Moses' seat, that they lay heavy burdens and grievous to be borne on men's shoulders, but do not move them with one of their own fingers. Even so, modern prelates and penitentiaries impose many fastings, many prayers, and other hard things upon the people, and they alone do not do the least of them.
Hence, they more often say: "Let us eat and gamble and the coarse may do our fasting." Therefore, when the Saviour calls such hard commandments as they lay upon men unbearable burdens because they are weighty beyond Christ's counsels and commands, what wise man will say that inferiors are bound in such things to obey their prelate under pain of mortal sin? Likewise to eat with unwashen hands is a neutral work, neither absolutely good nor absolutely evil, and Christ's disciples were not obligated by the command of those sitting in Moses' seat to do it. Nor are we now. The consequence has been stated, for the reasoning is the same in the case of traditions of this kind, which are not founded in the Lord's law.
The second part is manifest from Matt. 15:2, when the Pharisees and scribes said to Jesus, "Why do thy disciples transgress the traditions of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread," but he, rebuking them for the transgression of God's commandments, showed that his disciples did not sin in not keeping their commandments, and he said: "To eat with unwashen hands defileth not the man." What, therefore, is the reason now, that any inferior in any act whatsoever that is neutral or intermediate should be obligated to obey his prelate, if it happens that the prelate is callous, who indiscreetly and overmuch burdens an inferior with such neutral acts? Hence, as said above, Bernard well lays down the conditions of obedience, one of which is that a work commanded is judicious when neither excess nor defect attaches to it.
Hence, no human commandment or decree is valid or to
