Saint Francis of Assisi (Paraclete Heritage Edition)

by G. K. Chesterton

Hardcover, 2013

Status

Available

Call number

271.3024

Publication

Paraclete Press (2013), Edition: Paraclete heritage ed, 208 pages

Description

Saint Francis of Assisi is one of the most influential men in the whole of human history. This acclaimed biography of Saint Francis examines the life of a pure artist, a man "whose whole life was a poem." Here is the Saint Francis who prayed and danced with pagan abandon, who talked to animals, and who invented the creche. Yet Francis also acknowledged the mystic responsibility to communicate his divine experience. Chesterton examines the existence of the pure eccentric and the devout mystic in one man, offering an understanding of Saint Francis in both body and soul. It has been said that G. K. Chesterton converted to Catholicism in 1922 because "only the Roman Church could have produced a Saint Francis of Assisi." This biography, published shortly after Chesterton's conversion, is universally considered the best appreciation of Francis' life, one that gets to the heart of the matter.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member lucybrown
There were parts that irritated me because Chesterton seemed to be relishing dancing round a mulberry bush and never quite coming to the point. However, on the whole I enjoyed this miniature portrait of the great saint's life and philosophy. It certainly is not exhaustive, but entices one to want
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read more about him.
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LibraryThing member bibleblaster
Describing Francis' death, Chesterton writes: "...there was a sudden stillness...for the stopping of the great heart that had not broken till it held the world." In a mere 150 pages, Chesterton captures a phenomenal character, making many interesting asides along the way. He (Chesterton) is without
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any equivocation an apologist for the Catholic Church, but he does it with the sort of grace that makes one think twice. I am happily Unitarian Universalist, but if I ever became a Catholic it would be because Chesterton led me there. (Though I recommend that the present Pope not hold his breath :-)
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LibraryThing member lucybrown
There were parts that irritated me because Chesterton seemed to be relishing dancing round a mulberry bush and never quite coming to the point. However, on the whole I enjoyed this miniature portrait of the great saint's life and philosophy. It certainly is not exhaustive, but entices one to want
Show More
read more about him.
Show Less
LibraryThing member lucybrown
There were parts that irritated me because Chesterton seemed to be relishing dancing round a mulberry bush and never quite coming to the point. However, on the whole I enjoyed this miniature portrait of the great saint's life and philosophy. It certainly is not exhaustive, but entices one to want
Show More
read more about him.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Lukerik
This is not a biography but rather an essay through which St Francis runs like a thread. It presupposes some knowledge of the subject. It's readable and well written on a paragraph by paragraph basis and is often interesting.

Chesterton has a habit of lapsing into flippant bigotry and spouting
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bollocks. Which is a shame. I would recommend this book to someone who agrees with his unsubstantiated opinions.
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LibraryThing member DinadansFriend
A relentless hagiography quite in the style of the Medieval masters of the form. This book has little to aid to any in depth discussion of an interesting saint. Only for the devout, intent on gaining a grasp of the essential facts. My version was published in 1973. It was originally ground out in
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1923.
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LibraryThing member pgkr
Quirky, self-aware, brief biography(-ish) of the quirky, self-aware, brief life of a mystic and Christian saint(-ish).

Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

1923

Physical description

7.5 inches

ISBN

9781612614465
Page: 0.686 seconds