The Little Flowers of Saint Francis

By Dover Publications

First printed in 1476, this collection of stories, or "little flowers," chronicles Saint Francis of Assisi's journeys, activities, and miracles. Told in brief anecdotes of charming simplicity, the stories include Saint Francis' sermon to the birds, his taming of the savage wolf of Gubbio, his conversion of the Sultan of Babylon, and his miraculous healing of a leper. Picturesque and poetic, The Little Flowers of Saint Francis transports readers to the Middle Ages for an inspiring portrait of the saint and his earliest disciples. One of the world's most popular and widely read religious classics, its universal appeal extends to people of all faiths and every intellectual level.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Release date: Apr 25, 2012
• ISBN: 9780486111995

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DOVER THRIFT EDITIONS

GENERAL EDITOR: PAUL NEGRI

EDITOR OF THIS VOLUME: THOMAS CRAWFORD

Bibliographical Note

This Dover edition, first published in 2003, is an unabridged reprint of the Introduction and The Little Flowers of St. Francis from The Little Flowers of St. Francis, The Mirror of Perfection, and The Life of St. Francis, published by E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., New York, 1963. The Little Flowers has been translated by Thomas Okey from the Fioretti, an Italian translation of a Latin original.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Fioretti di San Francesco. English.

The little flowers of Saint Francis / translated by Thomas Okey.

p. cm.

9780486111995

ISBN-10: 0-486-43186-X (pbk.)

1. Francis, of Assisi, Saint, 1182–1226. I. Okey,Thomas, 1852-1935. II. Title.

BX4700.F63E5 2003

271’.302–dc21

2003053082

Manufactured in the United States by Courier Corporation

43186X02

www.doverpublications.com

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Introduction - TO THE LITTLE FLOWERS

CHAPTER I

CHAPTER II

CHAPTER III

CHAPTER IV

CHAPTER V

CHAPTER VI

CHAPTER VII

CHAPTER VIII

CHAPTER IX

CHAPTER X

CHAPTER XI

CHAPTER XII

CHAPTER XIII

CHAPTER XIV

CHAPTER XV

CHAPTER XVI

CHAPTER XVII

CHAPTER XVIII

CHAPTER XIX

CHAPTER XX

CHAPTER XXI

CHAPTER XXII

CHAPTER XXIII

CHAPTER XXIV

CHAPTER XXV

CHAPTER XXVI

CHAPTER XXVII

CHAPTER XXVIII

CHAPTER XXIX

CHAPTER XXX

CHAPTER XXXI

CHAPTER XXXII

CHAPTER XXXIII

CHAPTER XXXIV

CHAPTER XXXV

CHAPTER XXXVI

CHAPTER XXXVII

CHAPTER XXXVIII

CHAPTER XXXIX

CHAPTER XL

CHAPTER XLI

CHAPTER XLII

CHAPTER XLIII

CHAPTER XLIV

CHAPTER XLV

CHAPTER XLVI

CHAPTER XLVII

CHAPTER XLVIII

CHAPTER XLIX

CHAPTER L

CHAPTER LI

CHAPTER LII

CHAPTER LIII

DOVER • THRIFT • EDITIONS

Introduction

TO THE LITTLE FLOWERS

AUTHORSHIP. Luke Wadding, the Irish Franciscan historian of the seventeenth century, believed that the author of the Fioretti was a certain Friar Ugolino da danta Maria in Monte, in the Marches of Ancona. He also claimed that the title of the original work in Latin was Floretum. No certain evidence for this Latin work has come to light; but in 1902 M. Paul Sabatier published another Latin work entitled Actus Beati Francisci et Sociorum eius, and this was followed by Dr. A. G. Little’s text which now bears his name. This Latin document containing stories about St. Francis and his followers had seventy-six chapters, of which fifty-two or fifty-three reappear in an abbreviated guise in the Italian Fioretti. Today, therefore, the common opinion is that the Fioretti are derived, with modifications from, the Actus Beati Francisci and not from some hitherto undiscovered Latin Floretum.

In its earliest form the Fioretti contained only two parts. There were fifty-three chapters, together with Five Considerations on the glorious Stigmata of St. Francis. These Considerations were, in fact, adaptations and additions borrowed from other sources. To these, in later editions, other translations from Latin works have been joined, such as ‘The Life of Brother Juniper’ and ‘The Life of Brother Giles.’ These two lives were based, with modifications, on The Chronicle of the Twenty-Four Generals, completed in 1373, but incorporating material derived ultimately from Bro. Leo himself. It should, however, be understood that these additions are found in a Tuscan manuscript of the late fifteenth century, but that neither in their authorship, nor origin, nor translator, have they anything in common with the Fioretti.

Wadding seems to have been on safer ground in ascribing the authorship of the Fioretti to Ugolino da Santa Maria. His name occurs three times in the Actus. In the story of the Stigmata as told by Bro. Leo we read: ‘This history, Fra. Giacamo da Massa had from the mouth of Fra. Leone, and Fra. Ugolino had from the mouth of the said Fra. Giacamo and I wrote from the mouth of Fra. Ugolino, a man in all respects worthy of faith’ (Actus, ed. Sabatier, IX). Furthermore in the tale of Bro. Simon’s unfranciscan asperity in dealing with the crows which disturbed his prayers, we find these words: ‘And I, Brother Ugolino, stayed there three years, and saw with certainty that the said miracle was known both to laymen and Friars of the whole custody.’ Elsewhere the writer speaks of himself as an associate of Fra. Giovanni della Verna (Actus, LI, LII, LIV, LVIII). There is every reason for supposing that Ugolino is the author of the Actus, but that he had a collaborator—the ‘ego qui scripsi’ friar—who received the account of the Stigmata from Ugolino. This Ugolino makes it clear that he depends for much of his material on the oral traditions of James de Massa, who was a personal friend of people like Bros. Leo, Giles, and Masseo and Clare of Assisi. We may sum up then by saying that the Actus-Fioretti is largely the product of oral tradition handed down in the first instance by the intimate friends of St. Francis himself to their immediate disciples, such as John of La Verna. This in turn reached the ears of Ugolino and was then committed to writing by him and some other collaborator. Unfortunately nothing more is known of Ugolino with any certainty. As for the translator of the Actus into the Italian of the Fioretti, internal evidence of style and language makes it plausible to believe that he must have been a friar from Tuscany living in the second half of the fourteenth century.

It has often been remarked that the stories of the Fioretti are divided into two main groups. In the first group (Chapters I–XXXVIII), the stories centre upon St. Francis himself and his companions. In the second, (Chapters XLII–LII), the interest shifts to friars of a later date, living in the Marches of Ancona. These were contemporaries of the author of the original Actus. Sandwiched between these two groups is a literary intermezzo dealing with the lives of St. Antony of Padua (Chapters XXXIX–XL) and Bro. Simon of Assisi (Chapter XLI). There is a change of tone and colour in the second group, which extol the virtues of the friars in the Province of Ancona. ‘The Province of Ancona was of old, even as the sky with stars, adorned with holy and exemplary friars, who, like the luminaries of heaven, have illumined and adorned the Order of St. Francis and the world with examples and with teaching’ (Chapter XLII). Some like Bro. Pacificus belong to the early days of the Franciscan adventure, while others such as Conrad of Offida and John of La Verna are contemporaries of Ugolino himself. There can indeed be no question of their holiness. They are pugnacious upholders of poverty, they are lovers of solitude, men of great austerity, but for the most part the geniality, the childlike exuberance and sheer poetry of the earliest companions is less pronounced. They are obviously great and holy Franciscans, but the freshness, the vivacity, the intense individuality of the early stories have given place to men of ecstasies and contemplation. This concentration on a purely contemplative life was in fact one of two seemingly contradictory tendencies in St. Francis himself—for his great desire for solitude and contemplation struggled with his equally great desire to preach the Gospel by word and example. In answer to St. Clare’s prayer this dilemma was solved once and for all, at least in principle, and while remaining one of the world’s great mystics, he devoted himself untiringly to the external apostolate both in Italy and abroad. Though the dilemma was solved in principle, these divergent tendencies have always remained in the Order and become involved with questions of poverty in matters of buildings, libraries and other things necessary to a share in every sphere of the Church’s life. They have, historically speaking, led to all kinds of factions and reforms in the course of time. But Padre Gemelli reminds us there is no need to take a purely pessimistic view of these upheavals and conflicting tendencies. ‘It has been like the internal growth of tissues, ’ he says; ‘cells become ripe, separate, and die. Something dies and something changes, but death is only apparent and the change momentary, for the cells renew themselves, recompense themselves once more to form the body to which they belong, in which they were born and live. United by this common bond of love for God and all His creatures, Franciscan idealism has developed throughout the centuries along lines of piety, thought and action.’

HISTORICITY. One question still remains to be answered: Have these wonderful stories of the Fioretti any authentic historical value? Professor Gardiner believes that in spite of embellishments and legendary elaborations there is much of genuine historical value in the stories of the first group, for Ugolino had before him not only written sources but also reliable and primitive oral tradition coming straight from the saint’s first followers. In cases of doubt, e.g. in the author’s extremely biased comments on Bro. Elias and St. Bonaventure, we can counter-check their historical value by comparison with other historical sources of the saint’s life, particularly with those of Celano and St. Bonaventure. Some will prefer to give a purely symbolical meaning to the conversion of Bro. Wolf of Gubbio, but there is no need to jettison other stories of St. Francis’ power over birds and beasts. St. Bonaventure has a whole chapter of such episodes (Legenda Maior, Chapter VIII) and his preaching to the birds goes back to Bro. Masseo himself, and an English writer, Roger of Wendover, could mention it as early as 1236.

SCOPE AND SPIRIT. ‘In this book are contained certain Little Flowers—to wit, miracles and pious examples of the glorious servant of Christ, St. Francis, and of some of his holy companions: to the glory and praise of Jesus Christ. Amen.’ This introduction to the first chapter of the Fioretti shows the scope and spirit of the book. Whatever accretions or legendary material have crept in here and there to heighten the colours of St. Francis’ portrait, they are undoubtedly in keeping with the total impression which St. Francis made upon the world of his day. The special challenge of St. Francis is that we have a saint whose whole life was a poem, and it is the genius of the Fioretti to have met that challenge so simply and so successfully. Without blunting or smudging the outline of his natural gifts, we see the power of God’s grace not merely bestowing holiness of mind and heart—that is common to all saints—but bestowing the sheer beauty of holiness, so that our love of the saint is fused with our love of the man. In its pages he charms us by his grace, his kindness, his poetic insight and the limpid simplicity and fervour of his love for Christ. We see his passionate love of poverty and the struggles of his early followers to keep that ideal untarnished. We know from other sources that Francis preached to the cardinals of the Roman Curia. It is the Fioretti which gives the unforgettable picture of him preaching to the birds. ‘Beware my little sisters of the sin of ingratitude, and study always to give praise to God. As he said these words, all the birds began to open their beaks, to stretch their necks, to spread their wings and reverently bow their heads to the ground, endeavouring by their motions and by their songs to manifest their joy to St. Francis. And the saint rejoiced with them’ (Chapter XVI). All created things were love-tokens, sacramental things scattered through the world from the hand of his heavenly Father. But a man who nursed lepers knew the reality of pain and suffering, and a man who went through the mystic suffering of La Verna was no pretty sentimental pantheist.

So the stories about such a saint and his companions breathe the subtle perfume of wild flowers. They conjure up memories of the Umbrian valley with its rocky hermitages, its twisting streets on the hillside, its poplar trees, its sun-bathed vineyards, and La Verna rising up out of the morning mist. We catch a glimpse of San Damiano with its memories of St. Clare and her pure love of St. Francis. A procession of his followers moves before our eyes—sheltering in some shed or poor little abandoned church—men who seemed to have absorbed from Francis some special Franciscan gift of soul. There is Bro. Masseo, handsome, stately and eloquent; Bro. Bernard of Quintavalle, first follower, unswervingly faithful to his ideals of highest poverty; Bro. Leo, ‘little lamb of God,’ sharer of the saint’s most intimate secrets, trudging with him through the snow, and listening with, I am sure, a sinking heart, to Francis discoursing on perfect joy! There is Bro. Angelo, the knight of Rieti, loved by Francis for his gentle courtesy; Bro. Giles, mystical and shrewd enough to deflate pomposity and pride with a touch of innocent malice; Bro. Pacificus, who had been a great poet and musician before joining the Order; and Brother Juniper, the favourite of children everywhere.

1963.

HUGH MCKAY, O.F.M.

CHAPTER I

IN THE NAME OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, THE CRUCIFIED, AND OF HIS MOTHER THE VIRGIN MARY. IN THIS BOOK ARE CONTAINED CERTAIN LITTLE FLOWERS, MIRACLES, AND DEVOUT EXAMPLES OF CHRIST’S POOR LITTLE ONE, ST. FRANCIS, AND OF SOME OF HIS COMPANIONS; TO THE PRAISE OF JESUS CHRIST. AMEN

IT IS first to be considered that the glorious St. Francis in all the acts of his life was conformable to Christ the Blessed. And that even as Christ, at the beginning of His mission, chose twelve Apostles who were to despise all worldly things and follow Him in poverty and in the other virtues, so St. Francis in the beginning chose for the foundation of his Order twelve companions who were possessed of naught save direst poverty. And even as one of the twelve Apostles of Christ, being reproved by God, went and hanged himself by the neck, so one of the twelve companions of St. Francis, whose name was Friar¹ John della Cappella, became a renegade and at last hanged himself by the neck. Now these things are a great warning to the elect, and matter for humility and fear when they consider that none is certain of persevering to the end in God’s grace. And even as those holy Apostles were, above all, wondrous in their holiness and humility and filled with the Holy Ghost, so those most holy companions of St. Francis were men of such saintliness that, since the days of the Apostles, the world hath never beheld men so wondrously holy. For one among them was rapt, like St. Paul, up to the third heaven, and he was Friar Giles; another, to wit, Friar Philip, was touched on the lips by an angel with a coal of fire, even as the prophet Isaiah was; another, to wit, Friar Silvester, spake with God as one friend speaketh with another, after the manner of Moses; another by the purity of his mind soared as far as the light of the Divine Wisdom, even as did the Eagle, that is to say, John the Evangelist, and he was Friar Bernard, humblest of men, who was wont to expound the Holy Scriptures most profoundly; yet another was sanctified by God and canonised in heaven while yet he lived in the world, and he was Friar Rufus, a nobleman of Assisi. And thus were all distinguished by singular marks of holiness, as will be made clear hereafter.

CHAPTER II

OF FRIAR BERNARD OF QUINTAVALLE, THE FIRST COMPANION OF ST. FRANCIS

THE FIRST companion of St. Francis was Friar Bernard of Assisi, that was converted after this manner: St. Francis, while yet in the secular habit, albeit he had renounced the world, was wont to go about in meanest guise and so mortified by penance that by many he was held to be a fool, and was mocked and hunted as a madman and pelted with stones and filthy mire both by his kinsfolk and by strangers; but he, even as one deaf and dumb, went his way enduring every insult and injury patiently. Now Bernard of Assisi, who was one of the noblest and richest and wisest of that city, began to consider wisely concerning St. Francis and his exceeding contempt of this world and his long-suffering under injury; and that, albeit for two years he had been thus hated and despised by all men, yet did he ever seem more steadfast. And he began to ponder these things and to say within himself, Of a surety this friar hath great grace from God. And he invited St. Francis to sup and lodge with him; and St. Francis accepted and supped and tarried the night. And then Bernard determined in his heart to contemplate his holiness: wherefore he had a bed made ready for him in his own chamber wherein by night a lamp ever burned. And St. Francis, to conceal his holiness, flung himself on his bed immediately he entered his chamber and feigned to sleep: and Bernard likewise, after a little while, lay down in his bed and began to snore loudly, as one wrapped in deepest slumber. Wherefore St. Francis, verily believing that Bernard slept, arose, in the stillness of the night, from his bed and knelt down to pray; lifting his eyes and hands to heaven he cried with great devotion and fervour, My God, my God! And so saying and weeping bitter tears, he prayed until morning, ever repeating, My God, my God! and naught else. And St. Francis said this, while contemplating and marvelling at the excellency of the Divine Majesty that had deigned to stoop down to this perishing world, and, through His poor little one, St. Francis, had resolved to bring healing salvation to his soul and to others. And therefore, illumined by the Holy Ghost or by the spirit of prophecy, he foresaw the great things that god was to work through him and his Order. And considering his own insufficiency and little worth he called on God Almighty and prayed that of His compassion He would supply, aid, and complete that which he of his own frailty could not achieve. Now Bernard, when he beheld these most devout acts of St. Francis by the light of the lamp, and had reverently considered the words he uttered, was moved and inspired by the Holy Ghost to change his manner of life; wherefore when morning was come he called St. Francis to him and spake thus, Friar Francis, I have fully determined in my heart to forsake the world and obey thee in all things thou commandest me. When St. Francis heard this he rejoiced in spirit and said, "Bernard, this that you² tell is a work so great and so difficult that it behoves us to seek counsel of our Lord Jesus Christ and pray that it may please Him to reveal His will concerning this thing, and teach us how we may put it into execution. Therefore we will go together to the bishop’s house, where a good priest dwells, and mass shall be said, and then we will remain in prayer until tierce, beseeching God that He will point out to us in three openings of the mass book the way it pleaseth Him we should choose. Bernard answered that this pleased him much. Whereupon they set forth and went to the bishop’s house, and after they had heard mass and had remained in prayer until tierce, the priest, at the entreaty of St. Francis, took the book, and having made the sign of holy cross, opened it thrice in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And at the first opening he happened on those words that Christ in the gospel spake to the young man who asked concerning the perfect way, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast and give to the poor and follow Me. In the second opening occurred those words that Christ spake to the Apostles when He sent them to preach, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves nor scrip, neither shoes nor money, desiring by this to teach them that all trust for their livelihood should be placed in God, and all their mind intent on p reaching the holy gospel. In the third opening were found those words which Christ spake, If any man will come after Me, let him take up his cross and follow Me. Then said St. Francis to Bernard, Behold the counsel that Christ giveth us. Go, therefore, do faithfully what thou hast heard, and blessed be the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath deigned to reveal to us the life evangelical. Hearing this, Bernard departed and sold all he had (for he was very rich), and with great joy distributed all to widows and orphans, to prisoners and hospitals and pilgrims; and in all these things St. Francis helped him faithfully and carefully. And one whose name was Silvester, when he saw that St. Francis gave and caused to be given so much money to the poor, was constrained by avarice, and said to St. Francis, Thou didst not pay me fully for the stones thou boughtest of me to repair the church, and therefore now thou hast money, pay me." Then St. Francis, marvelling at his avarice, and as a true follower of the gospel desiring not to contend with him, thrust his hands in Bernard’s bosom, and with hands full of money placed them in Silvester’s bosom, saying, that if he would have more more should be given him. And Silvester, satisfied with this, departed and returned home, but in the evening, pondering on what he had done that day and on the fervour of Bernard and the holiness of St. Francis, he reproved himself for his avarice. And that night following and two other nights he had from God this vision: he beheld a cross of gold issue from the mouth of St. Francis, the top whereof touched heaven, and the arms stretched from the east as far as the west. Because of this vision he gave up all he had for love of God, and became a friar minor, and such holiness and grace had he in the Order that he spake with God even as one friend with another, according as St. Francis proved and as will be related hereafter. Bernard likewise was so filled with God’s grace that in contemplation he was often taken up to God. And St. Francis was wont to say of him that he was worthy of all reverence and had founded this Order, for he was the first who had forsaken the world, holding back nothing, but giving all to Christ’s poor, and the first who began his evangelic poverty by offering himself naked to the arms of the Crucified, to whom be all praise and glory world without end. Amen.

CHAPTER III

HOW ST. FRANCIS, BY REASON OF AN EVIL THOUGHT HE CHERISHED AGAINST FRIAR BERNARD, COMMANDED THE SAID FRIAR THAT HE SHOULD TREAD THRICE ON HIS NECK AND MOUTH

ST. FRANCIS, the most devout servant of the Crucified, had grown almost blind by the rigour of his penance and incessant weeping, so that he saw but ill; and once on a time he departed from the place where he was, and went to a place where Friar Bernard was in order to speak with him of divine things. Being arrived there, he found that Friar Bernard was at prayer in the wood, wholly lifted up and united with God. Then St. Francis went forth into the wood and called him. Come, said he, and speak with this blind man. And Friar Bernard answered him not a word; for being a man great in contemplation, his soul was lifted up and raised to God. And forasmuch as Friar Bernard was possessed of singular grace in discoursing of God, even as St. Francis had proved many times, great was his desire to speak with him. After some while he called him a second and a third time in that same wise, and no time did Friar Bernard hear him: therefore he neither answered nor came to him; whereat St. Francis departed somewhat disconsolate, marvelling within himself and grieving that Friar Bernard, being called thrice, had not come to him. St. Francis turned away with these thoughts in his mind, and when he was gone some little distance he said to his companion, Tarry for me here. And he went aside hard by into a solitary place and prostrated himself in prayer, beseeching God to reveal to him why Friar Bernard answered him not; and remaining thus in prayer there came to him a voice from God, saying, "O poor little one, wherefore art thou troubled? Ought a man to forsake God for His creature? When thou didst call, Friar Bernard was united with Me, and therefore could neither come to thee nor answer thee.

Reviews for The Little Flowers of Saint Francis

[jd234512 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I didn't really know what to do with this as I have no real understanding of saints and how to read about St. Francis. I appreciated the stories, but kind of left wanting a more objective look of St. Francis. This definitely piqued my interest significantly.

[stephenbarkley · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

St. Francis walked the earth at the turn of the twelfth century. In the later half of the fourteenth century, this book of stories about his life was published.The stories are (literally) the stuff of legends. This is where we hear that St. Francis preached to the birds (although I think his evangelism and discipleship of a wolf was much more exciting). This is where we learn of the stigmata St. Francis was blessed with. Here we learn how St. Clare blessed a loaf of bread only to see the sign of the cross on every slice.What I found most interesting about these stories was not that their creation or collection, but what they reveal about the mindset of the Christians of those centuries. While I found some elements inspiring, I was also saddened by misguided theology. I want to end with the positive, so let's start with the bad.The BadSt. Francis and his followers were gripped with the idea of penance and mortification in a very physical way. Chapter 3 provides a good example. One day St. Francis lamented that his companion, Friar Bernard, didn't answer him when he called three times. God proceeded to tell St. Francis that Friar Bernard was busy in Divine communion, so he could not answer anyone on the creaturely plane. Overwhelmingly upset with himself for his frustration with Friar Bernard, St. Francis found his companion, threw himself down before him, and said,"I command you in the name of holy obedience that, to punish my presumption and the arrogance of my heart, when now I shall cast myself down on my back on the earth, you shall set one foot on my throat and the other on my mouth and so pass over me three times, from one side to the other, crying shame and infamy upon me, and especially say to me: 'Lie there, you churl, son of Peter Bernardone, whence have you so much pride, you who are a most abject creature" (9)?The Christians of this era seemed to take a perverse joy in being abused. This attitude is miles removed from Jesus' words to sinner caught in the act: "I don't condemn you ... Go home, and from now on don't sin any more" (John 8:11 NIV). Instead of hearing Jesus' words of forgiveness, they chose their own self-punishment.The GoodThe inspiring part of this collection of stories can be seen in the same story: they took their sin seriously. If there was a tendency in their culture to overemphasize the most minute attitude of the heart and take matters into their own hands, there is a tendency in ours to ignore all sin and continue living like nothing is wrong. St. Francis and his followers recognized the diverse ways that pride can infect a community and did everything they could to resist it.While I firmly believe that every Christ-follower should be rightly called, "saint," it's clear why the Roman church set some Christians apart as shining examples.

[ctpress_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm not really sure if I approach this classic the right way - with the necessary prayerful devotion. First of all, this is not a reliable biography of Assisi. These are collected legends - the stuff of folklore - when the miracles, dreams and visions just gets more and more fantastical when they are told and retold and eventually one jots them down. I read it with a smile on my face - a lot of them are quite humorous, inspiring in a childish kind of way - the devotion so extreme it becomes, well, oddly funny.No doubt, Assisi was a very humble man, serving Christ and others with much devotion. When I read about this man who can tell the destiny of other monks, quiet the birds when he preach to them, calm the fierce wolf of Gubbio, have dreamlike visions of Christ, St. Paul etc. etc. well - I smile. It's just a lot of wonderful stories - we want them to be true…..and some of them no doubt are true, and some of it did happen. Some of it.