St. Bonaventure, Cardinal, Bishop, and Doctor of the Church
ST. BONAVENTURE, the great light and ornament of the holy Order of St. Francis, for his extraordinary devotion, ardent charity, and eminent skill in sacred learning, is surnamed the Seraphic Doctor. He was born at Bagnarea in Tuscany, in the year 1221, of pious parents, named John of Fidenza and Mary Ritelli. He was christened by the name of John, but afterwards received that of Bonaventure, on the following occasion. In the fourth year of his age he fell so dangerously sick that his life was despaired of by the physicians. The mother in excessive grief had recourse to the Almighty physician by earnest prayer, and going into Umbria cast herself at the feet of St. Francis of Assisium, with many tears begging his intercession with God for the life of her son. Would Christians address themselves to God with an humble confidence in all their corporal necessities, their afflictions would never fail to be turned into divine blessings. But their neglect of this duty deserves to be chastised by spiritual misfortunes, and often also by temporal disappointments without comfort or remedy. St. Francis was moved to compassion by the tears of the mother, and at his prayer the child recovered so perfect a state of health that he was never known to be sick from that time till the illness of which he died. 1 The glorious saint, at whose petition God granted this favour, saw himself near the end of his mortal course, and foretelling the graces which the divine goodness prepared for this child, cried out in prophetic rapture; O buona ventura, that is, in Italian, Good luck. Whence the name of Bonaventura was given our saint. The devout mother in gratitude consecrated her son to God by a vow, and was careful to inspire into him from the cradle the most ardent sentiments of piety, and to inure him betimes to assiduous practices of self-denial, humility, obedience, and devotion. Bonaventure from his infancy entered upon a religious course, and appeared inflamed with the love of God as soon as he was capable of knowing him. His progress in his studies surprised his masters, but that which he made in the science of the saints, and in the practice of every virtue was far more extraordinary. It was his highest pleasure and joy to hear by how many titles he belonged to God, and he made it his most earnest study and endeavour to devote his heart with his whole strength to the divine service. 1
In 1243, being twenty-two years of age, he entered into the Order of St. Francis, and received the habit in the province of Rome from the hands of Haymo, an Englishman, at that time general of the Order. 2 St. Bonaventure mentions in his prologue to the life St. Francis, that he entered this state, and made his vows with extraordinary sentiments of gratitude for the preservation of his life through the intercession of St. Francis, resolving with the greatest ardour to serve God with his whole heart. Shortly after, he was sent to Paris to complete his studies under the celebrated Alexander of Hales, surnamed the Irrefragable Doctor. 3 After his death in 1245, St. Bonaventure continued his course under his successor, John of Rochelle. His penetrating genius was poised by the most exquisite judgment, by which, while he easily dived to the bottom of every subtle inquiry, he cut off whatever was superfluous, dwelling only on that knowledge which is useful and solid, or at least was then necessary to unravel the false principles and artful sophistry of the adversaries of truth. Thus he became a masterly proficient in the scholastic philosophy, and in the most sublime parts of theology. Whilst he referred all his studies to the divine honour and his own sanctification he was most careful not to lose the end in the means, and suffer his application to degenerate into a dissipation of mind and a vicious idle curiosity. This opens an avenue into the heart for self-conceit, jealousy, envy, and a total extinction of the spirit of prayer, with a numberless train of other spiritual evils, which lay waste the affections of the soul, and banish thence the precious fruits of the Holy Ghost. To shun those rocks often fatal to piety, he seemed never to turn his attention from God, and by the earnest invocation of the divine light in the beginning of every action, and holy aspirations with which he accompanied all his studies, he may be said to have made them a continued prayer. When he turned his eyes to his book, they were swimming with tears of love and devotion excited by his assiduous meditation on the wounds of Christ, and his heart still continued to inflame its affections from that, its beloved object, which he seemed to read in every line. St. Thomas Aquinas coming one day to pay a visit to our saint, asked him in what books he had learned his sacred science. St. Bonaventure, pointing to his crucifix before him, said: “This is the source of all my knowledge. I study only Jesus Christ and him crucified.” 2
Not content to make his studies in some sort a continuation of prayer, he devoted entirely to that heavenly exercise the greater part of his time, knowing this to be the key of divine graces and of spiritual life. For only the Spirit of God, as St. Paul teaches, can lead us into the secrets and designs of God, and engrave his holy maxims on our hearts. He alone can make himself known, as no other light can discover the sun to us but its own; and it is in prayer that God communicates himself to us. He here enlightens the souls of his servants, and is their interior instructor. But, as St. Austin says, honey cannot be poured into a vessel that is full of wormwood: neither can this excellent grace or gift of prayer find place in a soul which is not first prepared to receive the sensible presence of, the Holy Ghost by holy compunction, and by the practice of penance, humility, and self-denial. These virtues fitted the soul of our saint to be admitted to the chaste embraces of the heavenly bridegroom. Such was the innocence and purity in which he lived, and so perfect a mastery he had obtained over his passions, that Alexander of Hales used to say of him, that he seemed not to have sinned in Adam. An eminent spirit of penance was the principal guardian of this grace of innocence. The austerities of St. Bonaventure were excessive, yet amidst his penitential tears a remarkable cheerfulness appeared always in his countenance, which resulted from the inward peace of his soul. Himself lays down this maxim: 4 “A spiritual joy is the greatest sign of the divine grace dwelling in a soul.” 3
To his mortifications he added the practice of the greatest humiliations. In attending the sick he was particularly ambitious to serve them in the lowest and most humbling offices. In this charitable duty he seemed prodigal in his own life and health, and chose always to be about those whose distempers were most loathsome or contagious and dangerous. He had no eyes to see anything in himself but faults and imperfections, and wonderful was the care with which he endeavoured to conceal from others his extraordinary practices of virtue. When their rays broke through the veil of his humility, and shone forth to others, the saint in order to cast a shade over them before men, or at least to strengthen his own heart against the danger, and to indulge his love of abjection, embraced the greatest humiliations. He always regarded himself as the most ungrateful and the basest of sinners, unworthy to walk upon the earth, or to breathe the air; and these humble sentiments were accompanied with the deepest compunction, and abundant tears. This humility sometimes withheld him from the holy table notwithstanding the burning desires of his soul to be united daily afresh to the object of his love, and to approach the fountain of grace. But God was pleased by a miracle to overcome his fears, and to recompense his humility. “Several days had passed,” say the acts of his canonization, “nor durst he yet presume to present himself at the heavenly banquet. But whilst he was hearing mass, and meditating on the passion of Jesus Christ, our Saviour, to crown his humility and love, put into his mouth, by the ministry of an angel, part of the consecrated host, taken from the hand of the priest.” By this precious favour his soul was drowned in a torrent of pure delights; and from that time he was encouraged to approach with an humble confidence to the bread of angels which gives life and strength. 4
From this time his communions were accompanied with overflowing sweetness and consolations, and with raptures of divine joy and love. If in our communions we seem to receive, instead of torrents, scarce a small portion of heavenly grace, the reason is because our hearts are too narrow. The vessel which we bring is too small. If we dilated our souls by humility, burning desires, and love, we should receive, like the saints, an abundant supply of these living waters. St. Bonaventure prepared himself to receive the holy order of priesthood by long fasts, humiliations, and fervent prayer, that he might obtain in it an abundant measure of graces proportioned to so high a function. He considered that sacred dignity with fear and trembling, and the higher and more incomprehensible it appeared to him, so much the more did he humble himself when he saw himself invested with it. As often as he approached the altar, the profound annihilation of himself, and the tender love with which he offered, beheld in his hands, and received into his breast, the Lamb without spot, appeared by his tears, and his whole exterior. A devout prayer which he composed for his own use after mass, beginning with these words, Transfige dulcissime domine, is recommended by the Church to all priests on that most solemn occasion. 5
Bonaventure looked upon himself as called by the obligations of his priestly character to labour for the salvation of his neighbour, and to this he devoted himself with extraordinary zeal. He announced the word of God to the people with an energy and unction which kindled a flame in the hearts of those who heard him; everything was inflamed that came from his mouth. For an assistance to himself in this function he compiled his treatise called Pharetra, consisting of animated sentiments gathered from the writings of the fathers. In the mean time, he was employed in teaching privately in his own convent, till he succeeded his late master, John of Rochelle, in a public chair of the university. The age required by the statutes for this professorship was thirty-five, whereas the saint was only thirty-three years old; but his abilities amply supplied that defect, and on this literary theatre he soon displayed them to the admiration of the whole Church. He continued always to study at the foot of the crucifix. The disagreement between the university and the regulars being terminated by Pope Alexander IV. in 1256, St. Thomas and St. Bonaventure w�re invited to take the doctor’s cap together. As others contend for precedence, the two saints had a vehement contest of humility, each endeavouring to yield the first place to the other. They knew no pretexts of the interest of their Orders, nor were they sensible of any prerogatives but those of humility. St. Bonaventure prayed and entreated him with so much earnestness, that at length St. Thomas acquiesced to receive the degree first, and our saint triumphed over both his friend and himself. 6
The holy king St. Lewis honoured St. Bonaventure with his particular esteem, invited him often to his own table, and consulted him in his most intricate concerns, placing an entire confidence in his advice. He engaged him to compile an office of the passion of Christ for his use. St. Bonaventure drew up a rule for St. Isabella, the king’s sister, and for her nunnery of mitigated Clares at Long-Champs. His book On the Government of the Soul, his Meditations for every day in the week, and most of his other lesser tracts were written to satisfy the requests of several devout persons of the court. The unction which every word breathes in the writings of this holy doctor pierces the heart, and his concise expression is an abyss, or rather a treasure of most profound sentiments of humility, compunction, love, and devotion, the riches of which a pious heart finds everywhere boundless. Especially his tender sentiments of the love of God, and on the sacred passion of Christ, exceedingly recommend to all devout persons his meditations on this latter subject, and express the burning affections with which his pure soul glowed towards that stupendous mystery of infinite love, goodness, and mercy, that perfect model of all virtue and sanctity, and source of all our good. 7
The celebrated Gerson, the most learned and devout chancellor of Paris, writes of the works of St. Bonaventure: 5 “Among all the Catholic doctors, Eustachius (for so we may translate his name of Bonaventure) seems to me the most proper for conveying light to the understanding, and at the same time warming the heart. In particular his Brevioloquium, and Itinerarium are written with so much force, art, and conciseness, that nothing can be beyond them.” In another book he says; 6 “St. Bonaventure’s works seem to me the most proper for the instruction of the faithful. They are solid, safe, pious, and devout; and he keeps as far as he can from niceties; not meddling with logical or physical questions which are foreign to the matter in hand. Nor is there any doctrine more sublime, more divine, or more conducive to piety.” Trithemius recommends this doctor’s writings in the following words: “His expressions are full of fire, they no less warm with divine love the hearts of those who read them, than they fill their understanding with the most holy light. His works surpass those of all the doctors of his time, if we consider the spirit of divine love, and of Christian devotion that speaks in him. He is profound in few words, penetrating without curiosity, eloquent without vanity; his discourse is inflamed without being bloated.—Whoever would be both learned and devout, let him read the works of St. Bonaventure.” 7 8
This is chiefly to be understood of his spiritual tracts. In these the author discovers every where a most profound spirit of humility and holy poverty, with a heart perfectly disengaged from all earthly things, and full of the most ardent love of God, and the most tender devotion to the sacred passion of our Divine Redeemer. The eternal joys of heaven were the frequent entertainment of his pious soul, and he seems never to have interrupted his ardent sighs after them. He endeavoured by his writings to excite in all others the same fervent desires of our heavenly country. He writes 8 that “God himself, all the glorious spirits, and the whole family of the eternal King wait for us, and desire that we should be associated to them; and shall not we pant above all things to be admitted into their happy company? He would appear amongst them with great confusion, who had not in this valley of tears continually raised his soul above all things visible to become already, in ardent desire, an inhabitant of those blessed regions.” He clearly shows that he was not able to express the transports of holy joy that overflowed his soul, as often as he contemplated its future union with God in immortal bliss and uninterrupted love and praise. He revolved in mind the raptures of gratitude and joy in which the blessed spirits behold themselves in the state of security for ever, whilst they see so many souls on earth every day overthrown by their spiritual enemies, and so many others lost in hell. He was strongly affected with the thought of the glorious company of millions of angels and saints, all most holy, loving, and glorious, adorned each with their distinguishing trophies and graces; in which every one will possess in others every gift which he hath not, and all those gifts which himself hath, doubled so many times as he hath partners in bliss. For loving every companion as himself he will rejoice for the felicity of each no less than for his own. Whereupon, with St. Anselm, he often asked his own heart, here so poor, so weak, and overwhelmed with miseries, if then it would be able, without being strengthened and raised above itself by an extraordinary grace, to contain its joy for its own felicity; how it could be able to contain so many and such excess of joys? But this saint’s sublime sentiments of piety and devotion are best learned from his own works. His love of an interior life did not hinder his application to promote the divine honour in others by various exterior employments; but these he animated and sanctified by a constant spirit of recollection and prayer. 9
Whilst he continued to teach at Paris he was chosen general of his Order in a chapter held in the convent called Ara-Cœli, at Rome, in 1256. The saint was only thirty-five years old. Nevertheless Pope Alexander IV. confirmed the election. St. Bonaventure was thunderstruck at this news, and prostrating himself on the ground, he with many tears implored the divine light and direction. After which he set out immediately for Rome. The Franciscan Order was at that time divided by intestine dissensions, some of the friars being for an inflexible severity, others demanding certain mitigations of the letter of the rule. The young general no sooner appeared among them, but by the force of his exhortations which he tempered with mildness and charity, he restored a perfect calm; and all the brethren marched under this new Josue with one heart, in the same spirit, and in the same path. William of Saint-Amour, a member of the university of Paris, having published a bitter invective against the Mendicant Orders, entitled, “On the Dangers of the Latter Times,” St. Thomas answered it. St. Bonaventure also confuted it by a book, which he called, “On the Poverty of the Lord Jesus,” in which his mildness in handling the controversy against a most virulent adversary reflected a double advantage on his victory. 10
Our saint in his return to the schools at Paris, visited several of his convents in the way, in which he showed everywhere that he was only become superior to be the most humble, the most charitable, and the most compassionate of all his brethren, and the servant of his whole Order. Notwithstanding his great employments, he never omitted his usual exercises of devotion, but laid out his time and regulated his functions with such wonderful prudence as to find leisure for every thing. He composed several works at Paris, but often retired to Mante for greater solitude. A stone, which he used for his pillow, is shown to this day in that convent. In 1260 the saint held a general chapter at Narbonne, and in concert with the definitors, gave a new form to the old Constitutions, added certain new rules, and reduced them all into twelve chapters. At the request of the friars assembled in this chapter, he undertook to write the life of St. Francis; but went first from Narbonne to Mount Alverno, and there assisted at the dedication of a great church. In a little oratory, built upon the very place where St. Francis had received the miraculous marks of the wounds of our Saviour, St. Bonaventure continued a long while abstracted, and in an ecstacy, in holy meditation. He there wrote his incomparable treatise, called Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, or the Way of the Soul to God, showing that all her comfort and riches are to be found in God alone, and tracing out the sure way that leads to him. Whilst he was in Italy he gathered the most authentic memoirs for the life of St. Francis, which he compiled with a spirit which shows him to have been filled with all the heroic virtues of his founder, whose life he wrote. St. Thomas Aquinas coming one day to pay him a visit whilst he was employed in this work, saw him through the door of his cell, raised in contemplation above the ground, and going away said: “Let us leave a saint to write for a saint.” In 1230 St. Bonaventure assisted at the translation of the relics of St. Antony, which was performed at Padua. From that city he went to hold a general chapter at Pisa, in which, by words and example, he exhorted his brethren to a great love of holy solitude. He gave on that and every other occasion proofs of his tender devotion to the Blessed Virgin. When he was first made general he put his Order under her special patronage. He regulated many pious exercises of devotion to her, composed his Mirror of the Virgin, setting forth her graces, virtues, and prerogatives, with many prayers, which are tender and respectful effusions of the heart, to implore her intercession. He wrote a pathetic paraphrase in verse of the anthem Salve Regina. 9 He published the praises of the Mother out of devotion to the Son, and to extend His glory. To propagate his honour and saving faith he sent, by the pope’s authority, preachers into many barbarous nations, and lamented his situation that he could not go himself, and expose his life among the infidels. 11
The venerable brother Giles, the third companion of St. Francis at Assisio, 10 said one day to St. Bonaventure: “Father, God has shown us great mercy and bestowed on us many graces. But we who are poor and ignorant idiots, what can we do to correspond to his immense goodness, and to be saved?” St. Bonaventure answered: “If God were to bestow on any one no other talents besides the grace of loving him, this alone suffices, and is every spiritual treasure.” B. Giles said: “Can a dull idiot love God as perfectly as a great scholar.” St. Bonaventure replied: “A poor old woman may love him more than the most learned master and doctor in theology.” At this brother Giles in a sudden fervour and jubilation of spirit went into a garden, and standing at a gate towards the city (of Rome) he looked that way, and cried out with a loud voice,—“Come, the poorest, most simple, and most illiterate old woman, love the Lord our God, and you may attain to a higher degree of eminence and happiness than brother Bonaventure with all his learning.” After this he fell into an ecstacy, in which he continued in sweet contemplation without motion for the space of three hours. 11 12
Pope Clement IV, in 1265, nominated St. Bonaventure archbishop of York, being assured how agreeable he would be to that church, to the king of England, and his whole kingdom. But St. Bonaventure having first by earnest prayer begged that God would preserve him from so great a danger, went and cast himself at the feet of his holiness, and by tears and entreaties extorted from him a discharge of that burden. He held a general chapter at Paris in 1266: and in the next, which he assembled at Assisium, he ordered the triple salutation of the Blessed Virgin, called the Angelas Domini, to be recited every evening at six o’clock, to honour the incomprehensible mystery of the Incarnation, which ought to be the object of our perpetual praises and thanksgiving. 13
In 1272, Theobald, the holy archdeacon of Liege, a native of Placentia, then absent in the Holy Land, was chosen pope, and took the name of Gregory X. a person of such eminent sanctity that a process has been set on foot for his canonization; and Benedict XIV. in 1745, ordered his name to be inserted in the Roman Martyrology. He was a man of an extraordinary reputation throughout all his life, for prudence in the conduct of his affairs; for courage, greatness of mind, and contempt of money; for devotion, clemency, and charity to the poor. He died on the 10th of January, 1276, on his return from the council at Abruzzo in Tuscany, of which city he is the titular patron. Miracles have rendered his name illustrious. Bonaventure fearing this holy pope would compel him to accept of some ecclesiastical dignity, left Italy and went to Paris, where he wrote his Hexaëmeron or pious exposition of the creation, or work of six days. He had scarcely finished it, when at Whitsuntide he received from the pope a brief by which he was nominated cardinal, and bishop of Albano, one of the six suffragans of Rome. His holiness added a precept to him to accept that double charge without alleging any pretext against it, and immediately to repair to Rome. He sent two nuncios to meet him on the road with the hat and other ensigns of his dignities. They found the saint reposing on his journey in a convent of his Order at Migel, four leagues from Florence, and employed in washing the dishes. He desired them to hang the cardinal’s hat on the bough of a tree, because he could not decently take it in his hands, and left them to walk in the garden till he had finished his work. Then taking up the hat he went to the nuncios, and paid them the respect due to their character. Gregory X. came from Orvietto to Florence, and there meeting Bonaventure ordained him bishop with his own hands; then ordered him to prepare himself to speak in the general council which he had called to meet at Lyons for the reunion of the Greeks. 14
The emperor Michael Palæologus had made proposals to pope Clement IV. for a union. Pope Gregory X. zealously pursued this affair. Joseph, patriarch of Constantinople, made a violent opposition, but was obliged by the emperor to retire into a monastery. To bring this affair to a happy conclusion, Gregory X. invited the Greeks to come to the general council which he assembled at Lyons for this very purpose, and also to concert measures for pushing on a war for the recovery of the Holy Land, which the pope promoted with all his might. This was the fourteenth general council, and the second of Lyons. At it were present five hundred bishops, seventy abbots, James, king of Arragon, and the ambassadors of the emperor Michael and of other Christian princes. St. Thomas of Aquin died on the road to this synod. St. Bonaventure accompanied the pope through Milan to it, and arrived at Lyons in November, though the council was only opened on the 7th of May, 1274. 12 Bonaventure sat on the pope’s right hand, and first harangued the assembly. Between the second and third sessions he held his last general chapter of his Order, in which he abdicated the office of general. He found leisure to preach, and he established at Lyons a pious confraternity called Del Gonfalone, which he had formerly instituted at Rome. In it pious persons associated themselves in certain daily devotions, under the patronage of the mother of God. The deputies of the Greeks being arrived at Lyons, St. Bonaventure was ordered by the pope to confer with them. They were charmed with his sweetness, and convinced by his reasoning, and they acquiesced in every point. In thanksgiving the pope sung mass on the feast of SS. Peter and Paul, and the gospel was sung first in Latin, then in Greek. After this St. Bonaventure preached on the unity of faith. Then the creed was sung first in Latin, then in Greek, and as a seal of the reunion of the two churches those words were thrice repeated: “Who proceedeth from the Father and the Son.” In memory of this solemn function two crosses are placed on the high altar of the metropolitan church of St. John at Lyons. 13 St. Bonaventure was taken ill after this session; nevertheless he assisted at the fourth, in which the Logothete or high chancellor of Constantinople abjured the schism. But the next day the saint’s strength began entirely to fail him, insomuch that he was no longer able to attend business. From that time he gave himself up entirely to his private devotions, and the constant amiable serenity of his countenance demonstrated the holy peace and joy of his soul in those most awful moments. The pope himself gave him extreme unction, as is attested by an inscription which hath been preserved in the same chamber in which he died, to our times. The saint kept his eyes constantly fixed on a crucifix, and expired in great tranquillity on the 14th of July, in the year 1274, of his age the fifty-third. The pope and the whole council solemnized his obsequies on the same day in the church of the Franciscans at Lyons. Peter of Tarrentaise, a Dominican friar, cardinal and bishop of Ostia, afterwards pope under the name of Innocent V., preached his funeral panegyric, in which he said,—“No one ever beheld him who did not conceive a great esteem and affection for him; and even strangers, by hearing him speak, were desirous to follow his counsel and advice; for he was gentle, affable, humble, pleasing to all, compassionate, prudent, chaste, and adorned with all virtues.” 15
The body of St. Bonaventure was translated into the new church of the Franciscans on the 14th of March, 1434. King Charles VIII. founded their new convent at Lyons at the foot of the castle of Pierre Incise in 1494, with a rich chapel in which the saint’s remains were enshrined, except a part of the lower jaw which that king caused to be conveyed to Fontainbleau, and it is now in the church of the Cordeliers in Paris; the bones of an arm are kept at Bagnarea, and a little bone at Venice. In 1562 the Calvinists plundered his shrine, burned his relics in the market-place, and scattered the ashes in the river Saone, as is related by the learned Jesuit Possevinus, who was then at Lyons. 14 They stabbed to death the guardian with a Catholic captain whom they had made prisoner; they burned the archives of the library and set fire to the convent. The saint’s head and some other relics escaped the fury of the rebels by having been concealed. St. Bonaventure was canonized by Sixtus IV. in 1482. Sixtus V. enrolled his name among the doctors of the Church, in the same manner as Pius V. had done that of St. Thomas Aquinas. The acts of his canonization record several approved miracles wrought by his intercession. The city of Lyons, in 1628, being grievously afflicted with the plague, the raging distemper began to cease from the time in which certain relics of our saint were devoutly carried in procession. That and other cities have experienced the divine mercy in like manner, in several other public calamities, by invoking St. Bonaventure’s intercession. Charles of Orleans, father of Lewis XII. king of France, was taken prisoner by the English in the battle of Agincourt, in 1425. During his captivity he fell ill of a fever, under which no human remedies gave him any relief. The more desperate his situation appeared, with the more earnestness he set himself to implore the patronage of St. Bonaventure, and a perfect recovery was the recompense of his devotion. In gratitude, as soon as he was set at liberty, he went to Lyons to offer up his thanksgivings and prayers at the tomb of the saint, on which he bestowed magnificent presents. 15 16
St. Bonaventure, this great master of a spiritual life, places not the perfection of Christian virtue so much in the more heroic exercises of a religious state as in the performing well our ordinary actions. “The best perfection of a religious man,” says he, “is to do common things in a perfect manner. 16 A constant fidelity in small things is a great and heroic virtue.” It is a continual crucifixion of self-love and all the passions; a complete sacrifice of all our actions, moments, and affections, and the entire reign of God’s grace throughout our whole lives. Quintilian lays it down for the great rule in forming an orator, that he accustom himself never to write or speak carelessly even on the most trifling subject or in common conversation, but that he study always to express himself in the most proper manner possible; with far greater diligence ought every one strive to perform all even the meanest of his actions in the most perfect manner, and to improve every grace, every moment of time to advance in virtue. 17
Note 1. Baillet in S. Bonav. Wadding, &c.
Note 2. Haymo, who had taught divinity at Paris, and been sent by Gregory IX. nuncio to Constantinople, was employed by the same pope in revising the Roman breviary and its rubrics. He is not to be confounded with Haymo, the disciple of Rabanus Maurus, afterwards bishop of Halberstadt, in the ninth age, whose Homilies, Comments on the Scriptures, and Abridgment of Ecclesiastical History are extant. His works are chiefly Centos, compiled of scraps of fathers and other authors patched and joined together; a manner of writing used by many from the seventh to the twelfth age, but calculated to propagate stupidity and dulness, and to contract, not to enlarge or improve the genius, which is opened by invention, elegance, and imitation; but fettered by mechanical toils, as centos, acrostics, &c.
Note 3. Alexander of Hales, a native of Hales in Gloucestershire, after having gone through the course of his studies in England, went to Paris, and there followed divinity and the canon law, and gained in them an extraordinary reputation. He entered into the Order of Friars Minors, and died at Paris in 1245. His works discover a most subtle penetrating genius; of which the principal is a Summ or Commentary upon the four Books of the Master of the Sentences, written by order of Innocent IV. and a Vumm of Virtues.
Note 4. Specul. Discipl. p. 1, c. 3.
Note 5. Gerson, Tr. De libris quos religiosi legere debent.
Note 6. Gerson, l. de Examine Doctrinar.
Note 7. See Du Pin, Biblioth. Cent. 13, p. 249, t. 14. [
Note 8. Soliloqu. Exercit. 4, c. 1, 2.
Note 9. The psalter of the Blessed Virgin is falsely ascribed to St. Bonaventure, and unworthy to hear his name. (See Fabricius in Biblioth. med. ætat. Bellarmin and Labbe de Script. Eccl. Nat. Alexander, Hist. Eccl. Sæc. 13.) The Vatican edition of the works of St. Bonaventure, was begun by an order of Sixtus V. and completed in 1588. It consists of eight volumes in folio. The two first contain his commentaries on the holy scriptures: the third his sermons and panegyrics: the fourth and fifth his comments on the Master of the Sentences: the Sixth, seventh, and eighth, his lesser treatises, of which some are doctrinal, others regard the duties of a religious state, others general subjects of piety, especially the mysteries of Christ and the Blessed Virgin. Most of these have run through several separate editions. All his works have been reprinted at Mentz and Lyons; and in 4to. in fourteen volumes at Venice, in 1751.
Note 10. B. Giles was a native of Assisio, and became the third companion of St. Francis in 1209. He attended him in the Marche of Ancona, and made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, whither he was sent by St. Francis to preach to the Saracens; but upon their threats of raising a persecution he was sent back to Italy by the Christians of that country. He afterwards lived some time at Rome, some time at Reati, and some time at Fabriano; but the chief part of the remainder of his life he spent at Perugia, where he died in the night between the 22nd and 23rd of April, in the year 1272, not in 1262, as Papebroke proves against the erroneous computation of certain authors, (p. 220, t. 3, Apr.) Wadding and others relate many revelations, prophecies, and miracles of this eminent servant of God; his tomb has been had in public veneration at Perugia from the time of his death, and he was for some time solemnly honoured as a saint in the church of his order in that city as Papebroke shows; who regrets that this devotion has been for some time much abated, probably because not judged sufficiently authorized by the holy see. The public veneration at his tomb and the adjoining altar continues, and the mass is sung, on account of his ancient festival, with great solemnity, but of St. George, without any solemn commemoration of this servant of God. Nevertheless, from proofs of former solemn veneration, Papebroke honours him with the title of Blessed.
None among the first disciples of St. Francis seems to have been more perfectly replenished with his spirit of perfect charity, humility, meekness, and simplicity, as appears from the golden maxims and lessons of piety, which he gave to others. Of these Papebroke has given us a large and excellent collection from manuscripts; some of which were before printed by Wadding and others. A few will suffice to show us his spirit.
B. Giles always lived by the labour of his hands. When the cardinal bishop of Tusculum desired him always to receive his bread, as a poor man an alms, from his table; B. Giles excused himself, using the words of the psalmist: Blessed art thou, and it shall be well with thee, because thou shalt eat by the labour of thy hands. Ps. cxxvii. “So brother Francis taught his brethren to be faithful and diligent in labouring, and to take for their wages not money, but necessary subsistence.” (Papebroke, p. 224.) If any one discoursed with him on the glory of God, the sweetness of his love, or Paradise, he would be ravished in spirit, and remain so a great part of the day unmoved. Shepherds and children who had learned this from others, sometimes for diversion or out of curiosity, cried out after him, Paradise, Paradise; upon hearing which, he through joy fell into an ecstacy. His religious brethren in conversing with him took care never to name the word Paradise or Heaven for fear of losing his company by his being ravished out of himself, (ib. p. 226, and Wadding.)
An extraordinary spiritual joy and cheerfulness appeared always painted on his countenance; and if any one spoke to him of God, he answered in great interior jubilation of soul. Once returning to his brethren out of close retirement he praised God with wonderful joy and fervour, and sung—“Neither tongue can utter, nor words express, nor mortal hearts conceive how great the good is which God hath prepared for those who desire to love him.”
Pope Gregory IX. who kept his court at Perugia from 1234 to autumn in 1236, sent one day for the holy man, who, in answer to his holiness’s first question about his state of life, said—“I cheerfully take upon me the yoke of the commandments of the Lord.” The pope replied—“Your answer is just; but your yoke is sweet and your burthen light.” At these words B. Giles withdrew a little from him, and, being ravished in spirit, remained speechless and without motion till very late in the night, to the great astonishment of his holiness, who spoke of it to his cardinals and others with great surprise.
This pope on a certain occasion pressed the holy man to say something to him on his own duty; Giles after having long endeavoured to excuse himself said: “You have two eyes, both a right and a left one, always open; with the right eye you must contemplate the things which are above you: and with the left eye you must administer and dispense things which are below.”
On humility, the following maxims are recorded among his sayings: “No man can attain to the knowledge of God but by humility. The way to mount high is to descend; for all dangers and all great falls which ever happened in the world, were caused by pride, as is evident in the angel in heaven, in Adam in Paradise, in the Pharisee mentioned in the gospel: and all spiritual advantages arose from humility, as we see in the Blessed Virgin, the good thief, &c. Would to God some great weight laid upon us obliged us always to hold down our heads.” When a certain brother asked him: “How can we fly this cursed pride?” he answered: “If we consider the benefits of God, we must humble ourselves, and bow down our heads; and if we consider our sins we must likewise humble ourselves, and bow down our heads. Woe to him who seeks honour from his own confusion and sin. The degrees of humility in a man are, that he know that whatever is of his own growth is opposite to his good. A branch of this humility is, that he give to others what is theirs, and never appropriate to himself what belongs to another; that is, that he ascribe to God all his good and all advantages which he enjoys; and acknowledge that all his evil is of his own growth. Blessed is he who accounts himself as mean and base before men as he is before God. Blessed is he who walks faithfully in obedience to another. He who desires to enjoy inward peace, must look upon every man as his superior and as better and greater before God. Blessed is he who knows how to keep and conceal the favours of God. Humility knows not how to speak, and patience dares not speak, for fear of losing the crown of suffering by complaints, in a firm conviction that a person is always treated above his deserts. Humility dispels all evil, is an enemy to all sin, and makes a man nothing in his own eyes. By humility a man finds grace before God, and peace with men. God bestows the treasures of his grace on the humble, not on the proud. A man ought always to fear from pride, lest it cast him down headlong. Always fear and watch over yourself. A man who deserves death, and who is in prison, how comes it that he does not always tremble? A man is of himself poverty and indigence; rich only by the divine gifts; these then he must love, and despise himself. What is greater than for a man to be sensible what he owes to God, and to cover himself with confusion, self-reproach, and self-reprehension for his own evils? I wish we could have studied this lesson from the beginning of the world to the end. How much do we stand indebted to him who desires to deliver us from all evil, and to confer upon us all good?” Against vain-glory he used to say: “If a person was sunk in extreme poverty, covered all over with wounds, half clad in tattered rags, and without shoes; and men should come to him, and saluting him with honour say: ‘All admire you, my lord; you are wonderfully rich, handsome, and beautiful; and your clothes are splendid and handsome;’ must not he have lost his senses, who should be pleased with such a compliment, or think himself such, knowing that he is the very reverse?”
The servant of God was remarkable for his meekness and charity, and he used to say, “We can appropriate to ourselves our neighbour’s good, and make it also our own; for the more a person rejoices at his neighbour’s good, the more does he share in it. If, therefore, you desire to share in the advantages of all others, rejoice more for them all; and grieve for every one’s misfortunes. This is the path of salvation, to rejoice in every advantage, and to grieve for every misfortune of your neighbour; to see and acknowledge your own evils and miseries, and to believe only good of others; to honour others, and to despise yourself. We pray, fast, and labour; yet lose all this if we do not bear injuries with charity and patience. If we take so much pains to attain to virtue, why do not we learn to do what is so easy? you must bear the burdens of all, because you have no just reason of complaint against any one, seeing you deserve to be chastised and treated ill by all creatures. You desire to escape reproaches and condemnation in the next world, yet would be honoured in this. You refuse to labour or bear anything here, yet desire to enjoy rest hereafter. Strive more earnestly to vanquish your passions, and bear tribulations and humiliations. It is necessary to overcome yourself, whatever you do. It avails your soul little to draw others to God unless you die to yourself.”
On prayer, which this servant of God made his constant occupation and delight, he used to say,—“Prayer is the beginning and the consummation of all good. Every sinner must pray that God may make him know his miseries and sins, and the divine benefits. He who knows not how to pray, knows not God. All who are to be saved, if they have attained the use of reason, must set themselves to pray. Though a woman were ever so bashful and simple, if she saw her only son taken from her by the king’s orders for some crime, she would tear her breasts, and implore his mercy. Her love and her son’s extreme danger and miseries would make her never want words to entreat him.”
The fruits and graces of perfect prayer he summed up as follows: “1. By it a man is enlightened in his understanding. 2. He is strengthened in faith and in the love of all good. 3. He learns to know and feel his own miseries. 4. He is penetrated with holy fear, is humble and contemptible in his own eyes. 5. His heart is pierced with compunction. 6. Sweet tears flow in abundance. 7. His heart is cleansed. 8. His conscience purged. 9. He learns obedience. 10. Attains to the perfect spirit of that virtue. 11. To spiritual science. 12. To spiritual understanding. 13. Invincible fortitude. 14. Patience. 15. Spiritual wisdom. 16. The knowledge of God, who manifests himself to those who adore him in spirit and truth. Hence love is kindled in the soul, she runs in the odour of his sweet perfumes, is drowned in the torrent of his sweetness, enjoys perfect interior peace, and is brought to immortal glory.” [back]
Note 11. Vita B. Ægidii apud Papebroke, t. 3. Aprilis ad diem 23, p. 236.
Note 12. Conc. t. 11, p. 937.
Note 13. The Emperor Michael dying in 1283, his son Andronicus renewed the schism, and restored the deposed patriarch Joseph.
Note 14. Possevin. Apparatus sacer, t. 1, p. 245.
Note 15. Gerson calls St. Bonaventure both a cherub and a seraph, because his writings both enlighten and inflame. His Order makes his doctrine the standard of their schools, according to a decree of Pope Pius V. To the works of St. Bonaventure these divines add the double comments of Scotus on Aristotle and the Master of the Sentences.
Peter Lombard, a native of Novara in Lombardy, was recommended by St. Bernard (ep. 366,) to Gilduin, first abbot of the regular canons of St. Victor’s at Paris, performed there his studies, professed that Order, and was one of those who, by an order of Abbot Suger, King Lewis VII. and Pope Eugenius III. in 1147, were sent from St. Victor’s to St. Genevieve’s in place of the secular canons. Eudes or Odo, one of this number, was chosen first regular abbot of St. Genevieve’s, on whose eminent virtues see the pious F. Gourdan, in his MS. history of the eminent men of St. Victor’s, in 7 vols. folio, t. 2. p. 281. Peter Lombard taught theology at St. Genevieve’s, till in 1159 he was made bishop of Paris. Gourdan, ib. t. 2, pp. 79, 80. He died, bishop of that city, in 1164. He compiled a body of divinity, collected from the writings of the fathers, into four books, called Of the Sentences, from which he was surnamed The Master of the Sentences. This work he is said by some to have copied chiefly from the writings of Blandinus his master, and others. (See James Thomasius De Plagio literario, from sect. 493 to 502.) Though it be not exempt from inaccuracies, the method appeared so well adapted to the purposes of the schoolmen that they followed the same and for their lectures gave comments on these four books of the Sentences. Among these, St. Thomas Aquinas stands foremost. The divines of the Franciscan Order take for their guides St. Bonaventure and John Duns Scotus. This latter was born in Northumberland, and entered young into the Order of St. Francis at Newcastle. He performed his studies, and afterwards taught divinity at Oxford, where he wrote his Commentaries on the Master of the Sentences, which were thence called his Oxonian Commentaries. He was called to Paris about the year 1304, and in 1307 was appointed by his Order, regent of their theological schools in that university, where he published his Reportata in Sententias, called his Paris Commentaries, which are called by Dr. Cave a rough or unfinished abstract of his Oxford Commentaries. For the subtlety and quickness of his understanding, and his penetrating genius, he was regarded as a prodigy. Being sent by his Order to Cologn in 1308, he was received by the whole city in procession, but died on the 8th of November the same year, of an apoplexy, being forty-three, or as others say, only thirty-four years old. The fable of his being buried alive is clearly confuted by Luke Wadding, the learned Irish Franciscan, who published his works, with notes, in twelve tomes, printed at Lyons in 1636. Natalis Alexander, a most impartial inquirer into this dispute, and others, have also demonstrated that story to have been a most groundless fiction. Wadding, Colgan, &c. say that Duns Scotus was an Irishman, and born at Down in Ulster. John Major, Dempster, and Trithemius say he was a Scotchman, born at Duns, eight miles from England. But Leland, Wharton, Cave, and Tanner prove that he was an Englishman, and a native of Dunstone, by contraction Duns, a village in Northumberland, in the parish of Emildun, then belonging to Merton-hall in Oxford, of which hall he was afterwards a member. This is attested in the end of several manuscript copies of his comments on the Sentences, written soon after the time when he lived, and still shown at Oxford in the colleges of Baliol and Merton. That he was a Scotchman or an Irishman, no author seems to have asserted before the sixteenth century, as Mr. Wharton observes. See Cave, t. 2, Append, p. 4. Wood, Athen. Oxon. Sir James Ware de Script. Hibern. c. 10, p. 64. Tanner de Script. Brit. V. Duns. Wadding in the life of Scotus, prefixed to his works.
William Ockham, a native of Surrey, also a Grey-Friar, a scholar of Duns Scotus at Paris, disagreeing from his master in opinions, raised hot disputes in the schools, and became the head or leader of the Nominals, a sect among the schoolmen who in philosophy explain things chiefly by the properties of terms; and maintain that words, not things, are the object of dialectic, in opposition to the others called Realists. Ockham was provincial of his Order in England in 1322, and according to Wood (Hist. et Ant. l. 2, p. 87,) wrote a book On the Poverty of Christ, and other treatises against Pope John XXII. by whom he was excommunicated. He became a warm abettor of the schism of Lewis of Bavaria, and his antipope, Peter Corbarius, and died at Munich in 1347. He is said also to have favoured the heresy of the Fratricelli, introduced by certain Grey-Friars in the marquisate of Ancona, who made all perfection to consist in a seeming poverty, rebelled against the church, and railed at the pope and the other pastors. Flying into Germany, they were favoured by Lewis of Bavaria, and in return supported his schism. They at length rejected the sacraments as useless. Akin to these were the Beguards and Beguines, an heretical sect formed by several poor laymen and women, who, some by an ill-governed devotion and a love of a lazy life, others put of a spirit of libertinism, would needs imitate the poverty of the Friars Mendicants, without being tied to obedience, or living under superiors. They at length fell into many extravagant errors, and became a society of various notions and opinions, which had nothing in common but the hatred they bore to the pope and other prelates, and the affectation of a voluntary poverty, under which they covered an infinite number of disorders and crimes. Such are the baneful fruits of self-conceit.
Note 16. St. Bonav. Specul. Novit. p. 2, c. 2.


Perhaps our favorite part of the journey was traveling over the Blue Ridge Mountains from NE Tennessee up through Virginia and over to where North and South Carolina come together at the site of the Battle of Kings Mountain. This is where our great grandfathers John Sharp, Benjamin Sharp, Samuel "Revolutionary War Patriot" Vance, Capt. James Fulkerson, and John Laughlin all fought.
It is amazing to me that we had five of them plus some of their brothers all fighting in this pivotal battle in the Revolutionary War. Al did as well, William King.
They were called the "Overmountain Men." This is because they traveled over two hundred miles, perhaps as much as 250 miles in October, in snow up to the tongues of their shoes, over Indian or game trails over the Blue Ridge Mountains to get there. Some of these came down from Abingdon, Virginia perhaps where they rendezvoused from Watauga Fort in Elizabethton, Tennessee to begin their march . Why would they do this?
Perhaps you can watch a description of this Battle of Kings Mountain on the history channel to better understand it. In fact, you can read our ancestor Major Benjamin Sharp's account either by looking it up online or as found in one of several history books such as the one I purchased, "The Battle of Kings Mountain, Eyewitness Accounts" by Robert M. Dunkerly. There is also a quote from John Sharp, Benjamin's father, presented here.
Basically, the answer to why they came so far to fight the British lay in the fact that some, such as John Sharp, were first generation of those who though born in Bruce's castle sought refuge in America. Almost all of this line were immigrants from Ireland. They weren't about to be intimidated by the King's threats. When they heard that the British officer Major Patrick Ferguson threatened to ride over the mountains to hang them and burn their homes, though perhaps not fervent nationalists, they weren't about to give up the homes they had carved out of the wilderness and were in heated earnest to protect their own hearths.
Overmountain Men gathering at Sycamore Shoals in TN
Fort Watauga, Elizabethton, Tennessee
So while Gen. George Washington crossed the Delaware in the time of the brutal winter at Valley Forge, and the cause was in peril losing support, the Battle of Kings Mountain in the South at October of 1780 rallied the cry for independence breathing new hope into the cause. Both Washington and Thomas Jefferson recognized the tide was turned by this pivitol victory the Overmountain Men wrung out in an hour of fierce battle.
Sycamore Shoals, Elizabethton, TN by where we stayed.
The remarkable thing about this battle was that it was not just 1200 British against the 900 Americans, but the majority of the enlisted men who fought for the King were loyalists from America, Tories. Only about 200 were from Britain. It was American against American, neighbor against neighbor, it's own kind of "civil war." To put this in perspective, in the South especially, Tories were emboldened to burn out and even hang those who where Whigs, those who supported Gen. George Washington and his cause. Up until this time, they held the upper hand.
Since few had uniforms to identify one from the other in the heat of battle, the Tories wore a sprig of pine or twigs of some sort in their hat bands to mark themselves, while the Whigs fighting for independence had a piece of paper in theirs. As the battle began to be turned in favor of those for independence, many of the Tories pulled out the sticks from their hats and jumped sides mid-stream.
When the victory came and nine hundred prisoners were taken, the troops wanted to hang all the Tories. They only succeeded in hanging two of the most notorious before they were stopped by their officers unable to carry out their intent.
It slips my mind now who it was--perhaps one of the Ivey-Driggers, but I read of one of our relatives from the Carolinas in a book about Swamp Fox, who was conscripted to fight with the Tories under threat "or else..." meaning his home and barn and crops would be burned or worse if he did not fall in line with them. After one battle in which 80 or so Americans were taken prisoner by the British, this man escaped from his company and began making his way home again. However, he was intercepted by Swamp Fox's sentries and made to stand before the leader himself. He explained his situation and by giving them the information as to where the American prisoners were held. These men were freed by Swamp Fox's forces, and our relative was released to go home to protect his own. In this way, it was an earlier situation of a "civil war."
What seemed a defensible position by Ferguson on top of the mountain, as some called him "King of the Mountain," who had the greater number of soldiers, who were supplied with better guns with bayonets--of which Ferguson himself held a gun patent to--the fierce cry of the Overmountain men armed with their hunting rifles with no bayonets, but with their hatchets and long knives kept coming. Even when forced back, they returned two, three times until victory was claimed. Some of his troops tried to wave a white flag of surrender, but Ferguson ripped it down before he was shot with a volley of nine musket balls at once and then drug by his horse when his foot caught in the stirrup. One of the two women, who both were called Virginia, who "served" him was also shot, the other in her escape told the Independents that Ferguson was the one who wore a plaid shirt thus revealing their target. One battle cry of the Americans was like "Remember the Alamo," instead calling to mind the earlier battle when the British ignored the white flag of surrender and slaughtered the Americans to the last man. Thus, the officers had a difficult time enforcing the cease fire order when the battle was won. In fact John Sharp used to laugh and remember how the British trembled describing the Overmountain man's fierceness as men with long yellow teeth, etc.
As they gathered at the Cowpens before the battle, these Overmountain Men's leader was laid low with illness, and so they chose William Campbell to lead them. (His grave is in the cemetery where the Vance's are in Abingdon, Virginia.) There was some controversy about whether he stayed in front of the fray and some accused him perhaps of cowardice. But when charges were rebutted our relative, John Sharp could only say what he saw...
Sinking Springs Presbyterian Church,
Abingdon, Virginia of which
the Vances were earliest members.
"John Sharp, of the county of Sullivan and state of Tennessee, do certify that I was an Ensign in Capt. Pemberton's company, the battle of King's Mountain, and that I was in the front line when the enemy surrendered--that Colonel Shelby was the first man I heard order the enemy to lay down their arms--after they began to cry for quarters; he damned them, if they wanted quarters, why they did not lay down their arms. I also state, that I did not see Col. Campbell until some minutes afterwards, though I never heard him charged with cowardice on that account, and do not pretend to say he did not do his duty. All I can say is, that I did not see him at that time. Given under my hand this 21st day Feb. 1823." " Sharp served with Shelby's militia in the battle. Later he settled in Tennessee."
Does this change your image of our predecessors, our heritage? Though not privileged with much schooling, John Sharp was known for his love of reading acquiring quite a library which he willed to his two older sons. Yet, these men went great distances upon arriving in America traveling to the uncharted territories before 1776 where in Sullivan County, Tennessee where Watauga Fort was built, their independent treaties with the Cherokee were made and their own constitution for self-rule was written years prior to the one in 1776. They were Indian fighters and fighters for freedom. Sadly they were slave holders. They prospered as such from the benefit of what was taken by treaty from Indians and from the labor of their slaves. These are the men on the monument of Revolutionary War Heroes at the Sinking Springs Cemetery in Abingdon, Virginia. Benjamin Sharp's name is not there because he moved and was buried in Warren, Missouri. You just can't get more American than this!
We arrived a little late on a Sunday at Abingdon, Virginia, but were able to slip in to the Sinking Springs Presbyterian Church service. This is the "new" brick edifice in the historic district. A very few blocks away is the original Sinking Springs log cabin church site which is where you find the Sinking Springs Cemetery. Now the pastor's log cabin has been moved there near our family's graves. We drove around looking for Samuel Vance's home which was listed as one of the area's historic homes. I believe we found it on Vance Mill Rd. Samuel had a mill as well similar to the one pictured which I believe is located in Abingdon as well. Abingdon is one of the prettiest little cities in America.


Understanding the relationship between our health and our food is a challenge. The following selection of choice documentaries bring insight to our quest for a better health and a thriving environment. Our favorites 'Forks over Knives', 'Fed up', 'Regreening the Desert'.
Changing our Food System!
Population growth, hunger, over-eating, health, environment, food waste, water and soil resources are symptoms of a very sick food system
Waste is food
All of nature’s food is someone else food; let’s duplicate that model.
- Recycling is actually down-cycling; the result is a lower grade product. Let’s design products that up-cycle.
- Let’s build sustainable buildings that duplicate nature
These are mind opening concepts in 'waste is food'
What the Health
Kip Andersen investigate the connection between the meat, dairy, and pharmaceutical industries, as well as various health organizations. Find ‘What the Health’ on Netflix.
The FDA as a part of The Department of Agriculture sets policies about Health while the latter for the production of food: a conflict of interest. 'Fed Up'.
Food Matters (2008 1H20M)
The trillion dollars worldwide ‘sickness industry' deceives people into believing there is no solutions for curing disease naturally. World leaders in nutrition and natural healing assert that we are harming our bodies with improper nutrition; with the right kind of foods, supplements and detoxification chronic illnesses as fatal as terminally diagnosed cancer can be treated.
The belief systems fed to us by our modern medical and health care establishments are a lie (There is no profit in nutrition and vitamins). Not every problem requires costly, major medical attention. Many alternative therapies can be more effective, more economical, less harmful and less invasive than conventional medical treatments.
At least 80% of raw plant-based food is required for a healthy diet. 'Food Matters'
The C word
A personal, important, and surprising documentary about the industries of death that give us cancer, and the unheralded science of prevention: 'The C word'
The UN reports the most important pollutant on the planet and at the same time the largest source of greenhouse gases is animal production, ie meat, milk and egg. Why do large global environmental organizations remain silent? Find ‘Cowspiracy’ on Netflix.
Forks over knives
The 2011 documentary 'Forks Over Knives' (free on Netflix) details the largest data ever gathered linking health and cultural diets. America is #1 for meat consumption and ranks 34th for health among the rich nations. Cutting down on meat and dairy is the simplest way on the individual level to contribute to better health and environment. It is unfortunately often overlooked or even dismissed among the Solutions for healthier living and sustainable food production. Also see 'Forks Over Knives: the extended interviews’.
Never-before-seen evidence points to genetically engineered foods as a major contributor to rising disease rates in the U.S. population, especially among children. Gastrointestinal disorders, allergies, inflammatory diseases, and infertility are just some of the problems identified in humans, pets, livestock, and lab animals that eat genetically modified soybeans and corn. Watch it on Hoopla.
We hope these documentaries are helping separate propaganda and knowledge for a better understanding of the health and food challenge. And let’s not forget 'Forks over Knives', 'Fed up', 'Regreening the Desert' (bottom of the page).


||Seagrass ecosystems are attracting attention as potentially important tools for carbon (C) sequestration, comparable to those terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems already incorporated into climate change mitigation frameworks. Despite the relatively low C stocks in living biomass, the soil organic carbon pools beneath seagrass meadows can be substantial. We tested the relationship between soil C storage and seagrass community biomass, productivity, and species composition by revisiting meadows experimentally altered by 30 years of consistent nutrient fertilization provided by roosting birds. While the benthos beneath experimental perches has maintained dense, Halodule wrightii-dominated communities compared to the sparse Thalassia testudinum-dominated communities at control sites, there were no significant differences in soil organic carbon stocks in the top 15 cm. Although there were differences in delta C-13 of the dominant seagrass species at control and treatment sites, there was no difference in soil delta C-13 between treatments. Averages for soil organic carbon content (2.57 +/- 0.08 %) and delta C-13 (-12.0 +/- 0.3 aEuro degrees) were comparable to global averages for seagrass ecosystems; however, our findings question the relevance of local-scale seagrass species composition or density to soil organic carbon pools in some environmental contexts.


Describe the characteristics of Ganymede and how Ganymede relates to Silivus in As You Like It Act IV, Scene III.Is this now Rosalind thinks a man should act?
When Rosalind and Celia enter the forest of Arden in As You Like It, they never go to find Rosalind's father, Celia's uncle, as Celia had suggested when she conceived their plan. Instead, they immediately buy a cottage and a flock of sheep and hire the old shepherd Corin and set up private living arrangements. It is because of this independence, outside the protective shadow of a man's presence, that Rosalind remains in disguise as Ganymede because two women alone would still be in danger.
When in Act 3, Scene 2, Rosalind/Ganymede and Celia/Aliena eavesdrop on Orlando talking to Jaques the melancholy about Orlando's love of Rosalind, Rosalind hatches her scheme to approach Orlando, dressed as she is as Ganymede, and pretend to be a commoner ("lackey") and in that character ("habit") act like a crafty fellow ("knave") and play a mean trick on him. This Ganymede character trait matches with Rosalind's earlier character traits demonstrated when she was eager to see the wrestling match because of the serious injuries to Charles' first three wrestling challengers, while Celia and Touchstone protested against it.
The verbal repartee (swift witty replies) that Ganymede engages in at Orlando's expense are in keeping with the repartee that Rosalind habitually engages in with both Celia and Touchstone. Also, although Rosalind was stunned and numbed after being banished from court by Frederick--even though she ardently spoke up in her defense as well as in defense of her father--which left Celia to devise their escape plan, Rosalind did regain composure enough to modify the plan by the addition of disguising herself as a male who carries an ax and a spear. Ganymede's later address to Silvius, the young shepherd in love with Phebe, and to Phebe, is in keeping with the assertiveness Rosalind has shown all along regarding the wrestling match, standing up for herself and her father, taking on a disguise that assertively includes weapons of the hunt and defense.
Rosalind's behavior while disguised as Ganymede stems from the same behavior she demonstrated as Rosalind and comes from the same core values of integrity, truth and virtuousness. The one thing Rosalind does as Ganymede that she didn't previously do as Rosalind (perhaps their was no opportunity for it) is to contradict Celia: when Celia pities Silvius in 4.3 Rosalind says, "Do you pity him? no, he deserves no pity."
Rosalind's treatment of Silvius while disguised as Ganymede is in accord with her other behavior while in her rightful identity as Rosalind. One role Rosalind has in As You Like It, as the symbolic representative of Duke Senior, is reestablish harmony and the authentic ruling power that was overthrown by Duke Frederick. Thus while she was under submissive restraints at court as Rosalind, the restraints are removed in the forest because she is no longer the submissive guest in the home of the man who rob her father's throne and banished him to exile: Roalind can assert her rightful role to rule as the princess daughter of the ruling Duke.


Moral Story for Age Group: 3 – 8 years.
This is the story of two frogs from Japan. They lived far apart from one another, in two different cities. One of them lived in a ditch on a sea coast in Osaka. The other frog was from Kyoto and he resided in a clear stream that flowed through the city.
Both frogs were separated and miles apart. They had never seen or heard of each other. One day a thought struck both of them – they desired to see something outside of their own world. The frog from Osaka wanted to see how Kyoto looked like and the Kyoto frog was excited to visit Osaka. Thus, one fine day the two frogs set off on their respective journeys, wishing to make their dream come true.
Both the frogs started from opposite ends of the road that connected Osaka and Kyoto. The journey was long and tiresome. The frogs faced many difficulties before they came across a mountain that had to be crossed to continue their journey.
It took a tremendous amount of effort for both of them to climb up the mountain. When they reached the top, they both saw each other. Each frog was surprised to see another frog at the top of a mountain! The frogs remained silent for a few moments and then jumped into a conversation. It was yet again a surprise to them when they discovered that both the frogs had the same wish – that of visiting their neighboring country and know more about it. The frogs then decided that they should rest for some time before continuing on their journey.
“How I wish we could be much bigger. That way we could have seen the towns from here”, said the frog from Osaka.
- Also Read The Lost Message – An African Folklore
The frog from Kyoto thought for some time. An idea struck him and he was delighted.
(Click Next To Read Further)


SEATTLE — The first calf born in three years to the endangered orcas that spend time in Pacific Northwest waters died Tuesday, the latest troubling sign for a population already at its lowest in more than three decades.
A dead orca was seen being pushed to the surface by her mother about a half hour after it was spotted alive, said Ken Balcomb, senior scientist with the Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island, which closely tracks individual whales.
The mother, known as J-35, was seen propping the newborn on her forehead and trying to keep it near the surface of the water in the waters off the coast of Victoria, he said.
“The baby was so newborn it didn’t have blubber. It kept sinking, and the mother would raise it to the surface,” he said Wednesday.
The death represents another reproductive failure for the salmon-eating southern resident killer whales that typically show up in Puget Sound waters from spring to fall.
The distinctive black-and-white orcas have struggled since they were listed as an endangered species in the U.S. and Canada over a decade ago. They’re not getting enough of the large, fatty chinook salmon that make up their main diet. They also face overlapping threats from toxic pollution and noise and disturbances from boats.
Female orcas have been having pregnancy problems because of nutritional stress linked to lack of salmon. A multi-year study last year by University of Washington and other researchers found that two-thirds of the orcas’ pregnancies failed between 2007 and 2014.
About half of the 11 calves born during a celebrated baby boom several years ago have died.
“On average we expect a few calves born each year. The fact that we haven’t seen any in several years and then to have reproductive failure is further evidence that we have a severe problem with the reproductive viability in the population,” said Brad Hanson, a wildlife biologist with the Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle.
Adding to concerns is the health of a four-year-old female orca known as J-50.
Hanson said she looked thin and “clearly emaciated” when he and others observed from a boat Saturday near San Juan Island while collecting the whale’s breath samples.
The breath droplets will be analyzed for possible pathogens. It could be that the animal is starving, or some other disease process is resulting in them not wanting to eat, Hanson said.
Another researcher, Deborah Giles, who was out studying the whales had alerted Hanson to a foul odour on the orca’s breath, a smell detected on other orcas that later died. But the whale did not smell as bad on Saturday.
“You could see the shape of her skull through her blubber,” said Giles, a biologist with the UW Center for Conservation Biology. “I’ve never seen an animal this emaciated make it. But I’m hopeful that she will bounce back.”
Several groups on Wednesday said the loss of the calf highlights the need for quick action.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed an executive order in March directing state agencies to take immediate action to help the orcas. A statewide task force he formed has been meeting since May to come up with recommendations. A report is due later this year.
Since then, an adult male orca went missing in June and is presumed dead. There are now just 75 of the orcas, down from 98 in 1995.
“The death of the orca calf is a heartbreaking reminder of the urgency we face in saving these iconic animals,” the governor’s spokesman Jaime Smith wrote in an email.
The task force is considering a range of efforts, from increasing hatchery production of salmon, training more private boats to help respond to oil spills, and prioritizing areas where important habitat can be restored.
But Balcomb and others say more aggressive measures are needed. They have called for the removal of four dams on the Lower Snake River to restore salmon runs. “We have to address the issue of salmon restoration, wild salmon particularly,” Balcomb said.
The orcas are distinct from other killer whales because they eat salmon rather than marine mammals. Individual whales are also identified by unique markings or variations in their fin shapes, and each whale is given a number and name. Their movements are closely tracked and photographed by researchers, whale watchers and fans.


Institution: DSTA (UNIPV)
Term: 1st Semester – Academic Year 2017-2018
Duration: January 2018 (36 hrs lectures + 15 hrs tutoring)
Office hours: by appointment
Scope of the course is to introduce the student to fundamental surface and subsurfaces data in order to develop and understanding engineering geological models for application to engineering works and to geohazards.The course consists of lectures to illustrate the theory and tutorial sessions where the emphasis is on applications and problem solving. Each subject is illustrated with the support of experimental and observational evidences and well-documented case histories concerning earthquake and landslide hazard drawn from the experience of the instructor.
Definition and importance of engineering geology. Geological factors and their relation withengineering problems.The most important fields of application of engineering geology to foundations, slopes, tunnels, dams and earth structures. Basic aspects of engineering geology including map construction and interpretation (e.g. engineering geological mapping units). Significance of ground profiles to engineering design, their origin in various geological settings. Engineering geological model types and terminology: conceptual and observational approaches. General rules for the construction of useful models. Use of surface and subsoil data in creating model of the ground, development of engineering geological models involved in civil engineering projects and in geohazards. Some examples of engineering geological models for geohazards assessment in different geological and geomorphological environments.
Basic knowledge of geology.
- Luis Gonzalez de Vallejo, Mercedes Ferrer(2011).Geological Engineering.CRC Press, ISBN 9781439892213. Reference textbook.
- Course notes, scientific articles and other material will be provided during the course.
Assignments will be handedover and graded during the course.The final examination will consist of a 3 hours, written test. The final-exam format is closed-book. Grading: 40% assignments, 60% final exam.


Statistics on biofuels for 15 April 2012 to 14 April 2013 from current available data.
It includes information on:
- the amount of UK road transport fuel from renewable and fossil fuel
- the number of Renewable Transport Fuel Certificates (RTFCs) which have been issued to sustainable renewable fuel
- the balance of RTFCs by obligation period
- trades of RTFCs between suppliers and/or traders
- carbon and sustainability (C&S) characteristics of the renewable fuel to which RTFCs have been issued
1,337 million litres of renewable fuel have been supplied, of which 1,031 million litres (77%) has so far been demonstrated to meet the sustainability requirements.
1,465 million RTFCs have been issued to fuel meeting the sustainability requirements, of which 868 million were issued to double counting feedstocks.
Of the 1,031 million litres meeting the sustainability requirements, bioethanol comprised 56% of supply, biodiesel (FAME) 39% and biomethanol and methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) 5%. There were also small volumes of biogas, and pure vegetable oil.
C&S characteristics of the biofuels to which RTFCs have been issued:
- the most widely reported source for biodiesel (by feedstock and country of origin) was used cooking oil from the UK (128 million litres, 12% of total fuel, 32% of biodiesel)
- the most widely reported source (by feedstock and country of origin) for bioethanol was corn from the United States of America (203 million litres, 35% of bioethanol)
- 22% of the fuel was sourced from UK feedstocks
- an aggregate greenhouse gas saving of 67% compared to fossil fuels was achieved. This figure excludes emissions from indirect land-use change
- 77% of the fuel was sourced from a Voluntary Scheme
- the most commonly used voluntary scheme was ISCC (60% of fuel) followed by Abengoa RED Bioenergy Sustainability Assurance (11%)
Pre-release access list and related technical documentation is available in the technical guidance.
0207 944 8555


Located onboard the satellite Meteor-M No. 2, the IKFS-2 Fourier spectrometer, created by Shvabe Holding, has transmitted the first high-resolution infrared spectra images of the Earth’s atmosphere and surface. This data will improve the accuracy of weather forecasts, according to the holding company’s press service.
The IKFS-2 measures the infrared spectra of the outgoing radiation of the Earth’s atmosphere for operational meteorology and climatology purposes. The device provides information about the vertical profiles of temperature and humidity in the troposphere, the general content and altitude distribution of the ozone, concentrations of trace gases, surface temperatures, and other data. According to experts that examined the information sent from the device, the infrared spectra was consistent with all requirements and confirmed its high performance capabilities.
High-resolution infrared spectra can be used to increase the reliability of short-term and long-term weather forecasts by monitoring various details in the infrared range of the spectrum, including the atmosphere and land surface, world oceans, the ozone layer, and trace gases in the atmosphere that cause the greenhouse effect. The information can also warn about upcoming severe weather events.
The Meteor-M No. 2 satellite was launched on July 8, 2014.
Shvabe Holding unites the primary companies of Russia’s optoelectronics industry and includes research and production associations, design offices, optical institutions, and service and supply companies. Shvabe Holding develops and manufactures high-tech electro-optical systems and other devices for special and civil purposes, as well as optical materials, medical equipment, energy-efficient lighting, and other products. Shvabe Holding is part of Rostec Corporation.


|Formosa Mine||Douglas County, Oregon|
The Formosa Mine site is a former copper, zinc and thorium mine in Douglas County, in southwest Oregon, approximately 25 miles south of Roseburg.
Mining occurred from 1910-1937, after which there was a documented thriving fishery as late as the 1980s. Formosa Exploration Inc. (FEI) re-opened the mine from 1990 until 1993, producing 350 to 400 tons of ore per day. Reclamation began in 1994 and proved ineffective in addressing continuing releases to adjacent streams. This site is no longer an active mine, but is an ongoing source of contamination to Middle Creek and beyond.
Storm water-driven contaminant releases from the mine have lead to an annual discharge of approximately five million gallons of acid rock drainage, containing up to 30,000 pounds of dissolved copper and zinc, along with other metals. Heavy metals concentrations in Middle Creek and the South Fork, and into Cow Creek, exceed aquatic life standards by a factor of between 10 and 100. The heavy metals are severely degrading the aquatic habitat for macroinvertebrates, resident fish, coastal steelhead trout, and Oregon coastal coho salmon. The primary sources of these metals is underground mine workings, surface tailing piles and the transport of metals to these creeks via ground water and surface storm water flow. Significant concentrations of arsenic, barium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, and zinc have been detected in all source samples collected at the site.
Potential Impacts on Surrounding Community/Environment:
Low pH shallow ground water and adit drainage to surface water, both laden with high concentrations of metals, have been draining into the headwaters of Middle Creek and the South Fork of Middle Creek. The resultant discharge has contaminated the entire 13 mile reach of Middle Creek and the South Fork drainage, and Cow Creek.
Response Activities (to date):
As part of the reclamation of the mine, FEI removed a substantial portion of nearly 20 tons of sphalerite along with some finely ground pyritic waste rock it had released into Middle Creek before the mine's closure in 1994. Other site reclamation efforts included: (1) construction of an encapsulation mound and drain fields to try to prevent seepage of acid mine drainage; and (2) backfilling of crushed ore, tailings, and zinc concentrate into underground mine workings, creating additional sources of contamination that are now draining into ground water and surface water.In November 2000, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality installed a water diversion system to try to divert drainage from Bureau of Land Management land back to the much larger private portion of the site. The diversion system has not been successful.
[The description of the site (release) is based on information available at the time the site was evaluated with the HRS. The description may change as additional information is gathered on the sources and extent of contamination. See 56 FR 5600, February 11, 1991, or subsequent FR notices.]
For more information about the hazardous substances identified in this narrative summary, including general information regarding the effects of exposure to these substances on human health, please see the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) ToxFAQs. ATSDR ToxFAQs can be found on the Internet at ATSDR - ToxFAQs (http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/index.asp) or by telephone at 1-888-42-ATSDR or 1-888-422-8737.


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The essentials of proteins
Balance is the key to life. One cannot obtain all the required nutrients from just one type of food material. By selecting the right amount and type of food one can achieve the required strength and vitality. Proteins are the official building blocks of life, so, they are very essential to our muscle recovery and our daily functioning. Major sources of protein can be Pulses, Meat (including chicken and eggs), soybean and other milk products. People generally dealing with high amounts of physical work require more amounts of protein. Other sources like whey proteins can be very useful in this scenario. In addition to whey proteins, taking amino acids can also be beneficial. Although one should also note that protein alone is not sufficient. But one should not consume excess amount of it also. Consuming high amounts of protein can also lead to weight gain. So, remember lean muscle is not just about proteins only.
-The energy from carbohydrates
Carbohydrates provide the energy that the body requires to perform daily tasks. Major sources of carbohydrates are cereal, potato, flour and many others. These foods provide the sugar which the digestive derives from them and use it to provide energy for cells, tissues or muscles. But if an individual restricts themselves to only a diet of carbohydrates then it would not serve him/her well. Even if one consumes healthy carbs but in large quantity then that would have an adverse effect on the health. High amounts of carbs in the body results high amounts of sugar in the body. And we are aware that a high level of sugar in the body is known as diabetes. Yes, diabetes can also be caused by eating healthy carbs. So, eat your carbs, but eat them right.
-The necessary fats
Some amount of fats is essential for the body to function properly. Walnuts, olive oil, peanut butter can be major sources of healthy fat. But even if one consumes high amount of healthy fat that too will be dangerous. An individual needs to eat just right amount of fat as per the body requires. Eating too much of it will make one obese, so, take care and eat in balance.
So, what should be the right balance between these three? The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends eating within the following ranges:
Along with these three nutrients daily intake of vitamins, minerals and water should also be administered. The moment an individual strikes balance between all these nutrients will be the moment when an individual finds himself/herself vitalized and full of energy.Click here to browse more varieties that JBN has in store for you.
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Our skin is a living and breathing organ. We need to look after it, nourish it and use good soap on it - preferably Bare Naked Soap :)
The average person’s skin covers an area of 1.73 square meters.
Skin accounts for approximately 15% of your body weight.
Your skin contains more than 17 kilometres of blood vessels.
The average person has approximately 300 million skin cells. A single square inch of skin has about 19 million cells and up to 300 sweat glands.
Your skin is its thickest on your feet (1.4mm) and thinnest on your eyelids (0.2mm).
Your skin regenerates itself. It sheds dead skin cells on a daily basis, about 30,000 to 40,000 cells every minute (that's 4kg per year!) creating a new layer of skin every 28 days. Even while you sleep your skin exfoliates itself, without your help. Dead skin cells remain on the skin, so it's important to remove them with an additional exfoliating soap.
Some sources estimate that more than half of the dust in your home is actually dead skin cells. Dust is an accumulation of many materials, including dirt, animal dander, sand, insect waste, and dead skin cells. Each time you vacuum, you’re picking up dead skin cells off the floor, the chair, and the walls.
Dead skin from all of us humans comprises about a billion tonnes of dust in the earth’s atmosphere. Polluting critters aren't we?
Millions of bacteria live on your skin. The skin's surface is home to surprisingly diverse communities of bacteria, collectively known as the skin microbiota. The harmless bacteria that thrive on the skin can help immune cells fight disease-causing microbes.
Skin that is severely damaged will heal itself by forming scar tissue, which is different from normal skin tissue because it lacks hair and sweat glands.
Skin can form additional thickness and toughness, calluses, if exposed to repeated friction or pressure. Hands and feet are the main areas for these to be found.
Some of the nerves in your skin are connected to muscles instead of the brain, sending signals (through the spinal cord) to react more quickly to heat or pain.
Skin gets its color from a pigment called melanin. Skin color can range from very pale to very dark, depending on how much melanin the body makes. Everyone has the same amount of cells that produce melanin, which is made in the outer layer of the skin called the epidermis, but not everyone produces the same amount. The more melanin your body produces, the darker your skin. The genetic mechanism behind human skin color is mainly regulated by the enzyme tyrosinase, which creates the color of the skin, eyes, and hair.
There are four main receptors in the skin that respond to pressure: Meissner’s corpuscles, Merkel’s discs, Ruffini endings, and Pacinian corpuscles. Each receptor responds to a different type of touch. “Meissner responds to light touch, Merkel to pressure and texture, Ruffini to stretching, and Pacinian to vibration and deep pressure.
Skin plays an important role in regulating body temperature. Your skin acts as your body’s thermostat. When temperatures rise, sweat glands activate to cool the body down. Sweating is a normal and natural bodily function that helps regulate your body temperature. Normal sweating can be as much as a 1 litre of fluid per day. When temperatures are lower, blood vessels in the skin tighten and limit the amount of hot blood that can reach the skin, preventing heat loss. Pores also become smaller when exposed to colder temperatures in order to retain heat.
Changes in your skin can sometimes signal changes in your overall health. Rashes, hives, and itching may signal an allergic reaction, a bacterial skin infection, a viral infection, or an autoimmune disease. A mole may be a sign of skin cancer
Our skin is a pretty clever organ, be kind to it and nuture it - we only have the one skin to keep ourselves from falling apart - literally.


Garnet Name Meaning & Origin
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A Garnet is of English origin and is a red, semi-precious stone.
- Famous real-life people named Garnet
- Garnet in song, story & screen
Garnet is the name of a character in 'A Flintstone's Christmas Carol'.
Princess Garnet is heroine in the videogame Final Fantasy IX.
Garnet Redfern, a vampire character mentioned in the 5th book of the Night World series "The Chosen" by L.J. Smith.
Garnet, fusion of Ruby and Sapphire in "Steven Universe"


Calgary, Canada – The University of Calgary’s Applied Child Psychology program is looking for students ages 8 to 17 with high functioning ASD and their parents to participate in a project which will look at their experiences with bullying and social situations.
Adam McCrimmon, an assistant professor says,
“We want to get a little bit more information about how, when and why children with ASD are bullied, so we can try and figure out some specific things we might be able to do about it.”
October is National Bullying Prevention Month in the US. A recent report from the Interactive Autism Network found that 63 percent of children with autism have been bullied, over three times as much as those without the disorder. So far no research has been conducted to determine key factors that make those on the autism spectrum more susceptible to bullying.
Dr. Seokjin Jeong , lead researcher on a study published in September, by the University of Texas in Arlington, recommended that researchers,
“better identify the bully-victim dynamics in order to develop prevention strategies accordingly.”
That is exactly what this project plans to achieve. McCrimmon explains,
“We want to see why it’s happening now and then we want to also hopefully follow some of these children for a couple of years and see what is the long term impact.”


Inside The Manufactured Mobile Home Factory
Manufactured and Mobile Homes built before 1976 were constructed to much lower standards than those built later. Homes built prior to 1976 had only one or two inches of insulation wrapped around the walls, floor and ceiling, 2" x 2" or 2" x 3" studs, uninsulated air ducts in the floor and ceiling, no ceiling vapor barrier, and jalousie windows. In addition, some homes built between 1967 and 1971 were constructed with aluminum wiring. Mobile homes manufactured in 1976 or later were built to much higher standards required by the HUD (
Modern mobile home manufacturing plants are marvels of organizational efficiency. Approximately 150 production workers will produce 10-12 floors per day. Floors are an industry term meaning 1 singlewide or 1/2 of a doublewide. The work is routine, fast paced, and physically demanding. Workers are rewarded for speed and penalized for errors in ways that encourage teamwork and put pressure on them to work as a team.
In the following paragraphs I will go through the construction process. There are variations from factory to factory but in general the homes are all built the same way. Everything is done with jigs from a limited number of plans. The plan to plan variation is not great and anyone who has worked at the factory for more than a few weeks has all the variations memorized. The following description is for a singlewide factory.
Frames: Belly paper 16' wide is unrolled for the length needed and stapled to the wood frame that will run around the perimeter of the home. Insulation bats as laid on top of this and electrical wire pulled to the points it will come up through the floor and coiled in place. Pre-assembled water and sewer lines and the ductwork for heat/AC are dropped in. Pre-cut floor joists are then nailed in place. With the joists in place the lines are fastened into position using pre-cut forms to make sure they have the right slope. The result is that all the water, sewer, and electrical lines in a finished home are above the insulation where they will stay warm from the heat in the house.
Floors: The completed frame is lifted, moved over, and set down on top of the axles and wheels that have been assembled elsewhere. Liquid glue is spread on the top of the floor joists and frame members and sheets of tongue and groove plywood or OSB are nailed in place. Holes have already been cut in these sheets for the water and drain line penetrations. Since the plywood is square this step really determines how straight the walls of the house become. The grooves are seated properly and care is taken to make sure the panels are lined up before they are nailed in place the materials themselves produce nice straight edges.
Floor Prep: The completed floor is then rolled to a prep area where one person gets under the home and drives lag bolts through the metal frame members (outriggers) and into the floor joists. This is what connects the home proper to the metal frame. These same bolts are what can be adjusted after the home is set to try and stop floor squeaks. On top of the floor there is a lot of activity. The areas of the floor that will be covered with vinyl get sanded. Holes for the floor registers are cut, ducts installed and glued/stapled into place. The water heater and furnace are fastened in place. The vinyl is put in place and stapled around the edges. The vinyl is then covered with a protective mat or plastic sheeting. Finally, toilets are set in place.
Walls: At the same time the floor is getting nailed down the exterior and interior walls are being assembled. Like the floor, precut studs are laid out on a jig and nailed in place. Insulation is unrolled between the studs. The edges of the studs are coated with liquid glue and precut panels which will become the inside wall of the house stapled into place. Openings for windows and electrical outlets are cut at this time. The entire assembly is lifted with a hoist and moved over to where it can be set onto a floor.
Assembly: One of the exterior side walls is lowered into place on a bead of caulk and fastened into place. The end walls are fastened into place and interior walls placed. The interior walls are pre-assembled, with paneling on only one side so the inside is accessible to electrical. As fast as the interior walls are placed the pre-made cabinets, counters, etc. are put in place, wall mirrors hung etc. Finally the 2nd exterior wall is lowered and fastened into place.
Ceilings: Along with floors and walls, ceilings has been busy laying panels out on a jig and setting pre-assembled trusses in place. Trusses are nailed to perimeter 2 x 4's and held in place by wood strips at the centerline and at a couple of other places. The point where the bottom of the truss rests on top of the ceiling panel is sprayed with a quick setting foam adhesive. The ceiling is sized to go from outside edge to outside edge of the house so the edge of the panel rests on the wall. The ceiling if it is to be textured, is then picked up and moved to a spray/paint area where someone can walk around under it and apply the appropriate coating(s). Finally it is moved to an area where the holes for electrical outlets, ceiling fans etc. are cut and the electrical boxes installed.
Electrical and Assembly: As soon as the walls are placed electrical can beginning pulling the lines that were dropped in place by floors. Holes are drilled through the bottom of the wall and the floor material and metal sleeves hammered into place. The wire that was coiled in the belly is pulled through these sleeves and up into the walls of the home. The main panel box is installed and breakers etc. wired into place. A router is used to cut notches into all the exterior wall studs and wire for the wall outlets is stapled in these notches. Sometimes, depending on the siding that will be applied, the wire is covered with shields to prevent a nail from being driven through it when siding is applied. At the same time the plumbing people are installing showers and tubs and the cabinet and mirror people are fastening their things in place. Additionally, the ceiling is lowered onto the home and fastened in place with metal straps. Electrical also runs wire from ceiling outlets, fans, bathroom vents etc
Roofing: A layer of rockwool insulation is blown in on top of the ceiling. Then, if the house is getting a shingle roof, plywood or OSB decking is is nailed over the trusses. The decking is covered with tar paper and shingled. If this is to be a metal roof, there is no decking and a large roll of metal is unrolled over the house. It is fastened at on end and then stretched from the other. When stretched, the second end is fastened down and then the sides are folded over, caulked and stapled.
Siding: While the roof is being done, others are fastening siding. This may be hardboard, metal or vinyl.
Trimout: Carpet is installed, windows are caulked, interior doors are hung etc.
Testing: The home is hooked up to power, water and gas and everything gets tested. Inspectors are looking for water leaks, dripping faucets, improperly connected light switches etc.
Transport: Much care and organization goes into a safe, smooth, and cushioned transport in protecting the home.
Setup: The factory is responsible for the home itself, the dealer is responsible for making sure the home was ordered properly and any optional features are installed properly, the setup company is responsible for setting and leveling the home, and hooking up the water, gas and electricity. If air-conditioning is needed that is probably done by another company.