Respectfully Yours: Signed and Sealed, Francis of Assisi: Aspects of His Authorship and Focuses of His Spirituality

Chapter 4 - A Didactic Poem on the Art of Living: Salutation of the Virtues

135 Chapter 4 A Didactic Poem on the Art of Living: Salutation of the Virtues In Chapter 3 we paid a great deal of attention to the basic attitudes which Francis sees incarnate in the person who has converted to Christ. Admonition 18 concisely characterizes these attitudes. Apparently, it was to be read against the background of Admonition 2, which decries the expansion of self at the cost of others. The wrongness of such a development of self had to be exposed and corrected. A similar exposure is put into words by the Salutation of the Virtues. This writing is something like an unveiling of all that stands in the way of a person who wants to belong to Christ. In the presence of the forces of evil, it expresses realism and thoughtful seriousness, qualities that belonged to Francis no less than the optimistic attitude we generally associate with him. His reputation as a cheerful peacemaker remains intact even though we sometimes recognize a certain sternness in him. This Salutation is probably one of his least known writings. One who hears about it for the first time may well be in for a surprise. What could it mean that virtues are addressed and in such an exalted manner? Can a discussion of virtues still hold any attraction for people of today?1 While we are aware of these questions, we know that the poet of the Canticle of the Creatures is able to captivate countless people. Should we not also pay attention to him when he expresses himself with a degree of severity? He might be able to open our eyes to realities of which our modern world has lost sight.2 At any rate, this Salutation deepens our understanding of the power lines of Francis’s spirituality. In order to describe them accurately, we must 1 Also in the legacy of Brother Giles, one of Francis’s first followers, we find a hymn, Salutation of the Virtues: Dicta beati Aegidii Assisiensis (Quaracchi, editio secunda, 1939). The Golden Sayings of the Blessed Brother Giles of Assisi, ed. Paschal Robinson (Philadelphia, 1907), 111. He, too, addresses many virtues as “lady.” 2 Among those who studied this text we mention Etienne Gilson, “La Sagesse de Saint François,” in Les Amis de St. François, 6 (1939), 7-15; Sigismund Verheij, o.c., (1960), 107131 ; Leonard Lehmann, (1984) o.c., 221- 246; Helene Nolthenius, o.c. (1991), 374 ff. 136 Yours Respectfully: Francis of Assisi first consider the composition of this Salutation. In it, Francis’s skill as an artful “weaver” of texts (that is, as a poet) manifests itself splendidly. Moreover, by means of the symbolism of numbers, as well as by his sharply focused attention to the sounds and to the placing of words in crucial contexts, he wove into the text a somewhat concealed message. Too long it was thought that the motif of concealment (by no means unknown in medieval literature) was inconceivable for someone like Francis. However, in the writings with which we will deal in part II of this book, we will further point out how Francis did use it. Time of Origin and Authorship There is no unanimity about the time of origin of this Salutation. Because obedience receives a great deal of attention, some feel that it belongs to the last years of Francis’s life. Nolthenius situates it after the period of spiritual aridity that Francis is thought to have suffered from 1221 till 1223.3 About Francis’s authorship there is no doubt. Celano has an almost literal quotation from the title and the first verse of the Salutation. Speaking of Francis’s concern about the simplicity of his brothers, Celano says: “Therefore, in the Praises of the Virtues which he [Francis] composed, he says: ‘Hail, Queen Wisdom! May the Lord protect you, with Your Sister, pure holy Simplicity’” (2C 189). Other indications seem to confirm Francis as the author of this writing—the use of biblical words, the use of pairs of virtues and sets of three, and the personification in addressing the virtues as “Lady” and “Sister.” The latter is of biblical origin and accords with the style of courtly love poetry.4 Lauda and Didactic Poem It is not clear how the Salutation of the Virtues functioned in the early days of the brotherhood. Was it meant to be a prayer or rather an admonition? In the manuscripts it is usually placed under the heading of 3 Die Opus...