document will give but small promise, and quite indirectly, that it
will contain his personal opinion.

Never was man less capable of making a Rule than Francis. In reality,
that of 1210 and the one which the pope solemnly approved in November
29, 1223, had little in common except the name. In the former all is
alive, free, spontaneous; it is a point of departure, an inspiration; it
may be summed up in two phrases: the appeal of Jesus to man, "Come,
follow me," the act of man, "He left all and followed him." To the call
of divine love man replies by the joyful gift of himself, and that quite
naturally, by a sort of instinct. At this height of mysticism any
regulation is not only useless, it is almost a profanation; at the very
least it is the symptom of a doubt. Even in earthly loves, when people
truly love each other nothing is asked, nothing promised.

The Rule of 1223, on the other hand, is a reciprocal contract. On the
divine side the call has become a command; on the human, the free
impulse of love has become an act of submission, by which life eternal
will be earned.

At the bottom of it all is the antinome of law and love. Under the reign
of law we are the mercenaries of God, bound down to an irksome task,
but paid a hundred-fold, and with an indisputable right to our wages.

Under the rule of love we are the sons of God, and coworkers with him;
we give ourselves to him without bargaining and without expectation; we
follow Jesus, not because this is well, but because we can do no
otherwise, because we feel that he has loved us and we love him in our
turn. An inward flame draws us irresistibly toward him: _Et Spiritus et
Sponsa dicunt: Veni_.

It is necessary to dwell a little on the antithesis between these two
Rules. That of 1210 alone is truly Franciscan; that of 1223 is
indirectly the work of the Church, endeavoring to assimilate with
herself the new movement, which with one touch she transforms and turns
wholly from its original purpose.

That of 1221 marks an intermediate stage. It is the clash of two
principles, or rather of two spirits; they approach, they touch, but
they are not merged in one another; here and there is a mixture, but
nowhere combination; we can separate the divers elements without
difficulty. Their condition is the exact reflection of what was going on
in Francis's soul, and of the rapid evolution of the Order.

To aid him in his work Francis joined to himself Brother Caesar of
S