ST. FRANCIS' BIOGRAPHER.
At the General Chapter of Narbonne, in 1260, Bonaventure was requested
to write the life of St. Francis. Owing to the circumstances that
surround it, considerable importance attaches to this incident. There
already existed several legends of the Saint. Thomas of Celano had
written one in 1229. His work received the approval of Gregory IX.,
who had officially recommended it to the Brethren. In the year 1246,
at the request of the Minister-General, Crescentius, appeared the
"Legend of the Three Companions," written by Brothers Angelo, Rufinus
and Leo. A second life was written by Thomas of Celano in 1247 or
1248.
A few years ago the well-known French writer, {57} M. Paul Sabatier,
edited a work [Footnote 26] which he contended was anterior to any of
these. He maintained it was nothing less than a complete life of St.
Francis written by Brother Leo in the year 1227--within a year of the
Saint's death. This remarkable work had been already well known, but
according to M. Sabatier its authorship and the date of its
_compilation_ had been misconceived. Although the learned writer
supports his contention with weighty arguments he cannot be said to
have rendered it certain. He is enamoured of the tone and spirit of
the book. If it be an original work and the production of Brother Leo,
it is, to the modern critic, an ideal biography. It reveals simply and
forcibly the human side of Francis. The personal traits of the Saint
are brought prominently before us in all their unique individuality.
We have the real, living man--not the stereotyped example of every
virtue which the earlier hagiographers delighted in. Still it must be
admitted that the book is characterized by the prejudices of its
author. Certain sayings and doings of Francis which appealed to his
prepossessions are insisted upon with evident emphasis. Indeed, to
such an extent is this apparent that the work cannot be regarded as
purely historical. It is largely polemical and would seem to have been
designed to refute the ideas of the moderate party concerning certain
points of observance.
[Footnote 26: "The Mirror of Perfection," by Brother Leo, Paris, 1898.]
Before quitting this subject it may be said that {58} the ardour and
enthusiasm with which the greatest literary critics of the day,
Catholic and non-Catholic, devote themselves to the investigation of
the sources of St. Francis' biography, is one of the most remarkable
phenomena which our times witness. We hear of the formation of
societies composed of the ablest scholars of Europe for the study of
early documents relating to Francis and his Order. How the words of
Christ are herein verified: "He that humbleth himself shall be
exalted!" I doubt if there is a personality in history, exclusive of
the Divine Founder of Christianity, whose words and actions are so
closely studied in a spirit of loving admiration as are those of St.
Francis.
To return to Bonaventure and the task imposed upon him by the General
Chapter, the importance of the latter becomes apparent when we reflect
that as far as the Order could effect it, the legend he was about to
compose was to be the sole record of the life of Francis which should
come down to posterity. This purpose evidently underlay the demand for
its composition, for when the work was finished and submitted to the
General Chapter of Pisa three years later it was officially approved
of and all the other legends were formally proscribed. More stringent
measures still for the suppression of the older legends were adopted
at the Chapter of Paris in 1266. Therein was framed the following
Constitution: [Footnote 27] "The General Chapter commands {59} under
obedience that all the legends of St. Francis hitherto composed be
destroyed, and that where they can be found outside the Order the
Brethren shall strive to remove them, for the legend composed by the
General was written according as he had it from the mouth of those
who, as it were, had been always with Blessed Francis and knew
everything with certainty, and those things which are proven are
therein diligently set down."
[Footnote 27: "Rinaldi," p. 11. Cf. "Opera Omnia," Tom. X, p. 58.]
On the part of modern historiographers this ordination has excited
much criticism, and even the warmest admirers and staunchest advocates
of the Order must confess their inability to account for it
adequately. At first sight it appears to be a very high-handed and
obscurantist procedure, little in keeping with the ingenuous
simplicity of the Franciscan spirit. It looks like an attempt to put
out the light--to abolish the true ideal and substitute a counterfeit
in its stead. But in reality it was nothing of the sort. At the
present day it is impossible to determine the precise motives that
actuated the authors of that statute, but no one who is even slightly
acquainted with the condition of the Order at the period can fail to
conjecture what most likely was the prevailing influence.
The Chapter aimed at introducing peace and harmony amongst the
Brethren and producing uniformity of thought and action in their
common life. We have seen that these most desirable elements were
wanting--that there were dissensions {60} and differences concerning
the nature of the observance to be pursued. The appeal of the
contending parties was ever to the words and actions of St. Francis,
which, according to their respective views, they strained and
exaggerated and, unconsciously perhaps, even falsified. We cannot but
conclude that such a state of affairs affected very prejudicially the
biographers of the Saint and tended to depreciate the historical value
of their labours. For these, too, took sides, and, as it is easy to
see, they made the Lives they wrote the vehicle of their particular
ideas. Thus Thomas of Celano favours Brother Elias and the moderate
observance, whilst the "Three Companions," and (if M. Sabatier's
contention be correct), the "Mirror of Perfection" by Brother Leo,
constitute a species of manifesto against the latter, and an appeal
for a literal and rigorous observance.
Now it is evident that whilst such a condition of things was
tolerated, unity and peace could never be established. As long as
these old legends, redolent of party spirit and biassed views,
remained, legislation making for harmony would be of no avail. This
the Chapter clearly perceived, and hence its statute. We may say of it
finally that although it was a drastic measure the circumstances more
than justified it. And we must not forget that it was adopted only
after Bonaventure's work had been examined and approved.
Of this work it is now time to give some account. {61} Owing to the
important place in history this new "life" was to hold, and the
manifold distractions of public duties among which it was to be
written, we may accept in strict and literal sincerity our Saint's
expressions of reluctance to undertake it. "Feeling myself unworthy,"
he writes, [Footnote 28] "to relate that life most worthy of all
imitation, I should in no wise have attempted it, had not the devout
desires of the Brethren and the unanimous importunity of the Chapter
moved me thereunto, and had not that love compelled me which I am
bound to feel for our holy Father. . . . This, indeed, was my chief
reason for undertaking this work; to wit, that since I owe to him
under God the life of my body and soul, and have learned the holiness
of his life through personal experience of his power with God, it
behoved me in return to collect, as best I could, his words and
deeds--fragments, as it were, partly overlooked and partly
scattered--that they be not utterly lost with the death of those who
lived and conversed with the Blessed Servant or God."
[Footnote 28: "Legend of St. Francis," Prologue, Sec. 3.]
During the year 1261, St. Bonaventure was in Italy collecting the
materials for his work. "The better to come by first-hand information
of this life," he tells [Footnote 29] us, "I visited the scenes of the
birth, life and death of the Blessed Francis, and held studious
converse on these things with all who had enjoyed his intimacy, and
with such especially as {62} had fuller knowledge of his holiness and
were his chief disciples. To all of these all credence is due alike
for their tried virtue as for their perfect knowledge of the truth."
We cannot say definitely who these "chief disciples" were. To have
mentioned them by name would have frustrated the purpose for which the
life was undertaken. We presume, however, that our Saint was chiefly
indebted to Brothers Leo, Illuminatus, and Giles.
[Footnote 29: "Ibid." Sec. 4.]
When these researches were completed, Bonaventure returned to Paris to
work up into an authentic record of St. Francis' life all the
materials--oral and written--he had come by during his sojourn in
Italy. Every incident of any moment in St. Francis' life is faithfully
recorded. The graces bestowed upon him, the labours he undertook, the
sufferings he bore, the virtues he practised, the miracles he worked:
all are graphically and sympathetically described. The following
episode gives us an insight into the fervour of soul with which this
task was undertaken. On one occasion, as our Saint was engaged on his
work, his intimate friend St. Thomas Aquinas came to visit him. Gently
opening the door of his cell, the saintly Dominican saw Bonaventure
seated at his table, pen in hand, and so engrossed in contemplation
that he was lost to exterior things. Deeply moved, St. Thomas withdrew
whispering to his companion "Come! let us leave a Saint to write the
life of a Saint".
[Illustration:
ST. BONAVENTURE IN ECSTASY WHILE WRITING THE
LIFE OF ST. FRANCIS IS VISITED BY ST. THOMAS AQUINAS
_From a fresco by Giacomelli in the Franciscan Church at Cimiez_.]
{63}
In his undertaking Bonaventure had before him an ideal. He wished to
present Francis as the chosen servant of God, raised up to be the
founder and head of a great Religious Order. Accordingly, his
attention is fixed on the supernatural rather than on the natural
element in Francis, and he deals more with those aspects of his life
and character that bring him within practical reach of his spiritual
children than with those that lift him up into a sphere so high that
the ordinary soul dares not aspire to it. He distinguishes judiciously
between what Francis recommended and practised himself and that which
he strictly enjoined upon his Brethren. Here the conciliatory aim of
the book is apparent. But he is never betrayed into anything unworthy
of an upright biographer. All his facts are unassailable--nothing of
importance is suppressed or distorted. In consequence, such a picture
of Francis as his spiritual children required is the result. This was
the end Bonaventure had in view, and having accomplished it, it
matters little if his work forfeits the approval of those modern
critics who, in the life of Francis, wish to find a record of the
natural rather than the supernatural.
From this "Greater Legend"--as it is called--Bonaventure made an
abstract of the salient events, and arranged them under seven
headings, each of which contained nine lessons or readings. This was
called the "Smaller Legend" and was intended {64} for the use of the
Religious in the Divine Office during the Octave of St. Francis. To
this smaller work attaches the same historical accuracy that
distinguishes the Greater Legend. In many instances events are
described in the same words; other incidents are given in abridged
form; the whole work is marked by a more liturgic style, and
occasionally fresh details are given.