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S. Francis of Assisi nine centuries later was reluctant to destroy insects, however annoying; but his feeling was a different one; it was predominantly that of unwillingness to inflict pain and death on creatures of God that are so marvellously made and that proclaim in so many ways His goodness. The eyes of Macarius would see in the world a desert of exile and a field of battle against sensuality and worldliness—a place where small sufferings should be despised and great ones magnanimously accepted. The eyes of Francis would see in all creatures, great and small, a vast family bound in chains of love to one another and to the throne of one Heavenly Father.

In his conflicts with evil spirits, there is little that a student of Holy Scripture will look upon as new or strange. As to the objective reality of such experiences it is rash to dogmatize, either in general or in particular cases. All who believe in the existence of a spiritual world and are not mere materialists