Bernard of Clairvaux [antikvár]

Preface I met Bernard of Clairvaux for the first time in November 1942. In a secondhand bookstore I happened to see two polemics in which Bernard in 1224/25 had attacked the overly comfortable lifestyle of the monks in Cluny. It was a Dutch translation of these writings, edited and introduced by Anton van Duinkerken and published in 1938.1 bought the book more because of the translator than because of any interest in the original author, but 1 soon put the book in my bookcase and did not begin reading it until the spring of 1944. In the meantime my life had changed rather drastically. I was in hiding since May 1943 because I had refused to sign the declaration of loyalty that the occupying power demanded from university students and had ignored the call to report for the Arbeitseinsatz (forced labor) in Germany that had been issued to all who had reacted as I had. For the time being I stayed at home and spent most of my time in my study. I wanted to do something useful and to increase my proficiency in medieval Latin. For that reason I asked Jan Waszink to assist me. Waszink had not yet become a professor at Leyden University; he still taught at the municipal Gymnasium at Utrecht, where I had graduated in 1941. Thus began a series of weekly private tutorings. 1 always looked forward to them and have remained thankful for that privilege. Early in 1944 he suggested that we read the tract De considemtione by Bernard of Clairvaux. The problem we faced was to find a second copy of this text. However, a