Francis of Assisi

c.1182–1226 · Italian religious founder

Francis of Assisi founded the religious movement that became the Franciscan order. His surviving rules, letters and admonitions address life together, humility and service. English quotations from those writings depend on the particular translator; the medieval author did not write these English sentences.

Traced to source

2 quotes we’ve traced to Francis of Assisi

“Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance”

Verified

“For what a person is before God, that he is and no more”

Attributed

Not actually Francis of Assisi

Often misattributed to Francis of Assisi

Famous lines widely pinned on Francis of Assisi that we’ve traced to someone else.

“All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle”

actually Unknown

“For it is in giving that we receive”

actually Anonymous

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference”

actually Reinhold Niebuhr

“He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist”

actually Louis Nizer

“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace”

actually Anonymous

“Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words”

actually Unknown

“Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible”

actually Unknown

“Where there is hatred, let me sow love”

actually Anonymous

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