Pride And The Waste

Erraverunt, ait Propheta, in solitudine, in inaquoso: viam civitatis habitaculi non invenerunt. Solitudo haec superborum est, quia solos sese reputant, solos appetunt reputari. Litteratus est; odit socium. Astutus in negotiis saecularibus neminem vellet sibi similem inveniri. Pecuniosus est; si ditescere viderit alterum, cruciatur. Fortis est aut formosus; da ei parem, et contabescit. Solitarius est, sed erroneus. Errat in solitudine sua: non enim solus habitare poterit super terram. Nec mirum quod solitudini huic inaquosum additur; ut dicatur, in solitudine, in inaquoso. Sicut enim in solitudinibus aquae deesse solent, et loca deserta sterilia quoque et arida esse consueverunt, sic superbiam impoenitentia comitatur. Elatum enim cor, durum et expers est pietatis, ignarum compunctionis, siccum ab omni rore gratiae spiritualis; quia superbis Deus resistit, humilibus vero dat gratiam. Qui emittit fontes in convallibus, inter medium montium, ait Propheta, pertransibunt aquae. Hinc est quod de se ipso miserabiliter conquerens ait: Anima mea sicut terra sine aqua tibi. Siquidem aquae inopia non modo aridum, sed et sordidum facit, dum non est quo laveris: et humanum cor lacrymas nesciens, non modo durum, sed et impurum esse necesse est. Lavabo, ait, per singulas noctes lectum meum, ut conscientiae maculas diluam. Lacrymis meis stratum meum rigabo, ne in me quoque fiat quod scriptum est de semine quod cecidit supra petram, et natum aruit, quia non habebat humorem. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermo I, De Fallacia et Brevitate Vitae Praesentis Source: Migne PL 183.537d-538d

'They wandered,' says the Prophet, 'in a waste, in a waterless place; they did not find a way to the city of habitation.' 1 And this waste is of the proud, who acclaim only themselves, and who desire only to be acclaimed. According to the letter, such a man hates a companion. Clever in worldly affairs, he does not wish to find anyone like himself. He is richly tormented if he sees another man enriched. If another is strong or handsome, he admits him as an equal and he withers. He is solitary but he errs. He wanders in his solitude, for he cannot dwell alone on the earth. It is not to be wondered that this waste is described as waterless, so that it is said, 'In a waste, in a waterless place,' For as in a wasteland waters are not accustomed to flow and desert places are customarily sterile and arid, so impenitence associates with pride. For the elated heart is hard and knows nothing of piety, it is ignorant of compunction, dry of every dew of spiritual grace, because 'God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble'. 2 'He who sends forth the spring waters in the valleys, the waters which pass amid the mountains,' says the Prophet. 3 Whence it is concerning this one that he says in wretched lament: 'My soul is like a land without water.' 4 A lack of water not only makes something dry but also dirty, when there is nothing one may wash by, and so the human heart that knows not tears is not only hard, but must also be filthy. He says: 'I shall wash my bed each night,' that I wash off the stains of my conscience, 'I shall soak my bed with my tears,' 5lest it be with me as has been written about the seed which falls upon a stone, that being born it withers, because it has no moisture. 6 Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, from Sermon I, On the Delusions and Brevity of the Present Life 1 Ps 106.4 2 James 4.6 3 Ps 103.10 4 Ps 142.6 5 Ps 6.7 6 Lk 8.6