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Article THE LIFE OF XIMENFS, ARCHBISHOP OF TOLEDO. ← Page 3 of 8 →
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The Life Of Ximenfs, Archbishop Of Toledo.
He arrived at his convent ; and although the emotion that he felt was depicted in his countenance , no one dared to enquire the cause . He took his companion , without any other observation by the way than , ' Come , brother , we must away from this place as soon as possible . ' They left the city , to retire to " the monastery of Hope . The Queen , however , commanded some of litr principal courtiers to wait upon
Ximenes , and , by persuasion , to solicit his acceptance of the dignity to which God had called him . They immediately repaired to the Convent of St . Francis , and were informed of his departure . The distance that he mig ht have gained obliged them to take post-hprses . At three leagues from Madrid they came up with the good father , travelling on foot , in profound silence , accompanied by his
companion , aud another monk , whom chance had directed the same way . Having taken him a little out of the way , and congratulated him , with expressive satisfaction , on his recent election , the Nobles represented the Queen ' s uneasiness at his refusal ; and observed , that duty should influence him to comply with the wishes of the court : that ministers like himself were wanted in the church : —if he feared the honours , he ought not to shun the labours of so exalted a situation . This flattering testimony of the Queen's esteem was affixing to his
sacred character the stai ' n of ingratitude : to oppose the orders of his Holiness , by whom his election had been confirmed , would stigmatize him with the charge of obstinacy . Submission to the pleasure of both was highly proper ; but this vocation , unsolicited on his part , might more properly be deemed the will of heaven . 'A dignity , ' Ximenes said , 'that required virtue more enlarged , and abilities more extensive than he possessed , pressed upon him his
refusal : he was neither worthy of the intended honour , nor capable of sustaining the weighty charge . To poverty , austerity of life , and the recluse of St . Francis he had been called . His Ploliness knew him not ; and in the presence of God and man , lie really believed that , by relieving her conscience from the imprudent preference , in which to . ) great a share of benevolence was the incitement , he
actually rendered the Queen a service . ' So firm , and , at that time , so efficacious was his reply , that D . Gutierre de Cadenas , supreme Governor of Leon , sensibly affected , threw himself at the good man ' s feet , took his hand ancl kissed it , saying , ' I cannot , my father , resist saluting your hand : —if . ycrtl accept the archbishopric , to your dignity , —should you refuse the situation , —to your exalted virtue , this respect is due . ' -
The two Lords informed the Queen of Ximenes ' s inflexibility ; who was so far from consenting to his election , that he resolved not to return to Madrid . For six months he resisted all intreatv from the court : the importunities of his friends , who urged upon him the acceptance of the archbishopric that he never sought after , the dignity of which he could so worthily sustain , were equally ineffectual . But when he was at Burgos , where the Queen requested his attendance , he received a letter from the Pope , not only exhorting , hut commanding him
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Life Of Ximenfs, Archbishop Of Toledo.
He arrived at his convent ; and although the emotion that he felt was depicted in his countenance , no one dared to enquire the cause . He took his companion , without any other observation by the way than , ' Come , brother , we must away from this place as soon as possible . ' They left the city , to retire to " the monastery of Hope . The Queen , however , commanded some of litr principal courtiers to wait upon
Ximenes , and , by persuasion , to solicit his acceptance of the dignity to which God had called him . They immediately repaired to the Convent of St . Francis , and were informed of his departure . The distance that he mig ht have gained obliged them to take post-hprses . At three leagues from Madrid they came up with the good father , travelling on foot , in profound silence , accompanied by his
companion , aud another monk , whom chance had directed the same way . Having taken him a little out of the way , and congratulated him , with expressive satisfaction , on his recent election , the Nobles represented the Queen ' s uneasiness at his refusal ; and observed , that duty should influence him to comply with the wishes of the court : that ministers like himself were wanted in the church : —if he feared the honours , he ought not to shun the labours of so exalted a situation . This flattering testimony of the Queen's esteem was affixing to his
sacred character the stai ' n of ingratitude : to oppose the orders of his Holiness , by whom his election had been confirmed , would stigmatize him with the charge of obstinacy . Submission to the pleasure of both was highly proper ; but this vocation , unsolicited on his part , might more properly be deemed the will of heaven . 'A dignity , ' Ximenes said , 'that required virtue more enlarged , and abilities more extensive than he possessed , pressed upon him his
refusal : he was neither worthy of the intended honour , nor capable of sustaining the weighty charge . To poverty , austerity of life , and the recluse of St . Francis he had been called . His Ploliness knew him not ; and in the presence of God and man , lie really believed that , by relieving her conscience from the imprudent preference , in which to . ) great a share of benevolence was the incitement , he
actually rendered the Queen a service . ' So firm , and , at that time , so efficacious was his reply , that D . Gutierre de Cadenas , supreme Governor of Leon , sensibly affected , threw himself at the good man ' s feet , took his hand ancl kissed it , saying , ' I cannot , my father , resist saluting your hand : —if . ycrtl accept the archbishopric , to your dignity , —should you refuse the situation , —to your exalted virtue , this respect is due . ' -
The two Lords informed the Queen of Ximenes ' s inflexibility ; who was so far from consenting to his election , that he resolved not to return to Madrid . For six months he resisted all intreatv from the court : the importunities of his friends , who urged upon him the acceptance of the archbishopric that he never sought after , the dignity of which he could so worthily sustain , were equally ineffectual . But when he was at Burgos , where the Queen requested his attendance , he received a letter from the Pope , not only exhorting , hut commanding him