members. There were two men whose talents and fame made them
conspicuous above all; Suger, Abbot of St. Denis, the intimate and able
adviser of the wise king, Louis the Fat, and St. Bernard, Abbot of
Clairvaux, the most eloquent, most influential, and most piously
disinterested amongst the Christians of his age. Though both were
ecclesiastics, these two great men were, touching the second crusade,
of opposite opinions. "Let none suppose," says Suger's biographer and
confidant, William, monk of St. Denis, "that it was at his instance or by
his counsel that the king undertook the voyage to the Holy Land.
Although the success of it was other than had been expected, this prince
was influenced only by pious wishes and zeal for the service of God. As
for Suger, ever far-seeing and only too well able to read the future, not
only did he not suggest to the monarch any such design, but he
disapproved of it so soon as it was mentioned to him. The truth of it
is, that, after having vainly striven to nip it in the bud, and being
unable to put a check upon the king's zeal, he thought it wise, either
for fear of wounding the king's piety, or of uselessly incurring the
wrath of the partisans of the enterprise, to yield to the times." As for
St. Bernard, at the first of the three assemblies, viz., at Bourges,
whether it were that his mind was not yet made up or that he desired to
cover himself with greater glory, he advised the king to undertake
nothing without having previously consulted the Holy See; but when Pope
Eugenius III., so far from hesitating, had warmly solicited the aid of
the Christians against the infidels, St. Bernard, at the second assembly,
viz., at Vezelai, gave free vent to his feelings and his eloquence.
After having read the pope's letters, "If ye were told," said he, "that
an enemy had attacked your castles, your cities, and your lands, had
ravished your wives and your daughters, and had profaned your temples,
which of you would not fly to arms? Well, all those evils, and evils
still greater, have come upon your brethren, upon the family of Christ,
which is your own. Why tarry ye, then, to repair so many wrongs, to
avenge so many insults? Christian warriors, He who gave His life for you
to-day demandeth yours; illustrious knights, noble defenders of the
cross, call to mind the example of your fathers, who conquered Jerusalem,
and whose names are written in heaven! The living God hath charged me to
tell un