Yet when it came to the actual practice of what was called “poor use (usus pauper),” Olivi showed flexibility. He understood that it would be impossible to give general rules covering all possible circumstances, and encouraged Franciscans to consult their own conscience when considering difficult cases. Here we may detect a connection to the idea put forward by Bonaventure and others, that an in-dwelling sense of morality called conscience or synderesis plays a fundamental role in ethical life (Chapter 26).
