Page:Great Men and Famous Women Volume 5.djvu/144

 86 WORKMEN AND HEROES Nowadays we have many lion-tamers and tiger-tamers, who rely simply upon human will and craft Therefore it is not astonishing that St Francis, who re- lied upon Divine power, should have been able to tame beasts. What is sur- prising is, that he should have been able to control men, who are so much harder to tame. The poems of St. Francis his " Canticle of the Sun," " Canticle of Love," and " Canticle of Charity " exemplify the immense and tender scope of his ex- quisite love and good-will. His Order continues, and has given rise to subsidi- ary organizations such as the Recollects and the Capuchins. Thousands of peo- ple in common life belong to his Third Order, now, and continue his work unostentatiously. His spirit is alive and operative in the world to-day, nearly six hundred and seventy years since he left this earth. ST. LOUIS BY HENRY G. HEWLETT (1215-1270) THE most striking features of the political history of France during the tenth and eleventh centuries are the conflict of the feudal aristocracy on the one hand, with monarchical and democratical power on the other, and the influence exerted by the Crusades on both. The Crusades aided much in the accomplishment of the final result, the destruction of the power of the nobility. In the first place, they glorified the character of feudalism by enforcing the principles of chivalry. To be a " true knight," a man must be devout, just, merciful, and pure. Many Crusaders, indeed, fell far short of this high ideal ; but there can be no doubt that, on the wh'ole, it elevated the standard of moral ity, and checked the rampant tyranny which had previously prevailed. Founded on a principle of sincere though mistaken piety, the Crusaders recognized all who took the cross as brethren ; hence the meanest serf became, in some meas ure, free ; and the same benign sentiment extended its effect to all classes. The attraction of a common cause in foreign lands further contributed to wean the Crusaders from the class quarrels and domestic feuds which occupied them at