But he himself did not feel
qualified for this Franciscan apostolate, nor could he discover the
necessary qualifications in any of his friends; not even in the most
zealous of all, Luigi Minucci, a recluse, an ascetic, shunning the world
like Selva himself. Salvati's arguments served to demolish, but not to
build up. Giovanni secretly felt the irony of applying them either to
Marinier or to Dane, of whom it was well known that their tastes were
anything but Franciscan, that their palates were fastidious, their
nerves delicate, and their affections lavished on parrots and little
dogs. If anything was to be achieved, a line of defence must at once be
adopted.
"Dear Padre Salvati must pardon me," he began, "if I observe that his
discourse--so warm with the true Christian spirit--is ill-timed. I
gather that he is with us in desiring a Catholic reform. To-night only a
proposal is before us; the proposal to form a sort of league among all
those who cherish the same desire. Let us then decide this point."
The _Scolopio_ would not yield. He could not understand an inactive
league, and action, according to the ideas of the intellectualists, did
not suit him.
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