vp v.
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The Commoner.
20, 1906
ITHE LITTLE FLOWERS OF ST. FRANCIS"
Those people who delight in the search for
the meanest jnan" will be interested in a little
;tory printed recently in the newspapers. A
person who has heretofore passed among his
neighbors for a man threw out several handfuls
of bread-crumbs in order to attract a floclc of
enow-birds. When the little birds settled down
to rtheir feast their cruel host discharged, a shot
gun at the flock and gathered in his prey. He
explained later that he wanted the snowbirds for
a pie, and added that they had provided him
.with a delicious meal.
In the light of such an incident it is difficult
to do battle against the doctrine of total deprav
ity, but it is a good sign that- this person has
actually lost the favor of some of his old-time
friends, and that some of his neighbors have de
liberately "cut" him because of his cruelty.
Men are advancing on these lines. The Audu
bon society and similar organizations have
made such progress in their good
work that wings and bills of dead birds are no
longer a fashion as attachments for women'g
hats; boys seldom tie tin cans on dogs' tails; the '
pot hunter is repudiated by decent sportsmen,
and many devoted fishermen have resolved never
again to use live bait.
J." L. Truitt, of Alturas, Cal., writes: "As
unmerciful people have exterminated the buffalo
and deer and jare waging a war of extermination
against all the bird families, it is certainly very
necessary that a paper having as large a circula
tion as The Commoner should from time to time
remind parents that the lower animals have
rights that should be respected by the human
family. I have found but few parents who make
it a practice to warn their children against wan
ton cruelty to the lower animals, and our school
teachers seem generally to be silent on this sub
ject. I think The Commoner will do a great work
by frequently making a plea in behalf of birds
and beasts."
Mr. Truitt makes a good suggestion, although
we think that in these days school teachers gen
erally seek to impress these lessons upon their
pupils, while parents are becoming more and
more aroused to their duty in this respect.
Have you ever heard of "The Little Flowers
of St. Francis?" This Is a collection of popular
stories read and loved in Italy. These stories
relate'to the life and deeds of Francis of Assisi,
who lived some 700 years ago. They are legend
ary and may, In a degree, exaggerate the power
Francis of Assisi had over the birds of the air
and the beasts of the field, but they serve to
direct attention to one of the interesting char
acters in history and one who, according to well
authenticated testimony loved all things in crea
tion, animate and inanimate.
Mrs. Oliphant modernized the story of Fran
cis of Assisi, and it would be weir if this story
could be told to all the children. Francis was
the petted child of wealthy parents. Up to the
age of twenty-five his life was not characterized
by service to the world, although he was known
as a generous, lovable lad. He suddenly tired of
idleness and, leaving his parents' home, devoted
himself to a life of poverty and service. Despite
his extreme poverty he was referred to by many
a3 "the very happiest man." .
Mrs. Oliphant tells us that Francis of Assisi
was "a man overflowing with sympathy for man
and beast for God's creatures wherever and
howsoever he encountered them. Not only was
every man his brother, but every animal the
sheep in the fields, the birds in the branches, the
brother-ass on which he rode, the sister-bees who
took refuge in his kind protection. He was the
friend of everything that suffered or "rejoiced; no
emotion went beyond his sympathy; his heart
rose to see the gladness of nature, and melted
over the distresses of the smallest and meanest
creature on the face of the earth. And by this
divine right of nature, everything trusted in him.
The magnetism of the heart, tbat power which
nobody can define, but which it is impossible to
ignore, surrounded him like a special atmos
nhorp Thnf nonso nf security and sympathy
which we all acknowledge draws the nobler
domestic animals, horses and dogs, to those who
like them, embraced with Francis a wider circle,
for he loved everything that had life."
Indeed, as has been said, he loved everything,
animate and inanimate, that gave even the smal
lest service to the world. To him every ubrvant
was "sister" and "brothor." For Instance, dno
of his gongs of praise was as follows:
Highest omnipotent good Lord,
Glory and honour to Thy name adorod,
And praise and every blessing.
Of everything Thou art the source.
No man is worthy to pronounce Thy name.
Praised by His creatures all
Praised be the Lord my God,
By Messer Sun, my brother above all,
Who by his rays lights us and lights the day
Radiant is she, with his great splendor stored,
Thy glory, Lord, confessing.
By Sister Moon and stars my Lord is praised,
Where clear and fair they in the heavens are
raised.
By Brother Wind, my Lord, Thy praise is said,
By air and clouds and the blue sky o'erhead,
By which Thy creatures all are kept and fed.
By one .most humble, useful, precious, chaste,
By Sister Water, O my Lord, Thou art praised.
And praised is my Lord
By Brother Fire he wiio lights up the night
Jocund, robust is he, and strong and bright.
Praised art thou, my Lord, by Mother Earth
Thou who sustainest her, and governest,
And to her flowers, fruit, herbs, dost color give
and birth.
Mrs. Oliphant reminds us that in the pres
ence of birds and beasts the .ordinary person can
not divest himself of the feeling that he must be
suspected "By the creature, but Francis of Assisi
had no such feeling. "His sense of brotherhood
was real, not fictitious; he had the courage of
good intention, fearedr nothing and was not
feared," and his was "the sympathetic mind open
to all the influences of nature with which we have
to deal."
In "The Little Flowers of St. Francis" we
are told that returning from beyoncl the sea he
was traveling through the marshes of Venice
and heard a vast multitude of birds singing
among the bushes. Then the story goes:
And when he saw them he said to his
companions: "Our sisters, the birds, are
praising their Maker. Let us then go into
their midst and sing to the Lord the Canoni
cal Hours." And when they had gone into
their midst the birds moved not from the
place; but as on account of their chirping
and twittering the brethren were not able
to hear each other, the holy man turned to
the birds and said: "Sisters, cease your song
until we have rendered our bounden praise
to God." And they at once were silent, and
when the praises were finished resumed their
song.
On another occasion, when he was preach
ing in the town of Alvia, the swallows, with
their perpetual twittering, incommoded the
audience. Francis had gone up to a high
piece of ground, that he might be seen by
all, and had asked for silence from the as
sembled people. But the birds were flitting
all about in airy circles, making their nests,
chirping and calling to each other overhead
in the blue heaven of the Italian sky. When it
became apparent that these sweet disturb
ers of the peace prevented their human com
panions from hearing the word of God, the
preacher turned and courteously saluted the
little nest-builders. "My sisters," he said,
"it is now time that I should speak. Since
you have had your say, listen now in your
turn to the word of God, and be silent till
the sermon is finished."
Here ia another one of the many instances
of this sense of brotherhood with all creatures
as shown in "The Little Flowers of St. Francis:"
Once when he was seated in a little boat
. on the lake of Teiti, near a certain port, a
fisherman taking a large fish tbat is called
commonly a tench, in his devotion brought it
to him. And he taking it kindly and cheer
fully, began to call it by the name of brother,
and putting it in the water out of the boat
began devoutly to bless the name of God;
and all the while that he continued in prayer
the fish, playing in the water near the boat,
departed not from the spot in which he had
been placed, until, tho prayer being finished,
St Francis gavo him leavo to depart.
One writer tolls us: "Ho planned a visit to
of tho emperor to draw his attention to tho needs
of his little 'Bisters' tho larks."
Francis of Assist was courteous to all his
follows, and wo are told "whou one of tho breth
ren had made a rough answer to a poor beggar
who followed them with his importunities Fran
cis was filled with a certain horror and compunc
tion which is very characteristic of his intensely
sympathetic mind. Ho made the uncivil brother f
prostrato himself at the feet of the beggar and
ask his pardon, and his prayers."
In "The Little Flowers of St. Francis" tho
parent anxious to train tho child to respect tho
rlghtg of birds and beasts may And material
help. In his earlier years Francis had seen much
of life. Ho had learned to place a proper value
upon the follies of his day and as Mrs. Oliphant
says: "He turned sick at heart from the perpet
ual strife and contention of his time, from fight
ing cities, rapacious nobles, a whole world of
blood and oppression, and with an unspeakable
relief heard the gentle birds singing in the woods,
the harmless creatures rustling among tho trees.
Were all these Innocent beings out of the limits
of God's covenant? Were they made for no use
but that of an hour's or a day's or a year's pleas
ure, with cruel death at the end? In Francis'
view they were God's harmless, voiceless folk
who know His name and sang His praises and
kept up tho perpetual adoration, before even Piety
had bethought itself of that unceasing service.
Ho could not doubt that where God had put
life He had also put the consciousness of Him
self. Those creatures spoke another tongue; biit
what was there to hinder that In simple speech
of man, who was their natural head, they should
recognize the great Name, and do their fluttering,
innocent homage with a fulness, a simplicity, a
tender, childish devotion which was needed to
fill up the harmonies of worship? In this con
fidence the gontle seer moved about the world
all peopled with .his hrethren, not onlyputting
hi3 benign command upon them, but endeavoring
after their edification with a certain ineffable,
beautiful, wise-foolishness, as our children do by
instincts as an angel might do by insight superior
to ours. -
Who will say that the world would not be
happier if there were more of this "beautiful
wise-foolishness" among the men of today?
RICHARD L. METCALFE.
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