Saint Francis of Assisi

Moorman writes in his preface to this terrific, short biography of Francis of Assisi that Francis has something to say to people of all kinds. He was a mystic with a special interest in, and understanding of, nature. He was a poet, the first to write in verse in any modern language. He was a man of great courage, risking his life in carrying out his ideals, He inspired large numbers of men to give away all that they possessed and live as vagabonds, begging their bread from door to door, All these things were important, and all combine to make him a very remarkable man. But perhaps the thing about him which appeals to us most today is the challenge which he threw down to the standards and values of the ordinary, secular life of man.