Neither on the artistic nor the social side would anybody pretend that these things would not have existed without him; yet it is strictly true to say that we cannot now imagine them without him; since he has lived and changed the world. And something of that sense of impotence which was more than half his power will descend on anyone who knows what that inspiration has been in history, and can only record it in a series of straggling and meagre sentences. He will know something of what St. Francis meant by the great and good debt that cannot be paid. He will feel at once the desire to have done infinitely more and the futility of having done anything. He will know what it is to stand under such a deluge of a dead man's marvels, and have nothing in return to establish against it; to have nothing to set up under the overhanging, overwhelming arches of such a temple of time and eternity, but this brief candle burnt out so quickly before his shrine. HODDER AND STOUGHTON'S PEOPLE'S LIBRARY GENERAL EDITOR: SIDNEY DARK 2/6 net each volume ST. PAUL'S HOUSE, WARWICK SQUARE, E.C.4 ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI. By GILBERT K. CHESTERTON. VICTORIAN POETRY. By JOHN DRINKWATER. EVERYDAY BIOLOGY. By J. ARTHUR THOMSON. THE POETRY OF ARCHITECTURE. By FRANK RUTTER. THE STORY OF THE RENAISSANCE. By SIDNEY DARK. ATOMS AND ELECTRONS. By J. W. N. SULLIVAN. HOW TO READ HISTORY. By W. WATKIN DAVIES. OUR DEBT TO GREECE AND ROME. By E. B. OSBORN. HOW TO ENJOY THE COUNTRYSIDE. By MARCUS WOODWARD. HOW TO ENJOY LIFE. By SIDNEY DARK. HOW TO ENJOY THE BIBLE. By CANON ANTHONY C. DEANE, M.A. _General Preface_ The object of HODDER AND STOUGHTON'S PEOPLE'S LIBRARY is to supply in brief form simply written introductions to the study of History, Literature, Biography and Science; in some degree to satisfy that ever-increasing demand for knowledge which is one of the happiest characteristics of our time. The names of the authors of the first volumes of the Library are sufficient evidence of the fact that each subject will be dealt with authoritatively, while the authority will not be of the "dry-as-dust" order. Not only is it possible to have learning without tears, but it is also possible to make the acquiring of knowledge a thrilling and entertaining adventure. HODDER AND STOUGHTON'S PEOPLE'S LIBRARY will, it is hoped, supply this adventure. _Printed in Great Britain. R. Clay & Sons, Ltd., Printers, Bungay._ End of Project Gutenberg's St. Francis of Assisi, by G. K. Chesterton