Page:The reign of William Rufus and the accession of Henry the First.djvu/463

 were usual on such occasions. Anselm was now deemed to have become, however much against his own will, Archbishop-elect of Canterbury.

From the church Anselm went back to the King's chamber. He there renewed his protest against the appointment, but he renewed it in the form of a prophecy. "My lord the King, I tell you that you will not die of this sickness; I would therefore have you know how easily you can undo what has been this day done with regard to me, as I never agreed, nor do I agree, that it shall be held valid." He then left the sick room, and spoke to the bishops and nobles in some other place, perhaps the hall of the castle. Whether formally summoned as such or not, they were practically a Gemót of the realm. Anselm spoke to them in a parable, founded on the apostolic figure which speaks of the Church as God's husbandry. In England the plough of the Church ought to be drawn by two chief oxen of equal strength, each pulling with the same good will. These were the King and the Archbishop of Canterbury, one ruling by worldly justice and dominion, the other by divine doctrine and teaching. So, he implies, it had been in the days of William the Great and of Lanfranc his yoke-fellow. The figure is one which will bear much study. It is perhaps in England