The Online Library of Liberty

A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.

• Introduction.
• Part I: Admonitions, Rules, Etc
• I.: Words of Admonition of Our Holy Father St. Francis.
• II.: Salutation of the Virtues.
• III.: On Reverence For the Lord’s Body and On the Cleanliness of the Altar.
• IV.: Rules of the Friars Minor.
• V. Fragments From the Rule of the Sisters of St Clare.
• VI.: Testament of the Holy Father St Francis.
• VII: Of Living Religiously In a Hermitage
• Part II.: Six Letters of St. Francis
• I.: Letter to All the Faithful.
• II.: Letter to All the Friars.
• III: To a Certain Minister.
• IV.: To the Rulers of the People.
• V.: To All the Custodes
• VI.: To Brother Leo.
• Part III: Prayers of St. Francis
• I.: The Praises.
• II.: Salutation of the Blessed Virgin.
• III.: Prayer to Obtain Divine Love.
• Praises of God.
• The Blessing of Brother Leo.
• V.: The Canticle of the Sun
• VI.: The Office of the Passion.
• Appendix Some Lost, Doubtful, and Spurious Writings
• Bibliography

PART III

PRAYERS OF ST. FRANCIS

I.

The Praises.

This opuscule is composed of two parts a paraphrase of the Lord’s Prayer and the Praises properly socalled. It is contained in all the early MS. collections of St Francis’ works1 either in its entirety as it is given here, or in part—that is, the Paraphrase without the Praises or vice versa. With the exception of a single codex which attributes the paternity of this paraphrase to the Blessed Brother Giles,2 the third companion of St. Francis, the MSS. authorities are unanimous in ascribing the entire work to St. Francis. This fact, taken in conjunction with the internal argument in its favor, puts the authority of the Praises beyond doubt, in the opinion of the Quaracchi editors. M. Sabatier is of like mind and even expresses regret3 that Professor Boehmer4 should have been misled into classing the Praises as doubtful or unauthentic. Those who accept the French critic’s views as to the value of his Speculum Perfectionis will find in that remarkable work an additional argument in favor of the genuinity of the complete opuscule now engaging our attention. In particular M. Sabatier applies to the present Praises what is said in the Speculum of the penance imposed by St Francis on the brothers at Portiuncula for speaking idle words.1

The Quaracchi Fathers have edited the text of the Praises according to the Assisian, Antonian, and Isidorean (1/25) MSS. and have collated these early versions with the editions of the Praises given in the Monumenta (fol 275 v), Firmamenta (fol. 18 v), and the Liber Conformitatum (fruct. xii, P. II, c.vi).2 The result of their labors is here translated as follows:—

PRAISES.

Here are begun the Praises which the most blessed Father Francis composed; and he said them at all the Hours of the day and night and before the Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, beginning thus: “Our Father, most holy, who art in heaven,” etc., with “Glory be to the Father.” Then the Praises, Holy, Holy, etc., are to be said.1

Our Father, most holy, our Creator, Redeemer, and Comforter.

Who art in heaven, in the angels and in the saints illuminating them unto knowledge, for Thou, O Lord, art light; inflaming them unto love, for Thou, O Lord, art Love; dwelling in them and filling them with blessedness, for Thou, O Lord, art the highest Good, the eternal Good from whom is all good and without whom is no good.

Hallowed be Thy Name: may Thy knowledge shine in us that we may know the breadth of Thy benefits, the length of Thy promises, the height of Thy majesty, and the depth of Thy judgments.2

Thy Kingdom come, that Thou mayest reign in us by grace and mayest make us come to Thy Kingdom, where there is the clear vision of Thee, the perfect love of Thee, the blessed company of Thee, the eternal enjoyment of Thee.

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, that we may love Thee with the whole heart by always thinking of Thee; with the whole soul by always desiring Thee; with the whole mind by directing all our intentions to Thee and seeking Thy honor in all things and with all our strength, by spending all the powers and senses of body and soul in the service of Thy love and not in anything else; and that we may love our neighbors even as ourselves, drawing to the best of our power all to Thy love; rejoicing in the good of others as in our own and compassionating [them] in troubles and giving offence to no one.

Give us this day, through memory and understanding and reverence for the love which He had for us and for those things which He said, did, and suffered, for us,—our daily bread, Thy Beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

And forgive us our trespasses, by Thy ineffable mercy in virtue of the Passion of Thy Beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and through the merits and intercession of the most Blessed Virgin Mary and of all Thy elect.

As we forgive them that trespass against us, and what we do not fully forgive, do Thou, O Lord, make us fully forgive, that for Thy sake we may truly love our enemies and devoutly intercede for them with Thee; that we may render no evil for evil, but in Thee may strive to do good to all.

And lead us not into temptation, hidden or visible, sudden or continuous.

But deliver us from evil, past, present, and to come. Amen.

Glory be to the Father, etc.

Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was and who is to come1 Let us praise and exalt Him above all forever.2

Worthy art Thou, O Lord, our God, to receive praise, glory and honor and benediction.3 Let us praise and exalt Him above all forever.

The Lamb that was slain is worthy to receive power and divinity and wisdom and strength and honor and benediction.4 Let us praise and exalt Him above all forever.

Let us bless the Father and the Son with the Holy Ghost. Let us praise and exalt Him above all forever.

All ye works of the Lord, bless ye the Lord.5 Let us praise and exalt Him above all forever.

Give praise to God all ye His servants and you that fear Him, little and great.6 Let us praise and exalt Him above all forever.

Let the heavens and the earth praise Him, the Glorious, and every creature which is in heaven and on earth and under the earth, in the seas and all that are in them.7 Let us praise and exalt Him above all forever.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. Let us praise and exalt Him above all forever.

As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be world without end. Amen. Let us praise and exalt Him above all forever.

Prayer.

Almighty, most holy, most high, and supreme God, highest good, all good, wholly good, who alone art good. To Thee we render all praise, all glory, all thanks, all honor, all blessing, and we shall always refer all good to Thee. Amen.

II.

Salutation of the Blessed Virgin.

This little prayer enjoys the same title to authenticity as the preceding opuscule, and Professor Boehmer1 and M Sabatier2 are in complete accord with the Quaracchi editors as to its genuinity. With the exception of the Assisi codex, it is found in all the early MS. collections containing the Praises. The text here translated is based on the MS. at Ognissanti and St. Isidore’s (1/25), which were collated by the Quaracchi editors with the versions given in the Conformities (fruct. xii, P. 11, c. v) and the Speculum B. Francisci (ed. 1 and 2, fol. 127 r).

SALUTATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN.3

Hail, holy Lady, most holy Queen, Mother of God, Mary who art ever Virgin, chosen from Heaven by the most Holy Father, whom He has consecrated with the most holy beloved Son and the Ghostly Paraclete, in whom was and is all the fulness of grace and all good. Hail thou His palace!4 Hail thou His tabernacle.!5 Hail thou His house. Hail thou His garment! Hail thou His handmaid! Hail thou His Mother and all ye holy virtues which by the grace and illumination of the Holy Ghost thou infusest in the heart of the faithful, that from infidels ye mayest make them faithful to God.1

III.

Prayer to Obtain Divine Love.

The authenticity of this prayer, accepted by the Quaracchi editors, rests on the authority of St. Bernardine of Siena1 and Ubertino da Casale,2 both of whom are quoted in its behalf by Wadding. The prayer is here translated according to the text given by Ubertino in his Arbor Vitae Crucifixae composed on La Verna in 1305.3 It follows.—

PRAYER.

I beseech Thee, O Lord, that the fiery and sweet strength of Thy love may absorb my soul from all things that are under heaven, that I may die for love of Thy love as Thou didst deign to die for love of my love.

IV.

The Sheet which St. Francis gave Brother Leo.

The earliest witness to this document is Thomas of Celano, who in his Second Life (written about 1247) records that “while the Saint was remaining secluded in his cell on Mount La Verna, one of the companions conceived a great desire to have some memorial from words of the Lord written by the hand of St. Francis and briefly annotated by him. . . . One day Blessed Francis called him, saying, ‘Bring me paper and ink, for I wish to write the words of God and His praises which I have been meditating in my heart.’ What he asked for being straightway brought, he writes with his own hand the praises of God and the words which he [his companion] wished, and lastly a blessing of the brother, saying. ‘Take this sheet (chartulam) for thyself and until the day of thy death guard it carefully.’ All temptation was at once driven away; the letter is kept and worked wonders for the time to come.”1

The original autograph of the sheet here described by Celano is reverently preserved in the sacristy of the Sacro Convento at Assisi.2 It has been mentioned in the archives of the convent since 1348 and is borne in procession annually at the opening of the feast of the “Perdono” or Portiuncula Indulgence. Many pages have been consecrated by scholars3 to this small, crumpled piece of parchment and as they are easily accessible it would be superfluous to touch here upon the controversial minutiae connected with it. Suffice it to say that on the reverse side of the sheet containing the Praises is found the Biblical blessing. The latter was dictated to Brother Leo, but at the bottom St. Francis himself wrote the personal blessing, adding what Wadding described as a “large and mysterious thau or letter T” which he was wont to use as his signature, as both Celano1 and St. Bonaventure2 inform us.

To authenticate this relic Brother Leo himself added to it three notes; the first reads: “Blessed Francis wrote with his own hand this blessing for me, Brother Leo,” and the second. “In like manner he made this sign thau together with the head with his own hand.” More valuable still is the third annotation, since it fixes the date of this precious document. I give it in full: “Blessed Francis two years before his death kept a Lent in the place of Mount La Verna in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of the Lord, and of the blessed Michael the Archangel, from the feast of the Assumption of the holy Virgin Mary until the September feast of St. Michael. And the hand of the Lord was laid upon him; after the vision and speech of the Seraph and the impression of the Stigmata of Christ in his body he made and wrote with his own hand the Praises written on the other side of the sheet, giving thanks to the Lord for the benefits conferred on him.”

An examination of the original autograph shows that, while the side of the sheet containing the Blessing is excellently preserved, the other one on which the Praises are written, is, for the most part, illegible and in consequence some variants are to be found in different MS. versions of it After a careful collation of these MSS. with the autograph, the Quaracchi editors found the Assisi codex 344 more conformable to the original than any other It is after this fourteenth century MS. of the library of the Sacro Convento and which appears to have been copied from the autograph, that the Quaracchi editors published the text which I now translate:—

PRAISES OF GOD.

Thou art holy, Lord God, who alone workest wonders. Thou art strong. Thou art great. Thou art most high. Thou art the Almighty King, Thou, holy Father, King of heaven and earth. Thou art the Lord God Triune and One; all good. Thou art good, all good, highest good, Lord God living and true. Thou art charity, love.1 Thou art wisdom. Thou art humility. Thou art patience. Thou art security. Thou art quietude. Thou art joy and gladness. Thou art justice and temperance. Thou art all riches to sufficiency.1 Thou art beauty. Thou art meekness. Thou art protector. Thou art guardian and defender. Thou art strength. Thou art refreshment. Thou art our hope. Thou art our faith. Thou art our great sweetness. Thou art our eternal life, great and admirable Lord, God Almighty, merciful Saviour.

AUTOGRAPH BLESSING GIVEN BY ST FRANCIS TO BROTHER LEO, PRESERVED IN THE SACRO CONVENTO AT ASSISI (See page 146)

After this expression of the mystical ardors which consumed the Poverello comes —

THE BLESSING OF BROTHER LEO.

May the Lord bless thee and keep thee. May He shew His face to thee and have mercy on thee. May He turn His countenance to thee and give thee peace.2 Brother LeTo3 may the Lord bless thee.

V.

The Canticle of the Sun

Of the several “cantica in vulgari” which St. Francis composed, the only one that has come down to us, as far as is known, is the “Praises of the Creatures,” or, as it is now more commonly called, “The Canticle of the Sun.” Celano, who alludes to this laud, says of St. Francis that he was of the race of Ananias, Azarias and Misael, inviting all creatures with him to glorify Him who made them.1 It is this side of St. Francis’ thoughts which finds expression in the Canticle; and in this particular order of ideas modern religious poetry has never produced anything comparable to this sublime improvisation into which have passed alike “all the wealth of the Saint’s imagination and all the boldness of his genius.”2 Tradition tells us that Fra Pacifico had a hand in the embellishment of this laud,3 about which a whole controversial literature has grown4 Some light may perhaps be thrown on this delicate question in the new critical edition of the Canticle promised by Luigi Suttina.

The Canticle appears to have been composed toward the close of the year 1225 in a poor little hut near the Monastery of San Damiano, whither St. Francis had retired on account of his infirmities, and, if we may believe the tradition which finds formal expression in the Speculum Perfectionis, two strophes were subsequently added by the Saint to the original composition, — the eighth strophe upon the occasion of a feud between the Bishop and the magistrates of Assisi, and the ninth one when the Saint recognized the approach of death. M. Renan, with what Canon Knox Little1 calls “his characteristic inaccuracy,” asserts that we do not possess the Italian original of the Canticle, but have only an Italian translation from the Portuguese, which was in turn translated from the Spanish.2 And yet the original Italian text exists, as M. Sabatier notes,3 not only in numerous MSS in Italy and France, notably in the Assisi MS. 3384 and at the Mazarin Library,5 but also in the Book of the Conformities.

The Canticle is accepted as authentic by Professors Boehmer and Goetz in their recent works on the Opuscula of St. Francis If it does not figure in the Quaracchi edition, the reason is that the Bibliotheca Franciscana Ascetica Medii Ævi, of which the Opuscula forms part, is confined to works written in Latin, and hence M. Sabatier’s animadversions on the “theological preoccupations” of the Quaracchi editors are altogether aside the mark.

The text of the Canticle here translated is that of the Assisi MS. 338 (fol 33), from which the version given in the Conformities (pars. 2, fol ii)1 differs only by some unimportant variants. The following is an attempt to render literally into English the naif rhythm of the original Italian, which necessarily disappears in any formal rhymed translation.

here begin the praises of the creatures which the blessed francis made to the praise and honor of god while he was ill at st. damian’s:

Most high, omnipotent, good Lord,

Praise, glory and honor and benediction all, are Thine.

To Thee alone do they belong, most High,

And there is no man fit to mention Thee.

Praise be to Thee, my Lord, with all Thy creatures,

Especially to my worshipful brother sun,

The which lights up the day, and through him dost Thou brightness give;

And beautiful is he and radiant with splendor great;

Of Thee, most High, signification gives.

Praised be my Lord, for sister moon and for the stars,

In heaven Thou hast formed them clear and precious and fair.

Praised be my Lord for brother wind

And for the air and clouds and fair and every kind of weather,

By the which Thou givest to Thy creatures nourishment.

Praised be my Lord for sister water,

The which is greatly helpful and humble and precious and pure.

Praised be my Lord for brother fire,

By the which Thou lightest up the dark.

And fair is he and gay and mighty and strong.

Praised be my Lord for our sister, mother earth,

The which sustains and keeps us

And brings forth diverse fruits with grass and flowers bright.

Praised be my Lord for those who for Thy love forgive

And weakness bear and tribulation.

Blessed those who shall in peace endure,

For by Thee, most High, shall they be crowned.

Praised be my Lord for our sister, the bodily death,

From the which no living man can flee.

Woe to them who die in mortal sin;

Blessed those who shall find themselves in Thy most holy will,

For the second death shall do them no ill.

Praise ye and bless ye my Lord, and give Him thanks,

And be subject unto Him with great humility.

VI.

The Office of the Passion.

Although the early biographies of St Francis are silent as to this opuscule, its authenticity is guaranteed by the Legend of St. Clare written by Thomas of Celano toward the end of his life.1 In reference to the holy abbess’ devotion to the Passion we are told by Celano that she “learned and frequently recited with attachment the Office of the Cross which Francis, the lover of the Cross, had instituted.”2 This passage was rightly understood by Wadding as referring to the Office of the Passion which many early MSS attribute to St. Francis, and the character of which altogether squares with the Saint’s writings. Composed, as it is, of a simple and devout combination of Scriptural texts, this document is at once a witness to St. Francis’ ardent devotion to the Crucified and a precious example of his method of prayer. It comprises five parts:

1. For the three last days of Holy Week and for week-days throughout the year.

2. For the Paschal season.

3. For Sundays and feast-days throughout the year.

4 For Advent.

5 For Christmas and the days following, to the close of the Epiphany octave.

The text of the Office given in the Quaracchi edition is that of the Assisi MS. 338, only a few rubrical notes having been omitted. The Office may also be found in MSS. at Oxford,1 Berlin,2 and Liegnitz3 already described4 It has never before, so far as I know, been translated into English. Here it is:—

OFFICE OF THE PASSION OF THE LORD

Here begin the Psalms which our most blessed Father Francis arranged to reverence and recall and praise the Passion of the Lord. And they begin from Compline on Maundy Thursday because on that night our Lord Jesus Christ was betrayed and taken captive. And note that the Blessed Francis was wont to say this office thus: First he said the Prayer which the Lord and Master taught us: Our Father most holy,5 with the Praises, to wit, Holy, Holy, Holy.6 When he had finished the Praises with the Prayer he began this antiphon, namely. Holy Mary First he said the Psalms of the holy Virgin; besides he said other Psalms which he had selected, and at the end of all the Psalms which he said, he said the Psalms of the Passion, the Psalm being finished he said the antiphon, namely, Holy Virgin Mary When this antiphon was finished, the office was completed.

I.—

AT COMPLINE.
Ant. Holy Virgin Mary.

Note that the foregoing antiphon is said at all the Hours and it is said for antiphon, chapter, hymn, versicle, and prayer, and at Matins and at all the Hours likewise. He said nothing else in them except this antiphon with its Psalms. At the completion of the office Blessed Francis always said: Let us bless the Lord God living and true; let us refer praise, glory, honor, blessing and all praise to Him, always. Amen. Amen. Fiat. Fiat.

AT MATINS.
Ant. Holy Virgin Mary.

AT PRIME.
Ant. Holy Mary.

AT TIERCE.
Ant. Holy Mary.

AT SEXT.
Ant Holy Mary.

AT NONES.
Ant. Holy Mary.

AT VESPERS.
Ant. Holy Mary.

It is said up to this place daily from Good Friday until the feast of the Ascension On the feast of the Ascension, however, these versicles are added over and above:

And note that from the Ascension until the Advent of the Lord this Psalm is said daily in the same manner, namely: “O clap your hands,” with the foregoing versicles, “Glory be to the Father” being said where the Psalm ends, namely, “for He will come to judge with justice.”

Note that the foregoing Psalms are said from Good Friday until Easter Sunday: they are said in the same manner from the octave of Whitsunday until the Advent of the Lord and from the octave of the Epiphany until Maundy Thursday,1 except on Sundays, and the principal feasts, on which they are not said: on the other days however they are said daily.

HOLY SATURDAY AT COMPLINE.
Ant. Holy Mary.

It is said daily at Compline until the octave of Pentecost.

EASTER SUNDAY AT MATINS.
Ant. Holy Mary.

It is said up to this place daily from Easter Sunday to the feast of the Ascension at all the Hours except at Vespers and Compline and Prime. On the night of the Ascension these verses are added:—

And note that this Psalm is said daily from the Ascension of the Lord until the octave of Whitsunday with the foregoing versicles at Matins and Tierce and Sext and Nones. “Glory be to the Father,” being said where “Blessed be God” is said, and not elsewhere. Also note that it is said in the same manner only at Matins on Sundays and the principal feasts, from the octave of Whitsunday until Maundy Thursday because on that day the Lord ate the Pasch with His disciples, or the other Psalm may be said at Matins or at Vespers when one wishes, to wit, “I will extol Thee, O Lord,” as it is in the Psalter, and this from Easter Sunday to the feast of the Ascension and not longer.

AT PRIME.
Ant. Holy Mary.

Psalm. Have mercy on me, etc.—as above, p. 159.

AT TIERCE, SEXT AND NONES

Psalm. Sing ye to the Lord, etc.—as above, p. 167

AT VESPERS.

Psalm O clap your hands, etc.—as above, p. 164.

Here begin the other psalms which our most blessed Father Francis likewise arranged which are to be said in place of the foregoing psalms of the Passion of the Lord on Sunday and the principal festivities from the octave of Whitsunday until Advent and from the octave of the Epiphany until Maundy Thursday.

AT COMPLINE.
Ant. Holy Mary.

Psalm. O God, etc. (Ps 69),—as it is in the Psalter.

AT MATINS.
Ant. Holy Mary.

Psalm. Sing ye to the Lord, etc.,—as above, p. 167.

AT PRIME.
Ant. Holy Mary.

Psalm. Have mercy on me, etc.,—as above, p. 159.

AT TIERCE.
Ant. Holy Mary.

AT SEXT.
Ant. Holy Mary.

AT NONES.
Ant. Holy Mary.

AT VESPERS.
Ant. Holy Mary.

Psalm. O clap your hands. . . as above, p. 164.

Here begin other Psalms which our most blessed Father Francis likewise arranged, which are to be said in place of the foregoing Psalms of the Passion of the Lord from the Advent of the Lord until Christmas eve and not longer.

AT COMPLINE.
Ant. Holy Mary.

Psalm. How long, O Lord (Ps. 12), as it is found in the Psalter.

AT MATINS.
Ant. Holy Mary.

AT PRIME.
Ant. Holy Mary.

Psalm Have mercy on me, etc.—as above, p. 159.

AT TIERCE.
Ant. Holy Mary.

Psalm. Shout with joy, etc.—as above, p. 169.

AT SEXT.
Ant. Holy Mary.

Psalm. May the Lord hear thee in the day, etc.—as above, p. 170.

AT NONES.
Ant. Holy Mary.

Psalm. In Thee, O Lord, have I hoped—as above, p. 171.

AT VESPERS.
Ant. Holy Mary.

Psalm. O clap your hands, etc.—as above, p. 164.

Also note that the whole Psalm is not said but up to the verse, “Let all the earth be moved”; understand however that the whole verse “Bring your own bodies” must be said. At the end of this verse “Glory be to the Father” is said. And thus it is said daily at Vespers from Advent until Christmas eve.

CHRISTMAS DAY AT VESPERS.
Ant. Holy Mary.

And note that this Psalm is said from Christmas until the octave of the Epiphany at all the Hours.

[1 ]It is found in the Assisi MS 338 and in the compilation beginning Fac secundum exemplar contained in the Berlin, Lemberg, Liegnitz MSS and the Vatican codex 4354, as well as in the other family of MSS represented by the Ognissanti and Foligno MSS. and the codices of St Isidore’s (1/25) and the Vatican 7650

[2 ]A fourteenth century codex at St Isidore’s Rome (MS 1/73, fol 10 v) But I have not found it in any of the collections of Brother Giles’ Dicta which I have had occasion to consult in preparing the new English version of the same I hope soon to publish

[3 ]See Opuscules, fasc x, pp 136-137 As a postscript to his Examen M Sabatier gives the text of the paraphrase of the Our Father after the rare edition of the Speculum (Morin)

[4 ]See Analekten, p 71.

[1 ]“He also ordained and ordered it to be strictly observed that any friar who either when doing nothing or at work with the others, uttered idle words, shall say one Our Father, praising God at the beginning and end of the prayer, and if conscious of his fault he accuse himself, he shall say the one Our Father and the Praises of the Lord for his own soul . . . And if on reliable testimony he is shown to have used idle words, he shall repeat the Praises of the Lord at the beginning and at the end aloud so as to be heard and understood by the surrounding friars,” etc Further on we read “The Praises of the Lord the most Blessed Father always said himself, and with ardent desire taught and impressed upon the friars that they should carefully and devotedly say the same.” See Spec Perf (ed Sabatier), c 82 I have quoted this passage from Lady de la Warr’s translation, pp. 121-122 See also Opuscules, fasc x, p 137, where M Sabatier, speaking of the relation of the Speculum to the Praises, says, “Les deux documents se correspondent, se corroborent et se garantissent l’un l’autre”

[2 ]The Conformities, edition of 1510, gives the complete text as the handiwork of St Francis

[1 ]Such is the rubric which precedes the Praises in the Assisian MS

[2 ]See Eph 3 18.

[1 ]See Apoc 4 8

[2 ]See Dan. 3 57

[3 ]See Apoc 4 11

[4 ]See Apoc 5 12

[5 ]See Dan 3 57

[6 ]See Apoc 19 5

[7 ]See Apoc 5 13

[1 ]Analekten, p xxvii

[2 ]Opuscules, fasc x, p 134

[3 ]The text given by Wadding (Opusc, p 105) was copied by him from an Irish MS at Salamanca

[4 ]Cod Is omits from “Hail thou His tabernacle” to “Hail thou His handmaid,” inclusive

[5 ]Wadding omits from “Hail thou His house” to “Hail thou His handmaid,” inclusive.

[1 ]The text of the Conformities and Wadding here add the second part of the antiphon given below in the Office of the Passion beginning “Mother of our most Holy Lord Jesus Christ,” etc In the Speculum (ed Morin, 1509) this Salutation is followed by another prayer to the Blessed Virgin (see Sabatier, Opuscules, fasc x, p 164), but from the beginning of the seventeenth century, the second prayer is no longer found in the text of the Speculum (see the edition of Spoelberch, P I, pp 176-178, and Wadding, Opusi, p 107) In the opinion of Professor Boehmer this Salutation ought to follow immediately after the Salutation of the Virtues given above (p. 20) See his Analekten, pp vi and xxviii They are found in this order in the Spec Vitae of 1504 and the Vatican MS 4354

[1 ]St Bernardine died in 1444 See his Opera Omnia, t II, sermo 60, art 11, c ii

[2 ]See Arbor Vitae, l v, c iv

[3 ]See Ehrle, Archiv, etc, vol II, pp 374-416, as to the writings of Ubertino

[1 ]2 Cel 2, 18, see also Bonav Leg Maj, XI, 9, where the narration is clearly borrowed from Celano

[2 ]A photograph of the reliquary containing it is here reproduced

[3 ]For example Papini La Storia di S Francesco, t I, p 130, n 8, Grisar, see Civilta Cattolicà, fasc 1098 (1896), p 723, Mgr Faloci Pulignani, Misc. Franc, t VI (1895), p 34, Fr. Edouard d’Alençon, La Benediction de St François, M Sabatier, Spec Perf., pp lxvii-lxx, Reginald Balfour, The Seraphic Keepsake, and Montgomery Carmichael, La Benedizione di San Francesco See also Fr Saturnino da Caprese, O F M, Guida Illustrata della Verna (Prato, 1902), p 93 On the testimony of three leading German palæographers, Wattenbach, Dziatzko and Meyer, see Theol Literatur-Zeitung, Leipzig, 1895, pp 404 and 627

[1 ]Says Celano “The sign thau was more familiar to him than other signs With it only he signed sheets for despatch and he painted it on the walls of the cells anywhere” See Tr. de Miraculis, in Anal Boll, t xviii, pp 114-115

[2 ]“He signed it upon all the letters he directed” See Bonav Leg Maj, IV, 3

[1 ]These words seem to be transposed in the autograph.

[1 ]From this point to the end of the Praises the autograph is illegible

[2 ]See Num 6 24-26

[3 ]Mr Balfour points out that the position of Leo’s name in relation to the thau is intentional and that the thau thus becomes a cross of blessing, St. Francis, following the practice of all old Missals and Breviaries, having placed it so as to divide the name of the person blessed See The Seraphic Keepsake, p 106

[1 ]See 2 Cel. 3, 138-139, and 1 Cel 80.

[2 ]See Cherancé, Life of St Francis, p 260

[3 ]See on this head Ozanam, Les Poètes Franciscains, p 82, and Matthew Arnold, Essays on Criticism, pp 243-248 Mr Arnold’s translation of the Canticle is well known

[4 ]For a list of the more important studies on it, see Speculum Perfectionis (ed Sabatier), p 289, L Suttina, Appunti bibliografici di studi francescani, p 19, also Gasparry’s Italian Literature to the death of Dante, p 358

[1 ]See his St Francis of Assisi, p 235, note 2

[2 ]See Nouvelles Etudes d’histoire religieuse, p 331

[3 ]Vie de S François, p xxxiv and chap xviii

[4 ]This text was published by Fr Panfilo da Magliano, O F M, in his Storia Compendiosa, also by M Sabatier in his Vie de S François and later in his Speculum, pp 334-35

[5 ]Professor Boehmer published the text of the Maz MS 1350 in his Sonnengesang v Fr d’A, in 1871

[1 ]I have had the advantage of studying two of the oldest MSS of this work known,—those of the convents of La Verna and Portiuncula

[1 ]It was soon after the canonization of St Clare, about 1256, that Celano undertook the task of compiling this legend by order of Alexander IV

[2 ]See Acta S S, t II, Aug., p 761

[1 ]See Little in Opuscules, t I, p 276

[2 ]See Spec Perf (ed Sabatier), p cxcvi

[3 ]See Opuscules, t I, p 55 This MS contains only the first part of the Office, it ends with the words the “Lord hath reigned”

[4 ]See above, p 3-4 Other MSS containing the Office are enumerated by Wadding See also Boehmer’s Analekten

[5 ]See above, p 139

[6 ]See above, p 141

[1 ]The Oxford Codex here reads “until Easter Sunday”