In contrast with other twelfth-century popes Eugenius III was not an outstanding intellectual. Quite the opposite, if we follow the rather ambiguous characteristics assigned to Eugenius by Boso in his continuation of the Liber pontificalis. According to some, Boso writes, there were doubts whether the abbot of S. Anastasio would be capable of shouldering the burden of the papal office. However, divine grace had unexpectedly conferred upon him so much erudition, eloquence, sense of justice, and polished manners that he outdid many of his predecessors. Immediately after the election Bernard of Clairvaux wrote a letter in which he criticized the cardinals for having elected a monk, thus tearing him away from the contemplative life. Bernard certainly had an intimate knowledge of the character of the former Clairvaux monk and future pope and described him as somebody living the life of a farmer (homo rusticanus), used to working with axe and hoe. The expression homo rusticanus when used with respect to a way of life or to intellectual abilities is rather deprecatory. But this of course is not the meaning intended by Bernard. Rather, he meant to signify that the pope and former monk was well adapted to the monastic life, which is characterized by intellectual and formal simplicity – as opposed to the refined style of life and social interaction in the papal Curia with its intrigues and corruption, power play and political deal making.