o regard
rather my good will than the result of my efforts; rather the truth of
my words than the elegance of my language; and, that, where I fail to
give satisfaction, you will excuse and forgive me on account of the
lack of time and the pressure of business."

We must remember that these words were uttered by the successor of St.
Francis--a man whose reputation for learning and sanctity was
world-wide--a man who was consulted by Popes and Princes, {68} whose
merits were soon to raise him to the dignity of the Cardinalate, and
upon whose words a few years later the entire Christian Church in
General Council assembled would hang with profound admiration. Such an
utterance gives us a better insight into Bonaventure's mind and
character than pages of indefinite eulogy.

His deep sense of humility sprang from his perfect knowledge of
himself. He considered self-knowledge an essential condition to the
acquisition of true knowledge of any kind. "He knows nothing aright
who knows not himself--who understands not the conditions of his own
being. How dangerous it is for a religious soul to be eager to know
indifferent things and yet neglect to learn its own deficiencies. That
soul is near to ruin which is curious to know extraneous things and
prone to judge others yet cares not to know itself." Apart from the
sentiment of humility prompting this utterance, what profound wisdom
does it not reveal! It establishes a truly golden rule for the
guidance of the soul in its search after knowledge, secular or
spiritual. It must begin by discovering its own limitations and
defects. If it ignores these it cannot form a true estimate of
anything. This truth was uttered by our Saint six hundred years ago
and it is strange to hear it re-echoed in our own day under totally
different circumstances. Men of science, on purely rational grounds,
are reverting to the advice given by Bonaventure and are {69}
deprecating the consequences of having hitherto more or less ignored
it. Our knowledge of things distinct from ourselves must be modified
and verified by our knowledge of the means by which it is acquired.

The intensity of Bonaventure's humility is evidenced by the fact that
whereas his biographers seem to have overlooked his other virtues,
they have left on record several instances of his humility. The
following incident related [Footnote 31] by Wadding is touching in its
simplicity:--

[Footnote 31: "Annals," Tom. IV, Anno 1269. NO.5.]