Evening star., 1925-08-12
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

without animal pets? They do give
so much affection and loyalty"
y X y 4
Any one who gets the idea of
this is thyself' in his head will never
| thereafter be either thoughtlessly or
purposely cruel, or even Indifferent,
| to animals.
Animals are the people God forgot,
in that He failed to give them the
powers of language which are ours,
thus depriving them of the ability to
help each other progress.
So we call them the dumb brutes"
OF all men who ever lived, prob
ably none had such great affection
for the creatures as st. Francis of
Assist, most universally beloved of
all the saints. Today Protestants
and Catholics unite to honor his
memory.
He was a friend of all created
things, being regarded by many in
his own day as a sort of amiable
madman. when he talked to birds and
beasts as if they were human beings.
There are many stories extant of
these lectures, and many pictures of
st. Francis speaking to the birds.
Something about such a picture
touches the heart.
Here was man who believed to
the full in the phrase, This is thy
self"
Animals, to ST. Francis, were
brothers and sisters, little fellow be-
ings in world whose praise it was
necessary to sing.
He must have felt convinced that
the Creator, if He had not given these
little brothers of field and air the
powers to reply to Him, yet had
equipped them with very capable
looking ears and the necessary intel
ligence to understand Him.
One may have doubts that the
creatures actually did grasp the full
significance of the saints appeals for
pepance, but there is little doubt that
the animals and birds did understand
him In some measure.
Those who love animals will under
stand.
X X *x
There have been several new books
published recently on ST. Francis.
This great man was born at Assist
in 1882, and died there in 1925. The
son of a rich merchant, he was re-
preached with extravaganza in dress
as a youth, but soon began to devote
so much of his fathers money to re-
pairing old churches that Bernardone,
ST., protested.
The son then took on the dress of
a common laborer and began to beg
funds to help church repair. and
worked at them himself. He helped
the i'll, and generally went around do
| ing good.
AS far as I can find out. he never
| became a priest. although he later
founded the Order of Franciscans,
first called the Preachers OF Penance.
ed thousands OF followers, so that
more than 5000 friars attended the
| first general chapter of the order.
These men preached absolute power
" and practiced 1t, depending on Of
ferings for their livelihood and work
in this world.
They were dominated by the char.
acter and enthusiasm Of their founder
and leader, but I suspect that many of
his followers did not follow him at all
in his love for animals and birds.
/ suspect that there are many living
today who look at the pictures of st.
Francis preaching 10 the birds without
the slightest bit of understanding, and
If you could get their honest opinion
would be willing TO admit that in their
opinion he had an amiable weakness
Those, however. who nave dog and
cat friends will believe that the ami.
mails and birds understood, in their
way. what st. Francis was telling
them, in his.
This little dog is you. This little cat
] is YOU. Treat II So