,men of the ,kingdom                    
,fnelon3 ,the ,mystic                   
,by                               ,james
 ,mudge1      ,author of ,the ,saintly  
,calling1 ,the ,best of ,browning1 etc4 
,,cincinnati3 ,,jennings ,,and ,,graham 
,,new ,,york3 ,,eaton ,,and ,,mains     
copyright #aijf1 by                     
,jennings and ,graham                   
,to ,my ,dear ,wife4                    
,a wise mother of children1             
,a faithful missionary in ,india1       
,an efficient worker in many ,churches4 
,a ,,word ,,to ,,the ,,reader   ,there  
have been many lives of ,fnelon4 ,four  
were brought out in the eighteenth      
century1 and two quite extensive ones   
were issued as recently as #aija4 ,in a 
few cases they have been written in a   
spirit of cold1 supercilious            
disparagement and cynical comment by    
people who evidently had no experience  
which would qualify them to understand  
the character they rashly attempted to  
portray4 ,but the endeavor to pull      

,fnelon down from the pedestal on which 
he has so long stood can not succeed4   
,so long as his own writings remain to  
bear testimony to the high qualities of 
his mind and soul1 his fame is secure4  
,it is the chief regret of the present  
writer that1 owing to the restricted    
size of the book1 he has not been able  
to give more of ,fnelon's own words4    
,the reader is recommended to procure   
the ,spiritual ,letters of ,fnelon1     
published in two volumes by ,e4 ,p4     
,dutton  ,co41 ,new ,york4#a  ,it is not
 claimed that ,fnelon was wholly without
 faults1 or was in all respects ahead of
 his times4 ,how could that be expected8
 ,he took1 in the main1 of course1 the  
,roman ,catholic view in the questions  
that arose regarding heresy and the     
general affairs of the ,church4 ,it is  
not necessary to defend him for this4   
,we are concerned1 in studying such     
persons1 not so much with their dogmatic
 opinions and beliefs1 the result of    
their environment1 as with the spirit of

 their lives1 their attainments in      
holiness1 and the light which they can  
shed on the best means of growth in     
grace4 ,it is believed that the present 
volume will be found helpful to this    
end4 ,the type of piety exemplified by  
,fnelon1 ,fletcher1 ,faber1 and others  
of this sort1 does not appeal with equal
 force to all1 owing to difference of   
mental and physical constitution4 ,but  
all1 whatever their temperament1 can get
 only good by contemplating such an     
example as is presented in these pages4 
,they can not feel the quick throbs of  
his deeply loving heart1 and note the   
sincerity of purpose with which he      
served his dear ,redeemer1 without being
 stimulated in their zeal1 and helped to
 walk1 in their own way1 more worthily  
of the vocation with which they         
themselves are called4 ,that this may   
indeed be the outcome for every reader  
of the following chapters1 is the       
earnest prayer of the author4           
,,james ,,mudge4  ,jamaica ,plain1      

,mass4                                  
,,contents   ,chapter                   
,page  ,i4 ,from ,youth to ,manhood1    
#i  ,,ii4 ,the ,setting of the ,picture1
                                        
#de  ,,iii4 ,preceptor to the ,prince1  
#fg  ,,iv4 ,mysticism and ,quietism1    
#id  ,v4 ,the ,great ,conflict1         
#abj  ,,vi4 ,the ,good ,archbishop1     
#aei  ,,vii4 ,the ,spiritual ,letters1  
#aic                                    
,fnelon3 ,the ,mystic                   
,,chapter ,i4                           
,,from ,,youth ,,to ,,manhood4          
,christian perfection1 or the highest   
possibilities of ,christian grace and   
growth1 is a theme of intense interest  
to every true lover of the ,lord4 ,there
 are many ways of promoting it1 widely  
differing in their merits and their     
helpfulness4 ,without disparaging other 
methods1 it may be safely said that     
nothing can be better than example4     
,christianity centers around a person2  
and personal experience perennially     

appeals4 ,better than abstract          
discussion is concrete practice4 ,more  
profitable than speculation and         
controversy is an actual life on highest
 levels4 ,there is also a large         
advantage in beholding such a life in   
another age and land and ,church1 thus  
noting how ,god can magnify and fulfill 
,himself in very diverse circumstances1 
and amid intellectual influences that to
 us are quite obnoxious4  ,we invite1   
therefore1 the attention of the         
thoughtful reader to a man who presents 
one of the most perfect types of human  
purity that the world has ever seen2 one
 who for two hundred years has stood    
among the choicest few of those         
universally esteemed to be authorities  
in spiritual things2 one endowed with a 
luster which the lapse of time can not  
tarnish1--a luster far brighter than can
 be bestowed by mere worldly honors or  
temporal prosperity1 however high4 ,he  
not only had a heart filled with the    
love of ,god and glowing with pure      

devotion1 but also a mind capable of the
 closest analysis and the keenest       
discrimination4 ,he was not only a      
saint1 but also a scholar and a genius1 
an original thinker as well as a pursuer
 of holiness4 ,such combinations are    
very rare4 ,his thirst for perfection   
has probably never been surpassed4      
,seldom1 if ever1 has such a remarkable 
combination of high qualities           
tabernacled in the flesh4 ,he had both  
modesty and majesty1 both simplicity and
 sublimity1 unconquerable firmness in   
duty1 unsurpassed meekness in society2  
he was equally eminent for piety and    
politeness1 for morals and manners2 he  
was sympathetic and chivalrous1 severe  
to himself1 indulgent to others4 ,in the
 midst of a voluptuous court he         
practiced the virtues of an anchorite2  
with the revenues of a prince at command
 he hardly allowed himself ordinary     
comforts4 ,his abilities awaken our     
admiration1 his afflictions excite our  
compassion4 ,born among the nobility of 

earth1 he resisted the blandishments of 
earthly pomp1 and became crowned with   
the far higher nobility of heaven4 ,he  
was truly humble and truly heroic2 good 
as well as great2 skillful in teaching1 
wise in counsel1 master of an elegant   
style both in composition and discourse2
 faithful to his friends and kind to his
 foes2 devoted to his native land1      
generous to his family1 a man of peace  
yet ready to fight for the faith1 true  
to his convictions1 tolerant toward     
those of other beliefs1 tenderly        
affectionate1 vigorously diligent2 the  
glory of his country1 the joy of        
mankind1 the beloved of the ,lord4 ,he  
had an intense nature1 and was1 as has  
been said1 ,one whose religion must be  
more loving than love1 his daily life   
more kind than kindness1 his words truer
 than truth itself4 ,lamartine calls him
 beautiful as a ,raphael's ,st4 ,john   
leaning on the bosom of ,christ4 ,he had
 the imagination of a woman for dreaming
 of heaven1 and the soul of a man for   

subduing the earth4 ,the especially     
feminine qualities were prominent in    
him1 yet he strikes no one as           
effeminate1 and when he felt himself set
 for the defense of the truth he showed 
a power that greatly surprised his      
enemies4 ,his soul was like a star and  
dwelt apart1 alone with the ,alone4 ,and
 yet he was so deeply interested in the 
welfare of ,france and his fellow-men   
that he has been called a politician2   
statesman would be the word more        
befitting the facts1 for his ideas as to
 the measures and policies necessary to 
make the land prosperous were in the    
main very wise1 and he had no personal  
ends to serve4 ,in whatever capacity we 
consider him--poet1 orator1 moralist1   
metaphysician1 politician1 instructor1  
bishop1 friend1 persecuted              
,christian--he excites our keenest      
interest1 our warmest admiration4 ,he   
greatly desired to please every one1 and
 succeeded so far as circumstances      
allowed2 but the desire was held in     

strictest control by a strong sense of  
duty1 which compelled him at times to do
 and say things most unacceptable to    
many4 ,he was no courtier1 no flatterer1
 he could not make his own interests the
 first consideration4 ,he was a prophet 
in ,gomorrah1 charged with a message    
which pressed upon him for utterance1   
and for the delivery of which the time  
was short4 ,at the court of ,louis      
,,xiv--a spot above all others on the   
face of the earth1 perhaps1 in that     
century1 disgraced by selfishness1      
hypocrisy1 and intrigue--he bears not a 
little resemblance to a seraph sent on a
 divine mission to the shades of the    
lost4 ,there is endless fascination in  
his story4 ,he was not without faults1  
but his faults were those of his age2   
his virtues were his own4 ,he turned a  
haughty1 irritable1 overbearing young   
prince1 an incipient ,csar ,borgia1 into
 the mildest1 most docile1 obedient of  
men4 ,he possessed his soul in peace    
amid provocations that would have been  

far too much for most of us4 ,neither   
public disgrace nor personal bereavement
 had power to embitter him4 ,he listened
 to the voice of ,god within him1 and   
marched straight on1 breast forward4 ,in
 the language of ,herder1 ,his ,church  
indeed canonized him not1 but humanity  
has4 ,he is a saint in the eyes of      
multitudes not attracted by official    
sanctity2 an apostle of liberty that    
dared withstand the ,grand ,monarque2 a 
martyr spending half a life in exile1   
through the machinations of a court     
faction which dreaded his incorruptible 
goodness4 ,being dead1 he yet speaketh4 
,one of the noblest men who ever lived1 
says ,dr4 ,john ,henry ,kurtz1 the      
distinguished ,church historian4 ,joseph
 de ,maistre exclaims3 ,do we wish to   
paint ideal greatness8 ,let us try to   
imagine something that surpasses        
,fnelon--we shall not succeed4 ,let us1 
then1 putting aside imagination1        
endeavor to rescue from the musty record
 of the misty past1 a lifelike image of 

this many-sided1 multiple1 versatile    
personality4   ,franois de ,salignac de 
la ,mothe ,fnelon was born ,august #f1  
#afea1 at the castle1 or chateau1 of    
,fnelon1 about three miles from the town
 of ,sarlat1 in the department of       
,southern ,france1 formerly called      
,perigord1 now ,dordogne1 north of the  
river ,garonne4 ,the ,de ,salignacs were
 of an ancient and distinguished family1
 counting in their long pedigree many of
 the best names of ,france--bishops1    
governors1 generals1 and ambassadors4   
,but it is safe to say that they have   
derived more luster from the single name
 of the ,archbishop of ,cambrai than    
from all the rest who through several   
centuries filled lofty stations in camp 
and court and ,church4  ,very little is 
known about his parents or his early    
life4 ,pons de ,salignac1 ,count of ,la 
,mothe ,fnelon1 father of ,francis1 was 
twice married1 having fourteen children 
by his first wife and three by his      
second4 ,the eldest of the three was    

,francis4 ,his mother1 ,mademoiselle    
,louise de la ,cropte de ,saint-,arbre1 
sister of a celebrated lieutenant who   
served under ,marshal ,turenne1 is said 
to have been unusually pious1 which we  
can well believe1 and to have           
perpetuated some of her other traits in 
her famous son4 ,from his father's side 
he doubtless inherited his diplomatic   
temperament and a goodly degree of      
worldly wisdom4 ,his peculiar situation 
in the household could hardly fail to   
have had something to do with his       
character4 ,the numerous grown-up sons  
and daughters of his father's first     
marriage took umbrage at the second2    
hence the precocious and sensitive child
 had abundant occasion to practice all  
possible arts of ingratiation to obtain 
forgiveness for having intruded his     
existence upon them1 and to make it     
pleasant for his mother4 ,his           
constitution was delicate1 and he had a 
sickly childhood2 once at least in his  
early days his life was despaired of1   

and he only recovered to be for years   
the victim of sleeplessness and kindred 
ailments4 ,he was the idol of his old   
father1 who1 recognizing his unusual    
talents1 took special pains with his    
education4 ,it was intrusted at first to
 a private preceptor1 who seems to have 
been well fitted for his task1 and gave 
to his pupil in a few years a better    
knowledge of ,greek and ,latin than is  
commonly obtained at so early an age1   
doubtless laying thus the foundation of 
his exquisitely finished style4 ,at     
twelve he left the paternal roof for the
 neighboring ,university of ,cahors 7a  
town about sixty miles north of         
,toulouse1 containing now an obelisk of 
,fnelon71 where he pursued for some     
three years philosophical and           
philological studies and took his       
degrees in the arts4  ,his father       
probably died about this time1 as we    
hear nothing further of him1 and his    
uncle1 the ,marquis ,antoine de ,fnelon1
 who had lost his own son1 acted        

henceforth as the father of his nephew4 
,it was a most happy circumstance1 for  
the marquis was deeply religious and of 
an unsullied private life1 as well as   
very independent in his character4 ,the 
,grand ,cond1 greatest general of his   
time1 described him as equally at home  
in society1 war1 and the council        
chamber4 ,when ,m4 de ,harlai was       
nominated to the ,archbishopric of      
,paris1 the marquis remarked to him1    
,there is a wide difference1 my ,right  
,reverend ,lord1 between the day when   
the nomination for such an office brings
 to the party the compliments of the    
whole kingdom1 and the day on which he  
appears before ,god to render ,him an   
account of his administration2 a        
reflection which1 although much needed1 
could not have been very agreeable to   
,de ,harlai1 for he was a notorious evil
 liver1 who introduced every species of 
corruption into the administration of   
his diocese1 and scandalized all by the 
iniquities also of his private life4    

,another indication of the marquis's    
truly noble quality is seen in the fact 
that when ,m4 ,olier1 the celebrated    
founder of the ,congregation of ,st4    
,sulpice1 wished to form an association 
of gentlemen whose courage was past     
impeachment1 to bind themselves with an 
oath neither to accept any challenge nor
 act the part of second in any          
duel--that the practice of dueling might
 thus be checked--he asked ,m4 de       
,fnelon to take the post of president of
 the association1 being convinced that  
there was no one whose reputation was   
more firmly established both in court   
and camp4  ,under the guidance1 then1 of
 this admirable relative1 who was so    
exceptionally well fitted by character1 
position1 and situation to give his     
nephew the best possible start in life1 
and who tenderly loved him1 young       
,francis came to ,paris in #afff1 at the
 age of fifteen4 ,it was not1 of course1
 the ,paris of the present day2 but even
 then it was a great city1 reaching back

 for its beginning to the ,roman times1 
and recognized as the seat of government
 for at least a thousand years4 ,under  
,henry of ,navarre 7#aehi-afaj7 great   
improvements had been made1 and by the  
accession of ,louis ,,xiv--who began to 
reign nominally in #afdc1 at the age of 
five1 but really took charge of the     
kingdom in #affa--through the completion
 of several bridges1 roads1 and quays1  
and the erection of various public and  
private palaces1 a new face had been put
 on the old city4 ,it was already the   
focus of ,european civilization1        
learning1 and eloquence1 as well as the 
center of all that was most attractive  
and distinguished in ,france4 ,the best 
institutions were there1 the best       
opportunities for advancement1 the      
highest privileges and advantages of    
every sort2 so that to it naturally     
gravitated all who wished to make the   
most of themselves under the eye of that
 ,grand ,monarch whose favor was life4  
,francis1 therefore1 no doubt counted   

himself greatly blessed at this change1 
and entered upon his ,parisian          
life--which was to last thirty-one      
years--with very high1 ambitious hopes4 
,his guardian sent him for two years to 
the ,collge du ,plessis1 then under the 
rule of ,m4 ,gobinet1 a first-rate      
principal4 ,there he speedily           
distinguished himself as a scholar1 and 
he also gave such tokens of possessing  
the gift of eloquence that before he was
 sixteen he was put forward to preach to
 an admiring audience4 ,it is1 perhaps1 
worth noting that ,bossuet--who was so  
soon to be closely associated with      
,fnelon1 at first in friendship1 then in
 fierce hostility--also preached at the 
same age1 with similar applause1 before 
a brilliant assemblage in ,paris4  ,what
 was the next step8 ,a noble under      
,louis ,,xiv had two possible careers   
open to him1 and only two2 they were the
 army and the ,church4 ,it is not       
probable that the matter was long       
debated1 if at all1 in ,francis' case4  

,everything about him1 his gifts of     
speech1 his high scholarship1 his deep  
piety1 his rather delicate health1      
pointed to the clerical vocation1 and   
there can be no question but this was   
with him a divine calling1 to which     
doubtless his heart gave full assent4   
,so he was placed1 in #afhh1 at the     
seminary of ,st4 ,sulpice to be trained 
for the priesthood4  ,since he was to   
spend no less than ten happy years1 in  
the formative period of seventeen to    
twenty-seven1 in connection with this   
institution1 it may be well that we say 
a few words about it and its director4  
,it was the principal fruit of the great
 ,catholic revival at the beginning of  
the century1 the embodiment of all the  
force of that movement--a movement      
marked by very earnest piety and a      
somewhat unusual combination of         
emotionalism and asceticism4 ,it was    
founded by a group of devoted men sprung
 from the upper-middle class2 and chief 
among them was ,m4 ,olier1 a man justly 

celebrated for his saintly life4 ,he was
 appointed in #afdb to the parish of    
,st4 ,sulpice when it was noted as the  
most depraved quarter of ,paris4 ,he    
labored unremittingly and very          
successfully to reform this unpromising 
flock1 and the young priests who were   
associated with him in his task         
constituted the nucleus of the seminary 
and community of ,st4 ,sulpice4 ,the    
necessary building to house the         
institution1 to the establishment of    
which ,monsieur ,olier gave himself with
 highest enthusiasm1 was completed in   
#afeb--;a square edifice capable of     
receiving one hundred inmates4 ,this    
became the center of a most wholesome   
and inspiring activity4  ,the founder   
had a very high ideal of sacerdotal     
character4 ,he would not admit any who  
embraced the sacred calling from        
considerations of ambition or           
expediency1 and those admitted were     
subjected to the sharpest kind of tests4
 ,whatever their birth or condition they

 were required to perform the menial    
duties of the house1 and to mingle on   
terms of absolute equality with their   
fellow-students4 ,the complete          
immolation of self was set as the       
paramount aim before those who looked   
forward to holy orders4 ,the will must  
be entirely surrendered4 ,the good      
priest must become the model of all the 
virtues4 ,all earthly interests and ties
 must be renounced4 ,the closest union  
with the ,divine was to be cultivated4  
,a very literal interpretation of the   
teaching of the ,master was followed4   
,the pupils were urged to study the     
,gospels till they could bring the      
,divine life before them at any moment  
in a series of mental pictures which    
should help them in the decision of all 
perplexing questions of duty1 and were  
exhorted to keep themselves in such a   
disposition that meditation on that     
model life would never seem strange or  
demand a violent mental revulsion       
whatever their outward circumstances    

might be4 ,while the ceremonies of the  
,church were observed with minute       
exactness1 and occasional austerities   
were practiced1 and learning was not    
neglected1 the main thought was that the
 perfection of personal character must  
be secured at all costs2 the world was  
to be abandoned1 the flesh crucified1   
the devil in all his forms resisted1 and
 lessons of humility1 obedience1 and    
charity were to be most carefully       
learned4 ,they were taught that in the  
silence which succeeds the struggle of  
self-abandonment they would find ,christ
 coming to them--the ,christ who had    
borne all and understood all1 and whose 
presence was far more worth having than 
the prizes they had missed or put away4 
,it can well be believed that this      
wholly consecrated man1 the first       
superior of ,st4 ,sulpice1 won to       
himself so large a share of personal    
affection and loyalty from his students 
that when he was removed from its care  
many feared its collapse4 ,but this was 

not to be4 ,a suitable successor was    
found in ,m4 ,louis ,tronson1 a man     
every way as capable as the first       
founder--indeed more learned in         
theology--and fully disposed to continue
 the traditions of the institution as   
already laid down2 a man who coveted no 
external recognition1 joined in no race 
for preferment1 but gave himself with   
singleness of eye to the great work     
intrusted to him by the ,master4 ,it was
 to his care that ,francis ,fnelon was  
committed1 and he speedily won the      
enthusiastic affection of the young man4
 ,in a few years ,fnelon writes         
concerning his teacher to ,pope ,clement
 ,,xi as follows3 ,never have ,i seen   
his equal for piety and prudence1 for   
love of justice and insight into        
character4 ,i glory in the thought that 
,i was brought up under his wing4       
,fnelon was evidently one of the ,abb   
,tronson's favorites1 for he was a      
favorite with everybody1 and all could  
see in the brilliant youth a promise    

that would do honor to those who had a  
share in his development4 ,a high degree
 of confidence was given and received on
 both sides4 ,francis wrote to his      
uncle1 in a burst of gratitude1 one day3
 ,i earnestly desire to be able to tell 
you some part of all that passes between
 ,m4 ,tronson and me2 but indeed1       
,monsieur1 ,i know not how to do so4 ,i 
find ,i can be much more explicit with  
him than with you1 nor would it be easy 
to describe the degree of union we have 
reached4 ,if you could hear our         
conversation you would not know your    
pupil1 and you would see that ,god has  
very marvelously helped on the work     
which you begun4 ,my health does not    
improve1 which would be a great trial to
 me if ,i were not learning how to      
comfort myself4 ,this was very          
beautiful1 very delightful1 and though  
such complete dominance of one          
personality by another is not devoid of 
danger1 the results in this case appear 
to have justified the experiment4       

,francis' early bent to deep piety was  
greatly intensified during these years1 
and his views of disinterested or       
perfect love1 so strongly brought out in
 later times1 were scarcely more than   
the natural evolution of the thoughts   
and habits drilled into him during this 
formative period4 ,he greatly enjoyed   
this home of piety and study4 ,his love 
for the seminary never decayed4 ,he     
declared on his death-bed that he knew  
of no institution more venerable or more
 apostolic4  ,it was while at the       
seminary that ,fnelon thought he had a  
call to the mission field4 ,the         
congregation of ,st4 ,sulpice had a     
large missionary establishment at       
,montreal1 and many of the students from
 the ,paris house had gone thither4 ,it 
was natural1 with his intense           
unworldliness1 that he should wish to   
follow in their footsteps1 and in one of
 his descent it would not be surprising 
if the love of adventure was            
unconsciously mingled with a more       

religious ambition to show his love for 
the ,savior by doing a great work for   
,him in a difficult field4 ,how many    
have had these longings1 but have been  
providentially prevented from carrying  
them out6 ,in ,fnelon's case            
difficulties at once sprung up4 ,his    
uncle1 the ,marquis ,antoine1 strongly  
objected on account of the delicacy of  
his constitution1 and another uncle1 the
 ,bishop of ,sarlat1 coincided with this
 opinion4 ,a letter on the subject to   
the bishop from ,m4 ,tronson1 dated     
,february1 #affg1 says1 ,his strong1    
persisting inclination1 the firmness of 
his resolution1 and the purity of his   
intentions have made me feel that they  
deserved attention1 and led me to give  
you as exact a report as may be of our  
action in the matter4 ,the teacher had  
done his very best to dissuade the youth
 from his purpose4 ,i have told him     
plainly that if he can calm his longings
 and be quiet1 he might1 by going on    
with his studies and spiritual training1

 become more fitted to work usefully    
hereafter for the ,church4 ,he adds1 ,i 
perceive too confirmed a resolution to  
have much hope of change4 ,the feelings 
called out were so strong that          
persuasion seemed useless1 and so the   
teacher appealed to the authority of the
 guardians2 which proved sufficient to  
stop the rash enterprise4  ,but the     
missionary impulse still burned strongly
 in the breast of this enthusiastic     
youth1 and it burst forth again a few   
years later4 ,he received the tonsure1  
and entered holy orders in #afge1 at the
 age of twenty-four1 and went for a     
while to work in the diocese of his     
uncle1 the ,bishop of ,sarlat4 ,it was  
at this time that his thoughts were     
turned to the ,levant4 ,a letter of     
,october #i1 #afge1 sets forth somewhat 
rhapsodically his excited feelings3 ,i  
long to seek out that ,areopagus whence 
,st4 ,paul preached the unknown ,god to 
heathen sages4444 ,neither will ,i      
forget thee1 ,o island consecrated by   

the heavenly visions of the beloved     
disciple6 ,o blessed ,patmos1 ,i will   
hasten to kiss the footsteps left on    
thee by the apostle1 and to imagine     
heaven open to my gaze6444 ,already ,i  
see schism healed2 ,east and ,west      
reunited2 ,asia awaking to the light    
after her long sleep2 the ,holy ,land1  
once trodden by our ,savior's feet and  
watered by his blood1 delivered from    
profaners and filled with new glory2 the
 children of ,abraham1 more numerous    
than the stars1 now scattered over the  
face of the earth1 gathered from all her
 quarters to confess the ,christ they   
crucified1 and to rise again with him4  
,this was decidedly visionary1 and      
somewhat overwrought2 but it shows at   
least a heart on fire to do something   
extraordinary for ,god1 and this he had 
at all periods of his life4 ,he did not 
go to ,greece and ,palestine1 abandoning
 the project in deference to the wishes 
of his family1 to whom he was extremely 
reluctant to give pain4 ,it was a       

romantic dream rather than a true       
vocation4  ,it is thought by some that  
he really went to ,montreal at a later  
date4 ,the ,correspondence ,litteraire  
of ,july #be1 #ahfc1b gives a letter    
from the archives of the ,french        
,ministry of ,marine in the handwriting 
of ,colbert1 the great ,finance         
,minister of ,louis ,,xiv1 who also had 
charge of the department of commerce1   
dated in #afge1 to ,frontenac1 ,governor
 of ,canada1 in which ,louis ,,xiv says3
 ,i have blamed the action of ,abb      
,fnelon1 and have ordered him not to    
return to ,canada4 ,but ,i ought to say 
to you that it was difficult to         
institute a criminal proceeding against 
him or oblige the priests of the        
seminary of ,st4 ,sulpice at ,montreal  
to testify against him2 and it was      
necessary to remit the case to his      
bishop or the grand vicar to punish him 
by ecclesiastical penalties1 or to      
arrest him and send him back to ,france 
by the first ship4 ,there was not then  

in ,france any other abb of that name1  
so far as is known4 ,somewhat           
confirmatory of it is the fact that     
,appleton's ,cyclopedia1 in its account 
of the ,society of ,st4 ,sulpice says1  
,in #affh the ,sulpicians1 ,franois de  
,fnelon and ,claude ,trouv1 founded the 
first ,iroquois mission at the western  
extremity of ,lake ,ontario1 but their  
labors were confined principally to the 
,indians near ,montreal4 ,the dates do  
not harmonize2 but it may be that1 in   
some irregular way that did not commend 
itself to the authorities1 our hero was 
for a time in ,canada2 but if so1 it is 
very singular that it left so little    
trace upon his life4  ,he gave himself  
for some three years after his          
ordination to labors in the parish of   
,st4 ,sulpice1 living still at the      
seminary1 and endeavoring to spread the 
light of his faith among the poor       
wherever he could reach them best1      
whether in prisons and hospitals or     
their own quarters4 ,it was good        

training for him in many ways1 enlarging
 his sympathies1 deepening his views of 
life1 and bringing him into touch with  
children as well as women4 ,doubtless he
 gathered in these years--for he had    
quick powers of observation and a very  
active mind--much of that amazing       
knowledge concerning these classes which
 surprised his friends when he came     
subsequently to pour forth in letters or
 books the wisest of counsels on        
education and kindred topics4 ,m4       
,languet1 cur of the parish at this     
time1 was said to distribute more than a
 million francs in alms yearly1 while   
his own room was furnished with nothing 
more than a coarse bed and two straw    
chairs4 ,under such guidance ,fnelon    
could not fail to learn many useful     
lessons1 and to become still more       
completely fitted for the great career  
which was soon to open before him4  ,it 
was in #afgh that ,fnelon1 while        
attending quietly to his duties at the  
parish of ,st4 ,sulpice1 preaching on   

,sundays and visiting among the poor    
during the week1 received the important 
appointment of superior to the community
 called the ,nouvelles ,catholiques1 or 
,new ,catholics4 ,he was twenty-seven at
 this time1 and had developed into a    
very lovable1 charming1 attractive1 and 
every way promising young man4 ,his high
 birth1 solid education1 brilliant      
parts1 spotless life1 eloquence of      
speech1 and influential friends1 all    
tended to bring him forward into the    
public eye4 ,the words of the           
,chancellor d',aguesseau on ,fnelon1    
found in the memoirs of the life of his 
father1 although applying perhaps in    
fullest measure a little later1 may be  
inserted here1 as showing what it must  
have been felt1 by discerning observers1
 he would erelong become4  ,fnelon1 says
 the chancellor1 was one of those       
uncommon men who are destined to give   
luster to their age2 and who do equal   
honor to human nature by their virtues1 
and to literature by their superior     

talent4 ,he was affable in his          
deportment and luminous in his          
discourse1 the peculiar qualities of    
which were a rich1 delicate1 and        
powerful imagination1 but which never   
let its power be felt4 ,his eloquence   
had more of mildness in it than of      
vehemence2 and he triumphed as much by  
the charms of his conversation as by the
 superiority of his talents4 ,he always 
brought himself to the level of his     
company2 he never entered into          
disputation1 and he sometimes appeared  
to yield to others at the very time that
 he was leading them4 ,grace dwelt upon 
his lips4 ,he discussed the greatest    
subjects with facility2 the most        
trifling were ennobled by his pen2 and  
upon the most barren he scattered the   
flowers of rhetoric4 ,the peculiar but  
unaffected mode of expression which he  
adopted made many persons believe that  
he possessed universal knowledge as if  
by inspiration4 ,it might indeed have   
been almost said that he rather invented

 what he knew than learned it4 ,he was  
always original and creative1 imitating 
no one1 and himself inimitable4 ,a noble
 singularity pervaded his whole person1 
and a certain undefinable and sublime   
simplicity gave to his appearance the   
air of a prophet4 ,his personal         
appearance has been well sketched by one
 of his contemporaries1 the ,duke de    
,st4 ,simon1 a satirical1               
misanthropical1 utterly worldly man4    
,fnelon1 says ,st4 ,simon1 was a tall   
man1 thin1 well-made1 and with a large  
nose4 ,from his eyes issued the fire and
 animation of his mind1 like a torrent2 
and his countenance was such that ,i    
never yet beheld any one similar to it1 
nor could it ever be forgotten if once  
seen4 ,it combined everything1 and yet  
with everything in harmony4 ,it was     
grave1 and yet alluring2 it was solemn1 
and yet gay2 it bespoke equally the     
theologian1 the bishop1 and the         
nobleman4 ,everything which was visible 
in it1 as well as in his whole person1  

was delicate1 intellectual1 graceful1   
becoming1 and1 above all1 noble4 ,it    
required an effort to cease looking at  
him4 ,all the portraits are strong      
resemblances1 though they have not      
caught that harmony which was so        
striking in the original1 and that      
individual delicacy which characterized 
each feature4 ,his manners were         
answerable to his countenance4 ,they had
 that air of ease and urbanity which can
 be derived only from intercourse with  
the best society1 and which diffused    
itself over all his discourse4 ,he      
possessed a natural eloquence1 graceful 
and finished1 and a most insinuating yet
 noble and proper courtesy2 an easy1    
clear1 agreeable utterance2 a wonderful 
power of explaining the hardest matters 
in a lucid1 distinct manner4 ,add to all
 this that he was a man who never sought
 to seem cleverer than those with whom  
he conversed1 who brought himself       
insensibly to their level1 putting them 
at their ease1 and enthralling them so  

that one could neither leave him nor    
distrust him1 nor help seeking him      
again4 ,it was this rare gift which he  
possessed to the utmost degree which    
bound all his friends so closely to him 
all his life in spite of his disgrace at
 court1 and which led them1 when        
scattered1 to gather together to talk of
 him1 regret him1 long after him1 and   
cling more and more to him1 like the    
,jews to ,jerusalem1 and sigh and hope  
for his return1 even as that unhappy    
race waits and sighs for their ,messiah4
  ,the community of the ,new ,catholics 
had been founded in #afcd by ,archbishop
 ,gondi1 as a protection for women      
converted from ,protestantism1 and as a 
means of propagating ,church teachings  
among those yet unconverted4 ,it was    
conducted by a community of women who   
did the work of ,sisters of ,charity    
outside its walls1 and was presided over
 by a priest selected by the ,archbishop
 of ,paris4 ,marshal ,turenne1 himself a
 recent convert1 gave largely to it1 and

 the king1 who was willing to combine   
gentle means with harsh for the         
accomplishment of his purposes in       
bringing all his subjects into one      
faith1 took great interest in it4       
,hitherto the post of superior had been 
filled by much older men1 but1 though   
only twenty-seven1 ,fnelon was found to 
combine all those qualities which fitted
 him for the employment--distinguished  
talents1 education1 amiable manners1    
unusual prudence and discretion1 much   
love to ,god1 and great benevolence to  
man4 ,the archbishop who selected him1  
,m4 de ,harlai1 was1 as we have already 
noted1 by no means of ,fnelon's stamp4  
,he was a courtier1 a man of the world1 
regardless of morality1 and ever        
scheming for his own advancement4       
,having noted the capability of ,fnelon1
 perhaps he thought1 by making him a    
sort of proteg1 he could attach him to  
his interests1 obtain credit by his     
successes1 and use him for his purposes4
 ,but if he thought this he did not show

 his usual discernment2 for ,fnelon1    
though willing to accept the office     
assigned1 which gave promise of large   
usefulness1 was in no way attracted by  
the character of his patron1 and no     
considerations of expediency could      
induce him to pay court in that         
direction4 ,consequently1 ,de ,harlai's 
early liking changed erelong to         
pronounced enmity4 ,he noticed the      
absence of ,fnelon from his levees1 and 
when he did present himself at a certain
 reception1 rebuked him with the words1 
,it seems that you desire to be         
forgotten1 ,m4 l',abb1 and you will be4 
,fnelon's friendship also with ,bossuet 
became established about this time1 and 
this doubtless increased the animosity  
of the archbishop1 as the two were      
rivals for the favor of the king1 on    
which the coveted promotion to the      
cardinalate1 which each desired1 so     
largely depended4  ,it was probably     
owing1 somewhat at least1 to this       
unfriendly influence on the part of ,de 

,harlai that ,fnelon received no        
appointment which could supply him with 
funds2 for the post of ,superior carried
 no salary1 and until #afha he continued
 to be entirely dependent for everything
 upon his uncle1 the marquis4 ,in that  
year his uncle1 the ,bishop of ,sarlat1 
resigned to him the deanery of ,carenac1
 at ,quercy1 on the ,dordogne1 and this 
small benefice1 producing between #c1jjj
 and #d1jjj livres annually--about      
#b1jjj a year of modern money--was the  
only revenue ,fnelon possessed for a    
long time1 until1 indeed1 his           
forty-third year4 ,on leaving the       
,sulpician seminary1 he took up his     
abode with his uncle1 the ,marquis de   
,fnelon1 in the ,abbey of ,st4 ,germain1
 and gave himself up as entirely to his 
work as if he had not been brought into 
so much closer proximity to the court   
and the world of ,paris4 ,he avoided    
general society1 only living intimately 
with some few chosen friends4 ,his uncle
 was able to introduce him into a rare  

circle1 prominent in which were the     
,duke and ,duchess of ,beauvilliers1 and
 the ,duke and ,duchess of ,chevreuse   
7the two ladies were sisters1 daughters 
of the great finance minister1          
,colbert71 ,bossuet1 ,bishop of ,meaux1 
and ,madame de ,maintenon4 ,we must say 
a few words about these people1 for they
 had much to do with ,fnelon through all
 his subsequent life4  ,the ,duke de    
,beauvilliers1 says ,st4 ,simon1 was    
early touched by ,god1 and never lost   
,his presence1 but lived entirely in the
 future world1 indifferent to place and 
cabal and worldly advantage1 content1   
when called to the council-board1 simply
 to state his true opinion1 without much
 caring whether it was followed or not4 
,punctual and orderly almost to excess1 
he controlled his household with        
vigilant kindness1 and took on his      
shoulders1 as the king himself bore     
witness1 a load of administrative       
details that would have killed four     
other men4 ,in society he was rather shy

 and stiff by nature1 as well as on     
principle exceedingly careful to set a  
close guard on eyes and ears and lips1  
so that even when1 as a principal       
minister1 he was the observed of all    
observers1 surrounded by princes and    
nobles1 he repelled by his reserve4 ,he 
had been at court nearly all his life1  
having early succeeded ,marshal         
,villeroy as head of the ,council of    
,finance1 and being also first gentleman
 of the chamber4 ,he had also been      
governor of ,havre4 ,he was called to   
the treasury in #afhe1 and to the       
council-board in #afia4 ,he was         
acknowledged on all sides to be a man of
 remarkable piety and purity of life1   
and1 as a courtier1 without reproach--a 
very rare thing in those days4 ,his     
chief fault was his timidity1 and his   
excessive subserviency to the king4 ,but
 when his conscience was aroused he     
could show a boldness that was most     
admirable1 and all the more to be       
commended because somewhat foreign to   

his nature4 ,he remained true as steel  
to ,fnelon to his dying day1 his        
friendship never wavering or showing    
diminution1 even when the latter was    
banished from court1 and all his friends
 were in a measure under the ban because
 of the king's fierce anger4 ,in later  
years the king did his best to separate 
the two1 even sending for the duke and  
explicitly threatening him with a like  
fate to that of his friend if he did not
 give him up4 ,but the duke replied1    
with dignity and feeling3 ,sire1 you    
have placed me where ,i am1 and you can 
displace me4 ,i shall accept the will of
 my sovereign as the voice of ,god1 and 
,i should retire from court at your     
bidding regretting your displeasure1 but
 hoping to lead a more peaceful life in 
retirement4 ,this manly1 uncompromising 
stand made a deep impression on the     
king1 who1 in spite of his liking for   
his own way1 knew that he could hardly  
afford to spare so faithful and         
conscientious a servant2 nothing more   

was said about the matter4  ,his        
brother-in-law1 the ,duke de ,chevreuse1
 was different in disposition1 though   
equally devoted to religion4 ,he was    
abler1 broader-minded1 better informed1 
more genial and witty1 but less         
systematic1 and a very poor business    
man4 ,he had no fixed hours for         
anything1 and was always behindhand4    
,had it not been for the king he must   
have died a beggar2 for he had little of
 his own1 and his wife's large fortune  
was wasted on costly but futile         
experiments1 such as canals made at     
enormous expense to float down the      
timber from woods which he sold before  
even a tree was felled4 ,he was charming
 in his manners1 and was not simply     
loved1 but adored by his family1 and    
friends1 and servants4 ,throughout his  
troubles1 which were many1 he was never 
for a moment cast down1 but offered up  
his all to ,god and fixed his eyes on   
,him4 ,never man possessed his soul in  
peace as he did1 wrote ,st4 ,simon1 as  

the ,scripture says1 ',he carried it in 
his hands4' ,he was even nearer to      
,fnelon in some ways than the other     
duke1 and equally stanch in his         
attachment4 ,he had no special portfolio
 in the ministry1 but was consulted by  
the king about most departments1 and was
 very highly esteemed by him4  ,the two 
sisters1 wives of these dukes--there    
were indeed three1 the third having     
married the ,duke de ,mortemart1 but of 
this family we hear almost nothing--were
 linked by the strongest bonds of       
sympathy and affection1 and the three   
families lived in the closest union of  
principle and action1 which gave them   
great strength amid the profligate1     
time-serving court4 ,twice a week there 
were dinners at the ,hotel de           
,beauvilliers1 where the society was at 
once select1 intellectual1 and devout4  
,a bell was on the table1 and no servant
 was present1 that they might converse  
without restraint4 ,it was in this      
society that ,fnelon1 being introduced1 

became speedily the leader4 ,he was     
accepted by the two dukes1 not as       
director simply but as spiritual master1
 as the mind of their mind1 says ,st4   
,simon1 the soul of their soul1 the     
sovereign ruler of their heart and      
conscience4 ,such he remained all his   
days4 ,fnelon and the ,beauvilliers had 
not been long acquainted before the     
duchess1 mother of eight daughters1     
begged him to set down some rules for   
the guidance of their education4 ,this  
request is a proof not only of the      
versatility of his powers1 but of the   
strength of his faculty of intuition1   
that a court lady should have turned to 
him for help in such matters4 ,he had   
been educated from childhood to his     
sacred calling1 shut off from any       
experience of some of the strongest of  
life's influences1 and therefore on some
 accounts might seem poorly fitted to   
prove an apt adviser2 but it was        
strongly felt that he possessed the     
secret of truest wisdom1 that what he   

taught was drawn from too high a source 
to be greatly affected by the limits of 
personal experience4 ,throughout his    
life1 indeed1 it was his power of       
sympathy1 of entering into the          
difficulties of others1 of realizing    
temptations that can never have been    
present with him1 that made his         
influence so comprehensive--a power     
rarer and more marvelous than the       
greatest of intellectual gifts4  ,the   
work on the education of girls1 which   
grew out of the duchess's request1      
swelled into a considerable compass1 and
 was first published in #afhg4 ,it      
greatly increased his reputation1       
revealing a knowledge of child-nature   
which was most remarkable1 and taking   
advanced ground in many particulars4 ,he
 showed himself a thoroughgoing         
reformer1 breaking away from the        
trammels of medival education that so   
long and so disastrously had ruled4     
,there is hardly a page of it which     
might not afford profitable study for   

parents at the present day4 ,it still   
holds a high position among works on    
this subject4 ,his deep love for        
children sharpened his keen observation 
of all that concerned them4 ,he severely
 reprobated the fashion of leaving them 
with uneducated persons2 for he regarded
 the earliest years as of unspeakable   
importance in the formation of          
character4  ,never let them show        
themselves off1 he says1 but do not be  
worried by their questions2 rather      
encourage them2 they are the most       
natural opportunities of teaching4 ,he  
discovered that children are always     
watching others1 endowed with a great   
faculty of imitation1 so that it is     
impossible to over-estimate the         
responsibility of their first guardians4
 ,he recognized the necessity of        
discipline2 but if the child has merited
 disgrace1 he pleads that there should  
be some one to whom she can turn for    
sympathy1 thus showing that he had      
fathomed that overwhelming sense of     

loneliness which is one of childhood's  
chief terrors4 ,he says3 ,make study    
pleasant1 hide it under a show of       
liberty and amusement4 ,let the children
 interrupt their lessons sometimes with 
little jokes2 they need such distraction
 to rest their brain4 ,never fear to    
give them reasons for everything4 ,never
 give extra lessons as a punishment4    
,his method was to treat children as    
reasonable beings instead of unruly     
animals whom it was necessary to coerce 
against their will2 and his object was  
to make them regard learning as a       
privilege and delight1 not as a penance 
forced upon them by the tyranny of their
 elders4 ,he made religion the          
groundwork of all education1 but he     
would have it guarded against           
superstition4 ,he stood strongly for the
 true1 best rights of women1 counting   
their occupations no less important to  
the public than those of men4 ,he would 
give the young girl useful solid tastes 
that would fill her mind with real      

interests and prevent idle curiosity and
 the dissipations of romance-reading4   
,give them something to manage1 on      
condition that they give you an account 
of it1 he pleads2 they will be delighted
 with the confidence1 for it gives an   
incredible pleasure to the young when   
one begins to rely upon them and admit  
them to serious concerns4  ,this will   
suffice to show something of the trend  
of his work4 ,much that he urged is1 of 
course1 commonplace now1 but it was not 
so in his day4 ,he shows in his book so 
much knowledge of the needs and         
characteristics of little children not  
only1 but of the special difficulties   
and infirmities of women1 that it       
remains a marvel where1 at this period  
of his life1 he could have gained such  
insight into both4 ,and all is illumined
 with his beautiful style and gentle    
spirit4 ,mr4 ,john ,morley remarks1     
,when we turn to modern literature from 
,fnelon's pages1 who does not feel that 
the world has lost a sacred accent1 as  

if some ineffable essence had passed out
 from our hearts8  ,madame de ,maintenon
 has been mentioned as one of the little
 circle to whose intimacy ,fnelon was   
introduced when beginning his ,parisian 
career4 ,the full particulars of her    
remarkable history must be sought in    
larger works4 ,yet it is essential that 
we know something concerning her1 since 
for a while she was one of ,fnelon's    
best supporters1 and then became one of 
his most persistent foes4 ,she was the  
grandchild of ,theodore ,agrippa        
d',aubigne1 a noted ,protestant warrior 
and a noble friend of ,henry of         
,navarre1 who died at ,geneva in #afcj4c
 ,her father was a scamp1 her mother a  
jailer's daughter4 ,she was a stout     
,protestant in her younger days1 but    
being left penniless at an early age1   
and wholly dependent upon charitable    
relatives1 she was placed in a ,parisian
 convent1 and there converted to        
,catholicism4 ,she was still only       
seventeen and uncommonly good-looking   

when1 to escape the pressure of         
dependence1 she consented to become the 
wife of ,scarron1 a writer of comic     
poetry and a cripple4 ,so ,frances      
d',aubigne became ,madame ,scarron1 and 
somewhat improved her position4 ,her    
husband died in five years1 leaving her 
a pension4 ,falling in with ,madame de  
,montespan1 the king's mistress1 that   
lady took a liking to her1 and it was   
not long before she was established at a
 fine house in one of the suburbs1 with 
a large income and a numerous staff of  
servants1 as governess of the king's    
illegitimate children by this mistress4 
,at the end of four years the children1 
with their governess1 were housed in the
 palace1 and the influence of the said  
governess over the king1 who was        
naturally thrown much in contact with   
her1 steadily increased4 ,by the savings
 from her salary and the presents of the
 king she was able to purchase the      
estate of ,maintenon1 not far from      
,paris1 and the king1 who never had     

liked the harsh name of ,scarron1 soon  
began to call her ,madame de ,maintenon1
 which henceforth became her title4 ,in 
the midst of all the vicissitudes of her
 life she had maintained a good         
character1 inheriting much from her     
grandfather1 and now she became yet more
 austere in her piety4 ,the ,abb        
,gobelin1 a severe ,jesuit confessor1   
directed her conscience1 and ,bossuet   
impressed his strong personality upon   
her4 ,they persuaded her that she was   
the chosen instrument for the conversion
 of the king4 ,so she set herself to the
 task1 finding it on many accounts      
congenial1 and achieving a remarkable   
degree of success4 ,there seems to have 
been in the complex character of the    
king1 in spite of his many sins1 no     
little regard for religion--it is said  
that he never missed going to mass but  
once in his life--and he was already    
weary of ,montespan1 whose influence on 
him was unquestionably evil4 ,so the new
 influence more and more prevailed2 the 

mistress was dismissed to a convent1 and
 the wise1 devout1 good-looking         
governess became a power at court1 first
 lady in waiting to the crown princess1 
and female friend to the monarch4 ,the  
king spent hours daily in her company1  
and was the better for it4 ,she was a   
strict moralist1 and none of the        
slanders rife about her seem to have any
 good foundation4 ,she enjoyed the      
respect of the best people about the    
court1 and was a friend of the neglected
 queen1 who cried1 ,providence has      
raised up ,madame de ,maintenon to bring
 my husband back to me4 ,and this new   
favorite1 who was not a mistress1       
believed abundantly in the divine nature
 of her mission4 ,she accepted the      
king's friendship to give him good      
counsels and end his slavery to vice4   
,the care of his salvation became the   
first and most absorbing of her duties4 
,she held herself a monitress1 charged  
to encourage and console him1 or to     
check him with reproaches that none but 

she dared utter4 ,he called her ,your   
,seriousness4 ,she never annoyed him    
with opposition1 never encroached1 had  
no will of her own1 but became1 as it   
were1 the king's conception of his      
better self1 his second conscience1 a   
magnet quick to draw him1 sometimes into
 the really worthier of two opposing    
courses1 always into the more           
ecclesiastically virtuous4 ,the queen   
died in her arms in #afhc4 ,two years   
after1 she was privately married to the 
king by the ,archbishop of ,paris in the
 presence of ,pre ,lachaise1 the king's 
confessor1 after whom the famous        
cemetery in ,paris is named4 ,such was  
the woman who ruled at ,versailles when 
,fnelon came into office4 ,he excited   
her interest on their first meeting1 at 
or before #afhc2 for she wrote1 under   
that date1 to ,madame de ,st4 ,geran3   
,your ,abb de ,fnelon is very well      
received2 but the world does not do him 
justice4 ,he is feared2 he wishes to be 
loved2 and is lovable4  ,we must briefly

 introduce one more personage to our    
readers before we can safely resume the 
current of the narrative4 ,jacques      
,bnigne ,bossuet1 who was for a while   
,fnelon's friend and then became the    
bitterest of his foes1 was born at      
,dijon1 #afbg4 ,in his boyhood he was a 
brilliant scholar4 ,at ,paris he soon   
surpassed his teachers in acquirements4 
,he took the ,doctor's bonnet in #afeb1 
and in the same year was received into  
priest's orders4 ,he was first canon to 
the cathedral of ,metz2 in #affi1       
,bishop of ,condom2 in #afha1 bishop of 
,meaux4 ,in #afgj he was appointed      
preceptor to the dauphin1 and gave most 
of his time for ten years to this       
office1 resigning his bishopric for the 
purpose4 ,in the pulpit his oratorical  
powers elicited universal applause4 ,his
 celebrated ,funeral ,discourses1 six in
 number1 were1 and still are1 accounted 
masterpieces of rhetorical skill4 ,two  
words1 strength and majesty1 describe   
the dominant characteristics of his     

oratory4 ,he had a mind well stored with
 noble sentiments4 ,his sermons were    
almost entirely extempore1 springing    
from a mind filled with his subject1    
guided by a few notes on paper4         
,attracted by the strength and sublimity
 of the ,bible he moved largely within  
its circle of thought1 rather than with 
saints1 relics1 and images1 which were  
for the most part below the plane of his
 vision4 ,besides being one of the first
 preachers of the age1 he was a         
celebrated polemic and a powerful       
writer1 having also a ,roman aptitude to
 rule4 ,one of the strongest            
personalities which the ,french ,church 
has produced1 he exercised a commanding 
influence in various directions4 ,the   
principles of ,gallicanism as opposed to
 ,ultramontanism found in him their     
stalwart champion4 ,he was a famous     
apologist4 ,his knowledge was completely
 at command1 so that he did not shrink  
from oral disputation with the most     
learned adversaries4 ,and he wielded a  

very strong pen4 ,his ,exposition of the
 ,catholic ,faith presents the doctrines
 of ,rome in a liberal and plausible    
form4 ,in his ,history of the           
,variations of the ,protestant          
,churches1 and also in other treatises1 
he made out what was considered at the  
time a very strong defense of the ,roman
 ,catholic faith1 but he has since been 
convicted1 not merely of inaccuracy1 but
 of false and garbled quotations4 ,he   
died in #agjd4  ,bossuet1 it will be    
seen1 was twenty-four years older than  
,fnelon1 and for a time was almost a    
father to him4 ,at the zenith of his    
great reputation he was much attracted  
by the younger man and took great pains 
to attach him to himself4 ,he invited   
him often1 with one or two others1 to   
his country residence at ,germigny4     
,they had stated hours of prayer and    
private study and relaxation1 and in    
these last periods the bishop took      
pleasure in unfolding to his humbler    
companions all his sacred and literary  

stores of knowledge4 ,nothing could     
exceed the bishop's regard for ,fnelon1 
or ,fnelon's fondness for the bishop4   
,the intercourse with a masculine       
intellect so much more developed than   
his own was1 no doubt1 a benefit to     
,fnelon1 as well as a high compliment to
 him1 for it compelled him to think for 
himself and brace himself somewhat in   
order to take a worthy part in the      
conversation4 ,one can but regret that  
the friendship which seemed so suitable1
 and was prolific of such advantage to  
the ,church1 as well as mutual pleasure 
between these two great and good men1   
should in a few years1 largely through  
misapprehensions and verbal             
disagreements1 have been turned to      
bitterness and scandal4  ,it is probable
 that the ten years during which ,fnelon
 held the post of superior at the ,new  
,catholics was the sunniest of his life4
 ,it was at least the freest from       
difficulties and complications4 ,he was 
discovering the large possibilities of  

his own powers1 developing healthfully  
in all directions1 with a pleasant      
occupation1 bright prospects1 and an    
ever-widening circle of friends1 who    
looked to him as an influence for good1 
and increasingly hung upon his words4   
,he was called in this period to mourn  
the loss of his dear uncle1 the marquis1
 who had been in many ways1 both        
spiritually and temporally1 such a help 
to him1 and who passed away ,october #h1
 #afhc4 ,just how much he had to do in  
these years at the convent is not clear4
 ,it seems likely that he was little    
more than warden or visitor1 in general 
charge of the instruction1 the other    
matters being managed by the mother     
superior acting under the minute        
directions of the government4 ,for      
converting to the old faith those who   
had been born and trained in            
heresy--many of them1 it would appear1  
brought there early1 against their will1
 or in violation of the proper rights of
 their parents--,fnelon was marvelously 

equipped1 knowing the controversy       
perfectly1 and knowing also what points 
to touch upon with infinite tact1 what  
appeals would be most effective in      
individual cases1 what arguments to use1
 what influences to exert1 what spirit  
to exhibit4 ,he undoubtedly proved      
himself the tenderest and most          
persuasive of advocates and ministers1  
modifying1 so far as possible1 the      
harshness of the state which he was     
powerless to prevent4  ,it was his      
success at the head of this institution 
which called forth the next commission  
with which the king honored him1 and    
which brought him into yet closer       
connection with the troubled current of 
affairs4 ,in order the better to        
understand it we shall do well to pause 
at this point and consider for a little 
the ecclesiastical and political        
condition of ,france1 and to some degree
 of the world at large4                 
,,chapter ,,ii4                         
,,the ,,setting ,,of ,,the ,,picture4   

,it is absolutely essential1 in studying
 any character1 that we take into       
careful account the age and land in     
which he lived4 ,we can not rightly     
estimate his merits or demerits unless  
we know the circumstances under which he
 was brought up1 and the influences to  
which he was subjected4 ,the background 
of the picture has large importance for 
showing off in proper light the         
principal figure4 ,the setting of the   
gem has something to do with our        
appreciation of its value4 ,deeds which 
in one century would cover their        
perpetrator with infamy1 in another     
would be regarded as wholly excusable4  
,the amount of light afforded strictly  
measures the amount of guilt involved4  
,unavoidable ignorance exculpates4      
,fullness of knowledge imposes          
responsibility4 ,no greater mistake     
could be made than to judge people      
irrespective of their surroundings4     
,moreover1 it adds immensely to our     
interest in any person if we can1 to    

some degree at least1 look out upon the 
world with his eyes1 see what he saw1   
and so be helped to feel as he felt4 ,we
 become the better acquainted with him  
in proportion as we are able to put     
ourselves in his place4 ,we can         
certainly estimate him more equitably   
according as we reproduce to our mind   
the scenes of his day4  ,this being so1 
before we go further with the personal  
history of ,fnelon the ,saint we shall  
do well to spend a little while         
familiarizing ourselves with the world  
of his day both civil and               
ecclesiastical4 ,how were matters in    
,church and ,state during the period in 
which this great man flourished8 ,what  
was going on among the nations in       
general1 and in ,france particularly8 ,a
 brief survey seems necessary to give us
 the right point of view4 ,since ,fnelon
 was born in #afea1 the second half of  
the seventeenth century would appear to 
be in the main his epoch4 ,what was the 
condition of things throughout          

,christendom then8  ,in ,america the    
middle of the seventeenth century saw   
the ,english making good their foothold 
on the rude ,atlantic shore1 in         
,virginia1 ,massachusetts1 ,new ,york1  
and a few other points1 contending with 
the ,indians1 the ,dutch1 and the home  
government1 jealous of their liberties1 
extending their trade1 and inaugurating 
great enterprises4 ,it was in #afef that
 the ,quakers arrived in ,boston4 ,a    
bloody persecution sprung up against    
them in the few years following1 and    
four were put to death4 ,it was still   
later in the century1 #afib1 that the   
horrible proceedings against witchcraft 
took place in ,salem1 where many were   
most unjustly hanged1 and many more     
tortured into confession of abominable  
falsehoods4 ,it is well to remember this
 when we grow indignant over the        
persecution of the ,huguenots in        
,france4 ,further north1 in ,acadie1 or 
,nova ,scotia1 and ,canada1 the ,french 
had already explored the ,st4 ,lawrence 

and the great lakes1 made some feeble   
settlements1 and converted some of the  
,indians4 ,their missionaries and       
adventurers were full of heroism and    
zeal4 ,later in the century they        
discovered the ,mississippi1 and claimed
 all the territory in that ,western     
region from its source to its mouth1    
calling it1 after the great king1       
,louisiana4  ,in ,england1 #afej saw    
,oliver ,cromwell in pretty complete    
possession of power1 ,charles ,i having 
been beheaded the year before4 ,in #afea
 the royal army was totally defeated at 
,worcester1 and ,charles ,,ii soon after
 escaped in disguise to ,france to come 
back triumphantly in #affj1 when the    
,lord ,protector had passed away4       
,during the ,commonwealth ,roman        
,catholics were deprived of the         
privilege of voting or holding office1  
and the use of the ,prayer-book was     
forbidden to ,episcopalians4 ,it was in 
the short reign of ,james ,,ii          
7#afhe-hh7 that ,judge ,jeffreys wrote  

his name with letters of blood in the   
annals of ,english history4 ,when the   
people turned to ,william of ,orange1   
the perfidious and tyrannical ,james was
 forced to flee with his family to      
,france1 and spent the remainder of his 
days at ,st4 ,germain1 a pensioner on   
the bounty of ,louis ,,xiv4 ,anne1 the  
younger daughter of ,james ,,ii1 reigned
 over ,england from #agja to #agad4  ,on
 the continent of ,europe the terrible  
,thirty ,years' ,war 7#afah-afdh7       
between ,protestants and ,catholics1    
memorable for the brave deeds of        
,gustavus ,adolphus1 had just closed in 
the ,peace of ,westphalia1 by which     
,brandenburg--the forerunner of         
,prussia--was enlarged1 and ,saxony     
strengthened1 while ,switzerland and the
 low countries1 or ,netherlands1 were   
acknowledged as independent ,states4    
,the ,belgic ,provinces1 between the    
,netherlands and ,france1 divided among 
themselves1 remained submissive to      
,spain and the ,roman ,catholic ,church4

 ,they became involved in the wars      
attending the decline of the ,spanish   
monarchy1 and during the remainder of   
the century were the theater of fierce  
struggles between contending armies1 and
 were subjected to many changes of      
boundaries4  ,central ,europe1 where    
were the ,states of ,bohemia1 ,bavaria1 
,moravia1 ,austria1 and smaller         
principalities1 was loosely confederated
 into the ,german ,empire under the     
,imperial ,diet at ,frankfort4          
,ferdinand ,,iii at this time held the  
imperial dignity4 ,his death was        
followed by the long reign of ,leopold  
,i 7#afeg-agje74 ,he attacked the ,turks
 on the ,east and the ,french monarch on
 the ,west4 ,from the former he obtained
 a great stretch of territory1 and in   
the combination which kept down the     
towering ambition of the latter he was  
one of the chief factors4 ,in the ,north
 was the strong kingdom of ,sweden--soon
 to be made still stronger by the       
victories of ,charles ,x--and the weak  

kingdom of ,denmark4 ,on the ,east were 
,poland and ,russia and the ,turk4 ,on  
the ,south were ,spain1 ,portugal1 and  
,italy4 ,portugal1 after a most         
honorable history had been annexed by   
,philip ,,ii to the ,spanish realm2 but 
in #afdj1 after a forced union of one   
hundred and sixty years1 it was freed by
 a bold and successful conspiracy of the
 nobles1 from all connection with       
,spain1 although its independence was   
not formally recognized till #affh4     
,spain had wholly lost her former       
headship in ,european politics and was  
in a bad way under the last rulers of   
the ,hapsburg dynasty1 bigoted1         
intolerant1 incompetent2 disordered     
finances1 impaired industries--due      
largely to the barbarous expulsion of   
the ,moors--and inferior military forces
 left her in the second rank of powers4 
,italy was a mere geographical          
expression1 the territory being split up
 under the rule of petty princes largely
 swayed by foreign influence2 much of   

the country indeed was under direct     
foreign dominion4 ,among the native     
rulers the ,dukes of ,savoy were perhaps
 the most enterprising and successful4  
,venice maintained a fair degree of     
prosperity4 ,naples was an appanage of  
the ,spanish crown4 ,the popes had      
larger territorial possessions1 in the  
center of the country1 than at any      
previous or subsequent time4 ,but this  
local importance was more than offset by
 loss in the larger sphere of influence 
and prerogative4 ,convenience1 indeed1  
occasionally led a prominent sovereign  
to submit some question to the papal    
judgment2 in many instances his wishes  
were openly disregarded1 and in the     
leading questions of ,european politics 
no deference was paid him4  ,an         
interesting episode occurring just at   
this time perhaps deserves mention4     
,queen ,christina of ,sweden1 the       
talented but eccentric daughter of the  
great ,gustavus ,adolphus1 in #afed     
abdicated her throne in favor of her    

cousin1 quitted the land of her fathers1
 was solemnly admitted into the ,roman  
,catholic ,church at ,innspruck1 and    
established her permanent residence in  
,rome till her death in #afhi4 ,the     
pope1 ,alexander ,,vii1 considered it   
the special distinction of his          
pontificate that he was permitted to    
welcome so distinguished a convert2 but 
she did not prove in all things wholly  
satisfactory1 not finding matters quite 
as she expected--a frequent experience  
in such cases4 ,to ,gilbert ,burnet1 the
 ,english ,bishop of ,salisbury1 who    
paid her a visit1 she said1 ,it was     
certain that the ,church was governed by
 the immediate care of ,god1 for none of
 the four popes that she had known since
 she came to ,rome had common sense4    
,she called them the first and the last 
of men4  ,the history of ,france during 
the period in which ,fnelon flourished  
must be given at somewhat greater length
 if we would properly comprehend the    
part which he took on the stage of      

action4 ,and especially must we attend  
to the character of ,louis ,,xiv1 with  
whom ,fnelon was brought into such      
exceeding close and fateful relations4  
,louis came to the throne in #afdc1 but 
as he was then only five years old he   
did not assume personal charge of the   
government4 ,cardinal ,mazarin1 who had 
succeeded the great ,richelieu at his   
death in #afdb1 was chief minister in   
the ,council of ,state which advised the
 ,queen ,mother and regent1 ,anne of    
,austria4 ,on the death of ,mazarin in  
#affa1 ,louis took supreme direction of 
affairs1 and retained it until his death
 in #agae4 ,it was a very long and1 in  
some respects1 a very successful reign1 
the most illustrious in ,french annals2 
a sort of ,solomonic era1 to be compared
 with the age of ,pericles in ,greece1  
,augustus in ,rome1 and ,elizabeth in   
,england4 ,it was brilliant in many     
directions2 an age of conquest and the  
extension of territory abroad2 an age of
 great personalities in literature and  

art at home4 ,among the latter are the  
well-known names of ,corneille1 the     
tragic poet2 ,moliere1 the master of    
comedy2 ,racine1 ,la ,fontaine1 ,la     
,rochefoucauld1 ,la ,bruyere1 ,pascal1  
,malebranche1 and ,madame de ,svign4    
,voltaire and ,rousseau were born during
 this reign1 but mainly flourished      
later4 ,among eminent painters were     
,poussin1 ,claude ,lorrain1 ,lebrun1 and
 ,mignard4 ,as architects1 ,mansart and 
,perrault were famous2 among sculptors1 
,piget2 among composers1 ,lulli4        
,celebrated in the pulpit were ,bossuet1
 ,bourdaloue1 ,massillon1 and ,flechier2
 as ,church historians1 ,natalis        
,alexander1 ,fleury1 and ,tillemont4 ,in
 the field the prestige of the ,french  
armies was upheld by the genius of      
,turenne1 ,cond1 ,vauban1 ,luxemburg1   
and ,catinat4 ,under these marshals many
 victories were won in an almost        
constant succession of wars with ,spain1
 ,holland1 ,england1 the ,empire1 and   
other antagonists4 ,the peace which     

,louis dictated to ,europe at ,nimeguen1
 ,february #e1 #afgi1 raised him to his 
highest point of power and glory4 ,the  
headship of the world seemed to be      
within his grasp1 if indeed it was not  
already attained4 ,his courtiers        
worshiped him as a demigod2 two         
triumphal arches were erected to his    
honor in ,paris2 foreign governments    
regarded him with keen apprehension or  
with servile awe4 ,he excited wonder and
 fear throughout the continent1 for his 
ambitious projects of still vaster      
dominion seemed to threaten the safety  
and independence of all his neighbors4  
,he was possessed of a strong mind1 a   
resolute will1 considerable sagacity and
 penetration1 much aptitude for         
business1 and an indefatigable industry4
 ,his powers of application were        
remarkable4 ,when he gave direction in  
#affa that he would be his own prime    
minister1 that all business should pass 
through his hands1 and all questions be 
decided directly by himself1 every one  

expected that he would soon tire of the 
drudgery which this would impose2 but he
 kept it up till the end of his life1   
laboring regularly in his cabinet eight 
hours a day4 ,he had the most           
extravagant ideas of the royal          
prerogative4 ,he was an absolute1       
irresponsible monarch1 accustomed to say
 and mean1 ,the ,state3 it is myself4   
,even the property of the realm he      
considered as his4 ,in an instruction to
 his son he declared1 ,kings are        
absolute lords and have naturally the   
full and free disposal of all the goods 
possessed1 as well by ,churchmen as by  
laymen1 to use them at all times        
according to the general need of their  
,state4 ,having this conception of his  
power1 regarding his authority as       
delegated immediately from heaven1 he   
surrounded himself with those who would 
be subservient to his will1 and the one 
avenue of advancement was his favor2    
without this1 virtue and merit had      
little or no chance of recognition4 ,he 

made his court at ,versailles a very    
splendid one1 everywhere praised and    
admired as the model of taste and       
refinement4 ,it became the center of    
fashion for ,europe1 and the only place 
of high attraction in the kingdom4      
,henri ,martin1 in his ,history of      
,france1 says3 ,whoever had once tasted 
this life so brilliant1 so animated1 so 
varied1 could no longer quit it and     
return to his native manor without dying
 of languor and ennui4 ,everything      
seemed cold and dead away from this     
place of enjoyment1 which appeared1 to  
town and province1 as the very ideal of 
human life4 ,it is estimated that a sum1
 equal to more than #djj1jjj1jjj francs 
at the present rate1 was laid out on the
 palaces and pleasure-grounds of        
,versailles1 transforming an unsightly  
district into fairy-land4  ,was this    
,louis ,,xiv1 then1 a really great man8 
,not when tried by tests that go far and
 reach deep4 ,as one has said3 ,his     
claim to renown lies more in the        

diligent and tireless ambition with     
which he improved favoring circumstances
 than in the creation of great results  
out of small means by force of personal 
genius and energy4 ,it is also a        
limiting factor in our estimate of      
,louis that he exercised no care to     
husband the resources of his country1   
and sacrificed to thirst for personal   
display the chances of future           
prosperity4 ,this imposing and brilliant
 reign left ,france exhausted and       
harboring within herself the germs of   
violent revolution4 ,in the latter part 
of his reign the coalition against him  
under ,marlborough and ,prince ,eugene  
proved eminently successful1 and much of
 his ill-gotten acquisitions had to be  
disgorged4 ,moreover1 his reign was also
 a failure in that1 for the sake of     
slight and temporary gains on the       
continent of ,europe1 he threw away the 
opportunity to forestall in ,asia and   
,america the progress of ,england1 so   
soon to pass ,france in the race for    

world supremacy1 and left his kingdom1  
at the close of his reign1 exhausted and
 crippled1 in no condition to enter upon
 the decisive stage of the great        
conflict whose approach he did not      
foresee4 ,before his burial the eyes of 
,frenchmen had begun to be open to the  
shadowy side of his reign2 the glamour  
and the glory could no longer hide the  
tyranny and the shame1 and very few     
mourned at the death of the magnificent 
despot4 ,he was far from great also in  
his private life2 for that was1 for a   
long time1 one of unblushing            
licentiousness4 ,different mistresses   
were made successively1 and in part     
simultaneously1 the rivals of his       
dishonored queen1 ,maria ,theresa of    
,spain1 who died in #afhc4 ,no less than
 ten children were born to him out of   
wedlock1 and publicly acknowledged4     
,after the death of his queen he did    
somewhat better1 being privately married
 to ,madame de ,maintenon1 as already   
noted4  ,the cruel persecutions of the  

,huguenots must also be set down against
 the king1 although in this1 surely1 we 
should make much allowance because of   
the feeling of the age in such          
matters--a feeling not by any means the 
same as in our day4 ,louis1 like many   
others before and since1 endeavored to  
atone for the excesses and frailties of 
his private life by his public zeal for 
orthodoxy1 fancying that the slaughter  
of heretics would offset his adulteries4
 ,his crowning crime was the revocation 
of the ,edict of ,nantes4 ,by this      
arbitrary act of unprovoked despotism he
 annulled forever all the highly prized 
privileges granted to the ,huguenots1   
after their large sufferings and heroic 
efforts in self-defense1 by ,henry ,,iv 
and ,louis ,,xiii4 ,he absolutely       
prohibited the exercise of their        
religion throughout the kingdom1 with   
the sole exception of ,alsace2 ordered  
their temples to be leveled with the    
ground1 and their ministers to quit     
,france within fifteen days2 forbade the

 people to follow their pastors into    
exile under pain of confiscation and    
condemnation to the galleys2 and        
required their children to be baptized  
henceforth by the ,catholic priests and 
educated as members of the ,established 
,church4 ,before this1 in the earlier   
years of the reign1 stringent measures  
had been set in operation for the       
conversion of the ,protestants and the  
establishment of uniformity of faith and
 ,church government throughout the      
kingdom4 ,louis was intolerant of       
dissent1 partly from political motives4 
,he could not brook that any of his     
subjects should exercise so much        
independence and freedom of thought as  
was involved in worshiping ,god or      
thinking about ,him after a different   
pattern from the one set by himself4    
,they ought all to take their opinions  
from the throne1 he held1 in religious  
as well as in secular matters1 and      
because they did not they were extremely
 objectionable and dangerous4 ,as early 

as #afef a disposition was shown to     
interpret the ,edict of ,nantes--given  
by ,henry ,,iv1 ,april #ae1 #aeih--;in a
 narrow partisan fashion1 to the        
disadvantage of the ,protestants4       
,numbers of the ,reformed places of     
worship were shut up on frivolous       
pretenses4 ,the worshipers were excluded
 from all public functions1 from the    
liberal professions1 from the           
universities1 from engaging in various  
branches of commerce and industry4 ,they
 were forbidden to intermarry with      
,catholics1 and their children were     
encouraged to forsake the faith of their
 parents by being declared capable of   
choosing for themselves at the age of   
seven years4 ,every sort of pressure was
 applied4 ,a ,bureau of ,conversions was
 established under the direction of the 
,minister ,pelissier1 who disbursed the 
funds intrusted to him at the rate of   
six livres for every abjuration of the  
,reformed religion4 ,milder measures not
 proving sufficiently efficacious and   

speedy1 more severe and savage means    
were employed4 ,dragoons were sent into 
the disturbed districts and quartered on
 the inhabitants2 they were permitted1  
and even encouraged1 to abandon         
themselves to every kind of brutal      
license1 violence1 and excess1          
establishing a veritable reign of terror
 wherever they appeared4 ,it is no      
wonder that1 under these horrors1       
wearied and worried well-nigh to death  
by such intolerable impositions1 great  
numbers of ,huguenots recanted1         
nominally1 although1 of course1 their   
real beliefs were not changed4 ,and when
 the protecting ,edict was formally     
revoked1 still more fearful cruelties   
followed4 ,multitudes of the ,reformed1 
obstinately refusing obedience1 were    
consigned to loathsome dungeons1 racked 
with exquisite tortures1 and treated    
with every kind of outrage short of     
actual murder4 ,numbers of females were 
immured for life in convents2 infants   
were torn from the arms of their        

mothers2 their property was destroyed1  
and whole districts were laid waste4    
,how far the king was strictly          
responsible for the whole of these      
horrors is a matter of some question2   
but it is certain that he received with 
great satisfaction the chorus of        
congratulations1 on this memorable      
,catholic triumph1 from the court       
sycophants1 who hailed him as the new   
,constantine1 and who included in their 
number such men as ,bossuet1 ,massillon1
 ,racine1 and ,la ,fontaine4 ,but ,louis
 inflicted almost as deadly a blow upon 
his country by these persecutions as the
 rulers of ,spain had upon theirs when  
they drove out the ,moors and ,jews4    
,france robbed herself of her best      
citizens1 the most enterprising and     
industrious of her skilled artisans4    
,they fled abroad to the number of at   
least a quarter of a million1 escaping  
from ,france to enrich ,england1        
,holland1 and other countries with the  
fruits of their labors4 ,among them was 

the ,duke of ,schomberg1 one of the best
 generals of his time1 who placed his   
sword at the disposal of the ,prince of 
,orange4 ,many also who remained were so
 crippled and depressed that they could 
no longer render their best service4    
,moreover1 a bitter and profound        
resentment was kindled in the           
,protestant ,states of ,europe1 which   
acted very unfavorably upon the foreign 
relations of ,france1 and strengthened  
the hands of the coalition against her4 
,so1 in every sense1 the policy must be 
adjudged a mistaken one1 counting       
against the greatness of the king4  ,it 
is important to inquire what was the    
state of the ,french ,church at this    
period4 ,it is impossible1 of course1   
for us to enter into extended details1  
but we can hardly understand either     
,fnelon or his times without knowing    
something about the ecclesiastical      
religious questions which were then     
agitating the public mind4 ,religion was
 by no means in a stagnant state1 or    

treated with indifference and apathy2 it
 everywhere excited keenest attention4  
,no subject was more eagerly discussed  
or occupied a larger share of thought4  
,besides the general controversy between
 ,protestants and ,romanists1 there were
 many divisions in the ranks of the     
latter4 ,there was fierce conflict      
between the ,jesuits and ,jansenists1   
also between the ,gallicans and         
,ultramontanists4 ,for a full recital of
 the story our readers will be obliged  
to consult ,church histories and        
cyclopedias4  ,of the ,jesuits little   
need here be said2 their history is very
 well known4 ,established by ,ignatius  
,loyola in #aedj1 the system was1 in the
 period we are considering1 something   
over a hundred years old1 and numbering 
about fifteen thousand members1 of whom 
half were priests4 ,its leading purposes
 were the overthrow of ,protestantism   
and the strengthening of the papacy4 ,it
 had a magnificent organization1 it     
largely controlled the education of the 

youth of the better classes of society1 
and it was intensely zealous in         
missionary operations1 ,francis ,xavier1
 so illustrious in this matter1 being   
one of its original founders4 ,in       
politics it often favored popular       
rights1 especially if it would benefit  
the papacy by reducing the power of the 
sovereign2 yet it usually secured       
control over the princes by obtaining   
their ear in the confessional4 ,in      
doctrine it was opposed to              
,augustinianism1 and in ethics became   
notorious for most dangerous looseness4 
,it should not be forgotten1 however1   
that the order had at all times many    
members eminent for piety and strict    
morality1 some of the highest saints    
being numbered with them4 ,in ,france   
the important office of confessor to the
 king was filled by members of this     
order under ,henry ,,iv1 ,louis ,,xiii1 
,,xiv1 ,,xv2 and1 of course1 in this way
 an enormous influence was exercised    
upon the royal policy at home and       

abroad4 ,the connivance of these        
confessors with the scandalous lives of 
the kings did more than anything else to
 undermine respect for the ,roman       
,catholic ,church and for religion in   
general among the educated classes4     
,between the ,jesuits and ,jansenists   
there was fierce war4  ,the latter took 
their name from ,bishop ,cornelius      
,jansen1 of ,ypern1 who died in #afch1  
after devoting his whole life to the    
study of the works of ,st4 ,augustine4  
,his followers were ,augustinians in the
 fullest sense of the term1 accepting   
the extreme doctrines of election and   
predestination which are known among    
,protestants as ,calvinism2 but this in 
no way predisposed them to favor the    
,huguenots4 ,on the contrary they seemed
 to hate them all the more because of   
this manifest approach to them in some  
of their principles1 partly because it  
exposed them to a galling criticism from
 the ,jesuits4 ,the ,jansenists in many 
ways recommend themselves to our        

approval4 ,they opposed a simply formal 
righteousness1 insisted on the necessity
 for an inward preparation to receive   
benefits from the sacraments1 and laid  
stress upon the reading of the          
,scriptures4 ,in regard to morals1 they 
advocated rigid self-discipline1 were   
foes of luxury1 the theater1 and other  
doubtful or noxious pleasures4 ,they    
also had more independence than most    
classes of society4 ,they were not ready
 to surrender everything to the absolute
 sovereignty of the king2 they stood for
 liberty in the ,church4 ,in point of   
ability and culture they furnished some 
of the best minds of ,france1 and some  
of the best models of literary          
excellence which the age could boast4   
,blaise ,pascal1 whose ,provincial      
,letters 7#afef7 against the ,jesuits   
inflicted upon them so severe a blow by 
their scathing exposures1 was of this   
party4 ,so was ,de ,sacy1 who translated
 the ,bible into the version in general 
use2 and ,antoine ,arnauld1 the         

celebrated scholar and ,doctor of the   
,sorbonne1 the theological department of
 the ,university of ,paris4 ,his sister1
 ,jacqueline1 became abbess of the      
convent of ,port ,royal near ,paris1 and
 made it renowned for its purity and    
piety4 ,jansenism or ,calvinistic       
,catholicism1 as it has been called1    
finally went down before its enemies1   
the popes deciding against it more than 
once4 ,on many accounts it deserved a   
better fate2 but we can not regret that 
such a travesty of ,christianity as the 
sole salvation of an arbitrarily limited
 and eternally selected few was as      
conclusively defeated in the ,roman     
,catholic ,church as it has since been  
in the ,protestant4  ,the ,jesuits were 
,ultramontanes2 that is1 they did       
everything they could to strengthen the 
authority from beyond the mountains1    
residing in the city on the ,tiber4 ,the
 ,jansenists favored ,gallicanism4 ,a   
few words are necessary about this      
latter1 for it had a large place in the 

discussions of the time1 and echoes of  
it have continued to our day1 the long  
conflict coming to an end in the recent 
rupture of the ,concordat between       
,france and the ,vatican4 ,the quarrel  
is of very long standing4 ,it is        
historically certain that at a very     
early period the ,national ,church of   
,france had a character of freedom      
peculiar to itself4 ,the ,frankish      
,church in the time of ,charlemagne gave
 evidence of a spirit and temper        
obviously different from the ,italian   
ideal of the ,church as organized under 
the popes4 ,the ,french ,parliaments    
from time to time manfully resisted     
encroachments on their powers or those  
of their kings1 from beyond the         
mountains4 ,as early as #abfi1 ,louis   
,,ix of ,france issued an edict--so it  
is alleged--called the ,pragmatic       
,sanction1 in which he strove to protect
 the freedom of ,church elections and   
the rights of patrons from the          
interference of the popes1 and forbade  

papal taxation without the consent of   
the monarch4 ,this conflict went on     
through the centuries with various      
incidents and differing results1 which  
need not here be followed1 although it  
is a very interesting story4 ,in the    
time of ,louis ,,xiv matters naturally  
came to a head through the determination
 of that monarch to extend his absolute 
authority over the ,church as well as   
the ,state1 and through the support     
which he received from the strong       
feeling of nationality which dominated  
the ,french people during his reign1    
,louis's aim was to exercise such power 
in ecclesiastical matters in ,france as 
,henry ,,viii had taken to himself in   
,england1 but not to effect a complete  
rupture with ,rome4 ,in particular he   
determined to enforce the right of the  
crown to the revenue and the patronage  
connected with vacant sees1 which had   
long been exercised over a large part of
 the realm2 he insisted on extending it 
to all the provinces4 ,an assembly of   

the clergy was called in #afhb1 under   
the lead of ,bossuet1 the chief champion
 of the king in these matters4 ,four    
important articles formulating the      
opposition of ,france to the high claims
 of the papacy were drawn up by         
,bossuet1 subscribed to by this         
assembly1 and confirmed by the civil    
authorities4 ,they contained in         
substance the following specifications3 
7#a7 ,the pope's authority1 as also that
 of the ,church in general1 is confined 
to things spiritual4 ,he has no         
prerogative to depose kings and princes 
or to release their subjects from       
allegiance4 7#b7 ,the decrees           
promulgated at ,constance respecting the
 authority of ,ecumenical ,councils     
subsist in full force4 7#c7 ,in the use 
of his power the pope must respect the  
ecclesiastical canons1 as also such     
constitutions as are received in the    
kingdom and ,church of ,france4 7#d7    
,while the pope has the principal voice 
in matters of faith1 his judgment is    

subject to amendment until it has been  
approved by the ,church4  ,bossuet1 the 
leading spirit of this assembly1 and    
indeed the most powerful and commanding 
,churchman of his day1 esteemed the     
boasted infallibility of the pope a     
baseless fiction4 ,he allowed that      
indefectibility belongs to the chair of 
,peter in the sense that heresy can not 
find there any continuous and stubborn  
support4 ,but this1 he maintained1 in no
 wise precluded a temporary aberration  
of the individual pontiff or the        
competency of the universal ,church to  
administer correction to the pontiff4   
,such principles had been at home in    
,france ever since the era of the great 
,reform ,councils of the fifteenth      
century4 ,the pope--,innocent ,,xi was  
then in the chair--was highly incensed1 
and refused confirmation to those       
members of the assembly of #afhb whom   
the king nominated to episcopal sees4   
,affairs remained in a very unsettled   
condition for a considerable interval1  

no mode of accommodation being reached1 
each party standing its ground2 but in  
#afia the ,french ,church found itself  
with thirty-five bishoprics vacant1 and 
the king allowed the twelve signers of  
the declaration whom he had nominated as
 bishops1 but whom the pope had thus far
 refused to recognize as such1 to       
retract all that had displeased the     
pontiff4 ,the pope also gained some     
advantage from the bitter partisan      
conflicts within the ,gallican ,church  
during the closing years of ,louis      
,,xiv4  ,as to the amount of spiritual  
life in the ,church during these years  
it is not so easy to acquire reliable   
information as it is concerning the more
 outward events4 ,but there are many    
indications that it was very            
considerable1 that the ,roman ,catholic 
,church at that period was in a very    
much better state than it is at present4
 ,there was an evident desire among a   
large number of its clergy to rid it of 
its gross superstitions4 ,they opposed  

some of its absurdities1 omitted many of
 its ridiculous ceremonies1 endeavored  
to render ,catholicism more rational and
 intelligent1 more ,scriptural and      
pious4 ,there are tokens that ,france   
had then a very large number of true    
followers of the ,savior2 some in       
elevated stations whose virtues shine   
afar1 but many more in obscure          
positions1 ,god's hidden ones1 known    
only to ,him and to those immediately   
around them4 ,among the more prominent  
of the writers on spiritual subjects    
flourishing at this time in ,france may 
be mentioned ,antoinette ,bourignon     
7died #afhj71 whose published works     
amount to twenty-five volumes3 one of   
her hymns1 ,come1 ,savior1 ,jesus1 from 
above1 translated by ,john ,wesley1 is  
in our ,hymnal1 ,no4 #cgi4 ,peter       
,poiret 7died in #agai71 court preacher 
of the ,palatine1 was an admirer of     
,madame ,bourignon1 whose works he      
published2 he also brought out the works
 of ,madame ,guyon in thirty-nine       

volumes2 he was both a philosopher and a
 deeply pious man4 ,the ,baron de ,renty
 7#afaa-afdi7 was a man of the          
profoundest spirituality1 greatly       
admired by ,wesley1 who spoke of him in 
the highest terms1 and published his    
life4 ,alphonsus de ,sarasa 7died in    
#afff7 gave to the world ,the ,art of   
,always ,rejoicing1 a beautiful book1   
filled with the deepest ,christian      
philosophy4 ,the ,abb ,guillor1 also a  
contemporary of ,fnelon and belonging to
 the same school of piety1 left to the  
world as his monument a treatise on     
,self-,renunciation1 or the ,art of     
,dying to ,self and ,living for the     
,love of ,jesus4 ,and ,nicholas ,herman1
 better known as ,brother ,lawrence1    
admitted1 in #afff1 as a lay brother    
among the barefooted ,carmelites at     
,paris1 is still known in the realm of  
pure and undefiled religion by his      
letters on ,the ,practice of the        
,presence of ,god1 published at the     
instance of the ,cardinal de ,noailles4 

,st4 ,vincent de ,paul 7died #affj71 to 
mention but one more of these           
illustrious names1 founder of the order 
of ,sisters of ,charity1 was a          
philanthropist of the first rank4       
,neglected children1 condemned          
criminals1 prisoners of the cell and the
 galley1 all classes of the poor and the
 unfortunate1 received from him a       
sympathy as practical as it was warm and
 persevering4 ,consecrated activity he  
regarded as the essence of religion4    
,the spirit of his life is well         
expressed in his own words3 ,the genuine
 mark of loving ,god is a good and      
perfect action4 ,it is only our works   
which accompany us into the other life4 
,from all this it is seen that the age  
and land which produced ,fnelon had many
 other sons and daughters of very       
similar excellence4                     
,,chapter ,,iii4                        
,,preceptor ,,to ,,the ,,prince4        
,louis ,,xiv1 being bent upon the       
subjection of the ,huguenots1 and       

knowing full well that violence alone   
could accomplish the matter only in     
part1 cast about in his mind for a      
suitable person to undertake the milder 
rle of persuasion4 ,fnelon had already  
attracted notice both by his good work  
at the community of ,new ,catholics and 
also by the treatise which he had       
written in defense of the ,apostolic    
,succession4 ,so when ,bossuet suggested
 him as a suitable commissioner for the 
districts of ,poitou and ,saintonge1 in 
the ,west1 not far from the ,protestant 
stronghold of ,la ,rochelle1 districts  
where great confusion and irritation    
prevailed1 and where only a tender1     
judicious hand could hope to guide      
matters1 the king very gladly made the  
appointment4 ,fnelon1 before accepting  
it1 made two stipulations4 ,one was that
 he should be allowed to choose his     
fellow-workers4 ,he selected the ,abb de
 ,langeron1 his lifelong friend1 the    
,abb ,fleury1 the well-known historian1 
the ,abb ,bertier1 and the ,abb ,milon1 

who later on became respectively        
,bishops of ,blois and of ,condom4 ,the 
other stipulation was that the troops1  
together with all that savored of       
military terrorism1 should be withdrawn 
before he entered on what should be     
solely a work of peace and mercy4 ,there
 had been terrible doings and violent   
outrages with which ,fnelon could have  
no sympathy4 ,there is no doubt whatever
 upon this point4 ,his own words are    
abundantly on record4 ,although the     
country was so disturbed1 he positively 
refused a military escort2 and when the 
king represented the danger he might be 
exposed to1 he answered3 ,sire1 ought a 
missionary to fear danger8 ,if you hope 
for an apostolical harvest1 we must go  
in the true character of apostles4 ,i   
would rather perish by the hands of my  
mistaken brethren than see one of them  
exposed to the inevitable violence of   
the military4 ,in a letter to a duke he 
says1 ,the work of ,god is not effected 
in the heart by force2 that is not the  

true spirit of the ,gospel4  ,he had the
 extremely difficult task of showing to 
,protestants whose property had been    
pillaged1 whose families had been       
scattered1 whose blood had been shed    
like water1 the truth and excellence of 
the religion of their persecutors4 ,that
 this could be done to any very         
extensive degree might well be          
questioned4 ,but the missionaries were  
characterized by ability1 mildness1     
prudence1 benevolence1 and sound        
judgment1 and they did all that any     
reasonable persons could expect4 ,the   
people of these provinces were amazed to
 see men of high birth and position     
leaving the court and capital to come   
among them4 ,they supposed that1 at all 
events1 such men would be luxurious and 
haughty1 as they had been told2 but     
when1 on the contrary1 they saw the     
missionaries nothing but lowly1         
self-denying1 simple-mannered priests1  
whose real aims seemed to be the        
temporal as well as spiritual advantage 

of those among whom they lived1         
prejudice began to melt away4 ,in       
,february1 #afhf--the mission began in  
,december1 #afhe1 and lasted till ,july1
 #afhf1 being renewed for a few months  
in the next year1 ,may to ,july1        
#afhg--;,fnelon wrote to the ,marquis de
 ,seignelai1 ,secretary of ,state1 and  
brother to the ,duchess de              
,beauvilliers3 ,in the present condition
 of men's minds we could easily bring   
them all to confession and communion if 
we chose to use a little pressure and so
 glorify our mission4 ,but what is the  
good of bringing men to confession who  
do not yet recognize the ,church8 ,how  
can we give ,jesus ,christ to those who 
do not believe they are receiving ,him8 
,we should expect to bring a terrible   
curse upon us if we were satisfied with 
hasty1 superficial work1 all meant for  
show4 ,we can but multiply our          
instructions1 invite the people to come 
heartily to sacraments1 but give them   
only to those who come of their own     

accord to seek them in unreserved       
submission4 ,i must not forget to add   
that we want a great quantity of books1 
especially ,new ,testaments4 ,again he  
writes later3 ,the corn you have sent so
 cheaply proves to the people that our  
charity is practical4 ,it is the most   
persuasive kind of controversy4 ,it     
amazes them1 for they see the exact     
reverse of all their ministers have     
taught them as incontrovertibly true4   
,we need preachers to explain the       
,gospel every ,sunday with a loving1    
winning authority2 people brought up in 
dissent are only to be won by the words 
spoken to them4 ,we must give ,new      
,testaments profusely everywhere1 but   
they must be in large type2 the people  
can not read small print4 ,we can not   
expect them to buy ,catholic books4 ,it 
is a great thing if they will read what 
costs them nothing2 indeed the greater  
proportion can not afford to buy4 ,he   
wrote also to ,bossuet in ,march1 #afhf1
 ,our converts get on1 but very slowly2 

it is no trifling matter to change the  
opinions of a whole people4 ,it is very 
evident that ,fnelon had the most       
sincere desire for the conversion of the
 ,protestants1 believing1 of course1 as 
he did1 from the bottom of his heart1   
that they were destined to eternal woe4 
,brought up in the atmosphere in which  
he was1 he could not possibly sympathize
 with their position1 could not regard  
their heroism as other than obstinacy4  
,but such was the natural mildness of   
his disposition and his acquaintance    
with the demands of genuine religion1   
that he could in no way be content with 
a merely nominal acquiescence or        
consent1 and with the use of that force 
by which such acquiescence was obtained4
  ,his mission to ,saintonge has been   
called a dark page in his life4 ,yet the
 strongly prejudiced writer who so      
characterizes it says in the same       
connection1 after referring to ,fnelon's
 firm stand against violence and the    
forcing of conscience3 ,to us this      

measure of clemency seems bare and      
scanty enough2 in ,fnelon's own time it 
was both unusual and effective4 ,his    
counsels of mercy had weight with the   
minister1 and led to the suppression of 
various abuses1 civil as well as        
ecclesiastical4 ,they manifestly gained 
for him the affection of his proselytes1
 and1 stirring up against him the bile  
of the more rigid ,catholics1 seem to   
have stood in the way of his promotion  
to the bishopric4 ,it was a little after
 this that he was appointed to the ,see 
of ,poitiers1 which was the chief city  
of ,poitou1 but ,de ,harlai1 who by this
 time was anything but a friend1        
succeeded in getting it immediately     
revoked2 and the next year the          
archbishop was again successful in his  
unworthy maneuvers4 ,the ,bishop of     
,rochelle had been greatly impressed by 
the zeal and gentle wisdom of the young 
missioner1 and he now came to ,paris1   
without giving ,fnelon any hint of his  
intention1 to ask the king to appoint   

him as ,coadjutor ,bishop of ,rochelle4 
,it would have been done but for the    
insinuations of ,de ,harlai that the    
attraction between the two men was a    
mutual leaning to ,jansenism1 and as    
this was always a sore point with       
,louis1 he at once refused to make the  
appointment4 ,fnelon might easily have  
refuted these assertions--for there was 
not a word of truth in them1 as his     
close friendship with ,bossuet1         
,tronson1 and others1 showed--but he did
 not take the trouble so to do4 ,he was 
not ambitious of dignities4  ,was his   
mission to ,saintonge and ,poitou a dark
 page in his history8 ,we can hardly    
look upon it in this light4 ,it seems to
 us that he comes out of it with        
considerable credit4 ,can we take it    
amiss in him that he was a stanch       
adherent of the ,roman ,catholic        
,church1 not only at this time1 but     
throughout all his life8 ,not if we are 
reasonable1 and do not demand miracles  
where there is no occasion for expecting

 them4 ,shall we withhold our admiration
 from those who do not rise entirely    
superior to all their surroundings1 and 
see things as we1 in totally different  
conditions1 see them8 ,in that case1    
dealt with after so harsh a judgment1 we
 ourselves might come off badly1 and we 
should most certainly have to bar out   
from our favor a very large proportion  
of the men who have done the most for   
the world's advancement4  ,it was about 
this same time that ,sir ,matthew ,hale 
in ,england 7he died in #afgf7--who was 
reckoned the best judge of his time1    
acute1 learned1 sensible1 setting       
himself strongly against bribery1 one of
 the serious vices of his age1 a friend 
of ,richard ,baxter1 an austere scholar1
 leaning to the side of the             
,puritans--sentenced women to be        
executed for witchcraft1 and sent ,john 
,bunyan to jail for frequenting         
conventicles1 politely dismissing1      
without redress1 his wife1 who pleaded  
for his discharge4 ,and in our own time 

we have seen the ,earl of ,shaftesbury1 
who did such wonderful things for the   
oppressed in some directions1 most      
bitter against the reformers in all     
other lines except his own1 the         
stanchest of ,tories1 and the most rigid
 of ,churchmen1 denouncing the          
democratic principle as anti-,christian1
 and upholding the infamous ,conventicle
 ,act1 which forbade worship in a       
private house by more than twenty       
persons4 ,similar inconsistencies can be
 pointed out in the record of nearly all
 good men4 ,what does it prove8 ,simply 
that it is given to very few to rise    
much above the age in which they live1  
or to be at all points independent of   
the impress placed upon them in their   
early years4 ,we see no reason to       
believe that ,fnelon's attitude toward  
the ,protestants of his day was other   
than an entirely sincere and            
conscientious one1 such as might be     
fairly looked for in a person of his    
surroundings4  ,it is possible to impute

 sinister and selfish motives to any1 if
 one is so disposed1 but we see no      
benefit from this policy4 ,it is not the
 way we would wish to be treated        
ourselves4 ,almost every act of a man's 
life is susceptible of an evil          
construction1 if sufficient pains is    
taken and sufficient force applied4 ,but
 we can not join with those who appear  
to delight in pulling down from their   
pedestals all that have been lifted     
above their fellows in goodness by the  
general suffrage of mankind4 ,truth1 of 
course1 is to be sought at all costs4   
,but it makes a vast difference from    
what standpoint the facts are           
approached1 whether with suspicion and  
aversion1 or cordial appreciation and   
comprehension4 ,there is often an       
underlying dislike to a certain type of 
character or to certain sentiments and  
opinions1 because of the wide difference
 between them and those which the writer
 himself holds and practices1 which     
makes it impossible that he should see  

them in an unbiased light4 ,we can not  
escape the conclusion that ,fnelon has  
been treated by some recent writers in  
this manner1 and we protest against its 
unfairness4  ,it may be truthfully said 
that ,fnelon1 while doing faithfully    
what appeared to him the duty of the    
hour on this mission1 did not           
particularly enjoy it4 ,he had no love  
for life in the country or for the work 
in which he was engaged4 ,he longed for 
the quiet of his former post1 with its  
larger opportunities for study and      
reflection1 and for the time when he    
should be free to return to ,paris4 ,in 
a letter to ,bossuet he playfully       
threatens to bring suspicion of heresy  
upon himself or incur a lucky disgrace  
that might give him excuse for his      
recall4 ,he was permitted1 shortly after
 this1 to go back to his place at the   
,new ,catholics1 where for some two     
years more he occupied himself in a     
quiet1 inconspicuous manner4 ,summing up
 the results of his controversial work  

among the ,huguenots1 we are disposed to
 conclude1 with one of his biographers1 
that if his moderation and humanity in  
an age in which such qualities were not 
esteemed1 were remembered against him   
when other clouds were gathering1 and   
contributed to his ultimate ruin1 they  
add no less grace to the record of his  
life1 and must have deepened his        
influence with those whose eyes were    
undimmed by prejudice and bigotry4  ,the
 most important period in the life of   
,fnelon was now to begin2 that for which
 the earlier years were but a           
preparation2 that which would color and 
dominate all his succeeding days4 ,the  
time had come when the little grandson  
of the king1 the ,duke of ,burgundy1 the
 hope of ,france 7for his father1 the   
dauphin1 was a failure1 wholly          
incompetent to fill any large place71   
should pass from the hands of nurses to 
masculine rule4 ,what could be of       
greater importance1 considering how much
 was at stake for the kingdom1 than the 

proper selection of those who should    
take this weighty charge8 ,when the     
dauphin had been at a similar stage of  
his education he was committed to the   
care of the ,duke de ,montausier and    
,bossuet as the greatest and most       
celebrated men of their day4 ,but though
 they did their best1 the course they   
took was not in all respects well       
advised1 and the results1 at least1 had 
not been satisfactory4 ,this would make 
the utmost care now all the more        
imperative4 ,happily the king was fully 
alive to his responsibility1 and1 in    
addition to his own penetration1 had the
 benefit of good counsel in the matter4 
,madame de ,maintenon was now a power at
 court1 and was using her influence in  
the best directions4 ,she was a warm    
friend of the ,duke de ,beauvilliers1   
who also stood high in the good graces  
of ,louis2 for the monarch1 in spite of 
his own serious lapses from virtue1     
admired it in others1 and knew its      
importance with the young4 ,the duke was

 accordingly made governor of the royal 
grandchildren1 ,burgundy and his two    
younger brothers1 with unlimited power  
of nominating all the other officers    
about them and all the inferior         
attendants4 ,he had no hesitation as to 
the best preceptor ,france could produce
 for the little prince1 and immediately 
named ,fnelon1 a choice which was loudly
 applauded by the public throughout the 
kingdom4 ,the people said that ,louis   
the ,great had once more outshone all   
earlier monarchs1 and shown himself     
wiser than ,phillip of ,macedon when he 
appointed ,aristotle tutor to his son4  
,bossuet was overjoyed at the good      
fortune of ,church and ,state1 and      
regretted only that the ,marquis de     
,fnelon had not lived to see an         
elevation of the merit which hid itself 
with so much care4 ,it was a great      
surprise to the recipient1 who was      
leading his ordinary retired life1      
neither seeking nor expecting court     
favor4 ,it was a great gratification to 

his friends1 who poured in lavish       
congratulations4 ,but ,m4 ,tronson1 the 
wise old tutor from ,st4 ,sulpice1 wrote
 that his joy was mixed with fear1      
considering the perils to which his     
favorite pupil would now be exposed4 ,he
 says3 ,it opens the door to earthly    
greatness1 but you must fear lest it    
should close that of the real greatness 
of heaven4 ,you are thrown into a region
 where the ,gospel of ,jesus ,christ is 
little known1 and where even those who  
know it use their knowledge chiefly as a
 means to win human respect4 ,if ever   
the study and meditation of ,holy       
,scripture were necessary to you1 now   
indeed they have become overwhelmingly  
indispensable4 ,above all1 it is of     
infinite importance that you never lose 
sight of the final hour of death1 when  
all this world's glory will fade away   
like a dream1 and every earthly stay on 
which you may have leaned must fail4    
,this counsel was most creditable to    
both tutor and pupil1 showing a love    

stronger than ordinary friendship4 ,the 
post which seemed so dazzling and so    
promising did indeed prove one of much  
danger as well as glory1 but not exactly
 in the way that the aged teacher       
anticipated4  ,the ,duke of ,burgundy1  
now seven years old1 was1 in the most   
emphatic sense1 an enfant terrible4 ,he 
was very different from his heavy1      
stupid father1 inheriting some of his   
qualities1 it is said1 from his mother1 
,mary ,anne of ,bavaria1 a delicate1    
melancholy1 unattractive princess1      
passionate1 proud1 and caustic4         
,burgundy was a frail1 unhealthy        
creature1 whose body lacked symmetry as 
well as his mind4 ,one shoulder very    
early outgrew the other1 defying the    
most cruel efforts of the surgeons to   
set it right1 and doing serious mischief
 to his general health4 ,his nervous    
system was much deranged1 so that he was
 subject to hurricanes of passion4 ,the 
least contradiction made him furious4   
,he would fall into ungovernable fits of

 rage even against inanimate objects4   
,he had an insatiable appetite for all  
sorts of pleasure4 ,his pride and       
arrogance were indescribable4 ,mankind  
he looked upon as atoms with whom he had
 nothing in common2 his brothers were   
only intermediate beings between him and
 the human race4 ,he had a quick1       
penetrating mind1 and a marvelous       
memory4 ,he was stiff against threats1  
on his guard against flattery1 amenable 
only to reason2 but by no means always  
to that4 ,often when it reasserted      
itself1 after one of his tornadoes1 he  
was so much ashamed of himself that he  
fell into a new fit of rage4 ,he was1   
however1 frank and truthful in the      
extreme4  ,such was the prince who--with
 his brothers1 the ,duke of ,anjou1     
afterwards ,philip ,v of ,spain1 and the
 ,duke of ,berri--was committed entirely
 to the care of ,fnelon4 ,when he       
accepted his new appointment he         
abandoned all other offices and         
occupations1 permitting himself no      

distractions even of friendship1 that he
 might concentrate all his powers of    
insight and reflection upon his charges4
 ,now1 indeed1 his studies of education 
would be fully tested1 and on the most  
conspicuous conceivable field his       
theories must be reduced to practice4   
,it is said that he pursued only one    
system1 which was to have none4 ,in     
other words1 he devoted his fertile mind
 to meeting the necessities of the hour 
as they arose in his volatile1          
chameleon-like pupil1 instead of        
subjecting him to a ,procrustean system 
which could only have had the worst     
outcome4 ,his facile pen was employed   
without stint in the service of his     
pupil4 ,many fables1 some in ,french1   
some in ,latin1 full of poetry and      
grace1 were written to convey special   
lessons to the little duke4 ,dialogues  
of the ,dead also were composed for the 
same purpose1 bringing in the principal 
personages of antiquity to converse on  
such themes as would instruct in regard 

to history and morals4 ,and all this was
 but a preparation for ,telemaque1 or   
,telemachus1 composed for the           
instruction of the heir to the throne1  
and endowed with such unfailing charm by
 the beauty of its style and the        
admirable nature of its sentences1 that 
it has been read ever since in many     
nations and by many classes4 ,the same  
mythology is employed in it that was    
used by ,homer and ,virgil1 but refined 
by the knowledge of the ,divine         
revelation and adorned by a tincture of 
,christianity that runs easily through  
the whole narrative4 ,the best classical
 and moral maxims are placed before the 
mind of the reader1 animated with love  
and heightened with action4 ,the author 
shows that the glory of a prince is to  
govern men in such a way as to make them
 good and happy2 that his authority is  
never so firmly established as in the   
love of his people2 that the true riches
 and prosperity of a ,state consists in 
taking away what ministers to general   

luxury1 and in being content with       
innocent and simple pleasures4  ,but1 as
 may well be supposed1 it was not the   
intellectual means alone--the text-books
 that were prepared1 the treatises that 
were written1 the pains taken with      
instruction--which most awaken our      
admiration1 but rather the good sense   
shown in the various special expedients 
that were employed as from time to time 
they were found adapted to the needs of 
the case4 ,every effort was made to     
relieve study from tedium4 ,lessons were
 abandoned whenever the prince wished to
 begin a conversation from which he     
might derive useful information4 ,there 
were frequent intervals for exercise4   
,learning was turned into a pleasure4   
,the real struggle was with his fiery   
temperament1 which had been hitherto so 
badly mismanaged1 and which could only  
be met by patience and gentleness with  
firmness4 ,when one of the evil moods   
seized him1 it was an understood thing  
in the household that every one should  

relapse into an unwonted silence4       
,nobody spoke to him if they could help 
it2 his attendants waited upon him with 
averted eyes as though reluctant to     
witness his degradation through passion4
 ,he was treated with the sort of       
humiliating compassion which might be   
shown to a madman2 his books and        
appliances for study were put aside as  
useless to one in such a state1 and he  
was left to his own reflections4 ,such a
 course was the destruction of          
self-complacency2 he ceased to find     
relief in swearing when his hearers     
ceased to be disconcerted by his abuse1 
and1 being left to consider the         
situation in solitude1 he saw himself   
for the first time as others saw him4   
,gradually this treatment would bring   
the passionate but generous child to a  
better mind1 and then1 full of remorse  
and penitence1 he would come to throw   
himself with the fullest affection and  
trust upon the never-failing patience   
and goodness of the preceptor1 whom he  

almost worshiped to his dying day4      
,fnelon had studied childhood1 and knew 
how deeply rooted is the child's fear of
 ridicule2 in the prince it was         
exaggerated by his abnormal vanity1 and 
a system which showed him how he        
degraded himself1 and lost all shadow of
 dignity when he lost his self-control1 
was the surest to produce a radical     
reform4 ,there are still in existence   
two pledges of his childish repentance1 
testifying to the difficulty with which 
his faults were conquered4 ,i promise1  
on my word as a prince to ,m4 l',abb de 
,fnelon1 that ,i will do at once        
whatever he bids me1 and will obey him  
instantly in what he forbids2 and if ,i 
break my word ,i will accept any kind of
 punishment and disgrace4 ,given at     
,versailles1 ,november #bi1 #afhi4      
,louis4 ,this promise1 in spite of the  
word of a prince1 was probably broken2  
for many months later he enters on      
another engagement pathetic in its      
brevity3 ,louis1 who promises afresh to 

keep his promise better4 ,this #bjth of 
,september1 ,i beseech ,m4 de ,fnelon to
 take it again4 ,he was at this time but
 eight years old4 ,the child loved his  
teacher passionately1 and it was seldom 
that he did not yield speedily to       
,fnelon's wise and loving discipline4   
,once1 however1 there was a serious     
scene between them which appears to have
 had a lasting influence upon the       
prince4 ,fnelon had been obliged to     
reprove him with more than usual        
severity1 and the boy1 in his angry     
pride1 had resisted1 exclaiming1 ,no1   
no1 sir2 ,i remember who ,i am1 and who 
you are4 ,it was impossible to pass over
 such a speech and maintain authority2  
but acting upon his own maxim1 never to 
administer reproof while either actor   
concerned is excited1 ,fnelon made no   
reply1 and for the remainder of the day 
preserved a total silence toward his    
pupil1 who could not fail to perceive by
 his manner that the usually indulgent  
master was much displeased4 ,night came 

with no explanation4 ,but the next      
morning1 as soon as the prince was      
awake1 the abb came into his room1 and1 
addressing him in a grave1 ceremonious  
manner1 very unlike the usual easy tone 
of their intercourse1 said3 ,i do not   
know1 ,monsieur1 whether you remember   
what you said to me yesterday1 that you 
knew what you are and what ,i am2 but it
 is my duty to teach you your ignorance 
alike of both4 ,you fancy yourself a    
greater personage than ,i--some of your 
servants may have told you so2 but since
 you oblige me to do it ,i must tell you
 without hesitation that ,i am greater  
than you4 ,you must see at once that    
there can be no question of birth in the
 matter4 ,it is one of personal merit4  
,you can have no doubt that ,i am your  
superior in understanding and knowledge2
 you know nothing but what ,i have      
taught you1 and that is a mere shadow   
compared with what you have yet to      
learn4 ,as to authority1 you have none  
over me1 whereas ,i1 on the other hand1 

have full and entire authority over you1
 as the king has often told you4        
,perhaps you imagine that ,i think      
myself fortunate in holding the office  
,i fill about yourself2 but there again 
you are mistaken4 ,i undertook it only  
to obey the king1 and in no way for the 
irksome privilege of being your         
preceptor4 ,and to convince you of this 
truth ,i am now going to take you to    
,his ,majesty and beg of him to appoint 
some one else whose care of you will1 ,i
 hope1 be more successful than mine4    
,this was no idle threat2 for ,fnelon   
had always been determined to resign the
 tutorship as soon as he felt himself to
 be failing in it2 and the prince was   
obliged to weigh his pride against his  
love4 ,his love proved the greater2 for 
life had been very different with him   
since ,fnelon came into it1 and no      
sacrifice of his vanity was too galling 
if he might cancel his offense and keep 
his friend4 ,moreover1 he was sensitive 
to the last degree to public opinion and

 the faintest shadow of disgrace4 ,what 
would the world think of a prince who   
was so hopelessly naughty that a man so 
universally admired and respected was   
forced to give him up1 and what would   
become of the poor little boy to whom   
his nearest relatives were1 after all1  
only ,his ,majesty and ,monseigneur1 if 
the dear1 kind preceptor1 who loved him 
and devoted himself so entirely to him1 
were to go away8 ,poor ,louis6 ,the     
storm broke out anew2 but this time it  
was of penitence and shame and regret1  
while with passionate sobs and tears he 
cried out3 ,o ,monsieur1 ,i am so sorry 
for what ,i did yesterday4 ,if you tell 
the king he will not care for me any    
more2 and what will people think if you 
leave me8 ,i promise1 ,o ,i promise ever
 so much1 that you shall not have to    
complain of me if only you will promise 
not to go4 ,but ,fnelon would promise   
nothing--the lesson would be lost if it 
were not sharp--and for a whole day he  
allowed the duke to undergo the pangs of

 anxiety and uncertainty4 ,but at last1 
when his repentance seemed unlikely to  
be soon forgotten1 ,madame de           
,maintenon's intercession was admitted1 
and the preceptor consented to remain4  
,at a much later date ,fnelon1 writing  
about these days to a friend1 said of   
the prince3 ,he was sincere and         
ingenuous to a degree that one only     
needed to question him in order to know 
whatever he had done wrong4 ,one day1   
when he was very much out of temper1 he 
tried to conceal some act of            
disobedience1 and ,i urged him to tell  
the truth1 remembering that we were in  
,god's sight4 ,then he threw himself    
into a great passion1 and said1 ',why do
 you put it in that way8 ,well1 then1   
since you ask it so1 ,i can not deny    
that ,i did that1' whatever it was4 ,he 
was beside himself with anger1 but still
 his sense of religious duty was so     
strong that it drew forth the most      
humiliating acknowledgments4 ,i never   
corrected him save where it was really  

necessary1 and then with great caution4 
,the moment his passion was over he     
would come back to me1 and confess      
himself to blame1 so that we had to     
console him2 and he was really grateful 
to those who corrected him4 ,he used    
sometimes to say to me1 ',now ,i shall  
leave the ,duke of ,burgundy behind the 
door1 and be only little ,louis with    
you4' ,this was when he was nine years  
old4 ,directly he saw me doing any work 
for him he wanted to do the same1 and   
would set to on his own account4 ,except
 in his moments of passion ,i never knew
 him influenced save by the most        
straightforward principles and most     
strictly in accordance with the         
teachings of the ,gospel4 ,he was kind  
and gracious to all who had a claim upon
 him2 but he reserved his confidence    
wholly for such as he believed to be    
religious people1 and they could tell   
him nothing about his faults which he   
did not acknowledge with gratitude4 ,i  
never saw any one whom ,i should less   

have feared to displease by telling him 
the harshest truths concerning himself4 
,i have proved that by some wonderful   
experiences4  ,it will be somewhat seen1
 we trust1 from all this1 how great was 
the care and skill expended by ,fnelon  
on his most responsible and difficult   
task1 and how near an approach he made  
to imparting a model education to his   
pupil4 ,to his religious training1 of   
course1 as well as to that which was    
more intellectual1 the greatest         
attention was given4 ,it had a large    
place in the many conversations held and
 the many books put into his hands1     
chief among which were the ,sacred      
,scriptures4 ,the law of self-denial and
 self-restraint was continually         
inculcated1 that one must learn to      
imitate the ,divine ,master if one would
 fulfill the purpose for which life was 
given4 ,the early religious impressions 
thus imparted were so deeply wrought    
that they influenced his whole after    
life4 ,he was prepared with greatest    

care for his first communion1 taking it 
earnestly and devoutly1 and for the rest
 of his life he was a regular and       
faithful communicant1 receiving the     
sacrament with a recollection and       
humility of bearing which struck all    
beholders4 ,a total transformation was  
wrought in the royal pupil under the    
training given1 a transformation which  
amazed all who were conversant with it4 
,the ,duke de ,saint-,simon1 speaking of
 what a prodigy was wrought in a        
marvelously short space of time1 how the
 most terrible qualities were changed   
into all the opposite virtues1 says3    
,from the beast which ,i have described 
there arose a prince affable1 gentle1   
moderate1 patient1 modest1 humble1      
austere but only to himself1 attentive  
to his duties and sensible of their     
great extent4 ,his only object appeared 
to be to perform all his actual duties  
as son and subject1 and to qualify      
himself for his future obligations4     
,madame de ,maintenon1 in one of her    

letters1 gives the same testimony3 ,we  
saw all those defects which alarmed us  
so much in the youth of the ,duke of    
,burgundy gradually disappear4 ,every   
year produced in him a visible increase 
of virtue4 ,so much had his piety       
changed him that1 from being the most   
passionate of men1 he became mild1      
gentle1 and complying2 persons would    
have thought that mildness was his      
natural disposition1 and that he was    
innately good4 ,so great was the        
alteration in his character and conduct 
that1 had he lived to ascend the throne1
 the whole world1 as well as ,france in 
particular1 would have been immensely   
the gainer4 ,hence the limitless        
devotion with which ,fnelon gave five or
 six years of his life at the height of 
his powers entirely to the royal        
children and the routine of their       
schoolroom duties1 was by no means a    
poor use of his great gifts and         
attainments4 ,these years are extremely 
important1 both in his own history and  

the history of his country4  ,one other 
point deserves mention before we pass   
from this interesting period of         
,fnelon's life4 ,in entering on his     
office he laid down to himself a rule1  
to which he rigidly adhered1 never to   
ask of the court a favor for himself1   
his friends1 or his family4 ,the virtue 
of this stands out the more when we     
consider how very rare in those days was
 disinterestedness1 and that men were   
none the less esteemed because they     
strove to profit themselves and their   
families to the utmost in whatever      
position they filled4 ,it is1 then1 not 
a little remarkable and creditable that 
,fnelon actually continued in a state   
closely approaching destitution2 his    
means were extremely straitened for more
 than five years after entering upon his
 honorable and responsible position at  
court4 ,his private revenue was very    
small1 nothing at all coming to him at  
this time from ,carenac1 which he       
describes as hopelessly ruined4 ,no     

pecuniary income1 one writer says1 was  
attached to his office2 but this is     
hardly credible1 and there are          
indications that there was a salary1    
although1 strangely enough1 not an      
adequate one4 ,he kept a very small     
establishment1 and it was with great    
difficulty that he found means to meet  
his current expenses4 ,letters to       
,madame de ,laval1 a daughter of his    
uncle1 the marquis1 and hence a sister  
to him1 who was his guide and counselor 
in money matters1 show this4 ,he wrote  
to her1 ,october1 #afhi1 concerning the 
various economies to which he was       
subjected1 and the sale of his carriage 
and ponies4 ,again1 in ,march1 #afia1 he
 mentions having repaid one thousand    
francs out of a debt of twelve hundred  
due ,madame de ,laval1 and other sums to
 other people4 ,i have made             
retrenchments1 he says1 which are very  
unusual in my position2 but justice     
comes before all other considerations4  
,i still owe a considerable sum to my   

bookseller1 and ,i must buy some plate  
to repay you for the things you have    
loaned me which are worn out4 ,he speaks
 of getting his accounts into order that
 he may see his way in his small        
economies and calculate how to go on4   
,again1 in ,january1 #afid1 he writes   
concerning a needy person whom he       
commends to ,madame de ,laval1 saying3  
,although my necessities have never been
 so pressing as at present1 ,i beg you  
to take what is wanted for this man4 ,i 
am tolerably well1 though very busy2 but
 my purse is at the lowest ebb1 through 
delays in the payment of my salary1 and 
the exceeding dearness of everything    
this year4 ,if ,i do not receive        
something shortly1 ,i must dismiss      
nearly all my servants4 ,but ,i will not
 have you try to help me4 ,i would      
rather bear on4 ,all the same1 see that 
any money that can be sent from ,carenac
 reaches me after the more urgent alms  
have been disbursed2 for indeed ,i would
 rather live on dry bread than let any  

of the poor of my benefice want4  ,this 
cousin became ,fnelon's sister actually1
 as well as in name1 by her second      
marriage with his eldest brother1 the   
,compte de ,fnelon2 and probably it     
never cost him more to refuse anything  
than when he refused her request that he
 would obtain a valuable military post  
for her son1 a child four years old4    
,but1 while eager to do anything he     
deemed right to please her1 he steadily 
refused to make the application she     
desired4 ,he writes3 ,i can not relax   
the strict rule to which ,i feel it     
right in my position to adhere4 ,i would
 do anything on earth for you or your   
son that ,i can1 but not to save my life
 would ,i ask for anything from the     
king4 ,other letters that might be      
quoted speak the same language4 ,it was 
not till #afid that the king seems to   
have remembered or discovered how badly 
his grandsons' preceptor was provided   
for4 ,in that year1 at last1 he gave    
,fnelon the ,abbey of ,st4 ,valery1     

which sufficiently filled his purse4    
,the king informed him of this in       
person1 and apologized for so tardy an  
acknowledgment of his gratitude4 ,and   
the year before1 #afic1 he was chosen a 
member of the ,french ,academy1 a high  
distinction2 his reception speech was   
made ,march #cast of that year4 ,it was 
at this time1 also1 that he became a    
considerable factor in the management of
 the celebrated community at ,st4 ,cyr1 
known as the ladies of ,st4 ,louis1 who 
were pledged to a devout and holy life4 
,madame de ,maintenon had originated the
 idea of this foundation1 with the      
special object of educating and training
 five hundred girls1 daughters of the   
poorer nobility4 ,it occupied a large   
share of her thoughts4 ,fnelon was      
associated with ,bourdaloue1 the ,abb   
,godet des ,marais1 subsequently ,bishop
 of ,chartres1 and other eminent        
ecclesiastics in its government4  ,it   
was on ,february #d1 #afie1 that the    
king announced to ,abb de ,fnelon that  

he had nominated him ,archbishop of     
,cambrai1 one of the richest and most   
important sees in the kingdom4 ,he was  
taken entirely by surprise1 but at once 
replied1 after expressing his thanks1   
that he could scarcely rejoice in an    
appointment that would remove him from  
the preceptorship to the princes4       
,whereupon ,louis graciously answered   
that the abb was much too useful to be  
spared1 and that his intention was that 
he should retain both offices4 ,fnelon  
represented that the laws of the ,church
 and his own conscience made this       
impossible1 as both required residence  
in the diocese4 ,but the king bore      
witness to his appreciation of ,fnelon's
 services by overruling this difficulty1
 and replying1 ,no1 no2 the canons only 
require nine months' residence2 you will
 spend three months with my grandsons1  
and during the rest of the year you must
 superintend their education from       
,cambrai just as you would at           
,versailles4 ,this point settled1       

,fnelon went on to say that if he was   
indeed to accept the archbishopric he   
must resign the ,abbey of ,st4 ,valery1 
an act of disinterestedness which ,louis
 altogether refused to allow4 ,but      
,fnelon quietly persisted1 pointing out 
to the king that the revenues of        
,cambrai were such as to make it an     
infringement of canonical law to hold   
any other preferment with it4 ,such     
conscientious indifference to his own   
interest excited a great deal of        
astonishment and gossip at court4 ,the  
,bishop of ,rheims remarked that it was 
all very well for ,m4 de ,fnelon1       
thinking as he did1 to act thus1 but    
that thinking as he did1 it was better  
for him to keep his revenues4 ,the age  
was thoroughly accustomed to this       
plurality of benefices4 ,in the previous
 century ,john of ,lorraine was at one  
and the same time ,archbishop of ,lyons1
 ,rheims1 and ,narbonne1 ,bishop of     
,metz1 ,toul1 ,verdun1 ,theroneune1     
,lucon1 ,alby1 and ,valence1 and ,abbot 

of ,gortz1 ,fecamp1 ,clugny1 and        
,marmontier4 ,he was also made a        
cardinal a year or two before attaining 
his majority4 ,this was doubtless an    
extreme case1 but there were plenty     
somewhat similar4 ,so that ,fnelon's    
self-denying course meant a good deal   
more than it would at the present day4  
,he was consecrated archbishop ,june    
#aj1 #afie1 in the chapel of ,st4 ,cyr1 
in the presence of a distinguished      
throng1 among whom were ,madame de      
,maintenon and his three royal pupils4  
,bossuet was chief consecrator1 the     
,bishop of ,chalons being first         
assistant1 and the ,bishop of ,amiens   
second4 ,fnelon's friends were delighted
 at this great advancement for him2 yet 
it was felt by many of them that he     
should have had the ,archbishopric of   
,paris1 for already the popular voice   
had widely and loudly nominated him4    
,some thought that he was sent to       
,cambrai by the king for the express    
purpose of forestalling this clamor1 and

 avoiding any necessity for putting him 
in the more conspicuous and influential 
place2 for it was known that the post at
 ,paris would soon be vacant1 and1 if1  
at its vacancy1 ,fnelon had been still  
unplaced1 the pressure for his          
appointment there would have been very  
strong4 ,as it was1 ,m4 de ,harlai died 
,august #f1 #afie1 less than two months 
after ,fnelon's consecration4 ,m4 de    
,noailles1 ,bishop of ,chalons1 through 
the influence of ,madame de ,maintenon1 
was given the position4  ,we have       
reached now what was1 in a worldly point
 of view1 the very summit of ,fnelon's  
prosperity and glory4 ,it might seem    
that1 humanly speaking1 he had very     
little1 if anything1 left to wish for1  
although1 of course1 the cardinalate    
might fairly have been expected in a few
 years4 ,but the clouds were already    
beginning to gather which were soon to  
break over his head in a storm never to 
clear away1 so far as court favor and   
the good things of this world were      

concerned4 ,so a new chapter must be    
devoted to these new experiences which  
had so very much to do both with his    
temporal and spiritual affairs4         
,,chapter ,,iv4                         
,,mysticism ,,and ,,quietism4#d   ,in   
order that we may properly apprehend the
 next period in ,fnelon's life it is    
absolutely essential for us to take a   
survey of the general subject of        
,mysticism1 for with that he became now 
very intimately concerned4 ,and1        
happily1 it is a subject of perennial   
importance1 having no less close        
connection with the present day than    
with the centuries past4 ,indeed the    
present age has in some respects very   
special need of just this element4 ,it  
is a commercial1 materialistic1         
money-grabbing age1 devoted to the      
outward and the practical2 it is a time 
when the triumphs of machinery and      
invention and industrial progress are   
sounded as never before--an extremely   
busy1 bustling time of immense external 

activity1 when man hastens to get rich  
and rushes through life at railroad     
speed1 scarcely finding leisure so much 
as to eat1 much less for the quiet      
contemplation of the things of the      
spirit4 ,and it is the contemplative1   
interior1 spirit-filled life with which 
,mysticism has pre-eminently to do4     
,the term1 it is true1 has come to be   
widely regarded with suspicion1 and     
used1 more or less vaguely1 as a word of
 reproach4 ,with many1 perhaps with     
most1 it carries an unpleasant1         
offensive suggestion4 ,its associations 
in their minds are with that which is   
misty or recondite1 visionary and       
unintelligible2 also with that which is 
fanatical1 extravagant1 unreasonable1   
and somewhat dangerous4 ,that there is  
some ground for this impression can not 
be denied1 because under the general    
name of ,mysticism much has been        
included1 in the long sweep of the      
centuries1 which can not be admired or  
defended2 much which does not commend   

itself to that level-headed common sense
 according to whose dictates we like to 
think that our religion can be and      
should be squared4 ,but we are persuaded
 that this extreme objectionable        
development1 or manifestation1 of the   
,mystic spirit has been much less       
frequent than is commonly supposed1 and 
has no sufficient claim to be identified
 with it in the public mind anywhere    
near as largely as it usually is4 ,there
 is a true ,mysticism1 and a false      
,mysticism4 ,there are ,mystics every   
way worthy of highest honor1 and there  
are those not at all points deserving   
imitation4 ,it surely is a mistake to   
lay the chief stress on the latter1 as  
is so frequently done1 and thus to stamp
 a stigma upon all4 ,christian          
,mysticism is something of which no one 
can afford to be ignorant4 ,the ,church 
which neglects it or despises it1       
whether through misapprehension or some 
less honorable cause1 is certain to be a
 large loser4  ,what is ,mysticism8 ,as 

has been pointed out by several1 it is  
something which from its very nature is 
hardly susceptible of exact definition1 
does not readily lend itself to the most
 precise forms of language4 ,it is a    
phase of thought or feeling which       
continually appears in connection with  
the endeavor of the human mind to grasp 
the ,divine essence1 and to enjoy the   
blessedness of actual communion with the
 ,highest4 ,it springs inevitably from  
intense desire for intimate fellowship  
with ,god1 from the hottest possible    
pursuit of the highest ideals4 ,it is a 
sort of name for the realization of ,god
 as transfused throughout the universe1 
as being immanent in material things and
 in mankind alike4 ,the ,century        
,dictionary defines ,mysticism as any   
mode of thought or phase of intellectual
 or religious life in which reliance is 
placed upon a spiritual illumination    
believed to transcend the ordinary      
powers of understanding4 ,the ,standard 
,dictionary says that ,mysticism is the 

doctrine and belief that man may attain 
to an immediate direct consciousness or 
knowledge of ,god as the real and       
absolute principle of all truth4 ,the   
term is applied to a system of thought  
and life of which the chief feature is  
an extreme development of meditative and
 intuitive methods as distinguished from
 the definitive and scholastic4         
,similarly ,dr4 ,j4 ,p4 ,lange1 in the  
,schaff-,herzog ,cyclopedia1 says3      
,mysticism has been defined as belief in
 an immediate and continuous            
communication between ,god and the soul 
which may be established by certain     
peculiar religious exercises4444 ,there 
is a mystic element in all true         
religion4 ,cousin says3 ,mysticism is   
the belief that ,god may be known face  
to face without anything intermediate4  
,it is a yielding to the sentiment      
awakened by the ,infinite1 and a summing
 up of all knowledge and all duty in the
 contemplation and love of ,him4        
,nitzsch1 in his ,system of ,christian  

,doctrine1 declares that the religious  
man1 the man of faith1 is1 as such1 a   
,mystic2 for he in whose consciousness  
,god does not appear1 certainly does not
 feel ,god1 nor can he know or honor    
,him2 but he who only thinks ,him1      
without loving ,him and becoming pure in
 heart1 can not know ,him vitally2 much 
less can he behold ,him spiritually who 
desires to see ,him with the outward    
sense4 ,the inner life of religion is   
ever ,mysticism4  ,this is why in all   
ages of the ,church1 when the outward   
has come to usurp and absorb attention1 
when formalism and ceremonialism have   
dominated the mind1 when scholasticism  
has gained ascendency1 and especially   
when a corrupt looseness of morals has  
set in to degrade the very ideals of    
humanity1 there have been those who have
 arisen to make a stand for a purer1    
more fervent1 more spiritual type of    
piety4 ,they have met1 of course1 with  
bitter opposition2 they have troubled   
those who did not wish to be disturbed  

in their carnal indulgences or worldly  
conformities1 and they have had various 
uncomplimentary epithets thrown at them3
 such as1 ,pietists1 ,quietists1        
,mystics1 ,puritans1 ,quakers1 and      
,methodists4 ,they have been            
misrepresented in manifold ways4 ,they  
have been persecuted even unto the      
death4 ,but they have been the salt of  
the earth1 and the succession has been  
kept up under one name or another from  
the earliest days to the present4 ,they 
have not always been endowed with       
philosophic minds or skilled in the     
learning of the schools4 ,they have been
 keenly conscious of the difficulty1 the
 impossibility1 of completely           
expressing1 in imperfect human words1   
the deep things of ,god revealed to them
 on the mounts of vision with which they
 have been favored4 ,they have struggled
 hard with the inadequacy of the only   
language at their command1 and have been
 driven to a liberal use of figures of  
speech1 some of them questionable in    

point of propriety4 ,they have had a    
cramped vocabulary1 have made mistakes1 
have not found themselves able to       
translate into intelligible terms all   
that was in their minds4 ,to mint the   
secrets of the interior life into the   
current coin of language suited to the  
comprehension of common souls requires a
 skill given to but few4 ,and more      
especially have their expressions been  
found unintelligible1 or worse1 by      
adversaries not qualified by any        
experience to comprehend what it was all
 about4 ,for1 as ,st4 ,paul says 7,i    
,cor4 ii73 ,the natural man receiveth   
not the things of the ,spirit of ,god2  
for they are foolishness unto him1 and  
he can not know them1 because they are  
spiritually judged4 ,we speak wisdom    
among the perfect1 ,god's wisdom in a   
mystery1 even a wisdom which hath been  
hidden1 which none of the rulers of this
 world knoweth4 ,which things also we   
speak1 not in words which man's wisdom  
teacheth1 but which the ,spirit         

teacheth1 interpreting spiritual things 
to spiritual men4 ,the adversaries were 
also eager in many cases to remove out  
of the way those who1 by their purity of
 life and their opposition to priestly  
claims and gains1 were esteemed         
dangerous to the peace of the ,church4  
,we are confident that in the main this 
is a fair interpretation of the course  
which events have taken4 ,not but what  
some of the ,mystics have really laid   
themselves open to the complaints of    
their enemies4 ,they have been unguarded
 in their language1 have been so carried
 away with ecstasy1 as some new precious
 truth has burst upon them1 that they   
have stated it too strongly2 have not   
supplied the limitations and            
modifications and exceptions which would
 have been well1 which were necessary   
for a complete rounding out of the      
statement2 have taken for granted that  
the other side had been sufficiently    
emphasized before1 and that their       
special mission to emphasize the        

neglected point would be recognized2    
hence they have said things which1 by   
strict construction and taken in bald   
literalness1 were not precisely true4   
,all this can be granted without casting
 any serious reflection either on their 
character or their doctrines4 ,their    
books must be read with caution and     
discrimination4 ,to persons not well    
balanced they might sometimes be a      
source of peril4 ,but this admission is 
in no way incompatible with the         
assertion that they have conferred a    
very great benefit upon mankind1 that   
their doctrines1 on the whole1 are      
sound1 and that this generation could   
ill afford to overlook the good to be   
obtained by careful studies in this     
direction4  ,the first ,mystics were    
really ,st4 ,john and ,st4 ,paul2 and   
their words have full justification in  
what they derived from their ,divine    
,master4 ,who more positively than the  
great ,apostle to the ,gentiles1        
according to the wisdom given unto him1 

preached a gospel that was foolishness  
to some1 but which he continually called
 the wisdom and the mystery of ,god2 a  
gospel which proclaims the ,divine      
indwelling1 we in ,him and ,he in us1   
our bodies the temples of the ,holy     
,ghost1 believers being in ,christ and  
members one of another8 ,he was a man   
caught up into ,paradise1 and hearing   
unspeakable words which it was not      
lawful or possible for a man to utter4  
,i die daily1 he said1 ,i have been     
crucified with ,christ1 and it is no    
longer ,i that live1 but ,christ liveth 
in me2 ,to me to live is ,christ2 ,i    
have learned the secret1 ,i can do all  
things in ,him2 ,i fill up on my part   
that which is lacking of the afflictions
 of ,christ2 ,ye died1 and your life is 
hid with ,christ in ,god2 ,in ,him we   
live1 and move1 and have our being2 ,the
 ,spirit ,himself beareth witness with  
our spirit1--and many other such like   
things there be1 left on record from his
 pen to show clearly that he was a true 

,mystic4 ,still more1 perhaps1 do the   
,mystics look to ,st4 ,john for complete
 authorization of their position4 ,his  
,gospel is the spiritual ,gospel1 the   
charter of ,christian ,mysticism4 ,it is
 he who tells us1 ,god is love1 ,god is 
light1 ,god is ,spirit4 ,the ,divine    
union which he sets before us is of the 
closest kind4 ,our fellowship is with   
the ,father1 and with ,his ,son ,jesus  
,christ2 ,ye have an anointing from the 
,holy ,one1 and ye know all things2 ,the
 anointing which ye received of ,him    
abideth in you1 and ye need not that any
 teach you2 ,hereby we know that ,he    
abideth in us1 by the ,spirit which ,he 
hath given us2 ,he that believeth on the
 ,son of ,god hath the witness2 ,he that
 dwelleth in love dwelleth in ,god1 and 
,god in him1 etc4 ,it is impossible to  
quote a tithe of the words in ,john's   
,epistles and ,gospel which embody the  
fundamental ideas of ,mysticism4        
,especially do we find in the marvelous 
words of ,jesus reported by ,john alone1

 as by the one peculiarly fitted to     
formulate them1 in the thirteenth to the
 seventeenth chapters of his ,gospel1   
the seeds and roots of all which have   
been drawn forth by subsequent writers  
on these profound themes4  ,plato has   
been called the ,father of ,european    
,mysticism4 ,dr4 ,inge says3 ,both the  
great types of ,mystics may appeal to   
him1--those who try to rise through the 
visible to the invisible1 through nature
 to ,god2 and those who look upon this  
earth as a place of banishment1 upon    
material things as a veil which hides   
,god's face from us1 and who bid us seek
 yonder in the realm of ideas the       
heart's true home4 ,plato teaches that  
the highest good is the greatest        
likeness to ,god2 that the greatest     
happiness is the vision of ,god2 that we
 should seek holiness1 not for the sake 
of reward1 but because it is the health 
of the soul1 while vice is its disease2 
that goodness is unity and harmony1     
while evil disintegrates2 that it is our

 duty to rise above the visible and     
transitory to the invisible and         
permanent4  ,the ,church has never      
lacked during its history for those who 
have followed this line of thought and  
cultivated this kind of experience4     
,clement of ,alexandria has been called 
the ,founder of ,christian ,mysticism1 a
 ,neoplatonist among the ,fathers2      
followed by ,dionysius the ,areopagite1 
and a lengthy line of successors1 large 
among whom looms the noble ,bernard of  
,clairvaux1 the glory of the twelfth    
century4 ,without tracing out the story 
in detail it will be enough for our     
purpose to refer briefly to those who1  
in the few centuries before ,fnelon1    
stood forth most prominently as leaders 
in this realm of truth1 and so prepared 
the way for him4  ,in the fourteenth    
century we find a most remarkable band  
of devout believers who called          
themselves ,friends of ,god1 to signify 
that they had reached that stage of     
,christian life when ,christ1 according 

to ,his promise1 would call them no     
longer servants but friends4 ,they were 
composed of persons from all classes of 
society1 and from all the religious     
orders4 ,most prominent among these were
 ,master ,eckhart--styled ,doctor       
,ecstaticus--vicar-general of the       
,dominican order1 a man of uncommon     
purity of life and great excellence of  
character1 one of the profound thinkers 
of the ,middle ,ages2 ,henry ,suso1 who 
has been called the ,minnesinger of     
,divine ,love1 and who was wont to say1 
,a man of true self-abandonment must be 
unbuilt from the creature1 inbuilt with 
,christ1 and overbuilt into the ,godhead
 7he was prior of the ,dominican convent
 at ,ulm1 where he died in #acfe72      
,nicholas of ,basle2 and ,john ,tauler4 
,nicholas was a layman who wielded a    
powerful pen and was also a great       
preacher2 thoroughly devoted to religion
 from his earliest days4 ,he traveled   
much through ,germany1 propagating his  
opinions in a quiet1 unostentatious     

manner1 and gradually there grew up     
around him a society of ,christians     
composed of men and women likeminded    
with himself1 who loved to honor him as 
their spiritual father4 ,it seems to    
have been largely his personal influence
 which held them together1 for they fell
 to pieces after he was burned at the   
stake for heresy1 near ,poitiers1 about 
#achb4  ,john ,tauler--,doctor          
,illuminatus--born at ,strasburg1 #abij1
 and dying there in #acfa1 was still    
more distinguished1 although indebted to
 ,nicholas for being led out into the   
light4 ,this took place when he was over
 fifty years of age4 ,nicholas1 coming  
to ,strasburg to hear the famous        
preacher1 speedily detected his         
deficiency in spiritual experience1 and 
the lack of true power attending the    
,word on this account4 ,with rare       
humility1 ,tauler1 a learned theologian1
 received this rebuke from the          
uneducated layman1 and so profited by it
 that he was able1 though not without   

long struggle1 to enter into complete   
freedom4 ,then he preached in a very    
different manner1 and the first time he 
opened his mouth in public fourteen     
persons fell as if dead under the ,word1
 and nearly thirty others were so deeply
 moved that they remained sitting in the
 churchyard long after the congregation 
was dismissed1 unwilling to move away4  
,for eighteen years after this second   
conversion he made great progress in the
 divine life1 rising to a place of      
highest esteem with his brethren1 and   
being rightly reckoned among the chief  
of ,god's children on earth4  ,properly 
to be counted among these ,friends of   
,god can be set down the unknown author 
of ,deutsche ,theologie1 or ,theologia  
,germanica1 which contained so much     
truth that it had the distinguished     
honor of being put upon the ,romish     
,index of prohibited works4 ,luther     
ascribed it to ,tauler4 ,it is in his   
style1 and contains his sentiments2 but 
it is now considered more probable that 

it originated a little later than his   
time1 and was written by some other     
member of the band4 ,it was their usual 
practice to conceal their names as much 
as possible when they wrote1 lest a     
desire for fame should mingle in their  
endeavors to be useful4 ,luther placed  
it next to the ,bible and ,st4          
,augustine as a source of knowledge     
concerning ,god and ,christ and man4    
,baron ,bunsen ranks it still higher4   
,and many others have expressed their   
supreme indebtedness to it for help in  
respect to the perfect life4 ,it has    
continued up to the present day to be   
the favorite handbook of devotion in    
,germany4  ,concerning the views and    
doctrines of these ,friends of ,god1    
although some of their expressions and  
opinions may be objected to1 considering
 the corrupt age in which they lived    
they must be pronounced worthy of high  
praise4 ,they insisted1 first of all1 on
 the uttermost self-renunciation1 yet   
they avoided the system of penances and 

austerities common in the monasteries4  
,neither idle contemplation nor passive 
asceticism found favor with them2 they  
were evangelical and practical1 full of 
good works and the imitation of ,christ 
both in patient suffering and active    
usefulness4 ,they were animated by an   
exalted reformatory spirit which threw  
them out of touch with the ecclesiastics
 around them4 ,though they did not in   
all cases fall under the ban of the     
,church1 they may still be regarded as  
forerunners of the ,reformation4 ,their 
,mysticism was a powerful protest       
against the terrible corruptions of the 
,romish ,church and the cold1 barren    
speculations of scholasticism4 ,they    
craved and secured direct communion with
 ,god1 unrestricted by human            
interposition2 an immediate vision of   
the ,almighty1 undimmed by any          
separating veil and unchanged by any    
distorting medium4 ,the highest form of 
the ,divine life in a man seemed to them
 to be perfect resignation to the will  

of ,god1 and they counted prayer to be  
the best means of bringing about this   
state of resignation4 ,to pray for a    
change in one's circumstances1 they     
said1 is to pray that what ,god sends   
may be made subject to us1 not that we  
should submit ourselves to it2 and so   
tends to produce self-assertion1 not    
self-renunciation4 ,nicholas taught that
 when self-renunciation is complete1 the
 soul of man1 having become entirely    
resigned to the ,divine will1 becomes so
 entirely assimilated to the ,divine    
nature that it has continually a near   
fellowship with ,god2 he is always in   
familiar intercourse with the ,spirit of
 ,god1 who communicates to him all      
,divine knowledge4 ,all things to the   
beloved are of ,god2 all1 therefore1 are
 indifferent4 ,that religion which      
sprang from fear of punishment or hope  
of reward they counted of little worth1 
and considered love to be by far the    
highest state1 the only one truly worthy
 of the ,christian4#e ,their union with 

,deity was not that of pantheism but of 
passionate love1 and great prominence   
was given to the will as the mainspring 
on which all developments of the higher 
life depend4  ,the following quotations 
from ,theologia ,germanica will convey  
in a few words what may be called the   
root ideas of the book and of the men   
whose spirit it so well embodies3  ,a   
true lover of ,god loveth ,him alike in 
having and in not having1 in sweetness  
and in bitterness1 in good or evil      
report2 for he seeketh only the honor of
 ,god1 and not his own1 either in       
spiritual or natural things4 ,therefore 
he standeth alike unshaken in all       
things4  ,all disobedience is contrary  
to ,god1 and nothing else4 ,in truth1 no
 thing is contrary to ,god2 no creature1
 nor creature's work1 nor anything that 
we can name or think of1 is contrary to 
,god or displeasing to ,him1 but only   
disobedience and the disobedient man4   
,in short1 all that is1 is well-pleasing
 and good in ,god's eyes1 saving only   

the disobedient man4  ,the man who is   
truly godlike complaineth of nothing but
 of sin only4 ,and sin is simply to     
desire or will anything otherwise than  
the one perfect good and the one eternal
 will1 or to wish to have a will of     
one's own4  ,sin is to will1 desire1 or 
love otherwise than ,god doth4 ,things  
do not thus will1 desire1 or love3      
therefore things are not evil2 all      
things are good4  ,he who is truly a    
virtuous man would not cease to be so to
 gain the whole world2 yea1 he would    
rather die a miserable death4 ,to him   
virtue is its own reward1 and he is     
content therewith1 and would take no    
treasure or riches in exchange for it4  
,union with ,god is brought to pass in  
three ways2 to wit1 by pureness and     
singleness of heart1 by love1 and by the
 contemplation of ,god4  ,a still       
greater name among the ,mystic writers1 
coming a bit later than those already   
mentioned1 is that of ,thomas  ,kempis1 
born near ,cologne1 in this same ,west  

,germany where the ,friends of ,god     
flourished1 in #achf1 and dying about   
#adgj4 ,his ,imitation of ,christ stands
 easily at the head of its class1 first 
in popularity and usefulness among      
manuals for devotion4 ,the epic poem of 
the inner life1 it has lent the         
fragrance of its sanctity to every      
language of the civilized world1 and has
 been a prime favorite for nearly five  
hundred years with all those who have   
made largest advancement in holy things4
 ,only a few extracts need be given to  
show how closely it is in line with what
 has already been said1 and what remains
 to be said1 concerning the topic of our
 chapter3  ,when a man is so far        
advanced in the ,christian life as not  
to seek consolation from any created    
thing1 then does he first begin         
perfectly to enjoy ,god2 his heart is   
wholly fixed and established in ,god who
 is his ,all in ,all4  ,there is no     
other occasion of perplexity and        
disquiet but an unsubdued will and      

unmortified affections4  ,self-denial is
 the test of spiritual perfection1 and  
he that truly denies himself is arrived 
at a state of great freedom and safety4 
,it is no small advantage to suppress   
desire1 even in inconsiderable          
gratifications4 ,restless and inordinate
 desires are the ground of every        
temptation4  ,abandon all1 and thou     
shalt possess all2 relinquish desire1   
and thou shalt find rest4  ,no evil is  
permitted to befall thee but what may be
 made productive of a much greater good4
 ,receive all with thankfulness1 as from
 the hand of ,god1 and esteem it great  
gain4  ,for all that befalleth me ,i    
will thank the ,love that prompts the   
gift1 and reverence the ,hand that      
confers it4  ,o ,lord ,god1 holy        
,father1 be ,thou blessed now and       
forever6 ,for whatever ,thou willest is 
done1 and all that ,thou willest is     
good4  ,the righteous should never be   
moved by whatever befalls him1 knowing  
that it comes from the hands of ,god1   

and is to promote the important business
 of our redemption4 ,without ,god1      
nothing is done upon the face of the    
earth4  ,perfection consists in offering
 up thyself1 with thy whole heart1 to   
the will of ,god2 never seeking thine   
own will either in small or great       
respects2 but with an equal mind        
weighing all events in the balance of   
the sanctuary1 and receiving both       
prosperity and adversity with equal     
thanksgiving4  ,all is vanity but the   
love of ,god and a life devoted to ,his 
will4  ,passing over ,st4 ,theresa and  
,st4 ,john of the ,cross#f--particulars 
about whom may be found in ,vaughan--and
 denying ourselves1 through limitations 
of space1 all quotations from ,rodriguez
 and ,scupoli1#g who flourished in the  
sixteenth century1 and wrote divinely   
about ,divine things1 leaving the world 
heroic examples of holiness1--we come to
 ,st4 ,francis of ,sales and ,molinos1  
both of whom had close connection with  
,fnelon1 although in different ways4    

,francis--born in #aefg and departing to
 glory in #afbb1 who has been called the
 noblest1 tenderest and most devoted    
,mystic of the ,catholic ,church after  
the ,reformation--more than any other1  
was ,fnelon's teacher in matters        
pertaining to the inner life1 even as   
,scupoli had been the teacher of        
,francis4 ,fnelon never wearies of      
recommending to the correspondents whom 
he is instructing in spiritual things   
the perusal of the works of this        
delightful and inspiring writer4 ,he    
says to one3 ,you can read nothing      
better than ,st4 ,francis of ,sales4    
,everything he writes is full of comfort
 and love2 although his whole tone is   
that of self-mortification1 it is all   
deep experience1 simple precautions1    
high feeling1 and the light of grace4   
,you will have made a great step when   
you are familiar with such mental food4 
,upon another he urges a half hour spent
 in meditative reading of the ,gospels  
in the morning1 and an evening portion  

of ,st4 ,francis de ,sales4 ,to the     
,elector of ,cologne1 when about to     
receive episcopal consecration1 he says1
 ,read the ,life and ,works of ,st4     
,francis de ,sales4 ,we do not wonder at
 these counsels4 ,the two men1 the two  
,francises1 were entirely congenial1    
marvelously alike in heart and head1    
with similar vivacity1 urbanity1 and    
grace of manner1 polish of style1       
profundity of insight into the soul1 and
 practical knowledge of the world4 ,both
 had high rank in ,state and ,church1   
strong intellects1 intense devotion to  
,god1 and ability to express truth in a 
simple1 lucid1 attractive way4 ,they    
were alike in that the profound piety   
they taught was not1 as in the previous 
age1 reserved for the cloister1 but was 
quite compatible with mingling in the   
world1 requiring no great change of     
habits1 but an entire change of motive4 
,even the life at court might be        
continued and graced with cheerful      
obedience to the whole will of ,god2 all

 the actions of the day could be        
sanctified by a perpetual prayer offered
 up in their midst and by a sincere     
intention to please ,god2 the humble    
every-day virtues were extolled1 and no 
austerities recommended4 ,thus religion 
was made commensurate with the whole of 
life1 and the saint could join in all   
that others did1 except sin4 ,no        
difference can be found in their        
doctrines1 or even their forms of       
expression1 and it seems like an irony  
of fate that the ,bishop of ,geneva     
should be canonized in #affe by the same
 ,church which condemned1 in #afii1 the 
,archbishop of ,cambrai4 ,the fictitious
 and factitious reasons that led to the 
latter will be detailed a little later4 
,part of the reason is connected with   
the history and fate of ,miguel de      
,molinos1 commonly esteemed to be the   
founder of the ,quietists4 ,he was a    
,spanish theologian1 born of noble      
parentage near ,saragossa1 ,december    
#ba1 #afbg4 ,he acquired a great        

reputation at ,rome and elsewhere for   
purity of life and vigor of intellect1  
but steadily refused all ecclesiastical 
preferment4 ,in #afge he published his  
,spiritual ,guide1 which in a few years 
passed through twenty editions in       
different languages1 and was warmly     
hailed by people of marked piety in many
 lands4 ,but it was soon bitterly       
attacked1 especially by the ,jesuits1   
who quickly perceived that ,molinos'    
system tacitly accused the ,romish      
,church of a departure from the true    
religion1 and that his whole doctrine   
would militate against the power of the 
priesthood and the importance of        
ceremonialism4 ,although he had a vast  
number of friends1 some of them eminent 
for learning and piety1 and even high in
 worldly rank1 and though the pontiff   
himself1 ,innocent ,,xi1 was partial to 
him1 he was1 in #afhe1 cited before the 
,inquisition and subjected to close     
examination as well as rigid            
imprisonment4 ,it is said that as many  

as twenty thousand letters were found in
 his house1 which1 if true1 shows the   
degree to which the movement he headed  
had spread1 and the hunger of great     
multitudes for spiritual food4 ,his     
trial lasted two years1 and in #afhg    
sixty-eight propositions1 purporting to 
be extracted from his book1 were        
condemned1 and he was declared to have  
taught false and dangerous dogmas       
contrary to the doctrine of the ,church4
 ,he was compelled to pass the remainder
 of his life in the dungeons of the     
,inquisition1 where he died1 after many 
years of close confinement1 in which he 
exhibited the greatest humility and     
peace of mind4  ,the principles of his  
book have been much misunderstood and   
misrepresented4 ,the following statement
 is believed to be substantially        
correct4 ,he taught that ,christian     
perfection consists in the peace of the 
soul1 springing from a complete         
self-surrender into the hands of ,god1  
in the renouncement of all external1    

temporal things1 and in the pure love of
 ,god free from all considerations of   
interest or hope of reward4 ,a soul     
which desires the supreme good must     
renounce all sensual and material       
things1 silence every impulse1 and      
concentrate itself on ,god4 ,in a state 
of perfect contemplation the soul       
desires absolutely nothing1 not even its
 own salvation2 it fears nothing1 not   
even hell2 the one only feeling of which
 it is conscious is utter abandonment to
 ,god's good will and pleasure2 it is   
indifferent to all else2 and nothing    
which does not reach the will1 where    
alone virtue resides1 can really pollute
 the soul4 ,the system was termed       
,quietism1 because it laid so much      
stress upon inward quiet1 passive       
contemplation1 and silent prayer2 also  
upon freedom from hope and fear1 the    
great agitators of the human mind4  ,it 
is a very vulgar error to suppose that  
the ,mystics taught abstention from good
 works1 or outward inactivity2 for none 

were busier in blessing their           
fellow-men1 as the twenty thousand      
letters above mentioned might indicate1 
as well as the ceaseless endeavors in   
this direction put forth by ,madame     
,guyon1 ,fnelon1 and the rest4 ,mystics 
are not impracticable dreamers2 they    
have been in a very marked degree       
energetic and influential4 ,their       
passivity simply meant a calm yet glad  
acceptance of all ,god's dispensations4 
,they were also abundantly active in the
 highest sense1 since the old faculties 
were transformed and uplifted and no    
longer shackled by the cramping chains  
of sin1 but enabled to do far more for  
the good of mankind and the glory of    
,god in their happy1 healthy working    
than they ever had done before4 ,they   
laid great stress upon faith1 rather    
than rites or austerities1 as a means of
 justification and sanctification1 a    
peculiarity which seems at the bottom of
 the remark of the ,romish ecclesiastic 
who wrote1 under date of ,july #aj1     

#afhe1 ,i am informed that a ,jesuit    
named ,molinos has been put into the    
,inquisition at ,rome1 accused of       
wishing to become chief of a new sect   
called ,quietists1 whose principles are 
somewhat similar to those of the        
,puritans in ,england4 ,there is        
sufficient similarity between the       
,quietism of the seventeenth century and
 the ,pietism and ,methodism of ,germany
 and ,england in the eighteenth century 
to give us a friendly feeling toward it4
 ,that the former was not so well       
guarded as the latter2 was less directed
 to practical ends2 was not in control  
of such cool1 sensible minds2 ran very  
easily into abuses2 had stronger        
pantheistic leanings2 was more open to  
the objection that it taught a strained1
 impossible perfection utterly out of   
reach of all but the few1 and attainable
 by those few perhaps only under very   
favorable conditions1--may be freely    
granted4 ,but it does not1 and need not1
 prevent our sympathies going out       

strongly toward those who1 in that      
earlier day and amid much difficulty1   
struck out the high path on lines not   
essentially at variance with those who1 
in easier times of greater              
enlightenment1 came after them4 ,the    
,mystics1 with all their extravagances1 
possessed more of the truth of ,god than
 could be found elsewhere within the    
wide domains of the ,roman ,church4 ,the
 ,reformers recognized this1 and        
sympathized far more deeply with them   
than with the schoolmen4  ,it should be 
said1 also1 that the ,quietists         
vehemently repudiated the constructions 
put upon their writings by their        
enemies1 and the evil inferences which  
were drawn from them4 ,they protested   
against what others professed to find   
there as being no part of their real    
belief4 ,it seems to us that they have a
 perfect right to be heard in           
explanation of their tenets1 and much   
allowance must be made for those        
endeavoring to find expressions that    

would convey such profound and lofty    
thoughts4 ,professor ,george ,p4        
,fisher1 in his ,history of the         
,christian ,church1 says1 ,the real     
ground of hostility to ,quietism was its
 tendency to lead to the dispensing with
 auricular confession and penances and  
outward rites altogether4  ,it will be  
sufficiently evident from what has been 
now written that there is ,mysticism and
 ,mysticism2 and that that which has the
 best right to the name lies very close 
to the most essential truth of the best 
religion1 inseparable from it so far as 
it is to answer the deepest yearnings of
 the human heart4 ,if religion is not to
 be made wholly objective1 reduced to a 
round of external performances1         
accounted synonymous with philanthropy  
and morality2 if its subjective side is 
to have proper recognition as the       
controlling one2 if being is to take    
rank above doing1 as we firmly believe  
it should1--then we are all ,mystics in 
the true sense of the word4 ,since we   

have to do with the love of ,christ     
which passeth knowledge1 and which must 
be known by some higher faculty than the
 understanding2 since the new birth is  
fitly compared by the ,master to the    
mysterious coming and going of the winds
 of heaven1 and can not be completely   
comprehended by the human reason2 since 
the method of ,god with the soul of man 
passes all metes and bounds of man's    
finite mind1 and the operations of the  
,holy ,spirit can not be wholly fathomed
 by cold intellect1--,mysticism has     
extremely close relations with all parts
 of supernaturalism4 ,it is grounded in 
a profounder philosophy than those can  
offer who assume to scout and scorn it4 
,we as ,methodists1 especially1 believe 
firmly in feeling1 and in a first-hand  
knowledge of ,god as the privilege of   
each genuine believer4 ,we hold fast to 
experience as having rights which logic 
and dogma must respect2 we have exalted 
life above theory1 and the vision divine
 above dead orthodoxy2 we maintain that 

there is a ,god-consciousness1 as well  
as a self-consciousness and a           
world-consciousness2 and that spiritual 
facts can be1 and should be1 verified in
 personal experience4 ,we count the     
words of ,pascal divinely true3 ,the    
things of this world must be known in   
order to be loved2 but the things of    
,god must be loved in order to be known4
  ,mysticism1 says ,professor ,j4 ,e4   
,latimer1 has ever been a reaction from 
formalism and dogmatism in religion4    
,when ,christian men have been relying  
upon the letter1 the ,mystic has always 
exalted the spirit4 ,when the ,church   
has been content with mere dogmatic     
statement and intellectual orthodoxy1 a 
,mystic revival has come to rehabilitate
 its spiritual life1 and sends new      
streams of power along its arid channel4
 ,do we not greatly need this revival   
now8 ,we do not believe there is any    
special danger to-day from one-sided    
subjectivity and morbid introspection4  
,the peril is altogether the other way4 

,our great want is a profounder         
apprehension of the basal truths of the 
spiritual life1 and their practical     
translation into individual experience4 
,the knowledge of ,god is widespread1   
but it is superficial4 ,piety is very   
bustling1 but it is not deep4 ,the      
utterances of the ,savior and ,his      
apostles are taken at a large discount1 
and the mass of believers are easily    
content with a low condition of         
spirituality4 ,hence the ,church is     
feeble1 and fails to impress itself     
strongly upon the world4 ,it would be   
immensely benefited by a large infusion 
of the spirit of the true ,mystic1 who  
wages the most deadly war with all      
carnality2 who has a terrible moral     
intensity2 who renounces absolutely all 
that dims the radiance or shadows the   
image of the ,perfect ,one in the mirror
 of the soul2 who is determined1 so far 
as in him lies1 to bridge the gulf that 
separates him from his ,maker and make  
the closest possible approach to ,god4  

,of ,rabbi ,gamaliel1 a genuine ,mystic1
 it is reported that he prayed1 ,o      
,lord1 grant that ,i may do ,thy will as
 if it were my will1 and that ,thou     
mayest do my will as if it were ,thy    
will4 ,charles ,wesley1 another ,mystic1
 is very bold and says1    ,let all ,i  
am in ,thee be lost1   ,let all ,i am be
 ,god4  ,why should it be thought a     
thing incredible with any that man may  
become a partaker of the ,divine nature8
 ,if to a small extent1 why not1 when   
all the conditions are favorable1 to a  
very large extent8 ,why should not the  
,church in general1 and the ,methodist  
,church in particular1 get a new grip on
 this much neglected but every way      
fruitful truth of the ,divine indwelling
 and the ,divine immanence1 ,god in all 
and all in ,god1 the universe but the   
will of ,god expressed in forms of time 
and space1 humanity reaching its highest
 point of development when it most      
completely entemples ,deity1 nature a   
symbol of ,god1 ,god revealed in ,his   

works8 ,just so far as this shall be    
accomplished will the ,church swing out 
into a wealthy place1 and march forward 
to large conquest4 ,complete surrender  
will be the prelude to complete         
possession1 and complete possession will
 straightway be turned into complete    
victory over every foe4                 
,,chapter ,v4                           
,,the ,,great ,,conflict4   ,we come now
 to the central period of ,fnelon's     
career1 that wherein he put forth his   
greatest mental exertion1 fighting1 as  
it were1 for his very life1 and for that
 truth which he held much dearer than   
life4 ,it is a period which every sketch
 of him1 however brief1 touches upon1   
and which we must set forth at some     
length4 ,the last chapter1 on ,mysticism
 and ,quietism1 will have prepared us to
 consider somewhat sympathetically the  
career of ,madame ,guyon1 who was so    
closely linked with ,fnelon during these
 few years1 and who was the chief       
exponent of the ,quietist or ,mystic    

beliefs at this time in ,france4 ,she   
was born1 as ,jeanne ,marie ,bouvier de 
la ,mothe1 ,april #ac1 #afdh1 at        
,montargis1 about fifty miles south of  
,paris1 and wedded before she was       
sixteen1 by the arrangement of her      
parents1 to a man of thirty-eight1 ,m4  
,jacques ,guyon1 who was very wealthy4  
,she had an unhappy married life1 closed
 by the death of her husband when she   
was twenty-eight4 ,she had five         
children1 two of whom died in infancy4  
,suffering was her portion1 and religion
 her consolation1 through all her days4 
,when not yet thirteen she read with    
eagerness the ,life of ,madame ,chantal1
 ,kempis' ,imitation of ,christ1 and the
 works of ,francis of ,sales1 making a  
vow at this time to aim at the highest  
perfection and to do the will of ,god in
 everything4 ,later1 when seventeen1    
this determination was renewed with     
fuller purpose and intelligence2 yet it 
was not till she was twenty1 so limited 
were her privileges of instruction1 that

 her heart became thoroughly changed1   
the pleasures of the world put          
definitely aside1 and her life devoted  
entirely to ,god4 ,her education1 in a  
convent1 was quite defective1 but her   
natural abilities were very great4 ,she 
had remarkable powers of conversation1  
her intellect was keen1 her ascendency  
over other minds1 even some of the      
greatest1 in after years was very       
striking4 ,she learned ,latin           
subsequently1 that she might carry on   
her studies more profoundly4 ,she       
prepared extensive commentaries on the  
,scriptures1 and her writings1 in their 
collective form1 were issued in forty   
volumes4 ,afflictions many were used by 
the ,lord to chasten her spirit and     
deepen her experience4 ,she lost her    
mother and father1 lost a dearly beloved
 son and darling daughter1 lost her     
beauty by the scourge of smallpox at the
 age of twenty-two1 lost her dearest    
friend and religious confidante1        
,genevieve ,granger1 prioress of the    

,benedictines1 in #afgc1 and then her   
husband in #afgf4  ,it was ,july #bb1   
#afgb1 that she gave herself to the     
,lord afresh1 with larger comprehension 
and consecration1 without reservation of
 purpose or time1 in the most solemn    
manner1 signing and sealing the         
following covenant3 ,i henceforth take  
,jesus ,christ to be mine4 ,i promise to
 receive ,him as a husband to me1 and ,i
 give myself to ,him1 unworthy though ,i
 am1 to be ,his spouse4 ,i ask of ,him1 
in this marriage of spirit with spirit1 
that ,i may be of the same mind with    
,him--meek1 pure1 nothing in myself1 and
 united in ,god's will2 and1 pledged as 
,i am to be ,his1 ,i accept as a part of
 my marriage portion1 the temptations   
and sorrows1 the crosses and the        
contempts1 which fell to ,him4 ,this    
sacred covenant of the spiritual        
marriage with her ,redeemer1 she        
carefully renewed and reviewed on its   
anniversary4 ,especially noticeable was 
the renewal in #afha1 for it took place 

in ,annecy1 at the tomb of ,st4 ,francis
 of ,sales1 who1 more than any other    
human being1 was her master in spiritual
 things1 as he has been to hundreds of  
thousands more4 ,when left a widow with 
large property interests1 she first     
settled up the affairs of the extensive 
estate with much skill1 without         
assistance from any one1 did much in    
charity for those around her1 looked    
after her children1 and then gradually  
felt her way to what was to be her      
life-work in the world4 ,her spiritual  
experience all the while was advancing2 
she was sinking more thoroughly out of  
self into ,god4 ,july #bb1 #afhj1 was a 
specially memorable epoch with her1 when
 she began to count the life of nature  
as fully slain within1 when her soul    
seemed to be delivered from all its     
chains1 and set wholly at liberty1 in a 
way not known before4 ,she says1 ,i had 
a deep peace2 a peace which seemed to   
pervade the whole soul2 a peace which   
resulted from the fact that all my      

desires were fulfilled in ,god4 ,i      
desired nothing2 feared nothing2 willed 
nothing4 ,i feared nothing2 that is to  
say1 ,i feared nothing considered in its
 ultimate results and relations1 because
 my strong faith placed ,god at the head
 of all perplexities and all events4 ,i 
desired nothing but what ,i now have1   
because ,i had a full belief that in my 
present state of mind the results of    
each moment1 considered in relation to  
myself1 constituted the fulfillment of  
the ,divine purposes4 ,i willed nothing2
 meaning in this statement that ,i had  
no will of my own4 ,as a sanctified     
heart is always in harmony with the     
,divine providences1 ,i had no will but 
the ,divine will1 of which such         
providences are the true and appropriate
 expression4  ,this extract expresses as
 well1 perhaps1 as anything can1 the    
mainsprings of her personal feeling and 
the chief substance of her teaching4    
,she always beheld the hand of ,god in  
all things1 recognized practically that 

,god orders and provides every allotment
 in life1 every situation1 however      
distressing to the flesh or perplexing  
to the perceptions4 ,she looked at      
everything on the side of ,god1 and     
found ,him always manifested in ,his    
providences4 ,she was not merely        
consecrated to ,god's will1 she rested  
in ,his will1 united to it by a most    
simple faith1 finding her joy in ,jesus4
 ,all that had ,god in it--and that     
included everything except sin--was     
delightful to her4 ,she found the order 
of ,divine providence a very precious   
and sufficient rule of conduct2 for she 
accounted that every successive second1 
and every event1 however minute1 had    
something about it which made known ,his
 will4 ,hence1 trusting fully1 and      
finding ,god always everywhere1 nothing 
moved her4 ,and she came to feel it to  
be her special mission1 since ,god had  
revealed these things to her1 as ,he had
 not to others1 to proclaim this        
particular kind of holiness2 a holiness 

which was a present privilege and       
possession1 based upon and secured by   
faith4 ,this interior life1 or inward   
path1 as she sometimes called it1 or    
state of perfect obedience to the will  
of ,god1 had still another name by which
 it came to be widely known--the name of
 disinterested 7or pure1 perfect1       
unselfish7 love4 ,by this was meant a   
love which served ,god for ,himself     
alone1 uninfluenced by fear of          
punishment or hope of reward4  ,she was 
led to go to the south of ,france1 to   
,gex1 ,thonon1 ,grenoble1 ,nice1        
,marseilles2 and as she taught these    
things to those who came within her     
reach--and great numbers resorted to    
her--she began straightway to endure the
 persecutions which are promised by ,st4
 ,paul to those who follow the godly    
life4 ,she preached reality rather than 
forms4 ,the two great principles which  
she clearly1 strongly proclaimed were   
self-renunciation and perfect union with
 the ,divine will2 nothing in ourselves1

 but all in ,god4 ,she urged also the   
reading and study of the ,bible1 which  
she constantly practiced herself4 ,these
 things1 of course1 brought down upon   
her the severest opposition from the    
ruling authorities in the ,church4 ,some
 were jealous of her because she was a  
woman2 some were rebuked in their sins2 
some felt that she was preaching the    
heresies of ,protestantism2 some were   
offended at the unaccustomed terms she  
employed4 ,the doctrine of full         
salvation by faith and complete         
conformity to ,christ crucified1 never  
popular in any age or land1 was         
particularly obnoxious then and there4  
,when persecuted in one city she fled to
 another1 as the ,savior directed1 being
 in no haste to justify herself1 leaving
 her vindication1 for the most part1    
with ,god4 ,she was able to do a great  
deal for the ,master in spite of        
continual opposition1 being occupied    
sometimes from six in the morning till  
eight at night with those who came to   

her for spiritual help1 writing         
incessantly also1 and scattering her    
productions4 ,she established a hospital
 in ,grenoble1 and was at all times     
assiduous in rescuing the fallen and    
doing good to the needy4 ,in one of her 
books written at this time1 called ,the 
,method of ,prayer1 she rightly says3   
,no man can know whether he is wholly   
consecrated to the ,lord except by      
tribulation4 ,that is the test4 ,to     
rejoice in ,god's will when that will   
imparts nothing but happiness is easy1  
even for the natural man4 ,but none but 
the religious man can rejoice in the    
,divine will when it crosses his path1  
disappoints his expectations1 and       
overwhelms him with sorrow4 ,trial1     
therefore1 instead of being shunned1    
should be welcomed as a test1 and the   
only true test of the true state4 ,she  
nobly endured this test1 not only at    
this time1 but still more signally as   
the years went on4 ,she arrived again in
 ,paris1 five years after her departure 

from that city1 ,july #bb1 #afhf4 ,here 
she became one of the little circle     
which met frequently for religious and  
social purposes at the ,hotel de        
,beauvilliers1 a circle which included  
,madame de ,maintenon and ,fnelon4      
,when ,fnelon was in the province of    
,poitou1 at work among the ,huguenots in
 #afhf1 he first heard of ,madame ,guyon
 and became somewhat acquainted with her
 writings1 which deeply interested him1 
as they were drawn so largely from      
,francis of ,sales1 his own chief       
teacher4 ,on returning from his mission 
in #afhg1 he passed through the city of 
,montargis1 and made there careful      
inquiries concerning this woman4 ,he was
 impressed1 says ,m4 de ,bausset1 one of
 his biographers1 by the unanimous      
testimonies which he heard of her piety 
and goodness4 ,on returning to ,paris he
 met her for the first time at the house
 of the ,duchess of ,charost1 a few     
miles beyond ,versailles1 and again soon
 after at the house of the ,duchess of  

,bethune4 ,this was in the latter part  
of #afhh1 after her release from her    
first imprisonment4 ,for her enemies1   
among whom was her half-brother1 the    
,abb la ,mothe1 had followed her to     
,paris1 accused her to ,monsieur de     
,harlai1 the notoriously wicked         
archbishop1 and he easily obtained from 
the king1 to whom it was represented    
that her doctrines were substantially   
the same as those of the heretic        
,molinos1 a lettre de cachet1 or sealed 
order1 putting her in confinement1      
,january #bi1 #afhh4 ,she refused to    
purchase her liberty by the sacrifice of
 her little daughter1 only twelve years 
of age1 whom the king wished to force   
into a very unseemly marriage with a    
person who wished to get possession of  
her large property4 ,she refused also to
 take other means for her release which 
did not commend themselves to her as    
right4 ,she answered them1 ,i am content
 to suffer whatever it pleases ,god to  
order or permit1 but ,i would sooner die

 upon the scaffold than utter the       
falsehoods you propose4 ,whether written
 at this time or at some of her         
subsequent imprisonments1 the following 
hymn of hers so well represents her     
constant attitude that it is eminently  
proper to insert it here3    ,a little  
bird ,i am1     ,shut from the fields of
 air2   ,and in my cage ,i sit and sing 
,to ,him who placed me there2   ,well   
pleased a prisoner to be1   ,because1 my
 ,god1 it pleases ,thee4    ,nought have
 ,i else to do2     ,i sing the whole   
day long2   ,and ,he1 whom most ,i love 
to please1     ,doth listen to my song2 
,he caught and bound my wandering wing1 
,but still ,he bends to hear me sing4   
,thou hast an ear to hear2     ,a heart 
to love and bless2   ,and1 though my    
notes were e'er so rude1     ,thou      
would'st not hear the less2   ,because  
,thou knowest as they fall1   ,that     
,love1 sweet ,love1 inspires them all4  
,my cage confines me round2     ,abroad 
,i can not fly2   ,but1 though my wing  

is closely bound1     ,my heart's at    
liberty4   ,my prison walls can not     
control   ,the flight1 the freedom of   
the soul4    ,o1 it is good to soar1    
,these bolts and bars above1   ,to ,him 
whose purpose ,i adore1     ,whose      
providence ,i love2   ,and in ,thy      
mighty will to find   ,the joy1 the     
freedom of the mind4  ,her friends were 
not idle1 and finally1 by the           
intercession of ,madame de ,miramion1   
,madame de ,maisonfort1 and the         
,duchesses ,beauvilliers and ,chevreuse1
 acting through ,madame de ,maintenon   
upon the king1 ,madame ,guyon was       
released in ,october1 #afhh4 ,on being  
set free she took up her residence at   
the house of ,madame de ,miramion1 and  
resumed her labor for souls as          
opportunity presented itself4 ,early in 
#afij her daughter was married to ,count
 de ,vaux1 a man of high character1     
brother of the ,duchess de ,bethune and 
nephew of the ,duchess de ,charost2 and 
as the child was scarcely fourteen she  

went to live with her a little way out  
of the city4 ,here ,fnelon visited      
frequently1 and when she had once more  
returned to ,paris1 hiring a private    
house for herself there in #afib1 he met
 her much4  ,what of her influence upon 
him8 ,those not in sympathy with her    
ideas1 by whom indeed the inner things  
of the kingdom are pertly dubbed        
nonsense1 have called her the evil      
genius of his life1 and ascribed to her 
what they are pleased to term his ruin  
and downfall4 ,we are very certain that 
he did not himself regard either it or  
her in that light4 ,they had very much  
in common4 ,there was the same hunger   
after the highest religious attainments1
 and their ideas as to the path were at 
bottom the same4 ,fnelon had the        
theological training which she lacked1  
and hence found difficulty with many of 
her expressions1 which seemed to him    
objectionable and liable to             
misapprehension1 as doubtless they were4
 ,but it seems altogether probable that 

at this time she was more advanced in   
the spiritual life1 more perfectly      
taught of ,god1 than he4 ,hence1 in the 
extended correspondence which took place
 between them1 covering a space of some 
two years or more1 from its beginning in
 ,november1 #afhh1 it is usually he who 
asks the questions and seeks for        
explanations4 ,she responded with entire
 patience and deep religious insight1   
taking all possible pains1 as may well  
be supposed1 with so distinguished yet  
so docile a pupil4 ,to one with so clear
 an intellect and so sympathetic a      
spirit she could express her thought    
with the utmost freedom1 and his        
enlightened1 powerful mind1 untrammeled 
by the prejudices which so often        
prevented--and always prevents--correct 
perceptions1 readily saw the validity of
 her views4 ,she herself says3 ,i was   
enabled in our conversations so fully to
 explain everything to ,fnelon that he  
gradually entered into the views which  
the ,lord had led me to entertain1 and  

finally gave them his unqualified       
assent4 ,the persecutions which he has  
since suffered are the evidence of the  
sincerity of his belief4 ,if he was     
greatly indebted to her1 as everything  
appears to prove--and as many other     
eminent men have been to godly          
women--for getting into a much closer   
conformity to the will of ,god1 it is no
 wonder that he was never willing to    
unite with her enemies in her           
condemnation1 although every earthly    
motive was on that side4  ,it was in    
#afib that the acquaintance of ,madame  
,guyon with ,madame de ,maintenon became
 somewhat intimate1 so much so that she 
was often invited to the royal palace at
 ,versailles1 and was introduced to the 
celebrated institution at ,st4 ,cyr4    
,being given liberty to visit the young 
ladies there1 she talked with them on   
religious subjects1 and speedily        
acquired the strongest possible         
influence over them4 ,this soon brought 
her name into general notice1 and       

excited once more intense hostility4    
,one of her servants was bribed to      
poison her1 and almost succeeded4 ,she  
suffered from the effects for seven     
years4 ,it is at this time that         
,bossuet--confessedly the leader of the 
,french ,church by reason of reputation1
 learning1 and intellectual             
strength--became alarmed at the reports 
he heard of the strange influence of    
this woman in high quarters1 and        
determined to put forth his splendid    
powers for the extinction of what he    
deemed a new heresy4 ,his first         
interview with her took place in        
,september1 #afic1 his second1 ,january 
#cj1 #afid4 ,he found much to admire in 
her positions1 but he judged by the head
 rather than the heart1 and was not     
fully satisfied4 ,accordingly she wrote 
to ,madame de ,maintenon1 asking that a 
number of suitable persons might be     
selected to carefully examine her       
doctrines and her morals2 for her       
character as well as her teachings had  

been loudly assailed1 as is customary in
 such situations4 ,the king approved of 
the plan1 and appointed three           
commissioners1 the most eminent for     
virtues and talents that could well be  
selected1 which was a marked tribute to 
the intellectual power and personal     
influence of ,madame ,guyon4 ,they were 
,bossuet1 ,bishop of ,meaux2 ,m4        
,tronson1 ,superior of the ,seminary of 
,st4 ,sulpice2 and ,m4 de ,noailles1    
,bishop of ,chalons1 afterwards the     
,cardinal ,archbishop of ,paris4 ,these 
persons had many meetings in #afid and  
#afie1 and drew up what were known as   
the ,articles of ,issy4 ,fnelon1 being  
on terms of the greatest intimacy with  
these three theologians1 was in frequent
 communication with them concerning the 
matter1 and was often consulted1        
especially by ,bossuet1 while the       
articles were being framed4 ,when they  
were completed he was asked to sign     
them1 which1 after a few changes and the
 addition of four articles which he     

deemed essential to prevent             
misconception1 he gladly did4 ,even     
,madame ,guyon gave her assent to them1 
although they bore rather hardly on some
 of her positions1 without mentioning   
her name1 and were expressly designed to
 protect the public against her alleged 
extravagances4  ,she was at this time in
 a sort of confinement in the ,convent  
of ,st4 ,mary1 in ,meaux1 under         
,bossuet's supervision4 ,he had many    
interviews with her1 and1 in a letter to
 the prioress of the convent1 said      
expressly that he had examined the      
writings of ,madame ,guyon with great   
care1 and found in them nothing         
censurable1 with the exception of some  
terms which were not wholly conformed to
 the strictness of theology2 but that a 
woman was not expected to be a          
theologian4 ,he also1 at her desire1    
after six months' residence1 gave her a 
certificate speaking in the most        
favorable terms of her character and    
conduct4 ,but no sooner was she again in

 ,paris than her enemies started at once
 into life4 ,the king was alarmed lest  
,quietism--a system of faith and        
practice at the complete antipodes from 
his own--should gain further currency1  
and ,madame de ,maintenon1 taking her   
cue from him1 as she always did1 ranged 
herself promptly with its enemies4      
,bossuet also1 finding that he had been 
more lenient toward her than was        
politic1 demanded back from ,madame     
,guyon his certificate4 ,this she could 
not consent to surrender1 and he set    
himself with full determination to crush
 her4 ,december #bg1 #afie1 she was     
arrested and incarcerated in the castle 
of ,vincennes1 where she underwent for  
nine months a very severe imprisonment4 
,she says3 ,i passed my time in great   
peace1 content to spend the remainder of
 my life there if such should be the    
will of ,god4 ,i employed part of my    
time in writing religious songs4 ,in    
,august1 #afif1 she was transferred to  
another prison at ,vaugiraud1 a village 

near ,paris1 where she remained till    
,september1 #afih1 and was then immured 
in one of the stern1 dark towers of the 
dreaded ,bastile1 where she remained    
four years more in solitary confinement4
 ,just previous to her commitment there 
she writes3 ,i feel no anxiety in view  
of what my enemies will do to me4 ,i    
have no fear of anything but of being   
left to myself4 ,so long as ,god is with
 me1 neither imprisonment nor death will
 have any terrors4 ,a little later she  
writes3 ,i1 being in the ,bastile1 said 
to ,thee1 ,o my ,god1 if ,thou art      
pleased to render me a spectacle to men 
and angels1 ,thy holy will be done4 ,all
 that ,i ask is that ,thou wilt be with 
me and save those who love ,thee4 ,as   
for me1 what matters it what men think  
of me or what they make me suffer1 since
 they can not separate me from that     
,savior whose name is engraven in the   
very bottom of my heart4 ,if ,i can only
 be accepted of ,him1 ,i am willing that
 all men should despise and hate me4    

,their strokes will polish what may be  
defective in me1 so that ,i may be      
presented in peace to ,him for whom ,i  
die daily4 ,her language was3    ,in    
vain they smite me4 ,men but do   ,what 
,god permits with different view3   ,to 
outward sight they hold the rod1   ,but 
faith proclaims it all of ,god4  ,and   
similar are the beautiful words of her  
hymn3    ,my ,lord1 how full of sweet   
content1   ,i pass my years of          
banishment6   ,where'er ,i dwell ,i     
dwell with ,thee1   ,in heaven1 in      
earth1 or on the sea4   ,to me remains  
nor place nor time3   ,my country is in 
every clime2   ,i can be calm and free  
from care   ,on any shore since ,god is 
there4    ,while place we seek or place 
we shun1   ,the soul finds happiness in 
none2   ,but with a ,god to guide our   
way1   ',tis equal joy to go or stay4   
,could ,i be cast where ,thou art not1  
,that were indeed a dreadful lot2   ,but
 regions none remote ,i call1   ,secure 
of finding ,god in all4  ,she made no   

complaints of those who so cruelly used 
her4 ,they believed that they did well1 
was her only comment4 ,the ,spirit of   
her ,savior was with her3 ,father1      
forgive them1 for they know not what    
they do4 ,in her biography1 written     
later1 she says1 ,i entreat all such    
persons as shall read this narrative not
 to indulge in hard or embittered       
feelings against those who have treated 
me with unkindness4 ,her sufferings were
 terrible1 but the fortitude and        
resolution with which she endured them1 
the steadfastness of her faith1 and the 
meekness of her bearing1 are worthy of  
all praise4 ,she does not seem to have  
doubted for a moment the goodness and   
truth of ,god4 ,her theories were put to
 the severest of tests1 and they did not
 fail her4 ,it is marvelous that she    
lived to emerge from the gloomy walls   
that were the grave of such numbers1 or 
that the tyrannical1 bigoted king ever  
relented so far as to let her go forth4 
,she was liberated when fifty-four years

 of age 7it being evident that she could
 not survive another year of            
imprisonment71 reduced to great         
feebleness1 her constitution utterly    
shattered4 ,yet her enemies were still  
afraid to let her stay in the           
neighborhood of ,paris2 so she was      
banished for the rest of her life to    
,blois1 one hundred miles away1 on the  
river ,loire4 ,there1 subjected to      
constant maladies which often brought   
her to the verge of death1 but supported
 by abundant spiritual consolations1 she
 did good as she had opportunity to the 
great numbers of people who came to see 
her4 ,her departure from earth occurred 
,june #i1 #agag1 and was both peaceful  
and triumphant4 ,just before death1     
writing to her brother1 she says1       
,whatever may happen1 turn not your eye 
back upon the world2 look forward and   
onward to the heavenly mansions3 be     
strong in faith1 fight courageously the 
battles of the ,lord4 ,writing to       
another friend1 and referring to her    

pains1 which she said were so great as  
to call into exercise all the resources 
and aids of faith1 she adds3 ,grace was 
triumphant4 ,it is trying to nature1 but
 ,i can still say in this last struggle 
that ,i love the ,hand that smites me4  
,she said in her last hours1 ,i rely for
 my salvation1 not on any good works in 
myself1 but on ,thy mercies1 ,o my ,god1
 and on the merits and sufferings of my 
,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,she had no faith 
in the doctrine of transubstantiation1  
read the ,scriptures much1 and urged    
others to study them1 insisting         
constantly upon the necessity of a real 
sanctification of the heart by the ,holy
 ,spirit4 ,that she was one of the high 
saints of ,god1 her soul a real temple  
of the ,holy ,ghost1 can in no way be   
questioned4 ,it is also certain that she
 had great intellectual power1 and in   
the main taught most important and      
sacred truth4 ,it is easy to find fault 
with many of her expressions1 but her   
spirit is beyond praise4 ,that she did  

on the whole a grand good work and will 
have a high place in glory1 we are fully
 convinced4  ,we come now to the great  
conflict between ,bossuet and ,fnelon4  
,up to this time they had been friends1 
at least outwardly4 ,but there are      
grounds for believing that ,fnelon's    
growing and prospective influence       
aroused the envy of the ambitious       
,bossuet1 who1 no more than the king1   
was disposed to brook a rival2 and the  
,quietist controversy speedily took on a
 character which brought the two bishops
 into the most direct antagonism4       
,bossuet completed1 after long labor1   
early in #afif1 an exceedingly able book
 against ,quietism1 entitled            
,instructions on the ,states of ,prayer4
 ,he secured the approval of the other  
members of the ,conference at ,issy1 and
 wished to append a favorable           
testimonial from ,fnelon also4 ,the     
latter examined the manuscript with     
care1 and was obliged to withhold his   
indorsement4 ,he did so on two grounds3 

,he thought it contained an absolutely  
unqualified denial of the possibility of
 the pure1 disinterested love of ,god2  
and he considered its censures of       
,madame ,guyon too personal and too     
severe4 ,he was perfectly aware that the
 refusal to comply with the wishes of   
,bossuet would be a mortal offense to   
that haughty1 self-willed prelate1 and  
would also displease the king1 probably 
blasting his worldly prospects4 ,but as 
a man of honor and of true ,christian   
principle he could not and did not      
hesitate4 ,writing to ,m4 ,tronson at   
this time1 he says1 ,am ,i wrong in     
wishing not to believe evil sooner than 
can be helped1 and in refusing to curry 
favor by acting against my conscience8  
,he declared that he would not attack a 
poor woman who is trodden down by so    
many1 and whose friend ,i have been1 for
 the sake of dispelling suspicion       
against himself2 that he would not speak
 against his conscience or recklessly   
insult a person whom he had respected as

 a saint4 ,it would be infamous weakness
 in me1 he said1 to speak doubtfully in 
relation to her character in order to   
free myself from oppression4 ,other     
extracts from his letters at this time1 
had we space to give them1 would show   
conclusively the high ground he took1   
the only ground which his own character 
and self-respect1 as well as his feeling
 of gratitude toward the persecuted     
woman1 could possibly permit4 ,had he   
done otherwise1 what would the world now
 think of him8  ,his chief friends      
approved his course1 but insisted that  
he must write his views in full4 ,he did
 so1 producing his elaborate work called
 ,the ,maxims of the ,saints1 published 
in ,january1 #afig4 ,without naming     
,madame ,guyon1 it was in fact her      
defense1 the exposition of her opinions 
as he understood them1 and as she had   
explained them to him in private4 ,it   
was hailed as a golden work by ,cardinal
 de ,noailles1 ,m4 ,tronson1 the ,bishop
 of ,chartres1 and many other leading   

men of ,france4#h ,but ,bossuet was     
roused to fury4 ,take your own measures1
 he said to these men2 ,i will raise my 
voice to the heavens against these      
errors so well known to you2 ,i will    
complain to ,rome1 and to the whole     
earth4 ,it shall not be said that the   
cause of ,god is weakly betrayed4       
,though ,i should stand singly in it1 ,i
 will advocate it4 ,but none better knew
 than he that so far from standing      
singly in it he had the warmest possible
 backing from the king4 ,louis ,,xiv had
 no love for ,fnelon4 ,he had raised him
 to certain dignities1 partly because of
 his uncommon abilities1 and partly     
because of his favor with the public1   
rather than as a sign of any personal   
attachment4 ,fnelon was1 throughout his 
life1 the very embodiment of all that   
,louis did not like1 and this1          
considering ,louis' character1 was one  
of his chief glories4 ,the two men were 
so far apart in most things1 and their  
minds were so differently constituted   

that there was no common bond of        
sympathy1 and the only wonder is how    
they got along together as well as they 
did4 ,fnelon1 while possessing a great  
superiority of genius1 exhibited also an
 elevation of moral and personal        
character of which the king stood in    
awe1 and he was glad that the accusation
 of heresy gave him a good opportunity  
to be rid of his uncomfortable presence4
  ,the battle was now on1 and it was    
between two giants4 ,bossuet1 the eagle1
 was essentially masculine1 marked by   
solidity1 vigor1 and logic4 ,fnelon1 the
 swan1 was essentially feminine1 filled 
with tenderness1 spiritual enthusiasm1  
aspiration4 ,bossuet had the experience 
of age1 ,fnelon the full powers of      
middle manhood2 ,bossuet had the greater
 skill in argument1 ,fnelon the richer  
imagination4 ,bossuet in style1 it has  
been said1 reminds one of the expansive 
and philosophical mind of ,burke1       
combined with the heavy strength and    
dictatorial manner of ,johnson4 ,fnelon 

had a large share of the luxuriant      
imagination of ,jeremy ,taylor1         
chastened by the refined taste and      
classic ease of ,addison4 ,fnelon was   
naturally mild and forbearing in        
disposition1 but inflexible in his      
principles and incapable of being       
influenced by pleasures on the one hand1
 or by threats on the other2 he was     
amiable without weakness1 firm without  
bitterness4 ,bossuet1 on the other hand1
 was a man of strong passions1          
accustomed to ascendency1 impatient of  
opposition1 and1 as the contest went on1
 irritated by the unexpected            
difficulties he encountered1 he resorted
 to means for the carrying of his cause 
which have left a lasting stain upon his
 name4 ,but ,fnelon came forth from the 
ordeal1 even as ,john ,fletcher did in  
his controversy with ,toplady1 elevated 
all the higher in the admiration of     
mankind4 ,bossuet1 in the course of the 
contest1 referring to one of ,fnelon's  
publications1 made the following remark3

 ,his friends say everywhere that his   
reply is a triumphant work1 and that he 
has great advantages in it over me4 ,we 
shall see hereafter whether it is so4   
,fnelon thereupon addressed a letter to 
,bossuet in the following terms3 ,may   
heaven forbid that ,i should strive for 
victory over any person1 least of all   
over you4 ,it is not man's victory1 but 
,god's glory which ,i seek2 and happy1  
thrice happy shall ,i be if that object 
is secured1 though it should be attended
 with my confusion and with your        
triumph4 ,there is no occasion1         
therefore1 to say1 ',we shall see who   
will have the advantage4' ,i am ready   
now1 without waiting for future         
developments1 to acknowledge that you   
are my superior in science1 in genius1  
in everything that usually commands     
attention4 ,and in respect to the       
controversy between us1 there is nothing
 which ,i wish more than to be          
vanquished by you if the positions which
 ,i take are wrong4 ,two things only do 

,i desire--truth and peace2 truth which 
may enlighten1 and peace which may unite
 us4  ,the two combatants put forth all 
their strength1 and the conflict        
attracted the eyes of all ,europe4 ,book
 followed book in close and quick       
succession on both sides4 ,each of the  
antagonists showed a thorough mastery of
 the subject1 and exerted himself to the
 utmost1 stimulated by the importance of
 the struggle and the large issues at   
stake1 not only of a personal nature but
 of a general character4 ,the whole     
,christian world looked on with deep    
interest4  ,the chief doctrine that     
,fnelon set himself to defend is        
summarized by ,upham in the following   
three propositions3 ,first1 the         
provisions of the ,gospel are such that 
men may gain the entire victory over    
their sinful propensities1 and may live 
in constant and accepted communion with 
,god2 second1 persons are in this state 
when they love ,god with all their      
heart2 in other words1 with pure or     

unselfish love2 third1 there have been  
instances of ,christians1 though        
probably few in number1 who1 so far as  
can be decided by man's imperfect       
judgment1 have reached this state1 and  
it is the duty of all1 encouraged by the
 ample provision which is made1 to      
strive to attain to it4 ,but the main   
issue was speedily confused with an     
abundance of side questions1 particular 
sentences and parts of sentences being  
picked out for attack1 much space being 
taken1 as in all such cases1 with merely
 verbal criticisms founded on           
misconceptions or on the necessary      
imperfection of language4 ,the          
celebrated ,leibnitz remarked that1     
before the war of words between ,bossuet
 and ,fnelon began1 the prelates should 
have agreed on a definition of the word 
love1 and that such a definition might  
have prevented the dispute4 ,the worst  
thing was that ,bossuet1 driven to      
extremities by the trouble he found in  
making headway theologically and fearing

 defeat1 descended to a personal attack 
on ,fnelon's character1 insinuating     
things which he had not the audacity to 
state plainly or the facts to           
substantiate4 ,this1 of course1 reacted4
 ,for ,fnelon--against his own wishes1  
but being shown the necessity of it by  
his friends--wrote a marvelous reply1 of
 which ,charles ,butler1 one of his     
biographers1 and by no means a partisan 
one1 says3 ,a nobler effusion of the    
indignation of insulted virtue and      
genius1 eloquence has never produced4   
,in the very first lines of it ,fnelon  
placed himself above his antagonist1 and
 to the last preserves his elevation4   
,never did genius and virtue obtain a   
more complete triumph4 ,fnelon's reply1 
by a kind of enchantment1 restored to   
him every heart4 ,crushed by the strong 
arm of power1 abandoned by the          
multitude1 there was nothing to which he
 could look but his own powers4 ,obliged
 to fight for his honor1 it was         
necessary for him1 if he did not consent

 to sink under the accusation1 to assume
 a port still more imposing than that of
 his mighty antagonist4 ,much had been  
expected from him2 but none supposed    
that he would raise himself to so       
prodigious a height as would not only   
repel the attack of his antagonist but  
entirely reduce him to the defensive4   
,it was seen at an early period of the  
controversy that there was no           
probability of its being settled by any 
tribunal short of that of the pope      
himself4 ,fnelon1 seeing the            
unscrupulous1 powerful forces that were 
arrayed against him in ,paris1 applied  
to the king in ,july1 #afig1 for        
permission to go to ,rome under any     
restrictions ,his ,majesty might think  
appropriate4 ,this the monarch          
absolutely refused1 knowing well1 no    
doubt1 that the personal charm of the   
saintly disputant would be likely to    
carry everything before it4 ,he would   
only permit him to send agents there to 
act in his behalf4 ,fnelon himself he   

curtly ordered to proceed immediately to
 his diocese1 to remain there1 and not  
to stop in ,paris on the way any longer 
than his affairs made his stay          
absolutely necessary4 ,fnelon received  
this undeserved sentence of banishment1 
very roughly couched1 with his customary
 calmness and submission4 ,in passing   
through the city he stopped before the  
seminary of ,st4 ,sulpice1 where he had 
spent so many happy hours1 and which he 
was never to see again2 but he forbore  
from entering the house lest his showing
 a regard for it might expose its       
inhabitants to ,his ,majesty's          
displeasure4 ,the king1 with his own    
hands1 some time after this1 crossed off
 ,fnelon's name from the list of court  
officials1 and also dismissed from      
service every one connected with him1   
save only the ,abb ,fleury1 who1 though 
a devoted friend of the archbishop1 had 
never taken any part in the exciting    
topics of the day4 ,but the rest who had
 been employed about the ,duke of       

,burgundy for nine years1 not           
blamelessly alone but how successfully  
his altered character and advanced      
education could show1 were rudely sent  
off without any acknowledgment whatever 
of their valuable services1 without even
 a civil word or a penny of reward4     
,and how went matters at ,rome8 ,the    
,abb de ,chanterac1 an intimate friend  
and relation1 of highest probity and    
piety1 was ,fnelon's agent there4 ,the  
,abb ,bossuet1 a nephew of the bishop1 a
 vulgar1 blustering1 unscrupulous       
fellow1 with a most violent1 intemperate
 spirit1 fitly represented the interests
 of his uncle4 ,the pope1 ,innocent     
,,xii1 a man of a benevolent and        
equitable temper1 found his position a  
very difficult one1 somewhat similar to 
that of ,pilate at the trial of ,jesus4 
,his sympathies were wholly with        
,fnelon1 and there is no doubt that he  
would gladly have given a verdict in his
 favor1 or dismissed the whole matter1  
could he have done so without mortally  

offending the king4 ,he had at first    
hoped that the business might be settled
 in ,france by mild and conciliatory    
measures1 and had expressed this wish to
 ,louis2 but the suggestion was entirely
 unavailing4 ,so he was obliged to take 
up the very unpleasant task4 ,he        
appointed a commission of ten persons   
called ,consulters to give a thorough   
examination of ,fnelon's books4 ,but    
after sixty-four successive and         
protracted sittings of six or seven     
hours each1 at many of which the pope   
himself assisted1 they found themselves 
so evenly divided in relation to it that
 no satisfactory result could reasonably
 be expected from the continuance of    
their deliberations4 ,the pope          
accordingly selected a commission of    
cardinals to pronounce upon the matter2 
but after twelve sittings they were     
unable to come to any conclusion1 and   
were dissolved4 ,next a new congregation
 of cardinals were selected1 and met in 
consultation no less than fifty-two     

times without getting on very far4 ,the 
long delays and the hesitation shown at 
,rome to condemn ,fnelon were utterly   
unexpected by either ,bossuet or the    
king1 and made them furious4 ,constantly
 increasing pressure was brought to bear
 from ,paris to secure the result       
pleasing to the monarch4  ,at the very  
beginning1 in ,july1 #afig1 the king1 by
 ,bossuet's instigation1 wrote an urgent
 letter to the pope calling upon him    
speedily to condemn ,fnelon's book4     
,missive after missive of similar       
purport went forward1 and all the arts  
of diplomacy1 all the influences which  
,louis could in any way exert1 were     
unblushingly employed for ,fnelon's     
overthrow4 ,affairs at ,rome1 indeed1   
before long involved themselves into a  
perfect tangle of chicanery and         
intrigue1 cardinal against cardinal1    
ambassador against ambassador4 ,other   
courts besides that of ,france took a   
hand4 ,the imperial ambassador worked   
hard for ,fnelon2 the ,spanish minister 

was zealous on the other side2 and a    
smaller potentate1 ,cosmo1 ,grand ,duke 
of ,tuscany1 a dabbler in theology1     
threw his weight in the latter          
direction4 ,the poor pope was violently 
pulled1 now this way1 now that4 ,he     
greatly liked ,fnelon1 admiring his     
beautiful spirit and appreciating his   
loyal attachment to the ,holy ,see4 ,he 
resented the disgraceful attempt to     
browbeat him on the part of the         
desperate king and the ,bishop of       
,meaux1 a pragmatical1 pugnacious bully4
 ,he could scarcely see any way of      
censuring any of ,fnelon's propositions 
without censuring also other writers of 
the same sort1 like ,st4 ,bernard and   
,st4 ,francis of ,sales1 whom the       
,church had delighted to honor4 ,it     
seemed to him also1 as was indeed the   
case1 almost if not quite wholly a      
dispute about words4 ,as to a habitual  
state of disinterested ,divine love1 the
 attainment of which was said to be     
inculcated in ,fnelon's writings1       

,fnelon himself uniformly declared his  
opinion that a permanent state of       
,divine love1 without hope and without  
fear1 was above the lot of man4 ,and    
,bossuet himself allowed that there     
might be moments when the soul1         
dedicated to the love of ,god1 would be 
lost in heavenly contemplation1 and then
 love and adore without being influenced
 by either hope or fear1 or being       
sensible of either4 ,their real ground  
of difference was1 after all1 very      
small1 and there was much to be said on 
both sides4 ,and1 under all these       
circumstances1 it is scarcely surprising
 that it took so long to reach a        
decision4  ,it was postponed from month 
to month in the hope that some          
chance--the death of the king or of     
,bossuet--might relieve the pressure1   
and allow the papal conscience its      
rights as against the papal policy4 ,as 
late as the autumn of #afih1 a whole    
year after the conference of the ten    
,consulters began1 five of them         

persisted1 in defiance of every pressure
 that could be brought to bear upon     
them1 in pronouncing the book to be     
absolutely orthodox1 and so proceedings 
had to be begun again4 ,the real issue  
of the struggle had probably never been 
doubtful in case the ,french court      
insisted4 ,for1 as the cardinals said3  
,it will not do to fire great guns at   
the king4 ,rome's wisest course demands 
of her to yield to him whatever may be  
yielded without wounding the first      
principles of religion4 ,it is          
absolutely certain that1 but for this   
unseemly influence1 the decision would  
have been in ,fnelon's favor4 ,as it    
was1 the pope and his advisers struggled
 hard to wriggle out of their dilemma   
with as little violence to their        
feelings and their honor as they could4 
,after it was settled that they must in 
some way give the decision as the king  
so imperatively demanded1 there were a  
great many meetings of the ,conclave to 
decide on the precise form it should    

take4 ,this required months of wrangling
 and debate4 ,it was at first intended  
to issue a simple brief1 distinctly     
affirming that ,his ,holiness did not   
intend to condemn the author's          
explanations of his book1 but giving    
some general disapproval of certain     
inferences drawn from it1 and asserting 
the ,church's true doctrine as opposed  
to the ,quietists1 without casting any  
blame on the ,archbishop of ,cambrai4   
,this would have been done had not      
,bossuet's agents at ,rome1 assisted by 
the ,cardinal ,cassanata1 a man of most 
imperious will and overbearing temper1  
exerted themselves to the utmost1       
fortified by fresh letters from the king
 dictated by ,bossuet1 insisting1 with  
hardly veiled threats of the direful    
consequences that would ensue from      
disobedience1 that the decision be      
clear1 precise1 capable of no           
misinterpretation1 such as is necessary 
to remove all doubt with regard to      
doctrine and eradicate the very root of 

the evil4 ,thus badgered and driven and 
terrified1 there seemed to be nothing to
 do but submit2 so at length1 on the    
#abth of ,march1 the whole ,sacred      
,college was assembled at the palace of 
,monte ,cavallo1 where the decree was   
accepted by the whole body of cardinals1
 signed by the pope in their presence1  
and immediately posted in all the       
principal public places of ,rome4  ,the 
book itself1 strictly speaking1 was not 
condemned1 but only twenty-three        
propositions which purported to be      
extracted from it4 ,the pope took pains 
to say1 and to have it clearly          
understood1 that they were condemned1   
not in the sense which they might bear  
or in the sense in which they were      
explained by ,fnelon himself4 ,the      
propositions were said to be condemned  
because1 not being worded in conformity 
with the author's real intentions1 they 
might insensibly lead the faithful to   
errors already condemned by the         
,catholic ,church2 because they         

contained words which1 in the sense that
 more immediately presented itself were 
rash1 ill-sounding1 offensive to pious  
ears1 and erroneous4 ,the cardinals     
refused to associate the name of        
heretic1 or of anything resembling      
heresy1 with ,fnelon--his name1 indeed1 
was not once mentioned in the brief--and
 they absolutely rejected the usual     
appendage to a brief of condemnation1 an
 order for the book to be burned4 ,very 
little was really decided4 ,the words   
were very gentle1 and in important ways 
noncommittal4 ,disinterestedness in the 
larger sense was neither asserted nor   
denied2 all that was done was to prune  
,fnelon's system of what might be       
considered its extravagances4 ,in       
pronouncing1 on the whole1 against the  
,maxims1 ,rome had not really declared  
for ,bossuet4 ,fnelon could lawfully    
tell his friends that disinterestedness 
was not condemned1 but only its         
exaggerated statement2 self-interest had
 not been made an essential condition of

 our love of ,god1--it was still        
possible to love ,him for ,himself1     
provided that hope and desire of heaven 
were not habitually of set purpose      
excluded4 ,all this soothed the sorrows 
of the friends of ,fnelon's1 as it was  
designed to do1 and considerably        
mortified his enemies1 which            
mortification was increased by a bon mot
 of the pope1 which was soon in every   
mouth1 that ,fnelon was in fault for too
 great love of ,god2 and his enemies    
equally in fault for too little love of 
their neighbor4 ,the pope1 indeed1 had  
repeatedly called ,fnelon a very great  
archbishop1 most pious1 most holy1 most 
learned2 and he gave to the ,abb de     
,chanterac every indication of the      
extreme reluctance with which he moved  
in the matter4  ,it was1 on the whole1 a
 very barren victory for ,bossuet2 but  
he accepted it rather than run any      
further risk in the long-drawn-out      
contest1 of which all parties were      
thoroughly weary4 ,it had cost him dear 

in both reputation and character4 ,no   
one now1 however small his admiration   
for ,fnelon1 attempts to defend the     
steps which ,bossuet took or the        
dishonorable means to which in his      
desperation he resorted to compass his  
end4 ,he contended not lawfully1 and    
deserves no crown4 ,he showed an        
irritation1 rancor1 bitterness1 and     
malignity most lamentable2 used         
invective1 artifice1 and garbled        
quotations2 sullied himself forever by  
the course he took4 ,with brutal irony  
and savage harshness he hectored1       
threatened1 plotted1 violated           
confidences1 and made accusations as    
base as they were reckless4 ,he used    
without scruple secret writings which he
 had received from ,madame ,guyon1      
private letters written to him by       
,fnelon during their early intimacy1 and
 a letter which1 under the seal of      
friendship1 ,fnelon had written to      
,madame de ,maintenon1 and which in this
 trying hour she unfeelingly            

communicated to ,bossuet1 having        
entirely changed in her attitude toward 
him since the king's animosity was      
evident4 ,bossuet's personal charges    
against his amiable and estimable       
adversary1 not believed by any one1     
showed the innate smallness of his      
nature1 the desperate strait to which he
 was driven1 and the degree to which he 
had let jealousy and rivalry of one     
greater than he take possession of his  
bosom4 ,that he himself was of plebeian 
birth--a bar which kept him from the    
goal of his ambition in the             
cardinalate--while ,fnelon was of the   
patricians1 had doubtless something to  
do with it4 ,he squandered his waning   
powers on a controversy which added no  
luster to his reputation1 and brought   
him no nearer to the summit of his      
desires4 ,too late he realized that it  
was impossible to ruin such a man as    
,fnelon in the eyes of those who had    
learned to love him4 ,he might be       
banished from the ,vatican and from     

,versailles1 silenced by the pope1 and  
disgraced by the king1 but he was       
cherished none the less in the hearts of
 the devout1 idolized and adored as an  
oracle of piety and virtue4  ,fnelon was
 not once betrayed into abuse or slander
 throughout the struggle in which he had
 so much at stake4 ,no unkind word      
respecting any of his persecutors       
escaped him4 ,he continually exhibited  
wonderful gentleness and dignity1       
elevated self-respect1 the urbanity of a
 refined gentleman1 and the grace of an 
exalted ,christian4 ,his style was      
forcible and effective1 but with no     
mixture of sarcasm4 ,posterity has done 
him justice2 has affirmed that          
throughout this contest no stain rests  
upon his moral character1 and that he   
was absolutely sincere when he said1 ,i 
ask ,god to grant ,m4 de ,meaux as many 
blessings as he has heaped crosses upon 
me2 curses1 he might have said4 ,all    
this while his enemies were using every 
means to hunt him down like a wild      

beast2 this was the expression they     
used4 ,never once1 says a person who has
 thoroughly examined the entire         
correspondence1 in the mass of letters  
that ,fnelon sent to his confidential   
agent at ,rome1 do we come across a mean
 or unjust expression2 there is not one 
letter that one feels inclined to wish  
had not been kept for the sake of the   
writer4 ,as attack after attack descends
 upon him1 intended to humiliate and    
crush1 he rises above it1 greater and   
nobler1 more faithful in following his  
,master's footsteps than ever4 ,he      
continually implored the pope to stop   
the endless war of pamphlets which was  
doing so much harm to the cause of      
religion and the ,church4 ,it was with  
the greatest reluctance that he was     
forced into the fight4 ,under the       
grossest of libels he would have        
remained silent had his friends         
consented4 ,but he was compelled by the 
actions of his adversaries to speak out 
sometimes with great vigor4 ,and he had 

to obey the voice of his conscience and 
the dictates of chivalry1 being         
thoroughly indignant at the unjust      
treatment accorded to his friend1       
,madame ,guyon4 ,his grief at the       
rupture of the bond between him and     
,bossuet was deep and sincere4 ,he      
wrote1 ,god alone knows what pain it is 
to me to give pain to one for whom1 in  
all the world1 ,i have the most         
attachment and respect4 ,he wrote this  
even when he was defending himself from 
the most virulent attacks2 and he would 
not have called ,god to witness to a    
profession that was not absolutely true4
 ,by his candor and simplicity1 his     
openness and gentleness1 the beauty of  
his genius1 and the reputation of his   
virtue1 he commanded the widest possible
 respect from all who were capable of   
appreciating these things4 ,his         
challenge to his maligners rang out     
without ambiguity3 ,i fear nothing1     
thank ,god1 that will be communicated   
and examined judicially4 ,i fear nothing

 but vague report and unexamined        
allegation4  ,fnelon1 when the decision 
at ,rome was communicated to him1 acted 
as his friends had expected1 although   
some of them had hardly dared hope that 
even he could rise so magnificently to  
the occasion4 ,he accepted1 simply1     
sincerely1 sweetly1 with no reservation 
or concealment or half-heartedness1 what
 he regarded as1 under the              
circumstances1 the voice of ,god4 ,his  
brother1 the ,compte de ,fnelon1 heard  
the tidings first in ,paris1 and started
 instantly for ,cambrai1 thinking that  
the reception of the news through a     
kindly channel might at least lighten   
somewhat the blow4 ,he arrived on the   
,festival of the ,annunciation1 just as 
the archbishop was about to preach in   
the cathedral4 ,however keenly he felt  
the blow--and he was1 of course1        
human--he was not disconcerted1 or cast 
down1 or perplexed4 ,pausing a little to
 arrange his thoughts1 he threw aside   
his intended sermon1 and preached on the

 duty of absolute submission to         
authority4 ,the congregation1 among whom
 the news was already whispered1 was    
most profoundly impressed with the calm 
dignity1 the noble simplicity of their  
beloved chief pastor2 and the eyes of   
most overflowed with tears of           
admiration1 affection1 grief1 and       
respect as they listened to his         
heartfelt words4  ,he was not a little  
harassed1 as the days went on1 by some  
zealous1 well-meaning folk1 who feared  
that he might not do the best thing1 and
 wrote him long exhortations to submit1 
telling him of the glory he would find  
in such humiliation and the heroism he  
would achieve4 ,he wrote to             
,beauvilliers3 ,all this wearies me     
somewhat2 and ,i am disposed to say to  
myself1 ,what have ,i done to all these 
people that they think ,i shall find it 
so difficult to prefer the authority of 
the ,holy ,see to my own dim knowledge1 
or the peace of the ,church to my own   
book8 ,however1 ,i am well aware they   

are right in attributing large          
imperfections to me and much shrinking  
from an act of humiliation2 therefore ,i
 can easily forgive them4 ,he wrote3    
,doubtless it costs one something to    
humble one's self2 but the least        
resistance to the ,holy ,see would cost 
me a hundred-fold more1 and ,i must     
confess that ,i can see no room for     
hesitation in the matter4 ,one may      
suffer1 but one can not have a moment's 
doubt4 ,he also said3 ,amid these       
troubles ,i have the comfort1 little    
appreciated by the world1 but very      
satisfactory to those who seek ,god     
heartily1 namely1 that my course is     
clear1 and ,i have nothing to hesitate  
about4  ,his enemies sought in vain to  
find a flaw in his submission4 ,one of  
his followers wrote3 ,your conduct is a 
living exemplification of the maxims of 
the saints2 as indeed it was4 ,the      
dignified humility with which he met    
misfortune gave him added reputation4   
,he sent out a pastoral letter1 short   

and affecting1 which comforted his      
friends and afflicted his enemies1      
falsifying every prediction which they  
had made of the nice subtleties and     
distinctions with which he would seek to
 disguise his defeat4 ,his letters at   
this time breathed in all cases the most
 amiable spirit of peace and            
resignation4 ,but in general he declined
 all writing and discourse on the       
subject1 and at an early moment         
dismissed the controversy as far as     
possible from his thoughts4 ,the ,bishop
 of ,chartres wrote to ,fnelon that he  
was delighted with his perfect          
submission3 ,i have no words to express 
how my heart is affected with your      
humble and generous action4 ,the pope   
wrote most kindly1 and all the          
cardinals1 except ,cassanata1 sent      
messages to ,fnelon by the ,abb de      
,chanterac1 conveying their respect and 
attachment4 ,it is impossible1 wrote the
 abb1 to praise more than they did your 
submission1 your pastoral letter1 your  

letters to the pope1 and the whole of   
your conduct4 ,as one eminent person    
wrote from ,rome1 ,he was more glorious 
than if he had never been condemned4    
,the ,chancellor d',aguesseau writes    
that ,fnelon's submission made him the  
hero of the day4 ,it stands the solitary
 example in history of a controversy    
upon a point of such moment which one   
single sentence terminated at the       
instant1 without its reproduction in any
 other form1 without any attempt to     
reverse it by power or elude it by      
distinctions4 ,the glory of it is due to
 ,fnelon1 who was able to see that a    
very great desire to justify one's self 
often does more harm than good1 and that
 the surest way to obliterate wrongs    
unjustly imputed is to let them be      
forgotten and die out in silence4       
,fnelon said1 ,in all this1 so far from 
referring it to my opponents1 ,i see no 
human agent2 ,i see ,god only1 and ,i am
 content to accept what ,he does4 ,in   
the name of ,god1 he writes to a friend1

 speak to me only of ,god1 and leave men
 to judge of me as they like4 ,as for   
me1 ,i shall seek only peace and        
silence4 ,he had no resentment toward   
any one2 but he steadily refused1 with  
proper dignity and uncompromising       
adherence to the right1 to utter one    
syllable which could be perverted into a
 semblance of retraction4 ,he said that 
since the head of the ,church1 with its 
superior light and authority1 had so    
judged1 he must believe himself to have 
insufficiently explained his meaning1   
but he declared1 in justice to himself1 
that he never understood the text1 or   
supposed any one else could understand  
it1 save in the sole sense which he had 
himself assigned to it4 ,while ready at 
all times to meet his opponents in the  
humblest and most peaceful spirit1 as he
 declared1 he declined to enter into any
 negotiations that would imply a        
yielding of what concerned his          
conscience or his sense of truth in     
order to win them4 ,he ceased to write  

and converse upon the subject from this 
time4 ,but in the discharge of his      
duties among his own people and in his  
correspondence1 he never ceased to      
inculcate the doctrine of pure love4 ,he
 thought it his duty to avoid certain   
forms of expression1 and certain        
illustrations which had been            
specifically condemned in the ,papal    
,decree1 and which were liable to be    
misconceived1 but he went no further4   
,how could he8 ,nor do we find that room
 to wonder1 which some have done1 at the
 heartiness and promptness of his       
submission to what he doubtless felt    
was1 from a human point of view1 unjust4
 ,he refused to confine himself to the  
human point of view4 ,he held1 with     
,general ,charles ,george ,gordon1 and  
many others in our own day1 that1       
however we may rightly struggle to alter
 events while they are in the process of
 formation1 when once they have come to 
pass they register a decree of the      
,almighty1 and any reluctance to receive

 them is rebellion against ,him1        
something not to be thought of by a     
truly loyal heart4 ,this theory and     
practice made earth to him very         
heavenly1 and life a triumphant march4  
,,chapter ,,vi4                         
,,the ,,good ,,archbishop4   ,it is now 
our privilege to bid farewell to the    
noise of battle1 and look at the good   
archbishop in the peaceful retirement of
 his great diocese1 where1 as all admit1
 his episcopal duties were perfectly    
performed4 ,even the most captious      
carpers and cavilers at ,fnelon1 who can
 see little or no good in any other part
 of his life and try hard to find some  
unworthy motive at the bottom of the    
acts that seem so fair1 are sore put to 
it1 when they come to this portion1 to  
withhold a meed of hearty praise4 ,they 
are forced to admit that his misfortunes
 have helped his character1 and that he 
shines forth with a luster rarely1 if   
ever1 equaled4 ,what he would have      
become spiritually had the world        

continued to smile upon him is1 of      
course1 unknown4 ,had ,louis ,,xiv died 
and the ,duke of ,burgundy come to the  
throne1 ,fnelon would undoubtedly have  
reached the cardinalate for which his   
birth and abilities so well fitted him1 
and might even have gone higher4 ,but it
 is not likely that1 in the vitiated    
atmosphere of the court1 and surrounded 
by the temptations inevitably awaiting  
on unclouded success1 his character     
could have developed as it did in       
affliction4 ,some measure of adversity  
seems to be essential to bring out the  
best there is in us4 ,his career has    
been called by some superficial         
observers a splendid failure1 but the   
words have no meaning except in the     
sense in which they might be used of    
,jesus of ,nazareth and a multitude of  
others who have stood for the highest   
ideals and have died nobly fighting     
against wrong4 ,fnelon did not falter in
 his course2 he obeyed at eve the voice 
obeyed at prime2 he held to the end the 

supreme purpose which had inspired his  
earliest reflections4 ,but his years of 
exile1 spent in the single-hearted      
service of his people1 are a more       
impressive and edifying conclusion to a 
life begun under the auspices of ,st4   
,sulpice than if they had been attended 
with all the glories of the papal court4
 ,his reverses of fortune gave him an   
admirable opportunity1 magnificently    
improved1 to show that his high theories
 of resignation and self-surrender1 and 
a serene acceptance of everything from  
,god's hand1 could work well in         
practice4 ,under the stress of his      
troubles he gained new depth and breadth
 of piety1 new self-reliance and        
self-control1 larger tranquillity1 a    
more thoroughly compacted character4    
,cambrai1 to which1 he was banished in  
#afig1 and where he spent the last      
eighteen years of his life1 was a town  
of no great size or beauty1 on the river
 ,scheldt1 in the extreme north1 near   
the ,flemish frontier4 ,it was the      

ecclesiastical center of the ,flemish   
provinces which were conquered during   
the early half of the reign of ,louis   
,,xiv1 and confirmed to ,france by the  
treaty of ,nimwegen in #afgh4 ,formerly 
a dependency of the chaotic ,empire1    
there still clung around it some of the 
prestige of departed glories when its   
bishop's jurisdiction extended over     
,brussels1 and he governed the territory
 with almost the power of an independent
 sovereign1 having his own fortresses   
and garrisons and mint4 ,fnelon himself 
ranked both as a ,prince of the ,holy   
,roman ,empire and as a ,duke of        
,france1 and1 though possessing no      
feudal privileges1 he was still the     
principal landholder of the province1   
with a floating revenue of some hundred 
thousand francs1 perhaps about a hundred
 thousand dollars in modern money4 ,it  
was one of the first positions in the   
kingdom2 but it had some serious        
drawbacks1 especially as a place of     
permanent residence4 ,he had said on    

receiving the appointment1 ,all is      
vanity and vexation of spirit2 ,i am    
entering on a state of perpetual        
servitude in a strange land4 ,the people
 there were ,flemings1 not ,frenchmen1  
in their language1 their habits1 their  
modes of thought1 with little refinement
 of any kind1 their virtues as          
coarse-fibered as their manners4 ,it was
 no small privation for a man like      
,fnelon--born for ,olympus as it were1  
bred to the best society1 and fitted to 
shine in it with so much luster1 and in 
a time when1 even more than now1        
everything centered around the court at 
the capital--to be shut out from it all1
 losing the sympathy and friendship     
which his earlier years had brought him1
 the daily intercourse with minds that  
reflected his own thoughts yet inspired 
and exhilarated him4 ,for one in the    
flower of his manhood and at the zenith 
of his capacities1 possessing the gift  
of language in a marvelous degree1 with 
a filled and cultured brain1 to be      

thrown so absolutely out of his element1
 out of the world of books and          
intellectual equals1 exiled to a remote 
corner of the realm amid strangers1 was 
a calamity whose gravity1 on one side1  
it would be wrong to overlook4 ,his     
sufferings1 as nature goes1 must have   
been acute4 ,yet he speedily adjusted   
himself to the situation1 and there is  
no note of repining4 ,for mere court    
favors1 its dignities1 pomps1 and       
pleasures1 he had no real love1 and his 
whole life bears witness to the truth of
 his often repeated assertions1 that he 
had no wish to return to ,paris or      
,versailles2 no wish1 that is1 under the
 divinely appointed circumstances2 for  
he was able always to find in such      
circumstances his highest pleasure4     
,writing to the ,duke de ,beauvilliers  
in ,november1 #afii1 he says3 ,i am     
sorry1 dear duke1 to be separated from  
you1 the dear duchess1 and a very few   
other friends4 ,but for all else ,i     
rejoice in being away2 ,i sing my       

canticle of thanksgiving for            
deliverance1 and nothing would cost me  
so much as to have to return4  ,he by no
 means settled down into a state of     
passive quietism1 as some ignorantly    
prate1 wholly misconceiving both        
quietism and the man4 ,the slightest    
scanning of the records shows how       
beautifully and zealously active his    
last years were4 ,if ever a man threw   
himself into the interests of others1 or
 made the deep love of ,god1 which he   
breathed as his native air1 take loving 
shape in strenuous acts1 it was ,fnelon4
 ,he was quiet1 even as was ,madame     
,guyon1 and as all other high saints    
have been1 in so far as to rest with an 
absolute1 unhesitating1 unquestioning   
faith in ,god's keeping1 asking nothing 
save that ,his will might be perfected  
in him2 but he was most active and      
energetic in body1 soul1 and spirit for 
his neighbor's good4 ,the unremitting   
labors which he undertook1 and which his
 vast diocese if properly administered  

demanded1 involved a life of the most   
regular industry4 ,he gave but a short  
time to sleep1 and his working hours    
began early1 so that he had done nearly 
a day's work before saying mass4 ,his   
habit was to say this in his own chapel1
 after a long time spent previously in  
prayer1 except on ,saturdays1 when he   
said it in the cathedral1 remaining     
there to hear the confessions of        
penitents of any and every class who    
chose to present themselves4 ,he not    
infrequently preached in the cathedral1 
but seems to have preferred the town    
churches1 in some one of which he always
 preached the ,lenten discourses4 ,he   
made no effort at oratory1 aiming       
chiefly to be plain and intelligible1   
excluding from his sermons superfluous  
ornaments as well as obscurity and      
difficult reasonings4 ,he preached from 
the heart rather than from the head1 and
 generally without notes1 but not       
without much meditation and prayer4 ,he 
used to say1 ,i must spend much time in 

my closet in order to be prepared for   
the pulpit1 and to be sure that my heart
 is filled from the ,divine fountain    
before ,i pour out the streams upon the 
people4 ,he declared against the        
practice of committing sermons to       
writing and then learning them by heart4
  ,to his clergy he was a father and    
brother in ,god1 gathering them about   
him as constantly as possible for       
instruction and inspiration1 moving     
among them with the utmost wisdom1      
correcting1 advising1 assisting4 ,one of
 his first cares was the improvement of 
the seminary for completing the         
education of those who were preparing   
for the ,church4 ,it had been at        
,valenciennes1 but he removed it to     
,cambrai1 that it might be under his own
 eye4 ,it was his great desire to       
reconstruct it on the lines of the      
seminary at ,st4 ,sulpice1 where he     
himself had been so profited1 and to    
intrust the supervision of the students 
to priests who were members of that     

congregation2 but he found insuperable  
obstacles to this scheme in the fear of 
,m4 ,tronson lest any direct connection 
between ,st4 ,sulpice and ,cambrai might
 draw down upon the former the king's   
displeasure4 ,so ,fnelon appointed to   
the head of it his intimate friend1 the 
,abb de ,chanterac1 formerly his agent  
at ,rome1 saying1 ,he has the wit1 the  
piety1 and the wisdom to govern it      
peacefully4 ,but ,fnelon devoted great  
personal care to the students1 examining
 them himself1 and endeavoring to       
estimate their individual capacities4   
,besides the instruction he gave them   
during periods of retreat1 and at the   
chief festivals1 he conducted           
conferences once a week1 listening with 
infinite patience to their difficulties 
and replying with the kindness of a     
father4 ,no priest proceeded to         
ordination until he had been five times 
examined by ,fnelon himself4 ,in short1 
no pains were spared to make the priests
 of this diocese an example to their    

degenerate colleagues4  ,in the general 
administration of his diocese he        
concentrated all his powers1 allowing   
nothing to escape him1 erring1 if at    
all1 on the side of mercy and           
toleration1 finding it difficult to     
believe many of the charges brought     
against his clergy1 and only convinced  
by the most conclusive evidence4 ,he    
abstained from unnecessary acts of      
authority1 avoided all unnecessary      
display1 removed what was blamable by   
meekness and moderation1 improved with  
prudence and sobriety what was good4    
,his administration was uniformly wise1 
strict in some respects1 and yet on     
broad and liberal lines4 ,there was no  
harrying of ,protestants or ,jansenists1
 no bureaucratic fussiness1 no seeking  
after popularity1 but every man1 great  
or small1 was treated exactly as was    
becoming4 ,between him and his flock1   
his chapter1 or his clergy1 there was no
 discord4 ,though by his indefatigable  
zeal he soon made the district committed

 to his charge the model of a           
well-regulated diocese1 his biographers 
do not record of him a single instance  
of what are generally called acts of    
vigor1 or a single instance of gaudy    
virtue4 ,the peace of heaven was with   
him1 and was communicated to all around4
 ,all local customs1 down to the        
humblest1 were handled with a delicate  
touch1 and pardonable eccentricities of 
usage were never dealt with severely4   
,in the matter of patronage he was      
careful that no outsider1 and still less
 no relative of his own1 should swoop   
down on the richest livings and secure  
by interest what the natives naturally  
looked upon as their own by right4 ,he  
traveled throughout the district1 making
 tours of inspection several times a    
year1 and so coming into touch with     
every corner1 preaching more than once  
in every one of the six hundred         
parishes4  ,the laity adored him for his
 charities1 for the gentle firmness of  
his government1 for the natural grace of

 manner that enhanced a hundred-fold the
 value of everything he said and did4   
,always ready to help1 yet always modest
 in offering assistance1 he seemed when 
about some kindly action to be receiving
 rather than doing a favor4 ,he was     
always a perfect gentleman1 a high-bred 
man of rank1 a model of politeness1 and 
was equally adapted to every grade of   
society4 ,men of all classes were at    
ease in his company4 ,he directed every 
one to the subject he best understood1  
and then disappeared himself1 thus      
giving them an opportunity to produce   
out of their own stock the materials    
they were most able to furnish4 ,thus   
every one parted from him well pleased  
with himself4 ,perhaps no one ever      
possessed in a higher degree the happy  
talent of easy conversation4 ,his mind  
was entirely given up to the person with
 whom he conversed4 ,no one felt his    
superiority2 every one found him on his 
own level4 ,in visits to the sick at    
home1 to the hospitals and wounded      

soldiers1 he was indefatigable1 nor was 
he a stranger to the ,cambrai prisons4  
,he went into the cottages of the poor1 
and spoke to them of ,god1 and comforted
 them under the hardships which they    
suffered4 ,if1 when he visited them1    
they presented him with any refreshments
 in their unpretending and unpolished   
manner1 he pleased them by seating      
himself at their humble table and       
partaking cheerfully and thankfully of  
what was set before him4  ,various      
anecdotes illustrate his benevolence4   
,in one of his rural excursions he met  
with a peasant in great affliction4     
,inquiring the cause1 he was informed by
 the man that he had lost his cow1 the  
only support of his indigent family4    
,fnelon attempted to comfort him1 and   
gave him money to buy another4 ,the     
peasant showed gratitude1 but still was 
sad1 grieving for the cow he had lost1  
to which he was much attached4 ,pursuing
 his walk1 ,fnelon found at a           
considerable distance from the place of 

the interview the very cow which was the
 object of so much affection4 ,the sun  
had set1 and the night was dark1 but the
 good archbishop drove her back himself 
to the poor man's cottage4  ,in         
,february1 #afig1 before ,fnelon had    
permanently left ,versailles1 news came 
that a fire had burned to the ground the
 archiepiscopal palace at ,cambrai1 and 
consumed many or all of his books and   
writings4 ,his friend1 the ,abb de      
,langeron1 seeing ,fnelon conversing at 
ease with a number of persons1 supposed 
he had not heard these unpleasant       
tidings1 and began with some formality  
and caution to inform him4 ,but ,fnelon1
 perceiving his solicitude1 interrupted 
him by saying that he was fully         
acquainted with what had happened1      
adding further that1 although the loss  
was a very great one1 he would much     
rather they were burned than the cottage
 of a poor peasant4 ,this has been      
adjudged a more touching and pious      
rejoinder than that of the literary man 

whose library was destroyed by fire and 
who replied to the tidings1 ,i should   
have profited little by my books if they
 had not taught me how to bear the loss 
of them4 ,fnelon was taught compassion  
for men and acceptance of the ,divine   
will from a higher source than books4   
,at his own expense he rebuilt the      
palace and furnished it in a suitable   
style of magnificence1 but he did not   
allow the arms of his family to be      
affixed or painted on any part of it4   
,the archbishop's day was very carefully
 laid out1 and has been quite minutely  
described4 ,after the early rising1 the 
private devotions1 and the public       
services1 he was visible until nine     
o'clock to those only who attended him  
by appointment4 ,after that1 till he    
dined1 his doors were open to all       
persons who had business with him4 ,noon
 was the hour for dinner4 ,his table was
 suitable to his rank1 handsomely       
dressed1 with a great variety and       
abundance of good food1 that his many   

guests might enjoy themselves1 but he   
himself was extremely abstemious1 eating
 only the simplest and lightest viands1 
and of them but sparingly4 ,contrary to 
the custom of most prelates1 his        
chaplains1 secretaries1 attendants1 and 
all officers of the household1 sat with 
him at the same table1 making a very    
harmonious household1 among whom        
conversation was briskly carried on1    
,fnelon taking his part1 but leaving    
every one full scope4 ,after dinner all 
went to the great state bedchamber1     
which was very finely furnished1 but was
 used mainly as a sitting-room1 ,fnelon 
himself sleeping in a little room       
adjoining1 furnished simply with some   
gray woolen materials and only adorned  
with a few engravings4 ,general         
conversation was continued in the large 
room2 but a small table was placed      
before ,fnelon1 on which he signed his  
name to papers which required immediate 
dispatch1 and took opportunity to give  
directions to his chaplains on the      

affairs of the diocese4 ,he said grace  
both before and after dinner4 ,he spent 
the evening with those that were in the 
house1 whoever they might be1 supping   
with the people who happened to be      
present4 ,supper was at nine4 ,at ten   
the whole of the household assembled4   
,one of his chaplains read the night    
prayers1 and at the end of them the     
archbishop rose and gave his general    
blessing to the company4  ,his chief    
amusement1 when he found it necessary to
 relax a little from his arduous toils1 
was that of walking and riding4 ,he     
loved rural scenes4 ,the country1 he    
says in one of his letters1 delights me4
 ,in the midst of it ,i find ,god's holy
 peace4 ,everything seemed to him to be 
full of infinite goodness2 and his heart
 glowed with purest happiness as he     
escaped from the business and cares     
which necessarily occupied so much of   
his time1 into the air and the fields1  
into the flowers and sunshine1 of the   
great ,creator4  ,many visitors came to 

him from far and near1 attracted by his 
great reputation1 and the results of the
 visits were always the same4 ,whatever 
the previous sentiments or opinions1 or 
indifferent or hostile attitude1 all    
were enchanted and moved to highest     
admiration4 ,the ,abb le ,dieu1         
,bossuet's secretary1 and ,canon of     
,meaux1 in ,september1 #agjd1 was a     
guest at the palace1 and noted          
everything with the most minute and     
insatiable curiosity4 ,he found himself 
treated with the utmost consideration1  
and given every opportunity to pry into 
all that interested him1 and came away  
with none but words of hearty praise for
 all he saw4  ,a ,scotchman1 ,andrew    
,ramsay1 sometimes called the ,chevalier
 de ,ramsay1 scion of an old ,scotch    
family1 exiled for his sympathy with the
 ,stuarts1 sickened by many aspects of  
the ,protestantism in which he had grown
 up1 wandered over all ,holland and     
,germany1 hoping to find rest amid the  
philosophers of those countries1 but    

finding it not4 ,in this condition he   
came to ,cambrai1 where the archbishop  
received him with his wonted fatherly   
kindness1 and speedily won his heart4   
,the combination of spiritual religion  
and practical wisdom which he found in  
,fnelon1 the height of his personal     
holiness1 and the daily-watched beauty  
of his life1 even more than the clear   
and helpful teachings received1 made so 
deep an impression oh him that he became
 a convert to the ,roman ,church1 and1  
even when permitted to return to        
,england1 he remained faithful to the   
doctrines which he had learned at       
,cambrai4 ,he continued there for many  
months1 never wearying of studying his  
host's mind and soul1 and eventually    
writing the first life of him ever      
published4 ,his literary powers proved  
of great value in arranging the writings
 of his master and defending him from   
calumny4 ,subsequently ,ramsay became   
teacher to some of the ,pretender's     
family2 and there is an interesting     

story on record telling how the         
friendship of ,fnelon stood him in good 
stead at ,oxford some years after1      
showing how in ,england the good        
archbishop's virtues attracted highest  
esteem and his name had more influence  
than even in ,france itself4 ,in #agcj  
,ramsay came to ,england under a safe   
conduct1 and was received as a member of
 the ,royal ,institution on the strength
 of his connection with the ,archbishop 
of ,cambrai4 ,he further desired to take
 the ,doctor's ,degree at ,oxford4 ,the 
,earl of ,arran1 then chancellor of the 
university1 proposed him for that honor4
 ,opposition arose in ,convocation on   
the double ground that he was a ,roman  
,catholic and had been a servant of the 
,pretender2 but the opposition ceased   
when ,dr4 ,king1 head of ,st4 ,mary's   
,hall1 observed1 ,i present to you a    
pupil of the illustrious ,fnelon1 and   
this title is a sufficient guarantee to 
us4 ,ramsay was admitted to his degree  
by a vote of #he to #ag4  ,another      

,britisher1 the eccentric ,earl of      
,peterboro1 in whom the hero1 skeptic1  
and profligate were mingled in about    
equal proportions1 being among the      
visitors to ,marlborough's headquarters 
in the ,netherlands during the war1     
turned aside to ,cambrai to make its    
master's acquaintance4 ,he could have   
had very little sympathy with the       
saintly ,mystic there1 but he could no  
more resist his charm than could other  
men4 ,he wrote subsequently to the      
philosopher1 ,john ,locke1 that ,fnelon 
was cast in a particular mold that was  
never used for anybody else4 ,he is a   
delicious creature1 but ,i was forced to
 cut away from him as fast as ,i could1 
else he would have made me pious4 ,he is
 also reported to have written while    
there1 ,on my word1 ,i must quit this   
place as soon as possible1 for if ,i    
stay here another week ,i shall be a    
,christian in spite of myself4  ,count  
,munich1 afterwards known as ,marshal   
,munich1 one of the most distinguished  

commanders in the armies of ,russia1    
when young was a lieutenant-colonel in  
the forces contending in ,flanders4     
,being taken prisoner in battle and     
conducted to ,cambrai1 he was deeply    
affected by what he saw of the peaceful 
mind and truly ,christian generosity of 
,fnelon4 ,in all the vicissitudes of his
 after life1 in court and camp1 he      
delighted to the very end of his stormy 
career to remember the happy days which 
he passed as a prisoner or ward in the  
society of ,fnelon4 ,he found the       
recounting of the things he had         
witnessed at ,cambrai a help in soothing
 the agitations of his own wild and     
turbulent spirit and a means of         
permanent instruction in righteousness4 
,the celebrated ,cardinal ,quirini1     
whose life was devoted to learned       
researches and useful studies1 and who  
visited all parts of ,europe in the     
prosecution of literary purposes1 speaks
 in the following language of his       
interview with ,fnelon3 ,i considered   

,cambrai as one of the principal objects
 of my travels in ,france4 ,i will not  
hesitate to confess that it was toward  
this single spot1 or rather towards the 
celebrated ,fnelon1 who resided there1  
that ,i was powerfully attracted4 ,with 
what emotions of tenderness ,i still    
recall the gentle and affecting         
familiarity with which that great man   
deigned to discourse with me1 and even  
sought my conversation2 though his      
palace was then crowded with ,french    
generals and commanders-in-chief1       
towards whom he displayed the most      
magnificent and generous hospitality4 ,i
 have still fresh in my recollection all
 the serious and important subjects     
which were the topics of our discourse4 
,my ear caught with eagerness every word
 that issued from his lips4 ,the letters
 which he wrote me from time to time are
 still before me2 letters which are an  
evidence alike of the wisdom of his     
principles and of the purity of his     
heart4 ,i preserve them among my papers 

as the most precious treasure which ,i  
have in the world4  ,his enemies1 we are
 told1 practiced the shameful artifice  
of placing about him an ecclesiastic of 
high birth whom he considered only as   
one of his grand vicars1 but who was to 
act as a spy upon him4 ,the man who had 
consented to take so base an office had1
 however1 the magnanimity to punish     
himself for it4 ,utterly subdued by the 
purity and gentleness of spirit that he 
witnessed in ,fnelon1 he threw himself  
at his feet and confessed the unworthy  
part he had been led to act1 and        
withdrew from the world to conceal in   
retirement his grief and shame4  ,as    
will be inferred from these incidents   
his hospitality to those who came to him
 from all parts of ,europe1 as well as  
from near by1 was unbounded4 ,in spite  
of the urgency and multiplicity of his  
employments he was always ready1 with   
the greatest kindness of feeling1 to pay
 the utmost attention to all who had the
 slightest claim upon his time4 ,he did 

not hesitate to drop his eloquent pen1  
with which he conversed with all        
,europe1 whenever ,providence called him
 to listen to the awkward utterances of 
the most ignorant and degraded among his
 people4 ,his practice and his          
preference was to suffer any personal   
inconvenience1 or sacrifice any private 
interest1 rather than injure the        
feelings of a fellow-man or omit an     
opportunity of usefulness4 ,writing to a
 friend about his daily routine he says3
 ,i must confer with the ,chapter on a  
lawsuit2 ,i must write and dispatch     
letters2 ,i must examine accounts4 ,how 
dreary would be life made up of these   
perplexities and details but for the    
will of ,god which glorifies all ,he has
 given us to do6 ,this is the keynote on
 which ,fnelon toned and tuned his life 
at ,cambrai1 making himself the servant 
of all1 ministering rather than being   
ministered unto1 glorying in the honor  
of such services1 fearful of the outward
 pomps the ,church conferred upon him1  

yet accepting them in all simplicity    
because he fully believed the ,church to
 be directed by his ,master4  ,i have   
seen him1 says the ,chevalier ,ramsay1  
in the course of a single day1 converse 
with the great and speak their language1
 ever maintaining the episcopal dignity2
 afterwards discourse with the simple   
and the little1 like a good father      
instructing his children4 ,this sudden  
transition from one extreme to the      
other1 was without affectation or       
effort1 like one who1 by the            
extensiveness of his genius1 reaches to 
all the most opposite distances4 ,i have
 often observed him at such conferences1
 and have as much admired the           
evangelical condescension by which he   
became all things to all men as the     
sublimity of his discourses4 ,while he  
watched over his flock with a daily     
care1 he prayed in the deep retirement  
of internal solitude4 ,the many things  
which were generally admired in him were
 nothing in comparison of that divine   

life by which he walked with ,god like  
,enoch1 and was unknown to men4  ,the   
,abb ,galet1 another of ,fnelon's       
contemporaries1 bears loud witness to   
the fact that1 however grand the outside
 accommodations were1 the archbishop's  
personal appointments were of the most  
modest description4 ,he says that in the
 meager simplicity of his private living
 rooms1 fitted up plainly in serge1 of  
his dress--a long velvet cassock trimmed
 with scarlet1 but without gold tassels 
or lace--even of his ecclesiastical     
vestments1 ,fnelon did homage to that   
idea of holy poverty whose actual       
practice was forbidden by his station in
 the world4  ,but when it came to       
others1 ,fnelon was very considerate and
 very generous4 ,when he had cause to   
send his chaplains into the country on  
any business of the diocese1 it was     
always in one of his own carriages and  
with one of his own attendants1 that the
 respect which he showed them might     
conciliate to them the general respect  

of his flock4 ,he took1 so far as       
possible1 the burdens of his clergy on  
himself1 offered to pay more tax than he
 needed to1 even wasted 7as it would now
 seem7 money on beggars whose appearance
 moved his sympathies4 ,yet he also     
practiced sound economy1 that he might  
have the more to give1 held a careful   
audit of his household accounts1 and set
 aside large portions of his income for 
the starving soldiers1 or the interests 
of his seminary1 or the education of his
 nephews and their maintenance in the   
army4 ,he educated great numbers of     
students at his own expense1 sending    
them to ,paris2 especially the young men
 that were likely to prove good priests1
 but were too poor to bear the financial
 burden4 ,he had always a whole string  
of his nephews and grandnephews or other
 relatives gathered about him1 young    
people whose education he was asked to  
take charge of or those whose interests1
 for friends' or relationship's sake1 he
 was desirous to promote4 ,he was never 

without the presence of children in the 
palace4 ,a suite of rooms above his own 
was reserved for them4 ,not only his    
relatives1 but the sons of his intimate 
friends1 were placed in his care1 that  
he might train them to be good and      
chivalrous gentlemen4 ,very few of these
 boys were intended for the priesthood1 
but the confidence that ,fnelon inspired
 was so great that it was believed a    
child reared under his eye would be     
better fitted for court or camp than if 
he spent his early years in the company 
of princes at ,st4 ,germain or          
,versailles4 ,the last of his little    
guests were the grandchildren of his    
friend1 ,de ,chevreuse1 and1 harassed   
though he was by national disasters1 he 
could spare time to study and report    
upon them and express his pleasure in   
their company4 ,he wrote of the         
children1 ,i delight to have them here2 
,i love them dearly2 they cheer me much2
 they do not trouble me in any way4     
,they were with him to the end2 so that 

from the day he entered on his duties at
 ,versailles until his death he may be  
said to have given a definite proportion
 of his time and energy to the practical
 demonstration of his excellent theories
 of education4  ,during the contest for 
the ,spanish succession1 in the early   
years of the eighteenth century1 between
 ,france and ,bavaria on the one side1  
and ,england1 ,holland1 and ,austria on 
the other1 the diocese of ,cambrai1 not 
far from the ,netherlands1 which has    
sometimes been denominated the          
battle-field of ,europe1 was within the 
realm of war1 and suffered much from the
 cruel ravages of the advancing and     
retreating armies4 ,under these         
circumstances1 ,fnelon continued his    
constant visitations to every part of   
the district1 and all the writers dwell 
upon the singular marks of homage paid  
on these occasions to his eminent virtue
 by people of every name4 ,so far from  
putting any obstacle in his way1 the    
,english1 ,germans1 and ,dutch took     

every means of showing their admiration 
and veneration for the archbishop4 ,all 
distinctions of religion and sect1 all  
those feelings of hatred or jealousy    
which divide nations1 disappeared in his
 presence4 ,he was often obliged to     
resort to artifice to avoid the honors  
which the armies of the enemy intended  
him4 ,he refused the military escorts   
which were offered him for his personal 
security in the exercise of his         
functions1 and1 with no other attendants
 than a few ecclesiastics1 he traversed 
the countries desolated by war4 ,his way
 was marked by his alms and             
benefactions1 and by a suspending of the
 calamities which armies bring4 ,in     
these short intervals the people        
breathed in peace1 so that his pastoral 
visits might be termed a truce of ,god4 
,the ,duke of ,marlborough1 the ,prince 
of ,orange1 the ,duke of ,ormond1 the   
distinguished commanders who were       
opposed to ,france1 embraced every      
opportunity of showing their esteem4    

,they sent detachments of their men to  
guard his meadows and his corn2 they    
caused his grain to be transported with 
a convoy to ,cambrai1 lest it should be 
seized and carried off by their own     
foragers4 ,st4 ,simon1 by no means his  
friend1 can not say enough in panegyric 
for his never-ending kindness to the    
troops brought through ,cambrai during  
the war4 ,the duke paints him as moving 
among the sick and the whole1 the known 
and the unknown1 the officers and the   
common soldiers1 with a knowledge of the
 world which understood how to gain them
 all by treating each in his due degree1
 and yet a true and cheerful shepherd of
 their souls1 as constant in his        
ministration to the humblest as though  
he had no other business in life4 ,and  
he was no less careful for their bodily 
comfort2 lodged officers innumerable in 
his palace2 hired other houses besides  
for the same purpose2 filled them with  
the sick and wounded1 and with poor     
people driven from the neighboring      

villages2 tended the sick with his own  
hands1 sometimes for many months1 until 
their entire recovery2 supplied the     
hospitals with costly drugs and endless 
streams of food and delicacies1 sent    
out1 for all their abundance1 in such   
perfect order that every patient had    
exactly what he needed4 ,he was on the  
best of terms with the nobles and       
government officials1 not only of his   
diocese but of all ,flanders1 even as   
far as ,brussels1 and used his influence
 with them to beg many temporal favors  
for his people2 got his village         
schoolmasters exempted from service in  
the army1 saved the farmers and their   
horses from forced labors in the winter1
 and even warned the ,ministry at ,paris
 that the devastated country could be   
the theater of no more campaigns4 ,when 
the commissariat of the king was in     
extreme want of corn1 the archbishop    
emptied his immense granaries for their 
subsistence1 and absolutely refused all 
compensation4 ,he said1 ,the king owes  

me nothing1 and in times of calamity it 
is my duty as a citizen and a bishop to 
give back to the ,state what ,i have    
received from it4 ,it was thus he       
avenged himself for his disgrace4 ,at   
another critical moment1 only a timely  
advance from his own purse prevented the
 garrison of ,st4 ,omer from going over 
in a body to the enemy1 as other unpaid 
regiments had done4 ,it is no wonder    
that he became the idol of the troops1  
who sang his praises even in the        
antechambers of ,versailles4 ,and his   
fame stood equally high with those who  
were fighting against the king4  ,he was
 loved by so many because he was himself
 so full of love4 ,an instance of his   
largeness both of mind and heart        
occurred during these closing years1    
which deserves to be recorded1 for it   
certainly does not stand alone4 ,the    
,english prince known as the ,old       
,pretender was an officer in the ,french
 army in #agji1 and his duty took him   
near to ,cambrai4 ,in the conversations 

which passed between them1 the          
archbishop recommended to him very      
emphatically never to compel his        
subjects to change their religion4      
,liberty of thought1 said he1 is an     
impregnable fortress which no human     
power can force4 ,violence can never    
convince2 it only makes hypocrites4     
,when kings take it upon them to direct 
in matters of religion instead of       
protecting it1 they bring it into       
bondage4 ,you ought therefore to grant  
to all a legal toleration2 not as       
approving everything indifferently1 but 
as suffering with patience what ,god    
suffers2 endeavoring in a proper manner 
to restore such as are misled1 but never
 by any measures but those of gentle and
 benevolent persuasion4  ,even against  
the ,jansenists1 who were fierce        
,augustinians1 the ultra ,calvinists of 
that time in the matter of the ,divine  
decrees1 and whom he thoroughly         
disliked1 being himself a firm friend of
 free will1 he would by no means have   

harsh measures taken4 ,the sweetness of 
his disposition and his idea of the     
meekness of ,god1 made him strongly     
averse to the doctrines of ,quesnel and 
,jansen1 which he considered as leading 
to despair4 ,god1 he said1 is to them   
only a terrible ,being2 to me ,he is a  
,being good and just4 ,i can not consent
 to make ,him a tyrant who binds us with
 fetters1 and then commands us to walk1 
and punishes us if we do not4 ,in this  
he was at one with ,john ,wesley4 ,but  
he would not1 any more than the         
,methodist1 permit persecution of them  
in his diocese4 ,let us1 said he1 be to 
them what they are unwilling that ,god  
should be to man1 full of compassion and
 indulgence4 ,he was told that the      
,jansenists were his declared enemies1  
that they left nothing undone to bring  
him and his doctrine into discredit4    
,that is one further reason1 said he1   
for me to suffer and forgive them4  ,on 
hearing that some peasants in ,hainaut1 
who were descended from ,protestants1   

and who held still the same opinions1   
had received the sacrament from a       
minister of their own persuasion1 but   
that1 when discovered1 they disguised   
their sentiments and even went to mass1 
he said to the ,reformed minister3      
,brother1 you see what has happened4 ,it
 is full time that these good people    
should have some fixed religion2 go and 
obtain their names1 and those of all    
their families2 ,i give you my word that
 in less than six months they shall all 
have passports--that is1 to go where    
they like4 ,the same clergyman1 whose   
name was ,brunice1 he received at his   
table as a brother1 and treated him with
 great kindness4  ,to an officer of the 
army who consulted him to know what     
course he should adopt with such of his 
soldiers as were ,huguenots1 ,fnelon    
answered3 ,tormenting and teasing       
heretic soldiers into conversion1 will  
answer no end2 it will not succeed2 it  
will only produce hypocrites4 ,the      
converts so made will desert in crowds4 

,the closing years of ,fnelon's life    
were inexpressibly saddened by the      
number of deaths that swept away in     
melancholy succession nearly all with   
whom his heartstrings were most closely 
intertwined4 ,the first to go was his   
very dear friend ,langeron1 who died at 
,cambrai1 ,november #aj1 #agaj4 ,he     
probably held a deeper measure of his   
love than any one else1 possessed his   
entire confidence1 which was never in   
the least degree shaken by mutual       
disagreement and reproof4 ,he chose him 
for a coadjutor on the mission to       
,saintonge1 shared with him the loving  
care of the little prince1 to whom he   
was reader1 kept him with him at        
,cambrai as one of his chief assistants 
and a principal amelioration of the     
bonds which tied him there4 ,three days 
after the death he wrote3 ,i have lost  
the greatest comfort of my life1 and the
 best laborer ,god has given me in the  
service of ,his ,church1 a friend who   
has been my delight for thirty-four     

years4 ,o1 how full of sorrow life is6  
,o ,god1 how much our best friends cost 
us6 ,the only solace of life is         
friendship1 and friendship turns into   
irreparable grief4 ,let us seek the     
,friend who does not die1 in whom we    
shall recover all the rest4 ,nothing    
could be deeper or truer than the       
virtues of him who has died4 ,nothing   
could be a greater witness of grace than
 was his death4 ,i have never seen      
anything more lovely and edifying4444   
,god's will is done4 ,he chose to seek  
my friend's happiness rather than my    
comfort2 and ,i should be wanting alike 
to ,god and my friend1 if ,i did not    
will what ,he wills4 ,in the sharpest   
moment of my grief ,i offered up him ,i 
so dreaded to lose4  ,still keener1 in  
some respects1 was the loss he          
experienced in the death of the ,duke of
 ,burgundy1 who passed away ,february   
#ah1 #agab4 ,the ties between them were 
of the closest description1 and the long
 separation of fifteen years had made no

 difference in their mutual affection4  
,when the young man--fifteen years old  
at the time of ,fnelon's banishment in  
#afig--;heard of the sad event1 he ran  
to his grandfather and flung himself at 
his feet1 and implored with tears his   
clemency1 and as a proof of ,fnelon's   
doctrine appealed to the change in his  
own conduct and character4 ,louis was   
deeply affected1 but said that what he  
solicited was not a matter of favor2 it 
concerned the purity of the ,church1 of 
which ,bossuet was the best judge4 ,all 
intercourse between the two was         
interdicted1 and as both were closely   
watched by spies1 it was four years     
before the slightest communication could
 pass between them4 ,then the duke      
contrived to send a letter in which he  
declared his unshaken love1 saying that 
indeed his friendship but increased with
 time1 and that he was proceeding more  
steadily than before in the path of     
virtue4 ,when1 in #agjb1 ,louis gave the
 ,duke of ,burgundy command of the army 

in ,flanders1 he petitioned with great  
earnestness that he might be allowed in 
his passage to the army to see ,fnelon4 
,the king consented only on condition   
that the interview should be in public4 
,they met at a public dinner1 where1 of 
course1 but little could be said1 as    
everything was closely watched4 ,but the
 duke in a loud voice exclaimed1 in the 
hearing of all present1 ,i am sensible1 
my ,lord ,archbishop1 what ,i owe to    
you1 and you know what ,i am4 ,fnelon   
writes concerning the interview as      
follows3 ,i have seen the ,duke of      
,burgundy after five years' separation1 
but ,god seasoned the consolation with  
great bitterness4 ,i saw him only in    
public for a short quarter of an hour4  
,one must take things as they come and  
give one's self up unreservedly to      
,god's providence4 ,after this1 there   
was opportunity for a more frequent     
correspondence1 and it is most          
creditable to both parties1 filled with 
affection and profoundest deference on  

the part of the younger man1 and with   
the deepest solicitude and wisest       
counsels on the part of the elder4  ,the
 duke's father1 the dauphin1 or heir    
apparent1 died in ,april1 #agaa1        
leaving1 of course1 his son as next in  
the succession to the throne4 ,then1    
indeed1 did ,fnelon's hopes and the     
hopes of the nation rise high4 ,cambrai 
became thronged with people who thought 
it well to be in the good graces of one 
who might very soon be the power behind 
the throne and the most important man in
 ,france4 ,but alas6 alas for human     
plans and prospects6 ,the dauphine1     
,burgundy's wife1 died ,february #abth1 
of a strange malady which baffled all   
the physicians2 then the duke himself1  
having caught the infection1 died       
,february #ahth1 and their eldest son   
succumbed to the same complaint1 ,march 
#ahth4 ,the royal household was         
overwhelmed1 the nation was stunned1 and
 no one felt the loss more than1        
probably no one as much as1 ,fnelon4 ,he

 writes3 ,i am struck down with grief2  
the shock has made me ill without any   
malady4 ,my health has suffered         
terribly1 and whatever revives my grief 
brings on a certain amount of feverish  
agitation4 ,i am humbled by my weakness4
 ,all my links are broken2 there is     
nothing left to bind me to earth2 but   
the ties which bind me to heaven are    
strengthened4 ,o1 what suffering this   
true friendship breeds6 ,but if ,i could
 restore him to life by turning a straw 
,i would not do it1 for it is ,god's    
will4 ,it was undoubtedly the darkest   
hour of his days4 ,he never wholly      
rallied from the blow1 or took the same 
interest in his labors that he did      
before4 ,but there is the best of       
evidence that his faith in ,god did not 
fail1 and that in all the suffering1    
both for himself and for his country1   
around which the gloomiest shadows      
seemed now to be gathering1 he had no   
thought of the ,almighty unworthy of his
 goodness4  ,in ,november1 #agab1 died  

another most dearly loved and life-long 
friend1 the ,duke of ,chevreuse1 opening
 up all his wounds afresh1 as he says2  
but he adds1 ,god be praised1 be it ours
 to adore his impenetrable purposes6 ,in
 ,august1 #agad1 ,fnelon lost the last  
of that special group who had stuck to  
him more closely than brothers1 the     
,duke de ,beauvilliers4 ,they had never 
met since he left ,versailles1 but their
 hearts were most closely knit4 ,our    
best friends1 he wrote1 are the source  
of our greatest sorrow and bitterness4  
,one is tempted to say that all good    
friends should wait and die on the same 
day4 ,friendship will be the cause of my
 death4  ,it was to be even so4 ,his    
frame was feeble1 and these fierce      
attacks affected him severely4 ,in the  
following ,november a carriage accident 
entailed another shock to his system1   
from which he had not strength to       
recover4 ,in the month that followed1   
his friends recognized that he was      
failing visibly4 ,on the first of       

,january he was attacked by a sharp     
fever1 and it began to be evident that  
the end was near4 ,for the whole of the 
six days that remained to him on earth  
he permitted only the reading of the    
,holy ,scriptures4 ,over and over they  
read to him #b ,cor4 iv and v1          
especially the part about the building  
of ,god1 the house not made with hands1 
eternal in the heavens4 ,repeat that    
again1 he said more than once4 ,other   
texts of ,scripture particularly suited 
to his condition were read to him again 
and again4 ,he would try to repeat them 
himself with a failing voice1 while his 
eyes and his whole countenance were     
lighted up with a bright expression of  
faith and love which the sacred words   
inspired4 ,several times he asked those 
around to repeat ,st4 ,martin's dying   
words1 ,lord1 if ,i am yet necessary to 
,thy people ,i refuse not labor2 ,thy   
will be done4  ,on the morning of the   
#dth he took the blessed sacrament1     
being carried into the large state      

bedchamber for the purpose1 and         
gathering about him his attendants1 to  
whom he spoke a few farewell words of   
tender exhortation4 ,on the #fth he     
received extreme unction1 as one about  
to depart4 ,and immediately after1      
bidding every one1 save his chaplain1   
leave the room1 summoning all his       
strength1 he dictated to him a few lines
 addressed to ,pre ,lachaise1 the king's
 confessor4 ,being thus about to appear 
before ,god1 he said3 ,i have never felt
 aught save docility to the ,church and 
abhorrence of the novelties attributed  
to me4 ,i accepted the condemnation of  
my book with the most absolute          
unreserve4 ,there never was a moment in 
my life when ,i did not entertain the   
liveliest gratitude and most honest zeal
 for the king's person1 as also the most
 inviolable respect and attachment4 ,i  
wish long life for ,his ,majesty1 of    
whom both ,church and ,state have so    
great need4 ,if it be permitted me to   
come before the presence of ,god1 ,i    

will continually ask this of ,him4 ,he  
makes in the letter two requests of the 
king1 neither of them for himself or his
 family3 ,first1 that he will appoint to
 ,cambrai a pious1 worthy1 orthodox     
prelate2 and secondly1 that he will     
allow the ,cambrai seminary to be       
intrusted to the ,sulpician ,fathers to 
whom he owed so much4 ,the rest of that 
day and the night following he had much 
agony1 and1 in a feeble1 broken voice1  
said many times1 ,thy will1 not mine4   
,he was surrounded by those who loved   
him best1 his two favorite nephews1 the 
,abb de ,beaumont and the ,marquis de   
,fnelon1 arriving in haste from ,paris4 
,he gave them all his blessing as long  
as he could speak4 ,he passed away      
peacefully1 amid the tears of all       
around1 at quarter past five in the     
morning2 aged sixty-three years1 five   
months1 and one day4  ,he was buried in 
the cathedral of ,cambrai1 with every   
tribute of honor and respect1 but with  
all simplicity and without ostentation1 

as he himself directed4 ,in his will1   
dated ,may #e1 #agje1 he wrote1 after   
declaring that he cherished no thought  
concerning those who had attacked him   
save those of prayer and brotherly love3
 ,i wish my burial to be in the         
metropolitical church at ,cambrai1 as   
simple as may be1 and with the least    
possible expenditure4 ,this is not a    
mere conventional expression of         
humility1 but because ,i think the money
 laid out on funerals other than simple 
had better be kept for more useful      
purposes2 and also ,i think the modesty 
of a bishop's funeral should set the    
example to the laity and lead them to   
diminish useless outlay in their burial 
arrangements4 ,the last clause says3    
,while ,i love my family deeply1 and am 
aware of the needy state of their       
affairs1 ,i do not think it right to    
leave anything to them4 ,ecclesiastical 
property is not meant to support family 
wants1 and should not pass out of the   
hands of those who minister in the      

,church4 ,it was found1 when his affairs
 were settled up1 that after            
administering for twenty years the great
 income of his office1 which was at his 
own absolute disposal1 he ended a life  
of persistent and rigorous self-denial  
with no money in his coffers1 and no    
debts to any man4 ,his public and       
private life had been ruled by the      
fundamental principle which he did not  
fear to proclaim again and again as his 
conception of truest patriotism3 ,i love
 my family better than myself2 ,i love  
my country better than my family2 ,i    
love the human race better than my      
country4 ,all his days declared1 also1  
that he loved ,god best of all4  ,he    
stood for union with the ,divine4 ,he   
lived ever in the eye of the            
,all-,searcher4 ,all his thoughts and   
actions had been ruled by the purpose to
 be perfectly pleasing unto ,him4 ,he   
had1 no doubt1 failed at some points4   
,he was ever ready to confess it1 and   
lament his weaknesses2 for he was human4

 ,but not many of mortal frame ever kept
 more steadily before them from youth to
 age the high endeavor to be as much as 
possible like ,christ4 ,neither disgrace
 nor disappointment daunted him4 ,the   
failure of earthly ambitions only       
impressed on him the more that he had a 
message for mankind that was above such 
things4 ,and though there were probably 
not many in his generation that were    
ready to receive his lofty words1 though
 there are even now not many who are    
prepared to accept fully his sublime    
teachings and follow him as he followed 
the ,master1 yet there will always be an
 inward witness in the hearts of some of
 every age that responds to such voices1
 and leaps with joy at the summons to   
put everything away1 that ,god may take 
full possession of ,his own4 ,he was    
absorbed in the hot pursuit of highest  
holiness4 ,on this his strength was     
concentrated4 ,only thus did he attain  
the success that was vouchsafed him4    
,the spiritual life was to him the only 

real life4 ,the ,presence ,divine was   
ever with him4 ,the ,spirit of ,god     
filled his heart4  ,during the outrages 
of the ,french ,revolution1 in #agic1   
when the graves of the dead were being  
brutally violated by order of the       
government with wanton cruelty and      
savage merriment1 and the bodies of the 
great and noble1 the learned and pious1 
were being scattered to the four winds1 
an order from government reached        
,cambrai directing that all the leaden  
coffins that were there be sent to the  
arsenal at ,douay to be converted into  
instruments of warfare4 ,the agents     
proceeded to the ,metropolitan          
,cathedral1 entered the vault under the 
altar1 took away the bodies of others1  
but left the remains of ,fnelon2 not    
designedly1 it would seem1 for they had 
no veneration for the talents and       
virtues of the illustrious prelate2 not 
accidentally1 for what men call chance  
is only the providence of ,god4 ,it was 
the counsel of unerring wisdom that     

issued the commission1 ,touch not mine  
anointed and do my prophet no harm4     
,there are official documents describing
 the finding of the body afterwards by  
the mayor of ,cambrai4 ,the remains1 in 
a fair state of preservation1 were      
reverently sealed up and replaced in the
 vault4 ,in #ahjj the ,emperor ,napoleon
 ordered that a monument or mausoleum be
 erected to receive the ashes of the    
immortal ,fnelon2 to which they were to 
be transferred in due time4 ,this was   
probably not carried out1 as the        
existing monument to ,fnelon is in the  
new cathedral of the date of #ahbe4 ,but
 his chief monument is in the hearts of 
men1 in the veneration and affection    
felt for him by the whole of ,christ's  
,church without distinction of name1 and
 in the gratitude of the many1 many     
souls who have been helped on their     
heavenward journey by his strong1 wise  
words and beautiful example4            
,,chapter ,,vii4                        
,,the ,,spiritual ,,letters4   ,it is   

fitting that we conclude this sketch of 
,fnelon with some account of his        
writings1 because it is so largely      
through them that he lives today4 ,the  
most complete collection of his works1  
issued from ,paris between #ahbj and    
#ahcj1 is in thirty-four volumes1 #hvo1 
of which eleven volumes are given to the
 correspondence4 ,many of these literary
 labors have been translated into       
,english2 for instance1 the treatise on 
the ,education of ,daughters1 the       
,dialogues on ,eloquence1 the           
,demonstration of the ,existence of     
,god1 and the ,spiritual ,letters4 ,the 
last has by far the greatest importance 
at the present time1 has indeed an      
importance for all time4 ,but before    
taking it up1 a few words concerning    
some of his other productions will be in
 place4  ,while he was superior at the  
institution for the ,new ,catholics1 in 
#afhg or #afhh1 he wrote a treatise on  
the authority of the priesthood or the  
dogma of the ,apostolical ,succession1  

of course defending it2 which           
established his reputation as a writer1 
and attracted the notice of the king4   
,much more important was his work on the
 ,education of ,girls2 this has been    
sufficiently dwelt upon in the first    
chapter4 ,a treatise on the ,existence  
of ,god was begun in these earlier      
years1 but leisure did not seem to be   
found for its full development4 ,even   
the first part was not published till   
#agab1 and the second did not see the   
light until three years after his death4
 ,it is of little value now1 but it made
 a strong impression on the metaphysical
 philosophers of the eighteenth century1
 and is especially praised by ,thomas   
,reid4 ,his ,dialogues on ,eloquence1   
with special reference to that of the   
pulpit 7an admirable treatise on        
oratory71 was not published at all until
 after his death2 neither was his       
,refutation of ,malebranche1 his        
,letters to the ,king1 treatise on the  
,authority of the ,sovereign ,pontiff1  

,questions for ,self-,examination on the
 ,duties of a ,king1 ,letters on        
,religion to the ,duke of ,orleans1     
,plans of ,government1 and ,letter to   
the ,academy4 ,the latter1 written a few
 months before his death1 constitutes   
his answer to the chief literary        
questions of his age1 and treats more   
especially of the controversy between   
the ,classic and ,romantic ,schools4 ,he
 was a thoroughgoing ,classicist1 an    
,ancient of the ,ancients1 insisting on 
the study of ,greek as a panacea for    
most literary diseases4 ,he has also in 
the letter a chapter on the ,art of     
,writing ,history1 making symmetry the  
first requirement1 and impartiality     
next4 ,in his eyes a history was a work 
of art1 with something in it of the epic
 poem4 ,he suggested1 furthermore1 that 
the ,academy should devote itself to a  
detailed examination of the standard    
works in the ,french language1 and      
prepare popular editions with notes4    
,all ,fnelon's writings1 it may be said1

 show much grandeur and delicacy of     
sentiment1 great fertility of genius1 a 
correct taste1 and excited sensibility4 
,a poetical character appears in them   
all4 ,by assiduous study the works of   
the best writers of antiquity were      
familiar to him1 and his intimate       
acquaintance with their productions     
furnished him a resource in every       
vicissitude of life2 they were his      
ornament in prosperity1 his comfort in  
adversity4 ,the charm of his manner in  
society is largely communicated to the  
products of his pen4 ,they abound in    
passages of splendor and pathos1 but    
their chief excellence is in their      
tender simplicity1 by which the reader's
 heart is irresistibly drawn to the     
writer4  ,of much higher rank in a      
literary point of view than any of those
 previously mentioned was his           
,adventures of ,telemachus2 or1 ,the    
,education of a ,prince4 ,it is a       
fabulous narrative in the form of a     
heroic poem1 in which he sets down the  

truths most necessary to be known by one
 about to reign2 and the faults that    
cling most closely to sovereign power   
are also fully described4 ,it was       
composed by ,fnelon while he was        
preceptor to the royal dukes1 and       
designed exclusively for their          
instruction2 written at chance moments1 
hurriedly1 and piece by piece1 says the 
author1 sent to the press by an         
unfaithful copyist1 and never intended  
for the world4 ,he insisted that he did 
not borrow from real persons1 or sketch 
in the characters of his own time4 ,this
 was undoubtedly true2 but no human     
power could convince ,louis ,,xiv that  
it was so1 and the unauthorized         
publication of it in #afih1 just when   
the ,quietist controversy was at its    
height1 was extremely unfortunate for   
,fnelon1 and filled the king's cup of   
wrath to overflowing4 ,he had been more 
than sufficiently embittered before1 but
 after this there was not the slightest 
hope of reconciliation2 for the book is 

an idealistic portrayal of a            
commonwealth where virtue has its own   
again1 where there is no tyranny1 where 
the king is the father of all his people
 and the chief servant of the ,state1   
where duty is lifted far above rights1  
and justice is supreme4 ,since nothing  
could be more opposite to all this than 
the character and conduct of ,king      
,louis1 it is no wonder that he took it 
as a personal insult and a deliberate   
satire4 ,in every part of it            
disrespectful mention is made of        
ambition1 of extensive conquests1 of    
military fame1 of magnificence1 and of  
almost everything else which ,louis     
considered as the glory of his reign4   
,while the author must be acquitted of  
any intention to affront the monarch1   
which would have been most ungrateful   
and most ridiculous1 it is evident that 
he must have had unconsciously in mind  
the principal actors in the scenes      
around him1 was wholly out of sympathy  
with them1 and was training the young   

princes on a totally different model4   
,the book1 suppressed1 of course1 in    
,paris1 was brought out at once in      
,holland1 and became everywhere the     
rage1 immensely popular all over        
,europe1 and1 even to the present day1  
much read4 ,it has stood the test of two
 centuries of existence1 has been       
translated into many languages1 and has 
made his name familiar to those whom he 
could not otherwise have touched4       
,nevertheless1 the effect of its        
publication on his fortunes at that time
 was exceedingly disastrous1 and his    
enemies made the utmost use of it       
against him4  ,the ,explanation of the  
,maxims of the ,saints on the ,interior 
,life1 and the great part it played in  
,fnelon's career has been already       
referred to in a previous chapter4 ,the 
reader will enjoy getting a little      
fuller idea of its contents4 ,dr4 ,t4   
,c4 ,upham devoted forty-five pages to  
summarizing1 in a free translation1 the 
forty-five articles constituting the    

book1 and the following extracts are    
taken from his work1 now out of print3  
,pure love is mixed love carried to its 
true result4 ,when this result is       
attained1 the motive of ,god's glory so 
expands itself1 and so fills the mind1  
that the other motive1 that of our own  
happiness1 becomes so small and so      
recedes from our inward notice as to be 
practically annihilated4 ,it is then    
that ,god becomes what ,he ever ought to
 be1--the center of the soul1 to which  
all its affections tend2 the great moral
 sun of the soul1 from which all its    
light and all its warmth proceed4 ,it is
 then that a man thinks no more of      
himself4 ,he has become the man of a    
single eye4 ,his own happiness and all  
that regards himself are entirely lost  
sight of1 in his simple and fixed look  
to ,god's will and ,god's glory4  ,when 
the sun shines the stars disappear4     
,when ,god is in the soul1 who can think
 of himself8 ,so that we love ,god and  
,god alone2 and all other things in and 

for ,god4  ,the second state1 which     
follows that of holy resignation1 is    
that of holy indifference4 ,such a soul 
not only desires and wills in           
submission1 but absolutely ceases either
 to desire or to will1 except in        
co-operation with the ,divine leading4  
,its desires for itself1 as it has      
greater light1 are more completely and  
permanently merged in the one higher and
 more absorbing desire of ,god's glory1 
and the fulfillment of ,his will4 ,it   
desires and wills1 therefore1 only what 
,god desires and wills4  ,holy          
indifference is not inactivity4 ,it is  
the furthest possible from it4 ,it is   
indifference to anything and everything 
out of ,god's will2 but it is the       
highest life and activity to everything 
in that will4  ,one of the principles in
 the doctrine of holy living is1 that we
 should not be premature in drawing the 
conclusion that the process of inward   
crucifixion is complete1 and that our   
abandonment to ,god is without any      

reservation whatever4 ,the act of       
consecration1 which is a sort of        
incipient step1 may be sincere2 but the 
reality of the consecration in the full 
extent to which we suppose it to exist1 
and which may properly be described as  
abandonment or entire self-renunciation1
 can be known only when ,god has applied
 the appropriate tests4 ,we can not know
 whether we have renounced ourselves1   
except by being tried on those very     
points to which our self-renunciation   
relates4 ,the trial will show whether or
 not we are wholly the ,lord's4 ,those  
who prematurely draw the conclusion that
 they are so1 expose themselves to great
 illusion and injury4  ,those in the    
highest state of religious experience   
desire nothing except that ,god may be  
glorified in them by the accomplishment 
of ,his holy will4  ,their continual    
life of love1 which refers everything to
 ,god1 and identifies everything with   
,his will1 is essentially a life of     
continual prayer4  ,the will of ,god is 

their ultimate and only rule of action4 
,the most advanced souls are those which
 are most possessed with the thoughts   
and the presence of ,christ4  ,the soul 
in the state of pure love acts in       
simplicity4 ,its inward rule of action  
is found in the decisions of a          
sanctified judgment4 ,these decisions1  
based upon judgments that are free from 
self-interest1 may not always be        
absolutely right1 because our views and 
judgments1 being limited1 can extend    
only to things in part2 but they may be 
said to be relatively right2 they       
conform to things so far as we are      
permitted to see them and understand    
them1 and convey to the soul a moral    
assurance that1 when we act in          
accordance with them1 we are doing as   
,god would have us do4  ,we come now to 
the ,spiritual ,letters1 which have been
 called1 not unadvisedly1 the most      
perfect things of their kind anywhere to
 be found4 ,they were written to a very 
large number of correspondents1 both men

 and women1 on the impulse of the       
moment1 and without the least thought of
 publication4 ,hence they become all the
 more the most authentic revelation of  
his inmost mind1 a necessary and        
integral part of his character4 ,he     
wrote as he would have spoken1 suiting  
himself to the knowledge of his hearers1
 aiming at simplicity rather than       
ornament1 but not disdaining homely     
similes so far as they will make his    
meaning plain4 ,he draws freely and     
constantly upon his own experience1 so  
that the letters are a reflection of    
himself1 as well as a storehouse of     
practical religion4 ,helpful counsel may
 be found in them for nearly all        
situations in life and on nearly all    
topics that are most closely connected  
with ,christian living4 ,for though the 
persons to whom he wrote were usually in
 the higher circles--dukes1 counts1     
lords1 ladies1 soldiers1 courtiers1 and 
priests--nevertheless1 they were always 
men and women1 wives and mothers1 with  

human hearts and much the same          
temptations to combat that come to      
common people in the present age4 ,the  
letters were written to meet the        
individual needs of very real persons1  
written out of a warm heart and by a    
mind stored with the lore of the ,church
 on these subjects1 as well as gifted   
with unusual powers of discernment4     
,fnelon was a consummate director of    
consciences2 he moved through life      
heavily incumbered with the wants of    
others1 carrying many burdens and taxing
 all his great powers to meet the       
ever-recurring needs of a multitude of  
perplexed and hungering spirits4  ,those
 who peruse the epistles will readily   
perceive that they present a very high  
ideal1 yet we do not think they can     
fairly be pronounced harsh4 ,he does not
 speak in a tone of asperity4 ,he saw   
far into the human heart1 looked with a 
piercing eye through the disguises of   
sin1 could follow with unexampled       
clearness the turnings and twistings and

 lurkings of selfishness4 ,though the   
severest of censors1 he is at the same  
time the most pitying4 ,he regards human
 error with indulgent tenderness1 and   
weeps over it as ,jesus wept over       
,jerusalem4 ,echoes of the ,stoic       
philosophers--,marcus ,aurelius1        
,epictetus1 ,seneca--will undoubtedly be
 found in these letters4 ,indeed1 a very
 considerable and rather curious        
parallel has been drawn between ,fnelon 
and ,seneca2 which only shows the       
permanence of the principles that       
regulate the union between ,god and the 
soul under all skies and creeds4 ,there 
is a close similarity between these     
letters and those of ,francis of ,sales1
 who wrote on the same themes2 for the  
two saw eye to eye4 ,the effusions of   
either ,francis1 although adapted       
primarily to a different communion and  
time1 can be recommended almost         
unqualifiedly to-day to that small      
class--it will always be a small        
class--who set themselves1 with an      

aroused intelligence1 a high            
appreciation of the nature of the task  
before them1 and an intense             
determination1 to realize1 through all  
available and appointed means1 the      
closest possible approximation to       
perfect union with the ,divine4  ,our   
criticisms of ,fnelon's letters are but 
few1 and yet a little note of warning   
should undoubtedly be sounded4 ,no one  
should read them who is not prepared to 
think for himself1 to use a vigorous    
common-sense1 and to select for entire  
observance only those precepts which    
commend themselves to his mind as being 
in complete accord with the ,scripture  
and with the most judicious of other    
spiritual advisers4 ,almost everything  
he finds will1 we believe1 thus commend 
itself4 ,but there will be an occasional
 use of language before which he will   
pause and make a note of question or    
dissent4 ,there will be unguarded       
expressions which need explanation4     
,perhaps the chief words which he will  

find cause to challenge will be those of
 most frequent occurrence--self and     
self-love4 ,fnelon does not use these   
terms quite accurately1 and whoever     
takes them literally will be led into   
trouble4 ,where he says self-love he    
almost always means selfishness1 which1 
in our modern nomenclature1 is quite a  
different thing1 being the inordinate1  
excessive1 or forbidden love of self1   
such a regard for the interests and     
rights of self as disregards the        
interests and rights of other people4   
,this latter is always wrong1 of course4
 ,but self-love1 strictly speaking1 is  
in itself right1 perfectly innocent1 and
 of great importance to retain4 ,it is  
essential to our preservation and       
prosperity1 one of the most vital       
ingredients in our constitution4        
,fnelon1 we think1 never recognizes this
 meaning of the word1 never seems to    
know that we have very important1       
imperative duties to self1 as well as to
 our neighbor and to ,god4 ,either he   

was not familiar with these distinctions
 so common in ethics now1 or he was so  
profoundly impressed with the danger of 
overdoing self-love that he did not deem
 it well to recognize this duty at all4 
,but that surely is a mistake1 and with 
some minds tends to become a very       
harmful one1 leading straight on to     
fanaticism4  ,he is never tired of      
insisting on the absolute necessity for 
the death of self1 the destruction of   
self4 ,but this phrase will not stand   
critical examination4 ,the peril which  
always lurks in figures of speech1 and  
the tendency to exaggerate which so     
frequently besets devotional writers of 
the intense mystic type1 is very        
manifest here4 ,such writers put forward
 their extreme statements with a        
laudable desire to make a deep          
impression on the callous sensibilities 
of the average reader1 and with the     
idea1 perhaps1 that large deduction will
 be made in the practical application of
 their precepts4 ,but many find in this 

an excuse for throwing the whole subject
 impatiently aside4 ,we are convinced   
that it is better in such things to     
state the exact truth with all          
carefulness and with as few misleading  
figures of speech as possible4 ,there is
 certainly an ethical limit to our right
 of self-abnegation and                 
self-impartation4 ,benevolence has its  
moral bounds in holiness4 ,a man's life 
finds its largest fulfillment1 not in   
weakly assimilating itself to the wishes
 of those around it1 but in giving forth
 some new and characteristic expression 
of the life of ,god4 ,the notions1 or   
even the needs1 of one's neighbors are  
not the highest standard of right       
living4 ,every man holds himself in     
trust for his ,creator1 and must do his 
best to manifest that ,creator1 not     
necessarily according to the conception 
most prevalent in his immediate circle1 
but according to the mandate which has  
been laid on him4 ,it is this thought   
which gives the profoundest value to his

 existence and lifts him above too great
 dependence on popular standards4 ,and  
it is this thought1 properly carried    
out1 which shows how much of unreason   
there is in the declaration that self   
must be totally forgotten1 renounced1   
annihilated4  ,no person is justified in
 doing anything of this sort4           
,self-preservation and self-protection1 
self-respect and self-esteem1           
self-defense and self-development are   
manifest duties4 ,it may readily be     
granted that they are not in any great  
danger of neglect from the ordinary or  
average individual4 ,but the            
extraordinary individual1 if wrongly    
instructed1 filled with a zeal not      
according to knowledge1 keenly          
conscientious1 morbidly scrupulous1     
keyed up to an unnatural pitch and      
straining after an impossible ideal1 may
 do himself much harm and go far astray4
 ,to overdo is often as bad as to       
underdo1 and causes undoing4            
,denunciations of selfishness are always

 in order1 but its boundaries are not so
 easily defined4 ,self-love--the        
instinctive desire or tendency that     
leads one to seek to promote his own    
well-being1 a due care for one's own    
happiness1 essential to high endeavor   
and perfectly compatible with justice1  
generosity1 and benevolence--is a       
component part of our nature1 and must  
be carefully safeguarded4 ,to talk about
 its annihilation or eradication is to  
talk foolishness2 and to attempt such   
eradication is to fly in the face of    
nature2 that is1 of ,god4 ,the whole    
question1 then1 between selfishness and 
self-love is one of degree and          
adjustment and relative rights4 ,no     
absolute hard-and-fast line can be      
drawn4 ,one must use his best judgment1 
enlightened from all possible sources1  
as to what in any given case duty to    
self and duty to others demands4 ,and   
that judgment he must follow1 even when 
it materially differs from the opinion  
of those who may criticise his conduct4 

,there is no virtue in wasting one's    
self on impossible tasks4               
,self-sacrifice is never ethical if it  
be a willful spending of self to no     
purpose4 ,one may do a serious wrong to 
himself1 and confer no real good on any 
one else1 by following the lead of      
generous1 uncalculating1 unthinking     
impulses4 ,the exhortation never to     
think about one's self is thoroughly    
mischievous1 and can only lead to       
fanaticism and discouragement4          
,self-control1 not self-annihilation or 
extirpation1 is the duty of the         
,christian4 ,a man has perfect          
self-control when his highest powers    
hold the lower in subjection with       
perfect ease1 and are themselves in     
complete harmony with the will of ,god4 
,he is perfectly free from selfishness  
who gives to self only that degree of   
attention and care which is due1 and in 
no way infringes on any of the rights of
 others4 ,and he who is keenly desirous 
of doing this1 bearing in mind his      

natural bias the wrong way1 will deem it
 the safer course to go a little beyond 
what may seem the due limit4 ,but it is 
not selfish to be manly1 or to insist on
 being permitted to work out one's      
calling according to the clear1         
conscious summons from on high4         
,self-will so much inveighed against is 
right1 since it is a necessary component
 part of selfhood4 ,without self-will   
and self-consciousness there can be no  
self2 in other words1 we cease to be1   
and are non-existent4 ,masterfulness    
should be distinguished from            
willfulness2 the former is not sinful1  
but a most desirable thing in this world
 where leadership is so essential to    
progress4 ,a selfish will1 one at any   
point divergent from the will of ,god1  
so far as we know or can ascertain1 is  
always wrong4 ,to tell where egoism ends
 and altruism begins in our relations   
with our fellow-men is far from easy2   
but it is ever blessed to become        
absorbed in a great cause1 and supremely

 noble to have as the highest object in 
life the glory of ,god4  ,some          
exceptions must be taken to a few other 
extreme statements of ,fnelon1 in which 
he follows other mistaken writers4 ,the 
language of such teachers on humility is
 overstrained and really false1 likely  
to do harm4 ,fnelon says1 for example1  
,those who are truly humble always take 
the lowest place1 rejoicing when they   
are despised1 and considering every one 
superior to themselves4 ,we may judge of
 the advancement we have in humility by 
the delight we have in humiliation and  
contempt4 ,his motto was1 ,ama          
nesciri--,love to be unknown4 ,kempis   
wrote much of this same sort4 ,and ,john
 ,fletcher of ,madeley was constantly   
offering up the prayer which we have in 
,charles ,wesley's couplet1    ,make me 
little and unknown1   ,loved and prized 
by ,god alone4  ,to desire to be        
despised1 thought meanly of1 accounted  
as naught1 we can not recognize as a    
fruit of grace in a healthy mind rightly

 apprehensive of the vast importance to 
usefulness of a good reputation4 ,to    
think of ourselves more highly than we  
ought to think is wrong1 but so is it   
wrong to think of ourselves less highly 
than we ought4 ,the truth above all     
things1 facts at any cost whether to    
ourselves or other people1 is the better
 attitude4 ,no gain can come from       
falsity on the one side1 any more than  
on the other4 ,to delight unspeakably in
 the will of ,god1 even when it involves
 contempt from those who misunderstand  
our position1 is not the same as        
delighting in contempt itself4 ,to      
insist on the lowest place when our     
recognized and lawful place is higher1  
would be neither wise nor edifying4     
,fnelon himself took his proper place as
 archbishop in the cathedral and palace 
and elsewhere1 without diminution from  
his humility4 ,he showed the latter in  
his hospital work1 and in his familiar  
relations with those of lower rank4  ,a 
little too much is made in some places  

of the importance of silence4 ,there is 
not sufficient recognition of the fact  
that some are in great danger of        
speaking too little1 that there are idle
 silences as well as idle words4 ,the   
stress laid upon listening to the       
interior voice is also carried somewhat 
beyond bounds1 and needs                
counterbalancing by the warning that it 
is very easy to mistake the utterances  
of our own spirits for those of the     
,spirit of ,god1 the products of a vain 
imagination for the products of ,divine 
direction4 ,many have been sadly misled 
at this point4 ,we need not perhaps     
specify other strained and unbalanced   
remarks4 ,there are not many of them1   
and it would be unjust to make too much 
of them2 but it is also unsafe to ignore
 them altogether4 ,the letters are all  
the better in that they demand          
reflection from the reader1 and are not 
to be taken up in a wooden way as though
 they were infallible4 ,properly        
perused1 with prayer and meditation1    

they can not fail to be of immense      
service to the inquiring mind and the   
devotional spirit4 ,there is nothing    
better as a stimulus to those with lofty
 aspirations seeking for guidance as to 
how best they may reach the heights4  ,a
 few extracts from the letters1 all that
 our space permits1 are furnished1 that 
the reader's appetite may be whetted for
 the feast to be found in larger        
volumes4 ,and we can not better close   
this unpretentious1 but we hope useful1 
little book than with some of the       
glowing paragraphs that have already    
done so much good in the world1 and are 
destined to do so much more as the      
centuries roll3                         
,easy ,ways of ,divine ,love4           
,christian perfection is not that       
rigorous1 tedious1 cramping thing that  
many imagine4 ,it demands only an entire
 surrender of everything to ,god1 from  
the depths of the soul2 and the moment  
this takes place1 whatever is done for  
,him becomes easy4 ,they who are ,god's 

without reserve are in every state      
content2 for they will only what ,he    
wills1 and desire to do for ,him        
whatever ,he desires them to do4 ,they  
strip themselves of everything1 and in  
this nakedness find all things a        
hundred-fold4 ,peace of conscience1     
liberty of spirit1 the sweet abandonment
 of themselves and theirs into the hands
 of ,god1 the joy of perceiving the     
light always increasing in their hearts1
 and1 finally1 the freedom of their     
souls from the bondage of the fears and 
desires of this world1--these things    
constitute that return of happiness     
which the true children of ,god receive 
a hundred-fold in the midst of their    
crosses while they remain faithful4     
,what ,god requires of us is a will     
which is no longer divided between ,him 
and any creature2 a simple pliable state
 of will1 which desires what ,he        
desires1 rejects nothing but what ,he   
rejects1 wills without reserve what ,he 
wills1 and under no pretext wills what  

,he does not4 ,in this state of mind all
 things are proper for us2 our          
amusements1 even1 are acceptable in ,his
 sight4  ,no matter what crosses may    
overwhelm the true child of ,god1 he    
wills everything that happens1 and would
 not have anything removed that his     
,father appoints2 the more he loves     
,god1 the more is he filled with        
content2 and the most stringent         
perfection1 far from being a burden1    
only renders his yoke the lighter4      
,the ,divine ,presence4  ,the true      
source of all our perfection is         
contained in the command of ,god to     
,abraham1 ,walk before me and be thou   
perfect4 7,gen4 xvii1 #a47 ,the presence
 of ,god calms the soul1 and gives it   
quiet and repose1 even during the day   
and in the midst of occupation2 but we  
must be given up to ,god without        
reserve4  ,whenever we perceive within  
us anxious desires for anything1        
whatever it may be1 and find that nature
 is hurrying us with too much haste to  

do whatever is to be done1 whether it be
 to say something1 see something1 or do 
something1 let us stop short and repress
 the precipitancy of our thoughts and   
the agitation of our actions2 for ,god  
has said that ,his ,spirit does not     
dwell in disquiet4  ,an excellent means 
of preserving our interior solitude and 
liberty of soul is to make it a rule to 
put an end at the close of every action 
to all reflections upon it1 all reflex  
acts of self-love1 whether of a vain joy
 or sorrow4  ,let us be accustomed to   
recollect ourselves1 during the day and 
in the midst of our occupations1 by a   
simple view of ,god4 ,let us silence by 
that means all the movements of our     
heart1 when they appear in the least    
agitated4 ,let us separate ourselves    
from all that does not come from ,god4  
,let us suppress our superfluous        
thoughts and reveries4 ,let us utter no 
useless word4 ,let us seek ,god within  
us1 and we shall find ,him without fail1
 and with ,him joy and peace4  ,let us  

be careful not to suffer ourselves to be
 overwhelmed by the multiplicity of our 
exterior operations1 be they what they  
may4 ,let us endeavor to commence every 
enterprise with a pure view to the glory
 of ,god1 continue it without           
distraction1 and finish it without      
impatience4 ,the intervals of relaxation
 and amusement are the most dangerous   
for us1 and perhaps the most useful for 
others2 we must then be on our guard    
that we be as faithful as possible to   
the presence of ,god4 ,we can never     
employ our leisure hours better than in 
refreshing our spiritual strength by a  
secret and intimate communion with ,god4
 ,prayer is so necessary and the source 
of so many blessings1 that he who has   
discovered the treasure can not be      
prevented from having recourse to it    
whenever he has an opportunity4         
,independence4  ,do not suffer yourself 
to get excited by what is said about    
you4 ,let the world talk4 ,do you strive
 to do the will of ,god2 as for that of 

men1 you would never succeed in doing it
 to their satisfaction1 and it is not   
worth the pains4  ,let the water flow   
beneath the bridge4 ,let men be men2    
that is to say1 weak1 vain1             
inconsistent1 unjust1 false1 and        
presumptuous4 ,let the world be the     
world still2 you can not prevent it4    
,let every one follow his own           
inclination and habits3 you can not     
recast them1 and the best course is to  
let them be as they are and bear with   
them4 ,do not think it strange when you 
witness unreasonableness and injustice2 
rest in peace in the bosom of ,god3 ,he 
sees it all more clearly than you do1   
and yet permits it4 ,be content to do   
quietly and gently what it becomes you  
to do1 and let everything else be to you
 as though it were not4  ,as long as the
 world is anything to us1 so long our   
freedom is but a word1 and we are as    
easily captured as a bird whose leg is  
fastened by a thread4 ,he seems to be   
free2 the string is not visible1 but he 

can fly only its length1 and he is a    
prisoner4  ,do not be vexed at what     
people say4 ,let them speak while you   
endeavor to do the will of ,god4 ,a     
little silence1 peace1 and communion    
with ,god will compensate you for all   
the injustice of men4 ,we must love our 
fellow-beings without depending on their
 friendship4 ,they leave us1 they       
return1 and they go from us again4 ,let 
them go or come2 it is the feather blown
 about by the wind4 ,fix your attention 
upon ,god alone in your connection with 
them4 ,it is ,he alone who1 through     
them1 consoles or afflicts you4         
,possess your soul in patience4 ,renew  
often within you the feeling of the     
presence of ,god1 that you may learn    
moderation4 ,there is nothing truly     
great but lowliness1 charity1 fear of   
ourselves1 and detachment from the      
dominion of sense4 ,accustom yourself   
gradually to carry prayer into your     
daily occupations4 ,speak1 move1 act in 
peace as if you were in prayer4 ,do     

everything without eagerness as if by   
the ,spirit of ,god4 ,as soon as you    
perceive your natural impetuosity       
impelling you1 retire into the sanctuary
 where dwells the ,father of spirits2   
listen to what you hear there2 and then 
neither say nor do anything but what ,he
 dictates in your heart4 ,you will find 
that you will become more tranquil1 that
 your words will be fewer and more to   
the purpose1 and that with less effort  
you will accomplish more good4 ,when the
 heart is fixed on ,god it can easily   
accustom itself to suspend the natural  
movements of ardent feeling1 and to wait
 for the favorable moment when the voice
 within may speak4 ,this is the         
continual sacrifice of self1 and the    
life of faith4                          
,the ,faults of ,others4  ,perfection is
 easily tolerant of the imperfections of
 others2 it becomes all things to all   
men4 ,we must not be surprised at the   
greatest defects in good souls1 and must
 quietly let them alone until ,god gives

 the signal of gradual removal2         
otherwise we shall pull up the wheat    
with the tares4  ,they who correct      
others ought to watch the moment when   
,god touches their hearts2 we must bear 
a fault with patience till we perceive  
,his ,spirit reproaching them within4   
,we must imitate ,him who gently        
reproves1 so that they feel that it is  
less ,god that condemns them than their 
own hearts4 ,when we blame with         
impatience1 because we are displeased   
with the fault1 it is a human censure   
and not the disapprobation of ,god4 ,it 
is a sensitive self-love that can not   
forgive the self-love of others4 ,the   
more self-love we have1 the more severe 
our censures4 ,there is nothing so      
vexatious as the collisions between one 
excessive self-love and another still   
more violent and excessive4 ,the        
passions of others are infinitely       
ridiculous to those who are under the   
dominion of their own4 ,the ways of ,god
 are very different4 ,he is ever full of

 kindness for us2 ,he gives us strength2
 ,he regards us with pity and           
condescension2 ,he remembers our        
weakness2 ,he waits for us4  ,i am very 
sorry for the imperfections you find in 
human beings1 but you must learn to     
expect but little from them2 this is the
 only security against disappointment4  
,we must receive from them what they are
 able to give us1 as from trees the     
fruits that they yield4 ,god bears with 
imperfect beings even when they resist  
,his goodness4 ,we ought to imitate this
 merciful patience and endurance4 ,it is
 only imperfection that complains of    
what is imperfect4 ,the more perfect we 
are1 the more gentle and quiet we become
 toward the defects of others4  ,the    
defects of our neighbors interfere with 
our own2 our vanity is wounded by that  
of another2 our own haughtiness finds   
our neighbor's ridiculous and           
insupportable2 our restlessness is      
rebuked by the sluggishness and         
indolence of this person2 our gloom is  

disturbed by the gayety and frivolity of
 that person2 and our heedlessness by   
the shrewdness and address of another4  
,if we were faultless we should not be  
so much annoyed by the defects of those 
with whom we associate4 ,if we were to  
acknowledge honestly that we have not   
virtue enough to bear patiently with our
 neighbor's weaknesses1 we should show  
our own imperfection1 and this alarms   
our vanity4 ,we therefore make our      
weakness pass for strength1 elevate it  
to a virtue1 and call it zeal4 ,for it  
is not surprising to see how tranquil we
 are about the errors of others when    
they do not trouble us1 and how soon    
this wonderful zeal kindles against     
those who excite our jealousy or weary  
our patience4                           
,not ,perfect in a ,moment4  ,neither in
 ,his gracious nor providential dealings
 does ,god work a miracle lightly4 ,it  
would be as great a wonder to see a     
person full of self become in a moment  
dead to all self-interest and all       

sensitiveness as it would be to see a   
slumbering infant wake in the morning a 
fully developed man4 ,god works in a    
mysterious way in grace as well as in   
nature1 concealing ,his operations under
 an imperceptible succession of events1 
and thus keeps us always in the darkness
 of faith4  ,he makes use of the        
inconstancy and ingratitude of the      
creature1 and of the disappointments and
 surfeits which accompany prosperity1 to
 detach us from them both4 ,all this    
dealing appears perfectly natural1 and  
it is by this succession of natural     
means that we are burnt as by a slow    
fire4 ,we should like to be consumed at 
once by the flames of pure love2 but    
such an end would cost us scarce        
anything4 ,it is only an excessive      
self-love that desires thus to become   
perfect in a moment1 and at so cheap a  
rate4  ,we cling to an infinity of      
things which we never suspect2 we only  
feel that they are a part of us when    
they are snatched away1 as ,i am only   

conscious that ,i have hairs when they  
are pulled from my head4 ,god develops  
to us little by little what is within   
us1 of which we are until then entirely 
ignorant1 and we are astonished at      
discovering in our very virtues defects 
of which we should never have believed  
ourselves capable4  ,god spares us by   
discovering our weakness to us in       
proportion as our strength to support   
the view of it increases4 ,we discover  
our imperfections one by one as we are  
able to cure them4 ,without this        
merciful preparation that adapts our    
strength to the light within1 we should 
be in despair4  ,to the sincere desire  
to do the will of ,god we must add a    
cheerful spirit that is not overcome    
when it has failed1 but tries again and 
again to do better2 hoping always to the
 very end to be able to do it2 bearing  
with its own involuntary weakness as    
,god bears with it2 waiting with        
patience for the moment when it shall be
 delivered from it2 going straight on in

 singleness of heart according to the   
strength that it can command2 losing no 
time by looking back1 nor making useless
 reflections when it falls1 which can   
only embarrass and retard its progress4 
,the first sight of our little failings 
should humble us1 but we must press on2 
not judging ourselves with a ,judaical  
rigor2 not regarding ,god as a spy      
watching for our least offense1 or as an
 enemy who places snares in our path1   
but as a ,father who loves and wishes to
 save us2 trusting in ,his goodness1    
invoking ,his blessing1 and doubting all
 other support4 ,this is true liberty4  
,humility4  ,the foundation of peace    
with all men is humility4 ,pride is     
incompatible with pride2 hence arise    
divisions in the world4 ,we must stifle 
all rising jealousies2 all little       
contrivances to promote our own glory2  
vain desires to please or to succeed1 or
 to be praised2 the fear of seeing      
others preferred to ourselves2 the      
anxiety to have our plans carried into  

effect2 the natural love of dominion and
 desire to influence others4 ,these     
rules are soon given1 but it is not so  
easy to observe them4 ,with some people1
 not only pride and hauteur render these
 duties very difficult1 but great       
natural sensitiveness makes the practice
 of them nearly impossible1 and1 instead
 of respecting their neighbor with a    
true feeling of humility1 all their     
charity amounts only to a sort of       
compassionate toleration that nearly    
resembles contempt4  ,humility is the   
source of all true greatness2 pride is  
ever impatient1 ready to be offended4   
,he who thinks nothing is due to him    
never thinks himself ill-treated2 true  
meekness is not mere temperament1 for   
this is only softness or weakness4      
,there is no true and constant          
gentleness without humility2 while we   
are so fond of ourselves we are easily  
offended with others4 ,let us be        
persuaded that nothing is due to us1 and
 then nothing will disturb us4 ,let us  

often think of our own infirmities1 and 
we shall become indulgent toward those  
of others4                              
,daily ,faults4  ,little faults become  
great in our eyes in proportion as the  
pure light of ,god increases in us1 just
 as the sun in rising reveals the true  
dimensions of objects which were dimly  
and confusedly discovered during the    
night4 ,be sure that1 with the increase 
of the inward light1 the imperfections  
which you have hitherto seen will be    
beheld as far greater and more deadly in
 their foundations than you now conceive
 them1 and that you will witness1 in    
addition1 the development of a crowd of 
others1 of the existence of which you   
have not now the slightest suspicion4   
,you will find the weaknesses necessary 
to deprive you of all confidence in your
 own strength2 but this discovery1 far  
from discouraging1 will but serve to    
destroy your self-reliance1 and raze to 
the ground the edifice of pride4  ,our  
faults1 even those most difficult to    

bear1 will all be of service to us if we
 make use of them for our humiliation   
without relaxing our efforts to correct 
them4 ,we must bear with ourselves      
without either flattery or              
discouragement1 a mean seldom attained4 
,utter despair of ourselves1 in         
consequence of a conviction of our      
helplessness and unbounded confidence in
 ,god1 is the true foundation of the    
spiritual edifice4  ,discouragement is  
not a fruit of humility1 but of pride2  
nothing can be worse4 ,suppose we have  
stumbled1 or even fallen1 let us rise   
and run again2 all our falls are useful 
if they strip us of a disastrous        
confidence in ourselves1 while they do  
not take away a humble and salutary     
trust in ,god4  ,carefully purify your  
conscience from daily faults2 suffer no 
sin to dwell in your heart2 small as it 
may seem1 it obscures the light of      
grace1 weighs down the soul1 and hinders
 that constant communion with ,jesus    
,christ which it should be your pleasure

 to cultivate2 you will become lukewarm1
 forget ,god1 and find yourself growing 
in attachment to the creature4 ,the     
great point is never to act in          
opposition to the inward light1 but be  
willing to go as far as ,god would have 
us4                                     
,motives4  ,god does not so much regard 
our actions as the motives of love from 
which they spring1 and the pliability of
 our wills to ,his4 ,men judge our deeds
 by their outward appearance2 with ,god1
 that which is most dazzling in the eyes
 of men is of no account4 ,what ,he     
desires is a pure intention1 a will     
ready for anything and ever pliable in  
,his hands1 and an honest abandonment of
 self2 and all this can be much more    
frequently manifested on small than on  
extraordinary occasions2 there will also
 be much less danger from pride1 and the
 trial will be far more searching4      
,indeed1 it sometimes happens that we   
find it harder to part with a trifle    
than with an important interest2 it may 

be more of a cross to abandon a vain    
amusement than to bestow a large sum in 
charity4  ,the greatest danger of all   
consists in this1 that by neglecting    
small matters the soul becomes          
accustomed to unfaithfulness4 ,we grieve
 the ,holy ,spirit1 we return to        
ourselves1 we think it a little thing to
 be wanting toward ,god4 ,on the other  
hand1 true love can see nothing small2  
everything that can either please or    
displease ,god seems to be great4 ,not  
that true love disturbs the soul with   
scruples1 but it puts no limit to its   
faithfulness2 it acts simply with ,god2 
and as it does not concern itself about 
those things which ,god does not require
 from it1 so it never hesitates an      
instant about those which ,he does1 be  
they great or small4                    
,true ,prayer4  ,true prayer is only    
another name for the love of ,god4 ,to  
pray is to desire--but to desire what   
,god would have us desire4 ,he who asks 
what he does not from the bottom of his 

heart desire1 is mistaken in thinking   
that he prays4 ,o how few there are who 
pray2 for how few are they who desire   
what is truly good6 ,crosses1 external  
and internal humiliation1 renouncement  
of our own wills1 the death of self1 and
 the establishment of ,god's throne upon
 the ruins of self-love1--these are     
indeed good4 ,not to desire these is not
 to pray2 to desire them seriously1     
soberly1 constantly1 and with reference 
to all the details of life1--this is    
true prayer4 ,alas6 how many souls full 
of self and of an imaginary desire for  
perfection in the midst of hosts of     
voluntary imperfections1 have never yet 
uttered this true prayer of the heart6  
,it is in reference to this that ,st4   
,augustine says1 ,he that loveth little1
 prayeth little2 he that loveth much1   
prayeth much4  ,our intercourse with    
,god resembles that with a friend2 at   
first there are a thousand things to be 
told and as many to be asked2 but after 
a time these diminish1 while the        

pleasure of being together does not4    
,everything has been said1 but the      
satisfaction of seeing each other1 of   
feeling that one is near the other1 of  
reposing in the enjoyment of a pure and 
sweet friendship1 can be felt without   
conversation2 the silence is eloquent   
and mutually understood4 ,each feels    
that the other is in perfect sympathy   
with him1 and that their two hearts are 
incessantly poured out into each other1 
and constitute but one4  ,those who have
 stations of importance to fill have    
generally so many indispensable duties  
to perform that1 without the greatest   
care in the management of their time1   
none will be left to be alone with ,god4
 ,if they have ever so little           
inclination to dissipation1 the hours   
that belong to ,god and their neighbor  
disappear altogether4 ,we must be firm  
in observing our rules4 ,this strictness
 seems excessive1 but without it        
everything falls into confusion2 we     
become dissipated1 relaxed1 and lose    

strength2 we insensibly separate from   
,god1 surrender ourselves to all our    
pleasures1 and only then begin to       
perceive that we have wandered when it  
is almost hopeless to think of          
endeavoring to return4                  
,the ,human ,will4  ,true virtue and    
pure love reside in the will alone4 ,the
 question is not1 ,what is the state of 
our feelings8 ,but1 ,what is the        
condition of our will8 ,let us will to  
have whatever we have1 and not to have  
whatever we have not4 ,we would not even
 be delivered from our sufferings1 for  
it is ,god's place to apportion to us   
our crosses and our joys4 ,in the midst 
of affliction we rejoice1 as did the    
apostles2 but it is not joy of the      
feelings1 joy of the will4 ,the faithful
 soul has a will which is perfectly     
free2 it accepts without questioning    
whatever bitter blessings ,god develops1
 wills them1 loves them1 and embraces   
them2 it would not be freed from them if
 it could be accomplished by a simple   

wish2 for such a wish would be an act   
originating in self and contrary to its 
abandonment to ,providence2 and it is   
desirous that this abandonment should be
 absolutely perfect4  ,the important    
question is1 not how much you enjoy     
religion1 but whether you will whatever 
,god wills4 ,the essence of virtue      
consists in the attitude of the will4   
,that kingdom of ,god which is within us
 consists in our willing whatever ,god  
wills1 always1 in everything1 without   
reservation4 ,thus nothing can ever come
 to pass against our wishes2 for nothing
 can happen contrary to the will of     
,god4 ,the interior life is the         
beginning of the blessed peace of the   
saints1 who eternally cry1 ,amen1       
,alleluia6 ,we adore1 we praise1 we     
bless ,god in everything2 we see ,him   
incessantly1 and in all things ,his     
paternal hand is the sole object of our 
contemplation4 ,there are no longer any 
evils2 for even the most terrible that  
can come upon us work together for our  

good4 ,can the suffering that ,god      
designs to purify us and make us worthy 
of ,himself be called an evil8  ,happy  
is he who never hesitates2 who fears    
only that he follows with too little    
readiness2 who would rather do too much 
against self than too little4 ,blessed  
is he who1 when asked for a sample1     
boldly presents his entire stock and    
suffers ,god to cut from the whole      
cloth4 ,it is thought that this state is
 a painful one4 ,it is a mistake2 here  
is peace and liberty2 here the heart1   
detached from everything1 is            
immeasurably enlarged1 so as to become  
illimitable2 nothing cramps it2 and1 in 
accordance with the promise1 it becomes1
 in a certain sense1 one with ,god      
,himself4  ,true progress does not      
consist in a multitude of views1 nor in 
austerities1 trouble1 and strife2 it is 
simply willing nothing and everything1  
without reservation and choice1         
cheerfully performing each day's journey
 as ,providence appoints it for us3     

seeking nothing1 refusing nothing1      
finding everything in the present       
moment1 and suffering ,god1 who does    
everything1 to do ,his pleasure in and  
by us without the slightest resistance4 
,various ,advices4  ,you may be         
exercised in self-renunciation in every 
event of every day4   ,peace in this    
life springs from acquiescence even in  
disagreeable things1 not in an exemption
 from suffering4   ,whoever will refuse 
nothing which comes in the order of     
,god1 and seek nothing out of that      
order1 need never fear to finish his    
day's work without partaking of the     
cross of ,jesus ,christ4 ,there is an   
indispensable providence for crosses as 
well as for the necessaries of life2    
they are a part of our daily bread2 ,god
 will never suffer it to fail4   ,a life
 of faith produces two things3 ,first1  
it enables us to see ,god in everything2
 secondly1 it holds the mind in a state 
of readiness for whatever may be ,his   
will4 ,this continual1 unceasing        

dependence on ,god1 this state of entire
 peace and acquiescence of the soul in  
whatever may happen1 is the true silent 
martyrdom of self4   ,with the exception
 of sin1 nothing happens in this world  
out of the will of ,god4 ,it is ,he who 
is the author1 ruler1 and bestower of   
all2 ,he has numbered the hairs of our  
head1 the leaves of every tree1 the sand
 upon the seashore1 and the drops of the
 ocean4   ,this is the whole of         
religion3 to get out of self in order to
 get into ,god4   ,to be a ,christian is
 to be an imitator of ,jesus ,christ4   
,in what can we imitate ,him if not in  
his humiliation8 ,nothing else can bring
 us near to ,him4 ,we may adore ,him as 
omnipotent1 fear ,him as just1 love ,him
 with all our heart as good and         
merciful1 but we can only imitate ,him  
as humble1 submissive1 poor1 and        
despised4   ,what men stand most in need
 of is the knowledge of ,god4 ,it is not
 astonishing that men do so little for  
,god1 and that the little which they do 

costs them so much4 ,they do not know   
,him2 scarcely do they believe that ,he 
exists4 ,if ,he were known ,he would be 
loved4   ,thou causest me clearly to    
understand that ,thou makest use of the 
evils and imperfections of the creature 
to do the good which ,thou hast         
determined beforehand4 ,thou concealest 
,thyself under the importunate visitor  
who intrudes upon the occupation of ,thy
 impatient child1 that he may learn not 
to be impatient1 and that he may die to 
the gratification of being free to study
 or work as he pleases4 ,thou availest  
,thyself of slanderous tongues to       
destroy the reputation of ,thine        
innocent children1 that1 besides their  
innocence1 they may offer ,thee the     
sacrifice of their too highly cherished 
reputation4 ,by the cunning artifices of
 the envious ,thou layest low the       
fortunes of those whose hearts were too 
much set upon their prosperity4 ,thus   
,thou mercifully strewest bitterness    
over everything that is not ,thyself1 to

 the end that our hearts1 formed to love
 ,thee and to exist upon ,thy love1 may 
be1 as it were1 constrained to return to
 ,thee by a want of satisfaction in     
everything else4    ,o 'tis enough      
whate'er befall1   ,to know that ,god is
 all in all4   ',tis this which makes my
 treasure1     ',tis this which brings  
my gain2   ,converting woe to pleasure1 
,and reaping joy from pain4             
,madame ,guyon4    ,there are in the    
loud-stunning tide     ,of human care   
and crime1   ,with whom the melodies    
abide     ,of the everlasting chime1    
,who carry music in their heart         
,through dusky lane and wrangling mart2 
,plying their daily task with busier    
feet1   ,because their secret souls a   
holy strain repeat4                     
,keble4                                 
,footnotes   #a,this edition of the     
,letters1 edited by ,h4 ,l4 ,sidney     
,lear1 is also     published by the     
,longmans of ,london4 ,there is an      
abridged edition1     in paper1 for     

fifteen cents1 for sale by ,george ,w4  
,mc,calls1     ,philadelphia1 who also  
publishes ,fnelon's ,christian ,counsel1
     ,spiritual ,letters of ,madame     
,guyon1 ,life of ,dr4 ,john ,tauler1 and
     other similar books4 ,the five most
 important ,lives of ,fnelon are by     
,e4 ,k4 ,sanders1 ,longmans1 ,london1   
#aija2 by ,viscount ,st4 ,cyres1        
,methuen  ,co41 ,london1 #aija2 by ,h4  
,l4 ,sidney ,lear1 ,rivingtons1         
,london1 #ahgg2 by ,dr4 ,t4 ,c4 ,upham1 
,harpers1 ,new ,york1 #ahdf2 and by     
,charles ,butler1 ,esq41 ,john ,murray1 
,london1 #ahai4  #b,quoted in ,the      
,american ,presbyterian and ,theological
 ,review for     ,october1 #ahfc1 page  
#fgd1 and also in ,mc,clintock and      
,strong's     ,cyclopedia1 ,vol4 ,,iii1 
page #ebi4  #c,the celebrated historian 
of the ,reformation1 ,j4 ,h4 ,merle     
d',aubigne1     who died at ,geneva in  
#ahgb1 was descended from the same      
family4  #d,the principal sources of    
information on this important subject of

     ,mysticism1 from which we have     
drawn and to which we would refer such  
readers as wish to investigate the      
question further1 are the     following3
 ,christian ,mysticism1 by ,william     
,ralph ,inge1 being the     ,bampton    
,lectures for #ahii2 ,vaughan's ,hours  
,with the ,mystics2     articles in the 
,encyclopedia ,britannica2              
,schaff-,herzog ,cyclopedia2            
,mc,clintock and ,strong's ,cyclopedia2 
articles in the ,methodist              
,quarterly ,review for ,january1 #ahfj1 
,january1 #ahfi1 and ,july1 #ahgh2      
various ,church ,histories1 and         
,histories of ,doctrine1 together with  
the ,lives and ,writings of the main    
,mystics mentioned in the present       
chapter and the chapter which follows4  
#e;,even ,spinoza said1 ,he that would  
love ,god aright must not seek to be    
loved in return2 and ,goethe confessed  
himself haunted by this     wonderful   
saying4 ,it is fully in accord with the 
fact that the most     chivalrous and   

generous friendship is never concerned  
about payment     in kind1 about what it
 shall get in return2 it only asks the  
privilege of loving and of pouring      
itself out unstintedly for its          
beloved4 ,disinterestedness should not  
probably be pressed as a     requirement
 upon minds not capable of such heights1
 but it has a     grandeur that appeals 
sometimes to nearly all4 ,this was      
especially     the case in an age when  
,jesuit cheapjacks were accustomed to   
haggle     with ,god for the price of   
the soul1 and discuss whether it was    
necessary to love ,him once in a week or
 once in a year1 or whether             
salvation might not be purchased still  
more cheaply at the price of     one act
 of love in a lifetime4  #f;,inge says3 
,fiery energy and unresting industry    
characterized ,st4     ,john of the     
,cross4 ,no one ever climbed the rugged 
peaks of ,mt4     ,carmel with more     
heroic courage and patience4 ,his life  
shows what     tremendous moral force is

 generated by complete self-surrender to
     ,god4 ,his reward was fellowship   
with ,christ in suffering4  #g,see      
,honey from ,many ,hives1 gathered by   
,rev4 ,james ,mudge1 ,new ,york1        
,eaton and ,mains1 #ahii4 ,large        
quotations also from ,francis of ,sales 
are given in this volume1 and from many 
other ,mystical writers4  #h;,fnelon1 on
 sending the manuscript to the          
,archbishop of ,paris used     these    
words3 ,i have done what ,i believed to 
be my duty1 and ,i leave     the rest to
 ,god4 ,i do not care about my work4 ,i 
am not even anxious     about truth1    
,god will care for it4                  
,transcriber's ,notes   --,retained     
publication information from the printed
 edition3 this e,book   is public-domain
 in the country of publication4         
--,created cover and spine images based 
on elements in the book4  --,silently   
corrected a few palpable typos4  --,in  
the text versions only1 text in italics 
is delimited by   underscores4