Saint Francis of Assisi

by G. K. Chesterton

Overview

Francis of Assisi is, after Mary of Nazareth, the greatest saint in the Christian calendar, and one of the most influential men in the whole of human history. By universal acclaim, this biography by G. K. Chesterton is considered the best appreciation of Francis's life—the one that gets to the heart of the matter.



For Chesterton, Francis is a great paradoxical figure, a man who loved women but vowed himself to chastity; an artist who loved the pleasures of the natural world as few have loved them, but vowed himself to the most austere poverty, stripping himself naked in the public square so all could see that he had renounced his worldly goods; a clown who stood on his head in order to see the world aright. Chesterton gives us Francis in his world-the riotously colorful world of the High Middle Ages, a world with more pageantry and romance than we have seen before or since. Here is the Francis who tried to end the Crusades by talking to the Saracens, and who interceded with the emperor on behalf of the birds. Here is the Francis who inspired a revolution in art that began with Giotto and a revolution in poetry that began with Dante. Here is the Francis who prayed and danced with pagan abandon, who talked to animals, who invented the creche.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780385029001
Publisher:	The Crown Publishing Group
Publication date:	11/17/1987
Series:	Image Classics , #10
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	552,542
Product dimensions:	5.52(w) x 8.15(h) x 0.49(d)

About the Author

G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936) was an English journalist, theologian, philosopher, playwright, mystery writer, and more. Among his many great works are Saint Thomas Aquinas, The Everlasting Man, and Orthodoxy.

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Chapter I
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Saint Francis of Assisi"
by .
Copyright © 1987 G. K. Chesterton.
Excerpted by permission of The Crown Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Chapter I The Problem of St. Francis 1

Chapter II The World St. Francis Found 7

Chapter III Francis the Fighter 19

Chapter IV Francis the Builder 29

Chapter V Le Jongleur De Dieu 39

Chapter VI The Little Poor Man 51

Chapter VII The Three Orders 63

Chapter III The Mirror of Christ 75

Chapter IX Miracles and Death 87

Chapter X The Testament of St. Francis 97