The Historical Proofs of Christianity [pp. 223-247]

TH~ PRINCETON RE VIEW.
St. Francis, indicates what is the real source and prop of his
theory in his own mind. It is well to look at this parallel more
narrowly.
We have two lives of St. Francis by personal followers-one
by Thomas de Celano, and another by the "three companions."
Another life is from the pen of Bonaventura, who was five
years old when the saint died.' The moment one takes up
these biographies he finds himself in an atmosphere different
from that of nature and real life. Feeling dominates perception. Everything is suffused with emotion. We are in an
atmosphere where neither discriminating judgment nor cool
observation is to be looked for. Here is an example of the strain
of eulogy in which these disciples, rapt in admiration, indulge:
"Oh, how beautiful, how splendid, how glorious he appeared, in
innocence of life and in simplicity of language, in purity of
heart, in delight in God, in fraternal love, in odorous obedience,
in complaisant devotedness, in angelic aspect! Sweet in manners, placid in nature, affable in speech, most apt in exhortation,
most faithful in trusts, prudent in counsel, efficient in action;
gracious in all things, serene in mind, sweet in spirit, sober in
temper, steadfast in contemplation, persevering in esteem, and
in all things the same; swift to show favor, slow to anger," etc.,
etc.2 This is only one of the outbursts of ecstatic admiration
for " the morning star," the luminary " more radiant than the
sun," in which these chroniclers break out. When we turn to
the Saint who is the object of all this fervor, we find in his character, to be sure, much to respect. There is "sweetness and
light," but the light is by far the minor factor. The practice of
asceticism rendered his bodily state at all times abnormal and
unhealthy. To sleep on the ground with a log for a pillow, to
deny himself the refreshment of sleep when it was most needed,
to choose on principle the coarsest food, and to insist on its being
cooked, if cooked at all, in a way that made it as unpalatable
and indigestible as possible, to weep every day so copiously that
his eyesight was nearly destroyed, and then, as always when he
was ill, to take remedies with great reluctance, if he took them
I These lives are in the "Acta Sanctorum" (ed. nov.), vol. 9o, pp. 683-798.
'" Acta Sanctorum," ut sup., p.'716.
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