Francis went out to all things, beasts and plants and
stars. He applied the words, "Whatsoever ye do to the least of my
brethren, ye have done unto me," to _Brother Bear_ and _his sisters the
little birds_. He was one of the first men, since the Greek era, who saw
nature in its true aspect and not as a hieroglyphic of the divine word.
Men had realised with a feeling of helplessness the dangers of the
elements, without perceiving their magnificence; they had speculated on
and attempted to decipher the secret language of the terrestrial and
celestial phenomena. The discovery of the beauty of nature, and with it
the revival of aesthetics, was an essential part of the new-born
civilisation. This fact was accomplished--in an almost sentimental
way--by the troubadours and minnesingers. But the relationship of St.
Francis to nature was something very different. The co-ordination of man
and beast--in his sermon to the birds, for instance--cannot be called
anything but frankly pagan.
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