The Writings of St. Francis of Assisi - + Saints' Works

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THE WRITINGS OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI religious who have so edified him during his life, his Latin teachers, especially Mrs. Kansas, and Friar Pierbattista Pizzaballa, O.F.M., for introducing him to the Latin texts of St. Francis, and all the kind and generous benefactors who assisted in the preparation, editing, and publishing of this translation. A Note on the Translation of some common Latin terms Throughout his writings St. Francis frequently returns to his major themes of the love of God, and the prior the necessity of turning away from the attractions of this world. In explaining these, the Saint repeatedly uses Latin in a manner that has no strict equivalent in the English language; and for this reason, a brief explanation will be useful to the reader, prior to reading St. Francis in translation. The first Latin term is saeculum: which literally means "the time-span of a single generation," and thus denotes "a generation," as well as that indistinct period of time called "an age", or even "the world," in the sense of the contemporary human society. This term is used frequently in the New Testament to refer to corrupt human society (e.g. Lk 16:8; 20:34; Mt 13:22; Jn 4:4; 1 Cor 2:6,8; 2 Cor 4:4; 1 Tm 6:7). Thus in the English translation of St. Francis writings, saeculum, will be normally translated as "age," but when the context requires another English word (i.e. "generation", "world"), it will be followed immediately with the Latin term placed in round ( ) brackets. The second Latin term is associated with the first: sollicitudo, which means "a diligent or anxious concern," depending on whether it is used in a positive or negative context. St. Francis' usage of this term is almost always in association with saeculum, and this association is most probably on account of Mt 13:22, which speaks of the word of God being suffocated by sollicitudo saeculi istius. Since this could be translated into English as either "a concern for" or "a concern of," it will be helpful to refer to what the learned Jesuit, Cornelius à Lapide says on this text, in his famous Commentarium in Sacram Scripturam: SOLLICITUDO SAECULI: That is, for secular and temporal affairs, e.g. care for a wife, for children, for family, status, office, the dignity, which one has, or which one seeks for himself or for his own; these as a thorn with it stings lacerate the mind, that is, distract, disturb, kill, would, (and) devour, in accord with that (saying): Res est solliciti plena timoris amor [This thing is a love full of solicitous fear]. Since on the contrary solicitude for salvation and for divine things focus the mind, brighten, heal, (and) invigorate it. Therefore sollicitudo will be translated either as "anxious concern" (sollicitudo) or "solicitude" depending on the context. The third Latin term is religio. Literally the word refers to the state of being bound to God, and for this reason St. Francis uses this word almost exclusively as a synonym for the religious Order which God inspired him to found. As can be seen from the twelfth chapter of the Rule of St. Francis, members of other "religions," in the modern sense of the word, were called "infidels" in the Middle Ages. And therefore, lest a contemporary understanding of this term be imposed upon St. Francis' writings, religio will always be translated as "religion," along with a footnote to notify the reader accordingly. Page - 16
THE WRITINGS OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI The fourth Latin term is infirmus. It should be noted that throughout his writings, St. Francis never uses the Latin word aegrotus "sick" (one who suffers from a disease), but rather the Latin word infirmus "infirm" (one who is weak in body). In this he is making a distinction which fosters respect not only for those who are ill but also for the aged and poor in health, which distinction is vital in the government of a community of men who make a life-long promise. However, since in English the word "infirm" is used as a predicate adjective or a substantive, "sick" has been chosen to translate the other usages of infirmus. The English reader therefore should take note, not to construe this usage of "sick" in the standard fashion, when reading this translation. The fifth term is really two Latin words: reddo and refero. The former means "to restore, to render," and the latter "to return, to refer." St. Francis uses the first in regard to restoring unto God the honor and glory, praise and thanks that are His due; and the second, in regard to man's duty to refer unto God all thanks and praise for the good things of this world. In this translations the former will always be translated with the English word "render" and the latter with the English word "return." The sixth term is really three Latin words: amor, dilectio, caritas. In English these can each be translated by the word "love." However this is problematic, for the Latin terms have distinct meanings, and as such merit differing English words if their sense is to be manifested in translation. For this reason the following arrangement has been chosen for utility's sake. The Latin term caritas, will be always translated by the English word "charity" (or other forms such as "charitable") which, however, is meant here, not in the sense of an alms or donation, but of that supernatural form of love that moves one to give of himself or of his possessions to another. The other Latin terms have similar meanings: amor is often used to signify a natural, human, or sensible love, as well as that love which unites one person to another, and dilectio, the love that proceeds from a rational and free choice and which results in delight in another person. Thus St. Francis speaks of the amor Christi which urges us to follow and serve Christ; while Christ in the Gospels speaks of His own dilectio for His disciples, to show that He has chosen to love us first, while we were yet sinners. Nevertheless, English has no single word to distinguish these two forms of love. Hence the Latin terms amor and dilectio, whether used in as nouns, adjectives, adverbs or verbs, will both be translated with the English word "love" (or other forms such as "loving," "lovable," etc.). However to clarify St. Francis' usage, in each of his writings, the first instance of each term will be indicated in round ( ) brackets with the root Latin word. Thereafter the Latin term will only appear in brackets if St. Francis' switches between them. In this manner both the English reader and the student of St. Francis' theology of love will find the Saint's teaching accessible. The seventh term is really four Latin prepositions: de, ex, pro, and propter, which are often used in Latin to express the relation between an action and some cause, event or circumstance. Their meanings in Latin are derived from their use in spatial relations: de (down from), ex (out of), pro (in front of), propter (near by). To manifest this precision of expression, a consistent approach will be taken in translation, in which the English "because of," "from," "on behalf of," and "on account of" will be employed, respectively, in this regard. The only exception being the use of the Latin propter to express the intention or goal of an action; in that case it will be translated with the English phrase "for the sake of." Finally, it should be noted that since St. Francis' use of language to convey obligation is at the heart of the purpose of nearly all his writings, some remark is necessary to clarify the precise translation of the Latin hortatory subjunctive into English. Throughout the Saint's writings one finds the present subjunctive used predominately for the purpose of instructing his Page - 17
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