The chief justification that can be urged for this Life of Saint Antonino is to be derived from the value of his economic theories. These are so eminently reasonable and yet so flamingly ideal, so soberly described by him and yet so sincerely Christian, that they must make their appeal to every reader. We are so often repeating that we live in a time of crisis, that civilization stands at the crossways, that the outlook towards the future promises few prospects of hope; we are so increasingly struck by the difficulties that loom ahead of us, so terrified even by the signs of the times, that it is surely good for us to watch how another, in a period of stress and trouble, rose to the height of his great position and brought an answer to the questionings of his own generation. -From the Introduction