[Illustration: PREACHING THE SECOND CRUSADE----13]

St. Bernard returned to France. The ardor there had cooled a little
during his absence; the results of his trip in Germany were being waited
for; and it was known that, on being eagerly pressed to put himself at
the head of the crusaders, and take the command of the whole expedition,
he had formally refused. His enthusiasm and his devotion, sincere and
deep as they were, did not, in his case, extinguish common sense; and he
had not forgotten the melancholy experiences of Peter the Hermit. In
support of his refusal he claimed the intervention of Pope Eugenius III.
"Who am I," he wrote to him, "that I should form a camp, and march at the
head of an army? What can be more alien to my calling, even if I lacked
not the strength and the ability? I need not tell you all this, for you
know it perfectly. I conjure you by the charity you owe me, deliver me
not over, thus, to the humors of men." The pope came to France; and the
third grand assembly met at Etampes, in February, 1147. The presence of
St. Bernard rekindled zeal; but foresight began to penetrate men's minds.
Instead of insisting upon his being the chief of the crusade, attention
was given to preparations for the expedition; the points were indicated
at which the crusaders should form a junction, and the directions in
which they would have to move; and inquiry was made as to what measures
should be taken, and what persons should be selected for the government
of France during the king's absence. "Sir," said St. Bernard, after
having come to an understanding upon the subject with the principal
members of the assembly, at the same time pointing to Suger and the Count
de Nevers, "here be two swords, and it sufficeth." The Count de Nevers
peremptorily refused the honor done him; he was resolved, he said, to
enter the order of St. Bruno, as indeed he did. Suger also refused at
first, "considering the dignity offered him a burden, rather than an
honor." Wise and clear-sighted by nature, he had learned in the reign of