cannnot take hold of me without my consent, but there will be a reward for me before my heavenly Father if I give them saving advice."

And behold a voice was heard: ^{Lk 1:44} "Fear not, daughter of Sion, ^{Jn 12:15 Zep 3:16} because these men are the seed whom the Lord has blessed ^{Is 61:9} and chosen in unfeigned love." ^{2 Cor 6:6}

¹⁵And so Lady Poverty, resting on a throne in her nakedness, welcomed them with blessings of sweetness. ^{Ps 21:4 [Vulgate, Ps 20:4]} "Tell me, brothers," she asked them, "what is the reason for your coming and why have you come so quickly from the valley of misery to the mountain of light? Are you, perhaps, looking for me who, as you see, am a poor little one tossed about by storms and without any consolation?" ^{Is 54:11}

Blessed Francis Praises Poverty

¹⁶"We have come to you, our Lady," they answered, "and beg you: receive us in peace! We wish to become servants of the Lord of hosts, because He is the King of glory. ^{Ps 24:10 [Vulgate, Ps 23:10]} We have heard that you are the queen of virtues and, to some extent, we have learned this from experience. Casting ourselves at your feet, then, we humbly ask you to agree to be with us. Be for us the way of arriving at the King of glory, just as you were for Him when He, the Daybreak from on high, agreed to visit those sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death. For we know that yours is the power, yours is the kingdom. ^{1 Chr 29:11} Established as queen and lady by the King of kings, you are above all powers. ^{1 Chr 29:11} Simply make peace with us and we will be saved. In that way, He Who redeemed us through you may receive us through you. If you decide to save us, immediately we will be set free. For He, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, ^{Rv 19:16} the Creator of heaven and earth, desired your splendor ^{Ps 45:12 [Vulgate, Ps 44:12]} and beauty. Even though the king was reclining at table, ^{Sg 1:11} rich and glorious in his kingdom, he left his house and gave up his inheritance: ^{Jer 12:7} for there were glory and riches in his house. ^{Ps 112:3 [Vulgate, Ps 111:3]} And so, coming from his royal throne, ^{Wis 18:15} he sought you with the greatest courtesy.

¹⁷"How great must be your dignity, then, and how beyond compare your stature! He left behind all the ranks of angels and the immense powers—of which there is a great abundance in heaven—when He came to look for you in the lowest regions of the earth—you who were lying in the mud of the swamp, ^{Ps 40:3 [Vulgate, Ps 39:3]} in darkness, and in the shadow of death. ^{Ps 88:7 [Vulgate, Ps 87:7]} All living beings held you in great contempt. All people ran from you

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⁶Scio illos apprehendere me non posse absque meo consensu, sed erit mihi merces coram Patre meo celesti, si salutis consilium dedero eis."

⁷Et ecce vox ad eam facta est dicens: "Noli timere, filia Sion, quia isti sunt semen cui benedixit Dominus et elegit in caritate non ficta."

⁸Sicque in solio nuditatis sue domina Paupertas se reclinans, prevenit eos in benedictionibus dulcedinis et dixit eis: "⁹Que est causa adventus vestri, dicite mihi, fratres, et quare tam festinanter venitis de valle miserorum ad montem claritatis? ¹⁰An me forte queritis, que, ut videtis, sum paupercula, tempestate convulsa, absque ulla consolatione?"

Capitulum 5 Beatus Franciscus laudat Paupertatem.

¹At ipsi responderunt dicentes: "Ad te venimus, domina nostra; obsecramus, suscipe nos in pace. Servi effici cupimus Domini virtutum, quia ipse est Rex glorie. ²Audivimus te reginam fore virtutum et utcumque experimento didicimus. ³Propterea, tuis pedibus provoluti, supplicamus humiliter ut digneris esse nobiscum et sis nobis via perveniendi ad Regem glorie, sicut fuisti via sibi, cum dignatus est visitare sedentes in tenebris et umbra mortis, oriens ex alto. ⁴Scimus enim quod tua est potentia, tuum regnum, tu es super omnes virtutes a Rege regum regina et domina constituta. ⁵Tantum fac nobiscum pacem et salvi erimus, ut per te nos recipiat qui per te nos redemit. Si decreveris nos salvare, continuo liberabimur. ⁶Nam ipse Rex regum et Dominus dominantium, Creator celi et terre, concupivit speciem ei decorem tuum. ⁷Cum esset rex in accubitu suo, dives et gloriosus in regno suo, reliquit domum suam, dimisit hereditatem suam: nam gloria et divitie in domo eius. ⁸Sicque a regalibus sedibus veniens dignantissime te quesivit.

⁹Magna ergo dignitas tua et altitudo incomparabilis, cum, relictis omnibus angelorum ordinibus et immensis virtutibus, de quibus magna erat copia in excelsis, venit te querere in inferioribus partibus terre, iacentem in luto fecis, in tenebrosis et umbra mortis. ¹⁰Cunctis viventibus odiosa non modicum exsistebas et omnes te fugiebant et, prout poterant, effugabant.