pious father, stubbornly objected that he should not provide for someone else by neglecting himself. But he said to him: "I do not want to be a thief; ^{Jn 12:6} we will be accused of theft if we do not give this to someone in greater need." Thus the pious father handed over the mantle to the poor man.

31
HOW HE GAVE A NEW CLOAK TO A POOR PERSON WITH A CERTAIN CONDITION

At "Le Celle" of Cortona,^a blessed Francis was wearing a new mantle that the brothers had gone to some trouble to find for him. A poor man came to the place weeping for his dead wife and his poor little family that was left desolate. The saint compassionately said to him: "I'm giving you this cloak, but on the condition that you do not hand it over to anyone unless he buys it and pays you well." Upon hearing this, the brothers came running to the poor man to take the mantle away. But the poor man, taking courage from the father's look, clutched it with both hands and defended it as his own. Finally the brothers had to redeem the mantle, paying the price owed the poor man.

32
HOW A POOR MAN FORGAVE THE HURTS
AND CEASED TO HATE HIS MASTER
BECAUSE OF THE ALMS OF BLESSED FRANCIS

At Colle^b in the county of Perugia, blessed Francis met a poor man whom he had known before in the world. He asked him: "Brother, how are you doing?" The man malevolently began to heap curses on his lord. "Thanks to my lord, may the Almighty Lord curse him, I'm very bad off because he stripped me of all my possessions!"

When blessed Francis saw that the man persisted in mortal hatred, he felt pity for his soul. He said to him: "Brother, forgive your lord for the love of God, so you may set your soul free, and it may be that he will return; to you what he has taken. Otherwise you will lose not only your property but also your soul." He replied: "I can't entirely forgive him unless he first gives back to me what he took." Then blessed Francis said to him: "Here, I'll give you this cloak, and beg you to forgive your

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considerans pii patris necessitatem, pertinaciter obsistebat ne provideret alteri, se neglecto. ³Cui dixit sanctus: « Ego nolo essefur, nam pro furto nobis imputaretur si non daremus ipsum magis egenti ». Sicque pater pius mantellum pauperi condonavit.

Qualiter dedit pauperi mantellum novum cum pacto.
Caput 31.

¹Apud Cellam de Cortona portabat beatus Franciscus novum mantellum, quem pro ipso fratres acquisiverant studiose. Venit pauper ad locum, plorans uxorem mortuam et familiam pauperculam derelictam. ²Cui sanctus compatiens, ait: « Hunc mantellum do tibi tali pacto ut nulli reddas ipsum, nisi bene emat et solvat tibi ». ³Quod audientes fratres cucurrerunt ad pauperem, ut mantellum auferrent eidem . ⁴Sed pauper, in vultu sancti patris audaciam sumens, ipsum junctis manibus ut proprium defendebat. Finaliter fratres redimerunt mantellum, procurantes pauperi pretium debitum exhiberi.

Qualiter quidam pauper virtute
eleemosynae beati Francisci remisit injurias
et odium domino suo.
Caput 32.

¹Apud Collem, comitatus Perusii, beatus Franciscus reperit quemdam pauperem quem prius noverat in saeculo; dixitque ad eum: « Frater, qualiter te habes? ». ²At ille, irato animo coepit contra dominum suum maledicta proferre, dicens: « Gratia domini mei, cui Dominus maledicat, non possum me habere nisi male, eo quod abstulit mihi omnia mea! ».

³Videns autem beatus Franciscus ipsum in odio mortali persistere, miseratus animam ejus, ait illi: « Frater, indulgeas domino tuo, amore Dei, ut liberes animam tuam, et possibile est quod ipse tibi ablata restituat; alioquin, et res tuas perdidisti, et animam tuam perdes ». ⁴Et ille dixit: « Non possum penitus indulgere nisi prius ea quae abstulit reddat mihi ». Tunc beatus Franciscus dixit ei: « Ecce do tibi hunc mantellum, et precor te ut indulgeas domino tuo,