Page:The reign of William Rufus and the accession of Henry the First.djvu/641

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season of reform had been shared by Anselm himself. He had more than once urged the King on the subject; but William had always answered that he was too busy dealing with his many enemies to think about such matters. Such an answer was a mere put-off; yet a more discouraging one might have been given. Anselm had therefore fully made up his mind to make the most of this special opportunity, and to make yet one more urgent appeal to the King to help him in his work. And now, at the meeting where he trusted to make this attempt, he was summoned to appear as defendant on a purely temporal charge. To that charge he determined to make no answer. But surely the reason which is given is rather the reason of Eadmer afterwards than of Anselm at the time. Anselm is made to say that in the King's court everything depended on the King's nod, and that his cause would be examined in that court, without law, without equity, without reason. He had not found it so at Rockingham,