Bonaventure was teaching at Paris when he was elected Minister-General. However reluctant he may have been to accept the responsibility, he did not think of shirking it. He was a young man-- only thirty-seven years of age--and fully conscious {38} of his deficiencies and of the arduous task before him. That he undertook it calmly and confidently shows that he possessed the virtue of fortitude in no slight degree. He was well aware of the dissensions within the Order and of the relaxation of discipline that prevailed amongst some of the Brethren. To remedy these was his first concern. Shortly after his election he wrote [Footnote 16] a remarkable letter to the Provincials of the Order. He began by acknowledging his unfitness for the high and important office to which he had been called, alleging the weakness of his body, the imperfection of his mind, the inexperience of his life and the repugnance of his will. Still, he did not dare to resist the voice of obedience, and to make up for his shortcomings he counts upon the worthy cooperation of the Provincial Ministers. He then refers to the irregularities existing in the Order which had begun to endanger its success and bring it into disrepute amongst the Faithful. Remembering that the Order was then in existence barely fifty years it is interesting to consider what these were. Ten causes of relaxation are enumerated by Bonaventure:-- 1. Too great multiplication of temporal affairs for which money is eagerly sought, carelessly received, and recklessly handled. 2. The idleness of some of the Brethren. 3. Useless travelling from place to place, to the {39} scandal rather than to the edification of the people. 4. Importunate begging, whereby the Brethren are feared as highwaymen. 5. The construction of costly and pretentious buildings, which disturbs the peace of the Order and exposes the Brethren to the attacks of their enemies. 6. The increase of dangerous friendships from which arose suspicions, calumnies and scandals. 7. The imprudent bestowal of offices on those who were incapable of discharging them. 8. The eager reception of legacies and officious interference with obsequies, to the great offence of the secular clergy. 9. Frequent and expensive change of residence, to the disturbance of the locality and the prejudice of poverty. 10. Finally, expensive living, by which the Brethren became a burden to the people. [Footnote 16: Cf. "Opera Omnia" (Quaracchi), Tom. VIII, p. 468.]