e East, to deliver their brethren, or to give up their
lives for them. Enthusiastic for the cause himself Bernard communicated,
through the power of the living word and by letters, his enthusiasm to
the nations. He represented the new crusade as a means furnished by God
to the multitudes sunk in sin, of calling them to repentance, and of
paving the way, by devout participation in a pious work, for the
forgiveness of their sins. Thus, in his letter to the clergy and people
in East Frankland (Germany), he exhorts them eagerly to lay hold on this
opportunity; he declares that the Almighty condescended to invite
murderers, robbers, adulterers, perjurers, and those sunk in other
crimes, into his service, as well as the righteous. He calls upon them
to make an end of waging war with one another, and to seek an object for
their warlike prowess in this holy contest. "Here, brave warrior," he
exclaims, "thou hast a field where thou mayest fight without danger,
where victory is glory and death is gain. Take the sign of the cross,
and thou shalt obtain the forgiveness of all the sins which thou hast
never confessed with a contrite heart." By Bernard's fiery discourses
men of all ranks were carried away. In France and in Germany he
travelled about, conquering by an effort his great bodily infirmities,
and the living word from his lips produced even mightier effects than
his letters.

A peculiar charm, and a peculiar power of moving men's minds, must have
existed in the tones of his voice; to this must be added the
awe-inspiring effect of his whole appearance, the way in which his whole
being and the motions of his bodily frame joined in testifying of that
which seized and inspired him. Thus it admits of being explained how, in
Germany, even those who understood but little, or in fact nothing, of
what he said, could be so moved as to shed tears and smite their
breasts; could, by his own speeches in a foreign language, be more
strongly affected and agitated than by the immediate interpretation of
his words by another. From all quarters sick persons were conveyed to
him by the friends who sought from him a cure; and the power of his
faith, the confidence he inspired in the minds of men, might sometimes
produce remarkable effects. With this enthusiasm, however, Bernard
united a degree of prudence and a discernment of character such as few
of that age possessed, and such qualities were required to counteract
the multiform excitements of