William of Ockham: 'a Letter to the Friars Minor' and Other WritingsMore than any other single thinker, William of Ockham (c. 1285 1347) is responsible for the widely held modern assumption that religious and secular political institutions should operate independently of one another. His point of departure was a tragic collision between two specifically Christian ideals: that of St. Francis and that of a society guided by the single supreme authority of the Pope. This volume begins with his personal account of his