Life of St. Francis of Assisi

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. This book is an attempt to represent Saint Francis of Assisi as I have come to know him after many years study of the early records bearing upon his history. Hitherto no adequate biography of the saint has been written in the English tongue, though Canon Knox Little has given us a study of his character, which is of real merit. Nor does any modern biography, to my thinking, set forth the real St. Francis as he is revealed in the historical records which have come down to us. Paul Sabatier's well-known Vie de S. Francois d' Assise is a delightful piece of literature; but had the author possessed the fuller knowledge supplied by historical research since 1894 - a research in which he himself has taken a leading part - I think that his book would have been more authentic history. J. Jorgensen's recent work, known to me only in its French translation, has undoubtedly caught more of the spiritual thought and mental atmosphere of St. Francis; and he had the advantage which M. Sabatier did not possess, of the research work just referred to. Nevertheless it seems to me the final biography of the saint is yet to be desired. I cannot presume to have attained this desired goal; but perhaps this present book may do something towards its attainment: in the hope that it will do so, the book is published.