Life of St. Francis of Assisi - Paul Sabatier (free ebook reader for ipad txt) 📗
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At the time of his departure for the East Francis had left two vicars in his place, the Brothers Matteo of Narni and Gregorio of Naples. The former was especially charged to remain at Portiuncula to admit postulants;[38] Gregorio of Naples, on the other hand, was to pass through Italy to console the Brothers.[39]
The two vicars began at once to overturn everything. It is inexplicable how men still under the influence of their first fervor for a Rule which in the plenitude of their liberty they had promised to obey could have dreamed of such innovations if they had not been urged on and upheld by those in high places. To alleviate the vow of poverty and to multiply observances were the two points toward which their efforts were bent.
In appearance it was a trifling matter, in reality it was much, for it was the first movement of the old spirit against the new. It was the effort of men who unconsciously, I am willing to think, made religion an affair of rite and observance, instead of seeing in it, like St. Francis, the conquest of the liberty which makes us free in all things, and leads each soul to obey that divine and mysterious power which the flowers of the fields adore, which the birds of the air bless, which the symphony of the stars praises, and which Jesus of Nazareth called
Abba , that is to say, Father.
The first Rule was excessively simple in the matter of fasts. The friars were to abstain from meat on Wednesdays and Fridays; they might add Mondays and Saturdays, but only on Francis's special authorization. The vicars and their adherents complicated this rule in a surprising manner. At the chapter-general held in Francis's absence (May 17, 1220), they decided, first, that in times of feasting the friars were not to provide meat, but if it were offered to them spontaneously they were to eat it; second, that all should fast on Mondays as well as Wednesdays and Fridays; third, that on Mondays and Saturdays they should abstain from milk products unless by chance the adherents of the Order brought some to them.[40]
These beginnings bear witness also to an effort to imitate the ancient Orders, not without the vague hope that they would be substituted for them. Brother Giordano has preserved to us only this decision of the chapter of 1220, but the expressions of which he makes use sufficiently prove that it was far from being the only one, and that the malcontents had desired, as in the chapters of Citeaux and Monte Cassino, to put forth veritable constitutions.
These modifications of the Rule did not pass, however, without arousing the indignation of a part of the chapter; a lay brother made himself their eager messenger, and set out for the East to entreat Francis to return without delay, to take the measures called for by the circumstances.
There were also other causes of disquiet. Brother Philip, a Zealot of the Clarisses, had made haste to secure for them from Ugolini the privileges which had already been under consideration.[41]
A certain Brother Giovanni di Conpello[42] had gathered together a great number of lepers of both sexes, and written a Rule, intending to form with them a new Order. He had afterward presented himself before the supreme pontiff with a train of these unfortunates to obtain his approbation.
Many other distressing symptoms, upon which Brother Giordano does not dwell, had manifested themselves. The report of Francis's death had even been spread abroad, so that the whole Order was disturbed, divided, and in the greatest peril. The dark presentiments which Francis seems to have had were exceeded by the reality.[43] The messenger who brought him the sad news found him in Syria, probably at St. Jean d'Acre. He at once embarked with Elias, Pietro di Catana, Cæsar of Speyer, and a few others, and returned to Italy in a vessel bound for Venice, where he might easily arrive toward the end of July.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] One proof of the obscurity in which Dominic remained so long
as Rome did not apotheosize him, is that Jacques de Vitry, who
consecrates a whole chapter of his Historia Occidentalis to
the Preaching Friars (27, p. 333) does not even name the
founder. This is the more significant since a few pages farther
on, the chapter given to the Brothers Minor is almost entirely
filled with the person of St. Francis. This silence about St.
Dominic has been remarked and taken up by Moschus, who finds no
way to explain it. Vide Vitam J. de Vitriaco , at the head of
the Douai edition of 1597.
[2] Francis, who died in 1226, is canonized in 1228; Anthony of
Padua, 1231 and 1233; Elisabeth of Thuringia, 1231 and 1235;
Dominic, 1221 and 1234.
[3] 3 Soc., 61.
[4] Shed abroad, Lord, thy Spirit, and all shall be created, and
thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
[5] 2 Cel., 3. 87; Spec. , 132b; Conform. , 207a, 112a;
Fior. , 18. The historians of St. Dominic have not received
these details kindly, but an incontestable point gained from
diplomatic documents is that in 1218 Dominic, at Rome, procured
privileges in which the properties of his Order were indicated,
and that in 1220 he led his friars to profess poverty.
[6] 2 Cel., 3, 9; Spec. , 17a.
[7] Spec. , 49a; Tribul. , Laur. MS., 11a-12b; Spec. , 183a;
Conform. , 135b 1.
[8] The principal sources are indicated in A. SS., Augusti, t.
i., pp. 470 ff.
[9] Giord., 18; 3 Soc., 62.
[10] Sbaralea, Bull. fr. , t. i, p. 2; Potthast, 6081: Wadding,
ann. 1219 , No. 28, indicates the works where the text may be
found. Cf. A. SS., p. 839.
[11] The title sufficiently indicated the contents: Domenico
priori S. Romani tolosani ejusque fratribus, eos in protectionem
recipit eorumque Ordinem cum bonis et privilegiis confirmat .
Religiosam vitam : December 22, 1216; Pressuti, t. i., 175,
text in Horoy t. ii., col. 141-144.
[12] Vide A. SS., pp. 608 ff. and 838 ff.
[13] Vide Bull Multi divinæ of August 13, 1218. Horoy, t.
iii., col. 12; Potthast, 5891.
[14] The contradiction is so striking that the Bollandists have
made of it the principal argument for defending the error in
their manuscript (1 Cel., 75), and insisting in the face of, and
against everything that Francis had taken that journey. A. SS.,
607.
[15] He died at Cahors, October 31, 1272. His legend is found in
MS. Riccardi, 279, f^o. 69a. Incipit vita f. Christophori quam
compilavit fr. Bernardus de Bessa custodiæ Caturcensis: Quasi
vas auri solidum. Cf. Mark of Lisbon, t. ii., pp. 106-113, t.
iii., p. 212, and Glassberger, An. fr. , t. ii., p. 14.
[16] A. SS., Aprilis, t. iii., p. 224; Conform. , 118b, 1; 54a;
Mark of Lisbon, t. ii., p. 1--Brother Luke had been sent to
Constantinople, in 1219, at latest. Vide Constitutus of
December 9, 1220. Sbaralea, Bull. fr. , t. i., p. 6; Potthast,
6431.
[17] We owe to M. Müller ( Anfänge , p. 207) the honor of this
publication, copied from a manuscript of the Cottoniana.
[18] Giord., 8.
[19] 1 Cel., 57; Bon., 133-138; 154 and 155; 2 Cel., 2, 2;
Conform. , 113b, 2; 114a, 2; Spec. , 55b; Fior. , 24.
[20] Conform. , 113b, 2; cf. A. SS., p. 611.
[21] 2 Cel., 3, 92; Spec. , 30b. Cf. 2 Cel., 3, 115.
Conform. , 142b, 1. This incident may possibly have taken place
on the return.
[22] With the facilities of that period the voyage required from
twenty to thirty days. The diarium of a similar passage may be
found in Huillard-Bréholles, Hist. Dipl. , t. i., 898-901. Cf.
Ibid. , Introd., p. cccxxxi.
[23] 2 Cel., 22; Bon 154, 155; cf. A. SS., p. 612.
[24] Jacques de Vitry speaks only incidentally of Francis here
in the midst of salutations; from the critical point of view
this only enhances the value of his words. See the Study of the
Sources, p. 428.
[25] Vide below, the Study of the Sources, p. 430.
[26] All this is related at length by Jacques de Vitry.
[27] "Cil hom qui comença l'ordre des Frères Mineurs, si ot nom
frère François ... vint en l'ost de Damiate, e i fist moult de
bien, et demora tant que la ville fut prise. Il vit le mal et le
péché qui comença à croistre entre les gens de l'ost, si li
desplot, par quoi il s'en parti, e fu une pièce en Surie, et
puis s'en rala en son pais." Historiens des Croisades, ii.
L'Est de Eracles Empereur , liv. xxxii., chap. xv. Cf. Sanuto;
Secreta fid. cruc. , lib. iii., p. xi., cap. 8,
At the time of his departure for the East Francis had left two vicars in his place, the Brothers Matteo of Narni and Gregorio of Naples. The former was especially charged to remain at Portiuncula to admit postulants;[38] Gregorio of Naples, on the other hand, was to pass through Italy to console the Brothers.[39]
The two vicars began at once to overturn everything. It is inexplicable how men still under the influence of their first fervor for a Rule which in the plenitude of their liberty they had promised to obey could have dreamed of such innovations if they had not been urged on and upheld by those in high places. To alleviate the vow of poverty and to multiply observances were the two points toward which their efforts were bent.
In appearance it was a trifling matter, in reality it was much, for it was the first movement of the old spirit against the new. It was the effort of men who unconsciously, I am willing to think, made religion an affair of rite and observance, instead of seeing in it, like St. Francis, the conquest of the liberty which makes us free in all things, and leads each soul to obey that divine and mysterious power which the flowers of the fields adore, which the birds of the air bless, which the symphony of the stars praises, and which Jesus of Nazareth called
Abba , that is to say, Father.
The first Rule was excessively simple in the matter of fasts. The friars were to abstain from meat on Wednesdays and Fridays; they might add Mondays and Saturdays, but only on Francis's special authorization. The vicars and their adherents complicated this rule in a surprising manner. At the chapter-general held in Francis's absence (May 17, 1220), they decided, first, that in times of feasting the friars were not to provide meat, but if it were offered to them spontaneously they were to eat it; second, that all should fast on Mondays as well as Wednesdays and Fridays; third, that on Mondays and Saturdays they should abstain from milk products unless by chance the adherents of the Order brought some to them.[40]
These beginnings bear witness also to an effort to imitate the ancient Orders, not without the vague hope that they would be substituted for them. Brother Giordano has preserved to us only this decision of the chapter of 1220, but the expressions of which he makes use sufficiently prove that it was far from being the only one, and that the malcontents had desired, as in the chapters of Citeaux and Monte Cassino, to put forth veritable constitutions.
These modifications of the Rule did not pass, however, without arousing the indignation of a part of the chapter; a lay brother made himself their eager messenger, and set out for the East to entreat Francis to return without delay, to take the measures called for by the circumstances.
There were also other causes of disquiet. Brother Philip, a Zealot of the Clarisses, had made haste to secure for them from Ugolini the privileges which had already been under consideration.[41]
A certain Brother Giovanni di Conpello[42] had gathered together a great number of lepers of both sexes, and written a Rule, intending to form with them a new Order. He had afterward presented himself before the supreme pontiff with a train of these unfortunates to obtain his approbation.
Many other distressing symptoms, upon which Brother Giordano does not dwell, had manifested themselves. The report of Francis's death had even been spread abroad, so that the whole Order was disturbed, divided, and in the greatest peril. The dark presentiments which Francis seems to have had were exceeded by the reality.[43] The messenger who brought him the sad news found him in Syria, probably at St. Jean d'Acre. He at once embarked with Elias, Pietro di Catana, Cæsar of Speyer, and a few others, and returned to Italy in a vessel bound for Venice, where he might easily arrive toward the end of July.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] One proof of the obscurity in which Dominic remained so long
as Rome did not apotheosize him, is that Jacques de Vitry, who
consecrates a whole chapter of his Historia Occidentalis to
the Preaching Friars (27, p. 333) does not even name the
founder. This is the more significant since a few pages farther
on, the chapter given to the Brothers Minor is almost entirely
filled with the person of St. Francis. This silence about St.
Dominic has been remarked and taken up by Moschus, who finds no
way to explain it. Vide Vitam J. de Vitriaco , at the head of
the Douai edition of 1597.
[2] Francis, who died in 1226, is canonized in 1228; Anthony of
Padua, 1231 and 1233; Elisabeth of Thuringia, 1231 and 1235;
Dominic, 1221 and 1234.
[3] 3 Soc., 61.
[4] Shed abroad, Lord, thy Spirit, and all shall be created, and
thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
[5] 2 Cel., 3. 87; Spec. , 132b; Conform. , 207a, 112a;
Fior. , 18. The historians of St. Dominic have not received
these details kindly, but an incontestable point gained from
diplomatic documents is that in 1218 Dominic, at Rome, procured
privileges in which the properties of his Order were indicated,
and that in 1220 he led his friars to profess poverty.
[6] 2 Cel., 3, 9; Spec. , 17a.
[7] Spec. , 49a; Tribul. , Laur. MS., 11a-12b; Spec. , 183a;
Conform. , 135b 1.
[8] The principal sources are indicated in A. SS., Augusti, t.
i., pp. 470 ff.
[9] Giord., 18; 3 Soc., 62.
[10] Sbaralea, Bull. fr. , t. i, p. 2; Potthast, 6081: Wadding,
ann. 1219 , No. 28, indicates the works where the text may be
found. Cf. A. SS., p. 839.
[11] The title sufficiently indicated the contents: Domenico
priori S. Romani tolosani ejusque fratribus, eos in protectionem
recipit eorumque Ordinem cum bonis et privilegiis confirmat .
Religiosam vitam : December 22, 1216; Pressuti, t. i., 175,
text in Horoy t. ii., col. 141-144.
[12] Vide A. SS., pp. 608 ff. and 838 ff.
[13] Vide Bull Multi divinæ of August 13, 1218. Horoy, t.
iii., col. 12; Potthast, 5891.
[14] The contradiction is so striking that the Bollandists have
made of it the principal argument for defending the error in
their manuscript (1 Cel., 75), and insisting in the face of, and
against everything that Francis had taken that journey. A. SS.,
607.
[15] He died at Cahors, October 31, 1272. His legend is found in
MS. Riccardi, 279, f^o. 69a. Incipit vita f. Christophori quam
compilavit fr. Bernardus de Bessa custodiæ Caturcensis: Quasi
vas auri solidum. Cf. Mark of Lisbon, t. ii., pp. 106-113, t.
iii., p. 212, and Glassberger, An. fr. , t. ii., p. 14.
[16] A. SS., Aprilis, t. iii., p. 224; Conform. , 118b, 1; 54a;
Mark of Lisbon, t. ii., p. 1--Brother Luke had been sent to
Constantinople, in 1219, at latest. Vide Constitutus of
December 9, 1220. Sbaralea, Bull. fr. , t. i., p. 6; Potthast,
6431.
[17] We owe to M. Müller ( Anfänge , p. 207) the honor of this
publication, copied from a manuscript of the Cottoniana.
[18] Giord., 8.
[19] 1 Cel., 57; Bon., 133-138; 154 and 155; 2 Cel., 2, 2;
Conform. , 113b, 2; 114a, 2; Spec. , 55b; Fior. , 24.
[20] Conform. , 113b, 2; cf. A. SS., p. 611.
[21] 2 Cel., 3, 92; Spec. , 30b. Cf. 2 Cel., 3, 115.
Conform. , 142b, 1. This incident may possibly have taken place
on the return.
[22] With the facilities of that period the voyage required from
twenty to thirty days. The diarium of a similar passage may be
found in Huillard-Bréholles, Hist. Dipl. , t. i., 898-901. Cf.
Ibid. , Introd., p. cccxxxi.
[23] 2 Cel., 22; Bon 154, 155; cf. A. SS., p. 612.
[24] Jacques de Vitry speaks only incidentally of Francis here
in the midst of salutations; from the critical point of view
this only enhances the value of his words. See the Study of the
Sources, p. 428.
[25] Vide below, the Study of the Sources, p. 430.
[26] All this is related at length by Jacques de Vitry.
[27] "Cil hom qui comença l'ordre des Frères Mineurs, si ot nom
frère François ... vint en l'ost de Damiate, e i fist moult de
bien, et demora tant que la ville fut prise. Il vit le mal et le
péché qui comença à croistre entre les gens de l'ost, si li
desplot, par quoi il s'en parti, e fu une pièce en Surie, et
puis s'en rala en son pais." Historiens des Croisades, ii.
L'Est de Eracles Empereur , liv. xxxii., chap. xv. Cf. Sanuto;
Secreta fid. cruc. , lib. iii., p. xi., cap. 8,
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