lunes, 24 de septiembre de 1554

Edad:
27 años

EL Cardenal Pole a Felipe

The Monastery of Dillinghem near Brussels,

A year has I began to knock at the door of this royal house, and none has opened unto me. King, if you ask, as those are wont to do who hear a knock at the door: who is there? I will reply, it is I, who, rather than consent that this house should be closed to her who now possesses it with you, preferred banishment and twenty years of exile. And if I speak thus, is it not a sufficient claim to be permitted to return home and to approach you? Moreover, I do not seek admission or ask a favour as a private person, but in the name of the Vicar on earth of the Most High, Peter's successor, indeed I may say Peter himself, whose power once greatly flourished in that kingdom, but was most unjustly thrown out after it had refused to allow her, who now rules, to be deprived of her right. He has long since caused me to knock and yet the door that is open to all men remains closed to him. Did those within hear neither my knock nor my voice? Assuredly they did hear, with no less wonder for the Church's divine power and mercy than Mary felt when, as it is related in the Acts of the Apostles, the servant Rhoda announced to her that Peter, whom Herod had thrown into prison and meant to put to death and for whom the Church was diligently praying, was free and standing knocking at the door. Even as she and those who were with her were greatly astonished, so much wonder is now felt by all who are aware that the defenders of Peter's authority in that kingdom were under a Herodian rule imprisoned and most cruelly slain, whilst the very names of Peter's successors were removed from those books that contained prayers for their safety and welfare, the object of which course was utterly to efface from the minds of men all memory of the power handed over by Christ to Peter. How then should it be considered less than a marvellous sign of the divine mercy, that Peter has now as it were once more been freed from Herod's prison, and stands knocking at the door whence all these wicked edicts issued forth? This is the greatest wonder, but no less marvellous is it that the royal house should now belong to Mary.

But why has she delayed so long to open her door? It is written of the servant of that other Mary that when she heard Peter's voice she was almost beside herself with joy and thought not of opening until she had run to tell Mary and the others who were with her, who at first doubted but, as soon as Peter began again to knock, opened unto him, nor feared to take him into the house, though with Herod alive and upon the throne they had the gravest cause for alarm. Now, what shall I say of Mary, the Queen? Is it joy or fear that keeps her from opening when she has heard Peter's voice and well knows that he is standing before her house knocking at the door, and has beheld the marvellous power of God, who led forth Peter not by means of an angel as on that other occasion but with his own hand, after having first thrown down the iron gate that barred his road to the royal house. I know that she rejoices, but I also know that she fears; for did she not, she would not so long have delayed to open. For in truth, if she rejoices at Peter's liberation and grasps the wonderful nature of the occurrence, what prevents her from joyfully running, giving due thanks to God, and letting him in, especially now that Herod is dead and she has come into possession of his realm? Perchance Divine Providence, which destined you, beloved son of Peter, to be her husband, permitted her to be affected by fear while you were on your way in order that so illustrious and salutary an action might be performed by both of you together. Certainly I myself formerly explained the fearfulness of Queen Mary, your wife, as I wrote to her, and for that very reason I now write to you, her husband, most pious prince, and in the name of Peter, Christ's vicar, demand of you to shake off from her all cause for fear. And you have a most urgent reason for freeing her of anxiety, if you will remember and point out to her how unworthy it is that whereas she took you, her fleshly husband, in spite of many causes for alarm which she alone overcame, she should now, married though she is to so powerful a prince, fear to unbar the way to the spouse of her soul and leave me standing with Peter at the gate—that Peter who has so often and so wonderfully shown himself to be her guardian. Do not think, King, that I, either alone or accompanied by Peter, have sought your house because of any reason that might explain why I stay so long knocking. For if I have come alone, I once departed alone, seeking and demanding that which is open to everyone, for the door was shut on me alone. And if Peter has come with me, he also once departed taking me with him, after I had shaken the dust of the place from my feet, as God commands us to do when we approach a house in His name and are turned away. But if I, who am pursuing no interested object, still persevere, and if Peter ceases not to knock, we are both kept here by Christ Himself, in order that the way may be opened for Him, the spouse of both your souls. For I shall not fear to assert that Christ is with me on this mission which I am carrying out for His Vicar, since I well know that I am on no errand of my own, or of yours, but am with all my might and soul seeking you.

But you, Catholic Prince, whom Divine Providence and Bounty has now endowed with the illustrious title of Defender of the Faith which by the apostolic authority of Peter adorns the Kings of England, take counsel with yourself. Is it meet that, whilst the ambassadors of all princes have access to you and may congratulate you on the assumption of that title, the successor of Peter, who has expressly sent his legate to bring to you on your throne, the peace and grace of the King of Kings, should alone be turned away? And if there is any reason to fear the results of admitting him, is there not much graver reason to fear giving offence to Christ, since his legate, who ought to be heard first of all, waits so long outside whilst all the rest who came long after him are let in without delay, heard and honourably dismissed? Am I beginning to complain? I complain indeed, but with the object of not giving your Majesty that cause for complaint against me which I certainly would be giving you were I not to write to you about the danger that attends this delay in admitting the legate sent by Christ's vicar: a danger that threatens you and your realm and about which I have often warned the Queen. This duty towards you is imposed upon me by the post I am occupying, and I shall consider that I have fulfilled it if in this letter I show you how great a peril menaces him to whom it may with truth be said “thou hast taken away Christ”. But indeed he does take away Christ, who does not at once admit the legate sent by His Vicar to demand the obedience due to the Church, that is to Christ Himself. And you are delaying, Prince, as if whereas your kingly office ought to bid you to make ready the way for divine obedience in this realm of yours, you busied yourself with other matters which ought to yield the first place to that which should be as it were the foundation stone of all your building. For if you attempt to build on any other foundation I will predict to you, King, in Christ's own words: “the rain will fall, the waters will flow, the winds will blow and rush in upon that house; and it will fall, and great will be the ruin thereof”. But you fear to begin at once to build on the rock, or if you do not, others who advise you fear, wherefore you delay to admit him whom Christ's Vicar has sent to you, though according neither to your will, nor to the Queen's. Even if some tempest were to arise, which I fail to believe, it would still not be well on that score to defer laying your foundations on a spot where though the winds and waters rush in upon it, Almighty God will not permit the house to be overthrown, for it will be founded upon the rock. And if you lay the foundations of your rule elsewhere, you may be sure that you are building upon sand, and when the winds roar, as they are wont to do frequently and with violence in these regions, it will collapse from within. And the certain proof of this is that as soon as divine obedience to the Church, as it were the foundation-stone, was removed from this place, there straightway began discord, tumult and sedition, like winds which destroyed many houses, and undermined all human and divine law, as well as the excellent, old-established order of the state which had long flourished in England; and if it is your purpose to restore that order, as God has called you to do and your duty plainly bids you, you must not begin otherwise than by building on the rock which rests in its right place. Is it not thus that a beginning must be made? Do you fear that when once that rock is in its place again, there will once more be danger of the ruin which set in immediately it was removed, and has daily grown greater down to the present time, and indeed can never be repaired unless the rock is restored? Evils arising from the wickedness and inconstancy of men are less to be feared than the judgment of God that is wont to overtake those who throw off obedience to His Church; and the truth of this is shown by events in every quarter where that obedience has been disowned, but nowhere more clearly than in this realm. Wherefore, Prince, if you wish to ward off the Divine Wrath from your own head and from your realm, if you wish to reign in quiet and happiness, your first act ought to be to admit him who comes with messages of peace from God and His Vicar.

I will write no more, most pious Prince, and this letter might already seem too long, were it not that my zeal to accomplish the mission entrusted to me compelled me to be prolix. For the rest, I pray God that if in the mystery of His Divine Providence He sees that my coming cannot bring to you, to the Queen, your wife, and to your realm all honour and profit, He may not withhold these blessings from you, but may send another able to confer them upon you. I shall be abundantly satisfied if your honour and welfare are attained, through whomsoever it may be done, and I shall never cease to pray Him that, as He has by so many signs shown that you have been called to save the realm, all things necessary to the fulfilment of your task may be added unto you, and that He may ever keep you in His grace

Holograph. Latin.

Fuentes

Besançon, C.G.74.

Printed by Weiss, Documents Inédits, Vol. IV.

Calendar of State Papers, Spain, Volume 13, 1554-1558

Edited by Royall Tyler.

Published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1954.

 

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