Page:William of Malmesbury's Chronicle.djvu/469

 honour; and those that despise me, shall be lightly esteemed.' You will say then, 'It is my right;' no truly, it is neither an imperial nor royal, but a divine right; it is His only, who has said, 'I am the door:' wherefore I entreat for his sake, whose due it is, that you would restore and concede it to him, to whose love you owe what you possess. But why should we oppose your pleasure, or run counter to your good will, unless we were aware, that in consenting to this matter, we should oppose the will of God, and lose his favour? Why should we deny you any thing, which might be granted to any man living, when we should receive greater favours in return? Consider, my dearest son, whether it be an honour, or a disgrace that Anselm, the wisest, and most religious of the Gallican bishops, on this account, fears to be familiar with you, or to continue in your kingdom. What will those persons think, who have hitherto had such favourable accounts of you? What will they say, when this gets noised abroad? The very peoplewho, before your face, commend your excess, will, when out of your presence, be the first more loudly to vilify the transaction. Return then to your understanding, my dearest son, we entreat you, for the mercy of God, and the love of his Only-begotten Son: recall your pastor, recall your father; and if, what we do not imagine, he hath in anything conducted himself harshly towards you, and hath opposed the investitures, we will mediate according to your pleasure, as far as God permits: but nevertheless, remove from your person and your kingdom the infamy of such an expulsion. If you do this, even although you should ask very difficult matters of us; still if, with God's permission, we can grant, you shall certainly obtain, them: and we will be careful to entreat the Lord for you, himself assisting, and will grant indulgence and absolution, as well to your sins, as to those of your consort, through the merits of the holy apostles. Moreover, we will, together with you, cherish the son whom you have begotten on your exemplary and noble consort; and who is, as we have heard, named after your excellent father, William, with such anxious care, that whosoever shall injure either you, or him, shall be regarded as having done injury to the church of Rome. Dated at the palace of Lateran, the mnth before the kalends of December."