all, men thought, the material of which Popes are made". He owed his elevation partly to the fact that no one was eager to accept an office the duties of which were at the time so difficult and dangerous and because the election was "held on safe Frangipani territory". Bernardo's election was assisted by being a friend and pupil of Bernard of Clairvaux, the most influential ecclesiastic of the Western Church and a strong assertor of the pope's temporal authority. The choice did not have the approval of Bernard, however, who remonstrated against the election, writing to the entire Curia:"May God forgive you what you have done! ... What reason or counsel, when the Supreme Pontiff was dead, made you rush upon a mere rustic, lay hands on him in his refuge, wrest from his hands the axe, pick or hoe, and lift him to a throne?"Bernard was equally forthright in his views directly to Eugene, writing:"Thus does the finger of God raise up the poor out of the dust and lift up the beggar from the dunghill that he may sit with princes and inherit the throne of glory."Despite these criticisms, Eugene seems to have borne no resentment to Bernard and notwithstanding these criticisms, after the choice was made, Bernard took advantage of the qualities in Eugene III which he objected to, so as virtually to rule in his name. For their part, the Cardinals resented Bernard's influence over the Pope, stating "You should know that, having been elevated to the rule of entire church by us, around whom, like pivots [cardines] the axis of the church universal swings, and having been made by us from a private person into the father of the universal church, it is necessary from now on that you belong not just to yourself but to us; that you do not rank particular and recent friendships before those which are general and of ancient standing". Bernard reacted strongly to the Cardinals' assertions, writing to Pope Eugenius that the Cardinals had "no power except that which you grant then of permit them to exercise" and that their claims "make no sense... [are] derived from no tradition... [and] had the support of authority". The issue remained unresolved for the whole of Eugenius' term. Pontificate During nearly the whole of his pontificate, Eugene III was unable to reside in Rome. Hardly had he left the city to