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The Lady Clare,
a native of the city of Assisi,
the most precious and strongest stone of the whole structure,
stands as the foundation for all the other stones.a
For
after the beginning of the Order of Brothers,
when this lady was converted to God
through the counsel of the holy man,
she lived for the good of many
and as an example to countless others.
Noble by lineage, but more noble by grace,b
chaste in body, most chaste in mind,
young in age, mature in spirit ,
steadfast in proposal and most eager in her desire for divine
love,
endowed with wisdom and excelling in humility,
bright in name, more brilli ant in life, most brilliant in
character.c
19A noble structure of precious pearls arose above this woman,
whose praise comes not from mortals but from God,
since our limited understanding is not sufficient to imagine it,
nor our scanty vocabulary to utter it.
First of all,
the virtue of mutual and continual charity
that binds their wills together
flourishes among them.
Forty or fifty of them can dwell together in one place,
wanting and not wanting the same things
forming one spirit in them out of many.d
Second,
the gem of humility,
- This may allude to 1 Kgs 7:9-10, a description of Solomon’s temple, and Rv 21:19, a description of the city walls of the heavenly Jerusalem and thus would refer to the temples of the historical and the heavenly Jerusalem.
- Cf. Jerome, Paula 1, “Noble in family, she was nobler still in holiness.”
- This is the earliest instance of the play on the name Clare or Chiara which is translated as “bright.” Thus the Latin text: Clara nomine, vita clarior, clarisima moribus.
- “Idem velle atque idem nolle, ea demum firma amicitia est [Wanting and not wanting the same thing—this is the foundation of a firm friendship].” This is a proverbial saying that Sallust places in the mouth of Cataline who urges his fellow conspirators in the name of friendship to join him in revolt, cf. Caius Crispus Sallust, Bellum Catilinarium XX 4 (The Loab Classical Library) 33-34.