffic.

  Moved therefore by their King's example, his devoted soldiers consider that it is even more shameful and infinitely more intolerable for a holy place to be polluted by pagans than to be crowded with merchants. Once they have installed themselves in this holy house with their horses and their weapons, cleansed it and the other holy places of every un-Christian stain, and cast out the tyrannical horde, they occupy themselves day and night in both pious exercises and practical work. They are especially careful to honor the temple of God with zealous and sincere reverence, offering by their devout service, not the flesh of animals according to the ancient rites, but true peace offerings of brotherly love, devoted obedience and voluntary poverty.

  10. These events at Jerusalem have shaken the world. The islands hearken, and the people from afar give ear. They swarm forth from East and West, as a flood stream bringing glory to the nations and a rushing river gladdening the city of God. What could be more profitable and pleasant to behold than seeing such a multitude coming to reinforce the few? What, if not the twofold joy of seeing the conversion of these former impious rogues, sacrilegious thieves, murderers, perjurers and adulterers? A twofold joy and a twofold benefit, since their countrymen are as glad to be rid of them as their new comrades are to receive them. Both sides have profited from this exchange, since the latter are strengthened and the former are now left in peace. Thus Egypt rejoices in their conversion and departure while Mount Sion rejoices and the daughters of Juda are glad to acquire these new protectors. The former glory in being delivered from their hands, while the latter have every reason to expect deliverance by means of these same hands. The former gladly see their cruel despoilers depart, while the latter gladly welcome their faithful defenders; so that the one is agreeably heartened, while the other is profitably abandoned.

  This is the revenge which Christ contrives against his enemies, to triumph powerfully and gloriously ov er them by their own means. Indeed, it is both a happy and fitting thing that those who have so long fought against him should at last fight for him. Thus he recruits his soldiers among his foes, just as he once turned Saul the persecutor into Paul the preacher. Therefore I am not surprised that, as our Savior himself has affirmed, the court of heaven takes more joy in the conversion of one sinner than in the virtues of many just men who have no need of conversion. Certainly the conversion of so many sinners and evil doers will now do as much good as their former misdeeds did harm.

  11. Hail then, holy city, sanctified by the Most High for his own tabernacle in order that such a generation might be saved in and through you! Hail, city of the great King, source of so many joyous and unheard-of marvels! Hail mistress of nations and queen of provinces, heritage of patriarchs, mother of apostles and prophets, source of the faith and glory of the Christian people! If God has permitted you to be so often besieged, it has only been to furnish brave men an occasion for valor and immortality.

  Hail promised land, source of milk and honey for your ancient inhabitants, now become the source of healing grace and vital sustenance for the whole earth! Yes, I say, you are that good and excellent soil which received into its fruitful depths the heavenly seed from the heart of the eternal Father. What a rich harvest of martyrs you have produced from that heavenly seed! Your fertile soil has not failed to furnish splendid examples of every Christian virtue for the whole earth--some bearing fruit thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundredfold. Therefore those who have seen you are most happily filled with the great abundance of your sweetness and are well nourished on your munificent bounty. Everywhere they go they publish the fame of your great goodness and relate the splendors of your glory to those who have never seen it, proclaiming the marvels accomplished in you even to the ends of the earth.

  Indeed, glorious things are told of you, city of God! Now then we will set forth something of the delights in which you abound, for the praise and glory of your name.

  --The Cistercian Fathers Series: Number Nineteen, The Works of Bernard of Clairvaux: Volume Seven, Treatises III, translated by Conrad Greenia, Cistercian Publications, Kalamazoo, Mich., 1977.

  http://www.the-orb.net/encyclop/religion/monastic/bernard.html

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