Then the winged kind^a and every species of bird;
The land-encircling sea, under the secret stir of the moon,

²⁵And at nature's pivot creating the whirlpool;
The scale-bearing fish and the swimming shellfish shoals,
And the poised land masses, anchored far and wide,^b
That heaven's courtesy keeps harnessed at fair distance;
Mountains, too, and valleys, plains and meadows, metals

³⁰And stones, and the sands that are beyond all number;
Springs and rivers, flowers and grasses, woods
And cornfields, gardens and vineyards, and a kind
Yet nobler than all of these, and, beneath it,
The numberless creeping species, and another more energetic

³⁵Than those, the quadrupeds, some tame, some wild;
Then the human race, on which all the rest attend;
Next, distinguished in its ninefold rank, the noble host
Of heaven; and all of nature's works he calls to raise
Their eager praise to God Who first caused things to be.

⁴⁰Nor does he revere solely what nature made, but also things
Wrought by skillful hands: for writings, wherever found, he
Shows the greatest honor, and ones cast aside puts in a proper
Place. And if perchance sometime an extra letter be written in,
His simple reverence for written words was such

⁴⁵That he would not suffer it to be deleted.
The verses above paint you a picture of Francis;
But lest a foggier image of him stay in your mind than that
Which you'd rather remember, here is a bodily portrait:^c
Of medium height, though closer to shortness,

⁵⁰Was Francis; but his frame held the heart of a giant.
Black in color, pliant in texture was his hair,
His head sat straight and was round, upward and short his ears,^d

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Et genus aligerum, speciesque volatilis omnes,
Tellurem mare circuiens, quod luna latenter

²⁵Incitat, et causans centri natura "Charybdim,
Squamiferos pisces, conchisque natabile vulgus,
Ponderibusque suis libratas undique terras,
Quas aeque distando ligat reverentia caeli,
Montes et valles, campos et prata, metalla

³⁰Et lapides, et quas numerus non prendit arenas,
Fontes et fluvios, flores et gramina, silvas
Et segetes, hortos et vites, nobiliusque
Omnibus his aliud genus, innumerasque sub illo
Reptilium species , aliudque valentius istis

³⁵Quadrupedes, partim domitos partimque feroces,
Et genus humanum cui caetera quaeque ministrant,
Ordinibusque novem distinctum nobile caeli
Agmen, et effectus naturae provocat omnes,
Laudibus ut primam studeant attollere Causam

⁴⁰Nec solum venerans naturae facta, sed artis
Ficta, decus nimium scriptis ubicumque repertis
Exhibet, et tollens abiecta reponit honeste.
Et si scribatur quandoque superflua casu
Littera, simplicitas ipsius tam reveretur

⁴⁵Scripturas, ut eam deleri non patiatur.
Supradicta tibi Franciscum carmina pingunt;
Neve tuus dubia teneatur imagine sensus,
Quam potius recolas, hanc corporis accipe formam.
Staturae mediocris homo, vicinior autem

⁵⁰Exiguo Franciscus erat, sed corde gigantem
Effigians; cuius nigri mollesque capilli,
Erectum sphericumque caput, subvecta brevisque
Auris, defossa sinuosaque tempora, levis