i

YALE
UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

THE

I F

E

O F

Lady G tJ I O N.

.V O L. II.

ney that be wife Jhalljhine as the h^ightnefs of the Fir-
i^ment ; and they that turn many to Righteoufnefs as
the Stars for ever and e'tier. Dan. xii. 3.

( 3 ) '

THE

L ' I F E
0 F
Lady G U I O N.
t
Pul. R T II.
CHAP. V.

MY near kinsfolks did not fignify any eager de-
fire for my return. The firft thing they pro-
pofed to me^ a month after my arrival at Gex, was not
only to give up my Guardianfhip* but to make over
all my eftate to my children, and to referve an an
nuity to myfelf. This pirc^ofition, comipg from peo
ple who regarded nothing but their own intereft, to
fome rnight have appeared very unpleafing ; but it
was in no wife fo to me. I had not any friend to ad-
vife with. I knew not any one whom I could con-
fult about" the manner of executing the thing, as I was
quite free and willing to do it. It feemed to me
that I had thereby the means of accomplilhing my
vow, and the extreme defire I had of being conform
able to Jesus Christ, poor, naked, and ftript of all.
I was obliged to fend a Letter of Attorney which they
* Gardenoile, Guardianfhip of. a nobleman's children.
A 2 had

4 TheLIFEof Part IL
had direded to be drawn up. Not perceiving fome
claufes which were inferted in it, I innocently figned
it. It exprefled thar, when my thildren fliould die,
I ftiould inherit nothing of my own eftate, but that
it flioLild devolve to my collateral kindred. There
were many other things, which appeared tobe equally
to my difadvantage."^ "Though what I had refervecl
for myfelf was fufficient to fupport me in this place •,
yet it was fcarce enough to do it in fome others.
I then gave up my eftate with more joy, for being
thereby conformed to Jesus Christ, than they could
have by it who aflced it from me. It is what I have
never repented of, nor had any uneafinefs about.
"What pleafure to lofe all and to quit every thing
for God! The love of poverty,^ thus contrafted, is
the kingdom of tranquility.
I FORGOT to tell that, towatds the end of my mi-
itrrable ftate of privation, when juft ready to enter
into newnefs of life, our Lord illuminated me fo
cledrly to fee that the exterior croiTes came from him,
that I could not harbour any refentment againft the
perfons who procured me them. On the contrary, I
ielt the cendernefs of compafTion for them, and had
more pain for thofe which I innocently caufed them,
than for thofe which they caufed me. I faw that thefe
perfons feared God, too much to do to me what they ,
did, if they had known it. I faw his hand in it,, and
I ,felt the pain which they fuflfcred, through the con
trariety of their humours. It is hard to conceive the
tendernefs which Goo gave me for them, and the
defire which I have had, with the utmoft fmccrity, to
pKOCure them every fort of advahtage.
After the accident which befell me, of the fall
from the horfe, from which I foon wonderfully re
covered, the devil began to declare himfelf more
openly mine enemy, to 'break loofe and become out'

Chap. V. L A D Y G U I O N. 5
rageous*. As I rofe at midnight to pray, he came at
that hour,, and made a frightful noife in .my chamber.
After I had lain down it was ftill worfe. He often
ftiook my bed for a quarter of an hour at a time.
Then he ruftied againft the paper fafhes, which he
burft. Every morning, while this continued, the
fafhes were found ftiattered and torn. I had not any
fear-, I rofe and lighted my wax-candle at a lamp
which I kept in my chamber, becaufe I had taken the
office of Sacrijian, (or Veftry I^un) and the care of
waking the Sifters at the hour they were to rife, with
out having once failed in it for my indifpofitions, ever
being the, firft in all the obfervances : I made ufe of
my little Ijght to look all over the chamber, and at
the fafhes, at. the time the devil was ftriking more
ftrongly than ' ufual : As he faw that I was afraid of
nothing, he left off all on a fudden, and attacked me
no more in perfon : But he did it in ftirring up men
againft me, and that fucceeded with him far better ;
for he found them difpofed to do what he prompted
them to, and to -do it with fo much the more zeal,
as they accounted it a good thing to do me the worft
injuries of any fort they were capable of.
* It looks here as if fome wicked perfoa or perfons, aJlaated by
an evil Ipirit, were ufing their abominable arts, and contrivances,
to terrify her. Wefind, by'ERASMUs's Dialogue, entitled, Tie
Repenting Ftrgin, or Nun, that fuch things wereufuaHy praftifed
On Novices in Monafteries, by the artful Friars and their Agents.
M. GtrioN begins h«r Story thus. " Ooe night, when I leaft
" thought of it, fomethjng very monftrous and frightful prefente^
•• itfelf. It was nothing but a Face which was foen by a glim-
" Biering bl'ueifli Light.' I doW't know vvhether the Flame itfelf
" coBipofod that horrible Face or Appearance; for it was -fo mixed,
" and patfed by fo raipidly, .that I could not difcern it. My foul
" K&eA in its calm fituation and aiTurance ; and it appeared no
" more after that manner." Wc may well fuppofe the vile Ec-
clefiaftic, juft going to be mentioned, was at the Bottom of this
Contrivance, to bring about fome wicked- Defign of his.
One

HE

L I ti' E OF ^ART IL

ONEoftfiie fifters whom T had brought, a very-
beautiful girl, contrafted an intimacy with ^n Ecclefi-
aftic who had authority in this place. At firft he in
fpired'her with an averfion for me, being well afTured,
that if fhe placed confidence in mc, I fhould advife
her not to fuffer his vifits fo frequently. She was
undertaking a religious retreat. That Ecclefiaftic was
defirous to induce her to make it, in order to gain her
entire confidence which would have ferved for a cloak
to his frequent vifits. The Bilhop of Geneva had
given for direflor of our houfe Father la Combe. And
as this father was going to caufe retreats to be made,
I defired.her to wait for him. As I began to gain
fome place in her mind, fhe fubmitted thereto, even
againft her inclination, which was to have made it
under this Ecclefiaftic. I began to talk to her on the
fubjeft of inward prayer, and drew her into the prac
tice of this duty. Our Lord gave fuch a blefTing
thereto, that this girl, one of good parts, gave herielf
to God in good earneft, and with her whole heart:
And the retreat compleatly won her over. She then
became more referved, and on her guard, toward this
Ecclefiaftic, which exceedingly vexed him. It enraged
him againfb both Father la Combe and me. This
proved the fource of the perfecutions which after
ward befell me. The noife in my chanlber ended as
that commenced.
This Ecclefiaftic, who confefTed in the houfe, began
to talk privately of me with contempt. I knew
it and took no ..notice of it. There came a certain
Friar to fee him, who mortally hated Father la Combe
on account of his regularity; Thefe combined to
gether to force me to quit the houfe,. , and to become
mafters of it themfelves. All the means they co^ld
devife they ftudied for that purpofe.
My manner of life was fuch, that in the houfe I did
not meddle in any thing at all, leaving the fifters to
difpofe

Chap. V. LADYGUION. 7
difpofe of the temporals as they pleafed. Sqon after
my entrance into it I received eighteen hundred livres.,
which a lady, a friend of mine, lent me to compleat
our furniture, which I- paid her at rny late giving up
of my eftate. This fum they received as well as whap
I had before given them. 1 fometimes fpoke a little
to thofe who retired thither to become catholicks ; and
pur Lord favoured with fo much benediftion what I
faid to them, that fome, whom they knew not before
what to make of, became fenfible folid women, "and
exemplary in piety.
The Bifhop of Geneva allowed us* to have the holy
facrarnent in our houfe. The chapel being not yet
fecure enough, for three nights 1 watched the hofl,
lying all alone in the faid chapel. I was moved to
pray for that unhappy city which was the object bf
ray tendernefs, and has proved the fubjeft of all my
difgraces. , ^

o

I SAW crofTes in abundance likely tb fall to my
iqt. At the fame tiqie thefe words came into my
mindi " Who for the joy that was fet before him
" endured the crojs." Heb. xii. 2. I proftrated my
felf for a long time with my face on the ground, ear-
neftly defiring to receive all thy ftrokes. Oh thou who
fpqred , not thine own fon I Thou &und none but
him worthy of thee, an4 thovj ftill findeft in him
hearts proper for thee. ¦%
A FEW days after my arrival at Gw, I faw ina facred
and myfterious dream "t for as fuch 1 very well diftin-
guifhed it) Father la Combe fattened up to a great
crofs naked, in like manner as they paint our Sa
viour. I faw round it a frightful crowd, which
covered me with confufion,; and threw back on me the
ignoeminy of his'^,unifhment. He feemed to have more
pain than I, and I more reproaches than he. I have
fince beheld this fully- accomplifhed.
The

8 TheLIFEof Part IL
THE.aforefaid Ecclefiaftic won over to his party one
of our fifters who was the hotjfe-fteward, and foon
after the priorefs. The good' inelination which I had
did not give ftrength to my body. I had two maids
of my own with me in the hoiife to ferve me : But as
the 'community had need of one of them for their
cook, and the other to attend the door and other
oceafions, I gave them up to them, not thinking but
they would allow them to ferve me fometimes, and
do for me what 1 eould not do for myfelf j for befides
this, I let them ftijl receive all my income, tbey haying
had already my firft half of this year's annuity : And
yet they would Hot allow either'of my maid-fervants
to do any thing for m.e. By my office 6f facriftan I
was obliged to fweep the church which was large, and
they would not permit any one to help me in it. I
have fe veral times fainted away over the broom, and
been forced to reft myfelf in little corners, quite
• fpent. This obliged me to beg them, that they vvould
fuffer it to be fometimes fvvept by fome of the big
country girls which were there, new catholicks, which
at laftthey had the charity tp ponfeht to. What moft
embaraifed rtie was, that I never' before had' w-afhed,
and was now obliged to wafh all the veftry linen. I
took one of my maids to do it, becaufe I knew hot how
to do it rigfit. But thefe fifters pulled her by the arms
out of my chattiber, telling her fhe fhould do her owa
bufinefs. * I let - it quietly- pafs^ without jnakihg any '
objeftion to it. The othe? ^ood fifter, that girl I juft,
mentioned, grew rnore and. more fervent, by the prac
tice of prayer, ¦ in her dedication of herfelf to the
Lord, more and more tender in her fymlpathy with
me, which irritated this ecclefiaftic ; irtfomuch that,
after all his impotent attempts" here, he went off to
Annecy, in order to fow difcprdj and to effect hiofe
mifchiefto Father la, Comee. ' ' ¦ ¦
* Ungrateful' creatures, hard heatted> arjd inftigated by a wick
ed Ecclefiaftic to be more fo ! See the note at the end of Chap.
VIL.  ¦ . - - .
CHAP,

Chap. VL LADY G U I O N.

CHAP. VI.

HE went direftly to the Bifhop of Genroa, who
till then had manifefted much efteem and
kindnefs for me, and perfwaded him, " that it wiould
" be proper to fecure me to that houfe, to oblige me
" to give up to it the annual income I had referved to
" myfelf; and to engage me thereto, by .making frie
" priorefs." He had gained fuch an' afcendant over
the Bifhop, that the people in the country called him
the little Bijhop. Wherefore he drew him to enter
heartily^ and with zeal, into this propofition, and to
refolve . to bring it about, whatever it fhould coft
hirn. The Ecclefiaftic, having fo far carried his point,
and being fwelled with his fuccefs in this firft eflay,
no longer kept any mcafures in regard to me. He
began with caufing all the letters which I fent, and
which were fent to me, to be ftopt ; in order to have
it in his poWer to make what unpreflions he pjeafed,
on the minds of others, and that I ,fhould neither be
able to know it, nor defend myfelf, nor to give or
,:fend to my friends any account of the manner in which
I was treated. One of the inaids I had brought
wanted to return, as in this place fhp could have no
reft. So there remained to "me no more than one, who
was infirm,' and befide too .much taken up with many
things, to help me in ariy. As Father la Combe was
to come for the retreats, I thought he would foften
the violent fpirit or this man, and that he would give
me proper advice.
In the mean time they propofed to me the engage
ment, and the poft of priorefs. I anfwered, " that
" as to the engagement, it wa^ impoffible for me.
Vol. II. B rV , fince

10 TheLIFEof Part IL
" fince my vocation was elfewhere. And I could, not
" regularly be the priorefs, till after palTing through
" the noviciate, in which they had all ferved two years,
" -before their being engaged ; that when I fhould have
" done as much, I fhould fee how God would infpire
" me." The priorefs anfwered me pretty tartly,
" that if i would ever leave them, it were beft for me
" to do it immediately." Yet I did not oflfer to retife^
but continued ftill to aft as ufual. However I faw the
fky gradually thickening, and florms gathering on
every fide. The priorefs then aflfeded a milder air.
She aflfured me, " that ftie had a defire, as well. as L
" to go to Geneva ; that I fliouId not engage, but only
" promife her to take her with me, if I went thither."
She pretended to pla^ a great confidence in me, and
profefTed a high efteem for me. As I am very '^free,
and have nothing but uprightnefs, I let her know
" that I had no attraftion for the manner of life of
"the new catholicks, by reafon of the intrigues from
" without. Several things did not pleafe me, becaufe
" I wanted them to be upright in every thing." She
fignified, ." that fhe did not confent to fuch things,
" but becaufe tfiat Ecclefiaftic told her, they were
" neceffary to give the houfe a credit in diftant parts,
" and to draw charities from Farisr I anfwered,
" that if we walked uprightly God would never fail
" us. He would foorflr do miracles for us." I re
marked to herj " that wheni, inftead of fincerity, they '
" had recourfe to artifice, charity grew cold, and kept
" herfelf fliut up. It is God who infpijres charity :
" How' then is it tobe drawn by difguifes ?"
Soon after Father la Combe carne about the retreats..
This was the third and laft time that he came to Gen. '
The priorefs, after fhe had been tampering a good deal
with me het;eupon, having wrote him a long letter
before his, coming, and receiyed his anfwer, which
fhe fliewed me, now went to afii him whether fhe
fhould one day be united to me at Geneva. He anfwer ed

Chap. VL LADYGUION. ji
ed with his ufual uprightnqfs, " Our Lord has made it
•" known to me that you fhall never be eflablifhed at
*' Geneva." And foon after fhe died. Wheri he had
uttered this declaration, fhe appeared enraged againft
both him and me, after a furpri^ing manner. She
went direftly tothat Ecclefiaftic, who was in a cham
ber with the houfe-fteward j and they took their mca
fures^ together to oblige me either to engage or re
hire. They thought that I would fooner engage than
retire ; and they narrowly watched my letters.
He requefted Father la Combe, which was only
with a defign to lay fnares for him, to preach ; which
he did on this text, " The king,'s daughter is beauti-
" ful within." That Ecclefiaftic, who was prefent
with his confident, faid, *' it was preached againft
*' him, and was full of errors."- ;He drew up eight
propofitions, and inferted in them what the other had
not preached, adjufting them as malicioufly as ever he
could, and fent them to one of his friends at; Rome,
to get them examined there by the facred congregation,
and by the ihquifition. , Though he had very ill di-
gefted them, at Rome they were pronounced good.
That greatly difappointcd and vf xed him. After having
been treated in this manner, and opprobrioufly reviled
by him in the moft offenfive lerms, the father, with
much mildnefs and humility. Fold him, " that he was
" going to Annecy about fome affairs of their convent ;
^' and that if he ha'd any thing to write to the Bifhop
*-' of Geneva, he would take care of- his letter." He
defired him then to wait a whifej as he was going- to
write. The good father had the patience to wait
above three hours, without hearing froni him ; though
the other had treated him exceedingly ill, fo far as to
fnatch out of his hands a letter I had given him for
that worthy hermit I have mentioned. Hearing he
was not gone, but was ftilL in the church, I went to
him, and begged him to-fend to fee if the other's packet
B 2 ' was

12

The life of Part IL

was ready J becaufe the day was fp far gone, that he
would be obliged to lodge by the way. When the
meffenger arrived, he found a fervant of the Ecclefiaftic
on horfeback, ordered to go full fpeed, to be at Annecy
before the father. He then returned an anfwer, " that
" he had no letters tb fend by him." This was fb
contrived that he might gain time to prepoffefs the
bifhop for his purpofes. Father la Combe then fet
off for Annecy, where, when he arrived, he found the
Bifhop prepoffcfred, and in an ill humour.
Here the following Discourse paiTed
betwixt them.
•Bifhop. " My father, you muft abfolutely engage
" this lady to give what fhe has to the houfe at Ge^,
*' and make her the priorefs of it.
Father la Combe. " My Lord, you know what
*• fhe has told you herfelf of her vocation^, both at
" .Paris and in this country. I therefore do not believe
" that fhe will engage. Nor is there any likelihood
" that, after having quitted her all, in . the hope of
'^ entring Geneva, fhe fhoiild engage elfewhere, and
" thereby put it out of her power to accomplifh the
^' defigns of Gqn in regard to her. She has offered
" toftay with thpfe fifters as a boarder. If they are
" willing to keep her as , fuch, fhe will remain with
*' them : If not, fhe is refolved to retire into fome conr
^' vent, till God fhall difpofe of her otherwife.
Bifhop. " My father, I know all that ; but I like^
«' wife know that fhe is fo very obedient, that, if you
« order her to dp it, fhe will afruredly do it.
F. LA Combe. ?' It is for that reafon, my Lord,
" that one ought to be very cautious in the commatids
" ¦which one lays on her : Can I induce a foreign lady,
¦ y whq

Chap. VI. LADY GUI ON. 13
" who, for all her fubfiltence, has nothing but a fmall
" pittance fhe has refetved to herfelf, to give up that
" in favour of a houfe which is not yet eftabliflied,
*' and perhaps never will ? If the houfe happen to
*' fail, or be, no longer of ufe, what ^all that lady
" live on ? Shall fhe go to the hofpital ? And indeed
" this houfe will not long be of any ufe, fince there
" are no proteftants in any part of France near it.
Bifhop. " My father, thefe reafons are good for
" nothing. If you do not make her do what I have
" faid, I will degrade and fufpend you." This man
ner of fpeaking fbmewhat furprized the father, who
well enough underftands the rules of fufpenfion,
which is not executed on fuch things. He replied,
F. laCombe. "My Lord, Iam ready, not only
" to fuffer the fufpenfion, but even death, rather
" than do any thing againft my honour, or againft my
" confcience." Having faid that, he retired.
He direftly fent me ^^is account by an exprefs, to
the end that I might take proper meafures thereupon.
1 had no other courfe |o take, but to retire into aeon-
vent. I received a letter •'-informing me t|iat the Nun
to whom I had entrufted my daughter was fallen fick,
defiring me to go to my daughter for fome time. I
fhewed this letter to the fifters of our houfe, telling
them, " I had a mind to go ; but that if they ceafed
^' to perfecute me, and would leave in peace. Father i,a
" Combe (who paffed for the Apoftle of the country,
" on account of the wonderful good done in his mifli-
" ons) I would return as foon as the miftrefs of my
" daughter fhould be recove:red." Inftead of this,
they perfecuted me riiore violently, writ to Paris
againft me, ftopt all my letters, and fent libels againft
pie round the eountry.
,• J-. '-. , . The

14 The LIFE OF Part II.
The, day after my arrival at Tonon, Father la
Combe fet off for the valley of Aouft * to preach there
in the Lent. He had come to take leave of me, and
told me, " he fhould go from thence to Rome, and
" perhaps not return, as his fuperiors might detain
" him there ; that he was forry to leave me in a
" ftrange country, without fuGcour, and perfecuted
" of every one." I replied, " My father, that gives'
" me HO pain. I make ufe of the creatures for God;
" and by his order. Through his mercy, I do very
" well without them, when he withdraws them : And'
" I am very well content never to fee you, if fuch is
^' his will, and to abide under perfecution." He faid,
" he went off well fatisfied to fee me in fuch a difpo-
" tion." He then took his leave and departed.
As foon as I got to the Ursulines, a prieft very
aged, a pious man, who for twenty years paft had not
come out of his folitjide came to find me. He told
me, " that he had hada vifion relative to me ; that he
" had feen a woman in a boat on the lake ; and that the
" Bifhop of Geneva, with foiT:jg.of his priefts, exerted
" all their efforts to fink the boat fhe was in, and to
" drown her ; that he continue^ in this vifion, above
^' two hours, with pain of mind ¦, that it feemed fome-
^' times as if this woman were quite drowned, as for
" fome time flie quite' difappeared •, but afterwards
" fhe appeared again, and ready to efcape the (Siger,
" while the Bifliop n(;ver ceafed to purfue her. This *
'• woman was always equally calm ; but he never faw
'.' her entirely free from him. From whence I conclude
" that the Bifhop will perfecute you without inter-
" miffion." ^

»

AousT a Dutchy in Piedmont, at the foot, of the Alps, in the
North-eaft oi Italy, fituate on the river D'oria, 65 miles South-eaft
of Gene-va and ^o miles north of Turin, fubjeft to the king of
Sardinia,
I HAD

Chap. VL LADYGUION. 15
* I HAD an intimate friend, wife of that governor
of whom I have made fome mention. As fhe faw I
had quitted every thing for God, flie had a warm de
fire to follow me. With diligence did flie difpofe of
all her effefts, and fettle her affairs, in order to come
to me : But when ftie heard of the perfecution, flie
was difcouraged from coming to a place, from which
flie probably , thought I fiiould be obliged to retire ;
And foon after fhe died, -f

CHAP. VII.

AFTER F. la Combe was gone, the perfecution
raifed againft me'became riiore violent. The
Bilhop of Geneva yet fhewed me fome civilities, as
well to try whether he could prevail on me to do what
he defired, as to found hovv matters paffed in France,
and to prejudice the minds of the people there againft
me,* always hindering me from receiving the letters
fent me.i<^- The Ecclefiaftic and his friend had twenty-
two iflfercepted letters, opened, on their table. There
twas one wherein was fent me a Letter of Attorney to
fign, of immediate confequence. They were obliged
to put it under another cover, ancl fend it to me.
The Bifhop writ to F. la Mothe, and had no diffi
culty to dr^^ him Into his party. That Father was
I*
' * It appears th-at lhe was an itiftrumentin the Lord's hand, in
this place, mz. Tonon, of great fpiritual benefit to feveral"young
women of the village, from what Ihe occafionally mentions farther
on, oi/a. in Chap. 1 8.
t See Part I: Ghap. XX. difpleafed

i6 The L I F E OF Part IL
difpleafed with me on two accounts : Firft, that I had
not fettled on him a penfion, as he expedted, and as
he roughly told me feveral times : And fecondly, that
I did not take his advice in every thing ; befide fome
other interefts he had in view. He at once declared
againft me. The Bifliop made him his confident:
And it was he who uttered and fpread abroad the
news about me, which they fent him. They ima
gined, as was fuppofed, that I fhould annul the do
nation I had made, if I returned ; that, having the
fupport of friends in France, I fhould find the means
of breaking it ; but in that they were much miftaken ;
for I had no thought of loving any thing elfe but the
poverty of Jesus Christ. For fome time yet the Fa
ther afted with caution towards me. He writ me fome
letters; which he addreffed to the Bilhop of Geneva :
And they agreed fo together, that he was the only
perfon from whom I received any letters, to which I
returned very moving aniwers ; yet he, inftead of
being touched with them, became only more irritated
againft me.
The Bifhop continued to treat me with a fhew of
refpedt : And yet at the fame time he writ to many
perfotiis at Paris, as did alfo the Sifters of the ^ufe
to all thofe perfons of piety who had wrote letters to
me, to biafs them as much as pofTible againft me, and
to avoid the blame which ought naturally to fall upon
them, for having fo unworthily treated a perfon who'
had given up every thing, to devote herfelf to the
fervice of that diocefe ; and for not having ill-treated
me till after I had done this, a^d was not in a condi
tion to return into France. There was fcarce any kind
of falfe or fabulous ftory, likely to gain any credit,!
which they did not invent to cry me down. Befide my
having no way to make the truth known in France,
our Lord infpired me with a willingnefs to fuffer every
thing, without juftifying myfelf; fo that in ray cafe
nothing was heard but condemnation, without any
vindi-

Chap. VIL LADY GUlON. 17
vindication. It Was not' difficult to impofe this harfh
ufage on one who did not defend herfelf.
I WAS in this Corivent, and had feen Father la
Combe no farther than I have mentioned •, and yet they
circulated a report " that 1 travelled with him ; that
•" he ha'd taken me with him in a coach to Gene'va ;
' ' ¦** that the coach had, overfet •,'' and a hundred things,
as fbolifh as maliciows : Father la Mothe fpread all
this, whether he thought it true or otherwife. He
fhould however have concealed fuch things, had he
thought them really true- But what fay I, and hovV
do I wander ? Was it not that God permitted him and
his brother 'to> he imprcft with thefe and other things,
and, bdieving them true, to piiblifti them without fcru-*
pie ? As to'the latter, I think he believed it only on
his brother's report, who reprefented them as real
fafts ; and who reported further, " that I had been on
" hof fe-back behind Father la Combe ; whereas I had
never ridden behind any man. All thefe calumnies
turned into - ridicule perfens tvho had been efteemed
helbre as faints. Now what caufe had I given to any
one to fpeak after that manner ? I w^s in a convent a
hundrfed and fifty leagues from Father la CoMbe ', and
yet they did not ceafe to publifh, bpth of him and me,
the inoft fcandalous ftories; as utterly falfe as any
thing could be.
, M For fome time I was igiiofant of all this- As I
Knew that all my letters were kept from me, I ceafed
to wonder dtfeceiving none. I lived in this houfe
with •¦my little daughter in a fweet repofe, which was
^ ^a very gfeat favour ®f Providence to me ; for my
.,/?.^£bughter had'^'forgot her F-Eench, and aniong the little
" '^rls frorii the mountains had contraded a wild look
and difagreeable manners. Her wit, fcnfe and judg
ment were indeed furprizing, and her difpofition ex
ceeding good. There were brily fome little fits of
peeviflinefe, which they had caufed to rife in her,
Vol. II. C thrwgh

i8 The LIFE of Part II.
.through, certain contrarieties out of feafon, and through
carefles ill-applied, for want of knowing the proper
manner of education. But the Lor d provided in re-
.gard to her, as I fliall tell. During this time my
mind was preferved calm and refigned to God, Great
was my filence ; and for fome time I had leifure to
tafte of, and to enjoy the Divinity in my little cell :
Afterwards that good Sifter almoft continually inter
rupted me; and I anfwered every thing fhe defired of
,me, both out of condefcenfion, and from a principle
which I had to obey like a child.
When I was in my apartment, without any other
direftor than our Lord by his fpirit, however fa-
votired therein, as fooii as one. of my little children
came to knock at my door, he required me to ad
mit the interruption. He fhewed me that it is not
the aftions in themfelves which pleafe him, but the
conftant ready obedience to every difcovery of his
will, even in the minuteft things, with fuch a fupple-
nefsj as not to ftick to any thing, but ftill to turn with
him at every call. My foul was then, I thought,
like a leaf, or a feather, which the wind caufes to
^.rnqve what way foever it pleafes ; and the Lord never
fuffers a foul fo dependent on, and dedicated to him^ to
be deceived. ^
Most part of men appear to me very unji#, who
readily refign themfelves to another man, and look
upon that as prudence. They confide; in men who arp
nothing, and boldly fay, " Such a perfon cannot be
.deceived :" And if one fpeak of a foul wholly re
figned to God, which follows him faithfully, they
cry out aloud, " That perfon is deceived with his
«' refignation." Oh my divjne Love !. Deft thou wanr
either itrength, ox fidelity, or love, or wifdpm, to con-
diwfl thofe who truft in thee, and who are thy deareft
children ? I have feen men bold enough to fay^ " Fol-
" low me, and. .you will not be milled." How fedly ar^

Chap. VIL LADY GUION.

19

are thofe men milled themfelves by their prefuniption !
And how tnuch fooner fhould I go to him who would
be afraid of niifleading me; who, trufting neither
to his learning nor experience, would rely upon God
only !
Our Lord fhewed me, in a dream, two ways by
which fouls fteer their courfe, under the figure o^ two
drops of water. The one appeared to me of an un-
parallelled beauty, brightnefs and purity; the other
to have alfo a brightnefs, yet full of little fibres or
ftreaks ; both good to quench thirft ,• the former alto-.
gether pleafant, but the latter not fo perfedtly agree
able. By the former is reprefented the way oJ pure
and naked Faith, which pleafes, the Spoufe much, it is
fo pure, fo clear from all Self-love. The way of
openings or gifts is not fo ; and yet it is that in which
many enlightened fouls walk, and intb which they had
drawn Father la Combe. But God fhewed me that
he had given' him to me, to draw hjm into one more
pure and jperfed. ¦ I fpoke before the Sifters, he being
prefeht, oi the way of Faith, how much it was more
glorious to God, and advantageous for the foul, than
all thofe gifts, openings and aflTurances which ever
caufe the foul to live to itfelf. This difcouraged
them at firft, and him alfo. I faw they were pained^
as they have confefTed to me fince. I faid no more of
it at that tirhel But as he is a perfon' of great hu
mility, he bad me unfold what I had wanted' to fay to
hith. I told him a part'of my dream of the two
drops of water; yet he did not then enter into what
I faid, the time for it being 'not yet come : ,But when
he came to Gw, to make* the retreats, our Lord made
known to me, as I was at prayer in the night, that I
was his Mother^' and he my Son. I told him thp cir*
cumftances of a certain time paft ; and he recollected
that it was the time of fo extraordinary a touch with
which the Lord favoured him, that he was quite
Qverwhelmed with contrition. This gave him fuch
C 2 an

29

T H E L I F E OF Part IL

an interior renovation, that having retired to pray, in
a very Ardent frame of mind, he was filled with joy,
and feized with a powerful emotion, wljich made him
enter into what I had told him of the way of Faith.
I give thefe things, as they happen to come to rny
remembrance, without carrying them on in order.
To refume my hiftory. As foon as I had left Gex,
they began ftrangely to perfecute that good girl who
had given herfelf to God, and for whom all the tra
gedy was afted. The Ecclefiaftic aflTaulted her more
violently than ever ; and, the better to fucgced in it,
he gave her a hideous defcription of me, in order to
deftroy effeftually all the efteem fhe had for me, and
to induce her to follow his direftions: But though
ihe always confefled to hini, fhe never would enter
into any thing more particular with him. On the
other hand he reprefented her friendfhip with, and the
regard fhe had for me, as frightful crimes. They
wanted to force her to fay what was not true, and
barafTed her exceedingly, without allowing her any
relaxation. The Bifhop of Geneva writ io her to pu(;
!jll her confidence in that Ecclefiaftic. Srhe faid that,
in -^the extremities of her an^guifh, lhe faw me every
night in her dreams ; that I encouraged her to fuffer,
and told her what it would be proper for her tq
anfwer. As there are among them no vowg of obe
dience, nor , any particular prohibitions, fhe found
means to write me a billet (or fhort letterj but they
intercepted it. There was nothing in it but a litile of
the flow of hearty affcftion, and chriftian friendlhip.
The Ecclefiaftic refufed her abfolution and the com
munion, for ^ month, pn account of this billet. At
the fame time the Sifters on the other hand impofed
on her very great hardfliips. We could not have
any commerce together: Neverthelef& tiie, Lord ftill
fupported her, and ftrengthened her to fuffer pa-
Tjeptly. ¦¦.'•" • '"•.
After

Chap. VII. L ^ U Y G U I O N. 21
After Eastfr, in the year 1682, the Bifh,op
came to Tomn. I had occafion to fpeak to him,
which when I had done, our Lord fo pointed my
words that he appear&d thoroughly convinced: But
the perfons, who had influenced him before, returned
to the charge. He then preffed me very much to
return to Gex, and to take the place of Priorefs. I
gave him the reafons againft it which I have men
tioned before. I then appealed to him, as a Bifhop,
defiring him to take care to regard nothing but God
in what he fhould fay tp me. He was ftruck into
a kind of confufion : And then faid to me, " Since
" you fpeak to me in fuch a manner, I cannot ad-
" vife you to it. It is not for us to go contrary
" to our vocations ; but do good, I pray you, to this
*' houfe. I promifed hrm to do it; and having re
ceived my penfion, I fent them a hundred Piftoles,
with a defign to continue doing the fame as, long as
I fhotild be, in the diocefe. The Bifhop faid to me
farth'bri " I love Father la Gombe. He is a true fer-
" vant of God: And he has tbldr me many things
*' td which I was forced to aflrnt ; for I felt them
^' in myfelf: But added he, when I fay fo, they tell
"me I am miftaken, and that -before the end of
*i .Cx,.JIJflllths.._he-mlL run m.ad.^* Jt was the difcon-
tented Friar, the intimate friend of the Ecclefiaftic,
wha*'had" faid this to him. I was aftonifhed zi his
weaknefs. He told tne, " he liked well the Nuns,
",, 'which had been under the care and inftruflion of
" Father la Combe, finding them to come up fully
** to what he' had heard of them." From thence I
toqk occafion to tcU hrm *' that in every thing he
*' oyght to refer himfelf to his own breaft, or to the
*' iiiftruiclions there imnaediatcly received, and not tp
" others." He agreed to what I faid, and acknow
ledged it to be right : And yet no fooner was he
returned than he re-entered into his former difpofi-
tions. He fent the, fame Ecclefiaftic,. to tell nie that
I muft engage myfelf qt G^x; and that this was his
fcnti-

22 , The LIFE of Part IL
fentiment.; I anfwered, by that Ecdefiiaftic, that I was
determined to follow the counfel he bad 'given me,*
when he had fpoken to me as .from God, fince now
they made him fpeak only as man.*

CHAP. VIII.
MY foul was in a ftate of entit;e . refignation,' and.
very great content, in thie midft of fuch violent
tempefts. Thofe perfons, came to tell me a hundred
extravagant ftories againft Father la.Combe. The
more they faid to me to his difadvantage, the more
efteem I felt for him. I anfwered them, " Perhaps
*' I may never fee hirn again; but I fhall ever be
'¦ gl^d to do him juftice. It is not he who hinciers
*' me froni engaging at Gw. It is only becaufe I know
" it to be none of my vocation." They afked me,
'.' Who coyld know that better than the Bifhop ?"
They farther told me "I was under a deception, and
" my ftate was good for nothing." That gave me
* M. GuioYt had told the Bifliop (page 173) that " lhe had np
.'« vocation for G^jf but ior Geneva." After her long and careful
preparations for going thither (with all the concurrent 'figns, and
fenfe of many pious perfons, of her call thereto) poor woman !
fhe feems to have been turned afide. Such a notion prevailed in
that moft artful church of Ronfe, of the duty of obedience, to fu-^
periors, that hence flie feems to |iave given up her own fehfe,
received from a higher power, eye'n the ^ifit of God, to that of
a mprtal inverted with a title, as (he ¦ acknowledges (page 1 86.)
Hence flie fell into a ftate of fuiFering obifcurity, and long conti-
pued in it ; yet jn meeknefs and patience. She could make no
,way for herfelf, to any good purpofe : But providence at length
ppened a way for her to come out, arid to render fignal fervice to
many fouls, thrbugh the invitation ofthe Marchipnefs of Prunai,
jparticularly in and about thp eity 9f G««ff^/r,
no

Chap. VIIL LADY GUION.

23

no uneafinefs, having referred to • God the care of re-
<}uiring, and ,of executing .what he requires, and in
whatever manner he requires it.
A Soul in thjs condition feeks nothing for itfelf, but
all for God. Some may fay, " What -then does this
"foul?" It leaves itieif to be conducted by God's
providences and creatures. Outwardly its life feems
quite common ; inwardly, it is wholly refigned to the
divine will. The more every thing appears advcrfe,
and even defperate, the more qalm it is, in -fpiteof
the annoyance and pain of the fenfes and of the crea
tures, which, for fome time after the new life, raife
fome little clouds and obftrudions,- as I have already
fignified. But when the foul is entirely paffed into its
original Being, all thefe things no more caufe any fepa-
ration or partition. It finds no more of that impurity
which came from felf-feeking, from a human manner qf
adting, from an unguarded word, from any warm emo
tion or eagernefs, which caufed fuch a iniift, as it then
could neither prevent nor remedy, having fo often ex
perienced its own efforts to beufelefs, and. even hurtful,
asthey did nothing elfe but ftill more defile it. There
is in fuch cafe no other way or means of reniedy, but
in waiting tiW.the Jun of righteoujnejs diffipata thofe
fogs,- as. the whole work of purification comes from
God only. Afterward? this conduct becomes natu-
-ral; And then the foul can fay with the royal pro-
'phet, "Though an hoft fhould encamp againft me,
/' myheart fhall not fear: Though war fliould ' rife
" againft me,, in hirtl will I confide," For then,
though aflfaiulted on every,^fide by evil fpirits, it conti
nues fixed as a.rock. Having no will bpt for what
God fees , meet to order, be it what . it .niay, high or
low, greater fmall, fweet' or bitter, honour, wealth,
life or any other 6hje6t, what can fliake its peace ?
It is true, our natiire is fo crafty, that it worms itfelf
through every thing ; ^xAaJilfiJb Jght. is . like the ba-
filifks i it deftroys.
Trials

24 The LIFE of Part IL
Trials are furted to the ftate "ofthe -foul, whether
•condiided by- lights,- gifts,, or -exiafies" &«. -or by tlic
entire deftrudlion of felf m Ci^-'ivay-ef ¦mked'Jtiith.
Both thefe ftates .are found in St. Paul. He tells us,
"And left I flio'uldbeexalted above mekfure, through
" the abundance of" revelations, thete was given to me
" a thorn in the fielh, the niefienger of Satan to buffet
¦*' me." He prayed thrice, and it was faid to hini,
" My grace is fufficient for thee ; for my ftrength
" is made perfeft in weaknefs:" He proved alfo -
another ftate when he thus expreffed himfelf, *' Oh
"wretched man that 1 ami Wihb fhall deliver me
" from the body of this death?" To which he re
plies, " 1 thank''GoD, it is done through JeSits Christ
*¦' our Lord?' It is he who cenqners- death in tvs
"through his own life. Then there is no longer-a fling
in death, or thorri in the flefh, capable of paining 'or
hinting any more. ' - - ¦ - ¦ -
At firft indeed, and for a pretty long time after,
the fo«I fees that nature wants to take fome part with
it in its Trials : And then " its fidelity confifts in with
holding it, without aillowing itAe leaft indulgence,
'till it leave tvery thing to go on with God in purity as
it comes from him. Till the foul be in this condition,
it always fullies, by its own mixtviit, the operation
of Gob; like thofe rivulets which contract the corrup
tion of the places they pafs through; but, flowTtrg
in a pure place, they then remain in the 'purity ofthdr
¦fource. Unlefs God through experience make known
this cpnducft to the foul, it can never eoniprehend it.
Oh if fouls had courage enough to ' refign themre'lvcs
to the work of purification,' without haying any wea(k
andfoolifh pity on themfelves, what a noble and hfp-
py progrefs wovifld they make1' But few are willing to
'lofe the earth. If they advance fome fteps ; , as fopn
as the ffea is rufiled, they dejefted, they are caft anchor, and,

duAP.VlIL LAiDt GUION. 25
and often defift from the profecution of the voyage.
Such difordets does a love of felfifli intereft occafion.
It is of confequenCe ndt tb look too much at one's own
ftate, not to lofe courage, not to afford any nourifh-
mcnt to JelJ'love, which is fo deep-rooted, that its em
pire is not eafily dehiOlifhed. Often the idei which
a man conceives of the greatriefs of his ddvancfemerit
in divine experience makes him want it to be feen and
known of men, and to wifh to fee the; very fame perfec
tion in others. He conceives too low ideas of others,
and too high of his Owri ftate. Then it becomes a
pain to him to conveffe with people too human; whei-e-
as a foul truly miortified and refigned would rather
converfe with the worft, by the order bf Providence,
than with the beft, of its own choice ; wanting only
to fee or to fpeak to any as Providence diredts, know
ing well that all befide, far frohi helping, only hurt
it, or at leaft prove very unfruitful to it.
What then renders this foul fo perfedly content ?
It neither knows, nor waints to" know, any thing but
what .God calls it to. Herein it enjoys divine con
tent, after a manner vaft, immenfe, independent of
exterior events ; more fatisfied in its humiliatiofi, arid
in the oppofition of all creatures, by the order of
Providence, than oh the throrie of its owri choice.
Oh thou who alone condu6teft thefe fouls, and who
canft ;each ways fo hidden arid loft, fo contrary to
the ujual Jpirit of devStion, full of itfelf and its own ^
virtues ;¦ bring hither fouls innurtietable, which ma^
love thee in the utmoft purity^ Every other love,
however vehement and ardent, is not the pure love,
but a love mixed with felfifhnefs. Thefe fouls are
the delight of God, who delights to be with the children
of men, (Prov. 8. 31.) that is with fouls child-like and
innocent, fuch as are fet free from pride, afcribing to
.themfelves onlj*' nothingnefs and fm. They are one in
God, to fuch a degree, that they look at him only.
Vol. IJ. D and

26 The L I F E OF Fart IL
•and every thing elfe in him. Beautiful is that pafl'age
of Jeremiah, " He f^tteth alone, and keepeth fi-
" lence, becaufe he hatk born his yoke upon him.
.(Lam. iii. 38.) '
What makes the perfeftipn of one ftate, is only
the weak and imperfed beginning of that which fol
lows it, as in the mounting up. from ^ low.et clafs to
a higher. The child's ftate has its 'beauties and
charms in its feafon, as haye all the fucceeding ftages
of the divine life, when rightly difpofed and direfted.
St. Paul fays, The Law was our School-mafier'to bring
us a«/(7 Christ, (Gal. iii. 29.) Butwhen we are come
to him, that mafter is then, rendered, of no ufe. It is
he who 'brings into the perfeSl likerty of the, Sons of
God, which liberty flows from the Spirit of God.
-JBut wh9.t are thofe fouls dpfigned for, which are fo
dear to him ? To be conformed to. the Image of. his Son.,
Rom. viii. 20. 20. ' " ,
i
It is here that the apoftoliq life begins. But is
every one called to that ftate? Very few, fo far as I
can comprehend; and, of the few that are called, to
it, fewer ftill walk in true purity. There is a way of
lights, or of gifts and graces, a holy life in which the
cjreature appears all admirable,; As this, life is more
apparent, it is alfo more efteemed of fuch as haye
not the pureft light. The fouls^ which walk in the
other path are very little known ; or for a long time
at leaft, as it was with Jesus Christ himfelf, till
the laft years of -his life, ph if I could exprefa what
I conceive of this ftate I,-*' But I can only ftammer
about it. I haye wandered far from my ftory, but
am not capable of doing otherwife.,

G H A P.

Chap. IX. LADY GUION. 27

CHAP. IX.
T> RING, as I have faid, with the Ursulines at
13 T'onon, after having fpoken to the Bifhop of
Geneva, and feeing how he changed, juft as others
tutned him, I writ td him and tb Father la Mothe ;
but all my pains were Ufelefs. The more I endea
voured to atcomnlodate rhsttte'rs, the mord the
Ecclefiaftic tried to confound them. I cedfed to
meddle. ~
I had a dream that I direw a cord which feemed
at firft of diamond; but afterwards it appeared to
be ofiron*. I faw'ftorms coming on everV fide; yet
I re fted in a profound peace, waitihg for the ftrokes
which I could not avoid. 1 beheld the tempeft defcend
impetuoufly, without rny having done the leaft thing
to contribute to it, or feeing any thing for me to do
but peaceably to ftiffer. One day' I was. told that the
Ecclefiaftic had won over that good girl whom I fo
ciearl^' loved. So ftrong a defire I had had for her
perfedlion that it had coft rtie vKach. 1 ftiouId not
have felt the death of a child fo much as her lofs :,'At
the fame rime I Was told how to hinder it; but' that
human way of afting was rep'tignant to my iftward
fenfe ; irid thefe words were put irito my heart. Except
the luOKD' build ihe Houfe, iSc.
And indeed ht proyi<|ed herein himfelf, hindering
her from.i^ield'ing to tliis deceitful I'nari, after a mari-
* The interpretation of tWsJDream Appears eafy. The Bilhop
of Geneva treated her with honour at firft, while he was open to
good impreffions, and her words had fome efteft on his mind : But
afterward, debafed by corrupt Ecclefiaftics, and feduced into fiiiif-
ter views', he turned an apbfta'te, and after that her bitter and im
placable p'erfecutor,
D 2 ner

28 TheLIFEof Part IL
ner to be admired, and very thwarting to the defigns
of him and his afTociates. As long as 1 was with hef
fhe ftill feemed wavering and fearful : But oh the
infinite goodnefs of God, to preferve without us
what without him we fhould lofe \ I was no fooner
fep^rated from her, but fhe became immoveable.
As for nic, there fearce paflre4 a day but they
treated me with new infults ; their afTaults came, on
me at unawares. The new Catholicks, by the infti-
gation of the Bilhop of Geneva, the Ecclefiaftic, ari4
the Sifter? at Gex, ftirred up all the perfons of piety
againft me. I had but little uneafinefs on my own ac
count. If I could have had it on any, it would have
been on that of F&ther la Combe, whom they vilely
^fperfed, though he was ^bfent^ Thpy even ma.dc ufe
of his abfence, tp overfet all the good he lia^ done
in the country, by bis miffions and pious labours,
which was inconceivably great. At firft I was too
ready to vindicate him, thinking it juftice to do it. I
did not dp it at all for myfelf; arid our Lord fhewed
me that I muft ceafe doing it for him, in order to leave
him to be more thoroughly annihilated ; becaufe from
thence hp would draw a greater glory, than ever he
|iad dpne from his own reputation.
Everv day tliey inyented fpme new fiander. Nq
kind of ftratagem, ot'^alicipus device in their power,
did they omit. They came to teafe, and to furprife
me in my words; but 'God guarded me fp well, that
therein they only difcovered their own malevolence".
I had^ no confolation from the creatures. The Sifter
who had the care of my daughter behaved roughly to
me. Such are the perfons who regulate themfelves
Only by thqir gifts an4 openings. When they don't
fee things prefently fucceed, as they regard them only
by their fuccefs, and are not willing to have the
^ffront of their pretenfions being thought uncertain, '
an4 liable to miftake, tliey feck w?V/&ok^ for fupports,
" ' Ais

qHAP. IX. LADY GUION. 29
As for me who jpretended to nothing, I thought all
fucceeded well, inafmuch as all tended to felf-^nnihiia-
tion. On another fide,, the maid I had brought, and
who had ftayed with me, grew tired out. Wanting
to go back again, fhe ftunned me with her complaints,
thwarting and chiding me from morning till night,
upbraiding me with what ,1 had left, and coming
tp a place where I was good for nothing- I was
qbljged to bear all her ill humours, and the clarnqiirs
of her tongue.

o

,F. LA Mothe writ to me that I was a rebel to
my Bifhop, ftayingin his diocefe, only tp give him
pain. Indeed, I faw there was nothing for me to do
here, fo long as the Bifhop fhould be againft me, I
did what I could to gain his good-will; but it was
impoflible on any other terms than the engagement he
demanded, and that I knew to be my duty not to do.
This, joined to the poor education of my daughter,
affefted my heart. When any glimmering of hope
appeared, it foon vanifhed ; and a fort 01 defpair
caufed my ftrength.
During this time Father la Combe was at Rome,^
where he was received with fo mucH honour, and his
doflrine fo highly efteemed, that the facred congre-
garion was pleafed to take his Jentiments on fome points
pf do6lrine, which were found to be fo juft, and fp
clear, that it followed them. Mean while the Sifter"
would take no care of my daughter, and when I took
care of her, fhe was difpleafed. I was not able, by
9,ny' means, to prevail' on her to promife me to try to
prevent hei- pontrafting bad habits. However I hoped
that -Father la Combe, at his return, would bring
every thing into order, and renew my confolation.
Yet I left it all to God.
. As it was known in the countijy that I was among
^he Urjulines at 'J'onon, that I had left Gex, and wa^
' ¦ very

JO -The LIFE of Part II>
very muph perfecuted, Monfieur de Monpezat, Archr
bifliop of Sens, -who had a great regard for nie, hear
ing that , rny fifter, ari Urjuline pf his diocefe, was
obliged to go to the waters, .,on account of a paraly
tic complaint, gave her his confent to go thither, as
alfo into the diocefe of Geneva, to refide with rrie, or
to bring me back with her. Accordingly ftie came in
the month of July 1682, and (through the favour of
Providence) brougl^t a maid for me to inftru6t, and
to wait upon me. This fell out very feafona-
bly for the tuition of my daughter, and for her im-^
provement in reading. I had taught her already to
read the Bible. But while I had left her, they had
given her an accent very difagreeable. My fifter re
covered her from it: But fhe and the other whbfe
care fhe was under fell out violently. 1 laboured to
reconcile them, but to little purpofe. My fifter iriia-
gined I .had, more affeftion for that &Jun than for her,
which was far from being the cafe. For I had myfelf
a great deal to fuffer from her, which I faid nothing
of. It was unpleafing to me to fee difcord where I
enjoyed peace. The difcontented maid only made
bad worfe. She entertained my fifter with her vexa
tions! It is true, my fifter praftifed virtue ; but fhe
could not forbear thinking it hard that fhe, being a
Nun advanced in years, and a ftranger, fhould flib-
mit to one who was yet in her noviciate, in her own
houfe,, and of a very low birth. I reminded her what
Jesus Christ had fuffercd. I fucceeded better with my
lifter, who was not very fpiritually-minded, than with
the Other who thought herfelf much advanced in gifts
and openings. Wheii this latter , had once conceived
any thing, it was next to impoffible to urideci^iy^
her. ¦ ' • ' ; ¦ -' '":'¦
By the inftance of this Nun, I faw clearly that it
is not great gifts which fanftify, unlefs they be- ac
companied with a profound humility ; arid that death
to every thing is infinitely more beneficial; for this
very ;

Chap. IX. LADY G U I O'N. 31
very maid, who thought herfelf at the fummit of per-
fcftion, has difcovered fince, by the trials which
have befallen her, that fhe was yet very far from ic.
Oh my God, how true it is that we may have of
thy gifts, and yet be very imperfect, and full of
ourfelves !
How ftraight is the gate which leads to a life iri
God ! How little and ftript of every thing one rriuft
be to pafs' through it, it being nothing elfe but death
to ourfelves! But when paffed through it, what en
largement do we find! David faith, (I'falm xviii, 19,)
" He brought me forth into a large place," Arid
what is this but that, infinite Being, in whom all other
beings terminate ? And it was through huitiiliation
and abafement that he was brought hither.

-D

Father la Combe, on his arrival, came to fee me.
The firft thing he faid was about his own wcaknefs,
and that I muft return. He added, " that all' feemed
'• dark, and no likelihood that God woUld make ufe
" of me in this country." TheBifhbp of Geneva writ
to Father la Mothe to get me to return. That Fa
ther writ to riie to do it.. The firft Z.^«/ which I
paffed with the UrJuUnes, I had very great pains in my
eyes; for that fame impofthume vvhich I formerly had
between the eye and the nofe, returned upon me thrice
over. The bad air, and the chamber too open to it,
which I was in, contributed hereto. My head was
frightfully fwelled, but great was my inward joy. It
was a thing fomewhat particular to fee many good
creatures, who did not know me, love arid pity me ;
and all the reft enraged againft me, and moft of
them on reports entirely falfe, neither knowing 'me,
nor why they fb hated me. To fwell the ftream
of afiliftipn yet more, my daughter fell ffck and like
to die: There was little hope of her life when her
tniftrefs alfo fell ill. My foul, leaving all to God,
Continued to reft in a quiet and peaceable* habitation. O prin-

32 The LIFE of Part it.
O principal and fole Objed of ray love! Were
there never any other reward of what little fervices
we do, or of the marks of homage we render to
thee, than this fixed ftate above all the viciflitudes-
in the world, is it not enough? The fenfes indeed
are fomcrimes ready to ftart afide, and to run oflf
like truants; but every trouble flies before the foul
which is entirely fiibjefted to God. In fpeaking of
a fixed ftate, I don't mean one which can never de
cline or fall, that being only in Heaven. I call it
fixed and permanent, compared with the ftates which
have preceded it, whiqh were full of viciflitudes and
variations. I will not exclude a ftate of fuffering in
the fenfes, or arifirig from fome fuperficial impurity,
which remains to be done away, and which one
may compare to gold refined in its Jubjiance,, which '"yet
may contradt fpots. That gold has no more need to
be purified in the fire, having undergone that opera
tion ; but need's only to be cleanfed without; S6
it feemed to be with me at that timcj
There is alfo a pain in this ftate, which is inflided'
of God. All the croffeS and troubles from without
do no more to it than only graze the fkin, ' when com- ,
pared to this. The foul which, is redeemed both from
every refiftance of the divine Will, and from every
felfifh practice even of good, has nothing more to fear,
or to fuffer, from men or devils, though they dif-
charge all their fiiry on it. Againft fuch a foul in
deed all hell is ftirred up, and yet all that is little of
a fuffering tp it. Nor could thefe have any powerj
were it not given them from above. Jesus Christ bore
aU the avenging juftice of God: And it needed GoU
to bear that weight. So it needs a foul transformed,.
and paffed into God, to bear the weight of the Fa
ther's juftice. Such are the fouls deftined to be vic
tims hereof, and to fill up what is behind of the Suffer-^
ings of Christ, for his Body's fake zvhich is the Church.
(Col. I., 24.) But what is there behind of his Suffer ings,

Chap. IX. LADY GUION.

33

ings, fince he himfelf faid, " It is finiflied," (John,
xviii. 19.) except the extenfiori thereof in his mehi-
bcrs? Jesus Christ, in the garden, fuffercd exceed
ingly, both frorii' the withdrawing of -God his Father,
and from the weight of the firiS of all mankind : So,
in his membcrsj their unit^ with the will of God is
fo much the gteater, as it is lefs perceived through
the weight arid force, of their fufferings. '

CHAP. X.
My daughter had the fmall-pox and the purples.
They fent for a phyfician from- Geneva, who
gave her over. Father la Combe- theri came in to
confefs her. He gave, her his blefTing ; and foon after
fhe wonderfully recovered. The perfecutions of the
new cathoHcks againft: me contiriued and increafed :
Yet, for all that, I did' not fail to do them all the good
in ihy power. My daughter's miftreis came often to
difcourfe with me, but much imperfedlion ^.ppeared in
her.difcourfes, though they were on religious fubjefts.
Father la Combe regulated many thirigs in regard to
my daughter,; which vexed her miftrefs fo much, that
her former friendfhip turned into coldnefs. She had
grace,, but fuffered nature too frequently to prevail.
1 told her my thought on her faults, as I was inwardly
direfted to do : But though, dt that time, God en
lightened. -her to fee the truth of what I faid, and flie
has been more enlightened fince ; yet the return of her
coldnefs toward me enfued upon it. The debates be
tween her and rny fifter grew more tart and violent.
My daughter, who was only fix years and a half old,
by her little dexterities found the" way to pleafe them
both, chufing to do' her exercifes twice over^ firft with
the-' one, thea with the OtHer, which continued not
Vol. II. E long

34

HE LIFE aF Part 11.

long ; for as her miftrefs generally neglefted- her,
doing things at one rime, and leaving them at another,
lhe was reduced to learn only what my fifter arid I
taught her. Indeed the vivacity of my fifter is fo ex-
cefTivc, that, without a particular grace, itis hard to
fuit ones felf to it : And yet flie appeared to mc to
furmount herfelf in many things. Formerly I could
, fcarce bear her manners ; but I have fince loved every
thing in God, who has given me a very great facility
to bear the faults of my neighbour, with a readincfs
to pleafe and oblige every one, and fuch a compaffion
for their calamities or diftreffes as I never had' before.
MoiE eafily did I bear the great faults of imperfed
fouls, than very little ones in fuch as God had be
gun to draw toward perfedion. I feel hiy heart en
larged with tendernefs for the firft, and a certain
firmnefs in regard to the others, not to tolerate in
them faults which are fo much the more dangerous,
as they lefs diftruft them on account of their fubtilty.
Though it feems that my miferies ought to impofe
filence on me, I cannot forbear, without fuffering
much, to reprove thofe fouls for their defeds. The
more any foul is favoured with eminent grace, the
more nearly it is united to me; the more violent alfo
is the weight and fuffering I feel for it, if it flip or
turn afide ever fo little. I difcern its foundation and
its fallings, as if they were outwardly fhewed or fet
befpre me. I mean the inward failings of the mind,
for others furprife me not. This view diminiflies not
the efteem I have for the perfons ; but it makes me
know what they want, and obliges rae often to tell
them it.
I haVe no difficulty to ufe condefcenfion with im
perfed perfons ; I fhould be fecretly fmitten if I
failed therein : But with fpuls of grace I cannot bear
this human manner of ading, nor fuffer long and
frequent converfations. It is a cafe which few perfons are

Chap.X. LADY GUION.

35

are capable of, ; and which is fcarce known. Some
religious perfons fay that thefe converfations are of
great fervice. I believe that is true for one time, and
not for another ; that there is a time when it does
hurt, efpecially when it is of our own choice; the
human inclination corrupting every thing. The fame
things v/hich would be profitable, when God^ by his
fpirit, draws tp them, become quite otherwife, when of
ourfelves wc enter into them. This appears to me fo
pleaFj that I prefer being a whole day with the worft,
jn obedience to God, before being one hour with the
beft, only from choice and a human inclination,
The ordering of divine providence makes the whole
rule and condud of a foul entirely devpted to God.
While it faithfully gives itfelf up thereto, it will do
all things right and well, and will have every thing
it wants, without its own care aboiit it ; becaufe God,
in whom it confides, makes }t every moment do what
he requires, and fiirnifhps the occafiot^s proper for it-
God loves what is of his own order, and of his own
will, not according to the idea of man or of reafon,
even that which has been enlightened ; he hides thefe
perfons from the eyes of others, in order t-Q prefefve
them in that hidden purity for himfelf,
But how comes it that fuch fouls commit ^y
faults ? It is becaufe they arc not faithful, in giving
themfelves up to the prefent froment. ^ Often too eagerly
bent on fqmething, or wariting to be overfaithful, they
Aide into many faults, which .they can nehher forefee
nor avoid. Does God then leave fouls which confide
in him ? In no wife. Sooner would he work a mira
cle to hinder them from falling, if they were enough
refigned to him. They may be refigned as to the
will, and yet fail as to the prefent moment. Being out
of the order of God, they fall.; They renew fuch,
falls as long as they conrinue out of that divine ordet..
¦^hen they return into it, all goes right andwejl.
"¦ Mos'^

36 The LIFE of Part I^
Most affuredly, if fuch fouls were faithful enough,
not to let any of the tnoments of the order of God flip
over, they would not thus fall. -This appears to me
as clear as the day. For inftance, a bone put out 6f
its place, in which the oecoriomy of divine wifdom
had placed it, ceafes riot to give pain till it be reftore4
into its proper order. FrOrri whence come fo many
troubles and milcarriages in life, but from the foul's
not abiding in its place, not content with the order of
God, and what is afforded therein from moment to
moment ? If men rightly knew this fecret, they woyld
all be fully content and fatisfied. But alas ! inftead
of being content with what they have, they are ever
wifliing for what they have not ; while the foul, which
enters into the divine light, begins to be in paradife.
What IS it that makes paradife ? It is the order ef
God, which, renders all the faints infinitely content,
though very unequal in glpry. From whence comes
it that fo many poor men are fo contented; and king^
who abound fo unhappy ? It is becaufe the man, whc)
is not' content with what he has, will never be with
out wrong defires ; and he who defires what he h^s
nbt, or cannot ^ave,' can never be content.
All fouls have more or lefs of ftrong and arden^
defires, except thofe'^'which are in the divine moment.
Some have gop4 defires, as to fuffcT martyrdom,, in
order to gO to God ; and others for the falvauon of
their neighbour. All that is excellent; B,ut he who,
refts in the diving moment, "though exempt from- aU,
thefe defires, is infinitely more content, and glorifies
God mbre. Suffering is not good, but in the moment
^wherein we triuft fuffer. " Then it is in the' order: of
God, and the defire of what one has does not accottJ-,
pany the thing itfelf. "' It is written concerning Jesus
Christ, when he drove oUt of the temple thofe who,
prophaned it, " The zeal' of thine hoyfe hath eaten
riie up. John ii. 17. It was in thai momeni, of th&
order of God, that thefe wotds h^d their effed. How
ma.ny

Chap. X. :LADY GUION. 37
many times had Jesus Christ beeo in th© temple
¦without fuch a condud ? Does not he occafionally fay
of himfelf, that his hour i&as not yet cerne ?
The faints in heaven always defire Goo, and always
poflefs him. It is rather an appetite, than defire^
which ever increafes the pleafure of enjoyment. They
continually epjoy, and jnceffantly advance in enjoy
ment, difcovcring new beauties in Gon which ravifh
them ; ahd yet eternity can never exhauft thefe trea-
fures ever new, of that beauty which is ever ancient
as well as new. There will eternally be for them new
4elights, arid an inceffant introdudion into new en-
joyments. All the impctuofities which we fee in inanimate
creatures toward . their center^ arc but, the fhadow of
the tendency of the foul towards its own. The reafon
thereof is taken .from the eminence of the center,
which has in it a quahty fo much the more attrading
^s it is more excellent. The excellence of Gop being
infinite, it is eafy to judge of the force of its attradion ;
and the rioblenefs ofthe fpyl caufes its impetuous ten
dency toward its center. From this infinite attradion
of God, as well as the bent of the foul tp follow the
draught of that central force, one may judge of the
pain of fouls in purgatory, which are ftopped in this
violent bent, more or lefs, according as the obftacles,
whieh hinder them from becoming loil in God, are
more qr lefs powerful ; Alfo of the pain of fouls in
bell, apainfo much the greater as it is accompanied
with the defpair of ever being united to their center.
What caufes that we do not feel in this life the. ftrong.
weight of our feparaition from,', and this powerful at
tradion to our center, is caufed , % the body, which,
an|it>fing itfelf with created objeds, procures a diver-
fiaa, ,a^ takes away the attention ofthe foul frorii
this attrading virtue of ,thd centeri^'tillthe inquietude
of its fepar^tion hinders it from finding any peaceful reft

38 The LIFE of Part IL
reft' on earth. As the foul in purgatory, when it has
nothing more to purify, fuffers no more in the flames ;
fo when God has purified the creature from its faults,
the pain ceafes, and the foul finds then that it is in its
place. And as the fouls in purgatory fuffer more or
lefs, according as they have more or lefs to be puri
fied; fo the foul in this ftate, after its fall, fuffers
more or lefs, according to the quality of the fault,-^
But I wander immoderately. '
End of the Year 1682.

CHAP. XI.

AFTER Father la Combe was returned from
Rome, ^^^ell approved, and furnifhed with tef-
timonials of his life and dodrine, he performed his
fundions of preaching and confefling as ufual. To
him I confeffed ; and he told me at firft that I muft
return, as I have mentioned. To him I gave an ac
count of what I had done and fuffered in his abfence,
and what care God had taken of all my concerns.
I faw his Providence inceffantly extended to the very
fmalleft things. After having been feveral months
without any news of my papers, when fome preffed
me to write, and blamed my ncgled, an invifible
hand held tne back ; my peace and confidence were
great herein. I received a letter from the Ecclefiaftie
at home, which informed me that he had orders to
come and fee mfe, and bring me my papers. I had
fent for a pretty confiderable bundle of things from
Paris for my daughter. It w^s loft on the lake ; and
I could hear no ti4ings of it. , ,. I GAVE

Chap. XL LADY GUION.

39

I GAVE myfelf no trouble about it. I always thought
it would be foun4. The man who had taken the
charge of it made a fearch after it, for a whole month,
in all the environs, without hearing any news of it.
At the end pf three months it was brought to me,
having been found in the houfe of a.jpocr man, who
had not opened it, nor knew who brought it thither.
Once I had fent for all the money which was to ferve
me a whole year ; the perfon whp had been to receive
cafh for the bill of exchange, having put that mo
ney in two bags on horfe-back, forgot that it , was
there, and gave the horfe to a httle boy tb lead. The
money fell from the horfe in the niiddle of the
msLtkct at Geneva. That inftant I arrived, coming on
the other fide, and having alighted from my litter,
the firft thing I found was my money, in walking
over it; what was furprifing, a great throng, was in
this place, and not pne had perceived it. Many
fuch things have attended' rne which, to avoid pro
lixity, I pafs by. Thefe jnay fuflice to fhew the pro-
tedipn of God. r
The Bifhop of Geneva cof^tmiied to perfecute me.
When he writ to me, it was with poUtcnefs and thanks
for rriy charities at Gex: While he faid to others,
*' I gave nothing to that houfe." He writ againft me
to the Urfulines with whom I lived, chai'ging them
to hinder me frpm having any conferences with Fa
ther LA Combe, for fear of bad confequences. The fu-
peripr pf the houfe, a man of merit, and the priorefs,
as well as the community, ¦were, fo much irritated at
this, ^at, they Cpuld npt. forbear teftifying it to him
felf. He then excufed himfelf with a pretended re-,
fped, and with an, / did not mean it that way. They
writ to him " that I did not feethe Father but at the
'* cqnfeffional, an4 not in conference ; that they were
" fo much edified by mc, as to think themfelves hap-
" py in having me, and to efteem it a great favour
" from-GoD.'' What they faid out of pure charity
¦ W3?

40

The life of, Part IL

was not pleafing to the Bifliop, who, feeing they loved
me in this houfe,- faid, that 1 won over every hiiy to
myfelf, and that he wijhed I were out of his diocefe.
Though I knew all this, and thefe good Sifters were
troubfed at it, I' could have rio trouble by reafon
of the calm eftablifliment which I was in, the- will of
God rendering- every thing equal to me;; the crea
tures^ hov/ever unreaibnable or pafTionate they appear,
not'- being regarded in themfelves but in GoB-; for a
habitual faith caufes cilery thing to be feen in God
without diftindion. Thus when 1 fee poor fouls fo
ruffled for difcourfes in the air^, fo uneafy for' explana
tions, I pity therii' for their want of light. The^ have
reafons, t knoW, which /^^-^w^ caufes tc appear -very
juft. .' ¦ ' ¦ ¦ ;;; ^•'
To relieve myfelf a little from the fatigue -df con'
tinual converfation, as my bbd^ grfeW weak, I defired
Father la Combe to alloiv me a retreat, and to give
out that he had ordered me to make one. He told the
people fo; but they could hardly leave' me in repofe.
It was then that I let myfelf be cpnfumed by love
all the day long. " Theri alfo T perceived the qUality
of a fpiripual mother; for God gave me what f can
not exprefs for the perfedion of fouls. This 1 could
not hide from Father l'a.Comb'e!. It feeriied to me- as
if I entered into the innermoft reCeffes of his heart*
Otir Lord fhewed me that he Was -his fervant, chofert
amongft a thoufand, fingularly to honour him ; but
that hewould lead him through total dbath, and the
entire deftrudiori of' the old man ; that he would have
me contribute thereto, and be iriftruniental to caufe
him to walk in' the way in whichhe had led me firft;
in order thit I might be in a conditioh to dired others
therein, and to tell them the tracks through vyhich I
had paffed; that Gpp wpuld have us to be conforriiedi
and to become both one in him; that though my foul
was more advanced now, yet he fhould one day pafs
beyond it, with a bold and rapid flight. Goi)- fenows how

Chap. 5{L LADY GUION. . 41
how I rejoiced herein, and with what joy I would fee
my children furpafs their mother in' glory.

In this retreat I felt a ftrong movement to write ;
but refifted it till I fell fick. I had nothirig to write
about, not one idea to begin with. It was a divine
impulfe, with fuch a fullnefs of grace, as was hard to
contain, or bear ; like mothers full of milk, which
fuffer much. I laid open this difpofition of mine to
Father la Combe. He anfwered me " that he had
" had a ftrong impulfe to command me to write
^- but had not dared to do it yet, i on account of my
" weaknefs." I told him, " that weaknefs was the
"effed of, my refiftance, and I believed it would,^
" through my writing, go off again." He aflced me,
" But what is it you will write ?" I replied, " I know
" nothing of it, nor defire to know, leaving it en-
" tirely to God to dired me." He ordered me to
do fo. At my taking the pen I knew not the firft
word I fhould write; but when I began, fuitable
matter flowed copioufly ; and as I was writing I was
relieved, "and grew better. I writ an entire treatife on
the interior path of Faith, under the comparifon of tor
rents, or of ftreams and rivers*; and though it is pretty
long, the comparifon in it holds out to the end.
As the way, wherein God conduded Father la
Combe, was very different from that in which he had
walked rill then ; which had beeri all light, know
ledge, ardor, affurance, fentiments, but now the poor
low defpifed path of faith, and of nakednefs ; he
found it very hard to fubmit thereto ; which caufed me
no little fuffering. Who could exprefs what it has coft
my heart, before hi§ was formed according to the will
* This Treatife was written by herin 1683, entitled The Tor
rents. It has been twice printed in Holland, among her fpiritual
works, in the firft Volume in i'704, and more coireftly in the is-
cond Volume in 1712. '^\
Vol. II. F of

42 The LIFE of Part IL
of God? The more this foul is precious in the eyes
•of God, the more dearly have I been obliged to pay
for it. Mean time the poffcffion which God had- of
my foul became every day more ftrong, infomuch that
I often paffed whole days without being able to pro
nounce one word ; for God was pleafed to make me
pafs wholly into him by an entire transformafiort. He
became more and more the abfolute mailer of my
heart, to fuch a degree, as not to leave me a move
ment of my own, in order that I might be continu
ally fupple to every inrimation. of his will. This ftate
did not hinder me from condefcending to my Sifter,
and the others in the houfe. Neverthelefs the ufelefs
things with which they were taken up could not fuit
my ftate. That was what induced me to afk leave
to make a retreat, to let myfelf be poffeffed of him
who holds me fo clofely united to himfelf after a
manner ineffable. At this time he purified me from
a relick of nature very fubtil and delicate, fo that
my foul was brought into very great purity. All
partitions were utterly confumed. Then it was given
me to wtite in a manner purely divine. ^ AU that I
had wrote, before the time of my probation, wa,s
condemned to the fire. Our Lord united me more
clofely in his fpirit with Father la Combe. He re
quired mc to tell him my thoughts, to the very
leaft pf them, or to write them to him, as he was
often abfent. It was a thing which I had never done
before, when I might have done it more coriimq(|i-
oufly. I faid with the fpoufe, (Cant, v, 3.) " I have P'-^t
" off my coat, how fhall I put it on ? I have wafhed
" my feet, how fliall I defile them ?" Muft my fpirit,
which is fo naked and empty, again be furniflied
and filled? And aftei: having been fiibjed tp God
only, muft I becpme fp tp the creature ? I could have
wifhed to avoid it, ha4 I been miftrefs pf myfelf; but
I was taken up with the taught till I had obeyed.
Far from having its former purity, the heart became
fullied 6y fuch thoughts, even though they were of
good

Chap. XL , LADY GUION. 43
good thirigs : For to trouble the water with a fticlc of
gold, or of wood, is ftill alike troubling it. I foun4
that the ftronger the union between us grew, the more
we were united to God, and drawn off from human
fentiments. 1 was the more conftrained to forgive hirri
nothing which was amifs, to defire the thorough de-
ftrudion thereof, that God only might reign ; and was
obliged lo tell him faithfully whatever the Lord made
known to me that he required of hirii : And this wa,s
a hard place to pafs. I was conftrained to tell hirn
the effential defeds of the Sifter who took care of rriy
• daughter : As he was prepoffefled in her favour, from
her gifts and graces which fhe had told him of, he re-
jeded with difpleafure what I faid about her : But thp
Lord allowed me no reft till I told him all I thought
of her, in regard to her faults. On every occafion I
was forced tp fuffer for his infidelity. Long has been
the martyrdom I have fuffered on this accourit, and
beyond whatever can be expireffed cbricernirig it.

CHAP. XII.
OUR Bleffed L6rd had fully determined that I
fhould enter into, and experience all his ftates,
beginning with the firfl, and going on even to the
laft. Reducing me even to a perfed child-like fim-
plicity, he gave me fuch a Svonderful obedience to niy
diredor JFather la Combe, that into whatever extre-
tiiity of bodily illnefs I were plunged, I was imme
diately cured at his commarid. I feeriied to be a re-
prefentative of jEstrs Christ in his child's ftate, obe
dient to his Father's \vili. Alfo a fign and teftimonjr
to this good Father, who, having been hitherto con
duded by tejiimoflies *, could not get out of that way.
• That is to Jay, fenfible Marks,, perceptible Proofs and Reafons.
Editor's Note,
F 2 in

44 The L I F E OF Part IL
In all that was faid to him, and all that God caufed
him to experience, he was evef feeking for fome' tefti-
monies, reafons or demonftrations. It was the point
wherein he had the moft pain to die to himfelf, and
by which he has caufed me to fuffer fo much. Our
Lord, to make him enter the more readily intp
what he required both of him and of me, gave him
the greateft of all teftimonies, which was this won
derful obedience; in order to make him fee that it
did not depend on me, but that God gave it me for
him : When he grew ftrong enough to bear the lofs'-
of every teftimony, and God would have hini learn
to walk without fuch helps, this obedience was taken
frpm me, in fuch fort that, without an imm.ediate at
tention thereto, I could no longer obey him. This
w^ ordered to make him enter the more into death to
himfelf, and tp deprive him of the fupport of this tef
timony ; for npw all my efforts to revive it were ufe
lefs. I was obliged to follow the internal didates of
my Sovereign. He gave me this repugnance to obey
my external diredor ; but it continued no longer than
was necefiary tp make him lofe the fupport ihe ha4
drawn frpm thence, and perhaps I myfelf alfp.
I HAD at that time fo ardent a defire for his perftc-
tion, and to fee him thoroughly die to himfelf, . that
I cpuld have wifhed him all the croffes and, afflidioris
imaginable (far from pitying him in them) that might
conduce to this great and bleffed end. Whenever
he was unfaithful, or lopl^ed at things in any other
light than the true one, viz. to tend to this myftic
death, I felt myfelf on the rack, which, as I had
beep till then fo indifferent, very much furprifed me.
To the Lord I made niy complaint, who gracipufly
fncpuraged, me bpth on this fubjed and on that entire
dependence on himfelf which he gave me, which w^s
ftich that I was like a new-bprn child.
My

Chap. XIL LADY GUION. 45
My Sifter had brought me a maid*, whom God
was willing to give me, to fafliion her according to
his will, not without fome crucifixion to myfelf, (for
I believe it never is to fall out, that our Lord will
give me any perfons without giving them wherewith
to make me fuffer for them) whether it be for the
purpofe of drawing them into a fpiritual life, or ne
ver to leave me without the crofs. She was one on
whom the Lord had conferred very fingular graces.
She was in high reputation in the country,' where
-Ihe paffed for a faint. Our Lord brought her to
me, to let her fee the difference of the, fandity con
ceived and comprized in the gifts, with which fhe-was
endowed, from that which is acquired by our entire
dcftrudion, even by the lofs of thofe. fame gifts, and
of what we are in the efteem of men. Our Lord
had given her the fame dependence for me as I had
in regard to Father la Combe, neverthelefs with fome
difference. This girl fell grievoufly fick, I was willing to give
her all the affiftance in my power, but I found I had
nothing elfe to do but to command her bodily fick-
nefs, or the difpofition of her mind ; and all that I faid
was done. It was then that I learned what it was to
command by the word, and obey by the word. Ic was
Jesus Christ in me equally commanding and
obeying. ' She, however, continued fick for fome time. One
day, after dinner, I was moved to fay to her, " Rife,
*' and be no longer fick." She rofe and was cured.
.The Nuns were very much aftonifhed ; and as they
jknew^nothing of what had paffed, but faw her walk-
* One of thofe young women who was a prifoner in the BaJHJe
at Paries, twelve yeais, when Lady Guion was there. Editor's
' If ott. ' ' . ¦ ing,

4^ The LIFE op Part IL
ing, who in the morning had appeated to be iri the
laft extremity, they attributed her diferder to vapours.
[HEREi^flie relates how the Devil was permitted to
tormerit this maid, that he brought with hirti five
other evil fpirits ; but that at M. Guion's cortiniand
they all withdrew. After M. GuioM had gone out of
her chamber they, being ori the watch, returned with
redoubled rage, faying, " Wc cohie to feverigie our
felves for the hurt flie has done us," fpeaking of M.
GuioN. She at length forbad them not to attack her
again, and they returned no more. In fhort, it looks
like fome more of the dark contrivances of the Ecclc-
fiafticks, fuch as that mentioned in a precedingNote,]
As foon as the daemons were withdrawn from hef,
I felt, as it were by ah impreffion on my mind, their
rage againft mc. I inftantly comprehended that thefe
evil fpirits are not afraid of hell, more than of a
foul truly Annihilated, or that has nothing but what
is of God ; and that, for the reafons I have men-
tioried, they dare not attack thofe who ate conduded
in pure faith Very far from havirig any feir of the
Devil, I felt in myfelf fuch an authority oVei- his in
fernal power, that I thought I fhould have made all
bad fpirits fly before me, if I had entered their dafk
abodes. Thus are miracles operated by the annihila
tion of the foul, in fuch fort, that as this foul is noW
become nothing, from hence nothing ought to. be
attributed to it. It does not fay, when it feels a
movement to heal, " Be thou healed in the name df
" Jesus Christ :" Which is a power of doing miracles
\fi the Name of Christ: But hefe it is CnftrsT him
felf who does the miracle, and who fayS by that pef-
fon, ?* Be healed," and it is done : Or, " Let the
" devils be gone," and they . are gone. When the
Perfon fays that, it is the divine Word which fpeajks,
and effeds what it fpeaks ; the Word which fpoke in
the beginning, and all things were made. Thefe don't
make

Chap. X:IL L A P Y G U I O N. 47
make ufe of any form of prayers before it. They
fay what is given them to fay. Jesus prayed publickly
at the refurredion oi Lazarus : " But this, hejaid, "I
do» becaufe of the people which ftand by, that they may
" believe that thou haft fent me." Other fervants of
God, favoured with the gift of miracles, pray, and ob
tain thereby what they defire : But here it is the Wprd
who ufes his own authority, and who ads by the
Perfon in whom he lives and reigns.
Two things hereupon are to be obfcrved. One i?,
that the fouls of which I fpeak don't generally do
their miracles by giving any things or by fimply
touching ; but it is by the Word, although they fome
times accompany it with a touch. It is the AU-paw-
erful Word. The other is, that thefe miracles re
quire the confent, or at le^H that there be no oppofi
tion, of the party on whom they are to be wrought.
Our bleffed Lorp afked thofe- good people whom he
healed, "- Are ye willing to be healed ?" Could there
be any doubt of it when the men came to him for
that very purpofe? Such is the great fecret of the
pperatiprt of the Word, -^nd of the Uberty of man.
Xis n^t thus on the dead, or on inanimate creature?.
He thee fpeaks, and it is done : i^tUst in the other ca|e
it requires the confent of the foul.
I HAVE at fundry times experienced, and feltin my
felf, that God refpe£t& the freedpnx of man, and even
demands his free concurrence ; for when I faid, " Be
*^ healed," or, '* Be free from your troubles ; if fuch
perfons, acquiefced or joined therein, the Word was
efEcacious, and they were healed. If they doubted,
or refifted, though under fair pitetexts, as faying, *^ I
" fhall be healed'when it pleafes God, I will not be
" healed till be wills it ;" or, in the way of defpair, " I
" will riot be healed; I will not quit my condition,"
then the word had no effed. I felt in myfelf, that
the divine Virtue rerired in me. I experienced what

48 ' TheLIFEof Part IL
what our Lord faid, when the woman afflided with
the iffue of blood touched him, and he inflantly
afl<ed, " Who touched me?" The apoftles faid,
"Mafter, the mukitude throng thee, and prefs
" thecv and fayeft thou. Who touched me? But he
replied, " It is becaufe virtue hath gone out of me."
(Luke viii. 45, 46.) Jesus Christ had caufed that
healing virtue to flow, through me, by mekns of his
Word : But when that Virtue met riot with a corre-
fpondence. in the fubjed, I felt'^ it fufpended in its
fource, which gave mc fome pain. I fhould be, as
it were, difpleafed with thofe perfons : But wheri therje
was no refiftance, but a full acquiefcence, this divine
'Virtue had its full effed. One cannot conceive the
delicacy of this healing Virtue. Although it has
fo much power over things inanimate, yet the leaft
thing iri mari either reftrains it, or ftops it entirely*.
* The language of infidelity boldly pronounces, miracles are
ceajed; as if either the omnipotence of God, or his benevolence
to mankind, were ceafed. So formerly, when iniquity bore fway,
the people faid, "The Lord hath forfaken the earth ; the Lord
¦' feeth not." Ezek. ix. 9.
Among the firft Chriftians, we find, there were diverfities of gifts
from the fame fpirit, 'viz, gifts of healing, working miracles, pro-
,phecy, difcerning of fpirits, &c. L" Cor, xii. 4. 9. to. I have
no doubt at all but if men at this day wer6 fufBciently purified,
they would in like manner be eminently dignified. This I muft
ever believe on the behalf of that infinite wifdom and goodnefs,
which 'would ha've all Men to lefa'ved from evil, and to come unto the
knoiuledge of the Truth, I. Tim. ii. 4, The things which this di
vine Truth unfolds are fuch as the natural man receinieth mf, .for
thp are Foolijhnefs unto him : Neither can he ino'w them, becaufe thy
are Jpiritually dif cerned. \. Cor. ii. 4.
M. Guion had been brought through the Deeps, and had pafled
through the Furnace of Purification. Who then can be competent
Judges of her Words and Works, but fuch as have foUowed
Christ to the fame Length and Depth ? We have no other Rule
to judge of Pretenders and their Pretenfions by, but that which
Christ has given, t/k. Ye Jhall knoiu them iy their fruits. Mat,
viii, 16, , V
There

Chap. XIL LADY GUION.

49

There was a good Nun much afHided, and under
a violent temptation. She went to declare her cafe tp
a Sifter whom fhe thought very fpiritual, and in a
condition capable of affifting her. But far from
finding fuccour here, fhe was very much difcourage4
and caft down. The other defpifed her, and treating
her with a fcornful rigour, faid " Don't come near
" me, fince you are that way." This poor girl, in a
Trightful diftrefs came to me, thinking herfelf undone,
on account of what the Sifter had faid to her. I con-
foled her, and our Lord relieved her immediately;
but I could not forbear telling her, " that affuredly
" the other would be punifhed, and would fall into a
" ftate worfe than hers." The Sifter who had ufed
her in fuch a manner came alfo to me, highly pleafed
with herfelf in what fhe had done, faying " flie ab-
" horrcd fuch tempted creatures ; that as for her-
" feh", fhe was proof lagainft fuch forts of tempta-
" tions, and that fhe never had had a bad thought."
I faid to her, " My Sifter, from the fricndfliip I have
" for you, I wifh you the pain of her who fpoke to
" you, and even one ftill more violent." She an
fwered me haughtily, " If you were to afk it of God
" for me, and I afk of him fhe contrary, I believe I
" fhall be heard at leaft as foon as you." I anfwered
her ,with -^great firmnefs, " If it be only my own in-
" terefts whieh I afk, 1 fliall npt be hear4 ; ' but if it
" be thofe of God only, and yours too, I fhall be
" heard fooner than ydu are aware." That very night
ilhe. fell into fo, violent a temptation that one equal
to it has feldom been feen; fhe continued in it a fort
night. It was then that fhe had ample occafion to ac
knowledge her pw^n weaknefs, and what we fhould be
without grace. She conceived at firft a violent hatred
for me, faying, that I was the cauje of her pain. But
as it ferved her, as the clay did to enlighten him who
had been born blind, fhe faw very well what had
brought on her fo terrible . a ftate.
Vol. II. G I FELL

50 The LIFE of Part IL
I FELL fick, even to extremity. This ficknefs
proved a means to cover the great myfteries which
it pleafed God to opeflte in me. Scarce ever
was a diforder more extraordinary, or of longer
continuance in its excefs. I was reduced to a ftate
pf infancy, a ftate which appeared only to thofe who
were capable of it. As for others, to them mine
appeared only a natural or common cafe. I was put^
into a dependence on the Child Jesus, who was wil
ling to communicate to me his own infant ftate, that
I fhould bear hirii as fuch. The more I advanced
the more I was freed from this dependence, as chil
dren gradually rife above fuch dependence as they
grow up. My fever ran fo high as to a delirium. I had
alfo an impofthume at the corner of my eye very pain
ful. At this time it broke eritirely. They dreffed it a
long time, and probed it with an iron inftrument fo deep
>s even to run it down to the bottom of my cheek, I
had fo burning a fever, and was fo very weak, that
it was obliged to be left to clofe of itfelf without a
cure ; for my emaciated body was not able to bear
thefe operations, without being on the very point of
expiring, I fuffercd with great parience, like a child
which fcarce knows what one does to it, I then ex
perienced the ftrength of God joined to the weaknefs
of a child. My natural difpofition was fo remote from
fuch a deportment, that no lefs than a divine Power
was fufficient to bring me to it. Neverthelefs, I gave
myfelf up to be led thus ; for my interior fl-ate was fo
aduated of God, that Icould not refifthim. His Spirit
was become the fole mafl^r.in me ; arid made me do. Or
fubmit to, whatever he pleafed; fo that during this fick
nefs, I looked very much like a child, as thofe about
mc obferved. And yet our Lord gave mc, with thg
weakneffes of a child, fuch a power over fouls, that
with a word I put them in pain, or in peace, as was
neceffary for their good. I faw that God made him
felf be obeyed, in and through me, like an abfolute Sove-

Chap. XIL LADY GUION. 51
Sovereign. I neither refifted him nor took part in
any thing. I inwardly felt a candor of foul, fuch as
I cannot exprefs, and quite exempt from all guile.
With this I was obliged to continue to tell my thoughts,
or write them, to Father la Combe, and to help him
according to the light which was given me. I was
often fo weak that I could not lift up my head to
,^ce nourifliment; and when God required mc to
write to him, either to help and encourage him, or
io lay befpre him what was made known to me, I
had ftrength given me to do it. When my letters
were finiflied, I found myfelf in the fame wcaknefs.
Our Lord had given us both to underftand that he
would unite us by faith and by the crofs- Ours then
has been an union of the crofs in every refped, as
well by what I have made him fuffer, as by what I
ha^e fuffered for him. Thus it was reciprocal, and
much ftronger than I am able to exprefs. The fuf
ferings which I have had on his account were fuch as
to reduce me fometimes to extremity, which conti
nued for feveral years : For though I have been much
more of my time far from him, than near him, that
did not relieve my fuffering, which continued till . he
was pcrfedly emptied of himfelf, and to the very
point of fubmiffion which God required of him. This
operation made him fuffer pains fo much the more
intenfe, as the defigns of God upon him were the
greater. He hath occafipned nie cruel pains when I
was near a hundred leagues from him. I felt his dif
pofition. If he, was faithful in letting SeLf be de-
ftrpyed, I was in a ftate of peace and enlargement. If
he was unfaithful, in refledion or hefitation, " I fuf
fered till that was paffed over. He had no need to
write me an account of his condition, for I knew it ;
but when he did write, it proved to be fuch as I had
felt it. My heart had in it as it were a counterpart,
, or an echo, which told it all the difpofitions which the
father was in. In fhort, to bear a foul, however dif-
tajit the perfon may be, in all its different difpofitions, and

52 The LIFE of Part II,
arid to fuffer for all its refiftances, "is a thing very
ftrange and myfterious.
• I was much furprized to comprehend by experience,
that what God required of mc in thus obliging me to'
tell my thoughts, was to perfed me in fimplicity, to
make me readily yield to whatever he riianifefted to be
his will, and to make Father la Combe enter into the ,
fame ftate : For whatever crofs it was to me thus to^
tell him all my thoughts, which often fo much difgufted:
him, as to make him defift from ferving mc, as he told'
me ; yet I never forbore on this account to tell him
them : And he, through fubmiffion to divine grace, at
length got over ,all thefe repugnances.

CHAP. XIII.
MY fifter was in no wife capable of my ftate.
Often fhe took offence at it. She was difpleaf
ed when I concealed it from her ever fo little, though
fo much a ftranger to it; the depth and nature of it
being fuch, as many perfOns, more fpiritual than fhe,
could not have been able to comprehend ; fo that in
this ficknefs I fuffered much on all fides. The exer
cifes of pain, though greati, were the leaft. Thofe
on the part of the creature were much greater ; My
higheft confolations were in receiving the facrament,
and fometimes fee4ng. Father la Gombe. I had'
ftrange interruptions and croffes from -my fifter, as
alfo from that Nun, and from the riiaid who wanted to
return home. ' I was obliged (whatever extremity I
were in) to hear their differences, which thcy> came
to tell me one after- another ; and they- were each of
them angry with me, becaufe I would not enter" into
their party. They fcarce allowedme anyfleep; for as

Chap. XIIL L A D Y G U I O N.

53

as the fever redoubled in the night, I could only get
one hour's reft. I wifhed to fleep a little in the day,
but they would not let me, faying, it was only to dvoid
Jpeaking to them; fo that I needed very great patience
to bear with them. It continued thus for more than
fix months. I think that was partly the caufe of my
delirium which: held two days. I ftill hada noife in
my head with a very bad head-ach. Yet I complained
of nothing, but fuffercd chearfully as a child. Father
LA Combe orScred them to allow me a little repofe,
which they did for fome days only, and foon began

again.

I CANNOT exprefs the mercies which God fhewed me
in, the time of this indifpofition, and the profpund
views of the future which he gave me. F faw the
Devil' in great wrath goi^ng to excite a violent perfecu
tion againft prayer, and againft the perfons dravm
into that holy exercife. I writ an account of all this to
Father la Combe ; and, if he have pot burned the'
letters, they will ftill ferve for proofs of the truth
hereof. The Devil durft not attack myfelf; he feared,
me too much. I fometimes challenged him, but he
durft not appear. I waS' to him like a ' thunderbolt.
I then comprehended what power a foul has, which
is entirely annihilated. Our Lord let me fee all that
has fince that time come to pafs, as my letters then
written clearly, manifeft.
One day as I was thinking in myfelf what fo great a
dependence was, and fo pure and intimate an union,
twice I faw in a dream Jesus Christ, an infant of
admirable beauty ; and it feemed to me that he very
clofely united Us, faying, " It is I who unite thee to
" myfelfi and'am willing that we be both one." Ano
ther time he bad me fee Father la Combe, who then
kept himfelf at fome diftance from me through infi
delity ; and with great goodnefe he brought him back
again, willing- to help me in the ftate of childhood, as
I helped

54

The LIFE of Part II.

I helped him in the ftate of death. He had a very
great charity for me. Trearing me as a real child,
he often faid to me, " When 1 am with you, I feem
" to myfelf as if 1 was with a child." I was conftantly
every ninth day reduced to extremity, and feemed on
the point of death, I had, as it were, its agonies.
For feveral hours I only breathed a long time afun-
der. Then all on a fudden I recovered. Death flat- ~
tered me ; for I had a great fondnefs for it ; but it
only appeared flying off. The father forbad me to
rejoice* at the profped of death. I immediately dif
covered that it was an imperfcdion, and did it no
more ; remainins; afterwards in the utmoft indifference
about it. There paffed fo many extraordinary things
in this ficknefs, ' that it would be impoffible for me to
relate them. God inceffantly wrought miracles by
Father la Combe, as well to relieve me, and give
me new ftrength when I was at extremity, as to fhew
me the care he was tp take of me ; and the* depen
dence which I was to have in regard to him. In my
pains they treated me wrong. The remedies they
gave me augmented them ; but I could not put my-,
felf in pain about it. The fifters about me had much.
compaffion for me; there was none but I who had
no thought about myfelf.
Several times I faw in dreams Father la Mothe
raifing perfecutions againft me. Our Lord let me
Icnow that this would be the cafe, and that Father la
Combe woiild forfake me in the time of perfecution.
This I writ to him, and it difquieted him greatly ; be
caufe he thought his heart was united to the will of
God, and defirous of ferving me, too much for ad-,
mitting fuch defcrtion : And yet it has fince been
foun^d quite true ; though not with his will, but from
neceffity, having been himfelf perfecuted the firft.
Father la Combe, feeing me fo extremely ill,
prayed to the Lord to relieve me, and to lay on him
part

Chap. XIIL LADY GUION.

55

part of my illnefs. I grew better, and he fell fick,
which occafioned a great alarm in the place, becaufe
he was then to preach during Lent. He was fo much
followed, that people came five leagues, to pafs feveral
days there for the benefit ofhis miniftry. As I heard
he was fo fick that he was thought like to die, I pray
ed in like manner to the Lord to reftore his health,
and enable him to preach to the people who were long
ing to hear him. The Lord heard my prayer; and
he foon recovered, to refume his pious labours.
It was in this ficknefs that the Lord gradually
taught me that there was another manrter of conver-
fing among fouls wholly his, than by fpeech. Thou
^ade me conceive, oh divine word, that as thou art
ever fpeakifi'g and operating in a foul, though therein
thou kppcareft in profound filence ; fo there was alfo
a way of communication, in thy creatures, in an
ineffable filence. I learned then a language which
before had been unknown to me. I gradually per
ceived, when Father la Combe entered, that 1 could
fpeak no more ; and that there was formed in my
foul the fame filence in regard to him, as was formed
in it in regard to God. I comprehended that God
was willing to fhew me that men might in this life
learn the language of angels. I was gradually reduced
to fpeak to him only in filence. It was in that that
we underftood each other in God, after a manner un
utterable and all divine. Our hearts fpoke to each
other, communicating a grace which , no words can
exprefs. It was like a new country, both for him and
for me, but fo divine that I cannot defcribe it. At
firft this was done in a manner fp perceptible, that is
to Jay, God penetrated us with himfelf in a manner fo
pure and fo fweet, that we paffed hours in this pro
found filence, always communicative, without being
able to utter one word. It was in this that we learned,
by our own experienqe, the operations of the heavenly
word to reduce fouls into unity with itfelf, and what
purity

56 The LIFE of Part IL
purity one may arrive at in this life. It was given to
me to communicate this way to other good fouls, but
with this difference that, as for others, I did nothing
but communicate to them the grace with which they
were filled, while near me, in this facred filence, which
infufed into them a ftrength and grace extraordinary,;
but I received nothing from them : Whereas with
Father la Combe there was a flux and reflux of com
munication of grace, which he received from me, and
Ifrom him, in the greateft purity.
It was in this that I comprehended the ineffable
commerce of the moft holy Trinity to all the bleffed ;
and how God, who communicates himfelf to them,
forms in them a flux and reflux of his own diviije
communications ; that the faints of the like degree or
hierarchy return to each other thefe pure and blifsful
emanations, and further fhed them on the inferior hi
erarchies, and that all are reduced into their firft iprin-
ciple, from whence they flow. I faw that we weit
created to pattake in this life the unfpeakable happi-
nefs of the commerce of the celeftial regions, and that
it requires us to be very pure to receive God thus
uninterruptedly, and to leave him ito flow back- into
himfelf in that fame purity. We muft indeed: be very
pure to receive and to communicate the divine Word,
and afterward to diffufe it by a flux and reflux of com
munication upon the other- fouls which God ;gives us.
This is what fixes us in the divine unity, in -wihich we
are one in him from whom all is derived.
I faw then this hierarchic order, and thefe recipro
cal communications, among the faints and angels of
the fame rank; and how this efflux, fprcads over, thofe
of inferior orders, and that with fuch a plenitude,
that they are all filled according to their degree. It
is to render the foul capable of thefe communications,
that it needs to be fo thoroughly and radically puri
fied ; without which it would ever remain felfifli, it '
would ,'

CHAP.XIII. LADY GUION. ^j
would always. fave fomething alive; and from thence
hinder, and not be proper for them, Befide, its re
ceptivity needs to be extended, which being excef-
fively narrowed by fin, is not in a condition, but by
the force of fire, and the ftrokes of tlie hammer, to
be fit for the eternal defigns of God in its creation.
It was fhewed me how this hierarchic order was
even in this life, and that there are fouls who com
municate to an infinite number of other fouls, with
out knowing ir, to whom the grace of their perfedion
reaches ; that this hierarchy, will be preferved through
all eternity, and that thofe who mutually communicate
to each other will be in the like degree. It was then
that. I learned. the fecret of fpiritual fruitfulnefs and
maternity; how the holy fpirit renders fouls fruitful
in himfelf, and that there would be given to me this
way children, without number, as well unknown
as known. All thofe who are my true children are
drawn in their minds at once to continue in filence
when with me ; and I have the like draught to impart
to them jn filence what God gives me for them; In
' this filence I difcOv^r their wants and their failings,
and even communicate to them in an abundant pleni
tude. When they have once tafted of this manner
of communication, any other becomes a burthen to
them. As for me, when I make ufe of fpeech and
of the pen with fouls, I do/ it only on account of their
weaknefs, and becaufe either they, are not pure enough
for the interior communications ; or becaufe it is yet
needful to ufe cppdefeenfion, or for the regulation of
outward affairs.
Our Lord gave me to experience the fame com
munion with the faints in heaven, as with the faints pn
earth: And, it is the way to be truly united to the faints
in God., I felt thefe communicarions very inward and
very powerful, efpecially with thofe with whom one
has moft ofthe relation of grace, and to whom one is
Vol. II, H to

cS The LIFE;0F Part II.
to be the more united in heaven. At firft this was,
more fenfible, becaufe our Lord was gracioufly
pleafed to inftrud me by my experience. It is the
way which he has always ufed toward me. He has
enlightened me, not by illuftratrons, and conclufions re-
fulting from them ,- but in making me experience the
things, he gave me the illumination, and therein the
clear fight and fenfe of what I experienced. I com
prehended alfo the maternity of the Holy Virgin, and
after what manner we partake of it ; and how the
word of Jesus Christ is found very fignally reahzed,
when he fays, (Matt. xii. 50.) "Who foever fhall
" do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the
" fame is my brother, and fifter, and mother." They
are truly made mothers, producing him in other
fouls. It was in this ineffable filence, that I comprehended
the manner in which Jesus Christ communicated
himfelf to his moft familiar friends ; and the commu
nication of St. John, when leaning on his Lord's
bOfom at the fupper of the paffover. It was not the
firft time that he had feated 'himfelf that way ; and it,
was becaufe he was very proper to receive thefe com
munications, being the difciplc of love. It was in
that great banquet that Jesus Christ, as the word,
flowed into John, and difcovered to him his profound
fecrets, even how the eternal word operates. For the
fpeech of this word in fikrice is the moft noble and
fublime of all operations. It was by this that he learn
ed the difference hetv,-een being born oJ the flejh, or ojthe
will oJ man, and being born oJGo'o . (John i. 13.) The
operations of the flefli are thofe of carnal men ; thofe
ofthe will of man are fuch as are virtuous, being done
from the good difpofition ofthe mari: But thofe which
I am fpeaking- of are of the will of God, wherein
man has no fhare, except the fubmiffion or confent
which he gives thereto; as in the cafe of Mary, who
faid, " Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me
'' according

CHAP. XIIL LADY GUION. 59
*' according to thy word." She gave her confent, not
only for herfelf, for the incarnation of the word in her,
btit for all who are regenerated in Jesus Christ, that
his word fhould be communicated to them ; that, as
Eve's confent to the Tempter had caufed death to enter
into all her children, fo Mary's confent to God might
communicate the life of the word to all that are born
of God.
It is for this that Jesus Christ is the way, the
truth, and the lije; that he comes to enlighten every
man that cometh into the world : He came to his own ;
and to as many as received him he gave po-wer to become Jons
oJ God : And to fuch only is he known in his moft
intimate communications.
It was in this wonderful myftery which operated at
the foot of the crofs, when he faid to his mother, " Be-
" hold thy fon," and to St. John, " Behold thy mo- ¦
" ther." (John xix. 26, 27.) She was then to com
municate the life of the word as a mother to St. John,
as_ he was then proper in a filial manner to receive it.
So Jesus faith of St. John, " If I will that he tarry
" till I come, what is that to thee ?" (John xxi. 22.)
He did not mean that John fhould nbt die :. But if I
will that he tarry thus, in this ineffable communica
tion, what is that to thee ? I defign thus to commu
nicate myfelf to men who are thus difpofed to receive
'me. Oh what adniirable cpmmunications were thofe
which paffed betwixt Mar-jt and St. John ! A fili
ation, or fonfhip all divine ; which the Lord is wil
ling to extend down to me, all unworthy as I am there
of, and to communicate a mother's fruitfulnefs, af-
fedion and tendernefs, even to this poor nothing !
I mean the fruitfulnef^ of hearts and fpirits. Our
Lord was willing, in order tp inftrud me to the
bottom of this myftery, in favoirr of others, that the
H 2 girl

6o TheLIFEof Part II.
girl (fhe whom I have fpoken of) fliould have need
of this fuccour. I proved her every way ; and
•^hen I was not willing that fhe fliould ftay with me
in filence, I faw her inward condition affeded by it,
and even her bodily fl-rength fail, till fhe was juft
ready to faint away. When I had made a fufKcient
number of trials hereof, to comprehend thefe manners
of communications, her extreme neceffities - paffed
away. L began to difcover, efpecially with Father
LA Combe, that the interior communication was car
ried on, even when he was afar off, as well as wheri ,
he was near. Sometimes our Lord' made me ftop
fhort, when in the midft of my occupations; and I
was favoured with fuch a flow of grace as that which
I felt when with him ; which I have alfo experienced
with many others, though not in a like degree ; but
more or lefs feeling their infidelities, and knowing
their faults by inconceivable impreffions, without
ever having been miftaken therein.

I

CHAP, XIV.
N this long malady the love of God, and of hirn
only, made up my whole occupation, in whom I
feemed fo entirely loft, as to have no fight of myfelf
at all. It feemed as if my heart never came out of
that divine ocean, having been drawn into it through
deep humiliations. Oh lofs which is the confum ma
tion of happinefs, though all this is operated through
croffes and through deaths !
Jesus, as an infant, was then all living lii mc;
or rather, it feemed as if he were alone, and I no
more. Thou taught me, oh my Love, that thy
ftate

Chap. XIV. LA.DY GUION. 6i
ftate of infancy would not be the only one v>?hich
ll muft bear. Thou imprinted on me thefe word's,
as a real ftate into which I muft enter, (Matt. viii. 20,)
" The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have
" nefts, but the fon of man hath not where to lay his
" head." This I have fince experienced in all its
extent, having no fure abode, no refuge among my
friends, who were aflianied of me, and openly re
nounced me, wheri univerfaily decried ; nor among
my relations, moft of whom declared themfelves my
¦ adverfaries, and were my greateft perfecutors- ; while
others looked on me with, contempt and indignation.
My ftate began to be like that of Job. I might fay
with David, (Pfal. Ixix. 7, 8. — xxii. 6. — xxxi. 11.)
" For thy fake I have born reproach ; fhame hath
" covered my face ; I am become a ftranger unto my
" brethren, and an alien unto my mother's chil-
" dren ; A reproach of men, and defpifed of. the
" people,"
One night when I was awake, Christ fhewed me
to myfelf, under the figure of the woman in the Re
velations, (Rev. 12.) who had the moon un'der her feet,
a crown of thorns upon her head, and, furrounded with
the fun, being with-chiid, cried in the pangs of child
birth. He fhewed hereby that my foul was above the
viciflitudes and inconftancy of events ; thaij I v/as co
vered and penetrated with the fun of righteoufnefs ;
that the twelve ftars were the fruits of this ftate, and
the gifts of God, as a crown on my head ; that I was
big with a fruit, which was that fpirit which God
would have me communicate to all my children ; that
the devil was that frightful dragon who would ftrive
tb devour that fruit, and to make horrible ravages
over all the earth round about me ; but that God
would preferve this fruit, that it fliould riot be loft ;
(So I truft', in fpitc of the'ftorm, that all I have had
to fay or write will be preferved,) that the devil in his
rage, at not fucceeding in.his defign againft the fruit,
would

'6i. The LIFE of Part II.
would fall the more fiercely on myfelf, and would raife
a flood againft me to fwallow me up ; that this flood
would be that of calumny, which would rufti to car
ry me down with rapidity ; but that the earth would
open itfelf to receive this flood ; that it is to fay, that
this calumny would gradually fall to the ground,
and there dje away.
Ke fhewed me all the world in a rage againft me,
without any one daring to appear for me ; and affured
me in the ineffable filence of his eternal Word, that
he would give me vaft numbers- of children, which I
fhould bring forth by the crofs. I left it to him to do
with nie whatever he pleafed, e.fteeming my whole
and fole intereft to be placed entirely in his divine
Will. He gave me to fee how the devil was going to
ftir up an outrageous perfecution againft prayer, that
it fhould prove the fource of the fame prayer, or ra
ther the means which God would make ufe of to
eftabiifli it. He gave me to fee farther how he '
would guide mc into the wildernefs, where he would
caufe me to be nourifhed for a time, and times, and
half a time. The wings, which were to bear me thi
ther, were the refignation of my whole felf to his holy
will, and the love of the fame will. I think I am at
prefent in that wildernefs, feparated from the whole
world in my imprifonment ; and I fee already accom
plifhed in part what was then fhewed me. Can I eve^
exprefs the mercies which my Goo has beftowed on
mc .f* No; they muft ever remain, in himfelf, being
of a nature not to be dcfcribed, by reafon of their
purity, and their immenfity.
In my malady I was often in all appearance at the
point of death. 1 fell into convulfions from violent
pains in my bowels, which lafted a long time with
violence. Father la Combe adminiftred to me the
extreme Undion, the Priorefs of the Urjuline<s- having
defired him to do it, as their prieft- was then not at
home.

Chap. XIV. LADY GUION. 63
home. I was well fatisfied to die, as was he alfo in
the expedation of my departure. For being united
in God after a manner fo pure, fo fpiritual, death could ;
not feparate us, but on the contrary would have more
clofely united us. Father la Combe, who was on
his knees at my bedfide, remarking the change of my
countenance, and how my eyes faded, feemed ready
to give me up fbr dying; when God infpired him to
put his- hand over my heart, and with a ftrong voice,
\(rhich was heard of thofe who were in my chamber,
at that tirrie almoft full, to command Death to come
no farther. Death feemed inftantly to be ftopped :
And thus God was pleafed wonderfully to raife me up
agairt; yet for a long time I continued extremely
weak, during all which he ftill gave me new teftimo
nies of his love. How -many times was he pleafed to
rnake ufe Of his fervant to reftore me to life, when I
was almoft on the very point of expiring ! , As they
faw that my fickrteffes and pains did not end, they
judged that the air of the lake, on which the convent
was fituated, was very prejudicial to niy conftitution.
Thcyconcluded that it would be neceffary for me to
remove. During my faid indifpofition, our Lord put it into
, the heart of Father la Comfe to eftabli'h an hofpital
in this place for poor people feized with maladies,
and to inftitute alfo a committee or congregation of
ladJes of the charity, to furnifh fuch as could not leave
their families, to gb to the hofpital, with the means
of fubfiftence during their illnefs, after the manner
of France, there not having been yet any inftitution ot
this kind in that country. Willingly did I enter into
it ; arid without ariy other fund than Providence, and
fbme iifelcfs chambers whieh the gentlemen of the
town gave us, we began it. We dedicated it to the
holy Child Jesus, and he was pleafed to give the firft.
beds to- Jt from the earneft-pence of my penfion, which
belong to him* He gave fuch a bleffing thereto, that'
feveral

64 TheLIFj^of Part IL^
' feveral other perfons joined us in this charity. In a
fhort time there were near twelve, beds in it, and three
perfons'^of great piety gave themfelves to this hofpital
to ferve it, who, without any falary, confecrated them
felves to the fervice of the poor patients. I fupplied ,
them with ointments and medicines, which were freely
given, to fuch of the poor people of the town as ftpod
in need of them. Thefe good ladies were fo hearty in,
the caufe, that, through their charity, and., the care
of the young women, this hofpital was very , well
maintained and ferved. Thefe ladies joined together
alfo in providing for the fick, who could not gp to
the hofpital : And I gave them fome little regulations,
fuch as I had obferved when in France,, which- they
continued to keep up with love and charity.; ¦
All thefe little things,, which coft but little, and
which owed all their fuccefs to the bleffing which God
gave them, drew upon us new perfecutions. The
Bifhop of Geneva was offended with me more than
ever, efpecially in feeing that thefe fmall matters ren
dered me, beloved. He faid, " I won over every
" body." He openly declared, " that he could not
" bear me in his diocefe," though. I had done therein
nothing but good, or rather God by me. He ex
tended the perfecution to thofe good reUgious women
vvho had been my affiftants. The Priorefs in parti
cular had her own fhare to bear, though it did riot
laft long' : For as I was obliged, on account of the
air, to remove, after having been there about two
years and a half, they were then more in peace and
quietnefs. On another fide my fifter was- very weary
of this houfe : And as the feafon for the waters ap
proached, they took occafion from thence to fend
her away, with the maid which I brought with me,
who ha4 molefted me exceedingly in my late illnefs.:
I only kept her whom Providence had fent me by
means of my fifter: And I have ever thought that
God had ordered my fifter's journey hither, only to
bring

Chap. XIV. L A D Y . G U I O N. 6s
.bring her to me, as one chofen of him, and proper
for the ftate which, it was his pleafure to caufe me to
bear. . , , • ; ,
While I was yet, indifpofed, with the Urjulines, the
Bifliop of .Verceil, who was a particular friend of
the father-general pf the Bernabites, earnefUy requefted
him to, feiek arnong the RehgioUs a man pf merit,
^piety aqd. learning, in whom he might .place a confi-,
•dence, and 'who tnight ferve him for a prebend and
for a counfellor, as Kis diocefe had occafion for fuch
fctvice. The father-general at firft, caft his eyes on
Father* LA- Combe ; yet, before he abfolutely, engaged
him wiiif\ the faid Bifhpp, ;he,writ, to him, -to know,
" whether, he had, any objedion, thereto.'' Father la.
CojjiBE replied, " that he had no othepwill but, thalt
" of obeying, him, and that he, might command him
" herein, ^s.he. fhould'think beft in the, cafe.", He
gave .nie advice of all , this, , and that we .were going
to |)e entirely feparated. I was glad to find, that our
Lord would employ him, under a Bifliop who knew
him, and would be likely to do him juftice. He
waited for fome time yet before he went, both becaufe
the Bifhop was at Rome, and the fix years of the Fa
ther's fupcriority, (or overfight of the Urjulines) were
not yet quite expired. • i ,
Before my coming away from the UrJuUnes, the '
good hermit I have fpoken of writ to me, earneftly
entreating me to go to Lau/anne*, which was only fix
leagues froni Tonon, over the lake (becaufe he ftill
hoped to draw .back his 'fifter, who lived there) iri
order ' to ' labour ; for her coniverfion. One cannot go
ihither to fpeak about Religion, ¦withput running fome
rifque. As foon; as I ¦was in a condition to. walk,
though but feebly, I refplved to go.' thither. ; We
* Laufanne, a city oi S'vtiili.erl&n^, in the canton qi".jSer», fituate
pn'the' north fide of the lake of 'G«»TOa. ' '
Vol. IL ' I'' ' '"' '" ^ took

66 TiiE L I F E OF Part II.
took a boat, and I requefted Father la Combe to ac
company us. We got over pretty eafily : But as the
lake was above a quarter of a league diftant from the
town, I was obliged, notwithftanding my weaknefs, to
mufter up all my forces to get thither on foot, as we
could not find any other means of conveyance. The
boatmen bore me up as well as they could, but not
fufiiciendy for the condition I was in. When I ar
rived at the town I knew no more whether I had a
a body, whether it was on my own legs that I walked, '
or on the legs of others. Both Father lA Combe and
I fpoke to that wpman, but fhe was newly married ;
and declared that, if it were nPt in regard to her
brother, fro'm •whom we delivered letters to her, flie
would have irifOrrned againft us, as being come to
debauch the PtoteftantS. In our return wc had like
to have perifh'ed on the lake, in a dangerous place,
where there came a tenipeft againft Us, which feemed
to be going to fwallow us up ; if God had not pro-
teded Us. Some days after, a bark foundered there,
Vifith thirty-three perfonS in it.

CHAP. XV.

ir The*? went off from ike Urjulines, and they fought
X for a. houfe for me it a diftance from the Lake.
TKcre was not found any eriipty for hie but one,
which had the look 6f fhe greateft poverty. It had
no chiriiney bUt in the Tiitchen, through which one
was obliged to pafs to gb to the chamber. I took my
daughter with .^ rne, and gave up the largeft chamber
fqr her, an^ the maid who wa^ to take care of her. I
Wag lodged in a littje hole, on ftraw, to Vvhich I went
up by a ladder. As we had ho other furniture thafl
our beds, which were quite plain and homely, 1
bottgjit

\^hap. AV. LADY GUION. 67
bought fome dutch earthen and v/opden ware. Never
did I enjoy a greater content than in this little hole,
which appeared fo very conformable to the ftate of
littlenefs of Jesus Christ: I fancied every thing
better on wpod than on plate. I laid in all my prpvi-
fipns, hoping to ftay therp a long time, but the Devil
did not leave me loqg in fuch fweet peace. It would
be difficult for me to tell the perfecutiops which were
' ftirred up, even here, againft qie. They threw i(tones
in at my wiqdows, which fell at my feet. I had got
my little gardep put in order. They came in the
night tp ^ear it all up, to break down the arbour and
to overturn every thing in it, as if the fpldiers h^d
been there. They came to abufe me at the door all
night long, ufing fuch force as if they had defigned
to break it open. Thefe perfons have fince told who
put thenfi on fuch work. Though frpm time to time
I continued my charities at Gex, I was not thp lefs
perfecuted for if. They offered one perfon a feaie4
letter tp capfe Father tA Combe to ftay at Tonon,
thinking he would otherwife be a fupport tp me in the
perfecution ; but wc prevented it. I knew not then
the defigns of poo, ai^d fhat he ^oul4 foon draw mc
from that poor folitary place, in whic|i I had en-
^pyed a fjseet ^nd folifi f^psf^dion, notwithftan4ing
the apufes from without. I thought myfelf happier
here than any Sovereign on earth. Jt was fpr me.
like a neft, and a place pf repofe : And Christ was
willing that I fliould be like him. The Deyil^ as I
have faid, irritated niy peffecqtprs. They fent to
defire me to go out oif tj^e dipcefe. AU the gpo4 which
the Lord had caufed me to do in it was cqpdemiied,
more than the greateft crimes. Thofe they tolerated,
but me they jdould npt endure. All this while I
never had any uneafinefs or.rcpentance for my hav
ing left all, or pf y/hat I have dpne fince : Jifot that
I was afTured of having done the will of God therein ;
Such an affurance would have been too much for me.
But I was fo Jpft th^at I could neither feg nor regard
J ? any

68 The LIFE of Part IP.
any thing, receiving every thirig alike from the hari'd
pf my God, 'who direded and difpofed thefe croffeS
for mc either in juftice or in mercy.
The Marchionefs of Prunai, fifter bf the chief fe-
cretary of ftate to his Royal Highnefs (the Duke of
Savoy) and his prime minifler, ' had fent an exprefs from
Turin, in the time of my illnefs, to invite me to come
to refide with her ; and to let me know that; " being
'" fo perfecuted as I was in this diocefe, I fhouM find
" an afylum with her'; that during.that time things
" might grow better; that when they fhould be well '
" difpofed fhe would return with me,, and join me
" with a friend of mine from Paris, who was willing
" alfo to come to labour there, accordirig to the will
*' of God." I was nOt at that time in a condition
to execute what fhe defired of me, and ,expeded to
continue with the Urjulines till things fhould change;
She then wrote to me about it no more. " This lady
is one of extraordinary piety, who had quitted, the
fplendor an4 noife of the court for the more fileht
fatisfadion of a retired life, and to give herfelf up to
God. With an erninent fhare of natural advantages,
lhe has continued a widow twenty-twb Tyears ; and
h^s refufed every offer of marrigc, to conficrate herfelf
to our Lord entirely and without any referve. Wheii
lhe knew that I had been obliged to leave the Urjulines,
yet without'knpwing any thing of the manner in which
I had been treated, fhe procured a letter tb oblige
Father la Combe to go to pafs fome Weeks at Turin,
for her own 'benefit, and to bring me with him
thither, where I fhould find a refuge. All this fhe
did unknown to us ; and, as Ihe has told us fincfe", a
fupcrior force moved her todo.it, without' knowing :i
the caufe thereof. If ihe had deliberately, refleded
on it, :being fuch a prudent lady, fhe probably wpuld
not have done it:' For the '.perfecutions, which the
Bifhop of Geneva' procured us in that place, coft her
more than a little of humiliations. Our Lord per
mitted ¦

Chap. AlV. LADY GUION. > ' 69
mitted hitn to purfue me, after a furprizing manner,
into all. the places I ;, have been in, without giving
me any rel^xarion, though, I never did him any harm ;
but on the contrary would have freely laid down my
life for the gooti of his diocefe. ^,,
• • , - , ¦ ..J
As this, fell out without any defign. on our part,
we, without any hefitation, believed it was the will of
God ; and thought it might be the means of his ap
pointment to draw us out of the reproach, and pcrfe-
cution we labpurcd under, feeing myfelf chafed on-
the, one, fide, and defired on the other; it was thcre^,
fore concluded that Father la Combe fhould condud
me to Turin, and that he fhould go frpm thence to
Verceil, ... , , ,¦.,'.,
Beside, him I took with me a religious -man: b£
merit, who had taught Theolpgy for .fourteen years'
jpaft, in , order to do things with the ,more decency,"
and to take away froip , our; enemies alii the fubjeds;
of fiander. I alfo took •with, me a boy .whom I had
brought out of France, and who had' learned the.
taylor's trade. They took horfes, and I took! a fitter
for my daughter, my chambermaid, and myfelf: Eut
all precautions are ufelefs when it pleafes God to per-r:
mit them to be fruftrated. Our adverfaries iinme-
diately writ off to Paris. A hundred ridiculous
ftories were circulate4; about this journey ; comedies:
were adedonit, things invented at pleal vire, and aa
falfe as any in the wojrld could be. It was. Father
DE LA lyibTHE, whq was fo adive in uttering all this'
ftuff. Had he believed it to be true, he ought out
bf charity to have concealed, it; and much more, beirig,
fo very falfe. They faid, " I was gone all alone
*' with Father la Combe, ftrolling about the country,
" from province to province," with many fuch fables,-
as weak and wicked as the'y were incoherent and
badly put together. , We fuffered all with patience,
without' vindicating ourfelves, or making "any com
plaint :

70 The L I F Ei of Part II.
plaint : And if things be coolly and impartially con-
fidered, could I do any better in the condition I was
in ? Was it not both honourable and of real advahr
tage for me to be with a lady of that quality, enhanced
with fo much merit ? Was ir not fufficient to cut orf
the courfe of malcdidion ? Dodiforderly perfons chufe
houfes of that fort ? But paffion has no eyes, and,
calumny is a torrent which drowns dl reafons.
Scarce were we arrived at Turin, but the Bifliop
of Geneva writ againft us. As he could purfue us no
other way, he did it by his letters. Father la CoMi^E
repaired to Verceil, and I ftayed at Turin, with the
Marchionefs of Prunai. But what croffes was I affaultr
ed with from my own family, from the Bifhop of
Geneva, from the Bernabites, and from a vaft nurriber
of perfons befides ! My eldeft fon came to find me
out, on the occafion of the death of my mother-in-law,
which was an augmentation of my .troubles; but
after we had heard all his accounts of thjngs, and how
they had made fales pf all the moveables, chofen Guar-
dians, and fettled every article, without confulting
me at all, I feemed to be - there enrirely ufelefs. ' It
was judged not proper for me to return, confider|ig
the rigour of the feafon.
Thou alone knoweft, oh my God, what I fuffered 3
for thou didft not fee it proper to make thy will known
herein to Father la Combe. He faid, " he had no'
" light to dired him how to condud mc; and that I
*'¦ muft do the beft I could." The more he told' me
fuch things, the more I fek myfelf dependent on him, ,
^d Unable to determine for niyfelf. And thus have
vre experienced our union to be in faith and in the
crejs ; for the more we were crucified the more we wpre
united. People imagined that our union was natur^ ^
and human; but God knows that we found nothing
therein but the crofs, death and deftru^jiio'n. How
often did we fay to each other, that if our union had ,

Chap. XV. LADY GUION. 71
been only natural, we could not have preferved it a
moment among fo many croffes ! God knows the pu^
rity, and integrity of this union ; how it was fingly and
entirely founded on himfelf. My dependence became
every day greater, becaufe I was like a little child,
which neither is able, nor knows how to do any thing.
When Father la Couns, happened to be where I was,
which was but rarely fince my leaving the Urjulines,
I could not be long without feeing him, as \vell on
account of the ftrange trials which befell me, as of
my ftate of childhood. If he was abfent, I had no
want of him, nor concern about him ; hor had I the
leaft defire of feeing him: For my riedeffity was not
in my will or choice, nor even in any bi-afs or incli
nation for him ; but God was the author of it ; and
as he is never in any wife contrary to himfelf, when
he took him from me he gaye me no occafion or defire
for him.
When I was firft at Turin Father la Combe ftayed
there fome time, waiting for a letter from the .Bifhop
of Verceil. He took that time to go to fee the Bifhop
of Aoujte his intimate friend, and who was acquainted
with my family. As he was not ignorant of the per
fecution ofthe Bifhop of Geneva, who purfued us with
the utmoft rigour, all around the court of Turin^ he
made me an offer to go into his diocefe, and fent me
by Father LA Combe fome very obliging letters. He
had a high efteem for Father la Combe. He v^a?
willitig even to give up his own bifhoprick in favour
of him, a,s he ^as far advanced in age.
j^ The Marchionefs of Prunai, who had been fo
¦wkfttily defirous of my company, feeing my .^teat
eroffes 'arid reproaches, Ipoked coldly upbn me. M^
childJlike fimplicity, which wte the 'ftate wherein ac
ifhat 'iiiAe 'Gob kept rae, paffed with her for 'ftupidity,
t-Kbu|h in that coridition he infpired ime to utter
,Dfi*a(?les ; for wlien the queftion was to help any one,
. or

72 The LIFE Qi^ Part II.
or about any thing which God required of me, he
gave me, with the weaknefs of a chjld, which ap
peared in pure candour, the evident tokens of divine
ftrength. Her heart was quite fhut up to me all. the
time I was there. . Our Lord however made me fore
tell all that fliould ¦ fall out, and which fince: that time
hasadually been fulfilled, as well to herfelf, as to.,her
daughter, and tothe virtuous Ecclefiaftic who lived
at her houfe. She did not fail, at laft, to conceive
more fricndfliip: for me, feeing- then that Christ was
in mc. It was the force of felf- love, 'and' fear of re
proach, which had clofed up her heart. Moreover
ftie thought her ftate more advanced than in reality
it was, by reafon of her being without probations,^,
but fhe foon faw by experience that I had told her
the truth. She was obliged for family reafons to feave
Turin, and go to live on her own eftate. She foli-
cited me to go with her ; but the education, of' my
daughter did not permit my compliance. To ftay at
Turin without her feemed improper, becaufe, having
lived very retired in this place, I had made np ac
quaintance in it. I knew not which way to turn.
The Bifhop of Verceil, where Father la Combe was,
moft obligingly writ to me, -earneftly entreating pje
to come thither, promifing his protedion, and affuring
me of his efteem, adding, " that he fhould lopk upon
" me as his own fifter ; that he wifhed extremely to
" have me there." It was his own fifter, a religious
of the ¦vifitation pf Turin, one of my particular friends,
who had wrote to him about me, as had alfo, a French
gentleman, an acquaintance of his. BUt a point of
hpnpur kept me from it. I would not have it faid
that; I had gone after Father la CoiviBE, and . that I
had: come to TUrin, only fpr the purpofe pf gping w
'Kerceil. He had alfo his reputation to prisferye,
which was the caufe that he could not agree to my
gping thither, however importunate the Bifliop was
for it. Had we believed it to be the will of God, we
fhould both of us have paffed over thefe confiderati- ons;;

Chap. Xv. LADYGUION. 73
ons. God kept us both ih fo great a dependence on
his orders, that he did not let us foreknow them ;
but the divine moment of his Providence determined
every thing. This proved of very great fervice to
Father LA Combe, who had long walked in affu-
rances, to die to them and to himfelf; for God by
an effed of his goodnefs, that he might thus die with
out any referve, took them all away from him.
During the whole time of my refidence at Turin,
our Lord conferred on me very great favour^. 1
found myfelf every day more transformed into him,
and had continually more knowledge of the ftate of
fouls, without ever being miftaken or deceived therein,
though fome were willing to perfuade me to think
'the contrary. I had u^fed my utmoft endeavours to
give myfelf other thoughts, which has coft me not a
little. For when i told, or writ to. Father la Combe
about the ftate of fome fouls, which appeared to
him more perfed and advanced than the knowledge
given me df them, he attributed it to pride ; he was
very jmgry with me, and prejudiced agaiqft my ftate.
I had no uneafinefs on account of his efteeming me
the lefs, for I was not in a condition to refled whe
'ther he efteemed me or not. He could riot recon
cile (God fo permitting it', to take from him every
fupport) an^bedienee to a miracle in moft things,
with fo extraordinary a firmnefs, which in certain
cafes he looked on as criminal. He admitted a -dif
truft of my grace ; for he was not yet fufficiently
cottfirmed in his way, nor did he duly comprehend
that it did not in any wife depend on me, to be either
one Way or other; arid that if I had any fuch power,
I fltbifld have fuitcd myfelf to what he faid, to fpare
myfelf the croffes Wrhich that caufed me ; or at leaft
would have artfully diffembled my real fentiments.
But I could do neither. Were df to perifh by it, I
was in fuch a manner conftrained, that I could not
forbear telling him the things, juft as our Lord dired-
VoL. II. K ed

74

The LIFE of Part II

me to tell them to him. In this he has given mc an
inviolable fidelity to the very laft. No croffes or
pains have ever made me fail a moment therein,
Thefe things then, which 3.p,peared to him to be
the ftrong prejudice of a conceited opinion, fet him
at variance againft me. And though he did not
openly fliew it, but on the contrary tried to conceal
it from me, yet how far diftant foever he were from ¦
me, I could not be ignorant , of it ; my fpirit felt it,
and that more or lefs, as the oppofition was ftronger'
or weaker ; and as foon as it abated or ended, my
pain, occafioned thereby, ceafed. He alfo on his fide
experienced the like. He has told me and wrote to
me many times over, " When I ftand well with Gop,,
" I find I am well with you : When I am otherwife
" with him, I then find myfelf to be fo with you too."
Thus he faw clearly , that when God received him into
his bofom, it was always in uniting him to me, as if
he would accept of nothing from him but in this
union. While he was at Turin ; a widow, who was a good
fervant of God, all in the brightnefs of fenfibility,
came to him to confefs. She uttered wonderful things
of her ftate. lwas then at the other fide of the con-
feffional. He lold me, " He had met with a foul
" given up to God, that it was fhe who was prefent,
" that he was very much edified by her ; that he was
" far from finding the like in me ; that I operated
" nothing but death upon his foul." At firft I re
joiced at his having met with fuch a holy foul, as it ^
ever gives me the higheft joy to fee,jny God glori-?
fied. As I was returning, > the Lord fliewed xmi
clearly the ftate of that foul, as only a beginning of
devotion mixt with, affedion and a little filence, filled
with a new fenfation. This and more, as it was fet
before me, I was obliged /to write to him upon it.
On his firft reading, of my letter he difcovered the
ftamp of truth in it; but foon after, letting in again his

Chap. XV. . LADY GUION. . 'j^
his old reflcdons, he viewed all I writ in the light
of pride ; for he ftill had in his mind the ordinary
rules of humility coriceived and comprized after our
manner. As to me, I let myfelf be led as a child,
>)vho fays and docs, without diftindion, whatever it
is made to fay and do. I left myfelf to be led where-
foever my heavenly Father pleafed, high or low ; all
was alike good to rae.
He writ| to me, that, at his firft reading of my
letter, there appeared in it fomething of truth, but
that on reading it over again, he found it to be full of
pride, and of a preference of my own difcefnment to
that of others. I knew the moment when he opened
my letter, and entered into the truth of ¦ it. When
the maid, by whom I fent it, who was that maid
which our Lord had brought me, was -returned, I
told her this ; and fhe affured me that it was the very
time exadly wheri he read my letter. " Sometime after
he was more enlightened hereupon, and in regard
to the ftate I was in. He then faid to me, " Con-
" tinue tp believe as you have done ; I encourage and
" cjfhort you to do it." Upon which I began to
refpire, to recover new life and an enlargement of
foul. " Let nobody (Jaid 1 to myfelf,- as 1 was return-
" ing) fpeak to me any more of humility. The ideas
?' which people, generally have of virtues are not for
*' me. There is nothing elfe for me but that one
*' thing viz. ever fingly to obey my God." Some
time after, he fufficiently difcovered, by that perfon's
manner of ading. that fhe was very far from what
he had thought of her. I give this orily as one inftance.
I might give m^riy others nearly like it ; butothis h
fufiicient. .

t 2 CHAP.

76 The LIFE OF Fart II;

CHA P. XVI.

ON E night in a dream pur Lord fliewed file,
that he ¦would alfo purify the maid whom' he
had given me, and make her truely enter into death
to herfelf. I then freely refolved to fuffer for her, as
I did for Father la Combe. As flie refifted GoO much
more than he, and was much more under the power
of felf -love, fhe had more to be purified from., For
this maid I have born much, during three whole
yearsi Our Lord caufed me inceffantly to do mi
racles on her account. It feemed as if he gave me an
abfolute power over both her body and foul. How
much foever fhe were indifpofed, as foon as I faid to
her, '? Be healed," fhe was fo : And for her pain, I
bore the moft of it. It feems as if our Lord had
given me fome fhare of experience of what hirtifelf^
had fuffere4 for men. He fhewed me, in a dream,
her refiftances, under the figure of fuhdry animals,
coming out of her body, whofe outfides appeared
pure, bright and tranfparent as glafs, but all unclean
within. Hereby I knew that lhe had paffed through
the firft purification, or cleanfing of the outfidc, fof
which reafon fhe had paffed in the world for a faint,
but far from being inwardly purified. While on thit
account I fuffered, I faw thofe animals deftroy one
apother, till there remained only one, which devouted
all the refl:; yet itfelf appeared to have all the ini
quity of the others in it. What I could not tolerate
in her was her regard for herfelf. I faw cleariy that
the devil cannot hurt us, but fp far as^we retain fome
fondnefs for this corrupt felf. This fight was from ,
God, who gave me the difcerning of fpirits, which|
would ever accept or rejed what was ftom him, or
was not; and that not from any conimon methods of
judging,

Chap. XVI. LADYGUION. -jj
judging, not from any information, but by
ward principle which is his gift.

an in-

That this point be not miftaken, it is needful
to mention here that fouls whicb are yet in themfelves,
whatever degree of light and ardour they have at
tained, are unqualified for it. They often think they
have this difcernment, and it is nothing elfe than an
antipathy of nature. Our Lord had deftroyed in mc
every ¦ fort of natural antipathy. The foul muft be
very .pure, and depending on God only, that in him
ali thefe , things may be experienced. In .proportion
as this maid became inwardly purified my pain
abated, till the Lord let me know that h^r ftate
was going to be changed, which foon happily en
fued. In comparifon of inward pains for fouls, out
ward perfecutions, though ever fo violent, fcarce gave
me any. The Bifhop of Geneva writ to different kinds
of perfons : He writ in my favour to fuch as he
thought would fhew me his letters, and quite the
contrary in the letters which he thought I fhould ne
ver fee. It was fo ordered that thefe perfons, having
fhewed each other their letters received from him,
were ftrnck with indignation to fee in him fofhame-
ful a duplicity. They, fent me thofe letters that I
might take proper precautions. I kept them two
years, and then burnt them, not to hurt that prelate
by them. The ftrongeft battery he raifed againft
me was what he did with the fecretary of ftate, who
held that poft in cpnjundion with the Marchionefs
of Prunai's brother. He ufed all imaginable endea
vours to render me odious, and to cry me down.
He employed certain Abbots for that purpofe, info-
much that, though I appeared very little abroad, I was
weH known by the defcriptions this Bifliop had given''
of me. This did not make fo much impreffion as it
would have ddne, if he hdd- appeared in a better light
at Court : Some letters of his, which her royal high
nefs found, after the Prince's death, which he had
, wrote

78 TheLIFE.of Part IL
wrote to him againft her, had that effed on the Prin-
cefs, that, (inftead of taking any notice of what he
now writ againft me) fhe fhewed me great refped, ¦
and fent her requeft to me to come to fee her. Ac-
cordinoly I waited on her. She affured me of her
protedion, and that fhe was glad of my being in her
dominions. Our Lord difcovered to me in a dream, that he
called me, in order that I fhould help my neighbour.
Of all the myfterious dreams I have had, there never
was any which made more impreffion on me than this,
and whofe undion- of grace continued longer. It
feemed to me that, being with one of my intimates,
we went up a fteep mountain, at the foot of which
was a ftormy fea, full of dangerous fho'als, which
one muft have crofled before coming to this moun
tain, which was all covered with cypreffes. When we
had got up to the top of it, we there found another
mountain inclofed with fragrant, hedges all round,-
having a gate for entrance which was locked. We
knocked at it, l?ut my companion defcended back
again, or ftayed at the gate ; for fhe entered not with
me. Thfe maftei: came and opened the gate to me,
and then locked it again. Taking me by-the hand, '
he led me into the. wood, which was of cedars.,..
This mountain was called Lebanon. In this wood
there was a lodge, and in it two beds. Hither he
¦brought mc, I afked him, " for whom are thefe
" tv/o beds?" He anfwered me, " One for rriy mo^
^' ther, and the other for thee, my fpoufe. In this
chamber were animals naturally wild, and enemies to
one another, all changed, in their natures, all livinty
together in a delightful and, admirable concord, all
refpedfuUy and joyfully faluting me. I remembere4
hereupon the prophecy of If/mh.,', xi. 6. and the
chamber mentioned in the Canticles^ iii. 4. This,
•In the YeaiM684. place

Chap. XVL LADY GUION. 79
place breathed nothing but candor and innocence.
I perceived in it a boy of about twelve years of
age. The Spoufe bad him go to fee if there were any
that had efcaped from the fhip-wreck. His fervice was,
only to go to the foot of the mountain, to fee if he
could 'fpy any one,. The Spoufe turning to me faid,
" 1 have chofen thee, my fpoufe, to bring hither with
" thee all the : perfons who fhall have courage and
" refolution enough to embark on this frightful fea,
" and to fuffer fhipwreck there." The boy returned,
and told him, " that he did not yet fee any one
" efcaped from the;fhipwrecl<. Thereupon I awaked,
much affeded with this dream.- The fweet iinprffion
it left on my fpirit continued feveral days.
My interior ftate grew ftill more firm, and my
heart fo pure that, not any imagination entered it,
but fuch as it pleafed the. Lord to put in it. Mine
was fuch a ftate as is beyond all the power of ex-
prcffion to defcribe, every motion of the creature fo
entirely loft, that though outwardly it. be free, in
wardly it is.not, even for the le.aft thing in the world;
all its movements and adions being now in God, arid
under the, dominion' of hjs will, in entire union with
him, the foul living in and of God, as the body lives
in and of the air it bFeathes. This ftate is known bf
God only. Such' fouls are, as to their exterior, only
common, though precious in the fight of Gop. Though
they are the objeds >of his delight, , they are often
the but of the rage and feorn pf the creatures.

CHAP,

8o The LIFE of Part IL

CHAP. XVII.

BEING ftill in Savoy', it pleafed God to make ufe
of me to draw to his love a religious man of
merit, yet one who had little thought aboiat advancing
towards perfedion. He had fometimes accompanied
"Father la Combe, when he vifited'me in my illnefs;
arrd it was put into 'my heart to pray to our Lord for
him. ' That very evening, when I received the ex
treme Undion, he approached to my bedfide, and I
faid .to him, " that if our Lord granted me mercy
" ^fter my death, he Ihbuld become" fenfible *Df .the
" effeds' of it." With thefe words he felt ' hinrfelf
inwardly touched, fo thucJh as to fhed teara. j' Hie was
oyie of thofe who'had m'otl opppfed Father, la CorsEB^v''
and the very perfon Who had uttered the jmoft: of lying
ftories about 'me, ¦without knowirig^me. , He returned
quite changed, and could not l^orbesn' defiririg to fee
me again, arid Ibcing very much affeded, as he
, thought 1 was going to dite. He wept fo much, that
- the other i?^//g-z(?ajralfied hirii upon it. They faid to
" him, " Can there be greater folly ? Behold a Lady
" bf whom you fpoke a great deal of ill only twri
" days ago ;, now fhe is dying, you weep for her , as
" if fhe were your mother:" Yet nothing. could abace
his tears, or his defire of coming to fpeak: to me
again. Our Lord anfwered his defire, and I grew
better. I had time to fpeak to him : He gave him-'*
felf up to God after a wonderful manrier, thoqgh he. >
was already advanced in age; His very nature was
changed. From craft and dupficity he became fim- .
pie, as a child. He could not call me any thing but :
his mother. He alfo coriceived a confidence for.
Father la Combe, and made a general confeffioa%
to him. *¦
Thus

Chap. XVII. LADYGUION. 8i
Thus he has continued feveral years. One^ day he
was teftifying more than ordinary fricndfliip for me,
having come a long way on purpofe to fee me, and
to fpeak to me. He, had had a fall from his horfe.
From thence he had a very painful and dangerous
fwcUing. I faid to him that he fliould be no more
incommoded with it. He believed and was entirely
cured, never having felt it fince. From hence his*
confidence rofe to fuch a height, that he faid to mc,
" Though all the world fhould renounce you, I never
" will." This cxpreffion ftrUck me, and I replied,
" My father, you will both renounce ^^ ''"d let go
" your hold of what now poffeffes your mind." He
vvas troubled at my faying thus, and warmly began
again, protefting he never would; adding, " that he
" was not a child, and that there was not any man
** more firm and conftant than he." The more he
thus protefted, the more I had an inward certainty
that he would do both. I faid to him, " My father ;
" in the name of God I befeech you to facrifice your-
" fel/ to him, though it were to renounce me, and even
" to be againft me," if he fo permits it." He could
not bear to admit a thought of the kind^, and ex-
preffed a very great 'grief, becaufe, as he faid, I 4if-
trufted him. 5ix months after, he came again to fee
me, more affedipnate than ever befpre, faying, "See
" hpw ypu are a falfe prophetefs, and how far I rc-
" main from renouncing you^"
A year after, as I was with Father, la Combe, I
• faid to him concerning this. perfon,' " He.is certainly
*' changed, for the LoRu^gives me a fcnfe of it."
When the Lord in a particular manner gives me any '
one, I am always obliged to feel a pain .for the flips
and falls of fuch. I may truely fay, I have brought
forth children not without many pains. When they
became unfaithful, they were taken from rae, and
feemed to be no more any thing, to me: But as
for thofe :. who were not taken from me, who were
Vol. II. L waver*

82 The Ll F E of Part II.
wavering or unfaithful for a tiriie, for them he caufed
me to fuffer. For their infidelities 1 felt a pain, yet
I knew that they would one day return. When I
tbld Father la Combe what I inwardly felt- of the al
teration in the aforefaid perfori, he replied, " It w^s
" nothing elfe but my imagination. A few dap af
ter he received a letter from him, full of expref-
fions of refped and fricndfliip. He fliewed mc it,
arid faid, " Sec how he is changed!" As I was read
ing over this letter, I had again a very great cer
tainty that he was changed, and that fome remains
of refped and fhame made him continu'e to write
thus, and that he would do the fame for fome time
yet. Juft fo it fell out. He did for fome time con
tinue to write forced letters; then he left off wridng,
and Father la Combe learned that the fear of lofirig
certain friends had changed him. There are fome
for , 'Hfhorri our Lord induces me to pray, arid caUfes
mc to take fome fteps' to help thern, and others fbr
whom it is not given me fb much as to write one let
ter, or fay a word to attempt their reftoration.
There was a certain man who was one ofthe
inoft violent that could be, who kept no meafures,-
and Who feemed to retain more of his .foldierly than
of hfs rif^fflaj profeffion. As Father; La Gom-be was
hi? 'Superior^ and tried to win him both by his words
and by his example,' the other could not bear hiffl,
but bi'oke out in violent palfions againft him. When
he faid Mafs in the place I was ifi, I,: without, any*
information, felt that he was not in a gbod flat*.
One day that I.faw him pafs wkh the Chalice iri his
"hand to go to fay Mafs, I was feized with a t'eif
great tendernefs for him, and as it were an affurance
Thar he was under a change. I even knew that he
was a veffel of eledion, which God had fchofeA for
himfelf after a .particular mainner. I wai obliged tb
write fo to 'Father la Cotobe, who writ hack to me,
** that it was one of the falfeft ideas that he had ever
,r, « per-

Chap. XVII. LADY GUION. 83
" perceived in me ; and that he had fcarce ever met
" with a man worfe difpofed ; and confequently that
" it was one of the moft ridiculous reveries that,
". ever was uttered." But how was he furprifed when,
about four or five o'clock in the evening, he faw him
eome into his chamber, from one of the proudeft
of men become one of the humbleft ! He began
with afking his forgivenefs for all the paft trouble
he had given him, and faid to him, with the tears
running down his checks, " My father, there is
" wrought in me fuch an overturning as is beyond
" comprehenfion." He told him how he had feen
(in a -dream) the holy Virgin, who had fhewed him
that he was, in a ftate of damnation,, but that fhe
had prayed for him. Father la Comee immediately
writ to me, that what I had imparted to him of fuch
a perfon he now found to be very true, and that he
was on account of - it filled with great joy. AUthat
night I was fo penetrated with thc' precious Undion
.of the defigns of God on that foul, that I flept .not a
moment. Some-days after, thc Lord renewed to me the
knowledge of the fame thing with fo much Undiop,
and fo -filled me with the view of it, that I flept no
more all that night. I writ to him of the defigns
of God in his favour, and fent the letter open to
Father la Combs to deliver to him, who hefitated
for fome time, thinking it fcarce fafe to confide in
!hini ,fo foon; but as he paffed by him, juft at the
fame time, he could not then omit giving it to him.
He was .very much, affeded with it, and refolved to
give himfelf up entirely to God,
He finds it hard work to break all his fetters, and
feems ftill to be divided betwixt God and fome attachr
ments, which to him appear innocent ones; though
God, gives him many ftrokes, to break him off from'
them entirely; and his firft reludances dpn't make
me lofe my hope pf what he will one day arife to. .
/ La B^^FORjs

8^ The LIFE of Part II.
Before his change I faw (in a dream) a great
number of very beautiful bir4s, which every ohe
was purfuing with great emulation and eagernefs to
catch them. I beheld them all without taking any
part therein, and without wifliing to catch any of
them. I was furprifed, not a little, to fee that they
all came to offer themfelves to me, v/ithouB my,
lafing any effort to have them. Among-them there
was One of an extraordinary beauty, which far fur-
paffed all the others. Every body was eager to get
this : But it efcaped them all, and me too as well as
the reft; but afterwards it returned to offer itfelf
to me, when I no mpre,expcded it. , There was
pne of thc othprs which, after having cpme in the
like manner, fluttered for a lpng time, one while
offering itfelf, another while retiring, but at length
offered itfelf in good earneft. This laft appeared to
me to be the religious man I have been juft fpeak
ing of. Others fled quite away. But the bcaudful
bird, which had not any rival, is not unknown to me,
though he has not come yet. Be it either before or
after my death, I ^m affured the time will come
when he will wholly give himfelf up to God.
As I was with the Marchionefs of Prunai, unde-,
termined whether I fhould place my daughter at the
Vifitation of Turin, to go thither with her, or take
fome other courfe ; 1 was exceedingly furprifed, at a
time I leaft expeded it, to' fee Father la Combe
arrive from Verceil, and tell me, " I muft return to
" Paris without any delay." It' was in the evening,
and he faid, " I muft fet off next morning." I
• cbhfefs thii fudden news ftartled. me. It was for
me a double facrifice, to return to a place where I
knew, they had fo much cried mc down; towards a
family which had nothing but contempt for me, and
whicii- had reprefented my journey, (caufed by, pure
neceffity) as a vol^intary courfe, purfued through a
human attachment for Father la Combe, than which
nothing

Chap. XVII. LAD t GUION. 85
nothing could be more falfe. God only knows how
entirely clear we were both of us from fuch fenti-
, ments, how equally ready we were tb fee each other
,no more in his will, or to fee each other continually
in thc fame will. Behold me then difpofed to go off,
without offering a fingle word in reply, with my
daughter and my chambermaid, without any body
to guide and attend us; for Father la Combe was
refolved nbt to accompany me, not fo much as in
pafling the mountains ; becaufe the Bifhop of Geneva
had writ on all fides that I was gone to Turin, to run
after him: But the father-provincial, who was a man
of quality, and well-acquainted with the virtue of
Father la Combe, told^ him, " that it was improper
" and unfafe to let me venture on thofe mountains,
without fonie perfon of my acquaintance; and the
more as I had my little daughter with me; and that
he therefore ordered him to accompany me. Father
LA Combe confeffed to me that he had fome reluc
tance to do it, and that only obedience, and the dan
ger to which I fhould have been expofed, made him
furmount it. He was to accompany me only tO Gre
noble, and from thence to return to Turin. I went
off then, defigning for Paris, there to fuffer what
ever croffes and trials it fhould pleafe God to
¦inflid. What made me pafs by Grenoble was the defire I had
to fpend two or three days with a lady, an eminent
fervant of God, and one of my friends. When I was
there. Father la- Combe and that Jady fpoke to me
not to go any farther; that God would glorify him-
.felf in me and by me in that place. He returned to
Verceil, and I left myfelf to be condfided as a child
by Providence. This lady took me to the houfe of
a good widow, there not being accommodations at
the inn; and as I was ordered to ftop, at Grenoble,, at
her houfe I refided. 1 placed my daughter in a
convent, and refolved to employ all this tirae in re-
figning

86 The LIFE of Part IL
figning myfelf to be poffeffed in folitude by Him who
is the abfolute Sovereign of my foul. I made not
any vifit in this place ; no more had I in any of the
others where I had fojourned. But I was greatly fur
prifed when,, a few days after my arrival, there came
to fee me feveral perfons whp made prpfeffion of a
fingular devotion to God. I perceived immediately a
gift which he had given mc, both of difcerning fpirits
and of adniiniftering to each that which fuited their
ftates. 1 felt myfelf invefted, all on a fudden, with
the apoftolic ftate, and difcerned the conditions of
the fouls of fuch perfons as fpoke tq mc, and that
with fo much facility, that they were furprifed at it,
and faid one to another, " that I gave every one of
*' them thc very thing they had ftood in need of "^
It was thou O God, who didft all thefe things. Some
of them fent others to mc. It came to fuch an ex
cefs, that, generally from fix in the morning till eight
in the evening, \ was taken up in fpeaking of God.
People flocked on all fides,, far and near, friars, priefl:s,
men of the world, maids, wives, widows, all came
one after another ; and God fupplied me^ with wh*t
was pertinent and fatisfadory to them all, after a
wonderful manner, without any fhare of my ftudy or
meditation therein. Nothing was hid from me of
their interior ftate, and of what paffed within- them.
Here, oh my God, thou made an infinite number
of conqucfts, known to thyfelf only. They were in
ftantly furniflied with a wonderful facility of prayer.
God conferred on them his grace plentifully, and
wrought marvellous changes in them. The moft ad
vanced of thefe fouls found, when with me, in fi
lence, a grace communicated to them which they
could neither comprehend, nor ceafe to admire. The
others found ari undion in my words, and that they
operated in. them what I faid to them. They faid,
*' they had never experienced any thing like;^ it."
Friars of different orders, and priefts of merit,' came
to fee me, to whom, our Lord granted very great
favours

Chap. XVIL LADYGUION. %y
favours, as indeed he did to all, without exception,
who came in fincerity,
. One thing was furprifing, and that was, that I had
not a word to fay to fuch as came only to watch
my words, and tb criticife on them. Even when I
thought to try to fpeak to them, I felt that 1 could
not, arid that Gon would not have me do it. Some
of them in return faid, " The people are fools to go
" to fee that lady. She cannot fpeak." Others of
them treated me as if I were only a ftupid fimpleton.
After they left me, there came one and faid, " I
" could not get hither foon enough to apprife you
" not to fpeak to thofe perfons; they come from
" fuch and fuch, to try what they can catch frOm
" you to your difadvantage." I anfwered them,
" Our Lord has prevented your charity ; for I was
'* not able to fay one word to them."
I PELT that what I fpoke flowed froni the fountain,
and that I was only the inftruriient of him who made
¦me fpeak.' Amidft this general applaufe, ourXoRD
-made me comprehend what the apoftolic ftate was,
with which he had honoured mc ; that to give one's
¦felf up to the help of fouls, in thc purity of his
Spirit, was to expofe one's felf to the moft cruel per
fecutions. Thefe very words were imprinted on nty
heart, " To refign ourfelyes to ferve our neighbour is
*' to facrifice ourfelves to a gibbet. Such as now
" proclaim, Bkffed is he who cometh in the Name of the
" Lord, will foori cry out. Take ^away, crucify" One
¦^of my friends fpeaking of the general efteerii the
people had for me, I faid to her, " Obferve what
'" I now tell you, that you, will hear ourfes out of the
" fame mouths which at prefent pronounce bleffings."
Our Lord made me comprehen4 that I muft be con
formable to him in all his ftates ; and that, if he had
ftill continued in a private life with his parents, be
never had been crucified; that, when he would re
fign

88 The LIFE of Part II.
fign any of his fervants to crucifixion, he employed
fuch in the miniftry and fervice of their neighbours.
It is certain that all the fouls herein employed of God
by apoftolic deflination, and who are truly in the
apoftolic ftate, are to fuffer extremely. I fpeak not
of thofe who put themfelves into it, who, not being
called of God in a fingular manner, and having nothing
of the grace of the apoftlefhip, have none of its
croffes ; but of thofe only who furrender themfelves to
God without any referve, and who arc willing with
their whole hearts to be expofed, forhis fakcj to fuffer- •
ings vvithout any mitigation. They muft affuredly
become a fpeflacle to God, to angels, and to rnen ; to
God, of glory, by their conformity to Jesus Christ;
to- angels, of joy ; and to men, of cruelty and ignominy.

CHAP, XVIII.
AMONG fb great a number of good fouls, on
whom our 'Lord wrought much by me, fome
were given me only as plants to cultivate. I knew
their ftate, but had not that near connedion with, or
authority over them, which I had over fome. It was
4hen that 1 comprehended the true maternity beyond
what I had done before ; for thofe of thc latter kind
were give/i mc as children, of whom fome were faith
ful. I knew they woul4 be fo ; and they were clofely
united to me m pure charity. Others were ' unfaith
ful ; I knew that of thefe laft fome would never return
from their infidelity, and they were taken from me ;
fome, after flipping afide, were recovered. Both of
them coft me violent pains of heart, when^ for want
of courage to die to themfelves, they gave up the
point ; and revolted from fhe -good beginning they
had been favoured with. '/
Our

Chap. XVIII. L A D'Y GUION. 89
Our Lord, amongft fuch multitudes as followed
him on earth, had lb few true children. • Wherefore he
faid to his father, " Thofe that thou gavcft me I have
" kept, and none of them is loft but the fon of per-
" ditiori." fliewing hereby that he loft not any beude
ofhis apoftles, or difeiples, though they fometimes
made 'falfe fteps;
Among the different numbers of friars who came
to fee mc, there was one order which difcovered
the good effeds of grace more than any other.
Some of that very order had hefore this, in, a little
town where F. la Combe was in the exercife of his
miffion, been aduated with a falfe zeal, and violent in
perfecuting all the good fouls which had fincerely
dedicated themfelves to God, plaguing them after
fuch a manner as can fcarce be conceived, burning
all their books which treated of filence and inward
prayer, refufing abfolution to fuch as were in the
pradice of it, driving into confternation, and almoft
into defpair, fuch as had formerly led wicked lives,
but were now reformed, and preferved in grace by
means of prayer, becoming fpotlefs and blamelefi
in their cpndud. .Thefe friars had proceeded to fuch
an excefs of wild zeal, as to raife a fedition in that
town,, in which a father of the oratory, a perfon of
diftindion and merit, received ftrokes with a ftick-
in the<open ftreet, becaufe he prayed in the evenings,
andon Sundays made a fhprt fervent prayer, which
infenfibly habituated thefe good fouls to the, ufe and
pradice of the like.
I NEVER in all my life had fo much confolation as
to fee in this little town fo many pious fouls, who with
a heavenly emulation gave up their whole hearts to
God. There were girls of' twelve or thirteen years
of age, who induftrioufly foUpwed their work almioft
all the day Ibng, in filence, and. therein enjoyed a
qommunipn with Gpd, having acquired a fixed habit
Vpl. II. ' M , therein

90 The L I F E OF Part IL
therein. As thefe girls were poor, they placed them
felves two and two together, and fuch as cd?uld doit
read to thc others who could not. One faw there the
innocence of the primitive chriftians revived. There
was in that town a poor lauhdrefs who had five children,
and a hufband paralytic, lame in thc right arrii,, yet
worfe diftempcred in mind than in body. He had
little ftrength left for any thing elfe but to beat her:'
Yet this poor woman bore it with all the meeknefs ;
and patience of an angel, while fhe by her labour
fupported him and his five children. She had a wOh-
derful. gift of prayer, and preferved the prefence of
God, with a tranquility of mind, amidft her great
fufferings and extreme . poverty. There was alio a
woman who kept a fhop, and another who' made*
locks, very much affeded with God. Thefe were
clofe friends. Sometimes the one, and fometimes
the other read to this laund refs ; and they wercTurprif^d
to find that flie was inftruded by the Lord himfelf iii
all they read to her, and fpoke divinely of it.
Those friars fent for this woman, arid threateiid,
her rauch if fhe did not leave off prayer, telling her
it was only for churchmen to pray, and that fhe w*s
very bold to pradife it. She replied, (or rather he
who inftruded her, for fhe was very ignorant of her
felf) "that Christ had commanded all to pray,
*' and that he had faid. What 1 Jay unto you I Jay unto
"all. Mark xiii, 33. 37. without fpecifying either
" priefts or friars; that without prayer fhe could ri6t
" fupport her croffes and poverty ; that formerly fhe
" had lived without it, and then was very wicked;
" that fince fhe had been in the exercife of it, fhe had
" loved God with all her foul ; fo that to leave (£
" prayer was to renounce her falvation, which fhe
" could not do." She added, " that they might
" take twenty perfons who had never pradifed prayer,
" and twenty of thofe who are iri the pradice of it :
" Then, Jaid Jhe, inform yourfelves of the lives of
« both.

Chap. XVIIL LADY GUION. 91
" both forts, and ye will fee if ye have any reafon
" to cry out againft prayer." Such words as thefe,
from fuch a woman, one would think might have
fully convinced them ; but (inftead of that) they only
irritated them the more. They affured her " fhe fliould
" have no abfoludon till fhe promifed them to defift
" frpm prayer." She faid, " It depended not on her,
*' and that Christ is mafter of what he comniivni-
" eates to his creature, and of doing with it what he
" pleafes." They refufed her abfolution ; and after
railing at a good taylpr, who ferved God with his
whole heart, they ordered all the books without ex
ception, which treated on prayer, to be broiight to
them, and burnt them with their own hands in thc public
fquare. They were hugely elated with their perfor
mance : But all thc town prefently arofe in an uproar, on
/^account of the late infolent and intolerable ufage
given to the father of the oratory. The principal
men went to the Bifhop of Geneva, and complained
to him ofthe feandals of thefe new miffionaries, fo diffe
rent from theothers. Speaking of F. la Combe who
had been there before them on his miffion, they faid
*' thef'e feemed as if they were fent to deftroy all the
" good he had done." ' The Bifliop was forced to
come himfelf to that town, and there to mount the
pulpit, protefting he had no fhare in it, and that
thefe fathers had pufhed their zeal too far. The friars
on the other fide declare4, they had done all they did,
purjudnt to the orders given them.
There were alfo at Tonon young women who had
retired together, being poor villagers, the better to
earn their liyelihood and to ferve God. One of themr
read from time to time, whife the others were at work,
arid not pne went put without afking leave pf the eldeft.
They made ribbonds, or fpun, every one earning their
bread by their labour, and the flrong fupporting the
weak. They went to feparate thofe poor girls, and
M 2 others

92 The L I F E OF Part IL
others befide them, in feveral villages, and drove thenj
out of the church'.
It was then thc friars of this very order whom our
" Lord made ufe of to eftabfifh prayer in I know not how
many places. And, into the places where they went,
they carried a hundred times more books of prayer than
thofe which their brethren had burned. The hand of
God appeared to me wohderfully in thefe things. I
had then occafion to' know thefe friars in the way
I am going to tell.
One day that I was fick, a brother, who has fkill
in difeafes, and is ufcful therein, beirig come for a
charitable "colledion, and hearing I was ill, came in
to me, and gaye me medicines proper for my diforder.
We entere4 into- a converfation which revived in him
the love he had for God, which he acknowledged had
been too much ftifled by his great occupations. 1
made him comprehend that there was not any occu
pation which fhould hinder him from loving God, and
from being occupied within himfelf. He readily be
lieved me, as he already had a good fhare of piety, and
of a difpofition tp inwardnefs. Our Lord conferred.;
on him many favours, and gave him to be one of
my true children. What is wonderful is, that all
thofe whom he has given me arc brought forth by
me on the crofs, in which fenfe he caufes^ me to fill up
that which is behind of his paffioni (Col. i. 24.) .Gh
goodnefs of God thus to affociate poor creatures to
his great myfteries ! ' >
When our Lord gives me children after this man
ner, he gives them a very particular affedion for rne.
They cannot forbear calling me their mother ; which
has been the cafe of many, and fome of great '. note.
Several whom I did nPt know but by their letters,
have feen me in dreams refolving all their difiiculties,
I have found that when pur Lprd hpnours aJoul with
fpiritual

M '

Chap.vXVIIL LADY GUION. 93
fpiritual fruitfulnefs, he gives it what is neceffary to
nourifb and fupport its children, according to their
different degrees. Lwas fometimes fo fiUed with thefe
divine communications that I have been ready to cry
out, " Oh my Lord, give me hearts to difcharge my-
" felf of my fulnefs." When fome of my children
came to me, or ncNv ones were given me, in whom
grace was already ftrbng, I was relieved and com
forted ; they alfo felt an inconceivable plenitude of
grace, and a greater gift of prayer, each accor4ing
to their degree; which- furprifed. them greatly at the
firft, and raade thera, when neceffity feparated me
from them, feel a very great want of me. But af
terwards the'y experimentally compreherided this myf
tery ; and when neceffity feparated me from them, or
r did not know thera, having never feen them, in-
ftrudions and confolations were communicated to them
when afar off.

CHAP. XIX.
THERE were there fpme good ypung women,
„tiwho were particularly given nic; and efpe
cially one who . had felt a very great attradion to
come to me : And our Lord gave her by me all fhe
had need of; but when at a diftance from me, fhe
was ftrongly tempted, and then afraid to return to
me ; yet , •when fhe took courage and came, her
pains and fears were all diffipated, and lhe experienced,
,whiie fhe was with mc,"^ that fulnefs of grace which
is come, byr Jesus Christ : Yet after this fhe was
tempted fo far as to imagine me to' be a forcerefs :
And that; it was thereby, that I had driven away
from her the evil fpirit which had affaulted her, and
that I had foretold her what would befall her, which
adually

94 The LIFE of Part IL
adually did befall her accordingly. Under fuch an
impreffion on her mmi (he Qam? tp me, JDut opened
not her lips. I knew hef uneafinefs, tcdd her of it,
and flie. confeffed it. When we were at church, I
faid to her, " If it is an evil fpirit which .caufes me
" to ad towards you, let him cpntiouj? to torment ygu ;
" if it be a good fpirit I pray tha; during the fervjee
" you may partake of that fpirit." At the very begin
ning of the fervice her foul overflpwed with a peaqe
of paradife, and was in fo great an unign v?ith Gop,
that fhe fcarce knew whether fhe was pn earth or Jn
Heaven. After that manner was our communion,
and then fhe faid in herfelf; " Oh, .bow certain Iam
" now that it is God who moves and guides her 1"
After mafs was over, fhe faid to me, " Oh my mo-
*' thci^ how fully fenfibla have I been that God ig alj
" in all in you ! I liave been, in Paradife."
When at any time after this fhe made flips, and
concealed them from me, or covered them with
difguifes, I felt it at firft ; and that our Lord, who
loves and accepts of nothing but pure fincerity, re
ceded her therein. I faw, or rather experienced,
how God rejed's finners 'fi-om his bofom. All the
caufe of God's rejedion is in the will and inclinatioh
of the finner. If that will ceafes, how horrible fo
ever he be, God purifies him in his love, and re
ceives him into his grace; but while that will re
mains, the rejedion continues; though, for want, of
ability feconding his inclination, he Ibpuld not com
mit the fin he is inclined to : He never can be ad
mitted into grace till the caufe ceafes, which, is this
wrong will, rebellious tp the 'divine law.. If that
once ceafes, the effeds of fin, which ftain the foul,
will God then totally remove, in wafhing away thc
new defilements which he contrads. If that fiMier
dies in the time that his w/// is rebellious and turned
towards fin, as death fixes forever the difpafitioh of
the foul, and die .caufe of its impurity is ever fubfift- ing,

Chap. XIX. LA DY GUION. 95
ing, fuch fbul can never be received in God ; its re
jedion muft be eternal, as there is fuch an abfolute
oppofition betwixt effential purity and effential im
purity. And as this foul, from its own nat-vire, ne-
ceffarily tends to its own centre, it is continually re-
jeded from thenCe, by reafon of its impurity, fub-
iifting not only in the effeds but in their caufe. It
is the fame way in this fife. This Caufe, fo long as
it fubfifts, abfolutely hinders thc grace of God from
operating in the foul. But if the finner comes to die
truely -penitent, then the caufe, which is the wrong
tmM, being taken away, there remains only the effed
or impurity eaufed by it. He is then in a condition
to be purified. God of his infinite mercy has pro
vided a ld.ver of love and of juftice, a painful laver
to purify this foul. And this laver is Purgatory^ which
is not painful in itfelf, but in the caufe of the pain
which is irtipurity. And as that caufe is greater or
lefs fo is the pain: And when that caufe is utterly
taken away, the pain utterly ceafes. Now, I fay, it
is the very fame in this life. Souls are received into
graee as foon as the caufe of fin ceafes ; but they don't
p&fs irito God hinfifelf, till all its effeds are wafhed
away. If they have not courage to let him, in his own
Way and \^ill, thoroughly cleanfe and purify them, they
never enter into the pure divinity in this life. As this
purification, iri this life,, is not effeded but by pain,
arid the deftrudioft of all the felfifli wifdom and de
fires, this is what daufes rhat mariy pious fouls, highly
applauded of men, have ftill need of Purgatory. If
Ifleri die in grace, their Will being by the mercy of
¦God turned aright, the caufe of fin is taken away;
thgy fean have that caufe no more, fince theri their
WiU COntifiUes fixed to that which is good. It is no't
iM fame with men Ori earth, who have not come fo
far as to be quite fixed in thc pure love of GOd :
For they are ever liable to change, and to tranfgrefs
iri fbttie points ifi the will, or natural inclination, rill
they be dead to themfelves, and paffed into God, who

96 The LIFE of Part IL
who renders the. will in this ftate immutable ; ' all that
nature, that leaven which may be ever making it rife
-again, which is felf-love in its many forms, fome
of them feeming both lawful and commendable
in the fight of men, being thoroughly purged away,
which God is very willing tb do for us in this life :
But this is not operated by him, but by extreme pains
to us, arid the lofs of every fuppoi't of artful corrupt
Jelf. Hence the fouls truly changed, into his image, are
more rare than I caii fet forth or exprefs.
To return to my fubjed, I experienced that this
young wom^n ftuck to me ftill by a certain fecret tie,
as a finner does to his God, from whence he ,may ftill
be r£ceivcd in him, when the caufe of the rejedion
^^"S., God inceffantly folicits this will to ceafe to
be rebellious, and fpares nothing on his fide for this
good end. The will is free ; yet grace follows it ftill.
As foon as the wi// ceafes to rebel, it finds grace at
its door, ready to introduce its unfpeakable benefits,
Oh the goodnefs of God and bafenefs of the finner,.
each of them amazing when clearly feen ! I felt, I
fay, how this young woman and many other foul?,-
fluck to mine by a tie of filiation ; but I found I could
no more communicate grace to her as I had done, by
reafon of her want of fimplicity in the will, and that:
it was impoffible for thc divine efflux to enter, till her
diffimulation were deftroyed, though J loved her
much ; but that will in her occafioned the rejedion,
which could not end but by its change. How won
derful is God to give to poor creatures the experimen
tal knowledge of his deep and myfterious fecrets ! For
what I have experienced in regard to her I have done
in regard to fundry others. But I have given her cafe
as one example. F. la Combe thought her virtuous :
When 1 told him a little of this fault of her's, he ac-
Gufed mc of rafh judgment, which indeed was far .
from mc ; but he afterwards came to fee for himfelf
enough of her craft and Artifice.
^ Before

CHAP. XIX. L A D t GUID N.

^1

BEFofeE I Arrived at Grenoble, the lady, my friend
there, faw iri a dream that our Lord gkve the an in
finite nUmber of children all uniformly clad, bearing
on their habits the inarks of candor and innocence.
She thought I was coming to take care of the childreri
of thc hofpital. But as foon as flic told mc it, I dif
cerned that it #ds riot that which the 4ream meant ;
bWt that our Lord' wbuld give mc, by a fpiritual
fruitfulriefs", a gr'eat riiimbfer of children ; that they
would not be m'y true children but iri fimplicity, can
dor and irinocence. So great ah averfion 1 have tb ar
tifice and difguife.

C H A P. XX.
THE gbbd brother I have fpoken of (Chap, xyiii.)
found hiriifelf difpofed to lay open his heart
to riie like a child. Our Lord gave him through
me All that was neceffary fpr him ; for though dif-
pbfed to the fpiritual life, yet' for want of courage
attd fidelity he had nbt duely advanced in it. Here-
vippri he faid to rae, " You are my true mother."
From that time God has granted him many favours
through this poor nothing creature. I felt he was
one of my fons, one of the moft faithful and
clofely united. Every 'time he came tp fee me^ he
became more encouraged arid fortified to die tho
roughly to hiriifeU^ fcnfibly affured of thc power
of God in riie, which he felt, in his dependent
ftate. Our Lord iriftruded him in filence, and pre
pared him to receive his grace, without the medi
ation of words, which carrie4' on its Operatioris in
him-, in proportion as' he died more to himfelf.
Christ' has declared, " Where two or three are ga-
«« theted tbgether in my riaime; there am I in the
Vol. II. -N " midft

^8 THELiFEoF Part II.
" midft of them." With the greateft certainty,
through his bleffed operations, is this experienced.
As this brother was already advanced in the fpiritual
life, and had only ftopped, and been retarded in it, he
was hereby foon recovered.
Ifj proportion as his foul advanced fufficiently
for continuing in filence before God, and as the
Word operated on him in filence, being vivid and
fruitful, and not a ftate of indolence, as fome ig-
norantly ima'ginc, he thereby grew in grace. Oh, ,
imiiiediate ineffable Word f who telleft us every thing ,
without articulating any thing! He who has never
experienced thee knows nothing, though he thinks
himfelf ever fo knowing. It was then given to him
to communicate with me in filence the operations
of that divine Word, the fulnefs whereof in him
became more abundant, like a ftuice lifted up,
which difcharges itfelf with profufion, and that with
fo much force and grace in fouls well-difpofcd, that
the full river does not flow with more impetuofity.
But alas! how few fouls arc pure enough for this
enjoyment paffing in them after fuch a manner ! This
fulnefs which he received ftill emptied him mPre of
himfelf, putting him in a condition of greater filence
before God, and a greater detachment from every
tiling elfe. It ftill difpofed hini more both for God
and for me.
Oh my God, how well I c6mprehen4ed in this fi-,
lence that in fouls which are wholly thine thy grace^
flows like a river ! This is that well oJ water Jpringifig i
up into everlafting lije; the great myftery which Christ
fpoke of, and opened to the Samaritan woman. It
fprings up in fuch, abundance that there is a fuffi-
ciency in it for fiUing an infinite number of fouls, , each ,
according to its degree, without -c'e^fing to be full. Oh
admirable hierarchy, which begins in this life, to con- ,
tinue through all eternity ! Yes, there is a hierarchy among

Chap. XX. LADY GUION. 99
among faints on earth, as among angels in heaven.
And thofe who have ferved as channels, in their ful
nefs, to water other fouls, fhall ferve as fuch in eter
nity. The water of life will flow from the facred
fource into the fouls of all thofe who have lived by
grace, more or lefs, as they arc fitted, extended or
dilated to receive of its abundance. And it requires
more of largencfs ahd extent both to receive and to
communicate abundantly to others. Thofe who are
dead in fin receiVe nothirig of this plenitude of life.
Through the want of this they may properly be faid
to be dead ; all the paffages, by which life might
flow into them, being clofed up by thc dominion
of fin. But fouls living in the pure love of God all
receive from this fulnefs more br lefs, according as
they are difpofed or fitted for it by the purity and
receptivity of the foul. But not all, who arc come
fo far as to receive thc grace, are from thence in a
condition to communicate it. They have a great way
to advance before they become fitted for that.
This good brother had occafion to bring to me
fome of his companions ; and God took hold of them
all. It was at the very tirae that Gob gave me thefe
good Religious, that the others of the fame order
were rnakirig all the ravages I have mentioned, and
oppofing with all their might the holy fpirit of God.
I could not but admire to fee how God was pleafed
to make himfelf amends for former damages, by
the pouring out of his fpirit in abundance on thefe
•good friars, while the others were' labouring vehe
mently againft it, doing all they could -to deftroy its
dominion and' efficacy in their fellow-mortals. But
their labpurs pf this kind had np great effed ; thofe
good fouls, inftead of being ftaggcred by perfecu
tion, grew ftronger by it. The Superior, and the
mafter of the novices of the houfe in which this good
brother was, declared 'againft me, without knowing
me ; and were grievoufly chagrined that a Woman,
N 2 as

loo The LIFE qf Pjvnr II.
as they faid, fhould be fo much flocked around. a,r\d
fo much fought after : For looking at the things ^s
they were in themfelves, and not as they were in G,QR,
who does whatever pleafes him, they ha.d nothing but
contempt for the gift which ¦was lodiged in fo mean sin
inftrument, inftea,d of only efteeming Gp,p and. his
orace, without lopping, at the meannefs, of the fybjed
in which he fli^ds it. Yet thi? good brother broiight
it about that his Superior came at l^aft to fee me, ^trid
to thank me fpr the charities which, he fai4 I had done
them : Our Lord fo ordered, that he foufld fome
thing in my converfation which rea^ched and, took hold
of him. At. length he \yas compleatly gained an,d
brought over. And he it was,, who fpmje rime, after,
being vifiter, dilpcrfed fuch a number pf thOfe bppks,
bought at their pwn charge, which the others had tried
Utterly to deftroy, caufing, them to be burned- Oh
how wonderful art thou, oh Gpo ! In all thy ways
how wife, in all thy con4ud how full of love I How
well thou knoweft the way tq fruftrate aJ} the fajfp
wifdom of men, and to triuniph over all their pre
cautions ! -
There were in this noviciate many novices. The
eldeft of them grew fo uneafy under his vocation, that
he knew not what to do. So great, was his, trouble
that he could neither read, ftudy, pray, nor do fcarce
any of his duties. The Collector, hjs companion, was
rqoved to bring him to me. We fpoke a while toge
ther^ and the Lord difcovered: to' me both the caufe
of his diforder and its remedy. I told hini- it ; and he
began to pradife prayer, even that of the heart,' He
was on a fudden wonderfully changed, and the Load
highly favoured hjm. As, I fpoke to. him, grace
wrought in, his heart, and his fQul, drank it in, as. the
parched ground does the gentle rain. He felt himfelf
quit of his pain befpre he, feft the. rppm. He then
readily, withjpy and even with ; perfedion, performed
41 his exercifeis, which before, he did with reludance' and

Chap. XX. LADY GUION. ior
anddifgufti. .He nqw both ftudied and. prayed eafily,
and difcharged all his duties, in fuch a manner, that
he was fcarce known ta himfelf or others. What
aftoniflied him moft was a fprout of life which remained
with him, and a gift of .prayer. He. faw that there
was readily giyc^ hirii what, he could never have before,
whatever pains he tobk for it : And this enlivenirrg
fprout was the principle which made' him ad,i gave
him grace for his eroplpymcnts, and an inward fru
ition of the prefence of God, which brought' all good
with it. He graduaEyr brought me all the novices,
all of whqm partook of the effeds of grace, though
differently, according to, their diflerent- degrees. Ne
ver was there a more fiourifliing noviciate.
The mafter and tlie Superior could not forbear" ad
miring fo great a change in their novices, though
they ,p>enetrated not the caufe of it. Qne day, as
they were fpeaking of it, to the ColJedor, for they
efteemed him highly on, account of his merit and
virtue, and tclfing hira, they were furprifed at the
change in the novices, and the bleffing the Lord had
beftowed on the noviciate, he faid to them, " My
" fathers, ifyou will permit me, I will tell you the
" reafon of it. It is the. lady againft whom ye have
*' exclaimedi fo much, without knowing her, whom
'¦ God has made: ufe pf for all this." They were very
much furprifed;, and^ both the mafter, though ad
vanced in^ age, and his Superior then fubmitted humbly
to pradife' prayer, after the- manner taught by a little
book, which the Lord infpired meto write, and of
whichi fliall fay more hereafter: And fuch benefit
they reaped from it, that the Superior, faid- to^rac, " I
" am becorae quite a new raan. I could before no
" longer pradife prayer, becaufe my reafoning faculty
" was grown dull and exhaufted ; but now I do it as
" often asi will, with. cafe, with; much fruit, and a
'f quite different fenfe of the prefence of God :" And
the. mafter. faidy '^ Thefe forty years, have I been a
Religious

I02

The LIFE of Part IJ.

" Religious, or friar, and can . fay that I never knew
" how to pray, nor have I ever known and tafted of
" God, as I have done fince I read that little book."
Many others were gained to God, befides thofe
whom 1 looked on as my true children, and who coft
me the pangs of their birth. For the others I felt
not that maternity, .and that intimate efflux of grace
I have fpoken of, though they were won to the Lord
by my means. He gave me a very great number of
children, and three famous friars, of an order by
which 1 have been, and ftill am, very much perfecuted.
He made mc alfp of fervice to a great number of
Nuns, of virtuous young women, and even men of
the world ; among the reft a young man of quality,
who had quitted the order of the knights of Malta,
to take that of the priefthood. He was the relation
of a bifliop near him, who had had defigns of pre
ferment fpr him : He has been much favoured of
the Lord, and is conflant in prayer. I could not
defcribe the great number of fouls which were then
given mc, as well maids as wives, priefts and friars.
But there were there three curates, one canon, and
one grarid-vicar, who were more particularly giveii
me. There was one prieft very intimately given me,
for whpm I fuffered much, through his not being
willing to die tb himfelf, and loving himfelf too much^,.
with a fad regret I faw him decaying, falling away till
he was quite fnatched from me. As for the others,
there are fome of them who have continued ftedfaft
and immoveable, fome whom the tempeft has fhaken a
little, but not torn away. Though thefe ftart afide
yet they ftill retijf ri. But thofe who are fnatched'
away return no more.
Thejie was one true daughter given me, whom
pur Lord made ufe of to gain many others to him.
iShe was in a ftrange ftate of death when I firft faw her,
and by me he gave her life and peace. She afterwards fell

Chap. AA. LAUY GUION. 103
fell extremely ill. The dodbrs faid flie would die ;
but I had an affurance of the contrary, and that Gob
would make ufe of her (as he has done) to gain fouls.
There was in a mopaftery a young woraan donfined
in a ftate of diftradion. I faw her, I knew her cafe,
and that it was not what they thought of it. As foon
as I had fpoken to her fhe recovered : But the priorefs
did not like that I fhould tell her my thoughts of it,
becaufe the perfori who had brpught her thither was
her friend. They plagued her raore than before, and
threw her back again into her diftradion.
A SISTER of anpther monaftcry was for eight years
paft in a deep melancholy, unrelieved by any one ;
for her diredor increafed it, by pradtifing remedies
contrary to her diforder. I had never been in that
monaftcry ; for I did not go into fuch places, unlefs
I were fent for, as I did not think it right to intrude
into them, but left myfelf to be cpnduded of Provi
dence; I was very much furprifed that at eight o'clock
at night one came for me from the priorefs. It was
in the long days of fUmraer, and being near it I went.
I met with a fifter who told me her caie ; fhe had gone
to fuch excels, that, feeing no remedy for ir, fhe had
taken a knife to kill herfelf; but the knife fell out
of her hand; and a perfon coming to fee her had
advifed her to fpeak to me. Our Lord made rae know
at firft what the raatter was ; and that he required
her to refign herfelf to him, inftead of refifting him
as they had made her do fbr eight years. I was in-
ftrumental to draw her into fuch a refignation, that fhe
entered at once into a peace of paradife ; all her pains
' and troubles were inftantly banifhed, and never re
turned fince. She has t|ie greateft capacity of any
in the houfe. She was prefently fo changed as to
be the admiration of the whole community. Our
LpRD gave her. a very great gift pf prayer and his
cpntinual .prefence, witha faculty and readinefs for
everything. She was given me for a daughter ; and
¦J 1 a domeftick

I04 The LIFE ot Part IL
a domeftick fifter, troubled for twenty-two years paft,
was alfo delivered from her troubles, and is a very,
religious woman. That produced a clofe tie of friend
fhip between the priorefs and mc, as the wonderful
change and the peace of this fifter furprifed her, lhe
having fo often feen her iri hef terrible painSi I alfO
contraded other fuch ties rn this monaftcry, where
there are fouls under the Lord's fpecial regard, whonj'
he drew to himfelf by the means he had been pleafed
to make choice of.

CHAP. XXI.
I WAS moved fo rea;d the holy fcriptiire'. It Kad
beeri fome time firice I had read at all, not finding!
iri myfelf any void to be filled. When I began it was
given me to write the paffage which I read, and ;in-
ftaritly upon it was' given me its explication, which
I alfo writ', going On with' inconceivable expcditloriir .
light. being poured iri Upbri rne in fuch a mariner, that
I" found' I had iri my felf treafures' of wifdofri arid know
ledge which I had riot yef knbwri of. Before I writ
I knew not what I v/as going, tb ¦write. After 1 had
Written, I remembered nothing bf what I wroteV I co'ula
not make ufe of ariy part of it' foi- the help of foiilsV
but the Lord gaVe riie, at the tiriie" I fpbke tb th'eni^.
without any application of mine, all that 'was neeeflary'
for them. Thusthe Lord made mc gp pn with ex
plications of the holy Scripture*' I had^ no othef
book but the bible, nor made life of any but" thatj ana
without ever feeking for any thirig. When- in writing
on the Old Teftamerit f rnade ufe of paflages ofthe'
* All her ejcplications have been publifHed; thoTe on' the Old
Teftament in twelve' oft avo vol a mes; and on the Nfew TerfariiiBnt'
in eight, f
New,

Chap. XXL LADY GUION. 105
New, to fupport what I faid, it was without feeking
them ; they were given me along with' the explication ;
and in writing on the New Teftament, and therein
making ufe "of paffages of the Old, they were given
me in like manner without my feeking any thing. I
had fcarce any time for writing but in the night, al
lowing only one hour or two to fleep. The Lord
made me -.write with fo much purity, that I was oblig
ed to leave off and to begin again, as he was pleafed
to order. He proved me every way herein. When
I writ by -day, ofteri fuddenly interrupted, I left
the word unfinifhed, and he afterwards gave ms
what he pleafed. What I writ was. not in my head :
That part was kept free and difengaged. Ifi gave
way to any refledipn I was punifhed for it, and could
not proceed. And yet I was fometimes not duly at
tentive to the divine fpirit which had moved me to
write, thinking I did well to continue it when I had
time, everi without havingthe motion and enlightening
influence of that fpirit for it, from, whence it is eafy
to fee fome places beautiful and confiftent, and others
which have neither; tafle nor undion ; fuch is the dif
ference of the fpirit of God from the human and
natural; fpirit. ! I am 'ready, however, if ordered to
do it, to adjuft them according to the prefent light
which is given mc. j Didft thou not, oh my God,
turn me a hundred ways, to prove me whether I was
thine without any referve, through every kind of trial;
or whether I hadnot yet fome little intereft for myfelf ?
My foul became hereby readily pliable to every dif
covery of the divine will, whatever kind of humilia
tions attended me to counterbalance my Lord's fa
vours. What I durft not 1 before touch with the tip
of my finger now became ray nourifliment^ but every
»thing, high or low, was rendered alike; to me.
Me'thinks the Lord ads with his deareft friends as
the fea with its waves. It fometimes puflies them
againft the rocks where they break, fometimes on thc
Vol. II. O fand

lo6 The LIFE of Part II.
fand, or on the mire, and then retakes them into its
own depth. Even among the good thc greateft part
are fouls only of Mercy ; and that is fo far well : But
to appertain to divine Juftice, how rare, and yet how
great 1 Mercy is all diftributive in favour of the crea
ture : But Juftice deftroys every thing of the creature,
Virhout fparing any thing; It can demand nothing but
for itfelf; yet voluntary vidims, and fuch as may have
no other c^jed but itfelf in what they fuffer.
The lady, who was my particular friend,., began to
conceive fome jealoufy on the applaufgs given me,
God fo permitting it for thc farther purification of her
foul, through this weaknefs, and the pain it caiifed her.
Alfo fome confeffors began to be uneafy, faying, " It
^' was none of my bufinefs to invade their province,
" and to meddle in the help of fouls ; and that there
", were fome of their penitents which had an entire
*' opennefs for' me." Itwas eafy for me toobfensethe
difference betwixt thofe confef&rs who, in their con-
duding of fouls, feek nothing but God, and thok
who feek themfelves therein ; for the firft came to fee
me, and rejoiced greatly at the grace of God beftowed
on their penitents, without fixing their attention on the
inflrument : The others,- on the contrary, triedj under
hand to ftir up the town againft me. 1 faw that they
would be in the right to oppofe me, ifi had intruded
of myfelf; but I could do nothing but what the Lord
made me do. Sometimes there came fome of them
to difpute with me. There came two friars of the
fame order with the CoUedor I have fpoken of; one
of them, the provincial, a man of profound learning
and a great preacher. I'hey came feparately, alter
having ftudied for feveral. different things to propofe
to me. They did it ; and ^though they were matters
far out of ray reach, the Lord raade me anfwer as
]uftly as if I had ftddied them all my life- long ; after
which I fpoke to. them as he infpired me. They went
away

Chap.XXL LADYGUION. io/
away not only convinced and fatisfied, but even affed
ed with the love of God.
I STILL continued writing with a prodigious fwift-
nefs ; for the hand couid fcarce follow faft enough
the fpirit which didated, and through the whole pro
grefs of fo long a work 1 never altered my condud,
nor made ufe of any other book than thc bible 'itfelf.
The tranfcriber, whatever diligence he ufed, could
not copy in five days what I writ in one night. What
ever is good in it comes from God only. Whatever is
otherwife, from myfelf; I mean from the mixture
which I have made, without duly attending to it, of
my own impurity with his pure and chafte dodrine.
In the day I had fcarce time to eat, by reafon of the
vaft numbers of people .which came to mc. I writ the
Canticles in a day and a half, arid received feveral
vifits befide.
Here I may add to what I have faid about my
writings, that a confiderable part; of xhe book-' of
Jidges ihappened by fome means to be loft. Being
defired to render that book compkat, I writ over
again the places loft. Afterwards, when the people
were about removmg from this houfe, they found
them where one would never have imagined them to
be. My former and latter explications, on compar
ing thesm, were found tp be perfcdiy conformable to
each other, which greatly furprifed perfons of know
ledge and merit, who attefted the truth pf it.
Thre came to fee mc a counfellor of the parlia
ment, a fea-vant of Gdd^, who, findiing on my table a
Method -oJ Prayer, which I had wtoite long before, de
fired me to lend him it. Having read it and liked
it much, he lent it to ibme of his friends, to wliora he
thought it might be of fervice. Every one of them
wanted copies of it. He refolved wkh the good bro
ther to get it printed. The impreffion was begun,
O 2 and

io§ The LIFE of Part IL
and the approbations given to it. They defired me
to write a preface to it. I did fo, and thus was that
little book printed. This counfellor was one of my
intimate friends, and a pattern of piety. The book
has already paffed through five or fix editions ; and
our Lord has given a very great benedidion tO jt.
Thofe good friars 'took fifteen hundred of them. The
Devil became fo enraged againft me on account of the
conquefts which God made by me, that I was affured
he was going to ftir up againft me a violent perfecution.
All that gave mc no trouble. Let him ftir up againft
ine ever lb ftrange perfecutions : I know they will all
ferve to the glory of my God.

C fJ A P. XXII.
A POOR girl of very great fimplicity, whq, earned
her livelihood by her labour, and was inwardly
favoured of>,the Lord, came all forrowful to me,
iand faid, " Oh my raother, what ftrange things have
i feen 1" I afked her what they were. *' Alas, Jaid Jhe,
f' I l^ave feen you Hke a larab in the midft of a vafi
f ' herd of furious wolves. I have feen a frightful
" colledion of people of all robes, of every age, fex
*' and conditioq, priefts, friars, married rnen, -maids
*' and wives, with pikes, halberts and drawn fwords,
" all eager for your inftant dcftrudion. You let them
" alone without - .ftirring, or being furprifed, and
^' without offering any way to defend yourfelf. I
" looked on, all fides to fee whether any one would
*^ come to;affift and defend you ; but I law not one."
Some days after, thofe, who ^through envy were making
.private batteries againft me, broke forth. Libels began
toifpread. Envious people writ againft rae, without
If nowing me". They faid, " I was a forcerefs, that it was
_?« by

Chap. X^H. LADYGUION. 109
" by a magic power that I attraded fouls, that every
" thing in me was diabolical ; that if I did fome
"* charities, it was becaufe I coined, and put off falfe
" money," with many other grofs accufations equally
falfe and groundlefs.
As the tempeft increafed every day, fome of my
friends advifed me to withdraw. But before I men
tion my leaving Grenoble, I muft fay fomething farther
of my ftate while here.
Jesus Christ was communicated to me in all his
ftates. His apoftolic ftate was at that time fet moft
before nie. When I could neither write nor com
municate any other way I was all languifhing. I ex
perienced what our Lord faid to his difeiples, " With
" defire I have defired to eat this paffover with you."
Luke xxii. 15. It was thc communication of himfelf
by that fupper, and by bis paffion, when he faid, " It
" is finifhed." John xix. 30. uind bowing his head
he gave up theghoft, or his own holy fpirit, returning
it back as well as his kingdom' to his Father; as if he
had then faid, "My Father, my kingdom is that I
" reign by thee, and thou by me, over men ; which
" can only be 4orie by the fheddirig abroad of my
" fpiritiupon them : Let then my fpirit be coramu-
" nicated to them by my death." In this is . the
finifhing and confummation of all things. Often thc
plenitude of this fpirit took from me the liberty of
writing. I had nothing for myfelf; all was for others ;
and yet I wanted nothing. I was like thofe nurfes
who are full of milk, though they are not fed the
more for it.
Before I began to write in the Book of Kings on
what regards David, I felt fo clofe an union wich
that holy patriarch, that I communicated -with hira,
as if he had been prefent. I comprehended the
greatnefs of his grace, the condud of God over him, and

no The L I F E of Part IL
all the circuriiftances of the ftates through which he
had paffed; that he was a lively figiiire , of Jesus
Christ, and a chofen paftor for ^a^/. It feemed to
me that all our Lord made, and would make, me do
for fouls, would be in'union with David, my dear
King, and with thofe for whom there was given mc
at the fame time an union like that which I had with
him, but ftill moft of all with Jesus Christ, fprung
from the feed of David. . In this divine union my
words had wonderful effed, even the formation of
Jesus Christ in the fouls of others. I was in no
wife miftrefs of faying the things , I .did. He who
conduded me made me fay what he pleafed, and as
long as he pfeafed. To, fome he let, me not fay a
word ; and to others there flowed forth as it were a
deluge of grace, and yet, this pure love admitted not
cf any fuperfluity, or matter of empty amufement.
When queftions vvere afked, to which an anfwer were
ufelefs, it was not given me. It was the fame cafe
in regard to fuch as our Lord was pleafed to condu6t
through death to themfelves, and who came to feek ,
for human confolation. I had nothing for them but
what was purely neceffary, and could, proceed, no far*-
ther. I could at leaft only fpeak of indifferent things,
in fuch liberty as God allows, in order to fuit every
one, and not be unfociable or difagreeable to one's
neighbour ; but for his own word, he himfelf is the
difpenfer of it. Oh if preachers were duly care
ful to fpeak onlyjn that fpirit, what fruits would they
bring forth in the lives of their hearers ! With my
true children I could not communicate but in filence,
in the fpiritual language of the divine word. I had
the confolation fome time before to hear one read
in St. Augustine a coriverfation he had with his
mother. He complains of thc neceffity of returning
from that heavenly language to words,- by reafon'w
our wcaknefs. I fometimes faid, "Oh my love,
" give me hearts large enough to receive and contain
" the fulnefs beft:owed on mc." I had wonderful
intelligences

Chap. XXIL LI^Jt)Y GUION. m
intelligences opened to me, of the communication at
the fupper betwixt Jesus Christ and Sc. John, and
continued betwixt St. John and the mother of our
Lord ; how the holy child communicated himfelf to
the Eaftern fages, and to the fhepherds, conveying to
them the knowledge of his divinity.
After this manner when the Holy Virgin ap
proached Elizabeth, a wonderful commerce was
maintained betwixt Jesus Christ and John the Bap-
tift, who after this naanifefted no eagernefs to come to
fee Cmrist, but was drawn to retire into the defart, to
receive the like communications with the greateft
plenitude. When he came forth to preach repenr
tance, he faid, not tbat he was the Word, but only
a Voice which was fent to make way» or open a
paffage. in the hearts of the people for Christ thc
Word. He baptifed only with water, fOr that was
his fundion ;. for as the water in running off leaves
nothing, fo does the Voice when 'tis paft. But the
Word baiptifed with tbe Hdy Ghoft, becaufe he im
printed himfelf on fouls, and coramuniGaited with
them by that Ho^ Spirit. It is nqt obferved that
Jesus Christ faid any thing dtiring the obfcure part
of his life, though ic is true that not any of his wordis
fballbe loft. Oh Loue, if all thou haft faid and ope
rated in filence were to be written, I think the whole
worid could not contain tie biooks that Jbould.be written.
John xxi. 25-
All that I experienced was fhewn me in the Holy
Scripture ; and I faw with admiration that there paffed
nothing within my foul which was not in Jesus Christ
and in the Holy Scripture. I muft pafs over very many
things in filence, becaufe they cannot be expreffed ;
and if they were expreffed could not be underftood
or comprehended.
Lqften felt much for Father la Combe, who was
not yet fixed in his ftate of interior death, but often rofe

112 '.''¦ The L I F^;P of Part IL
rofe and fell into alternatives. I was made fenfible
that he was a veffel of eledion, whom God had chofen
to carry his name aniong the Gentiles, and that he would
fhew him how much he muft fuffer for that name,
Oh God, who can ever be able to comprehend the
pure and holy union which thou formeft betwixt thy
children.'' A carnal world judges carnally' of thera, and
imputes to a huraan attachraent what is frora thc pureft
grace. If this union by any deviation be broken, the
more pure and perfed it is, the more painfully will it be
felt, the feparation of the foul from' God by fin being
worfe than that from the body by death. For myfelf I
may fay I had a continual dependence on God; in every
ftate ; my foul was ever willing to obey every motion
of his fpirit. I thought there could not be any thing
in thc world which he fhould require from me, to
which I would not give myfelf up readily- and with
pleafure. I had no intereft at all for myfelf. When
God requires any thing from this wretched nothing,
I find no refiftance left in me to his will, hpw rigo
rous foever it may appear. Oh my Love, if there is
a heart in the world of which thou art the fole and
abfolute mafter, mine feems to be one of that forfe
Thy will, however rigorous, is its life and its pleafure ;
for it no more fubfifts but in thee alone. I have
wandered ; which is ufual with me, occafioned by
interruptions, as well as by two grievous indifpofitions,
which 1 have had fince I began to write, as alfo by
refigriing my felf to thc matter which carries my
mind forward.

CHAP.

Chap. XXIIL LADY GUION. 113

CHAP. XXIJfl.
TO refume the thread of my ftory, the Bifliop
of Grenoble's Almoner perfuaded me to go for
fome time to Marjeilles, to let the ftorm pafs over;
lelhrtg me that I ftiould.be well received there, it
being his native foil, and many people of raerit there.
J writ to Father la CojwtpE for his confent hereto.
He readily gave it. I might have gone to Verceil; for
the Bifhop of Verceil had writ' mc very obliging letters,
earneftly prefling me to come thither : But a human
refped, and fear of affording a handle to my , enemies,
gave me an extreme averfion thereto. When I make
ufe of the' term enemies, 1 muft explain myfelf. It is
not that I account any mortal tO be in reality my ene
my ; viewing thofe, whom God raakes ufe of, nb other-
wife than as inftruments of his juftice.
Beside thc above, thc Marchionefs of Prunai, who,
fince my departure from , he.r, had been mpre en
lightened by her pwn experience, haying, raet with a
part of the things which I thought wpuld befall her,
had conceived for me a very ftrong fricndfliip and in
timate union bf fpirit, in fuch a manne.r that.no two
fifters could be more united than we were,. She was
'extremely defirous that I would return tjp-her, as 1
had formerly promifed her, ^utl coulc| npt. refolve
upon this, for fear left? it ^puldj be thought that J
was gone after Father la Gombe. But, oh my Goi?,
how was' this relick of JelJ-hve overturned by the
fecVet ways of thy adorable. Providence ! I had y^t
that exterior fupport of h^vjng it,in my power to fay,
that I had never gone aftgr hiiri. ¦ There ha,d been np
room given to any body tO aecufe me of any indecent
-attachment to him ; for when, it depended on myfelf
¦''Vol. 11; ' P' "" ndt

114 The LIFE of Part IL
not to continue with him, I did not do it. The Bi-
jjiop of Geneva had not failed to write againft rae to
Qrenoble, as he had done to other places. His nephew
had gone from hpufe to houfe to cry me down. All
this was indifferent to me ; and I did not ceafe to dq
to his diocefe all the good, in my power. 1 even writ
to him in a refpcdfiil manner; but his heart was too
much clofed tp yield to fuch things. ,
Before I went off from Grenoble, that gbod girl I
have fpoken of c^me to rae weeping, and told me,
" I was going, and that I hid it from her, becaufe I
" would have nobody know it; but that the devil
" would be before rae in all the places I fhould go
*' tO; that I was gping to a town, where I fhould
'* fcarce be arrived, but he would ftir up that whole
" town againft. rae ; and would do me all the harm
*' he polfibly could.',' What had obliged me to con
ceal my departure, was my fear of being loaded
with vifits, and teftimonies of , friendfhip, from a
number of good perfons, who had a very gre^t af
fedion for me.
I embarked then upon the Rhone, with my cham
bermaid and a ypung woman of Grenoble, whom thc
Lord had highly favoured through my means. The
Bifhop of Grenoble's Almoner alfo accompanied mc,
with another very worthy Ecclefiaftic. There befell
us many adventures, arid we had like to have pe-
riihed ; for on a fudden, in a very dangerous place;
the cable broke, the boat ran with force and ftruck
againft a rock. The mafter-pilot with the ftrbke fell
backward, and would have been drowned, had not
the gentlemen faved hirn. There was another acci
dent which befell rae, which was, th^t havirig gone
down with all our company, on the Rhone, in a little
boat rowed by a fmall boy; hoping to overtake the
large' boiat, but not' being able tb do it,-, after haying
gone above three miles down, the reft went afhpre; the

Chap. XXIII. LADY GUION. 115
the boat was obliged to return againft thc ftream up .
to Valence. As I was unable to walk, I ftayed in the
boat, at thc mercy of the waves, which carried us
wildly without refiftance ; ' for the child who rowed
the boat, and was unequal to the tafk, fell a v.eeping,
and crying out continually that we were going to be
drowned. 1 encouraged him. After havirig difputed
above four hours againft the waves, while thofe who
were on the fhore 'thought mc one time loft, another
tirae faved, we at laft arrived at Valence.
Such manifeft dangers, which affrighted the others,
far from alarming me, augmented my peace. This
aftonifhed the Bifhop of Grenoble's Almoner not a little,
as he'was in a defperate fright, when the boat ftruck
againft the rock, and opened at the ftroke; for in
his emotion looking attentively at me, he remarked
that I did not change my countenance, or move my
eyebrows, retaining all my tranquility. I did not fo
much as feel the firft moveraents of furprife, which
are natural to every body on thefe oceafions, and
which depend not on ourfelves. What caufed my
peace in fuch dangers as terrify others at once, was
my refignation to God, and becaufe death is much
more agreeable to me than life, if fuch were his
will, to which I defire to be ever patiently fub-
miffive. As I was going off from Grenoble, a man of qua
lity, a great fervant of Gob, and one of my intimate
friends, had given me a letter for a knight of Malta,
who was very devout, and whom I have efteemed
fince I have known him, as a man whom our LpRD
defigned to ferve the order of Malta greatly, and to
be its ornament and fupport by his holy life, I had
told him that I thought he fliould go thither, and that
God would affuredly make ufe of him to diffufe a fpirit
of piety into mariy of the kriights. He is adually
gone to MalPa, where the firft places were foon given
Pi him.

ii6 The LI.FE of Part II.
him. This man of quality fent him the little book of
prayer written by me, and printed at Grenoble. He
had a chaplain very averfe to the fpiritual path. He
took this book, and condemned it at once, went to
ftir up a part of the town, and amongft the reft a
fef of men who call themfelves the feventy-two dif
eiples of St, Cyran*. I arrived at Marjeilles at ten
o'clock in the morning, and that very afternoon all
•was in a noife againft me. Sorae went to fpeak to
the Bifhop, telling him that, on account of that little
book, it was neceffary to banifh mc from that city.
They .gave him the book, which he examined with
one of his prebends. He liked it well. He fent for
Mpnfieur Malaval arid a father Recoiled,', who he
knew had come to fee me a little after my arrival,
to enquire of thera frpm whence that great tumult
had its rife ; which . irideed had no other effed on me
than to make me fraile, feeing fo foon accomplifhed
what that youiig woman had foretbld me, Monflcur
Malaval and that good Religious told the Bifliop
what they thought of mc'; after which he teftified
much uneafinefs at the infult given me. I was obliged
to go to fee him. He received me with extraordJ*
nary refped, arid begged my excufe for what had hap
pened, defired me to ftay at Marjeilles, and affured me
that he would proted me. He even aflced wherb I
Ipdgetl, that /he raight cpmc tP fee me.
Next day the Bifhop of Grenoble's Almoner went
to fee him, with that other Prieft' who had come
with us. The Bifliop of Marjeilles again teftified to
|hera his forrow for the infults given rhe without any
^aute ; and told them, that it was ufual with thofe
perfons to infult all fuch as were not of their cabal';
that they had even, inftflted hin^felf;^ They were not
content with that. They writ me the moft offenfive
* Chief of the Jmjemfts in Frcmce,

Chap. XXIIL LADY G U ION. 117
letters poffible, though at the fame time they did not
know mc. I apprehended that our Lord was begin
ning in earneft to take from me every place of abode;
and thofe words were renewed in my mind, " The
" foxes have holes, the birds of the air have nefts,
" but the fon of man hath not where to lay his
" head."
Tn the fhort time of my ftay at Marjeilles, I was
inftrumental to fupport fome good fouls, and amongft
others an Ecclefiaftic, who till then was unacquainted
with me. . After having finiflied his thankfgiving in
the church, feeing me go out, he followed me into
the houfe in which I lodged : Then he told me, " the
" Lord had infpired him to addrefs mc, and to open
" his inward condition to me," He did it with as
much fimplicity as humility, and the Lord gave him
through me all that was neceffary for him, from
whence he was filled with joy, and thankful acknow
ledgments to God : For though there were many fpi
ritual perfbriSf there, and even of his intimate friends,
he never had been moved to Open himfelf to any of
them. He was a fervant of God, favoured by him
with a fingular gift of prayer. During the eight
days I was -at Marjeilles, I faw many good fouls there ;
for, through all my perfecutions, our Lord always
ftruck fome good ftroke of his. own right hand ; and
that good Ecclefiaftie was delivered from an anxiety
of mind, which had much afflided him for fome years
paft. AfTfeK I Jiad left GrenobU, thofe who hated me,
>«rithout knowing me, fpread libels againft me. A
wtifttan fo* whom I had a great love, znd whoth I
had even extricated from an engagement which fhe had
continued in for feveral years, and contributed to her
difcarding the perfon to whom fhe had been attached,
ftiffering her mind to refume its fondnefs for that
pernicious engagement, became fo- violently enraged againft

ii8 The LIFE OF Part IL
againft me for having broke it off; though I had
freely been at fome expence to procure her freedom
from it, that fhe went to the Bifhop of Grenoble,^: to
.tell him that I had counfelled her to do an ad of in-
juftice. She then went from confeffor to confeffor to
repeat the fame ftory, to animate /them againft me.
As they were too fnfceptible of the prejudices in
fufed, the fire was foon kindled in all quarters. There
were none but -thofe who knew me, and who loved
God, thaf took my part. They became raore clofely
united to rae in fyrapathy through ray perfecution. It
had beferi very eafy for me to deftroy the calumny, as
well v/ith the Bifhop of Grenoble as in the town. I
had only to tell who the perfon was, and to fhe^ the
fruits of her diforder: but as I coUld not declare. the
guilty perfon, without making known at thc fame
time the other who had been her accomplice, who.
novv, being touched of God, was very penitent, I
thought it beft for me to fuffer and be lilent. There
was a very pious man who knew all her hiftory, froni
the beginning to the end of it, who writ to her,, that
if fhe did not retrad her lies, he wo.uld publifh, the
account of her wicked life, to make known both her
grofs iniquity and my innocence. ' She continued fome
time in 'her malice, writing that I was a forcerefs,
with many other falflioods. Neverthelefs, fometime
after, fhe had fuch a cruel remorfe of confeicncg on
this account, that fhe writ both to the Bilhop and
others to retrad what flie had faid. She got one to
write to me, to inform me that fhe was in defpair for
what fhe had done ; that God had puniflied her in
fuch a manner, that flie had never felt any thing like
it. After thefe recantations, the outcry abated, the
Bifhop was difabufed, and fince that time he has tefti
fied a great regard for me. This creature had, among
other things, faid that I made rayfelf be worlliipped ;
and other unparalellcd fooleries. As fhe had, for
merly, been befide herfelf, I think in what fhe did. to
me there was more of weaknefs than of malice. .
From.

.(pHAP. XXIIL LADY GUION. 119
From Marjeilles 1 knew not how or whither I fliould
turn next. I faw no likelihood either of flaying o""
returning to Grenoble, where I had left my daughter
in a convent. On the other fide F. la Combe had
writ to me that he did not think I ought to go to
Paris. I 'even felt a ftrong reludance to the view of
going thither, which made me think it was not yet
the time for it. One raorning I felt myfelf inwardly
prefled to go off; I took a litter to go to fee the
Marchionefs of Prunai, which was, I thought, the rfioft
honourable refuge for me in my prefent condition. I
imagiried I might, have paffed through Nice to her
habitation, as fome had affured me 1 might. But
when I airrived at Nice, I was greatly furprifed to
learn that the litter could not pafs ' thc mountain to
go thither. I knew not what to do, nor which way to
turn, being here alone, forfaken of every body, and
not knowing what God required of me. My con
fufion and my croffes feemed daily to incrcafe. I faw
myfelf, without refuge or retreat, wandering as a vaga
bond. All the tradefmen, whorn I faw in their fhops,
, appeared to me happy, in having a dwelling place
of their own to retire to. Nothing in the world feem
ed h'Srder than this wandering life for one like rae,
who naturally loved honour. As I was in this uncer
tainty, not knowing what courfe to take, one came to
tell mc that next day a fhallop would fet off, which
ufed to go in one day to Genoa ; and that ifi chofe ir,
they would land me at Savona, from whence I raight get
myfelf carried to the Marchionefs of PrunaPs houfe.
To that I cbnfented, as I could not be fupplied with
any other way of getting thither.
I had fome joy at embarking on the fea. I faid
in myfelf, " If I am the excrement of the earth, the
" fcorn arid off-fcouring of rkture, I am now going
*' to erribark ori the element which , above all others
" is thc moft treacherous ; if it be the Lord's plea-
f fure to plunge me in the waves, mine fhall it be
" to

3 20

The LIFE o:f Part II.

" to perifh in them." There came a tempeft in a place
pretty dangerous for a fmall boat ; and the mariners
were fome of the wickedeft. The irritarion of the
waves gave afatisfadipn to my ^lind. I pleafed myfelf
in thinking that thofe mutinpus, billows might pro
bably fupply me with a grave. I perhaps carried the
point too far in the pleafure I took, at feeing myfelf
beaten and bandied ,by the fwelling waters. Thofe
who were v/ith me took notice pf my intrepidity, but
knew not the caufe pf it. I afked of thee, my Love,
fome little hole of a rock to be placed in, there to live
feparate from all creatures. I figured to myfelf, that
j fome uninhabited ifland wovild have terminated all my
¦ difgraces, and put me in a condition of infalhbly doing
thy will. Bur, oh my divine Love, thou defigned me
a prifon different from that of the rock, and a banifli-
ment different from that of tbe uninhabited ifland.
Thou referved me to be battered by waves more irrif
tated tha,n thofe of the fea. Calumnies proved the
outrageous unrelenting waves, to which I was to be
expofed, in order to be lafhed and toffed by them
.without mercy. By the tempeft fwflling againft us we
were k,ept back, , and mftead of -one little day's paffage
to Genoa, we were eleven days, in making - it. How
peaceable ¦was my heart in lb violent &n agitation,!
The fwelling ofthe fea and the fury of its waves were,
a§' I thought, only a figurC; of that fwelling- fury
which all the creatures had againft me. I faid tP thee,
oh my Love, "Arm them all toavenge thyfelf on- n)f
^' for ray infidcHues, and for thofe of all the creatures,"
1 faw thy right hand armed againft me ; and I loived
more than my life the ftrokes it gavp me. We couW
not land at Savona. We were obliged to go on to
Genoa. Wc arrived, there in -the beginning of '.the
week before Eafter. : ¦• ;
i, ..¦,.¦,
While I was there I was obliged to bear the; in
fults of the inhabitants, caufed by the refentment :?hey
h^d againft the French, for the hayockof a l.ate;bpn»'-
bardment.

^HAP. XXIIL LA D,Y, GU I ON. 121
bardment. The Doge was newly gpne out of the
city," and had carried , off with him all the litters.
Whercfbr^ I could not get one. I was obliged toftay
feveral days at exceffivei expences ; for the people there
demanded of us exorbitant furtis, ahd as raUch for
every fingle perfon as they would haVe' afked for a
company at thebeft eating hoUfe iri Pam. I had but
little money left. My only reliance was ori Provi
dence. I begged, with the greateft eameftnefs, for a
litter (whatever it coft rne) to goT to pafs the feaft of
Eafter at the Marchionefs bf Prufiai's holife. It was
then within three days qf Eafter ; arid Icould fcarce
any way get myfelf to be underftood^ By the force of
beggirig' they brought mc a forry litter with lame mules ;
and tbld tne they woiild (but withal demanded an
enormous ftim for it, lio lefs than teri Louis d'orsj
take mc well to Ver'ceH', v/hich from this -place was
only two days journey; but not to the Marchionefs of
Prunai' s houfe, as they knew not where her eftate lay.'
This was 'tO me a ftrong mortifiiiation ; for I was
very unwillirtg to ^o to Verceil;; neverthelefs the prox-
imfity of Eafter, and -want of moriey, in a country
where they ufed every 'kind of extortion and tyranny,
left me no choice. I was tinder an abfolute neceflity
of fubmittiiig to be thus conveyed to F'trr^f/l , '
Thus' Providence led me 'whither I 'wo^ld not. Our
muleteer was one of the moft brutal rnen to be met
'With ; and for a farther inci-cafe of my afflidiqn, I had
fent away to Verceil the Ecclefiaftic who accdrapanied
us, to prevent their- furpri!zc at feeing me there, after
I had 'pirdtefted againft going thither. ¦ That Ecclefi
aftic was very eo^rfely treated bn the road, through
the hatred they bore tb Vhe French -and they made
him go ' part of the " way 'pn. foot, fo- 'that, ' though he
fet off'the.day befofe' me -'he arrived theVe' only a few-
hours fOoner 'than I^'did.' And as fbr the fellow who
conduded-us, feeing he Bad only women under his care,
he impofed all poffxbleinftilts' on us. . ' ,

^122 The life of Tart'II.
'V^'e paffed through a woqd infefted with robbers.
The muleteer was afraid, and told us, " that, if We
." met ariy_ of them on the road, we fhould be mur-
" dered ; for they Tpared nobody.'' Scarce had he
,uttered thefe words, when, there appeared four men
"well armed. They imrhediately ftopped the irtter.
The muleteer was excefllyely frighted. They'.came
up to us, and looked at us. . L made a light bow of
"''^the head,, with, a fn^le ; for f had no fear, and was fo
entirely refigned to providence, th3,t it was all one to
Ime to die this ¦way or any other ; in the fea, or bythe
hand of robbers. But oh my Gop, how wonderful
at this, as gt many other tithes, 'was thy protedion
over rne ! 'How many perils hav^I undergorie upon
mountains, and on the very edges of high precipices. !
"How often haft thou ftopped the foot of the , muje
already bending oyer the , precipice ! How often l^aye
J been like to be .thrown headlong from thofe fright-
fullicights, intb hideous torrents which, though roHing
' furbelow bur fight, forced us to hear', them by their
hprrible noife ! When the dangers Werp moft raariiK|l,
then was my faith the ftrongeft,f,a.^'well a?, my intre
pidity, beiqg unable tq wifli for any thing elfe than
" what fhould fal^ out, whether to be dafhed againfttlie
rocks, drowned, or killed any other way ; every thing
, in, the will qf God being equal to me;. The." peopk
'who ufed to .convey or atten4 me faid, " they ijad
' " never , feen a courage like mine ;" fpr the > moft
alarming dangers, and the ttnnes when death, appeaj]eo
the riioft certain, were thofe which feemed to^pleafe,
mc the rqoft. \ 'WaSj it npt thy pleafure, ph ray, God,
which guarded me in eyery tmmjnent danger, and, held
rne back from rolling _doj»p the precipice, when
. already juft hanging qyefjjts -brqw'.?: The mpre.eafy
I was aboijt myjife* which I bqre. only, becaufe thou
waft pleafed to bc^r it, tljq; mo^-c care jhoja took -to
preferve it. There feemed a rnutual emulation betwixt
us, on my part JO refign itj^. ancf qn thine tp m,aint4in
it. . The robbers then ^vanced to the litter i but,^ had no

Chap. XXIIL LADY GyipN. 123
no fppner faluted them, than Gop made them chano-c
their defign. Having puflied off one another, as it ,
were tp hinder each of them, frorri doing any harm ;.;
they refpcdfully faluted mc, and, with an air of com-
pafilon, unufual to fuch forts of perfons, retired. I
was immediately ftruck to the heart, oh my Love, ,
with a full and clear convidion that it was a ftroke of
thy right hand, who, had other defigns over me than
to fuffer me tp die by the hand of'robibers. It is thy,
fovereigri povver which takes away their all from' thy
deyptpd'lpvers ; and deftroys their lives with all, that is
qfy^.//" withput pity or fparing any thing.
The muleteer, feeing rne attended only with t\vp
young women, thokight he might'ufe ine as he -wpuld,.
perhaps ex;peding to draw raoney out of riic, Inftead
bf taking rne to the inn,' he brought, me to a mill, in
which there was not one v^qman. "There was but one
fjngle chamber with feveral beds, in if, in which the
qiillers^ijfl muleteers lay together. • In th^t chamber
they want9d tp force me to flay. I tpld the. muleteer
I was npt a. perfon tp lie in fuph a place as he. "had
brought me tpij and wanted to obligeiiiip to take me'tq
th|?inri; bijt riothingof ifwouldheqp,' lwas conftrain
ed to go out on foot, at 'ten o'clock at .n^ght^ carrying a
part of my clothes,-^ and to go a gpp(^ \y3y iripr^ than a,
quarter of a league of that country, wfiere the leagues
are ,very longi, iri the dark, in a ftfange place, not^ know
ing the way, crofling one en^ of that wopd infefted
with rpbbcrs, to erideavbur to get to thc irin. ' That
fellow, feeing us ,go off from the p)ace where h? had
•wa^fited to m^ke me lodge, with a bad defign, hooted
after us in a very abu five manri,er. rbpre my humilia
tion c%arfulj,y, pot withput . feeling it,' Bu.t the will
of Go.bah.4 my refignation to it rendered eyery thing
jeafyto rae.- We were very well received at the inn :
^ndtl](^ S?^qd pepple there di4 the beft in their power
fqii.pur re.qby^ry frora the 'fatigu^ ' vye had'under^pne.
They affured us tlie place '«rte'^ad left v/as 'very dan-

154 The LIFE OF Part II,
gerous. !Next morning we were obliged to retiirri
on fopt to the litter, for that ' man would not bring us
it. On the contrary, he fell on U3 with a Ihower of
frefh infults. And to confumraate his bafe behayiour,
he fold rae to the poft, whereby I ,was forced tp go
the reft ofthe way in a. ppfl-chajfe. inflead of a litter,
In this equipage I arrived at. Alexandria, a frontier^
town, fubjed to Spain, on the fide of the %£lanefe,l ¦
Our driver .took us,, according to their cuftom, tO;the
poft-houfe. I w^as exceedingly aftonifhed when I .faw
the landlady coming out, not to receive him, biit to
oppofe his entrance. She had hea,rd there were wo
men in the chaife, and taking us for a different fort
of women frorii what we were, fhe protefted againft
bur fcoming in. On the other hand, the driver ^as
deterrained to force his entrance in fpite of her,' Their
difpute rofe to liich a height, that a great ^number of
the officers of the garrifori,. with a vaft raob, gathered
at the noife, -who .w'ere furprife4 at the odd hiiriiour.
pf the woraan in refufing to Ibdge us. With whatevet
earneftnefs 1 "intreated the pbft' tp take us to fome
other houfe, he would not; fp obftinately was he bent
on carrying his point. He afTured the landlady we
¦were perfons of honour and piety too, the mark§
whereof he had feen. At laft, by force of prcffingj
* jnftances, he obliged her to cprne to fee us. , As foon
as fhe had looked at us,';'fhfe 'aded like the robbers;
She relented at price, and' adniitted us.
No fooner had I alighted from the chaife, than, fhe
faid to us, " Go fhut yourfelves up in that charnbet
" hard by, and do not ftir, that my fon may not
" k,rioy/ you arc here ; for as foon as he knows it he
" win kill you," She faid it with'fo-lnUch force,.as
did alfp the fervant riiaid, that, ' if dejjth had not had
fo many charii>s for rae, I fhould have been ready to
die with fear. The twp ppor girls with me v?ere under
frightful apprehcrifibns. "When ahy ftirred!,' or came ^9

Chap. XXIV. LADY G U I O N. 125
to opeii the dp'pr^ they thbught they were coraing
to cut their throats. In fhort, we cbHririued in a
drea,dful fufpcn'ce, between life and death, till next
day, when we learned that that young man had fworn
to kill any woman who fhould lodge at that houfe;
becaufe a few 'days" before, an event had fallen out,
which had like to ha,ve ruined him'; a woman of a
bad life having^ there privately murdeted a man in
fome efteem. "That had coft the houfe a heavy fine :
And he was afraid of any riiOre fuch perfons com
ings and not withou; reafon.

C H A P. XXIV-
AFTER fuch forts of adventures, and others
which it would be toO long to recite, 1 ar
rived at Verceil." I went to the inn Vhere I was very
ill i-eceived. r fent for Father la Combe, who I
thought had beeri already apprifed of my coming thi
ther, by the Ecclefiaftie whom I had. fent before, and
who would have been of fo riiuch fervice to me. This
Ecclefiaftic was only a kittle while arrived; How much
better pn .the foad fhbuld I have fared, if I had' had
him with me! '' For in-lh^t: country they look upon
ladies, accompanied with Ecclefiafticks, with veriera-
tion, ks perfons of honour 'and piety. 'Father la
Combe came in 'a ftrange fret at my arrival, God fo
permitting it:' ^'He cbuld hot hide it from me. He
faid that every one would think I was come after
him, and that wbuld injure his reputation, which I
fbund'.tn'that'cquntry' was: Very high. .1 had had
no lefs 'pain to go thither. It- wa& -neceflity only
which h'ad "bbiiged me'tb fubriilt t<5'fuch a difagree
able ' taflc: The TatRgr"rdceived ''me with 'coldnefsi
and in fuch a inanner as -let mc' fufliciently fee his
¦'¦•¦ fenti-

126 ^t«E L I F .E Olf Part IL
»
fentiments, and indeed redpublfd my pain. I afked,
hira if he required me to return,, adding " that, * if
" he did, I would go off that mpment,, howeyer op-
"^ preffed and fpent, both with, fatigues and faftings."
He replied, " he did not know, how, the Bifhop- of
" J^ereeil vtouid take ray arrival,,, after, be had given:
" over all his. expedatipns of it, after l.had fo long,
"and fo obftinately, refufedr'tlie obliging offers he
" had made me ; fince which he- no iPnger exprefled
" any defire, of feeing me."
It feemed to me then as if I were rejeded from
the face of the earth, without being able to find any '
refuge' in it, and as- if all creatures^ .were CQXnbiofq
to crufh me. I paffed that night without fleep, npt
knowing what eour-fe I fhould be obliged to take,
being perfecuted of my enemies,- and a fubjed of dif^
grace to ray friends. ~ ,
When it was knpwn at the inn, that I was one pf
Father fcA Combb^s. acquaintance, they treated me
with' the greateft refped apd, fcindnefs;;. for they
efteemed him as ^ faint. The Father knew ijfft how
to tell the Bifhop rof my arrival, and I felt his p^in
more than my .own. As foon as. that Prelate . knew
that I was arrived, he fent his niece who tppk me in
her coach, and carried me to her hpyfe,; , but thing?
were only done out of ceremony ; ajnd the Bilhop, not
having feen me yet, knew not what to think , ,pf: a
journey fo very- unexpeded, -after I had thrice refujfeda
though he had fent expreffes qn pijrpofe -to, defire
me to eome to. him. He was. out 'Of humour with
me. Neverthelefs, as he was infpnnjed, that ,my de
fign was not to fl^y at Verceil, but to go to the Mar-
chibnefs of Fr.U'itai's: houfe, h^, gave orders for-JRe to .
be wdl treated. He could riot fee .me till Easter
SundaV was over,, for flic o^ciated allt^ejcye ap,^ 4|l
that day. - After it 'was allpyer, he c^npe in- a cj^jfe.
tP his niece's hpufe to 'fee nie; and thqugh be ,',^M-
derftbod

Cnivp. XXIV. L A'D Y GUION. -127
derftood French' h'ardly ,ariy 'better, than I ditl Italian,
?he was very wbll fatisfied with' th« 'cpnveriation he
'had with' me. He appeared to have as much favour
'fbr"mc as'he'had h-ddof indifference before. The-fe-
cond vifit gained him' erid rely 1 , ,^
"He crOricei^cd' as-'ftrong a'friendfhip for. me as ifi
h'ad been his fifter : "Arid his only pleafure, amidft
Jiis' continual occupations, was. to come; and pafs half
ari hour with ifie in 'fpeaking of God. .He writ to the
Bifhop bf Marjeilles to tharik him 'for ' havirig pro-
teded 'me in the pferffecution there. 'Pie writ alfo to
the Bifhop- of Grenoble ; and''there was' nbthitig which
he omitted,' to manifeft:his,iffedionate regard for me.
He now feemed to think of" nothing elfe but finding
"Out'the'riieans. of diftaining" me in his diocefe, , tje
"'woUld hot hear ibf .my>goir}g" to fee" the Marchionefs
of Prunai. Ori the" Contrary, : he* wrir:to her to come
"to be' v/ith^'me'in his diocefe. 'He fent Father la
Combe tb her, ~ on' putpofe ' to exhort her.,'tOicam^ ;
affuring her that he would unite ;us alt to; make a coa-
^ gregation. The 'Mkrchioncfs entered into it readily,
and. fo-'' did her daughter too. They hid cqme with
Farther; LA' CofiiBE,' but that the Marchioriefs*w^^' fick.
'The''' Bifhop hired aJarge hoirfe, and /defigned to'^buy
it, in brder" :to fix us init. "He writ alfo to^ a. lady of
his acquairitarite ' at Genoa, al Cardinal's fifl;er, who
teftified a great defire to be united with us; 'arid^the
thing was already looked on as done. There .^ere
-¦Mfo'fbrae'goiidiCyoUngV'ladiesi vcry~dcv;o\^ rWho weje
alf ready to cortie to join Jus: '.'Btit it was not the will
of God" th-us to:'feftablifh'!me, : but to- crucify me
yet mpi-e. ' ¦'
"'The' fatigue of travelling maderae fall" fick. That
^irl '^fo whoni' P had browghi froni' Gtenoble ft\t fick.
'Her'relations, %ho 4re a co«;etPUS fe£~of people, topk
it iri theirheads that, if ' flfefhbiild die in my fervice,
,' J fhould 'get Ker to* make awill in my favour. They were

1.28 The L I F 6 of Part 11.
were much miftaken : , For, far frOm defiring the
property of others, I had given up rriy ov?n. Her
brother, full of this (apprehenfipn, came with all
fpeed ; and thc firft thing he ; fpbke tb her about,-
though he found her recovered, was tb raake a will.
That raade a great noife in Verceil'; fof he warite'd her
to return with him, but fhe refufed. I advifed her to
do what her brother defired. . He contraded a friend
fhip with fome of the officers of the garrifon, to
. whora he told ridiculous ftories, , as that I wanted to
ufe his fifter badly : He pretended fhe was a perfon
of quality, while fhe was only of a low-birth. They
gave out what I was ftill afraid of, viz. That I was
.come' after Father la Comb^.!^ They perfecuted him
, even on my account. -J'he, Bift/pp was much troubled
at it, but could not remedy it. The friendfhip he
had for me increafed every., day; becaufe, as he
loved God, fo he did airthpfe',"whb he thought defired
to love him. As .he faw. me fo much indiippfed, he
came tp fee me with affiduity and charity,, when at
^leifure from his occupations. He rriade me little
prefents of fruits and other things of that naturel His
relations were jealous at it, .faying " I was' come to
*5 .-ruin him,, andto carry off ^his rnpneY ifito France :"
Which ,was a thing the fartheft from; riiy thoughts.
The good Bifhop patiently bore thefe affronts, hopirig
rflill to keep me in his diocefe, .vvhen I, fhould be re-
tcovered. . . , . ; 'fV
FATHER LA Combe was his prebend arid his con-
•ftffor. He efteemed him highly. God made ufe of
him to cpnvert feveraf of- the , pfH.cers apd foldiers,
¦whp, from being men of fcaridalous lives, are be-
eome patterns of piety. In that place 'every' thirig
wasmixt with croffe^ and fouls gained to God. There
were fome of his, Friars who, after his example, were
advancing toward perfedion. Though I neither uff-
decftopd their language nor they mine, the: Lord
'jnade us underftand each other in what concerneid his
fervice

Chap. XXIV. L AD Y GUION. 129
fervice. The Redbr of the Jefuits took his time,
when Father la Combe, was gone out of the town,
to prove me, as he faid. Hehad ft\idied theological
matters, which I did. not underftand, ' He propounded
to me- feveral queftions. The Lord infpired me to
anfwer him in fuch a manner, that he went away both
furprifed and farisficd. He could ,not forbear fpeak
ing of it. " . '-
The Bernabites of Paris, br rather Father de la
Mothe took it in his head, to try to draw Father
LA Combe from hence to go to preach at Paris. He
writ to the father- general •about it, fayirtg, " They
" had no fubjed at Paris to fupport their ,houfe, that
" their church was deferred; tfjat it was a pity to
" leave fuch a man as Father, la Combe; in a ^lace
*• where he only corrupted his language ; ' that it vvas
" neceffary to make his fine talents appear at' A/m,
" where he himfelf could not bear the burthen of the
" houfe, if they did not give him an affiftant of fuch
" qualifications and experience," Who would not
have thought all this to be fincere? The Bifhop of
Verceil, who was very much a friend of the father-ge
neral, having advice hertof, oppofed it; and writ
to him " that it would' be doing him thc greateft injury
" to take from him a man who was exceeding ufcful to
" him, arid at the time that he had the greateft need
" of him." He had reafon for writing thus; for he
had at this time a grand Vicar, whom he had brought
from Rome, who, after having been thc Pope's 'Nuncio
in France, had by his ill condiid reduced himfelf to
live on his maffes, even in Rome, where he was in
fuch great neceflity as to move this Bifliop's compaf
fion, who took him and gave him very good ap
pointments, to ferve hirii as grand Vicar. This
Abbe, far from making due returns to his benefadbr,
giving Way to the perverfenefs pf his temper, was
ever thwarring the Bifliop: And if any Ecclefiaftie
was irregular, or a Malecontent, with fuch the
Vol. II. R Abbe

T30 'IHE Lr I F E OF l^ART 11,
Abbe joined .againft his Bifliop; befide which, he
endeavoured with all his might to hurt him at the
court of Rome, faying, " he was all for France, to
" the prejudice of thc interefts of his Holinefs ; and
•' that, as a proof thereof, he kept feveral French
" people with 'him." He hurt him alfo by his pri
vate intrigues at the coUrt of Savoy, in fuch fort that
the good Bifhop had very heavy croffes from that
mam As he could bear him no longer, he difcharged
hira, but with rauch generofity, giving him all diat
was neceffary to recoridud him. On this account the
Abbe was extremely enraged againft Father la Comb,e,,.
a French gentleman arid me.
TriE father-general of the Bernabites would not
agree to thc requeft of Father de l-a Mothe, for
fear of offending the Bifhop of Verceil, in removing
from him a man who was fo very neceffary to him in
the prefent pofture of aftairs. As to mc, my indifpov
fition incteafed. The air, which there is extremely
bad, caufed me a continual cough, with frequent re
turns of a fever, accprnpanied with fluxions in the
breaft, which obliged rae to have much blood taken
from rae. I grew fo much worfe that it was thought
I could not get over it. The Bifhop was much af-
flided to fee it ; but, having confulted the phy^
ficians, they affured him that the air of the place- was
mortal to me; whereupon he faid tq me with many
tears, " I had rather have you live, though diftant
"from me, than fee you die here." He gave up his
defign of eftablifhing his congregation, for ray friend
would not fettle there without me ; and the Genoefe
lady could not eafily leave her own city, where, fhe
was refpeded. The Genoefe befought her to fet up
there what the Bifliop of Verceil had wanted her to fet
up near, him. It was a congregation almoft like that
of Madam dc Miramion". When the Bifhop had
firft propofed this affair, however agreeable it ap
peared', I had a prefenriment that it would not fuc--
ceed.

Chap. XXIV. LAD Y GUION. 131'
ceed, and that it was not what our Lord required of me,
though I fubraiffively yielded to the good propofal,
were it Only to acknowledge the many fpecial favours
of this prelate, being affured that thc LoRDwould know
•weW how to prevent what he. fliould not require of '
me. As this gppd Prelate faw he muft refign himfelf
to let me go, he faid to me, '^ You were willing to
" be in thc diocefe pf Geneva, and, there they,-perfe-
" Cuted and rejeded you; and I, who would fo
" gladly' have you, cannot kqcp you." He writ to
F'ather la MptHe " that I fhould go in the fpring,
" as foon as the feafon would permit ; ; that he was
*' ejfceeding forry to be obliged to let me. go;, that he
" had looked upon mc in his diocefe as an Angel,"
with other things, enough to have thrown me into
confufion, if 1 could have attributed any thing to
myfelf. Yet he ftill hoped to-have kept Father la
Combe : And fb it probably might have been, had
not the death of the father-general given it another
turn, as I fhall tell farther on. i
Here it was that I writ upon the Apocalypse,
and that there was given me a greater certainty of all
the perfecutions of the moft faithful fervants of God,
according to what I writ thereof, in refped to future
times. Here alfo I was ftrongly moved to write to
Madam de Ch  . I did it with great fimplicity ;
and what I writ was like the firft foundation of what
the Lord required bf her, having been pleafed to
make ufe of me to help to bring her into his w^ays,
being one to vvhom I am much united, and by her
to others.

R 2 CHAP;

13?

The' L r F'E of Part 11.

CHA P.; XXV.

I

THE Bifhop of Verceil's friend, the father general
of the Bernabites, departed this life. As foon
as he was dead. Father La Mothe writ to the vicar
general, who now -held, his place till another fhould
be eleded, renewing his- requeft to have Father la
Combe as an affiftant. That father, hearirigrthat I was
obliged on account of ray indifpofitions to return into
France, fent an order to; Father la Combe to return
to Paris, and to accompany me in my journey thither,
as hi^ doing that'would exempt their houfe atParis,
already poor, from the experices of fo long a journey.
On the receipt hereof Father la Comb,e, sftho did
not penetrate the poifon^under, this fair biitfidc, con-
fented : thereto ; knowing it was , my cuftom to. take
dome Ecclefiaftic with me in travelling. 'Father la
Combe went off twelve d^ys before me, in order to
tranfad fome bufinefs, and IP wait for rae at thc, paf
fage over the mountains, as the place whcrc I had
moft need of an efcort. :I fetjoffin Lent; the Wea
ther then being very fine. It was ^ a forrowful parting
to thc Prejate. I pitied him ; he was fo: niuch affeded
both afclofing Father la Combe and riie. ; He caufed
me to,, ./be attended,- at hi? own expence, as far as
Turin, giving me a gentlemari and one of his Eccle
fiafticks to accorapaniy me, ,• :• .
As fopnas the' refolution was taken, that Father la
Comj&e; fhould- accompany rae. Father la Mothe
reported every where " that he had been pbliged to
" do it, tb make me return into France." He expa
tiated on the: attachment I had for Father la Combe, ,
pretending to pity me for it. Upon this every one
faid, " that I ought to put rayfeff under the dircdioh
?'- of ^Father la Mothe." ^^In the mean rime he de
ceitfully palliated the malignity of his heart, writing ,
to Father la Combe letters full of efteem, ahd to me of

Chap. xxv. LADYGUION. 133
of tendernefs ; " defiring him to bring his dear fifter,
" and to ferve her in her infirmities, and in che hard-
" fhips of fo long a journey; that he fhould be fcn-
" fibly obliged to him for his care," with raany other
things of thc like nature.
I COULD not refolve to depart without going to fee
my good friend, -the Marchionefs of Prunai, notwith
ftanding the difficulty of the roads, I caufed myfelf
to be carried thither,- it . being fcarce poffible to go
otherwife on account of the mountains.' She was feiz
ed with an extreme joy at feeing me arrive. Nothing
could be more cordial than what paffed between us
with abundance, of mutual opennefs. .It was then
that fhe acknovvledgcd' that all 1 had told her had
come to pafs ; and a good Ecclefiaftic, who lives with
her, told me the fame. We made ointraents together,
and I gave her the fecret of my remedies. I encou
raged her, and fo did Father la Combe, to eftabiifli
a hofpital in that place; which was done while we
were there. I contributed my raite to it, which - has
ever been bleft to all the hofpitals, which have JDceri
eftablifhed in a reliance on Providence. ;
I belieVe I have forgot to tell that the- Lord had
made ufe of me to eftablifh one near Grenoble, which
fubfifts without any other fund than the fupplies of
Providence. My enemies made vfe of that afterward
to flander me, faying, " I had wafted my children's
" fubftance in eftablifhing hofpitals ;" thpugh, far
from fpendingany of their fubftance, I, had even giyen
them my owri ; and though thofe hpfpitals have been
eftabliflied pnly on the fund of divine Providerica,
which is inexhauftible. But fo it has been ordered
for my gpod, that all our Lord has made mc do to
his glory has ever been turned into croffes to me. I
hav^e forgot to particularize a great number both of
croffes and indifpofitions ; they have been fo many
as to render the fuppreffion of fome of them in a
manner

134

The LIFE of Part IL

manner inevitable. In them I remained in a ftate of
dependence, as a child, on Father la Combe, with the
jmpreffion-of thefe words on roy mind, "and he was
" fubjed .to them," Luke xi. 15, Itwas the ftate
of childhood in Jesus Christ, which at this time was
imprinted on my mind.
As foon as it was determined that I fhould come
into France, the- Lord made known to me, that it was-
to ha've greater croffes than I ever yet had. Father
la Combe had the like fcnfe. He encouraged me to
refign riiyfelf to the divine will, and to become a
vidim offered freely to new lacrifices. He alfo writ
to mc, " Will it not be a thing very glorioifs to God,
*' if he fliould make us ferve, in that great city, for
" a fpcdacle to angels and to men ?" I fet off, then
with a fpirit of facrifice, to offer myfelf up to new
kinds of punifhments. All along the road fomcthirig , '
within mc repeated the very words of St. Paul, "1
" go bound in the fpirit unto~ Jerujatem, not know-
" ing the things that fliall befal me there, fave that
" the Holy Ghoft witneffeth, 'faying,* that bonds and
" afflidions abide mc : But none of thefe thirigs move
" me ; neither count I my life dear unto myfelf, fp^
" that I might finifh my courfe with joy." Ads xx. .
22, 23, 24." I couid not forbear to teflify it to my
moft intimate: friends, who tried hard to prevail on me
to ftop ; and not to proceed any further. They were
all willing to contribute a fhare of what they had, for
my - fettlement there ; and to prevent my coming to
Paris. But I foundit my duty to hold on my way,
and to facrifice rayfelf for him who firft facrificed
himfelf for me.
At Chamberry we faw Father la Mothe, who was
going to thc ekdiori of a Father General. Though,
he affeded an appearance of friendfhip, it was not
difficult to'difcover that his thoughts were different
from his words, and that he had conceived a dark
defign

Chap. xxv. L A D Y G U.I O N. 135
defign againft us. I fpeak not of his intentions, but
CO obey the command given me to omit nothing. I
fhall neceffarily be obliged often to fpeak of him.
I could wifh with all my heart it were in my power to
lupprcfs. vvhat I have to fay of him. If what he 'has
done refpeded only myfelf, I woukl willingly fupprcls
it; but I think I owe itto truth, and to the innocence
of Father la Combe, fo cruelly opprefled, and griev
oufly crufhed fo long, by wiclced calumnies, by an
imprifonment of feveral years, which in all probability
will laft as long as life. Though Father la Mothe
may appear heavily charged in what I fay of him, I
proteft- folemnly, and in the prefence of God, that
I pafs over in filence many, of his bad adions.
I SAW then his defign-, very clearly. Father i..a
Combe obferved it well alfo. Some of my -friends
apprized us that Father la Mothe had bad defigns ;
but they little thought them to be fo dcfpcrately atro
cious as they turned out. They thoughr that he
would difcharge FathcrLA Combe after he had made
him preach, and would for that bring fome troubles
on him. As it. had formerly been fiiid to him, tha.':
weftjould be united together, fonow at Chamberry it wa,s
inwardly declared tp him, that vi.e Jhould be Jeparaied.
Father la Mothe was at the chapter every day, re
peating his defires tp Fatlier la Combe not to leave
me, but to accompany me all the way to Paris.
Either la Combe afl-ied him leave to let me go, alone
to Grenoble, as he was, defirous to go to fee his flpck
atTonon. He made a difficulty, of granting him that ;
fo much fincerity he affeded.
I WENT oS for Grenoble. On my arrival there I
was feized with a fever which held rae fifteen days.
That good brother, thecolledor, hereby had exercife
for his charity. He gave me remedies, raaking me
take only vipers broth in all ray fauces, which, with
the change of air, gradually rem,oved the malady.
,^ •¦ ¦ :. All

136 The LIFE of Part II.
All. thofe- whom God had given me, thc firft tii-ne I
was at Grenoble, came to fee me in my illnefs ; and
were filled with joy at feeing me again. They fliewed
me thc letters and retradions of that poor paffionate
girl ; and I did not fee that any body retained an im
preffion againft mc from her ftories. The Bifliop here
manifefted raore kindnefs to, rae than ever, affuring me
that he had never believed any thing of thera, and '
made mc an offer to ftay in his diocefe. They far
ther preffed me with new inftances to induce mc to
ftay at the general hofpital. But it was not thc place
whcrc God required me to be. Both Father la
Combe and I Were fp penetrated with the crpfs, that
every thing announced it to us.
That good girl of whom I have fpoken, who had
forefeen fo many perfecutions to befal me, had again
many prefentiments of the croffes which were about
falling in a fhowcr upon us at Paris. She faid,
" What will ye go to do there, to be crucified ?" AU
along the road fuch fouls as were fpiritual, and of
grace, fpoke to us of nothing but croffes ; and that
impreffion, that bonds and afflUions awaited me, was
fcarce ever abfent from me. I come then, oh ray fo-
vercign Love, to facrifice myfelf to thy will. Thou
knoweft what croffes I have had to bear from my own
relations, what an univerfal decry I am under: And
yet, through all this perfecution, thou doft not fail to
gain fouls tb thyfelf in every place, and at every
time ; arid I think myfelf overpaid fpr all my troubles
and pains, were they only to procure the falvation and
perfedion of one foul. It was in tliis place, oh God,
that thou waft willing to ered a theatre of thy will
and works by the crofs, and the good to be done to
fouls thereby., v,
N. B. Not to interrupt any more the feries of
M. GUI O N's Narrative, I have thought proper to
poftpond thc propofed Appendix to this fecond part,'
till after the account of her Life reach its period.
" ' End of the Second Part.

LIFE

OF

Lady O U 1

^^  L

PART m.

From HfiR Returi^ Tb P A R I S.

Vol. II, S THS.

( 138)
CONTENTS Of the third PART.
CHAP. I.

OF, the plots contrived to ruin F. la Combe, and
tolnvolve M. Guion in his fall. A counterfeit
faint and her hufband employed herein.
II. F. LA Mothe tries,- but in vain, all the means
imaginable, one while to induce F. la Combe, another
while M. GuiON to quit Paris ; in order that their
flighrmjqrcsufe thef^ td pafs fbr guilty.
III. F. la Combe is imprifoned in the Baftile, and
hardly treated. An order is obtained alfo for impri-i
fciiing X^-GuiON. — — 
IV. She is feized with -a ^rievtous malady before
her imprifonment, and grievoufly teafed in it.
'V. Her imprifonment ina convent, and hardfhips
pouring upon her on all fides. A letter full of falfe:
hoods is forged, as of her writing, to ferye as a pre
text for the' juftice df her Imprifoniherit. She de
nies it to be hers, and fhews its inconfiftencies. ^
VI. She refufes to accept deliverance, being offered
her on terms not confiftent with a good confcience.
Her confent required to a marriage of her daughter*
which for good reafons fhe refufes. VII. New

( 139 )
VII. New falfehoods about her invented, and fpread*
to prejudice both the king and people in general agaiflft
her. Through her clOfe imprifonmerit fhe falls dan-
geroufly ill. The neceffary relief is denied her.
VIIL After much hard ufage. Providence appears
on her fide. Mad. Maintenon, having all her pre-.
jlidices againft her removed, interceeds for her": And^
the king orders her' to be fet at liberty.
IX. Her enemies demand of her, before her releafe,
feveral captious fignatures, which fhe^ refufes. Her.
ffrft acquairitande with Abbe F£:<rELON, afterwards
Archhi^op of Cam bray. ••
X. Of her inward condition., Her A;poftplic fl:ate,.
or Miffion for the help of fouls, dcfcribed &c,
' ' ' '¦> ! ' \' '
XI. She retires into a cqm.munity. p. l^ .Mothe.
feyerely rallied by a great Woman for his vile for^ries
and falfe accufations of M. Guioi^, Marriage or her
daughter, with whom fte refides two years and a half; >
after which fhe takes a fmall houfe fpr herfelf." Her
Conferences vs(ith Abbe.FEN£LPN, Her edifying vifits
zi St. Cyr. Her coriferjences, vflth two, noted, citizens
of Paris.
^XIL She enters uppn a mpre retired way ^f life;
yet finds it an,irifnfEcient fhelter frpm calqmnies and
.p^rfecuribn: , ,, .-....,>

XIII. The Duke of Chevreuje brings her acquainted
with the Bifliop of M^fl«x, who reads the -foregoing
hiftory pfh^clife, and acknowledges the good impreffi
ons it haci;made_on his mind. She puts into his hands
aH her writings^ arid clears; .up ^ to^him m.apy of the
dsfficiilfib -wh&h'he had pretended to find therein.

XIV. A

( ?49 )
XIV,. A farther account qf the jaid Bifliop and his
remarks.' .Obfervatioris on her own difpofition.
XV. The faid Bifliop offers her a certificate. She
acknowledges his kiridriefs, but does not accept of
it. Frefh calumnies againft her gaining ground, |he
writes lay the t)uke of peauvilliers to IVlad. Mai^ttemon
to requeft an appointment of commiffioncrs for her
examination ; but without effed. Death of one of
her beft friends.
XVI, Violence rifing on every fide, fhe perceive|
that fome others are airped at befide herfelf, particu
larly Abbe Fenelon, of which fhe apprifed him.
The Bifhops of Meaux and Chalons with Monf Tron-
soN afe agreed upon, to examine her writings. Re
markable extrad of a letter fhe -writ •tp.the.m. , ,
XVII. The Bifhpp of Meaux, having proraifed the
conderiiriation of M. Gt;ioN, labours for it. He for
bids the Duke of Chevreuje to be prefent at the trial.
Yet after all, he eari rnake nothing put- againft M.
GuiON, XVIII, She offers to go to live for jfpnie time in
any community withiri his diocefe. He, glad of the,
offer, propofes to her that of St. Mary's. Going thi
ther, fhe had like to have pcrifhcd in the fnow by
nighr, A ftrange declaration and fignaturc demanded,
of her by the' Bifhop'. "The honourable charader^
given of her by the Priorefs and the Religious of that
community. , . • . :
I ¦"",'¦, , "
XIX. Thc Bifhop of Me0x at laft gives M. Guion ;
a good certificate, by which he difpleafcs Mad. Main,-^
I'EN'ON. He repcrits of havirig giveri her it. At length
her enemies obtain anbrder from the King for her
being arrefted, though fick, and put in prifon.
XX. Why

.( HI )
XX. Why fhe chufes to fupprefs the moft grievous
of her perfecutions, and the hardfhips of a ten years
imprifonment, after having recited far lefs, things.
XX. Of her interior difpofitions toward the laft
part of het time. An affedionate falutation of her
children in the faith, and prayer for them. Remar
kable conclufion.
Supplement to her own account of her Life, taken
out of that of the Archbifhop of Cambray.

THE

T^ H E '

E

O F

Lady- G -W'T'O'K
P A R T III.
CHAP. I.

»CARCE had I arrived at Paris, but I readily dif
covered the bad defigns of fome perfons againft
both Father la Combe and nie. Father la Mptme,
whp conduded the whole tragedy, artfully diflembled,^
according to his cuftom ; flattering me to the face,^
while he was aiming the keeneft wounds behind' the^**
• Now we approach a combination of the wickecjeft plots, and moft
abominable lies, againft Lady Guion and F. la Combe, fet on foot
by F. LA Mothe hef. half-brother, (viz. only by the lame father) and
his accomplices i ainongfl: whom we find the official, or judge of the
Ecclefiaftical court, and ac length Monfieur de Harlay Archbilhop
of Paris. It foon ended in the imprifonment of both thefe faithful
martyrs, and dear fervants of their great Creator. Her fundamental'
principle being The Pure dijinterefted lo've of God, farmed in the foul- ly
tbe operation ef di'vine grace, through ifubmiffum, felf-reimnciatiott, fer
vent prayer, faithful obedience tt itsdtfco'Vtrie's, andiniuard cOiimUnW
on ibeffp-'it^, the wicked Ecclefiafticjce hated fuch a principle or dofirine
as tended to wean'the people from a blind dependence on them, to teach
men to pray to God for themfelves, and to love him fingly for his own
fake, for his wifdom, goodnefs, and perfeflions ; clear from all views
of felfifh intereft, Su.cli EcclefiafticksNWould fcruple nothing they could
devife, to deftroythe publifher of a free and evangelical doflrine. back

^HAf. I. L A p Y G U I O N. ' .143
.back. He and .his confederates wanted, for their own
intereft,. to perfuade me to go to Mpntargis, (my native
place) hoping thereby to get the guardianfhip of my
children, and to difpofe of bpth my perfpn and effeds.
All the perfecutipns from Father la Mothe and hiy
family have been attended on their part with the
.v^ews of intereft ; and thofe againft Father la Combe
)iave fprung from rage and revenge, becaufe he, as
my diredor, did not oblige mc to do what they
wanted ; as well as out of jealoufy. I might .enter
into ^a long Retail on this head, fufficient to convince
all. the world herepf : But I fupprefs. it, tp avpid pro^
li^fity. I fhall pnly fay that they threatened to de
prive me of what little I had referved to rayfelf. To
this I only replied, " That I would npt goto law, that
" if they were refolved to take from me the little I
"had left (little indeed in comparijon of what I had
" given up) I would furrender it entirely to them ;"
being quite free and willing not only to be poor, but
even in the very extremity of want, in imitation of pur
LpRD Jesus Christ.
After the Lorp had made Father la Combe and
me fuffer much, in our union,, in order to purify it
thoroughly;, it, becarne vybnderfully perfed in Gop.
I cannot enumerate the favours which the Lord did
me; for in me all paffes in a manner fo pure as no
language can defcribe. As nothing falls ynder the
fenfes, nor under the power of expreffion, all muft
remain witjh and iq Gon. What had caufed my fuffi;r-
ings hefore with this Father was firft, that he then had
np knowledge of the entire nakednefs of the foul loft
in God,; he could not comprehend a ftate of which
I coyld tell him ^Imott nothing ; fecondly the com
munication in filence he could npt eafily corne into,
wanting to fee it with the eyes of feafon : But, when
thefe obftacles were removed, God made bim one with
hifjil^lf and with me in the confumrrjatipp pf a perfed
unity. Alt that is u,nderftppd, diftinguifhed and ex-
''¦¦'" plained

144 The LIFE oi^ Par-t IIL
plained is only mediate; but as for the immediate
comraunications, as they are more for an unlimited
eternity than for the narrow limits df tinie, one can
fay nothing of them but what St. John has faid, " In
" the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
" with God, and the Word was God." It is good
to be early accuftomed to caUfe all mediate words to
give place to the fpeech of the divine Word, which
is a filence ineffable and ever eloquent. " /'
I ARRIVED at Parison Magdalen's eve 1686, exad
ly five years after my departure from that city. After
Father la Comee arrived there, he was foon followed
and much applauded. I perceived fome jealoufy in
Father LA Mothe hereupon, but did not- think that
matters would be carried fo far as they haye been.
The greateft part of the Bernabites of Paris, and its
neighbourhood, joined againft Father la Combe, induc
ed thereto froni two caufes. Thc firft was the felf-in-
'tercftcdnefs and jealoufy of Father la Mothe, which
made him contrive every fort of treacherous arti
fice. He told theni all, that by ruining Father la
Combe they would have a pretext for fhaking off the
yoke of the Savoyards : For you muft know that, frofli
fix years to fix years, the Bernabites had a Savoyard
for their provincial, which they faid was injurious to the
French nation. Wherefore they all entered into it;
andyet without obtaining what they defired ; having
adually a 5^t;ffyarif fpr their Provincial at this day. The
fecond reafon was the particular jealoufy of the Pro
vincial, who from a friend was become an enemy, and
thereupon united his intereft to that of Father la
Mothe. But all their calumnies and evil attempts
were overthrown by the unaffeded piety of Father la
Combe, and thc good which multitudes reaped from
his labours.
I HAD depofited a little fum of money in the hands
of F. LA Combe (with the confent ofhis Superior) to
ferve

Chap. I. LA DY- GUION. 145
ferve for the entrance of a Nun. I thought myfelf
obliged in confcience to do it; for lhe had, through
my means, quitted the new catholicks. It was that
young wpman whom I mentioned before, (See Pare II.
chap V.) whom the prieft of Gex wanted to win over.,.
As fhe is beautiful, though very prudent, there al
ways continues a caufe for fear, when fuch an one is
expofed without any eftablifhnient, la Mothe want
ed to have that raoney, and fignified to la Combe
" that, if he did not make me give him it for a
"wall, which he had to rebuild in his convent, he
" would make him fuffer for it." But the latter, who
is always , upright, anfwered, " that he could not in
" confcience advife me to do any thing elfe but what
" I had already refolved, in favour of that yourig
" woman.'. So now he and the Provincial ardently
longed to fatisfy their defire of revenge. They em
ployed all their thoughts on the means of effeding it.
For this purpofe they fent to Father la Combe, to
confefs, a man and a woman, who were united to com
mit every fort of crime with impunity, and to perfecute
the^ fervants of God. I think there never was fuch
another artifice. The man counterfeits all forts of
hands, ^nd is fit for executing any vile defign. They
pretended to be very devout ; and araong fo great a
nuraber of fouls, as carae frora all parts to Father la
Combe to confefs, he never difcerned thefe diabolical
fpirits : God fo perraitting it, who had given power
to thc Devil to treat him like Job.
One evening before this, being alone in my cham
ber, retired in prayer, all on a fudden my ftate of
childhood feemed to be taken from me, to make way
for that of my being joined with Jesus Christ cru
cified. What paffed in this new union of love to that
divine objed .himfelf alone knows. My ftate ftill
. becoming deeper, as I had born Jesus Christ in his
denudation and croffes, fo now I feemed to bear him
Vol. II. T in

146, Th E L I F E OF Part IIL
in.his crucifixion, which was the finiihing of all his
ftates. Nothing but experience can make any com
prehend what I mean. Thefe words at this time I
felt imprcft. And he was numbered with the tranj-
grejjors. Mark xv. 28. And it was put in my raind
that I muft bear Jesus Christ in this ftate in its whole
extent. Oh my Lord, if there has not yet been pour
ed upon me enough of reproaches and ignominies,
finifh and confumraate that ftate to me by the laft pu-
nifbment. Every thing will be well received as coming
from thee. For rae to fuffer for thy name's fake was
the contrad of our facred marriage : And thy hand
maid acknowledges thy goodnefs to her, continued all
along to this day, in fandifying her fufferings to the
honour of thy worthy name.
I received a letter from Father la Combe, who writ
to me in thefe terms, " The time looks heavy (fpeak
ing of Father la Mothe's humour in regard to him)
" I know npt when the thunder will fall : But every
" thing fhall be welcome from the hand of God." In
the mean time the hufband of that wicked creature,
who counterfeited the faint, in order to play his game
the better, left off going to confefs to Father la Combe,
but fent his wife, who faid, Jhe was very Jorry that her
hujband had quitted that Father; fhe told him, thdt
God had revealed to her things to come, and that he was
going to meet with great perfecutions. It was eafy for
her to know it, fince lhe was planning them with Father
LA Mothe, the Provincial and her hufband.
X)ur INO this time I went into the country to the
houfe of the Dutchefs of C. * There I found feveral
perfons
* It isobfervable that through thjs part, after her return to Paris,
(he is very tender of fetting down the names^ or firnames and titles of
any of her friends. The Writer of the Archbifhop of CflTciray's life
acquaints us that that Prelate firft met with this Lady at the Dutchefs.of
Bethune''iho\ik. But fhe does not once make mention of that Dutchefs,
nor of the liQufe oi Charojte menti(»ned in the Appendixof Parti. And

Ghap. L LADYGUION.

H7

perfons, whofe interior progrefs the Loe d made me
inftrumental to affift, and who were pf thc number of
my fpiritual children. I felt a ftrong impulfe to com
municate to them in filence : But as it was ftrange to
fome of them, admitting natural timidity, I failed
in fidelity to what God required of me. They read
a paffage of fcripture, which they interpreted in a
manner quite contrary to the fenfe given me of it,
which oppreffcd my fpirit exceedingly ; and the more
fo, becaufe I durft not fpeakj on account of certain
perfops prefent, who held me in a kind of bondage :
But after dinner I had an opportunity to fpeak to fome ,
orthem, which gave fome relief to my troubled mind.'
Often, from thc plenitude which filled ny fpul, I was
-favoured with a difcharge on my beft difpofed chijdren^,
to our mutual joy and comfort, and not pnly when
prefent, but fometimes when abfent. I even felt it to
flow from me into their fouls. 'When they writ to me,
they informed me that at fuch times they had receiv
ed abundant infufions of divine grace. Our Lord
had given mc that fpirit of truth, which knows how
to rejuje the evil, and chuje the good. Even when any
preached, or talked of pious fubjeds, I felt iq myfelf
that which rejeded every thing of human conception
or ppinion, and accepted only that which was the
pure truth.
Father lA Combe writ to me while I was in the:
country, that he had found an admirable woman (mean
ing her I have mentioned above, the counterjeit Jaint) and
gave me fome circumftances rdpcding her, which put
me in fear for him. Neverthelefs as the Lord gave
me nothing particular thereupon, I writ to him that I
refigned him to God for that, as for the reft.
T 2 The
And thotigih in the Hid Chapter of this part, fhe informs us tliat /Af
mre perfecution raged agaii0 her the more children lueregi'ven her qf the
Lord, yet fhe mentions the names of none of them, being unwilling
thereby to occafion their being expofed to, and involved in, her fufferings.

148 . TheLIFEof Part UL
The hufband bf that woman, induced by the ene
mies of Father la Combe, wrote defamatory libels, to
which they attached the propofitions of Molinos, ,
which had been current fbr two years paft in Frarice,
declaring that they were the fentiments of Father la
Combe. Thefe libels were fpread about in the com-
munities in all' parts. Father la Mothe and the
Provincial, ading as perfons well affeded to thc
church, carried. them tothe Official, or judge of the
Ecclefiaftic court, who joined in the dark defign.
They fhewed them to the Archbifhop, faying, " it was
" out of their zeal, and that they were exceeding
*' forry that one of their fraternity was an heretic, ^nd
" as fuch execrable." They alfo brought me in, but
more moderately, faying " Father la Combe was
" almoft always at ray houfe," which was Very falfe ; -
for I could fcarce fee him but at the confeffipnal, and
that for very fhort fpaces. Several other things equal:
ly falfe they liberally gave out t)f us both.
They bethought themfelves of one thing further
likely to favour their fcheme. They knew I had been
at Marjeilles, and thought they had obtained a goo,|
foundation for a frefh calumny. They counterfeitM ;¦
a letter from a perfon. at Marjeilles (I think I heard it
was from the Bifhop) addreffed to the Archbifhop of
Paris, or to his official, in which they wrote, " that
*' I had lain at Marjeilles in the fame chamber with
*' Father LA Combe ; that he, while, there, had eaten
" meat in Lent, and, done yery fcandalous things,"
Father la Mo'the came to try to draw me into his
fnarc, and to make me fay, in the'prefence pf the people
he had brought, that I had been at Marjeilles with Fa
ther LA Combe. " There are, faid he, fhocking ac- '
*' counts fent againft yoii by the Bifhop of MarjMUs,
*' You have there fallen into great feandals with Father
" LA Combe : There are good witneffes of it." I re
plied with a fmile, " The calurany is notably devifedf
*' But it had been proper to know firft whether Father
¦ i,A Combe .

Chap. I. LADY GUION.

149

*' LA Combe had been at Marjeilles, for I do not be-
" lieve he was ever there in his life. I was, while
" there, with fuch and fuch, and during that time
" Father la Combe was labouring at Verceil." He
was confounded and went off, faying, " There are
" witnefles however of its being true;" He went ira
raediately to afk Father la Comee if he had not .
been at Marjeilles. He affured him he never had been
there. They were ftruck with the difappointment.
They then gave out that it was Seijel, which j\?as in the
letter. Now this Seijel is a place I have never been at,
and there is no Bifliop there.
Father la Combe and the Provincial carried about
their libels, with thofe prppofitions of Molinos, from
houfe to houfe, faying they were the errors of Father
la Combe. They plotted together. They determin
ed to take a journey into Savoy; to colled and bring
memorials againft Father la Combe and me. The
Provincial fet off, though but newly returned from
vifiting a province bprdering on Savoy, giving a ftrid
charge to Father la Mothe, who was enough inclined
without it, to fpare no pains or coft to ruin Father la
Combe. They plotted with the Official, a man well verfed
in fuch artifices. They fuborned that woman. She
told Father la Combe " thit fhe had heard worider-
" ful things of me, which had given her an ardent
" defire to fee me..'' As fhe farther told him,, that
fhe was in great want and diftrejs, he fent her to me for
my charity ; I gave her half a louis d'or. . At that time
flie was a ftranger to me ; but, after a little converfe
Avith her, I was ftruck with horror : Yet I kept it to
myfelf. A few days after, flie came again to afk me for
fomething to get herfelf bled. I told her, " I had a
" a maid who could do it well, whpoi I wpuld get

Ip TheLIFEof Part IIL
" to do it for her." She replied, that " fhe was not
" a perfon to be bled by any but furgeons. I then '
gave her a fifteen penny piece. She took it with dif-
dain, then went and threw it to Father' la Combe,
afking if fhe was a perfm to be put (ff with fifteen-peme.
But fhe learned that evening, from her hufband, thati ,
the time, not yet ripe for difcovery, required longei'
diffimulation. She then came again to Father la
Combe to beg his pardon, faying, " it was a rafh fit
" of paffion which had made her ad as flie did." She
aflced him alfo for the fifteen-pence. He told me
then nothing of all this ; but I had a certainty that fhe
was a wicked hypocrite, bent on fome bad defign :
And fo I told Father la Combe, v^hb chid rae for it,
faying, " It' was only my ownima^i^tion, that I want-
*' ed charity, that fhe was a religions woraan."
There came to me a virtuous' young woman, a
ftranger, who told me fhe thought licrfclf obliged, as
fhe knew I w^s intimate with Father la Combe, to ap
prize me that he confeffed a woraan who deceived him.
She told me of bafe things that woman had done, and
of her thefts at Paris. I defired her to tell him then
fame herfelf. She faid fhe had attempted it ; but he
told her it was ading not according to charity. In a
certain fliop that vile woman fpoke ill of him. They ;
let him knpw it, but he feemed not to believe it. She
fometimes came to my houfe. I turned pale at the
fight of her My domelricks perceived it, efpecially
one who felt the fame horrors as I did.

CHA P.

Char. II. L a D Y G U I 0 N. i5[

C H A P. II.

ON E day a Confeffor fent for me. He related
to me what this woraan and her hufband had
told him, and what lies he had caught them in. I
went diredly to tell it to F. la Combe, when, as if
the fcales fell from his eyes, he beheld her in her,
true colours, revolving what h^ had feen in her and
heard frora her. i,
As foon as I was comechorae fne came to fee me,
and to beg money to pay her houfe-rent. I ordered
the fervants not to let her in, I wa& very fick, and fo
they told her. She wanted to force her entrance.'
Another maid upon it, who knew her bafenefs, went to
the door, and told her, " I was not to be fpoken with;"
fhe fcolded them exceedingly, but they patiently bore
it. Hereupon fhe went td the Siiperior of the ]^r-
heriines, and told him, amongft other., calumnies, that!
was . with-childf He fent, fpr a fervant of mine to afk
her about it. She, furprifed to hear flich a fiander,
afked i him, "By whom? She ha^ no converfe with
*' men and is very virtuous." That wretch uttered tke
fame' thing in other places ; I had a fwelling at the
ftosnaeh, but by means of a little remedy it went off
in two days, fo her lie was foon manifeft.
Moreover they who had put her upon thefe lies knew
that, if they were brought to a trial, it muft be before
fecutar judges, which w;as what they did not like.
They then refolved to attack rae only on the article of
Faith, to bring me before the Ecclefiaftical court;
and to do this by means\Gf a littkbaok, enritled, A
Jbort and eajy Method-of Prayer ; «^hough my name was
ajot in it, and though it had been approved by the
.Podors of Sorbonne. La

152 The LIFE of Part IIL
La Mothe came to me, and told me that there
were at thc Archbifliop's palace frightful memorials
againft la Combe," that he was" an heretic, and a
friend of Molinos. Now he never knew MoLiisros,
and fo I told la Mothe ; and farther, that if he
v/ould accompany la Combe- to the Archbifhop, he
would foon undeceive him. He promifed me tO* do
it the next day, but took care not to do it. I told
him of the bafe woman above-mentioned. He. coldly
anfwered, " She is a faint," La Combe, on hearing
this, went to la Mothe to defire him to go with him.
to the Archbifliop. He told him, " The memorials
" were not againft him but'againft me." La Mothe
went into the country for two days, leaving la Combe
in his place. He gave him a ftrid charge not to
leave the houfe till his return.-'^' And this he did
only to hinder him from going to'the Archbifhop, to
make known the truth to him^' Tvhile himfelf was
abfent. The Abbe de Gaumont, a man of fingular piety,
near eighty years of age, formeriy acquainted with
mc, paid me a vifit. He brought with hira Mpnfieu^
Bureau, a Dodor of SofWonne, whom la MoTifi
hated, becaufe one of his Penitents, who had been
liberal, and given hira a great deal, had left him, and
chofen Bureau for her confeffor. La Mothe faid
to me, *' You fee Monfieur Bureau, I don't like
" him." I aflced him his reafon^ faying, " I did not
" go to feck hira, and that he came to me very'' fel-
*' dom, and was a man in' great' reputarion." ¦ He
went av?ay, and depofed at the Bifhpp's court, that I
held affemblics with Bureau and Gaumont, and
that he had put a ftop to one of them ; which was
very falfe. He then accufed mc alfo of fundry other
things. The judge *of that court was glad of having
this occafion againft Bureau, having long hated
him. They fet to work that wicked woman's hufband;
and foon were counterfeited letters (from the Superiors of

Chap. IL LADY GUION. 153
of religious houfes in which he had been the con
feffor) prepared. They writ to this judge that Bu
reau had preached and taught errors, and troubled
thofe houfes. It was a very eafy matter for Bureau
to expofe the falfehood hereof. For thofe Superiors
difavpwcd thc faid letter? : And yet they made the King
believe him guilty, whereupon he was baniflled.
One day la Mothe came again to me with the old
ftory, that there were horrible . meraorials againft
LA Combe, wanting to induce rae to perfuade hini
to retire out of the Way : And what was this for,
but that his flight might make him pafs for guilty ?
It was becaufe he feared he Could not yet other-
wife carry 'his point, being bent on his ruin. T
replied, " If F. la Combe be guilty, he ought to
" be punifhed ; If not, he ought to have gone with
" him to the Archbifliop, that his innocence might
" appear." La Combe defired him to let him gO
himfelf to the Archbifhop, if he would not go with
him. He always faid, he would go with him the
next day, or fome other day : Then he pretended
bufinefs, which would not admit his going at that
time, though he often went thither without him.
At length la Mothe took off the mafls. He faid
to me in the church before la Combie, " It is now,
*' my Sifter, that you muft think of fleeing; for there
" are execrable memorials againft you ; You are
"charged with crimes of a deep dfe." I was noc
moVed in the leaft, but replied v^'ith my ufual tran
quility, " If I am guilty of fuch crimes, I cannot be
" too fevercly punifhed j wherefore I will not flee or
** go out of the way. I have made an open profef-
** fiort of dedicating myfelf to God entirely : And
*' if I have done things offenfive to him, whom I
•' would wifh both to love and to Caufe to be loved
*« by the whole Wdrld, even at the expence of my life,
*' I ought by my punifliment to be made an example
Vot. II. U ' " «o

154 The LIFE OF Part IIL
^' tP the wprld : But if I am innoceht, for me
" to flee is not thc way for my innocence to be
" believed." ' -
As he faw that I continued firm in my refolution,
of fuffering the utmoft rather than to flee, he faid
to rae in great wrath, " Since .you will not do what
" I propofe, I will go and acquaint all your family, '
" that they may make you do it.'' I then defired
hira to fet mc go firft to fpeak tP thera, or that
we raight go both together. He agreed that we
fhould go both together thc next day. The Lord
fhewed me the whole thread of this plot. I was
ftruck to the heart, with a fenfe that la Mothe
was gone off diredly to prepoffefs the family againft me.
I sent my footman virith fpeed to take a coach for
me, and went off in it. La Mothe was there be
fore rae. When he found himfelf thus difcovered,
he broke out in a furious paffion. He returned to
the convent, and difcharged his wrath ;on poor la
Combe. He had not had time to meet with my chilp
drcn's guardian ; but told his fifter that I was ac
cufed of heinous crimes ; and that it was neceffai;yj
to caufe me to quit thc country." To which fhe
anfwered, " I no more believe that -fhe has done fuch
" things than that I have done them. What ! A
" woman who has lived as fhe has dpne ! I would
" anfwer for her, life for life. To make her flyJ
" Her flight is no fucli indiffei-er^t matter: JFpr,
" were fhe ever fo innocent, that would be to d?-
" iClare her guilty." He replied, " It is abfolutely
" ^neceffary to expedite her departure : It is thc f?n«
" tjment of thc Archbifliop.'' She aflied him whi
ther 1 muft depart. He faid to Montargis. 'Xk'^
gave her fome fufpicion. She faid, '' fhe muft con-
'' fuit her brother upon it, and hp .wovrld go to the
" Archbifliop." At that he was jConfufed, ^nd de
fired that none of them would .gp ;, th^t, as he was
ntoft

Chap. IL L A D Y G U I O N.

^55

moft concerned about the matter, he would go
himfelf. I arrived juft as he was coming out. She told
me all this ; and I related to her all he had faid to me.
He returned, and was feveral tiraes baffled, contra-
diding himfelf, before us both.
Next day ray children's guardian went to the Arch
bifliop's palace. La Mothe was there waiting to
fpeak to him. When he faw this guardian, a coun
fellor of the parliaraent, he turned pale. He begged
of him not to fpeak to the Archbifhop, telling him
that he himfelf would do it, being fo much con
cerned for his fifter. The counfellor replied, " I am
" obliged to ferve her in an affair of this nature." He
then _ begged him to let himfelf fpeak firft to the
Archbifhop, " If he calls you firft you fliall go
firft ; if not, I will," faid the counfellor, " But, Cr,
" faid LA Motke, I will teil him you are here,"
" And I, faid the counfellor, will tell him vou are
" here." Presently the Archbifhop called thc counfellor,
who told him " he had heard of ftrange memorials
" being there againft me; that he had, known me
" long for a woman of virtue, and would anfwer for
*' me, body for body." The Archbifliop replied,
that he knew not of any thing againft me. The
counfellor then told him " that la Mothe had faid
" he had advifed that I fhould go out of the way."
The Archbifhop replied, " That is not true ; for I
" have never heard any mention raade of her be-
" fore.'^ The counfellor then afked if la Mothe
might be called in. He was called, and the Arch
bifliop afked him about it. Like one thunderftruck,
he made a very bad defence. He faid, he had it
from the father-provincial. He went away full of
malice, and told la Combe, that he would make him
pay dearly for the affront which had been put upon
him.
U 2 CHAP.

156 The LIFE PF Part III,

CHAP. IIL

SEEING I could nof be prevailed on to quit
my ftatipn, the confederates in iniquity, having
confulted with Monfieur Charon the Official, found
means to ruin la Combe. They raade the King
believe, on the .teftiraony of the fcrivener and his
wife, that he was a friend of Molinos, in his fenti
ments ; and had committed certain crimes ; though)
he' was quite clear of them. The king hereupon or
dered that he Jhould not ftir out oJ his Convent, and that
the Official Jhould go thither to examine him. This order
they concealed from la Combe, to the end that, by
his going out for exercifes of charity, or of obedience,
he might be arrefted as a rebel to the King's orders.
One afternoon he was told, as they had contrived it,
that one of his penitents had been run over by a horfe,
and that he muft go to confefs her. "Without delay
he went to afk leave of la MothEj who willingly^
gave him it. In the mean time the Official came,;;
and made his verbal procefs, fetting forth how he
was gone out, and was rebellious to the King's orders.
They told thc Official he was at my houfe, though .
they well knew thc contrary; and that it was above,
fix weeks fince he had been there : They told the -
Archbifhop alfp, that he was always at my hpufe.
One niprniitg, fopn after, they fent fpr the Official^
and then ordered la Combe to go to fay mafs.. He
was furprifed at the prder, jt not being his turn.
Yet in obedience he went. After faying mafs, he fm
the Official go out of the houfe, who had then made
his fecond verbal procefs, fetting forth how la Combe
was gone out again, in rebellion to the King's order.
Thereupon be came to the Superior of the houfe, and
afked him if a defign were not carrying on to furprife '
him,

Chap. IIL LADY GUION. 157
him, as he had juft feen the Official going from the
houfe; " He came to fpeak to mc, Jaid the Superior,
" I afked hira if he had a mind to fpeak to you ; He
« faid. No."
The Official came a third 'time. La Combe faw
him out of the window, and defired to fpeak tb
him. He was told the Official's bufinefs was pnly
with the Superior:, And yet the Official then made
his third verbal procefs^ fetting forth how la Combe
was abfent a third time, in rebellion to the King's
order. La Combe, as \ had advifed him, writ to the
Official, defiring him not to refufe him that favour
which is granted to criminals; which is to hear
them. I fent his letter by a pcrfbn unknown. The
Official faid he would come after dinner without fail.
La Combe was uneafy at having written this letter
without the leave of his Superior, and therefore told
hira of it. On which the Superior fent two Friars
to the Official, for what purpofe it is eafy to judge.
As I^was going to a new-hired houfe, I faw thefe two
Friars, and had an apprehenfion of their errand, I
caufed them to be followed, 'till they entered the
Official's houfe. It ihen appeared that a furprife was
defigned. La Mothe, meanwhile, pretends a ¦wilHngnefs to
ferve him. He comes to him, and fays, " My Fa-
*' ther, I know you have certificates of your dodrine
" from the Inquifition, and from the holy congrega-
*' tion of rites, alfo approbations. Such credentials
*' are incontcftablc : And fince you are approved at
*' Rome, a fimple Official has nothing to fay to you in
" regard to your dodrine." Hereupon la Combe, in
the fimphcity of his heart, believing him to be honeft
and fincere, brought him all thefe papers ; but never
could get them back again. In vain he afked for
them. " La Mothe told him he- had fent them to
the Official : And the Official faid he had not re
ceived

ijS The LIFE of Part III.
ceived them, nor ever heard any thing about; them.
One day, being at his confeffional, he faid to me,
" I refign myfelf to reproaches and ignominies. Do
*Vyou facrifice me to God, as I ara going to facrr-
" fice myfelf to hira." Soon after he was arrefted,
when at dinner, viz. cn the third of Odober
1687. The Provincial fent for that Abbe who, had bieen
grand Vicar to the Bifhop of Verceil, and difchargii
by him for his mifcondud, (See Part ll. Chap, xxiv,)
He came on purpofe to Paris to depofe falfeboodsi
againft la Combe ; but his lie? and feandals were fo
glaring, that his unworthy patrons could not fave him
from being lodged in the Baftile. Two days after, him
LA Combe alfo Was lodged in the fame prifon. Tho'
on his trial he appeared quite innocent, and tbey could
not find any thing whereupon to ground a condem
nation, yet they made the king beljeve he was a dan
gerous man in the article of religion. He was then
fliut up in a certain fortrefs of that great prifomfoc
life : But as his enemies heard that the captains in
that fortrefs efteemed hira, and treated htm kindly^
they got hira removed into ^ much worfe place,
God, who beholds every thing, will reward every
man according to his works. I know by an interior
communication that he is very well content, ¦ and
fully refigned to God.
La Mothe now endeavoured more than ever to
induce me to flee, affuring me that, if I went to
Montargis, I fhould be out of all trouble; but that,
if I did not, I fhould pay for it. He infiftcd on
my taking hirafclf for ray diredor, which I cowld
not agree to. He decried rae wherever he, went,
and writ to his brethren to do the fame. They
writ rae very abufive letters, and particularly that,
if I did not put myfelf under his jdiredioB, I was
undone. I have thc letters by me ftill. One Father
defired

Chap.III. LADY GUION. 159
defired me in this cafe to make a virtue of neceffity.
Nay fome advifed me to pretend to put myfelf under
his diredion, and to dfceeive him ; whereas I abhorred
the thought of a difguife or deceit. I bore every
thing with the greateft tranquility, without taking any
care tojuftify or defend myfelf, leaving it entirely to
God to order as he fhpuld pleafe about me : And here
in he was gracioufly pleafed tp incrcafe the peace of
my foul, while every one feemed to cry againft mc,
and to look on me as an infamous creature, except
thofe few who knew me well by a near union of fpirit.
Atxhurch I heard people behind me exclaim againft
me, and even fome priefts fay, " It was necefiary to
" caft mc out of the church," I left myfelf to God
without referve, being quite' ready to endure the moft
.rigorous pains and'tortures, if fuch were his will.
I NEVER made any folicitation, either for Father la
CoM^E or myfelf, though charged with that amonge
other things. Willing to owe every thing to God, I
bave no dependence on any creature. I would not
have it faid that any but God had made Abraham
rich. Gen. xiv. 23. To- lofe all for him is my beft
gain : And to gain all without him would be my worft
lofs.. Though at this time fo -general an outcry was
raifed againft me ; God did not fail to make ufe of
me to gain .many fouls to himfelf. The more perfe
cution raged againft me the more children were given
me, pn which the Lord conferred great favours
through his poor handmaid.
While Father la Moth£ was fo induftrious in
blackening my eharader, to render what he faid the
more credible, he pretended to love and. efteem me.
In fome refpeds be cried me up asit were to the fkies,
in others he caft me down into the abyfs, or pit of
perdition. Some diays after, a good young woman ac
quainted me that the aforefaid Scrivener Gautier had
been at the Archbifhop's palace, carrying a parcel of
v..!"' ' " '¦,,',. papers.

i.6q The LIFE of Part IIL
papers thither. Thefe were the tneraorials Father
LA Mothe had fpoken of. To difculpate himfelf he
faid to rae, " You were in the right, to fay that was a
" wicked woman. It is fhe who has done this."*
One muft not judge ofthe fervants of God by what
their enemies fay of them, nor by their being oppreffcd
under calumnies without any refource. Jesus Christ
expired under pangs. God ufes the like condud
toward his deareft fervants, to render them conforma
ble to his fon, in whom he is always well pleajed. But
few place that conformity where it ought to be. It is
not in voluntary pains or aufterities, but in thofe which
are fuffered in a fubmiffion ever equal to the will of
God, in a renunciation of oUr whole felves, to thc end
that God may be our all in all, cbiiduding us accord
ing to his views, and not our own, which are generally
oppofite to his. In fine all perfedion confifts in this en
tire conforraity with Jesus Christ, not in fhining
things whieh men efteem and cry up. It will only
be feen in eternity who are the true friends of God.
Nothing pleafes him but Jesus Christ, and that which
bears his mark or eharader.
They were continually prcffing mc to flee, though *
the Archbifhop had fpoken to myfelf, and bidden me
not to leave Pflm. But they wanted to render both
me and Father la Combe criminal by my flight. They :
knew not how to make me fall into the hands of the
Official : For if they accufed me of crimes, it muft be
before
* She relates what two merchants come from Dijon f told her of
this woman ; that ftie had ftole fome plate from fhe houfe of a famous
fraternity at Ljons, had fled from the nunnery of repenting maids at
Dijon and come to Paris to marry, where Ihe fewed gloves ; wheteupoB
fhe fent to Father LA Mothe, to acquaint him that flie had fufficient
tneans to manifeft both the wickednefs of that woman and the innocence
of Father LA Combe. He replied, he would not meddle in it. So
poor Father la Comee was like Joseph fold by his brethren.; '
f Dijon the capital city •f Burgundy on the river Oncbe, 140 miles
fouth-eitft from Paris

Chap. IIL LADY GUION. i6i
before other judges : And any other judge would have
feen my innocence ; and' the falfe witneffes would
have run thc rifque of fuffering for it. They conti
nually fpread the outcry of horrible crimes ; the Offi
cial affured me that he had heard no raention of any ;
for he was afraid lefl I fhould retire out of his jurif-
didion. They then raade the King believe " that
" I was an heretic, that I carried on a literary corref-
" pondence with Molinos (1, who never knew tnat
" there was a Molinos in the world, till thc Gazette had
" told me it) that 1 had wrote a dangerous book ; and
"that on thofe accounts it would be neceffary to iffue
" forth an order to put me in a convent, that they
" niight examine me ; that, as I was a dangerous per-
" fon, it would be proper for mc to be locked up, to be
"allowed no comraerce with any one; that I held
" affemblics ;" which was very falfe. To fupport tbis
calumny my hand- writing was counterfeited, and a
letter forged as from me, importing, "thatl hadgrea!t
", defigns, but feared left they fhould prove abortive
" bythe imprifonment of Father la Combb, for which
" reafon I had left off holding affemblics ac my own
" houfe, being too clofely watched ; but that I would
" hold them at the houfes of fuch ahd fuch perforis, in
" fuch and fuch ftreets ;" who are people whom I do
not know, nor ever before had heard named. This
forged letter they fliewed the King, and upon it an
order was given for my imprifonment.

Vol. II. X CHAP.

i62 The LIFE of Fart IIL

CHAP. IV.

TiHIS order would hsfve been put in execution two
months fooner than it was, had I not falleii
very fick. ' I had inconceivable pains' and a fever.
Some thought that Ihad an impofthume in niy head.
The pangs I had for five weeks caufed me to lofemy
fenfes, 1 had alfo a pain in my breafl:, and a violent
cough. Twice I received, as I.>^a? thought near ex-.
pirtHg, the holy viaticum.. One of my friends had
acquainted Father la Mothe, knowing him to be my
brother, but hot that he had any hand in Father la
Combe's imprifonm-ent, that fhe had fent rne a certifi
cate from the inquifitioninfaid la Comeb's favour, havi
ing heard that his own was loft. Thisw^s a very
good piece : For they madfe the King believe that he
had run away from the inquifition ; and this fhewed
thc contrary.
Father la Mothb then came to me, wjien I W«s
under" exceffive pains, counterfeiting aH the aifediea,
andtendernefs in his. power, and telling nae " that the
" affair of Father la Combe was goiing on very well,
^\ that he was juft ready to come out of prifon with
" honour,' that he was very glad of its , that if he had
" only this certificate, he would be delivered prefently.
" Give rae it then, Jaid he, and it will be done." At
firft I made a difficulty of doing it. " What ! jM
" he, will you be thc caufe of ruining poor Father ia
" Combe, having it in"^youF power to fave him, and
" caufe us that afflidion, for want of what you have in
" your hands." I yielded, .ordering it to be brought
and given him. He fuppreffed it, and gave out that
it was loft. It never could be got from him againJ The
Arabaffador from the Court of Turin fent a Page to
me for this certificate, defigning to make the proper lift

Chap. IV. LADY GUION. 163
ufe of it to ferve Father la Combe, I referred him to
Father la Mothe. The Page went tonhira and aflc
ed him for it. He denied that I had given him it ;
faying, " Her brain is difordcred which makes her
" imagine it." Thc page came back to mc, and told
me his anfwer : The perfons in my chamber bore wit-
nefs that I had given it to hira. Yet all fignified no
thing : It could never be got out ofhis hands ; but on
the contrary he infultcd me, and fet others alfo to do
it, though I was^ fo weak that I feemed to be at the
very gates of death,
Thev told me they only waited for my recovery
to clap me in prifon. He made his brethren believe
that I had treated him ill. They writ to mc ; one,
" that itwas for my crimes that I fuffefed ; ^nd that
" I .fhould put myfelf imdcr the condud, of Father
" LA Mothe, or otherwife fhould repent ;" another,
" that I was frantic and ought to be bound ; lethargic,
" and to be awakened; amonfterofpride fince 1 would
*' not fuffer myfelf to be cleanfed and conduded by
" Father la Mothe." Such was my daily feail in the
extremity of my pains ; deferred of my friends, and
oppreft of my enemies; the former being afhamed of
me, through the calumnies which were forged and in
duftrioufly fpread;. the latter let loofe to perfecute me ;
tinder all which Ikept filence, leaving rayfelf to the
Lord. To Father ea Mothe's infults I returned
mildnefs, and made him prefents.
There was not any kind of infamy, error,, forcery,
(sr'facrilege,^ of which they did not aqculf; mc. As
foon as I was able to bear being carried to the Maf$ in
a chair, I was tdd I muft fpeak to the Prebend. (It
was a fnare concerted betwixt Father la Mqthe and
^the Canon at whofe houfe I lodged) I fpoke to him
with much fimplicity, and heapproved of what I faid.
Yet two days after they gave out that I had uttered
many things, and accufed many perfons ; and from
X 2 hence

164 The L I F E br Part III.
hence they procured the baniflimentof fundry perfons
with whom they were difpleafed, perfons whom I had
never feen nor heard of They were men of honour.
One of them was banifhed, becaufe -he faid, " my
" little book is a good one." It is reraarkable that
they fay nothing to thofe who prefixed their approbati-,
ons, and that, far from condemning the book, it has
been reprinted fince I have been in prifon, and adver-
tiferaents of it pofted up at' the Archbifhop's palace,
and all over Paris. In regard to others, when they '
find faults in their books, they condemn the books and
leave the perfons at liberty : But as for me, ray book
is approved, fold and fpread, while I am kept a prifoner
for it.
TM'e fame day that thofe gentlemen were baniflledi
I received a letire de cachet, or order fealed and ad
dreffed to me, to repair to thc Convent ofthe Vifitation
of St. Mary's in thc fuburb St. Antoine. I received it
with a tranquility which furprifed the bearer exceedingly.
He could not forbear .expreffing it,' having feen the ex-
tream forrow of thofe who were only banifhed. He
was fo touched with it as to fhed tears. And though
his order was " to carry rae off diredly, he was not
afraid to truft rae, but left me all thc day, dcfiring.rhe
to repair to St. Mary's in thc evening. On that day
many of my friends carae to fee me, and found me
very chearful, which furprifed fuch of them as knew.
ftiy cafe. I could not ftand, I v^as fo weak, having
the fever every night, it being only a fortnight fince 1
received thc holy viaticum, I thought they would
leave me my daughter and maid to ferVe me. :My
daughter was moft at ray heart, having coft rae much
care in her education. I had endeavoured, with divine
affiftance, to root out her. faults, and to difpofe; her
to have no will of her own ; which is the bcfl difpo
fition for a child. She was not yet twelve years of
age- ' ¦ "  ' ¦ : ' -^'i-
CHAP-

Chap. V. LADYGUION. 165

CHAP. V.
ON the twenty-ninth of January 1688 I went to
St, Mary's. There they let me know that I
muft neither have my daughter nor a raaid to ferve
me, , but mufli be locked up alone in a chamber. In
deed it touched me to my heart when my daughter Was
taken from me. They would neither allow her to be
in that houfe, nor any body to bring me any news of
her. I was then obliged to faerificfe my daughter, as
if fhe were mine no longer. The people of the houfe
were prepoffeffcd with fo frightful an account of me,
thatthey looked at me with horror. For my jailor
they fingled out a Nun, who they thought would treat
me with the greateft rigour, and therein they were not
miftaken. Thev afked me who was now my confeffor. I
naraed him ; but he was feized with fuch a fright that
he denied it ; though I could have produced many
perfons who had feen me at his confeffional.. So then
they faid they had caught me in a lie ; and I was t not
to be trufted. My acquaintance now faid they knew
me not, and others were at liberty to invent ftories, and
Jay all manner of evil of me. The woraan, appointed for
my keeper, was gained over by my eneraies, to -tor
ment me as an heretic, an enthufiaft, one crackbrain-
ed and an hypocrite. God alone knows <phat fhe
made me fuffer. As fhe fought to furprife me in my
words, I watched them, to be more exad in them ; -but
I fared the worfe for it. I made more flips and gave
her more advantages over me thereby, befide the trou
ble in .my own mind for it. I then left myfelf as I was,
and refolved, though this woman fhould bring me to
the fcaffgld, by the falfe reports which ihe was conti-
I nually

i66 The L I F E OF Part IIL
nually carrying to-the Priorefs, that I would firaply re
fign rayfelf to my lot ; fo 1 re-entered into my former.
conditioh. Soon after I carae into this convent I had a dream,
irt which I faw the fky opening all on a fuddcn„_and
as it were a fhower bf bright fire. There were with
me a multitude of people, all of whom betook them
felves to flight, in order to efcape it. As to me, I
proftrated myfelf on the ground, and faid, " Oh my
*' God, it is I who am the vidim of thy juftice." I
foon awaked full of certainty that I fhould earn this
title of viSfim of divine juftice. Monfieur Charon the
Official and a Dodor of Sorbonne came four times to
exaraine rae. Oiir Lord did me the favour whicb he
pi'bnfiifed fo his apoftles, viz. to make me anfwer much
better than if I had ftudied. Luke xxi. 14,15. They
faid to me, " if I had explained myfelf, as I now didi
"all along in that fhort and eafy method of prayer, \
" fhould not now have been here." My laft exami-
hation was about a counterfeited letter, which they
read and let me fee. I told them the hand was no
way like mine. They' faid, " it was only a copy ;
" they had the original at home," I defired a fight
of it, but could not obtain it. I told them, " I never
" writ it, nor did I know the perfon to whom it was
" "addreffed ;" but they took fcarce any notice of what
I faid. After this letter was read, tbe Official tufned to
me, and faid, " you fee. Madam, that after fuch
" a letter there was foundation enough fbr imprifoning
« you," " Yes, Sir, faid I, if I had wrote it." I
•fhewed them its falfehoods and irtconfiftencies, bat all
in vain. I was left two months, and treated worfe and
worfe, before either of thera carae again to me. Till
then I had always fome hope that, feeing my inno
cence, they would do me juftice: But now I faw rhat
they

Chap. V. LADY GUION. 167
they did not want to find me innocent, but to make me
appear guilty.
The Official alone came thc next time, and told
me, " I mUft fpeak no niore of the falfe letter ; that
" it was nothing." " How nothing, fnjd I, to coun-
" terfeit a peffon's writing, and to ma;ke one pafs
" for an enemy to the .ftate !" He replied, *^ We
« will feek out the Author of it.'' " The Author,
" faid 1, is no other than the Scrivener Gautier."
He then demanded where the -papers were which I
I had writ on the. fcripturcs, I itold. him,- "I would
" give them up whe^ I fliould be oiat of prifon ; but
" was not wilhng to tell with ,*flit5iji. I had bdged
** them." /. , i
Aboi>T; thfCTC or ifoilr days before £^ffr he came
^ajn» with th? iPador, and a verbal procefs .drawn
up againft me for rebelling, in not .-giving up my
pftperg. Copies ; of my writings were then put int^
tiheir hands ; for -J; had not the originals. I know
not where thofe: who got them from me have put
them : . Put Lami>§#n3 in the-f«^thth2t:they will all
be preferved, in.! fpifi? of the,iBocm.: _. The Priorefs
aikftd the OfScial JWiW my aff»r; wmt, . He fignified
very well, and thjat.l.ftipuld be fooji iflifchargpd : And
this, became the qonamoia-tfllk;. but. I had a prej^Blii
menit 'of the ; cwtrary.

C ii A P,

i68 TheLIFEof Part IIL
C H A P. VL
IHAD an incxpreffible fatisfadion and Joy in fuf
fering, and being a prifoner, ' The confinement of
my body made mc better rcliflti the freedom of my
mindi St. Joseph's' day was to me a memorable
day ; for then my ftate had more of heaven than of
earth beyond what any expreffion can reach. I exped
ed from it that there was fome new cup for me to
drink, as the glorious tralnsfiguration of Christ was
an introdudion to his paffion ; depriving himfelf
for the reft^ of his life ofthe effufions of the 'divi
nity, the fupports of the human life, which he had
keptbcfore, thc beatitde being fufpended, the fuf
ferings unabated, unrelieved : In like manner I may
fay it, fell out to. me, though Unworthy to"* participate
the ftates of Jesus Christ, and with the infinite dif-
proportion of a poor weak creature to him who was
both God and man. This day of St. Joseph, who is a
faint to whom I am intimately united, was like a day
of transfiguration for me. It feemed to ¦ me that I had
then nothing left, pf the creature ; but that time was
followed as it were with a fufpenfion of every favour
then enjoyed, a difpenfation of new fufferings. I. was
obliged to facrifice 'myfelf anew, and to drink the very
dregs of the bitter draught. The dream I had had,
wherein all the indignation of God fell upon me, came
up again in my mind.
I NEVER had any gall of refentment againft my perfe^'
ciuors, though I well knew them, their fpirit and the|f?'
adions. Jesus Christ and the faints faw their perfe
cutors, and at the fame time faw that they could have
no power except it were given them from above. John
xix. II. Loving the ftrokes which God gives, one
cannot hate the hand which he makes ufe of to ftrike
with, A few days after, the Official came, and told rae

Chap. VI. LADYGUION. 169
me he gave rae the liberty of the Cloyfter, that is, to
go and corae in the houfe. They were now very in
duftrious in urging my daughter to confent to a mar
riage, which, had it- taken place, would have been
her ruin. To fucceed herein, they had placed hei"
with a relation of that gentleman whom they wanted
her to marry. 1 had all my_ confidence in God, that
he would not permit it to be accomplifficd, as that
perfon had no tiridure of chriftianhy, being abaridon-
ed in his principles and mOrals !
The Priorefs and the whole Cortinlunity united in*
giving the beft teftimonies of me that could be given
of any body. Indeed the whole houfe now Conceived a
very great affedfon for rae. Father la Moths heard
of it and was Vexed. He foured the minds both of
the Archbifhop and the Official whofe Confeffor he is.
Far from letting me go out at the ertd of ten days, as
had been faid, they left rae there feveral rt)onths. The'
Archbifhop faid, that I mufi c^ped nothing buf from
my repentance. I was toffed between hope and de
fpair. Now I was told that my perfecutors had rhe
upper hand, and I thought I muft be a prifoner dl the
reft of my days. On a fiidden would come new days
of hope. , Then the affair feemed to be conduded in
my favour, and myfelf on the point of being 6*'tte'd and •
declared innocent. On which prefentljr followed forte
reverfe, new calumnies, new crimes difcovered. Hooked
on myfelf as a reed beaten with the wind, one while
laid down on the ground^ anpther time raifed up
again. Prefently I was told that Father la Mothe
had obtained an order for putting rtie in a hotife df
which he was the mafter, where it was thought he wt)uld
make me fuffer extremely ; for he is very hard. Sorae
of my friends wept bitterly at the hearing of it ; but
fuch was my refignation thatl could not \*eep about
ic There appears to be in me fuch an entire lofs bf
what regards myfelf, that any of my own interefts
give me little pain or plgafure, ever wanting to will
Vol. IL t or

170 The LIFE OrF Part IIL
or wifli for myfelf only the very thing which God does.
An ignoniihious death on afcaffold, with which I have
fo often bcpn threatened, raakes not any alteration
.in rae. As God wiU always be infinitely happy, it,
feems to me that there is not any thing, in time or
eternity, which can hinder me frora being' infinitely
happy, fince ray happinefs is in him alone.
* Father la C«aise was much prejudiced againft
rhe; for he had been told that I was deep in errors;
that I had retraded fome of them, bUt flill retained
many. .^ friend of mine urged mc to write to him,
telling me, " I fhould not wait, for God to dO every
'' thing for mej without doing myfelf what was pro-
" per; for that would be to tempt God." Out of
complaifance then, without the leaft hope of any good
arifihgfrom it, I writ to hira a true account of myfelf,'
of the counterfeit letter, and the falfehoods reported
of me ; letting him know that I could, prove the
truth of what I writ, if he would admit it. I could ,
never find that this letter produced any good effed,"
but rather the reverfe. The Archbiffiop affured him
tha,t I was very criniinal ; and to prove it the better,'
pretended to be willing to do me a favpur. He fent
a certain Bifhop privately, to folicit the Priorefs to
get me to write a handfome letter of fubmiffion, in
which I fhould declare that I was criminal, and had.
made fome retradjon ; affuring me thar, if 1 writ fucCi
a letter, I fhould be immediately difcharged. .' '
I FORGQT to tell that, a month befpre this, the Offi-;
cial (with the Dodor) carae to rae. He porpofcd to
me in the prefence of the Priorefs, that if 1 wbuld
confent to thc marriage of my daughter, as above
-0inted, I fhould be fet free in kfs than eight days. I
anfwered ,him, " that I would not buy niy liberty at
" the price of facrificing my daughter ; thatl was
.; ,. ' ' , "contentj'V.
', ¦ , >, ''IS
• A'Jefuit and Coitfeffor to the King of iFr«»«. , "",

Chap. VI. LADY GUION. 171
" content, as long as it ftioiild pleafe the Loud, to
" continue in prifon." He replied, " the King would
*' not ufe violence in the cafe : Bnt he defired it." I
faid, ",thc King was too juft to ad otherwife." And
yet a few days after. Father la Chaise was told that
I h^d faid, " The King would have me kept in prifon
" till I confented to my daughter's raarriage, and
" that the Archbifhop had told the fame to my chilr
" drcn's guardian." They faid, " I had invented this,
" thatl wasa ftate criminal, and ought tp be clofely
" locked up again." But before that, they made a frefh
attempt, to get me to write thc letter demanded, after
which they faid I fhould be delivered. I knew it to
be'a fnare ; that they had no mind to deliver me, but
to have a clear, proof againft me, to iraprifon me *for
the reft of my life, and that this was what they wanted.

C HAP. VII.
SOON after the Official and the Dodor came to
tell the Priorefs that I muft be clofely locked up.
She reprefented to them that the chahiber T was in
was fmall, having an opening to the light or air, only
on one fide, through which the fun fhone all the day
long ; and that, being the month of "July, it muft
foon be my death. They paid no regard theretOi
She afked why I muft be thus clofely locked up.
They faid, " I had committed horrible things, in her *»
" houfe, even within the laft month, and had fpan-
" dalized the Nuns." She protefted the contrary,
.and I affured them the whole community had received
great edification from me, and could not but admire
my patience and moderation. But it was all in vain :
Y 2 And

, 172 The LIFE of Part III.
Alid the poor woman could not refrain from tears,
at a forgery fo remote from the truth.
They then fent for me, and told me, " I had
" done bafe things in the laft month." I afked what
things ? They would not tell mc. I faid then, " that
*' I would fuffer as long and as much as it fhould
" pleafe God ; that this affair was begun on forgeries
" againft me, and fo it continued.  That Gon'^was
" witnefs of every thing." The Dodor told me,
" Tb take God for a witnefs in fuch things iwis a
" crime." I replied, " Nothing in the world- could
" hinder mc from having recourfe to God." I then
retired, and was fhut up more clofely than at firft:
And becaufe there was no key, they fafte'ned the^ ?!bam-
ber doOr with a piece of wood, or bar acrofs it. 1
had an interior joy at this new humiliation. Oh what
pleafure, my fuprcrac Love, to be for thee in the *
moft abjed condition !
The guardian of my children went to fee the Arch
bifhop, and afked him for what caufe I, was madefo
clofe a prifoner, fince he had lately told him lwas
juftified. He anfwered, '" You, fir, who are a Judge,
" know that ten indidracnts may fail of condem-
" ning, and that one may be fo^und which may ab-
" folutcly do it." " What new thing then, my
" Lord, faid the Counfellor, has my coufin done ?"
*' What, faid he, don't you know ? After having
'' declared fhe was innocent, fhe has in this laft
M month with tears, and as it were by force, writ
" a retradation, wherein fhe. acknowledges thatfhehas
'i^ fallen into error, and hatched wicked fentiments;
" that fhe has been guilty of all fhe has been accufed
" of; that fhe curfes the day and hour whcreiiifhe
"became acquainted with F. la Com?e," The
Counfellor miftrufted: it was a forgery. He defired to
fee it, with my examinations. The Archbifhop told
hira, " It was not to be feen. ' Thc affair was the
" King's."

Chap. VIL LADYGUION. 173
" King's." The Counfellor, to be the better affijred,
came hither to enquire whether I had written and
figned any thing. The Priorefs affured him that
neither the Official nor Diredor had come hither for
four months paft,, except when they came to propofe
the marriage of my daughter, when thc Counfellor
was prefent. I had writ nothing all that time, ex
cept, at the defire of thc Priorefs, a few lines to the-
Archbifliop, wherein I reminded him " that his Of-
" ficial had told me, before Easter, that I ilioUld
*' not remain here above ten days ; that that time
*' was now greatly multjl^liecj, and that. I therefore
*' now defired ray liberty, as my teraporal concerns
" needed it." Of this letter the Priorefs kept a
copy. But it was no difficulty to that fcrivener,
who had writ the firft falfe letter, to write raore of
them. ' - ' , .
It was then for thefe counterfeit letters, fhewed
to F. LA Chaise, that I was now fo clofely fhut up.
Now reports were current that I was conyided of old
criraes, and had committed new ones. This obtained
fuch credit, that even in this hpufe they began to en-
' terrain fome doubts about me; my friends again
forfook and blamed me for the letter I had written
to F. jiA Chaise. I faid in rayfelf, " None fhall
" hereafter prevail on me to have recourfe ro the
" creatures. I will place all my hope in Gop only."
Do then with rae. Oh ray Love, what thov fhalt
pleafe both for urae and for eternity. Even my chil
dren's guardian, the Counfellor, changed now in his
regard tow?.rds me.
, F.' la Mot.iie had faid I _^uid hfiui up, three
days before it was done. He faid alfo, " We hear
" that where F. la Combe is imprifoned there is
" a commandant who favours him : But "we fhall
^' caufe him to be faftened up clofei" F. la Comb^
had been transferred to the ifle of Oleron, where the
commanders.

174 The LIFE OF Part IIL
commanders, touched with his virtue, refpeded him
as a fervant Of God. The chief of them, fiUed with
a love for the truth, writ to Monfipur Chateauneuf,
governor of the ifland, in his favpur, requefting him to
grant a mitigation to the rigour of his imprifonment,
The Governor fhewed this letter to the Archbi
fhop, and he to F. la Mothe. And they con
cluded to remove him from thence into a defart
ifla'ndj which was dope.
Before I was. arrefted, ^onfieur —  fent for ij.
certain woman, and told her fhe muft go to the
Jefuits, and fvvear againft me feveral things which'; ^
he told her: -She faid, fhe did not, know me.".
*' That makes no matter, faid he, it, muft be done j
" and that his defign was to ruin me." Hereupon
fhe went to a virtuous Ecclefiaftic who told her, " It
" was a falfehood ; and a fin to do it." She then
refufed to do it. He tampered with another to get
her to do it. She alfo excufed herfelf. A Friar,
againft whom there were great, fubjeds of complaint,
to gain credit to himfelf, . writ againft rae : For they
gained raoft who could write with greateft force
againft mc.
I 'Have a coufin in whom the Lord has begun a'.
good work, and I hope he'v/ill perfed it in her. She,v:
refiding at St. Cyr, fpoke in my favour to Madanpi'
Maintenon, and fhe to the King, whom fhe found''
exceedingly prejudiced againft me : She could at
that time do nothing for me. I was told. There] •
'was no hope. All my friends faid'. My imprifonment
was likely to be perpetual. I fell dangeroufly ill, being
fhut up in a place where the air was fo hot, ir-
feemed like a ftove. They writ to the Official herci
upon, defiring him ro order fome help, and to per
mit fomebody to enter my chamber to ferve me.
He returned no anfwer ; and, but for the Superior
of the houfe, who thought he.could not in confcience leave

Chap. VIL LADY G U I O N. 175
leave me to die without attempting fome relief (and
therefore ordered thc Priorefs^ to look after, me) I
fhould have died without fuccour. For when the
Archbifliop was, fpoken to about ir, ".Very fick,
" faid he, at being fhut up within f'our walls, after
" what fhe has done!" He would grant nothing,
though the Counfellor apphed to him for it. I had
a ftrong fever, an inflamraation of the throat, a
cough, and a continual difcharge from the headon
the breaft like to ftifle mc. The Superior ordered a
phyfician and furgeon to attend me. It was God. who
infpired him to do it; for had I npt been bled I muft
foon have died. Seldom I think has the like treat
ment been' heard of. All Paris was let loofe againft
me. My friends were afraid left 1 fliould die ; for
by my- death my memory would have been covered
with reproach, and my enemies would have tri
umphed : But God' would not yet fuffer theni , to
have that joy. After bringing me down he was
pleafed to raife me up again.
In the time of the antient law there were feveral ,
of the Lord's martyrs, who fuffercd for-afferting and
trufting in thc one true God. In the primitive church
of Christ thc martyrs fhed their blood, for main
taining the truth of Jesus Christ crucified: But
now "there are" martyrs of the holy Spirit, who fuf-.^,
fer for their dependence on it, for maintaining, its.
reign in fouls, ahd for being vidims of the diyine
Will. -
It is this fpirit v.'hich is to be poured out on all
flefh, as faith the prophet Joel. The martyrs of
Jesus Christ have been glorious martyrs, he having
drank up the confufion of that martyrdom : But the
martyrs of thc holy Spirit are martyrs of reproach
and ignominy. 'The devil no more exercifes his
power againft their faith or belief, but diredly at
tacks the dominion of the holy Spirir, oppofi.ig its
celeftial

176 The L I F E OF Part ll,
celeftial motion ip fouls, and difchargfng his hatred
on the bodies of thofe whofe minds he cannot hurt.
Oh holy Spirit, a Spirit of love, let me ever be
fubjeded to thy will, and, as a leaf is moved before
the wind, fo let me by thy divine breath. As the
impetuous wind breaks all that refifts it, fo break
all that oppofes thy erapire, even the towering ce
dars which ftand in fuch oppofition.
It is faid of Jesus Christ that he yielded up the
ghoft, or fent forth his Spirit. (Matt, xxvii. 50.;
This was both the confuraniation of his pains, and
tbe confuraraation of all ages, even of all things
which through his Spirit fhall be done in the whole
wbrld. Hence he faid, it is finiflied, or confummated.
(John xix. 37) Since his death, St. Paul has told
us that he (hall deliver up the kingdom to God his Father,
1 Cor, XV. 24. to the end that God by his fpirit may
rei^n on earth. Jesus Christ taught to prav that
the kingdom of God may come, and his will be done on
earth as in heaven, which implies the fubjcdion of the
whole will in the creature to that of the creator, even
without any reludance, hefitation or delay. Then will
his reign be confummated, and his enemies become his
footftool. Oh thus may all be reduced into one, though
it be through rauch dcftrudion of what oppofes this
kingdora, according to Christ's words, vii. I came not
to fend peace but a fword. Mat. x. 34. lam come to
Jendfire on earth : And what will I, if it be already kind
led? Luke xii. 49.

CHAP.

Chap. Vill. ,LADY GUION. 177

CHAP. VIII.
THEY ftill ftrove hard, to draw out ofmc forac re
tradions, being not well enough fatisfied with
thofe which the fcrivener had inferted in the counter
feit letter. They wanted them from myfelf,' in order
that they might ferve for a proof of my guilt to pof-
terity, a proof that they were in the right to imprifon
me, and to convince the world alfo, that it was with
juftice that they had caufed Father la Combe to be
imprifoned. They raade ufe both of alluring promifes
and violent threats, to induce meto write that he was a
deceiver. I anfwered that, however rigorous ray ira-
prifonment was, I was ready to die and even to mount
the fcaffold, fooner than to write any falfehood ; that I
was content to fuffer whatever it Ihould pleafe God to
order or permit ,- that they ought to fhew my exami
nations, fince I had therein told the truth, as I had
folemnly promifed to do.
As they faw they could draw, nothing elfe frora rae,
they forged an execrable letter, wherein they made me
accufemyfelf of all forts of crimes, "even fuch as God
has done me the favour to keep me ignorant of. They
alfo therein made rae own that Father la Combe had
deceived me, and that I detefted the hour in which I
firft knew hira. Father la Mothe,- feeing that people
began to look upon hira as the author of the perfecu
tion and imprifonment of Father la Combe, in order
to difculpate himfelf in the eye of the. public, writ to
him that 1 had accufed him, that he had defired the
Archbifhop to fhew, him his examinations, that he had
defigned to purfue the affair, and to demand fatisfac
tion for having imprifoned him. "^ But, fays he, the
" Archbifhop told me it was the King's affair, and
" none of mv bufinefs." He publiftied abroad that
Vol. II. ' Z Ihad

178 The LIFE of Part III.
I had like tb have ruined their houfe, wanting to bring
them all to be C^uietifts. He bethought himfelf of
another ftratageratp prevent tbe King frora ever know^
ing that he was thc author of oui: perfecutions. ' '
The Archbifliop, whpfe diredor he is, confulted
him, in a fliam, way, whether he could in confcience
fet me at liberty, bec^yfe he was afraid left Mad. Main-
tenon wpiuld fpe^k for me. He anfwered in fuch a
manner as to make me appear guilty, and yet himfelf
to be cpncerncd on my behalf. " I think, my Lord,
" replied hc^ writing in. a concerted letter, that you may
" fet miy fifter ?t hberty, notwhhftanding all that is
*' paft i and I offer to engage to you that no incon-
" venience fliall arife from it," This letter was fliew
ed to the King, tp let him fee the probity of Father la
Mothe, and to take away all fufpicion of his inclina
tion to perfecute me: And yet, in fpite of the cojiful-
tation, they did not fail t-o fpeak ouJt. openly, that they
did npt think in their confciences that they could fet
me at liberty. They fet me out, to the King, fo much
the more crirainal, as Father la Mothe was the more
zealous in my behalf. A Bifhop, fpeaking about me
one day, to one of my friends who endeavoured to
defend, rae, ftid, " Hpw would you have us think her
" jnnpcent, when I know that her own bjother. Father
*' LA Mothe, has been obliged out of zeal for the
" good of thej church, a.nd through a fpirit of piety^
" tp carry fhp.cking raeraorials againft his fifter, and
" her Father Confeffor, to the Archbifhop's palace ?"
Though Father la CoMiBE be? under clofe con-
fineraent, we do not fi^il to communicate in God.
Many fp.iritu.ql perfons, tp whom the Lord has united
rae by the tie of maternity, experience the fame coni-
munication, though in; my abfence, abd find, in this
union the remedy or relief of their pains. Oh. Goi),
whp haft chofen in this poor creature toered the throne
of thy goodnejs qnd Jeverity, thou knoweft, that I pafs
over

Chap. VIIL LADY GUI ON. 179
over many things, either for ^)vant of remembering,
or of knowing how fo exprefs them, I have faid what
I could, and that with the utraoft fincerity and entire
truth. Though I haVe been obliged tb defcribe the
procedure of thofe who perfe'cUte liie, I have nbt done
it put of refentment, fince I love thera at my heart,
and pray for them, leaving to G6d thc care of de
fending me, and delivering me out of their hands,
without making any movement of my own for it. I
have apprehended and belic^^ed that Got) would have
me write every thing fincet'cly, that his name may be
glorified ; that the things dbne irt feeret againft his fer
vants fhoUl'd one d^y be publiflied ort the hotife tops ;
for the more they ftrive to (tonceal them froni the eyes
of men, the more will God in his own time make then!
all manifeft.
At prefent I experience tWo ftates, that of Christ
erucifted and of fiis infant ftate, the one of daily
croffes,- very -violent, vlithtint numbei' df intermiffion ;
the other fo child-like, fimple alrtd candid^ that nic-
thinks if my fpul were to be irripreffed any way, there
could come nothing" out of it but cahddf, innbcehcc,
fubmiffiOn and parience. Oh my God, methinks, thou
haft made of me a prodigy, a hfdhuttient of thy good
nefs and wonderful works ! There is wtbught in rae
fomething ofthe original, which is CorilmuniCated to me
after a manner inexplicable, which nbthing but expe
rience can comprehend ; and rare indeed is that expe-
ribhce. Tis then tO thee, O Ut Love, that I render
what I have writ for thee.
; Don£ this 22dbf Auguft 16^8, aged forty years,
irt my prifon, which I love arid Cherifti, as I find it
fahdifted by MY LoVe.
I forgot to tell that I had a Jenje of the ftate of
the fouls which cartietbme, andof that of the perfons
which were gi-ycfl the, how f^r diftant foever they
Z 2 were

iSo The LLFE OF Part IIL
were from me. 'Qy JenJe I tnean an interior impreffion
of what" they were, efpecially fuch ^, as paffed for fpi
ritual. I knew prefently whether they were upright
or artful, their degree, and their felf-love, for which 1
felt a. rejedion. I knew when they were ftout in them
felves, and fupported by the virtue they imagined they
had, by which they meafured others, and condemned
in their minds thofe'who were not 'like themfelves,
though more perfed. Thefe perfons who. think them
felves righteous, and are thought fo by others, are
much more unacceptable to God, than fome'finners
from weaknefs, who are .looked on with contempt;
whora neverthelefs :GqD, favours with great mercies ;
Which will not be fully feen but at' the day of judg
ment. He beholds ajar off thofe fouls which are fo
exalted and full bf themfelves, though they, fancy
themfelves hurable, becaufe they appear in fome afts
of humility, which, for the moft part incrcafe the high
opinion thpy have'.pf themfelves. Jf they were tp
fuffer fome real humiliation, then would appear their
want of folidity. Oh if people knew hpWmuch God
loves the true littlenefs of fpirit in the, creat,urc, they
¦would behold it with .amazement," ' Wlien they fpeak
to me of fome perfons of, piety, my inward fenfe re-
jeds thofe who are not in the. low ftate,! have mention
ed ; and; admits thofe who, are fubjed tp God in that
ftate. There is fomething in me which refufes the
evil, however glbffy . or co.vered ; , and , greatly loves
the true and folid good. I find it. is the fame even in
the pradice of virtues ;,' or what paft fot fuch." This,
fpirit difcerns the real -virtue from .that which only w^ars,
itslikenefs. Of fuch as have left this life and are how
accounted faints, it efteeras thofe raoft. who have bceii
moft annihilated, and whom God has mbflj, fandified
by his own operation ; ii: does not join iri thc world's
cry, in attributing to others that which they wanted.
It was thought I was about coraing out of prifon^
and every thing feemed to tend toward it." But th$,
'"/'¦' ' Lord

Chap. VIIL L A D Y . G U I ON. i8i
Lord gave me a fenfe that, far from being willing' to '
deliver me, their confultations were only laying new
fnares to ruin mc more effedually, to make Father
\,A MpTHE known to the King, and efteemed by him.
,The 22d of Auguft I waked under an impreffion of
.Jesus Christ in an agony, feeing the counfel of the
Jews againft hira. I knew that none but God could
deliver me oijt of prifon, and I was fatisfied that he
would dp it one. day by his own right hand, though
,i(gnorant ofthe rp^mner, ^nd leaviog it wholly tp
himfelf
, ,Mv fpul has Iqqg been in an entire independence on
every thing which is not God. It wants not any crea
ture.; and if it were alone in the- world, in its prefent
ftate, it would be infinitely content, as it fticks, to no
thing under heaven. Nothing elfe: hut God occupies
¦ andjfills it. This mortification of every defire, this ina-
;^ility of cleaving to',any Creature (I mean not of things
pecefl^ry for the body) this perfed fatisfadion exerapt-
.ed , frorti eyery felfifh wifh, becaufe it wants nothing,
is the fureft proof of the entire poffeffioni of GoDy who
alone, as the fovereign good, can fatisfy the whole
foul, ... " 
One day thinking why I could not invoke any of
the faints, though united to them in God, it was .put
into my mind, that domefticks had need of credit and
jntercefibrs, while the IpOufe "readily obtains every
thing; without afking any thing. He of his infinite
'^ goodnefs prevents her. Oh how lii-tle known is r the
holy Author of all good,! They examine my adions.
They cry out that I dp not fay over my chaplet,;or beads,
that I have np devption for the holy Virgin. Oh di;
vine Mary," thou knoweft how ray heart is fingly de
voted to God, and the union which he- has forraed be-
tw;ixt us in himfelf I can do nothing but what he di-
red:s, depending wholly on his v^ill.
The

i82 The LIFE of Part IIL
The Officiali the Dodor, the Guardian of my chil
dren, and Father la Mothe came tbgether to fpeak
to me about the marriage of my daughter. Father
LA Mothe, who heard all that paffed, faid not a'word,
except that he whifpered to me (thinking thereby to
fcreen himfelf from the difgrace of that mahce where
with he perfecuted me j " that I was detained in this
" convent, only on account of the marriage of my
" daughter." I made him littie anfWer, yet treated
him in the moft- courteous and cordial manner that was
poffible; our Lord granting me the favou^ of eafily
ading this way, through his love. They told Father,
LA Mothe they were glad to fee that I received him fo
well. He gave out that, while I fliewed him exte
rior civihties, I had ufed him ill, and treated him with
malignity. When I heard it, I could not btit wondei*
that any raan could invent fuch grOfs untruths.
God, who never fbrfakes thofe that truft in him, has
done what he made rae know be would do, by the
hand of Mad. MAiNTENOt*. It fell out in the m^ifi^
ner I ara g«ing to relate. It fhews^ the wonderful
condud of God, and the care he takes of thofe who
are wholly his, even when he appears the moft to de-
fert them.
My uncle's affairs having mifcarried, he had a
daughter, a Canonefe of fenfe and merit. She had' a
little fifter who was very pretty : Ahd as Mad: MaiM-
TENON had newly eftablifhed a houfe for yotittg ladies,^
whofe fathers bad been ruined in the Kirtg's- fervice,
this Canonefs went to . prefent her little fifter tb Mad.
Maintenok, who liked her much, as fKe did alio the
good fenfe and condud of the Canonefs. She( defired
her to ftay at leaft for fome rime to give this hotjfe its
beginning. My coufin was pleafed to fpeak in my
favotir to Mad. Maintenon, but found her fop>re»
judiced againft me by tbe current calumnies, that fhe
had no hope of doing any thing for me there. She let

Chap. VIIL LADY Q U I O N. i8^
I , J
let me know it. I was quite content with the will of
God, and was under a full perfuafion in rayfelf, that
God would raake ufe of Mad. Maintenon for ray
enlargement. _ Mad. Miramion, who alfo looked on me as very
criminal, from the fame caufe, providentially came
to the convent which I was in, having a great efteem'
fbr the Priorefs, She afked her about mc. Both the
Priorefs and thc Nuns gave ber fuch a eharader of
me, and of my converfation and condud, as aftonifh- ¦
ed her. After her return fhe fpoke of me to Mad.
Maintenon with a good effed.
Btrx what was yet more amazing, the Abbefs, with
whom I had placed that good young woman, who had
ccrfl me fo many croffes, as well at Gex as becaufe
Father la Mothe wanted the Dooney which I had af-
figned for her portion, which in part has caufed the
pcrfecurion I have fuffered, came to Paris about bufi
nefs. Having occafion to treat with me about that
portion, and being a relation of Mad. Maintenon,
fhe cpmplained to her, that the Archbifhop 'would not
allow her to fpeak to me. Hereupon Mad. Maintei-
NON fpoke for me to the King, who ordered the Arch
bifhop to fet me at liberty : Which both furprifed and
vexed him. exceedingly. I admired the fingular fteps
ofthe adorabk condud of divine Providence herein,
fince the fame money, which had proved* a fource of
croffes to rae, was now made the means of my deli
verance.- This Abbefs alfo gave Father la Mothe a
fear, kft his underhand dealing againft me fhould be
difcpvered, in a letter which flie writ to him, wherein
fhe expreffedherhigh efteem of my virtue and of the
piotis life I had led.

CHAP.

184 The L I F E of Part ill.

C H A P. IX.
MY enemies informed the King, that I could not
come out of prifon without the proper- forma
lities. This was an ad which they wanted me tp fign,
to fhew the'y had not been in the wrpng, and to fcreen
thera from all the refcarches which afterward might be
made into their condud in my affair. The Official '
came about the beginning of Odober, tdhng me,," I
" rauft fign an ad he had drawn up :" Finding, on thc
perufal bf it, fundry articles which I could by no means
be free to fign, I let him kqow it. Lie difputed thetn
with me one after another, now and then breaking out
into violent paffions, faying, " I fliould fign them; or
" pay dearly for it." He and the Dodor faid, " If I
"figned what they demanded, .they would prefently
"'open to' me the door." [She made all the concejfiens
Jhe could confiftent -wi'th reajon and truth ; but .they ftrove
hard Jor more ; Jor themfelves, and the Archhijhqpi,- who.
had the matter much at heart. '\
I have underftood fince, that one ;of my perfecutors
had obtained a power to fend me two hundred leagues
off, to a prifon where I ftiould have been likely never
more to be heard of ; it pleafed God to put forth his
hand to. fave me, when things were become defperate.
When my children's guardian went to the Secretary.
fpr ray lettre de cachet, or letter fealed and addreffed-
to rae, (after the King had given his order to fet me
at liberty) the Secretary afked if it was for that lady
who was to be transferred. Oh how it pleafes God to
overturn thc defigns of raen ! Thc Abbefs, with the faid
guardian, then carae and took rae out of prifon. They
took rae firft to thc Archbiffiop, out of form, to thank
him. I ought indeed to do it for What he has made
me fuffer, as by it God has been glorified. Mad.
^ MiRAMION,

Chap. IX. LADY' GUI ON. 185
MiRAMION, Mad. Maintenon and others, were very
glad to fee mc fet at liberty. , The Archbifhop defired
rae to Jay nothing oJ what had paffed. [
Some days .after ray releafe having heard of the
Abbe dc F. * ray mind was taken up with him with
much force and fweetnefs. It feemed to mc that the
Lord would unite hira to me in a very intimate man
ner, beyond any other, and that of him there would
be formed ,a fpiritual filiation {or Jonfhip) to mc. I
had an opportunity of feeing him the next day. I in
wardly felt that this firft interview did not farisfy him.
I experienced fomething which made mc want to pour
out myheart into his ; but I did not find yet the due
correfpondence for it, which made mc fuffer much.
Next morning I faw him again. We remained in
filence together for fome time, till the cloud was dif
fipated ; but he was not yet as I defired> him to be.
Eight whole days I fuffered on his account, after which
I found myfelf united to him without any obftacle :
And ever fince, this union has increafed after a raanner
pure and ineffable. My foul feeraed to be joined to
his in the bond of divine love, as was that of Jona
than to David. The Lord has given me a view of
the greizt defigns he has upon this perfon, and how dear
he is to him. •ABBE DE FENELON. See page »i.

Vol. II. A a CHAP.

i86 The L I F E OF Part IIL

CHAP. X.
I Have thought of writing no raore of what regards
my interior ftate, not having words to exprefs it,
being fo pcrfedly feparated from all that can fall under
fentiment, expreffion, or human conception.
I shall only fay that, after being raifed up again,
I found in myfelf, fome years, before ray being put into
what is called the Apoftolic ftatp, or raiffion for tl^e.
help of others, all felfiffincfs confumed in the purga
tory I had paffed through. I found myfelf in a feli
city like that of the \Bleffed. Nothing here below
touched , me. At prefent I fee not any thing on earth
which can give me pain in. regard tp myfelf.
The happinefs of fuch a foul can never be com
prehended without experience! , Thofe, who die in
being employed in thus helping the.ir neighbour, di,e
in the lupreme felicity, though loaden with extericj||
croffes, - . ^^
When it pleafed God to honour me: with his miffion,.
he fliewed me that the true father in Jesus Christ, the
Apoftolic Paftor, ought -like him to fuffer fpr raen, to
bear their infirmities, to pay their debts, to be clothed
wich their v/eakneffes. He inclines the heart to what
lie demands, imprinting on it words like thefe,' " I was
happy, I poffeffed glory, I was God : But I quitted
it all, and fubjeded rayfelf to pain, contempt, igno
miny and punifhment. I becarae a raan to fave
men. If thou art willing to finiffi what is behind of
my fuffering, and that I form in thee an extcnfion ^f
my quality of Redeemer, thou muft confent to
lofe the happinefs thou enjoyeft, to be fubjed to
weakneffes and miferies, to bear thc infirmities of
" thofe

Chap.X. LADY GUION. 187
" thofe with whom I fliall entruft thee, to pay their
" debts, and in ffiort to be expofed not only to their ¦
" interior pangs, from which (as ¦ to thyfelf ) thou haft
" been delivered, but to all the moft violent perfecu-
" tions. If I had continued in my private life, I had
" never fuffered any perfecution. None are .perfe-
" cuted but flich as are eraployed in the help of
" fouls." He fhewed rae that he called me not, as fome had
thought, to gain exterior profclytes to the , church,
but fingly to the propagarion of his own good fpirit.
He does not fo much defign me for the firft converfi-
on of finners, as to make thofe who are touched with
right defire to enter into perfed cqnverfion. Since
God has been pleafed to beftow on mc part of the
Apoftolic ftate, what have I not fuffered? And yet,
ray love for thofe fouls, inftead of defiring to be freed
frora it, has increafed in proportion to ray incrcafe of
fuffering' for thera, even till their entire purification.
Then, the union, which ¦ has often been covered with
clouds, becomes like a clear air, every, where pene
trated with the light of the fun. As to the fouls which
are the raoft confuramate in the love of God, living
araong men, their exterior is covered with apparent
weakneffes, which (like a poor fkin) hide infinite trea-
fures frora the view of others, and tend to fave thera
frora being loft.
After entering into the new life men find them
felves fo different from the reft of mankind, and think
fo differently frora what they have been ufed to do,
that the faults and errors of their neighbours become
inflipportablc to them. The foul is ready to cry out.
Now Lord, letteft thou ihy fervant depart in peace accord-
. ing to thy word, for mine eyes have feen thy falvation.
Luke ii. 29. But in regard to fuch as have the pain
ful tafl< of conduding others, if the fouls conduded
could penetrate, acroS their feeble outfidc appearance,
Aa 2 thc

i88 The L I F E of Part IIL
the depth of their grace, they would look on them
with too high a refped, and would not die to the fup
port which fuch a condud would give them. If the
Jews could have penetrated acrofs the exteriorj of
Jesus Christ, coraraon with other men, they never
had perfecuted hira, but would have been- in a con
tinual admiration. Thefe perfons then are a paradox
both in their own eyes, and in the eyes of thofe who
behold thera : For they fee no more than a plain and
homely appearance in them, though there often comes
a divine virtue out of them- Celeftial wifdom flows
frora their heart a!nd mouth, like, from trees pregnant
therewith, a fpring of divine fap, which communicates
life to an infinite nuraber of branches, though one fees
on them only a coarfe and raoffy rind. Hence men whq
prefurac to judge of thefe fouls are very liable to err in
judgraent, and, as fays the Apoftle Jude, like filthy
dreamers, to defpife dominion and fpeak evil of dignities,
ef things which they know, not, (Judb v. 3, |o.) the holy
myfteries of GOd, revealed by him only to the fouls
which he has prepared to receive them.
Such fouls can only fpeak and write through the ac--
tual light of thc prefent moment, which lafts no lon
ger than it is neceffary to fpeak, or write; without
being able to fee or think afterward on what they faw
before, unlefs the adual light be rcftorcd to them. It
it is like a perfon to whpra one opens a cabinet full of
treafures, who fees thera fo long as it is open, but fees
nothing of thera when it is fhut up again. Only the
fpoufe opens and none can fhut ; and when he fhuts none
caii open. Such a foul cares neither for honour nor
wealth nor life. If it were notfo, it could not fervC
other fouls in the whole extent of the defigns of
God. If God retained thefe hidden fouls in the fecret of
his prefence, they would be fcrecned frora the perfecu
tions of men ; But how willingly would they fuffer fire

Chap.X. LADYGUION. 189
fire and racks for a fingle foul ! No wonder if the
Devil ftir up all quarters of his dominion againft Apof
tolic fouls ; he knows that fuch a foul, were it hearken
ed to, would deftroy his empire. All exterior devo
tions hurt hira but little; for he makes reprifals on
the felf-love of fuch devotions, for what they make
him lofe by thc regularity of their obfervances : But
there is not any gain for him to make on a foul devoted
to the truth of God, and to his pure love ; who lets '
felf be deftroyed by the fovereign power of God.
The Devil cannot approach thefe fouls but at a
diftance. The rage with which he is fired againft them
has no bounds. To be devoted to God, one muft
have no choice or preference of efteem for one adion
above another. People form to themfelves idea.s,
and imagine that a foul is given to Gob in fome certain
manner : And when they fee any thing contrary to
thofe ideas, they conclude Gob is not there ; and yet
it is often where he is moft. He fets no value on any
virtue of our forraing, A ftate which depends on
any good, which is capable of being conceived or dif-
tinguiffied, is a virtuous ftate, but not a divine ftate.
The faints of the Lord are fandified, not like other
faints, by the pradice of forac virtues; but by the
Lord hirafelf, and by an infinite fupplcnefs to every
intimation of his will, even in thc fmalleft things, which
is the real poffeffion of every virtue. Thefe are faints
after his raanner, and not after that of men. Let
there not be any virtue or holinefs for me, but what
flows from this fpring, Thus may I, and the children
whom God has given rae, go on frora faith to faith !
Though the foul which is loft in God have, an infinite
fupplenefs of obedience to his will, yet it is raore
particularly attraded toward other fouls in which it
finds an harmonious correfpondence, and on thc other
hand appears referved, and to have pain to fpeak before
' ' others, being fenfible of their repugnant difpofitions.
One muft judge of fouls, even in the child's ftate,more

190 TheLIFEof Part IH.
more by what God has done for them than by What one
fees; for otherwife ¦ one would judge of theni more
from one's own ftate than from the ftate which they are
in. What feems weak' in God farfurpaffes the great
eft force in men.. It is what caufes thc joint alliance
of thofe feeming contraries, divine ftrength^ with the
weaknefs of a child, 1688. •

GHAP. XL

AT ray coming out of St. Mary's I entered into
the coraraunity of Mad. Maintenon. My ene
mies, not yet tired of plotting againft me, told mc, it
was more proper for me to enter into a private houfe.
This was to fet on foot new forgeries, as before.
When they faw that, with all their endeavours for
it, they could not prevail, they writ to Mad. Mirai-
mion, affuring her that they faw me go into bad houfes
in the fuburb S. M?rf(?^K ; and thatl held affemblics.
Father la Mothe was the author of thefe letters.
Mad. MiRAMION, who knew that I had all this time
kept my bed in the fever, with an impofthume in the
eye which was dreffed every day, herfelf generally being
prefent at the dreffmg, was very much provoked at
fuch a procedure. Father, la Mothe came to fee heri
to confirm what he had wrote, and to add thereto
Other calumnies, of things which he faid I had done
within eight days laft paft ; flic fell upon hira ffiarply
for the blacknefs of his accufations, affuring him that
foe believed all that had been told her, of the flagrant'
raalignities with which he had all along purfued me;
having fuch a manifeft reafon fo to do, as ffie was
a witnefs that for three months paft I had kept my
bed-., , -
Seeing

Chap. XL LADY GUION

19 c

Seeing himfelf fp ill, received here, he tried to fet
other lengincs.to work. ,,He. complained every where
that I had caufed him to be ill,treated by Mad. Mira-
MiON, though I did not know any thing of What had
paffed, till fome time after" it, when, upon ray reco
very, fhe told rae it, and ffiewed rae his letters.
During ray late illnefs, with the great pains of my
eye, God gave me great patience. In all my maladies
I have been endued with wonderful patience,. I only
aecufe rayfelf of having let it too much appear, as it
ferved to feed my raind with the notice and admiration
of thofe about me ; as there -are hidden corners, in
things which appear virtues, that harbour felfifli re
gards, which cannot efcape the penetrating eye , of
pure Love. "
My daughter was married at the houfe of Mad.
MiRAMION;^ I then thought myfelf obliged, on ac
count of her extreme youth, to live with her; where
I continued two years aruti a half. While I was there
my enemies were ever forging one thing or other
againft me. When I was with my daughter in the
tpuntry, they charged rae with inftilling ray notions
into thcicountry people : If I was in tpwn, they charg
ed rae with vifiting people whom I knew nothing of.
All thefe things concurring with' ray own inclination
to a retired life, deterrained me to write to the Pri
orefs of thc Benedidines at Montargis, to inform her
that I had' a mind to fpend the reft of ray days with
her, unknown to every body but her fingle felf, and
to fee nobody but her alone. We had agreed on every
article, and I fent thither ray furniture. She. fpoke
of it ..to the Archbifhip, and he did not keep: the
fecret.
¦ ' Both
¦*--'¦¦
* To Monfieur Louis Nicolas Fouc>uet, Count de Vaux
&c. fon ofthe famous Monfieur Fouquet fuperintendant of the
King's finances. Editors Note.

192 The LIFE of Part IIL
Both my friends and my enemies (if one may call
by that name thofe tb whom one docs not wifh any
harm^ oppofed it ; the fprraer not willing to lofe me,
and the latter wanting a better opportunity of undo
ing me, thinking allb that my leading fuch a life
. would give the lie to all the ftrange ftories which they
had invented and fpread of me. They then befought
the Archbifhop to prevent ray reception there, which
accordingly he did. I then apprehended that I was
going to be expofed to violent hurricanes. I chear
fully fubmitted to make an entire facrifite of myfelf
to God, accounting rayfelf happy in paying with fUch
light pains what I am indebted to his juftice, and
honoured in being yet more conformable to the image
of his fon.
The family into which my daughter was married
being of the number of Abbe Fenelon's friends,
I had thc opportunity of often feeing him at our
houfe. We had forac converfations on the fubjed of
a fpiritual life, in which he raade feveral objedions to
my experiences therein. I anfwered them with my
ufual fimplicity, which gained upon him as I founds
As th^ affairs of Molinos at that time made a great
noife, fthe plaincft things were diftrufted, and the ,
terras 'ufed by myftic writers exploded; But I fo
clearly expounded everything to him, and fo fully
folved all his objedions, that nobody became better
convinced of my fentiments than he ; which has fince
laid the foundation of that perfecution he has fuffered,
as his anfwers to the Bifhop of Meaux evidently fhew
to all that have read them without prejudice.
I NOW took a little! private houfe, to follow the
inchnation I had for retirement ; where I fomcrimes
had the pleafure of feeing my family and a few parti
cular friends. I often went to St. Cyr. Certain young
women of that houfe having infbrmed Mad. Main
tenon, that they found in my converfation fomething which

?

Chap. XL LADY GUION. 1^3
which attraded them to God, fhe encouraged me td
continue my inftrudions to thera ; and by the fine
change in fome of them, with whom before flic had
not been well pleafed, fhe found fhe had no I'eafon to
repent it. She then treated rae with much refpedt ;
and for three or four years after, while this lafted, I
recciveH frora her every mark of eftecra and confi
dence. But that very thing afterward drew on rae
the moft fevcre perfecution. The free entrance I had
into the houfe, and the confidence which fonie young
ladies of the court, diftinguifhed for their rank and
piety, placed irt me, gave no fmall uneafinefs to the
people who had perfecuted me. The Diredors took
Umbrage at it, and under pretext of the troubles 1
had had fome years before, and of Quietifm which
they faid was raaking a great progrefs, they ' enga,ged
the Bifliop of Chartt,es, Superior of St. Cyr, to repre^
fent to Mad. Maintenon that, by my particular con.-
dud, I troubled the order of thc houfe ; and that th^
young women in it were fo attached to rac; and to
what I faid to them, that they no longer hearkened to
their fuperiors. She caufed me to be refpcdfully told
of it. I then went no more to St, Cyr. I anfwered
the young ladies, who writ to mc, no more but by
letters unfealed, which paffed through the hands of
Mad. Maintenon*
[HfiRfi flic gives arelatiort of brie Mortfieui' NfCO.'
Las, who had often exclaimed againft her, withoufi
krtowing her, with whom fhe had a conference ort her
little book, Ov fhort method of prayer, whom flie fully
fatisfied ; he reading it over "from the beginning to
the end, and fhe removing all the mifapprehenflons
and feruplcs \ after hirii Moflfieur BoitEAt/ (Dean of
the Archbifhoprick of Sens^ and bfother of the faraous
French poet of that narae) who told her, that, if the
explanations which fhe had given him, of certajH
paffages,' had been inferted irt that book, it would
flot have been fo much decried as a dangerous book*
Vol. il B b b^l

194 The IvLFE of Part IIL
but inftead of it might be good and ufeful ; to which
fhe anfwered.]
" I NEVER had an intention of publifhing that book.
" It was only written for the private infffudionof one
" of my friends, who had defired it of rae, in coh-
" fequence of forac converfations on the fubjed.
" Therefore I could neither forefee that they would
" caufe it to be printed, nor put fuch conflrudions
" upbn it as he had laid open to rae ; bui: that I
" |liould be ever ready to give the explanation^ ne-
" ceffary to remove all exceptions, which might be
" made to any part of it."
Some days after I fent him an explication, purfuant
to a promife I had raade hira. He appeared well.
pleafed with it, and preffed me to get the little book
re-printed with this preface to it : * But I told him I
intended no more to print that little book, nor any
thing about it ; having already given and received fo.
rauch trouble frora it, with fora.e other reafons which,
made him approve my refolution ; and we parteil,
mutually fatisfied with each » other in this conver-,
fation. Soon after I fell fick. Thc phyficians, after trying
in vain the ufual methods of cure, ordered rae to re
pair to the waters of Bourbon. My lackey had been
got to give mc forae poifon. After taking it, 1 ftiffer-.
ed fuch exquifite pains that, without fpeedy fuccour,
I fliould have died in a few hours. The; laGke;y ihi-
ra^diateJy ran away, and I have never feen. hira fince.
When 1 was at Bourbon, the Water which I threw, up
burned like fpirits of wine. I had no thought of be
ing poifoned, till the ¦^yficians. of Bo'urbm, on throw ing
* This preface is among the fpiritna^ worksi of Lady Guio*r,
printed in tlie year 1 7 1 2. It is entitled Jfiori apology for. thejhurt
method. Editor's Note.

Chap. XL LADYGUION. 195
ing the faid water into the fife, affured me of it. ' The
waters had but little effed. I fii ffcred for above feven
years after it. Since that time three or four attempts
have been made to poifon me : But God has pre
ferved nie from it, through his raercy, and the pre
fentiments which he gaye mc of it.
The aforefaid Monf Nicolas, having' little. elfe to
do, and willing to oblige a party, writ againft my
little book, which wc had read over together, and with
'which he had appeared fp well fatisfied. The quota
tions in it were not right. A friend of his, with whom
I had no acquaintance, a man of reputation and of
merit, ftruck with its want of folidity, writ a refutation
of it. He did not print this refutation ; but it ftill
•fubfifts, being in the hands of one of his friends.
I let it all fall, without thinking of juftifying myfelf

CHAP. XIL

THE Diredors, joincd^by many others, ftirred up
fuch a general ferment, 'fuch a fpirit of violence
and bitternefs all around againft me, as made rae wifh
to live retired, which accordingly I put in execution,
living in fuch a fohtude as not to let even any of iny
own family know where I was, but Monf Fouquet
my fon-in-law's uncle. I had need of a perfon bf
well known probity, bbth tb receive for me* the little
annuity Ihad referved for myfelf, and to be a witnefs
of my life and condud. But my retreat didnotpro-
dufce the effed intended by it. They riow raifed a
hew forgery, that I was fpreading the poifon of Qiii-
etifin in more diftant parts. They fet to work a
number of 'pretended devotees, to go from Confeffor
B b 2 to

i9;6 T h p L I F E ao f Part IIL
to Confeffor, to aecufe ,,t[ierafelves of crimes, which
they faid they had been drawn into from imbibing my
principfes^ GpO kept rae at that time in fuch a difpofition of
facrifice, that I was quite refigned to fuffer every
thing, and to receive frora his han.(^ all that raight
befall me, finqefor me to pffer any way tO vind,icatc
inyfelf would be only be$.ting the air. .When the Lord
is willing to make any pne fuffer,, he permits even'
the mpft virtuous people to be readily blinded toward
them i and I may confefs that the perfecution of , the
wicked is but Jittlc, when compared with that of the
fervants of God, deceived and animate4- with a zeil ;
which theiy thnjk rightf Many of. thefe were now, by
the artifices made ufe of, greatly impbfedon in regard >.
to me. I was reprefented to, them in an odious light, .
as a ftrange creature. Since then 1 raufi, oh my Lord,-
be conformable tp thee, to pleafe thee ; I fet more va.
luc on my humiliation, and on feeing myfelf condemn
ed of every bodyj than if I faw myfelf on the fummit
of hpnpur in thc Vvorld. How often have I faid, ;
even in the bitlternefs of my heart, thatl fhould be mor^Vgi
afraid of one reproach, of my confcience, than of the.i
outcry and condemnation of all raen I
A Woraan, who had artfully gained great credit,
perfifted continually in faying, " that I ought to be^
" fliut up in clofe confineraent, .for I ruined every -
" body that carae near me." .Thou knoweft, oh
Lord, that thofe, whom Iam faid to have ruined, arc
full of true love for thee. At this time it rfe^medias
if everyone with eraulatipn invented new fables againft
me. it was only who could make the raoft libels.
He who invented thera the befl was raoft ehcourag-l
ed^ They believed, things incredible, which were,-
againft rae; and refufed to hearken, or give any .credit,
to perfons of the greateft probity, who knew me from
my yopthj when they fpoke in my fayourj even fuch

Chap. XIL LADY GUION. 197
as they would have readily believed on any other oc
cafion. •
To caft a fufpicion on what they called my dodrine,
they fhought they rriuft decry ray morals. . They omit
ted nothing to accomplifh this. Having perfuaded
the Bifliop of Chartres to believe it, by endlefs
ftories of the pretended danger of thc church, he then
affured Mad. Maintenon, and thofe of the court
whom he knew to be my friends, that it was neceffary
for them to abarfdort me ; becaufe I was both wicked
myfelf, and capable of infpiring thcni with wicked
fentiments. ' As to Mad. Maintenon, the part fhe
had taken in my releafe frora St. i^fory's, mf conver
fations, my letters, the teftimony of rae, given by her
friends, in whora fhe had the greateft confidence, made
her fufpend her judgment for fome time : But at laft
fhe yielded to the reiterated inftances of thc Bifl-ipp of
Chartres, and fome others ¦ whom he emplo)c:d in the
diredion at St. Cy'*- ' With all his induftry he could,
not in like raanner fucceed with fome illuftrious per
fons, who, having! been witnefs of my condud for
feveral years paft, knew me by themfelves, and knew
alfo all the different fprings which had i been made
to play, in order to d.rOwn or deftroy me effedually.
I owe them that juftice to make, it known, that at
this tirae they got the authority of the King to be em
plpyed to proted me frora fo many affaults of injuftice:
They caufed a meraorial to Ije drawn up, fufficient
to difpofe him in ray favour, giving hira art account
of my condud , both paft and prefent. Mad. Main
tenon was to fupport it with her teftimony. She had
the goodnefs to comraunicate it to me.
I WAS uneafy at it, npt thiri^ing that God would
have me juftified by that canal. I t^herefore demand -
edjof them, that they would leave rae to all the ri
gours of his juftice, whatever they might be. They
paid the xjue deference to my requeft. The raemorial then.

198 The L I F E OF Part IR
then, which had been already given in, was withdrawn';
they took the courfe ^of filence which they have fihci
continued, being unable to do any thing more in my
favour, by reafon of the violent prejudice and general
rage againft me. ?'

CHA P. xm.

SOME of my friends judged it proper for rae to go
.fee the Biihop of Meaux. He had read my Si&w/
Method and Canticles eight or ten years ago, and had
expreffed his approbation of them. I therefore went.
But, oh ray Lord, how is ¦ every thing, done out of
human "conlideration and regard, turned into fliame,
confufion and pain! And how fubjed to thc groffeft
miftakes is what we fee not in thy light, not duely
waiting for thy difcovery therec>f !,
One of niy worthy friends, the Duke of Chevreuje,
^brought thc Bifliop to my houfe. Our Converfajtic^ fell
tipon THE Short Method^ That Prelate faid, he had
formerly read li, and the Canticles, Wi&/Vi>, he faid, be
liked well. What I fay here is only to give a faithful
relation of what paffed, as 1 have been required todo.
Thc Duke afterward gave hira the Torrents, on
which he made fome reraarks, not of thlttjgs to be
blaraed, but needing explanation. The Dukeof G^^?'-
reufe had the goodttefs to be always prefent at our. Con
ferences, He prefented him, with my confent, with the
hiftory of my life, which pleafed him fo much, that he
writ to the Duke, " That he found therein fUch an unc-
" tion as he had rarely done in other books, and that
" he had fpent three days , in reading it, with an im*
« preffiffli

Chap. XIIL LADY GUION. 159
*' preffion of the prdfcnce of God on his mind all
" that rime."
I FORGOT to tell that the Bifliop defired rae to keep it
a fecret, that he came to fee rae. As I have always in
violably kept the fecrets of my greateft enemies, I took
care not to fail therein to him. The reafon he gave for
it was, that he did not ftand well with the Archbifliop
of Paris : And yet he went hirafclf to tell hira what he
had defired me to keep filent. My filence and his dif
courfes have beeh the fource of all the perfecurions
which I have fuffered.
I PROPOSED to the Bifhop to examine my writings.
He accepted the propofal. I then put thera intb his
hands, not only thofe which have been printed, but
all ray commentaries on the holy fcripturcs. I had
fent them before to the official by a maid : , But fhe^
fearing they would be loft, diftributed, thjem among a
number of fcriveners, who took a copy of them, which
was now given to the Bifliop of Meaux. To perufe
them, all was a laborious tafk for him. He demanded
four or five months, to have leifure to read and examine
them all, which he did with much exadncfs, at his
country feat, whither he had retired, to be the lefs in
terrupted. To manifeft the more , confidence- in him,
and to fhew him the innermoft 'of my heart, I lent
him the hiftory of my life, v/herein my moft fe^
cret difpofitiO|ns are fet down with much fimplicity.
I defired of him, the like fecrecy on it, as in a confeffiori ;
andthe fully promifed it. He read the whole with
attention.; and, at the end of the time he had demand
ed, put himfelf irt a condition to lay open to me his
difiiculties, and to hearken to my cjcplanations.
This was at the beginning of the year 1 694. He
defired tq fee rae at the houfe of one of his friends.
There after dinner we had a conference, but far from
being kept fo fecret as it Ihould have been. Froin
thence

'^ico The L I F E of Part III.
thence we went to a certain community in that neigh
bourhood, where they ufed their utmoft endeavours to
prejudice him againft me. That they had effeded it
manifeftly appeared, when he returned, and fpoke to
me. He was no raore the fame raari. Fie brought
all his extrads, and a menorial containing above twenty-
articles, to which all. his difficulties were ^reduced;
The Lord affifted me, infomuch that I fatisfied; hini
in every thing which related to the tenets ofthe
church, and to thc purity of the dodrine. But there
were forac places to which I could not reconcile him.
As he fpoke too faft, and fcarce gave rae time to ex
plain my fentiraents to hira, it was not in my power to
convince him in fome ofthe articles, as I had done in
others. We parted Very late. I came away undef
fuch an oppreflion, that I was fick after it for feveral
days. I writ to him afterward feveral letters, in which
I explained to him, in the beft manner I coiild, the
difficulties he could not get over; and I received
one from hira of above twenty pages, wherein it ap
peared that he had been put to a ftand from the new
nefs of the fubjed, and thc little knowledge he had of
the interior ways of the fpirit, of which none are able
to judge but frora experience.
[After this fhe repeats, as far as her raemorf
reaches, thc long detail of thc Bifhop's objedions,
and her reraarks on them, which I think would, at this
diftance, be quite unprofitable and uncntertaining to
moft readers. They continue to the end of this chap
ter. To comprehend them v?ith clearncfs, one muft •
firft Carefully read over her twenty volutties of Scrip
tural Explications, with her many other writings which
werp canvaffed betwixt them.]

CHAP.

Chap. XIV. LADYGUION. aoi

C H A t^. XIV,
WHENI fpeak or write of things j they appear
to rae as clear as the day. After that^ they a^e
like things which I never knew. They pafs away, and
thenceforward are loft to me. This caufed orie of my
greateft difficulties in fpeaking to the Bifhop. of iCfe^a;?.
However, having written only out of obedience, I was
eafy about the fa,te of it, leaving it entirely tb the dif-
pofal of Providence, rather chufing to fubmit than
eontend about the vindication of any part fherein.
Befide my own errors, owing to hafte, there were alfo
Others of the TranferiberSj which greatly clouded the
fcnfe.' He fpoke to rrie about the womdn in the RevelatioiiSj
(Kev. xii. i. &c.) as if 1 had pretended to be that
'womani I anfwered, that our Lord was pfeafed to"
ipotnparc"' his fervants to raany things, which, iri ,ftrid
propriety, belong only tb himfelf When what Sblo'
mon fays of Wifdom is, iri our church, applied tb the
holy Virgin, it is plain that Solomon mea'rtt only the'
divine and eternal Wifdora. — I never defire to ftick to'
any thing but God orily* 1 doubt, not but my pwn
weaknefs may, have been too much mixed with the
facred intelligences of his. pure light. But can the
dirt of the ground tarnifh or injure the fun ? Such
mixture ttiay fhade the light of truth, but carino't hurt
it. It remains for ever perfed. What I defired of the
Bifliop of Meaux was, to judge of me rather by the
feelirigs of his heart thari thc'rcafonings of his head.
I thought that Gob, who fornierly riiade ari Afs fjieaki
.might alfo make a woman fpeak, though of riiyfelf I
knew little more of what I have fpoken, than eyeri
Balaam's afs. The Bifliop owned that he had riever
^ead thc ihyftie writers. The. proving path of faith in
YohAh Cc ' Goe

^o2 The L I F E bF I'ar t III.
God, fin order to fee his defigns concerning us, and to be
willing tp fubmit to them) appeared to the Bifliop only
thc jargon of a diftempcred brain. To him it was all
unintelligible and intolerable. I never fet up for things
extraordinary. I contributed tb thc reign of God not
by fliining things, but by gaining fouls through my
reproaches ; fuffering willingly with Christ, and for
his worthy name's fake.'
The Bifhop rallied me, not a little, on what I had
faid of my Apoftolic ftate. I meant that it is a ftate
which ribrie ought of themfelves to intrude into; none
but they Whorii God calls, having by his fpirit pre|)ar-'
ed tfietn for it: But fome, who have been as it were
ravifhed with thc firft fruits of thc divine undion,
from the Lord of all, have felt fuch a longing defire to
give a fhare of their grace to every body, and to diffufe
what was given only for therafelves, that, they have
raade too free with the holy oil, poured into their'
laraps ; till, like the foolifh virgins, they have had
none of it left : Whei'eas the wife wiatcbfully kefep
their oil, till by thc light thereof they are introduced
into the bridegroora's chamber. Then they may gi¥e;
of their oil, becaufe the Lamb is the light which ilKi-
minates theni.
By looking into the Ecclefiaftical hiftories for ages
paft, we may fee that God hath fomldtimcs made ufe
of laymen, and of women, to inftrud, edify, an3'*to
help, fouls iri their progrefs to perfedion : And I think
pne of the reafons of God's ading thus is that his glory
'may riot be givet? to ariy Other, butto himfelf only.
"For this purpofe, he has chojen the weak things eJ this
world, to Confound Juch as are mighty. Cor. i. 27.
Jealous of fhe attributes whidh men pay to other
men, which are only due to hirafelf, he has made a
paradox of fuch perforis, that he atone may have the
glory of his own works. I pray God with my whole heart

Chap. XIV. LADYGUION. 203
heart fooner to crufli me utterly, with the moft
dreadful dcftrudion, than to fuffer me to take the leaft
honour to rayfelf, of any thing which he has beeri
pleafed todo by rae for the goodof bthers. I am only
a poor nothing. God is all-powerful. Fie delights
to operate, and exercife his power 6n nothing. .
The firft tirae that I writ a hiftory of rayfelf it was
very fhort. In it I had particularized ray faults and
fins, and faid, little of the favours of God. 1 was order-
i?4,tQ burri it, tp write another, and in it jo omit npr
thing, any way reraarkable, that had befallen me. I
did it. It is a crime to publifli the fecrets ofthe King;
but it is a good thing to declare the favours of the
Lord our God, and to magnify his mercies tbe more
by the me^nncfs of the fubjed on which he confers
them. If hereiri I haye failed, the fire will try and pur
rify it all. 'yV^hen I firft gave myfelf to the Lord it
was without, any referve : And for every thing of mine^
'whichl only did'out of obedience, I am content with
whatever may be permitted, pr ordained, as beft in the
cafe. It is ray confolatipn that God is; not lefs great,'
perfed pr happy, for any miftakes or errors of mine.
My foul can do nothing el|e but love him, and repole
itfelf in his love. It feems that^ what proceeds from
me flpws from that fource : And fince as many as are le^
by the Jpirit pJ God are the chiUrepi oJ Goo, a hAimble
hope attends rae that I appertain to his family. I col
led here all that I can remember of that examination
of the Bifliop, that I may not do it, twice over. I
thought my dire^pr would reraove ^|l the iraproper
terms, arid -v^rould amend whatever he fliould find not
well expreffed. I had rather die thap deviate from
the fpntimepts ofthe church. I have ever been willing
to difavow and conderan -whatever I may have happen
ed to fay, or write, which may appear in any refped
contrary thereto.

Q,z i ., CHAP.

^04 The L I F E OF Part UJ.

; CHAP, XV.
THIS conference being. ended, I now thaught only
of a retreat, as the Bifhpp had ^dvifcd me j I
mean, no more to fee any body as I had begun to dq
for a confiderable time paft. I writ hi^ra fome letters,
to explain fuch things as he had not given me tirae for
in oUr conference. I addreffed them tp the Duke
of Chevreuje, through whofe hands they all paffed.
And he was careful enough to procure me anfwers to
thera. The Bifhop's vivg,city, and tl;ie hard terms
• which he fometimes made ufe of, had perfuaded me
that he looked on me as a perfon falfen into egregious
miftakesj or under a delufion. On this footing I writ
to the Duke of Chevreuje, who fhewed him my letter,
in which I thanked hira for thc great pa,ins he had taken
on my account. The Bifhop anfwered, that the diffi- '
culties on which he had infiftcd did not regard cither
the faith or dodrine of the church ; that he indeed '
thought differently from me on the articles to which
he had objedcd : But he did not think me the lefs a
patholic for that : And that if, for my confolation
?ind that of my friends, I defired a ceriificatc of his
fentiraents, he was ready to give rne one, by which it
might appeal- that he had foiind npthing in mc but
what was batholic i And had therefore adminiftred tQ
me the facraments of the church. I thanked hira for
his offer, arid defired him to be told, ^' that, having
" only wanted to fee hira for my own particular inftruc"
," riori, and for the fatisfadion of forac of my friends,
?* who might be uneafy at the great comraotions
f which had been • raifed, I was fatisfied with the ^?^''
'^ tiriioriy' which he was" willing to give them and
*' rne : Arid that I would dp ..what was in' my power
?' to conform to what he had preferibcd : But that the
^t finperity, which I made a profeffion of, did not

Ch Ap. XV. LADYGUION. 205
" allow me to hide from him, that there were fome
" things in which I could nbt obey him, how great
" a defire foever I had to do it." After which I
broke off all commerce with the world, yet letting it
be known that, whenever I fhould be called to give
an account Of my faith, I would come at thc firft
fignal, which fhould be fent rae by my relation, who
managed my temporal concerns. . ,
The aforefaid Monfieur Fouquet was the only one
to whora I confided the place of ray retreat. At the
end of feveral months he writ to rae, " That the
" change of Mad. Maintenon in regard to rae was
" now public ; that they who had perfecuted me before
" now kept no meafures ; that there was"* a terrible
" outcry ^againft mc, and ftories circulated, wherein,
" after a very bafe and unworthy manner, they attack-
" ed ray raorals." Hereupon I writ to Mad. Main
tenon fuch a letter as I thought might have been fuffi
cient to rerapve her prejudice, or at leaft to put her, as
well as the public, in the way of knowing the truth.
I writ to her, " That fo long as they accufed rae only
" of my devotion to Alraighty God, and bf teaching
" others the fame holy exercife, I was content to con-
" tinue retired. But as I was now inforraed that
" public farae charged mc with crimes, I thought
" I owed it to the church, to ray family and rayfelf,
" that the truth fhould be known ; that I only defired
" that juftice which was granted to the worft criminals,
" viz. to raake out ray procefs, to appoint comraiffi-
" oners for my examination, half churchmen and half
" layinenj of a known probity and unblaffed ; for
" probity alone was not fufKcient, in an affair wherein
" calumny had prejudiced an infinite number of peo-
" pfe. ' / added that, if this favour were granted, I
" would repair to any prifon which fhe or the King
" fliould be pleafed to order, with a raaid who had
"cfervedme nOw fourteen years.; and that, when fhe
** fliould know the truth, I had fome hope that fhe
" *' would

2o6 Th£ LIFE 0!F PjtRT Hh
" would think me not altogether unworthy, of the
" marks of efteem with whicb fhe had formerly ho-
" noure<i me."
¦i I addressed this letter to the- Duke of BeauvilHers,
who gave it into her own h^nds. She told him, •' She
" had never believed any of the reports whicb were
•' propagated againft . my raorals, whicb fhe. believed
" were very good ; that it was ray dodririe which was
<^" bad ; that in juftifying my morals therte was room to
" fear, they would give a free courfe to my fentlmEjjts
" and in fome fort authorife them ; that it was beft to
'" clear up firft wh^t related to raydodrine, after which
« all the reft would fall of itfelf" ' , v.-f, .,
At this time my dear friend and relation Monfietir
Fouquet departed this life. He was a true fervant
of God, and a faithful friend. His lofs would have
been very fenfible to me, under my prefent circum
ftances, if 1 had not had more regardl to the hap
pinefs he was gone to enjoy, than to- the fuccours which
I found myfelf deprived of, by his removal. I, bad
an impreffion on my mind that he w^uld depaut
within eight days, and. fo I writ to him.* Great past
of this time he was fo eafy, and feemed to be
growing fo much better, that thofe about him feid,
*' I was a falfe prophetefs." But one morning,, near-
the expiration of the time, my maid going to enquire
about him found he was dead, though the- day before
he feemed better than he had- been. When I heafd
it, I felt nothing but joy on his account; lwas fo
certain- of his happinefs. And though I loft the beft
friend I had in the worid, and who might have been
,fo ufeful to me in the tempeft with which I was threa
tened, yet the fenfe of his felicity, and of the accom-
. , plifliment
' ? This letter is the 22-8th in the firft volijme of her Ibtters, page
415. Editor's Note. ^

Chap. XV. LADY GUION. 207
plifliment of -the will of God, left np room for any
grief with me.
I KNEW I loft afriend who feared nothing, and would
have ferved me even at the expence of his life. I
fliould rather have envied him than wept, if the love
ofthe will of Gob had not prevailed, above every
thing, in ' -my heart. Some days after, I imagined I
faw him as when he was alive. Knowing he was dead,
I afked him ho^ he fared in the other world. With a
joyful countenance he anfwered, " Thofe who do the
" will of God are accepted of him." I thought this
little digreffion would not be unpleafing to thofe for
whom I have written it, as moft of them knew him
well. Now to return to rny own affairs.
I WAS much concerned at Mad. Maintenon's refu-
failto appoint commiffioncrs to examine me. I knew
well that they wanted to take from me the only 're
fource, by which I could make known my innocence,
and' to tiiake a new examination, 'only to impofe on
the public, and to render my condemnation the more
authentic. They intended thereby to ftOp the mouths
of my friends ; for though they faid nothing to juftify
i^fe, their fi'knCe. in fo univerfal a decry, and their re-
S&Sal to, condemn J ttie -^ke^he reft, fufficiently fliewed
¦that 'they thought differently of -rae, -and peaceably
•ftrffeted what theycould not prevent. I left tP Goo
whatever he fhould pleafe to order. A was not igno-
-ranf who they were that oppofed the offer I had made.
The'y -were .afraid left my innocence < fboold be known,
and all the engines difcovered 'Whi.^h they had fet to
work to fully it. But, thanks to God, 1 .have never
-h'ad- any >diefj,r«- to aecufe any body, not any of the
worft of /ray perfecutors. My views are not fo low.
There is a fovereign hand Which I adore and love, who
tufns the malice of fome, and the zeal without knowledge
of othe^, to carry on his own work, for my riiore
¦thorough death to every thing befide himfelf alone ; and to

2o8 The L I F E of Part IIL
to fnatch away frora ray friends certain iraperfei^
and too huraan fupports. As Mad. Maintenon had
taken a change, there was little to hope frora her at-
teridant minifters : But God does not need 'the medi
ation of any body. He builds on wrecks. We mufI'
ever' have a care of going into the temptation of judg
ing of thc will of God by the apparent fucccft'Of things.
Men form ide^s. in their heads .of means by which they
think God will be glorified. When- he deftroys thpfe
means, they give up the pbint. God will riever be
glorified but by his Son, and whatever has. the nearqft
relation, or the moft conformity to his Son.

But, to pafs for a heretic !: will fome fayl What
can I do in it ? I have writ fimply my thoughts.. I
fubmit thera with all ray heart. Some fay, " They are
*' capable of a good or a bad fenfe." I know thatl have
written them in. a good, and am ignorant of the bad.;
Since; I writ them, 1 have ever been ready: to, hurn
whatever was. judgedlikely to do the leaft hurt. It
faffices for myfelf,Tthat ray own heart bears teftiraony
of my faith, fince they will allow no public teftimony-
But they want to corrupt ray morals, in order; to cor
rupt my faith.., 1 am wiUing tojuftify my-mprals, in
order to juftify the faith by which they are produced.
If they conderan rae, they cannot thereby take rae out
ofthe bofora of the church, ray true mother, fince I
condemn all that fhe condemns in my writings. I can*
not confefs my having had thoughts which I never had,
nor having committedlcrimes, which far from commit
ting thera, i never knew : For that would be- to lie
againft the Holy Ghoft.
The .way agreed upon, in which they treated tne,
(faying nothing of the paffionate raanner, which was
without example) was quite contrary, to the very fpirit
ofthcGofpcl. They Ihould have aflicd rae what had
been my, fentiment in writing^ fuch and fuch things*
'" then

Chap. XV. LADY GUION. ^09
then fhewed me the abufe which raight , be raade of
them. In fuch cafe I would have heartily condemned
them, and defired my examiners to commit to the
flames, however good any of them might be,, what
any perfon might make a bad ufe of. Ought they not
then to have done rae juftice, conderaning rny writjngjS,
but not myfelf?
Being now determined to retire out of the way of
givirig offence to any, I writ to forae of my friends,
and bad thera a laft farewcl ; not knowing whether I
were to be carried off by the indifpofirion which I theri
laboured under, which had been a conftant fever for
forty days paft, or to recover frora it. I writ further,
*' That I prayed God to finifh in them thc good work
" he had begun ; that, if I had contributed any good
" to them by his grace, he would not be unmindful
" to jircferve in them that which was his own, viz*
" the renunciation of themfelves, to bear the crofs, to
*' follow Jesus Chuist with hearts filled with his pure
" love; that they ifiight judge it was for them, and
*' not for myfelf, that I deprived myfelf of all cora-
*' merce with them, by whom I had often been much
*' edified ; that noiv, if I ftayed, I might hurt them
"without defigning it, and be an occafion of trouble
" and fcandal to them ; that I therefore defired .theift
*' to look upon me as a thing forgotten.

Ydu. it. fi 4 CHAP.

2IO 'The LIFE of Part IIL

C H A P. XVI;
'' f ¦ ¦ , ', I,
I BEG AN to perceive that forae others wefe aimed
at, befide mc, in thc perfecution ftirred up. I
was too inconfiderable an objed for fo many violent
motions, and agitations : Butas thofe whom our end'-
mies had in view were out of their reach, by them
felves, , they, meant to attack theni by the efteem they
had manifefted for a perfon fo cried down as I was, and
whora they were ftill endeavoUring to render yet more
odious. I had long before apprized the Abbe Fenelon
of the Change of Mad. Maintenon in regard to him,
andof the perfons who pretended to pay him the moft
refped, and to place the greateft confidence in hirii,
without- hia ever being*iWilling to believe it. He ftill
thought- lwas miftaken, arid I waited in peace till
God IhOuld undeceive him by other ways. The event
has fince }uftified my prefentiments. ' Thofe fame per
fons have perfecuted him violently. They have fhared
that favour and ¦ confidence with the King, which he
might have ftill kept himfelf, if he had been lefs d^
voted to God, and more fond of fuch objeds, of which
moft- part of men are fo greedy.
What now gave me moft pain was. that flie judged
of others by the impreffion fhe had againft rae. All
my intelligences, befide fome dreams 1 had had {for
God often by that way has made known to me apart
of the things which have fince befallen me) made ihe
refolve to live unknown, waiting for the event of Pro
vidence. If Icould have been fenfible to any thing,
it vvould have been to the pain of others, and to the
affiidions which I might have caufed them, if I could.
have looked at them any otherwife than in the will of
God, in ,which the greateft affiidions become the
oreardl; benefits. Though Jthrough the mercy of God
I have

CfiAP. XVI. LADY GUION. 21 1
I have not committed the evils which fome chartre rae
with, yet I have too often offended him otherwife,
through my infldeliries. He is fo; pure that, after fo.
many fires of tribulations, I yet behold rayfelf impure
in his moft holy fight. I fee indeed that his iniiriite
goodnefs every- day dijiiiniflies thofe, impurities ; for
we are not impure but by bur attachments to other
objeds. A felfilh defire, even to procuj-e thc glory of
God, renders us unworthy of his making u£" of us for
it. My worthy friends, t think, have too much faith
to impute to any thing but Providence what they have
fuffered fince, and may yet fuffer. I flioirldbt quite
willing to take on myfelf the load of all their fufferings.
Let nie, oh my 'God, be the Jcape-gmt charged witfi
the iniquities of thy people. Spare them, all, but fpare
not me. -Thou ,knowefl, oh my Lord, thatl have
fought neither my bwn glory, nor juftification, in what
I have done and defired. It was thy glory only fwhich
I have fought, and it was for them that I wanted to
have juftified myfelf, if it could have been done. Be
then thyfelf their faridification and their juftification,
: Soon after r heard' that fome perfons at court, who
had an affedion for me, in concert with Mad. Maintje-
non, had agreed to caufe a new examination to be made
of my writings, and to employ in it perfons well known
both for their knowledge and protnty. The Duke d^
Chevreuje writ tome, that he thought, as well as others
of my friends, that it was the fureft way to recover the
minds of the people, and to remove their prejudices.
It 'wbuld have been fo, if every one had proceeded in
it with the fame views and intentions. But it was a
conderanation they wanted to a^ure, and to render ,it
fo- authentic, that fuch as rill theri had , continued per
fuaded ofthe fincerity and uprightnefs of riiy intenti
ons, fhould not be able to hold up any longer, againft
a teftimony fo much, the lefs fu'fpeded, as they had
fought into matters to the bottom, every thing paP
fing through their hands. I writ that I was ever ready
Dd 2 to

§12 The -LIFE OF Part IIL
torenc^eran account of my faith, defiring to be -fet
right if, contrary to my intention, any thing; had efcapt
e^ me, which was not conformable to found dodrine.
This difcuffion appeared difficult to be made in Paris
becaufe of the Archbifhop, from whpm all parties a-
greed th::t it fhould be concealed. ,He would not have
fu.ffered it, to be carried on, without him, in the heart
of his own diocefe; and with him they couldnot i^gree,
Yet, during the cpurfcjof that exaraination, the < Arch
bifhop, having in his cuftody a number of falfe memo
rials, which had been given him againft me, fent me
wprdj that he would draw rae out of all my trpubles,
Jje wanted to have the glory of it, .and that no other
perfon fhould intermeddle iri it. Some of my friends
would not confent to my going to him. The Arch
bifliop refented it. He cenfured ray books whichhe
had not done before, having been fatisfied with: the
explanations which I had given fix or feven, years be
fore. My friends, with my confent, pitched upon the
Bifliop of Meaux, the Bifhop of Chalons, and Moni,
Tronson, Superior of thc houfe of St. Sulpitius: But
it appeared that thc firft naraed of thefe h^d promife^
Mad. MAiMTENoiir my condemnation. / -
t She writ them a long fetter; mentioning- in it her
particular eneraies, one ofwhom is the Curate of Ver^
Jailles, who had forraerly profeffed a high efteem for
her, yifitcd her often, declared his fentiments were
the fame with hers ; but of late he had imagined, that
fhe had drawn away the Countefs of G. and the
Dutchefs of M from under his diredion. Hereufnan
|he writes, " When thefe ladies and others were inthe
" vanities of the world, when they patched and paint-
*' ed, and fome of them were in the way to ruin -their
families by gaming, and profufion of expence in
'' drefs, nobody arofe to fay any thing againft it; they
*' Were quietiy fuffered to do it. When they have
'¦'¦ broke off frpri] all this, then they cry out agaiqft pie,

cc

Chap. XVL LADY GUION. £13
" as if I hadi^uined them. Had I drawn them fi-om
" piety into luxury, they would not make fuch an out-
" cry. Thc Dutchefs of M at her giving herfelf up to
*' God, thought herfelf obliged to quit the Court, which
" was to her like a dangerous rock, in order to be-
" ftow her time on the education of her children and
" the care'of her family, which till then fhe had neg-
" leded. I befeech you therefore to gather all the
?' memorials yOu can againft me : And if I am
" foundguilty of the things they aecufe me of, I ought
" to be punifhed more than any other, fince God has
" brought me to know^him and love him, and I am
?' well affured that there is no communion betwixt
*' Christ and Belial." ]
I sent them ap the fame tirae ray two little printed
booksi with my coramentarics on the Holy Scriptures.
I alfo, by their order, fet about a work to facilitate
their exaraination, and to fpare them as much tirae
and trouble as I could, which was to colled a great
number of paffages out of approved myftic writers,
which fhewed the coriformity of my writings with thofe
ufed by the holy penracn. It was a large work.i I
caufed them to tranferibed by the quire, as Ihad writ
thera, in order to fend theni to tire three coraraiffio-
ners. I alfo, as occafion prefented, clca^d up the
dubious and obfcure places ; fOr, as I had writ therii
-at a tirae when the affairs of Molinos- had npt broke
out, L ufed the lefs precaution in expreffing ray
; thoughts, not iraagining that they would ever be tufn-
^ ed into an evil fenfe. This work was entitled the JuJ-
tifications ; it was corapofed in fifty days, arid ap
peared to be very fufhcieht to clear up the matter.
But the-Bifhop of M'tfat*' would never fuffer it tb be
read*

CHAP.

214 -The. L I F E of Part IIL

¦-,/'«-»?¦!*» 'i-y-i =>/¦

,, rj-. ¦,r

w- -- , ,. ' ,ri

;-.rrr

CHAP. XVII.

I SOON perceived the: change of the Bifhop of
Meaux, and how much I was miftaken in the idea
l.had formed .of him. Though with my friends he
was very referved in declaring his -fentiments, he was
not fo with peribns ill difpofed toward rae. Lhadcon-
fided to him, as- I have already faid, the hiftOry of
my life, under the feal of fecrecy. Mymbfl. fecret
difpofitions- were fet down in it. Neverthelefs I have
heard that he had both fhewed it to others, and been
free in- his ftridures on it. He now infifted on my
producing it, though, it had nothing to do in the ex
amination which had been defired. I gave • them- it.
I writ to his" friend and riiine the Duke de Chevreuje
my thoughts about the Bifhop of Meaux, and what
room I had to conclude that he'ftudied only, how to
condemn rae: And, to have a -fure witnefs of what
fhould pafs in this examination, I requefted the Duke
to be prefent at it. 1 alfo defired that they woujd pro-
ceed xegularly ; and to every article, as they went
along, affix its fentence, whether approved or con
demned. This the Duke propofed to them. The
, Bifliop of .Chalons and Monf Tronson would .ha,ve
willingly confentedv to the propofal, as they entered
into the affair with raildneis and candor: But , the
Bilhop bf Meaux was againft it, and, being the rul
ing perfon, found raeans to hinder it from being done.
He was no more the fame man he had been fix or feven
years before ; for then he did not fail, notwithftand
ing his extreme vivacity, to be convinced ^of many
things which at firft his prejudices had made him rejed.
He even appeared fometimes touched with certain
truths, and to refped things which ftruck him, though
he had not the experience of them : But now he' had a
fixed point, from which he would not turn afide : And as

CHAP.xvn. LADY GUION. 215
as he. wanted to pafs: 2^ fentence of condemnation with
fome eclat, to that he referred every thing which he
thought capable of contributing to it. : Some who
had lived in an unbridled libertinifm had given a great
handle to my perfecution, by going from confeffor
to confeffor, to declare they were now converted froni
all the horrors of Quietifra, ¦ giving themfelves the
merit of a true convferfion, and faying at the fame time,
that I adhered to thole fentiments from which they
had been reclaimed. Thefe then were highly favour
ed,' and left at full hberty of fpreading all the poifon of
their bad principles, founded on a frightful and un
bounded licentioufnefs. Some- of them I» have ufed
my beft endeavours to draw frorn that unhappy con
dition, when Providence put me within the reach of
doing it; and ftill I would gladly do ir, if to gain one
of them to God were to coft me the fame perfecutien
over again. - .1 si -vjf

>*'! PERCEIVED everyday that the Bifliop of Meaux
was fixed in his intentions. Such a fixed difpofition
is an bbftaCle, almbft infurraountablc, to the light of
truth. . I had given clear explanations, , at the firft
conference,' on the queftions propounded ; but no
thing entered, he was! fo bent ^ on the condemnation.
The Bifhop of Chalons, having at leifure examined my
books and commentaries on the fcripture, confented
to the propofal, which was made to him, to meet at
Moiflf. Tronson's country feat, bec'aiife being infirm
and very much indifpofed he could not go out. I had
requefted as a favour that the Duke of Chevreuje
might be prefent, being the particular friend of, thofe
twd prelates, through whofe hands all had paffed, and
who had a perfed undcrftanding of the matterin quef
tion, as well as of what had given rife to this exami
nation. - Id^fired alfo that, after having examined one
difficulty, they would write down the decifion of ir,
inordcr to render the -points agreed to clear and con
fiftent. This 1 tliought abibUuely necefiary, not only
* for

2i6 The LIFE of Part IIL
for the clearing up of the truth, but to hawe a ftand-
ing proof of what I and others were to believe on the
matter under exaraination.
But thc Bifhop of Meaux, who had promifed Mad.
Maintenon a condemnation, and who would be
the fole diredor in this affair, ftarted fo raany diffi
culties, now on one pretence, then on another, that
he found raeans to elude every thing I had defired,
and would allow of nothing but what he pleafed. ' He
told rae that I raight talk with Monf Tronson, who
was confined,, after I had attended on hira and the
Bifhop of Chalons. They met then at thc houfe of the
Bifhop of Meaux. The Duke of Chevreuje was there
alfo, expeding to be prefent atthe conference, as I
had defired him; Thc Bifhop of Chalons arrived there
early. I fpoke .to him with great opennefs ; and, as
he had not then the impreffions againft rae which have
beeri given him fince, I had roora to be well fatisfied
therewith. I had the confolation to fee- him enter with
a good difpofition -into what I faid to him.
The Bifliop of Meaux, after having made himfelf be
long waited for, arrived toward evening. After a fhorr!
fpace of general converfation, he opened a packet he
had brought. He then told the Duke of Chevreuji
that, the affair being a raatter of Dodrine, purely Ec
clefiaftical, the judgraent of which belonged only to
the Bifhops, he did not think it proper for him to be
prefent, left his prefence fhould cramp their freedom.
This was a mere fhara, a poor evafion indeed, not to
have a witnefs of fo eftablifhed a eharader, on whom
he could not impofe, artful as he was ; he knew him
to be too intelligent in that matter to let himfelf be fur
prifed, and too upright not to give a faithful teftimony
to the truth of fads which would have paflfed before
his eyes. The bufinefs of the conference was not the
decifion of a point of faith, which belongs to the
Biihops, but a peaceable enquiry into my fentiments, in

Chap. XVII. LADYGUION.

217

it\. order to fee in what I exceeded, and whether my ex-
prefllons on matters of thc inward fife were conforma
ble to approved myftic writers or not. For very often
h>d I promifed to fubmit to what thefe gentlemen
fhould tell me was a point of faith, and the dodrine
of the church, about which I never pretended to dif
pute with them.
But the Bifhop of Meaux ftill went on with his de
fign, determined not to fwcrve .from it in the leaft.
I was fhocked at ray, very heart at this Prelate's refufal.
After fuch cxclufion ofthe Duke of. Chevreuje, I might
eafily guefs what was to follow. lwas no longer in
doubt about the engagements, entered into by this
Bifhop, for my conderanation. What could be more
natural than the prefence of a perfon fo eminent in the
world, fo famous both for piety and learning, fo greatly
interefted in the clearing up of thefe raatters, that both
he' and others raight be undeceived, if, againft my in
tention, 1 had inftilled notions into them contrary to
the purity of the faith. Such a witnefs raight have
ferved to confound me, if I had ^oken differently from
what he had always been ufed to hear mc fpeak. He
might -have been undeceived himfelf, and inftrumen
tal tp undeceive others, if in a peaceable conference
I had been fhewed my errors. This was thc very thing
propofed, when the affair firft began to be talked of:
But God did not permit it. The Duke did not
think proper to infift on ftaying, as the Bifliop of
Chalons was fflent, his coraing being only out , of
refped to me, and in compliance with my urgent
defire. So I was now left alone with the two Bi
fhops. The Bifliop of Meaux fpoke a long time, to prove
that all chriftians in coraraon had the fame grace* I
endeavoured to fhew him the contrary. But as the
main point _was to juftify my exprefllons on things of
more confequence, I did not infift "upon it ; and was
Vol. II. E e going

3i3 , TheLIFEof Part II|.
going to fhew him the conformity of my fentiments
"with thofe of approved authors, whp have written on
the inward life. He endeavoured to darken, and., to
turn into raere balderdafh, every thing that I faid, ^ef
pecially when he faw the Bifhop of .(Ti^a/oBJ touched,
penetrated, and entering into what Ifaid to , him. Then
I was told, the bufinefs was not to difpute, but fub
mit ; to believe and ad as I fhould be told. That
has ever been thc difpofition of my heart ; I have no
pain at laying down my own judgment. , ,
The Bifhop of Meaux picked out every thing from
my writings, which he could wreft againft mc; put
ting the worft conftrudions on them. Many times
oyer he reproached me^ faying, 1 knew nothing, bur-
Jefquing ray words, and then crying out, that he was
aftonijhed at my ignorance. I returned no anfwer to
thefe reproaches. He raade it another crirae in meto
have' faid, " That to cleave to God is the beginning
" of union with hira." He would needs prove to mc
that all chriftians, with coramon faith, without thofe
inward experiences, may arrive at beatitude. It is
impoffible to anfwer a man who throws one on the
ground, who Will not hear any thing, and who inceffant
ly batters and bruifes one, As for mes I then lofe the
thread of what I wanted to fay, and in the rnidft of
fuch violence forget it all.
This conference was of no fervice at all, as to the
main point in queftion. It only gave the Bifhop of
Meaux a pretence for informing Mad. Maintenon,
that he had finifhed the exaraination ; and having con
vinced rae of my errors, he hoped in time to bring
me off from thera, if he could but engage me to go
and fpend fome time in a Convent at JW^jjajf, where
he mouW be ipore at Ipjfure tO finifh .what he had
begup, I CAtf

Chap. XViL L A D Y G U I O N. 219
I CAN truly fay, when I was firft told that 1 was to
be examined by thefe gentlemen, I was glad, becaufe
I thought, as ufual in fuch appbintraents, that they
would all iihree together fee rae with them, and that
Jesus Christ --vvould have prefidcd araortgft us. Frora
thence I hoped to gain my caufe, becaufe 1 had no
doubt but that, in fuCh cafe, the Lord would have
fhewed them the truth, with my innocence, and the
malice of my accufers. But God, who was pleafed
that I fhould fuffer all that has fince befallen me, did
not permit this to be the cafe. He gave power to a
wrong fpirit to ad, to hirider union and caUfe con
fufion. , . ,
As the Bifhop of Meaux came fo late, I had had a
good opportunity, before his coming, to fpeak to the
Bifhop of Chalons for a long time, in thc prefence of
the Duke of Chevreuje, who readily liftened to all I faid.
In thc violent fits of the other, he endeavoured to
foften, and to ward off the blows from rae, as rauch
as he could. I faw that, when he aded of himfelf, he
did it with air polffible civihty and juftice. All that
he could do was to write down only fome of ray an
fwers, when I addreffed rayfelf to hira, at fuch times
as the other Bifhop, in thc heat of his rage, would do
nothing but reproach rae, without hearing rae. Af
terwards I went to fee again the Bifliop of Chalons,
found him alone, had a free conference with him,
with which, though they had tried to prejudice him
againft me, yet. he appeared to be well fatisfied ; and
repeated it feveral times,, "that he faw nothing, to
" charige either in my manner of prayer or in any
" thing elfe ; that I fhould go on as I had done, and
" that he would pray to God to augment his gpod-
'f nefs toward mc, and that I fliould continue to live
" retired as I had done for two years paft :" Which I
promifed him to do.
E e 2 It

220

TheLIFEof Part IIL

,It,w?s thought proper .alfo that Iftlould go to fee
Monf Tronson. I then went to Iffu The Duke of
Chevreuje was there^ too. Monf Tronson examined
me with more exadnefsxhap the others, and the Duke
¦ was. ^ind enough to write down tlie queftions and an
fwers, I fpok'^ to him with- all thc freedom imagina
ble,. At laft, the Duke of Chevreuje faid to, him, " You
" fee how fincere and upright flie is." He anfwered,
" i feel it well." That expreffion was worthy of fo
great a fervant of God as he was, who judged hereof
not by his uiwjcrftanding only, but by the feehngs of
his heart. , I thep took my leave, and Monf Tronson
appeared well fatisfied, though a forged letter agaii#
me had been fent him, faid to be from a perfon, who
(when afked) denied it.

C H A P. XVIII.

AF T ^P. all thefe examinations, and making
nothing out againft mc,, Who vvould not have
thought but they would have left me ' tb reft alone, ip
peace ? But quite otherwife, the mofe my innocenpe
appeared, the mort did they, who had undertaken to
render me criminal, put every fpring in motion, to
-effed it. I offered' the Bifliop of Meaux tp jgb to fpepd
fome' time in any coraraunity within his diocefe, that
he might be better acquainted with me. He propofed
to - mt that of St. Mary de Meaux. . This offer highly
plealfed him from a hope, as I have heard fince, of de
riving great temporal advantages frora it, He, tojd .
Mother Picard, Priorefs ofthe Monaftcry into which
I entered, that it would he as gobd to him as the Arch
bifhoprick oJ Paris, and' a Cardinal'^s hat. When fhe
told

Chap. XVIIL LADY GUION. 221
told me it, I replied, Goi? mil not permit him to have
either the one or the other.
As foon as he ordered mc I went off. It was in the
month of Januaiy 1695, in the moft frightful winter
that has been of a long time, cither before it or fince.
I had like to have perilhed in the fnow, in which I was
ftopt four hours, the dbach having entered into it, and
being almoft buried in it, in a deep hollow. I was
drawn out ait theeoach door with one maid. We fat
upon the fnow, refigned • to the mercy of God, and
expeding j nothing but death. I never had more tran-
quihty of mind, though chilled and foaked with the
fnow, which melted on us. Oceafions like thefe are
fuch as fhew whether we are pcrfedly refigned to God
or not. This poor girl and I were e^fy in our rainds,
in a ftate of entire refignation, though fure of dying
if we ps^ed the night there, and feeing no likeiihood
qf any coming to our fuccour. At length fome wag
goners came up, who with difiiculty drew us through
tlie fnow. It was ten o'clock at night when we arrived.
They bud given over expeding u§, and were gone to
bed. The Bifliop, when he heard of it, was aftoniflied,
.and had no little felf-complaccncy to think that I ad
th«? rifqued my life to obey him fo pundually : And
yet afterwards he gave all this the n3,mes .of artifice and
hypscrijy, ThuS snen who, look at the tree, with an
evil eye, account its fruits to beall evil. It is a ftrange
hypocrify which endures through one's whole life, and
which, far from bringing with it any advantage in this
world, caufes only croffes, calumnies, povertfa perfe*
cutions and every kind of afflidions. I think one has
never fe^ any hypocrify like this. There are only
t»^0, ofejeds which hypocrites have in yjew ; either to
mit the efteein oJ men or t-o make a Jortune. I am cer
tainly a bad hypocrite, and have badly learned the
trade, I tskt God ,to witnefs, that if to he Emprefs
, :.¦ ¦" of

222 The L I F E OF Part III.
of the whole earth, and canonized whileliving, I m'lift
have gone through what I have done, which was with
the fingle view of being devoted to Gob without any
referve, I would rather have begged ray bread, and
died as a criniinal. Thus I render teftimony for myfelf
in the prefence of God, " That 1 have nOt defired to
" pleafe any but him alone ; that I have fought -him
" only for himfelf; and that I dread every felfifli inte-
" reft of ray owa worfe than death; that fo long a
" feries of perfecutions, which in all; likelihood will
"laft as long as my life, has' never made mfe^ change
'' feritiment, nor repent of having given rayfelf wholly
" to hira,' and of havirig left all for him." '
There were times indeed when I found nature over
charged : B_ut the love of God and his gra'cb rendered
fweet to me the Very' worft of bitters. His invifiblfe
hand fupported me. Elfe I had funk under fo; many
painful probations. Sometimes I faid to rayfelf. All
thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. Pfa. xlii. "j'.
Thou haft bent thy bow "and Jet me as a mark Jor the arrow.
Thou haft caujed all the arrows oJ th/ quiver to enter ifito
my reins. Lara. iii. 12. 13. It feemed tP rae as if
every oncthoughthc was in the right t-o treat rae ill,
and rendered fervice to God in doing it. I then com
prehended that it was the very raanner in which Jesus
Christ fuffercd. He was numbered with the iranjgfeffors.
Mark XV. 28. He was condemned by the foverergli
pontiff, chief priefts, dodors of the law, and'\ judges
deputed by the Romans, who valued themfelves on
doing juftice. ' Happy they who, by fuffering. for the
will of God under all the like circumftances, have fo
near a relation,to the fufferings of Jesus Christ J '
Having reached the Convent, I waited above an
hour iri the turning box, chilled^ and without a fire, as
they had to acquai'nr thc Bilhop of my arrival, and to
call up the Nuns. ' ' There was at this round tower, or
turning box, a good young man who. fpoke out aloud, faying

Chap. XVIII. LADY GUION. 223
faying, ".This Lady muft furcly have God on her
" fide, to wait in the condition fhe is'in with fo much
" patience. By this fpeech he imprinted ari elfecm ,
for me on the minds of fome who had been very much
prepoffeffcd againft rae. Thc Bifliop of Meaux re
quired rae to change , ray name, "that nobody might
" know of my being in his diocefe, and that he might
" not be tormented on my acc9unt," as he faid : But
he.could not keep a fecret : He foon told fuch as he
mct with, that I, was in fuch a convent, under fuch a
.name. Prefently upon it, anonymous libels againft. me
were fent. to the. Priorefs,. and tothe Nuns, frorn all
fides. But they did not hinder her and them from
loving and efteeming me.
.Though I had come to this place, , on purpofe, that
the Bifhop might examine mc more fully and thorough
ly, and he had told it to fuch as carne in his way, yet
he fet off for Paris the very next day after my arrival,
and did not return, till Eafter. In the mean time ray
perfecutors fpreai^ about a letter, which they faid was
from thc Bifhop of Grenoble, wherein was written that
he had banifhed .me out of his diocefe, as I had been
convided of grofs criraes, in the prefence of Father
Richebrac Prior pf thc BenediSines, though I had
by me letters from the BOhop of Grenoble, written to me
fince my return from thence, which fliewed quite the
contrary. I writ to Father Richebrac, and foon re
ceived from hira a kind letter in anfwer to riiine, in
.vi^hich he writes thus :
! Madam,
?* TS it poffible they fhould come to feek me out in rny
V ,, retirement, .to invent flander againft you, -and
*' make rne the inftrument of it ? I never once had
•'the thought of what they make me fay— On the
¦^' contrary I npw declare — that f never heard, any thing " of

254 The LIFE of Part III.
" oJ you but what was moft chriftian-like and viriuotis,
" &c."
Dated at Blois the 14th of April 1695.
The Bifhop of Grenoble alfo at the fame time writ
to the Curate of St. Jame^s du haut pas, who had been
induftrious in fpreading this forged letter, in fuch a
manner as to make him fenfible of his refentment, in
making him thc author of fuch flandcrs. Above a
year atter 1 had kft Grenoble, he did mc the honour to
write me a letter, inclofing one for his brother the
Lieutenant of the city, of which this is the copy:
Sir,
" T Cannot refufe to thc virtue and piety of Madame
" DE LA Mothe Guion the recommendation flie
" defires rae to give you, in favour of her family, in
"an affair which is before you. I fhould have made
" fome fcruple of doing it, if I did not know the
" uprightnefs of her intentions, and your integrity.
" Adrait therefore ray folicitations to do her all the
" juftice that is due to her. 1 requeft it of you with
" all thc cordiality with which,
I am Tours,
The CARDINAL CAMUS."
Ill his letter to her he mentions what pleaflire k
gives, and always will give him to do any thing to
ferve her.
Nothing at this time contributed more to the ge
neral outcry againft me than this forged letter from
thc Bifhop of Grenoble : For how could any one give
the lie to fuch a witnefs as the Curate of St. Jcmiii,
fo well kown for his connedions with a gteat number
of people of merit, to whora he had given copies of
this

Citkp. XVIIL LADY GUION. 225
this letter,. from whence, in a fortnight's tiriie, all
Paris was filled with thera ? Thc Biflipp bf Meaux,
who had a copy of it, as well as others, was ftrangely
ftirprifed ar the anfwqr of Father RichebrAc, as well
as at the letters from the Biftiop of Grembli, which I
fhewed hirii. He then exclairaed agairift the blacknefs
of thc forgery ; for he had his good intervals, which
were afterwards deftroyed by the perfons who ftirred
hirii up againft rae, and by the views of his own. in
tereft. A Curate of Paris forged another ftory, vCry fright*
ful and yet very ridiculous. He went to the houfe of
a perfori of high rank; and talking about me, faid,
" I had feduced a wife from her hufband, a man Of
*' quality, and got her to raarry his Curate." They
were veiY inquifttive Ori the occafion, prcffing him to
let thern know how that could be done. He: evad
ed giving a dired anfwer : Only he ftill affured tbem
that nothing could be more true. That Nobleman and
his Lady no longer queftioned its truth. They foori
told it to one of their friends, v/ho came on a vifit to
thera, and who Was acquainted with rile. He let
fhem know he did not believe it. But they pofitively
infifted on it, as fuch a Curate had affured them of its
reality. He refolved to fearch the matter frilly, and
never more to fee me if he found it to be a fad. He
went to find out this Curate, he examined hira and
preffed hirh clofely. At length the Curate anfwered,
" that I was capable bf doing that and far worfe."
The gcntlenian faid to hira, " But Sir, I do not afk
" you what fhe is capable of: I afk if it is true that
" flic has done this ?" He replied, " No : But fhe
** can do what is worfe." This Curate; I think, . had
never feen rae; However he pretended to recoiled
that he was told, it was in Ativergtie that it was d^one 1
Nay I think, ie added, Jorty years ago. The. people
to whom he had told this fable, with fuch affuranccs
of its truthy Were ftrangely furprifed when they heard
Vol. ir. F f of

226 The LIFE OF Part IIL
of its falfehood. I wonder how they could ever have
given ariy credit to it.
They further pradifed another ftratagem, which
was, to fend a wicked woman, who took on her the
name of one of my maids, to confefs to all the Curates
and Confeffors in Paris. Her real name was la Gau
tier e. She confeffed to feveral in a day, that fhe
might let none efcape. She told them, " That flic
" had ferved me fixteen or feventecn years, but that
'• fiie had left mc for my abominaitions, as fhe could
" not in confcience live with fo wicked a woman."
In lefs than eight days I was decried all over Paris,
and paffed without contradidion for the wickedeft wo
man in the world. Thofe who faid' it thought they
might well do fo, having it brought to them byfo
fure a channel. It fo fell out that my raaid, whofe
name fhe had affuraed, went to confefs to a Canon of
Notre Dame. She fpoke to him of the injuries done
her miftrefs, who, fhe Jaid, was very innocent. ' The
Canon afked her name ; fhe told him it. He replied,
" You furprife me not, a little, for there has come one
" to me that has not any refemblance of you, yet
" has given your narae, and told rae horrible things."
She undeceived him, and fet before hira the blacknefs
of fuch a procedure. The fame thing was done to four
or five others. But could fhe difabufe all thc confeffors
in Paris ? Befides I could not fuffer her to have re
courfe to confeffion to make known the truth, chufing
to leave all to God, and not to lofe any of the croffes
and humiliations, which feemed to me to be providen
tially appointed for rae.
After that fore evening of. my. arrival at Meaux, I
had a conftant fever for fix weeks. I was ftill very
rauch indifpofed, when the Bifliop returned from Paris,
only for the feaft of Eafter. He carae into ray cham
ber, and the firft thing he faid to rae, was, " That I
" had many enemies, and that everything was in a
?' ferment '

Chap. XVIIL LADY GUION.

227

" ferment againft me." He brought mc the- arricles
corapofed ^,at Iffi. I afked him the explanations of
fome things, arid then figned thera. I found myfelf
much worfe after it. Another time he came to my
bed-fide, and faid, he demanded mc to fign immedi
ately, " that I did not believe the Word incarnate (or
" Christ manifefted in the flefli.")
Several Nuns, who were in the Antichambcr near
my door, heard hira. I was aftonifhed at fuch a pro
pofition coraing from hira. I faid to hira, "I could
" not fign a falfehood." He repeated it over and over
that he would make me do it. I anfwered. him,
" That, through the grace .of God, I knevv how .to
" fuffer, even to death ,• but not how to fign any falfe-
" hoods." He then faid, " he intreated me to do it;
" and that if I did he would re-cltablifli my reputa-
" tion, which people were trying to tear in pieces ;
" that he would publifh all the good of me that \^as
" poffible." To this I anfweredj " that I left to Gob
" the care of my reputation, refolving to maintairi
" my faith, at the peril of my life." Seeing he could
not carry his point, he retired.
Mother Picard and the whole community gave me-
' every teftimony of a fincere affedion, in their power.
They gave me alfo a certificate, of which the following
is a copy.
" We the Priorefs and, Nuns of the Vifitation
" of St. Mary de Meaux certify, that Madam Guion,
. " having lived in our houfe^ by order of our Lord
" Bifliop of Meaux, our illuftrious Prelate and Supe-
" rior, during the fpace of fix months, far from
" giving us any caufe of trouble or uneafinefs, has
" afforded us much edification. We have remarked
" in all her condud, and in all her words, a great re-
" gularity, fimplicity, fincerity, morrification, meek-
*' nefs and chriftian patience; a true devotion and
F f 2 efteem

228 The LIFE QF Part HI..
" efteem for whatever appertains to, our mvjfjk, holy
" faith, efpecially the myftery of the incarnation and;
" holy infancy of our Lord JTesus Christ. If yovi^
" be a favour, and of great fg,tisfa^iqn to Ojur whpl«^
" coraraunity, if the faid Lady chofe: S^r % ,retr,e^t to
i" fpend the reft of her 4ays in our houfc. This pro-
" teftation is made withput anyot her view th^ri th^c
*^ of giving teftirapny tp the truth.
ponp this 7th, ofj^ly 1695, and. figned,
Sifter Frances,Elizapeth, le Picard, Priorefs,
Sifter Magdalen Aimee Gu^ton.
Sifter Claude Marie Amouri.
Whei^ they fpoke tp the, Bifhpp a,bputi me,; he An
fwered, '5 I fee, juft as ye do, npthirig but good; in-
f ' her : But her enemies tprraent me, and| waw me to-
" find evil in her.'' One day he writ tp Mother Jl^i.-
card, ^' th^t he had examined my writings, with great'
'? care, ^nd found in them nothing but fome tcrms'
" which were not in all the ftridnefs of Theology ;•
H but that a woman v^a§ not ¦ obliged: to be a Theo-
" logian," MQther PiC4^p fliewcd ri^e this fetter t3
fpnfole me.

CHAP^

Chap. XIX. L A D Y G U I O N. ^29

CHAP. XIX.

SOiyiE days afer the Bifliop returned, he brought
rae, a pa.per written with his own hand, which was
only a prp&fllpn 'of faith^j that I had always been ,Ca^
tholic,, iipoftolic and Rbm^n,, and a.fiibmifljon of ray
books to the church. Afterwards hq i-ead me a cer
tificate which he faid he was to give rae. As I was too
fi.^ to traoferibe, that fii bmiffion, to, which. I- hadnot
a*i'y objedion, h^ fa^4 "^ f raight gpt a Nun to tran-
" ferit^ it, and-l, mightjfign it." 'He carried, away
hi?; ccrriftcais, toV'WJite, itovec feir,; ag.he faid; and-
^ffured oie that, "op;, rriy giving hira ; the one, . -lie
4 would give me the othei\ ;. that, hft w«).uld treat mc
"a'g hig fifter, ap^ fliould be a knave if he did not."
'Chis procedure appearing fo bant^p^jpe, I faic| to him^
"¦ tjlaf Lhad put myfelf into his hapd.S). as into thofe of
" a man, of honour,^ as weU as a Bifhop." ^ut fine
¦words, are not, always, fpllpwed with fiuae adions,, as,
wjll hp, feen in the, feqiiel. lytort^l;^ ^rc changeable,
v^fi^ever. flames.t^py.; tjear,
Lw^s.fp, iJLaftqr hi? departuj?e,v?nd fo cxtrcmelj^
weak, thatthey were- obliged to, recover, me with cor-
diad v^^ers. The Priorefs fearing,, if he fhtiuld com.c
agaiRtp me the aext day,, that, it, would' be my. dca.th,
writ) to, defire, him to let me, hav^ th^t day's repofe :
Yec he. -would not;;, for. he, came that day,, aud afked
me ^vtbcthcr 1 had- figned the, writing herHad' left with
me.; aij^d openjng^aiblue letter-cafe .w(hich-Kad a, Ibcl^
on jt, he faid to nie,, " See here; my cerrijiicafte}. Where
" is yfturfubmiflipn;?," He. held a: paper when he faid
tli^s.. I fhewed himrmy fubmiffion, /wnich was on mj^
bed,, Lhgd not ftrength to give him it. He took it,
l-,tjiep,ba^ nodQwbt butMwotiJd.gijVe.tne,my certi
ficate,

230 The L I F E of Part IJL
ficate, as he had promifed: But truly he would not.
He put it again in his letter-cafe, and told me, " he
" would give me nothing ; that Lwas not yet got, to
" the end, that he was going to torment me much
" more ; and that he would have other fignatures be-
" fide what I .had now given him, efpecially, , th^t /
" did not believe in the incarnate Word." Jiidgc of my
furprife. I loft both my ftrength and fpeech. He
went off. The Nuns were affrighted : Nothing that I
knew of had obliged hira to proraife nie a certificate-.
I had never afked him for one.

;^V7-;

Some time after, the Prelat;e came'again tom'e.f'' He
afked rae to fign, his paftofal letter, to corifefs that I
had fallen into the errors which are 'condemned, therein.
I endeavoured to fhew him that'what I had given him
com^rch^^'ie'd ' e'Vfery fort oFfubmiftion : And as,: in
this letter, hehad nUmhred mpwith the maleJaEiors, I
endeavo\!ired to honour this ftate of Jesus Christ
without complaining. He faid to me, "Butybupro-
" mifed mc to fubmit tb my condemnation." " Ido it
"-withall my htart,' Jaid I, and I take no' 'more in-
" tereft in whatever I have written, than if I never had
" written it. I will never depart from the fubniifl^ott
" and refped I owe you, hovyfever things turn. But,
", ray Lprd, you proraifed me a difcharge." " I will
" give you it, Jaid he, when you have' done what I
V'mall reqifire of ybu." " My.Lord, you did me
" the honour to tell rae that, on rriy giving ybu that
" fubmiffion, you would give' me my dnthafge^'
" Thefe, Jaid 'he; W'ere words iyhich efcaped, without
" thinking raatUrely on what both can and riiuft be
" done." " I do not tell you it, Jaid I, to trouble you
" with coniplaints, but to reraind you of what you
" promifed mc: And to fhew you my fubmiffion, I
" ira willing to write at thc foot of ypur paftoral letter
" whatever' I can put there." Having done it, he
read it; ahd faid to me; " he liked it well enough."
Then puttif/g itin his pocket he faid, " This is not the

Chap. XIX. LADY GUION. 231
" the niatter. You do not fay that you are formally
*' an heretic. 1 will have, you declare that, and ac-*
*' knowledge you have been guilty of all the errors
" which it condemns." I anfwered; " Sure, my Lord,
" you fay that to prove me. Would ever a Prelate
" of piety comriiit fuch an abufe on the good faith
" with which I came to place myfelf in his diocefe,
" only to make me do things which in confcience I
" cannot do ? I hoped to find in you a father; Let'
" not that hope meet with a deception." "I am a
" father of the church, Jaid he : But in fhort, it is
*' not a queftion of words. If you do not fign what
*' I require, I will come with witneffes, and after
" having admoniflied you before them, I v?ill inform
" the church of you, and we will cut you off, as we
" are direded in the gofpel." Then, my Lord, Jaid I,
" I have only God for my witnefs. I ara ready to
" fuffer for him : And I hope he will grant me the
" favour to let me do nothing againft my confcie,nce,
" yet without my departing from that refped 'which
" I owe yoir" He Wanted befide to, oblige me to
declare that there wereerrdrs in the latin hook of Father
LA Combe, &c.
The good Nuns, who had feen and heard a part of
the violent rage of the Bifhop, were exceedingly
affrighted. Mother Picard told me, " that my too
" great mildnefs embpldcncd him to treat me rough-
" ly, becaufe his raind was of fuch a caft, that he
" generally aded that way with raild people ; but
" more geptly with fuch as were ftout and had cou-
" rage." Such as knew, that I had .been at M[eaux
thought I was there by order of the King, whereas I
went thither of myfelf ; and that the Bifhop had ex
amined me fundry ririies abput the in>vard life, my
manner pf prayer, or love of God, whereas he never
fpoke to mc about any of thefe things. , ->,^,.;.
When

i^z The life of Part IIL
When he came to me, he faid, " he was? farisifiea
" with me; but it was my enemicfe .that- bad him
" torraent me." At other tiraes he would come full
of fury, to demand that fignature which he; knew I
could not give him. He threatened me withall I
have fuffered fince. " He >did not defign, fee faid,- td
" kje his fortune for mi," and many mPre fiach things.-
After thus venting his fury, he returned to Piarts mA
ftayed there Ibme time. • s
At laft, after having been fix months at Martj^ he
gave mc of himfelf a certificate, and afked rae no fur
ther "fignaturc. What is sftonifliing fo think nf^ ac
the very tirrie he was raoft outrageous againft me,iht!
told rae thatt/ J would come and live in his diocefe, I
jhould do him a pleafure. A httle btefore I left Memii,
he teftified to the Archbifhops Of Paris and of Stnr,
how rauch he efteemed and had been edified by mc.
He preached to us one day, at mafs, a furprrfii^ fef*
mon OH the inWard life, aad in it advanced things
much ftronger than I had done. He faid that he tv^
riot mafter of himfelf, under the view which then wats
fpread around him of thofe awcful myfteries, and tbat
God caufed hun to raake this confeffion of the truth
agairift hirafelf The Priorefs went to him after his
fermon, and afked him, " how he; could perfecute nK,
" when he even preached my fentiments." He ai'-
fwered, " it was not he ; but my enemies ikit
" did it." j^
As I had now been fix months at Memx, though
I had engaged to ftay there only three, I aflicd the
Bifliop, if he defired any thirig fovther from me. He an^ •
fwered. No. 1 told him then that I now had riecdi ta
go to Bourbon, and aflced him if it wPuid be agtccahtei-'
to- him, that I fhould come to pafsithc reft ofdayjffwath
thofe good Nuns;, for ouriplrirshad been cemeBwdv
in the bonds of mutual love, though the air of that'
place' I found to be very bad for ray conftitution.- He

Chap. XIX. LADYGUION. 233
He was- much pleafed with this propofal, and faid to
me, " he Ihould always receive me with pleafure,
" that the Nuns had been much edified by me ; and
*' that for himfelf > hc^was now returning to Paris." I
told him, " that cither my daughter, or fome Ladies
*• of my friends, would corae for rae." At hearing
this, he turned to the Priorefs, and faid to her, " Pray
" receive wellthofe who fhall come for Madara Guion,
" whether it be her daughter or other Ladies. Lodge
" them in your houfe, as long as they fhall be willing
*' to ftay." Two Ladies came for mc. They dined,
flipped and lodged there, and ftayed dinner next
day. Then, about three 'o'clock, we took our leave
of them and fet off.
Scarce had I got home but the Bifhop repented his
letting mc come out of his diocefe. What made him
change, as was difcovered fince, was, that having given
account to Madara Maintenon ofthe terras on which
this affair was finifhed, fhe was difpleafed with the cer
tificate he had given rae. He thought then that in
lofirig me he had ibft all the fine hopes he had flatter
ed himfelf with. He writ to me to return into his
diocefe. I received at the fame time a letter from
the Priorefs, wherein fhe writ, " that whatever defire
" fhe had of having me again in her houfe, fhe
" thought herfelf obliged to let rae know thc defigns
" of the Bifhop ; arid that he was refolved, if he had
" me again in his power,' to torraent rae worfe than
" ever." I knew that he hoped to eftablifh a high
fortune on the perfecution he fhould carry on againft
me: And as the defign of it was on another perfon far
above me, he thought that in my efcaping- him it
would be all loft. -Mother Picard fent me with her
letter a new certificate, from the Bifhop, but fo fa^
different from the former, which he defired mc to
fend back ; that I faw I had no juftice to exped
from him. Neverthelefs to obferve all the rules pf
decency toward him, from which I never departed, I
Vol. II. G g writ

234 *^H* '^ ^ ^ ^ o ^ Part III.
virrit to the Priorefs, that I had'j^ced what the Blflidp
demanded back from mc in the bands of ray family,
which, aifter aU that had paffed, had need of a piece
of that nature fbr my vindication.; and there was room
to believe they would riot part with it. In the fitiflr
he 'certifies thus, "from the declarations and fub«
" miffions of Madam. Guion, together with the g«od
" teftimony which has been given us of her, during
*« the fix months of her refidence in our dioeefe, in
" the Monaftcry of St. Afory, we are fatisfied with her
" condud, and have continued to her the participaw
** tion of the holy facrament, in which we found her.
** We declare farther, that we have found her in no
*' wife involved in the abominations of Molims, or
" others otherwife condemned, and have not meant
" to ciomprehend her in the mention which hath been
" made thereof by us in our ordinance of the 6th of
" April 1695. >; i
" Given at Meaux this firft day of July 16^5, ^
"J. BENIGNE, Bifhop of Meaux."
Now this latter certificate fent me by the Bilhoip
feemed to fupport all that had been (aid againft me,
as it contained not a word to the contrary. Enraged
at the refufal of giving up the former certificate to
his demand, he gave out " that I had run away from
" the Convent, having leaped over the walls." Be
fide my being a bad leaper, all the Nuns were witoefTes
to thecontrary : And yet this ftory was fo current that
many people believe it to this day. A procedure of
this nature permitted me no more to refign myfelf to
the difcretion of the Bifliop of Meaux : And as they
gave me to underftand, that they were going to pufh
things with the utmoft vidlence, I thought I ought to
leave to Goo whatever might fall out, and at the fame
time take all the meafures of prudence, to avoid the
effed

Chap. XIX. . L.A D Y G U I ON. 235-
effed of the threats >«hJchcame pouring on rae on all,
fides. Many places.qf retreat were offered me ; but I
was not free in. my mind to accept pf any, not toem-
barafs any body, nor involve in troubles my friends
and my family, to whom they might attribute my,
efcape. I took the refolqtiqn qf not quitting /!<?r;,j,
of living there ia fome private place with my maids,
who; were trufty and fure, and in general to hide,qiy-
felf froni the view of the world. I continued thus
about five or fix months.. I paffed the day all alone
in reading, in praying to, God, and in working. But
toward the end, bf the year 1695 * lwas arrefted, all
fick as at that tune twas, and conduded to Vincennes'i
I; was three days in the cuftody of Monf des Grez,
who had arrefted n^e ; becaufe the King would not
then confent to my being, put in prifon ; faying feve
ral times over, that a Cajtimit wasfufficierth ;;,They
deceived his juftice by ftill ftronger calumnies. They
painted ;ne to his eyes in colours fo black, that they
made him fcruple hjs goodnefs and equity. He then
confented ta my being taken to Vincennes.
• This Wai the 27th of December of Jaid year. Editor's

•t I , 1 «

Gg 2 CHAP.

236 T HE LIFE' OF* Part Iif.

CHAP. XX.

I SHALL not fpeak of that long perfecution, which
has made fo rauch noife, for a ferie^ of ten years
imprifonments, in all forts of prifons, arid of a banifh-
raent alraoft as long, and not yet ended, f through
croffes, calumnies and all imaginable forts of -fufferr
ings. There arc fads too odious, on the parts pf divers
perfetns, which charity induces me to coyer : And k
is in this fcnfe that charity covers a multitude of fins^
I Petj iv. 8. And there; are others on the part .0/
thofe who, having b^en feduced by ill-difpofed per
fons, are yet refpeded -by me for their piety and other
reafons, though they havc;;fhewed a zeal too bitter for
things of which they had no true knowledge. The
one fort I pafs over in filence out of refped, and thi^
lother out of charity.^ What I have to fay is, fha^
from fo long a train of croffes, with which my life
has been filled, one mayf judge that the, greateft, were
referved till the laft ; and that God who, through an
effed of his goodnefs, did not rejed rae, had' no mind
to leave the end of my life without a greater confor
mity to Jesus Christ. He was arraigned before all
forts of tribunals. He has done rae the favour to be
fo too. He fuffered thc raoft violent outrages without
coraplaining. He has conferred on rae thc mercy of
doing the fame. How could I do otherwife in the
view he gave me of his love and his goodnefs .-' In
this refemblance of my Saviour I regarded as favours,
what the world looks upon as ftrange perfecutions.
The'peace and joyi had within hindered rae from fee
ing the moft violent perfecutbfs, otherwife thari as in
ftruments

f It feehis that thefe words have been inferted by the Author, on
her reading' over again her manufcript fome years after the'date,
which will be feen at the eijd.. Editor's Note.

CtfAP.3(X. LADY GUION.

237

ftrunnents of the juftice of ray God, which has ever
been to me fo adorable and fo amiable. I was then in
prifon as in a place of delight and refrefhmcnt, this o-c-
rieral privation bf all creatures giving me more room to
tb be alorie with God. Thus I regarded all thofe ^rcat
appa!rent evils, and that univerfal decry, as the grcat-^
eft' of all benefits. T looked upon it as the work of
the h^rid of God, who was pleafed -to cover his taber'na-
cle with the fkins of beafts, to hide it from the eyes of
thofe to whom he would not have it manifefted. •
¦I HAVE born long and fore languifhings, oppreffive
and painful maladies wltlCout relief I have been alfo
iriwardly under great dcfolations for feveral months, in
fudh fort that I could only fay thefe words', : " My Godj
*' My God, why haft thou forfakeri me ?" All creatures
feemfed to be agiiirift riicj I then put rayfelf on the
fide of God, and of the creatures, againft myfelf. How
could I coraplain of what I ftiffered, with a love fo
clear froni all felfJntercft } Should I now intereft my
felf for myfelf, after haying made fo entire a facrifice
of whatever regards this self ? No. I therefore chufe
rather to confecrate all thefe fufteringsbyi filence.
I HAVE defended my innocence with enough of cou
rage and firmnefs, not to leave any doubt of the falfp-
hoOd of- the calumnies caft on perfons whofe prayer is
fervent and love fincere. The fpceches of their 'flan-
derdrs are rafh, and cohtrary to eVety fort of truth and
juftice : And yet the- hearty Which loves '< God, whofe
confcience reproaches it with nothing, even from hence
gains an incrcafe of ftrength and of happinefs. Per
fecution is a weight which always finks and plunges the |
foul into God. What raatters it' if all creatures^
are utJchained againft that foul, when it is all alone in
fvveet coramunion with its God, and >gives .hira folid
teliimonies : of ~ its love? So, fince there is no other
way of teftifying to God that wc love him, than in
bearing heavy ftifferings for his love, .we'are infinitely indebted

238 yni h I^ E 6f PartIII.
indebted t& hitn when he gives us the means of . d<Hng
it. • -¦ y''' '< .,.'
, iiilb , , , .
Per a A PS fome will be furprifed at my refufing to
i give thedetail of the- greateft and ftrongeft croffes of
nfiy life, after I have related thofe which were lefs* I
thought it proper to tell fomething of the croffes ®f my
youth, to ftiew the- crucifying condud which Goo held
over me.. I thought myfelf alfo obliged to relate certain
fads, to manifeft their falfehood, the condud of thpfe
by whom they had paffed, and the authors of thofe jp'er-
fecutions of which I have been only- the accidental ob
jed, as I was only perfecuted, in order to involve
therein perfons of great merit ; whom, being out of
their reach by tberiifelvesi they therefore coivM hot
perfonally attack, but by confounding their affairs
with mine. I thought i owed it to religion,' piety,
my friends, my family and myfelf. ¦'•"••' - '
While I was prifoner at VincenneS, and Monfieur de
tA Reine examined rrie, I paffed my tirae in great
peiace, content to pafs' the reft of my life there, if ftich
were the will of God. I fang fcmgs of joy, which
the maid who ferved me learned by heart, as faft as I
made therii: And we together fang thy praifcs, oh my
God ! The ftones of my prifon looked in my eyes like
rubies. I efteemed them more than all the gaudy
brilliancies of a vain world. My heart, was full ©f
that ioy which thou giveft to them who love thee, in
the midft of tbeir greateft croffes.  ,
This peace was wounded, for a fhort fpace, byan
infidelity which I fell into. It. was in premeditating
one day on what anfwers I fhould ritiake, at an^xamii'
natiori' which was to be the next day. I anfwered bad
ly. God, who had fo oft«j caufed me to anfwer
difficult and perplexed* queftibnS, with much facilily
and prefepce of ttiihd, punifhed'me now, even by ft»p-
pingmc fhort on eafy matters with confufion. It ferved to

Chap. XX. LADY GU JON. 239
to (hew me the injutjlity rof our arrangements on fuch
oceafions, and the fafcty of trufting in God. They
who depend on human reafon fay, " it is neceffary
«. to look before us, and to make our preparations;
** that it is to tempt God, and exped miracles, to ad
Otherwife." I leave others to think what they will.
As to me, I find no fafety but in refigning myfelf to
God. All fcripture abounds with texts enforcing fuch
a refignation. , ,j,
''-'.¦¦ . . , i . , ,-J|
When things were carried to the greateft extremi
ties, Ij then being in the Baftile, faid to thee, oh my
Goo, "if thoUi art pleafed to render me anew fpeSa-
** cle to men and angels, thy holy will be dpne! All
*' I aik is that thou wilt .fave thine, fo that neither
^' frincipalities, mot powers, nor the fword, may ever feparate
*' them from tbe pure love in Jesus Christ. As for me,
*' what matters it what men think of me, or make me
** fuffer, fince they cannot feparate me from thee .? Were
V Itoplea^allmen aiiddifpleafe thee, wretched would
" be the confequence,! Let all men then defpife and
" hate me, fo I may but be agreeable to thee. Their
" ftrokes will polifti what may be 4efcdive in me,
*' that I may be prefented to him for whom I die dai-
** ly." I faw all men united as it were to furprize and
to torment me, , all the r fubtilty <^ wit emplpyed for
it, by people wh,Q,had abundance of it ; and poor me,
alone, without fuccour, ibinetimcs alfo feeling the
heavy hand of Go® upon me, who feemed to abat^-^
don me to myfelf, and to my own iobfcurity ; all, my
own vivacity having been fb Jong mortified, having
laboured all my life long to fubmit myfelf to Jesus
Christ, and my reafon to his condud. I yoiunta-T
rily^uflderwent, as long as my beafth permitted it, v^ry
rigorous faftings and aufl;ere penances,: But all thisi
looked only like the burning offtraw. One moment of
the condud of God is of a thoufan^ times more efficacy I
than all that we can inflid upon ourfelves.
Before

240 Tuk L IF E 4f PartIII.
Before I enter on her conciufive Chapter^ I think
proper to exhibit a view of her poetry.
In her long iraprifonraent, fhe corapofed, as fhe has
inforraed us, raany Hyriins; . with POems on all forts
of fpiritual Subjeds, filling foe odavo voluraes. Her
•poetic vein was free, flowin^with warra devotion and
gratitude. Speciraens thereof have already- been ex
hibited in feveral Tranflations, but in a manner inad
equate both fo the fubjed and to her corapofitions.
The Ttanflator of the Extra'S^s from her Life and
Writings has given us the ift and, 2d of her Cantiques
or Hymns, and her Poera on divine communion, ' in her
own words, but with a Tranflation of them in Prbfe,
nearly literal, which he acknowledges was for warit of
a better in verfe. '
The Tranflator of one of the Hiftories of the Arch
bifhop of Gzmbr^y's Life has given us the ad and 3d in
her own words, but without any Tranflation, as if he
fuppofed his Englifh Readers generally raafters of the
French, a^id capable of difcerning the beauties of ifs
Poetry. ' Desirous of pleafing, to the utmoft of my power,
the numerous ^fubfcribers to this publication, I have
attempted a poetic Tranflation of fuch of her pieces
of this kind, as have already appeared in any prior
Englifh Trads which have yet come to my fight, and
a few more : Which I hope will not be difagrcablc
to well difpofed Readers, as they fo fully manifeft her
ever-ardent defire to be in all refpeds what God would
have her to be; and as they fprang from the enjoyment
of his infinite goodnefs in her long and feyere imprifon
ment. , -

CANTIQ^UE

M. GU I O N's Poems

241

C AN T I Q^U E L
L
GREAT God, here at
cafe.
Thee fingly to pleafe,
I fing all the length of
thc day ;
Shut up in a cage.
Yet flicltcr'd frora rage :
Oh liftcn and fraile on
the lay !
II.
From forrow releas'd.
With folace increas'd,
The bars of ray prifon I
love :
All toil here untry'd.
All wants well fupply'd,
I ara bleft, and enrich'd,
from above. III.
What if aliens are prone
To defpife, as unknown,
A language in heav'n
underftood ;
*Tis a feaft to the tafte
Of the foul that is chafte.
As it flows from the
fountain of good.
IV.
Tho' ray foes have com-
bin'd.
And my body confin'd,
Vol. II.

Yet my foul is with li„-
berty bleft :
I am humbly content.
With whatever is fent ;
For I know that thy
pleafure is beft. , ^.

O pleafure divine.
All excellence thine ;
And thee will I love
and adore :
The raore piercing ray -
pain.
The more freedom I gain.
And of every choice blef
fing the more.
VI.
Accept then, I pray,
The tribute I pay. . .
I fing ; as a bird, full of
Vivacious, expos'd, "
In a cage when inclos'd.
His warbling effufions
eraploy. VII.
Grant ray hymns, uttcr'd
here.
Melodious to cheai-,
Tho' tend'rer and fbftcr
than fine:
And the ftrength ever deign ,
Of my 'life to fuftain,
I Of that durable . life
which is thine.
Hh Thy

242

M. G U I O N's Poems.

VIII.
Thy wondrous defence
Makes a cell feem im
menfe ;
It fheds fo peculiar a
grace :
Such a pleafure abounds.
Such a glory furrounds,
And the joys of thy
kingdorn embrace.
IX.
All my foes 1 behold.
All thc ftout and the bold,
Perpfexing their hearts
with their pain ;
Confounded.^ — I fee.
While happily free.
How they vent all their
furies in vain !

CANTIQ^UE II.
Addreffed to her Dungeon.
I.
OLby'd folitude.
Where happinefs *
greets ;
And nothing that's rude

E rabitters her fwcets ;
Where all the long day
Is a banquet divine !
Can torraents allay ^
Such affedion as mine P"^
n.
No, welcome to Ipye,
My pains are deHghts :
Np torture can move.
No terror affrights.
Let 'em fraite with a fpear,
Or pierce with a dart,'
The worft they can rear -
The wifh of my heart. !f
III.
Immur'd in a fort.
My fole exercife.
While without a fupport.
Is my love and my fighs :
For meeknefs in harms
My glory will prove ;
And Sovereign Charms
Shop'd have fovereigq
lOve.

IV. , ,
Let me faithful endure,
As my fufferings, I find, The ""'"'

* :By this hymn it looks, as, if Lady Guion had inet with
fome rough ufage in her imprifonment, in order td extort from
her fqmething contrary to the truth in her heart, and that, hav
ing faithfully furmoiinted it, Jhe was filled with great/joy from
it, ¦• '¥1^:' • ¦" ' ' ' ."
f Wellworthy it is of being noted, to how great a degree the
love of Gop inflamed her heart, that, far from fearing the
moft dreadful perfecutions, Jhe even wifhed for them, as the means
of giving the fulleft proof ofthe depth and firmnefs of Jier love.

M. G U I O N's Poems.

243

The pleafure procure.
Which reigns in my
mind :
As God, from on high,

Changes what wou'd
annoy ;
And deigns to fupply
. Strength, parience and
joy.

CANTIQ^UE IIL

MY deareft Protedor, fee how they detain
My life in a dungeon ! Yet let rae Reraain
While fuch is thy pleafure : Fpr better no doubt
in a prifon with thee than a, palace without!
n.
' No thought iri riiy heart dares to lift Up its h&ad,
But the thought which to love, arid to ferve thee, is led.
III.
I wifh'd to be thifte frora ray teridcreft age:
No lovers befide have I fought to engage.
No flendcr fupports of the loftieft reeds.
No truft iri their words, and no hope of theif deeds.
IV.
In every probation to thee the recourfe
Of ray foul, in thy grace is its only refource. t
What elfe can r do, fo furrounded with foes,
But .fly to thy goodnefs which heals all ray woes ?
V. '
When ray hair fhall gro\? white, arid infirmities fhake^
This old fhatter'd fabrick thou wilt not fotfake.
I was formeriy pain'd when I faw, night arid day.
What innocence fuffcr'd in walking her way :
But fince I have learn'd, we .arc fummon'd to prove
By the weight of our fuffering the weight of our love.
H h 2 ¦ Lo.ve

.244

M. G U I O N's Poems.

Love perfed and pure goes farther than thought : '
None knows, till he proves it, how dear 'twill be bought.
Yet 'tis well worth its price, and a thoufand times more,
Since it brings us to Heav'n when our labours are o'er.
The four following pieces are extraded from many
of her's promifcuoufly taken. ' The two firft give a brief
review of fome of the former parts of her life; Thc
third, of the excellencies of divine love. The fourth,
of her univerfal concern for mankend.

I.

P

I.
ERMIT rae, ray God,
For thy bounty bc-
ftow'd.
To render oblations of
praife ;
O gracious to grant
The fupplies of each want.
And to high refignation
to raife !
II.
To blaft with the wind
What malice defign'd ;
To fill with the fervour
of love !
Its duteous flow,
I joyfully know.
The Lord of my life
will approve. III.
What flandcrs and lies
Ran iaround in difguife.
To make odious the
found of my name;

And, as far as they durft.
To procure me the worft,
Tho' guiltlefs, of fuffer
ing and fhame :
IV.
Till wave upon wave
Threatcn'd death and a
grave.
In the fathomlefs depth
of thc flood ;
So refolv'd in their will !
They had meant it for ill;
But thy pleafure has-
turn' dit to good.
V.
For here, O ray God,
What a grateful abode !
An afylura ofboundlcfs,
delight !
I rejoice in ray ftate,
Tho' my lodging fo ftrait,
Having nothing but thee
in my fight. Let

M.* G UI O N's Poems.

H5

VI.
Let the winds roar abput ;
Let the ftorms rage to//^o«/;
All within is fo calm
and fercne !
Not a curaberfome care,
Not a trifling affair.
Interrupting the peace
of the fcene !
VII.
If events then arife.
Or dcfccnd-from the fkies.
On thee let rae fingly
depend.
From the wind, and the
wave.
Thou art mighty to fave.
And a calra, and a fun-
fhine, to fend.
VIII.
Huraan wifdom and pride,
Fling your glpries, afide.
Nor feduce with your
fparks in thc night.
Ye fo flily deceive.
That men fancy they're
brave.
And refufe to their Author
his right. IX.
Ye "provoke with your
flames.
Into furious aims,
TillVrath in confufion
expires.
While favpur'd with light,
Wffich wou'd lead them
aright,
:,. How they clalh in their
erring defires ! 1

O ye carnally wife.
Who deride and defpife
All your fenfe what im-
raenfely tranfcends !
What in fecret is feal'd.
Yet to babes is reveal'd.
No critical wit compre
hends.
XI.
In time then apply.
This wifdom to buy :
Your wills to your Au
thor's refign.
Be humble and juft.
Upright ii^ each truft,
, And in raercy and puri
ty fliinc. XII.
Then ineffable gains
Willrefult frora yourpains;
And, the gates of his
kingdom unbarr'd.
The celeftial King,
In his bounty, will bring
To the joys of an end
lefs reward.
IL

OLovE ever true.
Ever ancient and
new.
How thy , favours un
bounded amaze!
How grace from on high. Like

246

M. G U I O N's Poems.

Like an Angel of joy.
All around me thy
glory difplays !
II.
'Tis the cefelefs delight
"Of ray foul'to recite
The fliow'rs of thy love
as they flow.
My ALL is in thee ;
Arid NOTHING to rae
Are thc charras of the
nations below.
III.
Thy prefence infpires,
And crowns ray defires.'
Oh fill all niy.foul with
thy Ioye !
My Guardian and Guide
When tcrapted and try'd !
Let our union eternally
raove. IV.
To ray foul, to my fight.
All is fweet, all isbright :
For thy pleafure all na
ture obeys.
Here I trace all thy truth.
From ray tendereft youth.
In the deeds of anterior
days. V
My forces had fail*d.
By ficknefs affail'd ;
Yet health from thy-hand
I regain'd.
When weigh'd to the
ground.

With crpffcs arpund.
Thy hand, ftill attentive,
fuflain'd. VI.
The Tempeft and tide
With perils havcply'd.
Amid the loud threats
of thc feas ;
The heights over floods,
Thc robbers in woods ;
Yet my heart was un-
mov'd and ateafe.
VII.
When of fiends and of foes
Rude legions arofe.
To fhock rae with dire
ful difraay ;
Full of faith, void of fear,
I rcpell'd their career.
Thro' thc forCe of thy
fovereign fway.
VIII.
What can anger or pride ?
Having thee on ray fide,
Their efforts abortive
rebound.
Thc plots and the fchemes
Wild phantoms and
dreams !
The hearts of their au
thors they woundi,
IX.
How in envy combin'd.
In their error how blind,.
With the tendereft com-
paflion 1 vicWi ,
Their labour employ'd, ,
, .¦,' In

M. G U I O N's Poems. 247
To move with a reve.
rent awe ;
To gain a delight,
A purity bright.
In evolving the lines of
thy law !

In thy favour erijoy'd,
Mywarmeft of wifhes
purfue. X.
May they timely be taught
In each word, and each
thought, *

III.
On the Excellencies of dhine Love.
WHEN Affection abounds that is perfect and
PURE,
No terrors alarra, and no vices allure.
The foul, then exalted, all goodnefs purfucs ;
For honours iraraortal engrofs all her views.
Then holding her freedora, her purity bought,
Th' Infernals arc vex'd at their vidim uncaught.
What ftrains can this perfed affedion declare ?
What objeds afferable with it to compare .''
'Tis the richeft of treafures, the brighteft of gems ;
.^ll thrones it outfhines, all thc world's diadems.
'Tis thc nobleft of plants, as afcending it flioots
From the virtuous heart, full of excellent fruits.
From the fmalleft of feeds it will rife, and will fpread.
O'er the Earth with its boughs, up to Heav'n with its
head.
The ftorm only touches its rind as it blows ;
For thc raore agitated the firraer it grows.
So foli(^ and lafting its virtues are feen.
Its fruits ever fine, and its leaves ever green ;
In all ages and cliraates adrair'd and renown'd.
From the love of the Higheft they folely redound.
'Tis the firft, and the fineft, of themes ever known,
All befide it, give way-^to behold it alone !
On every condition it breathes a content.
In the confcious courfe of the moments well fpent. It

248 M. G U I O N's Poems;
It fwectcris our bitters, it comforts our toil ; ,:
It melts down the mountains, and fpftens the foil.
It lifts up the vales as it levels the hills,
Throws Ipftinejs down, and with lawlinejs fills.
Each image of gold, and each idol of lead.
As they fall to the ground, loje the hands, and the head.
It ftrengthens in weaknefs, in ficknefs it heals.
And pleafures, rewarding, to forrows unfeals.
It brightens in trials, as gold, when refin'd,
Thc drofs in the furnace when leaving behind.
It baffles all Malice, and balks her intent.
Full happinefs flowing where mifery was raeant !
The Pris'ner, exulting, the wonder proclaims ;
And Martyrs, with fongs, in the midft of thc flames.
.-«: Tp kindnefs approaching it opens a door.
Supplying all wants, and enriching the poor :
The glory pf countries, the beauty of towns ! I
From tranfient croffes, to permanent crowns, ;
The coward turns fearlefs of fwords and of feas ;
And mortals, aftonifh'd, work wonders with eafe. '
Effeds of thy goodnefs, O Sov'reign divine !
All thc pow'rs in the world are as nothing to thine.
Each rifing defire in the heart is deny'd.
Which tends from thyjringdom to turnit afide. '
Thc ready fuppreffion attrads thy regards : • ¦?r;'' .'.T
And fweet are the foretaftes of future rewards ;
The hundred-Jold promis'd to them who refign
All the Charms they delight in, and chufe to be
, thine.
Ambition and Av'rice andFnvy and Luft,
An army of Giants, are fttetch'd in the duft. ¦ ' .
The mighty Goliah's, who vaunt on the plain,"
By the hands of thy ftriplings arc fpcedily.flain.
Proud SELF is in afles abas' d, andcibhorr'd,
And..,only the Maker of all things ador'd.
To thee then adhering, wherever they go.
With a virtuous ardor thy votaries , glow.
Tho' rocks in the rpad. or tho' defarts are found, i
Harmonious appears fhe creation around.
. All

M. G UIO N's Poems.

249

All nature looks chearful, if foul or if fair.
New fragrance diffufing in ambient air.
The jOy that's within iffuesiforfh in their views.
And Paradife, gracing all objeds, renews.
Shou'd we buy it with fufferings, and loffes of al},
The flocks in the fold, and the herds in the ft all.
With vollies of flander our charaders torn.
Or fierce perfecution inceffantly born.
The purchafe were cheap, fince alone it procures
A fitnefs fbr blifs which for ever endures.

IV.

o

1.
my Sov'reign, engage
Every nation and

To lay hold of thy prof
fers of aid ;
The motions of fin
To ftifle within.
In virtues unfpotted ar-
ray'd ! II.
Happy charige of thc times.
Over ages, and climes.
While o'er, 'em thy fun
daily fhines :
From each crime, and
each luft.
Ever pure, ever juft.
And ennobled in ali
their defigns !
III.
The fault is not thine.
If the finner decline
.Vol. II. I

To walk in the way that
is right ;
So clear thou haft fhev^'d.
So courted and woo'd
His return to the rays
of thy light !
IV.
But it grieves to furvey
Such a fatal decay
Ofthe life of celeftial
birth }
How its beauties arc fotl'd.
And its fortitude foil'd,
Wide over the face of
the earth !
- V. ¦¦
Ah the treacherous joys
Of tranfient toys ;
Of treafures a baneful
abufe;
Like fnakes hid in flow'rs.
Or harlots amours ^
Which deadly diftem-
pers adduce 1
i They

¦2:50

M..G UNION'S Poems.

VI.
They plunge into wbes.
Which admit no repofe,
Where infolent fpirits
infeft :
Their mirth and their wit.
And their fcorning, unfit
. To join in the joys of'
-the bleft!
VII.
Who vices refufe.
And reditude chufe.
Can never repent of '
their choice.
True freedom, alone.
True blifs is their owri.
Who hearken arid follow
thy voice. ' \
VIII.
Tho' fo high on thy throne,
Tis thy joy to make known \
Thy fecrets unfeal'dj to j
" the wife. }
In affedion divine, i
As in adion, they fhine, |
And thy mercies they j
thankfully prize;
IX. '•
Thy words to fulfill.
To conform to thy will, ,
The permanent mark bf ;
the-rtiind !

With thee they coriverie.
Arid rejoice' to rbhearfe
Thy laws, and thy Ibve
tO' marikihd. X.
When thefe meet ori hio-h,
In a lovelier fky^
Where. their Sov'reign
and Saviour appears ;
All beautifes arc foUhd,
All pleafures abound, ,,]
And his infinite good
nefs endears.
XI.
Their labours all o'er.
Their troubles no more.
Triumphing in liiftle
improv'd.
What joys will they know.
From the fountain tOflow,
Ever loving, and ever
belov'd !
XII.
Who can ceafe to admire,
O Sov'reign and Sire,
How thy Greatnefs and
Goodnefs uriitei? ; '
Then, depriv'd of his
crown,
Bufy Self is thrown down.
When we -come to be
hold things aright.

M. GUlON's

M. G U I'OI^'s- Poems. 251
M. GUI O N's Experience
Gf DiypNE COMMUNION,
\-- A P G E-M. ¦' -• ¦¦
Prophefying thaC the Light of the Gofpd fhould reach
"to, and fpread in, the i feparate Iflands (the- moft
memorable of which are the. Britifh Ifles) the cold
Northern Regions, and the Continent of America.
N. B. It has of late/reached to; and fpread, in fome de
gree,- in the dvifmal cold country of Greenland,
thro' the means of fonie^ patient and faithful labourers
from Mara^a in, Germany :
CHRIST to his S P O U S E.
OThou dear objed of my fixt cielight,
True to my laws, and beauteous in my fight,
Obfe^uious, chafte, effervent with the .(|ar?
Of pure affedion in thy conftant heart ! -
My Brjde eleded ! All thy s;ei;f refign : > , '
For ever faithful- to thy bridegroom- fliine.
As when thy toils, in prior days purfu'd, .,., . .^
No ftipend' fought, no fordid wifli allow/d. i ¦;
When- in the maze of thorny ^aths ried,. , .
Or onrthe cliffs where briary thickets bredi,'
Thy courfe was dauntlefs,' while it feem'd ailoBe,:
And faith' undevious fVom the' path unknown.
Pleas'd I beheld thy viailaricferand fears,
Reliev'd thy fighs, allay 'd thy gqfliing tears,
Look'd on thy conflids, heard chy fuppHant ftrain,.'
And arm'd with patience in the depth of pain.
I i. 2 When

252- M.^^",GU L-O'^K's Poems.
When death ftood thrcat'riing, ftillriiy Spouse 're-'
fign'd- " -''j-'
Call'd not my love inconftant; or unkind.' *•, ^
Thy loads were pond'rous : I the burthen bleft,
Tho' fancied difl^nt from thy foul diftrcft.
No-placid eafe, or gay diverfipn fought,"^ -"
None but thc fuccours which my pleafure brought.
With lenient balm I footh'd each pain and fright.
Within thy bofom, yet without thy fight.
This then thy language, " O my dieareft SpOuse,
" With thee to fuffer is the lot I chufe.
" Fortheeto labour is thy Lover's fcope :
" Thy fraile her only happinefs and hope !
" All geras befide it are but vbid and vairi :
" They wound her peace, and tantalize her pain.
"One look of thine (why turn'd away thofe eyes?)
*' Fills with new raptures, and new life fupplies,"
I faw thee ftruggling with incurabent throes,
As to my throne thy pray'r, emergent, rofe.
No pow'r exterior gave internal reft.
Or gain'd a feat and fceptre in thy breaft. - ~
// foftly breath'd, O 'Witnefs of my love,
" Look down, aufpicious',' from the realms above.
" Orock of ages ! Nothing here below
" I crave, enrich'd if thy compaffion' flow.
When yet too weak I faw thy willing mind
For full refinement, which my'Gracg defign'd,
I call'd, " Exert thy doubled fortitude, !
" No baits, delicious to the fenfes, view'd.
*' For fuch our league : If thou'lt be wholly mine,
" Thou rauft all darlings,, and thyfelf, refign :
" Caft each warm wifh of all thy blifs Afide,
" And rcft/» w/a^ completely fatisfy'd.
", Endure with patience. Let no conflids tire ;
" To fee me glorious be thy fole defire."
What in fuch confcious folitude I faid
Thine ear attended, and thy heart obey'd.
iMy cheating voice, thy vivid hope advanc'd,
And the chafte ardor ofthy love enhanc'd. Unfeen

M. > G U I O N 's PpE]^%. 253
Unfeen, unknown, thou woud'ft have Inftant dy'd.
To give bright pledges of a faithful Bride.
All leauty's charnts,in dark oblivion caught, ,„ .7 >,
All felfithriiiterefts in the duft unfought, , '
Thou cry'd, " I'm fair, if faithful to my Lord,
" Whpfe wondrpus favours on his, Spoufe are ftpr'd."
At length all murmurs on thy lips decay'd : .; ,
All fell in filent refignation laid. ,
Silence profound ! It's marv'lous glowrcfincs.
And human wit, and wifdom, far putfhines.,.
All words are worthlcfs, where its beams abound,.
When mutual converfe melts without a found. ^;,
Thiis in thc woods thou paft thy pleafing youth.
Alone, epraptur'd; with;«/^;W truth.
In reverent flillnefs beard my language therei ,
And wifli'd rio human eloquence to hear. . . ,
It wrought its wonders. All thy pangs it heal'd.
And joyous myft'ries of my realm J'evcal'd,
Unveil'd my beauty ; with ray goodnefs bleft ; , .
Source of thy toils, and teraple of thy reft !
'Twas then thy foul in cleareft luftrefaw
How fenfes,, pamper'd, into bondage draw..
Thy hands refus'd, whate'er wou'd gratify
Their keen demand, fuperfluous, to fupply.
All charras then darken'd which, had pnce been brio-ht.
As ftars all vanifh from' the folar light.
Each wifh was ONE, as when the lucid rays.
To one fix'd point , collcded, hotly blaze.
Then in new freedom foar'd thy flaming love.
High on the pinions pf the peaceful dove ;
Of thefe great favours all the grateful fame.
To diftant nations, ardent to proclaim, i.

ut R

254 IT. "G- UNION'S ToiiMsi

Her Soliloquy and Ai)DRgs.s.
Sue H falutation, from my Sovereign Spoufe^^ ~ •
Hail'd, in his Bride a boundleft love torOt^fej
Of fecret Self to drown the ffy comroul.
And fix in perfed purity of foul.
No more I wifhM of tranfient toys to view :
No more mine audience vain difcourfes drew.
"Oh grant new pow'rs, Tpray'd-, my Love fupreme,
" For prpmulgation of the worthieft theme : ' '
" Nor longer leave my fervour thus confin'd>
" Since thy refulgence on my- foul has fhin'd'P'^"'
" Thy boundlefs goodnefs now my foul furveys,
" 'Tis loft in wonder, and 'tis fill'd with praife.
" Rapt with thy beauties, and exempt from fear,
" I muft refound 'era, tho' the worft' I bear.
Ye fevcr'd ifles, and Hyperborean plain's,
Whofe floods lie fetter'd in their icy ishains,
Whofe piercing blafts deprive your dreary glades " '
Of the fweet fragrance ofthe Southern fhades,
To you, tho' diftant, in his name Icall ;
Oh live devoted to the Lord of AHL
Your gates^immortal to his Grace unfold ;
And ye'll exult in bleffings- yet untold,
In the high glories of perpetual hills.
In the fweet folace of celeftial rills.
If no repugnance intercept the rays
Which rife to blefs you with the beft of day's.
All wants redrefs'd, a brighter Sun will glow.
And endlefs love in blifsful union flow.
Your hearts and hands in generous ads employ.
And crown your labours with tranfcendent joy.
Ye ftately fabricks in th' enamel'd fields.
Where art iraproves what lovely nature yields ;
Ye beauteous hills for pearly fruits renown'd.
Ye crowns of vines which deck their fummits round, Ye

• M. -'O VKD^$sr;s .IBoE^^. 255
l^c wide canals which coft amazing toil,
YeflrearasTrohictemunnnro'er the.flow'ry foil.
Oh, fmecjyQUr Lords,, decay'd with earthly views,
Ncgled the Giver, and thegtfts mifuft, ,
Since peace fraternal yields'to felfifh ftrifc,'
And gratefid virtue to luxurious life,
I leave,' lamenting, your irifeded fiate.
And waft my words to regions lefs elate.
Ye then who hold yon Jf^eftern Hcmifphcre,
Or whpfe long darlf nefs. ends your .frigid, year.
Within your breafts yOUr Author's love inClofc,
To thaw your ice, and melt your chilling fnows.
He cbufts a refuge in your nations. Chufe
Hira for your Lord, nor bffer'd blifs refufe.
His due reception renders^every place
Fair in his fight, affd ! honout'dwith his Grace.
He lifts aloft, and'Jwings to blifs from woe
A race of rebels in the world below.
Broke frora the : bonds- of daftard fear andfliame.
By virtue fervent with celeftial flarae.
-Ye fruitlcfs trads, whofe haplefs throngs are thin.
Oh, if he Ihield you frora. the fhafts of fin ,;
His pcrfed.goodriefs if your tribes, re^^ere.
And to his laws, in fpotlefs lives, adhere ;
Then all its wildnefs will the wafte' forego.
Then cluftring grapes for noxious brambles grow.
But righteous judgncient will at laft furprize,
If mortals, call'd^ the gracious call defpife.

Some

256 M. G U I O N's Poems.
Some (hort Pieces taken from her Book of Em
blems, which appear to have been the pro-
duftions of her younger days.

I.

I.
HOW endanger'd was I, when diftant from thee,
When fins had an abfolute reign ;
When frantic with joy, from reftridion if free,
I rufh'd into fports with the vain !
II.
W.'-cn idle amufements attraded ray heart.
When I heard, and yet fled from, thy voice ;
Applauding my folly, for flying apart.
And blindly purfuing her choice !
III.
I now fee it all with a pungent regret ;
Of my rafhnefs I deeply repent.
Oh deign, I befeech, to forgive and forget .
To thy will let me fully be bent I
II. I.
HOW long I refifted a gracious God,
Who kindly vouchfaf'd to invite I
Ah rebel I was, well deferving his rod.
And to fink in the horrors of night.
II.
1 fubmit, I furrender rayfelf to thy will :
And nothing I hope from my tears.
Thy righteous fentence let juftice fulfill;
So my foul be fet free from her fears.

Great

M. GUiaN's Poems
III.

"25?^

Great Author of goodnefs, my heart with thy love
¦ Has been fmitten, and felt its delight:
Then every delay frora obedience remove.
And turn what is wrohg all aright;.

IIL

NO pains'^I deplore.
Which are paid to
ray fault ;
Chaftife rae yet more, .
To revenge the revblti
n.
I'm afliam'd, and I grieve,
As thy goodnefs I find
So fwift to relieve.
To carefs me fo kind.
III.
Not thy mercies alone,
But thy juftice I crave.
What beft \(rill atOnd
My relapfe, to receive :
IV.
Of fuch a tranfgreflion -
How painful the fenfe .'

Will theloudeft confefliofi
Efface its offence .'' /
V.
Willmyfharricful condition
Be heal'd withregret ?,
Will floods of contrition
E'er cancel the debt ?
VI.
Oh unjuft and ingrate !
Let thy hand be leverd ;
Let me fuffer its weighty '
'Till I'ra fix'd in thy
fear. Vll.
Redouble riiy p'airi
, So ray fins be bUt lofl;
I will count it all gaiui
And not care what it
eoft*

IV.

LOVE watches arid fathoms the hearts ^aifmarikiridi
Uprightnefs exad it deraands,
A purity perfed infixt in the raind,
, A raanifeft' feleannefs of haridsl "
Vol. II. Kk thi

258 M. G U I O N's Poems.
n.
The lover who wavering leans to the earth,
Whofe heart runs wandering aftray.
Turns vile and degenerate, lofing his birth.
And bleffings it meant to di^lay.
IIL
True love over every temptation will pafs,
Alone with its fpoufe to regale :
All objeds befide arc as fplendors of glafs.
Deceiving as much as they're frail.
IV-
In loving bur God this advantage We gain ;
Him we fhall eternally love :
AU we view in the world is tranfient and vain.
Like billows which break as they move.
V.
The treafures beneath are a Ibad which deceives j
Or they fly with the wings of the wind :
Applaufes and honours are impotent ftaves.
To fupport in the trials affign'd.
VI.
TrUe love is, exempted from weaknefs and fear %
AU fin it will ever exclude ;
'Tis a chain that is endlefs, as firm as fincere.
And with every thirig noble endu'd.

V.

I.
ODraw me, my Spoufe, and thy fteps I'U purfue ;
For around thee how every thing blooms !
How fweet is all nature,; how beauteous to view !
How reviving with od'rous perfumes ! Hear

M. GUI ON'S Po,EM^. 259
II.
Here the Spoufe ftopt me fhort, as a novice in love ;
In fuch terms, in his turn, he reply'd ;
" Weak lovers cry out for attradions to move :
And are falfe and inconftant when try'd.
III.
There's a fliorter, yet worthier, path to be trod, .
A path ofthe love which is pure :
Where troubles, or tortures, the lover of God
Is willing fot him to endure :
IV.
No road flrew'd with rofes expeding to find.
But a life of refemblance to mine.
Ifuffcr'dfor finners, to death was refign'd, " .
And agonies link'd in a line.
V.
The felf-pleafing path^ be no longer furvey'd,
Nbrcherifh a hope to rejoice : '
By tracing mc here let thy love be difplay'd.
And then thou wilt merit my choice."

K k 2 CHAP.

ado Th E ' L I F E ^f Part III,
CHAP. XXI. ^nd laft.

AS my life has ever been confecrated to thc crofs,
lwas no fooner out of prifon, and ray fpirit be
gan to breathe a little, after fo many perlf cutions, but
my body was afilided with all forts of infirmities.
I have had almoft continual raaladies, which ofteq
brought me to the very verge of death. ^'
In thefe laft, times I can hardly fpeak at all of my
difpofitions. It is becaufe 'my ftate is becorad fimple
and without any variatibns. It is' a profound annihi
lation. I find nothing in rayfelf to which I can give a
name. All that I know is that God is infinitely holy,
righteous, good and happy. I fee nothing -^helqw
myfelf, nothing raore unworthy of his bounties than
myfelf. I acknowledge that God has heaped his fa
vours on mc, enough to fave a world, which I have
too much requited with ingratitude. All gbod is it\
him ; for ray fhare betwixt us I have orily NoxHiNb.
To me evetf condition feeras equal. All is loft in his.
immenfity, like a little drop of water in the fea. Ii^
this divine immenfity thc foul fees itfelf rio rnore, but it
difcerns every objed in God, without difcerning them
Otherwife than by the feeling ofthe heart. All is dark^
nefs in regard to itfelf, all is light on the fide of God,
who lets rne be ignorant of nothing that is proper, or
pf real advantage. There is here neither clamour, nor
.forrow, nor pairi, nor vain pleafure, nor uncertainty ;
but a perfed peace; not in myfelf but iri God : No
intereft fpr felf, no anxiety or buftle for felf. If any
think there is any good in me, ;they are miftaken, and
by fuch thought do injury to my Lord. • All good
is in him and for him. The greateft fatisfadion I can
jiave is becaufe he is what he is; and becaufe what'
"  . ¦ ¦ , ^^

Chap. XXL LADYGUION. 261
he 'is he will be for ever. If he fave me, it wiU be gra-r
tuitoufly; for I have neither merit nor dignity.
I AM aftonifhed that any fhould place confidence in
fuch a poor nothing creature as I am. I have foriic-
times faid it. , Neverthelefs, I anfwer what they afk
without difficulty. My own will and inclinations are
vanifhed. Poverty and nakednefs arc my fhare. Sorae
tiraes indeed I could wifli to undergo the worft 'ijf
fufferings, , fo that fouls might be brought thereby to
know and love Gpo.
.J
. - I DE.ARLY love the church : Whatever wounds .that
,. wounds rae. . I feek nothing for rayfelf. I ftudy.no-
, thing ; but there are given mc inimediately, as occafion
requires, expreffions and words very forcible. If I
wanted to have them they would efcape rae, and I
' could by no raeans catch or corae at them. When I
have fomething to fay, if I am interrupted, it is all loft.
I am then like a child frora whom, unperceiving, his
apple is withdrawn. He looks about for it; but all in
•vain: He finds it no more. My God keeps rae in an ex
trerae fimplicity, godly fincerity, uprightnefs of heart,
and enlargednefs of fpirit, in fuch fort that, as to par
ticular things, I feem to look frora and above them,
andof them to fee nothing at aU, except when occa-
, Cons prefent them.
He gives me a free air with the various nurabers "of
people who corae to fee rae; and raakes _rae difcourfe
with them, not according to any difpofitions of my
own, but according to their ftates. 1 am not afraid
-of any of thera laying friarcs for me iri what they fay.
I canriot have recourfe to precautionsi in any of thefe
cafes, confcious of ray own innocence and upright'^
nefs in thera. Oh carnal prudence ! How oppofite
.do I find thee to the firaplicity of Jesus Christ ! I
- leave -thee to thy partifans. As for rae, all ray pru-
. dence, my wifdom, is in following hira in his fimple and

262 The l'i F E of Part JIL
and lowly appearance : And-if to change my condud
would make me an Emprefs, I could ho.t. dp it ; or
were my firaplicity to caufe roe all the heavieft fuffer
ings I could not depart from it.
Nothing is greater than God, nothing lefs than
myfelf. He is rich, I am poor ; and yet I want no
thing. Life' or death is equal to me. God is love.
AU good is in him and for him. What I have faid,
or written, is all paft away from me^ L-rem^ber
little or nothing of it. I want neither Juftificatipri nor
efteem. I want nothjng but God and his glory. Let
him then, if he fees it beft, glorify himfelf by m^ dc
ftrudion, or by re-eftablifhing my reputation. The
one or the other bears equal weight in the balance with
me; My children, L wiU not deceive or miflead you. It
belongs to God to enlighten you, and to give you
efteem or difefleem for rne. I want only to keep my
place, and go no more eut, no more to move &ona my
centre, I pray God to enlighten you always, tp give
you thereby the clear difcernment of his holy will, that
no falfe light may ever lead you to the precipice. '
O My dear children; open, your eyes to- the light of
truth. Holy Father, fanEiify them thrmgh thy truth.
Thy divine Word has fpoken to -them- through ..my
mouth. Christ alone is the Truth. He faid of -his
Apoftles, For tbeir fakes I fanSiify myfelf, that they.-alfo
jfiay be fanSfified through the truth. Oh fay the fame
thing to my children. Sandify thyfelf in them, and for
¦ them. It is being truly fandified in all holinefs, to
have none of our own but only the holinefs of Jesus
Christ-. Let him alprie be all iri.all in us and for us,
that the work of fandification may, be carried on
through the experimental knowledge of, the divine
truth. To him belongeth all wifdom, ftrength, great
nefs, power and glory; to us |»ovierty, emptinefs, weaknefs

Chap, XXL L.AD Y G U I O N. 263
.¦weaknefs, mifery, and what not ! Let us abide iri our
riothirigriefs, paying homage tp his holinefs ; Then
ihall we find in him all that wc want. If we feek for
any thirig far SELF out of him, then, however holy
he may appear tous, we are liars, and, the truth ab;d-
eth not in us. We deceive ourfelves, and in that ftate
fhall never be' the faints of God, who, having no other
holinefs than his, have renounced all felfifh lifurpation
ofhis facred rights.

'O'

Holy Father, I have Committed into thy hands thofe
_ whom thou haft given me ; keep them in thy truth,
that the lie may not come near them ; for to attribute
any thing to one's felf is to be in the lie : Make' them
' kpow this to be the great truth of which thou art jea
lous. All language which deviates frora this princi
ple is falfehood. He who fpeaks only the All of
God, and nothing of the Creature, is in the truth,
and the truth dwelleth in him, ufurpation and felfifli-
nefs being banifhed from him; My children, receive
this inftrudion from your mother, and it will procure
you life. Receive it through her, not as for her, but
as of and for God. Amen ! Lord Jesus Christ !
CO N C L U S I O N.
I intreat all fuch as fhall read this, not to think
hardly of-the perfons, who through a zeal, perhaps
too bitter, have puflit things fo far againft a woman,
and againft one fo fubmiffivc; becaufe, as Taulerus
fays in his inftiturions. Chap. xi. " God wifling to
" purify a foul by fufferings, might permit an. infi-
*' nite number of well-difpofed perfons to fall into
" darknefs and blindnefs toward that foul, in order
" to prepare this chofen veffel, by the rafh bias of
"**' their judgments in fuch a ftate of ignorance ; but that
*' at laft, after havirig purified this veffel, he will take
*' away tlje veil fooner or later, from their eyes, not
" treating tlaem with rigour for- a fault which they have
eomaiiued

264 'The L I F E OP Part IIL
*' coraraitted through a hidden condud of his adora-
" ble providence.  1 fay rauCh more, that fooner
" would God fend an angel from Heaven, to refine
*' this chofen veffel through tribulations, than leave
" it without fufferings."
December 1709.
Here fhe left off her own Narrative, though fhe
lived a retired life above feven years after this date.
What fhe had wrote being done only in obedience to
the comraands of her iDiredor. • : • •

SUPPLEMENT

LADY GUION. z6s
SUPPL EM EN T
I.
Lady GU 10 N's Life.

THE Writer of the Life of the Archbifliop of
Cambray has therein giveri us a brief Suraraa
ry of that of Lady Guion, from her birth till her
death. He firft tells us that fhe was born of noble pa
rents, that in the tirae of her widowhood her eftate
brought her in above forty thoufand livres a year, till
fhe gave up to her relations her garde-noble, and re
ferved rio raore than a fraall annuity to herfelf, that
the Bifhop of Geneva, fo often raentioned in the fecond
Part, was Monfieur D' Aranton.
After giving the account of her being arrefted,
and fent prifoner to the caftle of Vincennes, he goes on
thus :
" An afferably of thc Clergy was held at St. Ger'
" main en Lay, where the Bifliop of Meaux was chofen
" to draw up a relation of all that had paft, cbnccrn-
" ing the Pope's coriftitution againft the Archbifhop of
" Cambray's book, entitled, fhe maxims of the faints.
" It is obfervable that, in the verbal procefs drawh
" up, in which matters were carried on in fooutragc-
" ous a manner againft that Archbifliop, the Bifliops
" gave teftimony to the purity of Madam Guion's
" condud and converfation. They profeffed, a vene-
1, 1 ration

366 The LIFE of Part HI.
" ration for her life, while they condcriincd her prin-
" ciples and her dodrine* . ? - ^; ; ', J
" This authentic teftinioriial '(Jay's the Writer^
'' will be an eternal monument of that' Lady's inno-
" eence ; becaufe the Bifliops affembled ;did not give
" her it till after flie had been five years inprifort. Dur-
" ing that time ftrid enquiries had been made in all
„ the places where fhe had been ever fince her youth,
" All perfons of her acquaintance in tbe provinces,
" far and near, had been exarained. Thrcatnings,
" proraifes and prifons had been einployed to engage
" her two raaid-fcrvants, witneffes of her condud for
" many years, to fay fomething to her difadvantage.
" She herfelf had been made to undergo divers capti-
" ous interrogatories before different judges. She had
" been carried from prifon to prifon, iri order to. fhake
" her refolution ; from Vincennes to Vaugirard, from
" Vaugirard to the Baftile.f And yet, notwithftanding
" all this, the verity of her anfwers, the purity of her
" manners, and uniformity of her condud all along
" fhone forth fo confpicuoufly, as to force this ac-
" knowledgment from a numerous afferably of Pre-
" lates, under the diredion of the Bifhop of Meaux.
" She remained however feveral yeara longer in pri-
'• fon, fick and in a fuffering condition. She continu-
" ally demanded her crime to be fpecified and proved.
" Her enemies unable to make any thing appear
" againft her, fhe was at length difcharged froni her
" confinement, and banifhed to Blois, where flic lived.
" near
* Thefe Pop1(h Bifhops did not judge of her principles and
Doftrine according to our Saviour's Rule, By their j fruits ye -Jhall
knoiv ihem. They owned the fruits to htgood, but pronounced the
tree which produced them bad,
\'
f When itwas perceived, of her and Father la Combe, that
tke Lord gave them favour in the eyes ofthe keepers of prifons,
they were removed to others to be more hardly treated.

LADY GUION. 267
" near twelve years, honoured and refpeded for her
*¦ good undcrftanding, fincere piety, pure and modeft
"virtue, even by thofe who had entertained the
*' ftrongeft prejudices againft her. She died at length
" in BJois, tenderly regretted by her faraily and all
*' her friends." ,
To this account he fubjoins an extrad from her laft
WiU, but not its date.
" In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghoft
"  this is my laft Will and Teftament, which
"¦ I requeft .j;he , Executors hereunder named to fee
*' executed. , .
*' It is to'the Lord, ray God, that I furrender up all
*' that I ara; as it is to hira that I owe all things.
'f 'O my God, do with me whatfoever thou pleafeft.
" I make thee an irrevocable donation of ray foul and
" of ray body, to be difpofed of according to thy will.
*' Thou fecft my nakednefs and mifery without thee :
" Thou knoweft that there is nothing in Heaven, or
" on Earth, that I defire, but thee alone. Within
*' thy hands, O God, I leave my foul, not relying
" forray falvation on any good that is in rae, but
" folely on thy mercies, and the merits and, fufferings
" of my. Lorp Jesus Christ. 
" I AM obliged, jn juftice to thc Truth, and for
" my own juftification, folemnly to proteft, that falfe
• " evidences have been given againft me, that my ene-
" mies have added to rny writings, thereby raaking
" me fay things which I riever faid, as I was
" very far from thiriking thera. They have divers
*' tiraes cpunterfeited my . hand-writing, have joined
*' -calumny to forgery, putting captious queftions to
*' mc, adding to my anfwers what I never faid, and
*' fuppreffing real fads. I make no mention of the
" other matters. I forgive thofe who have been the
1 L 1 2 •' caufe

268 The L I F E of PartIII.
" caufe of my fufferings, from the bottom of ray
" heart, whatever they have done againft me, having
" no will to retain fo much as the remembrance there-
" of . : ;
" Before wc leave this raatter, let us obferve the'
" three notable Teftiraonials given of her iri the three
" principal periods of her life. She had been firft cx-
" amined by Monfieur de Harley, Archbifliop of
*' Paris, for the fpace of eight months,, and had, juf-
" tified herfelf* Afterwards the Bifhop of Meaux,
" who was powerfully interefted to find her criminal,,
" gives her an ample certificate at the end.of fix^
" months examination. Laft of all, an Afferably of
" the Gallican church, after a ftrid enquiry into her
" whole life, gave public teftiraony to her innocence."
I CANNOT eafily take my leave ofthe life of this,.
Handmaid of God,, without exhibiting a little more
of the works of that excellent life, viz. an Abftrad of
her Short and eafy Method of Prayer, and an abridged
Extrad frora her Treatife entitled The Torrents.
H^r Short and Eafy Method abovefaid contains
twenty-four chapters, generally fhort till the four laft.
As, the farae thoughts and exprefllons frequently re
cur ; as fhe fometimes expatiates on her fubjeds, tb
make

* This In her own Narrative lhe has but lightly- touched on,
probably for fear of caufing any refleftioh to be pafjed on the Arch
bifliop of Faris. But this Author writes of it as follows, " She
'« very •foon made appear the impofl ure of her, enemies, confound-
«' ing tbem by the force of her anfwers> After a ftrift Examina-
«' tion for the fpace of eight months, by order of Monfieur db
" Harlev Archbifhop of Paw ; after the moft malicious accu-
«« fations, the moft captious interrogatories, and a perfedl clear, ,
«' ing up of all raatters, her innocence appeared in all it&luftre.
«' Her candor, meeknefs and fubmiffive behaviour (o undeceiv-
" ed the Abbefs and the Nuns of the monaftcry in which lhe had
" been confined, that they were all unanJmoBs in giving an au-
•' thentie Teftimony to her virtue.

, . LADYGUION. 269
make them clearer to dark and ignorant people ; as
fome things relate to the peculiar ufeges ofthe country
flie lived in ; and as other parts have too much of
the myftical in them ; for thefe feveral reafons I
thought it beft to give only an Abstract, containing
the principal fubftance thereof, clear of what is ob
fcure, and of fuch things as appeared not requifitc to
be inferted. ^
From this piece her enemies charged her with Qiiie-
tifra ; and made it a pretext for her perfecution and
imprifonment, but with what colour or fhadow of reafon
feems not eafy to difcover. For my part, I look, upon
it to be a fine piece of experimental divinity : But felf-
interefted men, who wanted thc people tb leave to them
the whole bufinefs of their falvation, exceedingly dif-
hked her invitation to all to pray for themfelves, and
to come to buy wine and milk, without money, and without
price, of him who fells it for the dedicarion of the vyhole
heart to his divine love.

An ABSTRACT of Lady GUION's
Sliort and eafy Method of Prayer.

Chap. L

.1 ,'
ALL people arc proper for Prayer.
It is a lamentable misfortunt: that
moft of them imagine they are not caUed to it ; where
as we are, all called to prayer, as much as we are all
calledvto our falvation.
Praver is nothing elfe than the application of the
heart to God, and interior exercife of divine love.
St. Paul advifes to^ray ipithout ceafing. i.Thef. v. 17.
And our Lord faith, " What I fav unto you I fay unto
" all.

270 The life of Part IIL
" all, watch and pray." Mark xiii, 33, 37. AH then
may pradife prayer, and all ought to do it.
My moft dear Brethren, whoever ye he who defire
to befaved, come to the pradice hereof ' Ye are to
live on prayer as on love. ' I cownfelyou to buy 0/" Christ
' gold tried in the fire, that ye may. be rich. Rev. iii. ri.
For you to have this gold is eafic'r than ye may ima
gine. Come all ye who are athirft to thefe living ^waters,
and wafte not your precious time in hewing to yourfelves
broken cifterns, which cannot hold thefe waters. Jer. ii,
13. Corae, O ye hungry hearts, who find nothing
to content you,- and ye will foon be fully fatisfied.
Come, ye .poor and afflided, who are loaden with
pains and grievances, and ye will be relieved.". Come,
ye that are fick to your beft Phyfician, and be not
afraid of add reffing him by reafon of your manifold
raaladies. He will make themall turn to your advan
tage in the higheft relation.
Come, O ye children to your Father, and he will
receive you with open arms of love. Come, ye poor
wandering and loft fheep, return to your Shepherd;
Ye finners to your Saviour, Ye ftupid and igrioranf to
an all -wife Inftrudpr ; Ye who lopk upon yourfelves
to be good for nothing, far from being incapable of
prayer, ye are thc moft fit for it, Come all without
exception; for Jesi;s Christ invites' ypu all, ,
' Prayer is the key of perfedion and fove
reign happinefs, the efficacious means of getting rid
of all our vices, and acquiring all virtues ; the foun
dation of worfHip, and fupport of the fpiritual life : For
the great means of becoming perfed is to «;/2/^ /» the
prefence of God. Prayer only procures us the lively
fenfe of that prefence, and does it continually.
Ye

LADY GUI ON.

271

Ye muft learn then the "prayer which can be pradif
ed at all times, when" ye go out and come in, when
your hands are , employed in their lawful occupations,
the prayer which all ranks of men, and which women
and children can pradife : Not a prayer of the head,
but of the heart; a prayer which nothing can interrupt
but depraved affedions.
When any come to rehfli the fweetnefs of divine
love, every, charm befide becomes vile. Thefe can
not relifh ariy thing elfe but GoD.< Now it is eafy
for us to haive this divine relifli of him, as he is more
^defirous to give hirafelf to us than we to pOffefs hira.
It is only for us to feck him, which is fo eafy and na
tural, that the air wc breathe is not more fo : Will not
then the ncgled of this duty be the raore criminal in
any of us, fhould we be convided of it .''
Chap. II. The reading of fpiritual books, which
have been wrjttcn by fuch as have long lived under
the government of Christ, and been largely inftruded
by him, is often very helpful to animate and ftrengthen
in thc pradice of this duty : But herein we muft fix
our attention upon the valuable ' fubjed, read only a
little and digeft it well. It is not the Qiiantity of
reading that profits. The beeS draw their hon^y from
'flowers by refting on them, not by running over them.
We fhould read' iraportant truths, not to reafon about
thera, but to excite the will to purfue the good things
which they riianifeft.
When thc foul is retired. from- the circumfercnqe to
the center ; then it is fweetly occupied with the celeffial
truth, and the affedions nioved to the purfuit of all
. goodnefs, which is better than eraplOying the undet-
ftanding in cold confidcratiops about it.
At firft. ic is difficult to continue inward with God,
^ by reafon of the habit which the fbul has contraded. But

272 The L I F E of PartIII.
But when it grows naturalized thereto, by following
the draughts of diyine love it is then very eafy, as
well becaufe it becomes habituated to it as becaufe
God, who defires nothing elfe ofhis creatures but to
communicate hirafelf to them, fends it abundance of
grace, and an experimental enjoyment ofhis prefence.
For as a perfon who would only chew any excellent
food would not be nourifhed with it, how well foever
he liked its tafte, if he did not proceed frQn::^ that
raoveraent to fwallow it ;' fo it is with the foul, whew
the -affedion is raoved, if it do not proceed from that
to faithfulnefs in adion, in all thc duties owing both
.to Gop and men.
As to thofe who know not how to read, they are by
no raeans on that account to orait the exercife of prayer. ,
Jesus Christ is the great book, written within and
without, which will teach thera all things. Let them
learn this fundamental truth, that the kingdom ef God
is within them, and there to be fought.
Though he caufes his goodnefs to flow into the
enamoured foul, yet he often hides himfelf, to oblige it
to feek him with love and fidelity. Then with what high
favour does he recompenfe the conftancy of his Well-be
loved! Wherefore in humiliation and abafement wait
patiently for his return. Shew hirii that it is himfelf
alone and his good pleafure that ye love, and, not the
felfifh pleafure whicii ye have in loving him, or in en,-
joying his love.
Be patient in Prayer. If ye wait long in parience,
in a refigned humble mind, for the return of your
Well-beloved, this is an excellent prayer, and willbe
-followed with the beft of confequences.
Chap. VI. We muft furrender ourfelves entirely to
"him, refting affured that every thing which befalls us,
from moment to raoment, is the order and will of Gob, and

LADY GUION. 273
and for our good. I befeech you, my moft dear Bre
thren, when ye have made this furrender, never think
of retrading, or drawing back ; any thing once given
being no more of right at our own difpofal. Refignati
on is of great confequence all along ouf journey through
this life. A great faith caufes a great refignation :
We rauft then truft in God, hoping even againft hope.
Rom. iv. 18.
Wherefore take no thought for your Ufe, what ye
pall eat; neither for your body what ye fhall put on — •
for your Father knoweth that ye have need of thefe things ;
Luke xii. 22, 30. But feek firft the kingdom of God
and his righteoufnefs; and all thefe things fhall be added
unto you. Matt. vi. 33.
In regard to pradice, our own will ought to be en
tirely loft in the Will of God, all our Own inclinations,
'hpw good foever they may appear, to be renounced,
even at the firft perception of their beginning to rife;
to have no will of our bwn either for body or foul,
for bleffings temporal or eternal, to, give the prefent
moment ftill to God, forgetting the paft, and leaving ,
the future wholly to his Providence ; content with the
¦adual raoraent, which brings with it the eternal order
of God, and is an ineffable declaration to us of his
will ; to attribute nothing to the creature, to look at
all things in God, and as coming from himj except
our fins.
VIII. God ought ti be fo purely loved with the
whole heart, as ever to be fought through our lives.
Db not ad like thofe perfons who give themfelves to
his careffes, but revolt from his crucifixions, and run
to feek their confolation in thc creatures. O dear
fouls, ye will never find any true confolation but in
the love of the crofs, and an entire refignation there
to. Ye will never otherwife grow in grace, fo as to
come rightly to favour the things tbat be of God, and
Vol. II. Mm n»t

274 The LIFE of Part IH.
not of men. Matt. xvi. 23. But tothe hungry foul
bitter things are fweet. .^rov. xxyii. 7. For he that is
hungry after GoB becbnie:.s, fo after the very crofs of
Christ. Jesus whom he follows as the Way, hearken
tb as the Truth, and is aniraated by as the Life,
John xiv. 6. iraprinting himfelf on the foul, raakes
it bear all his ftates, as St. Paul writes of hirafelf, " 1^
" bear in ray body thc marks of the Lord Jesus."
Gal. vi. 17. He often gives the foul herein a refig-,
nation of the views of its ftates. We muft give all
our application to whatfoever fhall pleafe him, whe
ther light pr darknefs, ftrength or weaknefs, fwcets or
bitters, defiring only to continue ftedfaft with hiiji,
to cleave clofely 'to him, and abide annihUated before
him. {..
Now this is the only fhort and fure way of acquir
ing vircue ; . becaufe, God being its principle, he
who pofleffes God poffeffes every virtue. All virtue
which is not from this principle is but like a garment,
which is often put off, and does not laft long. This is
the only effential real and permanent virtue which,
like the beaujy of the Eing' s daughter, (Pfa. xiv. 13.) has
its fpring and feat within. God, with whom faithful
fouls, are united, ra.akes them, pradifc: eyery kind of
virtue. They think of nothing elfe but what raay
pleafe their Well-beloved. Oh did'this love prevail,
how eafily would the whole church be reformed 1 But
it never can be withput it.
_ X. B,Y any other, w;ay it is impoffible ever to ar
rive at. the perfed mortification of the fenfes, and paf
fions. The reafon is, th^t th?; foul gives force and vir.
gpurj:p the fenfes, as the fenfes move an,d irritate
the pafiions : But when the foul is fingly attentive tp
God., fcparating itfelf for that purpofe from the fenfes,
then every thing is done with much perfedion. The,
paffions

LADY GUION.

275

paffions are eafily fubdued and mortified, 'When we
inwardly turn from thera to the divine prefence : But
any other oppofition to thera rather irritates than
appeafes them. There ,are two fenfes Xvhich we need
greatly to mortify, viz. the fight and the hearing, be
caufe from thefe two moft of our ideas and imaginati
ons are forraed. God enables us to do it, and we have
only to follow his fpirit herein.
¦'Conversion is nothing elfe but thc return ofthe foul
from the creatures to the Creator, in order to live in
him as its, center. Befide the attrading force and
virtue of the center, the foul has a powerful inclina
tion to a re-union therewith, except it yield itfelf to
be held down by the creatures. When releafed frorii
thera, if it be not ftopt by fome obftacle, it holds its
courfe thither with an iritenfe rapidity : As a ftone^
caft up in thc air, fpeedily returns to the earth, as to
its center; fo the foul turned toward God violently
yields to the force of the central attradion.
XII. Exercising itfelf in his love, it foon be
coraes aftonifhed to find that he feizes and engroffes
it entirely. His bleffed prefence is then given to it
continually, and prayer becomes natural and habitual,
in a deep lilent attention to, and ever-ardent defire
after him, wherein its happinefs is ineffable.
It is then ofthe greateft confequence for itto ceafe
frora its own willing and ruHning, Or movetiients of any
kind, that God alone may move and ad in it, , who by
his fervant David faith to us, " Be ftill, and know
" thkt I am God." Pfa. xlvi. ro. But this point
needs a clofe watch to bd kept up within ; for the foul
' is fo fond of its own iraagined excellencies, its own
difcernments and produdions, that it.is exceeding apt
to be too forward therein. Its haftinefs hinders it
frorii feeing the fteps it makes, whereas the true filence,
is not unfruitful, from any wiant of matter ; but is full
M m 2 ^ of

2^6 The^LIFE of Part IIL
of divine undion, which lays a reftraint on all its Own
operations ,
Two forts of perfons , keep filence; the one for
having nothing tb fay, the other for having too much ;
"viz. more than they are capable of expreffing, or '
judge proper to be expreffed ; as water caufes the
death-, very differently, of two forts of perfons ; the
one through thirft, pr the want of water; the other
through it's overflowing and drowning them. A child
at the nurfe's breaft fhews us this very fcnfibly. He
' at firft moves his little lips to make the railk come;
but when oncfe the milk comes plentifully, he quietly
fwallows it without any motion. After the like man
ner ought we to ad in thc fpiritual exercife of prayer;
for as that infant, if he fhould then be too free of mo
tion, would caufe the milk to be fpilled and loft, and
would be obliged to quit the breafl : fo fhould we, if
too ready to run into words, or any inconfiftent con
dud, lofe the inward fweetnefs of divine grace, which ,
ought to be our nourifliment ; and fo wc hurt the growth
and liVcliriefs of our fbuls toward God thereby.
XIII. Let thc foul arrived here reft in ftillnefs,
wherein it enjoys an incftimable happinefs ; at fo won
derful a bleffing it is aftonifhed ; and a heavenly conver
fation is carried on within, which that without does not
interrupt. Every virtue flows agreeably and naturally '
in this foul ; it pradifes them eafily' and with alacrity.
It has a fpirit of life and of fruitfulnefs, which gives
it all the readinefs of love for whatever is good, and a
rejedion for whatever is not fo. Let it then condnue
faithful and fixed in this difpofition, and beware of
feeking any other whatfoever, this being the moft per
fed in which all religious duties can be attended;

'to'

Oh if ye would make the trial hereof, how foon
ye would fee that experierice goes far beyond aU
that can be told ! \^Caft yourfelves then into the
¦" arms

LADY GUION.

^77

arms of lovCi which are . ftretqbed out to receive you.
What can ye rifque in giving yourfelves tip to God .'
He will not deceive you, except in giving much raore
of true happinefs than ye exped ; whereas to them
who exped every thing froni .themfelves belongs
that reproach he bath uttered by his prophet, " Thou
*' art wearied in the greatnefs, or multiplicity,, of thy
" ways ; yet faidfl thou not^ there is nb hope. I
" will manifeft thy righteoufnefs and thy works;", for
" they fhall not profit thee»" Ifai. Iviii. lo, 12.,
XIV. The Prophet Habakkuk crieth out, '"'^The
"Lord is in his holy temple; let all the eart!h keep
"filence before hira." The eternal effential word
fpeaketh in the fandified temple of the foul. Choofe
therefore to hearken diligently to this word, th^t ye
may not fpeak of yourfelves, but wait tiU this ^ord
fpeak through you, that ye raay thereby minifter gface
to the hearers. Eph. iv. ?9.
There arc many places in fcripture whibh ex
hort us to hearken to God, and to be attentive to
his voice. Exterior filence is very neceffary to cultt«
vate thc interior, and indeed it is impoffible tb be
corae fpirituaUy rainded without the love of retirement
and of , fij^nce. Wherefore God faith to us, by the
mouth of his Prophet, " I will allure her, and bring
her into the wildernefs, (or draw her into fohtude) and
fpeak comfortably unto her, (6r as in the raargin, fpeak
to her heart.) Hofcaii.4.
XV. Self-examination ought to be frequenriy
pradifed, with prayer to God that he may fearch us,
and fhew us our defeds ; then to be followed with fi
delity, in giving them up to be cured by hira, jn the^
way of the crofs.
Let us beware kft feif-lbve deceive us herein. It
(olleth good evil and evil good. . Ifai. v. 20. When we
abide

27^

The life of Part IIL

abide herein expofed to the eyes of God, then the fun
of righteoufnefs fliines, and fhews us everi to , the leaft
atoms. God does not fail to reprove thte foul for all
its faults. No fooner has it committed any, than it
feels an inward burning, which reproaches it there
with. It is then an exaraination which Gtoo hiriifelf
makes, who lets nothing efcape, but by his divine
light difcovers it. Ever bear with dutiful patience
and gratitude his fatherly corredions, joining repen
tance with araendraent of life.
XVII. The foul ftow lays afide aU felfi'fli prayers
to God, fuch as formerly it ufed to make, learning
to defire, and to pray,, pnly that his pure and holy
will raay be done, how great a crofs foever to its Own ;
or having loft its owri wiUin his : And herein his good ^
fpirit bclpeth our infirmities — a^d maketh intercejjion Jor
us tmth groanings whieh cannot be uttered. Rom. viii.
26. XIX. In temptations or diftradions, do not ralhly '
encounter them ; for that draws the foul from its ad
herence to God, and increafes their force and pow^r.
One ought inftantly to turn Off from looking on them,
and to flee to God the mi^ty Helper and Deliverer,
like a little child, who feeing a monfter,»far from
thinking of fighring;it, fhuns the fight of it, arid foftly ,
finks into its rabther*s bofOra, as its only fafeguard.
Acting otherwife, as we are weak, aiming to attack
our eneraies, we are eafily wounded, if not entirely
defeated. But abiding faithful in the prefence of God,
we foon find ourfelves fuddenly foriified. This was
David's cafe. '¦'¦ I have, Jaid he, fet the LORt) always
" before me, &C." Pfa. xvi. 8. So in Exodus it is
faid, " The Lord will fight for you, and ye fliaU
*' hold your peace." Exod. xiv. 14.
XX. Prayer

LA DY GUION. 279
XX- Prayer, according to the teftimony of St.
John, is an incenfe, the fmoke whereof afcendeth up
tOk G^D,, wherefore he fays, A^ Angel held a golden cenjer,
i^. which was the perjume oJ the prcB^erj of all faiats.
Rev. viii. 3.
Praye?. ifi an effufion of the heart in the prefence
of God. "I have ppuiredi oi^t my foul before th?:
" LoRp." ^id the mother of Samuel. (Sam, i. 1.5.)
It is alfo a warmth of love, offering incenfe, like the
wife men from the Eaft at- the feet pf Jesus,, in the
ftable at Bethlehem. It is what the Spoufe expreflfed,
v?hen fhe faid, " While thc King fitteth at the table,
" m}5 fpikenard fendeth forth. its fmell." Cant. L 12.
This table is in the innermoft of, the foul, and this
linell the fine odour pf pure charity.
.. f .
This Prayer is wor^fhipivg the Father, in fpirit axdi/t
truth, (John iv. 23. 24.) in fpvrit-i, becaufe we are
drawn thereby out of our own human carnal manner
qf thinking and adipg, to enter into the purity of the
fpirit which prays in us ; in truth, becaufe the foul
is thereby placed in the truth of God being ali, and
itfejlf nothing.
XXI. Some people, hearing this filent worfhip
fpokeji of, 4iave fallen intp a miftake about it, ima
gining it to be of a ftupid, lifelefs, inadive nature :
Whereas it is certain that tjje- foul herein ads the moft
nobly, and with the moft^nlargednefs, fipc-eit is mov
ed of God himfelf. and ads by hisfpifit.
This is finely reprefented by ^^ekiel, undw the
figure pf wheels., "ugHeh, had the Jpirit oJ lije- in them, and
wenii as ihat Jpirit-. aduated. or- conduSkd' (heM ; they, were
lifted up from tM earth, or went down, as they were -mov
ed by that fpirit, : When #<?4 flood ftHi, fo did they. .Ezek.
i, 19,, 20, 21. But by it they were never drawn back
ward. Thus ought die foul to yield, itfelf tP be moved by

28o The L I F E of PartIII •
by that vivifying fpirit which is in it, foUowing fingly
its adion^- and not that of ariy other fpirit. It wiU
never caufe the foul to raove backward,' to turn again
tothe creatures; but always to advance toward the
happy end. - ••
- While it thus continues in a pure dependence on
the fpirit of grace, its adion is fo free, eafy and na
tural; that it feeras as if it did not ad at all, as when
a wheel moves flowly, we eafily fee and diftinguifh it ;
but when with a very keen and rapid motion, we can .
no more diftinguifh any thing of it.
This Spirit is no Other than God, who attr'ads and
caufes the foul to fly to him, as is experimentally
known to the Spouse, who thus addreffes him, "Draw
"rae, and we, (viz. all the powers and facultiesof the
'¦'¦foul, harmonizedin unity) will run "after thee." Canti
1. 3. Under fuch a dedication to hira, it is that 7«
him we live, and move, and'have our being. Ads xvii;
28. Far from being fo lifelefs and inadive as fome have
mifapprchcnded and niifrcprefented the raatter. In
deed there is no other way for the foul to corae back
into that fimplicity, and uriity, in which it.was at firft
created. We muft quit the raukipficity of our own
adions, before we can attain this happy firaplicity and
unity, to become one fpirit with the LoRDt
God created us in his own iratge and likenefs. He
breathed on us that breath of life, by which he gave us
the participation of the fpirit and life ofthe WoliD,
who is the image of the father. The Devil by his fin
having disfigured this beautiful iriiage, it was neceffary
for the fame Word, whofe fpirit had been breathed
into us at our creation, to come to reftore that iraage
to its firft beauty and purity, as that disfigured image
could in nb wife reftore itfelf thereto. We ought
therefore to leave hira to ad entirely, and not to ftir
of purfelves therein : For an iraage that ftirs of itfelf, or

LADY J GUI ON. 290
oris ftirred of others, hinder^ the painter fromvim*
printing his own perfedions upon it. It provokes hirii
to withdraw and leave it. Then it is; liable to receive
other itopreffipins and very falfe' features. > - r^'^
' The Son of Qod hath life in ^imfelf. John v. 26,
He alone it is who communicates it. We rn^ft then
make room foj this life to flow into us,, which cannot
be done but by the eyacuatiop and j lof^ of the life of
Adam, px of. cprrupt Sei}F,; , as St. Paul , allures us,
" If any man be, in; Christ, j. he is a n^w creature :
" Old things are paft away 5 all .things are becpme new,
" and alUhio'gs of God." 2Cpr. v. 17.
Actions dohe from; a divipe principle arc .diyine
adions; whereas the , adions f of the creature, how
virtuous or good foever they raay appear, , are only
rhuman adions. . Martha :djd ftich things as w^e
good; but, bec.sufe flie , did them in hen own fpirk,
Christ reproved her fpr, thera. The fpirit of raan
.fe reftleis and buftling. He dpes little, thpughhe ap
pear to do much. Mar y, , ceafed in appearance to
ad, to let herfelf be raoved by the fpirit :pf Jesus.
She raight feem to be ina6live,and lifelefs, but it was
that Jesus' tCw&isT rhigfcit JJ^e jand; ad in her. Tt. is
equally neceffary for iis to renounce ourfelves, and
, our own operations, in orderto follow him.
¦i i:mt -¦•; . ., ,¦ , :y. ¦ ;ii ,• ..
.'St. Pauo. aflEur^iis^.*^:tbatif any man .-have not the
!" J fpirit?bf Christ he is none of his ; arid that as
"* I inanyrasBi;e: led.by thetfpiritof God are the fons qf
:,"- God ;." that this: is not the fpirit of bondage, .tp fear,
but tbe fpirit of adoptiahc'^higreh we cry Abba. Father;
and which beareth witnefs with our fpirits that we are
¦tbe'childsrenofGop ; heing; ¦Mifiier'^i from thejimdage of
merupiion. into .their glorious, liberty. Rom. viii, 9, .14,
-jp^, 16. Thusy; moved 'by; the fpirit of Christ, we
¦,f)artakc;!witb:bJm;iri; his.ifiliation or fonfhip, ;and thjs
,' Vol. II.- ¦¦-yi' . N.jn _.,.' fpirit

^i tprLLFE ^F PartIII.
fpirit Ih tts lidve? afliS or prays for any thing but what
is coofdrffj^e to the wiU of God. j? , - '"
Why ihen fhO'^ld meft load themfelves with a "Up-
perfluity of cares, or fatigue themfelves with external
fJ#f(»ifta&ces, wafting their ftrength, their time and
Ifeafures, therein', when the Alraighty has fe, ehipfiia-
tically remonft-rated with us hereupon, arid invhed us
to the internal fubftance, by his prophet, "Wherefore
.i.'-ido ye fpend money for that which is not bread?
.*' and yOur labour for that vs^hlchfatisfibth not? Heaf-
" kcn'^Uigeritly unto me, and eat ye thai vfrhiidh is
" good, and -fet your foul delight itfelf in fatt^efs."
Ifai. iv. 2. In order to hearken thus to hira, all flefh
muft be fileiit, hefore the Lor6> Zech. ii. 13. We
ought to refign ourfelves entirely, and fear nothing
in fo doing, fince he tak^ fo fpecial a care of fuch
as confide, in him, as he has fully affured OS. "Can
"a womsri forget her-fifoking child, that ftife fliould
" not have compaffion on the fon of her womb ? Yea,
" they noay forgetj yet WiU not I forget thfee, O
Wordsfullof Confbialion! Who after this fhall fear
to refign themfelves to God ? '
.' ?* J. . .v.i,'-"..w ., - - .J. -" 1
XXU. When a Veffel is in the poCT, 'the mariners
-have fome labour to gen hfer out of it, into the open
fea; after ^^hiich they eafily turn it into ^the way in
which they want it to go. So vsrhile the fbul is yet
4nfifl[, fafteinCdainVbng the Cr^attires, it rcqiaii^s often
no fmill labour to Tdraw it out from them. It is nfecef-
fary to lOofe lhe rOpes,-whieh hold it dtd, to get it ottt
from that port of its own, in wder tb draw it to\V3rd
"the immienf© ocean of all good. ^ ^
BiJT whfen the veffel is otace '^t cieair of th'e laiid,
detached fr&m the earth ^nd its objeds, then thie 'oars
-beGbrab' lifelefs, and the laboiir of towibg it is ,, laid
^fide ; Thf ¦Jiiiothoifts up ;the fails, arid holds the
•rudder, To hoift.; up- the Jails is to lift up the heart in
., ' 4 prkyer

LA ETY GUION.

a;92

¦prayer to God to be moved of his fpirit': T'd ¦htild
the rudder is to hinder' the 'itiind frorii wandering,- or
turning afide out pf the right road, and to fteer it
accorciing to the moverhent of the fpirit of God; '"He
then fends a favourable v?ihH to fill the fails ;• the
veffel advances eafily, and the joyful maririers reft from
their labours. Then the wind carries it forward with
out them, which all their labours without it cannot
elFed, So the foul advances by the divine motion
witbout its Own efforts, but not at all- by the latter
without the former. ?
When jt is affaulted with contrary winds, or with
tempefts, it is neceffary to caft anchor into the fea," to
J ftay the veffel. This anchor is a confidence in God, a
~ hope in his goqdnefs, a patient waiting for the' calm,
and the return of the fair wind, as David did, "t
"waited patiently, yaf/^ he, for the Lord, andthe
"•inclined unto rtie, and heard my cry.'' Vi.
Chap. XXIII. is given in Englifli already, in'the
excfads from her Life and Writings by J. M.
, XXIV. St. John informs us that there-was filence
,jjni heaven. To us heaven reprefents the center bf the
foul, where all flibuld be in the profoUndeft filence,
before the Majefty of God. All its bwn adivity, all
^felfifhnefs, are to be Utterly fuppreft; for it is this
felfiflinefs which is the fource bf malignity of every
.Jtind in raen.
Second!. V, to unite two things fb oppofite as ithe
purity of God and the irapurity' bf the - creature^" he
alone mpft operate.
, It can never be done by the efforts of the creature,
?"lihce two things can never be linited, which have no
refemblance or relation to each "^other, as no impure
metal can ever fae joined with- fine gold.
N n 2 Therefore

293 The LIFE of. PartIII.
TrtlEREFORE to purify the foul Gop fends Jiis,qwO
wUHpnjjj: 3^ ,to ..purify" gold people make ufe, of fire,..]
It is certairi that gold can be purified ho other way "
th^ by flre,:which byidegrees-confnmes iri' it ajl that
is earthy and different ffoHi- its own fubftance. ] ' That
gold is-often put into the fire, and diffolved in it, 'ti|l
it- thoroughly lofe all its irapurity.
WHEN^.the goldfmith can find no more rajxtur? -i%..^
it, by reafon .-of its being brought to a perfed, purity, ,"
thefire can ad no more- Upon it : It raight then be for-,,
an age in 'thcfirc without being either more pure, pr.
in the leaft j.diraihiflied thereby. It is" then proper fpr -!
malfing thc'topft excellent works. : ,, ,
If that gold after this feem to be impure, it is- only ¦
ftains contraded by a commerce wjth different fub-
ftances, That irapurity is outward, and docs, not
hinder it from being put into ufe; but the other was
inward, and as it were the fame with its nature. Per
fons of no knowledge are-very liable rO be eafily de-
GcivcfJ herein, fetting lefs value on pure gold with a
coarfe outfide, than on gold very irapure with a po-
¦ lifhed furface, • - \." • ,,, , ,-.
, , .j.. t 'j^:^-j
Beside, we may remark that gold' pf an inferior
degree of purity cannot mix or iricorporate with tliai;
of a fuperior degree. — ^-In order to joiri them together
in one mafs, the goldfm ith labours tp rnake the former,
Ibfe in thefire all its earthy mixture,' in order to fit it
for joining with thc purity of the latter. This is what
St. Paul takes notice of when he fays, *"' The fire'
*' fhall try every man's %prk' of what fort it is.-r — If
" any, man's work be burnt he fhall fuffer lofs; butjie
" himfelf fhall be. faved; yet fo as by fire." i Cor. iii.-
13, IS- This is to confume all the adivity of self,
¦ that ourjreligion may be the more pure, undefiled and
wnfullie4'-
, '1. Another

LADY GUION. ^394
Another thing appears proper in this place to be
noted. St. Pfl«/fays of himfelf, " P'orgetring thofe',
*' things' which are behind, and reaching forth unto '
" thofe things which are before, I prefs toward the
" mark, for the prize of the high calling of God in "
" Jtsus CfiRisT." I Phil. iii. 1-3. Should we not
think ftrangely bf a perfon who, having undertaken a
journey, would ftpp at the firft inn, becaufe fpme haci
fojburned there, and the mafter. of the houfe lives
therej inftead of advancing toward the end ? Let fouls"
then take the fhorteft and eafieft way, which is that of
conlfcsint application, to God in prayer. Let them not
ftop at the firft, feco'nd, or any other place. Let them
not take up a reft by the way, fhort of the true reft.
None are ignorant that God is the fovereign good,'
and that the effential beatitude confifts in our unioii
with him; that the faints are mpre or lefs great "and
happy as this union is more or lefs perfed; flnce God
communicates himfelf to the foul, only fo far as Its
receptivity becomes great, noble and enlarged. None
can be' united to God without paflivenefs arid firapli
city ;¦ and this union being perfed beatitude, the way
which conduds us in this paffivenefs is moft certainly
the beft. It is what .all may and ought to walk in.
j4o danger attends it, fince Jesus Christ has made it
thc moft perfed and neceffary of alLways; the way to
/enjoy Gob, and not his gifts only : For they can never
give the effential beatitude, nor fully fatisfy the
fbul. ' : -
The defign of God -being to reftore the foul to its
original entire purity, it is neceffary that divine juftke,
as a ctmfuming fire, Ihould take from, it all that is ter-
reftrial. Carnal, and of its own adivity ; inbrder to ren
der it cotiformablc to God, and uniform with him.--
It ratift thef efore continually advance, faithfully foUow-
' ing his guidance, leaving all thing*^ which would in any
wife retard, pr ftop it in its progrefs, leaving all the
" ¦ ¦ inns,

295 The LIFE-of Part IIL
inns, all fhe.pradi,ees, and^paft experiences, which arc
to be quitted when the fignal foi* it is giVen.* - 8^
fhall wc be fitted for beatitude, or to enjoy Gpp bbth
in this life and the. next.
O THE blindnefs of men who think highly of their
own wifdom and knowledge I Hovv true it is, <my God,
that thou baft hid thy fecrets from the wife and prudent ;
and revealed them unto babes! Matthew xi. 25.
• Aft'er her firft entrance upon aij entire dssdicatioBef herfelf
to God, flie Tor a confiderable time pra£lifed very great bpjiily
aiifterijties ; but, on being farther enlightened, flie quitted them,
to proceed to labour for the good of others, and to expofe. hejjfelf
to fafferings'fronj other quarter*. So in the courfe of her life, jve
ftndi file left behii)d her fundry other things flie had b,efc<re been in
' tjjf praftice of, as the invocation of Saints, in order to pray.;ito
(jod only ; the faying over by rote her vocal prayers, in order ,,<«
pray iXiith the fpirit a'nd *with the underflanding alfo, l^c.

. [ 296 ]
EXTRA C T
FROM THE
Spiritual Torrents o£Jkf, Guion,
Let judgment run ddf/^n as waters, and rigi^teauf-
'" nefs' as a mighty Jir eam>. Amos, v,* 24.
AS^ fbbn as a foul is touched of Gob, in fuch .'a
.mariner as to return to hitti in all fincerity;
after its firft purgation, or cfeanfing, which coiifeflion
'and contrition have made, Gpis gives it a certain
inftind for turning to him in a more perfed manner,
to be imit'ed to him ; as it then clearly fees that it was
not created for the aniufements and trifles ofthe
world*: But that it has a center, to which it muft
ftrive to return, and out of which it never can find any
true repofe.
This inftind is put into the foul after a very power
ful manner ; yet in fome more, and others lefs, accord-
,ibg to the defigns of God : But all of them have the
.vehemence of love, and^f defire for purifying them
felves, and fbr taking the ways and means neceffary
• for Sreturning to.; their fource and origin; like rivets
which, after they are come out of their fountains,
have a.Goncinued courfe, 'till they difiihar^e thcmfelyes
into the iba. : Of <hefp .^'il^rs we fee fome which a^e
gentle and flow ; others which flow with more .fpeed :
There are alfo torrents which run with vaft rapidity.
Ailxib^aeles, tshrdwh iri the w^ of ^{leircpwrfe, Jfe''^^
oiiiiyctQ-vredoubk their viokncei -;•,.,.;' ,'..;n
"' ¦ ' ' ' It

297 TftE LIFE OF Part. IIL
It is juft fo with thefe fouls. Seme advance flowly
towards perfedion, , and never arrive at the fea, or but
very late^ content with difpharging themfelves into
fome ftronger or niore rapid river, which carries theM
aking with itfelf into the fea. Thofe of the fecond
fort flow thither more p.owErfulIy ^nd fooner. They
even carry along with them raany rivulets : But they"
are flow in^comparifon of the laft, which run with fych
axbntiiiue^ force, ^as renders .Hidm.. lefs regaiifed or
defired. People don't fail upon them, nor entruft^any
merchandize, to thera, except at certain times, and ih
certain places. They beat againft- rocks, affright, with
their noife,- and ftop not" for any thing. The .fecond
fort, on the contrary, is raore admired and extolled,
as it appears to be more , ufcful. The gravity apd
fokmnity of its courfe is more pleafing; it carnes
abundance of valuable rriercharidize, and people 7veh-.
ture upon it without fear. ' >
Let us fee, with the help of grace, the three forts
of perfons who are fpecified under thefe three figiires,
and begin with the firft, that we may happily finifh
with the laft.

I.

The firft- kind of fouls aforefaid, are thofe which,
after their converfion, give themfelves to nncditatbn,
or even to works of charity. They pi^ife ibme
'exterior auftei-itie^,- or felf-dfenial. They try, onlyiby
little and little, to purify themfelves; to break, oft
from obvious fins, and even fome fmaller ones. £ Thus,
according to their Uttle abilities, they labour to: ad
vance, but feebly and flowly. -- ¦--
- As their fpring does not abound, a little privation
makes them quickly dry. If for public fervice they
moft

LAD Y GUION. 289
muft fometime carry a little merchandize in that cafe
art muft fupply the defeds of nature in enlarging
them, by the difcharge of ponds or lakes, or joining
them with other riv^s, whereby they carry fome
little boats, not into .the fea but into fome large
rivers. ¦
These .foiils are in a general way very little inwardly
exercifed.. They carxy no merchandize, that is, they
have Jiothing .to fpare for others. God raakes ufe of
ithem only ..to .xracry iinall .boats, that is forae ads of
corporal jmercy or kindnefs to the bodies of others:
And, to -.niake , them ftiviccable, there muft be dif
charged into them ponds of fenfible graces, or animat-
irig motives, or elfe they muft be joined with others in
areligious concerns, wherein feveral of a raoderate fhare
of grace, joined together don't fail to carry a fraall
boat, not into the fea itfelf which is God, into whom
they '¦ ne.ver .enter in this life ; ^ but through his mer9y
.obtain that entrance ih the next.
These fouls have .nothing fupernatural but in pro
portion to their outward exercife. Take from, them
that and you ftop the courfe of grace; like thofe
,pumps which give no water, but while one works at
them, or like thofe travellers on foot, who, if they
lofe the ufe of their feet, having no boat, or other
kind of conveyance, can travel no more. You raay
obferve in them, a great facility of reafoning, an adi
vity ever vigorous, a defire of always doing foniething,
thereby to render themfelves the more perfed. They
hvte ma.ny ups and downs. One while they do won
ders, then again theylanguifli, and have nb even con
dud, eafily finking .under difcouragement and fre
quently complaining. .L ' .

Vol. II. O o '^^^

290 The life of Paht III.
..,,.:- .:¦ ¦ - II.

,-The fecond fort are like jhofe great rivers whicih
flow with pomp and majelly. Their courfe is orderly.
They are loaden with merchandize, and gcf 'of. them
felves into the fea. But their courfe being long and
flow, they don't arrive there 'till late : Nay, moft of
thera lofe therafelves in larger rivers, or, end th.cir
courfe in fbme arm of the fea." "Such are the, fouls ,
vrhich are iri the way of gifts and openings. Their
fprings are plentiful; they are the admiration of the
agp. They appear to fuch as have not the divihlf dif
cernment to be-far fuperior to thofe of the, third fort.
They arrive at great eminence, as Gpo raifed, .their
natural capacity- to an erainent degree. They, arevfiill
of a burning zeal.' They do foraetimes indeed meet
with great croffes and trials, \yhich ferve as fhades the
more tp fet off the' fplendor of their virtues^, ^ In this
way there are many different degrees. — —The defign
of God, in the plentiful diftribution of his gifts, is to
draw men to himfelf : But thefe are apttomake a quite
different ufe of them. They look at thera and value
therafelves upon them, frora whence arifes felf-efteem>
preferring themfelves to others, which too often ruins
the inward ftate of fuch.
These fouls are often made helpful to others, efpe
cially if they have once been finners themfelves: But
then they often entertain fo much averfion for many
poor finners ; they have fo little motherly compaffion,
and fo much of felf-valuing triumph over the irtfiriiii-
tics of the weak,, that they don't ad toward them
according to the defigns of God. And yet they w)ll
hardly ever get out of this way, withoiy: a miracle of
Providence, in order ;to pafs beyond the gifts aiid tb ,
look fingly to the Giver, without which thofe, gifts
are only like flujees,. which hinder the pure water of
"'3ife

: lady GUI ON. 291
life from inwardly flowing. O my foul dweU thou ih
God alone ; for in hira there is no deception. Thefe
have much raore difficulty. to enter ipto, fand continue
in the vray of naked faith than thpfe of thc firft fort ;
they are fo wife arid prudcut in their own ; fight ; fo
fuUof a fpiritual felfiflinefs, a,nd fo fixed in their own
opinions. When any of thefe corae to be truly fandified, God
fbrips them gradually of all their riches : But as there
are very few of this clafs courageous enough (after iheir
elevation ampngft men, and poffcffion of fo rauch of
treafures and honour) to fubmjt to lofe them for Christ's
fake, few of them pafs beyond this degree of chriflian'
attainment. They are dextrous at hiding their own
defeds, covering them over, and putting a fincglofs'
or fair colour upon thera. Their defeds -eome from
Satan transforming himfelf, and artfully furnifliing fup
ports to maintain themfelves in them,
III.
Oj the fouls of the third degree what fhall, we fay ?
They are like torrents defcending from the high moun
tains. They come from God, and ftop at nothing
tiU they enter. into him, andtiU all of self be utterly
loft in him. In their cpurfe they appear quite naked.
No merchandize, no rarities are expofed to recom
mend them. Tet, unto thefe the glorious Lord will
he a place of jbroad rivers and ftreams ; wherein ean
go no galley with oars, neither fhall gallant Pip pafs
thereby. Ifai. xxxiii. 21. Sometimes they are as it
were loft in deep and fubtcrranean gulfs, till after
a while they appear again. As much as they feem
poor, vile and contemptible in the eyes of men, fo
much*^ the more are they enriched, not with their
own riches like Other rivers, but with the riches
of the fea itfelf: For being foon loft in the fea, and
Oo 2 become

292 The LIFE oP PartIII.
becothc one with it, they then bear "fhips of the hea
vieft burthen. , What fay ye of thefe terpen tk, O ye
rivers w/hich flow with fo much pride, whrchjglbry irt
the rich merchandize ye bear ?¦ This pbbr naked
tbrrent, which ye looked on with difdain,. a§ inferior
to'jJ'bu, can want nothing.' It is more fruitful in
hidden charity, raore clear of felf-exaltationV not doing
its works io be feen of men and adraired of the weak,
butto pleafe GdD only, to whbmitis much more dear,
as it has ho will of its own, but is fingly giv^n up to
the diyine will, whether to labourer fuffer.
The foul, as'has been faid, haying conife' from G60,
has a continual bent to return to hirn ; becaufe, a§
he is its principle, he is alfo its end. Itis courfe would
be infinite if it were not interrupted by frcqlicnt in-'
fidelities. . This is the very thing which caufes th^t the
heart of man is in continual morion, and' edn fihd no reft
till it returns to its principle and center, which is God.
Opoor fouls which feck any divine repofe in this life! Ye
will never find any but in God. Try to return to him :
And in him all your agitations and anxieties will be
reduced into divine unity and a calra repofe, a heavenly
hope, a joy tinfpeakaiJe andfutt of glory. ;¦ ¦ '; .. '

WE have' now traced the life of Lady Guion,. (a
woraan fingular in a Popifh country, inthe beft
refpeds, even in the fruits pf .the fpirit, as fpecified by
the Apoftle Paul, Viz, love, j&Hi peace, long-fufferingi
gentlenefs, goodnefs, faith, Meeknefs^ temperance. Gal.- V.
12, 23.) with the previous preparation for, that mater
nity, or Apoftolic miffion,; with which fhe ^sffites,
fhe was invefted ; >*e may obferve that therein fh^ was
very much cramped by the conftitution and j rules of
that church of .which fhe was a Jealous member,,^ la-t
Ibouring in all private opportuEtkies, iuch as thh church had

LADY GUION. 293
had noc forbidden to the laity, or to females : . And
though fhe has mentioned little of the fervice or
fuccefs thereof, particularly after her return to Paris ;
yet other accounts inform us of feveral great men and
their families, about the court of France^ being con
vinced by her, and embracing her principles ; parti--
cularly the Archbifhop of Cambray, the Dukes of Beau-:
villiers, CSevreufei &c.
Her fundamental Principle and Dodrine was The
pure love ofGoo, 'tendiflg to univerfal peace and bene-
vplence,' Thisis harmlcf^ and at the -fame time be
neficent : It produces good fruits, charitable adions,
ffee and difintefefted labours, or even fotfferings, for
the falvation of fouls. This hath appe^ed in her life.
It will appear again in the Archbifhop of Cambray's,
who employed all his abilities, of mind, of ftation, of
worldly fubftance, to do every kind of good to all
forts of pepple ; whofe death Was deeply felt and la
mented by vaft numbers of ftirvivors. If this be En-
thufiafm, it would be pf infinite advantage; to many
to be fuch Enthufiafts,
Oth^ers are offended with her frequient addreffes to'
the Moft High in her foliloquies and rcflcdions. Thefe
feem' to forget that He was her fole objed continaally.
Not having, that facred fervor therafelves, they can the
lefs relifh fuch a conftancy of it in another. But tho'
I believe fhe attained to great purity of heart, which
is the principal pointy yet I never faid fhe was a per
fed rnod^l in all the pMdilio's of external condud.
Ori the other hand, while any lay too mudi ftrefs on
f-hefe, they are indarigeif of over-looking the weightier
matters of the divine law, as the Pharifees; in their ex
adncfs andpunduality in the fraallcr matters did. She
feerfelf fiifSbiferitly expofes and exclaims againft her
own weakneffes, inconftancy and ingratitude. Again
flie writ an account of her life oftly for private ufe,
not intending it, at the time when flie wrote it, for
— "¦¦';,¦¦¦•¦ the

294

The LIFE of Part IIL

the public ; but was prevailed upon, by the defires bf
fome who vifited her in her latter days, to confeiit
thereto.- ¦'"¦¦¦ '¦;',' ' . ¦ ,. .;¦;,'
I CONCLUDE with obferving that flie underwent no
fmaU conformity, with the Apoftles in divert refpe.ds ;
as appears by many paffages pf her life, compared
with what an erainent Apoftle writes of hjmfelf and Ais
Brethren. '.
" For I think that Gon hath fet forth "s the
"Apoftles; laft, asit were appointed to death.. For
" we are raade a fpedaclc unto the World, to Angels
" and to. Men;— and are buffeted and have rio certairi
?' dwelling-place. We are made as the filth of the
" World, and the off-fcouring of all things unto this.
"day. I Cor. iv. 9, It, 13.
" — Ikt all things approving ourfelves as the mi-
" niftersofGoD, in rauch patience, in afflidions; , in
*' neceffities, in diftreffes,-~-^in labours, in watchings,
" in faftings, by purcnefs, by knowledge,  by love
" unfeigned, — ^by honour and difbonour, by evil re-
" port and good report; as deceivers and yet true.
" 2 Cor. vi. 4, 5, 6, 8, 9. In perils of waters, in pe-
" rils of robbers — —in perils of the fea, in perils
" amongft falfe brethren. 2 Cor. xi, 26, 27.
LiKE one of thofe ToitRENTs fhe writes of, fhe was
not to be ftopt by any, or all of thefe difcourageracnts,
or obftrudions, frora running diredly to the pure
ocean of all goodnefs, and drawing with her, in her
way thither, as many of the greater rivers and fmaller
ftraartis as fhe poffibly could.
As to her printed works,. an account will be given
of them in a brief Sbmmaryof the Life, of Peter
PoiRET their Publiflier. ¦. .., ;;, .
End of the Life of Lady Guion.

' ( 295 )
Now in regard to F. la Combe, fince I pub-'
iifhcd that part which contains the Note
about him (Vol. I. page 259) a kind friend,
of minelent me a little book; entitled, A
fhort Letter of InJiruBion, fheiving the furefi
way to Chrijiian PerfeSlion. Tranflated out
of the French.
The Translator in his Preface writes
thus :
•; npVHIS Letter was written by the famous Francis
'' X de la Combe, to one of his intimate friends. He
" was well known to thc late Venerable Archbifliop of
" Cambray, was a perfon of eminent virtue and fandity,
" and patiently endured many cruel and long perfe-
" cutions for Righteoufnefs-fake.
From it I here give an Extrad as a fpeciraen of his
zeal and manner or writing.
" I beseech the Father of Lights, the Author and
" Giver of all good gifts, to open to rae the trcafure
"of his divine Grace, and to raake me faithful in
" drawing from thence what is neceffary to affift you
" in the defire you have conceived of loving God
H pcrfedly; as he hath opened ypur heart to aflc this
" inftrudion of rae.
« — : — Conversion is from a common life tp a
"perfed one; from lukewarranefs to fervour ; from
" the animal raan to thc fpiritual raan, and frora the
" flavery of felf-love to the reign of pure love."
SiNci; God calls you to perfed converfion, refift him
no longer. Make hafte tq efcape out of the .inchant-
' ° ment

296 F. LA C O M B E
ment of felf-love, by which St. Paul declares, (Phil.
ii. 21O all feekiheir ei0niinterefts„andnot thofe of Jzsvs
Christ. , Come out of the carnal World to enter into
thc fpp'itual Paradife, frora wandering abroad among
the creatures, to enter into the inward '^jf«|'<&l», which,
according to the faying of our bleffed 'LoRn,^ is to
be found no where but .within us. Luke xvii. 21.
There you -will difcover wonders hitherto unknown
to you ; and will fee the prodigious difference there is
between a fervant of God who, by denying himfelf
and all things elfe, holds faft his God through ardent
love in thc fanduary of his heart, and an unmortificd
man who lives in perpetual diffipation.
"My Son, give me thine heart, andjet thine eyes -be fluted
t^on- my ways. Prov. xxiii. 26. In thefe few«i words -
the holy Spirit opens to us the entrance and progrefs
of the fpiritual life. The entrance is happily found
in giving ihe heart to God. The progrefs is advanced
by keeping the eyes flxedupon.bis ways. ;
Begin then by giving your heart to God, that he
may raake it fuch as he would have it.— ^--Make him
fuch a refignation and transfer, and fo full and abfolute
a deed of gift of ybUr felf, and all that belongs to,
you, as to referve no proprietary or felfifh ufe of your
felf; and fo irrevocable as to renounce ,for ever aU
right and all defire of taking yourfelf again : Which
being done? ufe your liberty only in fubmiffion to the
order of God, and dependence upon thedivinc move
ments ; give up and abandon yonrfclf fo to his ami
able condud, that he may reign abfolutely ; that you
henceforth may no longer live to yourfelf, but.to<GoD
alone; A devOut perfon has left us an excellent model of
this donation, in thefe terms :
" Give

On Chriftian Perfedion. 297
*' Give mc leave, O Lord, to confecrate my liberty
" to thee in its utraoft extent, Receive my raemory,
" my undcrftanding, my will, my foul, with all its
" powers. As it was thou that gaveft me all that I
" have and poffefs, it is to thee I ought to return it
" aU without referve, leaving myfelf tothe juft dif-
" pofal of thy hply will in all things. I afk nothing
*' of thee, but thy wiU ; grant me but thy grace ;
" this alone fuffices me, inftead of all riches, and all
" other pretenfions ; myheart defires nothing more,"
This has been thc pradice of all the faints  It is
certain that it was this donation which firft placed them
in God, which united them intimately to hira, and
which, being afterwards raaintained by a conflant
fidelity, in not taking therafelves back again, did at
laft happily fandify them.
¦And becaufe this refignation is not fo foon

perfed (for there remains ftill forae referve in the
fbul, and we often take ourfelves back again withr
out knowing it, or perhaps thinking we , do well)
wc ought for fome time to renew this donation every
now and then, and to ratify it as often as we have
a riiotion to do it.
As Jesus Christ was not formed in, the pure worrib
of the Bleffed Mary, rill flie had given her confent
to it; in Uke manner he docs not come into us,
and make his abode with us, without our confent.
And as God waited for the happy Fiat of the Virgin,
to work in her. the incarnation of his Son ; fo out of
the great regard (Wif xii. i8.) he has for the free-will
of man, he waits for his total furrender of himfelf, in
order to imprefs upon him thc image of his Son ; which
St. Paul calls the forming of Jzsvs Christ in us. Gal.
iv. 19.
Vol. II. P p Having

298 F, LA COM BE
Having then given aU to Gob, confider yourfelf
" as his entirely, and fay with St. Patjl, 2 Cor, V. 15, 1 6,
17. "As for us, henceforth know we nO man after
J' flefli, &c." 2 Cor. v., 16, 17, iS.
' In this difpbfition you will Jabbur fi^iccefsfully and
derightfully in deftroying the rcihains of fin, the dif-
orders of your paffions, and the naoft fecret iraperfediT
bns : And at the fame time wiU acquire the chriftian
virtues^ and the greateft gifts of God ; becaufe a^zW-
.;«^V« Jesus CJhr 1ST, and he in you, you will bring forth
much fruit. John x v. 5.
Far from being difpenfed with from labouring your
felf, to fandify yourfelf, you muft do more than ever
you did, or would have done in anj other way i But
the advantage wiU be, that ading by thc raoveraents
of Jesus, and by the diredion of the fpirit of his
Grace, every thing will be done rabre readily, more
eafily, and raore pcrfedly ; becaufe Jesus Christ bcT
ing the raafter of the work, the fuccefs of it mufk be
wholly divine.
Gop has given free-will to mankind ; he never forces
it, fo long as wc will keep it in our own hands. But
what is the effed of our keeping it ? Why, we per
petually abufe it.'  There is nothing then mpre fefe
than to give it up to him ; fince we do by this what is;,
moft agreeable to hira, and advantageous to ourfelves.
There is no better way of fucceeding than to engage
God in the affair, to work in u^,, with us, and for us :
And we cannot engage him to it more effedually, then,
by refigning up oifr free-will to him; becaufe that is
the pnly thing that refifts him ; and if this proprietary
pr felfifli refiftance were taken away, he would reign .
fSver us with full fatisfadion, in which our per-
ledion docs wholly confift.  Can we hazard our per-
jfedjon in trufting God with it ?
Let

On Cbriflian Pcrfeftion. 299
Let us then go tb the foiirce ; let us at the very
firft feek the reign of Jesus Christ iri us. Where his
love enters, vices and iraperfedions afe confumed ; as'
aU the branches pf a tree fall at once to the ground,
as foon as the root is cut up ; fo that there is no need
of lopping them off one after another,-^  And as, in
order to make another tree grow up to perfedion, ^herc
heeds nothing but to plant a flip, which, having once
taken root, grows and advances naturally, extending
its branches, and bringing forth its fruits in their fea
fon ; in like raanner the reigri of Jesus Christ being
eftablifhed in the heart, all the virtues follow arid ac-
compariy it ; and the foul finds itfelf enriched With
the greateft gifts of Grace, even unfought for and un
known, far from being ftudied.
Many pafs long years, and fpend their whole Ufe in
heaping up raaterials, purple, linen, gold and precious
ftones, without ever coming to thc building of the
inward tabernacle, whieh is to ferve for the habitation
of God, and to be the place of his deligh'ti Inetlima-
ble is . their "lofs, and yet they perfift.in it, even to
obftinacy, becaufe they would always keep all in their
own hands, inftead of trufting wholly tb God in all
things. But'they who make their offering tb the LOrd,
with a ready mind, for all that is to be done at the taber
nacle of witnefs, by the hands of Moses (who repre
fents the fpiritual Guide) foon fee the fanduary finifh
ed, and fcnfibly experience that God dwells there,
and fills it with his majefty.
Christian perfedion confifts in being united to God,
and enjoying him, ' This union is gained by the fubmif
fion, of the foul to the will of God, and this enjcyment
by prayer. The whole fpiritual life is reducible ra
thefe two points, which are as it were the twp poles, tijioft
which' the firmament of fubliriic virtiies and holy ex
ercifes turns ; I The practice of mental .grayer. 2 ihe
love of the will of Gon. -....-¦,
P p 2 There

300 F. ^A COMB E
There is no fpUd devotion without the., profound
arid; durable Prayer of the heart.-— —How wretched
theri in the fight of Gop is the life of fo raany perfons,
both bf -the Clergy and laity, who Uve without praycri'
If they were truly fenfible how irapiire it is before God,
they would die with the horror pf it.
To the Love or the Will of God are reducible all
the pious exercifes, whether inward or outward, that
are neceffary to the fulfiUing it, or which we arc to
pradife in obedience to him. It would be a radnifeft
indiferetion to ncgled thofe emplbyrrients we are b,0und
to follow, in order to have more time for prayer ; finqe
true prayer confifts in doing the will of God. Wbuld
it, not then be a capital error, under pretence of jiray-
ing, really to forfake prayer ?
There are fix inward exercifes, which arc as it were
the arms and hands, the feet and wings of prayer", by
which it reaches to all the adions of our life, to all
places, times, perfons and employraents.
1. Recollection. This is a fecret power which
withdraws the foul from outward things, to keep it
attentive tp GpD within. Happy is he who knows
what facred rccollcdiori is 1 Nothing but experience
can teach it. Wheri the fpul feels herfelf powerfully
feized by her hcaveuly Spoufe, fhe is forced to cry put,
that his vifits are ajdrairable and his perfumes odori
ferous. Keep yourfelf then recolleded, fearing to lofe your
freafure among the er^^tures. He who is .always
diffipated, like a houfe open to all comers and goers,
is very unfit for prayer. He that wiU never pray but
in the hour that caUs him to it wUl never do it well,
and wUl eafily Ipfe it : But he that would fucceedf in
this great exercife ought, by continual recollcdion,
to keep hirafelf always ready, and in an adual difpo fition

On Chriftian Perfedion. 301
¦fition for praying. To this enti'it is neceffary to love
'filence, retreat, obfcurity, and difcngagcment from
the creatures, in order to be well difpofed to be em
ployed bf God.
II. TH'E. prefence of Cod. God is always prefent
to all things ; but all things are not prefent to him.
Seek the Lord while he may be found. Ifa. Iv. 6. Seek
bis face evermore. Pf cv. 4. Let it be your' firft
thought when you wake ; thc moft frec^uent all the day
long,' and the laft at night when you go to fleep.
When you come out bf company, or from bufinefs
that requires application, iraraediately feek God in
his fanduary, , which is your fpirit within you. Ifai.
Xxvi. 9. . , '
If we have not the happinefs of ading as the holy
Angels, without ceafing to behold the face of God,
let us ad at leaft like dutiful and affedionate children,
who, after having obeyed their father's orders, return
iraraediately to prefent therafelves before him, to re
ceive new commands from him.
III. The Intention. There are many intentions
that are good, as when wc propofe to ferve God for our
own advantage, temporal or eternal : But there is only
one intention thkt is perfect. If we afpire after chriftian
perfedion, we muft difengage ourfelves, and forego
all that concerns our own intereft, to have God alone
in view. This is the generous charity ; this is the pu
rity of love. All felf-intcrcftcd raotives are imperfed,
becaufe in them wc feek ourfelves.
Walk in the moft excellent way, which is that of
difinterefledncfs. Renounce aU huraan refpeds, all
defire of catching the efteera, applaufe, or favours of
the creatures, imprinting deeply upon .your raind St.
' Paul's

302 F. .LA COMBE
Paul's rule ;i/^i fhofild yet pleafe men^ I /hould not be
the fervant of Jesus Christ. GaL i. lo. ^
IV. Attention is the application of the mind to
that which is doing. It ought tobe pious and holy
in prayer, and in all that regards the fervic? of God,
that it may be reUgioufly and duly performed, without
diftradions, rcflcdions, indifcretion, or any violent
efforts of the creature.
The holy fpirit requires of I's this fubmiffion to his
divine movements in all our inward condud ; it is for
this that he communicates his gifts to us. They then
who give up themfelves moft to him are beft qualified
to receive his graces, and to deferve the incrcafe of
thera. Seek whatever may be an help to recollcdion, as
fecrecy and rctirfement, according tothe example which
our Lord JesUs Christ has left us, who, wheri he
would pray without difturbance, fent the multitude
away, and went up to the mountain alone.
V. Aspirations are the dartings of thc foul to
ward God, by fhort and fervent -words, either to beg
fome grace of Him, or to teftify our love to him.
Thefe are the daughters of Jerufalem, whom the facred,
lover in the Canticles charges, that, if they fhould
be fo happy as to arrive at the throne of her Belbved,
they would tell him that Poe is fick of love for him. Cant.
v. 8. To thefe afpirations the heavenly Spoufe fre
quently anfwers by his infpirations, all gloWihg with
love ; this fhe alfo confirms, when fhe fays. My foul
melted with love as foon as my Beloved fpake to me.
Cant. V. 6.
VI. Fidelity Be thou faithful unto death, and 1
will give thee a crown of life. Rev. ii. lo. It is of in
finite importance to be faithful to God, fince upon this

On Chriftian Perfedion. 303
this thc crown depends. Now this fidelity confifts,
firft in obferving what the will tf God is, in order to
ilnow it; juft as the firft duty of a faithful fervant is
to be very diligent in learning his mafter's will. Second
in readily perfo.rming the will efGoD when known, as wel|
in little things as great, and indeed in every thing;
which is the fecond part of fidelity in a good fervant :
For, according to the oracle of truth, He that is faith
ful in that which is lea/i, is faithful alfo in much ; and he
that is unjuft in the leaft, is unjuft alfo in much. .Faith
ful fouls are as careful to avoid little faults /as great
crimes, and iraperfedions as fins; becaufe they would
notoffcndsor difpleafe then- Beloyed,
Another important duty of fidelity is, to keep ex-
i^tdljy the laws of divine friendfi)ip. Thefe facred laws
a,re three principal ones ; fovereignty, chaftity and
generofity.^ (i.) By the_/o'y(?m^»jfy pf love, v/e are tp
love nothing fo much as GpD- The faithful loves
fe.erifiees without referve nPt only himfelf ^nd all that
depends upon him, but alfo all creatures, to the inte
refts of his God. (2.) By the chaftity of love we are to
love God without referve, without mixture, without dff
guife. There would be a referv.e if we did not deny
ourfelves, and all things for the love of God. There
wbuld be a m«!/i8;/-€ if we fought our own advantage
in his- fervice.. There would be tUfguife if we protefted
that we loved God with all our Iwarts, arid yet would
di^leafe, or refift him, in any, thing, (3.J By the
generofity of love, the friend of God is always ready
to cI.o any thing, to. fuffer any thing, and to lofe any
thing, rather than be. wantirig to. his friendfliip. It
is in this that love ought to be ftronger than .death.
Cantj viii. 6. "
The firft dpgreeof divine Lpve is that it be true;
the fecond thap it be ftrong; tbe third that it be pure.
Qm great point ofthe generofity of divine love is to be
.faithful to the crofs; that is, never to refufe it, of
• ' what

304 F. LA C O M B E
what nature foever it is ; never to complain of its ri
gours ; not to defire to be freed from it ; not to feek
human comforts ; but to bear with an humble refig
nation the abfence of divine confolations, begging
only the grace to, bear it wich an entire fidelity, '
A HOLY and enlightened perfon has writ in thefe
terms, " The foul reraaining in its diforderly will is
*' iraperfed;''it becomes perfed in proportion as it
" approaches nearer to the will of God. When a man
" is herein advanced fb far, that he cannot in any thing
" depart from the divine will, he then becomes whol-
" ly perfed, united with, and transforraed into, the
" diviiie nature," I
As for you, my dear Brother, who afpire after per
fedion, never ad from nature, not even in things which
feem perraitted ; becaufe this is by no means allowable
by the laws of pure love, which never fecketh her own
intereft. i Cor. xiii. 5. Whatever is not done purely
for God, rauft pafs the fiery trial mentioned by the
Apoftle. 1 Cor. iii. 1 3. Ad then in every thing by
grace, that is, to pleafe God, to contribute to his glory,
and to live after his fpirit in a^perfed manner.
MoRTiFicATiONi'according to St. Paul's rule^ is the
proper exercife of the fpiritual life. See Rom. 8. 13.
Gal. V. 16. There is no living after the fpirit without
dying to the flefli. The pradice of chriftian morti
fication is, firft, to cut off from nature all ufelefs plea
fures, to be content with what is neceffary, according
to the order of God. Second, To endure pains with
patience. The firft labour is to mortify tbe fenfes, which is
done by giving them nothing but what is neceffajry
for them, for the prefervation of the body ; being con
tent with bare decency, according to our conditions, ¦' and.

• \,

On Chriftian Perfedtion. 30^
and making our neceffities and abilities the meafure in
fuch cafes. . , .
Wb ought therefore tacut off aU fuperfluity, all fen-
fua}ity, all delicacy in eating and drinking, in .lying
and.flceping, in. linen and, drefs, in warming ourfelves,
in walking, fpeaking, feeing, hearing and converfing ;
no more to feek for objeds to feed our curiofity ; no
ipore tb admire jewels and trinkets ; to keep no ani
mals raerely fpr diverfion ; no rnore of mufical inftru
ments ; or fongs unlefs to recreate. ourfelves in God in
fpiritual hyrans: ; no more to \>e for fcafts nor games,
though accounted innocent ; .vifits nor affembliesj, unlefs
either neceffity, obedience pr charity, forhetiraes en
gage you in them. If your heart be captivated with
the love pf Jesus, you will no raore be fond of any
vain araufements. His fervant has other kinds of di-.
verfions to defire, andfix his delight in. So longas a man
is. wedded to his fenfual pleafures, he* never can, relifli
thc chafte delights of the, fpirit.
The fecpnd application fliould be to raortlfy the
paffions; fo that there may be, no more irapatience, an
ger, trouble, ingratitude, anxiety, love pr defires barely',
natural, though they pafs for decent and-rcafonable, no
friendfhip but in God, to, promote, his kingdora in us.-^
This mortification,willnbt;fijffer us to, be attached to,
any creature, tb defire to be eflcemed and loved na
turally, nor permit us any ambition, or 'ariy paffiori fof
thc point of honoiu"; -all-thefe being nothing elfe but
the diforders of cprrupt nature : But above all things
learn of Jesits Christ t,p he\meeh and lowly in heart,
ashe was ; before all me^ meek as a]iamb, and in the
depth of humiUty abafed before Gpp.,
The third exercife is to tnoitify the fpirit, refufing
the three powers of the foul whatever is ufelefs or dan
gerous to them. Deny the under/landing all curiofity,
aUunptofitable reading, aU fear;eh of knowledge, nOt
' Qjl required

3o6 F. LA COMB E
required to fityou for the flaticm you are in. Defpife
the news ofthe age, as one not of this world, a citizen
of a higher city, one whofe heart is eft-ranged from
fuch thirigs ; and only feeking to have- a continual con
verfation in heaven. Renounce your judgment; as the
moft dangerous enemy, and thehardeft to be overcome.
Keep it fubjed to the judgment of God. To this end
make it pliable to that of men, when they contcft any
thing with you which you do not manifeftly fee to be
contrary to thc Will of Goo. 2. Deny the Memory
all irnneccffary Tcfledion, or feeking after things which
fignify nothing, aU but that alone which the order of
God obUges you to apply yourfelf to,. 3. Jyeny the
will * all defire, defign, inclination or tendency, eager
nefs or attachment to whatever is not God, all felfifli
nefs, ahd aU natural averfion ; defire nothing but God,
to know and do his will in all things.
But why do I propbfe a little detail of chriftian
mortification ? Such as are not accuftomed to facred
recollcdion will comprehend nothing of it, or wiU
judge it all to be impradicable and impoffible : But
as to thde who are accuftomed thereto, the holy Spi
rit IceepB them clofe lockt up from going but after any
falfe or hurtfi.1l fatisfadions. They find the grace of
God omnipotent to make, them pradife, even with^
joy, and with incredible courage, that which at firft
appeared infupportable to nature.
Divine love makes a great alteration both iri our
tafte and our ftrength. Bfecome habituated to prayer,
my dear friend : Y<3li will then find it by experience,
and will admire both how mliCh grace and ftrength
prayer gives us to pradife mortification ; and what
advances in prayer mortification procures us.
The
• The three powers, I here ftnd, mentioned by M. Gujos Vol.
I. page 70 I had in that place miftaken, in my cbnjefture about
them. ' ':.'

On Chriftian Perfedion. 307
N. B. The hard imprifonment pf F'La Combe, as the
Editor of M-. Guiow's Works (ina note under a letter
(^f faid LA CoMRE to M, Guion) tells us, i.continucd, tiE
his, death which was in the year 17 14, having been a
prifoner about twenty-feven years. AU. the, reft- ihat
wc have of his Ufe (fo far as L yet finely is included in
that of M. Guion.

Q^q;:2 APP END Iif.

A PPEN D I X.
Next follow, to finifli this Work,
Narratives of-
I. Michael de Molinos and the. ^uietifts, as
under that Narne M. Guion, F. la. Combe,
and the Archbifhop of Cambray fuffered Per--
fecution. = ,j ¦
IL Abbe Fenelon Archbifhop of Cambray.
- ' 5' i^,
III. A Review of the whole. ^ '

\* This work has fweUcd rauch beyond my ex-
pf dation at firft, and in confequence thereof bcyond-
that which I had given to my fubfcribers. I had
drawn out the lives (wifliing to infert them in this Ap»
pendix) of Peter Poiret, the Editor of Lady Guion''s
life and writings ; and of Antonia Bourignon, in-r
ftrument of the converfion of the faid P. Poiret ; but
1 have now concluded to print thera by thcmfelycs in
a fix-penny pamphlet, that I may not too far fttetch
this volurae. I had drawn a brief Suraraary of the
truly honourable life of the Archbifliop of Cambray ;
but on reconfidering it, obferved that it would not let
the Reader into the particular circuraftances and affairs
of a life pf fuch crajnence, which would not be fo fa-
tisfadory to raany. I therefpre expunged that brief
Abftrad, and have drawn a fuller account of the in-
tereftmg particulars of his life ; as I believe every well-
difppfed reader wiU be beft pleafed to fe^ that good
manS Ufe at fuU length.

¦ff- -¦«-».:

•;l .,J,:., ,F. .E ;.
'O; F
M I C H A EL de M O L IN P s ,
in [.2'.'. J ','•'.'..'.:. „'.".' ' ,-':•¦_,,¦¦
, .¦.A.-N..D,,
Progrefs of (^etifm.
Michael! de, molinos was defeended of a
rcfpedable : family in Spain. Though he en
tered into prieft's orders, he devoted himfelf to the
fervice of the church- without any defire of worldly
advantage from it.. His cpurfe oif life was bla'melefs,
but Uttle.ufing thofe aufterities, or ceremonies, which
are,,fo.much magnified in the church of ..Rome. . The
efteem^ which they have ^ in Spain fqr. St. Terefa had
drawn his mind into fpiritual divinity, in which he
.made fuch adyances, as to acquire a high reputation,
.and, to gain. vaft "H'^^ber^ of profelytes. ,.,' ; . „,,,
, .HEipublifljed his^ fpiritual guide in 1 6'7 5^ syith. the ap
probation .of „fivpt,felebra:ted,.dpdors. Four of them
were of the. Inquiutiofty, and one Esparsa a .Jeftiit.
Itwas mucji^readand highly efteeraed bothjn Spain, and
Jtdly. The Bifhop of Palermo in Sicily, orie of ,Mo,Li-
Nos's difeiples, in his paftoral , letter in 1687, earneftly
recopiraends this, little bppk, faying, ,^' Jt had raet
" wit,h .fuch a favourable reception over all Europe,
" that Jnief? than fix ye^r^ i,t had paffed through above
" twenty editions iii different;: languages." Perfons of
the .firft. quality,, fought his acquaintarice. Letters in
abundance were written to him from many parts. At
Rome

3IO Of Molinos and the Quietifts.
Rome and Naples many of the f)riefthood -ppenly de
clared for him. The moft eminent were three to
whora the Pope afterwards gave the Cardinal's hat.
One of thefe was Petrucci, who was looked on as the
Timothy of MoA'^w; but above all Cardinal d'ETREES.
Arabaffador to the Pope frora the King of France.
He was one of MpLiNOsViiloft zealous paj-tizans, ap
proved his principles, contributed to prorabt'e theto,
and entered into a fingular friendfhip with hirii;
Next year one of Molinos Vfriends, Cardinal Odes-
calchi, being made Pope, gave him fignal marks of
his regard, = lodging him in the'' Vatican, his palace.'
The. Jefuits and Dominicans vi&re'^'tlarmtd. ' They faw
their trade decay. They branded MOlinos with the
infaraous name of heretic ; and to his herefyj as they
terraed it, gave the narac'of Quietism. They gotl:hc
Inquifition to take cognizance of his book and of Pe-
TRucci's letters. And as-the jefuit Esparsa had
given an authentic approbation to the before raentioned
book, it is faid, they privately fhut hira up within foiir
walls. Whatever way they difpatchcd him^ he- was
feen no raOre : So dangerous it is to do any good or
hOneft thing, which incurs the wrath of the Jejuits !
Molinos- and pETRUccr being then arraigned be
fore the Tribunal of the Inquifition, dtfferided thern-
felves fo well, and refuted their antagonifts fo fuUy,
that the preces which the latter had wrote againft them
were conderaned, as fcandalous- and defamatory Ubels.
This vidory augraented the credit and nuraber of the
Qiiietifts, and never werte their books more eagerly
fought after.
Molinos was now at the zenith of this world's fa
vour, lodging in the Pope's palace, treated with high
regard, and confulted as an oracle. Honbnrs unfought
by him', arid enjoyed only for a few years ! Such is the
viciffitude of worldly favours,' his lodging m a palace
"•¦ ' ¦ was

Of MoVitios and t&g<'Qmeti{is. rn
was afterwards exchanged for ^ that pf a, dreary prijon,
though without any demerit pf his. ' He calmly fub
mitted, and with equanimity bore the two oppofite
ftates. As to Petrucci, the Pope.:g^aTe him a pubjlk mark
of his efteem, in makirig/hTm Bifjiop of 7#. He had
no realbri to repent his choice. Petrucci's life and
manners were in every ii«fped fo cxamplary, that his
enemies could find no occttfi^rt-^amfi him, except that he
(and the Quietifts in genetal) omitted thofe exteriors
of religion, which in the RonAfl) church make a per
fon p'afs for a faint.
The Jeftiits and their : partizans were exceffively
chagrined at their late defeat, and the fnccefs; of the
Quietifts. " They lamented, tM^ Jaid, the bUndnefs
^' of his hoUricfs, and the facred college, which -did
" not penetrate the pemicipus defigns of that fed,
" nor forefee their coiifequences ; that MoliNos was a
" Spaniard, and that the 5/><w/«r(!fj were 'capable of do-
" ing wonders, when their enterprises were left to
" ripen; that the errors bf the llluminatiin Spainhad,
" before rhis, brought religion to the brink of ruin ;
" and that the tmion, filence and fecrecy of thc Qui-
" etifts were infallible figns of their nourifliing a mon-
« fter in their bofoms." Soriie of them even added,
*' that the Qiiietifts were hidden enemies of chriftiani-
" f y ; that they concealed their private defigns under
" the fpecious pretext of a fubUrae devotion, the bet-
" ter to infinuate therafelves into thc minds of the
" people, in order to fubvert the belief of the rayfte-
" Ties of religion." , '?' '
On the other hand it was, obfervedls concerning the
exemplary, life of Molinos, with this (difintereftedncfs,
which induced h'tm neither' to purfue, nor even to
acte'pt 'of^hy'woridlt'cK'^'fty, or ecdtfraffical bene
fice, though he was for a long time in Vefyhigh fa
vour

31 2 " O/". Molinos and the Quietifls.
vour both- w;ith the Pope and Cardinals, with the. un-
fpptted cpndud of his difeiples, to which all Italy
bore . witnefs, that there could be no ftronger proofs
of his and their piety and fincerity. '
The Quietifts continuing fheltcred, from the, rage
of their eneraies, under the protedion of the. Pope,
the Jeftiits deterrained to leave no ftone unturned tp
fupprefs them. For this purpofe they feqt privately
to Spain to examine the Regifters .of his native place,
in order to find out whether he might not bei defcend- _
ed from the antient ftock. of the jews or Moor.s, '¦; In
that cafe they would have raifed a clamour of his hav
ing fucked in their impieties with his milk. T*hey alfb
refolved to addrefs the King of France : Which they ,
did; and in this they, fucceeded. , ,^„
When in that kingdom the dcftrudion of the Hu
guenots was refolved upon,' the revocation.,pf the edid "
oiNants on the point of being publiflied," and the dra
goons juft ready to execute the cbramiffion given them,
violently to break up the affemblics of the Huguenots,.
to difperfe or deftroy thera * then F. la Chaise repre
fented t'o the King, " that .it would be hjs glory, as
" the eldeft fon of the church, to purge Italy frpm
*' hercticks, as he was doing in France ; that one
*' Molinos had infeded it with pernicious errors,
" which were beginning to fpread farther, ax^_ had even
" entered into his kingdom ; that the penitents, of the
" Jefuits dccreafed every day, while the number of
. ' ' ¦ " the

* Huguenots was an appellation given by Way of conieitipt to the
Proteftants in France in 1 560. Du Verdier derives from it Hufs and
guenon ap -ape, viz. Huss's apes. For .John Huss, born at Hufi
a little village in Bohemia in 1-407, had openly opppfed and preach
ed agaiiiit the errors of popery. The edifl: of JVizB/y had been
granted to the Fr,ench-Prpteftants, in fayourof their religious liber
ties, by Henry IV. King of J^'ra^fe in 1598. It was arbitrarily
revokieiby.LE.wisXiy, in 1685.

Of MoUnos,^/5<(//6^ Quietifts. 31^
" the Quietifts was continually ii?creafing exceffiVelyi-
" that the Pope, who proteded thern, fhewed in all
" his condud, that he was in thc interefts of thc houfe
" of Aiiftria; that by raifing a perfecution againft
" Molinos three very ufeful , points would be obtain-jr
" cd ; ift. ruining hercfy; 2d. weakening the.iparty
" of Spain ; 3d. making work for the Pope, to pre*
" vent his giving any difturbance to France"
These reafons had the defired effed. , The King
fent an order to Cardinal d'ETREEs, his arabaffador at
Rome, to, purfjue the Quietifts with, the Utmoft rigour.
Little did he think that the faid arabaffador was orte
of them himfelf... What a thunder-ftroke to that pre
late rauft this have been at firft, he having" publickly
approved the dodrine of the Quietifts, in caufing to
be tranflatcd into Italian the book of a French prieft,
(who goes much farther than Molinos*) now to fee
himfelf reduced to bi-eak thc facred tics of friendfliip,
and to betray his fentiments, pr elfe tp difobey his
prince ! An honeft Chriftian would have faid, in fuch
a cafe, " that it is better to obey God than man; that no
" confideration ought to oblige us to ad againft con-
" fcience, and what we regard as truth." Had that
Cardinal wrote thus to the King, all he had to fear was
to be recalled, as he has been fince..
But inftead of this, he deterrained to obey the
King's order, and to difclaim Molinos; which was
done with fo much fecrecy and expedition, that both
MpLiNos and Petrucci were cited to appear before
* This book was written by Malaval, in the ftfrnl of a dia
logue, and feveral times printed in Prance, with the approbation
ofthe Doftors of Sorbonne, ("the college at? ahis) Asthe dodrine
it contains is conformable to that of Saint Teresa, it was much
cried up ; and the Italian tranflattion of it was dedicated to the
barefooted Cafmelites. This book contributed not a little to Con.-
firm the authority which ths method of Molinos had already ac
quired, becaufe it raade people think that the beft direflors m
France a^eed therein with thofe in Spain and Italy.
Vol. II. R r *^*

3^1 4^ Of, JJ^oljtfl^qs mdjhe Quietifts .
the inquifition very fuddenly and at unawares. Pe-
•rictk:«M^s%ohrdiftttiffe(f, but Moljnps was detained.^
- G-AitDiNAi d'E'f REES," in quality of arabaffador, -had
pefentedto the Pope a letter from, the King of Fraw^,
wh^in he fet forth, *• that it was a ftrange thing, that
**-\«hile he himfelf, in quality of eldeft lon of the
*' church, was employing all his power in the extir-
" pation of hereues, his hoUnefs -entertained, i«/v&ff
*• ?j5lif/f«» an impious feducer of fouls, and proteded a
*' public defpifer of the facred ceremonies.". To which
the Gafdihal added, that he was ready to prove Mo
linos to be an heretic. To this the Pope only replied,
thaf he might addrefs himfelf to the Ihquifitors.
The Cardinal then, prefented himfelf before, their
Tribunal, with^CXtfads from the bopks of Molinos,
and from divers papers of his which had been feized.
He wOuld not dlloW Molinos to give the fcnfe and
meaning of his own writings, " becaufe, Jaid he, his
'^'obfcure terms inclofe myfteries, which he has difcp-> .
" vered to "mc." The Inquifitors aftoniflied, and: ,
appearing at that time loth to proceed againft
Molinos, afked the Cardinal, " hpw he could for fo
" long a time be the particular friend of a man whpm,
" he nbw reprefented to be fp wicked." To thisthe^.
Cardinal, without any fhame, readily replied, ,'V 4:lt.
*' that he had done was in difguife, in order to difpo-
" ver the more eafily thc pernicious defigns of the,
*' Quietifts; that from the very firft he had feen into
' " the impious confequences of their dodrine ; but that
*' he bad prudently differabled, to fee how far tliey
" would carry their impiety; that he. had often, 4^^,,
" proved withthe mouth what he detefted in.his heart ^.:^
" 'but that the neceflity of penetrating to the bottpin,
"¦'of thofe abominable myfteries "had obliged hyo jtp,,
" -have recourfe to ftich ''diffimulation ; that in, alf this
" ;he had done' nothing but what was conformable, to
" -the rules of the holy Inquifition, vvhich allows of

Of MbUnos and'the<^\iMi. 3-15

li^bhij'* v'.'V' .,:,.;:"::;¦¦ sr:]

" thofe pious frauds, wheri. qno^can by. rio Qther",way.^
"come at clear and convincing proofs againft an hc-
" rctick ; that if he had delayed fo,. lpng to aqcufc
" Molinos, it was; becaufe he waited;; till pe hadcoU,
" leded fo great a number of pfobf^r^rid, 6^?^3Vnf£^,.,
" that the accufed might not now efcape, as Keiilad'
" done before."
Whether the Cardinal could have difguifedfu^ a>
defign, for fo many years* with the warm profefliops
of efteem, or during that time had been fincere, he,
certainly at laft aded a bafe and treacherous part • Rut.
what will not men dp who are governed by fordid
ambition? Molinos was hereupon imprifoned in 1685: And
the affair was quiet for fame time. , During federal
months he was pretty .well treated in prifon, as the
Pope could not fo foori forget their mutual affedion.
The Pope aUowed, " that Molinos might have faUen
" into forae errors, yet he Jaid, he believed him to be
" a good man,"

D^

Thus he remained for near two years, people judg
ing differently about him. His friends hoped that he
would come out of this trial more glorious than ever ;
while fuch as knew the credit pf his adverfaries ex
peded him to be crufhed under it ; when all on a fud
den a ftorm broke out againft the Quietifts, which fur
prized the World.
The Count and Countefs Vespiniani, with other
perfons to the number of feventy, and amongft them
fome eminent for learning and piety, were all put into
prifon. 'Theywere accufed of omitring the exterior
pradices of religion, arid givirig themfelves entirely to
folitude and inward prayer. The anfwers which the
Countefs Vespiniani gave on this occafion aftoniflied
her judges. She faid, " She had never difcovered her
R r 2 " mariner

3 t6 b^i Mbliiios 'and the Qblbtifts.
'' mapier of devotion to any but her Confeffor; that
'- it: wai. impoflible for them to have learned it bnt
" frpm him ; confequently he Was : a wicked rrian' who
"jhad betrayed her, and revealed her confeffion : A~nd
f. who but idiots would\go, to confefs;. when pri^slet
is it be feen that, they make ufe of >confeffioris only* to
f difcover fecrets, and fb tb make themfelves malfcrs
^' of the fortunes of fuch as, are weak enough to entruft
«' them therewith ; but that-flie waSi refolved in future
«^ tp cojifefs to GQD;donly."

.The noble, fitmnefs' and courage of the Gbijntefs,
which the Lords JhquifitQji^.-had^ not expeded,-^ quite
confounded thera. Not daring to ad with 'rigour
againft a perfon of her quality, and not willing to give
room to any mbre fUch. bold anfvsrers, fo capable of
bringing down the credit and authority of the Confef
fors, by keeping; this lady ;any longer in prifon, they
fet her and her hufband at liberty, on their promife of
ireturning 'to.- appear before them, ,as often as they
fhould.be required. . ; ¦
It is impoffible to defcribe the confternation the
people were in, both at Rorne and almoft over all Italy,
.when they faw in lefs thaii a month near two hundred
perfons put into the Inquifirion.i jEvery one. wa^ afraid
ibr himfelf; and they thought there; wks no fafcty but
in faying Amen, to all the; fentiments of the JJefuits,
and.fiding with them oji every occafion ; fin^e they
cbuld render the moft pious and venerable pd^f^shcT
reticks when they pleafed ; and turn into abominable
..errbrs even the very dbdrineSf ^hich themi^lves had
taught, ori cried up with Ipud encbmiums.' . :: . >,, t
':•, -i":),'.' '" i.j'.': .*, :.• : ' ,-, :'..ii i-:k- < .,
Indeed ,' who- could tMnkr himfelf faf^'iwheo the
Pope pn, this 'account feemed to be in- danger : For
pow they made him pafs for one of the favourers of
the new hcrefy :,, , In confequence hereof the', Inquifi-
liOR fent deputies to examine him hereupajE^not in
iqiiality

Of Molinps mdilli Qiiietifls. ^17
quality ;0f fovereign .Ppptiff, Chrift*^ Vicar, fucceffor
pf Saint Peter; but.in gipaJity of Riprlvate individual.
W^ihave not been able to. difcover what paffed in this
extraordinary coi^fcrence.;*- ^ut'they^held flrange dif:
pourfes abpi^t i4;,^t.5l.o»«f, reporting ijbe: anfwers which
le?y;RiQd,nien of that city ^-ntade to folve the objedions
^ainft the Pope's ^infallibility, which ,>were,") That
.'f ,,the Pope p^pnot err^' nor favour herefy, without be-
"si"gjp.rtQoe;pus, pr;^an^, heretic. In this;cafe. Jay they,
"he falls frora ;his .d^ityivin fuclij- fort th^t if he af-
" tervY^rd^nakeia.decree in .favour of herefy, it is- no
, ,','. pjiore. Jihei Pope, .bjtvt jin^faeretic, that doe.s it. The
" Pope always continues infallible;- and;,it''jsronly the
" individual whp errs,"
, ThES^ , anfwers .amou0t;tp nothing iy,f&r If Pope In
nocent XI , cpuld fall into Quietifm, : 4nd hold ne
verthelefs , all the exteriors of the Pontificate, who will
;^^ ^fff^re ^me^that when the fame iNNOCEisfi' XI condemn-
^, ,,^ed;M9LiNOs, he dl.d^ it . iri qiiality of Pope or a fimple
mdi.vidual'? Be it which it -will, washe not mbre an
heretic than the .Quietifts, being guilty both' of hypo
crify in favouring, and of X&fuitifm in condemning hira ?
, ,T>vq, days, after their qonferenc^ ASjiththe infirm de-
, T^epjd , Pppe,, the Inquifitprs e.aUfed ^•.{iircular- letter,
f ; vl^t^ten i?y Cardinal Qigp theif prknei mJhifter, addreffed
,.tq the 'Relate? of J^cly^ pOibe fent to; apprize them,
that in divers part? pf their, dioc^QSi I affemblics; were
.; .|{^j^ld;> '.where,; under,, pretence; of Xem^i^gi the interior
* ,Th^ people at ^i!jw,at, tl^,,|pe carried" tlje -,r^ghtp of fhe In
quisition' fo high, as''to'dectare,.''' that, i'ti triD;ij?\al,ijvaSjon-;qeftain
'<¦ dcc'a'fi-ons^a&o^t that of fhePbfpe^tlU't the;4iiiliiority' of Popes
.• " :}s-bhl^<^|>recaribu9, ahkJ- tlia^ they lofe 'ffWiefl' they ^hi.ia it in
«• fawurJjg inerefy;" JHiaicajii '^bp^a'S* t^t thei In^oifltpr^ of
„ ,,^Komfttyj^y i^p Cardina|f(;fpppprted;- by; frowned h^ads, ha^ia
;' ' tonnida6ie power. ' T.he. Pope.then, a(l;eT having long.^roti?ftgd
,' "'• 'M<jlife'crs^'abaMdoiied''him; K8i'''with regVet.'not haviri'g courage!
"¦^ pnptigh to fupport him to the end.

3 1 8 Of Mjolino8 <jW/i>^ Quietifts.
way andprayer of quietude, they taught execrable errors.
Where^re k enjoined them to forbid arid to difperfe
thpfe aflembUes, and ^^o purfue to juftic^fuch asfhouid
be found adopting thofe criminal mvekies^. Thejr
alfo nominated Vifitors of convents, to examine fuich as
were fufpeded. lOn, their being afked why they rejed*-
edthe commop prayers jand the received euftbm'Sj^ they
returned fp many fourtd-and weighty anfwers^aiid- con
cluded with referring to the bboks^/of MbtiiJos'and
Petrucci, already printed feveral times over with' the
approbation of the holy office, that little or no- reply
could be made to th^i; The fiKanlioecs found tfeon-
fdy^^i quite difconcerted,--,'- ."¦ ;'¦--:',
Thesje yifitprs having made their report >to the In-
qtiilitioh, it was ordered;, that, withovit returning any
replies,, or giving any reafons for the condud of. ite-'
holy pfEce, they flippld take away from thofe perfom
the bopks of the two chiefs of the Quigtifts, and all
others of the- fame 4^rt, ^hd enjoin them to refunie
theii" hours (certain prayers, &c.) thpugh they gained
nothing frbm them, and to fay over thcirbeads, though :
they had no reli|b for tbem.
The' circular letter hfd,no great- effed, moft ofthe
bifhops of Italy either not .minding the contents,' or
being difpofed in favour of Molinos. But what mOft o
deftroyed its credit was this, that, whereas the orders
and letters of the Inquifition, are ¦ allarays kept very fe
cret, this happened to be divulged.-l^ Gopite.of at fell
into the hands of the pe<^ 4 all, the city was full of
it. Scarce any thing eilfe was talked of,, as it had-been
tranljated, out of Latin irito Italian^ This accident -
veied t^i^ Inquifitors exceedingly \ for they cannot bear
that the .world ftiould have the opportunity of c^axm-A
ning their procedure. Cardinal Cipo was blamed by .
them for this indifcretion; arid he threw the blame
back again on the^quifltors, or on their fecretar}?.^-
This

Of Molinos and'-the Quieti^sl' 319
This letter was followed with nineteen articles, or
erroneous propofitions imputed to the Quietifts, to
every one of which a fhort- refutation plF^he pretended
errors wasfubjoined.JiiThe-fentimentif^fiMoLiNos and
his difeiples were pdW¥trayed^«tl6rei]f'"^r^the blackeft
cohiOTs, with ranch malignity .''-^'But they never men
tioned from whence they drew thofe fentiments ' which
thcpjcharge them with ; for fear left fuch as had raade
thofe .r extrads might be convided of infidciilt^'*aMT,
mahce. Among the two hundred prifoners afore mentroned,
there were fome very confiderable ; divers domefticks
of Cardinal Petrucci ; his nephew and his fecretary
were alfo of the nuraber. Petrucci hirafelf, coming
to Rome foon after, kept 'himfelf incog.' fearing left
tte- Inquifition fhould catch him in its trap. ^-The Car
dinals Car affa and Ciceri were under tbe like ap-'
prfehenfions. The Pope's' nephfew Don Li vio was not
one of the leaft fufpeded, being the particular friend
of the aforefaid Count VespinianIt. He had alfo lived
iriia very rerired manner, which at that time was fuf
ficient to raake any one a Quietift at Rhme.' Beginning
to be in dread for his fafcty at Rome, he retired to a
CQulitry houfe he had near Civita Vecchia. ' The Pope
wrote. to him feveraltimes to return ; yet he was afraid
of doing it.
.The prifons of the InquiStion filfed faOi^iy^ei^fByX:
the fright all. over the city of Rom's' \^)LS\fol'^enefkrafm.'
fo, great, that only^'they whofe public dfebSil^lf'igSniS'-
riot; or'whofe ignorance and fttfpidI¥y,;fcf^¥n^4^tRfenr;
thought themfelves out of danger. It ;• wWYai^tnaF "
the Inquifitors, in their examination of ;theW^
found fome brave refolute people Vvho-'a;nflveWa^''n?);M/f':

and-fhewcd more khowledge than theiFHxtartifiliefs: \ ^''
Th^ 1 Pope ftill fliewed his regard to' Cardinal Pi'-'
TRucci, and gave him leave to go and fee Molinos in
¦ -'ii'L ;¦ prifon.

320 cy Molinos ^W /-^^ Quietifts.
prifQb^i with whom he had a long converfation. The
Popie^iipildoefs had .given fome hopes to the friead? dF
MouNOs : But theiir fears redoubled, when they
thbaghton the number ^aftd credit of his,^yerfarie^.;
Very; fdrmidable : eneqSjes, efpecially in Italy, are aj.1
thedifferent orders of monks joined tpgether ; of whom,
they reckon five hundred, thpufend ; amongft them.-
fbrtythoufand. Jefuits ; and in ih^ fingle city^pf Naples,
twenty^five thoufand ecclefiafticks, both regular ^.ndije-,
cdlar. This reflexion raade thera look upon the f:on-
demnation of Molinos as inevitable. They forefaw
that the Inquifitors, who .are fuch, other politiqians as
Cmephas, would conclude with, him, that.it was better
that one man perifh, though innocent, thari that the
whole nation of monks fhould be ftarved, and fuperfti-
ttoH, to which they owe their fubffftence, authority and
riches deftroyed.
The condemnation of Molinos was then refolved,
upon, and the noife of it fpread in the ,city. Of a
million of perfons, who were thought to be engaged
in the fentiments of the Quietifts, there was not one
found who dared to open his mouth in favour of .their
chief. So compleatly had the Inquifition, Uke fome hurri
cane or earthquake, ftruck an univerfal panic, that
innocence turned pale ; fortitude trembled, and Was
dumb ; while cowardice and bafenefs joined ^the gene
ral outcry, and eafily carried all befpre them. Hence
the very fame Molinos, who had lived twenty years
in Rome, in'the reputation of a faint, now paffed for
one of the wickedeft men of the age, being ac.cufed of
fchifm, fedition, and of other high criraes and mif-r
deraeanours, of which it was eafy for the Inquifitors
to procure proofs ; whether true or falfe, they cpuld
ftretch and bend them fufficiently to make them ferve
their turn.

Of Molinos ^nd the Quietifl:s. -izi
A GENERAL ptcjudicc, Ukc a torrcuL, had overfpread
Rome in fuch a manner, that to fay of any perfon be
fore the fpies of the holy office, that he entertained a
doubt, either about the errors or the bad life of Mo-
WNOs, would be fufficient to get fuch a pierfon clapped
into the Inquifition. The Inquifitors gave out that
they had not condemned Molinos, till they had heard
the depofitions of fourteen witnefTes, eight of whom
prefented themfelves ; and the truth was drawn frpm
the other fix (by tortures) : But thefe fourteen witnef
fes, ^t is raore than probable, were not worth one good.
one ; fuch as corae to prefent themfelves, to aecufe an
unhappy m.an, being generally people hardened in
wickednefs; and for the others, how common is it for
tortures to force raen to utter falfehoods !
A HATRED of the Pope at this time prevailed among
the people of Rome. It broke forth in their difcourfes^,,
and ill the rage which they fhewed againft an unhappy
man, whom the Pope had fo long proteded. In this
the Jefuits took pleafure to confirra them. " It is' the
"firft time, faid tbey, that hercfics have dared to life
" up their head in Rome. Never before has any arch-
" heretic prefumed tb fet up his throne in the ho[y
" city, and to make a fink of corruption at the foun-
" tain head of religion : And what is ftranger ftill,
"this. abominable hercfy has triumphed, even here,
" during twenty years ; his holinefs never would lend
" an ear to ,the good advices which the fpies of the
*' holy office gave him from all fides ; fuch as attacked
" the Quietifts were treated as hereticks and calum-
" njators ; and after all the proofs which had been
" collcded againft Molinos, jn confequence of which
" he had been arrefted, the Pope has not failed ftill
« to favour him privately; and even, after having full
" proofs of MoLiNOs's hypocrify and wickednefs,
" with the greateft pains in the world has he been
" bropght at laft to affent to his condemnation."
Vol. IL ^ f On

32Z OfyMi^^tJ^andtheQuieti&s.
On the day that Molinos was brought into Mi-
neM-va's temple, his countenance and carriage raani-
fefled a ftcady firmnefs, fuch as Ihcwed rib confciouf-
nefs of any guilt ; however Charged with it by his ene
mies. A little, before this fofemnity, the Pope grant
ed a plenary indulgence * to all who fhould affift at it.
This and the proclaftiatiori made of it, joined to the
curiofity fp natural to people on the like oceafions,
brought fuch a conCourfe of thronging multitudes,
that it required one's having a good deal of money or
bf credit to get a good place there.
At the prifon dopr he was fet in an open chariot.
With a Dominican friar at his fide ; and , when he arriv
ed at the Minerva, he was left for fome time iri a gal
lery : When he was put in the place defigned for him.
he made a low bOw, without fhewing the leaft mark
of fear or of confufion. He had his hands tied toge
ther, holding a lighted waxen taper, which was put
into thexn. In thc mean time two raonks, clad
in long robes, read his procefs with a loud voice.
SOriie people were fuborned to cry out, at the reading
of certain articles, "To thefire, to the fire." All the
people joining re-echoed the cry ; and becarae fO
animated to madnefs, that, if the guards iri leading him
back to prifon had not oppofed the infblence of the
mob, he muft have fallen the fpeedy vidim of
their fury. When he was near the little cell, in
which he was to be fhut up for thc reft of his life, he
entered it with great tranquility, naming, it his elofet,
Then taking leave of the Friar Who had attended him,
he faid, "Farewcl, at the day of judgment we fhall
^' fee each other again ; and then it will appear on
1" which fide the Tf uth is, whether on youfb or
<< mine." AtTJER
^ Plenary indttlgence, a full and entire remiffion of the penal?
det due to all fins, animpious pretenfion, encouraging fin.

Of Molioo? md the Qgietlfli.s. 3^3
After this weheafno mpre-pf hWi>. i his life and
death being kept private ai9[ibng -the J»quifitors ani;!
their pfficers.
It was faid that.the hpjy.^fijce ,ha4 ;?«)Jl<?gfd ,^bpv'^
twenty thpufand^Jjet^er*' .of MoLfdUps, which ha^
been fent and received by, him ; aijid th^, oji {^ idfly
he'was arrefted, they feized at the , poft- pfgge fffiSf
twenty crowns worth of letters addreffed to him.
The author of this account tells us that an ecclefiaftic
of Rome owned to him one day, " that raoft part of
" the Quietifts were fo well inftruded, and overpow-
" ered their adverfaries with fo riiany reaforis, paffa-
"^ ges and authorities, that all the fchool-divincs
"in'the world could not have been able to coh-
" found them : Wherefore thc church was obliged to
" interpofe, and to ftop their mouths by its authority,
" folemnly declaring them hereticks, that nobody
" might dare to liftcn to them." A ready way of
putting people to filence. When not knowing how to
anfwer thera !
The fame author hereupon raakes the following ob-
fer vation :
Tau5 the Jefuits by their art, induftry, and in
defatigable conftancy in perfecuting innocence and
truth, have effeded the oppreflion of the dodrine of
divine grace, of felf-rcnunciation, and of the conterapt
of huraan traditions, at a tirae wheri thofe. evangelical
tenets began to have fo great a nuraber of adherents
in the heart ofthe Romifh church, Bifhops, Archbi
fhops, Counts, Dukes, Cardinals, the Pope himfelf
•stnd his Nephew. The Jefuits have again fet up, efta
bliflied, and brought to flourifli, the fpirit of fuper-
fliition and t;^ranny, with the fchool-divinity, and the
morality or rather irapieties of the cafuifts. So goes
the world in flarideririg and perfecuting good people,
,;,., . ..,-.... Sf2' - ,-, ,¦¦¦'-¦ :^«\-aV v-;,«.,>,-.becaufe

3?4 ^f Molinos andthe Quietifts.
becaufei their candor :]and fimplicity gives an eafy han
dle t6-their enemies ; their virtue and good fconfeience
hinder thera from ufing, for their lawful defence,
thofe unlawful means, which their enemies put in prac
tice to ruin them, while they load with honours and
praifcs thofe who jtrample probity and good faith
under their feet, in orderto 'raife themfelves on the
ruins ofthe virtuous and the faithful.

LIFE

L I F E
of" '
Francis De Salignac De la Mothe
Fenelon,
Archbifliop and Duke of Cambray y
Tranflatcd and abridged from the French.

*T TE was born at the caftle of Fenelon in Perigord,
Xx in the province of Guienne, inthe South- Weft of
France in 1651, fon of Pons de Salignac, Marquis
of Fenelon and Louisa de la Cropte fifter of the
Marquis of St. Abre. He was brought up in his Fa
ther's houfe till he was twelve years of age. This
private education, in a remote province, preferved
him from the corruption of manners, and fentiraents,
-which the young Nobility of moft nations too frequently contrad,
• This hiftory ofthe life ofthe Archbifliop oi Cambrqyln. French
was printed at the Hague in 1723. It is faid to have been writ
ten by Chevalier Ramsay, author of The Travels of Cyrus.
I have one likewife by another hand. They both agree in all the
parts of his life, and in the eharader of Lady Guion : But this
by the Chevalier Ramsay, is much more agreeably written, more
'explicit, clear, nervous, and better digefted. I have therefore
chiefly followed it: Yet fome things in the otlier too I thought
worthy of infertion.
It has fometimes pleafed infinite Goodnefs, in various nations,
to raife up noble patterns, to fhew inankind what they Ihould
(above all things) defire and endeavour to be. Whofoever ihall
linpartially read this life of the Archbifliop of Cambray will, I
think, find fufficient reafon to efteem him to have been one of this
kind.

.326 ''-m 1 F E o p
contrad, in 'Acquiring, the politcnffs and delicacy bf
the court. ., , ' ''-
1 667. He was fent to the univerfity of Cahors in
the fame province, and afterward put under the care
and inftrudion of a learned and pious uncle at P^m,
viz. Antony, Marquis of Fmelo% w,J*Oi drpajU^ for
him the vanities of youth; raade hirfl take;'j^jyj the
Author of his hiftory, the' i;efoJupion bf iraitating the
filence of Jesus CHRfsT for Tevefaryears.
1 68^ ' Lb^wjs XiV %itig^.of France, hayaiTg been in
forraed of pEN^LbN's great abilities and virtues, nam
ed him -the Chief of .a miflion for the converfion
of the Proteftants' on the cbaft of Saintonge 'hftd" in
the county of Aunis, in thc aforefaid province of Gui-
,enne. ¦ ,, . . -. ,
As the Kin.g had been advifed to employ military
force, to init an effeduarftop tb the diverfity Of reli
gions in" his kirigdora. Abbe 'Fjemelon, abhorring
thofe maxims, wPuld nqt enter upon this mifUon, "birt
-on condrtiori that rib troops fhould be employed there
in. The mild and^entle ^treatment which the Protef
tants of thofe "parts experienced,, while their brethren
in the neighbouring provinces were delivered up tb
thenioft cruel and inhuman perfecutions, difpofed
them to hearken to thejnftrudions of the J:jew jniffio-
nary, and to receive ^fofelfruitp from them. This way
indeed did not make fo many -fudden converfion s as
force: But it made ihem mbre fincere. ''
Having finijh^d che -miflibn,, he returh^Gtjto.PflW;
and prefented himifeilf before dac King t But he was
two years after without returning to -Court. He be
came equally noted for poflefllng .fine parts and en-
-deayouring-tio conceal themrj ftis uiodefty, his re
tired difpollcion, his rprobity, and his inadion about
'ftfivini; to "Irdeuue pofts or bendides, or to sourt the
'"' -''^ ¦ ' favour

The Archbilfepp of Cambray. 327
favour of ftich as were confulted : in their diftribu
tion, were the caufe that, after having been no
minated Biftiop of PoiSiiers, he was ftruck off the lift
before the nomination was made public. The Arch
bifliop of Paris had received him well, , and treated
him with great refped: But accuftomed as he was to
be-furrounded with flatterers, and not finding Fene
lon among them, his pride was offended. Meetino-
bim orie day he faid to him, " Sir, you have a mind
" to be forgotten, and you fliall be fo,"
The Marquis of Fenelon, his uncle, bad intro
duced him into the acquaintance of feveral illuftrious
perfons at court, and among the reft the Duke of
BeauvilHers, at whofe requeft, having feveral daugh
ters, Fenelon wrote a Treatife on the Education of
Daughters, wherein the talents with which he was en
dowed for forming youth, became confpicuous.
This Duke under great plainnefs and firaplicity
concealed uncommon virtues ; an enemy of pride, di-
vefted.of ambition, unanxious for riches, he was mo
deft, fedate, difiriterefted, liberal, courteous, fincere,
pohte, regular in every thing, and thereby well qua
lified to govern men. As a minifter of ftate, the very
hafis of his politicks was the love of juftice. This was
his reigning virtue, to which he facrificed his own in-
cliiJatiqns, his perfonal friendfliips, and even the in
terefts of his own family. All thefe great quaUties
were heightened and perfeded by an erainent piety,
which afcribed everything to God. This piety was
in hira a fruitful fpring of Ught to guide him in all his
condud; for, fetting his heart free bpth;; from irregular
paffions and vain amUferaents, it poured in upon his
mind conrinual fupplies of clear difcernment, to difco
ver in every thing what was right and good.
v^Hiiyi the King made, choice of for governor of his
grVnd-chiidren : And ihc Duke making known the
' ' merit

merit of Fenelon, the King norainated him to be pre
ceptor to the eldeft of the princes. The pubUc in gCr
neral' applauded this choice, and efpecially MTonficur
BoasuET the Biihop -of Meaux, w^o writ a letter of con
gratulation upon it, to M., Fenelon, daughter of the
aforefaid Marquis, expreffing therein the high joy
with which it filled his , heart.*
1689. Abbe Fenelon entered <?n this po'ft at the
age of thirty-eight years. For aflifting in this educa
tion there were alfo chofen feveral perfons of diftin-
guiftied merit, "as Abbe Fleury and others. Never
was feen a greater harmony than in the education of
this- prince. . AU who were around hira ad^d in con
cert, nevet to flatter hira, never to take his part^ when
he had given caufe to any of them to be difpleafed with
him. He found no afylum but in obedience and the
pradice, of his duties.
This prince in early youth was haughty, fcornful,
paffionate and capricious. He afterwards grew up re
markably courteous, meek, pacific, juli, and fenfibly
moved with the calaraitics and raisfortunes of huraa
nity, even denying himfelf alraoft every thing to re
lieve the wants and diftrcflles of others. His nature
was fo much and fo happily changed for the better,
by the good impreffions made on his mind, ' ,
• He looked on himftlf as defigned for the fovereign
authority, only to be thc fervant of the people, and to
labour to render them good and happy. Thc method
which they had made ufe of, to form the undcrftanding
and the heart of this young prince, is a model of the
mofl: Tpcsfe^ education,
To
* How changeable, how little to be depended on, are weak mor
tals ! T]ie Bifliop of Meaux feives as a'glaring inftance of the truth
cfthiSreMtark. --

Tbe Archbifliop^ bf CaMbray; 32b
To form his undfirftandit^i^they made him ftudy,
not by rulc;s, but accordingto the curiofity which they
took care to excite in hira. Hereby they turned a-
mtriements into ftudy ; and the moft feriousftudies be
cariie ail amufement. A converfation formed, on pur
pofe, without his perceiving it, gkve .occafion, tothe
reading of an hiftory, to the exaraination of a jnap, to
reafonings within the comprehenfion ofhis years. The
exercifes fet hihi were cbriftantly folid inftrudions :
Some hiftory ordialoguc, , which learned him the prin
cipal adions , and events 'of anriquity, or of modern
times, brought him acquainted with the charaders of
the great raen of aU ages, and at thc farae time infpi
red hira with the love and defire, of thc pureft virtues.
Tekmadht^s and the Dialogues of the; Dead were written
with this, view.
To forra his heart, it was neccflTary to reform his na
tural faults. The huraour, irapctuofity, and haiighti-
nefs of the yOiing prince were reprcft by a diflTatisfied
look fpread over every countenance. ; . ;
The ufual chaftifehicnts in inferior 'educarions were
never eraployed in this. The. privation of a pleafure,
of a walk, bf a ftudy itfelf of which they had raifed in
him ah eager defire, were the orily puniflmients thef
made ufe of. ,
In the tirae of his fiereeft vivacities^ all that ap
proached hira to ferve him had orders to do it in a me
lancholy filence. Thus they left him vexed with him
felf, and raeeting with none to pity him, till quite rired
out with fuch a fad ftate, finding no body to fpeak to,
he carae to beg pardon, acknowledging his fault.
Cajjdor in confeffing every thing was the only con
dition! of pardon ; and, to accuftom him to that inge
nuity, they confeflTed the faidtg which, they had com-'
.Vol. II. T t mitted

, mitted before him 5 drawing frora their bwn impeirfec-
jions raatter of ufcful inftrudion to their pupil. :-;
Thev infpired him with the love of virtue, not by
dry precepts, raoral fentences, or ftudied harangues ;
but by a word, a look, a fentiment properly placed,
they were continually giving him feflSinis' without his
-being difgufted at it, or even perceiving it. At meals,
in their walks, in their difcoui-fesi they turned cveiy
thing irito inftrudion. By iraperceptible toucheis>,iantl
ingenious ;turns, they caufed hira every where to meet
:with noble fentimcrits and royal virtues. They joined
to this knowledge,' and to this love of truth, the great
fcience of knowinghow to keep a fecret. To accuftom
.him early to fecrecy, they made hira fcrifible, "but with
precaution, of a confidence above his age on the moft
important afiairs.
-, During -thewhole time that Abbe Fenelon was at
court,- he ftieWfed a moft perfed difintereftedncfs.
Having learned early to live content on a Uttle, inde
pendent on that fervility which a fordid love of intereft
"begets, this habit of bounding his defires, joined to a
divine love of thc poverty of Jesxis Christ, made' him
^continue fix years at court, in diftinguiflied; favour,
'without receiving or alking any eraolurncnt, either for
hirafelf or his friends. The public Uberally dealt out
to hira the places which becarae vacant, while he nei
ther obtained rior fought; for aiiy of thera.
At laft the King gave him thc Abbey of St. Vdllery,
making akirid of excufe to him, for giving him fo little
..andfo late.
Some months after, the archbifhoprick of Cambray
becoming vacant, the King nominated hira therleto.
Abbe Fenelon, fcrupulouson the fubjed of -his du
ties, fexdufcd himfelf from accepting .it, being viaftBid
.¦;,', a;' ?-left

T^he Archbilhop of Cambray. 331
kft he could not reconcile the care of a dioqefe with
the fundions of his employ. But the King tried to
remove all his objedions, and urged his acceptance of
this vacancy. ¦ -¦; '..-¦¦ .'.,,.
.fas:.! ,', . '¦ ,
• On his compliance therewith, he refigned thc abbey
of St. Vallery, without aflring it for any. ofhis friends
or relations. ThciKing was aftoniflied at ir, and
prefled him to keep it, but in vain. This difintereft
edncfs, fo very unufual, drew upon him encoraiuras;
but it alfo foured againft him thofe perfons of a di-
ftinguiflied rank whom his example conderaned. He
made no other ufe of his credit than to feek to eradi
cate the notions which the . corruptors of kings inftil
into them of their grandeur and their power. I L „
The high favour the new Archbiftibp was in, with
the Kmg, feemed to announce a ftill greater elevation i
but there foon arofe againft, him a ftoni\ which banifli-:
ed him from the court of Pr^Mftf for ever. To knpw
the fpring, the progrefe and completion of. his difgrace,
we muft fpeak of Madam Guion, who, has been the
pretext for it, and give a concife idea of her coridud
and her fentiraents. , .
'\ ..f^jJHereupon the Author gives afummary ofthe life of
¦ Lady GuiON. In it he gives the following cha-
raSier of ihe Duke of Cns.v&.iLvsz, one.of her in
timate friends.']
r He had a rare ftock of knowledge for a perfon of
his rank, an eafy eloquence, an extenfive genius, ca
pable of remounting in every thing to the firft princi
ples, and of forrajng the greateft defigns. Bold in
the execution, courageous againft bad fuccefs, and
againft the difapprobation of thofe who did not pene
trate the greatnefs, of his defigns; he was ieafy of ac-
Cefs, graceful and modeft. His poUtenefs was noble,
delicate and unafieded -, his temper fweet, affable and
T t 2 engaging.

engaging,.: He lived in his family with his children
like a, good friendv as well as a good father. His foul
appeared: always- equal :and calm, notwithftanding his
natural vivacity: In a word, piety had united, in hira
the virtues human and divine, to fuch a degree, that
he'was at the fame time a good chriftian, a good citi
zen, and a perfed friend.:
¦ Some envious people now fpread confufed rumours
of a rifing herefy gaining credit at court. They alarm
ed many with their outcries ofthe danger of: the .church,
and particularly Monfieur GboET de Marais, biftiop
of Chartres, a man of a lively nature, and fiery zeal
for whatever he accounted found dodrine.
'Such a man was fufceptible of very ftrong preju
dices. They gave him a horrible idea of the new fpi-,
rituality. To turn him frora his indefatigable purfuits
againft Janfenifmi, a dodor of Sorbonne, one of that
party, who yet conceafed his fentiraents, artfully re
prefented to him Quietifra (which had been fo fiercely
fallen upon at Rome forae years before) as an objed
worthy of his epifcopal zeal. Fie, not perceiving' the
fnare, applied hirafelf with all his might to thunder
againft the rifing herefy, and to render Madam Guion
fufpeded of its propagation. He induced Madam
Maintenon, as he was her diredor, to change , her
fentiment. He made her conceive grofs errors, and
all the imaginary horrors of Quietifm, in the little book
entitled. The floort method of prayer, which before this
ftie had liked and approved. She then, who had
treated Madam Guion iwith fingular marks of eftecra,
became from henceforth her implacable enemy.
Abbe Fenelon mct with Madara Guion at firft,
foon after her releafe frora her firft confineraent, at the
houfe of the Dutchefs of Bethune, to whora flie had
been known frora her earlieft years. Before this he
had been very muth prejudiced againft her^ by the ca^
lumnies

The Archbifhop of .Cambray. 333
lumnies which were fo induftrioufl-y fpread, and through
fuch hands-as: gained them a ready credit. But when
he eame to fee and hear herfelf, her excellent coriver
fation fopn-; removed all hisprcjudiccsi and jmadehini
highly eftecra her. Going afterward; on fome .occafion
to Montargis, he enquired there what reputation ftie
had born before her leaving that city. All expreflTed
their high - efteem of her piety, and the purity of her
. manners, 'even from her infancy. Thefe teftimonies,
given by. thc moft rcfpedable perfons, confirmed "Fe-
•NEtoN in the high idea he had already conceived of her
virtue. . And hencfe there was gradually forraed, be
tween thefe two perfons a very particular friendfliip,
whicb afterwards proved for them both a fource .of
great .croffes, and of the exercife of great virtues.
When it was difcovered that Madara Maintenon
had openly and warmly declared herfelf agairift .-Ma
dam Guion, they tried alike to turn her againft the.
Abbe Fenelon, which was eafily done ; and the more,
as!;- the Abbe had. already difappointed and difpleafed
her, by fpeaking his mind to her hbneftly, yet with
caution and referve.
She had hoped at firft to gain an abfolute afcendant
over hirii, but had the mortification of feeing him of
ten diffent frorii her opinions. She was afraid left a
man, whom flie could not fecure to herfelf, fliould ac
quire too much credit with the Kuig. This change in
Madam Maintenon gave a fine opportunity to the
Biftiop ¦ of Mm«», to vent that fecret jeabufy which, for
a long time paft he hadinburiflied in his bofom againft-
the Abbe Fenelon. Having: been accuftomed to fee
himfelf admired as the firft genius of the age, he could
' not bear to obferve the eyes of tl^e public turned from
. him, and fixed on the Abbe.
The violent outcry againft Madara Guion became
univerfal. It feemed to affed the reputation, of her
' friends.

_334 ,,. ,,, L I .F; ^;- OF
friends. Madiam Maint BSoK>began then, in orderto
carry OH her defigns, to demand a ftrid examination
of the books of Madam Guion, and fpoke of it to the
King, who chofe the Bifliop of Meaux- for principal
exan«ner. To him were added the Bifliop of -Ch/dom,
who is at prefent the Cardinal de Noailles, and Arch
bifhop of Paris, and Monfieur Tronson.;. 'Madam
Maintenon would have the Abbe Fenelon to be
joined as the fourth, and the King appro-ved of it. :
The Biftiop of 'A&jkx had always maintained. itEe
contrary opinion to- that of pure dijmterefted love.:' fie
thoughr he knew' the dodrine of the Church better
than any one elfe, and could not beari to be fliewed
that the tradition of the Church, on fo effential a point,
had efcaped hira.
After an examination of feveral; months, they were
fcance able to agree on any precife determination. The
Bifhop of' Meaux was continually crying out. The church
was in danger. He probably thought it would add a
new eclat t-o the glory of his triumphs over the Prote
ftants," againft whom he had publilhed fome pieces, in
print, to convid fuch a man as the Abbe Fenelon of
error. . - • ' - i , -: - 1,.=:. -¦¦•¦.
[We have feen before how thisviolent Bilhop of
Meaux, conquered by the force: of truth, had giveii
Lady Guion a good certificate at the end of an exa
mination of fix raonths,^ how Madam Maintenon was ^
vexed at it, how the Bifliop himftlf, after the ilffpirit
revived in hirai, repented of that ad of juftice ; and
how that much injured good woraan was, notwith-
ftariding'it aU,' arrefted and carried a prifoner to the
ca^l6 of-Vincennes, riearthe end ofthe year 1695.]
It would, fays the-0ber writer of the Archbiftiofs life,
be ari unpardonable weak4iefs~ih hirii to have efteented,
and to have fuffered his beft friends to confide in a per fon

The Archbifh6p 9f Cambray. 33-5
fon of a fufpicious condud,; or in whom nothing elfe
was to be feen but fanatici|mi*\lWiSiiihpuld thcn^be
obUged to own. that Ms.iveacrarioof:^!': feer had been a
blemifh in his eharader. It is therefore requifitc that
the public fliould 'find-here, at.leaftfc^mething whereby
taform" an idea of that Lady's true chafader, and of
the purity of her life, which was confirmed to the laft-,
ac^en.by thofe who had taken the moft pains to prove
bcE. guilty.-— — Yet their rage againft her furioufly in-
crcafed^.owrhBn-theyi found that certain perfons,, of di
ftindion about thciCQUrt placed their confidence in her.
sThe fudden retired change of life in. thefe perfons, \v ho
sfeefore. had been very conVerfent in the world, ap
peared to the Diredors, who. were alarmed at the gOod
.done by her, to be an invafion of their prerogatives,
arid of dangerous confequence if fuffered. Rkitan? liril
.-¦..^ '¦' tO"-' rf; ., •':(. ¦r'.' -- zvii.h-i-j>'-i\'3 bsA
The Archbifliop had been brought acquainted with
-this Lady when flie was calumniated and perfecuted;
His prejudice -againft her was changed into a fingular
sreneration for her, as foon as he had, ionverfed with,
,flDd.c3camined her-7-When afterwards he was- attac-feed
on this account, he did not difown: that he had very
much efteemed and ftill continued to efteem her : And
yeti-he never: undertook to defend her, but conterited
himfelf with conftantly refufihg to join .in condemning
her. Wherihe was preffed to do it, he defended hirafelf,
acferioVlcdgingthat he had. ofteri :fefe'ri her, as every
,b©dy knew ; ithat hS bad efteeraed herjKrid fuffered her
to enjoy the cft:eerii ef feveral erainent rperfons, whofe
reputation was dear to the ChurCh; that he had read
priougb of herw/ritings to thinfc it his duty to examine
her very flridly J. that he had often done, it at a time
when, having nothii^ to fear, ftie was, the more open
with him, and free to difclofe all herjintsipft fentiments
r-that he had very narrowly obftrV^d her pradice, and
the ebunfcls flie gave to the moft. ignorant, and had
fiever dlfeovcrcd the leaft fobtfl^f^.:0f^thofe bad max-
feis-which/were new afcrib.e9dilt&>'^r>Wo\y- thciv„couki he

336 L I' iF Em- of
he in coMiiience, he- ajked her enemies, charge her with
them,! by authorizing with an^approbarion-i the defama
tions which WCTc publilhed againft her P^ fio ,, infu'L
In a letter to a friehd he wrote, " The Bifliops who
"conderan her, have done jrby writings which they
" have publilhed •,- they have fince tonfined her,; and
>' loaded her with ighomigty.^ 4 hav© never faid -one
" fingle word either to juftify or excufe her, ior loJ al-
" leviate her prefent/ condition ; and' is : not; that 'r^ng
" a great Way,' confidering all that I know.?; .The'ieaft
" that I can do for an unfortunate perfon,- whofe con-
"; Verfation was always edifying to me, is to keep fi-
" lence whilft others condemn her." silj
, yr ... ..-,.. li'UJ ,. ' '-•\ ¦ -"if' ¦' -' 1
But this filerice Was- not; fufficient for thofe who
wanted of hira a publick approbation, which might
ferve tb jufrify: their cenfures: againft her writings, and
their feverity towards her perfon^ His conftant refu
fal provoked them, and 'became -an occafion. of | their
falling upon himfelf." It was already feen,- by their
manner of ptocfeeding againft Madam Guion, that he
was rather the objed they aimfcd at than herfelf.
In the courfe of that larwe year things were carrier'
with a high hand (probably either to curry favour
with Madam Maintenon, or to avoid the dreaded
confequences of her difpleafure.) The bifhops of Meaux,
Chartres, ¦ and Chalons, publilhed paftoral letters agaia,ft
Quierifiti, condemning alfo the books of Madasai
Guion. Thc laft indeed, did* it with much more mo
deration than the two others. " In blaming, fq^s he,
" thc exceffes of thc falfe myfficks, let us ever admire
" and coranfiend thofe of the true faints to which thc
" love .of God carries their fouls, which never can be
" carried too far :- Since the; meafure of loving Goo
f' is to love hira without meafure; &c." Thus, while
he profcribed theibooksy he was far from condemning
the perfon of Madatn-GuiON, -whom he treated with
refped.

Tbe ArchbifhSp oif Caivibray. '^i^^y
refped, telling^her, "that, infubraitting hercxpref-
*¦ fionis flie might conrinue her fentiraents, and that
" he fhould pray tb God to continue his favours to
" her." The hatred of Madara Maintenon to the Archbi
fhop of Cambray every day increafed. As he could not
be prevailed upon to condemn Madam GuibN,, as the
other prelates had done, flic regarded his refufal as an
inEolerable obftinacy.
The Archbifhop of Cambray wrote a bobk in vindi
cation of Madam Guion's tenets, entitled. The maxims
of the Saints, and in his abfence the Duke of Chevreufe
publiflied it.
The Archbifhop's enemies took care immediately to
give a general alarm, to frighten the pious and well
meaning, and to excite the derifion of the profariCi
The prelates who were in the higheft credit at court
«»clafimed againft hirh. The courtiers," who envied lhe
high favour which: the Dukes of BeauvilHers and Chev
reuje enjoyed, now conceived great hbpcs that they
would be involved, in his difgrace. All things concur
red', together to fwell the ftorm; learning, ignorance,
induftry, poUcy, infinuation, di%ute, creduUty, nay
incredulity itfelf -, and all this, becaufe a prelate had
dared to maintain. T'to ive ought to kve God for bis own
fake with a pure dijinterefted love. Thefe outcries having
at'dength reached, the King's cars, the Bifliop of Meaux
went: to wait on him, afking his pardon for not having
foQoer ' difctofedrtCo him the Fanaticifm of his Brother
Prelate.. This bifliop drew thc moft horrible confequences
from the Archbifliop's principles, loudly declaring,
" tthat the fentiments he concealed were worfe than
" thofe expreffed in his book.^' Such difcourfes of a
Bifliop eminent for his eapacity, venerable, for his age.
Vol. II. U u and

33? ^ hll

E OF

and eftei^raed a father in the church, did not fail to
fpread a general alarm, arid to caufe' a furious outcry
of dodors, priefts and monks, with people of all forts
and condition,'!, againft the Archbilhop of Cambray,
who offered all along to raake additions tb his book,
to explain every thing in it which gave offence, and
to, clear up every ambiguity: But nothing would fa
tisfy the Bifhop of Meaux lefs than a formal recantation.
The Archbifliop, feeing all reafohablc means of ac
commodation oppofed, addreffed the King, arid reprfi-
fented thc hard fituation he was in, the expedients he
had propofed in order to peace, the f-efufal given him
of examining his book, and in fine, that he had no way
left fo put an end to thc fcandal which thefe difputes
(Bccafioned, but by, applying to. the Pope; begging
leave of the King to go in perfon to Rome. ' The- King
gave orders to tell him, that he raight tranfmit.his
caufe to Rome, but without gomg thither hirafelf.
The Archbifliop had been advifed and urged by
feveral to give up his book entirely : But as he firmly
believed it to be the truth which that. book contained,
he could by no means agree thereto, till the fovereign
Pontiff, to whom he had fubmitted it, fliould pro
nounce fentence upon it. This refufal was reprefented
to the King, as the criminal obftinacy of a man-inca
pable bf fubmitring. -r
By thefe iriipreffions the King was induced to order
his confinement to his diocefe, to deprive his relations
of their employraents, and to banifti his friends , from
court. No body had any inrimacy with or intereft in
him .without fliaring his difgrace. The fuperiority of
his undcrftanding and the purity of his life were now
utterly difregarded. His intimate friend (M. Guion)
was to pafs for a whimfical enthufiaftic woman, and
hiriifelf for the Patriarch of a fenfelefs and profane fed.
How profound ^ humUiation was this ! But it is only
: :by

The Archbifliop of Cambray. 339
'"'^ ¦ ¦' ¦' ¦"' . '. . --*v
by a total overturning and annihflation of the whole
man, that we can arrive at thofe divine virtues of whith
Jgsus. Christ, .covered with ignopiioy and fliame, was
the perfed example and model. ¦>
, The King having fent word to the , Archbifliop to
retire, to his diocefe, and not to come back without his
order ; he left thc court next day. The young Duke
of Burgundy expreffed a raoft lively concern for the dif
grace of his dear and worthy tutor.* >
fl , In the, mean .time great pains were taken at Rome
.againft; him byhis enemies. He fent thither his de-
i",: ; , •; U u 2 ¦ , fences
*,-Befoje he left faris he wrote to the Tiuke oi Beawvillim^ let
ier Aa.ted the 3d of Auguft 1697, from which I prefent the Reader
with the fbilowing extrafts. - >
" Be in no pain, toy Lord, or concern for me. The affair of
" my book is carried to Rome. ]f,I am miftaken, the authority of
-.¦** the-boly fee will undeceive me, which, js what I, ftek for with
!*^ an, hupble and refigned heart. I ato going to Cambray, having
•' facrificed to God all that I am capable of facrificing to him.
" Permit me to exhort you to enter into the fame fpirit. Nothing
'• worldly or temporal has had any ihare in what I have done for
" ;the, doCirine I have judged to be. true ; nor have I Dmitt€d to lay
.•; .before the Pope any of the reafons which may iupport that doc-
r^' trinei Enough has been done on my part ; it belongs to God
"^" 4o' do the reft, if it is his caufe that I have defended. Let us
" neither regard the defigns of men, northe fteps tl^ey take; 'tis
" God alone that we fhould look up to in. all this. Let us be the
,'?^-<;hiWren of peace, and peace will reft .upon us; if it be bitter,
" '' it will be only the more pure. Let uS not marr thi. uprightnefs
" of our intentions by any obftinacy, any paflionate warmth, any
"hutoa& induftry, any over-earneft defire to juftify ourfelves.
'*; finly let ns give an account of our fkith, let us Gowed ourfelves
"j if we haye need pf it, and let us bear correftion pa:t)ently, even
.'{though we (hould not deferve it. Let us humble ourfelves, and
"¦'*' keep filbhfce : and inftead of reafoning upon prayer* let us take
' "«^* 'cSi* thdt we'pray. 'Tis thus that we defend ourfelves ; 'tis ih
. •''*. filence that our ftrength wilLlid'.'' '^^ .
A /il'hiis letter. at large was iminediat,ely...tosde public, and every
, -"jjody adipired the pacific difpofition ofthe.good Archbifhop. What
'^'.'a^n'gel' had any to'fear from aiiian who feaied to deceive himfelf,
"f^^ and who defired to be fet right.

349. v,s.L.--J'- F E o:P.
fences in manufcript : ; But the Cardinals fignifi(id to .
him, " I'hat it was impoffible to provide all the mcm-
*' bers of the holy office with fuch long racraoirs, and
" thatas the accufations againft him.were made public
" inFrance, it was neccflary his defences fliould bcfo
"too." He then fent them to the prefs. Under all ;;
the violence raifed againft -hifii on every ftde, he conr-:
tinued ftill and quiet. The Bifliop of Meduxi,'vibo he-:
fore had pretended fo high a regard fbr him, was now,
moft furious, hot and indefatigable in his perfeeutionn .
I SHALL nothere difplay the epithets with whichhe,:
charaderized not only the dodrine but the perfon nof,
the, Archbilhop, who never offered any thing in reply
but found reafon and arguraent, preferving always the
meeknefs of a Chriftian with the gravity of a Biftiop.
The fpllowing- is one letter ofhis to the faid Bifliop of
Meaux. . -
" I PRAY God from the very bottom of my heart,
" that he may no othcrv<?ife give his perfed leve a com-
" pleat vidory over you, than by making you feel it
" with all, its charms. May you be inflamed and con.
" fumed by that celeftial fire which you feek , to ex-
" tinguifli! May it infpire you with the zeal of kind^ ,
" ling it every where, and. raay it .raifo you to that
" height pf perfedion from which you are endeavour-
" ing to efttange others !"
The Bifliop of Meaux, finding no fuccefs. in. his dif
putes upon dodrine, had .recourfe to fads. He pub
liflied an account of i^ietifnti in which be endeavoured
to make the Archbifliop of Gafiibray pafs for the blind.
admirer of a fanatical: woman. The Archbifliop an-
fwer5^4,J*.fe pi^^^ with fo much ftrength, and, at the
fame time with fuch extraordinary moderation, as quite
turned, t.he public in general againft the Biftiop of
Meaux, and filled the people with indignation againft
him^ from the clear difcovery of the wily arts by which he

The Archbifliop of Cambray. 341'
he had endeavoured to fubflitute ridiculous phantoms
in thc plate of truth.
The minifters of the coiiS-t at -Ra^ Ufed their ut
moft -endeavours to quiet the ftorm, &v^ to avoid
giving a decifivc judgment againft a prelate of fo ve
nerable a eharader. The book wias put into thc hands
of thc JiConfultors of the holy ofiice, who were ten in
number. They held their affembhcs fpr near eight
months, wrought at it with extraordinary application,
and were at laft divided in their fentiments. Five were
of Opinion to cenfure the book, and the other five
mahfitaiiied its dodrine to be faundv The Archbifliop
of Ghietti, one of the confultors, loudly declared,
" that they ought either to burn the books of Saint
" Francis de Sales, or allow thai: of Monfieur de
" Cambray." But as they could not agree, the af
fair was at laft brought before the holy- office.
The Pope ordered three; congregations to be held
every week; and the Cardinals were ten months ex.-
amining and difcuffing the-: whole. The archbifliop's
adverfaries were fupported at Rome with all the credit
which their fituation in Praiice could give them. They
now had recourfe to a ftroke, which was judged ne
ceffary to let them, fee at ^R^me how much the court of
Fraiwt^ which openly foWicited the -condemnation of
the book, had the affair at heart. ' Tltey prevailed on
the King, to difmifs the reiarions and friends, of the
Archbifliop of '•Qmibray, from their attendance, on the
princes. They 'difpofed of the Archbifliop's -apart^'
m^nt- at Verfailles, which till this time- had -not been
done. And both hirafelf and the reft who were dif-
siiffed on this occafion were ftruck off the ftate lift,
and denied the falaries which were given- (during life)
to fuch perfons as had' been honoured "with any fliare
in the education of the Princes, of France. They would
have done the fame by fome-cf the -raoft honourable
, " , . , , . - perfons ¦

342 ¦ L 1 F E oi"
¦ . '--.. ¦ I .:¦ ->.'-¦ •.'<¦: ::: b' ¦ ''-¦,, -,
perfons about thc court; * but they found upon trial
theih power, credit and intereft, did not reach fo far,
thofe perfons being too well, eftabliflied, and no oqca-
fipn? fufficieht for thfir purpofe to be found againft
them, The teraper which the good Archbifhop main
tained in the, midft of fo violent a ftorm appears in the
foUowing letter,i- which he wrote to the Dukeof Beau-
, , , , , villiers

* Viz, The Dukeof .5^«aW//Vr.f, Che'vreufe, &c.

T-:f!!

I " I cannqt avoid telling you, my good Duke, what I have at
«• heart. Yeflerday I fpent the day in devotion and praye?' for the
" King. ldid not afk for him any temporal profperity ; for elF
«' that he has enough. I only begged that he might make a good
" ufe of it, and that, amidft fuch great fuccefs, he might, be ashum-
•' ble as if he had undergone fome deep humiliation." T begged
" that he might not only fear God and refpeft religion, bot that
" he might' alfo love Go d, and feel how eafy and light his yoke is
" to thofe who bear it lefs through fear than love. I never found
" in myfelf a greater degree of zeal, or ifi may venture to ufe the
" expreffion, of affedlion to his perfon. Though I am full ofac-
«' knowledgment, it was not the good hehas done me that then
'« moved me. Far from being under ariy uneafinefs at my prefent
" fituation, I would have offered myfelf with joy to God, for the
" fanClification of the |Cingw I even confidered his geal againft
" my book as a commendable effeft of his religion, and his juft
«' abhorrence of whatever has to him the appearance of novelty.
" I looked upon him as an objeft ofthe favour of God. I called
" to mind his education, without folid inftruftion,, the flatteries
" which have furrounded him, the fnares laid for him in his
" youth, the profane counfels that were given him, the diftruft
" that was with fo much pains inftilled into him againft the ex-
" ceffes of certain profeflbrs of devotion, and the artifice of others;
" and' laftly the perils of greatnefs, and fuch a multiplicity of
" nice affairs. I own, that withall thefe things in view, l.had
"i .great compaffion for a, foul fo much expofed. I judged his
«• cafe deferved to be lamented, and I wifhed him a more plentiful
*', degree of mercy to fupport him in fo formidable a ftate of prof-
" perity. In all this I had not, as I apprehended, the leaft inte-
«f refted view; for I would have confented to a perpRtuai difgrace,
•" provided I knew that the King was entirely after Qod's bwn
" heart. I-only defire he may have folid virtues, and fiicl};jasare
•« fuitable to the duties .ofhis ftation. For my" own part I am
'¦ at peace, in the midft of almoft- continual fufi«rings. - By- caft^-
*« ing fcandal upon me, they fhall not, by God's will, exafperate " me,

Archbifhop of Cambray. 343
villiers at a time, when it raged moft fiirioufly againft
him. '¦'' • ¦¦' '• '"''• ''"¦'' ' ''¦' '•'- ,l:i''.'.'jh
I The Pope, being favourably inclined toward the
Archbifliop's book, made a propofal vvhich was pre-
fendy rejeded aloud bythe Cardinal Cafa Nata, in
timating that it would create a mifundcrftanding be
tween Rome and France. At laft the judgraent fo long
expeded, after an exaraination of eighteen months,
came forth. Pope Innocent XII. publiflied a brief
conderaning the bobk with twenty-three propofitions
extraded out of it. Hereupon the Archbifliop gave
himfelf up imme'diately to the moft abfolute fubmif-
fioffi* V ,

¦;; , ;¦  ; ' . ' ^„,He
":ifte,; ndther fhall they .difcourage me ; they will not make me
.,*',an heretic, by faying that L am one. I thank God I, breathe
" nothing but fincerity, and fubmifiioii without referve. After
" laying my reafons before the Pope, my confcience will be,dif-
"icharged, and I fhall have nothing more to do thati 'be /filent
" >and obey. They fhall. never fee me, ^s. fome others have done,
¦" feek for 'diftin£UoQs to elude the cenfures of Rome, 'There would
,'V have, been no' occafion to have gone thither, if the affair bad
•¦*' been carried on with that equity, fa;ri dealing, and chrifljan
»' charity, which they, owed to tlieir brother. ' I pray God to un-
t'l.diedeive me, if I am under a miftake, and if Iam not, that he
•' will open the eyes of thofe who have confided too much in paf-
. " flonate perfons. ,
*,He publilhed a Maffdate in' the following terms. " We
" owe ourfelves to you without referve, my very dear brethren,
" fince we Sre no longer our own, but the flocks, which has beett
*'' cbirimited to us. 'Tis in this difpofition, that we think oiir^
" felves obliged here to open our heart to you, and continue tb
¦" communicate to you what concerns us relating to the book en-
•' titled. The Maxims ofthe Saints. In fhort, our holy father the
"Pope hath condemned this book, with the three and twenty
" propofitions extrafted out of it, by a brief tearing date the izth
" of March, which is now difperfed abroad, and which youhave
" already feen. r - t
• J« We adhere to this brief, niy very dear brethren, as well with
•« refpedl to the text of the book, as tothe zj propofitions, and
" condemn

344 L I F E of
-Hi writ, hereupon a letter to his dear friend the
Diike of Beauvilliers, a part of which is as follows.:*
He
?' copdemn both the book and them, precifely, abfolutely, and
"without any reftriftion. Farther, we forbid all the faithful of
"¦^this diocefe to read and keep the faid book. We would comfort
" ourfelves, my very dear brethren, in oar hu^m-iiiation, provided
" the miniftry ofthe word, which we have jreceived ofthe .Lord.
" for your fanftification, be not weakened thereby ; and that,
" notwithftanding the humiliation of the paftor, the flock may
•'-'growin grace in the fight of God. May it pleafe God, ' that
" ,my name may never be mentioned, but with this retiieniibrancei.
" that a paftor hath thought it his duty to be. more , fiibmiffive
" than the leaft fheep in his flock. May the grace of our Lord
" Jesus Christ, my very dear brethren, the love OfGoDi and
" the communion of the holy Ghoft, remain with you all. AmenI
"^Givea at Cambray, April 9, 1699." '
• " What you fend mc word you have done in obedience to
«' the Pope, by parting with my book," fays he in a letter tp the
fame 13 uke de Be au'villier's his friend, " is very edifying to
*' me, and by no means furprizing ; I know your attachment to
" ? ftrift obedience, nor could I expe.ft any other conduft from you.
", You know very \yell, $jr, that I never valued or countenanced
" any piety which lias not this folid foundation. For my own
" part, I endeavour to' bear rny crofs with humility and patience.
" An»idft fo many troubles I h^ve one confolation, of little con-
" fequence in the eyes of the wprld, but a fo}id comfort to thofe
" who feek Goo with fincerity, and that is, my condufl; is en-
" tirely fixed, nor have I any thing more to deliberate upon'; all
" that is left fof me to do is, to fubmit sind be filent ; and this
•' is what I bave ever defired; as my confcience is difcharged in
" that ©f my fuperior. In all this, far from confidering it as
" brought upon me hy my adyej-fariM, I.lopk not on any.man ;.
" I fee only the hand of God, and am cont^nf with what he does.
" Sometimes I am importuned with long letters of exhortation ad-
" vifing me to fubmit, ' and telling me how glorious fuch an hiimi-
" Kation will be,; ,1 am temj)ted to fay within myfelf, whaf, is it
" .t?hen tbat I have done to thefe people, that they fhould thiiik I
" ftiall find {o much difficulty in prefering the ^uth,ority of the
" Holy See to my own weak undcrftanding, aiid the peac^ ,
•« of the church to my book.? I have no confolation but
" •»» obedience ; and if tbey had known my fentimwjts in this
" refpefl, they would never have had the vain alarms they have
" ifufferci themfelves^ to fall into. ",
f<, As to the Bifhop oi Meaux, he and I have no longer any con-,,
" teation^ , I very fincerely pray for hira, and wifh him all th^t
" may be wifhed for thofe whom we love according to God." 1

The Archbifliop of Cambray. 345
He alfo in a letter to the Bifliop bf Atras wrote
thus :
"My Superior, by the decifion he has made, has
" difcharged my confcience. . I have now nothing
" more to do than to reft in peace, and bear my crofs
" in fllcnce."
Some people looked on the Archbifliop's, fiibmiflion
as a ftroke of poKcy; But on this fulled, fir^s tbe
author, I fliall repeat what I have had from his own
mouth.. .
" My fubraiflion was not aftroke of policy, or a
" filence in refped to men, but an interior ad of
" obedience paid to God alone.—— I Iboked On the
" judgment of my fuperiors as an echo of the fupreme
" will. I did not ftop, to confider the paflions, the pre-
• " judice, the difputes which preceded my condemna-
" tion. I heard Gop fpeaking, as unto Job, out of
" the midft of the whirlwind, and faying to me. Who
" is this that darkeneth counfel by words without know-
" ledge ? And I anfwered him from the bottom of my
" heart. Since I have fpoken 'unadvifedly, what can I
" anfwer ? I will lay my hand upon my mouth. Since
" that tirae I have fought no flielter in the vain fub-
" terfuges bf the ^eftions of F'a5l andof Right.* I
" fiibmitted to my condemnation in its full extent."
The Archbifliop's enemies now made prcfllng ap
plication to thc Pope, bythe French Court, to condemn
likewife his apologctical writings: But the fovereign
Pontiff", with a refolution not to be fhaken, refufed to
doit; though thefe writirigs were Mpexfedin Rome,
Vol. II. Xx^ and
» •• The ^eftion of Right is, whether the propofitions condemned
are true or not. The ^eftion ofFaS is whether thofe propofitions
arereklly contained, Or*ot, in the book wherein they are pretended
to be found'? " " '' • " • ' ^ " " ¦•<-•,-

346 L I F E OF
and the dodrine of fure -ionji was more amply un
folded in thera than in Kis^book ef maxims.
Vbry foon did the Archbifliop fend his fubmiffion
to the Pope, who writ him a letter cora mending both
his dodrine and his piety, and gave orders to Cardinal
Spada to difpatch it. But the Cardinals of the Bifliop
of Meaux' s party, reprcfenting that France raight take
umbrage at fuch a letter, grevailed on the Pope to blot
out feveral parts of it. Soon after thc Pope made
three of thc five Examiners, who had voted againft
ccnfuring the book of maxims. Cardinals. The Xing
fent orders to all his Archbifliops to aflemble their fuf-
fragans, to receive the Pope's brief. In thefe fynods
the Archbifliop of Cambre^ was well or ill treated, ac
cording as there were found at thera raore or fewer
Bifliops devoted to the court ; but no where worfe
than in his own palace, by his own Suffragans, one of
whora, viz. the Bifliop of St. Omers told him, that his
words did not exprefs an inward confent and acquief
cence, but ftill leSt him a back door to withdraw from
hisfobmiiHon. The Archbifliop took no ofience at fo odious an ac-
cufation. ' Not in the leaft: difcompofed, with meek
nefs he thus delivetied himfelf to his Suffragans.

-o

" You are aflembled here not to examine my Ordi
nance or Mandate, but to do all of you jointly
what I have been doing in particular. 1 fliall de
clare to you with an entire opennefs, as to my bre
thren, and not as to my judges, that, with the whole
extent of my hsart, 1 have renonnced all thoughts c£
explaining my book. I pnefer the authority of the
holy See to my feebte lights. I have endeavoured,
bywords fully fubraiflive and humble, to accept the
hurailiation which is come upon me frora the fovc
reign Pontiff". If Hs holinefs thinks ray fubmiflion
defodivjp, I am ready to fupply the dcfed, and to
" make

The Archbilhop^ Cambrhy. 347
»' make it in fuch a manner as the holy See Ihall
** think proper."* -^
About a year after this was held an aflembly of the
clergy at St. Germain en Laye. Here thc Bifliop of
Meaux accufed the Archbifliop of Cambray^oi being the
Patriarch of a Sed whofe maxiras were not only in-
confiderate but irapiOus ; not only dangerous in prac
tice but blafphemous-in theory ; not only erroneous
but abfolutely heretical.
He drew up an abridgement of tbe new fpirituality,
as he calls the tenets of FenSlon and Guion, which
begins thus, " The falvation we hope for by Jesus
'-' Christ, the eternal glory^ thc enjoyraent of God,
" the beatific vifion appear things of too low a nature
" to move and affed Inch fouls as are artiyed at the
" pure love."
Abbe Fenelon on this head declares that, if only the
hope of reward be the motive of adions and condud,
it isa felfifli motive, leaving little or no roora for the
celeftial flarae of pure charity, or the love of God for
his Own fake, the love of his perfedions, the fingle de-
Jire of reditude in all ftates and trials, which includes
tbat of divine approbation and union. Such a iriotivc,
he obferves, falls fliort of infpiring us with any noble
virtue, and often leaves men without remedy againft
vice ; it fails of being a fupport in tiraes of trial. He
reprefents a man who ads upon this principle, in tihe
time of tcrhptation, fpeaking thus : ,
X X 2 " The
This paflage bringt to my mind that text, Nuinb. xii. 3. Nona
^the ilfa»Mos ES nuas'ttery meek, abotu. edl the Men which fuere upon the
Face of the Earth. There appear^ fome refemblance of him_ in this
Archbifhop, fo patiently bearing, and meekly replying to, the in
fults of his own fubordinat^ Suffragans, BilhOps devoted to Cburt
th'6 favour of Mad. Maintenon.

.^48 y/v h ^l ^F E,^ _ OF
*' Tije heavenly fweetnefs has forfaken me.  1 cx-
" peded ,to be dehvered from all my weaknefles by
" thc cfiicacious pow?er of a delicious and invincible
" grace. I looked upon the life of a chriftian to be
i" a re.ligious enchantment. 1 pleafed -myfelf with the
"thoughts of going ftraight to Paradife, in a vvay
" ftrewed with rofes. I wept for joy. Heaven feem -
" ed already open to receive m;e. I bleft God' for
" having put mc under a ncccflTity in this life, to be
" happy in the other. But alas! How great, is my
•' difappointraent ! Thc fource of pious pleafore is
»' dried up. I feel no other but what is vicious and
t' corrupt; and it is as impoflible for rae, , in ray
*' prefent condition, to refift the vidorious pleafure of
''vice, as it is to ride poft without a horfe."
From hence A. Fenelon concludes that there Is a
love of order, of abfolute pulchritude and perJeSlion, fu
perior to all agreeable Jenjation, which can ad in us when
the fenfible pleafiires and confolation of grace arc want
ing, and which is fuflicient to move the will, under all
the pains and privations whieh are to bemet with in
the facred path of piety ; there being no virtue without
trials, no merit in goodnefs when it lafts no longer
than while it is careflTed, or when it is only ¦ pradifed for
the fake of rewards. - '
'' '' ' ' ' ' '
" Thus itwas, Jciyshe,, that the faints, in imitation
" of their great model, remained faithful to God un-
" der thc moft terrible fufferings. Under the puri-
*' fying pains of love they continued ftedfaft in their
" fubmiflion to the divine will, not becaufe it was de-
" lightful, but becaufe it was juft. The fpring by
*' which God then moved them was not any imprefli-
" on of pleafure, but the pure knowledge he; gave
*' them of what was due to him; Often were they
*' deprived of all xonfolation, both heavenly ahd

The Affchblfl^op 6f Cambray. ''^349
¦U earthly, foas to cry but with their holy {tead,, My
"God, rr^ Gov why haft thoie forfaken mei"* v^
.. ,¦'' ""."Thus
• A certain famous writer made art offer to the Archbifhop to
write in his defence, acqtiainting him^ that a book was prepared
jprliis juftification, and nothing requefted of him but to co'tifent
and contribute to its impreffion. To this he anfwered as follows,
' ' " You propofe to me to fend money for the printing of a book,
: " written in juftification of my faith — you may eafily helieve I
-««;i fhould little value the expence: As I was diligent to write in
t'^ my own defence before the judgment of Rome, fo I am refolved,
" .fince that judgment, to be filent, tp i-aSei in peace, and' give up
' ^« my reputation to providence. I had rather die than defend, ei-
'^^'* dier direftly or indireftly, a book which I have condemned with-
«« out reftriflion, and from the bottom of my heart, in compliance
•' with the holy fee. Whatever I fhould write would be looked
«• upon as a defign to rekindle the war. It is neither juft nor edi-
*' fying for an author to be perpetually employing the chnrch in his
-*' perfonal difputes, and chufing rather to continue tTie 'trouble
,," without end, than bear his crofs with humility. _ 'When 'they
"^'^ hear not a bifhop concerning his own meaning, which he j-has.
'"^'fo often explained in writing, to what purpofe fhould, Jhe fp.eak
"anymore? Such a one can neither edify others, nor fupport
" the dignity of his own charafler, but by" a profound filence. I
" .;know too well what fcandal the, church fuffers by fuch difputes,
" .to have .any inclination to renew them from a regard for,}ny own
'^ reputation. God will take care of the honour of his minifler,
*' ?f he ' deigns to make ufe of it for the benefit of the miniftry in
•' his diocefe. "I am even perfuadedj that neutral and equitable
" people are edified by my filence, and do not doubt of my horiefty
" in the whole affair. No treatife would perfuade thofe who have
" no mind to be perfuaded. A"*^ y"** know very well, that there
"would be a doiible-dealing, unworthy of a Chriftian, in decli-
" ning to write myfelf, and yet privately afting in concert with
" another who fhould write, for me."
The readinefs and firaplicity of his fubmiffion had furprized the
King. They had prejudiced him, by reprcfenting the Archjiifhop
of Cjmbray. as a man of an uncomplying temper, who would' never
fubmit. Whereas he now faw the contrary; andthe remembrance
.of all his virtues recurred to his mind. Hisvirtues indeed, during
his 'refidence at court," had in them fomething of aufterity. It was
' this ftifFpartof virtue, which the hammer of'adverfity was to mol-
. lify by an abafement. This change had been foretold to him, (moft
i probably by M. Guion) bat it was not entii-ely^efFeaed till the lac-
' ter part ofhis life. A ftranger, who paffed through Cambray out
of a defire to fee him, let fall this memorable expreffion, / hai'e
formerly feen great men great ; but I have now fien a great man little.

35© LIFE OP
Thus the ArehbifliOp of Cambray, ejiceflively huni-
blcd, covered with fliame, baniftied and confined to his
diocefe, enjoyed there that profound peace of raind
¦*vhich never fails to accorapany pure virtue. He ap
plied hirafelf wholly to raake raen gbod and hapjby,
difcharging with great diligence htid le'riderhfeft dl the
fundions of his epifcopal eharader.
It was now, and from henceforward to the tfid bf
his days, that he appeared to be one o^ the ttttt thild
ren ("in the faith) bf the worthy Lady GuioN.
The French writer cf his hiftory informs us, that all
the fermons he preached fiowed from the abundance bf
his heart, without being written or premeditated.
Only he retired intb his elofet, to draw his light from
heaven in prayer. ThM author goes on thus, like Moses
thc friend of God, he went firft Upbn the holy moun
tain, and then returned to thc people to com.muriicate
to them what he had learned in that ineffable conver
fation. An ardent lOve of God was the great point in
thefe public exhortatidns of his, in w-hich he made
every thing terminate, fuch a IbVe as produces and per-
feds all virtues. His preaching was very plain and
intelligible. He baniflicd from it all abftraded rea
fonings and fuperfluous ornaments, and fought only to
fpeak as a good father, to cbmfort,TeHcve and enligHtch
his flock.
He was diligent in going round his diocefe, preach
ing in every church in it, examining his flock, inft^i'ud-
ing and exhorting both priefts and people, and taking
all pofliblc care ih regard to both ; ready alfo to liften
to the advice of any, and to profit by their experience.
" The fliepherd, be ufed often to fay, has yet mbre need
" of being docile than the flock; he muft be cohti-
" nually learning thf t he may be the more able to teach,
" and ready to ob^, in order to govern well. The i&ife
" man

The Archbilhop of .Cambray. 351
*' man increafes in wifdom by all that he gathers from
,M ethers."
. Ali, his pradice beautifully exemplified his dodrine.
Though rigid and fevcre to himfelf, he affeded not
however an aufterc air, nothing four, morofe, or criti
cal, but all qujte the reverfe; qhearful and amiable to
others in all his deportment. He endeavoured rauch
to iraitate our great model, whofe affability to the fim
ple gave offence to the Pharifees of his time.
All the pomp and grandeur of his archippifcopal
rank he renounced, humbling hirafclf like a child, qr
like a fervant of God and of mankind. He flept little,
eat lels, and allowed himfelf no pleafure but what he
found in the difcharge of his duty. To take the air
was his only recreation, during the whole time he was
Archbifliop of Cambray. And even when be did that,
he fpent the whole time in feeking oceafions to do^
good to the people in the country around him.
When he met with them, he fometimes would fit
down with them upon the grafs, enquire abput the
ftate of their families, give them advice how to regu
late their little affairs, but above all things affedionately
recoraraended to them to lea^ a religious life. He forae
times went into their cottages to fpeak to them of God,
and to comfort and relieve them under the hardfliips
they fuffered. If thofe poor people prefented him with
¦ any refrcflinaents after their homely country fafliion,
, he did not difdain to tafte what was fet before him,
that he might give them a raark of his ffiehdOiip.. He
fliewed no falfe delicacy with regard either to tbe po
verty of their condition, or the uoefeahlinefs of their
habitations. He became in a manner one pf them,
through thc fatherly te.ndgr.nefs of a heart deeply af
feded with the lovp of a Saviour, poior and naked.
Hence

352--::: ^-,^:~:-,.L li F/: E-^ OF ...
HE^fCE he learned what is fo very difiicult to hu
man nature to learn, viz.. to be poor in the midfl: of.
plenty. He gave almoft all his revenue either to ufe
ful public oceafions, or to perfons in diftrels, of all'
ranks and all nati<?ns. who |durihg the calamities of ,
thc great war then carried on between the French and,
Bavarians on one fide, and thc Englifh, Dutch, Auftri-
ans, and their r allies, on the other) were within the
reach of his generofity, ', ' '.
While the Archbifliop of Cambray was employed
in his 4iocefc'in difcharging his duties, the war whi,(;h,,j
iv-^we continued to maintain with greiat difficiilties,' "
drew near to the city where he rcfidcd. The neighr ^
bourhood of C^ff?^r«y became the theatre bf, the laft
carapaigns. In the midft of two immenfe armiiss, con-.
fifting of the greateft forces of alraoft all Europe, and
the moft illuftrious coramanders, Tie faw himfelf once
more become a fpedaclc. Thc court of V er Jailles re-
founded all the winter with the accounts given of him,
at their return, by the general officer^ and courtiers
who had been in the army. They all agreed to pub- '
lifli the order of his houfliold, and the munificence
which kept it open to all comers ; his profufions for
the fuccour of the fick and wounded, with whom he
filled all his apartments ; the fanduary which whole
villages found at the fame tirae within the inclofure of,
his palace, whither they fied for refuge frora the defo-
lated country ; the care he took of thc pooreft of thofe
wrct.ched people, who were no lefs the objeds of his
concern, than thc perfons of diftindiori, which his,
hoi5^ was always full of.
-..'¦^ y ' - ,
.^ftJiDST all this incumbrance he found raeans tc^
leave., all-his gucfts to their own liberty, and to allow ,
himfelf time withal for the difcharge of all his occu-.
pations, -of what jcind foever they, were. Every one
was admitted fo interrupt him, without any hindrance
to the carrying on of his bufinefs ; fo well he knew how

Tlte Archbilhop of Cambray; 353
how to find time for every thing. He charmed the
hearts of all thc foldiers.
Notc only all his own palace but other houfes be
fide, hired by him on purpofe, were filled with the fick
and-jvounded from the army, and every thing provi
ded both for their cure and their nourifliment. Moft
people would have thought fuch an expence exceflive,
at a time when his revenues were very rauch leffened
by the neighbourhood of the two arraies : But thc ne-
ceflities of the unfortunate were the only meafure of '
his liberality.
Neither the painful fight of thc wretched condi
tion of the Refugees in his palace:, nor their infedious
diftempers, could abate his zeal. He walked up and
down araong them like a good father, and teftified by
his fighs how much his heart was rnoved with com-
paflion. His prefence and his words feemed to allcviatfe
their miferies. , ' ,-i ¦¦"f,*-,-
The veneration in which he was held was not con^-
fined to the French army alone. He was no lefs re-
fped^ed by the eneray. Thc Duke of Marlhoroujgh,
VritiCe Eugene, and the Duke of Orinond, feemed to
ftud^_ to fhew him all forts of civilities. They fent de
tachments pf their mento guard his meadows and his
corn. They caufed hjs grain to be tranfported with a
convby to Cambray, le^ it ftiould be feized and carried
off by their own foragers.
When any party ofthe enemy heard that he was to
take a journey within his own dipcefe, they fent him
word he had no need of a French convoy, that they
would efcort him themfelves. Even tht very Btifars
of the Imperial troops did not fail to do him this ft?-*
vice. Such a comraanding power has true virtui^ "'
when it is bnce becorae manifeft as his was, oyer all
hearts. He was no where ill-treated ah4 calumtiiated,
VoL.;m Y y but

but i^ his evm eoiintry. All thfe other nations .of .£'^-
tope held him in equal veneration. He loved and made
much of i^rangers. |ie received them" with ,a fingular
C9f,4iality,what?yerv religion they happened to be off g.
The duties of hofpitalky became a laborious work
to hira, by reafon of the vaft numbers who came to
fee him, and the multiplicity of his.othpr cmploy-
rnents ; yet he went through all with perfed kiji^ncts
and tranquility. Nothing was raore worthy of adrjij-
ratioh than the facility with which he fuffered himftlf
to be interrupted in any bufinefs he was about, that he.
might cpramunicat? , hinife|f . to all, and give himfelf
up entirely to the'difcharge of thofe duties which.dajly,,
and even hourly pgcurred, as it were by furprize, and
Unexpcdcdly, for . the exercife of his patience and,
meeknefs. An ordinary virtue is difeoncerted and fret
ted, when it canpot purfue its rules and raethods :
His was noble and free, not a flave to kimes or places.
I HAVE feen, bim. Jays tpi^ author, jn the fpace of on®-
day, cpnverfc with the great and fpeak their language,
ever maintaining the epifcopal dignity; afterwards dif
courfe with the fimple and the little, like a good fa
ther inftruding his children." This fudden tranfition,
from one extreme to the other, was without affedation
,or eSbrt, like one who,' by the extenfivenefs pf his ge-
triusj reaches to all the moft oppofite diftances. ,
I HAVE often obferved him at fuch conferences, and
have as much" admired the evangelical condelcenfion
by which he became all things to all raen, as the jiib-
limjty ofhis difcourfes. While he watched over hiss
flock with a daily rare, he prayed In the deep retirer
ment of internal folij:udc. The many things which
Were generally ^dmired in him were nothing in com-
l^arifon of that divine life, by which he walked with God.
tike Enooht, and v^as uhknowii to nien.
The

The Archbifliop ,of Qar^bray. 355
The Pagan philofophers were fenfible that man ean
never be happy, till h'e'arrive at fuch dn inward trdnjui-
lity as excludes not" only unprofitable 'aborts, fui ev'tn tije"-
UJs thoughts. 'Tis, however, chrifliianify ^lohe that
can raife us to fuch a ftate by fhat peace' of the holy
Spirit, that divine Unity, Which, the (!?bfpel imparts.
Tfits is that quietude which the' Archbifliop of
Cmbray afpired after, while employed in difeharg-
ftW'the duties of huthariity, religion, and his vocation.
^K^difmiffed, as' faft as they arofe, alf ufelefs ideas
and difquieting defires, to the end that he might pre
ferve his foulpiir^ and in peace; takeii ujp with Gou,
, dfelJtqhed from evgry thing not divine. This brotighc
hm'tb' foch a firaplicity, as to be faa? frorn ' valuing
himfelf for his natural talents, accounting 'all but ii'ofs,
that.B might 'win CtiRiST, and be founlin him. I"' ':
Arhongfthis meditations is the following,
I ADORE thce» O infant Jesus, naked, weeping, and
" lying in che manger. Thy childhood and poverty
"are become my delight. Oh that I couid be thus
" poor, thus' a child, like thee ! G eternal Wifdom,
"¦'reduced to the condition of a little babe, tal^e from
*' me my vaim and 'prefumptuous-wifdobi. Make riie
" a child writh thee.- Be filent, ye fages of the earth.
"i wi'fly to know nothing, bu't to be all faith, tobe
" refigned tb fuffer every thing, to-lofe and forfake
" all. The word t^adt&.efn ! nPw filent, now he has
"^ an imperfed utterance, now weeps as a child: And
" fliall I fet np for being wife? Shall I take a com-
*'' placency in m.y own fchemes and fyftems ? Shall I
* be afraid" left the world fliould- not- have an opinion
"high enough of my capacity .?¦ No,, no, all my plea-
" fure fhall be to detre'afe, to become- little and obfeure,
" "to five in filence-; to' bear the reproach of Jesus
" crucified, and' to add thereto the helpreffnefs;„and
?' iraperfed utterahce'-oT Jesu^ achild'." ¦ • - '-¦-- '-'¦''
^ Yyz To

35^ L I F _1S OF
To die thus to all his own abilities muft have been
a thing more painful to him than to another. He un
derftood thoroughly thc principles of almoft all the li
beral fciences. He had ftudied the antients of all
kinds, poets, orators, and philofophers. He was well
acquainted both with their faults and with their beau
ties. Yet he rejeded that porapous erudition, which
fo powerfully tends to fwell the mind with pride. -He
thought it his duty to renounce all the falfe riches of
the mind, and to be wife with fobriety. This is what
the dodors, who are ever contending about frivolous
queftions, will never be able to comprehend.
He faw the faults of his friends, and bore thera
with great mildnefs and fweetnefs of temper. He
¦waited thc proper moraent of fpeaking, laid hold of
it when it came ; and knew how to feafon his advice
in fuch a manner, that the moft unpleafing! truths
from him could give no offence. -
" It is often, faid he, our own imperfcdion which
" makes us reprove the iraperfedions of others, a ftiarp
*' fighted felf-love, of our own which cannot pardon
*' the felf-love of others. Thc paflions of other raen
*' feem infupportable to him who is governed by his
•' own. Divine charity makes great allowances for the
*• weakneffes of others, bears with them, and treats,
*' them with gentlenefs and condefcenfion. It is never
*' over hafty in its proceeding. The lefs w? have of
" felf-love, the more eafily we accommodate ourfelves
** to the iraperfedions of others, in order to cure them
*' patiently, when the right feafon arrives for it. Ira-
" perfed virtue is apt to be four, fevcre, and implaca-
" ble. Perfed virtue is raeek, affable, and corapaf-
*' fionate. It thinks of nothing but doing good, bear-
¦" ing others burdens. It is this principle of difinte-
*' reftednefs with regard to ourfelves, and of compaf-
?' ijon f^r others, which is the true bond of fociety."
Whatever

lhe jflrrchbhhop ol Cambray. "'.357
Whatever ffahknefs he lifed at an)^'trme ihfpeak-
ing to his friends, he" defired' theni tb ufe the'famfe to
hira. To one of them he writ as folloWs,
" I REQUEST you hot tb fpare me in telling rae my
"'faults. Though you fliould think you difcover a
" fault ih me, w'hich perhaps I have not, the rai.sfor-
*' tune will not be great. If your intiraations offend
*' me, I fliall fee thereby that ybu have reached thc
*' quick. Thus ybu will do rrie a great Icindnefs, by
" inuring rae to reprbof, and to a chriftian lowlinefs of
" fpirit. The higher I ara raifed in rank, the raore I
" ought to be hurabled. I have need of this firapli-
'" city; and I hope that, far from weakening our
'" Union, it will be a means to ftrengthen it."

¦ v

During the whole tiriie of his exile, he fcarce ever
'-had a fight of any of his old friends. But he realized
their prefence, by the tender affedion of a heart -which
unites itfelf to what it loves in the divine iramenfity.
' *' Let us all dwell, fays he-- in one of his letters, in
^' our only center, where we continually raeet, and are
" all but one and the fame thing. We aire veiy near,
*' though we fee not one another ; whereas others, who
"even live- in the fame houfe, yet live ^t a 'j^rcat di-
" ftance. God re- unites all, and brings together the
'" remoteft points of diftance in the hearts that are uni-
"¦^' ted in him. I ara for nothing but unity. All count-
" ing beyond that proceeds frora divifion; it fpeaks a
*-• plurality, felf in each too much fondled. The be-
" ing deprived of feeing you does riot fail to affed me:
" very fenfibly : But I rauft Bear, it patiently fo long
:" as God fees fit, and even till death, if it be his
'* .pleafure." Thus it was divine love, which was in him an in
exhauftible fource of the- pureft, moft generous, friend
lhip, " Oh what a beautiful fight, faid he frequently,
,¦ • "to

358 ... ., hi ,F ,E, PF
*' tp fe&all Itinds of goods in pommon, no body look-
*' ing bri hi^ ovi/ri knowledge,' virtues, joys, ribhcs, as
** his peculiar property ! It is thus that YM faints iri
" heaven poffefs every thing in God, without having
" any thing, of their O'wn. It is thc flux and reflux of
" aii irifiriite ocean of good, cbraniori to .ill, which fa-
" riates their defires and compleats their happinefs,
" They are pcrfedly rich arid happy by beirig perfcdiy
" poor. If this poverty of fpirit prevailed here bcr
" low, we fliould hear no more thofe cold words of
" mine and thiiie. We fhould be all at the fame time
*' both poor and rich in unity."
Towards the year 11709 a yburig pfyice vifi^te'd and
fpent fome time withhim at his palace, and, in divers
converfations they had together, liftened to hira with
great veneration and .docility. The, Archbifliop re-,
coraraended to hirn efpcciaily, never to corapel hia.
fubjeds to change their religion. " Liberty of "thought,
" faid he to bintj is an irapregnable fortrefs which no
" huraan pdvjer can force. Violence can never cbri-
*' vince ; it only makes hypocrites. When kings take
" upon them to dired in matters of religion,, inftead
*' of protcding it, they bring it into bondage. .You ,
*' ought therefore to grant to all a legal toleration, not,
*' as approving every thing indifferently, but fuffering .
*' with patience what Gop fuffers, and endeavouring
" to reftore fuch as arc niiflcd, by foft and gentle per-
" foafion."
Many other good counfels he gave hira on thc go
vernraent of his people. Thus, on every occafion, he
endeavoured to proraote the happinefs of other nations, .,
confidering hirafelf as a citizen of the world. "
H E Jived almofl: always in an intimate union with
his pupil the Duke of Burgundy. It was fome years ..
after the Archbifliop's banilhtrient, before this young,.
prince had mearis to write to him. But at length ha
ving

The Archbilhop of Cambray. 359
ylng. found ah .ojiportunity, he wrote to him, being then
nineteen years pf age, as follows,
f j; .' ' ViRSAiLLES, JD^.«»i^»* 22, 1701.
" At length, my dear Archbifliop, after four years
" filence, I have found an opportunity of writing. I
" have fuffered many afihdions fince our feparation ;
'?, but one of the jgrcateft has been that of not being
" able to give you any proof of my affedion for you
""all this while ; and how much your misfbrtune^, in-
'^ ftead of leffening ray friendfliip, have increafed it.
** I look forward with pleafure to the tirae when I fliall
" be able to fee you again ; but' I fear it is yet very far
•* Off. I have been much grieved at all the ill ufage
"•ybu have met with ; but we muft fubmit to the di-
"^ vine will, and believe that all has come to pafs for
" our good."
After this the Prince frequently correfponded with
the Archbilhop, who wrote back to hirii is follows,
" OFFSPRir^G of Saint Lewis ! Be like him, mild*
" humane, eafy of accefs, affable, corapaflionate and
"liberal. Let your grandeur never hinder you from
"¦ condefcending to the loweft of your fubjeds, to put
" yourfelf in their place; yet fo, that this goodnefs
" may never weaken your amhority, nor leffen. their
" refped. — True virtue is often modeft and retired.
" Princes have need of her, and therefore ought to
" feek her out. Suffer not yourfelf tb: be befe t by in-_
" finuating batterers.'? — Place no confidence but in
'* thofe who have the ccKirage to contradid you with
" refped, and who love your ptalberity and reputa-
" tion better than your favour. — Ma.ke yourfelf to be
"'loved by the good, feared By the bad, and efteemed
•'by alh Haften to reform yourfelf, that you foay
" labour with fuccefs in the feformawon of others."
; There

360 , „ LIFE .OF ,
There was one day in the year, in which the Abp."
ufually vifited a certain town in his diocefe, toperform an
office of devotion. This was known in the artriy of the
allies,: and he could not go without paffing very near
their carap. Upon this they took fuch meafures, that
thc detachments which were pofted on the road might
bring him to the camp, that they might haye thc fa
tisfadion of feeing and hearing him. He had notice
of it; but did not think, that .either his eharader as a
fubjed of the King, with whom they, were at war, or
his ftate of baniihraent into his own diocefe, which'
ftill fubfifted, at leaft as to the order which had been
given hira, and which he had never taken pains. to
have revoked, would adrait of his yielding to the de-"
figri they had upon him., Whatever there was in this-
adventure to gratify his vanityv it had no. effed upon
hira, and therefore he. put off the journey he intended.
If the generals of the allies were at any tim,e. informed,
that any place which lay near their array belonged pe
culiarly to hira, they, iraraediately fet guards upon it,
and preferved thc corn and the wood, with the fame;
care as if it had been the property of one of the moft
eonfiderablc araong therafelves. And .thefe- places,
thus proteded upon his account, becarae even places-
of refuge to the whole neighbourhood. At thc clofe
of the carapaign in 17 11, the army of the allies was
in. fuch a pofition, as to lie within view of the ramparts
of Cambray, and between thc array of France and th&
little town of Chateau-Cambrefis, which is the principal
doraain of the Archbifliops of Cambray. The place
was filled with the Archbifliop's corn, and the ftorcs
which thc country people had repofited there for fliel
ter. .The Duke of Marlborough immediately ordered
them to be taken care of by a detachraent, which he
fent thither for that purpofe. But, upon forefeeing
that thc fcarcity of provifions, for the fubfiftence pf his
array, would not permit him to hold out in refufing to.
let his foldier.s forage in that little village, he gave the
Archbifliop notice of it." Accordingly the corn was put

The Ardhbiiliop of Cambray. 361
put into Waggons, and conveyed, within fight of the
camp of the allies, by an efcort of their troops as far
as the arfenal of Cambray, which was a kind of general
quarters to the army of France, from its neighbouring
poft on that fide of the town. This very fingular cir-
cumftance fliews to what a height thfe regard fbr him
was' carried.
*'T*iiS honour which was paid to his virtue, was in
terrupted by a very great afflidion. The Duke of
Burgundy, who not a year ago was become Dauphin,
aad -i-riiraediatc heir to the throne, by thc death ofthe
Dauphin his -father, died himfelf. In the height of
his ^ grief, the Archbifliop was heard to intermingle
thefe words ¦with his fighs. All my bonds are broken.
Thefe were lawful bonds indeed; but 'tis God's will
th&f they foould be broken in the foUls which he will
ha"v% devoted entirely to hirafclf.
After, the death of this Prince, his cabinet was
found full of the Archbifliop's letters to him^ and the
prince's anfwers, whereof the originals are ftill fubfifting
in his own hand writing, which fupply us with valuable'
teftiraonials concerning the objed of their correfpon
dence and confidence. In them we difcern in the pu
pil a deep fenfe of religion, joined wich candor, good
nefs,- and a fixed refolution to learn the raoft difficult
truths. I will endeavour ' to rnake ufe of the advice you
give me. Pray to God, that he will give me his grace fo
to do. — Defire of God more and more' that he tsliill grant me
thelove of him above all things, • above my felf , friends, ene
mies, for him, and in him. — 1 liftento a great many fpeeches
that are made, and will ftill be made. I condemn myfelf,
where I find I am to blarney and I defpife the reft ; fincerely
, pardoning all that wifli me ill, or do ill to nie, and praying
forthem. Thefe are my fentiinents, mf dear Archbifliop,
and notwithftanding all my faults, an abfolute determina
tion to- give myfelf up to God. Pray^to him without cea
fing, that he will be pleafed to finifh in me what he has al-
i Vol. II. Z z read;

362 L I F E of
ready begun, and deftreytn me whatever proceeds from ori
ginal fin andmyfelf.: Teu ^vo that my friend/hip for you
isi always the fame. ,;
Ever fince the misfortunes of the carapaign of 1 708,
he was becorae a new raan. He was continually era
ployed in forraing of plans, which raight one day be
of fervice, in providing remedies for whatever ftood
in need of araendraent in the ftate, and give hira be
fore-hand a thorough knowledge ofthe evilsi and their
true remedies.
The elevation of his genius, and.the integrity of his
heart, began to make a ftrong impreflion uppn the
. Kin^s mind, and to gain hira a very large fliare in his
confidence. He every day acquired a greater weight
in the; council. Upon an occafion, where their fenti
ments were divided, fome being guided by the exprefs
terras of a treaty, and others urging the advantages
which would arife by not ftridly adhering to it, he
gave his opinion in thefe few words. There is a Treaty.
The Duke of Burgundy fpoke but thefe words; thc reft
was all included, and the King followed his advice.
Some days after his death, the King ordered the box
to be brought him, which contained the Prince's raoft
private papers. Upon this Madam de Maint-enpn
wrote the following letter to the Duke of Beauvilliers.
J weuld have fent you whatever was. found . inhere ofyqurs
and the Archbilhop of Cambray's, but the King would
needs burn all himfelf. I own to you,; I was greatly con
cerned at it,: for nothing can ever be wrote fo beautiful and
fo good ; and if the Prince we kment has had fome faults,
it has nbt been for want of free advice,, or from having
heen too much fiattered. We may fay, th-at thofe who walk
uprightly are never confounded. The; fetter was dated
from St. Cyr, March 15, 171 2. It fubfifts in thc ori
ginal ¦ written by M^'^m d^ Maintenon's own hand.
This

Archbifliop of Cambray. 363
This teftimony of Madam de Maintenon is very
exprefs, who wrote this fifteen -years after flie had
warmly declared herfelf againft the Archbifliop of
Cambray, and after having feen fo long time pafs, with
out any motion on his fide to regain thc old confi
dence, which flic had formerly placed in. him to the
higheft degree.
Some perfons, who would be thotight to be very
knowing, have given out as of their own knowledge,
that Madam de Maintenon finding great oppofition
to a declaration which flie had much at heart, thc af
fair was referred to thc decifion of three perfons,
Whereof the Archbifliop of Cambray was one; that he
had prcfided in this little aflerably, and had given the
cafting vote againft the declaration ; that he had even
written a letter to Madam de Maintenon in ftrong
tcrms, to diffuade her from this declaration.
And that this was what began to create in her a djf-
likc to thc maxims of pure love. However, the
change was not made all at once ; her confidence for
fome time continued to appear the fame ; but after a
fliort fpace it leffened by imperceptible degrees, till at
length, when the difputes raifed againft Madara Guion
were at the height,^ and made ufe of to the differvice
of the Archbifliop of Cambray, her heart was the more
readily inclined to be prejudiced againft him. But fopi-
pofing that this anecdote was not a fidion, inventedby
fuch perforis as pretend to dive farther than others into
the myfteries ofthe court, it is at leaft certain, that
thofe who were moft converfant with thfe Archbifliop
of Cambray, and had a very great fliare in his confi
dence, never heard any thing drop from hirti^ which
could give thc leaft credit to the ftory.
The death of fuch a Prince gave the finrMng ftroke,
to difengage the Archbifliop of Cambray from alt crea
tures, arid made him pafs into a divine life, in which he

364 LIFE of
he afpired after nothing but ira raortality. He lived
three years after .his auguft pupil, and faw the Dukes
of Beauvilliers and Chevreufe his two raoft worthy and
intiraatg friends die before him.,
His fubmiffion, meeknefs, filence, and the inviolable
attachraent he had teftified, during the .whole time of
his banifliment, both to thc King and to the church,
had by degrees, made fo deep an impreffion bn the
King's mind, that he was quite recovered from his
prejudices againft him. He caufed him to be confulted
on divers oceafions, and at laft took a refolution of re
calling hira to court.

D

A FEW months before the conclufion of the peace at
Utrecht, the Biflioprick of Tpres was vacant. This
preferment he gave to the Abbe de Laval, who re
fided with the Archbifliop of Cambray in his palace as
his friend, and whom he had drawn nearer to himfelf,
by making him vicar-general of his diocefe. Thus by
little and little the difgrace wore off.
While the good Archbifliop had no thought but of
living in the peaceable exercife ofhis epifcopal fundions,
the diforders about Grace, raifed by the Janfenifts., came
to trouble his repofe, and drew upon hira the bittereft
reproaches and the cruelfeft flanders. They raifre-
prefented hira as a polite and arabitious man whOfe
only aim was to be recalled to court. Others, unac
quainted with his eharader, imagined that he rejoiced
at thc difgrace of the Cardinal de Noailles, who had
at laft joined with the Bifliop of Meaux againft hira.
He writ hereupon to a friend in thc following terms :
*' ' — I should think myf9lf a Demon if I had any
" relifli of fo deteftable a joy, arid if I were not fin-
" cerely grieved at what is fp prejudicial to the church.
^' I am truly forry for the Cardinal. I reprefent to
" rayfelf

Tbe Archbifhop of Cambray. 365
" myfelf all his parigs; I feel them for him. I never
" think of paft times but to call to mind the favours
" with which he honoured me for fo many years. All
" that happened afterwards I dcfirfe nbt to think of
" I look at nothing but thc hand of God, who thought
" fit to humble me through mercy.— — -I hope the
" Cardinal will overcome himfelf to reftore peace to
" the church, and to filence all the enemies of religion.
" The moft violent and untradable fpirits would be
" likely to be brought to temper by his example. I
" pray for him every day with the fame zeal I had
" twenty years ago." This letter was written in 17 14
a little raore than a year before his death.
In the beginning ofthe year 17 15 he was feized with
an inflammation of his lungs, which put him into a con
tinued fever. It lafted fix days and an half, accompani
ed with fnarp pains. During this time he gave all the
tokens of a truly chriftian patience, raccknefs and con
ftancy, fliewing to the laft breath the fercnity^f a foul
which refigns itfelf totally into the arms of infinite love.
, In his laft raoraents, and in thc midft of his fliarpeft
pains, the only words he uttered were, Not my will but
thine be done ! The, evening he died, he wrote the
following letter to F. le Tellier his Majefty's Con
feffor. " I have juft received the extreme undion. It is
" in this ftate, my reverend father, wherein I prepare
" myfelf to appear in thc prefence of God, that I beg
f' of you inftantly to lay ray real fentiraents before the
"King. I ever was difpofed to fubmit tothe church,
" and have always held in abhorrence the novelties
" which have been iraputed to rae. I received the
" conderanation of my book with the moft abfolute
*' fimplicity. There never was a fingle moment in-
" my life, wherein I did not bear the warmeft acknow-
" Icdgments of gratitude towards the King, the fin-
" cereft ¦

366 L I F E op
" cereft zeal, the moft profound: refped, and moft in*
** vio able attachment to his perfou. ' ' ' '
*' I take the liberty, of aflcing two favours of his
"Majefty, which do not regard either rayfelf, or any
"of mine. The one is, that his Majefty would have
**¦ the goodnefs to appoint me a fucceffor, that is pious^
*'' good, and zealous againft Janfenifm, which has gain-
*' ed ground in thefe quarters. The other is, that h?
*' will be pleafed. to accoraplifli , with my fucceffor,
" what eould not bedone with me, for Meff. de S.
" Sulpice, I am indebted to his Majefty fpr the
" fuccour I received from them ; nothing can be feen
*' more apoftolical and raore venerable. If his Ma-
*' jefty will be pleafed to fignify to my fucceffor, that
" he would do; weE to conclude with thefe gentlemen
*• what is already ib far advanced, the affair will foon
*' be finiflied. I heartily wifli his Majefty a long life,
*' which the churchy- no lefs, than the, ftate, has in£-
*' nite need of
The King, who. had defigned to employ the A.rch-
bifliop of Cambray in the affair we have mentioned,
feemed very rriuch afilided with his lols. When the
news of it was brought to him, he anfwered very for-
rowfully. He is wanting to us ati a time when we. have
need of bim. His deaith was laraented at Cambray,^X\\ie
that of a parent. Such bf his cotemporaries, as are
now left in the country, cannot fee any perfon who re
calls him to their mind without tears. Several of thofe
who had confided wholly in him during his lifetime,
took pains, after his death, to coraraunicate the let
ters they had received from him upon different oceafi
ons, and which they had preferved as a trcafure of
great value. They were forraed into one colledion,
which makes up feveral volumes, and has been printed
under thc^ title of Spiritual Compofitions.
He

Tbe Archbiitiop or uambhay. 367
He departed this life" in the beginning ofthe year
17 15, poor ashe had lived, being found after' his
death to be without money and without debts ; having
no iffue to provide for, as he never raarried. Some
time after, a colledion of letters written by him to
his friends was printed. In them we find the nobleft
fentiments founded on the fubiimoft priijci^cs, fuited
to the capacities of the moft fimple ; a knowledge of
the heart of man which unveils it in all its windings and
fecret reeeffes ; the fubtilty of felf-love and the deli
cacy of divine love unfolded and diftinguiflied ; a piety
full of meeknefs and condefcenfion to the imperfee-
tions of others ; and at the fame-; time a raortification
of the whole man, which left no refource to the irre
gular love either of the creature or of SELF,
He retained to the laft a particiilar fricndfliip and
efteem for M. Guion. Being both; one- in fentiment,
and in the dedication of their hearts- to God, both?
alike inflamed with heavenly affedions, tried, proved
and fixed ; therein they were dear to each other to the
end of their days. : -
Two things are worthy of ohfeFvation.
Firft. That this . Archbifliop had • b^n biafled
againft M. Guion by the general voic© crying her dovvny
till he came to fee and hear her.; then his ideas of her
¦ were chanoed, and he never after faw caiife' to alter
them. I wifli, when any hear the cry , of ^enthufitfm
againft a good man or woraan, they ¦r'wpuld- fufpend
gTving credit to it, till they fee and hear for thera-
• felves. Had this been generally done, raany catife-
Icfs reproaches had been, avoided,^ and probably inftead'
of hafty cenfure, an inward- benefit had bctea- received
by it.
• Second. That his-haniflinient-' frbm the-ooiwt .and
confinement to his dioGefe,t>wbiehi were. defigned by) hi*
enemies

368 L I F E o F
¦ ¦ ''^^ ' ¦ " - , ¦ , ¦ ¦
eherriies for his greateft difgrace, were (like Joseph's
being fold into Egypt) turned by prcwiderice, through
his fidelity, to the brighteft part of his life. "
In tbe cerrejpondence of TnEbDostirs and Gonsta'ntia -
by Langhorne, 1 find that Theodosius, while he.extolls
Fenelon with the warmeft encomiums, joins in the
general cry agairift Guion.
Previous to their entrance into a Convent (of which
fee the narrative in the Spedator, No. 1-64) Constan
tia had expreffed to Theodosius her cfteern of a book
flie had met with writ'teri by Fenelon for the inttriic-
iion of the'Duke of Burgundy.
Theodosius thus replies:
" I rejoice- that you are become " acquainted with
** the new publication of M. Fenelon. the moft ami-
** able philofopher that ever Europe produced..  1
" mourn with my generous Constantia, I mourn his
*' difgrace ; for it is the difgrace of ray country. It
*' is not for Fenelon we need repine. Reconciled to
*' every event-^is he not more happy in the confines
" of Cambray, than he could be, if, careffed- amongft
" the number of favourites, he 'yet breathed the uri-
<* wholeforae air bf a court ? Zealous in the difcharge
" of his paftoral duties, a friend of huraan kind from
" principle, bufy in the exercife of beneficence' tb all
*' orders, and all focieties of meri. — —Who is fo happy
*' as Fenelon ?
" Like fome fair ftar that flioots its evening ray
*' Brighter along the dim wood's opening way,
" Sb FiENELON, by favouring courts adrair'd,
". More feebly flione than Fenelon retir'd,"
He then proceeds to relate a converfation which he
had with the Archbifliop, and that it was interrupted by

The Archhi^op of Cambray. -369
by the arrival of a letter from. M,GuioN,,^,f whicjj,
" fays he, while thc good Prelate was peryfipg; w^th
" vifiblc eagernefs, I retired into the garden, and was
," led into the following melancholy jj^^dionsi. ,
" How affeding it is to obferve that the mpA: en-
*' lightened minds make thc ne^rcft approaches to
" certain degrees of madnefs, *• or weaknefs ! -rrrr-The
" Ajchbiihop of Cambray, the literary ornamjent of Eu-
'^ rope, diftinguiflied for the, moft pure, the moft re-
," fined philofophy," is carried away by the dreams of
". fanaticifm, and attends to the ravings of an infane
" devotee; for fuch is this Madame Gui-on !
" After walking fome time alone, I was again
*' joined by the Archbifliop, who, wi-th that calm b&-
'¦J nignity of copntQtian.c? peculiar to him, refumeii the
'^ converfation.  You will exc.i\fe mef -TpErPDPs,iu&>
^y. fays- he; a letter from Madam Guion always com-
''imands my attention. That feraphic wom^n fcjems
" to have obtained a kind of beatification ; and I look
" upon an addrefs frora her as it were a voice from
"heaven. But I will not folicit your attention to a
" fubjed which has given occafion to fo many unhap-
" py difputes. I will purfue my purpofe of giving
" you the beft inftrudions I am able to give, with re-
" gard to your condud and your happinefs."
On the above I make the following remarks.
W HOU Go-D hath joined together, in immortal unity,
no man ought to put afunder.
When they fingly purfue this to the laft period, they
are lovely in their lives, and in their deaths not- Mvided.
A a a Their
• This madnefs was of the very fame fpecies with that wherewith
a Roman gQv^rnof charged the Apoftle PAt/i.. Afts xxvi. 24.

37© L I F. E of
Tbeir end is pe^, even that peace of Gob which will
never end.
What was the Archbifliop of Cfl;»3r«y sphilofophy,
extenfive knowledge, or literary acquireraents, but
drofs er dung in comparifon of that immortal unity ?
Theodosius, then, while he was extolling A, Fene
lon, flibuld not have decried or degraded'M. Guion,
as he feems to have had no other knowledge of her than
from the voice of calurany, fet on foot by furious
churchmen, and circulated with all the tongues of
blind credulity.
N. B. Thc Archbifliop of Cambray's DireSlions for
a holy Life, being already given in thc Extrads frbm
Cambray and Guion, publiflied by Josiah Martin,
to which I refer^ * I therefore conclude with'the fol
lowing fliort lines, as- they have arifen from racditating
on the foregoing lives ; addreffed more efpecially to
fuch as arc young in years.
THO' frailcs allure, or frowns affright.
Renounce all wrong, embrace all right,
Refolv'd and fixt ;— with fervent pray'r,
A heart in heav'n, a conftant care,
A patient hope, a humble mind.
To God attach'd, to mortals, kind.
So will your thoughts, and words, and ways.
Your author pleafe, and fpeak his praife.
How glorious then your guard and guide 4
All heav'n united on your fide !
Your peace profound, and heart-felt joy.
No wealth can buy, nor wrath deftroy. What?s
• They are alfo printed feparately on a fingle flieet, and I fup
pofe, if not out of prmVinay be bought of M. Hind in George'
yafd, bombard ftreet, LondoS. "" ^

The Archbifhop of "Cambray. 371
What's all thc world ? 'Tis this alone • ? - tn C;
Will raake immortal blifs your own ;
Strength, wifdom, fuccour, folace grant,
. With every thing yo^tr ftations want.
If rugged hardfliips prefs around, --
To load, and bend you to the ground.
Let them your faith and love excite :
An ardent love makes all things light.
A hand fuperior will fuftain , -
. . With fecret fcnfe of future gain;
ic Ye'll mildly meet, and bravely bear, '
What feems unjuft, or falls fevcre ; i
With kind compaflionv ever due,
Thc blindnefs of your tyrants view, ¦ '
Pray for your foes who proudly fcorn, "> y ' si
And good return for evils born. ;? " v ,- "¦
Like the fine gold» or folid rock, "¦ '
Of flames, or ftorms, ye'll ftand the ftiock j -v
Unharm'd from all their furies rife.
From thence more beauteous to the flcies. '
Count then your trials, as your food,
Ordain'd in wifdom for your good :
Expedient for our feeble ftates.
To raife 'em to celeftial heights !
How oft has man thro' pleafure fwerv'd.
Whom hard probations had preferv'd ! ¦
How oft in fun-fliine virtue dy'd, >¦ "
Which nobly liv'd, with tempefts try'd %
When every motion in thc raind
Rever'd thc parent of mankind !
How oft of gentrine honour's gain
Has EASE diffolv'd the golden chain J
O happy fouls who, free from vice,
' Poffefs the pearl of greateft price ;
Who ftill each worthieft aim purfue.
And ftubborn ills with good ftibdue !
Aaa a Like

372 L I F E OF
Like TORREl^fTS, fleet, (oppos'd in vain)
Till wclcom'ci in the raighty raain.
To heaven's wide court, unftopt, ye fl:eer.
Till death, tranfporting, lands you there.
For wifely ferving Life's defign.
Ye then will reign in realms diyine ;
Where wrath and wrongs, which plagu'd of late.
No more can vex your peaceful ftate ;
For, banifli'd, thefe together go
To rage and fret in flaraes below.
No treach'rouS friends, or obvious foes.
Your joy fupplant, or ads oppofe ;
For here alike fuch friend and foe,
Deny'd accefs, arc doom'd to woe.
With feraphs, bright and bleft, ye'll prove
The purefi: bonds of bpund lels love j
And, by a fuffering Saviour own'd.
With him iri loftieft ftate enthron'd.
From every danger, every fright.
Safe in thefcenes pf high delight.
Elate, amidft eternal ftpre,
In raptur'd ftrains your God adorc,'
You let us leave immenfely bleft,.
To trace your fteps, to fliun th.e reft -,
With all the worthies gone before
To meet in blifs, and part no more.

REVIEW

R EVI E W
Of the f OJREGpING
WORK.

AFTER the Archbifliop of C^mbrafs lifci I de
fire to add but little. The memory of the right e-
eus, though outwardly belongirig to the darkeft and
moft grofsly bigotted church, is bkjfed, while tbe name
of the wicked, thbugh of the beft outward fociety, jhall
rot. Prov, X. vii. The righteoufnefs of their prede-
ceffors will only rife up againft them, to aggravate
their cbfidemriatibn. They will no more be admitted
to join thera in endlefs fehcity, than the voluptuous
and hard-hearted f ich man iri the parable to reign with
his Father Abraham. Luke xvi. 23, &c..
Explanatory and other NOTES
and REMARKS.
In the firfl: part ©f M. Guion's life Monfieur Ber-'
tot * was for fome years her diredor. Ihave lately
met with his fpiritual works in four odavo voluraes in
French. The Editoflells us that M-. Guion had ex
arained a great part of therifj, that faid Bertot lived
well efteeraed for piely, drid died in i68i.
His firft fed-ion, beirig ^?» the conduit of di'vine wifdoni
in fouls, begins thus :
« As
• I do libt find through all thefe four volumes any other name
for him than that of Monfieur Bertot. That direftion of our
BleiTed Lord ought to be more regarded. Be not called of men Raiit
or Father, or Mafter. Matt, xxiii, 8, 9, ic.

374 NOTE S, &c.
" As Gap is a God of order, fo he carries oh in or»-
" der whatfoever he does, and never begins any thing
*' in afoul but liy an adrairable condud and order.
"If then there te any thing out of this order, either
" the foul is not under his government, or mixes forae
"thirig of felf with his diredions, and by fo doing.
" diforders the divine operation, &G.'
A friend of raine in Torkfhire, obferving the Notq
on St. Erasmus and St. Edme at thc foot of page 23S*
has fent me two extrads relative thereto, from a work
in four large folio volumes in French, printed at Paris,
iif 171 5, entitled Les Vies de Saints, &c. Or in Englifli,
The Lives of the Saints, coUeSled from what is left mq/i.
fure and authentic irt tbeir hifiory, &c.
The faid EXTRACTS tranflatcd
and abridged.
*' The church of Rome joins St. Erasmus with the
" holy martyrs Marcelline and Peter in its public
" office for the fecond day of 7a»5. But at this day
*' there is little of certainty about him to be had. He.is
" commonly called St. Elme or Sant Elmo, elpeci.
" ally in Italy, Sicily, Spain and Portugal; itis a name
" corrupted frora Sant Ermo or Sant Eramo by the
*' failors of the mediterranean, where this Saint is in-
*' voked againft ftorms, and other dangers of the fea.
" St. Edme or Edmund was the fon of Edward
*' Rich by Mabel his wife, born at Abington in Berk-
" fhire. His parents were poor, yet lived iri good rc-
*' putation ; his father, weary of the world, gave oyer
*' trade, rerired (with the confent of his wife) into the
" Monaftcry of Evejham in Worcefterjhire, and there'
*' deyoutly ended his days. Mabel, having the
'¦f raarge
•V0I.L -

N O T E S &c. If^
" charge ofthe education of a great aumbtr of chil-
« dren, continued with therii like a N^m in her own
" houfe. Her faid fori Edmund was well inclined j
" circumfpedly guarding againft danger and fcandal,
" difdaining to attend dances, or places ¦^ of ^diverfiori,
" as fearing to hazard the lofs of -innocence thereby.
"  Among thc converfions (through his means)
" that which caufed the greateft eclat, was'of WiLLtaUf
" "Earl of Salijhury.  Some years after. Pope Grbgo^
" R'S- IX. wanting to fill up the vacancy of Primate,
*' or Archbifliop of. C^nterhury, ch/cife Epj^fUND for it,
*' as the moft worthy fubjed to be fgund in all England.
"- This was in the yean 234. Edmund then took par-
•' ticular care to raife a fund for marrying young women
*' of Uttle or no fortunes.'  But the genius of the
" court, and the great men ofthe country, wpuld not
" allow him any long Fim? tp labour in peace. He
" was much thwarted- by the King (Henry III.) and
*• thc leading men of the realm. See Matt. Paris's
*' . hiftory of England.
" Overpowered with grief in the confideration of
" the evils or diforders of his church, he fell fick, and
" was delivered by, a happy.deathon the 1 6th of No-
'•*¦ ^mber 1441, w(hich day is kept annually for this
«^aint." ¦
In regard ,to the ineffable conimunlcations in
filence raentioned by, M. Guion (Part II. Chap._ xiii,
&C.) the reader may fee, and compare -therewith, the
account given in England of thc exGcl^encies of the
filent worfliip of Almighty God, and fp.iritual com-
niunications therein, given in B,ARCLAY's;..^pology for
the people called Quakers. , ,^ropofition xi. Sed. vi.
vii, yiii, xii, xiii, &c. ; ... ,^1^^,, ;.,.,
In Regard to Madam Maintenon who fo- often
recurs iri the lives of Cambray and Guion, the
reader may fee a large account of her m the Gyardif n.
No.

3/6 N Q T E 9* &g.
No. 46, 47,' 48.- And aiboutthe Abbey or Sea^^aufy
of St. Cyr* in faid No. 48. No. 46; f^ys of her, *.' N«-
*' ver was there an inftance of^ any favourite having
" fo great a power bvpr a.Prince. None could ol^taio
" the leaft favour, but by immediate application to
« Jier." '
iVol. II. Canon, Page 102 and 163. A Dignitary in
a Cathedral, bearing that name or titlfi* .
Canoness 182. A woman who enjoys a prebend, or
annual allowance appropriated by the foundation tb
maids, without obliging tbem to renounce the.wbrl9,
or to make any vows.
Prebend, 65, 128, 163, properly Prebendary. Onfe
who has a prebend, or ftipend allowed him out of :
the eftate of a Cathedral, for his fervice in eafing of
affifting thc Biftiop therein.
Norbertines 151. .St. No^lbert, founder of the
Premonftrants, was born in the dutchy of Cleves in
1086. About the yearinShe fold his paternal
eftate, gave it to the poor, refigned all his prefer
ments, which before he had held, and travelled
preaching freely from one town to another. The
Pope approved of his condud ; and it is faid he
wrought miraqles. St. Bernard gave hini a foli
tary valley called Prefnontr^ whither he retired
Anno Dom. 1 1 20, where he founded an order for
Monks called Norbertines. , He was afterwards made
Archbifliop of Magdeburg in iiiy^ where he
broiight the Canons, though for fome tirae they
murinied, to his pitch of auterities at laft. Here he
died in 1 1 34 ; and was canonized, for a Saint, by
Pope Gregory XII. in 1582.
^ : Sorbonne
* St.Tpyr, what Saint he was I da not yet find.

NOTES, «cc. 377
Sorbonne. The firft and moft GOnfiderable College-
ofthe univerfity of Paris, in which there are 63 col
leges^ in all, founded in the reign of St. Lewis by
Robert Sorbonne, which name is given to thc
.whole univerfity of Paris.
Malta, 115. An Ifland in the mediterranean, 60
miles foiith of Cape Paffaro in Sicily, of an oval
figure, 20 miles long and 12 broad. The Empe
ror Charles V. gave it to the Knights of St. John
of Jerufalem, after they had left Rhodes, which they
defended 2oe years, againft the power of Turkey.
And thefe Knights hold it ever fince, *
Transferred, 184. Removed to another prifon.
LouiS d'or, 12 1, 149. 12 livres French, or 17 fliil-
lings Englifli.
M. de Ch. 131. ? Moft probably the Dutchefs of
Dutchefs of C, 146. i Chevreufe.

Vol. II. B b b S tf C H

SUCH MATTERS
A S, A S. E
Moft remarkable .in
LAI>Y GUION'S Life,
Tb be founjl In the following Page?.
VOL. I. PAGE.
HER interview with the Qiicen of Eng-7
land,, Gonfort of King James II. ^ ' ^^'
r Her mother's eharader, lo, 13,
\ Partiality to her brother, 1 7, 1 8, 19, 20.
I Charitable difpofition, 30.
(.Death, 58.
^Accounts of her good fifter, 1 2, 1 3, 14, 1 5, 2 1 , 2 8, 29.
jHer death, 50.
Her own marriage, 38, 39.
Her taking a knife to cut out her tongue, 45,
Her converfion, 60, 61, 62.
Her fondnefs for romances, 3^.
Her quitting them, 44.
Bidding farewel to plays, &c. 6^.
Behaviour of her waiting-7 80, 81, 82, 106, 107, i46i
maid, &c, 5 ^47"
Her meeting with one like a beggar on a bridge, 94.
Of her and her children being feized with the? «
fmall-pox, ^99>^c.
Of her bodily atifterities, 25, 66, 6y, 122.
The pains ftie took to get to places of worfliip, 112,113. Recounts

i 379 )
PAGE*
Accounts of her eldcTl fon, * f: ' '^-^-'fl V15!
Gf her Hufoand and his mother, ""' i j 6.
More of his mother, 157,1^8,155.
Of F, LA Combe and F. LA Mothe, 117.
Her ads of charity, 1 20, 1 8b, 1 8 1 .
Death and eharader of her father and 7 .^
her daughter, -l^i^S, 12^, iiy.
Her internal privation, 128, 136, &c.
Her coming out of it, l6^.
Coriverfion of a governefs, li,^.
5GENEVIEVE Granger, '84,85,&r.
7. Her death, i ^2.
Of her Brother, ¦ ' 1I4.
A raalicious plot defeated by her, 135, 136.
Of her prefervation from dangers in woods, &c. 140,
Her Hufoand's laft iilneis and death, 141, 142, 143, &c,
Geneva, 164, i.6a, 171, 172, 173, 176, 185, &cc.
A confeffor's reraarkable anfwer toner at Paris, zjx.
Of Dreams, . 175, 176,
The change in her..mother-indaD?& Waiting-raaid, i^^'
What hundred-fold foe had, r8i.
What flic -propofed doing at G^KftJfl, 185, i §5.
Suraraary of her fentiraents, or dodrine 1 9^.
A confeffion in her favour, r^^.
Of Romifh Saints, viz. Usrula, &c, 16 to 19.
FB.ANCIS DE Sales, izj, 85, 22S to 236, 341.
St. Francis, .60.
Teresa, 68, igg, to 228, 237, 1238, 309,3!^.
Philothea* written by St. Francis de Sales.S^, izj i.
Of journies attended with danger — To Orleans^ g
andTourain, ^yo' 9 •
To her father on heathig of his illnefs, i i€.
Another with hcT hufoand, 13. i>
To and from her brother's marriage, 134.
To Geneva and Gex, <2^to 155.
From Tonon through Gene'va, 26j.
Bbbz Of
* Philothea ufed by the author in the feminine gender, the
love, or lover of, God,

(380)
Of prefent andjuture purification, 75 to jg.
Her little daughter puts on her above 300 croffes, 249.
She gives thg new catholicks all her money, viz.?
9000 livres, ^ ^^^'
Ofcommunicationin? 92, 254, (Vol. II. §§ to 60, gy,
filence y 99, 279, &c. 292.J
Her food rotten, &c. 257
Of Anfelm-a Hermit, .256, 257, (Vol. 11.) 65, 66
What her daughter underwent, 257, 258
Her pradfee of poverty, 259
Her chaftity, poverty and obedience, 260,
Of vifibns, extafies, &c. 64, 65, 265
Her dangerous fall from a horfe, 265, 266

V O L. II.
SHE refigns her Gardenoble, &c. 3.
Of evil fpirits foaking her bed, and burfting? ,
the paper fafoes, ^ ^'
Of a beautiful girl, 6, 20, 27, 145, i8j.
1800 livres given to compleat the furniture of a 7
convent, 5 7-
Cruelty of thc fifters to her, 8.
Excited by a raalicious Ecclefiaftic, 8, 9.
Difcourfe betwixt the Bifoop of Geneva, and 7
F. la CoiiBE, y"' ^^'
'Arbitrary ftoppage of her fetters, 9»i5.
Predidion concerning the faid Bifoop, 14.
Calumnies fpread againftT, 16, 17, 28, 6g, 128, 163,
. her, ' 5 195, 196, 225.
of , the Bifoop of Geneva's in-7 (Vol, 1. 258.^>2 1, 22, 27,
conftancy and duplicity, 3 39540164,77.
'Of the apoftolic life, 26.
Of her fifter, ,30, 33' 34-
F. la Combe goes to Aouft, the^qe to Rome, 14, 29.
He returns,^ a 3^' 3^-
3'he care of providence in her affairs 38, 39.
' . She

( 38r )
She writes her Treatife of The Torrents^ 41;
On F. LA CoMBE (ap- 1 (Vol. I, 253, 254, 259.) 41,
pointed her Direc- > 42, 43, '51, 71, 72, 73, 1 11,
tor) ' J 125, 126 to 178.
On F. LA Mothe, 15,16,29,54,69, 129, 132, to igo.
Of a good Nun much afilided, &c. 40.
Her view of the woman in thc Revelations, 61, 52.
Hofpital at Gex, 6^.
Near Grenoble, &c. 133.
Of the Bifoop of Verceil, 65, 72, 1 2 6 to i '3 2.
She^lodgcs in a little hole on ftraw, 66.
Ofthe Marchionefs of Prunai, 68,7 1, 72, 84, 1 1 3 to 1 27.
Two remarkable dreams, ,78,84.
Hergreat fervices about Gr^»o^/^, &€. 85 to 114,
Her explications of thc fcripture,t ' °4. to 107, 109, to
'^ ^ S 111,131,
Her flort and eafy Method of Prayer,! toy, 108, fee 151.
printed, 5^ 193.
Predidions of a poor girl, 108,114.
A man and woman fent to confefs, 145,147.
CF. LA Combe lodged in the 5^//f, 158.
"7Transferred to 0/^?-(j», 173.
Her imprifonment at St. Mary's, 164.
Molinos, 148, 152, 156, 161, 192, 218.
St. Cyr, ; 192, 193.
Atterapt to poifon her, 194,
Ofthe Bifoop of Meaux, 198, to 234, 328, 333 to 347,
She is imprifoned at Vincennes, 235.
^oiirtiey to Laufanne and back to Gex, .66.
Her remarkable journey by land '^nd -.
wateir from Grenoble to Valence, Ma'r- )
feilles, Nice,- Genoa, through a wood > 11410125.
;,'infeftcd with robbers, to Alexandria \ ,.
and to Verceil, '^ *•'?'¦'
From Verceil tp Paris, ....-,' ' 13410144.
Vvom Paris tp Meaux, .-., *22i.
Of the Countefs of G. Dutchefs of M. and ^
others, drawn by M. Guiow'frora luxury C 212,213;
to piety. J '
FINIS.

ERRATA. VOL. I-.
Page. Line.
2 '22 For it readis
er 13 For Ladicea readhiodicea.
261 23 For of great reaJ of a. great
257 & 258 (Pages) are printed twice over.
VOL. IL
37 30 For tvei read ae-yer.
^JS 10 not too much.
0 1 24 For thorns read twelve ftars.
£2 5 ^^ '"' much.
75 9 For write read^xit.
79 laft /"cr but read butt.
95 15 '/"or lover rmi/ laver.
136 laft but one ,F«r poftpond »!^«//|>oft|tpne,
I49 13 Fo^'LA Combe «a(/'LA MoTHB.
1 58 12 /"«• beatitde r/fl// beatitude.
170 30 .Fer porpofed r?fl^ propofed.
188 I z For like read as.
190 9 /"or IVIaintenon r^ayMiRAMiOK.
200 6 /"ar menorial /vW^nemorial.
207 laft but one For other read others.
228 7 /"»r ot her rffl<a^ other.
237 4 to /»« much.
244 9 /"or mankend r^a^ mankind.
258 z .R««//runs a wandering aftray.
274 5 _^/"«r hearkens r««r^ hearken.
After z%o foUono 290^ &c.
29O 26 FefYA.Vi.readYkv-L.
After z^yfolhw 289.
289 5 For hage read hagtr.
298 30 .For then rfa</ than.
3°3 4 i/sr Second r^««/ Secondly.
304 29 5 •^
311 8 Aflr examplary read exemplary.
317 21 iJ^<j</ of hypocrify and Jefuitifm firft in favour-
'^ing and then condetnliing^him.
526 .14 Far county r««i/ country.
343 29 fer flocks rM>/ flock's.
30 jPercommitedrea^ committed.
344 38 i"er prefering rM«/preferring;
558 tj RsatI Towards the end of the year 1 705),