of the poor; humbly entreating him to allow him to remain some time
with him. The priest consented to receive Francis, but refused the
money, fearing the displeasure of his father; and Francis, who had
utter contempt for money, not valuing it more than so much dust, when
it was of no use for good works, threw it upon one of the windows of
the church.

The heretics of the last century, who calumniated the Saint for many
things, have deemed it criminal in him to have taken these pieces of
cloth from his father's stores. St. Bonaventure is of a different way
of thinking; he has not thought that this action required justification;
on the contrary, he calls the sale of the cloth and of the horse a
fortunate bargain. And, indeed, without going into the right which the
son may have had in the commercial affairs of his father, in consequence
of their partnership, and of his age of twenty-five, had he not reason
to think that, having received orders from heaven to repair a church,
God, who is the Master and Dispenser of all goods, permitted him to
employ a portion of the goods which were under his paternal roof, since
he had no other means of obeying the injunction? But it is an
extraordinary case, which must not be drawn into precedent. The general
rule of Christian morality is, that children may not dispose of anything
without the permission of their parents even under the pretext of
piety.

Bernardo on his return from a journey, having heard what his son had
done, came in great wrath to St. Damian's with several members of his
family; and Francis, who had not yet sufficient strength of mind to
encounter the storm, and wished to avoid the first ebullition, went
and hid himself in the priest's room. Three contemporary authors assure
us that, having placed himself behind the door, and pressing himself