ect of the Franciscan spirit which those who study the life of St.
Francis in all its literal simplicity may fail to discover. For actual
pre-eminence in learning and the establishment of means to secure its
continuance amongst his followers do not at first sight appear to
receive either approval or support from the life of St. Francis.
Learning and the honour naturally attaching to it seem to savour of
temporal greatness, but direct and absolute opposition to this was the
dominant note in Francis' life. He would have his brethren called
"Friars Minor," or lesser brethren, and he directly says in his Rule:
"Let those who are unlearned not seek to learn". Yet we find St.
Bonaventure--deeply imbued with the spirit of St. Francis, and seventh
General of his Order--bearing the high dignity of Master of Theology
and Arts, and as Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, occupying one of
the most exalted stations in Christendom.

{3}

In the course of our survey we shall discover the secret of this
apparent anomaly. No one appears to have been more fully alive to its
existence than St. Bonaventure himself, as frequent references to it
in his writings testify. It is from these references and the
explanations they contain that we receive the truest insight into the
development of the spirit of learning in the Franciscan Order.

St. Bonaventure was born in the year 1221, at Balneumregis, the modern
Bagnorea, in the vicinity of Viterbo. His parents were John and
Ritella Fidanza. Their station in life is a matter of conjecture. One
historian asserts that John Fidanza was descended from the noble house
of Fidanza of Castello, and was a Master of Medicine. We are in no way
concerned to prove the nobility of Bonaventure's ancestors. His
personal eminence in learning and holiness, with which alone we are
concerned, was not the inheritance of rank or station. It may have
been otherwise with those instincts of piety and virtue that developed
in his soul even as a child. To the fostering care of a devout mother
the presence of these may justly be attributed. Experience teaches us
that the mother's influence, if it be good, and well and prudently
directed, is paramount in the life of the child for all time,
determining it for good according to the degree of its own excellence.

Of the early years of our Saint only one striking episode is preserved
to us, which is thus recorded {4} by himself in his introduction
[Footnote 1] to the Life of