St. Francis

Nikos Kazantzakis

The following day he came across a novice who was unknown to him. This novice was exceptionally pale, with shriveled cheeks and enormous eyes. He was bent forward, poring avidly over a book which he held in his hands. God, for him, had disappeared, the friars had disappeared, the entire population of the world had disappeared. Nothing remained between heaven and earth except this young man and his book.

Not enough! That is what He screamed at me. If you ask, Brother Leo, what God commands without respite, I can tell you, for I learned it these past three days and nights in the cave. Listen! 'Not enough! Not enough!' That's what He shouts each day, each hour to poor, miserable man. 'Not enough! Not enough!' 'I can't go further!' whines man. 'You can!' the Lord replies. 'I shall break in two!' man whines again. 'Break!' the Lord replies.

You can, you can! You had the courage to say you couldn't, and that means you can! The heart is closer to God than the mind is, so abandon the mind and follow your heart: it and it alone knows the way to Paradise. And now undress yourself and don the robe. You remember the coats you gave us, don't you, the ones used by your shepherd? We modeled our frocks after them--they are the color of clay. Brother Ruffino, dress yourself in clay!

Yes, you did. You said that whoever dwells among wolves must be a wolf and not a lamb. That's what you said, Brother Leo; that's what all sensible people say. But God presented me with a madness, a new madness, and I say that whoever dwells among wolves must be a lamb--and not care a jot if they eat him!

Because whoever has joined forces with God obtains three great privileges: omnipotence without power, intoxication without wine, and life without death.

Francis laughed. You have my blessing, Brother Juniper, he said. I'd rather we be taken for lunatics than for saints. That is the true meaning of holy Humility.

Listen to me, my sisters, and forgive me if I tell you about a caterpillar that just came again to my mind. This is not a story, it's true--truer than truth itself....Well, once there was a caterpillar which crawled and crawled, until finally in its extreme old age it arrived before the gates of heaven. It knocked and a voice came from within: 'No caterpillars allowed here! You're in much too much of a hurry, it seems to me.'
'What shall I do, Lord? Command me,' answered the caterpillar, and it curled up into a ball, it was so afraid.
'Suffer some more, struggle some more, transform yourself into a butterfly!'
The caterpillar returned to earth accordingly and began its journey all over again from the beginning.

It doesn't matter. Tomorrow. This is a large city: somewhere, in some house, there will be a piece of bread the housewife baked just for us, and it will be waiting.

This is a textbook for a madman. If you wish to become a lunatic, follow the steps outlined in these pages, become like the foolish king who danced naked in the streets, become like the crazy little girl who danced in the back of the church, welcome to the new insanity.