The veneration in which he was held may be seen in the eulogium of William of Newbury:—
"Nor must we in silence pass over the venerable Gilbert, a man altogether admirable, and of singular skill in the guardianship of women; from whom also the order of Sempringham took its beginning, and its rapid advancement. He, as it is said, from his very youth, by no means contented with being in the way of salvation himself, but kindled with a zeal for gaining souls for Christ, began eagerly to rival the weaker sex in the imitating of God, deriving his pious boldness from the consciousness of his own chastity, and his confidence in heavenly grace.
"Yet, fearing lest he should fail in his enterprise, he first sought the advice of the holy Bernard, and being instructed and encouraged by him, he commenced his work, and proceeding with great prudence and caution, he was mightily carried forward, both in the abundant multitude of persons gathered together for the service of Almighty God, and in the acquisition of temporal things; 'seeking first,' as it is written, 'the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, all necessary things were added to him.'
S. GILBERT.
Prior of Sempringham. From a Drawing by A. Welby Pugin.
Feb. 4.
"At last he organized a not ignoble monastery of two servants and eight handmaids of God, which also he replenished with numerous societies, and, according to the wisdom given him, furnished it with regular rules. And truly the gift of instructing the servants of God, divinely imparted to him, abounded especially in the care of women; indeed, in my judgment, he bears the palm in this respect amongst all whom we know to have devoted themselves to the instruction of female religious; moreover, having some years before been loaded with spiritual gains, the worn-out bridesman of the heavenly Bridegroom now departed to the Lord. Further, the multitude of his sons and daughters in religion still remains, and his seed is mighty upon earth, and his generation shall be blessed for ever."
The Order was peculiarly constituted, the men being Augustinian Canons, and the women following the rule of S. Benedict.