The "dead" things of nature — the table, the bowl of fruit, the water pitcher — are there, in their own light, in great humility, without any human projection. They sing to God for the fact of being what they are. Saint Francis, archaic and unmodern man, unites himself with this silent song, letting things be what they are, brothers and sisters too adorable to be manipulated by brother humanity.

Leonardo Boff, Francis of Assisi