Sovereign Pontiff he was bound to undertake it. John of Parma had
acquired a great reputation for holiness, and his indefatigable
labours on behalf of the Order and of the Church had made his name
famous throughout Europe. Furthermore, he was a {56} personal friend
of Bonaventure, for was it not he who recommended him for the office
of General! In the face of these considerations it is incredible that
he should have been guilty of injustice or duplicity towards him. It
is much easier to believe that Angelo Clarenus, carried away by party
spirit, gave ready credence to the exaggerated reports circulated by
the admirers of John of Parma, who were bitterly, though unreasonably,
indignant that Bonaventure should have listened to the accusation of
heresy and lent his authority to the investigation that followed.

CHAPTER VIII.

ST. FRANCIS' BIOGRAPHER.

At the General Chapter of Narbonne, in 1260, Bonaventure was requested
to write the life of St. Francis. Owing to the circumstances that
surround it, considerable importance attaches to this incident. There
already existed several legends of the Saint. Thomas of Celano had
written one in 1229. His work received the approval of Gregory IX.,
who had officially recommended it to the Brethren. In the year 1246,
at the request of the Minister-General, Crescentius, appeared the
"Legend of the Three Companions," written by Brothers Angelo, Rufinus
and Leo. A second life was written by Thomas of Celano in 1247 or
1248.

A few years ago the well-known French writer, {57} M. Paul Sabatier,
edited a work [Footnote 26] which he contended was anterior to any of
these. He maintained it was nothing less than a complete life of St.
Francis written by Brother Leo in the year 1227--within a year of the
Saint's death. This remarkable work had been already well known, but
according to M. Sabatier its authorship and the date of its
_compilation_ had been misconceived. Although the learned writer
supports his contention with weighty arguments he cannot be said to
have rendered it certain. He is enamoured of the tone and spirit of
the book. If it be an original work and the production of Brother Leo,
it is, to the modern critic, an ideal biography. It reveals simply and
forcibly the human side of Francis. The personal traits of the Saint
are brought prominently before us in all their unique individuality.
We have the real, living man--not the stereotyped example of every
virtue which the