ll thy heart with hottest love,
Yet in true order must thy heart love me,
For without order can no virtue be;
By thine own virtue, then, I from above
Stand in thy soul; and so, most earnestly,
Must love from turmoil be kept wholly free:
The life of fruitful trees, the seasons of
The circling year move gently as a dove:
I measured all the things upon the earth;
Love ordered them, and order kept them fair,
And love to order must be truly wed.
O soul, why all this heat of little worth?
Why cast out order with no thought of care?
For by love's heat must love be governed?

Translation of Maurice Francis Egan.

THE CANTICLE OF THE SUN

[The title is 'Incipiunt Laudes Creaturarum quas fecit
Franciscus ad Laudem et Honorem Dei cum esset Infirmus ad
Sanctum Damianum.' It is sometimes called the 'Canticle of
the Creatures.' It is in Italian, and it opens with these
words:--"Altissimi, omnipotente, bon Signore, tue so le laude
la gloria e l'onore et omne benedictione."]

O Most High, Almighty, good Lord God, to thee belong praise, glory,
honor, and all blessing.

Praised be my Lord God, with all his creatures, and specially our
brother the sun, who brings us the day and who brings us the light;
fair is he, and he shines with a very great splendor. O Lord, he
signifies to us thee!

Praised be my Lord for our sister the moon, and for the stars, the
which he has set clear and lovely in heaven.

Praised be my Lord for our brother the wind, and for air and clouds,
calms and all weather, by which thou upholdest life in all creatures.

Praised be my Lord for our sister water, who is very serviceable to
us, and humble and precious and clean.

Praised be my Lord for our brother fire, through whom thou givest us
light in the darkness; and he is bright and pleasant, and very mighty
and strong.

Praised be my Lord for our mother the earth, the which doth sustain us
and keep us, and bringest forth divers fruits, and flowers of many
colors, and grass.

Praised be my Lord for all those who pardon one another for love's
sake, and who endure weakness and tribulation; blessed are they who
peacefully shall endure, for thou, O Most High, wilt give them a
crown.

Praised be my Lord for our sister the death of the body, from which no
man escapeth. Woe to him who dieth in mortal sin. Blessed are those
who die in thy most hol