Life of St. Francis of Assisi

_At last here is this book which I told you about so long ago. The result is small indeed in relation to the endeavor, as I, alas! see better than anyone. The widow of the Gospel put only one mite into the alms-box of the temple, but this mite, they tell us, won her Paradise. Accept the mite that I offer you to-day as God accepted that of the poor woman, looking not at her offering, but at her love_, Feci quod potui, omnia dedi.

_Do not chide me too severely for this long delay, for you are somewhat its cause. Many times a day at Florence, at Assisi, at Rome, I have forgotten the document I had to study. Something in me seemed to have gone to flutter at your windows, and sometimes they opened.... One evening at St. Damian I forgot myself and remained long after sunset. An old monk came to warn me that the sanctuary was closed. "Per Bacco!" he gently murmured as he led me away, all ready to receive my confidence, "sognava d'amore o di tristitia?" Well, yes. I was dreaming of love and of sadness, for I was dreaming of Strasbourg._

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE INTRODUCTION, xi

CHAPTER I. YOUTH, 1

CHAPTER II. STAGES OF CONVERSION, 15

CHAPTER III. THE CHURCH ABOUT 1209, 28

CHAPTER IV. STRUGGLES AND TRIUMPHS, 53

CHAPTER V. FIRST YEAR OF APOSTOLATE, 71

CHAPTER VI. ST. FRANCIS AND INNOCENT III., 88

CHAPTER VII. RIVO-TORTO, 103

CHAPTER VIII. PORTIUNCULA, 120

CHAPTER IX. SANTA CLARA, 147

CHAPTER X. FIRST ATTEMPTS TO REACH THE INFIDELS, 168

CHAPTER XI. THE INNER MAN AND WONDER-WORKING, 183

CHAPTER XII. THE CHAPTER-GENERAL OF 1217, 198

CHAPTER XIII. ST. DOMINIC AND ST. FRANCIS, 217

CHAPTER XIV. THE CRISIS OF THE ORDER, 239

CHAPTER XV. THE RULE OF 1221, 252

CHAPTER XVI. THE BROTHERS MINOR AND LEARNING, 271

CHAPTER XVII. THE STIGMATA, 287

CHAPTER XVIII. THE CANTICLE OF THE SUN, 297

CHAPTER XIX. THE LAST YEAR, 308

CHAPTER XX. FRANCIS'S WILL AND DEATH, 333

CRITICAL STUDY OF THE SOURCES, 347

APPENDIX. CRITICAL STUDY OF THE STIGMATA AND OF THE INDULGENCE OF AUGUST 2, 433

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INTRODUCTION

In the renascence of history which is in a manner the characteristic of our time, the Middle Ages have been the object of peculiar fondness with both criticism and erudition. We rummage all the dark corners of the libraries, we bring old parchments to light, and in the zeal and ardor we put into our search there is an indefinable touch of piety.

These efforts to make the past live again reveal not merely our curiosity, or the lack of power to grapple with great philosophic problems, they are a token of wisdom and modesty; we are beginning to feel that the present has its roots in the past, and that in the fields of politics and religion, as in others, slow, modest, persevering toil is that which has the best results.

There is also a token of love in this. We love our ancestors of five or six centuries ago, and we mingle not a little emotion and gratitude with this love. So, if one may hope everything of a son who loves his parents, we must not despair of an age that loves history.

The Middle Ages form an organic period in the life of humanity. Like all powerful organisms the period began with a long and mysterious gestation; it had its youth, its manhood, its decrepitude. The end of the twelfth century and the beginning of the thirteenth mark its full expansion; it is the twentieth year of life, with its poetry, its dreams, its enthusiasm, its generosity, its daring. Love overflowed with vigor; men everywhere had but one desire--to devote themselves to some great and holy cause.