It is one of the paradoxes of St. Bernard’s life that he, contemplative monk consecrated to silence, has left us more of his reported speech than most of his contemporaries. In his case speech was more golden than silence because he spoke the word of God. He was, if not a man of the world, at least a man of his century who saw clearly that men were drifting from God through ignorance. At a time when preaching was considered the peculiar duty of bishops and not the business of mere monks and priests, Bernard, monk and recluse, became a foremost preacher. It is true the bulk of his sermons that have survived the lapse of time were preached within the walls of his monastery, but we know that he was one of the first monks to bring preaching out of the cloister—witness his campaign in France and the Rhineland when he preached the Second Crusade. He was, indeed, a true precursor of the age that ushered in the Preaching Friar.