CHAPTER XI. THE INNER MAN AND WONDER-WORKING, 183 CHAPTER XII. THE CHAPTER-GENERAL OF 1217, 198 CHAPTER XIII. ST. DOMINIC AND ST. FRANCIS, 217 CHAPTER XIV. THE CRISIS OF THE ORDER, 239 CHAPTER XV. THE RULE OF 1221, 252 CHAPTER XVI. THE BROTHERS MINOR AND LEARNING, 271 CHAPTER XVII. THE STIGMATA, 287 CHAPTER XVIII. THE CANTICLE OF THE SUN, 297 CHAPTER XIX. THE LAST YEAR, 308 CHAPTER XX. FRANCIS'S WILL AND DEATH, 333 CRITICAL STUDY OF THE SOURCES, 347 APPENDIX. CRITICAL STUDY OF THE STIGMATA AND OF THE INDULGENCE OF AUGUST 2, 433 * * * * * INTRODUCTION In the renascence of history which is in a manner the characteristic of our time, the Middle Ages have been the object of peculiar fondness with both criticism and erudition. We rummage all the dark corners of the libraries, we bring old parchments to light, and in the zeal and ardor we put into our search there is an indefinable touch of piety. These efforts to make the past live again reveal not merely our curiosity, or the lack of power to grapple with great philosophic problems, they are a token of wisdom and modesty; we are beginning to feel that the present has its roots in the past, and that in the fields of politics and religion, as in others, slow, modest, persevering toil is that which has the best results. There is also a token of love in this. We love our ancestors of five or six centuries ago, and we mingle not a little emotion and gratitude with this love. So, if one may hope everything of a son who loves his parents, we must not despair of an age that loves history. The Middle Ages form an organic period in the life of humanity. Like all powerful organisms the period began with a long and mysterious gestation; it had its youth, its manhood, its decrepitude. The end of the twelfth century and the beginning of the thirteenth mark its full expansion; it is the twentieth year of life, with its poetry, its dreams, its enthusiasm, its generosity, its daring. Love overflowed with vigor; men everywhere had but one desire--to devote themselves to some great and holy cause. Curiously enough, though Europe was more parcelled out than ever, it felt a new thrill run through its entire extent. There was what we might call a state of European consciousness.