Recognition and Religion A Historical and Systematic Study

ofagnoscoas subjective attachment. This attachment appears fre-
quently in terms of ownership.
Acquiring self-knowledge (cognitio sui) is a prominent theme in
theSermons on the Song of Songs. Bernard develops Augustine’s ideas,
connecting them with medieval ideas of submission, honour, and
humility. Although self-knowledge is articulated by the termcognitio,
it also entails the elements of heteronomy and allegiance. Bernard
considers that‘no one is saved without self-knowledge, since it is the
source of that humility on which salvation depends’.^76 He teaches that
everyone who starts honest introspection will be convinced that he or
she is in difficulty and in need of external help.^77 In this sense, self-
knowledge is the source of humility.
The other side of this coin is that the humble person can now
encounter God, as this situation

reveals him to us as listening compassionately to our prayers, as truly

kind and merciful, as one who will not indulge his resentment. His very

nature is to be good, to show mercy always and to spare. By this kind

of experience, and in this way, God makes himself known to us for

our good.^78

This knowledge of sin and grace is a commonplace in later Western
theology. What is distinctive in Bernard, however, is the medieval
feudal setting in which the twofold knowledge of oneself and God
operates.
For Bernard, humility is the main virtue of the Christians, since
this self-knowledge teaches us to be aware of the existing allegiances:

if you pass through a low doorway you suffer no hurt however much

you bend, but if you raise your head higher than the doorway, even by a

finger’s breadth, you will dash it against the lintel and injure yourself. So

also a man has no need to fear any humiliation, but he should quake

with fear before rashly yielding to even the least degree of self-

exaltation. So then, beware of comparing yourself with your betters.^79

Bernard explains at length that human self-knowledge in this life
should always pay attention to the insufficiency of human existence.
‘If you had a better knowledge of yourself you would know that,
burdened with a perishable body, you cannot possibly lift up your

(^76) Sermones37, 1. (^77) Sermones36, 5–7.
(^78) Sermones36, 6. (^79) Sermones37, 7.
The Latin Traditions 67