Attribuita a Francis of Assisi
«Preach the Gospel at all times and, if necessary, use words.»
Falsa attribuzione
Verdetto
Non si trova nell'opera di Francis of Assisi
It does not appear in his writings or in the medieval biographies. The closest authentic text is Earlier Rule 17:3, 'All the brothers, however, should preach by their deeds', which does not disparage words (the same rule regulates preaching).
Fonte: Esser, Kajetan, O.F.M. Die Opuscula des hl. Franziskus von Assisi. Neue textkritische Edition. Grottaferrata: Collegium S. Bonaventurae ad Claras Aquas, 1976 (Spicilegium Bonaventurianum 13); editio minor: Opuscula sancti patris Francisci Assisiensis, 1978 (Bibliotheca Franciscana Ascetica Medii Aevi 12).
Ciò che ha detto davvero
Parole verificate di Francis of Assisi
«Altissimu onnipotente bon signore, tue so' le laude la gloria e l'honore et onne benedictione.»
Cántico de las criaturas, v. 1 (Asís, Biblioteca del Sacro Convento, cód. 338)
«Laudato si' mi signore per sora nostra morte corporale, da la quale nullu homo vivente po skappare.»
Cántico de las criaturas, estrofa de la muerte (1226)
«The Lord gave me, Brother Francis, thus to begin doing penance: for when I was in sins, it seemed too bitter for me to see lepers. And the Lord himself led me among them and I showed mercy to them.»
Testamento 1–2