Chapter 4

1I strictly command all my brothers not to receive coins or money in any form either personally or through intermediaries.

2Whoever undertakes to be a disciple of Christ must have faith and confess justice and salvation with the firmness of the magnificent and praiseworthy humility of God, so that by a trust of deepest faith his way of life may be in heaven and he may savour, thirst for and seek only those things that are above where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. 3For this reason he defines in the first chapter what is the Rule and Life of the Lesser Brothers, namely, to observe the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 4In the second chapter he determines the way and form for entering this life, namely, the genuine and verbal confession and promise. 5In the third chapter he declares in a wonderful way how humble and devout praise is to be given to God.

6In this fourth chapter, and in the fifth and sixth chapters, he lays down the way and form of a heavenly life, conformed to the cross, a way of life in heaven that savours and seeks only such things as are of Christ; he surrounds and protects it by obedience and a statute of the strongest command. 7He does this so that he might drive far away from it, destroy and ruin it by utterly eradicating the desire for and love of gold, silver and all money, the root of all evil, as something that is to God most unclean and an abominable worship of idols.

8When Christ crucified appeared to Francis, he taught him to follow and promise the nakedness of his cross and life, and he imposed this on his disciples, namely, not to own gold, silver, nor to carry money in a money-belt. Francis ordered the same under precept to those professing his Rule, 9so that with Peter and John they would be able to glory, not vainly, in their promise and observance of the evangelical vow, by saying to a poor person who asks them for an alms: We do not have silver and gold because we keep the precept of our Master, but, for nothing, receive health by the power he has given us.

10Nothing so guides the steps to eternal life and opens up a bloodless path through the thorns of riches as does the love and observance of evangelical poverty. 11It cures the dropsy of greed, quenches the insatiable thirst of avarice, takes from the Master of truth a guarantee and a right to the kingdom of heaven and, by a trust of faith, has a dwelling in heaven with the angels. 12It is always present with Christ, the saint of saints and king of kings, as an inseparable companion, born with him while on a journey, lying in a manger, fasting in the desert, preaching and without a house spending the night in prayer to God; 13like a spouse, it clings to him hanging naked on the cross between two thieves and commending his spirit into the hands of the Father with tears and a strong cry; 14it is there to be buried with him, going down to hell with him, rising, ascending into heaven and sitting on a throne at the right hand of the Father, and born with him from the beginning, before all time, it will reign with him in heaven forever.

15Because the kingdom of Christ and his evangelical poverty is not of this world, those who imitate Christ despise gold, silver and money, in which lovers of the world trust, since it will be difficult for those who trust in riches and money to enter the kingdom of heaven. 16Christ himself said: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 17For it is not possible to serve God and mammon, because riches are thorns that hinder the service of God more than anything else. 18So it is written: Nothing is more wicked than the covetous man and there is not a more wicked thing than to love money. 19Blessed, however, is the man that is found without blemish, and that has not gone after gold nor put his trust in money and treasures.

20Who is he other than an imitator of the poor Christ, a person who has totally removed avarice, a service of idols, by a love for and by a promise of evangelical poverty; 21a person who desires and longs for nothing visible, nothing earthly, who is not anxious for nor thinks to acquire them, who does not build up treasure for tomorrow, who does not worry over guarding what has been acquired or gathered, nor is forced to manage or defend it.

22Such a person was the innovator, Francis, made so by Christ’s gift of poverty and evangelical humility, and who, in the Rule, firmly forbade any use, ownership or receiving of coins and money as highly seductive and dangerous. 23For he knew by the Holy Spirit that, to true followers of the poverty of Christ, the ownership and accepting of money is an incitement and deceit of satanic evil, an incurable poison and complete wiping out of trust, hope and the life of charity. 24For they that will become rich and gather treasures of gold, silver and money fall into temptation and into the snare of the devil and into many unprofitable and hurtful desires, which drown men into destruction and perdition.

25Certainly, Achan, seduced by gold and a precious garment took what was under a ban and for this reason was stoned by all the people as a violator of a divine command and a cause of ruin to the army of the Lord. Judas sold Christ to the Jews for thirty pieces of coin and, unable to bear the burden of the sin he had committed, went and hanged himself with a halter. 27Gehazi, against the wish of Elisha, received money and garments from Naaman the Syrian as the value of the divine gift and he and his descendents incurred the leprosy of Naaman.

28Simon wanted to buy with money from the prince of the apostles the gift of the Holy Spirit, for which reason he was cut off from grace and the gifts of the Spirit, not only as one who spreads the heresy of simony, but, filled with the gall of bitterness and iniquity, he handed himself over totally and most wickedly to the service of the prince of darkness.

29But the leaders and sacred models of the perfect saints, namely, Elijah the prophet whose word burnt as a torch, and John, the precursor of the Lord, a burning and shining light, were workers and forerunners in their works and words; they teach, give witness and, as two candlesticks and witnesses and two Cherubim, proclaim the most divine and perfect evangelical life of Christ. 30Not only are contempt, giving away, hatred and a crucifix-like nakedness of all that is earthly and visible, suitable for perfect disciples of Christ, 31but they bear in a pure and holy way the image and likeness of the heavenly man, the habit and fruits of the perfect virtues of Christ, the sure possession of the spirit when they set aside the clothing of confusion, greed for what is earthly, and for all things of the world; such clothing does not inherit heavenly and eternal goods. 32It is right that the door to the perfection of Christ and his highest poverty is closed to the tepid and greedy, to lovers of what is visible and temporal, but is opened to the poor and humble by his strong cry and tears and by the merit of his prayers and death.

33For Christ is the faithful and true witness, the beginning and end of nature, law, grace and glory, to whom Moses, Elijah and John the Precursor give witness, so that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall stand, because the kingdom of Christ is not of this world. 34Filled with the virtue and wisdom of Christ, with the very Saint of saints, the faithful and true witness, they testify and proclaim together in actions and word, because the evil works of the world are seated in wickedness; 35so they are regarded with hatred by the world that runs, afire with an infernal fire, totally headlong after the concupiscence of the flesh, eyes and the pride of life, because they were faithful and true witnesses of eternal light and incorruptible life that the death of sin and the darkness of error cannot comprehend.

36The sun of evangelical life, the Rule and teaching, with an unbreakable firmness of its precepts, makes those who profess and observe it to be crucified with Christ and totally dead to the world; it indicates those corrupted by Jewish unfaithfulness and impiety, recognized opponents of truth, abusive of grace, who assume it fictitously and hypocritically and under the habit and profession of holiness, while living according to their own desires and wills and not for Christ, are made opponents of the vow and can glory only in the name of the foolish virgins.

37However, so that the greed and hypocritical evil of the world, proven by the testimony of truth to be bound and beholden to a sevenfold woe, might not affect and corrupt those who profess the evangelical rule, Christ, the master of poverty and truth, revealed to Francis, the innovator of his life, to command strictly all the brothers not to receive coins or money in any form, either personally or through intermediaries, 38because all dangers and occasions of the evils inherent in riches, are more abundant in a love of money and treasure. 39He predicted that, as the coming of the son of perdition came closer, Satan would enkindle in the brothers a fire of greed and avarice, would influence the Order to accept coins and money, and would stir up in the very ones who professed the life of Christ a hatred of evangelical poverty and of the brothers wanting to observe it. They would persecute in obstinacy of mind and from a bitter zeal true lovers of the pure and faithful, regular observance, 40defame them as heretics, beset them with subtleties of words, defame secretly those so beset, publicly condemn them and preach that it is a service to God to hand them over to death. 41They would try with all their strength, officially, with authority, privileges and wrong processes, to put the name of justice, holiness and observance of the promised perfection and life on their statements, statutes and works of equivocation. They would take care with all their strength, in many ways and with cunning, to darken the brightness of sunlight and of the purest clarity revealed to him divinely, and to impose silence by quarrels and edicts.

42So Christ wished that he would command by a triple precept from the Rule not to receive coins or money in any form, either personally or through intermediaries, so that they might have no excuse whatever in their own consciences nor before God for a equivocation of the vow nor for persecution of those wanting to observe the command in a regular way. 43He used to say that were the foundation of highest poverty to be taken away from the Order, the whole Religion would collapse and, burdened with innumerable evils, would be reduced to few in number.

44Hence, in the Rule granted and approved for him by Pope Innocent, who announced to all in the Lateran Council that he had himself approved and granted it to the Saint and his brothers, was written:

45The Lord teaches in the Gospel: Watch, beware of all malice and greed. 46And: Guard yourselves against the anxieties of this world and the cares of this life.

47Let none of the brothers, therefore, wherever he may be or go, carry, receive, or get in any way coin or money, whether for clothing, books, or payment for some work – indeed not for any reason, because we should not think of coin or money as having any greater usefulness than stones. 48The devil wants to blind those who desire or consider it better than stones. 49May we who have left all things, then, be careful of not losing the kingdom of heaven for so little.

50If we find coins anywhere, let us pay no more attention to them than to the dust that we trample underfoot, for vanity of vanities and all is vanity. 51If by chance, may it not happen, it does happen that some brother is collecting or holding coin or money, unless it be for the needs of the sick, let all the brothers consider him a deceptive brother, an apostate, a thief, a robber, and as the one who held the money bag, unless he has sincerely repented.

52Let the brothers in no way receive, arrange to receive, seek, or plan to seek money for leper colonies or coins for any house or place; and let them not accompany anyone begging money or coins for such places. 53However, the brothers can perform for those places other services not contrary to our life with the blessing of God. 54Nevertheless, the brothers can beg alms for a manifest need of the lepers. 55But let them beware of money. 56Similarly, let all the brothers be careful of going throughout the world for filthy gain.

57He strictly commands the brothers that they cannot receive coins or money in any form, either personally or through intermediaries; he did not want his brothers to receive or obtain anything for the purpose of selling, laying up treasure, storing in granaries or store rooms for grain, wine and such things. 58But they are to receive, from the work of their hands or from what was offered or humbly begged for the love of God, only the provisions needed for a present or imminent necessity. 59Money is not only cash but everything ordinarily used by people when they need to buy something at a price, or whatever is received to be sold, or whatever is given or received for cash. 60However, the exchange of one thing for another is called barter.

61Those who have promised to live for Christ in the evangelical observance of the life and rule of Christ, receive and obtain everything used for divine worship as well as necessary food and clothing, from obedience, from the command of Christ himself and from his Gospel. This is true obedience to Christ, his Gospel, grace, the working and fulfilling of charity, and a heavenly way of life in accord with the book of heavenly law, for those who are not of this world. It is a decree, a rule of peace and of the truth of piety, divinely given out of great love and kindness by the Father of mercies through Christ and the Paraclete. 62Through this they lay up nothing from the world as treasure, defend nothing, quarrel with no one, share these things with the needy and deprive themselves of what is necessary so that they might give back to Christ what belongs to Christ; truly poor and stripped of all ownership, they are judged worthy of the kingdom of heaven by the Teacher of truth.

63Nevertheless, the ministers and custodians alone may take special care through their spiritual friends to provide for the needs of the sick and the clothing of the others according to places, seasons and cold climates, as they judge necessary, saving always that, as stated above, they do not receive coins or money.

64He mentions only these two necessities as being more in accord with piety for which he directs the ministers and custodians, like pious fathers for their children, to take special care through spiritual friends, but in such a way that they do not receive money. 65Therefore, those who, according to the vow of the Rule of perfection are subjects and dead to the world and to their affections and who for God’s sake have renounced their own wills, are not to be anxious nor to care for the necessities of their body; rather it is the duty of the prelates with all diligence and watchfulness to care for their subjects, as for sons and joint heirs with Christ. 66Doing these things they are following Christ who laid down his life for the sheep, and they fulfil his precept, who, to love and provide for subjects and to lay down his life for them should the need arise, gave an example to all prelates and confirmed the example with a precept of charity.

67Hence, ministers, custodians and guardians, who in the Rule are understood and included under this name just as in it ministers are included under the name custodian, are bound to provide personally and by other brothers, through spiritual and devout persons, carefully and from the command of the Rule with full observance of that precept, but for these pious needs they are not to receive coins or money either personally or through intermediaries. 68Christ imposed this on Francis, so that by such regular observance they might show to the world that they desire nothing worldly and want nothing earthly on earth other than to seek and love the things that are above for themselves and for others not in pretence but in truth. 69The whole life and behaviour of the brothers should be a living and effective representation of the perfection of Christ and a preaching of contempt for the world.

70He used to say that ‘to God’s servants money is nothing but a snare of the devil and a poisonous snake’. 70For this reason he wanted his brothers to keep away from any acceptance or touching of it; he expelled from the Order those who acted against this, or severely punished them when they confessed with genuine contrition, as is clear in the penance he gave to the brother who put aside the money offered on the altar of Saint Mary of the Angels, unbeknown to the brothers, so as to give it the first poor person to come. 72And in the penance he gave to Brother Augustine, while he was still a novice, because he gave in to the unsuitable requests of a certain merchant to carry money on a journey on a road thought to be a place for robbers. 73And in the command he gave to the brother who suggested to him, under the guise of piety, to take from the road the money-bag that appeared, by the deception of the devil, to be full of money but from which the devil in the form of a snake visibly came out, suddenly vanished and, forced by the virtue of the holy man, showed what he intended to do. 74This is how all the disciples of Christ were taught to despise in their words and actions all that is visible and to seek and love only what is heavenly.

75Saint Ambrose, commenting on the text of the Gospel: Take nothing for your journey, says:

If we are forbidden to own gold and carry anything, the Apostle Peter, the first to carry out the command of the Lord, shows that the commands given by the Lord are not in vain. When a poor man asked him to give him something he said to him: silver and gold I have none. 76However, Peter did not glory in not having silver and gold, but in keeping the command of the Lord who laid down: Do not possess gold, that is to say: ‘You see me a disciple of Christ and yet you ask me for gold?’

77And Augustine: ‘In excusing almsgiving and the profession of poverty, he says to the paralytic: get up and walk, so observing the precept of the Master who said: Do not possess gold or silver’.

78So the Apostle Thomas said to the king offering him valuable clothing: ‘Do you not know that those who desire to have power in heaven, carry nothing carnal nor earthly?’

79And John the Evangelist said to the two disciples who turned back: Our Lord fixed the struggle of souls in this, namely, that they may believe they will have eternal riches who do not want to have temporal as their name.

80And then, when King Abagarus ordered that gold and silver be given to the Apostle Thaddeus, he refused saying: ‘We who have left what belongs to us, how can we receive what belongs to others?’

81Saint Bartholomew, the Apostle, said to King Polimius who had laden camels with gold, silver and precious stones to give to the Apostle: ‘Why have you looked for me everyday with gold, silver and precious stones? These gifts are accepted by those who need what is earthly, but I desire nothing earthly, nothing carnal’.

82Those who genuinely seek what is heavenly, despise what is earthly. 83Athanasius writes of Saint Anthony that, when he found a large treasure and true gold, he fled from the place where he found the treasure as he would from the face of a dragon. 84And the great monk, Saint Cariton, on finding a treasure in the desert, named it death. 85And the holy Libyan priest Postunianus replied to someone offering him gold that he did not need gold and that the Church of God is not built with gold but destroyed by it. In a similar way, Barlaam Iosaphath made a reply with many arguments to a person offering what was suitable for food and clothing for himself and his brothers. 87And we find that all the disciples of Christ and those who follow and profess the apostolic life gave similar replies to any who offered them money, earthly wealth and possessions.

88In this way Saint Francis, taught by Christ, clung to the footprints of the perfect saints and, living in an apostolic way, vowed and observed evangelical poverty and commanded his brothers to vow and observe it. 89And then he foresaw that his way of life would be corrupted by a deadly poison and leprosy when, inflamed by the greed of avarice and having relaxed the guidance of regular obedience, it would be turned to receiving money and coins in diverse and cunning ways.

90Saint Macarius, denouncing his disciple John who was prophesying, said: John, I know that you have to be tempted by the devil, so that, under the guise of piety and discretion, you might draw back from the perfection of the poverty you promised; if you consent to this, you will incur an incurable leprosy called elephantiasis and so you will die. 91But if you persevere to the end in the nakedness of poverty, you will have health of body and soul. 92After the death of the master, he opened his hand to receive and, according to the word of the Saint, was struck by leprosy until the last day of his life and was an example to the other monks. 93The same thing happened to Adrian, a disciple of Saint Hilarius, because of the same sin.

94For, already many years ago, blessed Francis, appearing in a wonderful way to the most holy man Brother James of Osimo, showed to his mind that this very thing had happened in the Order in the section of the Relaxed.

95Brother Leo writes: Saint Francis always encouraged by word and example and persuaded his brothers to a love for the highest poverty; he sharply condemned in them everything that deviated from its pure observance.

96Brother Francis often said these words to the brothers: ‘I have never been a thief, that is, in regard to alms, which are the inheritance of the poor. I always took less than I needed, so that other poor people would not be cheated of their share. To act otherwise would be theft’.

97He wanted all his brothers to be as joyful in what they lacked in poverty as in true pleasures, that they would try to rejoice in necessity and need, and that they would make every effort to decline from accepting or obtaining anything superfluous as if it were theft and robbery.