"Francois!" "Francesco!" "Francois?" "Francois." "Francois." "He's ill!" "What's happened to you?" "Speak to me." "He's come back from the war because he's ill." "He's not a coward!" "He..." " My dear son." " Come on!" "Come, come." "Francesco, please!" "Come on!" "We've been riding all night, too." " All night?" " Yeah, on a girl, not on a horse." "And tomorrow, we'll be riding to battle." "We must be mad." "Is it true if we win the battle, we get all the girls we want?" "Of course!" "That's what wars are made for." "Kill the enemy and get the ladies!" "It's getting late." "Let's go home and prepare." "Wars are serious business." "Such profundity, Bernardo." "Why?" "Why?" "Bernardo." "What a pity." "It's over." "Yes." "It's a pity... but I hope we'll live to see another dawn like this." "The last night of our youth." "Do you realize that?" "We tried so desperately to make it never end." "We should've stopped the sun from rising." "Come on, Francesco!" "Wait!" "Leave me alone." "Please." "Brothers!" "Brothers!" "Lepers." "Yes." "Lepers." "No!" "I don't want to feed them!" "Get them off!" "No, no, no, no, no..." "No, no, no, no, no!" "Oh... you're not dressed yet?" "What have you been doing up until now, eh?" "Pica." "Pica!" "Will you please stop all this sissified nonsense?" "The boy's going off to war." "Besides, I don't understand a damned word." "Why do you two always want to leave me out of everything?" "Don't speak French when I'm around." "How many times..." "If you wanted a wife who speaks like you, why didn't you marry some thick-headed butcher's daughter?" "Bravo, Francois, bravo." "Forgive me, Father." "Forgive me, Father." "Hey, wait, we must talk." "What shall we do with all the money we'll make out of this war?" "Have you thought of that?" "Ah..." "I see." "A true son of his father, eh, Pica?" "We are going to be late for mass, Monsignor." "Ah, they'll wait." "Listen, Francesco..." "out of the way, out of the way." "Francesco, w-when you're in Perugia, don't forget Ugoni's storerooms behind the marketplace, near the main tower." "He's as rich as the pope." "There's everything there." "Yes, yes, leave it to me." "Ooh, and Francesco." "What else?" "Remember the triptych I told you about for the cathedral?" "It'll save us a fortune in indulgences." "Yes." "Yes, war is beautiful." "This is my death mask." "Go forth, sons of Assisi." "God is with you!" "Francesco!" "Francesco!" "Francesco!" "Flowers in the meadow softly sway" "And all the little birds sing merry May Day" "Rabbits in the orchard sport and play" "And all the little creatures smile and are gay" "My little boy, sing out your joy" "I am near, my dear" "My darling, do not fear" "Love is all around you" "Comforting with gentle lullaby to make your heart sing." "What's he doing up there?" "Oh, that's Bernardone's son." "Francesco!" "Get down." "Francesco!" "Francesco!" "Francesco." "Francesco, what is it?" "Francesco, my sweet, Francesco, what's happening to you, eh?" "You can tell me." "We've always understood each other." "We..." "We've always been close, you and..." "Let me help you, my darling." "Well, sit down, sit down." "Take a drink." "Yes, business is booming." "Life's back to normal at last." "Yeah, talking about business," "I have some fine stuff to show you that you won't find anywhere but here." "Well, not anymore, that is." "Look at this tapestry." "It comes from Provence." "That's beautiful, isn't it?" "Feel the texture of this material." "Now, I'd like you to compare this with one from Venice." "Ah!" "This one here." "Look at your hands." "Look at your hands!" "Forgive me." "If I find one finger mark on any of my silks," "I'll beat you till you're black and blue, you dirty little pig!" "Ah!" "These servants are just like animals." "How's your son?" "Better now?" "Oh, yes, thank God." "He's cost me a fortune in masses to our blessed Mary, but the worst is over now." "Now, there we are." "Oh, he's begun to get up, and one of these Sundays, you'll see him with us at mass." "Yes, please, please." "Take it into the light." "Do you remember me?" "I'm Clare." "People say you're mad." "Do you know that?" "When you went off to war, they said you were fine and intelligent." "But now you're mad, because... because you sing like the birds, and you chase after butterflies, and... and you-you look at flowers." "I think you were mad before, not now." "Am I disturbing you?" "I'll go..." "You see?" "He talks with her." "Thanks be to God." "That's obviously what was wrong with him." "The boy needed a woman, eh?" "Oh." "You look at things so clumsily, Monsignor." "His heart is waking." "Well, you can call it what you like, but if you ask me, that lad's after a woman." "That's why he's been acting strangely." "What a lovely creature Clare is." "Hmm." "Not much of a catch, though." "Her father won't even give enough dowry to pay for a wedding." "Still, if that's what Francesco wants, we'll find enough money for both of them, hey, Pica?" "And you know what?" "Yes." "I'm going to put him to work again." "But..." "No buts." "You've mollycoddled him long enough." " But, Monsignor..." " Shh, shh, shh." "Besides, Francesco's always been very good at business." "He likes it." "He does." "He takes after me." "Always has done." "Come, come." "You shall see." "I followed your advice, Francesco, to the very letter." "I bought and bought and..." "and bought." "And now, we prosper." "Oh, I may curse the war for having given you this, uh, this fever, but-but for business, it was a blessing." "Come, come." "You shall see." "What you're going to see now will send the blood coursing through your veins." "Better than all those potions and medicines the women give you." "Eh?" "Go, go." "Look at that, eh, Francesco?" "Look." "You see this?" "See?" "And to think people speak badly of war." "Come, come." "I'll show you." "You know how it started, eh, Francesco?" "With the war supplies." "And then, after the war, the soldiers came to sell their loot." "And then the wights who'd been looted by the soldiers came selling whatever they had left in order to rebuild, practically giving away things for nothing." "I'll show you, I'll show you." "Look at these." "Look." "Francesco, see these, huh?" "Family heirlooms, hmm?" "Titled people." "On their knees, they were." "Cost me less than nothing." "And this is not all." "It's just the beginning." "And there's so much more than that." "Now we have enough money to manufacture and sell with nearly 200 workers..." "dyers, weavers." "Well, see for yourself." "It belongs to you, too, Francesco." "Don't forget that." "God bless the master of this house" "And a lu-la-lu-la-lo" "And a lu-la-lu-la-lay" "Now milady, lady of" "He be handsome, she be fair" "And a lu-la-lu-la-lay" "And a lu-la-lu-la-lay" "Bring them buttons and bells and bows..." "A penny a rhyme will do me fine" "And a lu-la-lu-la-lo" "And a lu-la-lu-la-lay" "Tuppence a rhyme, I told you so..." "God bless the master of this house" "And a lu-la-lu-la-lo" "And a lu-la-lu-la-lay..." "Yes." "Yes." "He invited them, if you please, out for a stroll, just like that." "He simply led them into the sunshine, and they sat there all afternoon." "Nobody did a stroke of work." "Oh." "And that-that... that simpleton, that-that idiot boy..." "he just... he just looked on." "He doesn't get it from me." "There's never been a history of insanity in my side of the family." "I've had enough of your high and mighty ways." "You're not in noble Provence now, madam, and you'll not play the great lady in my house!" "You've ruined that boy!" "You've pampered him and spoiled him with your Frenchified airs and graces." "He's nothing more than a cringing idiot." "Something's got to be done, for God's sake, but not by you!" "You are a stupid, thick-headed, vulgar animal, that's what you are." "Don't you understand what Francesco needs?" "He's desperate." "Oh, Jesus, when I think of my own youth," "I feel like flaying him alive." "That's typical of you." "Treat him like... like one..." "like one of your clerks who comes to you whenever you stamp." "But, but, but Francesco's not like that, Monsignor." " No?" " No, no." "And what's more, all the fathers and mothers of Assisi envy us such a son." "So... so sensitive, so intelligent." "Ah." "This is the, uh, envy of Assisi, huh?" "Now you've gone far enough!" "No, Monsignor." "No son of mine, do you understand, however mad, is gonna behave like this." "Have you no respect for me, huh?" "!" "You will obey me in everything!" "And if you do not, I will crush you" " within an inch of your life!" " No!" "Is that clear?" "Is that understood?" "And..." "And starting tomorrow morning, you'll come with us to mass, even if I have to drag you there like a dog!" "Come on, sit up." "No!" "No!" "No..." "No." "It's..." "It's mine!" "This one." "All of it!" "And this." "Out of the way!" "Where is he?" "Where is he?" "!" "It will never make you happy!" "Throw it all away!" "Burn it, my brothers, all of it." "You..." "But he doesn't realize what he's doing, Monsignor." "Be patient." "Father..." "Father, I want to share my joy with you." "Our treasures are in Heaven, Father, not here on Earth." "Don't be a slave to these." "Throw it all away." "Do as I do." "It's so simple." "Be free." "Father... no..." "No!" "Om Stop it!" "Stop in" "You lunatic!" "No." "No, my brothers." "Don't touch that." "Throw it into the gutter." "Throw it all away!" "It will only make you miserable." "Look at my poor father." "Quiet, you idiot." "Call the guards." "See how he struggles." "I want to see him hang in the public square!" "It's Pietro di Bernardone." "His son's gone mad." "What is all this commotion?" "Di Bernardone's son, he's gone berserk." "Has he only found that out now?" "Oh, anyway, you'd better alert the guards." "He's out of his mind." "What's the matter with you, Bernardone?" "Have you gone mad as well?" "I want justice, and I want it here, now, in front of all Assisi." "Well, it would be helpful to know the charge." "What has the justice of men to do with me?" "God is my only judge." "Well, unfortunately, He isn't around to help us out." "Why not go to Bishop Guido, hmm?" "Do you think I'm going to interrupt my meal because of some sordid family squabble?" "What heresy." "Your Grace..." "Oh, tell them I'm out." "Say I'm praying or something." "But the whole town is down there." "They insist that the church intervene." "It's becoming an outrageous scandal." "I really believe..." "Guards!" "I've only just got over Lent, and here you all are imposing another on me." "But, Your Grace..." "Have it kept hot." "God's teeth!" "Can a man not be left alone to dine in peace in his own home?" "The bishop's coming." "Pietro di Bernardone, this will not do." "How dare you disturb us when we are in the middle of saying our office." "What's the matter with you, man?" "Have you lost your senses?" "It's not my fault, Your Grace." "It's him..." "that lunatic there." "Yes... it's me." "My soul is in your hands." "What?" "Are you trying to cause trouble?" "Is that what you're trying to do?" "Is this some damned plot to rob the church of its authority?" "That's nothing to what he's done to me, Your Grace." "I mean, God only knows, I've always given him the best." "I, I, I brought him up." "I, I..." "I clothed him." "I..." "I mean, you ask anyone." "They'll tell you." "He's never wanted for anything since the day he was born." "But today, he threw all my belongings out of the window!" "And he even opened my strongbox!" "Oh!" "Thrown to a mob of cutthroats like himself down in the street." "Years of hard work and self-sacrifice just... just tossed away." "Then what is the answer to these accusations?" "Surely you are sufficiently intelligent to understand that Holy Mother Church must punish those who subvert the established order." "A man such as you is a..." "is a menace to society." "He's either criminal or..." "Or someone seeking the light." "Someone in darkness." "I was in darkness." "But Brother Sun illuminated my soul." "And now, I can see so clearly." "Just as you did the day you chose the sacred vestments you are wearing now." "Are you seeking holy orders?" "Me?" "No." "No." "I'm not worthy." "Then what do you want?" "I want to be... to be happy." "I want to live like the birds in the sky." "I want to experience the freedom and the purity that they experience." "The rest is of no use to me." "No use." "Believe me." "If the purpose of life is this loveless toil we fill our days with, then it's not for me." "There must be something better." "There has to be." "Man is... is a spirit." "He has a soul." "And that, that is what I want to recapture... my soul." "I want to live." "I want to live in the fields." "Stride over hills." "Climb trees, swim rivers." "I want to feel the firm grasp of the earth beneath my feet without shoes, without possessions." "Without those shadows we call our servants." "I want to be a beggar." "Yes." "Yes, a beggar." "Christ was a beggar, and his holy apostles were beggars." "I want to be as, as free as they are." "But, Your Grace, even beggars show respect for their fathers." "I'm not your son anymore." "What?" "What is born of the flesh is flesh." "What is born of the Spirit is spirit." "I now... am born again." "Father, I give you back everything that belongs to you:" "Your clothes... your possessions." "Your name, too." "There are no more fathers." "There are no more sons." "And everyone who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or fathers, or mothers, or children, or fields, for the sake of our heavenly Father will receive a hundred times more in the life to come." "Cover him." "Cover him up." "Hey, come and see!" "Look at the crusader." "Bernardo di Quintavalle?" "Welcome." "Welcome home." "As I am presenting the keys of the city to the emperor, it would hardly be very bright of me to present them from the rear, would it?" "Besides, this is not a religious ceremony." "My dear governor," "Otto of Brunswick is going to Rome to be crowned emperor by His Holiness." "How can you possibly say this is not a religious ceremony?" "God moves in mysterious ways, my dear secretary, and He has arranged, on this occasion, that I move forward." "Ah!" "This is... pure blasphemy!" "What?" "Do you suggest you are in direct communication with the Word of God?" "!" "Sylvestro." "Come here, Sylvestro." "Paolo." "Something really marvelous has happened." "Guess what." "What?" "Bernardo's back." "Yes!" "He rode in through the gates half an hour ago." "He looks... fantastic." "Yes." "And I will make the speech of welcome." "Let's not discuss it further." "Everyone will have his assigned place." "But, but you are here." "Mm-hmm." "Streets ahead of me." "He couldn't have arrived at a more appropriate time." "Let's meet tonight and celebrate." "Giocondo, you arrange it." " Oh, yes." " Yes." "Hey!" "Bernardo!" "How do you like your chicken?" "Leg?" "Or breast?" "The only one of us that's stayed the same." "It's all show." "He's trying to go back to his youth." "Why else would he choose this place to celebrate your return from the crusade?" "Crusades are nothing to sing about, I assure you." "Oh, come on, Bernardo, you're, you're famous." "You're a war hero." "I say, you must have slaughtered thousands of Muslims." "What?" "How many, at a rough guess, would you say that you killed?" "Too many." "Oh." "Where's Francesco?" "Oh, uh..." "He doesn't live in Assisi anymore, Bernardo." "I gathered that, but..." "What's happening?" "Where is Francesco?" "Oh, you're not still talking about him, are you?" "We told you, he's mad." "What do you mean, he's mad?" "Don't take any notice of him, Bernardo." "He's pissed, as usual." "But Francesco isn't mad, is he, Paolo?" "No." "He's not mad." "He's..." "He's changed." "He is mad." "A raving bloody lunatic." "Only a lunatic will believe that God Himself had come down from heaven to talk to him." "Right?" "Listen, God has spoken to lots of people sometimes." "How interesting." "And I suppose you think that God personally decided that San Damiano should be the first church in His rebuilding program." "San Damiano...?" "Rebuil...?" "Is that where he's living?" "Well, y-yes, I, I suppose so." "Is he all right?" "Surely..." "Surely to God one of you went along to-to see him, speak to him." "You must have done something." "Look, he..." "He is our oldest... and dearest friend." "He might need our help, for God's sake." "Bernardo, listen to me, not Giocondo, he's drunk." "Francesco's not mad." "Maybe he's very sane indeed." "But you are a hero of the crusades." "You can't afford to have your name associated with his." " What?" "!" " None of us can." "Francesco's been a great friend to us all, but... quite simply, we have nothing in common anymore." "Francesco?" "Are you all right?" "I'm very well, Bernardo." "And you?" "Listen to me for just a minute." "I want to help you." "Words." "Words, Bernardo." "There was a time when I believed in words." "During all those months in prison, we talked so much about you." "We were sure you were dead." "When they freed us," "I had decided to go to the crusades." "And it was in Jerusalem that I heard you were alive." "But I was surprised by what they said, that you had abandoned the life that you once loved so much." "That you were looking for a new purpose, a new meaning." "You were right, of course." "I tried that, too." "Only for me it failed." "Yet it's too easy to blame the crusades for this..." "loss, this emptiness, this dissatisfaction I feel." "The horror of war, the destruction of our ideals is part of it, I know, but there's something else." "I feel stifled by my past, by my upbringing." "None of it means anything to me anymore." "And you, Francesco, you know better than anyone else that I cannot live without an ideal, without something to believe in." "Perhaps I'm wrong, perhaps one should be more cynical and forget ideals." "I don't know." "That's why I thought I had to come and talk to you." "What's the matter?" "That would make a worthy cornerstone... strong... and true." "Where did you get these, some quarry near here?" "Yes, it's not far." "I can take you there, if you like." "Thank you, Bernardo." "Oh, come and let yourselves be built as living stones unto a spiritual temple." "Stop laughing." "Don't be such a fool!" "Oh!" "Oh, I'll tell you, Bernardo's a ruddy genius." "He knew that all you lot wanted was to shot him out on some state occasion like a circus act." "Look, if that's all you can say," " you might just as well go home." " Aah!" "We've got to get Bernardo back." " Go on." " Come on!" "Bernardo, listen..." "Paolo wants to talk with you." "You see, they want you to present the keys of the city to Emperor Otto himself." "It's a very great honor." "You're the only one who can make peace between the governor and the bishop." "Bernardo, are you listening to me?" "Bernardo, please, you must come back." "It's for the emperor himself." "No." "No, there's nothing I want to say to an emperor who slaughters the innocent, steals from the poor." "No, Bernardo, there's a lot one could say to an emperor." "There you see, look." "Even Francesco agrees with me." "What should I say to an emperor, Francesco?" "Well, what could you say?" "Mm..." "Well, you could tell him to throw his scepter in the mud, or to fling his jewels into the river." "Then he could see the glow of some new colors amongst the glistening pebbles." "And you could say, "Otto of Brunswick," ""let the birds nest in your crown." ""Let the winds of heaven blow through your empty palaces." ""What good is your life to you," ""if your riches bring you no peace of mind... and all your people starve?"" "That's what should be said to an emperor." "You mustn't listen to him, I warn you!" "If you're going to say things like that, then you'd better stay here!" "You'll both be burned at the stake as heretics!" "Stop bleating." "And consider that maybe Francesco and Bernardo here, in the way they live, have more in keeping with the gospels than you and your lawyer friend in the bishop's palace." "You were the one who laughed loudest and longest at Francesco." "Ah, shut up!" "That's true, but I always laugh when I don't understand." "Because you've got marbles up there instead of brains, that's why." "I'll tell you something, though." "I understand yours and Paolo's dilemma." "Now get back to Paolo." "You!" "You pathetic little prick." "You just wait!" "Go on, get out." "We'll settle our scores later, Giocondo!" "Ooh!" "Get back to the convent." "You just wait and see!" "Bye." "Giocondo!" "Giocondo...!" "Idiot." "I send you to get Bernardo, you come back without him." "You and that other..." "Where's Giocondo?" "Where is Giocondo?" "Bah." "Throw your scepter in the mud, Otto of Brunswick!" "Fling your jewels in the river so, at last, you see the pebbles!" "Let the birds nest in your crown!" "What good is your miserable life when you..." " ...steal from the poor," " What's wrong with the man?" "Slaughter the innocent, and hoard vast sums of gold, while your fellow countrymen are starving to death!" "Get him." "Oh!" "He'll be punished!" "What have I done?" "I've done it." "I've said it, Francesco." "Francesco!" "We are given to understand, my learned friend, that you have... that you have joined the ranks of the state legislature?" "Then your understanding is based on a misunderstanding, my friend." "I haven't joined anybody." "I'm on nobody's side." "I've simply offered my services to the city to help stamp out the contagion of San Damiano." "Your Grace, we are told that the cream of the city's youth has already been curdled by contact with this eccentric little community, hmm?" "They are restoring a consecrated ruin for love." "Is that a crime?" "They have cast away all their possessions." "They have cast away all our possessions, which is a very different matter." "Yes, indeed, a very different matter." "A state matter." "If you thought Francesco might start an uprising, you should have judged him yourself before passing him on to me, who could not fault his desire to live in poverty, like Christ and the apostles." "For Sister Poverty, we give thanks..." "Don't be discouraged, people." "Come on, at least we're not thirsty and we're well washed." "We give thanks." "Forgive and you shall be forgiven and live in simplicity." "Get away!" "Move off with you." "Away!" "Get out, Pig!" "Here, see if you like this!" "Thank you, brother." "Brother?" "You're no brother of mine." "Get away!" "For Sister Poverty" "We give thanks" "For Brother Want" "We give thanks" "Thank you, Lord, for all Thy mercy" "For the storm, and winds that blow..." "Come." "Thank you, Lord, for all Thy blessings..." "For Sister Grace" "We give thanks" "For Brother..." "We give thanks" ""Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth."" ""How blessed are those who show mercy," ""for mercy shall be shown to them." ""How blessed are the peacemakers;" "God shall call them his sons."" "Giocondo..." "What's the matter?" "God forgive me, a miserable sinner." "God forgive me, a miserable sinner." "God forgive me, a miserable sinner." "He probably heard you the first time." "Go away." "Leave me alone." "Tell me." "I can take all the rest... the cold, the hunger... but there are days and nights when..." "I'd gladly face eternal damnation for one moment of love." "I'll ruin everything you've tried to do, Francesco." "I can't go on." "But..." "But you don't have to." "We're not a regiment of priests for whom the sacred vow of chastity is a discipline." "We're..." "We're just a band of men who simply love God, each according to his own capacity." "But if Giocondo finds the lack of a woman distracts him from loving God, then he should marry and breed to his heart's content." "You didn't cut my hair before." "You knew I was weak." "You knew this would happen." "If everyone took the vow of chastity, the human race would end." "Be fruitful and multiply," "But with a wife, remember." "For Sister Chastity..." "We give thanks" "For Brother Love" "We give thanks" "We give thanks..." "For Sister Poverty, we give thanks" "For Sister Want" "We give thanks..." "We give thanks." "Francesco." "Clare." "God be with you, Francesco." "Always." "And pray for me." "No!" "No!" "But they have been working with us today." "Let's share what little we have." "That way, you fool, there will be even less for us." "But they are poorer than we are." "Poor?" "What poor?" "They are the sons of landowners, sons of the rich." "Go and look for bread in your own homes." "Why do you have to come and steal from us, the real poor?" "We are all poor in the eyes of our Lord." "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace" "Where there is hatred, let me sow love" "Where there is injury, let me sow pardon" "Where there is doubt, let me sow faith" "It is in giving that we receive" "It is in pardoning that we are pardoned" "It is in dying that we are born" "That we are born to eternal life." "Francesco!" "Clare!" "You shouldn't have come, but I knew you would..." "I knew." "I have to tell you, and I don't care if the whole world knows it." "From now on, I want to live as you live." "Don't send me away because I'm a woman with little strength or gentle manners." "I'm not seeking to be understood anymore." "I want to understand." "I'm not asking to be loved." "I want to love." "Where there is sadness, please, please, help me find joy." "Clare." "Lord... make me an instrument of your peace." "Good morning." "Give him to me." "Stay here." "Quiet." "If you want your dream to be" "Take your time, go slowly" "Do few things, but do them well" "Heartfelt work grows purely" "If you want to live life free" "Take your time, go slowly" "Do few things, but do them well" "Heartfelt work grows purely" "Day by day, stone by stone" "Build your secret slowly" "Day by day, you'll grow, too" "You'll know heaven's glory" "If you want your dream to be" "Take your time, go slowly" "Small beginnings, greater ends" "Heartfelt work grows purely" "If you want to live life free" "Take your time, go slowly" "Do few things, but do them well" "Heartfelt joys are holy" "If you want to live life free" "Take your time, go slowly" "Do few things, but do them well" "Heartfelt joys are holy." "Good night, Your Grace." "Francesco!" "Come!" "The church!" "Come on!" "Quickly, get some water!" "Has anybody called for Francesco?" "Look, he's coming." "Francesco, Francesco," "Francesco, look." "What happened?" "The bishop's soldiers came." "The bishop's soldiers came." "They wanted to close the church, and Deodato..." "He wouldn't let them in." "No." "He started fighting and... a-and called for help." "Oh, he screamed and screamed and... kicked them, and then they pushed him." "He struggled, but..." "Why?" "Why?" "Who could have such... such hatred for such a creature?" "What did he do wrong?" "I must know." "I must... understand." "Somebody has to help me understand." "Somebody has to help me." "And there is someone... if He would." "Water!" "Away!" "Look." "Who's that?" "There." "Who's that coming there?" "Come on, let's go and see." "Francesco!" "You mustn't go to Rome, do you hear?" "You must not go to Rome." "Why mustn't he go to Rome?" "Never mind why, Bernardo di Quintavalle." "Just bring him back to Assisi." "That's impossible, Paolo." "You know that." "Francesco." "Listen to me." "Not as a friend... for I may no longer call myself your friend." "But you must come back to Assisi." "No." "I must go to Rome... to find out what I've done wrong." "What you've done wrong?" "!" "Then you can save yourself the journey, because I can tell you, quite categorically, you've done everything wrong." "Everything!" "From the moment you ran away from the war, remember?" "And abandoned us, your friends!" "And acted like a lunatic to cover up your cowardice!" "And decided to be a king amongst the poor." "Paolo, don't talk like that." "You're-you're just jealous." "And if I am, I've good reason." "He's had everything I've had to work and scheme for... riches, women, position, popularity... even God!" "You just saunter out of your house one fine morning and pluck God out of the air, as easily as catching a butterfly." "It's all too simple." "If what you say is true, then the Holy Father will soon point out the errors in my faith." "The Pope?" "Wha...?" "You..." "So, you still think you'll be able to see the Pope." "Just look at yourselves... the pride of Assisi." "Filthy, starving, reduced to the gutter." "And this is how you hope to find an audience with His Holiness." "Well, good luck, my friends." "Paolo... you could help me." "You know what to do." "Francesco... go home." "I have enough money to see you all back safe." "Paolo... help me to see the Pope." "Well, if I do succeed, and it's very little likely, it will be on my terms, is that clear?" "Yes, of course." "Make way, please." "Everybody, make way, please." "Everybody..." "Amen." "Read it out... exactly in the way it is written here, changing nothing." "Do you understand?" " Francesco?" " Hm?" "I'm sorry." "Read it out word for word." "A masterpiece of evangelical strategy." "I almost believe it myself." "Now, remember, what you must make absolutely clear is that you recognize the supreme authority of the Pope." "And then, when you've made your submission to His Holiness, you will withdraw." "I've arranged for horses, for you, all of us, to return to Assisi." "Once there, I promise you" "I will do everything in my power to reconcile you with the city." "Paolo... why are you doing all this?" "Because... in your simpleminded zeal, you could all be burned as heretics." "And besides," "I don't want a martyr on my conscience." "They're hermits from Assisi." "They're here to make submission to Your Holiness." "Their leader is, uh..." "Francesco." "Just an ordinary blessing, Your Holiness, to gratify Bishop Guido." "You asked permission to speak to us." "Well, speak." "Speak." "Why?" "Why?" ""Look at the birds of the air." ""They do not sow or reap or store in barns..." ""...yet our Heavenly Father feeds them." ""Is there any man among you who, by anxious thought," ""can add a minute to his life or a foot to his height?"" "Why the concern for your riches?" ""Consider how the lilies grow in the fields." ""They do not work nor spin..." ""...yet even Solomon, in all his splendor," ""was not attired like one of these." ""How little faith you have." ""You ask, 'What are we to eat?" ""'What are we to drink?" ""'What are we to wear?" "'" ""When all these things are for the pagans to run after," ""not for you." ""Set your mind on God's kingdom," ""and his justice before everything else, and all the rest will come to you as well."" "How dare he lecture us on the gospel." ""You have stored your treasure here..." ""here on earth... where there is rust and moth to devour it," ""where thieves will break in and steal it." ""But store your treasure in heaven..." ""where there is no rust," ""no moth," ""no thief to steal." ""For where your treasure is... there will your heart be also."" "Out!" "Blasphemy!" "Out!" "Call the guards!" "Blasphemy!" "Out!" "Out!" "How little faith you have!" ""No man can serve two masters." ""He will hate the one and love the other," ""or he will be devoted to one and despise the other!" "You cannot serve both God and money!"" "Francesco!" "Paolo." "Forgive me." "You went to so much trouble." "You come, too." "No, not him." "He's not with us." "Well, tell him Paolo, you're not with us." "Tell him." "I am with them." "Then go with them." "Quiet!" "Quiet!" "Move along." "Your Holiness, I am most dreadfully sorry." "Please forgive this outrage." "We were misinformed." "We were given to understand this was a humble group of hermits." "He isn't well." "Shall we suspend the audience?" "Do you wish to retire, Your Holiness?" "Your Holiness." "Where is he?" "Who, Your Holiness?" "Where is that man?" "Below, Your Holiness." "Our guards have arrested him." "Call him back." "Bring him here... immediately!" "What do you want of us?" "I have often watched the larks in the fields round my home." "They are such humble, modest creatures who need only a sip of water and a few berries in order to live, and soar into the heavens." "One day, I found myself thinking that we, too, could be happy if we were content with little, like the larks." "If we could live as they live, singing, and thanking the Lord who created us." "That is why we came to Rome... to ask your advice." "Well, what advice can I possibly give you, my dear young brother?" "God has given you a most precious gift... the grace to approach Him through His beloved creatures." "What more can you want?" "Simple people understand us, but the others..." "Perhaps we've made mistakes." "This is what we want to know." "Is it not possible, Holy Father, to live according to the teachings of our Lord?" "Or have we sinned through presumption?" "If that be the case, then we would like Your Holiness to tell us of our errors." "My dearest son, errors will be forgiven." "In our obsession with original sin, we too often forget original innocence." "Don't let that happen to you." "You've brought me, dear children, great joy and a little sadness." "I, too, started my vocation- oh, long ago... in much the same way as you." "But, with time, all that enthusiasm passed, and the responsibilities of church government took hold of me, as you see." "And what will happen to those who come after you?" "Have you thought enough about them?" "But if it be true for us, then how can it not be true for them?" "We are encrusted with riches and power." "You, in your poverty... put us to shame." "Francesco..." "Francesco... go in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." "Preach the truth to all men." "May your disciples increase a thousandfold, and flourish... like the palm tree." "Our Lord be with you,.." "In your hands... and in your feet." "Don't be alarmed." "His Holiness knows what he's doing." "This is the man who will speak to the poor, and bring them back to us."