340          MONT-SAINT-MICHEL AND  CHARTRES
made it and as the birds possibly received it. All were God's creatures,
brothers and sisters, and God alone knew or knows whether or how far
they understand each other; but Saint Francis, in any case, understood
them and believed that they were in sympathy with him. As far as
the birds or wolves were concerned, it was no great matter, but Francis
did not stop with vertebrates or even with organic forms. "Nor was
it surprising," said the "Speculum," "if fire and other creatures some-
times revered and obeyed him ; for, as we who were with him very fre-
quently saw, he held them in such affection and so much delighted in
them, and his soul was moved by such pity and compassion for them,
that he would not see them roughly handled, and talked with them
with such evident delight as if they were rational beings": —
Nam quadam vice, quum sederet juxta      For once when he was sitting by the fire, a
ignem, ipso nesciente, ignis invasit pannos ejus   spark, without his knowing it, caught his linen
de lino, sive brachas, juxta genu, quumque   drawers and set them burning near the knee,
sentiret calorem ejus nolebat ipsum extin-  and when he felt the heat he would not extin-
guere Socius autem ejus videns comburi  guish it; but his companion, seeing his clothes
pannos ejus cucurrit ad eum volens extinguere  on fire, ran to put it out, and he forbade it,
ignem, ipse vero prohibuit ei, dicens: "Noli,   saying: "Don't, my dearest brother, don't hurt
frater, carissime, noli male facere igni!" Et sic  the fire!" So he utterly refused to let him put
nullo modo voluit quod extingueret ipsum. Ille  it out, and the brother hurried off to get his
vero festinanter ivit ad fratrem qui erat   guardian, and brought him to Saint Francis,
guardianus ipsius, et duxit eum ad beatum   and together they put out the fire at once
Franciscum, et statim contra voluntatem   against Saint Francis's will. So, no matter
beati Francisci, extinxit ignem. Unde quacun-   what the necessity, he would never put out fire
que necessitate urgente nunquam voluit ex-  or a lamp or candle, so strong was his feeling
tinguere ignem vel lampadem vel candelam,   for it, he would not even let a brother throw fire
tantum pietate movebatur ad ipsum. Nolebat  or a smoking log from place to place, as is
etiam quod frater projiceret ignem vel lignum  usual, but wanted it placed gently (piano) on
fumigantem de loco ad locum sicut solet fieri,   the ground, out of respect for Him Whose crea-
sed volebat ut plane poneret ipsum in terra  ture it is.
ob reverentiam illius cujus est creatura.
The modern tourist, having with difficulty satisfied himself that
Saint Francis acted thus in good faith, immediately exclaims that he
was a heretic and should have been burned; but, in truth, the immense
popular charm of Saint Francis, as of the Virgin, was precisely his
heresies.    Both were illogical and heretical by essence; — in strict