Page:Historical Works of Venerable Bede vol. 2.djvu/216

 144 them that call upon his name; they called upon the Lord and he answered them. He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar."

§ 8. But, if we believe, and confess, that any good is wrought on the faithful by the laying on of hands, whereby they receive the Holy Spirit; it follows, on the contrary, that those who have not the laying on of hands, must be deprived of this benefit. On whom, then, does this privation reflect, if not on the bishops who promise they will be their guardians, but either from neglect or inability perform none of the spiritual duties of a guardian? Covetousness and nothing else, is the cause of this conduct. Against which the apostle (in whom Christ spake) argues, when he says, "The love of money is the root of all evil ;" and again, "Neither shall the covetous inherit the kingdom of God." For when a bishop, for the love of money, has nominally taken under his guardianship a larger portion of the people than he can by any means visit and preach to the whole year round, it is plain that he is only gathering danger and destruction for himself, as well as those whose false guardian he is.

§ 9. Thus far, most beloved Bishop, have I briefly alluded to the calamity under which our country is suffering most severely, and I earnestly beseech you to strive to rectify what you see done amiss. For I believe you have a ready assistant in so good a labour in King Ceolwulph, who, by his own zeal for religion, will endeavour firmly to lend his aid in whatever relates to the rule of piety, and most especially will exert himself to promote and bring to completion the good works which you, his dearest relation, shall undertake; wherefore I would prudently advise him, that he should in your time make the ecclesiastical establishment of our nation more complete than it has hitherto been. This cannot be better done, in my opinion, than by consecrating more bishops, and following the example of the lawgiver, who, when he found himself unable alone to bear the strife and