From the second series of his "Latein. Hymnen und Gesänge aus dem Mittelalter." Bonn, 1865. 1. An der Krippe stand die hohe Wo Er lag, der kleine Sohn; 2. Wie war hochbeglückt die Eine, Die uns makellos und reine Gab den Eingeborenen; 3. Wer sollt' da nicht freudvoll stehen, Wenn die Mutter er gesehen In so hohen Trostes Lust? Mit dem Sohne an der Brust? 4. Für der Menschheit Sünden alle Sieht sie Jesum in dem Stalle Zwischen Thieren, frosterstarrt; Sieht sie ihren holden Kleinen Angebetet winselnd weinen, Eingebettet rauh und hart. ST. BERNARD AS A HYMNIST. St. Bernard, abbot of Clairvaux (1091-1153), was one of the greatest and best men in the Middle Ages, and the central figure in the history of Europe during the second quarter of the twelfth century. He belongs to those rare personalities who influenced the Church and the world in every important sphere of life. He is prominent in the history of monasticism, of theology, of the hierarchy, of the Crusades, of pulpit eloquence and public worship. He was the founder of the Cistercian convent in the wild and barren gorge of Clairvaux (Clara Vallis), and a model saint, almost worshiped by his contemporaries and canonized by Alexander III. in 1173, in less than twenty years after his death. He healed the papal schism which broke out after the death of Honorius II., secured by his eloquence and moral weight the recognition of Innocent II., and was the spiritual counselor of kings and popes. He defended orthodox mysticism and the theology of the heart against speculative rationalism and the theology of the intellect in the contest with Peter Abelard. He stirred up the second Crusade (in 1146) by rousing the people of France and Germany to the pitch of enthusiasm for the conquest of the Holy Land, but was doomed to bitter disappointment by the disastrous failure of the expedition. His last work was to make peace between the citizens of Metz and the surrounding nobility. He was endowed with rare faculties of mind and heart, a sympathetic temper, a lively imagination, and the power of personal magnetism. Love and humility were the crowning traits of his character. He is called the honey-flowing doctor (Doctor mellifluus). He converted thousands by his persuasive eloquence and pious example, and cured many by his prayers. There is no spotless saint in this world, but Bernard came near the ideal of Christian holiness, and claimed no merit, but gave all the glory to the free grace of God in Christ. His con |