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 BY ROBERT ORNSBY, M. A. 
 
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 '"**«. 
 
 God neV^'.^m^^at^xi^^MJ^ alike. It is one 
 of the privileges ot Omnipotence to show that, in 
 adhering to the laws which It has Itself created, 
 it is still those laws' Master. We, on the other 
 hand, usually play the part of a machine. We 
 can but repeat ourselves, and be the precise copy- 
 ists of our own feebly-conceived and defectively- 
 executed originals. We multiply repetitions of 
 our works with the servile accuracy of a me- 
 chanical apparatus. We first devise by the aid 
 of the line, the rule, and the square; and tLen 
 we can but return again and again to our first 
 pattern, varying it only through infirmity, and 
 counting ourselves most successful when we have 
 reproduced it with a most painful geometric mi- 
 nuteness. 
 
 But He who created the world and the laws 
 within whose limits we toil is as infinitely varied 
 in the details of His works as those works them- 
 selves are infinite in number. The stars difier 
 from one another in glory. Of the uncounted 
 
 
 
 * 
 
 ^^m. 
 
TIU 
 
 PRBFACB. 
 
 varieties of flowers, no two arc alike. In all the 
 bewildering myriads of the leaves of a forest, even 
 our coarse perceptions can detect some slight va- 
 riations in form. Every feature in nature, front 
 an Alpine precipice to a crystallised fragment, * 
 unlike any other. Such is the abyss of the wisdom 
 of God in the creation of the organised universe. 
 
 The same mysterious variety is found to pre- 
 vail, not only in our own countenances and figures, 
 in our intellects and emotions, as we are by nature, 
 but in the most perfect works of Divine Grace. 
 It is curious to think how different the ** Saints*' 
 are from what they would have been if they had 
 been all fashioned on a type invented by human 
 ingenuity. It makes one smile to think what 
 singular phenomena would have been turned out 
 from a humanly-conducted laboratory, when con- 
 trasted with the actual Saints, such as Almighty 
 God has Himself made them. In matters of right 
 and wrong, strictly speaking, we have all of us 
 been taught by Almighty God ; and consequently 
 our beau-ideal of a " Saint** implies the presence 
 of all virtues in the heroic degree. But when we 
 come to the outward clothing which this heroic 
 sanctity should wear, it is certain that if we had 
 the work to do, we should fabricate Saints after 
 a fashion wonderfully unlike that which has of- 
 
 '^ 
 
w 
 
 Is 
 
 M^ 
 
 PREPACK. m 
 
 ten been adopted by Eternal Wisdom. No doubt 
 we tihould produce a good many varieties, ac- 
 cording to our national and personal ideas of the 
 KoXoKoyaBoVt — ** the good, the beautiful, and the 
 true.*' The Englishman's Soint would be different 
 from the Frenchman's, and the Frenchman's from 
 the German's or the Italian's ; and all these again 
 from the Negro's, or the Saint of the Japanese. 
 
 Still, it may be assumed as an undoubted 
 truth, that we are generally more or less sur- 
 prised to find that the externals of sanctity are 
 so different from those which we should have 
 anticipated. With all that we say — and Lulieve 
 also — on the subject of *• hidden Saints," and 
 of the essentially retiring and modest nature of 
 sanctity, there are few persons who do not ex- 
 pect that the heroic virtue of a real Saint should 
 show itself in some quiet way or other, so as 
 to be cognisable by an ordinary Christian of fair 
 good sense and piety. Still more do we expect 
 that Saints shall have nothing about them which, 
 as the saying is, shall " run into us." We look 
 for such an absence of infirmities in those things 
 which are solely and entirely natural, that the 
 Saint may at once interest and please the Chris- 
 tian, and silence the silly ill-nature of the un« 
 believer. 
 
 ^^If 
 
X PHEFACE. 
 
 When, then, we turn to the aciual lives of the 
 Saints, it is striking to find how seldom they have 
 been suspected to be Saints even by the general run 
 of good Catholics, and still less by the common 
 crowd. Sometimes their extraordinary graces have 
 been known to so few, that it may be said that they 
 were almost literally unknown. So far as the ex- 
 ternals of life were concerned, they have been for 
 • the most part like other men. Grace left nature, 
 in all things but sin, pretty much as it would have 
 been if they had been nothing more than sim- 
 ply gof>d Christians. And accordingly they have 
 varied from one another in just the same variety 
 which prevails among those who are not Saints. 
 Not only their circumstances, rank, and influence 
 have been very different in different cases, but 
 they have been gifted with very different degrees 
 of what we may call " attractiveness," as other 
 persons so singularly differ in that peculiar gift. 
 Nor is it any disparagement to the perfection of 
 the work of God in them, that one Saint is of 
 such a character as to attach to his memory a far 
 larger number of devout clients than can ever be 
 gained by another. Some men are made to be 
 universal favourites in daily life, wherever they 
 go. Others, quite their equals, sometimes their 
 superiors, in every important quality, compara- 
 
 
PREPACK. 
 
 J 
 
 «^ 
 
 tively stand apart, unbefricnded and alone. This 
 is a result of that boundless variety which exists 
 in the natural characters which God has given to 
 us, following His own impenetrable wisdom. 
 
 And so it is with the Saints. There are those 
 to whom intercession is daily made by tens of 
 thousands of Christians ; while others are known 
 only by their place in the calendar, and are hon- 
 oured by a devout rule rather than by the per- 
 sonal choice of the individual Christian. We all 
 have our '* favourite Saints." It is often difficult 
 to say why we prefer to have recoursel^o one lather 
 than to another, as it is hard to say why we enjoy 
 one man's society, and care little for that of an- 
 other. But so it is, and so it will be as long as 
 the world lasts, and both the Saints, and we who 
 honour them, are what we are. 
 
 The Saint whose life has suggested these re- 
 marks is perhaps — next, of course, to the Queen 
 of Saints — the ** favourite Saint" of the whole 
 calendar, wherever his writings are known and 
 understood. There appears in the mind of St. 
 Francis of Sales that union of sweetness and 
 strength of manly power and feminine delicacy, 
 of profound knowledge and practical dexterity, 
 which constitute a character formed at once to 
 win and subdue minds of almost every type and 
 
zfi 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 age» As the rose among flowers, so is he among 
 Saints. From the thorny, woody fibre of the 
 brier comes forth that blossom which unites all 
 that can make a flower lovely and attractive ; and 
 from the hot and vehement nature of the young 
 Savoyard came a spiritual bloom whose beauty 
 and fragrance were perfect in an extraordinary 
 degree. All things that command respect and 
 attract love were found in Francis. High rank, 
 polish of manner, geniality of disposition, shrewd- 
 ness of head, vivacity of imagination, a capacity 
 for profound theological studies, a rare felicity in 
 the use of language, a captivating grace of manner, 
 an almost unrivalled power as a director of souls, 
 activity without bustle, mortification without sad- 
 ness, — all these things won him a reputation and a 
 body of affectionate friends while he lived, and r. 
 cloud of clients since he died, which it would not 
 be easy to parallel in the case of any other of the 
 band of Saints. Few men, moreover, have pos- 
 sessed such wisdom and candour in matters theo- 
 logical and controversial. A lover of gentle means 
 in an age of persecution ; a hearty Frenchman 
 without Gallicanism ; an Ultramontane without 
 exaggeration ; a spiritual guide who could con- 
 duct souls with the reverent delicacy of a true 
 mystic and the piercing shrewdness of a man of 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 XUl 
 
 tlie ?rld, — he still lives by his writings, to be 
 accepted as at once one of the safest, the most 
 satisfying, and the most profound teachers of that 
 wisdom which is revealed to all the Saints; but 
 which it is given to few to communicate with the 
 fulness and beauty with which it ever flows from 
 his lips. 
 
 J. M. C. 
 
 „ 
 
 ^K 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAB. 
 
 VAOB 
 
 1 
 
 I. Early lifo and education of Francis de Sales . 
 II. His vocation to the ecclesiastical state, and founda- 
 tion qf the Confraternity of the Holy Cross . 20 
 III. His mission in the Chablais; its early difficulties . 27 
 lY. Gradual change in the state oC affairs, and final 
 
 conversion of the Chablais 38 
 
 y. Appointment of Francis de Sales to the coadjutor- 
 ship of Geneva ; his visit to Rome . . . 57 
 VI. Foundation of " the Holy House ;" Visit to Paris . 62 
 VII. Francis de Sales as Bishop of Geneva . . .73 
 VIII. Visit of Francis de Sales to Dijon ; his direction of 
 
 Jane Frances de Chantal 82 
 
 IX. Organisation of the Order of the Visitation .• .103 
 X. Foundation of the Florimontane Academy; his Trea- 
 tises of 77ie Introduction and 7^ Love of God . 117 
 XI. Visit to Paris with the Cardinal of Savoy; last yean 
 
 of Francis de Soles . . . • • . 130 
 
 XII. Death of Francis de Soles 137 
 
 XIII. Character of St Francis de Sales . • • .148 
 
s 
 
 X 
 
 \ 
 
 THB 
 
 LIFE OF ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
# 
 
 "»»■• 
 

 'T. Francis de Sales be- 
 longs to that class of Saints, 
 the lustre of whose lineaffe, 
 and whose conspicuous station 
 in the world, have corre- 
 sponded to their rank in the 
 celestial king'dom. Scarcely any condition 
 of life could be named that has not afforded 
 the material of heroic sanctity. A labourer 
 like St. Isidore, a merchant like St. Francis 
 of Assisi, a soldier like St. Camillus of 
 Lellis, a servant-girl like St. Zita, a shep- 
 herdess like the Blessed Germaine Cousin, 
 fuiTiish, in the more ordinary, or in the 
 humblest walks of life, examples of the 
 same holiness which, in St. Henry or St. Louis, adorned 
 the crown of empire or royalty. The Saint of whose 
 life we are about to give a sketch was not, indeed, of 
 such exalted rank as these last ; still his birth placed 
 bim in the highest class of society. He was the eldest 
 son of one of the principal nobles of Savoy, — Jobn 
 
 B 
 
 % 
 
3 8T. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 Lord of Sales, of Boisy, of Balleyson, and of Villa- 
 roget, usually styled by the second of those titles. His 
 mother, FAnces, daughter of Melchior de Syonnaz, 
 Lord of La Thuille and of Valli^res, came of no less 
 noble stock. Francis was bom at their ancestral 
 castle of Sales (a magnificent seat near Annecy, which 
 was aftenvards destroyed by order of Louis XII I. 
 duiing" his war with Savoy), on Aug*. 21, 1567. His 
 biographers g^ive some curious anecdotes of his childish 
 life, derived from his nurse, a good creature, who from 
 the first believed she had charg-e of a saint. These 
 stones are too minute for an outline like this ; but they 
 show the germs of that sweet and beautiful charaqter 
 which afterwards made his name, as it were, perfume 
 the whole Church with its fragrance. Even before 
 Francis could speak, his attendants found that he was 
 never so happy as when they carried him into a church. 
 Like most gi*eat and holy men, he had the blessing of 
 having an excellent mother, who took care that the 
 foundations of piety were well laid in his earliest years. 
 His father appeare to have been a good specimen of 
 the nobleman of the old school; honourable, single- 
 minded, and chivalrous, dnd at the same time full of 
 dignity and self-respect. He had a numerous family, 
 all of them of lofty principle and interesting character. 
 Our Saint was the eldest son; the second ana third were 
 GaloysLord of Boisy, and Louis Lord of La Thuille; the 
 former of whom was famous for his skill in reconciling 
 those at variance, — a quality which, in those troubled 
 times, he was often called on to exercise. Louis also 
 lived a holy life in the world, and was the father of 
 Chai'les Auguste, the pious biognipher of the Saint, and 
 his second successor in the see of Geneva. Next came 
 John Francis, who was his vicar-general, coadjutor, and 
 immediate successor. The fifth brother was Bei-nard 
 (there was an ancient afiinity between the house of 
 Sales and that of the Saint of that name) Baron of 
 Thorens, who married a daughter of St. Jane Frances 
 de Chantal, and who died at an early age. Jar.us, tne 
 
 1 
 
CII. I.I ST. FRAIYCI8 DB SALES. 8 
 
 sixtli brothftr, a kni^'bt of tho Order of St. John of Je- 
 rusalem, is doTicnbea as a gallant cavalier of the olden 
 days. There were two sisters: Gnsparde, married to 
 the Lord of Comillon, a worthy lady, who followed the 
 noble examples set by her brothers; and " Mademoiselle 
 Jeanne," who died very young', after affording* great 
 promise from her innocent and virtuous character. 
 Altog-ether it was a noble household, fit to be headed 
 by a saint. 
 
 Francis was sent in early childhood to the college 
 of La Hocho, and nftonvanls to that of Annecy. He 
 was from tlie first marked ont among- his young com- 
 panions for his superior manliness and gravity of de- 
 meanour. Whilst the rest rambled abont in schoolboy 
 fashion, hatless and unbuttoned, amusing themselves 
 with boyish pursuits, he was always carefully dressed ; 
 and, instead of joining in their amusements, would stay 
 at hoiiie and read to the old lady at whose house he 
 boarded. He was, however, well trained in all the ac- 
 complishments which in those days were considered 
 essential to the rank of a young noble ; he was taught 
 to dance, to fence, and to ride; and these exercises he 
 learnt well, being always particularly noticed for that 
 graceful, dignified, and easy deportment, which is sel- 
 dom atUiined without such ti*aining in early life. He 
 was five years at the college of Annecy, and learned 
 there the Latin language, and " made notable progress 
 in the humanities;" by which phrase, now getting 
 antiquated, the old school meant that geneitd cultiva- 
 tion in polite literature which infonned and moulded 
 the mind so as to be well furnished with tlie habits 
 and ideas peculiarly belonging to " the scholar and the 
 
 gentleman." He was a hard student, an early riser ; 
 ut moderate in sitting up at night. At the age of 
 eleven he entreated pel-mission of his father to take the 
 tonsure, having at that early age decided to adopt the 
 ecclesiastical life. M. de Boisy by no means desii-ed 
 this, for his ambition was that his eldest son should 
 make a great figure in the world ; but with that sort of 
 
• ST. FRANCIS DB SALES. 
 
 management which men of great experience often pre- 
 fer to violent measures, he permitted him to do as he 
 pleased. The old lord knew that the tonsure did not 
 bind his son finally to become an ecclesiastic ; and de- 
 pended on the changes a young man's mind goes 
 through, to dissipate this predilection. In most cases 
 Iiis sngacity would not have been at fault ; but he did 
 not as yet know that his son was a saint. The youthful 
 Francis received the tonsure in Sept. 1578. To show 
 how the simplest temptations sometimes affect heroic 
 minds, we may mention that the youthful Saint felt a 
 pang of extreme repugnance when his long and beau- 
 tiful hair was about to be cut off. He generously 
 made the sacrifice; but did not entirely regain his 
 tranquillity till it was over. 
 
 In 1580 he was sent to pursue his studies in the 
 University of Paris. His father had intended to send 
 liim to the college of Navari'e, which, out of the many 
 in that famous university, was the chief resort of the 
 young noblesse of Savoy ; but at the earnest entreaty 
 of Francis, the college of the Jesuits was fixed upon for 
 him. Here he remained five years, making great ac- 
 quisitions in the various branches of the learned educa- 
 tion of the age. He studied Greek under the P^re 
 Sirmond, whose vast erudition in ecclesiastical anti- 
 quity was evinced by many great works; theology 
 under John Francis Suarez, doubtless an accomplished 
 teacher, though not to be confounded with the more fa- 
 mous theologian of that name. Another of his theolo- 
 gical masters was Dandini, one of the greatest Aristo- 
 telians of the day, who was aftenvards sent out as 
 ApostoHc Nuncio to the Maronites of Mount Libanus. 
 Francis was most diligent in taking notes of the lec- 
 tures which he attended ; and his manuscripts, which 
 still remain, ai*e a curiosity for their elegance and pre- 
 cision. " From the first word to the last," says his 
 most recent biographer, " every thing in them is of an 
 exquisite neatness, exceedingly careml, perfectly dis- 
 tinct and easy to read, provided one has acquired a 
 
 

 CII. I.J BT. FRANCIS DE 9ALK8. 6 
 
 comnlrtc ncqnaintnnce nnd a sort of hnbitimtion with 
 tlio ubbieviatiotis usod in it. All the mjirg-ins nro co- 
 vered witli notices of tlie divisions and subdivisions, 
 with the various heads of proof, and form, as it were, 
 an analysis of the whole work ; finally, one recognises 
 throug-liout not only the orderly mind which does 
 every thing" well, but also the logical mind which clas- 
 sifies its ideas, and furnishes itself with a clear and pre- 
 cise account of them." One study, unusual in that age, 
 to wliich he addicted himself, was the Hebrew language, 
 which he learned under a celebrated teacher of the day, 
 Gencbrard, who aftei-wards became Archbishop of Aix. 
 His scriptural studies were very profound, as we find 
 continually exemplified in his tlieological treatises, 
 where he frequently illustrates the meaning of texts 
 by reference to the Septuagint. His private tutor for 
 this period, and indeed for the rest of his education 
 also, was the Abbe Deage, a good man, but addicted 
 to hold tlie reins of discipline rather tightly ; which 
 brings out some amusing scenes, where his ill-temper, 
 and yet the affectionate love with which he regamed 
 his charge, contrasts with the heroic humility of the 
 young noble. At Paris one of the most remarkable and 
 critical events of his life took place, a terrible tempta- 
 tion to despair, which came on suddenly and lasted for 
 a consideraole time, but from which he was released in 
 a wonderful manner. He was about the age of seven- 
 teen when the idea took possession of his mind that he 
 was not in a state of grace, and that consequently there 
 was a frightful probability of his being eternally lost. 
 His soul was over^vhelmed with feor, which he in vain 
 tried to reason away. When he represented to himself 
 the promises of Almighty God to help those wlio call 
 upon Him, the consciousness of his own weakness came 
 on to stifle the rising hope. He might full into mortal 
 sin ; feeble as he was, it seemed to him certain he would 
 do so if a dangerous occasion occurred. The g-ulf of 
 hell thus seemed to open before him at the very time 
 when scarcely a deliberate venial sin had stained his 
 
»T. FHANfl? UK AALKfl. 
 
 innoronr^. Yot nt tlip vrrv time he \vu.s croinp* tlirnnp'h 
 this nwi'iil coiiHict, lu» '/.ixo tl:ft iiiDst IM-Mifit'iil nusucis 
 to the tcmntntions vliicii as-iiilfd liim. •*<> JiMV.I," lie 
 cried, "if I niii not to see Tlu'c, lot mv i):iiii at U-ast 
 Jinve this ussiinf»"f»ni('nt, — j»orimt nin not «'V«'r to cui-sie 
 or l)hisr)hf'm«f Thp«». f) Lovo, Charity, Beauty, to 
 whom I have vowed all my affections, am I n(?vt'r, then, 
 to enjoy Thy delif^hts / am I never, then, to he ine- 
 bnuted with the ahundance of the g-oods of Thy house? 
 Am I never, then, to i)ass to the place of that ador- 
 able tabenincle where my God dwells ? Vii-p^in all- 
 lovin(r, thou whose charms cannot i-ejoice the rej;^ions 
 of hell, am I never, then, to see thee in the king'dom of 
 thy Son/ Denutiful ns the moon, shining' like tlie sun, 
 nm I never to share in the immense benefit of the Re- 
 suiTection '{ But did not my sweet Jesus die for me, as 
 well as for the rest? Ah, be it as it may, Lord, if I 
 cannot love Thee in the next Jife, since no one praises 
 Thee in hell, may I at least profit by all the moments 
 of my short existence here to love 'fhee!" He seems, 
 if it were ])ossible, to have suftered the very agonies 
 of Irell, without the loss of the love of God. It seem.s 
 us though an angel had caught him by the hair, find 
 held him over the very flames of that dark lake of end- 
 less son-ow. Considering w hat he was to become in 
 ai'ter-life, the guide and cojnfojter of such a multitude 
 of minds, in every variety of spiritual suffering*, it was 
 necessary, in order to give him the means for such uni- 
 vei-sal sympathy, for himself to have suffered the same. 
 Without supernatural means, indeed, a person of an- 
 g-elic innocence like Francis could not have sounded 
 those unusual depths of human ag-ony. The tempta- 
 tions, as we have said, lasted for a long time, not less 
 than six weeks; during which he was hardly ; ble to 
 eat, or drink, or sleep. He lost his colour uud ]][< 
 strength; he went about haggard and treml i >;,• I'l'o 
 one whose whole energies were breaking up. ixiileed, 
 it may be said that for him to have survived such a 
 horrible impression at all, of itself showed that the im- 
 
 U 
 
 
 J ■ 
 
«; 
 
 
 CH. I.J ST. FRANCIS DE flALKS. 7 
 
 prossion was »U|>' niatuml. Diirinff nil this timo he 
 iKiver pive uj» any o( hiii usual »«xt'rci».«s of devotion; 
 hut, on tho contiarv, iucrr,, • i\ thrm considcnihly, iiiid 
 did his utmost to stn'r^tl, .n hi, m>u1 hv i>r.illmii- all 
 
 tho various con^ ilatorv 
 
 f'loni Huiv \V lit. '1 'u'lf^ 
 
 still exists n pajK/r written by hini, mi whioh he rwn;')- 
 tulatcs tlioso in u most t'luehint** mninnor. Ft is too loi. j* 
 to be inserted here at leng'th; out a few sentmcf-* lioni 
 tho commencement of it will sliow what a depth l>oth 
 of intellect and of holiness there must have l)c<' i in t!iis 
 youth of seventeen. "Prostrated at tho l'- r of .St. 
 Augiistino and St. Thomas, prepnreil to be ..ruit of 
 all thinffs, that I may know Him Who is t •■ Wisdom 
 of the Father, Christ crucified; altiioujrh 1 dnubt not 
 that the thin{^s which I have written are true, beeauso 
 I see nothing- that can cause a doubt of r.'ieir solid 
 truth; yet as I see not all thing-s, and > • liid««l('n a 
 mystery is too bright to be looked at iixi !y by my 
 dim eyes; if hereafter the contmry shou.d nppeur, 
 which I suppose never will be — yea, if, whicii the Lord 
 Jesus forbid, I knew that I were danmed by that will 
 whicli Thomas declares to be in God, that I'e might 
 show His justice, — I, willingly confounded, and looking" 
 up to the Judg-e most hig;h, would say with t*io Pro- 
 phet, Shall not my soul be subject to (jod i Yea, i'ather, 
 for so it hath seemed good in Thy sight; Thy 'ill bo 
 done. And this, in the bitterness of my soul, I vould 
 Bay so often, till God, changing* my Ufe and Hi sen- 
 teitce, would answer me : Be confident, my son; I desire 
 not the death of the wicked, but rather that he liv-=» . . 
 . . . thou shalt not -go down into hell; but thou -halt 
 go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the liou •? of 
 the God of Jacob." The temptation, however, tho igh 
 so generously combated, remained for weeks, and his 
 health began to fail under it. He became wasted t<» a 
 skeleton, and moved about like a g'host; so that all his 
 fi'iends became alai-med about him. At length this 
 great cross disappeared as suddenly as it came. He 
 one day entered the church of St. EtiennG-de3-Gr6s, 
 
8 
 
 8T. FnANCIS DK SALE«. 
 
 and knolt down hoforn nn imajre of tlio Blos«pd Virgin. 
 His eye was cang-lit by a ta))Iot on the wsill, on wliicli 
 was inscribed the famous pmyer of St. HfMnaid, the 
 efficacy of which has been verified l)y sucii countless 
 graces: "Remember, most lioly Virg-in Mary." 
 He repeated it witli great emotion; and implored, 
 throug'h the intercession of Mary, that it niig'ht ])lease 
 God to restore his peace of mind. He also made a 
 vow of perpetual chastity ; and [)romised to recite the 
 chaplet of six decades daily in memory of it. All at 
 once he fd'lthis soul in tramjuiliit / The dark thought^ 
 which had hung; over him for so r^any weeks. secMmti 
 to come off from his mind like the scales fror: a leper 
 when miraculously cleansed. He came out from the 
 church in that sweet and profound calmness of mind 
 which lie never aftenvards lost. He fulfilled his reso- 
 lution of reciting- the chaplet daily, and also added to it 
 the 3Ic'morare, which he recommended to all his peni- 
 tents. 
 
 After having" spent five yeai-s at Paris with ^-eat 
 profit, he returned home for a short visit. His father 
 then decided on sending" him to finish his education at 
 the University of Padua, the leg-al schools of which at 
 that time had the hig"hest reputation throT'o-]joTit Europe. 
 Thither he arrived at the ueg'inning" of tlie year 1587, 
 and recommenced his studies under the care of professors 
 of gTeat celebrity, the ])rincipal of whom was Guido 
 Panziruolo, more generally known under the name of 
 Pancirolus, whose fame is even yet not forg'otten by 
 students of the civil law, on which he wrote some very 
 elaboi-ute works. His spiritual director was a man not 
 less reninrknble, the Jesuit Possevinus, who had retired 
 to Padua nWov a g"reat career in ecclesiastical diplomacy. 
 He had been aj)ostolic nuncio in Sweden, where he suc- 
 ceeded in reconciling^ John III. to the Catholic Church; 
 and had afterwards carried on important neg'otiations 
 on behalf of the Holy See in Poland and Russia. His 
 influence had a large share in the formation of the 
 character of Francis de Salas. It was he who, after 
 
 % 
 
 h 
 
 ■i 
 
I 
 
 CH. I.] 
 
 8T. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 t 
 
 \\ 
 
 lon^ deliberations and many pravers, finally decided 
 that his holy disciple ought to adopt the ecclesiastical 
 career in preference to the bar, whicli his father wished 
 for him. He taug-ht him the Jesuit method of medita- 
 tion, fresh from the traditions of the great St. Ignatius. 
 He read with him the sacred Scriptures, being perliaps 
 the first exegetical divine of that age ; and under his 
 instniction Francis, learned above all to prize those three 
 grent authoi-s, who throughout life were the chief sources 
 of his lenrning, St. Thomas, St. Bonaventure, and Car- 
 dinal Bellai'mine. 
 
 At the University of Padua, his demeanour, of 
 which we have comparatively abundant records, was 
 such as to furnish quite an ideal for the Catholic stu- 
 dent to aim at. The place was one of immense tempta- 
 tions; the license of the mediieval universities still pre- 
 vailed there, and virtue was in great danger. On two 
 occasions he was brought into the veiy furnace of trial. 
 A party of his fellow-students resolved to put his purity 
 to the test, and made a regular conspiracy for this 
 wicked purpose; taking him to what they pretended 
 was the nouse of a newly-arrived professor ot jurispni- 
 dence, where they had engaged a courtesan to allure 
 him to sin. They introduced this miserable woman to 
 him as if she were a lady of the family, and then left 
 the room on one excuse or other. Presently she chang-ed 
 her manner, and attempted to entice him by immodest 
 gestures. The moment he perceived her real character, 
 he rushed out of the room, spittinw* in her face when 
 she attempted to detain him. Thus the temptation 
 which these instruments of Satan had prepared to de- 
 stroy his soul, only redounded to his glory, and covered 
 them with shame. On another occasion, whilst at 
 Padua, a lady of the loftiest rank of the nobility con- 
 ceived a violent passion for him, and sought to lead him 
 astray from the paths of virtue, bribing one of his fel- 
 low-students to try to further her wicked designs by 
 his persuasions. The holy youth treated the proposal 
 with horror, sharply rebuked the base messenger, and 
 
 
10 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 ordorpd him out of liis presence. 
 
 The instantaneous 
 
 s prese 
 
 dignity of holinoss with which he repelled tliese tempta- 
 tions, showed what a treasure of grace lie had acquired 
 at that early and critical age. 
 
 Whilst at Padua he made a plan of life for himself, 
 which contains many remarkable points, and is w^ell 
 worth the study of every young- man eng*Jiged in the 
 academic cai-eer. It is nardly necessary to say, that 
 reg-ularitv in meditation and in hearing* the holy 3Iass 
 are the leading" rul'S which he adopts. The chief 
 biog'raphical interest which attaches to them is to observe 
 at what an early period he had developed in his mind 
 the spiritual method which pervades the Introduction 
 to a Decotit Life. He lays g-reat stress on what he 
 calls " the exercise of preparation." His words are: 
 " I will always give the preference above every thing* 
 else to the exercise of preparation^ and I will perform 
 it once at least in the day, viz. in the morning." He 
 divides it into five parts : the invocation of the Divine 
 help; the imagination or anticipation of what he has to 
 do; the armngement of it; the making a resolution of 
 not offending God; and finally, the recommendation of 
 liis affairs to the Divine goodness. On the second head 
 he says : " I will simply think of all those things which 
 may occur to me; of the company in which 1 may be 
 obliged to remain ; of the affairs which may arise ; of the 
 
 {)laces in which I must be; of the occasions which may 
 lappen to take me off my guard ; and thus, by the 
 lielp of the Lord, I will meet difficulties wisely and 
 prudontly." Then as to the arrangement of his actions : 
 " I will consider and diligently inquire what are the best 
 means of avoiding falls ; I will see what it is expedient 
 to do, in what order I must proceed in this or that affair; 
 what I ought to say in society. I will decide as to mv 
 dress and demeanour, and determine what I must seek 
 and what I must avoid." The rules, which are in Latin, 
 are sometimes singularly expressed. Thus the passage 
 vvliere we have given the word " society" is, " quid in 
 consvetudine dicei'c debeam.'^ In Francis's own French 
 
 1! 
 
 i 
 
CH. I.] 8T. FRANCIS DE SALES 11 
 
 version it is, "r/^ ce que je dirai en compaf/nir." Medi- 
 tation lie calls, by a liig'hly refined metaphor, " tlic sleep of 
 the soul," because it refreshes the mind as i*est does the 
 body ; and again, as in bodily sleep the operations of tiie 
 body do not act beyond themselves, but are restrained 
 within the limits of the body, so, says the youthful saint, 
 " I will keep all my spiritual faculties within tlie limits 
 of the spirit." This is a passag-e full of the most sug- 
 gestive wisdom, and contaming one of the choicest rules 
 of meditation, inculcating that drawing-off the mind 
 from things of sense which St. Catharine of Sienn^i 
 called the building of a cell within her heart; and which 
 another holy person, B. Leonardo Fattore, sig-nified by 
 this exjiression, ** the land of faith." " The land of 
 faith" was a certain state of the soul, calm, equable, and 
 penetrated with the conviction of the truths of religion, 
 in which he placed it occasionally when in the midst 
 of the business and trials of life. To return, however, 
 to Francis. If he cannot find time at the usual hour 
 for this " most vigilant sleep of the soul," he resolves 
 to deprive himself of a portion of his bodily sleep in 
 order to it, either by remaining awake after lie goes to 
 bed, or rousing himself after his first sleep, or rising 
 earlier than usual. He provides beautiful thoughts 
 for himself fi*oin the sacred Scriptures if he chances to 
 wake during the night : " I will rouse my heart with 
 the words : Mcdid node clamor factus est : Ecce 
 sponsus venitf cjcitc obviam ei ; * At midnight there 
 was a cry made : Behold the Bridegroom cometh, go 
 ye forth to meet Him.' Then, from the consideration 
 of the darkness outside of me, passing on to the inward 
 darkness of my soul and of all sinners, thus 1 will pray 
 during the night : llluminare his qui in tenebris, Sec. ; 
 ' To enlighten them that sit in darkness and in the sha- 
 dow of death, to direct our feet into the way of peace.' " 
 He adds: " But since nightly terrors sometimes hinder 
 the acts of sucli devotion, if I chance to be seized with 
 them, I will deliver myself from them by thinking 
 of my angel-guardian, saying, Dominus a dextris tneit 
 
^ i 
 
 13 
 
 FT. FHANCIS 1)E SALES. 
 
 cafy ne commoi'car ; which somo doctors hare intcr- 
 pretecl of the ang'el-i^iiardian." Wo may ilhistrnto tliis 
 curious j)assag'o from a letter of liis, in wliich he says 
 to the rehg'ious sister to whom he writes : " Thf^y 
 tell me, my very dear daug-hter, that you are afraid 
 of ghosts. The supreme Spirit of our God is every 
 where, without whose will and permission no spirit stirs. 
 He who fears that Divine S[)irit oug-lit to fear no other 
 spirit. I, when I was young*, was touched hy this I'an- 
 tasy ; and to rid myself of it, I forced myself, little by 
 little, to g'o alone, my heart armed with confidence in 
 God, into places where my imagination threatened me 
 with fear J and at last I strengthened myself so, that 
 the darknesses and solitude ot the night are a delight 
 to me, because of that omnipresence of God which one 
 enjoys more at will in that solitude. The good angels 
 are around you like a company of soldiers on watch. 
 This assurance will be acquired by degrees, as the grace 
 of God shall grow in you." {Letter iO?.) 
 
 The subjects which he marks down for meditation, 
 though not aifFering from those to be found in ordinary 
 books (which, indeed, have ever since his time been much 
 coloured by his writings), are expressed in a highly ori- 
 ginal manner. Thus he resolves, when he has an oppor- 
 tune time for this " holy quiet," to recal the pious emo- 
 tions, longings, desires, resolutions, sweetnesses, and 
 inspirations, which he has formerly received i'rom the 
 Divine Majesty; and also to call to mind how great his 
 obligation is to Almiffhty God, " in that in His mercy 
 He has at times weakened my senses by some diseases 
 and infirmities, which have been of no little advantage to 
 me." There is also a short and admirable reflection on 
 the excellence of Christian virtue, " which sanctifies a 
 man, which changes him into an angel, which m^kes him 
 a little God (ckmum), which in this life confers paradise 
 on him." Lastly are some wonderful thoughts on the at- 
 tributes of God. " I will contemplate," he says, " the in- 
 finite wisdom, omnipotence, and incomprehensible good- 
 ness of God J but I will specially aim at this, how these 
 
 I 
 
 n^ 
 
 r 
 
en. I.J 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DB SALES. 
 
 H» 
 
 excellent attributes shine forth in the sacred mysteries 
 of the life, cleutli, and passion of our Loid Jesus Christ ; 
 in the most eminent holiness of our Ladv, Dlessed 
 Mary; and in the imitable perfections of the faithful 
 servants of God. Passing" from hence to the empyrean 
 heaven, I will marvel at the g'lory of paradise, the un- 
 failing^ felicity of the ang-elic spiiits and of the souls of 
 the blessed ; and how the most au|^ust Trinity, in the 
 etenial rewards wherewith It remunerates this blessed 
 multitude, shows Itself powerful, wise, and g^ood." 
 
 There is also a set ot rules for his conduct in society, 
 so hig'hly curious and interesting-, that We shall g;ive 
 them almost at full leng-th. They are written in sin- 
 g;ular and mther difficult Latin, of which the followinjj 
 seems to be the result, expressed in the lang-ua^e of the 
 present ape and in the third person, but, with that limi- 
 tation, adnering; as closely as possible to the phraseology 
 of the writer : 
 
 1. He first distinguishes between general society 
 {cmigressits) and intimate friendship (consnetuclo). In 
 the former, we see people only for a short time, and 
 without any particular aemonstrations of affection ; in 
 the latter, we often meet, we show familiarity, entertain 
 affection, and visit our chosen friends, in order to live 
 in a praiseworthy manner, and mutually advise with 
 each other. 
 
 2. He resolves never to desjnse, or to give indi* 
 cations that he absolutely avoids the society of any one 
 whomsoever ; for this gives one the character of ueing 
 proud, high, severe, airogant, censorious, ambitious, 
 and excessive in the expression of these feelings. In 
 society, he resolves to be very careful not to appeal' as 
 the " great ally" of any one (ne cum aliqvo socimn 
 anam), not even with his most intimate friends, if any 
 chance to be present; for this would smack of levity to 
 those who observe it. He will not allow himself in any 
 impropriety of sixjech or action, lest, by too ready fa- 
 miliarity, he get the chai-ncter of being impertinent. 
 Above all, he resolves to avoid saying biting, pungent. 
 
\ 
 
 14 
 
 •T. FRANCIS DK SALES. 
 
 or sarcastic things againrt pt^ople; for it is mere stupi- 
 dity to tliink we can laug-li at people who have no rea- 
 son for benringf with us, and yet not incur their liatred. 
 He resolves to pay every one the honour due to him, to 
 observe modesty, to speak little and well, that the com- 
 
 Kany may retire rather with a desire to have more of 
 is society than fatigiied with it. If the meeting" is 
 hut momentary, and he has hainJly time to say more 
 than '* How do you do?" (quamvis a mlutntione non 
 aliud dicerem,) he will do so in a liberal, polite, and 
 well-regulated manner, neither austere nor g-Ioomy. 
 
 3. Then^ as to his intimate friends, these shall be 
 ^fetVf good, and honourable (because it is extremely 
 difficult to succeed with many, or to avoid being* cor- 
 rupted by associating" wirti the bad, or to be honoured 
 except by the honourable). The grand precept he re- 
 solves to observe, both as to general society and inti- 
 mate friendsliip, is this : Amicus amnihuSy J'amiliari* 
 pattcis. Judgment and prudence is every where needed. 
 There is no rule without an exception, but that one rule 
 which is the foundation of all the i-est : Nihil contra 
 Deum. With his intimate friends he resolves to be 
 modest without impertinence, easy without austerity, 
 sweet without affectation, pliable without contradiction 
 (unless there be good reason for it), and cordial without 
 dissimulation (because men like to know those with 
 whom they act). But he will open himself more or less 
 to different friends, according to the degree of intimacy 
 which exists between them. "There are melancholy 
 pei'Son3, who nre delighted when any one reveals to 
 them his defects ; but from such characters one ougiit 
 rather to hide oneself; for their imagination being strong, 
 tliey will j)hilosophise for ten yeai-s or more on the most 
 trifling impei-fection. Further, why reveil imperfec- 
 tions ? are they not visible enough of themselves i By 
 no means, therefore, is it expedient to make them mani- 
 fest; but it is good to confess them." He thus regu- 
 lates his demeanour with regard to these three classes, 
 the impertinent, the lil^ral or ^gentlemanly, and the 
 
CH. 1.] 
 
 »T. KRANCIt* I)K dALCfl. 
 
 ir> 
 
 melanclioly : " To tlie imptM-tinent I will nhsolnt»^ly 
 hide mvself. To tlie libernl, if only tliev fear God, I 
 will absolutely reveal myself, and speak to them witii 
 an open heait. To the melancholy I will mei-ely show 
 myself, as the proverb has it, exfcnestrd, from behind 
 the lattice ; that is, I will partly open myself to them 
 (because such people have a great curiosity to see into 
 the hearts of men, and where they see one too much 
 restmined, they are suddenly suspicious); and I will 
 partly conceal myself (because such persons are accus- 
 tomed too closely to watch and philosophise on the cha- 
 i-actei-s of those who associate with them)." 
 
 4. As he finds himself, for the most part, oblig-ed 
 to meet pei-sons of very various ranks, he wishes to ad- 
 just his manners accordingly. To his superiors in age, 
 profession, or authority, he resolves to show an ex- 
 quisitely |)olislied demeanour (nonnisi exqxtisiUtm os- 
 tcndeJiavm est); to his equals, good manners; and a 
 certiiin indifference towams his inferiors. The i-eason 
 he g^ives for this distinction is, that great and wise per- 
 sons nr(> fond of that exquisite polish which he resolves 
 to use towards the fii*st class, whilst the second would 
 only think it affectation, and the third a disagreeable 
 gravity. If he finds himself brought into mtimate 
 friendshij) with the great, he will then be particularly 
 anxious (for they may be compared to hr^tf a good 
 thino; to approach sometimes, but not to approach too 
 nearly). Therefore, in their presence, he will show 
 great modesty, tempered with an honourable freedom 
 (t»ecause the great like to be loved and to be i-espected ; 
 and love causes freedom, and modesty respect). It is 
 therefore good tc use a little freedom in the society of 
 the great, but not so as to omit respect; and the respect 
 mu&it be greater than the freedom. Amongst equals, 
 freedom and respect must be equal ; towai-ds inferioi*s, 
 freedom must be greater than respect; but the con- 
 trary must be observed with great and superior persons. 
 
 Such were the wise maxims which this youth of 
 eighteen or twenty laid down for his conduct in the 
 
Ifl 
 
 •T. FRANCIH DK SALK4. 
 
 world. Not greater insijrht into the human heart is 
 displayed in an essay of tj^ml Bncon's, or a chaptiM* of 
 the rlhetoric of Aristotle; not ni')n'iefiiied or suhtle ap- 
 
 Ereciation of society is to he found in Chesterfield or 
 la Bruy^re. People are too apt to imaj^ine that this 
 ocuteness and polish cannot be conjoinecl with devo- 
 tion or simplicity. They should study the character of 
 Francis, who in the.se resolutions shows how completely 
 the true Catholic, nav even the heroic and saintlv de- 
 votee, may more than rival the courtier and the states- 
 man in gfood breeding- and the most finished politeness. 
 These maxims of Francis de Sales became known to his 
 friends in the university, and they obtained copies of 
 them, in order to g-uide their own manneiu on the pat- 
 tern of his. 
 
 Whilst at Padua, he was attncked with j\ violent 
 fever, which broug-ht him to the brink of the g-rave, 
 throug;hout which illness he showed the most heroic re- 
 sig-nation. One very singular instance is recorded of 
 his charity on this occasion. When asked by his tutor 
 what were his wishes witli reg-jird to his funend, he re- 
 plied, that he had only one request to make, which was, 
 that his body raiffht be given to the medical students 
 for dissection. When the Abb6 Deage exclaimed in 
 horror at this proposal, the holy youth replied, that he 
 would feel u a great consolation to think that, having" 
 been so useless during* life, he should at least be of 
 some service after he was dead, by supi)lying' the medical 
 students with a subject not purchased at the cost of qiu^r- 
 rels and murder. iMie fact was, that in the University of 
 Padua the most terrible scenes used Xxi occur in conse- 
 quence of this difficulty. The medical students, in tiieir 
 eagerness to obtain su})jects for dissection, used to ritlo 
 the churchyards; the townsmen nished, with arms in 
 their hands, to prevent this, and sangTiinary conflicts and 
 the bitterest feelings were the results. There was, there- 
 fore, real wisdom in this proposal, which at first might 
 have been thought the mere extravagance of delirium. 
 He was perfectly serious in it ; and the sacnfice would 
 
 I 
 
CH. I.] 
 
 8T. FRANCIS DB SALES. 
 
 17 
 
 probably linvo (\o\w miiclj to bring" nlwnt some ifer re- 
 p-ulatiou ; liowevcr, it was not nceiled; for he soon after 
 rftcoverefl, ahriost nuraculously, at the moment when he 
 was thoudit to be in the very agonies of deatli. He 
 completea his ecUicution at Fadua with extraordinary 
 distinction ; and the ceremony of confeiTin"p on liim the 
 dejiTee of doctor of hiws was celebmted with the most 
 unusual pomp, and in a manner which showed that he 
 was looked upon as the very brightest oi-nament of the 
 university. It took place on September 5, 151)1, when 
 Francis was twenty-four yeai-s of ag-e. Foi-ty-eight 
 doctoi-s assemliled on the occasion ; and Pancirolus pre- 
 sided and conducted the examination. The candidate 
 answered in the most brilliant manner ; after which Pan- 
 cirolus addressed him in a speech, in which he compli- 
 mented him in the highest terms on his admirable 
 career, alluding not only to his learning, but to the 
 astonishing example of purity, goodness, and charity 
 whicli he had afforded to the university. In the midst 
 of a luxurious city he had. preserved himself imstained ; 
 like the fountain of Arethusa in the old Grecian fable, 
 which mingled its watei*s with the sea without contract- 
 ing aught of their bitterness. Francis de Sales replied 
 in an elegant oration, in which, after alluding to the 
 benefits he had derived from his studies in the Univer- 
 sity of Paris, — where, he said, " the very roofs and walls 
 seemed to speak philosophy," — he expressed his deep 
 sense of the ouligation he was under to the University of 
 Padua for the legal wisdom which its schools aiforded, 
 mentioning three professors to whom he was in par- 
 ticular indebted, Pancirolus, Menochius, and Mathea- 
 ceus. He concluded by rendering thanks to Jesus 
 Christ, to our Blessed Lady, to liis angel-g^ardian, 
 and to his holy patron, St. Francis of Assisi, — cvjtis 
 nomine (said he) vocari phrhmtm delector. He then 
 received from Pancirolus the doctor's cap and ring, 
 amidst the applauses of all present ; and was conducted 
 to his house by the entire assemlily, the city itself re- 
 joicing as he passed by. The effect which his character. 
 
18 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 even nt this very early ag'o, prodncofl upon nil who met 
 him, is one of tiie most sing-iilar proofs of his pfreatness. 
 Wo read that there was such a cliarm about his apj)oar- 
 nnce, something so sweet and noble, that people u^sed 
 to watch in the street for an opportunity to see him as 
 he passed by. Tiie g'reatest things were expected from 
 liim even at the very earliest stage of his career. 
 
 He quitted Padua towards tlio end of the year ; and, 
 previous to returning home, he made the pilgi-image 
 to Rome and Loretto, visiting- also Venice, Milan, and 
 other cities of particular interest in tlie north of It-ily. 
 At Rome he fed his devotion with continual visit-^ to 
 the various sanctuaries and relics of primitive anti(|uitv. 
 A long list is given by his earliest biogi-npher of the 
 chm-ches and other places which he visited with mo^; 
 devotion. Tiiese were the Coliseum, and the church&ai 
 of SS. Peter and Paul , St. Mary Major's, Santa Croc<3, 
 and SS. Sebastian and LiV«^rence, every where honour- 
 ing the holy relics which were preserved in tliese places 
 respectively. He also thoroughly inspected all the re- 
 mains of Roman grandeur in the Eternal City ; the cliief 
 impression he derived from which was, the transitoriness 
 ana emptiness of earthly greatness, an i its intrinsic 
 weakness as opposed to the dominion of t)io Church 
 which has overthrown it. Whilst at Rome he had a 
 remarkable escape : he had been obliged to leave the 
 lodgings he had taken, in consequence of the arrival of 
 some noblemen of high rank, to whom the landlord was 
 tempted to give the preference ; the very next night, 
 the house and all who were in it were swept away by a 
 sudden inundation of the Tiber. At Loi-etto his devo- 
 tion was extraordinary ; and the Abb6 D^age,who saw 
 him whilst he was praying in the Holy House, was so 
 struck w^itli his demeanour and appearance, that evf-r 
 after he regarded him with a degree of reverence wliicii 
 approached to veneration : his face appeared actunlly in- 
 flamed, and to dai't out rays of light like a star. Tlie 
 same j)henomenon ap]>ears more tlian once in his subse- 
 quent history. From Loretto he went to Ancona, where 
 
 
en. I.] 0T. FRANCIS DE SALES. 19 
 
 he found a ves.sel nljoiit to sail for Venice. A Nea- 
 politan Indv nnd her suite had enjra^Td it ; but the 
 master of the ship was willing also to take Francis and 
 his party. When the ladv knew of this, she, in a iias- 
 sionate manner, forbade tne ship-master to take tiieso 
 additional passengers. Francis remonstrated with his 
 usual high-bred courtesy, but in vain; the lady obliged 
 the captain to set sail without them. Strange to say, 
 before the ship had proceeded very far, and while Fran- 
 cis was yet watching it, one of those sudden squalls 
 common in the Mediterranean came on ; the ship wns 
 engulfed, and every soul on board perished. Francis 
 took the next opportunity to sail for Cattolica, a little 
 town between Ancona and Venice. On this voyage he 
 himself had a very narrow escape from shipwreck, but 
 nn-ived safely at Cattolica, and from thence proceeded 
 to Venice, where he remained some time. This com- 
 pleted liis travels. He retui-ned homewards, passing 
 DY Pavia, Milan, Turin, nnd aii'iving at his father^ 
 chateau of La Thuille in the spring of the year 1592. 
 
< 
 
 CHAPTER ir. 
 
 WIS rOCATIOX TO TIIK ECCLESIASTICAL STATE— FOUKDATIOH OV 
 TUB CONrRATKRNITT OF THE HOLY CK084. 
 
 Francis de Sales was now twenty-five yenrs old, 
 nnd ])erhaps one of the most finished g'entlemen tind 
 leiuncd jurists of his nge, as most certainly in holiness 
 he was surpassed by no one. By liis father's oi*der ho 
 now took tlie title of Seigneur de Villarog-et, this bein^ 
 one of the lordsliips in the possession of the family ; the 
 title of which, as was customary at the time, wus home 
 by the eldest son. He took an early opportunity, after 
 his return, to call upon the venerable Bishop of Ge- 
 nevn, Claude de Granier, — a visit which coloured the 
 whole of his subsequent career; leading-, as it did, first 
 to his being* nominated to the office of provost of the 
 cathedral chapter of Geneva, next to that of coadjutor 
 to the bishop, and finally to his own elevation to the 
 see of Geneva. The ag-ed prelate received him with 
 the utmost distinction. He had from the very fii-st u 
 
 Presentiment, which he did not hesitate to express to 
 is clergy, that this young" nobleman would live to be 
 his successor in the episcopate. The idea even haunted 
 his dreams ; and the old man saw, in prophetic vision, 
 the career of the future saint iwefimired by mysterious 
 emblems. He imagined he saw him engaged in the 
 chase in the mountainsof Savo3',slnug'htering- the wolves, 
 bears, and other fierce animals, which furnished but too 
 faithful a type of the heresies which devastated the 
 flock intrusted to his care. He made the youthi'ul 
 Francis, though habited in his laical dress, and g^'rt 
 with the sword, which indicated his rank in the world, 
 assist at an assembly of theologians; and made him 
 express his opinion on a difficult point which had em- 
 barrassed all the disputants, and which he solved with 
 
 m 
 
 I 
 
m. II.] AT. FRANCIS DR SALES 01 
 
 tlmf luci«i cienn>os5 whicli was fucli a characteristic ot 
 his niiml. 
 
 1 lioiigh tlu« vocation of Francis to tho priestliood 
 waf< thus hecoiniiijif more and more niark(>(l eviMy 
 d:iv , liis father was still hent uj)on carving" out for him 
 a wiih'lv ditferont career. M. do IJoisv insisted upon 
 his jH'oceediiijc to tiie har; and Francis did not consider 
 it ids duty to resist. lie was n])|>ointed advocate in 
 the supreme court or senate of Savoy, on Noveml>er 24, 
 150?. Tiie nomination was accompanied with circum- 
 stances of extraordinary distinction : the iii}>hest ho- 
 noui's in the state seemed ojM?ned hefore him; and he 
 contracted with the most illustrious and leanied mem- 
 ber of that profession in Savoy, Antoine Favre, a 
 friendship so intimate, that they called each other by 
 the name of brother. 
 
 Francis hod only been colled to the bar a very short 
 time, when a sing-ular incident occurred, in which he 
 discerned the indication of tiie will of God leading him 
 to a different path. In travelling- with the old juiest, 
 his preceptor, tliioug-li the forest of Sonaz, near Annecy, 
 his horse thrice stumbled, and threw liim, gallant ca- 
 valier as he was, to the ground. He noticed, each 
 time on rising-, that his sword had fallen out of th« 
 scabbard, and the scabbard from off his baldrick ; and 
 that all three times the sword and the scabbard had 
 formed an exact cross on the g^-ound. Francis, thoui»-li 
 the least superstitious of mankind, was much struck by 
 the ciicumst:ince, which, trifling;' as it was, seemed to 
 have a divine sig^iificance, wlien his thoughts were 
 ahead}' so strongly setting- in the direction of the 
 sacred ministry. He decided on entering- tlie ecclesias- 
 tical state; but did not immediately confide his res-olu- 
 tion to his i'ather, prefening to wait till Divine Provi- 
 dence afforded him some favourable opportunity. Such 
 an occasion very soon alterwards occurred. 31. de Ik)isv 
 believed that he had secured a most favourable matcb 
 for the youthful advocate. Mademoiselle de Vegy, the, 
 lady on whom he fixed his choice, belonged to one of 
 
S2 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DE 8ALF.B. 
 
 the noblest families in Savoy, was woaltliy, and in 
 every way likely to have jn-omoted his son's worldly 
 happiness. Francis seized the oj>portunity to declare 
 to his father the fixed innpose which he Imd formed of 
 becoming* u priest, llie kind-hearted but somewhnt 
 ambitious old noble was deeply g;riev«'d lit this resolu- 
 tion. Whil&t he was vainly endeavouring to combat it, 
 another circumstance arose which added to the painful- 
 ness of the sacrifice M. de Boisy was now called upon 
 to make, as it showed very clearly that he was by no 
 means mistaken in the lofty estimate he liad formed of 
 his son's prospects of success. The court of Savov 
 oftered, and even pressed upon the young lord of Vil- 
 larog-et to accept the office of senator in the court of 
 Chnmbery. It was the liighest distinction in the power 
 of the government to give, and such as a man of the 
 world could not have sacrificed for his son without 
 acute mortification. The friends of Fmncis sought 
 to soften the blow to M. de Boisy by obtaining for 
 his son the ecclesiastical office of provost of the cathe- 
 dral church of Geneva. This Francis accepted in the 
 month of May 1593, and expressed to his father finallv 
 that his mind was made up. A scene ensued whicli 
 was exquisitely distressing to flesh nnd blood. M. de 
 Boisy was completely overcome, Imt at last reconciled 
 himself generously to the will of Almighty God, and 
 g*ave his unreserved blessing to his son upon entering 
 nis new career. However overwhelming the sacrifice 
 might be at the time, it was soon made up to him a 
 thousandfold ; and the public joy with which the whole 
 city (tf Annecy received it was a type of the gladnes^s 
 which the episcopate of Francis de oales was destined 
 to diffuse over the wliole Church. 
 
 lie received the minor orders on June 8th, 1593; 
 nnd four days after, on the eve of Ti-inity Sunday, he 
 was raised to be sub-deacon ; on the 18th of December 
 of the same year ho was raised to the dignitv of the 
 priestl.sod. Fi-om the verv first he commencea a most 
 active missionary life; and his biography at this period of 
 
CH. II.] 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 53 
 
 his life is interesting" in a particuliir manner, as afford- 
 ing- valuable details of a confraternity wliich lie founded 
 throughout the diocese of Geneva. He relied very 
 much on the advantac-es of these institutions, as ena- 
 bling, by the force of combination, the weak to resist 
 temptation, and affording to all the means of making 
 rapid progi-ess in grace. The association which lie 
 founded was called the " Confi-aternity of Penitents of 
 the Holy Cross, of the Immaculate Conception, and of 
 the Anostles St. Peter and St. Paul." Tlie idea of it 
 was, that the members should do continual penance for 
 their own sins and for those of others ; and as they 
 w^ere living in a heretic country where the Holy Cross 
 was continually outraged, it was to be an especial devo- 
 tion with them to repair these insults by their adom- 
 tion and love. The selection of the title of the Im- 
 maculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin is one of 
 tiie many instances of the far-reaching diameter of 
 Francis's views. Every Catholic has heard of the im- 
 mense tide of miraculous graces and favours which has 
 attended in our own times the establishment of a con- 
 fi-ateniity under the same invocation. The principal 
 niles of the new Confraternity of the Holy Cross 
 were the following. The memoers were to communi- 
 cate on the Feasts of the Invention and of the Exalta- 
 tion of the Holy Cross, of the Conception of the B. V., 
 of the Apostles SS. Peter and Paul, and on the second 
 Sunday of every month. On these festivals the Blessed 
 Sacrament was to be exposed all day ; and there were 
 always to be two brethren eng-aged in adoration for the 
 space of an hour for certain special objects, among 
 which were the preservation of the Faith and the con- 
 version of heretics. Thus we see that he in some mea- 
 sm'e anticipated the idea of the Confrateniities of Per- 
 petual Adoration. We find also, in the niles which he 
 established, traces of another devotion now greatly fa- 
 voured in the Church. Once a dav they w^re to re- 
 cite five Paters and five Axes in lionour of the five 
 wounds of our Lord, kneeling and with head uncoreredy 
 
94 
 
 ST. FHANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 wherever they liappencd to be, even in the streets or 
 public places. Then, on tiie festivals we have men- 
 tioned there was to be a public procession of the 
 ])ret!n-en, chanting prayei-s or reciting- the chaplet. 
 The visiting of the sick, and the accompanying ot the 
 Blessed Sacrament when it was brought to them; the 
 reconciliation of such of the brethren as were at vari- 
 ance or at law with each other, — were among the active 
 works of mercy they were enjoined to perform. We 
 see in the general spirit which pervades these rales, 
 that practical, and at the same time that tender and 
 considerate character, by which all the institutions 
 and views of Francis were penetrated. No austerities 
 are ap|X)inted, nothing that need alarm even the most 
 sicklv and infirm ; but a considerable sacrifice of human 
 respect, the practice of the works of mercy, and the ha- 
 bitual use of certain devotions, which lon^- experience 
 has shown to be the most calculated to advance souls 
 a long way in a short time. His cheerful and kindly 
 spirit is beautifully displayec^ in the history of a pil- 
 grimage which he and his confi-atemity made to Aix 
 in Savoy, whei*e a relic of the time Cross had for ages 
 attittcted the devotion of the faithful. Never was the 
 value of this holy practice of pilgiimages more strik- 
 ingly shown than on this occasion : in tke joy with 
 which all the devout penitents joined in the journev, 
 singing litanies as they went ; in the order wliich tfie 
 wise du-ector established throughout ; and in the hospi- 
 talitv atfoi-ded them by a holy and religious nobleman, 
 the 'Baron de Cusey. It was a fair and lovely picture 
 of the antique Catholic life, which in our own days, «t 
 places like Fouvi^res and La Salette, has been restored 
 with such advantage and edification to the faithful. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to say that Fi-ancis applied 
 himself with extraordinary diligence to all the duties of 
 the seculav priest, ministering to the destitute, preach- 
 ing, and hearing confessions incessantly. We shall in 
 a lat«r portion of this volume endeavour to character- 
 ise him in these capacities ; in this place we ' shall 
 
 r 
 
 I 
 
CH. II.] 9T. PHANCiS DE SALK9. 25 
 
 only mention an amusing" anecdote, in which tl:e old 
 nobleman, liis father, expressed his opinion of the 
 modern style of preaching:, which Francis de Sales 
 was among' the first to introrluce. Fmncis himself, 
 many years after, said to the IJisliop of Belloy : " I 
 had the best father in the world ; but he had passed a 
 ^reat part of his life at court and in military service, 
 the maxims of whicli he knew better than theolog-v. 
 Whilst I was provost, I preached on ever}' occasion, as 
 well in the cathedi*al as in the parish-churches, and even 
 in the humblest confrateniities. I knew not how to 
 refuse, so dear to me was that woi*d of our Lord's, 
 Omni pvtenti a te trihve — gnve to every one that 
 asketh thee (Luke vi. 80). My -ood father, hearing- 
 the bell ring* for the sermon, asked who preached; they 
 said to him. Who should it be but your ^on ? One day 
 he took me aside, and said to me : ' Provost, you 
 preach too often ; I hear even on working'-days the bell 
 ring; for the sermon ; and they always say to me, It is 
 the provost, the provost. In my time it was not so ; 
 predications were much more rare ; but also, what pre- 
 dications they were ! God knows they were learned, 
 well studied ; they spoke marvels ; they quoted more 
 Latin and Greek in one of them than you do in ten; 
 every body was delig:hted and edified with tliem ; they 
 ran to them in crowds ; you would have said they were 
 g-oing" to g-ather manna. Now-a-days you make this 
 exercise so common, that nobody regiu-ds it, and they 
 set no value on you.' Do you see (remarked Francis), 
 tliis g-ood father spoke as he understood, and with all 
 freedom ; he spoke accorf'ing- to the maxims of the 
 world in which ne had been broug-ht up: but tlie evan- 
 celical maxims are altogether of another stamp; Jesus 
 Christ, the miiTor of perfection and the model of 
 preachere, did not use all these circumspections, any 
 more than the Apostles who followed His steps. Be- 
 lieve me, people can never preach enoug;h : nvngvavi 
 mtk dicitur qtiod nunqnam sath disciUir; above all, 
 now-a-days and in the neighbourhood of hei-esy, which 
 
26 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DB SALES. 
 
 only maintains itself by the preches^ and will never be 
 conquered but by preaching"." His conduct as a con- 
 fessor was such as could only be expressed by meta- 
 phors dmwn from the tenderness of a mother or the 
 watcli fulness of an angrl-guardian. With re^rd to 
 the whole office of the priesthood, he had formed, in his 
 retreat preparatory to ordination, three resolutions by 
 which he g-overned himself. One was, to make all his 
 actions a contimral prepamtion for the sacrifice of the 
 altar; so tliat if at any moment he was asked what he 
 was about, he mig-ht sjiy with truth, " I am preparing* 
 to say Mass." His second resolution was, never to 
 ascend the altar except in the same fmme of mind he 
 would have had if he were about to die. And the third, 
 to unite himself in every thing to Jesus Christ, by the 
 thought of His love and the imitation of His example. 
 So great a soul as that of Francis de Sales, acting" upon 
 maxims like these, could not but immediately produce 
 the noblest fruits of edification; and a ministi-y like his 
 would be worthy of remembrance, had it lasted but a 
 week, and boen limited to the quiet scenes of the old 
 Catholic provincial capital where lie lived. But he had 
 scarcely laboured there half a year, before he was sum- 
 moned to a wider sphere, where he earned even the 
 rare appellation of apostle. 
 
 
 ^ 
 
. :^-' 
 
 CHAPTER m. 
 
 HIS MISSION IN THE CIIABLAI8— ITS EAULT VlVFlCWTlZi- 
 
 One could scarcely imagpine a moi-e interesting- study 
 for the Catholic missioner of the present day, placed 
 amidst vast masses of population alien to the fnith, than 
 that which is afforded by Fmncis de Sales' mission to 
 the districts on tlie Lake of Geneva, belonjjing- at that 
 time partly to the house of Savoy, jiartly to P'nmce. 
 These districts were the duchy of Chablais, and the 
 bailiwicks of Gex, Ternier, and Gaillard. After the 
 restless citizens of Geneva had thrown off the yoke both 
 of their Prince-bishop and of his lay rival the Duke 
 of Savoy, the possession of these provinces, lyingf along- 
 the borders of their lake, and almost within view of 
 their city, became natui-ally an object of their anxious 
 ambition, and almost necessary to their political exist- 
 ence. The war between Francis I. and Emmanuel- 
 Philibert of Savoy supplied them with an op[)ortunity 
 of seizing- on the coveted possessions ; and the Catholic 
 religion was rooted up in them with all that sacrilegi- 
 ous fury which characterised the pretended Reformation 
 every where. Churches w^ere desecrated, abbeys de- 
 molished, crosses overthrown; and a feeble rt anant of 
 Catholics alona remained in what had but lately been 
 a fine and richly-adorned portion of the Lord's vine- 
 yard. The provinces were, indeed, again suiTendered 
 by the Swiss to the Duke of Savoy when peace was 
 concluded between Henry IL of France and Emmanuel- 
 Pliilibcrt ; bat the treaty expressly guaranteed that the 
 Catholic religion should not be re-established. The re- 
 ligious conquest, therefore, survived, though the politi- 
 cal dominion chanced ; and so matters went on, till, in 
 the reign of Chanes-Lmmanuel, the son of the Ipst- 
 mentioned prince, the Genevese seized the provinces for 
 
28 
 
 BT. FRANCIS OE 8ALC9. 
 
 the second time. This usurpation ended most fortu- 
 nately for Catholicity ; since Divine Providence occa- 
 sioned by tliat event the wonderful mission by wliich 
 Francis de Sales brought buck those thickly- })eoj)led 
 and beautiful regions to the Catholic faith. Ciiarles- 
 Emmanuel very speedily reduced them to subjection ; 
 and then, as he justly considered their revolt had re- 
 leased him from the obligations of the treaty by which 
 they were originally restored to his father, he deter- 
 mined on effecting the re-establishment of the Catholic 
 religion throu^chout those districts. Had he even used 
 compulsion to make his su])jects renew their allegiance 
 to the faith as well as to the goveniment from which 
 they had revolted, Protestants at least would have had 
 no right to complain ; since the so-called Reformation 
 was undeniably canied by violence and rapine, and 
 stood towards the sovereigns of Europe precisely as 
 Socialism, its logical development, does at present. But, 
 with that moderation and prudence which characterised 
 for many generations the house of Savoy, Charles- 
 Emmanuel resolved to adopt the method of gentleness 
 rather than that of force ; and if he used the steel 
 gauntlet, to swathe it in velvet. He accordingly de- 
 sired the Bishop of Geneva to select a certain number 
 of ecclesiastics of edifying life and adequate leaniing, to 
 be sent as missionaries into the reconquered provinces. 
 The bishop accordingly sent to Thonuu a w^ortliy and 
 zealous priest named Bouchut, who encountered such 
 difficulties on the part of the rude and intractable jjo- 
 pulation, that he remained but a short time, and re- 
 turned quite in despair of effecting any thing under 
 existing circumstances. Ui)on this the bishop, alter 
 ^me delay, called together an assembly of his clerjiy 
 in the cathedral of Annecy, and asked their advice and 
 assistance. His harangue, although recommended by 
 his gentle piety and venerable old ap'e, seemed likelV 
 to fail of response. The clergy remained in mournful 
 silence; much like the Israelites of old, terrified by the 
 imagination of the dangers which beset their entrance 
 
CH. III.] 8T. FHANCIH DK 8ALK8. 29 
 
 into the promised land. A niore dipcoui-npn'ngr prospect, 
 indeed, it would have been iliflicult for tliem to Imve 
 pictured to their minds. A population which for sixty 
 veni-s had been aliejiatpd from the faitii ; among whom 
 tttlvinism was rejiuiarly eatublished ; close to Ueneva, 
 the vei-y liead-quarters, '^ the Rome of heresy," as 
 Francis calls it, and identifying its profession of heresy 
 with the political independence of which it had just 
 been deprived. Every tiunjr seemed against success ; 
 and the clrrgv uiigi.t iiuve tiiought that had St. John 
 tiie Baptist risen from the dead, he had better have 
 turned liis supernatural energ-y to any imdertaking for 
 the g"Iory of God rather than to this. One man there 
 was in that assembly, the youthful provost of Geneva, 
 who gave way to no such discouragements. Francis 
 de Sales felt his whole soul enkindle at the prospect 
 from which the others shrank, and offered to lead the 
 enterprise himself: he advised that the bishop should 
 remain at home to help them, like another Moses, by 
 his pniyers, and enter on the Held only when the har- 
 vest was ready to be reaped ; for himself, he asked foi 
 no assistants at present but his cousin Louis de Sales. 
 
 The bishop gladly granted his request. Others 
 seem to have considered it a Quixotic sort of enter- 
 prise; and Francis had to resist not only the advice and 
 commands of his father, but the anguish which he ve- 
 hemently expressed on seeing his son engaged in w^hat 
 he believed an impmdent, and perhaps even alarming 
 enterprise, in which his life might at any moment be 
 sacrificed to the fury of an heretical mob. Even to 
 those of his friends who did not view the matter in this 
 light, one can easily imagine how the highly-born 
 ecclesiastic must have seemed to be " throwing himself 
 away" in going to evangelise the narrow-minded magis- 
 trates and uncultivated population of a counti-y-town 
 and its vicinity ; among whom, as the result snowed, 
 M. de Boisy was quite right in anticipating his son's 
 life might be endangei*ed. Notwithstanding all oppo- 
 sition, however, Francis and Louis de Sales, on Sept 
 
m 
 
 8T. FIIANCI9 DE SALKS. 
 
 Otl), 1501, set out from Annocy, and procepded first to 
 the cl»ntf'aii of Sides, whiclj Isiv in tiieir road. Here tliov 
 SjHjnt ft few days, during* which thoy had to ennountor 
 tlie con'itant remonstmnees of M. de Boisy. In spito 
 of all thiri vexatious opposition, they made full prepara- 
 tions ibr their great undei-taking" by fasting", prayer, 
 mortifications, and a geneml confession. On the even- 
 ing; of Sept. 18tli, Francis bade farewell to his mother, 
 wlio, unlike his father, said nothing* to discourag-o her 
 son from his heroic mission. They spent a largfe part 
 of tlje nig-lit in prayer in the castle chaiiel, and started 
 early on their march next morning, the Feast of the 
 Exaltation of the Holv Cross. Thev travelled on foot, in 
 apostolic fashion, unencumbered with any lug-gage that 
 could be spared, and can-ying no books but the Breviary, 
 the Bibi*^, and Bellarmine's Controversies. Francis de 
 Sales was dressed in somewhat secular attire, wearing 
 his hair short, and his beard thick and bushy, in the 
 fashion of the day. He found this gave him access 
 where a more ecclesiastical garb would have alai-med 
 people ; and he was not a man to sacrifice winning soul ■ 
 to the Church for any feeling on matters not of vital 
 importance. Tliey arrived at AUinges, a fortress on the 
 frontiei-s of the Chablais, by which the Duke of Savoy 
 kept the whole duchy in submission. It was commanded 
 by a brave captain, the Baron d'Hermance, an old 
 friend of the house of Sales, who received the chival- 
 rous missionaries with great kindness, in obedience both 
 to the orders of the Duke of Savoy, and from a regard 
 for M. de Boisy. He led his guests to the platform 
 of the castle, and showed them the scene of their 
 future labours. On eveiy side of the beautifiil land- 
 scape the Reformation had left traces of its baleful 
 course over regions which were then fresh from the 
 hands of the spoiler. Churches in ruins, crosses over- 
 turned, castles and villages laid waste, — such were the 
 dreary tokens of the sway of the enemy whom Francis 
 was setting out to combat. At the distance of three 
 hundred years, the delicate finger of time has invest43d 
 
CH. III.] 8T. FnANCIS OE SALKS. (Jl 
 
 njonnstic ruins with ft sort of siMitinipntal Hi;(rm, at 
 least to minds nh'cli look only sit t!ie cxtei-ior. no 
 such clmrm coiih' , jssibly have existed in 161)4, when 
 persons wore still livinji* who could recollect the timo 
 when those fair ahheys had resounded with the praises 
 of the L(M(1, and the kneeling^ faithful woi*sliinped at 
 those croi^ses. The ruins .were but the raw ana bleed- 
 ing* wounds of the Spouse of Christ. Francis could not 
 restrain his tears at the sif»;lit, and bi-oke out into some 
 of those mournful exclamations with which the ancient 
 prophets bewailed the ruins of the holy city. 
 
 Tiiev then debated on the })lim of action to be pur^ 
 sued. Tlie baron drew a discouraging; picture of the 
 po})ulation Francis de Sales was undertaking" to con- 
 vert. They were good sort of people on tlie whole, but 
 stupid and slow ; of the class into whose hend it is 
 equally hard to g-et an idea conveyed, or, once con- 
 veyed, to drive it out njmin : their whole teinporal in- 
 terests too were involved, or they supposed them to be 
 so, in keeping" g-ood friends with tlieir neig-hboui-s ot 
 Geneva; and they reg'arded their liberties as co-existenfc 
 with the exercise of the Calvinist religion. The baron 
 recommended the missionni-ies to go warily to work, 
 and with the utmost caution. He gave them lettei*s 
 to the magistrates of the town ; and the two mission- 
 aries went forward on their arduous mission, unac- 
 com^,inied by any escort. He said that they coula 
 not safely sleep in tlie town, but must return every 
 nig-ht to the castle ; that, for the present, they oug-ht 
 not to attempt more than preaching; at Thonon, for it 
 would be useless to say Mass there; and he recom- 
 mended them to sav it either in the castle chapel, or at 
 Mai-iu, a place stilt Catholic, on the other side of the 
 river Drance, or in an olil chapel of the monks of St. 
 Bemard on the bordei-s of the lake. 
 
 On aiTiving' at Tlionon, the}' found, on inquiry, 
 that tliere were but seven Catholic families in the j)lace, 
 amounting; to not more than fourteen or fifteen souls. 
 They tissembled them tog^ether, and Francis addressed 
 
ST. FIIANCI9 DE 8ALF.9. 
 
 t!iem with holy oxliorfiitions, announcing' himself ns 
 their pasttH* ; nnd inviting" them in future to nsseinhlo 
 ftt tlie chiirch of St. Hippolytus, which had been de- 
 clared common for the service of both religions. They 
 then presented their letters to the magistrates, and in 
 the evening returned to Allinges. They returned next 
 day, and so continued; preaching daily either in the 
 town or the neighbouring villages, whither they went 
 always on foot, and staff in hand, like the disciples of 
 our Lord. It does not appear that at first they had 
 to contend with more than complete indifference on the 
 j)art of the Protestant inhabitants of Thonon. It w^as, 
 mdeed, reported that the ministers of Geneva were cla- 
 mouring to have the missionaries whipped out of the 
 town ; but it is not likely any thing" ot the kind would 
 have been thought of by the people of Thonon, with 
 the castle of Allinges at the distance of only six miles. 
 On several occasions, however, it is certain that Francis 
 was in imminent danger of assassination. On Jan. 8, 
 1595, a fanatic (who aftenvards was converted to the 
 faith) made three unsuccessful attempts to shoot him; 
 ind aftei-wards y)Osted other assassins in various places 
 
 intercept him, fi-om whose hands he miraculously 
 •scaped. Similar attempts we shall have to record 
 "'.irther on. 
 
 At present, and long aftei-wards, the holy mission- 
 iries had much anxiety for want of money. M. de 
 Doisy, angry at what he considered his son's pertina- 
 city in going on with the mission, would not assist 
 -.hem ; and it was only by stealth Madame de Boisy 
 3ould send them supplies. Francis thouefht of leai-ning; 
 i trade, like St. Paul, but goodhumourealy said he was 
 ^oo dull to make any thing, except mend his clothes 
 
 1 little. Of the isolation in Avhich they lived, Francis 
 gives us an idea, by playfully comparing a Catholic 
 lady of Thonon, connected with his own family, o Ra- 
 hab, except so far ae regarded her character. Liko 
 Kuhfjb, she sheltered the spies of the people of tho 
 Loi*d in the m' ^st of a whole citv full of enemies. 
 
ClI. III.] 
 
 BT. VHAvriS |>K SVI.K;*. 
 
 m^ 
 
 'J'liey ni:ii|(> lifflt^ propvs 
 
 n frnininpr tho onr of tlip 
 pcoplH I»y tli«''r scnnoii-'. In ii lerf»'r writft'n in tlio 
 spi'inp: of l')0.'), aft<T he had hoim for s»n<Mi iiioiitlis 
 rcsidinjr in Tlionon itsolf, Iio says that lift luid prraoht'd 
 e-onrrally evfiry festival, and very often on w«,'ek-days, 
 unt only three or four Hug-uenots on four or five occa- 
 sions had att<>nded liis sermons ; that it wns wondeH'ul 
 to see tiie hold wliich temporal interest had on tiieir 
 minds, — an evil which seemed to admit of no remedy; 
 for talk to them of hell, and they sheltered themselves 
 under the mercy of God ; f.nd if further ])ressed, took 
 themselves off at once. In short, they were cold, timid, 
 nnd impracticable. Notwithstanding- all this, whilst 
 at Allin«^es he walked i*egidarly every day to Thonon 
 and back n^in, two long* leaprues, in the severest wea- 
 ther, just as pmictually ns if he had tlie mont flou- 
 rishing" mission on his hands that ever rewarded the 
 toils of a Catholic priest. If we mij»'ht be allowed to 
 illustrate relig-ion from politic.^, and to compare indivi- 
 duals the most dissimilar it is possible to imagine, we 
 aie reminded of O'Connell's persisting* in holding* his 
 meetingfs; g-ravely moving* and seconding^ resolutions, 
 and having" reports drawn up for the pai>ers, when onlv 
 two or three strag^g'lers were present. He knew well 
 enoug*h that he liad resources in himself, and that a 
 party would be sure to g^row with his energ*y and prr- 
 severance. So he surveyed the half- empty hall with 
 the utmost cheerfulness, till in a few yeai-s he was abla 
 to cover whole miles of the country with midtitudes 
 from every quai*ter. 
 
 The method of controvei-sy adopted by Francis de 
 Sales rested on a few principles whicli, in these days, 
 it is well to recal. One was, to avoid all abusive terms 
 of the heretics or their doctrine. To use his own meta- 
 phor, he concealed the lancet in wool, and inflicted the 
 salutary wound almost before the application of the 
 instrument was felt. Another was, that he pereuaded 
 those with whom he discussed to admit this very rea- 
 sonable preliminai'y> — tliat the debate should turn, not 
 
i 
 
 on tilings they tliomsflv»«s allimcd to lip indiffMont, Imt 
 only on jMiiuts rniUy rsscntiiil ; and siicli us alone could 
 jiistily tlicii- M'|)nr!iti(»n from tiif Catl-olic Clmicli, mp- 
 jKKsin^ their view to he noht. He I'nitlier demanded 
 two otliei- conditions, which were equally fail-, viz. tliat 
 they should not nccuse Catholics tor sui)j>oj«ed conse- 
 nuences from doctrines, when these conscfiuences were 
 flisavowed by the CutholicH themselves ; iinn lastly, that 
 the authorities leferred to for Catholic doctrine should 
 not be any private authoi's, but simply the recog^nisetl 
 text-books of the Catholic Church liei-self, the Cate- 
 chism and other formularies of the Council of Trent. 
 No JM«)ti'>tant would venture to refuse these conditions, 
 if he cured to profess himself a fair disputant, or se- 
 riously intended a controversy for the sake of arriving' 
 at truth. lie not only preached and convei-sed inces- 
 santly, biit wrote at every spare moment he could find, 
 nnd caused his papers to be distributed every week 
 among" families, or posted up in the streets in the form 
 of placards. These pa{K?rs he never lived to publish in 
 a collected form ; though he intended to have based on 
 them u w'ork on " the method of converting heretics 
 by holy preaching." Writing to his friend the Arch- 
 bishop of Vienne, on this design, he observes : " I would 
 employ in it sevei-al meditations made during five years 
 in the Chablais, where I pi-eached without other books 
 than the Bible and those of the great Bcllarmine." 
 'J'he Mss. were lost sight of for a lono- time after his 
 death, but were discovered, in 1658, by Charles Au- 
 e-uste de Sales, in an old deal box in the chateau of La 
 Thuille, and were edited under the title of Cvntro- 
 cn-sc's de S. Frayj^is de Sales. They are dividf^d into 
 four parts, treatini? respectively of missions, of the rule 
 of faith, of the Sacniments, and of purgatory; and 
 tliough they have only reached us in an imperfect form, 
 furnish a most interesting study to the popular contro- 
 versialist. They are often characterised uy a certain 
 archness, which is amusing, and which belongs to the 
 national temperament of Savoy. On his knowledge of 
 
L'H. III.] «T. I'HANClii UE S.il.Kt. 
 
 th<Mr toinji^minfnf, nnrl ron«Jornw'nt sympnthy nitli 
 th(» pcojilt' aniuii;.'" whom lie lulMMiird, Frniifis npiM'ius 
 to liMvc i»'lirtl jmiicIj. n»' fwicr iilliul»"< to if in tliH 
 
 tn't'iacc to tije ('onfntrrr/irM. *• Its nuit'ioil ami styl(^>," 
 i(» iviiiaiks, "will not displHas*' yon, tor it is jtltog-f-tlior 
 Savoyard ;" ami a^niin, vta-v beautifully, " Altlioufih 
 von may !iavr» m-on several books better made and 
 lK«tt»'i- ailonif'il, lot your ftttention rest u little on this, 
 wiiicii will, ))crhn|)s^ bo more ag-reeablo to your bumonr 
 than the others : tor it is altogtither Savoyard ; and one 
 of the most salutary receipts and latest remedies is the 
 return to one's mitivc air. 
 
 Still, with all his g-entleness, he know the import- 
 ance of using" at times a little jjarade and display of 
 tlie streniitli of the Catholic ar^fument. Thus nt a 
 later period of his mission, when the ministei's flinched 
 from meeting- him in controversy, he writes to Favre : 
 " I jMomised that in my next sermon I would denjon- 
 strate the do<>;ma from the Scriptures more clearly 
 than the lig^ht of noon-day; ana would maintain it 
 with such a weig-ht of reasoning", that not one of my 
 opponents shall Ije ig-norant that he has been blindeci 
 bv the thickest darkness, unless he has bid farewell to 
 humanity imd reiifon. They rig-htly perceive that by 
 these rhod<>fiiontade proi)ositions they and their under- 
 standinfis are challenged to the combat, nt the rij^k, if 
 tiioy do no? come, of being; thought utter cowards for 
 dreadinsr the onset of anv Catholic, of however smnll 
 account." But we are anticipating* triumphs, of which 
 there was for manv a weary month no visil)le indica- 
 tion. Francis kept making- his daily pilgrimng-es to 
 Thonon, notwithstsmding' gTOiit sutreriiig- irom the cold 
 of an Alpine winter. Kemarkable <'<'c'urreiices nre re- 
 corded, which showed his fortitude ind trust in Divine 
 Providence. On one occasion, when t le missionaries had 
 delayed their departure from tlie little town till near 
 nig-htfall, they lost their way in returning* to A Hinges, 
 and were denied admittance at every door of a Pro- 
 testaiL^i village through which they passed, — the })eGple 
 
80 
 
 ST. FRANCIS UE AALKS. 
 
 having- a fsuperstitious dread of them infnsrd into their 
 minds by the ministei's, wlio giive out that tlio Ca- 
 thoh'c missionaries were sorcerei's, and had deaHng's 
 witii the devil. «They only escajjed being* in all i>ro- 
 bability frozen to death, by fortunately findings shelter 
 in the vilhig-e bakehouse, the oveu of which was still 
 wnrm. On another occasion, just as they were g'oinff 
 out of the gTvtes, a Hug-uenot, who hud been struck 
 witli tlie contmst betiu'een the apostolic patience and 
 gentleness of PVancis, and the conduct of the ministers 
 of his own sect, entreated to have a talk with him. 
 Francis could not refuse, though there awaited him the 
 dang'erous jouiTiey through the forest to be tmversed 
 by night. The result of the conversation is not known; 
 but the biographei's of the Saint give a most picturesque 
 description of his return by niglit to Allinges, accom- 
 l)an'ea only by his cousin and a sei'vant. They lose 
 their way in the thick darkness ; the howling of wolves 
 and bears is heard all around; the travellers at length, 
 the moon breaking forth, see a large ruined buildino^ at 
 a distance, which proves to be one of the many ancient 
 churches which the Calvinists had overthrown. The 
 missionaries take refuge in it; and whilst his com- 
 
 })anions slept, Francis, like another Jeremias, poured 
 brth his lamentations on the desecrated temple. What 
 makes one more adm're this heroic endurance is, that he 
 had at the same time so hard a fi^ht with the opposi- 
 tion of friends. His father used all his entreaties and 
 authority to make Francis resie-n what he considered a 
 hopeless and dangerous undertaking', in which at best he 
 was throwing himself away; and for a moment he even 
 induced the Bishop of Geneva to consent to recal him. 
 Antoine Favre visited Thonon to see how he got on; and 
 on his retui-n writes a letter, in which he hints to Fi-ancis 
 that, notwithstanding the extraordinary admiration en- 
 tertained for his character, there was a general notion 
 he was casting pearls before swine. About this time 
 Fmncis wrote a noble letter to Favre, in which, after 
 telling* him that the leading citizens, not trustinf!^ their 
 
CH. III.] ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 87 
 
 individual resolution to avoid him, had bound them- 
 selves by a mutual engagement never to hear Catholic 
 sermons, he adds, " 1 believe I see the object of these 
 wretched men ; they want in a manner to compel us to 
 CO away, by destroying all hope of doing any thing : 
 but we, on the other hand, so long as the treaty and 
 tl;e will of the ecclesiastical and secular princes shall 
 jx'iniit, have wholly and most resolutely determined to 
 a|)ply to the work, to leave not a stone unturned, to en- 
 treat, to rebuke, in all the patience and devotion God 
 has given us. But in my opinion, if we are to fight in 
 this arena, we must have, not preaching only, but the 
 sacrifice of the Mass as soon as possible, that the enemy 
 may feel that he is not so much abating as increasing 
 our courage by his arts ; but I see that great prudence 
 is required in that matter." 
 
 a 
 
 n 
 
 .s 
 
 n 
 e 
 
 ir 
 
 ir 
 
38 
 
 6T. FHANCIs DL SALES, 
 
 CIIAPTKIi IV. 
 
 ORADUAI- CHANOK IN THK STATi: OF AFKAIU8, AND FINAL 
 ONVIiitSION OK THE CIIAUI.AIS. 
 
 Maxy months passed witli as littlo encourag'eraent as 
 ever. At length a turn took place in the state of affairs ; 
 and at first, as often luippens, in an indirect manner. The 
 garrison at Alling'os had been remarkable for its excesses, 
 especially in blasphemy, drunkenness, and duelling*. 
 Francis made the reformation of these poor soldiers 
 his by-woi-k in the midst of his giand undertaking* of 
 Thoiwn. Allinges, as we have seen, Wiis his head- 
 quarters, whither at first he returned every nfg'ht after 
 the labours of the day among* tlie thankless citizens. 
 Tired out as he might be with preaching*, arguing*, and 
 walking* so many miles, in all weathers, over mountain- 
 roads and through forests, he still heard the confessions, 
 of the sokiiers; and gained such an ascendency over them, 
 that the whole garrison became changed, and instead of 
 being* the tenor of the surrounding districts, was now its 
 wonder and edification. A beautiful story is told of his 
 method of dealing* with these rugged hearts. One of 
 the soldiers, who liad been touched by a sermon of the 
 apostolic missionai*y, came and made his confession to 
 him in agonies of remorse. All the penance Francis 
 gave him was an " Our Father" and a " Hail Mai*y." 
 The penitent expressed his amazement at what seemed 
 to him extreme indulgence. Francis in reply bade him 
 trust in the mei*cy of God, which was greater than all 
 his iniquities, and said that he would bind himself Avith 
 the surplus of liis penance. The soldier was so stiiick by 
 this ang-elic cliai*ity, that a i'e\v weeks after he entered 
 religion and became a Caithusian. We know* of no 
 more instructive instance of what all must oi'ten have 
 felt, viz. the extraordinary generosity of the Catholic 
 
CH. IV.] 
 
 ST. FRANCIS 1»K SALES'. 
 
 «n 
 
 Clmreii. In lier there are no uphrnidinsrs. The sinner 
 does penance, and tlie Precious lUood wiislies uwiiy hi:; 
 sins ; tiie snnpHcity of the .satisfaction leaving- the soni 
 in a kind of tranquil anuiaement, and deeply imhued 
 with the feeling- that to Fin again, when forgiveness has 
 been accorded with such lavish, such infinite love, would 
 uM to tlie stain of sin an element of new anA stui)endous 
 ingratitude. To retui-n, however, to our chief subject. 
 The chanj>e wrouo'ht bv Francis on the gsu-rison of 
 AUing-es, of course, was not long ni producing its eitect 
 on tlie liearts of the peoj>Ie of Thonon; and though, even 
 after this, Francis still had his jjutience tried for many 
 months, from that time might be dated a ne^v epocli 
 in his mission. 
 
 Tlie next advantage g-Jiined was the conversion of 
 an aged gentleman in the neighbourhood, whom Francis 
 preventea fighting a duel, and in whom he elfecte I a 
 tliorough alteration, not only of his mode of life, but oi 
 • "s whole character. This gentleman's house lx?came a 
 :oit of rendezvous for those who wislied to hear about 
 the Catholic religion ; and there Fi-ancis held regular 
 conferences, which soon beg-an to liave j»owerful eifeet. 
 He had a particular gift in winning people by conversa- 
 tion, in which his persuasiveness arose, first, from that 
 real sweetness and kindness of heart, which may Ije said 
 to be almost irresistible ; and secondly, from an al)sance 
 of any thing like cmprcsf^cmcnt ; that is, he would never 
 be over liasty or eager, always be ready patiently to 
 hear what pc'ople had to say, and cpiietly to wait the 
 ])roper opportunity for saying in his turn what was 
 fitting ; and finally, he would never pursue an advan- 
 tage too far, but knew hoNv to leave on just at the righ, 
 moment. A man who had unrivalled charity, humility, 
 and confidence in God, would naturally show those cha- 
 racteristics in corivereation. 
 
 The gentleness of his method of conducting contro- 
 vei*sy, and the unexpected maiiher in which he brought 
 cut strongly principles which the Calvinists thought 
 })eculiai*ly their own property, caused e^eat surprise; 
 
40 
 
 8T. FRANCIS DK 8ALE8. 
 
 even ns in our day l^rotestants are astonished to find 
 Thomas ji Kempis or R()dri<inpz so " evang-elical." ilow 
 could one, brought up in " the ihirkness of popery," nay 
 more, who was moving^ heaven aiul cartli to bring; tliat 
 suppos'-^d darkness ag-ain upon the Chablais, speak so 
 beaut' i.llv of the mediation of Christ I* Some 1 1 ied to 
 explain this; however, by supposing^ that Francis iiad 
 improved his views by being; so much with the Calvin- 
 
 ists; 
 
 and othei-s contenued that he was disguising- the 
 
 ^eal tenets of the Catholic Cliurch. Francis put out n 
 pamphlet on the subje<^t of the conferences, in which 
 was shown that what he taug-ht was simply the doctrine 
 of the Catechism of the Council of Trent, and that no 
 one would aro-ue that tlie Council did not know n-hat 
 Catholic theology was. He concluded by challeng-ing- 
 the ministers to a disputation either l)y writing* or in 
 public discussion. I'hey shrank, however, from accept- 
 mg; the challeng-e, tmd did not venture a reply to his 
 pamphlet. The fear with wliich he inspired them was 
 made apparent soon after ])y a conspiracy to assassinate 
 the g'entleman at whose liouse the conferences were 
 held. His [)resence of mind and Ins g-enerosity, how- 
 ever, were such, that the matter only ended in the con- 
 version of the man who had intended to take his life ; 
 the Catholic movement ag-ain took a fresh impulse; and 
 people came in crowds to liear Francis de Sales, in spite 
 of the rag-e and the prohibitions of their ministers. They 
 now plotted to take the life of Fi-ancis himself; and 
 on July 18th, 1595, two assassins actually waylaid him 
 in the forest, as he was returning; as usual to Alling-es, 
 with a very few companions. Francis behaved like our 
 Lord, when St. Peter drew his sword to defend Him 
 agninst the band of soldiers headed by the traitor. He 
 for])ade h's attendants to use their weapons ; and ad- 
 vancing- towards the assassins, he said, " My friends, 
 YOU are mistaken. You surely would not act thus to- 
 wards a man who, far from having- offended you, would 
 yield up his life for 3'ou wirh all his heart.'* This heroic 
 serenity of demeanour subdued the savage men who had 
 
en. IV.] IT. FRANCIS DE SALES. 41 
 
 Stationed fhernsplvos there to niurder him. Tiiey li'- 
 mfiined stui)iHed for an instant, and ti.rew thcnist'lvcs 
 at hi? I'eet, jM-otesting- that for the future he siiould iiave 
 no servants more dovrled to liim than tliey. TJie holy 
 missioncr ppoke kindly to them, and baJe them take 
 care liow tliey fell in tile way of tlie Baron d'Hermance, 
 who would net be so indul«>-ent to them as he was. 
 Soon after this Francis decidea on removing to Tiionon; 
 the number of converts increasing* so fast required him 
 to be continually on the spot, and lie could no long-er 
 afford the time lor his daily journeys. To reside in the 
 place was, however, still a great risk ; and the Baron 
 d'Hermance urp^ed him still to remain in the castle, as 
 men who had attempted to murder him by daylight on 
 the road would be likelv to find means of carrvinj*- their 
 evil purpose into effect if he lived among" them by nig'ht 
 as well as day. Francis, howev(;r, persisted, and was 
 received at Thonon by his Catholic flock with great 
 joy. One of his biogTanhers thus describes the mode 
 of life led by Francis ana his faithful people : 
 
 " Nothing* (he remarks) could bt; so like the early 
 Church as the little church of Thonon ; the same charity 
 for the brethren, the same zeal for the faith, un exactly 
 similar purity of morals : for Francis m.' de little accoimt 
 of a man's relinquishing* his erroi*s, if he did not change 
 his life, — if grace did not superabound where sin had 
 abounded; and the benediction which God had attached 
 to his ministry went at once to enlighten the mind and 
 to change the heart. But nothing so powerfully struck 
 such heretics as were not ent''*ely hardened, as to see 
 the way in w^hich the poor and tlie sick were succoured. 
 FTancis used to employ all he had to live upon in 
 this: so that after having fed others, he was himself 
 often reduced to suffer hunger: he kept continually 
 soliciting his relations and friends to help the poor 
 faithful of the Chablais. He often received sums con- 
 siderable in themselves, but which were trifling when 
 measured by his charity. The Catholics seconded his' 
 zeal to su(;li an extent as to content themselves merely 
 
42 
 
 8T. FRANCIS DR SALES. 
 
 witli wlmt was necessary; and a lioly economy was seen 
 to prevail among: them, wliich liacl no other object in 
 view but the relief of the destitute." (Marsollier s Life 
 of St. Francis de Scdes^ book ii.) One is indeed re- 
 minded \\evii of Catholic ways in times very widely 
 ftj)art. ' 16 iieathen said : " See how these Chribtians 
 love OP* nr*Jier!" In a beantifid chi.pter of tlie IVea- 
 tisc on the Love of Godj Francis relates how St. Paco- 
 mius, when yet a Pagan, received his fii-st impulses of 
 admiration for the faith by seeing* the chaiity of the 
 Christians in furnishing })rovisions for the distressed 
 soldiers of Maxentius. In our own times, an exact ob- 
 server tells us that the half-pagan population of Lon- 
 don are led to entertain a special respect for the Catholic 
 religion fro~i observing that poor Catholics in adversity 
 are so often set on their legs again by t)ie charity of 
 their brethren. (Vide London Labour and the London 
 Poor.) The malignity of conscious and wilful heresy 
 is, however, extraordinary. The jealousy and hatretl of 
 the ministers increased in proportion to the way which 
 Francis was making among the })eople, and they once more 
 
 Slotted against his life. Late one night his house was 
 eset by a party of aimed men ; the holy missioner, ac- 
 cording to his custom, was at prayer, and heard the clash 
 of arms and the noise of voices talking in an under-tone: 
 he just had time to conceal himself, when they forced 
 open the door, and ransacked the house to kill him. 
 His hiding-place, however, seems to have been as well 
 chosen as some of those " priests' holes" they show in 
 G^d English Catholic houses ; the wretches failed to dis- 
 cover him, and were obliged to retire, assistance having 
 been unwillingly sent by the magistrates. Enraged at 
 being tlms disappointed of their prey, they went about 
 repeating their old story that Francis was a sorcerer, for 
 he could not have escaped if he had not had the gift of 
 making himself invisible. When Francis heard of this 
 charge, he smiled, and making the sign of the cross, said, 
 " Here are all the charms I own; and by this sip-n I hope 
 to conquer hell, fai' from bemg on terms with it." 
 
CM. IV.] 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 43 
 
 :)e 
 
 Now liiat he resided in Tlionon, nnd as vet it was 
 not prudent to say Mass in the liown, lie went every 
 morning- to offer the holy Sacrifice at Marin, a villag-e 
 on the other side of the river Drance. In June 159(5, 
 t'le bridg'e having- been broken by the Hoods, he was 
 obliged to cross upon a plank, stretching* over a terrible 
 chasm, and often as slipj)ery as glass with its coating- of 
 ice. Yet rather than be deprived of saying* Ma.ss, he 
 would creep on his hands and knees, at the ri^k of his 
 life, across the frig^htful pass. Occasionally ha aho 
 said Mass in the chapel of the monks of St. Bernard at 
 Montjou, or in that of the castle of AUinges. When he 
 visited the latter, he used to preach and «ive communion 
 at the neighbouring" parish-church. On one c casion 
 the congregation only amounted to seven ]>ei-sons, and 
 lie was advised to save himself the trouble of prouching-. 
 He replied, however, that he woidd preach if there were 
 only one person present ; owed instruction to a little 
 Hock as wrjll as to a great one. The sermon, which was 
 on the invocation of saints, saved the faith of a gentleman 
 who heard it, and who was on the very ve'-g-e of apostasy. 
 He now ventured to preach, mounted on a chair, in the 
 market-place of Thonon; when the people woukl break 
 oUt business and listen to him, hushed in silence. He 
 was indefatigable in visiting the sick ; and as he was in 
 a heretic town, he made his flock underetand by his 
 manner when he was carrying- the Blessed Sacrament 
 about him, and they followed hiin reverently at a dis- 
 tance. 
 
 The signs of harvest beg-an now to thicken. In April 
 1500, Francis writes with great satisfaction to Favre, 
 that the Baron d'Avully, one of the most important of 
 tiie gentry of the place, too-ether with the " syndics," or 
 magist) ates of the city, had very recently attended a ser- 
 mon of his on the Real Presence ; and that othei-s, who 
 did not dare to come openly, had endeavoured to hear 
 wluit they could in a little back lane, where he was 
 afraid his voice could not reach; and that he hod been 
 told the Calvinists intended to publish " a confession of 
 
44 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 tlieir fuitli," to serve us the basis of discussion with 
 him. " The business ^is now safe," he triumphantly re- 
 marks ; " for they have begim to parley, and, as the j)ro- 
 verb has it, will next come to suirender." Res est in 
 tnto: jam cnm adcoUoquia dcscendunt, moiV, itt vxpro- 
 vcrbiOf ud (k'ditionem centuri. A ver^ interestinjjf reply 
 from the Senator Favre to this letter is extant, in whicL 
 he says there had been a report of Fnmcis's retui-ning 
 to Annec}', which he had much hesitated to believe, 
 and had wished pai-ticularly to heai* from him, in order to 
 leara whether he had merely come to Annecy, or hud 
 rcttimed thither. Like Reffulus of old, he might in- 
 deed have visited his home; out with the full intention 
 of keeping" his word, and going back to Carthage. He 
 congi-atulates him warmly on the victories he was gain- 
 in<^', and no longer among the dii minorum gentivm, 
 but among those melioria noUBf some of whom he hears 
 have been so overcome by the mere report of Francis's 
 arguments, that they kept out of his way, and avoided 
 meeting or seeing him, — " Good God ! how would it 
 have been had they heard you speaking and disputing !" 
 — and othei's had resolved to conduct the controvei-sy 
 in writing, imagining, for which the senator thouglit 
 them i-asli, that their paper, full of lies and inipudence 
 as it might be, would not blush. Viret, the Galvinist 
 minister of Thonon, and his brethren, began to find 
 themselves called upon to take some public steps to 
 counteract Fi-ancis. They challenged him to a public 
 disputation, which he gladly accepted; but when the 
 day came, only Viret attended, and made a shuffling 
 excuse, on behalf of himself and the rest, for withdraw- 
 ing their challenge, on pretence it might offend the 
 Duke of Savoy. Fi-ancis obtained for them a written 
 authorisation fi'om the Baron d'Hermance to hold the 
 disputation; but they alleged fui'ther idle excuses, and 
 (juitted the town witnout daring to face their formidable 
 opponent. Two great and leading conversions followed 
 soon after : one of them, that of an advocate of distinc- 
 tion, named Poncet; the other, the Above-named Bai'on 
 
 a. 
 
en. iv.j 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 ^ 
 
 d'AvuUv, who became most iispf'ul to Frnncis h\ his nid 
 nnd sufrji-e.'tions in ciUTyinjf on the work ot'cnthohcisin«j; 
 tlie province. Francis considered this conversion of sncli 
 g-rent iinim/tance, that he made a spcial commemo- 
 ration of it once a year, on tiie 4th October, as h)ng- as 
 lie lived. In the present day, when Pi-otestants are so 
 fond of adopting- tlie system of passing" over in silence 
 most convincing- treatises on the Catholic side, of " i^-- 
 noiing" them, as tlie phrase is, it is interesting- to ob- 
 serve that the Swiss Calvinists in Francis de Sales' 
 time nsed precisely the same stratng-em towards him ; 
 imitating" the silly bird in the fable, who, so long- as it 
 hides its head from the fowler, thinks that its lodv is 
 
 A controversial 
 
 written bv Francis at 
 
 secure. A controversial piper, 
 D'AvuUy's request before his conversion, was sent to 
 the niinistei-s of Berne and Geneva, and met with no 
 sort of notice. Such a mode of proceedings of course 
 only tended the more to open D'Avully's eyes to the 
 weakness of the Calvinistic heresy, and to the strength 
 of the Catholic arg-ument, from which they could only 
 take rtfuge in stupid inaction. One instance, indeed, 
 occurred, which showed that had they entered into either 
 controversy or discussion, the result would have been 
 the same. D'Avully jiei-suaded Francis to call on La 
 Faye, a celebrated minister at Geneva, with who.^ lie 
 had a long- conference at his own house. As in many 
 such debates, the minister kept continually shii'ting" 
 his ground when pressed on one point, iipmediately 
 liyin^' to some other objection, and ending- in a torieint 
 of the most outrageous invectives, which Francis bore 
 with his usual serenity. 
 
 Conversions now began to be numerous, and the 
 success of Francis's mission became the object of g-ene- 
 ral interest and applause. Pope Clement VIII. him- 
 self wrote to express his approbation of the zeal and 
 diligfence which Francis had shown ; and the Duke of 
 Savoy ordered him to come to Tur*" to advise with 
 him on the means of completing' the great work which 
 was so happily begun. It was to be expected some 
 
46 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 ci'oss woiiM occur in the midst of such a cnrrrr of suc- 
 cess ; niul thi'io hnjjpcnod one of a kind paificularly 
 tryiny to a ohfiiactHi- like tlint oi" Frnncis. Jii>t when 
 he had leceived his (t.-dei* from tlm Dnko, n hiief, dated 
 Ortoher 1, 1500, arrived from Pone Clement VIII., in 
 M'hicli his Holiness intimated to tiancis de Sales, thiit 
 he had commissioned a Capuchin friai-, Father Esprit 
 de Ihinme, to acquaint him with a great desiij-n which 
 he d(!sii-(!d him to undertake. This was no other than 
 to attenipt the conversion of tlie celehrated heresiarch 
 Bezn, who resided at (Jencva, as tlie successor of Cidvin, 
 and chief of his sect. IJeza was now very old; and th? 
 Holy Father prohably thoufj'ht that Francis's unrivalled 
 ]>owers of persuasion, combined with that tenderness 
 towai-ds early recollections which Beza niijiht ho ex- 
 pected to have (for he had been a Catholic till long- 
 past his early youth), would bo not unlikely to work a 
 chan^'o. At a distance, the nndertaking* seemed invit- 
 ing* ; but had his Holiness ))een on the spot, he would 
 have perceived that the time w-as not yet arrived for 
 Francis to turn his attention to anv thinir but carrvintr 
 on the vnst work he had in hand. It was the most 
 critical moment in the convei-sion of the province; it 
 was very doubtfijl whether the Duke could be induced 
 formally to establish the Catholic religion in the pro- 
 vince; and if this opportunity were lost, the chance 
 mig-ht never occur again. IVza, thougfh a great man, 
 was but an .individual ; and the salvation of thousands 
 depended on the decision of the Duke. Francis saw 
 very distinctly that, althoug-h in appearance obedi- 
 ence piompted him to g'o to Geneva, his real duty, 
 which the Holy Father himself would have enjoined 
 had he been present and known the facts, w-as to pro- 
 ceed with the mission before him. He was in the posi- 
 tion of an officer at a distance from his g-eneral, receiv- 
 ing* orders which the g'eneral hiinself would reverse if 
 he were at hand; he tlierefore boldly took the respon- 
 sibility of acting" according; to the existing; circum- 
 stances, which, after a good deal of haiassing' opposi- 
 
CH. iv.l 
 
 ST. FRANCIS UE SALES. 
 
 47 
 
 tion, ovrn Father Espiit, with whom tlio convn-sion of 
 ht'7.:\ was a jM-'t schciiu', at hist admittoii was tlie juoper 
 and oiilv couis{» to he pniMU'd. 
 
 Fiancis arrived at Turin in Decetnher 1590, after 
 a perilous winter journey across tlie Alj)s. He was 
 most ihitterinjilv received l)v the Duke and all the 
 Com t ot" Piedmont, and was invitt'd to state im views 
 hol'ore the Councih He imule a hmg" fspeech, of the 
 most statesmanlike kind, and at the same time full of 
 the ecclesinstical spirit, which lost none of its cfi'ect 
 from his youthful appearance. He arj^ued tliat the 
 time had at length arrived for the state to put fortli its 
 ener<^i(»s in completinir the work of convei-sion. The 
 Didie was unwillin;,^ to lia/ai-d the use of forcible mea- 
 sures for fear of Geneva and Henry IV., who mio-ht 
 take advuntagfo of any discontent in the dominions of 
 Savoy. Francis did not recommend force; but he 
 pointed out the dang'crous connection whicli always ex- 
 isted between Calvinism and rebellion, and sliowcd that 
 the bulk of the ])opulation diil not hold to Calvinism on 
 conviction, but merely because Catholicity had been re- 
 presented to them in false colours. The iiiinistei*s evi- 
 dently maintained their ground on principles which had 
 no claim to respect; for they refused to arg^ie the sub- 
 ject, and had sought on two or three occasions to get 
 rid of the difficulty by attempting" to have Francis as- 
 sassinated. It seemed most unreasonable to allow the 
 presence of such men to stand in the way of the conver- 
 sion of a whole people. He thereibre recommended 
 that all the Protestant ministers should be sent out of 
 the country. He ftirther advised that state-patronag-e 
 should be transferred from the Protestants to the Csi- 
 tholics, so that no public offices should be lield except 
 by Catholics. These were the two strongest points in 
 a memorial which he presented to the govei-nment. The 
 othei-s were, the suppression of Protestant books ; the 
 establishment of a printing-press at Annecy for the cir- 
 culation of Catholic publications ; the re-establisbment 
 of the old paiislies tlux>ughout the duclij ; the restita- 
 
48 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DE 8ALB8. 
 
 I 1'^'? 
 
 tion of usnri»e(l Chinch proptnty ; the restoration of the 
 chinch of St. llipnolytus in the town of Thonon for pub- 
 lic Cntliolic worship; the enii»lovinent of eiglit nctive 
 missionaries to tiavel uhoiit the country and prencli in 
 oil directions, to bo maintained otit oP funds hitiierto 
 paid to Protestant ministers ; and finally, the establish- 
 ment of a college o. Jesuits at Thonon, — that society 
 being" practi.>-ed in controvei-sy, and l>est qualified to 
 carry on so difficult a work. His great object was to 
 use the strength of the state to secure a clear field for 
 the action of Catholicity ; and at all events to make the 
 people hear and see it. If only they eould be brought 
 to this, he could leave the result in the hands of God. 
 Thus, in an enrlier memorial, ho had recommended that 
 "churches should be refitted in suitable localities, with 
 altai's very handsomely adorned; and that the offices 
 should be celebrated decently therein, and witli all the 
 solemnities required for the mnjesty of the Divine ser- 
 vice, even with organs, or other similar things, to fami- 
 liarise the inhabitants with the exercise of the Catholic 
 religion." It may be interesting here to mention, that ■ 
 Fmncis, as we read in a letter of his to Madame de 
 Chantal, " knew nothing whatever of music," though 
 he " loved it extremely when it is apphed tu the pmises 
 of our Lord." 
 
 His plan for the restoration of Catholicity, from the 
 political position of Savoy, was thought daiinr, especi- 
 ally in the first two points, — the expulsion of tiie Cal- 
 vinist ministers, and tne transference of state-patronage 
 to the Catholics. These measures the Duke resened 
 to a later period ; but the othei-s, after some discussion, 
 were granted. If the Catholic religion was to be esta- 
 blished at all, less than what Fi-ancis asked would not 
 have sufficed. The principle of the state being of no 
 religion, and distributing a certain amount of its assist- 
 ance to all parties alike, was in those days not so much 
 as thought of; and rulers believed themselves intrusted 
 with power and patronage, not only for the temporal 
 well-being of their subjects, but also for the direct ser- 
 
 f 
 
CH. ivj 
 
 ST. FRANLl*! UK f>Al.VA. 
 
 40 
 
 vioo of Almijifhtv (t<Ml. It*|K»<)|»N» mlinif tin* laiinpss of 
 this view of '|Hil»lic tlv.ty, but still foinpluin of I'Vjincis 
 cic Srtl('!»' projM)sitions Iwiiiir si-vfrc, t\tv\ have to s!iow 
 in wlmt other manner any i-('lij;ion oonld have Immmj es- 
 tablished. It was precisely a case in which the state 
 luig'ht with the most jHJifect jMtuleiKe interfere ; for the 
 people were so fur Catholic as to rc(piire only a slijrlit 
 demonstnition of the will of the state to decide t " 
 wavering" convictions, and many of them hesitated oniy 
 because thev thoug-ht that will wa> not sutficiently 
 shown. Atiuii-s being" m such a pi.«!ition, it wouK' have 
 been intolemble if a handful of tanatics huu been al- 
 lowed to check the Catholic t<'ndencies of the bulk of 
 the i)opnlation, or to restrain them 'n the free exercise 
 of that religitm which had been forcibly aisposse i-ed 
 of its ancient rights little more than half a Cfnaii'j 
 before. 
 
 Francis returned to Thonon, and ft\i ■ ordering 
 prayers for the good success of the ardu( us undertak- 
 ing", took measures for the opening of the church of 
 St. Hippolytus at the approncliing Christmas of 1690. 
 'J'lie announcement was the signal for an alarming sedi- 
 tion, wliich was favoured by tlie magistrates themselves. 
 The Calvinists closed the gates, to prevent assistance 
 coming to the Catholics fi"om the country, suri"ounded 
 the chiu'ch of St. Hippolytus, and threatened to bum 
 Francis de Sales alive in the midst of the town. The 
 Catholics, on their part, put themselves in a state of 
 defence, occupied various stroic points, and placed a 
 
 fl'uard at the house of their bel^^-o apostle. The crowd 
 laving dispersed at nightfall, Francis at once sent work- 
 men into the church. Disturbances again broke out in 
 the morning ; and the two parties were on the point of 
 coming to blows, when Fntncis, with that serene coui-age 
 for wliich he was so remarkable, came between, and 
 addressed the Calvinists in a firm but conciliatory 
 speech; assuring them that it was no part of the Duke » 
 plan to aepnve them of the liberty of conscience they 
 enjoyed, but that he was detei-mined the Catholics 
 
60 
 
 8T. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 sliould at least have one clmrcli in which to exercise 
 tlieir religion, and that he was merely putting thn Ca- 
 tholics in jK>sse.s.«sion of whiit had been their own for 
 many centuries. The Calvinii^ts hesitated ; and at length 
 agreetl to a compromise, by which Francis was allowed 
 to proceed, j)endinj>" an appeal from both parties to the 
 Duke. Having" thus made ^ood his footing" in the 
 
 chvn"ch, Francis worked with 
 
 iiioonceivable dilisjence to 
 
 p,et it leady, so as to celebrate Christmas with all the 
 splendour possible under the circumstances. He effected 
 tliis g-reat tiiumph ; all the Catholics from the neig-h- 
 'jouring" connti y p<)ured in to witness the sacred mys- 
 teries, which hatf for iieaily two generations been ba- 
 nished from the desecrated temples; eight liundred 
 people received holy communion from his hands; and 
 in the coiu-se of the octave, the inhabitants of three vil- 
 lages came rn monf^e to abjure their heresy in his hands. 
 The little s]>ark he had been fanning" so long^ was now 
 indeed kimliing" into a llame; the harvest of conversions 
 was now so abundant he could hardly ivatiier it in ; and 
 the amount of labour in " sick-calls" became propor- 
 tionately g"reat, as Thonon and the rest of the province 
 woi"e g-radually becoming- Catholic, and no priests to 
 attend to them but Francis, his brother, and a very few 
 assistants. He preached, he taught, he conversed, he 
 travei-sed the district incessantly, discharging" even tbe 
 duties of leg"al adviser and physician as well as priest 
 to his poor people, for which his education at Padua 
 had made him highly competent. The day was not 
 sufficient for his toils; for he preferred to can-y the 
 Blessed Saci"ament to the sick by nig'ht, lest the heretics 
 should insult It in the day-time, and so compel him to 
 have recourse to secular assistance, which he was alwavs 
 so anxious to use as little as possible. He lay down 
 for but a short time, most frequent]}'- in his clothes, and 
 s|)ent the rest of the night in prayer, or in preparing 
 his instructions for the next day. Work like this told 
 upon his constitution in the end. In one of his letters 
 he remai'ks, that young people are apt to think they 
 
 ' ' > ■■ i 
 
en. IV.] 
 
 ST. FR;INCIS DE SALKS. 
 
 61 
 
 I 
 
 
 cnri benr Ion"* watches, but that thev suffer for tlmm at 
 a Inter jieriod ; and lie will not allow his penitents to 
 sit up to meditate. When, however, he knew the ser- 
 vice of God required it, he was not the man to spare 
 himself. " It is not necessary," he said, " for me to 
 live ; but ii is necessary for the Church to be served." 
 
 The following- year, 1597, another field was opened 
 for his zeal and prudence, similar to that which he had 
 worked so well in the early days of his mission in the 
 castle of Alling-es. A reg'iment commanded by the 
 Count de Martinenpiie was sent by the Duke of t^a- 
 voy to occupy Thonon, and to act under the advice of 
 Francis. The wise and holy missioner only used tliis 
 great power to secure goocl order among' the troops. 
 They nocked to hear his sermons, which he now, instead 
 of being' controversial, made to turn on the g'reat truths 
 of the Christian religion, and on moral duties, which 
 would come home to new and old Catholics alike. 
 Most of them, officers as well as men, made g-eneral 
 confessions ; and they were so delig-hted with the pre- 
 cepts which Francis gnve them, esnecially relating' to 
 tem[)tations that they should g-uara against iiereafter, 
 that, at their entreaty, he put them into writing', and 
 added a set of rules for a Clinstian life ada[)ted to the 
 military state. It wodd be most interestins: if this 
 were still to be found among' his writings. 
 
 Mattei-r; were now so far settled at Thonon, that 
 Fmncis thoug-ht himself able to undertake the task 
 assigned to him b} the Holy Father, and endeavour to 
 convert the great heresiarch of Geneva. It was a diffi- 
 cult business even to get access to him ; for Beza was 
 then an old man, and his house was daily so thronged 
 by liis adherents, that it was hardly possible to have 
 an interview with him without attracting' observation. 
 Francis, however, resolved to make the attem])t, and 
 prepared for it, as he did for all arduous offices, by 
 much fasting' and prayer, and by writing- to his Bishop 
 and cha})ter, and to all virtuous persons he knew who 
 weie fit to be intrusted with the secret, to ask their 
 
52 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 prayers for tlie happy termination of the enterprise. 
 After several ineffectual attempts, he succeeded in ob- 
 taining; an interview with Beza on Easter Tuesday, 
 1507. The old man received him with much courtesy ; 
 and wsis g-reatly agitated durinj^ a part of the confer- 
 ence, particulaily when Francis pressed upon him the 
 question whether it was possible to be saved in the Ca- 
 tholic Church; which Beza, after a severe struggle with 
 himself, was obliged to admit, notwithstanding the ob- 
 vious consequence that the Protestant schism was inde- 
 fensible. They had two other interviews, in the last of 
 which Beza showed himself much softened, having had a 
 remarkable dream, in which it appeared to him lie was 
 brought to the judgment-seat of God, and that he ob- 
 tained a respite for penance by the intercession of the 
 Blessed Virgin. He also was deeply grateful for the 
 prayers which the venerable Bishop of Geneva had for 
 years offered up on his behalf. But the iron fetters in 
 which his position held him were too strong to be 
 broken bv these last impressions of grace. The here- 
 siarch, whom a saint had laboured to convert, died as 
 he had lived, an alien to the true fold. 
 
 During this year, an act of extreme cnielty and 
 injustice on the part of the Protestants contributed to 
 strengthen the cause of Francis. A poor minister of 
 the name of Galletin, ashamed of the shuffling of his 
 brethren when challenged by Francis to meet him at 
 Geneva, came to Thonon himself, and held many con- 
 ferences with the Saint, Avhich ended in his conviction 
 of tlie tmths of Catholicity, though not in his conver- 
 sion. He had admitte/f, however, too nmch to be for- 
 given by his co-religionists, who, on his return to Berne, 
 as it is generally stated by the historians, procured his 
 condemnation to death. 
 
 Francis de Sales now had three energetic assistants 
 sent him by his bishop ; tvvo of them Capuchins, Father 
 Cherubin of Maurienne, and Father Esprit de Baume, 
 previously mentioned, and a Jesuit from Chamberv, 
 named Saunier. With these ecclesiastics and his cousin 
 
 "» 
 
CH. IV.] 
 
 8T. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 63 
 
 Louis de Sales, lie held a council, to deliberate on his 
 plan of action, at Annemasse, a place on the Lake of 
 Geneva, about eig-hteen miles from Thonon, which had 
 always remained faithful to Catholicity. Here, in Sep- 
 tember of the same vein-, 1597, he celebmted a solemn 
 Quarant' Ore, to wfiich no fewer than 30,000 j)eoplo 
 resorted from all the vicinity. Fmncis himself, in sur- 
 plice and stole, accompanied a grand procession, lu 
 which they canied the ci-ucifix from Thonon to Anne- 
 masse, singing; litanies and hymns as tliey marched, 
 and being joined at each villag*e by fresh bands of con- 
 verts. On this occasion he restored an ancient cross on 
 the high-road from Annemasse to Geneva, which had 
 been overthrown by the heretics, and attached to it a 
 scroll, with the following verses written by himself: 
 
 " Ce n'est la pierre ni le bois 
 Que le Catholique adore; 
 Mais le Koi qui, inort en crnix. ' 
 l)e son sang la cmix honore." 
 
 It may be interesting to mention, that among the 
 meuns he used to attract the feelings of a simple and 
 unlettered population, was that of the old mystery- 
 plays. He made his cousin the Canon de Sales and 
 his brother Louis compose a dramatic })iece of this kind 
 on the sacrifice of Aomham; and when it was acted, 
 he himself took the part of the Eternal Father. This, 
 of course, would strike Protestants as irreverent; but it 
 is an accusation they ought to be slow to bring against 
 Francis de Sale.«. He doubtless felt in this, as in 
 every thing he uttered, that he was speaking for God's 
 greater o*lorv, and to do Him service. 
 
 In tlie beginning of 1598 the Jesuits were esta- 
 blished at Thonon, and all went on with the utmost 
 activity. During a short interval, when Francis was 
 absent at the castle of Sales in consequence of an attack 
 of fever, the ministers ventured on holding a confer- 
 ence with the Catholic clergy he left at Thonon ; but 
 on his return, disgiiicefully sni-aiik &'om continuing the 
 
r»4 
 
 8T. FRAXCtS DE SALES. 
 
 fHs])!itntions. The treaty of Vcrvin?!, ratified on I^Fay 
 2fl of tliis year, }»y which tlie possession of the Cha))lai3 
 and the })aili\vick ot Ternier v.vre ceded by France to 
 Savoy, constitutes an epocli wliicli brings us nearly to 
 the close of this gTe.at act in the career of Francis. 
 ^ As this treaty remov; d all fears of these provinces fall- 
 injr into the hands of the Protestants of Bar e, the 
 Bishop determined to crlebrate a Quarant' Ore at Tho- 
 non by way of thr nksniving*. After several delays, 
 this solemnity was celebrated with great rejoicing" on 
 September 20th ; during* the whole time ii lasted, pro- 
 cession after procession entered Thonon from the neigh- 
 bouring villages, composed of converts who wished pub- 
 licly to renounce their heresy, and be received into the 
 Catliolic Church. Conver ions on such a scale had 
 probably never been witnessed since the miracles of 
 Pentecost. Pontifical Mass was celebrated by the 
 Bishop of Geneva in the church of St. Augustine, and 
 the Blessed Sacrament was then can-ied in triunph 
 througii the principal streets. On the first day there 
 arrived successively bands of penitents from Taninge, 
 Bellevaux, Boege, St. Cergues, Fessy, and Perrigny, 
 clad in white, and most of them seeking to be recon- 
 ciled to the Cliurch. On the following day came similar 
 processions from Cluses, Sallanches, and the mountain- 
 districts of Faucignv ; ♦hen a procession from Bonne- 
 ville; then a procession of the nobility of the Cliablais, 
 another from Evian, and, lu^tly, one from Ternier. 
 
 On September 30th, the Duke of Savoy and the 
 Cardinal de Medici (afteiwards Pope Leo XT.), who 
 had been the chief negotiator in the treaty of Vervins, 
 arrived in Thonon ; anrl the Quarant' Ore w,'>s solemnly 
 renewed on October 1st, in the church of St. Augiis- 
 tine, the duke and cardinal, with all the nobles of the 
 court, assisting at the ceremonies, which were conducted 
 with extraoi'dinary splendour. There were processions 
 of the Blessed Sacrament through the streets, which 
 were richly adorned with tapestry and verdure; and 
 curious emblematical exhibitions, in the style of the 
 
CH. IV.] 
 
 8T. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 65 
 
 Ufi'o, were pfof up to expross tlie popular senso of flmnks- 
 giviui^*. Hnndroils of jieople k«>pt Hocking" to ninke 
 tlicir al»juration; and the Quamnt' Ore terminated with 
 the inauguration of a crucifix in a street called, in Ca- 
 tholic times, " Ci-oss Street," from a reniarkahle crucifix 
 which had been overthrown by the heretics. Francis 
 de Sales preached the sermon on this joyfid occasion ; 
 and thenceforward the Chablais mi^ht be considered 
 once more, what it iias continued ever since, a Catholic 
 counti'V. The very few heretics who remained either 
 yielded to tlie very modemte and reasonal)le exer> ise 
 of the civil power, which at last the Duke thoug-Lt ii 
 his duty to put forth, and which simply amounted to 
 tlie establislnnent of Catholicity as the state religion, to 
 the exclusion of Protestantism; or else sought reluge in 
 the more cang'enial atmosphere of Bei-ne and Geneva. 
 The sj)iritual conquests achieved by Francis, in the con- 
 versions we have recorded, were commonly reckoned to 
 amount to 72,000 souls. 
 
 The holy missioner now retired to take rest for a 
 short time at the castle of Sales. His father had lonff 
 since acquiesced in his son's heroic undertaLing", and 
 the castle had become a g-eneral refug-e for thc^e of the 
 converts of Francis who were thrown npon the world. 
 Whilst he war on this visit, the venerable Bishop of 
 Genevi? eamcstly pressed him to accept the coadjutor- 
 ship, which he had long" destined for him. Francis, 
 like most of the saints who havo been called to the 
 episcopal dignity, long* resisted ; and it was only after 
 vehement entreaties on the part of the bishop, his 
 clergy, and all his friends, that he at last perceived it 
 was the will of Almig-hty God he should undertake this 
 dreaded resjwnsibility. Shortly after this, he fell sick 
 of a fever, from which, after his life for a time was 
 despaired of, he wonderfully recovered. During* part 
 of this illness he was afflicted with terrible temptations 
 against the faith-, especially with a particular objection 
 ng-;iinst the Real Presence of Jci-us Christ in the Blessed 
 Sacrament, the solution to which he did not find out 
 
66 
 
 8T. FUANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 till after his recovery. This temptation he at the time 
 overcame by frequent acts of faith, invocation of the 
 Holy Name of Jesus, and. the use of the sign of tlie 
 Cross. H'* always vpfu.sed to tell any one wlisit litis 
 temptation wa-, excewt his cousin Louis de Sal* -, n.uluv 
 a promise of secrocy, — fearing* lest weaker minils nuglit 
 perceive the diff ••ulty more roadil} thari they ct'tld ltd 
 answer. 
 
CH. V.J 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DB SALES. 
 
 67 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 APrOlSTMEKT OF FRANCIS DE SALES TO THE COADJUT0H8H1P OF 
 GENEVA — HIS VISIT TO ROME. 
 
 On his recovery, Froncis de Sales started for Rome, in 
 Feb. 1590, alonj^ with the Abh6 de Chiss6, nephew and 
 vicar-gfeneral of tlie Bishop of Geneva. Having" arrived 
 at the Holy City, he visited with the utmost ardour of 
 devotion most of its great sanctuaries ; and, in particu- 
 lar, his visit to the catacombs was noticed as having 
 filled him with extmordinary sentiments of charity and 
 consolation. On one occasion, the Abbe de Chiss^ 
 found him in the catacombs in such an ecstasy of prayer, 
 that he scarcely perceived what was passing; or who 
 addressed him; he was shedding* teai-s so proftisely, 
 that for a moment his friend thoug-ht that he must 
 have had some bad tiding-s from home. This deep 
 emotion in visiting* the catacombs constitutes a remark- 
 able point of similarity between the spirit of St. Philip 
 Neri and St. Francis de Sales. The holy founder of 
 the Oratorians used to spend whole days in the cata- 
 combs, in order to penetrate his whole soul w^th tho 
 atmosphere • of the jprimitive ag-es of the Church; and 
 it was there that Fmncis learnt to become the very 
 image of the life of the early bishops and doctoi-s. Tlie 
 visit to the catacombs which we have described was on 
 the 13th of March; and it was on the following* day 
 that Fiancis was first presented to the Pope by Cardi- 
 nal de Medici, who, in introducing* liim, called liim by 
 the title of " the Apostle of the Chablais." In this in- 
 terview Francis presented to the Holy Father a great 
 number of requests on the part of his Bishop, of which 
 the most intei-esting* was a petition for the separation 
 of the benefices of the Chablais from the military order 
 of SS. Maui>ice and Lazarus. At the time wEen the 
 
08 
 
 BT. FRANCIS 1)E 8ALE8. 
 
 city of Geneva pxpellcd its Bishop, nnd Calvinism wM 
 cstablislied thr ugiiout tiie ju-ovinco, Greg'orv XIII. 
 had ndopted a vavy bold but saj>ncious exjjpdient lor 
 keej)ing- the Church pro[)orty out of the hands of the 
 Protestants; he transferred it provisionally fi'om the 
 clerg"y to the Knig'hts of SS. ^Iaurice and 1 azarus ; 
 their energy and tletermination not b(Mng likely to yield 
 to tiie cupidity of the Protestants. They were to give 
 up the ])ropertv, if over the Catholic religion should 
 be restored, and meanwhile to pay the stipends of the 
 small number of priests who were required i'ov the fli- 
 minished Catholic jwpulation. The measure, in the 
 end, was conij)letely successful ; but for a time, as we 
 shall sec, the selfish desire of tlie knig'hts to detain the 
 property after all reason for their ])rovisional tenure of 
 it had ceased, gave a great deal of trotdjle. By other 
 articles in his petition, the Bishop asked leave to devote 
 a poi'tion ol' tlie tithes, offerings, and other revenues, to 
 make up for the delkiencies in the stipends of the cures; 
 and to support a certain number of ecclesiastics, to be 
 called canons-theological, whose services in preachings 
 would be especially necessary in a country like the 
 Chablais, newly recovered from heresy. Various poweis 
 of dispensation were asked for, in consideration of the 
 great distance and poverty of the inhabitants. The 
 most curiwis, however, of the articles, to the eye of an 
 antiquarian, is one in which the Bishop demanded power 
 to abolish the exaction of certain sei-vitudes from :he 
 subjects of the diocese, wliich appeared insulting* and 
 painful alike for a Christian bishop to exact, and for 
 iiis subjects to render. One of these was an old cus- 
 tom by which tlie inhabitants on the bordei-s of the 
 lake were oblig-ed to keep watch to Under the fiogs 
 from croaking", and thereby disturbing* t1 rest of the 
 prelate. This was a relic of the feudal siraplicitv of 
 the middle ages, which the times of course had long- 
 outgrown, and which had become only an irritating; 
 source of annoyance and humiliation. Among' other 
 vexatious customs was the right of the Bishop to be 
 
CU. V. 
 
 tT. FRANCIS OE SALES. 
 
 09 
 
 solo litMi' to tfstatdis who died childless. It was tho 
 influence of Francis which broug-ht about tlio removal 
 of these and similar burdens. 
 
 At anotlH'r interview, the A1>1»l» <le Ciuss6 pre- 
 ■-erit^'d to the Holy Father the Bishop's demand that 
 Francis should be his coadjtitor, with the rifj'ht of suc- 
 cession. This was g'i*ante(i in the most pfrucioui terms, 
 and March the 2'2d was appointed for his examination. 
 Francis, as usual at oil g-reat steps of his life, prepared 
 for tiiis event by long meditations at the foot of the 
 crucifix, by spending* almost tiie whole nig'ht in prayer, 
 and bv vSaviny: JMass for tliat intention. In his final 
 j>rayei*s on this occasion he made the heroic petition to 
 our Lord, that, supposing he would be a useless servant 
 in tlie episcopal oftic!), he might pass a bad examina- 
 tion and be ovenvhelmed with confusion. The exa- 
 mination, indeed, was of a kind to appal any one not 
 possessed of considerable firmness as well as learning". 
 It was held in a hall of the pontifical palace, in tlie 
 I>resence of the Pope, seated on his throne and sur- 
 rounded bv an auj>-ust assembly of Cardinals, among 
 whom were Frederic Borromeo, Baronius, Borghese, 
 and Medici. Bellarmine was also present, and a number 
 of less known but still impoi-tant persons of the day. 
 
 Such an effect had this grand sight upon a Spanish 
 j)rel:jte, who was to be extimined on the same occasion, 
 that lie fainted, and was obUged to be taken out. The 
 utmost kindness was shown him, and leave was given 
 for him to be consecrated w'ithout the usual exami- 
 nation; hut he actually expired within a few houi-s. 
 Francis de Sales was examined by the Pope himself, ^ 
 and bv the other "neat tlieolodans whom we have 
 named. Thirty-five questions wt re put to him on vari- 
 ous subjects of the civil and canon law and of theology, 
 only two of which have been preserved. The fii-st of 
 these was fisked by Bellai'mine, and turned upon the 
 formal cause of the beatitude of t!ie Saints, in regard to 
 which Fmncis adopted the opinions of those who main- 
 tain that it belongs to the intellect and the will, placing 
 
r 
 
 VP 8T. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 it in tlifi love of the superior good which is seen, and in 
 the vision of the Superior Bein^ VVlio is h)ved. Tlie 
 otlier, whicli was usked by the Holv Futher, related 
 to the powers of dispensation enjoyed by Bishops, in 
 which Francis expressed a view which his Holiness 
 corrected, and which Francis at once modestly with- 
 drew. The hig-iiest admiration was felt by all at the 
 manner in which he passed the examination; and at its 
 conclusion, Clement VlII., descending- from his throne, 
 embraced the holy bishop elect, and said in a loud 
 voice: BibCyfili mi, cujiunn ds cistemd tud, etjlucnta 
 pittei ttii ; dcriventur fontea tvi foras, et in plateis 
 aquas tuas divide (Prov. v. 15, 16). " Drink, my son, 
 water out of thy own cisteni, and the streams of thy 
 own well ; let thy fountains be conveyed abroad, and 
 in the streets divide thy watei-s." The bulls appointing- 
 Francis de Sales Bishop of Nicopolis and coadjutor of 
 Geneva wc -e expedited on March 24th ; and the Holy 
 Father sanctioned all the ai'rangements proposed by 
 the holy prelate with reference to the affaire of the 
 diocese, and the reconstruction of the religious esta- 
 blishment of the Chablais. In this case, therefore, the 
 delay habitual to the conduct of business in Rome was 
 not extended very far j though, indeed, Francis praised 
 that slowness, not only as a proof of the wisdom of 
 the Holy See, but as giving time to strangers to satisfy 
 their devotion in the sanctuaries of the Holy City. 
 
 Whilst at Rome, Francis contracted intimate friend- 
 ship with several of the great men then living there, such 
 as Bellarmine, Baronius, and Giovenali Ancma, the last- 
 mentioned of whom afterwards became Bishop of Sa- 
 luzzo in Piedmont, and was visited thei-e by Francis. 
 Ancina, like l{aronius,was among the most eminent dis- 
 ciples of St. Philip Neri; and from them Francis imbibed 
 much of the spirit of the Oratory, which he calls in his 
 httei'Syprfcclanwiviveiidi modum. He left Rome on 
 March yist, and returned to Piedmont, taking Loretto in 
 his way, where he agam paid deep and ardent homage 
 to the Blessed Virgin in the Holy House of Nazareui, 
 
CM. V. 
 
 8T. PiiA.vcis i>n RALr.<». 
 
 (a 
 
 ape 
 eth, 
 
 wlioro hfr mo«ir fnvoiirofl cliildron have ifcrivecl so ninny 
 trmcf's, and olK'j'j'd ii}) so many vows. II«' ulso vi>itt'd 
 ^liliiii, when? \u' obtainotl tlm '* lif»'" of St. Clinrh's Ilor- 
 rniiii'o, to whom lie always had a iifroat (h'votioii, and 
 by whose example he very much fj^uided himself. 
 
 On niTivin*^ tit Annecy, the ilist jiftair lie had to 
 transact was the difficult and thorny undertaking" of 
 tmnsferrin','' the Church-property of the Clml)lais and 
 the adjoining^ l)ailiwicks irom the kni^^-hts of SS. Laza- 
 rus and Maurice to its original destination. Thoug-h 
 tiie fact tliat these distncts were now almost entirely 
 converted to t}ie Catholic faith was patent and imdeni- 
 uble, and consecpiently no excuse could be otlered for 
 maintainin*^ what from the first was only a provisional 
 state of tlnng's, yet the knig'hts jwrtinaciouslv insisted 
 that they provided yearly payment for a sufficient num- 
 ber of jniests ; w hen it was evident that tlie Catiiolic 
 j)opnliition re(piii"ed far more than they allowed. In 
 the spirit of a mere corporation, they offered the most 
 vexatious opposition; ana no less than twoyeai*s elaj)sed 
 ])efore even the unwearied patience and w^onderful tact 
 of Francis de Sales were able to carry out the oiTang-e- 
 ments, for which he had obtained the sanction both of 
 the Holy See and of the g-oveniment of Savoy. 
 
 Another favourite scheme he had devised was, to 
 remove the seat of the bishopric from Annecy to Tho- 
 non; a change which would probably have had a g-reat 
 effect in strengthening* the faith ot the newly-revived 
 population. So many difficulties, however, attended the 
 can-ying" out of this idea, that he was obliged to give it 
 up. He succeeded, however, in founding a very remark- 
 able institution, w- Inch he had meditated f' ; a long time, 
 and the plan of which he had placed belbri the Holy 
 See in his visit to Rome. This was an pi'leblishment, 
 which, under the name of the " Holy House," was in- 
 tended to assist those of the converts in the Chablais 
 whose reconciliation to the Church had placed them in 
 tempoml difficulties, as \i-ell as for other purposes which 
 wc shall presently describe. 
 
■Y. rUA.Nrid UB HALBt. 
 
 CnAVTKR VI. 
 
 rOCNPATION OF "THE HOLY HOUSE"— VISIT TO PARIS. 
 
 It is obvious tliut when such a numbor of conversions 
 hftd been etYected in the manner we have related, cases 
 of g-reat imlividual suffering" ni ist often have occurred. 
 Had the whole population been simultaneously recon- 
 ciled to the Church, matters would, of coui-se, have 
 e'one on after the conversions as they did before. 
 J3ut the movement, altiioug;h ultimately taking' in the 
 entire people, was, as we have seen, a very jp-adual 
 affair, extending over a number of years. Converts, 
 therefore, from time to time were thrown out of em- 
 ployment, and families broken up ; so that an amount 
 of distress was commonly witnessed of a similar kind 
 to what has taken place in Eng-land dming the last 
 ten yeare. Francis de Sales assisted the poor con- 
 verts to the utmost of his power, and was in the habit 
 of raising money fi'om his wealthier friends for the 
 same purpose. The necessities, however, which were 
 daily mcreasing, required some larger and more per- 
 manent means of relief than private and occasional 
 charity could supply. There was another reason also 
 which made it very important that some means of em- 
 ployment should be opened, adequate to provide for the 
 convei-ts, and in the city of Thonon itself. The con- 
 tinual communication with Geneva, for the sake of 
 traffic, service, and business in general, w' as attended 
 with gi'eat danger to the faith of the poor converts 
 of Thonon. The lower classes resorted thither for mer- 
 chandise, or to obtain places as servants, and the hip-her 
 ranks of society for education. The authorities of Ge- 
 neva, moreover, put a soi-t of premium on ajostasy, 
 by holding out every kind of civil advantage as the 
 
 it 
 
Ml. VI.] *T. FKAVCia DK SALES. C3 
 
 rownrd of n)i]nnnp- tlif» CatliDlic relijrion. On tlio oflior 
 hand, thr [»ci>*'cutii»n to wliicli tlioM» iMlmbit;int.'< of (i»'- 
 lu'va \V( i'f siil)i''ctt>il who ciulnjircd Cuthohcify, drovo 
 many into «»xil(', or phmj^'-cd th«'n» into tlio depths of 
 poverty. It was tlierefore (h'sirahlo, ns far as j)ossihl»«, 
 to break the coiniection hetueen the newly-rechiinied 
 piovinces and those hea«l-qnarters of hostihty to tlio 
 CathoHc Church, by providin}*' for the new converts the 
 means of liveliliood at home. Lastly, it wa.s now an 
 oljject of tlie most pressing" importance, to educate ch-r^y 
 for the spiritual provision of the tliousand: triitiiered 
 indeed into the fold, but who were without any thing- 
 like a sufficient staff of pastors to take care of tlu-m. 
 The ^umber broug'ht over by Fmncis and his three or 
 four assistants required a largo body of clergv through- 
 out the province; and this, even when tiie difficulty of 
 endowments was overcome, could not be supplied un- 
 less an extensive .seminary were created. Tiie institu- 
 tion which Francis de Sales founded to meet this j)ur- 
 pose has been comparatively lost sight of in the lustre 
 of the great religious order with which his name is 
 associated. It was, nevertheless, one of the most in- 
 teresting kind, and full of hints which may be studied 
 with great advantage in our own times. 
 
 "The Holy House," which name he probably ns- 
 siffned to it from a devout reniembi-unce of the joy with 
 which he had visited the hollowed shrine of Loretto, 
 was a sort of combination of the university, the religious 
 congregation, and the mechanics' guild. As a univer- 
 sity, it was to supply the means of education which had 
 been sought for at Geneva; as a religious congrega- 
 tion, it was to train up a body of priests qualified for 
 carrying' on the g^eat missionary work which he had 
 begTin ; and as a mechanics' gniild, it was not only to 
 teach various trades to those who might be out of em- 
 
 loyment, but also to furnish a market for their laboui-s. 
 
 n this respect, the idea of it reminds us of one of the 
 most interesting of the numerous institutions of Catholic 
 France at the present day, — we allude to the (Euwe ds 
 
 I 
 
64 
 
 8T. FUANCIS D£ SALES. 
 
 S. Nicolas nt Paris, wliere poor boys ore tnug-lit Imndi- 
 crnl't tvarles; and with sncli success, that the institute 
 itself* is not only self-supportinL'-, Imt is etlVcting' won- 
 ders for the amelioriition of v»ii;it are culled the dan- 
 gerous classes. The Holy House, moreover, was in 
 general to furnish a refug'e for those converts who mitiht 
 be thrown upon the world, till some permanent situation 
 coidd be found for tiiem. 
 
 It were much to be wished that w^e had details as to 
 tlie practical working** of the secular ))art of this insti- 
 tution ; but of this we know little, althoug-h the infor- 
 mation on record as to the ecclesiastical de{)artnient is 
 both copious and interesting". 
 
 The establishment w-as founded in virtue of aJbuU 
 of Pope Clement VI H. What constitutes a very cu- 
 rious and chai*acteristic feature of it is, that it wa? to 
 be g'overnedby a ])refect and seven secular jniests, Wijo 
 v.'ere to follow as much as possible the rules of the Ro- 
 man Oratory. In the statutes drawn up for the Holy 
 House by Francis, it is, in fact, called " the Oratory of 
 our Lndy of Compassion of Thonon." The holy disciple 
 of St. Philip Neri, Cardinal Baronius, was appointed its 
 first protector ; Francis himself being its first prefect. 
 
 It was constituted into a regular university, parti- 
 cularly on the model of those of Bologna and Perugia, 
 and divided into four sections, according to the purposes 
 we have mentioned ; the first, which was, in fact, an 
 ecclesiastical seminary, consisting of the above-men- 
 tioned prefect and seven priests, and of seven choristers. 
 The most important of their rules were as follow : The 
 hour of rising was to be at four o'clock from Eaater to 
 All Saints' day ; there was to be Mass every morning : 
 the whole of the Divine Office to be chanted on fes- 
 tivals of the firet class, and on those of the Blessed 
 Virgin ; on other days they were to chant the tliree 
 last little hours, with Vespers and Compline, and always 
 to observe with the most scrupulous exactness the cere- 
 monial of the Cathedral of Geneva. All the priests 
 yrevQ to attend every Monday a conference on cases of 
 
 «- 
 
 'VV 
 
en. VI.] 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DK SALES. 
 
 65 
 
 conf'cipnce uiul ciTcnionio.' ; and aiiotlier on Tuesday, on 
 t!se spiritual and temporal administration of the house, 
 and on the observance ot" the rules. They were to dine at 
 a common table, never to leave the house without men- 
 tioning" where tliey were going', and to retuni in the even- 
 in"* at tlie rinsin"- of the Anwlus. There were to be 
 two almoners cuargedwith the distribution of relief to the 
 poor. The second department was devoted to preach- 
 ing, and consisted of a certain number of Capucliin 
 friars, who wore to go about and assist the secular 
 clergy in that way. The educational department was 
 at first placed under the care of the Jesuits ; al'terwards 
 lay teachers held it for a time, but managed tie busi- 
 ness very indifterentlv. The Barnabites were finally 
 engaged for those duties, and in their hands the college 
 prospered exceedingly. The remaining department of 
 the college was devoted to the ntw converts, or to per- 
 sons desirous of instruction. Here the poorest were 
 tauglit trades and handicrafts, and put in the way of 
 gaining their livelihood. 
 
 Whilst Francis was thus engaged in the very thick 
 of negotiation and practical labours, his pen was not 
 idle. In the early part of the year IGOO he completed 
 a great controversial work, tile Standard of the Huh/ 
 Cross, in re})ly to a pamphlet, in which the Calvinist 
 minister Lafaye had ])Oured out abuse against the 
 liomage Catholics pay to the symbol of our redemi)tion. 
 The book is richly l"urnished with authorities from the 
 Sacred Scripture, from the fathers and doctors, and is 
 an excellent storehouse of ar^^-uments for the Catholic 
 rensoner; though less known, comparatively s|)eaking, 
 than the devotional treatises of oiu* Saint. 
 
 The same year, a collision between Fmnce and Savoy 
 placed the ])acific conquests of the holy Bishop in great 
 daiiger. By another treaty concluded at Paris between 
 Henry IV. and the Duke of Savoy, the latter had en- 
 gaged to cede to the kins; the marquisate of Saluzzo, a 
 (listrL't the Dukes of Savoy had seized during the wai-s 
 of the Leag-ue, on condition of receiving- the province of 
 
06 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DE BALES. 
 
 II 
 
 I 
 
 a 
 
 Ln Bi'f'.sse nnd some other dif^puted possessions. Tlfiiry 
 IV. hiiviiis^- fulfilled liis pni-t of the nj^reeinent, the Duke 
 of Savoy refused to g-ive up Suluzjio ; and tha conse- 
 quence was, that those provinces of S:ivoy adjoiniri«^' to 
 Fiance, among: which were the Chahlais and Ternier, 
 were immediately occupied by the French forces, under 
 the command of the Duke of Lesdiguier^s, of whom we 
 shall hear afterwards. The republic of Geneva, of comse, 
 aided this invasion, and petitioned Henry IV. to extend 
 the Edict of Nantes to their country, so as to restore 
 the free exercise of the Protestant relig'ion, and in all 
 probability destroy the results of the five years of toil 
 which Francis had ])estowed upon them. The holy 
 
 E relate soug'ht and obtained an interview with the great 
 [enry at the castle of Annecy ; and such was the im- 
 pression produced upon tliat wise monarch, both by the 
 arguments which Francis de Sales urg-ed for the inte- 
 rests of Catholicity, and Ijy the charm of his manners 
 and ])reseuee, that the king- promised that no change 
 should take j)lace in the ecclesiastical affaii-s of the 
 Chablais. lie was treated by the king' with the hig-hest 
 consideration ; and it was noticed even that Henry IV. 
 held his hat in his hand during- the entire conference, — 
 an extraordinary mark of respect in that ag'e of eti- 
 miette and formality. During- the course of this wai-, 
 Francis de Sales, having- occasion to visit the cnstle of 
 Alling-es, in order to remonstrate with the g-overnor, 
 whom the Calvinists had induced to seize on some of 
 the Church-property, was taken prisoner by a party of 
 the French soldiers. Their commander, the Marfjuis 
 de Vitry, showed him the utmost reverence, and aided 
 him in stopping* the further invasion of those rights 
 which Henry IV. had g-uaranteed. During- the re- 
 mainder of the year he was employed in ""Jie reconstruc- 
 tion of the parishes in the converted districts; and suc- 
 ceeded in settling- no fewer than twenty-five, in arrtKig-- 
 ing- an excellent system of grouping- the aiflerent parishes 
 in the manner of ruial deaneries, in distributino- jinmiiost 
 them, in due proportion, the proceeds of the property 
 
 I c 
 
 I 
 
IH. 
 
 v.] 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DK SALES. 
 
 67 
 
 liitlioito lield 1)V tlio kniuhts of SS. M;iniicp nnd L;i^a- 
 riis, and Insllv, in appointing- pi-icsts to e:ic)i ot" the 
 jijirislies. In the spnng- of t\w. Iblirwing- VfMi-, IGOl, 
 ije iuid the affliction of losing* liis fjitlier. The bmve 
 old noble made a most Christian end; feeling-, indeed, 
 that it was a sacrifice for him, a kniglit who had seen 
 so many hard-foiig"ht fields, to die ing-loriously in his 
 bed. Like Siward Earl of Northnmberiand, in our old 
 history, he wanted to have his armour brought to him, 
 that at least he might die in harness. But these human 
 feeling's, the result of the chivalrous ideas in which he 
 had been brought up, g'ave ])lace to holier thoug*hts. 
 On taking" leave of his children, he charged them to re- 
 vei-e Francis as their father, and died with the g'reatest 
 resig'nation and piety, after having; devoutly i-eceived 
 the last Sacraments. Francis was absent at the time of 
 his deati), being- eng-ag-ed in })reaching- the Lent at An- 
 necy. He received the news as he was ascending* the 
 pulpit; but preached nevertheless with his usurd calm- 
 ness, recommending", at the close of his sermon, the 
 soul of his g"ood father to the prayers of his faithful 
 Hock. 
 
 The disp ites between France and Savoy were at 
 length adjusted by a i'rcsh treaty contracted at Lyons, 
 by which the latter government yielded to the formcj-, 
 alnong" other possessions, the important territories to the 
 north of the Lake of Geneva, callru the Pot/^ de Cit:i; 
 belong"ing' to the diocese «)f Geur .a, and containing* 
 thirty-sevea parishes, with about ;>0,000 inhabitants. 
 The "bailiwick of Gaillard, a sm:dl district adjoininjr 
 Thonon, was ceded to Savor by the sinne treaty, and 
 the Catholic religion re-established in it without any 
 great troidjle ; the conversion of the Chablais having" 
 made the work generally much easier, and there being- 
 still considerable ti-aces of the faith among" the j)eople, 
 among" whom Calvinism had only ])r('vailed about sixty 
 vears. The teriit(n"y of (icx })jes«'nte(l ii w.ow. ditiicuit 
 business; the r*:puljlic of G«'neva iiakiiig" it a strcjng* 
 point to obtain from Henry IV. the ratiilcntiun of theii* 
 
%y 
 
 m 
 
 BT. FRANCIS DE SALK8. 
 
 I I 
 
 
 unjust tpnure of revrral villng'es, of which tlipy had 
 ioi)becl the catlicdnil chnpter of Geneva, and wliich 
 would liave iurnislied so many centres of ])roselytii;m 
 throuo-liont tlie province. The Bishop of Geneva sent 
 Francis de Sales to Paris to counteract these claims of 
 the Calvinist rep»iblic. He was accompanied on his 
 joiu-ney by the President Favre, whose vast legal at- 
 tainments and hig-h consideration in Savoy, no less 
 than his ancient friendship for Francis de Sales, miule 
 his ])resence valual)le on such a mission. They arrived 
 at Paris on Jan. G2d, 1G02; and Francis remained tljoro 
 several months^ as the neg^otiation proved a very tedious 
 0110. Francis presented an elaborate memorial to Henry 
 IV., demanding the free exercise of the Catholic re- 
 ligion in Gex, and tlie restitution of so much of the 
 Church property as had been appropriated during- the 
 late troubles. Henry IV. and liis politic minister 
 Villeroi were very slow in meeting these demands ; and 
 Fitincis had abundant oppoi-t unities for the practice of 
 his unwearied patience and tact. Yet his stay at Paris 
 was full of advantage lo the CImrch. The brilliant 
 court of the French capital was completely carried 
 away with admiration for the eloquence of the coad- 
 jutor of Geneva, or by that indescribable charm which 
 his veiy presence exercised on all who beheld him. At 
 the request of Marie of Luxembourg-, Duchet^s of Mer- 
 coeur, he preached in the church of Noti-e Dame a ser- 
 mon fit the obsequies of her husband, Philij)- Emmanuel 
 of Lorraine, before a princely aiTay of ciu'dinals, pre- 
 lates, and the great noblesse of France; on which occa- 
 sion not only the eloquence and piety of his woids were 
 admired, but also the exquisite prudence he disjilayed 
 in his eulogy of tiie deceased duke, who, as a c1iie+*of 
 the League, had been a foi-midable enemy of Henry IV. 
 Dui-ing his "vliole stay in Paris, whicli lasted for six 
 momlis, Fi'ancis was continually preaching, leaving 
 Ijimself hardly time to eat or gletp; and his zeal was 
 rewarded by several great conversions among the Cal- 
 viiiist noblesse. One of them was a Countess de Pei- 
 
 ! 
 
 Ml 
 
CH. VI.] 
 
 8T. PRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 rt9 
 
 di-enuviile, wlio received lier first impressions in favour 
 ot" Catholicity' from a sermon preached by Francis on 
 the J^ast Judi>-ment, witiioiit tlie introduction of anv 
 controversial matter at all. Henry IV. hinii^elf, one of 
 tile most sag'acious observers of his time, was exceed- 
 ing-ly struck with the holy prelate, sma always spoke 
 of lijm in terms of the utmost admimtion. " 31. de 
 (xeneve," said he, "is the very ph«','nix of prelates. 
 The rest have almost always their weak side : in one it 
 IS learning', in another piety, in others birth ; whereas 
 M. de Geneve unites all in the hiy-hest degree, both 
 illustrious birth, and rare leai.'^ing, and eminent j»iety." 
 lie pressed him to accept a bishopric in France, which 
 Francis refused ; playfully observing, that he was already 
 married to a poor wife, and must not forsake her for a 
 richer one : he had taken the see of Geneva, distressed 
 as it was, for better and for worse. Such was the de- 
 sire of the French king- to secure him, that he repeated 
 the offer no less than five times, and in vain brought 
 in the influence of others to induce Francis to accept it. 
 Had he done so, effects might have followed that are 
 little thought of. Henry J V. seriously entertained the 
 idea of sending him into England, with tiie view of at- 
 tempting- the conversion ot James I. ; and at a later 
 period, when it was known that that monarch had be- 
 stowed high pniise on Fi-ancis' treatise On the Love 
 of God, and wislied he could become actjuainted with 
 its author, the lioly prelate eagerly caught at the 
 prospect of his convei-sion, and would probably have 
 taken the English mission, but for the Duke of Savoy's 
 refusal to allow of his departure. 
 
 The influence which Francis exercised on French 
 society was, however, so gTeot, that his six-months' 
 visit to Paris left a g-reater impress on it than other 
 men could have given in a lifetime. He became the 
 friend and adviser of the ])er3ons most distinguished at 
 that time for virtue und leligion r such as the Cardinal 
 de BeruUe, founder of the French oratory, Madame 
 Acarie (afterwards Sister Mary of the Jncornation, who 
 
70 
 
 ST. FRAXCIS DB SALES. 
 
 was beatified by Pius VI.), the Duchess de Long^ieville, 
 the celebrated Amauld, and otlieis of that stamp. It 
 was at tiiis period tlmt several of those friendships were 
 formed, to which we owe come of the most beautiful 
 and vuluable portions of his correspondence ; such, for 
 example, as that remarkable letter ho addressed, shortly 
 after his return, to the abbess of the Hotel Dieu, a con- 
 vent in wliicli the aristocmtic spirit of the ag-e had 
 allowed distinctions to creep in, to the ruin of the mon- 
 astic spirit of poverty; and which he points out with 
 .mrivallcd delicacy and kindness, ana sug-g-ests the 
 moans for accomplishing* the difficult undertaking* of a 
 return to the ancient rule. It will be perceived that 
 we have mentioned among his friends in the relig-ious 
 world of Paris one or two who aftei-wards unhappily 
 became entangled in the Jansenist party. We ought, 
 however, to recollect, that it was many years before 
 their real character develoi)ed itself as they now stand 
 in ecclesiastical history. Yet the instinct of Francis, 
 totally opposed as it always was to the least shadow 
 of heresy, led him, long* bei'ore that fatal sjnrit had 
 manifested itself, to reject the application of Angelique 
 Arnanld to be admitted into the order of the Visitation. 
 Nothing* definite, beyond a certain pride that showed 
 itself in her disposition, seems to have determined him 
 to this ; but it showed in a singular manner the unerring 
 jiulgment by which si\ints anticipate and repel evil be- 
 fore common eyes can detect it. 
 
 In general society, too, a jiowerful effect was pro- 
 duced by this short sojourn of a saint in a city which 
 was then, as now, the vortex of dissipation, as well as 
 the centre of religious action. Many of thoL;e immersed 
 in the pleasures of the world, dated from his visit 
 their return to the fear of God. "" ♦ith a patience that 
 nothing* could weary out, wi+h a winning* sweetness 
 that the hardest heart could not resist, he would watch 
 his opportunity to edge in a word just at the moment 
 when it would be felt; never saying too much, or 
 hurrying on souls faster than Almighty God intended 
 
 
CH. VI.J 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 71 
 
 them to pfo. In short, the way in which he turned to 
 vast account a pei-iod of time whicli, to otlier men, 
 would have been but a tedious parenthesis, and accom- 
 phshed a great by-work at intervals, when tiie work 
 which brought him to Paris could not be proceeded 
 with, is one of the most instructive passages in his life. 
 However, his original mission to Paris did receive an 
 accomplishment in some degree. After much harass 
 and delay, in the coui*se of which Francis de Sales was 
 falsely accused of sharing in a political conspii-acy 
 against Henry IV., but out of which affair his dignity 
 and innocence only apj)earod with tlie greater lusti-e, 
 the French kmt^ ended by charging the Baron de Luz, 
 governor of Burirundv, to re-establish the exercise of 
 the Catholic religion throughout Gex, wherever there 
 were a suificient number of Catholics ; only taking caro 
 to proceed gradually, so as to avoid giving alarm to the 
 Protestants. He also formally took the ecclesiastics of 
 those districts under his sj)ecial patronage, and invited 
 Francis de Sales to choose pastoi-s for the re-consti- 
 tuted parishes, whose prudence and charity wouhl qua- 
 lify them for the difficult position in whicli they woidd 
 be placed. This was not all that had been asked : still 
 it was something ; and Francis now decided to return 
 into Savoy, especially as the failing health of the aged 
 Bishop of Geneva made it necessary for him to hasten 
 his consecration. The kind and noble old man, who, 
 without any extraordinary ability, was a model of the 
 patriarchal simplicity of bishops of tiie apostolic days, 
 died before his saintly coadjutor reached home. Some 
 time previous to his death, which took place in Sep- 
 tember 1002, he had the consolation of celebrating the 
 jubilee at Thonon, by which tlie history of its conver- 
 sion was concluded and wound up with a sort of ecstasy 
 of rejoicing and thanksgiving. Htmdreds of thousands 
 of )i'grinis of all ranks, in masses numbering one, two, 
 or even four thousiuids. e-.ich preceded witli crucifix and 
 banner as they advanced, poured from all the country 
 rouini, making the Alpine valley's i-esound with their 
 
79 
 
 ST. FJIANCIS DE BALES. 
 
 pious chants. More than a hundred confessors were 
 engfag'ed continually at the tribunal of penance; and 
 altogether 02,000 communions were made in the church 
 of 1 lionon, where, but a few years before, it needed the 
 heroic coui-ag;e*of a saint to venture over from the for- 
 tress of Alling-es to minister to a handful of Catholics, 
 who tri^mbling-ly kept olive the lamp of faith amidst the 
 darkness of triumphant heresy. Dui-inir this joyful 
 .festival, the " Holy House" was canonically erected by 
 the bishop, ag^reeably to the bulls gi-anted by the Pope, 
 and united in j)erpetuity to the church of St. Hippoly- 
 tus, under the title of Our liody of Compassion, under 
 whose invocation ho also placed the hig-h altar. After 
 the ceremony, he caused to be inscnbed, in letters of 
 g-old, on the vaulting* of the church, tliose words which 
 on no occasion could more appropriately have been 
 uttered : Oaude, Maria vh'ffo, eunch's luereses sola 
 interemisti in vnicerso mvndo. Could a happier and 
 holier termination be imagined for the long" toils with 
 which this aged prelate, white with yeare, nad eanitd 
 his overlasting' crown ? 
 
 t 
 
CH. VII.] 
 
 8T. FRANCIS DB 5ALRI. 
 
 73 
 
 CHAPTER Vn. 
 
 FRANCIS DE .lALKS AS BISHOP OF GENEVA. 
 
 In returning" homewards, Francis do Sales took the 
 Pays (l(! Gex in his way, where he re-estabhshed five 
 parishes ; one of tliem the town of Gex itself, where he 
 placed as pastor his cousin, Louis de Sales, who under- 
 took the office without salary. lie then retired to the 
 castle of Sulc:<, to rniiike a twenty-days' retreat pre- 
 viously to receiving- conseeiiition. In this retreat he 
 placed himself under the direction of one of the Jesuits 
 from Thonon, Father Foirier ; he made a general con- 
 fession, and, with much fasting and prayer, drew up a 
 rule of life for conducting himself in the episcopal office. 
 Tliis document, which enters into the minutest details, 
 is still extant; and is alike interesting, both as throw- 
 ing into strong re'-'-'f his pei-sonal character and habits, 
 and as a be.autiial conception of the example which a 
 bishop ought to exhibit to his flock. He fii-st regulates 
 externals, such as his dress and household arrange- 
 ments : as to the former, he resolves to wear no habits 
 made of silk, or any more costly material than he had 
 been accustomed to, but would have them neat and 
 well-fitting ; he would never appear in public without 
 rochet and mantle, and would always wear the beretta 
 whether in public or private ; he excludes several ele- 
 gances made use of in dress by high ecclesiastics of 
 the day, and his only ornaments are the chnplet sus- 
 pended at his girdle, which latter he allows to be made 
 of silk, and the pastoral ling, which marked the indis- 
 solu})le imion of the holy pastor to his church ; he re- 
 solves that his tonsure shall always be in a state to be 
 extremely noticeable; his beard round, not pointed, 
 and without moustaches over the upper lip. As to his 
 household, he I'esolves to have no useless or superfluous 
 
 t 
 
n 
 
 BT. FRANCIS DK SALE8. 
 
 BPrvants: his honselioM shall consist of two ecclesi- 
 astics, one for the manaj^omont of jitfaii's, nnd the oilier 
 to assist in the Divinn Oftiee; tlioy must he plninly 
 hahited in the Roman dic^s, or in that of the priests ot 
 the seminary of V Ian, hcin^'- the least expensive. The 
 remainder of the . -tahlishmcnt comjH'ises a secrf'taJV, 
 two valets, a cuok nnd kitchen-hov, and a latk'.y, 
 whose livery is to he tawny, with violet hordci-s. None 
 of them are to wear feathers, swords, long" hair or 
 moustaches, or j^ay colours, — the usual vanities of the 
 rufflinff s(?rving-men of the time, such as would certainly 
 have found no harbour in the house of the Hishop of 
 Geneva. They were to confess and communicate onco 
 n month, hear Mass every day, and the Divine Office on 
 days of ohli^ation ; their hour for rising- was to be five 
 X)'clock, tlien- bed-time ten; previous to which they 
 were to att<.'nd the litanies, to be read by the Bishop : 
 viz. on Sunday, that of the Name of Jesu<; on Mon- 
 day, of the Saints ; on Tuesday, of the Angels ; on 
 "Wednesday, of St. Peter the Ajwstle, patron of the 
 church of Geneva ; on Thui-sday, of the Jilessed Sacra- 
 ment ; on Friday, of our Lord's Passion ; and on Sa- 
 tuiday, of the Ples.'-ed Virgin. He is particular in 
 exacting* groat courtesy to be shown by his servants 
 towards all, esT'^cially priests, whether of the inferior 
 class or not. j'^t^y cliamber was to have an oratory, 
 a hoiy-watei ihwc, some devout j)icture, and an Agnus 
 Dei; *wo nhiv w.rc to be carpeted, one for strangers, 
 the other a reif'ption-room. His table was to be fru- 
 gal, but neat and decent ; the priests were to take it in 
 turns to say grace; and some book of devotion was to 
 be read till dinner was half over, after which conversa- 
 tion was to j)roceed. The dinner-hour was to be ten ; 
 that of supper, six. Alms were to be publicly given 
 on certain days, both to the poor, ana to religious 
 orders like the Capuchins and ti^e Poor Clares, and to 
 the hospital. He lays stress on publicity, for the sake 
 of exam})le. Special and extraordinary alms were to 
 be administered as " the unction" — the grace imparted 
 
 ! 
 
 ;'t 
 
 \ 
 
 ■M"- 
 
 'V.' . 
 -is 
 
cif. vri.] 
 
 «T. FRANCIS DK SALES. 
 
 75 
 
 hy his conspciTition— shoiild sup-pt^sf. Thon follows n 
 list of tlio (lays on wliioli the Bishoj) n'^olvo" to assist 
 at t\m Divine ()rtic»»s in his cutho(hul, and of* varioui 
 con tVatc'ini ties nt wliose iohg'ioi;'< exercises lie would he 
 
 present as olte 
 
 Th 
 
 th 
 
 da- 
 
 come 
 lions wnicM ih? niys down for his condtict intenmlly. 
 As to stiidv, he wt)uld take care to he ahle to lenni 
 soincthinn* (»very day of a proiitahle kind and suitable 
 to ids profession. To this j)Ui'pos(» he would g-ener.dly 
 devote tlio tinfie between seven and nine o'clock in the 
 inorninfi*; besides which he would have u book of devo- 
 tion read for half an hor r supper, which nn;»ht 
 answer [)artly for stud' ' ' for meditation. He 
 would nierlitate for an lii lorning". Then fol- 
 low re.-olirions about th( of God, and about 
 ejaculatory piayei-s (to whicii, by tlie way, he attached 
 great impoitance, as an excellent means of makinp- up 
 for lost tinu!, if any thing* hindered the usual medita- 
 tions). He g'oos on to fix his hours for saying: the 
 Divine Ofiico : he woidd say Mass at nine o'clock daily; 
 hear confessions every two or three days, and occasion- 
 ally himself g'o t^o confession publicly in the church, by 
 way of example ; he would fast, besides the days com- 
 manded by the Churcli, every Friday and Saturday, 
 and on all vig-ils of the feasts of Our Lady. Every 
 year he would make a retreat of eight days, in which 
 he would review liis pi-ogress, confess his offences, con- 
 fer with his confessor on his difficulties, make many 
 prayers, especially mental, offer iind cause to be offered 
 many Masses to obtain from Aimighty God the graces 
 he required, and renew all the good purposes and de- 
 signs with which Aliii'ghty God inspired him. Tl e 
 time he thought best lor this retreat was the carnival; 
 not only to avoid ])eholding' the license to which tl.e 
 
 Sople g"ave way at that season, hut, like our Lord and 
 is holy precursor, to emerge fioni tie desert to 
 preaching- and good works : hut if there were hopes of 
 wi'hdi awing- the people from their dissipation, then he 
 wo'.dd take some of the weeks between Easter and 
 

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 33 WBT MAIN STRIIT 
 
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 (716) •72-4503 
 

 
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76 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DB BALKS. 
 
 Pentecost for the retreat, to have the ndvEintage of 
 the grace of those holy feasts, and hecause affairs were 
 then less pressing. Such was his rule of life, which 
 was signed hy his director. Father John Forrier. But 
 although he made out this exact distribution of time, 
 OS an arrangement to which he always aimed at con- 
 forming himself, still he did not allow it to entangle 
 his conscience, or interfere with the service of his flock. 
 He was too wise a man not to know that " the ton'ents 
 of business," as he calls them in his letters, by which 
 a bishop is overwhelmed, must often sweep away the 
 best-devised regulation of hours , and that, on the other 
 hand, nothing will be well done unless there is at least 
 a constant enort to adhere to rule. By this means he 
 kept clear both of scrupulosity and disorder. 
 
 His consecration took place on December 8, 1603, 
 the feast of the Immaculate Conception, at the parish 
 church of Thonon, one of the noblest of the lordships 
 belonging to the house of Sales. A vast concourse of 
 the most distinguished people from every part of Savoy 
 were present at this joyful ceremonial. The mother of 
 the Saint had taken care to have this church magnifi- 
 cently adorned ; and she too had pi-epai'ed by a retreat 
 for this great day, expecting for herself an overflow of 
 graces, when so much M'ould be bestowed on the child 
 of benediction whom she had oflfered to our Lord before 
 he was bora. The chief consecrating prelate was Ves- 
 pasian Grimaldi, foimerly Archbishop of Vienna; but 
 who for many years had led a retired and charitable 
 hfe at Evian, on the boitiei's of the Lake of Geneva. 
 The character of the ceremonial was felt by all to be 
 pervaded by a superaaturol sweetness. The countenance 
 of Francis de Sales appeared radiant like an angel's ; 
 and he afterwards declared that he had beheld our 
 Blessed Lady and the holy apostles Peter and Paul 
 assisting him; and that at each step of the ceremony, — 
 the imposition of hands, the unction, the conferring of 
 the mitre, the gloves, the ring, and the cross, — he saw 
 clearly and distinctly the Blessed Trinity workiog> in 
 
 , 
 
CH. VII.J 
 
 ■T. FRA1VCI8 DB SALB8. 
 
 77 
 
 1- 
 
 his soul the effects symbolised by those ceremonies. 
 When the consecration was over, he returned to the 
 castle of Sales, where he spent a i'evr days more in 
 retreat; and on Dec. 14th he made his solemn entry 
 into his episcoml city of Annecy, where he was received 
 by the authorities and the whole population with great 
 rejoicings. 
 
 He liad now entered on the career which made him 
 what he is in the history of the Church, and previously 
 to which, uotwitltstunding tlie great actions he had 
 achieved, and the extensive influence he had acquired, 
 the puqxtse for which such graces had been lavished 
 upon him would not have been fulfilled. The rule of 
 life, of which we have given an abstract, was cnn-ied 
 out by him v ith that ming-led gootl sense and gentle- 
 ness which gfovemed all his proceedings. He lived at 
 Annecy in a hired house, preferring; to do so from mo- 
 tives of humility, rather than to purchase one for him- 
 self. Aftei-waitls, however, the President Favre, on 
 leaving* that city, presented him with the mansion he 
 had himself lived in. Every thing in his establishment 
 was simple, but still elegant; and, considering the very 
 small revenues he had, which did not amount to more 
 than 3680 fr. a year (not equal to 150/. of our money), 
 his appointments were even magnificent. In this respect 
 he was the gfreatest contrast to St. Charles Borromeo, 
 whom he reverenced so much, and who, with a vast in- 
 come, lived in the utmost external as well as internal 
 austerity. However, although Francis de Sales thought 
 it right to adopt a certain degree of dignity in his 
 household economy, he kept for him«eif a little dark 
 and poorly-furnished apartment, v;hich he playfully 
 called the room of "Fnmcis," the others being the 
 rooms of " the bishop." llie house was the very abod^ 
 of calmness and peace : it united the stillness and holi- 
 ness of the monastery with the air of homeliness that 
 became the palace of the bishop. He governed his 
 household with that astonishing sweetness with which 
 he did every thing, and of which he had spent many 
 
78 
 
 •T. FRANCIS DK SALES. 
 
 yenw in the pntient ncqnisition. Tliero nre beaiitifiil 
 infjf.nnces of it as regards this part of his conduct; sucli 
 as iii>i kindly allowinj^ liis old preceptor, the Abl)^ 
 D^oge, who lived in his liouso, to reprove him, as if he 
 wei-e still his pupil. He secured, however, as exact an 
 observance ot his rules as could possibly have been 
 obtained by the method of severity. Female servants 
 he would not permit in his household, nor indeed any 
 females to enter it, except in the {^llery and reception- 
 room : when urged to relax this nile, at least so far as 
 to allow some ap;'ed and resjiectable woman to superin- 
 tend the linen, he replied, that he would not permit 
 even his own mother to live in his house; for tnough 
 she was his mother, all the women who would be cei-tain 
 to come to see her were not. 
 
 The first business which Francis took in hand after 
 he was settled at Annecy, was to establish a confin- 
 temity of Christian Doctrine, and to make catechetical 
 instniction his strongest point. He opened it with 
 solemn High Mass in the chui:ph of St. Dominic, and 
 heard the classes himself eveiy Sunday. A more in- 
 teresting sight there could not be than to behold him, 
 seated in fi'ont of the altar, teaching the little ones, — 
 the girls on one side, and the boys on the other. He 
 took the greatest pains with it, making Bellarminie*s 
 catechism his basis, and working it in eve^ possible 
 way with the most familiar explanations jieating 
 over and over again what he had said, till lie was rpiite 
 satisfied the children understood it. He encouraged 
 them with pi-izes, such as medals., rosai'ios, and prayer- 
 books; and very seldom used reprcofs. The instruction 
 ended with singing hymns in French, several of which, 
 says our bioo^pher, "were of his own composition." 
 St. Francis, however, says, in the preface to iiis Trea- 
 tise on tlie Love of God, in speaking of Despoi-tes' 
 metrical version of the Psalms, that he himself " had 
 never so much ns thought of this style of writing." 
 He may not, however, have considered the hvmns he 
 had written for children worth mentioning as an ex 
 
CH. VII.] 
 
 ST. PMANCI8 DB 8ALB8. 
 
 70 
 
 ception to this. Tlie catedieticnl instnictions becnnie 
 very popnliir in Aiinecy, ami gfi-own-uj) people i-esoitecl 
 to thnm in such lannbei-si, that lie was ohlig-ed tii-st to 
 o])en the side-clmpels of the church of St. Dominic, nr.d 
 nftenvards two other churches, to nccommodnte addi- 
 tional classes. Twice a veai* he made a festival for the 
 children, and went throu<;h the city with them proces- 
 sionally, sing'in^ litanies. The influence his kmdness 
 g^.iined over them was so g^eat, that ho never came forth 
 without the childi-on iiinnin"^ out fi-om eveiT nook and 
 corner of the streets to ask his blessings or kiss his robe. 
 He was followed by troops of them, so that his friends 
 complained of it, as the aisciples did to our Lord; and 
 thev i-eceived A'om the holv bishop a similar answer : 
 " Suffer them to come," he said ; " they ai-e my little 
 people." He caused the piiests to give catechetical 
 instnictions every Sunday throughout Lis dioces(t ; and 
 exhorted such priests as were without benefices to de- 
 vote themselves to this duty, giving* them lettei-s signed 
 by himself to authonso them to catechise with permis- 
 sion of the parish-priests. 
 
 He toolc immense pains to secure gt>od priests for 
 his parishes ; and would fill up no vacancies except by 
 a conctd'stfgf or examination, conducted by a council of 
 Ills' best and most leai-ned ecclesiastics. He drew up 
 for the use of his clergy an admirable set of instruc- 
 tions on the Sacrament of Penance, entitled A cartme- 
 meriA nvx Conf'egsew'Sf which had also a wide circulation 
 in France and Itidy; and he put foi-th an exact and 
 well-devised ritual for the use of the diocese of Geneva, 
 based on the Roman liturgy. 
 
 During this fii-st yeai* of his episcopate, liis tact and 
 wisdom wei-e shown in a wondei'fid manner by the re- 
 foi-m he effected in the abbey of Sixt, an Augustinian 
 monasteiy among the mountains of Faucigny, which had 
 fallen into such a state of I'elaxation that tiie abbot did 
 not even know whether he was commendotory or titJilnr, 
 thau is, whetlier he was or was not bound to keq> the 
 rales of his order; and the monks had no pi-ecise idea of 
 
 i 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
60 
 
 ST. FIUTfOn DB 8 A LBS. 
 
 the extent ot* their obligation!'. In spite of stron}^ oppo* 
 sition on the part of the uhbot, he gi-ndually and g-ently 
 rc-estabUshedf monsistic discipline in the community; 
 thoug'hy as we shall see, iii'egularity ag^in ci'ept in^ and 
 toward.^ the close of his life he was obli^d to renew 
 his exertions to complete this reform. 
 
 On Oct. 2d, 1000) he opened his first diocesan synod, 
 at which he established a variety of excellent iiiles for 
 the government of the diocese; one of the most important 
 of wiiicli was, to divide it into twenty districts, called 
 nuroeillanees. Over each of these ho placed one of the 
 most experienced of the parish-priests, whose duty it 
 was to visit all the parishes of the surveillance once in 
 six months ; to hold a meeting" of all the parish-priests 
 twice a year; and to give a half-yearly report to the 
 bishop of the exact state of every church, every parish, 
 and of the conduct of each pai'ish-priest. The result of 
 tins and of the other statutes he issued was, that he 
 acquired the most perfect knowledge of his widely-ex- 
 tended diocese, ana brought its adjninistration to an 
 extraordinary degpi-ee of perfection. It will be interesting 
 here to mention the sources from which ho may be sup- 
 posed to have derived his views of the duties of a bishop. 
 Having occasion, in 1603, to give his advice to a newly- 
 consecrated bishop, he recommends him first of all, for 
 his individual improvement, to study the works of Gre- 
 nada, "as his second Breviary;" to i-ead them "with 
 reverence and devotion;" and to ruminate them chapter 
 after chapter with much consideration and prayer. Next 
 to Grenada, he advises the works of Stella and Arias, 
 the Confessions of St. Augustine, Bellentani, a Capuchin 
 writer, Costenis, the Spiritual Letters of Avila, and the 
 Epistles of St. Jerome. In the conduct of affiiiitt, he 
 recommends Caitlinal Toilet's Cases of Conscience, t^e 
 Momls and Pastoral of St. Gi*egory, the Epistles and 
 Books de Can^deratione of St. Bernard ; the Stimttlvs 
 Pasfotiim of Bartholomew de Martyribus; the Deci-ees 
 of the Church of Milan as indispensable ; the Life of 
 St. Charles Bori'omeo; and above all, he advises him to 
 
 
' 
 
 m F<IANriS DB SALBj. 
 
 <>1 
 
 CII. VII J 
 
 have nlwavs in his hands tho Council of Trent and itn 
 Catechism. 
 
 Tliroughout this priod, and indeed during all his 
 episcopate, the aflaii's of Gex stive him a gi-ent deal ot 
 trouble ; the polio v of Henry 1 V., notwithstanding tliM 
 favour with whicii he regarded Francis, and tho pio- 
 miset} the holy Bishop managed to extort from l^im, 
 being very much influenced by a fear of ofiendin^ his 
 Protestant subjects and the neighbouring repubhc of 
 Geneva. Hence it was with much difficulty and by 
 slow degrees that Francis was enabled to reconstraoit 
 a certain number of parishes in that district. 
 
89 
 
 ■T. FRAMCI8 DK SALMM, 
 
 CHAPTER Vm. 
 
 VISIT OF PUAItCM DB SALES TO DIJOX — HIS DIRECTIOIf OF JA?IB 
 FRANCES DE CHANTAL. 
 
 In 1003, the echevins, or magistrates, of Dijon invited 
 him to preach the Lent in that city ; an invitation which 
 ho the rather accet)ted, as it gave him the opportunity 
 of adjusting" some aifliculties connected with the Church- 
 
 Eronerty in Gex, whicli Henry IV., forgetting the gi-ant 
 e nad ah-eady made of them for the endowment of the 
 parishes, assigned to Andr6 Fremiot, councillor of the 
 parliament oi Dijon, whom he appointed Archbishop 
 of Bourges. At Dijon, as at Paris, the preaching of 
 Francis de Sales produced an impression unequalled in 
 those times. The visit, ho'!\'iver, led othei-wise to re- 
 sults which constitute it the most important epoch of 
 his life, and to which we shall iind it necessary to devote 
 a considerable space of this outline. 
 
 Whilst he was preaching the Lent at Dijon in 
 1003; Francis de Sales first made the acquaintance of 
 Jane Frances de Ghantal, in cnmliination with whom he 
 afterwards founded the Uracr of the Visitation, which 
 is the must perfect reflex of his spirit; and the history 
 of which, even after his death, may be said to be a con- 
 tinuation and development of his own. The characters 
 and actions of the holy women who figure in its early 
 history were so completely formed bv the teaching and 
 example of the Saint, that whoever wishes to underatand 
 liim must study their biographies, of which there are 
 such copious materials, as much as his. The smallest 
 anecdote relating to them throws light on Francis; 
 for they lived in nis atmosphere, and, like Mary at the 
 feet of Jesus, laid up in tneir hearts whatever he said. 
 He founded the order in a twofold manner: first, by 
 Btarting the idea of an institution so requisite as that 
 
 -i^ 
 
OH. VIII.] IT. PRANCI9 DB SALES. 
 
 83 
 
 wfts in the Catholic Church ; and spcondly, by monlilin^ 
 and directing another mind of kindred heroism to can-y 
 out his idea. To us it appeal's that this circumstance 
 throws his greatness into stronger relief tlian any thing 
 else we have to tell of him. We judge best of the 
 power of one mind by observing the calibre of other 
 minds which it is able to influence and control. For 
 instance, in the history of this world, great as the lii'st 
 Napoleon is if considered by himself, he becomes far 
 greater when we cniisider that his marshals and depen- 
 dent kings were themselves gi'eat men, and yet mani- 
 pulated by him as his instruments. In the rise of the 
 Visitation, we see tlje wonderful sight of the gradual 
 formation, and, so tu speak, the spiritual education, of 
 one great saint, to execute a work projected by another. 
 We have the whole process completely before us from 
 the first; and it must not be supposed that the case 
 is less extraordinary because a feminine mind might 
 easily be captivated and subdued by the naturally supe- 
 rior reason of a man. Jane Frances was one of those 
 women of whom French history affoi-ds so many ex- 
 amples, who in clearness of intellect, strength of will, 
 ana greatness of character, were fully on a level with 
 the loftiest minds of the stronger sex. As far as the 
 possession of these characteristics goes, she might have 
 ruled a kingdom ; and her letters show a frrace and an 
 elegance, both of thought and style, hftt prove her 
 powers needed only to have had a worldly instead of a 
 spiritual direction, to have equalled in composition such 
 a wiiter as Madame de Sevig^6, who was her grand- 
 daughter. The lives of these two saints are so closely 
 associated, that it is difficult to view them apai-t; and 
 fi^m the time they mot to the death of Francis, who- 
 ever would be the complete biographer of the one, must 
 also record, almost equally at large, the actions of the 
 other. Both of them had precisely the same settled 
 object of life; and the one was far more the pixKluct and 
 expression of the mind of the other, than the most per- 
 fect picture is the image of the artist's soul : for in the 
 
 * 
 
8i BT. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 picture the artist himself alone strives to embodj his 
 conceptions; the picture is inanimate; and cannot co- 
 operate with the will of its inventor. But in exact 
 proportion to the desire of the holy prelate to train and 
 fashion the noble soul Almighty God intmsted to his 
 care, so that she might best fulfil the work for which 
 she was designed, did that soul of herself co-operate 
 with his purposes, eagerly drink in the lessons of his 
 wisdom, and strive to become the perfect copy of his 
 snintliness. But the brief limits of the present sketch 
 will not allow us to delay. We proceed to give an out- 
 lino of the earlier years of Jane Frances, and of the ori- 
 gin and leading features of the order of the Visitation. 
 Jane Frances de Chantal was the daughter of Be- 
 nigne Fremiot, president of the parliament of Dijon, an 
 illustrious memoer of one of the best families of the 
 noblesse de la robe, which was held in such considera- 
 tion in old France. She was bom in 1672, and at an 
 early age married the Baron de Chantal, a nobleman of 
 Burgimdy. Their married life affords a beautifiil pic- 
 ture of domestic society among the country noblesse of 
 that period in France. The feudal manners are still 
 visible; but softened by modem refinement, and yet 
 more by the gentleness and diligence of the tme Catholic 
 wife. Although in such high life, Madame de Chantal 
 dressed very plainly, only in linen and woollen, except on 
 festivals, when she wore the more splendid attira she 
 had brought with her to her husbuid's house. And 
 yet, when she wore nothmg but camlet and serge, " it 
 was with such neatness, grace, and propriety, that she 
 looked a hundred times better than inany others who 
 ruin their families to wear head-dresses." She rose 
 veiy early in the mor ling, and had completed all her 
 household arrangements oefore her husband was up. 
 She had the family chapel repaired, and Mass said in it 
 regularly; always taking sracial care, if her husband 
 had to go out nunting eariy on a summer's moiiiing, 
 to make him and his attendants hear it before starting. 
 She destroyed any bad books she found about the house; 
 
CH. Tin.] ST. PRANCI8 DB SALB8. 
 
 her own usual reading was the Lives of the SnintSy and 
 sometimes tlie Annals of France y or some other iiseiiil 
 history. Her charity to the poor was unbounded, und 
 known for miles lound the castle, especially durin^r a 
 terrible famine, when she distributed food to tliem daily. 
 A barrel of com and a little rye, which at one time was 
 all she had left in the granaries, was miraculously mul- 
 tiplied for six months. The fact was related to her 
 biographer by some of the servants who knew of it, and 
 also by Mad. de Chantal herself, when her nuns after^ 
 wards entreated her to tell tiiem the whole story. She 
 always ascribed the miracle to the devotion of a hu? v 
 servant of hers, named Dame Jeanne, in whose prayers' 
 she placed great confidence. A very pleasing instance 
 of that feuoal tin^e to which we referred above, occurs 
 in the anecdote of her releasing, during the night, pea- 
 sants whom her husband had imprisoned in the damp 
 dungeons of the castle, he, apparently, having what the 
 good Baron Bradwardine called the right of ^' pit and 
 gallows." Very early in the morning, before M. de 
 Chantal was up, she would cause the prisoners to retire 
 to their dismal quarters, and then beg her husband to 
 let them off, which he generally did at her gentle en- 
 treaties. She scarcely ever changed her servants; and 
 her house, says the biographer, ''was the abode of peace, 
 of honour, of politeness, of Christian piety, and of a trill j 
 noble and innocent cheerfulness." 
 
 After living thus happily for some years, Madame 
 de Chantal was suddenly bereaved of the husband she 
 loved so wnll. The baron happened to go out shooting 
 one morning with a relative of his, M. d'Alzury; and 
 having occasion to creep through some bushes in pursuit 
 of his game, M. d'Alzury, at a distance, imagining it 
 was a deer, drew his arquebuss m that direction (for 
 guns were as yet rai-ely used), and M. de Chantal im- 
 mediately fell mortally wounded. He survived a few 
 days, and expii-ed in a most devout and Christian man- 
 ner, wholly forgiving the friend who had unintentionally 
 caused his death, and charging his widow to take no 
 
 ^ 
 
m 
 
 ac 
 
 ST. FRANCIl Dl lALBl. 
 
 iteps ncninrt him. Madame de Chantal, who was pa»- 
 fcionat4>ly attached to lier husliand, was ovenv helmed 
 with the mo8t ag'onising^ gjief, which continued for a 
 lonff time. Tiiis was an immense sacnfice, and other 
 trials were at hand. After a short visit to lier fnther's 
 at Dijon, she and her four children removed to 'on* 
 thelon, the seat of her father-in-law, the ohl Bai-on de 
 ChuntiU. He was seventy-five years of u^e^ and of a 
 most severe and i*epul8ive temper; add to which, he 
 was completely under the control of an ill-conditioned 
 servant, to whom he had intrusted the whole manage- 
 ment of his house and affairs to such an extent, that 
 Madame de Chantal, admirable as were her business 
 talents and skill in the at)vernment of a family, was al- 
 lowed no sort of authority in the place, not so much as 
 to give a drink to a messenger without permission. This 
 woman also had five children, who hac^ the run of the 
 house, and were put on a level with those of Madame 
 de Chantal. She set the mind of the weak and irritable 
 old man acpainst his holy daughter-in-law ; and amoDffst 
 them, the latter led sucfi a life, that her biographer culs 
 it a purgatoiy of seven yeara and a half. Notwithstand- 
 ing, she repaid good for evil, and took the trouble to 
 teach the children of the housekeeper to read, and even 
 sometimes washed and dressed them with her own 
 hands. She was, however, allowed to continue her good 
 offices to the poor ; and kept a store-room in the house, 
 appropriated to her medicines, ointments, and other 
 remedies, so neatly arranged, that it became a proverb 
 throughout the country to say of any thing in particu- 
 larly good onler, C^est provre et Hen rangiy comme la 
 boutique de Madame de Chantal. 
 
 A mind thus, like Madame de Chantars, corres- 
 ponding with divine g^race, could not fail to be led on 
 nirther ; and i-esplendent as her virtues were, she was as 
 yet only at the commencement of her career. Yet, as 
 the glories of the natural day are prefigured by the 
 early rays which gild the distant mountain-summits, 
 there were in her mind prophetic instincts which foretold 
 
en. VIII.] ST. FRANCIS DR SALES. 
 
 87 
 
 whnt wrut to come, nmi which received years after their 
 fulHlnient and completion. She was haunted with an 
 unlent, inextin&riiisihahle longing to find some wi^e di- 
 rector who could tell her certainly what was the will of 
 Gnd with regard to her, and whose counseki she migpht 
 fellow with unhesitating obodienee. She had a vi.^ion of 
 a very remarkable kino, in which it was not only shown 
 to her that her wish would l^e accomplished, but she even 
 fieheld the very {lerson who was destined to lead her 
 tlirousrh the difficult paths which she was to traverse. 
 One day, whilst riding in the fields, she saw standing 
 at the fi)ot of a hill a man of amiable and august ap- 
 pearance, habited in ecclesiastical dress, and holding a 
 breviary in his hand. At the same moment it was re- 
 vealed to her that she now beheld the director whom 
 God intended for her. Long after this, on the first 
 occasion when she saw Francis de Sales at Dijon, she 
 recognised in him the very features of the person she 
 had seen in her vision. Other revelations or superna- 
 tural anticipations began to visit her. Thus it was 
 conveyed to her mind, that '' through the gate of St. 
 Chinde" she was to find peace and comfort. We shall 
 see, as we go on, what those words meant, which she 
 knew not at the time. Again, on another occasion, in 
 the chapel of Bourbilly, she saw a brilliant array of de- 
 vout vi^ns and widows, and was told that of that hea- 
 venly company she was to be the mother. The fii-st of 
 these propnetic dawnings of the future was so vivid, 
 that, tnii'ty-five years afler, she remembered it as dis- 
 tinctly as if she even then saw it with her bodily eyes. 
 What makes all of these the more striking is, that aljout 
 the same period Francis de Sales, with whom she was 
 then quite unacquainted, had revelations of an ana- 
 log^ous description, in which he beheld in prophetic 
 vision the appearance of the holy foundress, ana received 
 by divine illumination the idea of the order which he 
 originated. 
 
 After passing a long time in a state which woiild 
 have been one <u fevariui anxiety and onoertainty, but 
 
fm 
 
 88 
 
 8T. FRANCIS DB BAL^.S. 
 
 for that deep tranquillity which ever reigns in the in- 
 most heart of the saints, Madame de Chantal was at 
 leng;tli induced to place herself under the direction of u 
 Capuchin monk, a {^ood ond leained man, but who proved 
 himself sing-ularly wantin^* in that wisdom and discretion 
 which is renuirea for the conduct of souls. He began 
 by making ner take four vows : first, ever to obey him 
 implicitly ; second, never to change him ; third, to keep 
 secret all he told her ; and fourth, not to confer about 
 her conscience with any one but himself. His method 
 of direction was equally ill-advised. He burdened her 
 with all sorts of observances, particular devotions, pray ei-s, 
 fasts, vigils, which kept her continually hampered, and de- 
 prived her of all the liberty of spirit essential to advance- 
 ment in the spii-itual life. She had had from the fii-st a 
 secret i-epugnanco against taking him for her director; 
 and his narrow, harassing system, based as it was on a 
 principle which no confessor had a right to dictate to 
 nis penitent, kept her soul in a state of disquiet which, 
 added to all her other crosses, was indeed a iiimace fit 
 to try the purest gold. These very tn^ing circumstances 
 lasted for about three years ; for Jane Frances, with 
 that prudence which belongs to the saints, knew that 
 we ought to be in no hurry to change any state in which 
 we find ourselves placed, and which is not sinful. How- 
 ever painful it might be, she patiently endured it, till 
 she was quite clear that it was the will of God it should 
 be changed, and changed, as is most usual where steps are 
 taken agreeably to that will, not by any one sudden and 
 violent act, but gradually and sweetly ; one event leading 
 to, and as it wei'e melting into another, like the colours 
 in a beautiiiil and harmonious landscape. The beginning 
 of her release from this captivity was occasioned by 
 Fmncis de Sales' visit to Dijon in 1603. He was 
 
 S reaching the Lent in the cathedral of that city, and 
 fndame de Chantal attended his sei*mons. She recog- 
 nised in him the very pei-son whom, years before, she 
 had seen in the vision we have related, as the appointed 
 guide whom Almighty God intended to take char{^ 
 
OH. VIII.] ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 89 
 
 \\ 
 
 of her soul. Francis noticed her particularly, fts she 
 sat in front of the inilpit ; — a lady of that g-i-nce and 
 dijr.jity which, .in tfiose days, distingniished her rank 
 fi-om othei's as much almost as if tliey were diffci-ent 
 classes of the creation, and yet habited in a widow's 
 garb of the humblest materials. On his i-etum to the 
 
 {)alace, he inquired of his hof t who she w::<s ; and the 
 loly prelate was amused to find she was the sister of the 
 Archoishop of Bourg-es, and the daug-hter of the Presi- 
 dent Fremiot, of whom he asked the question. He seems 
 at once to have singled her out, with that unerring eye 
 by which saints know who are best qualified to aid them 
 in carrying out their great pui-poses. On the very fii*st 
 occasion on which he met her at the archbishop's, he 
 tried her spirit of obedience by hinting to her to leave 
 off, one after another, some of those ornaments which, 
 though dressed in the gravest habit belonging to a lady 
 of her rank, Madame de Chantal still returned. She 
 immediately and joyfully complied. The entanglement 
 of the vows which her unwise director had induced her 
 to take, checked the ardent wish she almost directly en- 
 tertained of o])ening to this wise and holy adviser the 
 state of her conscience, and of asking his heaven-insp'.i-ed 
 counsels. Could any cross be imagined more painfiil 
 than for a holy soul to be in doubt of lier course, — to see 
 before her, and to recognise, the person who had the clue 
 to all her difficulties, andj^et to oe bound down and pri- 
 soned-in with a fourfold vow taken in obedience ? It might 
 have been thought that nothing could break through 
 such a superincumbent weio;ht on the mind; yet, by 
 the grace of Almighty Goa, the evil worked its own 
 remedy. The director happened to be absent from the 
 city; though, as if to demonstrate his unfitness for such 
 an office as guiding a great soul in its way to heaven, 
 he had leflb a pei'son in charge to watch his penitent, lest 
 she sliould have recourse to any one but himself. Ma- 
 dame de Chantal, however, being under extreme anxiety 
 and distress, did what the inspiration of Heaven, as well 
 as that libei'ty which no dii'ector could lawiiiUy restrain, 
 
 <^' ' 
 
00 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DE BALES. 
 
 outliorised her in doing'; she Iiad an inteiTJew with 
 Francis, in which, altuoug-li hindei-ed from speaking' 
 half what she wished by the ten-oi-s of lier vow, she yet 
 to some extent relievefl her mind, and instantly felt she 
 had done right by tlie tranquillity which came u})on her 
 spirit from the wise advice he gave, and from that at- 
 mosphere of peace which reigned around him. Before 
 his departure from Dijon she confessed to him, and re- 
 ceived the holy communion at his hands. This she 
 seems to have been allowed to do ; what ht r director 
 had attempted to prevent was not her occasionally going; 
 to another confessor, — for Father de Villars, rector of the 
 Jesuits at Dijon, was her confessor, — but her placing her- 
 self under any direction but his own. The change of 
 directors was not accomplished without a good deal of 
 delay. No state, not unlawful in itself, ought to be 
 changed without a ^reat deal of consideration and prayer. 
 Mad. de Chantal Knew this well, and would doubtless 
 have endured throughout her whole life the martyr- 
 dom of having a dii-ector who did not understand her, 
 if she had known this was the will of God. Francis, 
 moreover, was eminently hostile to any thing like haste' 
 or flurry ; his favourite word was peaetentim, " ly de- 
 giees ;' " soon enough if well enough." His method 
 in this case, accordingly, was not to make any violent 
 break in the existing' state of things, but to allow one 
 fitnte to mer^einto another, making no visible alteration 
 till the will of God was completely ascertained after long- 
 continued prayer; in which he secured, according- to his 
 wont, the co-operation of others. 
 
 On his departure from Dijon, Madame de Chantal 
 remained in tranmiillity, abandoning herself entirely 
 into God's hands. However, on Whiteun-eve, forty days 
 after he had gone, she was suddenly assailed by a storm 
 of spuitual anguish, her soul being divided between an 
 earaest longing to place herself under the guidance of 
 Francis, and a sciiipulous fear of leaving her former 
 director. Father do Villars, whom she consulted, with 
 g;i-eat decision advised the former course. ** It is the 
 
f 
 
 Vlll.] 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DE 8ALB8. 
 
 91 
 
 A ill of God," he said, " that you place yourself under 
 the direction of the Bishop of Geneva ; he, and not the 
 ^lide you at present follow, is adapted for vou ; he has 
 the spuit of God and of the Church, and i)ivine Pi*o- 
 vidence wills something great from you in giving that 
 terrestrial seraph for your conductor. Words like these 
 showed what an extraordinary impression the holy Bishop 
 produced on those who saw him. Father do Yillars, 
 years after, in writing to Francis de Sales, said that 
 God had given him " so strong an impulse to assure 
 Madame de Chantal that it was hy the channel of liis 
 lips that Heaven willed to give her the waters of the 
 Samaritaness, that had the angels come to dissuade him 
 from this, he did not think they could have succeeded, 
 because the impression came from the Kinp of the an- 
 gels." However, she remained under her first director 
 for a few months, and. even, under obedience, renewed 
 the vow he indiscreetly exacted from her. Tliese trials 
 at length came to an end. On St. Baii;holomew's day, 
 1604, the two saints met at St. Claude, — thus fulfilling 
 the vision in which it had been revealed to Mad. de Chan- 
 tal, that by " the gate of St. Claude" she was to find 
 rest ; though both were brought thither for other appa- 
 rently accidental occasions. Madami do Chantal with 
 great simplicity and candour revealed her whole soul to 
 Francis. He listened attentively, made no answer what- 
 ever, and thus they parted. Early next morning he 
 called upon her, and said that, after having spent the 
 whole night in prayer and reflection, he had concluded 
 it was God's will he should undertake her direction, that 
 her four vows were of no avail but to trouble her con- 
 science, and that his long delay was only caused by his 
 wish to know thoroughly the will of God, and to nave 
 nothing done in the amir except by His hand. ** I 
 heard him," said Mad. de Chantal in afber-times to her 
 nuns, ''as if a voice from heaven had spoken to me ; 
 he seemed to be in a ravishment, so recollected was he ; 
 and he kept seeking for his words one after another, as 
 having a difficulty in speaking." She then made her 
 
IT. FRANCIS DB SALES. 
 
 general confession, and a vow of obedience to him ; and 
 he wrote her out a method for jiassing- the dav devoutly, 
 and changped her manner of meditation, which had been 
 harassing and difficult. ** From this day (it was tlie 
 festival of St. Louis, August 25) she began to enter into 
 the interior repose of the children of God, into a great 
 interior liberty, and was attracted to a sort of prayer, 
 altogether cordial and intimate, which leads to a holy 
 and respectful iiimiliarity of soul with the heavenly 
 Sponsor." 
 
 The letters which Francis wrote to Mad. de Chan- 
 tal, and which from this period foi*m so large a part 
 of his correspondence, are, as we need hardly tell our 
 readers, a repertory of ascetical and practical wisdom, 
 such as it would l)e hardly possible to find eoualled in 
 the whole body of ecclesiastical literature. The rules 
 of life which he proposes to her, and from time to time 
 modifies as she needs it, the continual application and 
 development of two or three grand maxims, the pru- 
 dence with which difficulties and temptations ai'O con- 
 stantly met, and the rich abundance with which traits 
 of personal character come out, and the great and little 
 trials of domestic life in the Catholic circles which sur- 
 rounded the two^aints (for, as we shall see, their fami- 
 lies became connected), — all give a wondei'fiil interest 
 to these beautifiil old fVench letters. 
 
 In May 1605, Mad. de Chantal paid a visit of four 
 days at the chdteau of Sales, where she again had an 
 opportunity of conferring with Francis on the state of 
 her soul. On this, as on the former occasion, he drew 
 out for her a set of rules regulating the whole method 
 of her life, marking out her devotions, fixing her houi-s, 
 and suggesting the principles on which she should en- 
 counter temptations. Wnen she returned home, she 
 almost immediately commenced the system he had pre- 
 scribed to her. "We here s>3t down briefly her order of 
 life, as she copied with the greatest exactness the idea 
 of perfection which he suggested to her, as a lady still 
 livmg in the world, and having all the cares of a family 
 
 t i» 
 
Clf. VIII.J ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 M 
 
 << l» 
 
 u{)on lier. She rose every day at five, and coi-lier in 
 summer, lighted her candle when it was needed, and 
 went to her oratory, where she spent one hour in mental 
 prayer, and said her daily prayei-s, after which she coin- 
 pleted her toilette without attendance, and without a 
 lire, no matter how cold it might 1)e. She then heard 
 her children say their prayers, and afterwards went to 
 bid gt>od momin{r to uer cross-sp^ined old father-in- 
 law, and assisted him to di'ess, if ne was in the humour 
 to allow her. She hcanl Mass every day, and on Sa- 
 turdays had a special Mass said, which, with Francis' 
 permission, she had vowed to the Blessed Virgin. A 
 regular part of her daily occupation was to teach her 
 children, and those of the housekeeper, from whom she 
 had to suifer so much, their lessons and catechism. To 
 S})iritual i-eading for herself she devoted half-an-hour 
 a day. Each day she made a spiritual retreat into one 
 of the Wounds ot om* Lord, re-entering into it especially 
 in a short recollection before sup))er-time. She then 
 said her chaplet, which, under a vow, she pei'severed in 
 throughout her life. In the evening, after sup{ier, if 
 there was no company, and the old baron allowed her, 
 she assembled the household, and read some profitable 
 instruction. She ended the day by saying with her 
 children and attendants the Litany of our I^dy, and a 
 De profundis for the i-epose of the soul of her deceased 
 husband. Then came the examen of conscience, and 
 the recommendation to the angel-guardian ; after which 
 she g*ave holy water and the blessing to her children. 
 She still remained at prayer for about half-an-hour, 
 concluding all with reading the subject for the next 
 day's meditation. Her favourite devotion was to visit 
 in spirit each portion of the Church, concratulating 
 that which is triumphant in heaven ; supplicating for 
 the militant Church on earth; and applying for the 
 Church suffering in purgatory her sunrages, prayers, 
 and indulgences. The above-mentioned practice of re- 
 tii'in^ each day into one of the Five Blessed Wounds, to 
 whien she adaed the scars left by the Crown of Thorns, 
 
94 8T. FRANCIS DE 8ALE6. 
 
 was a soui-ce of special grace to her. " It enve her a 
 spiritual view of God in all things, and a holy indiffer- 
 ence, so as in all diversities of creatures, anairs, and 
 events, to find her one only Good." Her daily reading 
 at this time was the Exposition of the Gospels by the 
 Carthusian Ludolfiis, called " the great Vita Chrteti ;" 
 she also was particularly fond of the metrical version 
 of the Psalms by Philippe Desportes, abbot of Tiron, 
 from which Francis de Sales continually quotes ifk his 
 Treatise on the Lave of Qod. 
 
 She early began to entertain an ardent desu'e to 
 leave the world, and addict herself to some religfious in- 
 stitute. That of Mount Gai*mel suggested itself; and 
 she often had ladies who wished to join that order stay- 
 ing in her house. The holy director, however, follow- 
 ing* his usual method, by no means encouraged a hasty 
 decision. Ho implored the Divine light at the holy 
 Sacrifice, and had prayers offered up by devout pei>8ons. 
 All he could say at first was, that one day or other she 
 should quit eveiy thing ; but whether to enter reliepion or 
 not, he left undetermined. He said that he had never 
 placed his oven inclination in a state of such indifference 
 m in that question ; but, so far, ^' the * yes' could not 
 fix itself in his heaii;, and the ' no' was present there 
 with much fiimness." This state of unceitainty went 
 on till the Whitsuntide of 1607, when Madame de 
 Chantal went to Annecy to advise with him on her spi* 
 ritual affairs. After keeping her some days in douot, 
 he tried her obedience by proposing*, one after another, 
 several religious oixlers and mstitutes for her to enter 
 upon ; she luimbly accepted each apparent change of 
 
 {mrpose he expressed ; and at last, when he had satisfied 
 limself of her submissiveness to the will of God, he 
 imfolded to her very fully the idea of the Oi'der after- 
 wards called by the name of the Visitation, which he 
 had matured in his mind, and in the foundation of 
 which he knew Almighty God intended her to co- 
 operate with him. 
 
 It will be sufficient in this place to state briefly the 
 
 „ 
 
CH. VIII.j 8T. FRANCIS DR SALES. 
 
 Oft 
 
 principal objects of this Order, which we shall after- 
 wai*ds develope when we have gone through tho most 
 interesting points connected with the history of its 
 foundation. Francis intended it to supply what had 
 hitherto been a deficiency in the conventual institu- 
 tions. All that had hitherto existed were such as 
 the delicate and wealthy could with difficulty enter; 
 there were severe fasts or vigils, or other corjioral aus- 
 terities, which no person of a feeble constitution could 
 undei-take without danger. Thus a whole class of the 
 most devout and lowly-minded women wei*e excluded 
 fi-om all hope of the reli"^ous state, for which other- 
 wise they might be excellently qualified. Francis do 
 Sales, therefore, projected such an institution as woidd 
 welcome the iniirm, the sickly, or the aged, as well as 
 the robust ; which would make up, by works of cha- 
 rity and tlie exereise of prayer, for those kinds of self- 
 denial which the weakness of their health would not 
 permit. Madame de Chantal joyfully acquiesced in 
 the proposition, and felt that unmistakable serenity of 
 soul which accompanies any great step in life taken in 
 perfect accoinlance with the Divine will. " I suddenly 
 felt," she said, " a great interior correspondence, with 
 a sweet satisfaction and light, which assured me that 
 this was the will of God ; which I had never felt as to 
 other propositions, although my whole soul was entirely 
 submittea to them." There wei*e, however, two g^nd 
 difficulties in the design, — one, the family ties with 
 which Madame de Chantal was entangled. She was a 
 widoiw, with four children, still quite young ; and there 
 were also the two old men, her father and father-in- 
 law : the former with his whole soul wrapped up in his 
 admirable daughter; the latter in the helplessness and 
 peevishness of nis declme, requiring, perhaps more than 
 ever, her tender and all-forgiving care. And next, 
 there was the necessity of estabUshing the first house 
 of the new institute at Annccv, whei*e it would be 
 under the eye of its holy fouucler. To go to sufch a 
 distance from her old provincial home, would seem to 
 
0T. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 all Madame de Ghantars relatives a thing both cruel 
 to her family and extravagant in itself. 
 
 Wliat seemed at first a gi-eat misfortune, brought 
 about the solution to these difficulties. After a visit 
 to Annecy in 1607, Madame de Chantal brought awny 
 with her Mademoiselle Jeanne, the youngest sister of 
 our Saint, to stay with her in Burgundy. This youne 
 ladv was only fifteen, and exceedingnr accomplished 
 and. interesting. Francis had baptised her himself, and 
 loved her witn the affection of a father as well as a 
 brother. He reckoned much on what she was likely to 
 do for the glory of God. However, she had not been 
 long at Madame de Chantal's before she was carried off 
 by a fever. The letter Francis wrote to the saintly 
 baroness on receiving this sad news affords so touching 
 and beautifiil a picture of Catholic family-life, that we 
 must translate a part of it : " What, my dear daughter," 
 he asks, '* is it not reasonable that the most hol^ will of 
 God be fulfilled, as well in things that we cherish as in 
 others ? But I must needs hasten to tell you that my 
 good mother has drunk this chalice with an altogether 
 Christian constancy; and her vu-tue, of which I had 
 always had a good opinion, has far exceeded my estima- 
 tion. On Sunday morning she sent to fetch my brother 
 the canon; and because she had observed him very sad, 
 and all the other brothers also, on the evening befora, 
 she began to say to him : * I dreamed all the mght that 
 my daughter Jeanne was dead ; tell me, I pray you, is 
 it not ti-ue ?' My brother, who waited for my arrival to 
 tell it to her, seeing this was a good opening to offer 
 her the cross, ' Mother,' says he, * it is true,' and did 
 not say any thing more; for he had not the power of 
 saying another word. And, * God's will be done,' says 
 my good mother ; and she wept abundantly for a space of 
 time, and then calling her servant Mark : ' I will rise,* 
 says she, * to go and pray God in the chapel for my 
 poor daughter.' And immediately she did as she had 
 said : not a single word of impatience, nor a siigle dis- 
 quieted twinkling of the eye, u tliousand blessings upon 
 
CH. Till.] 8T. KRANCTS DE SALES. 
 
 07 
 
 God, and a thousand resignations to His will. Never 
 did I see a more tranquil sorrow ; it was a wonder to see 
 so many tears; but all tliis by simple tender gushes of 
 the heart, without any sort of violence ; yet for all that 
 it was her dear child. Well now, this mother of mine, 
 ouff ht I not to love her well V Another letter brin^ out 
 no less beautifully his own feelings on this bereavement : 
 " You may think," he says, " nay dear daughter, how 
 heartily I loved this little girl. I had begotten her for 
 her Saviour, for I had baptised her with my own hand, 
 above fourteen years ago ; she was the first creature on 
 whom I exercised my priestly office. I was her spiritunl 
 father; and I promised myself much to make something 
 gY)od of her one day ; and what i-endered her very dear to 
 me (but I s\)eak the truth) was that she was youi-s. But 
 nevertheless, my dear daughter, in the midst of my heart 
 of flesh, which has had so many throbbingps on account of 
 this death, I perceive veiy sensibly a certain sweet tran* 
 quillity, and a certain sweet repose of my spirit in Divine 
 I^rovidenco, which diffuses on my soul a great content- 
 ment in these sori'ows." Then he ^oes on to give direc- 
 tions for his sistei*'s funeral ; he sencls Madame de Chantal 
 an escutcheon of his sister's ai*morial beaiings, " to please 
 her,*' and agrees that services be celebrated at tl:e place 
 whera her body reposed; ** but without great pomp, only 
 what Christian custom reqtrired;** for he loved simplicity 
 in death as well as in Hfe. *^ We will pray God for her 
 soul ; and we gladly render her her little honours." Ma- 
 dame de Chantal, as might be supposed, took this death 
 deeply to heart; indeed such had been her anguish during 
 the illness of poor Jeanne, that she prayed God rather to 
 take herself, or one of her own children, than her. When 
 all was over, she made a vow to give to the house of Sales 
 one of her daughters, in the place of this one who had 
 died whilst under her I'oof. Whilst she made this vow, 
 a sense of consolation came over her mind, and she per- 
 ceived that it was the means Providence had chosen to 
 fiujilitate her retirement to Annecy. Her daughter was 
 
08 
 
 8T. FRANCIS DB 8ALR8. 
 
 ▼ery yminff^ and she would have to accompany her there, 
 and would thus becomo disconnected from the ties of 
 home. It took much trouble to reconcile her relatives 
 to this match ; the venerable President Fremiot beings 
 greatly attached to his ^nd-dnughter, and unwilling to 
 part with her from his house, although he reverenced the 
 name of Francis de Sales, and valued the nobility of his 
 illustrious house. On the other side, overtures had, some 
 time before, been made to Madame de Chantal by the 
 gpood Madame de Boisy, who had set her heart on her 
 son, the Baron de Thorens, marrying a daughter of 
 Mndamc do Chantal. The youthful pair were in fact 
 affianced in the autumn of i6Q3; and a twelvemonth 
 after, on Oct. 16, 1609, they were manied at Monthelon, 
 the residence of the old Baron de Chantal. Madame 
 de Boisy died before this union, to which she had looked 
 forward with all the matenial pleasure of her simple 
 and loving heart, had taken place. She died rather 
 suddenly of a paralytic seizure, but retained her senses 
 till neai'ly the last. Her dying moments were quite in 
 keeping with the tranquil beauty which reigns through- 
 out the whole history of the daint and his household. 
 She held the cross in her trembling hands, and kissed it 
 even when her eyesight was gone. When Francis ar- 
 rived at the bedside of his expiring mother, she knew 
 him; and although oppressed with blindness and le- 
 thargy, shs caressed him much, and said, " This is my 
 son and my father, — this one." Charles Augustus 
 de Sales, in liis exquisite life of the Saint, describes the 
 last scene with singular sweetness of expression. " At 
 last," says he, " on the first day of the month of March, 
 she yielded up to God her beautiful soul, gently and 
 tranquilly, and with a greater constancy and lleauty 
 than peimps she had ever had, remaining one of the 
 finest corpses it was possible to behold, and exhaling no 
 evil odoiu*. The great prelate had then courage, after 
 having gpiven her his holy benediction, to close her lips 
 and eyes, and to give her the last kiss of peace. After 
 
CH. Till.] tT. FRANCIS DE 8ALBS. 09 
 
 which his heart swelled very much, and he wept over 
 that mother more than he had ever done since he was a 
 churchman ; but it was without spiritual bitterness, as 
 he afterwards protested. He rendered her the funeral 
 honours and duties, and her body was placed to rest in 
 the tomb of Sales in the church of Tborens." 
 
 As we are writin;^ the life of Francis de Sales, 
 and not that of Mde. de Chantol, constantly as the inci- 
 dents of both are interwoven with each, we must neces- 
 sarily pass over much of the latter on which it would 
 be pleasing' to dwell. In this place we need only add, 
 that the history of Mde. de ChantaPs external life, whilst 
 she remained in the world, is a perfect study for those 
 of her class, — ladies, namely, whose I'esourccs and leisiuv 
 enable them to devote much of their time to the relief 
 of the poor. Tlie whole metho<l she adopted, the sweet- 
 ness and kindness she displayed in visiting^ them, at- 
 tending those afflicted with sores so tenible that even to 
 read of them would sicken the delicacy of many a sensi- 
 tive person, cleaning and mending their clothes, washinff 
 and laying- out the dead, — all was done well. And all 
 this time she was still afflicted by the great domestic 
 cross of the tyrannical and up8tai*t housekeeper whom 
 we have mentioned. One anecdote on this subject is 
 in the very spirit of the teaching of Francis de Sales. 
 In the hearing of Mde. de Chantal some one said that 
 when the ola baron was dead, they would cut off this 
 woman's nose, and ditig her into the ditch. ''No," 
 said the noble-minded lody, " I will be her safe- 
 guard ; if God makes use of her to impose a cross u)K>n 
 me, why should I wish her ill ?" One of her methods 
 in visiting the sick was to imagine she was on pilgrim- 
 age. She would say to her attendants : " We are ^oing 
 to make a little pilg^mage ; we are going to visit our 
 Lord on the Mount of Cuvary, in the Garaen of Olives, 
 or at the Sepulchre." Wliilst thus devoted to the life 
 of perfection, she took excellent care of her domestic 
 affairs ; and managed the interests and fortunes of her 
 children just as well, and hi better, than if she had 
 
100 
 
 •T. FRANCIS DB BALES. 
 
 Wn devoted to the world. She also did not negflect 
 the usual elegnnt tasks of devout ladies of her rank, 
 such IKS working ornaments for the altars of the neig-h- 
 hourinf^ churches. On one occasion she spun some 
 serrn to make a vestment for Francis de Sales, tmd 
 had it dved violet. 'I'ho manner in which he acknow- 
 ledges tfiis gift, is a remarkable example of the way in 
 which he worke^l up the commonest incidents intx) devo- 
 tional lessons. She had osked him to give the value of 
 it to the |)oor; he waives this as a soil; uf scrupulosity : 
 she was quite i-ight in working for herself or her friends 
 at leisure hours, but she must not feel herself under an 
 obligation to give an equivalent sum to the poor; it 
 would interfere with that holy libeHy which must pre- 
 vail every where. Then, if he were to pay the value of 
 it to the no«r, he asks, with elegant milfery, how was 
 he to estimate the value? If he was to give a sum 
 enual to what he thought the value, it would ruin him. 
 Tne vestment had given him a thousand glad thoughts; 
 and one of them was when he wore it in a procession 
 in the Octave of Corpus Christi. " Do you see," he 
 says, ''I adored Him whom I was bearing; and it 
 came into my heart that He was the true Lamb of 
 God^ who taketk away th sin of the world. Holy 
 and Divine Lamb, — this is what I said, — how wretched 
 am I without Thee! Alas, I am not clod, save in Thy 
 wool, which covers my misery before the face of Thy 
 Father. Upon this thought, behold it is Isnias who 
 saith that our Lord, in His Passion, was dtnnb as a 
 lamb before his shearer. And what is that divine 
 fleece, but the merit, but the example, but the mys- 
 teries of the Cress ? It seems to me, then, that the 
 Cress is the fair distaff of the holy Spouse of the Cnn- 
 ticles, of that devout Sunamite; the wool of tLj in .uniite 
 Lamb is preciously fastened to it, — that mc -ir, i' / ' -• 
 ample, that mystery." Then he advises i.i\ oo aipin 
 continually on this distaff the threads of holy aspira- 
 ticns, drawing fi'om the spindle of her heart tliat white 
 an^l deb'cate wool ; and toe rebes mode from it would 
 
en. ▼III.] IIT. PRANCtfl DR SALKS. 
 
 101 
 
 d(»f«»nd her from rr»nfujiion in tho Any of hrr drnth. " T' 
 wishwl ymi thfreujK»u '>P"«"*iii^-s u tliou><an<UtoI(i ; un<l 
 that, At the y:n:at liav of jiiiii^inent, wt> mifrlit :ill tititi 
 ourselves ^vell-chid '^nw in the <»|«s('o|ml ronimait, 
 others in wulowhooil, or in tlt^ weiKieii state*; othecs in 
 the garb of Capuchins; others Je*uits; others rine- 
 drestsers: but every habit made of the Mitno wliite and 
 red wool, which nre the colours of the Sfwuse." 
 
 On the day after the niarria|^» at 3Iont!H'U)n, Fran- 
 cis do S.iles, the I'lvsiident Fi-emiot, aa»d the Arch- 
 bishop of Bourses, held a sort of council ^> decide upon 
 the vocation of Madame de Chantel. When invited by 
 them to explain her views, she showed with such clear- 
 ness the good order in which she would leav«> her affairs 
 on quittin^ir the world, and the excellent armng'ements 
 she had made for the education of her children, who 
 mi^ht even be brought up under her own eye in the 
 event of the institution being establis led at Annecy, 
 that, deeply as the sacrifice was felt h} her father, he 
 could not but recosnise the finger of Got.' in the design 
 which she was undertaking. He gave his consent ; and 
 after a few hours' delay, she finally partet. with her re- 
 lations. The separation was unusually aofonising, in 
 proportion to the extraordinary love ond[ re -erence with 
 which she had inspired them all ; but having heroically 
 overcome these last trials, she proceeded to Annecy, 
 where, on Trinity Sunday, June Gth, whic i was also 
 the Feast of St. Claude, the new institute, called at 
 fii'st that of the Ladies of St. Mary, and afiei-wards the 
 Order of the Visitation of our Laay the mos>t glorious 
 Vii'n^ Mary, was solenmly openecl by its li<ily patri- 
 arcu. There were at first three Sisters, Madame de 
 Chantal herself, Charlotte de Br^chard, a young lady 
 of noble birth from the province of Nivemois, whose 
 delicate health had obliged her to leave the order of 
 Mount Carmel, and Marie-Jacqueline Favre, a daughter 
 of the President Favre, Francis's ancient fi-iend. To 
 them was added a lay-sister, as touribre, Anne Jacque- 
 line Coste, a humble and good soul, who had beesi a 
 
109 
 
 ST. FRANCIS OE SALES. 
 
 servant in a hotel in Geneva, having* taken that place 
 from a wish to serve the ecclesiastics and other Catho- 
 lics who liad occasion to resort to that heretical city. 
 We shall att^impt in the following" chapter to give the 
 reader a more detailed description of the purpose and 
 organisation of the new Order. 
 
 i 
 
CH. IX.] 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DB SALES. 
 
 108 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 OROANISATION OP THE ORDER OF THE VISITATION. 
 
 The idea of the Onler of the Visitation seems to have 
 originated partly in the circumstances of the times, 
 partly from the character of Francis himself. A great 
 chang-e had indeed come over the world since the 
 days when St. Antony assembled his thousands of her- 
 mits in the deserts of Egypt, or St. Bei-nard retired 
 from the feudal castle to the unreclaimed solitudes of 
 Citeaux. Th:» steraness of the feudal world required 
 a coiTesponding sternness in the discipline of that life 
 which those aimed at who left it, and the saint of the 
 middle ag-es bore a certain analog-y to the mail-clad 
 knig'ht. But a revolution in the whole system of 
 the monastic life of the middle ag-es had been broug-ht 
 about by St. Ignatius. It came upon the world like an 
 original and fertile discovery, that the mortification of 
 the will may be turned to as great and even more 
 extensive account than the mortification of the body. 
 Very few constitutions indeed could sustain the tre- 
 mendous discipline of the Cistercian fast ; and in our 
 own times we believe it has been asceitained that out 
 of a community consisting of twenty or thirty, there 
 are scarce six who are not oblig-ed to avail themselves 
 of dispensations. No dispensation is required in a sys- 
 tem which is based on the mortification of the will. In 
 such n system the most delicate can be as perfect as the 
 strong-est; corporeal mortifications must, moreover, in 
 every case arrive at a speedy limit, whilst the occasions 
 of every moment of conscious existence migpht, if re- 
 quired, be turned into mortifications of the will. There 
 is also another reason why, in modem times, the latter, 
 as a spiritual method, is superior to the former. As cul- 
 tivation advances, temptations become much less simple, 
 or belongs more to the intellect or to the heart than to 
 
 >, 
 i 
 
104 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 the senses. Kiule and savag'e natures ai-e tempted by 
 wealtii and in(lul«>;ence, whilst the more refined org;ani- 
 sation of a hig-'nly-educated mind is more apt to ^ve 
 way to pride, to a refined melancholy, or to a morbid 
 pro})ensity to look in u{jon itself and analyse its own 
 action ; in a word, the ancient or simple ag-e is tempted 
 by that which is without, the cultivated, or modern age, 
 by that which is within. The special remedy ibr tlie 
 former would consist in external suftering-, in stern fasts, 
 in long" vigils, in s^cvere penances; the remedy for the 
 latter in the |)erpetual subjection of the individual to the 
 will of u superior. As soon as the idea we have at- 
 tempted to develop had been enunciated to the world, 
 it of course more or less affected the rules of every new 
 religious institute; and we shall be enabled to tmce 
 i*s presence, to a very considerable extent, in the consti- 
 tutions of the Visitation. The kindly nature of Francis 
 de Sales, and that special tenderness with wliich he re- 
 garded the infirm or the afflicted ; and again, that pre- 
 ference which he seems always to have had for what he 
 calls the little virtues which grow at the foot of the 
 cross, were another important element of the institution 
 which he founded. His system as a confessor had gra- 
 dually formed many characters in the high society of 
 France and Savoy, who required the formation of anew 
 order to give them scope and operation. They were 
 ladies, who to the courtly graces of an earlier age added 
 that intellectual culture wliich reached its highest per- 
 fection in the reign of Louis XIV. It was evident that 
 for charactei-s like these the simplicity of the Francis- 
 can or the Dominican rule required considerable modi- 
 fications ; the mode of life which, under his direction, 
 Jane Frances de Chantid had adopted in the world, 
 must of itself have sugge ted to him the idea of utilising 
 it, of turning it to account in such a manner as to act, not 
 only on her immediate circle, but on society generally ; 
 and, as we have seen, she was surrounded by many 
 friends, who emulated her virtues, and were ready to 
 follow where she led. As may perhaps be said of every 
 
en. IX.J ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 105 
 
 ^eat movemeiit, she might be compared to the beauti- 
 ful crest of the wave ; liigher, indeed, and more resplen- 
 dent than the otlier drops which formed it, but of the 
 same material. Just as in Spain, before the Society of 
 Jesus was instituted, Avila had conceived a very similar 
 idea, which he heroically sacrificed when he beheld it 
 mirrored in the more capacious soul of Ignatius, so there 
 wei'e in France holy and humble souls, which were in- 
 deed akin to this great foundress, and which, had she 
 been absent, one might imagine would have been equal 
 to a similar work; such was Madame d'AuxeiTe, of whom 
 we know little, except that people said she was in Lyons 
 what Madame de Chantal was in Annecy ; such were 
 many of the fii'st Sisters of the Visitation, Mademoiselle 
 Favre, Mademoiselle de Brechard,' the venerable Mai-ie 
 Aim^e de Blonay, and others of the same community, 
 whose lives constitute one of the richest and most beauti- 
 ful chapters in that most interesting study — the Catholic 
 memoirs of France. But with all this abundant mate- 
 rial before him, there was one difficulty, which on the 
 old system could not have been met : all of these ladies 
 had oeen delicately reared in the highest French re- 
 finement of the day ; very many of them were feeble in 
 health and constitution ; if, therefore, the religious life 
 was to be precisely that of the daughtei*s of St. Cathe- 
 me or St. Clare, all this material would seem to have 
 been, not indeed thrown away, but planted in a soil where 
 it could not fructify and spread abroad its branches. 
 Here then the great discovery made by St. Ignatius 
 seemed precisely what was needed to meet the emer- 
 gency ; it was possible to devise a mode of life such as 
 those most tenderly brought up and most infirm in 
 health could undertake, the perfection of which should 
 nevertheless not fall short of that of the most austere 
 ordei'S of earlier times. We now come to a fourth 
 element in the constitution Francis had pi-ojected, — 
 this was a certain reminiscence of the primitive life of 
 the early Christians. In the early Chnstian Church 
 religious' oitiers of women were not cloistered ; though 
 
 n 
 
 ^# 
 
106 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 ppt apart to God, and livinj:: ii lifn of the strictest seclu- 
 sion, tlicv still rernaiiipd under the roof of tl«»* faniilv. 
 Tiifi Sisters of tlie Visitation, tiioug^h strictly nunss, and 
 livinji" in a convent, were also, in their orig-inal system, 
 n.it cloistered; that is to say, a certain section oftlie 
 relijii-ioiis went out, as the Sisters of Mercy and Cha- 
 rity do now, to visit the sick and destitute. Another 
 point of difference was, that o: iofinally they took only 
 what are called the simple, and not the solemn vows. 
 Under the simple vows, they had the power of return- 
 ing" to the world, if dispensed, for sufficient reasons, by 
 tlieir lawful superior; under the solemn vows this 
 lihei'tv would of course be impossible. The primitive 
 idea of the Visitation was thus only a step beyond that 
 of the third orders ; flie third oi-dei-s j»ave a rule, but 
 often left their members in the world ; the Visitation re- 
 moved them from the world, but did not est:iblish that 
 abrupt separation from it which chai-acterises other reli- 
 g;ious institutes. In this respect it bore an obvious 
 resemblance to the institute of the Oratory ; for which, 
 as we have already seen, Francis had a great admi- 
 ration, and the spirit of which may be traced in many 
 det-.iils of the constitutions which ho gfave to this order. 
 This orig-inal idea, however, in a few years under- 
 went a great and vital alteration. The Archbishop of 
 Lyons, Denis de Marquemont, when a house of the in- 
 stitute was being" founded in the ca|)ital city of his dio- 
 cese, urg-ed very strongly on Francis the prudence of 
 bringing the Visitation into the category of the regni- 
 lar monastic oi*dei'S, that is, of establishing the cloister, 
 and substituting the solemn for the simple vows. His 
 view was, that however useful the comparatively lax 
 system might Ije, so long as the early fervour of a 
 newly-established order remained, it would bo certain 
 to grow into abuses as soon as that fervour began to 
 diminish. It is evident that this suggestion tended 
 completely to change the features of the stiucture as 
 it came from Francis's hand. His object w-as of one 
 kind, the purely monastic system was of another ; the 
 
ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 107 
 
 
 OH. IX.J 
 
 latter might be much greflter, but it wns not precisely 
 the same; for example^ the estabHshment ot tlie en- 
 closure would entii-ely destroy what had nt fii-st been 
 an almost necessary element in Francis's idea. He had 
 wished to combine the two examples of Martim and 
 Mary • so strongly was he impressed with this view, that 
 he even wished to place his oi'der by name under the 
 patrcnage of the former saint. If the enclosure wns 
 established; the poor could no longer be visited, and the 
 institute could no longer act directly upon society ; it 
 would close one important sphere of spiritual action, 
 which was, perhaps, what constituted the principal 
 charm of the order to minds like those of Madame de 
 Chantal and her earliest companions. But never was 
 there a Saint who was moi*e ready to defer to othere in 
 all mattera not involving right and wrong than Fi-ancis 
 de Sales. His view remained the same ; out he at once 
 conceded the alteration demanded by the Archbishop. 
 The institute accoi-dingly was erected into a regular mo- 
 nastic order, with enclosure and under the solemn vows, 
 in the year 1618, in virtue of a bull from Pope Paul V. 
 The constitutions given to the new order were thoset 
 of St. Augustine, which were adapted to the existing 
 age, and penetrated with what we may call the Sale- 
 sian spirit. In the body of regulations called the 
 Du'ectory is contained perhaps as copious and su'^- 
 gestive a collection of nints for the development of 
 the religious life as can be found in any poi-tion of 
 the literature of the Church. We see in it at once the 
 legislative spirit and personal influence combined. The 
 writer speaks indeed with the voice of law ; but speaks 
 like the tenderest and kindest father, entreating i-ather 
 than commanding, and setting forth the duties of the 
 religious life rather by painting the ideal of the perfect 
 religious than bv sternly dictating t "This you shall 
 do; this you shall not do." Never did the founder of a 
 religious order bequeath to his children a more pdifect 
 transcript of his own mind, a more perpetual memoi-y 
 
108 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DB SALES. 
 
 of liis presence, or so easy a means of enablinj^ encli 
 iTiemher of his institute to curry out, both in the i»j)irit 
 and the letter, tlie great though simple principle wliich 
 it was his mission to convey. To give a complete ana- 
 lysis of the Constitutions and Directory of our Suint 
 would far exceed the limits of the present sketch. We 
 shall, however, endeavour to select those |M)ints which 
 seem most chaiticteristic of the Suint personally, and 
 most distinctly to mark off his institute from that of all 
 others. In so doing, we describe the Visitation as it was 
 finally settled after the establishment of the enclosure. 
 Each house consisted of three classes : the Sisters of 
 the Choir, who were obliged to say office ; the Asso- 
 ciate Sisters, who were not under tnat obligation ; and 
 the Domestic Sistei-s, who were concerned in the duties 
 of the house. Their breviaiy consisted only of the Little 
 Office of the Blessed Virgin ; one reason he had for 
 this limitation, was the great difficulty of teaching 
 ladies to chant Latin with a proper accent, to which 
 he attached much importance, and in which he found 
 the natives of France peculiarly deficient. The choral 
 music of the Visitation became however exceedingly 
 beautiful, and he speaks of this in his letters with gi'eat 
 delight. In writing to Cardinal Bellarmine, he says, 
 'Hhat the chant was so happily formed according to 
 the rules of piety, that he can hai*dly tell whether its 
 sweetness is surpassed by its gravity, or its gitivi^ by 
 its sweetness." The age at which postulants could be 
 admitted was not to fall short of sixteen; but widows 
 ' and ladies even of extreme old age might be admitted, 
 OS also those of the most delicate and weakly constitu- 
 tions, and those even who laboured under pei-sonal de- 
 formity, pmvided these afflictions were not such as to 
 interfere with their joining in the service of the depart- 
 ment in which they were placed. The austerities, as 
 may be supposed, were not extreme; and so much kind- 
 ness is shown to those of delicate constitution, that it is 
 expressly said they must not make a scruple to eat out 
 
CH. IX.] 8T. FRANCIS DC AALK8. lOfl 
 
 of mnal-time if they i-eally requiiTd it; but they woi-o 
 ordered never to leave tul)le without having at leusi 
 moi'tified themselves in something. 
 
 Each community of the Visitation consisted of 
 thirty-three, of whom twenty were Choir-sistei's, nine 
 Associates, and four Domestic-sisters ; the Superioress 
 must have been professed for five years, and Y)e not less 
 than thirty years of age ; she is assisted in the govern- 
 ment of the house by' a council of four coadjutors, 
 whose opinion, though she is bound to consult, she is 
 not necessarily to adopt. From among them or the 
 rest of the Sisters she was to choose two, called Sunril- 
 lanteSj whose business it is to observe any faults that 
 are committed, and confer with the Superioress on the 
 ))est remedies to apply. A beautiful spirit of matemity 
 reigns throughout the instructions which the Saint 
 gives for the guidance of the Superioi-ess. The Sistei-s 
 are to repose in her precisely that sweet confidence 
 which an infant reposies in its mother ; and as an infant 
 woidd fiy to its mother if it were torn by a brier or 
 stung by a bee, so every sori-ow, little and great, must 
 find a remedy in the sweet wisdom of the gentle and 
 nrudent Superioress. In fact, what an infidel author 
 iiQ.s said is the first human need, namely, true guidance, 
 in return for loving obedience, was exemplified in the 
 relations of the Supcriorass and her nuns. The i^cond 
 functionary in a Visitation convent whs the Assisttmt ; 
 her oflice was to act for the Superioress in her absence, 
 and to superintend the due perfoi-mance of the choi-al 
 service ; to take care of the books of the convent, to see 
 that none were used unless authorised by the spiritiuil 
 Father or Confessor, and to keep the proper order on 
 days of co:' fession and communion. The nuties of the 
 Directress or Mistress of the novices are beautifully ex- 
 plained ; she is to exercise them in obedience, sw^eetness, 
 and modesty, and to clear away fi-om their chui-actei-s 
 all those follies, tendernesses, and sickly humours, by 
 which minds, especially of women, are often made lan- 
 guid and enfeetled : she instructs them in the best 
 
 ■m 
 
110 
 
 9T. PIUN«M9 DE SALES. 
 
 i 
 
 t ; 
 
 metliods of jiniy(?r Jiurl mt'clitution, and otlier j^piritiial 
 exercises ; t^he tenclies tliem how to cont"e^^s in the man- 
 ner most culciilsited for tlieir spiritnal protit, how to em- 
 j)loy their coiito.s.sions and communions to the best ad- 
 vantag'c, and in particular to see that they carry out to 
 tliH utmost that n-reat business of all convents, inter- 
 cessory prayer : lier mind must be humble, g-enerous, 
 noble, and universal, — by which last qualification wfl 
 understand the founder to mean, that liberal and hirge- 
 mindetl capacity of entering" into the feelings and ditfi- 
 cidties of othei-s, so as not to be discouraged even when 
 a disposition api)ears somewhat rude and unmanageable 
 at first sight; sbe is patiently to cultivate and train 
 such wild plants, till they are completely brought into 
 order and reclaimed, so as to grace and adorn the gar- 
 den of the Lord. One of the rules for this office shows 
 in a ])articular manner Francis's insight iato character. 
 He says : " She will take care not to amuse herself with 
 the outward appearances of the novices, which often de- 
 pend only on a gracefid demeanour and elegant style of 
 manners, or on the quickness of the intellect and pro- 
 priety of language ; but she will as far as possible pene- 
 trate into the very depths of their hearts, so as to dis- 
 cern their faults, and to know with what hand to guide 
 them." He elsewhere cautions the Superioress to take 
 care to be on her guard against any mere natural incli- 
 nation, founded on the noble extraction of the nuns, the 
 gentleness of their characters, their elegant manners, or 
 other attractive quahties. One can in tact easily under- 
 stand how the j)olished mannere and soft demeanour, 
 learnc d in a society like that of France in those days, 
 might bear an external resemblance to the true gentle- 
 ness produced by the Christian character ; just as the 
 buoyancy of youth, the ardour of imagination, the reso- 
 luteness of merely physical coui-age, produce results 
 which, where the character is to a considerable extent 
 influenced by grace, might be mistaken for the higher 
 manifestations of the spiritual life. 
 
 Another imjwrtant office in the community was that 
 
 I*'* 
 
en. IX. j 
 
 PT. FRANCIS Dn SALES. 
 
 Ill 
 
 cnllcd tho Aide of the Su|M?noress. T^is w ns u iSi-for 
 clios»n by tlie Superioress hei-selt', who^ jusiiiess it was 
 to warn her of the faults that she committed, uiid to 
 whom all the Sistei*s were to address themselves if 
 they saw any thing" in tlic Superioress which ref|uired 
 atlmonition. In this, as in many other parts ot tlu- 
 constitutions, we discern the element of Christian 
 friendsliip to be larg-ely made use of. The Sister in 
 charj^e of tho liousehold 1ms her duties marked out in 
 a manner which sliows the most thorough husiuess- 
 talents on tho j)artof the foimder; indeed, this chapter, 
 as well as tho.e whicli rehite to the SujH'rioiess and 
 the Directress, nn'gflit be studied with great advantaj^e 
 by mothers of families, and all who have charg-e of 
 household affairs. Every mm who studied the consti- 
 tutions, no matter v.hat her rank, from the Suporioiess 
 down to the Portress or humblest lay-sister, nuist have 
 felt that the founder yave to everv one of the otftces an 
 equal share of his attention. Eveiy thing* in its own 
 depai-tment is accounted good ; and no vocation is to be 
 despised. To letum, liowever, to the Sister whom, for 
 want of a ])etter Eng-lish word, we must call the house- 
 keeper. She was to undertake this duty with a special 
 fidelity and gladness, in imitation of the holy women 
 who followed our Loi-d and the Apostles, to provide them 
 with what they required. She was to copy the dili- 
 g-ence and fervour of St. Martha, but to avoid her anx- 
 iety and cmpri'fiwment, — a fault ag-ainst which, as every 
 reader of St. Francis must have observed, the Saint is 
 continually preaching*. The housekeeper was to see to 
 the storage of all the provisions of the house in their 
 proper season, and to look at them from time to time, to 
 see that nothing* was si)oiling*. Twice a year she was to 
 g-o over the whole establishment with the Surveillantes, 
 to make a report on it to the Superioress i^ she was to 
 keep exact accounts and inventories of afi* that came 
 under her charge, to distribute to the Sisters the mate- 
 rials for work, and to take care that the lay-sisters were 
 . neither overcharged with toil nor allowed to be idle. 
 
 t ■ 
 
r 
 
 
 lis 
 
 ST. PnANCIS DK 9ALR8. 
 
 The instructions for the sacristy afford us a g-ood insijfht 
 into Francis's views as rp«r:n*ds ritual mattei-s. lie in- 
 si^.t.H very particularly on tiie nojitness, cleanliness, and 
 g'ood order of the church, of all the ornaments, vest- 
 ments, and furniture of the altar. The sister-sacristan 
 is to remember, that our Lord always loved neatness 
 and cleanliness, and that Joseph and Nicodemus were 
 j)raised for having; buried His Ijody carefully and tieatly 
 with pei-fumes and precious unguents. Throughout the 
 houseiiold there reig'ned the utmost simplicity ; but at 
 the same time the most jjerfect neatness and cleanliness. 
 On this he lays particular stress ; and one reason for it 
 undoubtedly was, that the institution was intended for 
 Indies who had been accustomed in the world to the 
 refinements and eleganjes of life. These indeed they 
 were to sacrifice ; but it was not part of the idea of his 
 institute that the inortification ot slovenliness and dis- 
 comfort should be adopted : for instance, though he for- 
 bids silver jilate it. geneml, he allows them to have 
 spoons made of that metal for the sake of neatnes-*, " A 
 cause de VlionnStete,^^ and also because St. Augustine, 
 on whose rules their institute was based, used no other 
 silver plate except these. But whatever restrictions 
 there might be as to expensive furn.'tuie in the house, 
 the altar was to be as rich and precious as they could 
 with pnidence make it, " for the honour and glory of 
 God, who resides there in a most special and admirable 
 manner." One curious inile he lays down is, that they 
 shall throughout the whole house make no images like 
 dolls (povpees), still less put any upon the altar, either 
 to represent our Lord, or our Lady, or the angels, or any 
 thing ; that they shall have images well made and ap- 
 proved of by the spiritual father, especially those they 
 put upon the altar. However, he regards all the busi- 
 ness of the sacristan, and the proper arrangement of the 
 church, to be of such extreme impoi-tance, that a sepa- 
 rate directory should be made for the sacnstan, which 
 she was to have always before her eyes, and read over 
 once a month, so as to fail in nothing that was written 
 
 i 
 
 ] 
 
 4^ 
 
CH. IX.] 
 
 AT. FRAXriS 1)R SAL/'-Sw 
 
 111 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 it. His 
 
 C'Ml'.T.'JTfition, 
 
 PX|»rp?s!on 
 " 1. 
 
 he 
 
 is jiartieiilHrly stronp: : " T! 
 ays, " have nn inooinjmralilo intrrr 
 tliui tliia clinrjTP slitill Ik* ptiMwnatcly well cxorciseti." 
 The otfire of the InHrmnrian brings us to a very clm- 
 mcteiistic department of the institute. We have seen 
 that the sick and the ng-ed were not excluded from 
 the life of perfection whicli Francis marked out. The 
 niles for the comfort and well-ljeinj^ of tliese Sisters are 
 strikingly beautiful. " The Infirmarian is to breathe 
 nothing but charity, not only in order to servo tlie sick 
 Sistera well, but to bear with the fancies, distresses, and 
 ill-humour the poor sick |)eople often derive from their 
 infirmities. She is to divert their disagreeable impres- 
 sions in the softest and most dexterous way she can, 
 without ever showing hei'self disgusted or annoyed. She 
 is to have a list to help her memory of every thing re- 
 quired for the comfort and good order of the infirmary, 
 and to take care that the rooms shall be neat, clean, and 
 nicely oraamented with pictures, green leuve^', and 
 dowel's, according as the season shall permit " Thus we 
 see, that in some degree the idea of the Visitation resem- 
 bled that of Les Petites Sctiirs des PauvreSj except that 
 the sick were themselves religious, and not so far infirm 
 as to be incapable of adhering to the rules. Their pre- 
 sence in the convent was of course the same advantage 
 to those Sisters who were in health as the objects of their 
 angelic charity are to the holy order to which we have 
 alluded. They would furnish them with examples of 
 patience, with the living copy of the sufferings of our 
 Lord ; and by waiting on tnem without goinsp out of 
 their enclosure, they might add the virtues of Martha 
 to those of Mary. In a Convent of Mei-cy with which 
 we are acouainted, the good Sisters have for this veiy 
 purpose takei^ into their house, as an inmate, a poor 
 creature afflicted with cancer. The sweet resignation 
 and the unfailing pi-ayers of this poor woman are a per- 
 petual edificatioi) to the good Sisters ; her intercession is 
 wonderfully eiHcacious, and we believe a whole chapter 
 might be filled with iilast^'Ationi^ of the fj^ood resiiltH de- 
 
 -iw 
 
1U 
 
 8T. FRANCIS DK AAI.R8. 
 
 ,i 
 
 . 
 
 I! 
 
 iivp«l from tlip ronstsint witno^xinp' ofsnrh paMt'r.ce in 
 iiH icfion. But to rptum to tlie Visitntion. TIh» idoa 
 su«.'«i(?stpd in the c)in{)t«>r on tlie Infirninrinn, shoit, us it 
 is, scfins to ♦'nibo<ly the vcrv jjrineiple of the orders 
 entr:»j»ed in active charity. iMioso constitutions which 
 n'h»t(! to tlio smnHer offices of the house, such nn the 
 Keeper of tlie wiirdrohe and the hiu'*di y, are eipuiily 
 interesting- in their way. Those whicii jfive rules for 
 th(( hty-sisters, whetlier domestics or tourirnM, contain 
 a kind of sketdi of the duties of the Caitholic servant, 
 and afford another iHnstration of that most useful action 
 on society which all the reli|^ious orders possess, hut 
 which, in a particular deg:ree, we discern in the Visita- 
 tion. One rule is worth (pjotinsr "t leno'th. " The Sis- 
 ters employed in the kitchen and the other household 
 service will do it with cheerfulness and consolation, re- 
 collectingf what St. Martha did, and representing" to 
 tliemselves those little but sweet meditations which St. 
 Catherine of Sienna made use of, who, in the midst of 
 such tasks, did not cease her ecstatic contemplations of 
 God. Thus oug-ht the Sisters as far as |)ossihle to hold 
 their hearts recollected in the g"oodness of God, Who, if 
 they are faithful, will one day declare before the whole 
 world, that what they did for His servants was done for 
 Ilira." Before quitting* the subject of the g-overnmeiit 
 of the house, we should notice that special feature of it 
 which consists in the office of the spiritual father. The 
 supreme authority over the congreg^ation was that of the 
 bishop, which Francis preferred to that of the father- 
 general, which is more usual in otlier orders, because 
 any abuses or any decay in the spirit of the institution 
 was more likely to be checked by the frenuent change 
 in the depositary of the chief authority, Avnere this was 
 held by the bisliop of the diocese. But whatever ad- 
 vantage was derived in a spiritual point of view from 
 the office of the father-g-eneral, he still retained ])y insti- 
 tuting* that of the s|)iritual father. This officer was 
 a))pointed by the bishoi), and his duty was to take care 
 that lue rules were well observed, and that no change 
 
 t. 
 
 i 
 
 ij 
 
ni. ix.J 
 
 8T. FnANCIS I)R 8AI.F.S. 
 
 115 
 
 \ 
 
 or a1»n^e vns introduced. Ho was to vi!4it the hotiso 
 oncrt li y«';ir, in coiniiany witlj :wiot!uM- t'('closi;i«;tic ot'i'ipo 
 n«fo, virtiioiis iind tli^crfi't. He w:is to he jH-e-^'nt at 
 the eleefinns ol'tiie Snp«»r dress and onlinurv confessor; 
 was to si;^n |M»rniissions when any extnionhnary reason 
 madi' it neee-^sary tor a lister to ^o out of the convent ; 
 and tt> liim l)oth the Sn|>«»rioress and the other Sisters 
 w«»i'e to have ivcoin*se, wlienever tliero was occasion 
 for special j»ni(h»nce or foresight. With repTird to the 
 ordinary confessor, tlio rules which Francis lavs down 
 for his choice are such as niijrht l)e -ni»)K>se<i from tlie 
 importance of the office. He was to discharpfe the office 
 of the s|>intnal father in his ahsence, as rejrarded jrrant- 
 inir disj)ensations and jyivinii- advice in any qnestions 
 that nii«rl»t arise. One point which Francis njuwai-s to 
 have provided for with consid(>ra)>le anxiety in the rnles 
 of this office is, that the confessor should he thorou«rhIy 
 imbued with tlie spirit of the institute ; he was to take 
 particular care to avoid doin<>: any thinjr, either by the 
 ini)K)sition of extmordinary penances, or hy the counsels 
 and advice piven in confession, which miq-ht disturb the 
 order and the routine of the monastcrv. The holy 
 foimder carefully secuj'es for the Sisteis tlie privile«je of 
 confessing: or confeiring" on the state of their conscience 
 with any peison of known character, without the Supe- 
 rioress askinjj; why the Sister wishes to do so. Yet if 
 she frequently demands it, then the Superioress will in- 
 form the spiritual father, who will dexterously ])rovent 
 the holy li))erty of confession from deg-enerating" into a 
 source of disquiet, melancholy, avei-sion to the ordinary 
 confessor, or a vain preference for individuals. 
 
 The prentlo spirit of these constitutions was much 
 attacked by the rig-orists of the ag'e, wdio, complain- 
 infr of the deficiency of exterior austerities, said that 
 '* t lieso reli«?ious had found out the secret of g'oing" to 
 Pai*:Kliso by a road sown with roses without thoms, of 
 en+erinc into it by another door than that of the Cross, 
 and with another key than that which the Son of David 
 carried on His shoulders." there nick-named the in- 
 
116 
 
 8T. FRANCIS DE BALES. 
 
 stitute the " Confraternity of the Descent of the Cross,*' 
 and othei-s said that the bishop was founding* a lios- 
 pital rather than a monastery. The proper answer to 
 all these olyections is affordea by the multitude of holy 
 souls who were nurtured by this institution, and who 
 would othei'wise have had no assistance of that kind to 
 enable them to reach the pei'fcction intended for them ; 
 and by the rapidity with which it spread throu";hout tlie 
 Catholic Church, showinpf that it met the needs of reli- 
 gion at that time. The Church itself has placed the 
 winning* gentleness of the Salesian spirit beyond the 
 reach of dispute, by permitting it to influence as it 
 has done the method of direction ever since. Before 
 the death of Francis de Sales, houses of the Visitation 
 were founded, under his auspices, at Lyons, Moulins, 
 Grenoble, Bourgcs, Paris, Orleans, and Dijon; and in 
 less than sixty yeare from the first foundation the order 
 reckoned no fewer than 120 monasteries. Here the 
 limits of this biography oblige us to leave this subject; 
 and we proceed to trace the general life of the Saint 
 from the period when we interrupted it to give con- 
 tinuously the history of this, his principal foundation. 
 
 1 
 
 \ 
 
 <ir» 
 
 kt 
 
 Ci^. 
 
CII. X.] 
 
 8T. FRANCIS DB SALES. 
 
 117 
 
 
 I 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 POU?IDATIO?« OP THE FLORIMONTaNE ACADEMY — THE TRFtATISGS OF 
 '*THE introduction" AND ** THK LOVE OP GOD." 
 
 In 1C05 and 1606 he made a g^eneral visitation of his 
 whole diocese, undergoing^ excessive f'atigiie, and orten 
 great dang;er, in ti-aveisin^- the Alpine disti-icts, which 
 lormed the g^'eatest part ot it, and every wliere preach- 
 ing;, catechising', and hearing* confessions, with the utmost 
 zeal and assiduity. Tlie results of this visitation he 
 embodied in a report to the Holy Father, which forms 
 a most copious and interesting^ record of his apostolic 
 labours, and of those business details, the possession 
 of which is so essential to the g-ood g-ovei-nmcnt of a 
 diocese, and which his talents peculiarly fitted him to 
 acquire, widely distinct as at tii-st sight a mind of heroic 
 charity like his seems to be from that whicii is best 
 qualihed to conduct the transactions of tl.(^ world. 
 
 In 1607, in combination with the Pi-esident Favre, 
 bo founded a literary institution at Annecy, called tlie 
 Florimontane Academy. The rules which he enacted 
 for it are among; the most curious of his opvandn. Only 
 Catholics of grood character were to be admitted mem- 
 bers of it, and each on admission was to deliver a dis- 
 course in prose or verse to the assembly. At the gene- 
 ral meeting^s, eminent men in the various bmnches of 
 art were to be admitted, such as paintere, sculptors, 
 mechanics, and architects; lectures were to be g-iven 
 on mathematics, cosmography, philosophy, and rlietoiic 
 (excluding' theology and |)olitics), and on the cultivation 
 fo languages, especially the French language. Tiie style 
 of speaking was to be prose, polished ana full, witiiout 
 affectation ; and the lecturers were as much as TM>ssible 
 to dispose of one subject in each lecture, and do tiieir 
 utmost "to teach well, much, and in a shoi-t time." 
 Besides the lectures, there were to be discourses in a 
 
< 
 
 1 1 
 
 I 
 
 A 
 
 118 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 more ornamented style, imj)lying' tlie use of the oratorical 
 art. Persons of rank, such as nobles and prelates, v ere 
 to have a place to themselves at the meeting-s. The 
 officers were to be the president, a man of distinction 
 and virtues, zealous for the g^ood of the academy ; his 
 assessors; the secretaiy, who was to be " a man of clear, 
 acute, ready and g-enerous wit, and versed in literature;'' 
 the censors, who were to be thorouo;hly well versed in 
 every thing", and "like an encyclopaeaia;" the treasurer, 
 and n paid attendant. 
 
 In the following- year, 1C08, he brought out the 
 work by which he is best known, and which contains in 
 the most popular form the results of his experience in 
 the conduct of souls. This is the Introduction to the 
 tSpinfual Life, a book which, notwithstanding all the 
 chan«»'es of mannei-s, remains unequalled as a mamial of 
 i)ractical instructions for those who are endeavouring' to 
 lead a holy life in the world. The possession of this 
 book, and the oi-ace to studv it, are a blessing second 
 only to that of being v^Xev tlie gtiidance of a wise and 
 holy director. Nothing is omitted in it : the method of 
 metlitation, of confession, of receiving" holy communion, 
 the arrangement of one's day, the means of arriving at 
 the different virtues, and the choice of them ; rules on 
 the promotion of fiiendship, the kind and degree of 
 amusements to be permitted, the method of dealing" with 
 temptations, advice as to periodical renewal of one's good 
 resolutions, — the whole system of the spiritual life is 
 here laid down with a richness of experience and an in- 
 3io;ht into the heart which has never been surpassed, 
 riie only book at all to be compared with it is Rom-iguee 
 on ChriHtian Perfection ; but there is a certain sweet 
 and g"enial simplicity peculiar to Francis de Sales, which 
 recommends ins book even more than that treasury of 
 spiritual wisdom to persons living in the world. The 
 Int-^odvction to the Devout Life was dniwn up by 
 Francis chiefly from letters he had written to one of 
 his penitents, Madame de Charmoisy. These lettera 
 irere handed about in manuscript, and were so admired, 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 If 
 
 \ 
 
 \ 
 
en. x.j 
 
 8T FRANCIS DE SALE3. 
 
 119 
 
 < 
 
 5 
 
 i 
 
 that his friends urg-ed uj)on liim the publication of a com- 
 plt'te work emhodying" their i-esults. The book innne- 
 diatt'Iy obtained a vast circuhition throu}>liout Eur.)jH>, 
 and even became known in Englantl soon after its ap- 
 pearance, a copy havinji; been sent by Marie de .Meilicis 
 to James I., wiio was exceedinj,''ly struck with it, and 
 expressed his surprise that no such work ever came 
 from the pen of his bishops. The moderation of tlie 
 view taken by the lioly writer as to the worldly amuse- 
 ments of balls and dancing", raised some controversy 
 among' tiie rigorist school, one of whom went so far as 
 to declaim ag-ainst the book from the pulpit, and actually 
 to tear it in pieces in the middle of his sermon. Never 
 was an attack more unjust; for there are few pei-sons 
 indiv^d wiio could calmly read the chapter in the /n- 
 troduction on the subject of balls, and not rather be 
 powerfully detached from those amusements than en- 
 couraged to adopt them. Francis allows only that " in 
 their own nature they are inditferent ;" but devotes 
 a long- dis(|uisition to show that they are "usually 
 dangerous, dissipate the spirit of devotion, weaken 
 stren"th, chill charity, and awaken in the soul innu- 
 memble evil affections; so that gi-eat prudence is re- 
 quired in their use." 
 
 In 1609 he was engaged in effecting" reforms in the 
 Benedictine Abbey of Talloires, and of those monas- 
 teries which, like that of Sixt, had in the course of ag-es 
 fallen into a lax and irregidar state. He completely 
 succeeded in bringing^ it not only into conformity with 
 the rules, but to be a most fen-ent and edifving- commu- 
 nity. Soon afterwards he went to Gex, wfiither he was 
 summoned by oruer of Henry IV. to confer with the 
 Baron de Luz, the king's lieutenant-genei-al in Bur- 
 ^ndy, on the religious affairs of Gex. On this occa- 
 sion the Rhone was flooded; he boldly passed thro ug-h 
 the city of Geneva in his episcopal habit, and styling* 
 himself to the officer at the g-ate as the bishop of the 
 diocese. Xhe officer did not seem to imdei-stand the 
 expression ; and Fnmcis remained a whole hour in the 
 
120 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 city without molestation. Durine this visit to Gex 
 he succeeded in restorinff to Catholic wci-ship eight 
 I»ttrish-churche8, and made a great number of conver- 
 sions. 
 
 The same year was marked by an event whicii had 
 very great eifect, not so much on his life as in providing 
 an observer of that life, who has handed down a singu- 
 larly minute and beautiiiil picture of it. This was the 
 consecration of Peter Camus, Bishop of Belley, at 
 which Francis de Sales officiated, and which was the 
 commencement of a fi-iendship between the two pre- 
 lates lasting till Francis's death. As their dioceses were 
 close to each other, and the Bishop of Belley, both fi-om 
 his youth (he was but twenty-live years old when 
 consecrated) and from his ardent and revci*ential dis- 
 position, began immediately to look up to Francis as 
 nis spiritual father and oTiide, he saw him very Ire- 
 
 3uentlv, and asked his advice whenever he was in any 
 ifficulty. Once a year the two bishops made it a rule to 
 spend a week in retreat at each otlier's house; and the 
 Bishop of Belley took the fullest advantage of the many 
 opportunities he had to keep a copious record of the 
 conversations of Fmncis. These reminiscences he col- 
 lected into the book entitled V Esprit de S. Franks 
 de Sales, perhaps the most interesting* and valuable, as 
 it is one of the most curious compilations ever written. 
 The only work at all resembling it — though of course 
 we only compare them in a purely secular and literaiy 
 point of view — is Boswell's Life of Johnson. The latter 
 oiography is often considered as something perfectly 
 unique, and without any thing either equal or similar 
 to it as a complete portrait of the life and character of 
 an individual. Pei-sons who so speak of Boswell's 
 Johnson cannot have read L'Ufiprit de S. Franqafs 
 de Sales, a record nearly as voluminous, and show- 
 ing quite as much of that genius for singling out a 
 hero, and dwelling on his ctiaracter till the minutest 
 feature of it is represented with the fidelity ef the most 
 life-like painting. 
 
 J 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 ' 
 
CM. X.] 
 
 8T. FUANCrS I>R SALES. 
 
 V2\ 
 
 In 1010 Francis de Sales lind t\iv afflirfion ot* losini? 
 his old precfiptor the Abbe Dwjfjo, whose declininfr yrai-s 
 he had soothed with Hliitl kindness. It may he n>en- 
 tioned us an instance of the sweet and affectionate clia- 
 rocter of the Saint, that when he said Mass for the re- 
 pose of the old man's soul, on reachinw" the " Our Fa- 
 ther," he was so overcome hy the recollection that tiie 
 |)Oor Abb6 had fii-st taujj-ht fiim to say the " Our Fa- 
 ther," that he was almost unable to proceed. I'he same 
 year he had another trreat loss, thoug-h not by death, 
 in the promotion of Antoine Favre to the presidentship 
 of the senate of Chambery, and liis consequent with- 
 dmwal from Annecy, where he had lived in the most 
 intimate friendship with the holy bishop. As reg^arded 
 his episcopal labours, the life of Francis about this 
 period seems to liave been crowded witli work, and, 
 like every other part of his career, full of incidents 
 characterising' his untiring- sweetness and diligence. He 
 made two or three remai'kable conversions this year, 
 one of them a Calvinist lady of Geneva, Madame de 
 Ste. Sergiies, who was so conspicuous for her bitteraess 
 against Catholicity, and her activity on behalf of her 
 sect, that she used to go by the nickname of 'Hhe 
 Arch-ministress." Another was a Baron de Monthelon, 
 whose first impulse towards the faith was given by the 
 reading" of the Introduction. A third was a poor apos- 
 tate friar, named Bartholonio, who, much like some 
 melancholy cases in the present day had abandoned 
 the faith merely for the indulgence of his passions. 
 He had recourse to Francis de Sales, as the common 
 father of prodigal children, and was charitably brought 
 back to the true fold. 
 
 Besides the general business of the diocese, Fran- 
 cis had at this time a good deal of correspondence 
 with the Holy See; among^ other objects, to procure the 
 canonisation of Amadeus III., Duke of Savoy, whose 
 memory was held in the highest veneration in those 
 
 Srovinces. The question of the authorit of the Holy 
 ee in temporal matters was at the sanr r-^od hotly 
 
1 
 
 oo 
 
 ST. FRAXCIS DB SALES. 
 
 contested tlirouofhout EurojM*. Dellannine, in his cele- 
 brated work. Dc Romano Pontificey liad maintained 
 the theory that the Pope lias, hy Divine Hght, an in<li- 
 rect power even in tempomls, — a view whicli at Home 
 was thonglit too modemt(;, and by the Gallican theo- 
 logians too strong. In France the controversy was vehe- 
 mently ap^itated on botli sides, much to the distress of 
 Fmncis ue Sales, whose gfentle spirit saw no advantagre 
 in thus letting^ out the watei-s of strife. The coiu*se which 
 he eaiTiestly recommended was silence, on the ffroimd, 
 to use Irs homely similitude, that in those difficult times 
 there was trouble enoug-h in defending tlie brood of the 
 Churcli from the kite whicli incessantly hovei-ed over 
 them, without allowing* tlie chickens themselves to be 
 pecking" at each other. He even disapproved of the 
 extent to which Bellarmine had openeci the dispute; 
 not that he passed any judgment as to whether he was 
 right or wrong", but simply from the deep conviction 
 whicli he entertained, both by reason and from his na- 
 tural disposition, of the necessity of peace. He looked 
 upon tlie question as easily settled, practically, by those 
 who acted in the spirit of charity ; but difficult in the 
 midst of such violent contention, and useless, because 
 there was, in fact, no disposition on the part of the Pope 
 to interfere with the tempoi-al rights of sovemgns, — no- 
 thing to call for the question being opened at the risk 
 of ruining the peace and unanimity of Catholics. In 
 an able memoir addressed to Cardinal CafFarelli Bor- 
 ghese, he developed this conciliatory policy, recommend- 
 ing the Holy See to invite the French goveniment to 
 impose silence on the seditious controvei-sialists, whose 
 writings were the prelude to the unhappy variance be- 
 tween the two powere in the reign of Louis XIV. On 
 the Catholic side, he advised that pi*eacliei*s should be 
 oi-dered to inculcate with calmness the duty of sub- 
 mission to the Holy See, and that in replying' to the 
 opponents of the papal authority, writei-s should adopt 
 the indirect mther than the dii-ect method, and point 
 out gently the unreasonableness of such attacks. He 
 
en. X.] 
 
 ST. FRANCIS I)E SALES. 
 
 138 
 
 fiirthrr urprM tbf* importance of nctinp: so bs to brinp 
 about ft bettrr undci'standinj^ between tbe Sorl)onne 
 and the Society of Jeifius, the centres of these conflict- 
 injur views ; to soothe the former of these bodies and 
 the French jweiacy g-enerally, by addi-essing* tli?m with 
 briefs drawn up in a winnin*:^ tone ; but in the first in- 
 stance to liave the affair discussed by the nuncio, the 
 French cardinals, and the government, showing", on the 
 part of tlie Holy See, an earnest wish for the cessa- 
 tion of these disputes. The bitterness of the foes of 
 the Church was probably too violent to liave yielded 
 to the oil thus thrown upon its waters, even could the 
 experiment have been fully tried ; but the lesson given 
 by the gentleness of the Saint will always remain a 
 profitable study for those who seek to convince otiiers 
 of the truth. He set forth the charity of the Church, 
 as such men as St. Greg;ory VII. exhibited her un- 
 bending firmness ; and even in Francis de Sales the one 
 did not exist without the other. 
 
 In the spring of 1613, Francis de Sales made a 
 journey to Milan, in order to visit the tomb of St. Charles 
 Bonomeo, which pilgrimage he had undertaken by 
 vow, on occasion of the illness of Madame de Chantal. 
 Important business also necessitated his proceeding to 
 Turin. He sought to obtain the patronage of the Duke 
 of Savoy for the Order of the Visitation, and several 
 houtes of that institute which he contemplated esta- 
 blishing; to demand permission to place ecclesiastical 
 instructors in the college of Annecy in the room of 
 the lay-teachers, who had mismanaged it ; and finally, 
 to defend a number of pereons of rank who had been 
 unjustly accused of assassinating the secretary of the 
 Duke of Nemours. He was accompanied on his journey 
 by a large company of ecclesiastics and laics of distinc- 
 tion, one of the latter of whom has left a beautiful de- 
 scription of his conversation in travelling, in which he 
 relates what kind and wise admonitions the Saint gave 
 him for his conduct in life, as a courtier and man of 
 the world, encouraging him to the practice ol* religion, 
 
124 
 
 8T. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 as sweet, easy, and attractive, pointing' to the exam- 
 ples of those who were sanctified in coui-ts and camps, 
 such as David, Judas Maccabeus, and St. Louis, and 
 warning" him of the vanity of the world, and the incon- 
 stancy of fortune. At Tm-in he was honourably re- 
 ceived by the Duke of Savoy, who, except in the ques- 
 tion of tiie accused peraons for whom he pleaded, wil- 
 lingly acceded to all his demands. At Mflan, where he 
 was welcomed by the cousin and successor of St. C.'inrles, 
 Cardinal Frederick Borromeo, he had the happiness of 
 saying Mass at the tomb of St. Charles, and remained 
 for houre in contemplation before the body of the Saint, 
 entreating' his intercession to obtain him grace to govern 
 Geneva as St. Charles had governed Milan. So deeply 
 was he buried in these reflections, that when his com- 
 
 S anions, on coming* out of the gflorious Cathedml of 
 lilan, were expressin"* their wonder at its magnificence, 
 he declared that he had seen nothing' but the relics of 
 the holy archbishop. The incident reminds one of the 
 story of St. Beiiiard travelling" a whole day by the lake 
 of Geneva, and being all the time so absorbed in divine 
 contemplation, as never once to notice the marvels of 
 natui*e which are thci*e so beautiiiilly displayed. Both 
 nature and art are insignificant in the presence of the 
 splendour of faith. This visit of Francis to Milan 
 was characterised by another incident, which bi-ought 
 out strikingly not only the intensity of his faith, but 
 also the loving- and trustiiil spirit by which it was 
 adorned. Cardinal Borromeo having permitted him to 
 officiate in the ceremony of exposing to public venera- 
 tion the holy napkin or stidarivm preserved at Milan, 
 the heat and pi-essui-e in the church being extremely 
 gTeat, Francis's face was so drenched witn |)erspira- 
 tion, that a few drops fell on the holy relic he held with 
 passionate devotion oefore him. The occurrence greatly 
 distressed the Cardinal, who even sharply reproved the 
 Saint for carelessness. Francis, however, in the confi- 
 dence of the love which he felt for his Lord, showed 
 no uneasiness; but affectionately seized on the beau- 
 
CH. X.J 8T. FRANCIS DK 8ALK8. 105 
 
 tiful significance of the circumstance, as showing the 
 goodne;i>s of our Lord, who allows us to ming'Ie our 
 sweat with that which fell from His hol^ body, and to 
 consecratt) all our toils by a continual reference to His. 
 Francis returned tx)' Annecy by the end of May, 
 and occupied himself with various important aiiiiirs, 
 among wnich were the reconstruction of ei^ht more 
 parishes in the province of Gez? the establisnment of 
 the Bamabites as teachers in the College of Annecy, 
 and of the Laibhusians in the Abbey of Ripailles. 
 In 1614 he received an invitation from the Emperor 
 Mathias I. to attend, as prince of the empire, a diet 
 to bo held at Ratisbonne the following y^ar. This 
 event is wox-thy of notice as an historical curiosity. 
 The bishops of Geneva had now, for nearly a century, 
 been excluded by their rebellious subjects from occupy- 
 ing the city, to the sovereignty of wmch they had never 
 ceased to assert their, right. The Holy Roman Empire, 
 the very representative of prescription, order, and law, 
 disdained to recognise tb-B Caivinist republic ; and on 
 every occasion when the princes were convoked to the 
 imperial assemblies, sent a courier to Geneva to notify 
 to the bishop, who was still supposed to be there, that 
 his attendance was requested by the emperor. The 
 courier reported his compulsory absence ; and thus the 
 ancient rights of the bishops were never allowed to 
 become dormant. The reply of Francis to the em- 
 peror is still preserved, in which he excuses himself in 
 simple but dignified terms, on the ground of the poverty 
 of his see. The same year he paid a visit to his friend 
 the Archbishop of Lyons, whicn was attended T/ith the 
 important results to which we have already adveited, 
 of th3 establishment of a Convent of the Visitation at 
 Lyons, and in the altwation of the constitutions of 
 that institute, the ai'chbishop strongly advising to place 
 it on the footing of a regular cloistered order. Next 
 year, 1616, the Archbishop returned Francis's visit by 
 ^nding a short time at Annecy; and thus these 
 holy prelates revived the old custom by which, in 
 
120 
 
 BT. FRANCIS DB SALEd. 
 
 primitive times, nei<rhboni'in^ bisho])«i wore wont to ad- 
 vise with each othrr about the aftaii-s of their dimM'ses. 
 The Duke of Savoy, as on many other occasions, f«>nnd 
 in this friendsliip with a biHJioj) with whose sovereiifn he 
 was at "ivah-y, the matenTiig of ung-enei-ons suspicion of 
 the loyalty of his illustrious subject, who had to remove 
 them l)y explaining", what the duke mig-ht surely by this 
 time have known, that no jiolitical purpose what<'ver 
 entered into conferences like tliese. In the coui-se of 
 the some year he was enabled to place the Bamnbites 
 at Thonon in charg-e of the educational department of 
 the Holy House; and the office of Vicar-g«neral of the 
 diocese }iapi>ening; to fall vacant, he selected to fill it 
 his brother, John Francis de Sales, then canon of the 
 Cathedral of Annecy, who aftei-wards became his coad- 
 jutor, and upon his deatli succeeded him as Bishop of 
 Geneva. John Francis de Sales was in temper a great 
 contrast to his brother, his g'oodness being of the gi-ave 
 and austere kind, somewhat allied to sadness, of which 
 there was not the slightest trace in the Saint ; and it 
 often happened that the gentleness and sweetness of 
 the one interposed to remedy the sternness of the other, 
 as equity comes in to temper justice. During all this 
 time, and subsequently, Francis was effecting great re- 
 forms in the episcopal administration, particularly in 
 the appointment of parish-priests. Hitherto abuses had 
 crept in from the higlily aristocratical spirit of the age 
 ana country ; and men had been placed in the care of 
 souls who had little to recommend them but the splen- 
 dour of their birth. Francis, however, as we have seen, 
 resolutely cairied out the principle of giving away the 
 incumbencies by concursus, that is, to the candidate of 
 the greatest merit, as tested by an examination. This 
 regulation frequently occasioned the most violent dis- 
 satisfaction on the part of ecclesiastics and their rela- 
 tives, who obstinately refused to comprehend the new 
 nnangement ; and the sweetness of the Saint was oi"*;en 
 put to the proof in a manner which would have be eir 
 too much for any patience but such as his, by disap- 
 
en. X.] 
 
 ST. FRAXCIft DP. AALKS. 
 
 le? 
 
 {►ointftd cljuinnntM or their fii«'n<ls rjillin«r uimn liirn, nnd 
 vi'iitin^'- their rnp-e hy tlie nn»t vi<ih'iit iiihI ahiisiv«» ex- 
 pressions. At this tune, it not untVeinienlly occ»irr(»<l 
 that i)eoj)le whom his un))enilinj,- nerise of justice iinil 
 (lispleiised, wonhl beset liis liouse durin*;' the nig-ht 
 with deafening* noises, hh)wini^ honis, and nnikingf their 
 dog's bark and howl. Insults of this kind Fmncis de 
 Sales knew how to set at rest, by passinu" them over 
 without the least notice; and it g'enerally hapfiened 
 that those who thus far forg-ot themselves, took i-efuc^e 
 from the stin«^ of their conscience in his un«relic spirit 
 of forgiveness, and made the humblest a|)olognes for 
 the insults which, like stones flung" upwards to the sky, 
 only fell back on the heads of tiiose who threw them, 
 and made them feel conscious of tlieir own meanness 
 when they looked on the untroul)led mirror of his sanc- 
 tity. 
 
 Early in 1010 he broug-ht to a completion his greatest 
 work, the famous Treatiac on the Loir of GoiL It is 
 a book which possesses an interest resembling" that of 
 the heroic actions of the Stiint, much of it havine" been 
 written, not like ordinary theolog'ical works, but in 
 actual ecstasies of that love towards God of which 
 he is the historian and the teacher. His manuscript 
 was blotted with his tears, and the treatise doubtless 
 abounds with thouj^hts directly sugg"estpd to his mind 
 by the Holy Spirit. When he was meditating" on the 
 commencement of tlie work, on March 25, 1014, he 
 was visited by this inspiration, manifesting" itself even 
 visibly : a g"lobe of fire descended on him, and dividing" 
 itself into a multitude of little flames, played harm- 
 lessly around him, and rendered his face radiant like 
 a star. His brother, Louis de Sales, entered the room, 
 just when this manifestation had disapr)eared, and j)er- 
 ceiving" his face as thoug-h it were on nre, the Saint, in 
 reply to his startled inquiries, told him, trem))ling" all 
 over, what had occuiTed. In memory of this event, 
 Fi-ancis de Sales wrote these words in a book which he 
 always caiiied about with him : Die viffe&imd quintd 
 
1SB 
 
 ST. VRAKCIfl DR SALRfl. 
 
 
 , 
 
 ii 
 
 
 3farfijf, hodir j^rrrttm. jtuum Frnnchnfm nihcrirorditer 
 vijtifari ihfinatun pat Dominun, Tho TrentiAr on the 
 Love of God is perhaps little read in this country, the 
 common tmnfllation being very indifferent, and the 
 qnnint old French of the orij*inal not heinjf very easy 
 to ordinary readers ; but a greater mine of rich and 
 beautiful tnouprhtii does not exisit in the devotional lite- 
 rature of the Church. This treatise was also sent to 
 James I. of Enprland, who, as we have already men- 
 tioned, expressed the highest admiration for it, and 
 wished he could see the noly author. When this was 
 told Francis de Sales, he said, with all the fire of apos- 
 tolic zeal, " Oh, who will give me wings like the dove, 
 and I will .£y to the king into that fair island, once 
 the land of saints, and now the domain of en'or ! Ah, 
 living God, if the prince allows me, I will go to that 
 new mission : I will speak to the king, and praach the 
 truth to him at the peril of my life !" Had tne Apostle 
 of the Chablais been enabled to carry out these aspira- 
 tions, who knows how different might have been the 
 face of things in England at this day ! 
 
 In the Advent of 1016 and the Lent of 1617, Fran- 
 cis preached at Grenoble by invitation of the parliament 
 of Dauphiny. The first of these courses was attended 
 by a remarkable person, the Marshal Duke de Lesdi- 
 giiidres, then governor of the province, — one of those 
 proud and stem Calvinist nobles whose stubbornness af- 
 forded so complete a parallel to that of the Puritans in 
 England ; yet the invincible sweetness, and still more 
 perhaps the dignity of Francis, produced a singular im- 
 pression on the haughty old marshal, who often invited 
 the holy bishop to his table, and delighted to hear his 
 conversation. The Calvinist ministers of the neighbour- 
 hood persuaded a nobleman of their party to remon- 
 strate with the duke on this dangerous friendship ; he 
 made a most characteristic reply : " Tell these gentle- 
 men," he said, " that I am old enough to know what to 
 do. It is not for these young upstarts to teach a man 
 of my age and quality how to conduct himself; I know 
 
CH. Z.] 
 
 ■T. PIUIVC18 DR 8ALB9. 
 
 129 
 
 how bishops ong-ht to bo trratod ; it is rerv different 
 with our ministfr?*, who nt Wst answer to tm nwik of 
 rareAf since they have r»'j«»ctf'd the epi^cojml dignity, 
 although so well-founde<I in Scripture : wlieu I wt) «ov«»- 
 i-eig^n princes, the sons and brothers of king^, U>coine 
 ministers, as I now see them con>-ider it a distinction to 
 )>e bishops, archbishops, and cardinals, I shall consider 
 what honour I am to pay to the ministers." Ulti- 
 mately, in 1622, the duke was reconcileti to the Catholic 
 Church ; his reason had long been convinced by the ar- 
 guments of Francis, but he could not be |)ersuaded to 
 break off a connection which, as in so many other 
 cases, had far more to do with his hesitation than any 
 controvei'sial difficulties. Many other conversions re- 
 sulted fi-om these missions at Grenoble, and also the es- 
 tablishniont of a house of the Visitation, the locality for 
 which was selected in the midst of the wild mountain- 
 scenery of the vicinity. On returning from his second 
 visit to Grenoble, Francis took the op|K)rtunity of stav- 
 ing a few days at the Grande Chartreuse, where tne 
 steniest asnect of nature haimonises so well with the 
 
 Eenitential lessons taught by the lives of the simple und 
 oly monks who dwell there. All the neighbourliood 
 of Gi*enoble, thus consecrated by the footsteps of a 
 Saint, has lately become the chosen home of a far more 
 intense devotion. La Salette, the scene of the latest 
 apparition of the Queen of Saints, whither the eyes of 
 Catholics are now turned from the most distant coruera 
 of the world, is at no gi'eat distance from Grenoble. 
 
 The year 1617 was marked by sevi^re afflictions for 
 the affectionate soul of Francis. His brother, the Baron 
 de Thorens, was carried off by fever whilst with the 
 anny, and his young* widow, the daughter of Madame 
 de Chantal, was so overwhelmed with the bereavement, 
 that it brought on a premature confinement, of which 
 she died ; though having hud the happiness of receiving 
 the last Sacraments, and ot being invested on her death* 
 be<l with the habit of the \'isitatiou. 
 
; 
 
 M 
 
 130 
 
 8T. FRVNCI8 1)« SALES. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 VISIT TO PARIS WITH THE CAUDINAL OF SAVOY — LAST TEARS O? 
 FKANCIS T/H SALES. 
 
 Is 1618 Francis was cliosen by the Duke of Savoy to 
 accoinjiany tlie embassy to Paris headed by tlie Ciudi- 
 nal-prince his brotlier, and commissioned to neg'otiiite 
 the marriagre of his son, the Prince of Piedmont, with 
 Christine of France, daughter of Henrv IV., and sister 
 of Louis XIII If, on the occasion of his former visit, 
 the astonishing achievement of converting' a whole pro- 
 vince from heresy to Catholicity had directed towards hira 
 the interest of all Paris, fully equnl was the adiniration 
 now awaiting him as the author of tlie Introduction 
 and the treatise On the Lace of God, whicli g-reat 
 jud^-es did not hesitate to place on a level witli the 
 works of the Ambroses and Aug-ustines. The neg'oti- 
 ations of the embassy lasted for nearly a year, during 
 which Francis received incessant invitations to preach, 
 which he did almost daily : the people never tiring* of 
 listening; to him; altliough neither his elocution nor his 
 style was such as might have been expected to attract 
 those highly-polisheil audiences. The secret lay in the 
 exquisite charm of Divine g'roce, which even visibly 
 rayed out from him. The churches were so crowded, 
 that it more than once happened that a ladder had to be 
 broug'ht for the preacher to enter by the window, tlie 
 dooi*s being" completely blocked up. People ran to gaze 
 at him, or to touch his robe as he passed in the streets ; 
 and they even bribed his barber to g;ive them his hair 
 to keep as relics. He was consulted on all hands by 
 those of every rank, from the prince down to the captive 
 in the dung^eon, who were in difficulties or distress of 
 mind ; and his prudence never failed to remove the 
 doubts which weighed upon them. His unruffled se- 
 
CII. XI.] 
 
 0T. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 181 
 
 r^Tiiry was pornfitimos put to tlie proof by impertiiHnit 
 visitors, who, witli that nuleness whicli seems insepii- 
 rablo from lieresy, came with rpiestions they imn«;ined 
 would embarniss him; but they alwiiys left liim uith 
 re-pert and g'oodwill. Among; the leadinji" per^()Il.^ 
 wiio fiequented liis society, we must not omit to incn- 
 tl(»ii Vincent of Paul, whom he was in tiie habit of 
 .<tyliii««- " tlie worthic.-t pnest he had ever known," 
 and under whose direction he placed a community of 
 the Visitation which he established in Paris. Great 
 efforts were again made at this time by the French 
 court to induce him to remain in France. Caidinal 
 de Hetz, Bishop of Paris, had set his heart on having 
 him for his coadjutor, and offered him a rich pension, 
 the entire conti-ol of liis diocese, and the appointment 
 of his brother, John Francis de Sales, to succeed 
 him at Geneva, if he would consent to come ; but all 
 was in vain. Nothing* . but the will of God, evidenced 
 by a command from the Holy Father himself, woidd 
 have induced Francis de Sales to quit the see where 
 Providence had originally placed him. 
 
 The negotiations beinpj at leng-th completed, — for 
 which result the diplomatists were in a oreat measure 
 indebted to the tact and prudence of Francis, — the 
 royal marriage was celebrated, and the embassy quitted 
 Paris. Francis de Sales, in reward for his services, was 
 com[)limented with the ofiice of gi'and almoner to the 
 Princess of Savoy, which he only accepted on condition 
 of not being asked to reside out of his diocese, and re- 
 signed almost immediately, so far as implied any active 
 duties. His brother, John Francis de Sales, was invited 
 to Tiu-in to discharge them in his stead. The influence 
 of the court of Savoy soon afterwards obtained from 
 the Holy See the appointment of John Francis as co- 
 adjutor of Geneva, with future succession. He was 
 consecrated on January 17th, 1021, under the title ot 
 Bishop of Chalcedon; and after a short interval, was 
 permitted by the couii; of Turin to undertake his duties 
 at Annecy. Francis regularly educated his brother 
 
133 
 
 8T. FRANCIS DB SALES. 
 
 ■ i, 
 
 \\ 
 
 :f 
 
 r i 
 
 ! I 
 
 for the office of bishop, both forming" his Ciiarncter nnd 
 communicntinj^ to him those wise maxim.s of ejiiscopul 
 govei-nment, of the method of preaching-, ;ind ol the in- 
 terpretation of Scripture, and putting him in possession 
 of those stores of detailed infoi-mation about the state 
 of the diocese, which he had accumulated durina" years 
 of labour and vigilance. Every day he devoted some 
 horn's to the task of imparting this instruction ; and 
 thus, long after his death, the spirit as well as the 
 name of tliis ^eat Saint continued to rule the Church 
 of Geneva. For even his second successor, Chai'les 
 Auguste, was a member of the house of Sales, a 
 nephew and disciple of the Saint, who had perceived 
 in his early youtn the promise of unusual holiness; 
 and having taken him under his special chai'ge shoi-tlj 
 before his death, he was able to give his mind that en- 
 during impress which a g^eat man needs only a very 
 short space of time to convey. 
 
 We are now drawing to the close of his career, 
 which, full of activity as it was in every pail; of it, was 
 never more energetic than in the two or three years im- 
 mediately preceding his death, when his failing health 
 and frame, shattered by such incessant toil, would have 
 induced any one else to take repose. 
 
 During the years 1&18-20, he made several tedious 
 journeys, and underwent gpi'eat exei-tions, in order to re- 
 establish discipline in the abbey of Sixt, a community 
 which had got into an unsatisfactoiy state, and on which, 
 at an early period of his episcopate, he had bestowed g^at 
 pains ; but which again and again relapsed into its for- 
 mer relaxation. During one of his visits to this abbey, 
 he wrought a miracle which was attested by six witnesses 
 in the processes of his canonisation. Great numbei-s of 
 people had resoi-ted to the place to ask his counsel, as 
 they constantly did ; and the increased consumption of 
 food weighed heavily on the resom-ces of the abbev. 
 Francis prayed, and the river produced such a supply 
 of fish as Iiad never been remembered up to that tune ; 
 the usual quantity of bread baked for the community 
 
 I ' i 
 
CII. XI. J 
 
 8T. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 ia3 
 
 J 
 
 suffict'd for the lultlitional mouths, nnd tlie c.vk of wine 
 from which they drew for all the strangers su&tained no 
 increased diminution. 
 
 In 1630 he enacted constitutions for the hermitag^e 
 of Mont Voiron, a holy institute which had long* flou- 
 rished on the north of the Lake of Geneva, till Calvinist 
 barbarity had overthrown it. Several devout relig"ious, 
 and among* them one named Rigaud, who had adopted 
 the eremitical life after having* been many years ac- 
 tively engaged in the political world, restored the as- 
 sociations of the place, and besought Francis de Sales 
 to devise a rule for them. This he accomplished with 
 his usual prudence, and was according-ly considerad as 
 the foimder of the congregation. 
 
 In 1631 he was engaged in the business of negoti- 
 ating a refonn in a convent of Bemardine nuns, at St. 
 Catherine's, near Annecy. It proved a tedious nnd 
 difficult undertaking, from the opposition of the abbess, 
 who headed a party in the community opposed to re- 
 formation. As usual in such cases, this party sup- 
 ported itself by the civil power. The holy bishop's 
 correspondence about this simple affair reached above 
 a hundi-ed letters. The matter at length ended in the 
 foundation of a separate convent for the nuns who wei* 
 anxious to live up to the nile. Francis de Sales drew 
 up constitutions for them ; and the reformed institute 
 became a flourishing stock, from which several com- 
 munities branched off. 
 
 One of the last public proceedings of the Saint, and 
 which, from the circumstances attending it, derived a 
 peculiarly touching interest, was the translation of the 
 relics of St. Germain from the nave to the high altar 
 of the abbey of Talloii-cs. This is a beautifiil spot nenr 
 the lake of Annecy, where were the ruins of the her- 
 mitage of St. Germain, which Francis had caused to be 
 rebuilt. At the ceremony of the translation he spoke at 
 ci'eat length on the devotion inculcated by the Church 
 for saints and relics, and on the virtues of the holy 
 hermit whose abode, laid waste by hei-etical violence, 
 
1.34 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DE SALI^S. 
 
 hi 
 
 he had j>i<>nsly repaired. When all was over, he visited 
 tiif lieiiiiifii<^«', and ^^aaed with delig^ht on the exqui- 
 site prosjM'ft iiround him, the calm lake mid the over- 
 han«^ing- inonntains, and his own helived little city of 
 \nnfcy in the di>>^t;nice. He said t!iat, if it were oui* 
 ix»rd's will, he should wish to come thtre, to enjoy an 
 interval ot* rest ; he would leave the burden and heat of 
 t\w. day to his coadjutor, and with his rosary rnd his 
 pen he would perve God and the Church in that peace- 
 ful heiTuitag-e. " What a delicious site !" he exclaimed, 
 with the feeling no less of a poet than a saint. " How 
 great and beautiful thoughts will fall around us, thick 
 and soft, as the snows come down in winter !" It was 
 not a passing- fancy, but apparently a settled plan, which 
 he had fully matured in his mind. He guve orders the 
 same day to the prior of T illoires to have five or six 
 cells built for him, and announced his intention to set- 
 tle there as soon as he could arrange to transfer the 
 diocese to his brother. "And then," he said, "we will 
 serve God with the breviary, the rosary, and the pen ; 
 we shall enjoy a lioly leisure to trace out for the glory 
 of God and the instruction of souls what I have oeen 
 turning over in my mind these thirty years and more, 
 and which I have used in my sermons, mstniciions, and 
 meditations ; I have abundance of materials, and be- 
 sides, God w'll inspire me. Oh, who vill give me the 
 wings of a dove, to fiy into this sacred desert, and 
 breathe awhile under tlie shadow of the Cross !" He 
 had in his mind plans enough to have occupied more 
 than a life-time. There was to be a historv of Jesus 
 Christ in four books ; the tirst, a sort of diatessaron, or 
 harmony of the four gospels ; the second, a treatise 
 on the evidences, drawn from the words of our Lord in 
 the gosj)el ; the third, on the Christian virtues, as set 
 forth in the gospel ; tlie fourth, a history of the primitive 
 Church, drawn from the Acts of the Apostles ; besides a 
 similar work on the Epistles of St. Paul. Then another 
 treatise, supposin/^ all this completed, " on the love of 
 our neighbour,"" would have served as tlie pendant to 
 
 It 
 
en. XI.] 91. rRA.NCIS DE SALES. 135 
 
 his great work on the Love of Go.i. Ijastlv, in a series 
 of letters on tlie Pastoral Office, lie would have tlirown 
 tojretiier tiie results of his vast and unexampled ex- 
 |)erience as •. missionary-priest and bishop. It was, of 
 coui-se, obvious that, even if years of health had been 
 still afforded him, these designs were too vast for him to 
 expect to acomplish them. Of this he was peHectly 
 conscious ; but he remarked, with profound practical 
 wisdom, that " to give scope to the activity of tlie 
 mind, we ought to form designs as great as if we had 
 a long life before us, but not to reckon on doing more 
 than if we had to die to-mon-ow." The only part of 
 his designs which the holy bishop was enabled in 
 some degree t6 accomplish, was the superintendence 
 of the education of his nephew and future successor, 
 Charles Auguste de Sales, whose residence in the house- 
 hold and under the care of the holy prelate during the 
 last twelvemonth of his life gave him, as we have already 
 mentioned, impressions which were never obliterated, 
 and were the means of his worthily keeping up, both 
 by imitating and by writing the life of his uncle, those 
 heroic vii-tues whicn became almost the hereditary pos- 
 session of his race. 
 
 In May 1622 he was coiamissioned by the Holy 
 See to preside at a chapter of the oi-der of Feuillants, 
 held at Pignerol, there heing ac the time considerable 
 disputes in the order relative to the election of a geneial, 
 on w^hich they were unable to agree. By the address 
 and charity of Francis these dissensions were happily 
 appeased, and harmor"" restored. The cxei-tionc, how- 
 ever, which he went through in managing this difficult 
 affair wert^ more than his strength was adequate to sus- 
 tain. He was now lifty-four yeai-s of age, and the infir- 
 mities of age began to weigh heavily on him. He suf- 
 fered greatly from weakness of the chest, violent pains 
 in the head and stomachy, swelling and inflammation of 
 the le^, — all these symptoms indicatino;^ a general break- 
 up in his constitution. Yet he still held on,— tlie energy 
 of his soul rising suptn-ior to the decay of the body. On 
 
136 
 
 iT. FRANCIS DB BALB9. 
 
 leaving" Pii^fnerol he visited Turin, wliitlier he wns in. 
 vited l>y the coui-t. Thei-e lie stayed a short time, lodg"- 
 ing" in a small and stifling- cell in the monastery of tlie 
 Feuillants; though handsome accommodation was eagerly 
 offered him on all sides. The archbishopric of Turin 
 hu ' ' ig fallen vacant, that rich and splendia appointment 
 w; pressed upon him in vain. He wished te hasten 
 hk return to Annecy, as a scarcity was prevailing in 
 the country which he hrped to relieve. The court at 
 length unwillingly let him go ; and on his departure the 
 Princess of Piedmont presented him with a magnificent 
 diamond ring of the value of 3000 francs. He accepted 
 it gladly for the sake of his poor people ; and he was no 
 sooner in Annecy than he pawned it to the jewellere, in 
 order to obtain the means of can'ying on his charities. 
 The nng was speedily redeemed by his friends, and re- 
 turned to him ; and he would again put it in pawn, till 
 it became a proverb in the town, much like the snuff- 
 boxes and watches which, in our own days, are passed 
 in charitable circulation from one i*affle to another. 
 
CII. XII.1 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DK SALES. 
 
 137 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 DEATU OF PIUNCU DK SALBi. 
 
 Towards the close of the year, he was invited hy tlie 
 Duke of Savoy to attend him at AvigTion, whei-e he was 
 to meet Louis XI!!., in order to congratulate that prince 
 on his successes ag^ainst the Hug^uenot faction. Fiancis 
 had a })resentiment that this journey would be his last ; 
 but he did not think it rig-ht to decline t? 3 invitation of 
 his sovereign, especially as it was likely to alford him 
 the opportunity of negotiating for the interests of reli- 
 gion. Accordingly he made preparation, with the utmost 
 calmness, as if he 'ere to return no more. He made his 
 Avill, charging the. i to bury him in the nave of the 
 Church of the Visitation at Annecy ; but if he died out 
 of his diocese, leaving the place ot' his sepulture at the 
 choice of those who sliould attenu him at the time. He 
 limited the adornments of his funeral to thirteen candles, 
 and would have no other escutcheons than the holy Name 
 of Jesus. On November 7th, he made his general confes- 
 sion, and in the afteinoon handed to his brother and co- 
 adjutor a mass of papere relating to the business of the 
 diocese J after which he sad cheerfully, that he seemed 
 to rest on ea; th with one foot only, the other was raised 
 in the air, and ready to go. On November 8th, he bade 
 farewell to his relatives and friends, to the canons, and 
 to his dear community of the Visitation, for which he 
 had thought and toiled so much. One of them, an in- 
 nocent and holy soul, Sister Simplicienne, had foretold 
 that he would not outlive the year. As he parted 
 with another of them, Sister Anne-Jacqueline Coste, slie 
 wept as she had never done before on any of his jf>nr- 
 neys. "When he asked her why was this, she said ihat 
 her heart told hei' they would see each other no more. 
 
138 
 
 8T. FRANCIS DK SALES. 
 
 Francis, who, in tlie spirit of prophecy, foresaw tliat the 
 uood Sister Iiei*self was not destined \on'^ to sun'ive him, 
 i-(!phed tiiat his lieart also tohi liiin that they would see 
 ciich other much sooner than site thought. 
 
 On tlie 9th of Noveml)er he set out on his journey, 
 iiniidsi tlie teai-s of the whole city, and proc(?eded to 
 Avi'.'-non by way of Belley and Lyon^. At Lyons a 
 tiillin{^ incident happened, which is worth relating* as 
 an example of his sweet and g^entle demeanour. As he 
 was g^oing" on board the boat, the boatman refused to 
 receive him without his passport. When his attendants* 
 were angry at the delay, the bishop remarked, " Let him 
 alone ; he knows his business of boatman, and fulfils it : 
 we don't know that of travellers." He had to wait an 
 hour for the passport under a bitterly cold wind, but 
 showed a calmness which diihised itself over his in-itated 
 iollowei-s. When at last they got on board, he went 
 and sat next the boatman who had been so tiresome, 
 obsicrving, " I wish to make friends with this good man, 
 and to talk to him a little of our Lord." 
 
 A similar example of the manners of this Christian 
 traveller occun-ed on their arrival at Avignon. The city 
 lieing crowded with the retinue of the two courts of 
 France and Savoy, Fi-ancis and his company could find 
 no room at the first hotel at which they applied, and 
 had to go on foot to another through torrents of rain. 
 The holy bishop, as he went along, catechised the f»oor 
 man who served as their g^iide ; and when they parted 
 at the doer of the hotel, said he would remember him 
 next day at the Holy Sacrifice. If we consider all the 
 circumstances, his shattered health and lameness, and 
 the great fatigue he had undergone, equanimity like 
 this will appear so unusual as to desei-ve a record in a 
 lite every action of which was heroic. 
 
 At Avignon he held aloof from all the magTiificence 
 which the reunion of two courts in that splendid age 
 so lavishly displayed. He would not even go to the 
 window to look at the triumphant entry of Louis XII L 
 and the two queens, Marie de Medicis and Anne of 
 
 ifl 
 
.. 
 
 m a 
 
 mcG 
 ag-e 
 I the 
 
 11. 
 
 of 
 
 CH. XII.J 8T. FRANCIS DE SALES. 130 
 
 Aiistnn. lie 5»pont his time in praypr, in ronfrrpnco 
 witli rrliffious pei>ons, nn<l in visitinii" the vauDiis places 
 of (ievotion in the city. Un Noveniher i?ot!i, the royal 
 visit()i*s miittinpr Avi^on, Fnmcis accompanied their 
 tniin. When they an-iveil at Lyons, offers of ho«»pi- 
 tality poured in iimm him fi-om various qunrt«TS ; hut 
 he insisted on takmg* a little room in the house of the 
 g-ai-dener of the Convent of the Visitation, ft was a 
 comfortless place, beinpf full of dmughts, and with a 
 smoky chimney. Francis, however, maintained that it 
 would suit him quite well, and that he wished to be 
 away from the noii^e of the court. 
 
 Here was held the last intei*view between Jane 
 Frances de Chantal and her holy director. She had 
 been visitinj,^ the convents of her order at DiJDU and 
 elsewhere, and came to Lyons to advise with him. 
 With difficulty he found time to receive her, such was 
 the press of people who besiepfed him for counsel and 
 consolation. When, however, he at leng-th was enabled 
 to release himself, the first thing* he asked her was, 
 which of the two should beg-in to speak, as they had 
 but a few hours at liberty. Madame cle Cliantal, anxious 
 to tell him of her spiritual affaii-s, said : '* I, if you 
 please, father ; my befiH has great need of being" i-e- 
 vised by you." He g-ently reproved her eagerness, as 
 contrary to his favourite lesson of avoluing* all excited 
 feelings, all self-will. Madame de Chantal at once shut 
 up the memoranda she had prepared about the state 
 ot her soul during the three-and-a-half years which had 
 elapsed since she last had seen the Saint ; and she 
 opened instead of them her papei*s about the Institute. 
 They talked of it for four houi-s, and Francis de Sales 
 gave her his last instructions for the govei-nment of his 
 order; in particular insisting" that tliey should never 
 place themselves under the management of a General, 
 out always be subject to the Bishop of the diocese 
 whore they were placed. He then commanded her to 
 visit some convents he mentioned, and dismissed her 
 with his blessing, to meet no more in this life. 
 
140 ST. FIIANCIS DK 8ALK8. 
 
 Amonpr the |>oj-sons of distinction who frcqupntrd 
 the society of I'mncis at the cIo>in{j |)cii()(l of iiis 
 life was Jacques Olier, one of the higli inagistiiicy of 
 Lyons, and father of tlie Jean-Jacques Olier who nttrr- 
 wards hecnrne so famous as the founder of St. Sulpice. 
 The latter was at this time still a child, and utl'ordcd 
 no promise of his future holiness, being exceedingly 
 self-willed and unmanageable. Yet Francis de Sales 
 predicted, with the utmost confidence, that Almighty 
 God had chosen him for the advantage and glor^ of 
 the Church, and he bade his parents change their ieiu-s 
 into acts of thanksgiving. 
 
 Thci'e seemed to be an impression amongst all that 
 his end was approaching, and his friends oi)enly ex- 
 pressed to him their belief that he would be canonised. 
 He did not disclaim this, his humility being such as not 
 to be weakened by a consciousness of his own saintli- 
 ness, unlike many others ii-om whom such knowledge 
 has been withheld. A lady of the court, whom he met 
 at the Princess of Soissons', said : " Ileally, my lord, 
 if you were in red robes, one would take you for St. 
 Charles." He rieplied : " Madame, it is of little use to 
 have red robes ; but it would be very desirable to be a 
 St. Charles in one's w^orks, if not in one's dress." A 
 Jesuit father, in convereation with him, speuking of 
 the different chamcteristics of St. Fi-ancis of Assisi, St. 
 Francis of Paul, and St. Francis Xavier, he exclaimed : 
 " Yes, either it will cost me my hfe, or I shall one day 
 be fi fourth St. Francis." 
 
 It now drew near Christmas ; and in spite of hia 
 sufferings, he had been toiling in his apostolic ministry 
 with extraordinary energy, preaching wherever lie was 
 asked. He said his Midnight-Mass at the Church of 
 the Visitation, and preached on the Nativity with a 
 feiTour which surprised all who heard him. The Mke 
 de Blonay was so struck by it, that she ventured to 
 ask him if he had not received some special gi-ace at 
 the Mass, remarking that it seemed to her tliat she 
 beheld the archangel Gabriel at his side when he in- 
 
 •■ 
 
en. xir.i 
 
 ST. FRANCIS OE SALK8. 
 
 141 
 
 toned the Gloria inrjcrhiti. Ho (li»l not dpnr tlmt lie 
 Imd henitl witli liis ears the lioly mehniy of the tmgi^ls, 
 nnd had seen with his e]?^s the Divine Infnnt nnd those 
 blessed spirit* sun-oiuulinfi; Him. He then heard tlio 
 confession of the Prince and Princess of Piedmont, 
 und suid t)ie'' Aurora" Ma^s for the ii in the Dominican 
 church. He then heard three otiicr Masses, and did 
 not say his own third Mass till near mid-day, alter 
 which he dined, and then g::ive the luibit to two no %- ices 
 of the Visitation, preached at the ceremony, gBve them 
 a conference, received several visitoi-s, an<l nftenvards 
 waited on the Queen Marie de Aledicis, who was to 
 leave Lvons the next day. Yet he was actually a dying 
 man when he thus crowded such astonishing' exertions 
 into one day. Next day, the Feast of St. Stephen, he 
 bade his last farewell to the nuns of the Visitation, and 
 spoke to them for nearly two hourai, chiefly on Divine 
 love, on confession and communion, repeating- much of 
 those practical lessons by wliich he throughout his life 
 had im]>arted to so many minds the moans of obtaining 
 serenity and repose. It grew late, and his servants 
 came with torches to liirht him to his house. Obedience 
 called him, he said, and he must go. The Sui)erioi*es3 
 asked him, before he departed, to tell them what he 
 wished should remain most (leej»ly engraven in their 
 hearts. " My dear daughter," replied the dying bishop, 
 " desire nofhinff, rrj'vfsc nothing. Enough is said m 
 that word." And he illustrated it by the example of 
 the Infant Jesus in the ciib, receiving poverty, nnd 
 nakedness, and cold, without stretching forth His hands 
 to ask for any thing; leaving Himself entirely to the 
 care of His Mother, yet not refusing her allevijitions, 
 nor those of St. Joseph, nor the adoration of the kings ; 
 yet all with an equal indifference. " But, my lord," 
 said one of the nuns, " oimht one to warm oneself when 
 one feels very cold?" The simplicity of the question 
 only brings out with the greater clearness the dep h and 
 
 Eractical wisdom of his answer : " When the fire is lit," 
 e replied, *^ we see that obedience Intends one to worm 
 
142 
 
 «T. PRANCIH DP. SALES. 
 
 on»»sflf, provided it l)e n(»t (lono with tmi frront onpor* 
 nesH." riuis in his hist words hw oxpresH»d the ^ri'ut 
 muxim winch ho proachcd throii^rhouf his life, to avoid 
 empn'Mnumf, Uy ohst»rv« n ciMtain holy (•(luality and 
 serenity of mind, to accept and to do witfi calmness and 
 thanktnlness what Divine Providence int<Mids for ns at 
 the moment, and to avoid that flurry, that haste, that 
 over-anxiety, so natund to human frailty, ever j)ressini^ 
 fonvai-d in advance of (iod's will. " 8tep by ftep, ' 
 was his philosophy; and it was taught him by tiie Spu-it 
 of Truth. 
 
 Next mornlnpf was the Feast of St. John the Evan- 
 gelist. He felt his sij^ht weaker when he rose, and 
 remarked to his attendants it was a symptom of his 
 departure. He confessed, said Mass, and gave com- 
 munion to the nuns. The Superioress noticed his altered 
 looks; he only observed that every thing turns out well 
 to those who love God, and in giving her his blessing 
 said, " Adieu, my daughter ; I leave you my spirit and 
 my heart." Outside the church he talked for some 
 time with the Duke of Bellegarde and another noble- 
 man. It was cold and foggy, and he felt a chill, in 
 spite of which he went on to call on the Prince of Pied- 
 mont. By the <lme he got home he was excessively 
 fatigued and ill ; but sat down to write lettei-s, and re- 
 ceived sevend visitor. On their departure his servant 
 came in, and began to tell him about a sermon he had 
 been heai'ing, in which the preacher exhorted the queen 
 to love her sei-vants. Francis, like our Lord, said, 
 " And you, do you love me well ?" The good servant 
 could not speak for weeping. The Saint continued: 
 " And I, too, love you well; but let us love God more, 
 who is our Great Blaster." As he said these words he 
 fainted away; and an aiwplexy soon after came on, with 
 symptoms of the most alarming kind. He was removed 
 to bed, and remedies adopted in order to rouse him. 
 He retained his consciousness, and frequently repeated 
 the acts of faith, hope, charity, and contrition. He 
 made his profession of faith, and after it said, '' I wish 
 
 , 
 
8T. PnANCIS DF. (»AI.F.S. 
 
 14:) 
 
 
 ril. XI I.J 
 
 to di«» in t}u» fjiitli of tlu» (Jlmrrh Tiitliolic, r»j><M«Tolic iiml 
 Roiniii), th(> only ^'lKMl ifliirion ; so I swcur it iiihI I 
 protl'Hs it." In tlio coiirso of tl»' dav li»* r<inf«»sxr«l, himI 
 Hskod to nroivo Kxtr<»njc rnrtion, wliicli tli»»y jravi' liim 
 »l>out ono oVIikU in the niorniu^*; Init without tli»' \'ia- 
 tii'iiiM, in conjicqnrnrc of his sirkn*»ss. Ili* then ininle 
 tiiiMii phire his chiijilrt on his nnn, iind hh>st innial^ 
 Were attacliod to it, which he had hroufrht fnnn liojiie 
 nrid liOictto. Ni'xt niornin<r he rerrivi'd sev( visittu*^, 
 the Itishop of Daniasnis, the Duke of Nemoiu-s, and 
 31:id:inu' (Miei- and h<'r <'hiKh-i'i!. 
 
 His former director, K tlier Forrier, liavinjc nsked 
 him if lie reinendicred him, he repli (I, " Si oblitUH 
 f'licro tuiy ohliv'wni ^lifitr dixtcra nu"\:^* " If I forjivt 
 tiiee, let my rij^lit hand be fo' rotten." The p-ootl rriest 
 invited him to .^ay, like St. Martin, " Lor 1, if I am 
 still necessary to Tiiy people, I reluse not i.i\, labour." 
 The Saint, in reply, n'peatcd thrice, *' Sri vutt i«»//''m, 
 inufilif<, ifnifiliA: •' A useless servciu. useless, usel *." 
 He seems to have replied to alm« it e/ery question in 
 the words of Seriptm-e, g-enerally the Psalms. Fi-e- 
 
 Suently he uttered that passajjfe of the Canticles : " In- 
 ira mihiy dihcte mi, voi pasena ft cvbt'Jt in vwridie:* 
 " Show me, Thou whom my soul lovetli, wliere Thou 
 feedest, where Thou liest in the mid-day." 
 
 The symptoms, however, g-ot worse : lie constantly 
 relapsed into drowsiness; and to remove this, the j)hy- 
 sicians resorted to all the expedient? used in the bar- 
 barous surgery of that aji'e ; not only blistera on the 
 head, but the application of a hot iron to the nape of the 
 neck, and even of an ir '.'-.inent shaped like a button, 
 heated red-hot, and pressed on the crown of his head 
 till it was burnt to the very bone. The saintly patient 
 bore all this cinel tori are with the most perfect serenitv, 
 callings on the dear names of Jesus and Mary. As mig-ht 
 be expected, he gi-adually sunk after sutferings so excru- 
 ciating* ; yet the few words he still uttered were all of 
 them worthy of record. A nun who was in attendance, 
 thinkinj2f to gratify him, told him his brother, the Bishop 
 
144 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 of Chalc?don, had iirrived, which was not tnie. He 
 sfjd to her, " My sister, one sliould never tell lies." 
 When asked if he was not soiTy to part with his daug-h- 
 tei*s of tlie Visitation, just when the institution was at 
 its commencement, he said thrice, " Qui ccrpit opus^ ipjfc 
 pei'ficiety perficii'ty perfictet:^* " He who hath begim the 
 work will perfect it, will perfect it, will perfect it ;" 
 words which he i*epeated, auer an interval, when he was 
 asked whether he did not fear to be vannuished in the 
 last combat. Then turaing- to a friend, ana g'i*asping' his 
 hand, he said, " Adoesperascit, et inclinata est jam dies:^* 
 " It is towards evening", and the day is now far s|)ent." 
 Then, after uttering the Name of Jesus, he lost the power 
 of speech, the faint movement of lips and eyes still in- 
 dicating that his sowl was in prayer. Those present now 
 knelt down, and recited the " Recommendation for a de- 
 parting soul." When they came to the invocation, " Om- 
 nen Sancti Innocenfes, orate jyro eo" "All ye Holy Inno- 
 cents, pray for him," they repeated it twice, in honour of 
 the festival. At the third invocation he breathed forth 
 his innocent soul with the utmost tranquillity and sweet- 
 ness, dying at eight o*clock in the evening, on the Feast 
 of the Holy Innocents, December 28th, 1C22, in the 
 fifty-sixth year of his age and the twentieth of his epis- 
 copate. 
 
 His death was supematurally made known on the 
 same day to several of liis friends at a distance. Madame 
 de Chantal, whilst praying for him, heard an interior 
 voice saying to her, " He is no more ;" words which at 
 the time she took to signify his life being absorbed in 
 God. Charles Augiiste de Sales had been so afflicted 
 at liis departure, that he fell sick, and was believed to 
 be past recovery. On the Feast of the Holy Innocents, 
 hoAvever, a sweet sleep suddenly came on him, during 
 which he dreamed that the bishop had come from Lyons 
 to bless and to heal him. On waking, he exclaimed 
 tliat his uncle was dead. A holy priest at Annecy, 
 whilst celebrating Mass, saw the face of Francis de Sales 
 sun'ounded with rays, and knew in his own mind thut 
 
 t 
 
en. XII.] 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 145 
 
 / 
 
 he hnd departed ; and the same revehition was made to 
 Nool Perg-ord, an advocate at tlie court of Chnmhery, in 
 a dream, in whicli he heliehl a dove of dazzling" white- 
 ness hover round him, when lie heard a voice say, " I 
 may not touch the earth any long-cr;" and the dove 
 immediately flew towards the sky. Other holy souls 
 had similar revelations. 
 
 When the body of the holy prelate was owned to 
 be embalmed, the operators found in the gall, which 
 was completely dried up, a great quantity of small 
 stones, SOI... round and others triangidar, heaped toge- 
 ther in the form of a ciiaplet. The physicians ascribed 
 this phenomenon to the constant violence he had used 
 in subduing his anger, to which passion he was naturally 
 inclined. His heart, after being placed in a silver coffer, 
 was g-iven to the Church of the Visitation at Lyons. 
 His body, after some oprwsition raised by the authori- 
 ties of Lyons, was brougnt to Annecy, where it was re- 
 ceived by the whole population with extmordinary vene- 
 ration. It was magnificently enshrined in the Church 
 of the Visitation, and has ever since been considered the 
 choicest possession of the city. At the time of the first 
 French Revolution, when churches in almost all quarters 
 of France and the adjoining countries were ransacked 
 by the impious and sacrilegious hands of the infidels, 
 some devout Catholics, to guard against the danger of 
 these holy relics being' insulted, secretly removed them 
 from their tomb, leaving another body in the silver 
 shrine instead of him, — a proceeding which may be used 
 in illustration of the well-Known controversy about the 
 relics of St. Cuthbert at Durham. Soon after the Con- 
 cordat in 1804, the Bishop of Chambery verified the 
 document in whicli the facts were stated by tliese cou- 
 rageous persons at the time of the transference ; and he 
 exposfd the relics to public veneration. In 1806 they 
 were removed with gTeat solemnity to the cathedral 
 chui'ch of St. Peter's at Annecy ; and on Aug. 21, 1825, 
 thoy wei-e finally translated to the Church of the Visita- 
 tion, which had )»een rebuilt by Maria Christina, Queen 
 
146 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DB SALES. 
 
 of Sardinia. The ceremony was of sucli magnificence 
 as to show that the spirit of Francis de Sales still pre- 
 vailed with all his ancient |»ower over the land he had 
 loved so well. The king" and queen were present ; nine 
 bishops and 632 priests assisted at the functions ; and 
 the concourse of people who flocked to Annecy to vene- 
 rate the holy relics on that day, and thi-ou^h tlie octave, 
 was declared to amount to 36,000. The splendid silver 
 shiine in which the relics were placed was contributed 
 by those of the family of Sales who had survived the 
 storms of the revolution. It is interesting" to add, that 
 it was a descendant of that noble house, the Countess 
 of Divoniie, who afforded hospitality not many years 
 since to the worthy successor of Francis, Monsig-nor 
 de Marilley, Bishop of Lausanne and Geneva, when 
 exiled from his see by the infidel goveniment of the 
 latter city. 
 
 The general voice of the faithful, as was to be ex- 
 pected, began immediately after his death to invoke the 
 intercession of Fi-ancis ; and miracles of the most asto- 
 nishing- kind continually attested his title to be ranked 
 among- the Saints. Limbs distorted from infancy were 
 made straight ; sight was restored to the blind ; diseases 
 at which the beholders shuddered were completely ban- 
 ished ; the dead weie restored to life bv his power with 
 Almighty God. The assembly of the French clergy in 
 1625 addressed to Pope Urban VIII. a letter soliciting 
 his beatification, and reitei-ated this petition on four oc- 
 casions, up tc the year 1661. Great exertions were 
 made by Jane Frances de Chantal to urge foi-ward the 
 cause, and bring evidence as to his life and miracles. 
 The inquiry, which was unusually exact and extensive, 
 was intn ted to a committee, consisting of her brother, 
 the Archbishop of Bourges, the Bishop of Belley, and 
 a doctoi* of Louvain, George Namus. As continually 
 happens in similar cases, difficulties interfered with the 
 
 Erosecution of the cause, and were singularly removed 
 y tiie providence of Almighty God. It was reserved 
 for Alexander VIL, formerly Cai-dinal Chigi, whose great 
 
CH. XII.] ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 147 
 
 career had been foretold to him by the Saint himself, to 
 place this resplendent lig-ht upon the altars of the Church. 
 His beatification was announced in 1C62, and his canon- 
 isation in 10C5 by the same Pope, who apjwinted Jan. 
 29th to 1)6 observed as the festival of St. Francis de 
 Sales. 
 
., ►. 
 
 us 
 
 8T. FRANCIS DB AALUS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIlI. 
 
 CHARACTER OF BT. FRANCIS DE SALB. 
 
 In concludinp this outline, it will be ? •ten^stin«»- to 
 review in g-enjint' the clmracter of the Saint, as it ajt- 
 psare from tha details we luive gfiven, and from those 
 abundant sources of infonnation which our limits have 
 enabled us scarcely to do more than indicate. It is, 
 of course, obvious to any one, that the leading feature 
 of his character was the mo«=t exquisite, invincible sweet- 
 ness. He was sweetness itself: he mio;ht almost have 
 been styled that quality itself invested with a visible 
 form ; and the eleg-ance of his appearance and air was 
 the fit expression of the serenity which dwelt within. 
 This sweetness, hov/evor, seems not so much to have 
 been the result of natural dir position, as of loig" eirbrts 
 and watchfiilness over himself. He spent yeai-s in ac- 
 
 3 Hiring- it, and for a long" time hardly thought of any 
 ling' else. The philosopher Seneca tells us that no 
 one can hope completely to subdue any natural failing"; 
 but he may so far bring it within bounds, that no one 
 but the pei"son himself shall be aware of its existence. 
 Grace can effect wonders unknown in the sphere of 
 simply natural virtues; but the remark holds good to 
 this extent, that the natural failing" will be the trial 
 destined to bring out the peculiar excellence which the 
 character ought to possess. We often see, moreover, 
 in the mind a singular balance of opposite qualities, in- 
 tended by the Creator to limit each oilier, and to afford 
 the soul the means of developing its special grace. 
 Thus it was in the case of our Saint. The very last 
 failing under which he might have been imagined to 
 suffer, was that of anger ; and yet he assured tlie Bi- 
 shop of Belley that this was one of his severest tempta- 
 tions. There were two passions he felt assail him the 
 most strongly, anger and love. The latter he could 
 
 •' * 
 
«? 
 
 CH. XIII.] IT. PI1.4NCIS DB SALES. 149 
 
 subdue by mnnaj^ement, by giving" it a rig-ht nnd lioly 
 direction ; but as for anger^ he had '' to take his heuit 
 in both hands/' in order to stifle it. We have seen the 
 same expression used some where in St. Francis's works, 
 in advismg^ a person as to the proper way of su1)duing 
 aversions. In the Jntroditctian to a Devout Lif'ej he 
 gives some precepts of great interest and value on the 
 proper means of I'estraining' angler, which sliow that 
 this metaphor of "taking the heart in both hanils*' 
 must be undei-stood on what we may rail the Salesian 
 principle of calmness, and the absence of any thing like 
 flurry and haste. He says : " But how am J to renel 
 anger ? you will say to me. It is necessary, my Phuo- 
 thea, that at the flrst feeling' you have of it you should 
 promptly coll.ict your forces, not by any means roug-hly 
 or impetuously, but sweetly, and nevertheless seriously. 
 For as one sees in the audiences of many senates and 
 parliaments, that the beadles ciying * Silence ! silence ! ' 
 make more noise than those whom they wish to hold 
 their peace, so it happens full oft that, wishing with 
 impetuosity to repress our ang'er, we raise more trouble 
 in our heai-t than the auger itself haH done, and the heart, 
 being thus troubled, can no more be master of itself.'* 
 He then goes on to advise that ejaculations should bo 
 made to Almighty God to calm the storm; but observes 
 thai " the prayer made against present and pressing- 
 anger ought always to be practised, sweetly, tranquilly, 
 and not violently." Another rule which accompanies 
 this is, that the very moment you perceive you have 
 committed an act of anger, you should " repair the 
 faul*: by an act of sweetness, exercised promptly to- 
 wards the same pei-son against whom you were in-itated. 
 For as a sovereign remedy against lying is at once to 
 recal the lie the moment you perceive you have said it, 
 so it is a good remedy against anger to repair it sud- 
 denly by a contrary act of sweetness ; for, as they say, 
 fresh wounds aie most easily remedied." Lastly, he 
 gives this most useful precept : " When you are in ti-an- 
 quilliiy, and without any subject of anger, lay in 
 
150 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DB SALBfl. 
 
 great ptore of swoetness and mo pkness, uttoring" nil your 
 words and perioiTning- nil your notions, little and great, 
 in the swpfttest manner you |>o«siblv can.'' O-,*: ii.>ns- 
 lator rendoi*s this, 'so as to be able to utter all ; crrr 
 words," Sic; ! ut this is (juit<; missing" ^he pji.'.t of ilie 
 passage. St. I Vnncis means, that in traiquii i.ours we 
 should »r/juire n habit of gentler- ss, bv s[»ftk' ig' j^.d 
 acting gently, and then in Doment-* of t«?n})ttition we 
 shall bo bett<^!r able to resist the assjr.ilts ol ung-er. 
 
 There are many most benvtiful stones in the EUprit^ 
 which appear to il^ to justify St. Fi-aneis's own account 
 of his character. His gentleness w as of too positiv e u 
 kind to allow one to suppose it w?^ merely r-ivi:!' ' by 
 th(j ab?enc(.' of the element of an^er in his mmd. Aii^er, 
 or whntever ])rincipIo it is on V'hich the sreniei virtues 
 di'!?f'nd, bo doul'dess had; but this was kept in the 
 most (•o'i IrjH srJjJection by the action of gjace on his 
 atferrt (;-,nt!:! luiut and clear serene reason. The same 
 coml)malion, aided by his illustrious Itirth and early 
 faiiiiliaiity with high life, even had grace not formed 
 liis whole manner, would doubtless ot itsdf have made 
 him one of the most finished g-entlemen of the ag-e. 
 There is something" exceedingly chivalroui- in his cha- 
 racter, which meets one curiously now and then through- 
 out his works. For example, in the Introduction^ how 
 i-edolent is the following passage of the days of Chris- 
 tian chivalry : "The blessed Elzear, Count of Arian, in 
 Provence, having been long absent from his devout and 
 chaste Deljihina, she sent him an express to hear news 
 of his health, and he mj.de reply to her: 'I am right 
 well, my dear wife ; but if you would see me, seek me in 
 the w-ound of the Side of our sweet Jesus ; for 'tis there 
 where I dwell, and where you will find me : elsewhere 
 you will seek me in vain.* This was a Christian knight 
 indeed." {Introd. ii. 12.) The readei-s of the Life of 
 St. Francis of Assisi will recollect that beautifid passage 
 where that great mediaeval Saint, in his early youth, 
 dreamed he was in a vast hall hung round -with rich 
 ai'mour; and every helm and corelet and buckler bor« 
 
CH. XI 11.] ST. FRANCIS DE 8ALES. 
 
 151 
 
 on it tli«» stamp of tlio cross. In thf> life of his imrno- 
 sake, St. Fmncis de Sales, we find tmces of this rnurtiul 
 spirit, which is so nohly worked out in tiie Spiritunl 
 JRj'i'rci^i'K. Such is that scene where, when a {<iiest in 
 early life at the Bishop of Geneva's, he was invited to 
 sit, layman as he was, and cirt with his sword, in an 
 assemfdy of ecclesiastics, and solved subtle (piestions in 
 theolog-y, on which the wisest there could not acree. 
 Such, too, is that other beautiful anecdote we nave 
 already given of his travellinpf with his preceptor in 
 the forest of Sonnaz, when his sword and scabbard 
 thrico fell from his baldrick, and formed the figiue of 
 a cross ujwn the ground. The whole picture of the 
 old priest and the youthful no))le riding in the for«^sr, 
 his eye arrested })y the si^n of the cross accidentally 
 formed by the sword, and liis tracing in the occurrence 
 an indication of God's will — all leads one to those soft 
 and holy scenes we meet with, in the midst of so much 
 of a different character, in sucli a romance as the Mort 
 d^ Arthur. 
 
 When we reflect that, to a naturally, pure and noble 
 disposition, there was in St. Francis de Sales added that 
 dignity, which among his class in old Euro[)e before 
 the revolutionary times was almost a second nature, and 
 that this was the material which Divine gi-ace moulded 
 into a supernatural form, and seemed to rejoice in 
 lavishing its richest ornaments upon it, we can well fancy 
 that the result must have been something extraordinary. 
 People imagine St. Francis de Sales' character to have 
 been marked chiefly by a sort of sugary and somewhat 
 cloying sweetness. We have shown what a mistake 
 this is. There is a sweetness which is the result of a 
 certain childishness of mind, and which becomes fretful- 
 ness the moment really trying circumstances appear. 
 His was the disciplined sweetness of a gracious soul, at 
 peace with itself and full of the light of heaven. Had 
 it been any thing else, people would not have stood in 
 awe of him as they did. The Bishop of Belley, wlio 
 obsei'ved him with more than the vigilance and accuracy 
 
159 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DB BALES. 
 
 of a Bofiwoll, writes on this sii1)ject in singularly strik- 
 ing- terms, which nre worth quoting at length. " Our 
 Saint," he says, "with this aid ot jirace, knew how to 
 unite in himself these two admirable qualities of gmvity 
 and sweetness. He knew how to accompany with so 
 much affability and sweetness that ray ol ma esty and 
 honour which gri-ace diffused over his brow, that you 
 would have snid it was a, Moses, who was veiling* his 
 luminous visage to converse familiarly with his brctbren. 
 If he had attractions to make himself loved, he had also 
 so much gravity and modesty that one could not choose, 
 but fear, or at least inspect iiim ; but with a respect so 
 full of love, that I know many people who trembled on 
 approaching him, not so much for fear of displeasing 
 him (for nothing displeased him, and the modest were 
 always well received by him), but for fear of not pleasing 
 him enough. I have known persons of high quality, 
 whose ordinary conversation was with the greatest 
 pi-inces and princesses, who declared to me that they 
 composed themselves with more attention when they 
 were in his presence than they did when in the presence 
 of those eoas of the earth ; it being their opinion that 
 God had set in his visage a ray of His light, which 
 penetrated them even to the heai-t." {Esmity xiv. 7.) 
 
 Of this dignity of demeanour, which is indeed a 
 quality more rarely to be found than greatness of mind, 
 tlie Bishop of Belley gives a most curious illustration. 
 Having made it his uusiness to watch Francis, and 
 note down all his sayings and customs, it occun-ed to 
 the good bishop that it would be extremely interesting 
 to know how Francis conducted himself when alone. 
 He resorted to a very simple expedient to discover this, 
 which he relates with much mitcete. " I must here tell 
 you one of my tricks. When he came to see me at my 
 residence, and to pass his usual octave there, which he 
 never failed to do every year, I had purposely made 
 holes in certain places, to watch him when he was re- 
 tired alone in his chamber, to see how he carried him- 
 self in study, at prayer, in reading, in meditation, in 
 
en. Xllt.] ST. FRANCIS DB lALEt. 
 
 IbS 
 
 sitting', in walking*, in lying-duwn, in risinr, in writing, 
 and, to be brief, in the most tinfling occasions wherein, 
 when alone, one oftf>n g^ves oneself liberty. Never- 
 theless, I never observed him dispense himself from tlie 
 most exact law '^t* modesty : such he wns alone as in 
 company, such m company as alone; an equality of 
 bodily aemeanour similar to that of his heart. Being* 
 alone, he wns as composed as if in a great assembly. 
 If he was praying-, you would have said ho was in tfio 
 
 {n'esence of the angels ond of all the blessed. Motion- 
 ess as a dove, and with a countenance full of awe, I 
 even took notice, seeing* him by himself, whether he 
 crossed his legs, or whether he placed his knees over 
 each other, or whether he rested Iiis head on his elbow. 
 Never. Always a gravity, accompanied with such a 
 sweetness, that filled all tfiose who looked at him with 
 love and reverence." (Uspritf iv. 1.) For such a les- 
 son one can forgive the good bishop for his astonish- 
 ing* infringement of the usual laws of hospitality and 
 food breeding. After all, to have such a pei-son as 
 'rancis in the house, was like entertaining a supenor 
 being. Other witnesses speak hi just the same way. 
 Jane Frances de Chantnl, in that beautiful letter in 
 which she describes his character, speaks of " the great 
 splendour of his countenance" when he said Mass ; and 
 how, when he can-ied the Blessed Saci-ament in proces- 
 sion, " you would have seen him like a cherubim, all 
 luminous." " Jesus !" she exclaims, " how admirable 
 was the order which God had placed in that blessed 
 soul ! Every thing was so an-anged, so calm, and the 
 light of God so clear, that he saw even the least atoms 
 of its movements. That soul was more pure than the 
 sun, and more white than snow, in its actions, in its 
 resolutions, in its designs and affections." And, coming 
 more to the subject of that external grandeur so natui-ai 
 to such a soul, she gives us another key to it in the 
 value the Saint put upon his office as bishop : " As for 
 his dignity," she says, ^'what honour and i*espect did 
 he bear to it! Certainly his humility by no means 
 
164 
 
 •T. KR \NCI8 DP. HALES. 
 
 hiiulprrd t!u» cxiTci-c of tin* frnivity, innj«'sty, and rcvp- 
 rence due to Ins cmnlity ot' hi'liop. My (iud ! iniulit I 
 dare to s:»\ if/ I <iiv it, if I may: it siinply seems to 
 nie tliat my IJN'ssetl l^'atliei-wasu livinjr imnpr, in wliicli 
 the 8onof(iod our Lonl was |»aiiited ; for truly, tlie 
 oilier and the economy of that holy soul was altogetiier 
 supernatural and divine." 
 
 His natural character had a considerable tlng-e of the 
 country in which he lived,— simple, beautiful, and yet 
 
 d, like the Alp 
 
 H( 
 
 f 
 
 (lelifi- 
 
 cons<M0 
 icms to have 
 lim a spe 
 
 mountam 
 
 or his country, and sec 
 ed in it, and to have felt that it g*ave 
 cial iuHuence. Thus, we have seen how touching-ly he 
 l»ing;s this out in the dedication of his controvei-sinl 
 woi'k to the inhabitants of Thonon, where he f^nys that 
 the air of his book is " wholly Savoyard ; and it is a 
 salutary recipe and last remedy, since it is the return 
 to your iiitive air." This beautiful metaphor must 
 have g'one to the hearts of those to whom it was ad- 
 dressed. The Catholic Church was their nativi; home, 
 whither they should retire to be refreshed, as witli 
 the cool mountain-breezes of their infancy. Wi-iting* to 
 the governor of Savoy, to remove some jealousy that 
 the Duke mij^ht feel in the then state of affairs between 
 Savoy and France, in consequence of a visit he had 
 made to Lyons, Fmncis says, "I am essentially a 
 Savoyard, both I and all mine; and I could never be 
 any thing* else." It is interesting" to notice all tliis, 
 because of the refutation it gives to the notion that 
 Catholicity interferes witli the wannest attachment to 
 country and kindred. He loved his own people, and 
 was thoroug'hly at home with them. The very boat- 
 men on the Lnke of Annecy called him " Father." In 
 a cliarraing" chapter of the Exprit, where the Bishop of 
 Belley tells us of a sailing excui-sion they had on the lake, 
 we read how he was repi-oved by Francis when he wanted 
 the boatmen to call the holy prelate " My Lord" instead 
 of the endearing" name of " Father." His works and 
 cunvei'sations abound in illustrations derived from the 
 
PH. XII!. 
 
 |>T. PRAN'Cm DP. t)ALP.!«. 
 
 156 
 
 A!|»iiH» sc«'n»'rv. Tlie following" is a vt-ry i)l<'.'iJ*injr in- 
 >tai:c'»«. Writing- to a frirrul, 1h? saVH : "I j»iot»'>t to 
 von, that on ri'ccivinp; your IcttiT, it sernu'd to nu- that 
 I was giitlu^rin^i; flow«'iN of in('on)|Mirul)lt> swo«'tiH's8 ou 
 th«» summits of our njoMiifain.-<,wluM«» I tln'invas." Ag-ain, 
 in rf'lating- tlio hi.^tory of n visitation lie had niatie 
 throu<rli his diocese: " I oven found (mm! full of sweet- 
 nos and g-entlenesa amon^ our hig-hest tind roug-hest 
 mountains, where manv simple sotds were cherishinji^ 
 and adoring" Ilim in all truth and sincerity ; and the 
 roes and chamois were running* liither and thither 
 amidst the frig'litful g"Iaciei-s to proclaim His praises : it 
 is true that, for want of devotion, I only understood n 
 few words of their lang"uag"es ; hut it seemed to me 
 that they said heautiful thing-s. Your St. Aui?ustino 
 woidd have understood them well if he had been theie." 
 In the same letter he relates the deep impression he re- 
 ceived from an accident that had taken place " in this 
 country of the g'hiciers" during" his journey. A shep- 
 lierd was goings al)out the g-laciers to recover a stray 
 heifer; ho missed his footinp^, and fell into a deep cre- 
 vasse ; people came to rescue him ; and one of his neigh- 
 boui-s caused liimself to bo lowered by a cord down 
 tlie frightful precipice, wliere lie found tho poor man 
 dead and frozen ; and they drew him up in all haste, 
 witli the corpse in his arms, lest he too should perish 
 in the icy chasm. The Saint is profoundly struck with 
 every circumstance : the shepherdwanderine; about those 
 terrible paths to regrain one stray heifer ; his eag-erness 
 in the pui*suit, which makes him forg:(;t his own safety ; 
 the alacrity of his neighbour, v i;o f 'escends into the 
 abyss that he may rescue his fH' n-i !vom his peril. It 
 was like a parable of our Lord's In actual life. He does 
 not enlarge on it. but says simply, ^' Quel aiffuUlon pour 
 moi, ma chh'e ^jille r One sees the influence of the 
 scenery upon his style; his fondness for introducing 
 metaphors from the frequent changes of the atmosphere 
 in a mountainous region ; from the vintages, from bees, 
 from birds, fi-om flowers, and similar natural objects, 
 
156 
 
 •T. PRANCIS DB 8ALB«. 
 
 of which he was evidpntly a groat obsprvpr. One cw- 
 rious chnractoristic of his style is his hnhit of drjiwing* 
 iihistrntions from th« son^^ps oftnsto nnd snjplI,of\vliich 
 n familinr instance has passed from his writings into 
 many relig-ious hooks; we alhtde to that of making un 
 from his morninj^'s meditation a spiritual Ijounuet witn 
 which to refresh liimself during- the day. Another 
 favourite set of comparisons ho draws from the old 
 treatises of natuml history, in wliich he seems to have 
 taken great delight, suci as the legends ahout the hal- 
 cyon, the hirds of Pai-ndise, the formation of pearls 
 from the dew-drops, and imagery of that fancifiil yet 
 heautiful description. Occasionally there is a most 
 poetic spirit in his illustrations ; for exami)le, in the 
 preface to the Treathc on the Love of Goa, where he 
 compares the pleasing eifect produced on his mind, 
 amidst the pressure of business, by always keeping be- 
 fore him the plan of some pious treatise or other, to the 
 repose wliich engravers and jewellei*8 find is afforded 
 to their wearied eyes, by looking from time to time on 
 some beautiful emerald. This sweetness of style, how. 
 ever, does not deceive us; for in eveiy page ne shows 
 so keen an insight into the heart, that he keeps us, as it 
 were, in awe, whilst he attracts us by his gentleness. 
 This is singularly shown in a set of questions for self- 
 examination to be found among his smaller ti*eatises, 
 where the shortness and the simplicity of his questions, 
 coming straight to the conscience like the piercing of 
 a sword, show one that Francis de Sales, with all his 
 gentleness, was not a man to be trifled with, and that 
 his sweetness in reality derives its essential character 
 from that burning hatred for sin with which one who 
 loved God so ardently was of necessity imbued. 
 
 His life possesses the charm of singulai' unity. 
 Many holy men have fallen in some period of their 
 lives, and have exhibited wondei-ful examples of the 
 power of penance to bring back holiness even greater 
 than innocence. Many good men, without being be- 
 trayed into actual sin, have yet strayed more or lest 
 
CH. XIII. 
 
 J 
 
 ST. PIANCIft Dr. tALEt. 
 
 167 
 
 fmni tlip |>nth originnllv iiitendod for them bv Divin« 
 )'!-«>> i(l(Mif(*, Imvc tukfn lncult^i(l<•l1lt«; ^to|>s, onJ Pinhar* 
 n^^^•'^l flieir curerr. But tl»t*ru i» in tlie lili) of Fraucitt 
 d(> ^Siilefl H completeness and humiony, which distin- 
 piishcs it no less from the chiss of heroic penitents than 
 t'loiu tiiH chefiuered scene of nii:itAkes and corrections, 
 of falling- nnd rising* again, which characterises the Hfe 
 of most: men. He never lost baptismal innocence ; each 
 great action of his life is prtH^eded, accompanied, and 
 followed by prayer. His days are full ; he docs all 
 thinirs " passionately well," infusing* into the calmness 
 nnd (leliberntcness of n coMi>e witich never steps an inch 
 in advance of God's will, an intensity far greater than 
 tljo vehemence which liighly-exoited feelings could im- 
 part to those who act from merely natural motives. 
 
 In these times, and t(» Pi-otestant readei-s", his life 
 and works arc peculiarly instructive, for this reason, 
 that whilst none can deny his singidar holiness, it is 
 equally impos^sible to deny 1 hat that holiness was from 
 beginning to end the pi-oduct of the mo^t complete 
 fuith in tlie teaching of the Cutiiolic Churah. It must 
 always be remembeitd, remarked an Anglican paper,* 
 in reviewing a volume of translations fi-om his works 
 which ap]ieared some time since (Practical Piety 
 set forth by St. Francis dv Sah»), "that St. Francis 
 de Sales was a thorough Roman Catholic." Nothing 
 can be more true. Whilst it would be easy for Angli- 
 cans to " adapt" his writinjjps, or consideraole parts of 
 them, as Thomas ti Kerapis may be abridged or al- 
 tered, it could never be concealed, that such chai'acter- 
 istics as the most tender devotion to the Blessed Vii^in 
 and St. Joseph, and to the i-elics of Saints, the continual 
 application of the Holy SacriHce of the Mass, and the 
 presence of that sacrificial view of daily actions which is 
 derived from it, the constant i-ecollection of the suffering 
 Church in purgator}', the devotion to the Five Blessed 
 Wounds and to the Sncred Heai-t of Jesus, and, in fine, 
 
 ^ 
 
 * Ihu (juarditin. 
 
168 
 
 8T. FRANCIS DB 8ALBI. 
 
 all that people consider as most distinctively " Romiin 
 Catholic," pervades the whole ofhis teaching' and works, 
 as much as they do those of St. Philip Neri and his dis- 
 ciples. His life is thus one great Testimony to the tnith 
 of Catholicity, inasmuch as it all hangps indissolubly to- 
 gether, and you cannot separate his charity from his 
 faith. If tliese few notices, aided by the powerful in- 
 tercession of the Blessed Saint, lead even one soul to per- 
 ceive the force of this argument, or in any way promote 
 the study of the teaching of St. Francis, or extend moro 
 widely the devotion towards him, richly indeed will the 
 writer feel that his labours have been rewarded. 
 
SELECTIONS 
 
 fRUM THI 
 
 " SPIRIT OF ST. FRANCIS DE SALES," 
 
 BY THE BISHOP OF BELLEY. 
 
 1 
 
 Ir has been our g-ood fortune to have had transmitted 
 to us more abundant memorials of this most swfet and 
 charming Saint than perhaps of any other in the calendar. 
 What with his writings and letters, we seem to have a 
 thorough and familiar acquaintance with every linea- 
 ment of his character ; while, to complete the portrait, 
 we enjoy the benefit of the reminiscences of a contem- 
 porary and intimate friend, John PieiTe Camus, Bishop 
 of Belley, himself remarkable for a high degi-ee of 
 sanctity, and upon whom St. Francis had laid his holy 
 hands in consecration. 
 
 Prom the work containing these recollections, en- 
 titled "The Spirit of St. Francis de Sales," and which is 
 usually prefixei'. to the Saint's writings, a few selections 
 have been ma le, as forming an appropriate complement 
 to his life. As M. de Belley adopted no systematic 
 plan in the memorial of his friend s virtues which he 
 has becjueathed to us, so neither will it be necessary to. 
 follow iiitn in the exact order which he has chanced to 
 observe. Forced by limited space to make a selection,* 
 
 * The extracU have been put together, under the direction 
 of one of the Editora of the strieii, by way of an Appendix to 
 iM?. Orusby'd Life of the ^^aint. 
 
100 
 
 ST. PRANCli DE SALES. 
 
 the ti*nn?lator has tljorefore thoug^ht it best to group 
 the passag-es in their most natiiml connection. 
 
 TUB BAINT'S 8WKKTNE8S, CHARITT, AND PRACTICK Or 
 FRATERNAL CORRECTION. 
 
 The spirit of St. Francis was pre-eminently a spirit of 
 sweetness — super vul dulcis ; that supernatunU sweet- 
 ness which is, as it were, tlie cream and the flower of 
 chinity. But its ])reciousness is best felt when exhi- 
 bited in combination and harmony with those other 
 Christian virtues and g-i-aces wiiich the Saint possessed 
 in so eminent a deforce; for such is one of the distin- 
 g^iiishing' marks of suju'raatui-al virtue, that its promi- 
 nence never implies any on|)osit,e defect, but the veiy 
 reverse ; wliereas it is seldom that any purely natural 
 qiij'.lify, when very remarkable, is not accompanied by 
 some at lenst slight defect in what may be called the 
 counterbalancing- quality. It is as though one pole 
 could not be raised without the depression ot its opposite. 
 The quotations which follow will exhibit this beautiful 
 harmony in the Sahit's character. 
 
 Of the hig-h esteem in which St. Francis held the 
 virtue of g-entleness, we have an example in » he follow- 
 ing- anecdote related by M. de Belley : 
 
 " A young; man was once broug-ht to him for the 
 
 fmrpose of receiving a severe reprimand ; nevertheless, 
 le spoke to him with his habitual sweetness, and per- 
 ceiving- tlie youth's obdui-acy, he only shed tears, re- 
 marking- that his hard and unyielding; heart would 
 bring; him to n bad end. Being; told that his mother 
 had cursed him, he said, * C h ! this is sad indeed. If 
 the poor woman is taken at her word, in vain will she 
 afterwards eui-se her own cui-se. Unhappy mother of a 
 still more wretched son !' 
 
 " The Saint proved too true a prophet ; for the youth 
 perislied, not long* after, in a mi.serable duel : his body 
 
ST. IHAMC'IS DK !*ALES. 
 
 101 
 
 bpcame the prey of tlop-s nnd wolves, and Ills moflier 
 died of grief. 
 
 " In reply to those who found fault with him for 
 having; reproved with too nmeh gentleness on this oc- 
 casion, he said, ' What would yon have had me ilo .'* 
 I did mv best to arm mvself with an anjfer free from 
 sin; I took niv heart in both m}' hands [a favouriti? 
 expression of the Saint's, us has been seen], an'! t \i\t[ 
 not tli« resolution to throw it at his head. Vir*. s utli 
 to say, I was afraid of letting" that little drop j. ;^tk- 
 ness, which it has taken nie twenty-two yeai^ labour 
 to store up like dew in the vessel of my heart, run off 
 in a quarter of an hour. The bees are several months 
 making- a little honey, which a man will swallow down 
 in a mouthful. Besides, what is the use of speaking 
 when we are not listened to? This youth was inac- 
 cessible to i-emonstrances, for tlie lippht of his eyes — his 
 judgment, I mean — was not with him. I should have 
 done him no g"ood, and myself, perhaps, much harm, — 
 like one who is drowned in his attempt to save another. 
 Charity must be prudent and judicious.* " 
 
 It was seldom, however, that the heart of the sin- 
 ner was proof against his g^entlene**. Among other 
 anecdotes of a like nature, the Bishop relates the fol- 
 lowing; : 
 
 " While eng-agfcid in one of his diocesan visitations, 
 gTeat complaints were made to him of an ecclesiastic 
 who g-ave scandal by his life, and whose habits hut ill 
 accorded with the theoloj^ical science for which he was 
 remarkable. This ecclesiastic presented liimself before 
 the holy ]>relate with as much boldness as if he had 
 been perfectly innocent of all that had been laid to his 
 chaig-e, and loudly treated the matter as a calufimy. 
 The S lint g-ave him a very gracious reception, chanic- 
 terised by his acouetomed benig-nity ; but when he 
 beheld the effrontf y with which the offender justified 
 himself, he blushed in his presence. The very change 
 of countenance, unaccompanied by any other correc- 
 tion, touched the heart of this impenitent sinner. Ho 
 
109 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 1 
 
 
 resolved to disaiin liis judge by confession, nnd begg-ed 
 the holy Bishop to hear him in the tribunal of penance. 
 Immediately, not an ear only, but still more a heart, 
 was oj)en to him, and he came out of this health-<:iving 
 pool iik«? ]N"aaman from the waters of tlie Jordan ; his 
 fftce suHPjised with that holy shame which conducts to 
 glory. 
 
 " * Well, monseig-neur,* lie said, ' what think you 
 of the frreatest sinner upon earth i" ' That God has 
 poured His abundant mercy on you,' rej)lied the holy 
 man ; * 3'ou are all resplendent with «race in my eyes.' 
 
 * But you know what I really am,' he rejoined. ' You 
 are such as I have said.' ' I mean, what I have been.' 
 
 * Of that,' replied the Saint, ' I have no recollection. 
 Why should I keej) up the memory of what God has 
 consi^'ned to oblivion / Would vou take me for that 
 Pharisee who esteemed jMnj^'dalen according to what 
 she had been, not according* to what she was when 
 washing- her Savioiu's feet with her tears ? And to 
 prove to you,' he added, ' that I look upon you as re- 
 
 {)lenished with heavenly graces, of which your heart 
 las received a fidl measiue and runiiing' over, I beg' 
 you to make me a partaker of it by giving* me youj* 
 blessing'.' So saying-, he threw himself at th«i ecclesi- 
 astic's fct, to the exceeding' g'reat confusion of the 
 latter. * No,' said the Saint, ' I am in earnest; I en- 
 treat you to fender ma the same office I have )>er- 
 formed for you. and to hear my conf»•8^;ioM.' The other 
 refused, but he constrained him to acquiesce ; and it 
 is im[K)Ssible to express how g-i-eatly he was edified 
 therfby. And further to con\''HV5e kim that he was 
 perfectly sirK;ere in the esteem he j/v<>fe»«ed tor him, he 
 m»de his confession to him two or tbrts* ti'iies consecu- 
 tively in sig'ht of th« ji^^iWic, wIm) scarc^-y knew which 
 to udmhe most, the prodig'ious hvmUhv ot ^hto ■^A\fiX\y 
 Bislioj', w the mii*acul<)U8 coiivevsiow of fl>f #»c^Wiai»ti€. 
 " Oxw A'Ay a j)e}-son came to -^^ to cooiWssioii who 
 detailed hi- sirj!* with so muf'h lx>t4>tes!«, no* to sav im- 
 pudence, and «'itli such a total waot of all feelii^ or 
 
 ■• 
 
ST. FRANCIf* DE SALES. 
 
 1C3 
 
 compunction, that he mif^ht luive born supjiosed to 
 be narrating- a story, and to be even listenin<i- to him- 
 self discoiu-sing- with a cei tain self-coni|jhicency. 'I'lie 
 Saint, who, from the to!i.3 in whicli the {wnitent epoke, 
 knew the inward indisposition of his soul, since of 
 the three conditions for the sacmment ^f penance he 
 broug-ht but one, confesj ion, and that of u very inr.per- 
 fect kind, bcingf devoid of that modesty and holy shame 
 which ougiit to accompany it, without interrupting- Ids 
 narration, bejian to weep and sigh and sob. 1 he other 
 asked him wi-at was the matter, and if he was ill. 
 * Alas ! my brother,' he replied, * I am very well, thank 
 God ; but you are very ill.' The other bohlly an- 
 swered that he too was in good health. * Well,' said 
 the holy man, * go on.' The man continued, in the 
 same oit'-hand manner, relating* shocking" thintys with- 
 out any sense of sorrow, and the Saint's tears redoubled. 
 Ag-ain the penitent asked him what he was weeping* 
 for. * Alas !' he replied, * I weep because you weep 
 not.' He who had been insensible to the first prick — 
 the hour of grace, as we have reason to believe, having* 
 now come — was not callous to the second; and *he 
 rock, struck Ijy this rod, suddenly giving* forth water, he 
 exclaimed, * wretched man tliat I am ! who feel no 
 sorrow for my enormous sins, which draw teal's from 
 him who is innocent.' So powerfully was he touched, 
 that he was very near faintin{^, had liot the Saint con- 
 soled him ; thi. n instinicting him how to make his act 
 of contrition, which the penitent performed with won- 
 derftil compunction, he put him in a proper state to 
 receive the grace of the sacrament. From that moment 
 this man gave himself entirely to God, and became a 
 model of penance. 
 
 " The penitent confided all this to one of his inti- 
 mate friends (who related the circumstance without 
 mentioning the individual's name), but with the addi- 
 tion of the following rather pleasing remark : * Other 
 confessors,* he said, * sometimes make their penitents 
 weep; but as for me, I made my confosMJi' weep. It 
 
Id4 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DB SALES. 
 
 is tnie, he paid it me back to tlie full ; and God grant, 
 for my sours sulvution, that the change may have bern 
 
 genuine, and that I may never lose the g^race which his 
 enediction then conferred upon me.' " 
 
 Here is an instance of his leniency to oifenders : 
 " An ecclesiastic belonging to his diocese had been 
 imprisone<l for some scandalous offence. The Saint was 
 urgently entieated by his officers to allow him to be 
 punished as the law enjoined. His g^entlene-s accord- 
 mgly submitted to compulsion, and Tie let them have 
 their way. Besides the penances which the culnrit had 
 to undei-go in prison, he was interdicted from all eccle- 
 tiasticul functions for six month % So far fi-om being 
 amended by this ti'eatment, he, on the conti-nry, grew 
 worse, and it was found necessary to dfiprive him of 
 his benefice and expel him from the diocese. While in 
 prison no one could seem more docile, more humble, 
 and more penitent; he wept, he entreated, he promised, 
 he protested. When threatened with bein^ deprived 
 of his benefice, he promised to amend; but after having 
 eluded justice so many times, he found the door of 
 mercy closed against him. Some months aftei*wards, 
 another ecclesiastic was imprisoned for faults no less 
 serioiis. The officers wished to treat him similarly, 
 and hinder him from having recourse to the mercy of 
 the blessed Francis, his bishop, to whom he was con- 
 tinually appealing, protpsting that he was willing to 
 give up his charge, provided it were at his feet, confi- 
 dent that he would be able to read the sincerity of his 
 repentance in his eves. The Saint commanded him to 
 be bi-ought before fum. Hisofficera objected. * Well,' 
 he said, ' if you will not let him appear before me, you 
 cannot foL*bi(i my ap|)enring befor*^ him. You will not 
 allow hiiii to leave iiis pn^ •)n, suffer me, then, to enter 
 within its walls and shar: his captivity with him. We 
 must indeed console this deai> brother who calls upon 
 us. I give you my word that he shall not come forth 
 without your consent.' He accordingly visited him in 
 his prison, accompanied by his officei-s. Scarcely did 
 
ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 165 
 
 '<!■ 
 
 lie behold this miserable man at his feet, when he fell 
 upon his neck, batlied in tear?, and lovin^»-ly embraced 
 and kissed iiim ; then, turning- to iiis uHicers, ' Is it 
 |)os>ihh^' he said to them, ' tliat vou do not jterccive 
 that God has aheady forgiven this man .' li there 
 any condemnation for tliose who are in Christ Jesus / 
 If God justifies him, who is he tliat siiall condemn him / 
 Assuredly not I. Go, my brother,' he said to the 
 guilty man, — * go in peace, and sin no more ; I know 
 that you are truly penitent.' The officei-s told him he 
 was a hypocrite; that the fonner offender, whom it had 
 been found necessary to depose, made much titronj^-er 
 demonstrations of repentance tlian this one. * Perhaps,* 
 rejoined the Saint, * lie would have been truly converted 
 if you had treated him with more lenit\'. flave a care 
 lest his soul may be asked at your liands some day. 
 As for me, I am willing to be security for this man, if 
 vou will accept of me as such. I am pei-suaded that 
 his heart is truly touched ; and if he is deceiving me, 
 he will injure himself more than me.' The offender, 
 bursting into teni's, begged that any penance judged 
 fitting should be laid upon liim in prison ; that he a\ as 
 prepared for any thing, his sorrow giving him more 
 pain than any penance could ; and that he would him- 
 self vohmtarily re ign his benefice, if the Bishop thought 
 proper. * I she aid )je very sorry you should do so,' 
 replied the Saint ; ' the more so, as t hope that, even as 
 the falling* stee[)le crushed the church by the scandal it 
 gave, so, rej)laced upon its base, it shail hencefoith adorn 
 it by its virtues.' The officei-s yielded, and the piison- 
 doors were thrown oj^en. After being sus|)ended it 
 dieinist for a month, he resumed the exercise of his 
 charge, in which he subsequently gtive so holy an ex- 
 ample, that the Saint's prediction was fiilfilled. As 
 the convei-sation turned one day in his prestiice u|)on 
 the purversion of the one and the convei-sion of the 
 other, he uttered these memoralile words : ' Better make 
 penitents hy gentleness tlian hypocrites by severity.' " 
 Zeal wa."? consequently a virtue which he regarded 
 
166 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DR SALBS. 
 
 •■»■! 
 
 with much suspicion : " Kepping" pencock?," he would 
 ^^Yf " g'ood mnnag«i'8 U>\\ us, cost<* more in a cotintiy- 
 ])lnce than it profits ; for altlioug-h tliey devour s'piilers, 
 caterpillars, mice, and such>Iike vermin, on the other 
 liand they injure roofs, scare away the pig;eons hy their 
 screams, anrf heat the otiier fowls." 
 
 " Speakings of fratei-nal correction," says M. do 
 Belley, " our olessed Francis often g-ave me an import- 
 ant lesson ; I say often, because he repeated and in- 
 culcated it frequently, that he might imjwint it deeply 
 on mv memory. Thi^ excellent maxim may be useful 
 to all, but especially to those who rule or who have 
 the charge of othei'S. ' That tnith,' he said, ' which 
 is not charitable proceeds from a charity which is not 
 true.' A faithful saying*, worthy to be received and 
 deeply pondered. 
 
 " He had been infcrrr.ed, by the sui*e report of wit- 
 nesses who had both heard and seen what they related, 
 that when I entered on my episcopal charge I mani- 
 fested, in my diocesan visits, a zeal both severe and 
 excessive, or, to speak more clearly, which was deficient 
 both in discretion and in science ; and that in this spirit 
 I administered harsh reproofs couched in bitter words. 
 He one day seized a proper opportunity, with his ac- 
 customed prudence, discretion, and skill, which were no 
 less admirable than his gentleness, to insinuate into my 
 jnind this golden saying, which has eve since remained 
 so deeply engraven there that 1 have never forgotten it. 
 
 " 1 asked our Saint, one day, how we might be 
 able to recognise whether the correction we gave pro- 
 ceeded from charity. He replied, with that solidity of 
 judgment which served as a guide to all his actions 
 and as a light to all his words, * Truth proceeds from 
 charity when we speak it only from the love of God 
 and for the good of him whom we rejn-ove. It is better 
 to be silent than to speak a tnith ungraciously ; for 
 tliis would be to pi-esent a good dish badly cooked, or 
 to administer medicine uns^^osonably.' * But is not 
 this to detain truth a prisoner unjustly?' * Certainly 
 
 I. 
 
I 
 
 «T. FHANCIB DP. SALK8. 
 
 Irt7 
 
 
 not : to act othei"\%'i.se would be to bring" it forth un- 
 justly ; l>ccause the real justice of trutii, and the truth 
 of justice, resides in charity. A judicious silence i« 
 always preferable to an uncharitable truth.' 
 
 " On another occasion, inquiring; of our Saint for 
 some other indtrk bv which we raig-ht know wlien a re- 
 proof was animatecf by charity, he, whoso heart wps (so 
 to say) altogether steejwd in swectnt^ss, replied, accord- 
 ing- to the sj)irit of the «rre»t Apostle, * When it is mode 
 in the xpirit of vurloit JtJ< /^risii. vi. 1). Gentleness is, 
 in fact, tlio g'reat friend of t liurity, ami its inseparable 
 conipanion,' He recommended the imitation of the 
 {iood !Samnrifan, who j)()ure(l oil and wine into the poor 
 man's woimds. It was a i'avoinite sa.inj^ with him, 
 that to make a frood salad there sl.ould l)o more oil 
 than vineg-ar or salt. 
 
 " Here is. another of his renin: kable sayings on this 
 subject, which he rejieated to nie seveml times : * Be 
 as gentle always as possilile \ and remember that you 
 will catch more flies with a spoonl'ul of honey than 
 th a hundred barrels of vineg-ar ; if we must fall into 
 one exti-eme or the other, let it be into that of sweet- 
 ness ; no sauce was ever spoilt by too much sucixr. 
 Such is the nature of the human mind, it rebels against 
 seventy, but g-entleness renders it amenable to every 
 Ihin"-. A soft word appeases ang-er, as water extin- 
 guishes fire. No soil so ungrateful but kindness can 
 make it bear fiiiit. To speak ti*uths sweetly is to throw 
 burning' coals, or rathei* roses, into a pei-son's face. 
 How can any one be ang^'y with another who fights 
 him with pearls and diamonds ? Reproof is in its na- 
 ture a hai-sh thing-; but cooked in sweetness, and so 
 roasted at the fire of chanty, it becomes a pleasant and 
 delicious cordial.' 
 
 *' * But,' said I, ' triith is always tioith, however it 
 may be spoken, or however it may be received ;' and I 
 armed myself with that text of St. Paul to Timothy, 
 Preach the word; be instant in seasan, out oj' season; 
 reprove, entreat, rebuke in all patience atul doctrine 
 
 M. 
 
108 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DB SALES. 
 
 (9 Tim. iv. 2). *The pith of this apostolic lessr" ,' he 
 repl d, * consists in tliese two woms, in all ptttiencr 
 mul iloctrine. Doctrine sijj^ifie.H tn ?;, and this tnith 
 is to be spoken with all patience ; tiiut is to say, we 
 must endura repulse, nnd not funcv that it is iilwnys to 
 l>e received with npplnuse ; for if tfio Son of God wns iiu 
 object of contradiction, His doctrine, which is th it of 
 truth, must be signed with the same innik. Every 
 man who would instruct others in the way of justice 
 must make up his mind to bear their capnce and in- 
 justice, an.l to i-eceive ingratitude as his payment.' " 
 
 While 50 careful to avoid the faults into which tho 
 pnietice of this difficult duty is apt to lead, St. Fmncis 
 well understood and fuItiUed the obligatitm of fraternal 
 correction. 
 
 " This }.^ood futher," observes the Bishop, " often 
 reproved me for my faults : and then ho would say, * I 
 expect you to be very much obli«>:ed to me for this ; it 
 is t!ie wreatest mark of friendship I can g'ive you ; and 
 I sliouhl look upon it as a jiroof of your love if you 
 would do the like for me in return. But in this respect 
 T Hnd you very cohl; youai-e too cautious; lovo has a 
 baiKiaffe on its eyes, and is not so nice ; it goes sti-aij^^ht 
 6Q withont so many reflections. It is because I love 
 you so much, that I cannot endure the least imper 
 for Lion in you. I should wish my son to be such as 
 St. Paul aesii«d to see Timothy, blameless. Things 
 which I should account as flies in one who was not so 
 dear to me, look like elephants in you whom I truly 
 love, as God knows I do. Woidd not that surgpeon be 
 to blame, and be rather cruel than compassionate, who 
 should allow a man to die for want of the resolution 
 to dress his woiud ? A stroke of the tongue in season 
 is sometimes as profitable for the soul's health as a cut 
 of the lancet for that of the body. It requires some- 
 times but a judicious bleeding to save a man's life, or a 
 timely reproof to preserve a soul from eternal death.' " 
 
 A few examples of St. Francis's loving correction, 
 in which the good Bishop gives himself up to justice in 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
KT. FMAlfCIS UE 6ALBS. 
 
 \ 
 
 IdO 
 
 a most drlicioti^ mnnner, in order U> exliiliit tlie merits 
 and illustrate the spirit of his i-everwl t'ntlicr, may prove 
 both instructive and entertmnin;,^. 
 
 '' He had been told that I wus extremely long- in 
 mnkin*'' my preparation for saying- Mnss, which wjis n 
 great inconvenience to ev»;ry one. Of this he desin'd 
 to corrt'ct m»'. He had come to see me at Belley, oc- 
 cordinff to onr nnnu.il custom of viiiitin^ each otiie* . 
 It so li.-ip' ' that while at my bouse, he had ' nn 
 mornin' '>ff a number of despatches, wh.?h 
 
 detnineu )wn room to n late hour. It was 
 
 nearly ele k, and be had not yet said Ma>:$, 
 
 whicfi he iiever omitted any day, unless be was pre- 
 vented by illne.>^8 or other serious impediment. Down 
 he came, then, to the chapel in his rochet and mozetta ; 
 and after bis morning' salutations to tiie persons lie 
 found there, be proceeded to the altar, where he made 
 a short pniyer, then vested himself and said Mass. 
 When it was over, lie knelt down again, made anotlier 
 short prayer, and rejoined the company with a fac« so 
 serene that be looked to me like nn ang-el, and con- 
 tinued conversing^ with us till we were shortly after 
 summoned to table. I, who was in the habit of closely 
 observing all bis actions, felt surprised at the briefness 
 of this preparation ; tul thanksgiving". When alone with 
 liim that evening", i said to him, with the confidence of 
 a son, * My father, for a man of vour stature, vou seem 
 to me to go lather fast. I noticed yoiu* propai-ation 
 and thanksgiving this morning, and thought them both 
 very short.' 
 
 " * How mucb pleasure you give me !'* he exclaimed, 
 embrncing me, * by telling mo what you think fi-nnkly. 
 For these three or four lays I have had something of 
 a like sort on my mind to say to you, and scarcely 
 
 * O Dieit ! que vous mefailea plaiair ! The exclamation, here 
 and elsewhere, is omitted where in English it would give quite 
 another chui'act(>r to the observation. The nume of God is used 
 in French, without the smallest irreverence, on common occa- 
 sionn, whert auumgst us, it wuuld «iithc'r impart an nir of no- 
 
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170 
 
 8T. PRAlfCIS DB SALES. 
 
 knew how to introduce the subject. Come, what have 
 you to say for your own lengthinesses, which weaiy 
 people to death? Everybody makes loud complaints 
 of them ; possibly, however, this has never reoched 
 your ears, so few persons are there who venture to 
 speak the tiiith to tueir prelates. No doubt it is .be- 
 cause no one hera loves you as well ns I do that the 
 commission has been entrusted to me: you may i-ely 
 upon it I have very sufficient nuthority to support me 
 wiiiiout gfiving up my credentials. A little of your 
 excess would do us lioth a s'l-ent deal of good ; you 
 would get on somewhat quicker, and I should not go 
 so fiist. Is it not a good joke tiiat the Bishop of 
 IJj'lley should reprove the Bishop of Geneva for getting 
 on too fust, nnd the Bishop of Geneva blame the Bishop 
 of Helley for jroing too slow/ Is not this the world 
 turned upside down 't But do just think how little all 
 your fine at/iv*f and all those suifrages and acts with 
 which you me busied in your oratory in the sacristy, 
 suit the ]>eonlewho hnve couie to hear your Mass; still 
 less those wlio H^e waitinpr to speak to you on business 
 when Mnss is over.' * But, my father,' I rejoined, 
 ' how is one to m-epnre oneself properly for oflfeiing the 
 Hcly Sacrifice 'r • Why do you not make yoiu* pre- 
 
 {lamtion,* he i-eplied, * early in the morning, when I 
 enow, or nt least I believe, you never fail in the exer- 
 cise of pi-ayerf I told him that in summer I rose 
 at four, and did not say Mass till nine or ten o'clock. 
 * Do you imagine,' he i-eplied, * that an interval of four 
 or five honi-s is a very long space in His eyes with whom 
 a thousand years ai-e but as the day that has passed V 
 'But the thanksgiving — what of that?' 'Wait for 
 your evenmg devotions to make it. Would you not, 
 
 lemnitjr not in accordance with the intention of the speaker, or 
 strike the ear, perhaps, as an undue familiarity. Whatever may 
 be the cause of this discrepancy between the "English and most 
 foreign tongues, it is an indisputable fact, which must be taken 
 into account in translutijns whkh would render the true spirit 
 of the originals. 
 
 I 
 
 
ST. ritANCTS t>R SALES. 
 
 171 
 
 
 indeed, feel it necef^sary to consider how so important 
 an action liad lieen ))ei-ibrmed, when making your ex- 
 amination of conscience ? — and does not thanksgiving 
 form a uart of exainien / Doth these duties, then, can 
 be disciinrgcd, and tiiat with more leisure and tran- 
 quillity, in tiie morning and evening; this puts no one 
 to any inconvenience, and enables you to acquit your- 
 self of them better and more thoroughly, without mter- 
 fering witli the functions belonging to your charge or 
 wearying your neighbotu*.' * But,* I still objected, * will 
 it not have a disedifying effect to see all this despatched 
 so <|uickly, since God aoes not wish to be woi'shi|rped 
 on the run?' *We may in vain ran,* he said; * God 
 runs faster than we do. Tie is a Spiiit, who, rising 
 in the east, sliines at the same in tant in the west. All 
 is present to Him ; with Him there is neither past nor 
 future ; whither can we go fi'om His Spirit ? I ac- 
 quiesced in his advice, and have found the advantage 
 of it. 
 
 ^'One day I was complaining to our Saint of some 
 giievous wrong that had been done me. The thing 
 was so very manifest, that he agi'eed to the trath of 
 what I saidi. Finding myself so strongly sup}K)rted, I 
 felt ti-iumphant, and grew very eloquent in dwellinjj 
 upon the justice of my cause. The Saint, to put a stop 
 to all this supei-fluous discoui-so, observed, * It is true 
 that they were in every wa}* to blame for treating you in 
 this manner; such conduct was quite unworthy of them, 
 particularly towanls a man of your condition. I see 
 but one circumstance in the wiiole affair to vour dis- 
 advantage.' * What is that V I asked. * I'hat you 
 have but to show your superior wisdom by holding 
 your tong-ue.' This answer so struck me, thiit I was 
 silent at once, and had not a woitl to offer m reply. 
 
 " It was his opinion, that the true servant of God 
 seldom complainedf^ and still more rarely desired to be 
 pitietl by others; observing that those who complain 
 to their friends, that they may be pitied m retui-n, are 
 like childi*en, who, when they have huit a finger, are 
 
178 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DB 8ALKS. 
 
 soothed wlien their Durae hns blown upon it, or pretended 
 to cry too. 
 
 ** One day I was complaining' of some gfrent nnd 
 notable aifi-ont I had received. * To any one else but 
 yourself/ he raplied, ' I should try and administer some 
 MXJthing dose of consolation; but your i-ank and tiio 
 love I bear you dispense me from this little piece of 
 politeness. I have no oil for your wound ; ])erliu])s if 
 1 tried to assuage it, I might aggravate the inllamma- 
 tion ; I htive nothing but salt and vinegar to apply to 
 it. You concbided your complaint by saying that it i-e- 
 (piires a prodigious patience, proof against every thing, 
 to suffer such assaults in silence. Certainly yours is 
 not of a very firm quality, since you make such loud 
 lamentations.' ^ But, my father,' I rejoined, * it is only 
 in your bosom and to the ear of your hejut. To whom 
 shall a child have rccoui'se when he is vexed, if not to 
 his kind father ?' * trae child, indeed ! how long will 
 you love childishness ? Does it become him who is a 
 father to others, to whom God has given the rank of a 
 fntiier in His Church, to play the child himself'^ St. 
 Paul tells us, that as long as we ore children, we may 
 s))eak OS such ; but that, when gi-own up, the stammer- 
 ing tongue which suits a sucking infant is unbecoming 
 in him who is no longer a child. Would you have me 
 give you milV d uroth instead of solid meat, and 
 blow upon yo lUrt like a nuree? Have you not 
 strong enough teeth to chew bread — nay, even bawl 
 bi-end — the bread of affliction? It is a fine thing, in- 
 deed, ^0 see you complaining to an earthly father, you 
 who ought to say to your heavenly Father, / ira* 
 dumby and I optiied not my 7nouth, because TItou bant 
 (lane it.* But you will say, it is not God but men, 
 and the assembly of the malit/nant. f What ! can 
 you not discern the permissive will of God, which 
 makes use of the malice of men either to coii'ect you 
 or to cxeraise you in viitue? Job had more discern- 
 
 * Ps. xxxviil 1(K 
 
 t Pt. Ixiii. 2. 
 
•T. FRANCIS DK SALK^ 
 
 1?3 
 
 ment ; for he said, Tlie Lord ffai-ff and the Lord hath 
 tahen away.* He does not say, the devils and the 
 thieves; he looks only to the hand of Go<U who per- 
 foims all things by whatever instruments He pleases. 
 You are very mi* fi-om the spirit of him who said that 
 the rod and staff with which God struck him were his 
 consolation ; and that he was as one that was deaf and 
 dumb, who refinined even from g;ood words, which 
 might have served tn Justify him and prove his inno- 
 cence. jBut, my fiitlier, vou will say, since when Imve 
 you become so severe, and changed your gentleness into 
 cmelty ? as Jobf said to God. Wliere are Thy ancient 
 inerciea'iX Certainly my compassion is as fi-esh and 
 new as ever; for God knows it I love you, or if I love 
 myself )>etter than you; and the reproach I make to 
 vou is what I should make to my own soul, if it had 
 broken out in tlie same way. Well, I forgive you, as 
 a matter of indulgence, to use the Apostle's terms ; hut 
 on condition that you will be more com-ageous for the 
 future, and i^ut up such-like favours, when God shall 
 vouchsafe them to you, in the strong box of silence, 
 without letting their perfume evaporate, giving thanks 
 in your heart to your heavenly Father for bestowing 
 upon you a small particle of His Son's cross. What 1 
 vou take pleasure in wearing a golden ci'oss on yoiur 
 Ijosom, and you cannot bear a little one on your heart 
 without manifesting it by your complaints ? And then, 
 when they escape you, you make n wonderful appeal to 
 patience, and would have me esteem you patient, for- 
 sootli, while listening to your lamentations, as if the 
 gi'eat effect of patience wera to hinder one from taking 
 revenge, and not to stop complaints. But as for that, 
 I do think you commit an error in invoking the aid of 
 Ko great a power as patience in the insult you have re- 
 ceived. It is too noule a second for so contemptible a 
 duel. A little modesty and silenoe might suffice you.' 
 
 \ 
 
 Job i. ai. 
 
 *' Thou art changed to be cruel tot%ard me." 
 
 Ft. IxxxviiL 50 
 
 ZXX.21. 
 
174 
 
 8T. FRANCIS DB BALES, 
 
 And so he dismissed me with this brief mortification, 
 but so fortified by my rebntf, that it seemed to me, as 
 I left him, that nil the affronts in the world could not 
 have extracted a word from me. 
 
 ** To a woman who complained to him that when- 
 ever her husband enjoyed good health he went to the 
 wars, and that when he was wounded or sick he came 
 back, and was so fretful as to be quite unbearable, he 
 replied, ' What sauce can we find to suit you ? When 
 he is well, he cannot bear to stay with you, nur you 
 with him when he is ill. If you loved each other only 
 in God, you would not be subject to these changes ; 
 your affection would be always the same, whether abswnt 
 or present. Beg this ffrace eaiiiestly of Ood, other- 
 wise I have little hope tnat you will enjoy any peace.' " 
 
 But if the chaiity of St. Francis was displayed alike 
 in the sweetness and the sincerity of his reproofs, so 
 also was it manifested in tender regard for the reputa- 
 tion of his neighbour, and in his unwillingness to be- 
 lieve evil of any one. 
 
 ** His goodness of heart," says M. de Belley, ** was 
 so great as to prevent him nrom thinking ill even of the 
 bad. He did all he could to cover the defects of his 
 neighbour, sometimes alleg^g human infirmity, some- 
 times the violence of temptation, sometimes the number 
 of those who were guilty of similar faults. When these 
 sins were so public ana evident that it was impossible 
 to throw a veil over them, he took refuge in the future. 
 ' Who knows,* he would say, ' whether he will not be 
 converted ? and who are we that we should judge our 
 brethren ? If God did not uphold us with His grace, 
 we sliould do worse, and our souls would already be 
 dwellers in hell. The gi'eat«st sinners sometimes be- 
 come the g^'eatest penitents, witness David and so many 
 others ; and their penitence edifies more persons than 
 the scandal they gave destroyed. God knows how to 
 raise up from stones children to Abraham. The won- 
 derful changes which His right hand effects causes 
 vessels of ignominy to become vessels of honour.' He 
 
ST. FHANTIS DE SALES. 
 
 17ft 
 
 never would hear of despair of sinners* conversion to 
 their verv last breathy saying*, that tliis life is the rond 
 of our pilgrimac^, in which those who stand inny fnll, 
 and those who fall may hy grace rise again. He went 
 still further; for even when dead, he would not pei-mit 
 an evil judgment to be formed of such as had led :in 
 evil life, save in the case of those whose damnation is 
 evident from Scripture With this exception, he would 
 have us not seek to enter into the secret of God, which 
 He has reserved to His wisdom and power. His prin- 
 cipal reason was this, that as the nrst grace was not 
 within the reach of mei-it, so also the last grace, final 
 
 Perseverance, was not accoi*ded to merit: Who hath 
 na/vn the judgments of the Lordy and rvho hath 
 been His cotmstUor !^ Accoitlinffly, even after the last 
 breath had been drawn, he would have us hope the best 
 of the deceased, however bad a death he might seem 
 to have made, because we could but gi'ound our con- 
 jectures on outward appearances, which may deceive 
 the most acute. Aprcmos to this, he related to me the 
 following anecdote : ' A preacher of an indulgent dis- 
 position, speaking of the heresiarohf who caused the 1*6- 
 volt of the Church of Geneva, said, that we must not 
 speak decisively of the damnation of any one after 
 death, save of those whom Scripture has declared to 
 be reprobate, not even of that heresiarch who was the 
 author of so much evil by his errors. For who knows, 
 he said, whether God may not have touched his heaii; 
 at the moment of death, and whether he may not have 
 been converted ? It is true, he continued, that out of the 
 Ghui-ch, and without tme faith, there is no salvation ; 
 but who knows if he did not in his heart acknowledge 
 the truth of the faith he had opposed, and. at the last die 
 truly penitent ? After having kept his audience thus in 
 suspense, he concluded by saying. We ous'lit, indeed, to 
 iiave very high sentiments of the gooaness of God. 
 Jesus Christ offered His |)eace. His love and salvation, 
 
 * Rom. xi. 34. 
 
 t Calvin. 
 
176 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DB 8ALVS. 
 
 j; 
 
 even to tlie tmitor who Ijetroyed Him with n kiss; why 
 may He not have offered the snme grace to this wretched 
 heresiarch ? Is God's arm shortened ? Is He become 
 lesii kind and less merciful, He who is mercy itself, and 
 mercy without number* measure, or limit: But, he 
 added, believe me, and I can a.«8ure you I speak but the 
 truth, — if he was not damned* he had as nai-row an es- 
 ca\w as ever man had ; and if he was saved from that 
 everlasting shi{»wreck, ju* owed us handsome a candle* 
 to God as ever did any one of his sort.' This lively 
 and quite unexpected conclusion did not draw many 
 tears fi-om the eyes of his auditors. 
 
 " Our Snint was in the habit of saying, that the soul 
 of our neighbour is the tree of the Icnowledge of good 
 and evil, v. hich we are forbidden to touch under pain of 
 chastisement, because God has reserved the judgment 
 thereof to Hims^elf. He observed an inconsistency veiy 
 common amongst men, who are by nature inclined to 
 judge in a matter ■''here they are ignorant — namely, 
 the interior of othen^, while they are averse to judging 
 of what thev do know, or ought to know — their own 
 interior. The fii-st is forbidden, the second is com- 
 manded. In this they itisemble a certain woman, who, 
 having made a point all her life of doing precisely the 
 contrary to what her husband desired, was at last 
 drowned in a river. Her husband being foimd fault 
 with for looking for her body in the contranr direction 
 to the current, * Do you believe,' he replied, * that 
 death will have deprived her of her spirit of contradic- 
 tion V To avoid this vice, our Saint gave the following 
 excellent ntle : If an act may be viewed in a hundi-ed 
 different lights, to look at it always in its fairest. If 
 we cannot excuse an action, we may soften it by ex- 
 cusing the intention ; if that be not possible, we must 
 lay it to the force of temptation, or ignorance, or siu*- 
 prise, or human weakness, so as at least to strive to 
 diminish the scandal. In Bhort, he said, those who 
 
 * An allusion to the votiw offerings ncade by sailors escaped 
 front peril. 
 
ST. FRANCIS DB SALKS. 177 
 
 keen a watch over their conscience seldom commit the 
 fault of msh jiidg'ment?. It is the net of an idle soul 
 which has no uccupution within itself, to stop to scruti- 
 nise other people's actions." 
 
 Here is a specimen of his skill in ezcusinff' his 
 neighhours. " I was finding' fault to him one day/ says 
 M. do Delley, ''with some little countiy-gentlenien, 
 who, althoufi^h as poor as Joh, played the gi'eat lords, 
 talking contmunlly of their nohility and the high det'ds 
 of their ancestors. He replied with wonderful grace, 
 'What would you have? Do you wish these \wov 
 people to be doubly poor? If they are rich in honour, 
 at any rate they think less of their poverty ; like tluit 
 young Athenian who was under the mental delusion 
 that he was the richest man in the country, and having 
 been cured of his madness by the ewe of his friends, 
 caused them to be prosecuted Tor having robbed him of 
 his pleasing imagination. What woula you have ? It 
 belongs to nobility to bear up with a high spirit against 
 ill-fortune. Like the elastic palm, it rebounds under its 
 burden. Would to God they may never have worse 
 (faults! It is of those miserable and detestable duels 
 we should complain ;' and he said this with a sigh. 
 
 "One day, as persons were exclaiming and even 
 using vehement invectives against a very scandalous 
 fault, although one of infiiinity, committed by a mem- 
 ber of a religious community, he said nothing, except, 
 ' human mif>ery ! human misery !' at nnoUier time, 
 ' how encoi I'Qssed we are with infirmity !' and again, 
 *What can wu do of ourselves but sin?' and, * We 
 should perha{)s do worse, if God did not hold us by the 
 right hand, and lead us according to His will.' He 
 was in the habit of saying, that if the world were fi-eed 
 fjom evil-speaking, it would be fi'eed from a very lai-ge 
 portion of its sins, for of all sins which may be classed 
 under the heads of thought, word, and deed, the most 
 frequent and the most dangerous sometimes are those 
 of word ; and this for many reasons. First, because 
 sins of thought are hurtful only to him who commits 
 
178 
 
 •T. PRANCI6 OK 8ALR«. 
 
 them, nnd are the orcnsion of nuitiier scnndal, irritation, 
 nor had example to otiiers, b(Mn<>; known only to Qod 
 whom they offend ; and so a loving* nnd ]>enitent return 
 to God eifac<>s them : but those of the tongue reach 
 ftu'ther ; the word once pronounced can be recalled only 
 by a humble retractation ; and yet our neighbour s 
 heart has none the less been infected and poisoned 
 through his ear. Secondly, sins of deed, if of any note, 
 are liable to public chastisement : but slander, unless it 
 be very atrocious and disgraceful, is not amenable to 
 punishment ; hence numbers of persons fall into this 
 sin. The third reason is the rareness of restitution and 
 reparation in this matter ; those who have the conduct 
 of souls being too indulgent, not to say remiss, in this 
 respect. 
 
 " It pained him to hear any one call a peraon bad 
 on account of some single reprehensible act, because 
 virtuous habits, he said, are not extinguished by one 
 contrary act; for instance, we cannot call a man a 
 drunkai'd on account of one solitary act of intemperance, 
 and so of the other vices. Hence, when he heard any 
 one for a single sin taxed with the convsponding vice, 
 he gently remonstrated against the accusation, and ob- 
 served that there was a wide difference between vice 
 and sin, the former signifying a habit, the latter an act ; 
 and that as one swallow does not make a summer, so one 
 solitary sinful act does not render a person vicious, that 
 is, habituated to the vice an act of which he has per- 
 formed. But if so, it was objected, we may not, on 
 the other hand, conclude that a person is in a state of 
 grace, and possesses charity, however holy he may ap- 
 
 Sear in his actions. He replied, that if fiuth, as St. 
 ames teaches, is known by works, much more is cha- 
 rity, which is a far more active viiiue, works being, in 
 I'elation to it, like sparks which reveal the existence of 
 fire ; and although, when we witness a sin confessedly 
 mortal, we may affirm that the pei'son committing it. 
 forfeited the grace of God, how can we tell whether God, 
 a momient after, did not touch his heart ? nnd whether 
 
kT. FlMVt It bK «.4LK«. 
 
 179 
 
 he did not turn from his evil way by an oct of con- 
 trition ? We must, tliereforu, be very fearful of judg* 
 inp" ill of otliem; but .as for judfrin}r well, we nmy act 
 with ))erfect freedom ; beciiU5'e chnrity lielieves and hopes 
 all ^ood of it» neig-hlM)ur, thinks no evil, and rejoices in 
 tnitli and sroodness, but not in iniquity." 
 
 but if St. Francis was an enemy to slander and rash 
 judgments, so also was he to the uncharitable practice 
 of fiersonal ridicule. 
 
 " When in society," says M. de Belley, " he heard 
 any one throwing ridicule on another, his countenance 
 testiHed his dislike of the conversation ; he would in- 
 traduce another topic to create a diveraion, and when 
 he could not succeed by this method, he would rise and 
 Mtiy, ^This is trnmplinpf too much on the good man, 
 and posses all reasonable bounds. Who gives us the 
 right to amuse oui-selves in this way at the ex|)ense of 
 otners ? Should we like to be treated thus, and have 
 all our foibles dissected by the razor of the tongue ? 
 To bear with our neighbour and his imperfections is a 
 great perfection, and it is a g^>eat imperfection to cut 
 him up in this way by ridicule.' With reference to 
 this practice, he said that it was one of the worst dis- 
 
 Eositions a mind could hi.ve; that God exceedingly 
 ntes this vice, and punishes it in remarkable ways. 
 One day a yonng lady was amusing herself in his hear- 
 ing with quizzing another's want of beauty, and was 
 laughing at some natural blemishes with which she had 
 been boi-n; ujran which he quietly obsei'ved, that it 
 was God who had made us, and not we ourselves ; and 
 that His works ui'e perfect. But the lady laughing 
 still more at his saying that God's works were perfect, 
 ' Believe me,* he said, * her soul is more upright, more 
 beautiful and well-propoi'tioned ; be satisfied that I 
 know this for certain; and so he silenced her. On 
 another occasion, some one laughing in his presence at 
 the deformed appearance of an absent person, who had 
 not only a hump on his back but one in front, — he 
 immediately took his part, alleging the same Scripture 
 
180 
 
 IT. PRAMCIS DM SALKti 
 
 i 
 
 t»nvin^% thnt G<h1'8 works nve perfect. * How perfect/ 
 rejoined tlin other, ' witli 80 imperfect a {ilm|)0 V The 
 Suint sweetly answered, ' Wlmt ! do you not believe 
 thai there are iierfect humpbacks as well as persons 
 perfectly straigi ?* Being requested to explain to 
 what kind of pertuttion he alluded, interior or exterior, 
 he replied, * It is enoug-lt; what I have said is true; let 
 us taiK of something better/ 
 
 ''There are no floater enemies to human society 
 than those obstinate and self-opinionated people who 
 are continually contradicting; others ; they are the pest 
 of conversation, the Fcoium* of social intercourse, and 
 sowers of dissension. Mild, condescending, yielding, 
 and tractable tem|)ers, on the other hand, who readily 
 pve way, aro living charms to attract and win every 
 body. Our Saint commended much St. Louis's advice, 
 never to contradict unv onn, unl<>s8 sin or some con- 
 siderable damn go would be the result of abstaining. 
 This holy king did not say this from human prudence, 
 of which he was the enemy, nor according to toe pagan 
 emperor's maxim, that no one ought to leave the prince's 
 presence discontented, but from a tiiily Christian spirit 
 to shun disputes, according t^) the Apostle's counsel, who 
 would have us oirefully avoid all contention." 
 
 It was St. Francis s opinion, that few persons aro 
 extremely taciturn from a virtuous motive. Here, as 
 in all else, his sweet and gentle spirit led him to adopt 
 the tnie mean. 
 
 " One day, persons were talking befora him of a 
 certain individual who would pass tor a great roan by 
 dint of silence. * If so,' said our Saint, * he has dis- 
 coverad the secret of acquiring a reputation at a cheap 
 rate ;' and then, after a pause, he added, * No one re- 
 sembles a wise man so much as a fool when he holds 
 his tongue. Wisdom does not consist in not speaking, 
 but in speaking as and when we ought, and in holding 
 our peace in proper time and place.' Some persons, out 
 of a conscientious but unenlightened zeal, tlie moment 
 they desire to give themselves to the practice of devo- 
 
 
(>T. VNAXCIb DK HALF.S. 
 
 181 
 
 tion, fancy tlicy must shim nil compnnr nnd convenn> 
 tiuii, na uwJM avoid the day-birds, and hy this strange 
 and austere behaviour iuspire others with an aversion to 
 devotion, instead of rendering it pleasing* and attractivts 
 Our Saint did not approve of this, but wished those 
 w'lio practised devotion to be the ligitt of the world by 
 th(Mr gootl exam|ile, and the salt of the earth, to im|)ai't 
 a tnste for pietv to such as lucked it. But, it may be 
 said, if the salt ivturns to the ocean from whence il 
 was drawn, it will melt and Wcome dissolved. Tnie, 
 but also if you do not mix it with meats, they will have 
 no savour. 
 
 ^' To a good soul who nsked him if such as desire 
 to live with some perfection may mix with the world, 
 he made this reply : * Perfection does not consist in not 
 seeing the world, bn' in not luiving a taste or rt^lisii for 
 it. AH that sight brings is danger, for he who lioholds 
 it runs some risk of loving it ; but to him who is forti- 
 fied by a good nud firm rB:»oIution, it does no hnim. 
 In a word, the (lerfection of chtirity is the iierfcction of 
 life ; for the life of oiu* soul is charity. Tne primitive 
 Christians lived in tiie world in body but not in heart, 
 and were nevertheless very perfect.* 
 
 " Our Saint, by the help of gitice, knew how to unite 
 in his |)erson two admirable qualities, — gravity and 
 sweetness. He knew huw to bleud with the my of 
 majesty and honour, which grace had poured upon his 
 brow, so mil '!i affabilicy and sweetness, that you would 
 have said it was another Moses who veiled his beam- 
 ing face when he would converse familiarly with his 
 brethren. If he pos:>«es5ed nttinctions which drew })er- 
 sons to love him, he had also so much gravity and 
 modesty, that they could not help fearing, or at least 
 rospectmg him. !But this respect was so full of love, 
 that I knew of many who quite trembled when they 
 spoke to him ; not so much from the fear of displeasing 
 him (for nothing displeased him, and he received the 
 nidost persons graciously), but for fear of not pleasing 
 him enough, j will canciidly own that I took so much 
 
18^ 
 
 ST. FHAXCI9 DJ2 BALIS. 
 
 I 
 
 cielipflit in doinf*- any tilings to please hirn, tliat when lift 
 evincr-d any Siitisl'nction with me, my lieud was up in 
 the stars; and if he iiad not tauglit me to ret'er all 
 ultimately to Ciod. witiiont stopping; sljoz-t at hiinselt', 
 manv of mv actions would have come to a stand in the 
 midst of their coui*se. As lor his sweetness, it was 
 unknown only to those to whom he himself was not 
 known. In him this viitue seemed to have clothed 
 itself with a human form; and you would have said he 
 was gentleness itself, rather than n man endowed with 
 that quality. Hence he possessed such powerful in- 
 flunnce over men's minds, that all cuve way to him ; 
 and as he condescended to each individually, makinn; 
 liimself all things to all men, so, on the other hand, all 
 acquiesced in his desire, which was no other than to 
 behold them nil embarked in the service of God and 
 the ways of salvation." 
 
 THK SAINT'S OPINIONS ABOUT PRBACHINO AND CONTROVERSY, 
 AND HIS METHOD IN DEALING WITH HERETICS. 
 
 Any notice of the spirit of St. Francis of Sales would 
 be incomplete without a few extmcts regarding these 
 points, whicli are naturally connected with each other. 
 His extraordinary success a* a preacher makes every 
 hint on this subject extremely valuable. Here, as in 
 every thing else which appertains to him, we find the 
 same spirit of sweetness, simplicity, and sincerity. A 
 few anecdotes will illustrate these characteristics. We 
 will head them by an amusing incident related by the 
 candid Bishoji, who, in his admiration for the model 
 before him, fell into the mistake of labouring after an 
 exteiiial copy of the Saint's manner in the pulpit. 
 
 " I entertained so high an esteem of him, that all 
 his ways enchanted me. I took it into my head to 
 imitate his style of preaching. Do not imagine, how- 
 ever, that I aspired to imitate him in the height of his 
 thoughts, in the profundity of his doctrine, in the power 
 
ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 183 
 
 of his reasoninp", in tlie soundness of liis jiulfrmenr, in 
 the tenderness of his Iunjnin«»;e, in the |)cifect oi(K»r ;ind 
 connection wliich reig*ned in Iiis sermons, and in thnt 
 incompnrable sweetness which coidd i-emove the very 
 rocks fi-om their foundations. All thntwns beyord my 
 reach. I was like those flies which, unable to whiK on 
 the polislied surface of a mirror, Imtake thomsi'Ives to 
 the fmme. I amused myself, and, as you will hear, I 
 deceived myself, in striving* to adopt his extei-nal ac- 
 tion, his g-estures, and pronunciation. In him all this 
 w as slow and quiet ; mine being naturally the reverse, 
 I underwent so strangle a metamorphosis, that no one 
 would have known me ; it was no long-er 1 myself. 1 
 had spoilt my own orig-inal, to make a very bad co|)y 
 of him whom I wished to imitate. Our Saint, who had 
 been informed of all this proceeding, said to me one 
 day, after making approaches to the subject for some 
 time, * Apropos to sermons, I have heard a piece of 
 news : I am told you have taken a fancy to mimic tlie 
 Bishop of Geneva's preaching.' I defencled myself from 
 this charge by rei)lying, * Well, and have I chosen so 
 bad a jwtteni after all 'i Do you not think he preaches 
 better than I do V * Ah ! come,* he rejoined, * here is 
 a pei-sonal attack. Well, certainly, he does not ]ireach 
 ill; but the worst is, that I am told that you imitate 
 him so badly, that people can make nothing of it but 
 a very imperfect attemj)t, which spoils the Bisliop of 
 Belley, witliout representing the Bishop of Geneva ; 
 so that it would be necessary to follow the example of 
 that bad painter, who used to write the names of the 
 
 f>ei*sons whose j)orti-aits he had taken under the faces 
 le had daubed.* 'Let him alone,* I retorted, *and you 
 will see that by liegrees he will rise from the nink of 
 apprentice to that of a master ; and that in the end his 
 copies will pass for originals.' * Joking apart,' he re- 
 "ied, 'you spoil yourself, and pull down a good build- 
 to reconstmct another against all the rules of na- 
 
 ]^ 
 
 »n^» 
 
 ture and art; besides, at your age, supposing you have 
 contracted a bad crease, like a piece of cloth, you will 
 
184 
 
 •T. FUAIfCIS DB SALES. 
 
 |. 
 
 not find it easy to g;et i-id of it. 0, if it trere possible 
 to exchrtngpe qualities, what would I not pfive for yours ! 
 I do what I can to move and stir myself up to a little 
 rai)idity ; but the more I labour, the slower I ffet on. 
 I liave n difficulty in findings words; more still in pro- 
 nouncing* them. I am heavier than the old stump of a 
 tree ; I can move neither myself nor others j I perspire, 
 it is true, a great deal, but make very little way. You 
 get on full sail, I by dint of oare ; you fly, I crawl or 
 creep along like a tortoise ; you have more fire in your 
 fingei-s' ends than I have in my whole body, — a won- 
 derful rapidity, and the liveliness of a bii'd; and now I 
 hear that you weigh your words, measure yoiu- periods, 
 drag your wings; that you droop and flag, and make 
 your hearers do the same.' I can tell you that this 
 dose was so effectual, that it freed me from this plea- 
 sant eiTor, and sent me back to my old ways. ' 
 
 His love of a holy simplicity and sincerity is dis- 
 played in several other charitable lessons which the 
 good Bishop records as having I'eceived at his hands. 
 
 " One day I was to pveacn at the Visitation ; and 
 being aware that r ar Saint would be present, and that 
 a large concourse was ex{)ected, I must own that I had 
 felt a little pei'sonal anxiety on the occasion, and had 
 
 {>repared in good earnest. When we had retired to his 
 jouse, and wei-e alone together, * Well,* he said, * you 
 have given general satisfaction to-day; people went 
 away exclaiming mirabilia at your fine and eloquent 
 panegyric. I only met with one individual who was 
 not satisfied.' * What can I have said,' I replied, ' to 
 shock this person's mind ? for I have no desire to know 
 his name.' * But I, for my part,* he i-ejoined, * have a 
 great desire to tell it you.' * Who is he, then, that I 
 may endeavour to give him satisfaction V ' If I had 
 not great confidence in you, I should not name him ; 
 but as I know vou well, t willingly do so. Do you see 
 him here?' I looked roimd, and saw no one but him- 
 self. * It is you, then,' I said. * Myself,' he replied. 
 ' Certainly/ I rejoined ; * I should have valued your 
 
»T. FIIANCIS DB SALES. 
 
 185 
 
 
 e 
 
 i- 
 l. 
 ir 
 
 single approbation more than that of the wliole conp^re- 
 gntion. Thank God, I have fallen into the hands of 
 one who wounds only that he may heal ! What, tlien, 
 did 3'ou find fault with ? for I know tiiat your indul- 
 gence will not excuse any thing in me.' * I love you 
 too much,' he resumed, *to flatter you; and if you 
 had loved our sisters after this fashion, you would not 
 have amused yourself in puffing up their minds, instead 
 of edifying them ; in praising their state in life, instead 
 of teaching them some humiliating and more salutary 
 doctiine. It is with the food of the mind as with that 
 of the bodj'. Flatteiy is windy; and windy food, like 
 vegetables, is innutritions. We ought in preaching to 
 provide, not empty food, the memory of which perisiies 
 with its utterance, but meat which will endure to life 
 everlasting. We must never, indeed, ascend the pulpit, 
 without the special object of building up some corner 
 or other of the walls of Jerusalem, by tenching the 
 practice of some virtue, or the avoiding" of some vice; 
 for the whole fruit of preaching consists in the eradi- 
 cating of sin, and the planting of justice. Lord, ex- 
 claimed David, I will tench the vnjust Thy fvays^ and 
 the wicked shall be concerted vnfo 77iee.** * What 
 sort of convei-sion,' I retorted, * could I preach to souls 
 delivered from the hnnds of their enemies, the devil, 
 the flesh, and the world, and serving God in holiness ?' 
 * You ought to have taught them,' he said, * to take 
 heed, since tliey stand, not to fall ; to work out their 
 solvation, according to the counsel of the Hdly Spirit, 
 with fear and trembling ; and not t^ be witliout fear, 
 even with respect to forgiven sin. You described them 
 to us as so many saints; it costs you nothing to ca- 
 nonise the living. You must not place pillows under 
 elbows in this way, nor give milk to those who need 
 bitter herbs and woi-mwood.' * My object,' I said, 'was 
 to encourage and fortify them in their holy undertak- 
 ing.' * We must encourage,' he replied, * without i-un- 
 
 • Psalm 1. IS. 
 
180 
 
 ST. FIIANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 i . 
 
 ninii- tiie risk of excitinp* presumption and vanity. It 
 is iilways siif'er to Ijumbie our heaiei's, than to exalt 
 tiiein to liig-li oncl admirable things above their reach. 
 I feel ])ei-suaded that another time you will be cautious 
 in this respect.' 
 
 " The next day he made me preach at a convent of 
 the nuns of St. dlare. He was present, and the con- 
 g^re^-ntion was not less numerous than on the preceding' 
 d:iy. I took care to avoid the pitfall he had pointed 
 out to me: my discourse was very simple, both in 
 words nnd ideas, aiming* at nothings except edification. 
 I nroceeded with much method, and pressed home my 
 suoject. Our Saunt, on our return, cnme to see me in 
 my apnrtment, which, in fact, was his own; for when 
 I was on a visit to him, he always grave roe up his 
 room. After tenderly embrftcingp me, 'Truly,' he said, 
 * I loved you dearly yesterday, but much more to-duy. 
 You ar<», indeed, quite after my own heart ; and if I 
 am not much mistiiken, you are also according" to God's 
 heart, who, I believe, has been pleased with your sacri- 
 fice. 1 could not have believed you would have been 
 so yielding" and condescending*. It is a true saying*, 
 that the obedient man shall speah of victory* You 
 have conquered youi*self to-day. Do you know tliat 
 most of vour hearers said, "To-dav is verv unlike 
 yesterday," and they were not as nmch plesised this 
 tin)e as the last ; but the individual who was not satis- 
 fied yesterday is wonderfully i)leased to-day. I giant 
 you hereupon a plenary indulgence for all your p{it«t 
 faults. You have fulfilled nil mv wishes to-da_v ; nnd 
 if you persevere, you will do much semce for the Loi-d 
 of the vineyard. Preaching must not seek its strength 
 in the words and the notions of human wisdom, but in 
 the demonstration of the Spirit and of power. If you 
 faithfully a<lhere to this method, God will give to your 
 lal)oui"s a full and honoui-able increase ; you will become 
 prudent in the words of mystical wisdom, and will po3- 
 
 • Trov. xxi. 28. 
 
ST. FRANCIS DK SAI.R9. 
 
 187 
 
 sess the science of the saints, the science tlint ninkes 
 saints. What, after uii, do we ilesire to know, save 
 Jesus, and Jesus crucified !' 
 
 " When he heard i)eo|)lo talk of preachere who did 
 wonders, he would ask, 'llow many hns their preacliing" 
 converted ? for the convei-sion of souls is n inoi-e mini- 
 culous work than the resun'ection of the dead, since it 
 is a passage from the death of sin to the life of prace.* 
 If it was replied, that the wondei-s alluded to were elo- 
 <]uence, science, memory, striking* manner, and other 
 ciiaracteristics of a gi*eat speaker, — 'These qualities,' he 
 would say, 'are those of a worldly orator, and can be 
 acquired by human diligence ; but they np])ertain not 
 to those on whom the Holy Spirit, which has been 
 conferred upon them, has poured the science of tiie lan- 
 guag-e of heaven, which is t)ie science of salvation and 
 of the saints.* 
 
 "When any one said a preacher was succeeding" 
 very well, he wouhi ask in what virtues he exct .le<l, 
 whether in humility, in mortification, in sweetness, in 
 courage, in devotion, and such like. On being told that 
 it was good y»reaching which was meant, 'That,* ho 
 would rejoin, ' is saying, not doing. The one is much 
 easier than the other. How many there are who say, 
 and do not — ^who pull down by their bad examjile, 
 what they have built up with their tongue! Is not 
 that man a very monster, whose tongue is longer than 
 his arm V Some one observed of a preacher, ' He has 
 done wonders to-day.' He replied, ' He who has done 
 wonders is the man who is found without S|K>t — who 
 has not followed after gold, nor placed his hope in 
 worldly treasure.' To another, w^ho said of a certain 
 preacher that he had even soai*ed above himself, ' What 
 interior self-sacrifice has he achieved ?' was his reply ; 
 'what injury has he endured? It is upon such-like 
 occasions that we sui-mount oui-selves. Would you 
 know whence I infer the excellence and merit of a 
 preacher? It is when tlioso who come nwav strike 
 their breasts, saying, / tvill do trell ; not, lloie well 
 
Id8 
 
 BT. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 
 i 
 
 he has do)Ui! When the sermon is over, do not nmuse 
 Tourseit' with attending to those vnin popular plaudits, 
 I low well he has acquitted himself! What an eloquent 
 tx)ngue ! What profound knowledge ! What an admirable 
 memory ! What a fascinating preacher ! What a pleasure 
 it is to listen to such a man f I never had such a treat 
 in all my life ! All this is empty babble, pi'oceeding 
 from minds that lack judgment. Christian preachers, 
 St. Jerome tells us, ought not to have recourse to tho 
 arts of the rhetorician, but should use the simple lan- 
 guage of fishermen ; that is, of the Apostles. If St. 
 Paul condemns hearers with itching ears, how much 
 more preachei's who scratch them by their choice woi'ds, 
 nnmded peiiods, and i^tudied comi)ositions ! But if, 
 upon coming out from the sermon, you should meet 
 with any who, like the centurion, say, Truly this man 
 is of God ; he praaches Jesus Chiist crucified, not him- 
 self; he teaciies us to repent of our sins ; it will not be 
 his fault if we do not turn from om* evil ways ; this 
 sermon will rise against us at the day of judgment, if 
 we do not profit by it : or if they sav, 0, how neces- 
 sary is penance for salvation ! how lovely is virtue ! 
 how sweet is the burden of the cross ! how light tho 
 yoke of God*s law ! how hideous and detestable a thing 
 is sin ! i-ather let us die than sin : or if, without using 
 so msmy words, the hearei*s testify to the ft-uit of the 
 preaching by amendment of life, you may then judge 
 of the goodness and efficiency of the pitcher, not to 
 his glory, but to the glory of Him that sent him,— to 
 the glorv of God, who speaks by his mouth, and fills 
 him with His Spirit.' 
 
 "In proof of this, he told me the following anec- 
 dote : * A very celebrated preacher came to Annecy ; I 
 begged him to preach ; he consented ; luid setting off 
 in a high style, he propounded his sublime notions in 
 such [>onipous language, and with such a display of 
 eloquence, that our good mountaineei's were quite as- 
 tonished. As they came out, nothing was to be heard 
 but expressions of delight and adniiration. Never was 
 
ST. FRANCIS DE BAhKB. 
 
 180 
 
 hO much incense of pmise offpred to moitnl rnnn : tliey 
 Tied with encli other in their applause, and in crving* him 
 up to the skies. Knowing well how much tiiis (liscotirse 
 was above the comprehension of its admirei's, I took 
 some of them aside, and questioned them, to discover 
 how much they had retained of it, and what particular 
 profit they had derived from it. Not one of them could 
 tell me a woitl. One more ingenuous than the i «st re- 
 ])lied : "If I had undei-stood it, and could i*etuil it to yon, 
 that would show that he had said nothins' uncommon. 
 It is our igTiorance which excites our nomiraiion ; for 
 he tnlked of such high and lofty things, that they were 
 quite beyond our reach ; and tiiis makes us have a 
 greater esteem for the mysteries of our reliffion." ' Our 
 Saint praised his candour, and acknowledged that he 
 had derived some sort of profit from the seniKtu. Spring 
 flowers are not enough, if they are not followed by au- 
 tumn fruit. The preacher who has only the leaves of 
 language and fine thoughts, is in peril of being classed 
 among those unfruitful ti-ees who ai-e threatened in the 
 Gospel with the axe and the fire. I have chosen i/oti, 
 said our Loi*d to His Apostles, that you should go and 
 bring forth fniit J and your frvit should remmn.*^' 
 
 M. de Belley mentioi.^. that in the early days of 
 his episcopate, being yer, as he says, " very green" 
 (having by the special dispensation of the Pope been 
 consecrated under the age prescribed by the canons), 
 and having his mind yet freshly stored with his school 
 knowledge and with elegant lifernture, for which he 
 had a particular turn, he biought forth a redundancy 
 of such matter from the treasures of his memorv. It 
 was upon the occasion of his being invited, in 1610, 
 to ])reach the Lent before the Senate of Savoy, in 
 Chambery, the capital city of that province, that it 
 was reported to our Saint, who was at his episcopal 
 residence at Annecy, only seven leagues distant, that 
 (to conticue in the Bishop's own words) his " discour- 
 
 • Jolin XV. l«. 
 
IW) 
 
 ST. FH«NCIS DB 9AhKH. 
 
 sea were nil riowere nrwl pe if iinie, M'hicli attracted ciuwds 
 of liearei-s, like bees wliicli cluster round sugnr nnd ho- 
 ney. He, however, who jndg-ed after quite n ditferent 
 faithion, and who was well skilled in this art, would 
 have desired to see me diiiw more u]K)n the divine Scrip- 
 tures than on human lettei-s ; he would have wished for 
 more of the solid spirit of piety than display of spiritual 
 expressions eloquent with human wisdom. Whereupon 
 he wrote me a beautiful letter, in which he apprii^ed 
 me, that the odour which my sweet spices exhaled had 
 reached even to him, so that he compared himself to 
 Alexander, who, sailin*;' towards the Fortunate Islands, 
 was matle aware of their neighbourhood by the fm- 
 grance which the wind, sweepings over the smooth sur- 
 face of the sea, wafted to his vessels. After having 
 thus concealed the point of his lancet in this oiled and 
 perfumed cotton, he stuck it in by tellings me that, after 
 so many messengei-s, who every day brougfht him word 
 that our bed,was all strewed with verdure, our furni- 
 ture of cedar and C3'prus, — that our blossoming' vines 
 were spreading* their sweetness on all sides, — that our 
 garden was full of nothing but flowers, — that it was 
 laughing sprinsr-time all around us, — he was expecting 
 othei-s to give him news of summer and autumn, of the 
 harvest and the vintage. ' I am li;. tening,' he said, ' to 
 hear (in^floresfntcttisparttmnnt'j* telling me that, ai'ter 
 all, he rwtvised me to strip my vine of its superfluous 
 tendrils of belles-Iettrex — tempus putationis vimt;\ to 
 pnme and retrench from it so many foreign ornaments ; 
 and that, although it was allowable to use the vuses of 
 the Egyptians for the service of the tabernacle, t ought 
 to be with sober moderation ; that Rachel was indeed 
 fairer than Lia, but that Lia was more fruitful ; that 
 tiie Gospel ought to be expounded in conformity with its 
 own style and simplicity; that red nrxi white paint ill be- 
 came the face of theology; nnd that we ought to bewaw 
 of adulterating the Word of God much more than tii« 
 
 * Whether the flowers ara brinp;injj forth fruitA. 
 f *' The tirac of pruning isi come." (.\iitu-.Ie:i ii. 12. 
 
IT. FRANCIS DK XALKS. 
 
 191 
 
 cuirent coin ; to wliich he mldrd nmny otlier similnr in- 
 stmctions, wliicli had the eiiect vf niukiiif^ ine much 
 more reserved, much less libera? of those viands which 
 nre ratlier empty thnn soHd. nnd much more cni'efnl to 
 labour for that meat which perishes not, nnd Vthich the 
 Gospel so strongly reoorninends to us. 
 
 *' It was his opinion, that it was not sufficient that 
 the preacher shouhl liave a g-enei-al intention of in- 
 structin|>* in the ways of God, but that jje shouM aim 
 at some special object ; for instance, the knowledgre of 
 some mystery, the exposition of some article of taith, 
 the destruction of some vice, or the establishment of 
 some virtue. ' You would hardly believe,* he said, 
 *how imiiortant is this advice, and how many laboured 
 and studied sermons are profitless for want of point. 
 If you will follow this maxim, your sermons will pro- 
 duce much fruit; if you neg-lect it, you may reap «d- 
 mirution for youi-self, but othei's will derive no l)e- 
 nefit." 
 
 " He approved extremely of shortness in sermons, 
 and said that leng-thiness was the most general defect 
 of the preachers of his day. * Do you call that a de- 
 fect,' said I, * and thus give to plenty the name of 
 scarcity/* * When the vme/ he replied, ' produces a 
 gi'eat deal of wood, then it is that it bears the least 
 fruit. A multitude of wor Is never produces a g:i*ent 
 effect. Observe all the homilies and sermons of -the 
 ancient fatliei-s — how short they are ; but how much 
 more efficacious they were than oiirs ! The good St. 
 Fmncis, in his rule, enjoins upon the preachei-s of his 
 Order to be brief, and adduces this reason —that God 
 had made a short word vpon the earth.* Believe 
 me,* he said, ' I speak from experience, and from very 
 long expei-ience ; the more you say, the less will be 
 remembered; the more you say, the less will your 
 hearei-s profit. By dint of overloading theii* memory, 
 you make it break down ; as lamps aro put out by too 
 
 • Rom. ix. »». 
 o 
 
102 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DF. SALES. 
 
 much uil^ and plnnts nve stifled by too much watoring. 
 Wiien a sermon is too long*, the end makes us forget 
 the middle, and the middle tlie beginning. Pi'eachers 
 of very modemte ))owei-s nra endumble, provided ihey 
 we biief ; while such as ui-e excellent Wome bniiien- 
 some when they are too long. A preacher cnnnot have 
 a more oiTensive fault than lengthiness. You must 
 say little, and timt good, and inculcate it diligently, 
 not ninking the least account of those fastidious minds 
 who are displeased when a prencJjer repeats a thing, 
 and goes over the same <;-round agtiin. What ! is it not 
 necessary in making a work of iron to heat it over and 
 over ap^ain ,: and in pn nting to touch and retouch re- 
 peatedly 'i How much more, then, is it needful, in 
 order to imprint eternal truths in hearts confiimed in 
 evil, and on hardened intellects V " 
 
 Not only did St. Francis approve of shoii sermons, 
 but he haa a pi-edilectiun for a limited audience, as 
 M. de Belley thus relates : 
 
 *^ * Rejoice,' said our Saint, ' wlien in asccndinsp the 
 pulpit you see few people, and that you have but a 
 thinly-scattered .audience.' * But,' said I, * it costs no 
 more trouble to teach many than few.' * It is from a 
 thirty yeai-s' ex|)erienee in this matter,' he replied, * that 
 I speak; and 1 have always seen gi'cater results for 
 God's service from sermons I hrve preached before 
 small than before lorge congre^^ations. At tlte time I 
 was provost, I was sent by tlie bishop, my predecessor, 
 to preach. One Sunday, when the w-eather was very 
 bad, there were only seven persons in the chui-ch, so 
 that some one observed to me, that it was not worth 
 while to give any sennon. I replied, that neither did 
 a large audience encoumge, nor a small one dishearten 
 me ; that provided one single individual was edified, it 
 was enough. I accordingly mounted the pulpit, and 
 I reraemlier my sermon w-as on pmyer to the saints. I 
 treated t\ia subject very simply ; I said nothing either 
 pathetic or vehement ; however, one of the congrega- 
 tion began to weei) bittt'rly, and even to sob and ^igb 
 
RT. PIIANCM DR MLKS. 
 
 mi 
 
 »r 
 
 b 
 
 quitA nudibly. 1 tiioiig-ht )ih was ill, so I be«>-g'(>d him 
 not to put any constraint u{M)n Iiim!)elf ; that I was alxMit 
 to finish, and wonld ronic nnd help him if Iik nf>ede<l 
 any thing*. Ho replinl tlint iin w«s (piit*) well in Inxly, 
 and bej^g^eil me to g-o on, sayinc: that I was dressing 
 the wound which re(|iiii*e<l it. When the Mormon, which 
 was short, was over, he rnme and threw himself at my 
 feet, exclaiminc^, ' M. le Provost, I owe mv life to you ; 
 you have saved my soul to-duy. lUessecf he the hour 
 when I came here and heard you ! it has been worth an 
 eternity to me.' He then toUl me, that having been 
 conferring with some (Protestant) ministers concerning 
 praver to the saints, which they represented as lioirible 
 idolatry, he had fixed the following Thui-sday for his 
 abjuration of the Catholic religion ; Init that ]ie had 
 been so well instructed by the i^ermon he hod Just heard, 
 and his doulits had been so completely removed, that 
 he detested tlie pi-omi^^e he had made, and vowed obe- 
 dience anew to the Roman Chui*ch. I cannot tell you 
 what an impression this example, occuiTing* amongst 
 so small a number of people, praduced throug-k the 
 wliole neighbourhood, and how docile and ready to 
 receive the Word of Goil it rendered the hearts of 
 othei-8.' 
 
 " A very learaed jneacber, who took great pains 
 with his seimons, but who was not much followed, 
 often employed the best part of his discoui'se in com- 
 plaining* of the neglin^ence of those who did not come 
 to hear tlie Word ot God, and even went so far as 
 to threaten to throw all up and forsake his pulpit. The 
 Saint, who had been present, said to one of his con- 
 fidential friends, as they came out of church, ' Whom 
 is tiiis .uood pel-son angry with? He has scolded us 
 for a fault w^e have not committed, for we were pre- 
 sent. Would he have had us cut om-selves up mto 
 bits to fill the empty places 'f It is the absent he was 
 displeased with, ana tliey will not be the more punctual 
 in consequence, for they did not hear him. If he wished 
 to address them, he ought to have gone about the street* 
 
104 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DB lALBS. 
 
 and ]iiiblic plnces, to compel those wlio fre<|uented them 
 to come to his hanqiiet. As it is, he inveip^''d at the 
 innocent, ond let the pfiiilty nione.* 
 
 " Disputes on relig-ioiis matten were ve^'V disagree- 
 able to Iiim, imrticuliirly uf tahU and after dinner; 
 these were not, he said, WitcljB topics. I repHed, one 
 day, taking: up his expression, that if a bottle of this 
 kin(l was occoi^ionally broken, it wm to g-ive forth the 
 hiinn of truth, wliich is all Hre and flame. * Ves, in* 
 deea,' he rejoine(i, * fire and flames of nn«^er Mnd alter- 
 cation, which yieM only smoke and blncknes ,. .oiJ very 
 little light.' He also particularly disnj)»Mo\ cd urcui.tro- 
 vpi-sial subjects being mtroduced into sci uions, preai^hing 
 being ordained mther to edify thiut to ^iu.[ lown; ana 
 for instruction in morals, ratiier ♦• r ■ for settling those 
 disputes conceiming the faith \vh) -ii arise among such 
 as are external to the Ciiurch. But it will be urg^d, 
 ])erhapR, that it is for th<' purpose of confirming Catholics 
 m their belief that the arguments of their adversaries 
 are overthrown in their pres<>nce. A plausible reason, 
 but of which experience pi-ovds the futility; because, 
 not to speak of tiie thorny difficulties with which these 
 distressing contestations are beset, the human mind, 
 owing to its natural corruption, has so great a pro- 
 pensity to evil, that it will fix its attention on the 
 objection rather than on its solution, and choose the 
 ser|>ent in place of the bread. His method, both in 
 preaching and in private conferences with Protestants, 
 was to expound with that clearness and facility for 
 which he was so remarkable the simple and naked 
 truths of faith ; for truth, he said, in its native sim- 
 plicity, had charms and attractions capable of winning « 
 the most rebellious souls. This plan he found to succeed 
 80 admirably, tl; 't, ]irovided he could get a Protestant 
 to give him a cui:\ ;• d quiet l»*»fiving, nut onlv did he 
 make his wea-ioi's ;; '.« Vum his ..uods by thus disposing 
 of his ohjectioiib oefore he had made them, but if he 
 did not gain him over at once, he made so deep an im- 
 pression that the pei'son was sure to return verj soon 
 
 
ST. PIUNCtJ OB tALBt. 
 
 196 
 
 be 
 lira- 
 
 U> s«»€k a henlinjf romwly from th« Stnd which hn<l in- 
 flictwl so hiippv a wound. " 
 
 'I'iiti exitmpleut' rlii<< ^-rt>at 8toirit is the more ap|)Osite, 
 thut it will l»»'ri'ineiiil"«'it'tl 1h» w.is rulIiHl to rule a flock 
 suiToiindfNl iind intctniini»lv»i with heretics. His ndvioe, 
 tIi»'i>'f'oi«s on this lieud mii\ he r^cpivcil uhsohitely, nn(i 
 doei« not rifHj»uit» modit *^«t!oJi from any nmt^M-iid dirtVr- 
 eiicc in the (ircimi^tancfs in whirl *♦» oui-selvrs arc 
 placed. Now this poat Saint consi. "•d that this nie- 
 tlnnl had four n^rabh' advnntng"**^ : 1, •: hides the ]^\u\t 
 of the lancet m cotton; 1?, it av( ds thr winnnt^s and 
 importunity *^ inch t^onendly »cconn my ti t!iu. .t\ path 
 of ci»nti'oveis\ ; .'1, it takes it** hnuv'^ Sui dy hy sur- 
 prise, and malies tliem receive the tnit not «..'iiy w ithout 
 dilHculty, hut with pleasure; i simp is i is, it pos- 
 sesses in its simplicity a woniU'iful v. ■-;. hnng-ing" 
 offensive into defensive wea{)ons, and d»in\ nj; >u(d"s for 
 the defence of trutii from the very ohji id" those 
 
 who ttn: in en jr. 
 
 M. de Bejjey goes on to exemplify • ni< nner in 
 which the Saint practised this method: 
 
 "The answ« IS which Catholics are in f hahit of 
 g-iving" to the objections which Protestant nakn from 
 passages of Scripnu-e, being* conformable t* tli truths 
 which are taught jy the Church, ve have o> to bring 
 fonvard the solution fii-st, w^hich being exj' iicd and 
 reasoned out, withrut making it figure as an iswer to 
 an objection, the jt issage upon which the ili < idty is 
 grounded comes by this means to furnish a pr<)< t the 
 truth laid down. Tlius it was that the Saint i.iinself 
 exjdained it to me. Here is an example which will 
 make the matter clear : 
 
 " Protestants comnionly quote this passage of Scrip- 
 ture against the Real Presence : * It is the spirit ivkich 
 (jh'tth life: tJu\ffesh prq/iteth nothing-^ to which we 
 malce two replies, — the one from St. Chrysostom, the 
 other from St. Augustine : first, that the nesh without 
 the sj)irit — that is, without the Divinity — would profit 
 nothing; ^eoondly, that the carnal and gross way in 
 
196 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 which the Capharnaites undei-stood Him profited no- 
 thing. In pursuance of the ohject we have in view, we 
 Iiave only to point out the weakness of the flosli hy it- 
 self, without being" united to the Divinity jind sinoiuted 
 by it, jind to show that it is the Divinity wli'ch imparts 
 to the humanity the power it possesses of coniDiuni- 
 cating to the faithful who ore its membei's that grnce 
 which itself has received as the head ; and thus it is this 
 spirit of the Divinity and this Sacred Flesh which vivi- 
 fies souls who become partakere thereof in cummuniun. 
 According to the second interpretation, we have only to 
 rejM-esent how gi'oss and tmworthy of the majesty of 
 this mystery was the notion of tlie Ca])harnaites, and 
 how far removed from it is the Catholic faith on this 
 point, and hence conclude how true are these words of 
 the Saviour, that the tiesii, taken in these two senses, 
 would protit nothing ; by this means availing oui'selves, 
 in conhrmation of tlie orthodox doctrine, of that which 
 is employed to oj>pose it. He told me that he had for 
 a long tmie employed this method, and that it threw 
 so coni])lete a disguise over controverey, that, although 
 one might preach nothing else, hearei-s would scarcely 
 bo aware ot the fact unless it were pointed out to them. 
 He preached an Advent and Lent at (Jrenoble, where 
 there are numbers of Protestants, who were more dili- 
 gent in their attendance on his j)reaching than on that 
 of their own ministei"s, because, they said, he was i'vee 
 from the spirit of contention ; and yet he always em- 
 j)loyed the fii-st part of his discoiu-se in setting forth 
 the truths of Catholic doctrine, but in the manner I have 
 described, the latter part being devoted to moi-al and de- 
 votional application : the Protestants meanwhile, who 
 never perceived the art of his method, wondering mucli 
 at seeing him establish the faith of the Roman Chuich 
 by the very same Scripture texts by Avhich they sup- 
 ported their principal objections. 
 
 ''Our Saint one day, while at Paris, preached a 
 sermon on the last judgment, to which God gave so 
 much power and ethcacy, that certain Protestants who 
 
ST. FRANCIS DR SALES. 
 
 107 
 
 a 
 ;o 
 
 had come to henr him from curiosity were so derply 
 moved, that thev conceived a desire to confer with him 
 on some points of faith ; the result heing their conij)lete 
 satisfaction, and the convei-sion of an entire family of 
 much note, whp were received into the hosom of tlie 
 Catholic Church. 
 
 " Here is the Saint's own account of the fact : * Being* 
 at Paris, and preaching' in the queen's chapel upon tho 
 subject of t'lo day of jud}rment (it was not a controver- 
 sial sermon), it liiippcmed tljat Madame de Perdreauville 
 was ])re8ent, having como from curiosity. Siie was 
 caught in the snare, and in consequence of that sermon 
 came to the resolution of seeking instruction; three weeks 
 afterwards she brought her wliole family to me to con- 
 fession, and stood godmother to them all at confirmation. 
 See how this sermon, which was not aimed at heresy, 
 was endued with such |)ower against it; for God at 
 that time vouchsafed me that grace to my words in 
 favour of these souls. 
 
 " ' I have always saicl ever since that who ever pi'eaches 
 with love, preaches sufficiently against heresy, although 
 he may not utter a single woi-d of controvei*sy against 
 it. For these thirty-three years that God has called me 
 to the sacred office of breaking the bread of His Word 
 to the people, I have certainly remarked that practical 
 sermons, where the subject is treated with devotion and 
 with zeal, are so many buniing coals thi*own in the faces 
 of the Protestants who hear them ; that they are always 
 pleased and edified by them, and are thereby rendered 
 more docile and reasonable when we come to confer 
 with them on disputed points. This is not my opinion 
 alone, but that of the most celebrated preachers whom 
 I have known ; and every one agi'ees that the pulpit 
 ouglit not to be made the battle-groimd of controvei-sy, 
 and that we demolish more than we build up, if we 
 attempt any thing beyond a ])assing allusion to it.* " 
 
 If a Saint's opinion on this point is worthy of no- 
 tice, how much more of one who gathered into the 
 Chnrch's boriom so many of her lost sheep! 
 
198 
 
 8T. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 " Onr Saint," says M. de Belley, " had received 
 from liefiven n special grace for converting; sinners with- 
 in the Cinncii, and for bringing* back tliose witliout to 
 the bosom of tliat Mother, separated from whom wo 
 cannot have God for our Father. As respects these, 
 not to speak of tlie restoration of the Chaulais to the 
 true Church, in which he co6|)erated in the convereion 
 of from forty to fifty thousand souls, he was besides per- 
 sonally instrumental in reclaiming^ some fifteen or six- 
 teen thousand persons from Protestantism. This special 
 gift for converting; was the occasion of an observation 
 which the great Cardinal du Perron, of literary cele- 
 brity, made one day, — that if it was a question merely 
 oi confoitndimj hei-etics, he thoug;ht he possessed the 
 secret ; but to convert them, they must be sent to the 
 Bishop of Geneva, who had a commission fi*om heaven 
 for that work. The Cardinal de Berulle was of the 
 same opinion, and openly declared that the hand of 
 God was witli the blessed Francis." 
 
 We are not to suppose, however, that he shrank 
 from controversy where the honour of relig-ion and the 
 g'ood of souls required that the truth should be pub- 
 licly vindicated. Here is an instance recorded by M. de 
 Belley, which exemplifies his holy boldness, and at the 
 same time manifests its source,— a perfect confidence 
 in God, whose glory he sought alone, and a spirit of 
 humble self-renunciation : 
 
 " The Saint, when preaching Lent and Advent at 
 Grenoble, drew such crow'ded congregations, not only 
 of Catholics, but of Protestants belonging to the Gene- 
 van sect, that the sermons of their own ministers were 
 left unattended. One of these men, a turbulent spirit, 
 seeing his pulpit deserted, after indulging in many in- 
 vectives and injurious declamations against the Saint, 
 defied him to a public conference. The challenge was 
 accepted. A pei*son of merit, who did not think it ad- 
 visable that the Saint should expose himself to this con- 
 tost, represented to him the insolent temper of this 
 minister, who had a hellish mouth, and the most vitupe- 
 
8T. FHANCI8 DB SALES. 
 
 100 
 
 
 riitive nnd abusive of tonn'ues. * Good,' saitl tlie Saint ; 
 * this is JMSt uliat we want.' And ns liis friend went on 
 to rejuesent to Ijini tlmt lie would receive the most un- 
 worthy treatment from this man, who would siiow him 
 no more consideration than if lie was the lowest of Iho 
 people, * Better still,' replied the holy Blshoj); *this is 
 what I seek. What g'lory shall accrue to God from 
 my conftu<ion !' ' But,* rejoined the other, * wouhl you 
 expose the rank yoii hold to ignominy /' ' Our Lord,* 
 answered the Saint, * suffered far urea ter insults Was 
 lie not satiated with oppiobrium .'" * 0,' replied his 
 friend, 'you are aimin»' too hij'h.' 'What shall I say/* 
 continued the Saint. M hope tliat God will give me the 
 grace to enilure more insults than this man can offer me ; 
 and if we are deeply humbled, God will be g-loi iously 
 exalted. You will see heaps of conversions after that, — 
 a thousand falling" on the left hand and ten thousand 
 on the riirht. It is God's wav to draw His own honoiu* 
 from our humiliation. Did not the Apostles come forth 
 joyfidly from those assemblies where they -had endiued 
 affronts for the name of Jesus? Let us take courage, 
 and God will help us. Such as hope in Him want tor 
 nothing', and are never confounded.' 
 
 " The enem}', however, who feared that this might 
 prove a losing; game, suggested so many prudential 
 considerations to the minister's adherents, who mis- 
 trusted his powers, that they got the king's lieutenant, 
 who at that time still belong-ed to tlieir sect, to prevent 
 the conference from taking* place." 
 
 d- 
 
 TUE SAINT 8 LOTS OF HUMILITY AKD SIMFLICITY. 
 
 " St. Gregory has well said, that when we praise a 
 wise man in his presence, we nfilict his eai-s and pain his 
 heart. Such was our Saint. He who so lovingly em- 
 braced those who spoke abusive words against him was 
 more disjtosed himself to g'ive abusive words to tho^e 
 who offered him the slightest praise. One day, preach- 
 
200 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 I 
 
 
 in^' before liiin at Annccy, sind cfilling' to mind a saying' 
 of tlie Bishop of Suluces, Tu sal eg, cffo vero iwqm' sal 
 ncque lux,* I wjis betrayed into making; a little albi- 
 sion to his name, observing" that he was the salt {mles) 
 which se:ison-;d the whole mass of the people. He was 
 so extremely disedified by this pmise, tliat when we 
 had retuined home he reproved me in a tone and wiiii 
 a manner that would have been severe, had he been 
 capable of severity. * You were g^oing; on so steadily,' 
 he said, ' and running; so well ; wTiat possessed you to 
 be g;uilty of that sally ? Do you know you spoilt it all, 
 and that one word was sufficient to make you lose the 
 credit of your whole sermon ? Is it not to mix with 
 alloy the pure g-old of the word of God to introduce 
 the word of men ? What is the praise of the living; but 
 the word of men ? Is it not written, Praise not any 
 vmn before death't\ I am a fine salt indeed, — an 
 insipid and savourless salt, fit only to be cast into the 
 streets and trodden under foot. 1 grieve for so much 
 good seed choked with a handful of cockle. Certainly 
 if you said that to put me to shame, you have found out 
 the true way.' 
 
 " It was impossible that he could be ignorant of the 
 hig'h esteem wnich not only his flock but the whole 
 world entertained of his piety. It was to him the occa- 
 sion of often humbling; himself before God, and of fre- 
 quently blushing; before men, when he either saw or 
 heard that he was accounted a holy man, and a faith- 
 ful servant of God. ' Do you see,' he said ; ' these 
 g'ood i)eople, with all their praises and hig-h esteem, will 
 be the cause of my g-athering- very bitter fruit from their 
 friendship. They will make me langiiish in purgatory 
 for lack of pi-ayei's offered to God for my poor soul after 
 my death, fmicyinff that it has g-one straig'ht to heaven. 
 This is all the good I shall get of this reputation.' 
 
 " It was not his habit to use expressions of humility 
 in speaking of himself; he avoided such language, as 
 
 * Thuu art salt; I, indeed, am neither salt nor liglit. 
 f Ecclus. xi- SO. 
 
ST. FRANCIS DE 8ALE8. 
 
 i?01 
 
 one of tlie c'lilfs in which that virtue is npt to suffer 
 shipureck. IIf» so strictly adliered to this pmctice, that 
 notliing" but stringent necessity ever le»i him to say good 
 or evil of himself, even in the most indifferent matters. 
 He sometimes snid that it was as difficult a feat to speak 
 of one's self as to walk along* a tight-rope; and that a 
 strong balance as well as wonderful circumspection was 
 requisite to avoid a fall. He did not like to hear |>eople 
 talking very huml)ly of themselves, unless their words 
 proceeded from a thoroughly sfncei-e inwaiti feeling. He 
 said that such words were the quintessence, the cream, 
 the elixir, of the most subtle pride. The truly humble 
 man did not desire to apj)ear humble, but to be humble. 
 Humility is so fragile that she feai-s her own shadow, 
 and cannot hear her own name mentioned without nin- 
 ning the risk of perishing. He who blames himself is 
 indirectly aiming at j)raise, and is like the rower who 
 turns his back on the cpiarter which all his strength is 
 employed to reach. He would be very sorry if we were 
 to believe all the evil he says of himself; and it is his 
 pride which makes him desire to be reckoned humble. 
 He would often take those who used humble expi*es- 
 sions in his hearing at their woi-d, and even add to them, 
 in order to inflict a salutary mortification upon t|5e 
 speaker, and give him ^ hint not to exjiose himself to 
 the like again ; being* well ])ei'suaded that the great 
 majority of those who say these things would be very 
 sorry to be believed such as tliev describe themselves. 
 
 " He distinguislied two kinds of humility, — external 
 and internal. H'the former is not produced, or atlrast 
 accompanied, by the latter, it is very dangerous, for it 
 is nothing more than a bark, an outside coating, a de- 
 ceitful and hypocritical appearance; whereas, if itsprinji-s 
 from inward humility, it is verv good, and serves to edify 
 our neighbour. He also subdivided inward humility 
 into that of the understanding, and that of the will. The 
 fii st is common enough ; for who is there who knows 
 not that he is nothing? Hence so much fine talk of 
 the nothingness of self and of creatures. The second 
 
saap 
 
 80a 
 
 KT. FRANCIS DR BALES. 
 
 ! ; 
 
 
 is very rnre, because few j)ersons love liiiniiliation. Tin's 
 Iiittei* port lius (lirt'erent dcfrreo.s ; the fii-st is to love it, 
 the second to desire it, the tliird to practise it, nhethf i- 
 by seeking; occasions for hinubling; our.-elves, or In' re- 
 ceiving" wiihn<*"Iy those which ha|){>en to us. Our Saint 
 set n much ljii>lu'r vakie on the Inst, because there is 
 much more abjection in suffering", loving", embraciiip", 
 and receiving" with joy, the humiliations wiiich come to 
 us unsought, than those which are of our own choosing*; 
 for in things of our own choice we are much more ex- 
 posed to the assaults of self-love, unless our intention is 
 very single and pure; and also, because where there 
 is less of our own, there is more of the will of God. 
 * The crosses we carve for ourselves,' he said, * are al- 
 ways more delicate than the others ;' and he set more 
 value on an ovmce of suffering" than on several pounds 
 of action, good as it mig;ht be, which ])roceeded from 
 our own will. He desired that humility, whether of 
 the nndei-standing; or of the will, should be animated In' 
 charity ; for otherwise, he said, we were but practising" 
 png-an virtue. He also desired that it should be accom- 
 panied by obedience, quoting tliat saying of St. Piiul, 
 that our Lord had humbled Hitmelfj hecvming obedi- 
 ent.''^ *See,' he observed, * the true measure of humi- 
 lity, obedience. If you obey jnomptly, i'rankly, with- 
 out murmuring, joyfully, without hesitation, and with 
 out rej>ly, you are truly humble; and without humility 
 it is difficult to be truly obedient; for obedience im- 
 plies submission, and the truly humble looks upon him- 
 self as inferior and subject to every creature for the 
 lov<' of Jesus Chi-ist.' He recommended us to steep 
 all our actions in the spirit of humility, and to hide our 
 good works as much as possible from the eyes of men, 
 desiring that they should' be seen by God alone. Ne- 
 vertheless, he would not have us put such a constniint 
 upon oui'selves as to do no good action in the sight of 
 men. He loved a noljle, generous, and courageous 
 liumility, not such as is shrinking and cowardly. He 
 
 • Philip, ii. 8. 
 
ST. PHA.NCH DE fALBA. 
 
 20^5 
 
 In-eous 
 He 
 
 would not have us say any tliiri«:f for so empty an olijrct 
 as uraise ; but ncitliPi" wonld lie liuve us al)sta5in fVoni do- 
 ing* ffood for fear of obtainin'r esteem and admiration." 
 
 The fol!owin<»- anecdote will ilhi>tnite his spirit of 
 humility, and his avei-sion to any thing; that could bear 
 the semblance of ostentation in piety ; and at the same 
 time will serve to show in how much hig-her esteem he 
 held the virtue of cliaritable condescension than the 
 practice of cori»orol mortification : 
 
 " A prelate," relates M. de Belley, " coming* to visit 
 our Saint, he received him, as was his wont, very gra- 
 ciously, and detained him as his g-uest a few days. One 
 Friday evening* he soug-ht him in his apartment, to ask 
 him to come down to supper, which was ready. * Sup- 
 per !' exclaimed the prelate ; ' this is no time for sn|iper : 
 surely the least one can do is to fast once a week.' 
 The Saint did not press the matter, but, retiring", gave 
 orders for his g^uest's collation to be served him in his 
 own room, while he himself went down to the com- 
 mon room to sup with the prelate's chajdains and the 
 other persons of his household. The chaplains told him 
 that the prelate was so exact and strict in his religious 
 exercises, whether of prayer, fasting;, or such-like, that, 
 no matter what company he had with him, he wonld 
 omit nothing;; not but that he would sit at talde with 
 them on the days when he was in the habit of fast- 
 injr. but he would eat nothing bevond fastinj»-.fare. 
 One day, when we w-ere convei-sing" together about li- 
 berty of spirit, he related this incident to me, ^nd told 
 me that condescension was the daun-hter of charitv, 
 even as fasting; is the sister of obedience; that if obedi- 
 ence was better than sacrifice, we oug;ht to make no 
 scruple of pi-efen-ing* condescension and hospitality to 
 fasting". * Do you see,' he added, * we must not be so 
 strong-ly attached even to the most pious exei-cises as 
 to be unwilling upon occasions to lay them aside ; other- 
 wise, under the pretext of firmness of mind and fidelity, 
 a refined s|)ecies of self-love will introduce itself, which 
 will lead us to substitute the means for the end; for in- 
 
n: 
 
 i 
 
 : 
 
 C'04 
 
 8T. PRANCIfl DB SALI8. 
 
 sti'ud of making; God our object, wo fix our affections on 
 the means wliicli lead to Go(i. And as far as concerns 
 the fact of wiiicii we are speaiting", a Friday's fast thus 
 interruj>ted would have served to conceal something 
 better; fur there is no less merit in hiding; such virtues 
 than in the virtues themselves. God is a hidden God, 
 who loves to be served, sought, and adored in secret, 
 as we learn from the Gosjiel. You know what hap- 
 pened to that imprudent king* of Israel for having; dis- 
 jilayed his treasures to the ambassadors of a barbarian 
 monarch, who came with a powerful army and carried 
 them all away. Crede wihi, ome mii Intuit, bene vixit.* 
 Anv one who had seen iiim eat liis supper on Friday 
 
 would never have guessed that it was Iris custom to 
 observe that day as a fast; while he himself could very 
 well have put it off to the nrxt day, or the following 
 week, or even omitted the last altog;ether, to practise in 
 its place the virtue of condescension. I malce an ex- 
 ception in the case of the existence of a vow, for then 
 we must be faithfiil unto death, and not trouble our 
 heads what men will say, provided God be served.' " 
 
 To the love of humility St. Francis joined an equal 
 esteem of the virtue of simplicity. " * I know not,' he 
 said, * what this poor virtue of prudence has done to 
 displease me, but I have to make an effort to love it, 
 and if I do love it, it is of pure necessity, seeing; that it 
 is the salt and torch of life. But the beauty of sim- 
 plicity charms me, and I would at any time give a hun- 
 dred serpents for one dove.' He laboured not only to 
 banish from reIig;ious houses the pest of sing;idarity, 
 but also to lead those j)ei-sons who niake a profession 
 of devotion in the world to avoid it ; saying; that this 
 defect rendered their piety not only offensive but ridi- 
 culous. He wished people to conform externnliy, as 
 much as possible, to tJie mode of life of those who fol- 
 lowed the same profession, without affecting* to make 
 themselves remarkal!:' by any sing-ularity ; proposing; 
 the example of our Saviour, who in the days of His 
 * Believe uie he Mbu hides well lives well. 
 
8T. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 206 
 
 ns 
 us 
 
 ie» 
 
 •et, 
 ap- 
 iis- 
 -ian 
 I'ied 
 nt* 
 day 
 a to 
 very 
 Ying 
 isein 
 a ex- 
 tlien 
 our 
 
 a 01 
 » " 
 
 t. 
 
 mortal life wa» pleased to make Himself m all tinners 
 like to His brethren, sin only excepted. The Saint was 
 most careful to practise this lesson in his own j)ei*S(>n ; 
 and durin}>' fourteen years that I was under his guid- 
 ance, and studiously observed his behaviour, and even 
 his most tnAing- g^estures as well as his words, I never 
 perceived any thing" in him the least ap|)roachin«^ to 
 singularity. He has often told me that our outward 
 demeanoiu" oug-ht to resemble water, wliich, tlie better 
 it is, the clearer, the purer from admixture, and the 
 moi-e devoid of taste it is. Nevertheless, altliough there 
 was nothing of singularity in him, he appeared to me so 
 singular in this very thing" of having no sing'ularity in 
 him, that every thing" in him was in my eyes singular. 
 I have always remembered what an eminent and pious 
 individual said to me one day at Paris, tliat nothing 
 reminded him so strongly of the convei-sation of our 
 Lord among" men as the presence of the angelic coun- 
 tenance of this blessed prelate, of whom it mig"l^t be 
 said that he was not only clothed but altogether filled 
 with Jesus Christ." 
 
 The following little incident may be taken as an ex- 
 ample of his gi'eat love of this virtue. " Our Saint, after 
 preaching Advent and Lent at Grenoble, conceived a 
 desire to visit the Grande Chartreuse, distant only three 
 lea^ies. Dom Bruno d' Affringues, a native of St. Omer 
 in rlandei-s, a pei-son of profound learning and hu- 
 mility, and of still more profound simj)licity, was at that 
 time prior and geneml of the whole order. He received 
 our Saint with a welcome becoming his piety, candour, 
 and sincerity, of which you are going to hear an in- 
 stance which our Saint praised up to the skies. After 
 having conducted him to one of the rooms allotted to 
 guests, and suitable to his rank, and after convening 
 with him on heavenly mattei-s, he took his leave to go 
 and prepare himself for matins. The Saint approved 
 his punctuality highly ; the good j)rior moreover adding 
 in excuse that it was the feast of a Saint much honoured 
 
 in his oi'der. 
 
 Leave having been taken with all due 
 

 I 
 
 i 
 
 '.. 
 
 1 
 
 21)0 
 
 gX. PUANClXri DB HALBM, 
 
 coniplimont^ of honour nnd respect, ns the pnor wns re 
 tii-iiiff to his cell, lie was mot l»y one of the piormntoi-a 
 of the honsi', who n^kcd him whitlier he wns |ioiij«r, nnd 
 wliero lie Ijiid left Monseigneiir of Geneva. ' I lelt him 
 in liis room,' replied the juior, 'and have taken leavi) 
 of him, that I may <^o nnd jnepare myself in my cell 
 for matins, on account of to-morrow's feast.' ' Really, 
 reverend father,' rejoined the religious, * you are very 
 ijinorant of worldly proprieties. What ! it is question 
 merely of a feast of our order, «nd have we then every 
 day the opportunity of receiving- ])relates of such ex- 
 alted merit in our desert? Do you not know that God 
 takes pleasure in the sacrifices of hospitality ? You will 
 always have jilenty of time to sin«f the jjraises of God 
 and matins in uhundance; hut who can entertain so 
 great a prela*^e as well as yourself? What a disg-racc 
 to the house tliat you should leave him hy himself in 
 this way !' * My child,' replied the reverend iathei', 
 * I believe you are rig-ht, and that I have done wrong.' 
 And he immediately went back to the Bishop of 
 Geneva, and said to him with the most perfect in- 
 g-eiii.ousness, ' Monseigneur, ns I was going away, I 
 mrt one of our officers, who j)ointed out to me that I 
 had committed a fault in leaving you alone ; that I 
 should have other opportunities of attending matins, but 
 that it is not every day that we have MonseigTieur of 
 Geneva. I thought he was right, and so I came back 
 at once to entreat yoin* pardon, and to beg you to ex- 
 cuse my fault, for I am telling you the truth when I 
 say that I committed it throuoh inadvei-tence.' The 
 Saint was quite charmed with tliis singular instance of 
 frankness, candour, ingenuousness, and simplicity ; and 
 a.ssui>ed me he was more delighted with it than if he 
 had witnessed a miracle." 
 
 The extreme simplicity which in St. Francis himself 
 was united to the profoundest humility is further ex- 
 hibited by M. de Bellev. '* I have known," he says, 
 " great servants of Gocf whom nothing could have in- 
 duced to allow any one tjo t^ke thci)' portrait, believing 
 
•T. PKA!«r UB ML' 
 
 m 
 
 re 
 
 Ol"S 
 
 md 
 
 lim 
 
 cell 
 
 aiy, 
 
 irery 
 ition 
 very 
 I ux- 
 God 
 I will 
 God 
 in so 
 gvncc 
 self in 
 atlier, 
 vong.' 
 lop of 
 !Ct in- 
 ray, I 
 tlmt I 
 that I 
 18, but 
 leiu* of 
 [e back 
 to ex- 
 lien I 
 The 
 ince of 
 ; and 
 if he 
 
 himself 
 her ex- 
 says, 
 lave in- 
 ^lieving 
 
 tlmt Mich nn net would v soihh H^t of VMnity or 
 
 dangiTOUs coinj)laisnuce. > m. ^ inf , •. f.o made hiin'-clt 
 ull thiti<'-s to all men, niadu no dithculry ahotit tiic iiuit- 
 ter. His reaison was this, that ns th« law of ciiarity 
 olilig'08 us to communicate to our neig-iibour the picture 
 of our mind, imparting* to iiim frankly and withotit 
 j;Tud";ingf all we have learnt with resjwct to the science 
 of salvation, we ong'ht not to make any greater ob- 
 jection to g-ive our friends the satisfaction thev desire 
 of havin<^ uefore their eyes, through the medium of 
 painting, the re{)resentation of our outward man. ]f 
 we see, not onlv without annoyance, but evfn with 
 pleasure, our books, which are the portraits of our minds, 
 m the hands (if our nei«»;hbours, why grudge them the 
 features of our face, if the {)os£iession of them will con- 
 tribute an}' thing to their pleasure? These are his own 
 words, writing on the subject to a friend : * Hei-e, at any 
 rate, is the i)orti-ait of this eaithly man, so little am 1 
 able to refuse you any thin«jf you desire. I am told 
 that it is the best likeness that was ever tflken of me, 
 hut I think that matters very little : In imaifine per- 
 transit homo, Acd et fniittra contin-batur.* J had to 
 borrow it in order to give it you, for I have none of my 
 own. Would that the likeness of my Creator did but 
 shine forth in mv mind ! — with what i»leasui-e would you 
 behold it ! O fent^ tuo hminc\ tvo rcdfmptoH mn{jumt'y 
 mntty refovCy perpc^j tibi conformed fjffice. Amen.'^ 
 
 " Whereu|)on take notice of his ingenuity in draw- 
 ing profit from, and refening to Goal's glory, every 
 thing that occurred; taking occasion of this portrait 
 to teitch so beautiful a lesson of humihty and modesty, 
 both to the pei^^on to whom he was sending it and to 
 himself, after having first given the former a ju-oof of 
 his ready condescension. A man of a constrained and 
 
 * " Man pssseth u an image ; yea, and is disquieted in vain." 
 Psalm xxxviii. 7. 
 
 ■)■ () Jesus, by Thy light, heal, rt- new, make perfect tbosu who 
 have been redeemed by Thy blood, and make them conformable 
 to Thee. Amen. 
 
208 
 
 8T. FRANCIS DR SALES. 
 
 <> 
 
 I 
 
 ♦ [ 
 
 timid s|»int would have stiffened himself, nnd would 
 Imve raflior chosen some jj^reut moi-tiHcntion tlinn liiive 
 jtllowpjl his liki'ness to he taken. And why? To pre- 
 seivo immilitv, or for fejir of offend injjf nguinst it ; ;ind 
 liere in u Saint wiio finds tin op|M)rtunity in the verv 
 sjime thing" for the exercise of humility, and that witli 
 so g-ood a ^race that it is iiard to say which is the mo!!it 
 uniiseworthy in this action, the g-enerosity displayed in 
 his hnmilitv, or the humility evinced in his genero^iitv." 
 
 The following" little anecdote is also to the p)int. 
 " In the year 1010 he accompanied his Eminence the 
 Ciirdinal of Savoy to Pans, who went thither to he pro- 
 sent at tlie marriage of the Prince of Piedmont, his 
 hrother, with Madame the King's sister, Christine of 
 France. A man of the new religion asked to suenk 
 with him one day, and was sltown into his room. This 
 individual walking in, asked him at once, without the 
 preface of salutation or compliment, * Are you the per- 
 son they call the Bishop of Geneva T 
 
 *' ' Sir,' re[)lied our prelate, * I am so styled.' 
 
 " * I want you to tell me, since you are reckoned 
 every where to be an apostolic man, if the Apostles 
 drove ahout in carriag'es.' 
 
 " Our Saint was a little taken by surpHse at this 
 attack ; hut collecting himself, he remembered what is 
 related of St. Philip in the Acts of the Apostles, who 
 mounted the chariot or carnage of the eunuch of Can- 
 dace, queen of Ethiopia, which suggested to him the 
 reply, that they made use of carriages when it suited 
 their convenience, and as opportunity presented itself. 
 
 " The other shook his nead, and said, ' I should 
 like you to give me Scripture proof of that ;' upon 
 which he referred to the example just mentioned. * But 
 that carriage,' replied the other, * did not belong to him, 
 but to the eunucli who invited him into it.' 
 
 " * I did not say that the camag-e belonged to him ; 
 but only that when the opportunity presented itself, 
 they drove in carriages.* 
 
 *'* * But in gilded embroidered can-iages, so gorge- 
 
HT. FRANCIS DR SALES. 
 
 son 
 
 lipon 
 him, 
 
 tself, 
 
 jrge- 
 
 ous, nnd dr-wn l»y such splendid liorses, nnd dnvfn liv 
 coaclimnn in »nrU handsninu li varies, that the kiii^ hiiiw 
 fielf wouhi not tiiin out u jrninder enuipajfe .' — this wo 
 do not rend, and this is wliut scandidises nio in von 
 who pluy the saint nnd are rejHited sueh. Certainly 
 these nve tine saints who journey to Parudise (juite at 
 their ease.' 
 
 " * Alas ! sir,' replied our Saint, * they of f Jeneva 
 who keep possession of the property of my hishonric 
 have cut tlio p*rass so close, that it is all I fan d<> f(? live 
 in a small and poor way upon the re^ i iieviT 
 
 had a carriage of my own, or tin < '.toping 
 
 one. 
 
 "'Then that grand and magnificent e(jnipage in 
 which I constantly see you is not your own ! 
 
 " ' No,' replied the TJishop, * and you may well call 
 it gi'and, for it belongs to his majesty, and is one of 
 those which the king lias allotted for the |)ersons wlio, 
 like myself, are in the suite of the })rinces of Savoy ; 
 you may know them by the king's livery which the 
 coachman wears.' 
 
 " * Well, I am very glad of it, and I like you the 
 better. You are poor, then, it seems f 
 
 " *I do not complain of my [wvevty, since T hnvc 
 enough for a decent maintenance witliout superfluit\ ; 
 nnd even if I suifeied something from straitened circuii- 
 stunces, I should do wrong to complain of what Jesn 
 Chnst chose for His life-long })ortion, living a'ul d ii .: 
 in the arms of poverty. However, the family to whicli 
 I belong owing allegiance to the house of Savoy, 1 liav*- 
 esteemed it an honour to accompany the Cardinal <ii 
 Savoy on this journey, and to be present at tlie cele- 
 bration of the alliance which his brother, the Prince of 
 Piedmont, contracts with France by his mairiage with 
 Madame the King's sister' 
 
 "The Protestant was so well satisfied with tliis ex 
 
 Elanation, that he declared to him he would lienceloi rh 
 old him in esteem, and took his leave highly pli nsfd, 
 " It was the Saint's opinion that we fchuuld take 
 
210 
 
 8T. PRANCr? DE SALES. 
 
 care of our rppTitation, more for God's service tlinn for 
 our own liononr, nnd rntlicr to avoid scandal tlian to 
 nngrnent our own credit. He compared reput.»tion to 
 tobacco, wliicli may be of service wljen used in modera- 
 tion, and but seldom ; but wbicb injures and offuscatcs 
 tbe brain wlien indulj^ed in too often, and without mode- 
 ration. * Wliat,' be exclaimed one day, ' is reputation, 
 that so many should sacrifice themsi»iv«'.^ to this idol? 
 After nil, it is but a dream, a shadow, an opinion, a 
 smoke, a praise, the memory whereof perishes witli the 
 sound — an esteem sometimes so false, that many take 
 pleasure in hearing; themselves lauded for virtues, of 
 which they all the while know they have the opposite 
 vices ; and blamed for faults with which they are not 
 charo-cable. Those who complain of calumny ai-e very 
 sensitive. It is a little cross of woixls, whicii the wind 
 dispei*ses. I do not like to hear a person say, * That 
 expression wounded me,' in allusion to something- of- 
 fensive which has been said to him ; for there is a g-reat 
 deal of difference between the humming" of a bee and 
 its sting". We must have a very delicate ear, and a very 
 thin skin, if the one cannot endure the buzzing" of a 
 fly, and if the other is pricked by the mere sound of it. 
 Was ever a reputation so torn to ]>ieces as that of 
 Jesus Christ ? What insult but was heajied upon Him ? 
 What calumny with which He was not assaile<l ? And 
 yet the Father has g-iven Him a Name which is above 
 every name, and has exalted Him in projwrtion to His 
 abasement. And did not the Apostles g-o forth jovfully 
 from those assemblies where they had received affronts 
 for the name of Jesus ? Oh, but it is a glory to 'suffer 
 in so noble a cause ! I understand — we must have no- 
 thinaf but illustrious persecutions, that our lig^ht may 
 be displayed in dai'kness, and our vain-gloiy shine in 
 the midst of our suffering's ! We must be gloriously 
 cnicified ! But do you suppose that, when the mai tvrs 
 endured such cruel tortures, they were pmir^ed bv.tlio 
 spectntoi"S, tmd not, on the contrary, cursed and held in 
 execration? Ah, how few ])ei'sons there ai'e who are 
 
ST. FRANCIS DK SALES. 
 
 211 
 
 ready to sncnfict* tlw'n- ipjnit.-ition, to promote tlie:t'''Y 
 the jilory ot" Him who di«*(l so i^iiomiiiiously upon the 
 cross, to merit for lis u gloiy tliat >hiill have no end !' 
 
 '* As I was about to repair to Paris, to |)reach tlie 
 Lent, he rehited to me the I'oUowing: anecdote, in order 
 to teacii me to make h'ttle account of what people mi^^ht 
 say of me. The superior of il coUeg-e had given a good 
 old man the charg^e of a clock, to prevent time from 
 hano-ing- heav}' on his hands. But the old man, after 
 a wliile, found he had never iiad so worrying* and trou- 
 blesome an office imposed upon him. * Wliat !' said the 
 superior, ' do you mean the trouble of winding; it up 
 twice a-day ?' 'Oh, no !' he rej)lied ; * I mean the being; 
 bothered on all sides.' * How so?' rejoined the su|>erior. 
 * It is,' replied the other, * because when the clock is 
 rather slow, those who work at the colleg;e complain ; 
 and so, to please them, I put it on a little. Then the 
 townspeople fall upon me, and say the clock gains ; and 
 if I put it back to satisfy them, then I have the othei-s 
 renewing" theii complaints; so that my liead is just like 
 the metal upon which the hammer of the cIock stiikes, 
 and I am quite bewildered with all this fault-finding-.* 
 The superior, to comfort him, said, * I will give you a 
 cood j)iece of advice, which will keep them all quiet. 
 When the clock gains, and people find fault, say : I^eave 
 it to me, I will see and put it oack.' ' But the othei-s,' 
 exclaimed the good man, ' will come oj)en-mouthed at 
 me.' ' Say to them,' replied the superior, 'Children, let 
 me alone ; I will see that it does not lose. But in the 
 mean time leave the clock alone to go as best it may; 
 only give good and quieting words, and all will be satis- 
 fied, and you yourself in peace.' 
 
 " * Do you see,* said our Saint to me, 'you are about 
 to be the butt of many contradictoiy judgments. If 
 you attend to what people say of vou, there will be no 
 end of it. What is to be done, tlien? Give them all 
 good and kind words, but, after all, go your own way; 
 follow your own bias ; do not attempt to change it in 
 consequence of all the many hints— most of them con- 
 
212 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 trarv to oncli other — wliicli vou mav receive ; look to 
 , and abandon yourself freely to the leading's of 
 His pprace. It ouf»;ht to be a very small matter to us 
 to be judged of men, since it is not our object to please 
 them ; it is God who is our Judg'e, and who sees tlie 
 ground of our hearts, and penetrates the darkness of its 
 most hidden recesses.' " 
 
 THE 8 VINT 8 DOCTRINE OF PERFECTION, AND MODE OF 
 ijPIKITUAL DIRECTION. 
 
 " * I hear,* said our Saint sometimes, * evei-y one 
 talking about perfection, but I see very few persons 
 who practise it. Each has his own notion of it ; some 
 place it in austerity of dress, others in that of eating*, 
 others in almsgiving", others in the frequentation of tlie 
 sacraments, others in prayer, others in a certain species 
 of passive' and exalted contemplation, others in those 
 extraordinary g-races which are called gratuitous ; but 
 all these deceive themselves, mistaking the means or 
 the effects for the cause. As for me, I know of no 
 other perfection than the loving God with all our heart, 
 and our neighbour as oui-selves. All other perfection 
 without this is a false perfection. Charity is the one 
 bond of y)erfection among Christians, and the only vir- 
 tue which unites us truly with God and with our neigh- 
 hour, which is our end and ultimate perfection. This 
 is the end of all perfection, and the perfection of every 
 end. I know that ar.sterities, prayer, and other vir- 
 tuous exercises are excellent means to advance in per- 
 fection, provided they are done in chaiity, and through 
 the motive of charity. We must not, however, ]>lace 
 perfection in the means, but in the end to which the 
 means conduct, otherwise it would be a stopping short 
 in the middle of our road before we had reached the 
 goal.* 
 
 "Our Saint set a high value on desires, and said 
 
ST. FRANCIS DK SALK8. 
 
 213 
 
 that upon the c-ood use of them (lej)ended all proirress 
 of the spiritual edifice. To uinke ^leat pro|^icss in 
 divine love, wherein consists ail onr perfection, we must 
 have a perpetual desire to love Him moi*e and more, 
 and must resemhle tliose birds which the projiliet saw, 
 which always ilew rig-ht on without ever returning", and 
 that g-reat Apostle who always jH'essed fbrwsu'ds with- 
 out looking" hack, and without reckoning that he had 
 ever attained the g'oaj, becati&e in spiritual thinji-s, and 
 in divine love, nothing must ever suffice us ; sutticiency 
 here consisting p-.incipidly in a desire of greater ahimd- 
 ance, since in this world charitv can always increase, 
 liowever great we may Im!l^lne it to he; its permanent 
 and full-grown state being reserved for heaven. Oh, 
 how -n'eatly did he admire those words of St. Bernard, 
 A mo quia amo, amo ut cnru'in.* He does not love God 
 enough, who does not desire to love Him more. One 
 who has a generous spirit is not satisfied with loving 
 Him with all his heart, because, knowing that God is 
 greater than his heart, lie would wish to have a larger 
 heart, to Iovh Him more. 
 
 " He said that the most serious occupation of a true 
 and faithful Christian was, to aim unceasingly at the 
 perfection of fjis own state; tiiat is, to perfect himself 
 more and m<n"e in the state of life in which he finds* 
 himself. ]\ow, the perfecticm of the state of each one 
 of us is, to proportion the means well to the end, and 
 to make use of such as are suited, in our sttue, to ad- 
 vance us in cliarity, in whicli alone consists tlie true 
 and essential j)erfection of Christianitv, and without 
 which nothing" can be called |)erfect. Our Saint i"«H'om- 
 raended, above all things, to avoid the fault of ovn-- 
 eagerness, which he called the capital enemy and tiie 
 l)est of true devotion. It is better, he said to do a 
 little, and that well, than to undertake much, and exe- 
 cute it imperfectly. It is not, he observed, by tie 
 multiplicity of the things which we do, that we advance 
 
 * I love God because I love Him, and I luvu 11 im in order 
 to love Him still better. 
 
214 
 
 ST. rnANCIS DR BALES. 
 
 in perfection, but by tbe tervom* mul purity of intention 
 with wjjicli we do tliern. Wlience we condude, 
 
 ** 1st. i hat our progress in perfection depends, not 
 80 much on the nndtititde of our tictions, as on the fer- 
 vour of lioly love with which wo perform them. 
 
 "2d. I'iiat » good action, performed with great 
 fervour, is more meritorious, and more pleasing* to God, 
 than many of the same sort performed with tepidity 
 and remissness. 
 
 *' 3d. That purity of intention raises the merit of a 
 ffood action verv hijfh ; because, as the end of an ac- 
 tion IS what imparts to it its value, the more pure and 
 excellent that end is, the more exquisite is the action. 
 Now, what wv)rthier end can wc nave in our actions 
 than that of God's g'lory / 
 
 " In familiar conversations he would have us speak 
 little and ivell, — that was his constant rule ; and in 
 action he would have us not attempt so much, but i)er- 
 form what little we did with great perfection. Ho 
 lii""hly a|)proved of that saying of an ancient einj)eror, 
 Ii'stina lente.^ Another of his favourite mottoes was, 
 * Soon enouj^h, if well enough.* 
 
 " And when it was objected to him. What, then, is 
 to become of that insatiable love of which the masters 
 of the spiritual life sjieak — that love which never says 
 it is enoug-h, which never thinks it has reached its goal, 
 but which is always pushing- on with quick steps / — ho 
 replied : * It is by the roots we must make progress in 
 this love, rather than bv the branches.' Which he ex- 
 plained thus : * To grow in branches is to perform a 
 midtitude of virtuous actions, of which many are not 
 only defective, but often superfluous, and like those use- 
 less vine-branches which must be pruned to enrich the 
 fruit ; and to grow in i*oot is to perform few works, but 
 with much perfection, that is, with much love of God, 
 wherein consists all the perfection of a Christian. It is 
 to this that the Apostle exhorts us, when he tells uo to 
 be rooted and founded in chanty, if we would knom *he 
 
 * ]Mskc hast* slrtwly. 
 
 
ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 215 
 
 
 chart f if ofCJiristy which stirpa^seth hnotrlrthjc* But it 
 may be stud : Can we do too much for God .' and must we 
 not make haste to press on before the nij'ht of death comes, 
 when no one can work ; must we not do nil the good we 
 can, wliile we have the time? All the«e :u*e adorable 
 truths, and worthy of our deep consideration ; but they 
 are not contrary to tiiis maxim, rather to perform a few 
 good and perfect actions than many im[)erfect ones. 
 To make a solid pio^ress in perfection, it is not so much 
 question of mulliplymjr exercises as increftsinj»f the fer- 
 vour, the strength, and the purity of divine love in our 
 ordinary actions, since a small virtue animated by an 
 ardent, strons", and pure charity, is incomparably more 
 pleasing" to God, and gives Him more glory, than a 
 more shining* one performed with a tardy, weak, and 
 less puriHed cliarity.' 
 
 *' Our Saint, with reference to this subject, told us 
 one day tliat some good nuns had once said to him, 
 ' What shtdl we do, sir, this year ? Last year we fasted 
 three times in the week, and took the discipline as 
 often. What shall we do now ? for of coui*sc we must 
 do something" more this year, both as an ncknowled""- 
 ment of gratitude to God for the past, and also that we 
 ma}' continually advance in His service.* * You are 
 quite right,' I replied, * in saying that we must be con- 
 tinually advancing ; but our j)rogress is not effected, as 
 you imag le, by the multitude of our pious exercises, 
 I)ut by the perfection with w^hich we perform them, 
 ever placing more confidence in God and feeling greater 
 mistrust of oui'selves. Last year you fasted three times 
 a week and took the discipline three times; if you 
 wish always to double your exercises, you must give 
 tlie whole week to them this year; but what will you 
 do next year/ You will have to make nine days in 
 the week, or make a double fast each day. Great is 
 their folly who amuse themselves with desiring to go 
 and be martyred in the Indies, and meanwhile do not 
 upj)ly themselves to the duties of their own state ; but 
 
 * Eph. iii. 17, 10. 
 
216 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 »*■*;; 
 
 ^reat also is tlie delusion of those who would eat more 
 than tliey can dig-est. We have not enough spiritual 
 warmth to di{>'est well all that we take in hand for our 
 perfection, and yet we will not lay aside tin's anxioua 
 spirit which possesses us of desiring to do a great deal/ 
 
 " Devotion, he said, was a gentle and tranquil fer- 
 vour, while eagerness was an indiscreet and turhulent 
 bubble, and pulls down while it thinks to build up. 
 Of all the various species of eagerness, he above all 
 blamed that of tryinjj to do several things at once. 
 He compared it to endeavouring to thread more than 
 one needle at the same time. He who undertakes two 
 works at once succeeds in neither. When he was 
 doing any thing, or speaking of any matter, he gave 
 his whole rnind to it, as if that were his only business, 
 and as if it were tlie last work he should have to per- 
 form in this world. Sometimes, when he was seen 
 to spend even whole hours with person j of no conse- 
 quence, who were talking to him of things of trifling 
 importance, he would say, * These mattei-s ap|)ear to 
 them weighty, and they desire to be comforted, as if 
 they were so in fact. God knows, I do not require any 
 higher employment. All occupations are equal to me, 
 provided tney concern His service. While I am en- 
 gaged in these little works, I am not bound to be doing 
 any thing else. Is not the doing God's will a suffi- 
 ciently great work ? We make little actions great by 
 performing them with a great desire to please God; 
 the merit of our services consisting not in the excel- 
 lency of the work, but in the love which accompanies 
 them, and the merit of that love in its purity, and of 
 that purity in its unity of intention.' 
 
 " Although our Saint possessed the most eminent 
 virtues, nevertheless he had a tender love for the 
 smallest, that is for those which appear such in men's 
 ey^s; for there are none, especially of tlie infused, 
 which are not great in tl»e sight of God. * Every body,* 
 he said, * desires to possess the splendid and striking 
 virtues whicluare attached to the summit of the cross^ 
 
ST. FRANCIS DK SALES. 
 
 217 
 
 that they mnv be visible from afar and admired of men. 
 But few seek to gjither those which, Hke the sweet 
 thyme, grow at the foot and in the shadow of this tree 
 of life. And ye*, these are the most fi-ag-rant, and 
 have been more abundantly watered with the Saviour's 
 Blood, who taug^ht Christians, as their fii*st lesson, to 
 learn of Him, who was tneek and humble of /wart.* 
 Every one is not called upon to exercise the heroic 
 virtues of fortitude, ma{>7ianimity, magnificence, mar- 
 tyrdom, endurance, constancy, valour. 'J'he opportu- 
 nities for practising these are rare ; and yet all aspire 
 to them, oecause they are striking and g-lorious ; and 
 often it will happen that pei'sons, imagining' they are 
 capable of them, become puffed up with a vain self- 
 cor.^idence, and when the time for action comes, tumble 
 upon their noses. We do not meet with opportunities 
 for making large sums of money every day, but every 
 day we can gain farthings and pence ; and by econo- 
 mising well these little profits, we may in time giow 
 rich. We should heap up great spiritual riches, and 
 lay up much treasure in heaven, if we employed in 
 the service of the holy love of God all the trivial occa- 
 sions which are presenting themselves every moment. 
 It is not sufficient to perform actions of great virtue, if 
 we do not perform them with great charity ; for it is 
 this virtue which gives the foundation, the weight, the 
 price, and the value to good works in the sight of 
 God ; and an action of small virtue (for all virtues are 
 not equal in their nature) performed with much love of 
 God, is far more excellent than one of a higher virtue 
 done with less love of God. A cup of cold water given 
 with this great love is meritorious of eteraal life. Two 
 pieces of money of very trifling value, given with this 
 same love by a poor widow, were piefeiTed by Jesus 
 Ciirist Himself to the costly presents which tlie rich 
 cast into the treasury. People set little value on 
 those slight acts of condescension to the tiresome hu- 
 
 * St. Matthew xi. 29. 
 
}18 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DE SALSf. 
 
 niours of our nci^libom*, on bearing his imperfections 
 with sweetness, and modestly putting up with his dis- 
 agi'eeable behaviour ; on the Ipve of contempt and of 
 our own humihation; on patience under some slight 
 injustice, or preference of otiiei-s to oui-selves, or aifront 
 received, or on the performance of lowly actions be- 
 neath our condition ; on receiving thankful 1}' ; on hum- 
 bling oui-selves to equals and inferiors, and treating our 
 servants with consideration and kindness : all this seems 
 very pitiful to those whose heni-t is lofty, and whose 
 eyes are exalted. We would have nothing but showy 
 sind well-di-essed virtues, which reflect credit on us, 
 without considering that they >\ ho would please men 
 are not the servants of God, and that the friendship of 
 the world makes us the enemies of God.' " 
 
 It wjis consistent with these views that this great 
 Saint shouldjiave attached much higher importance to 
 internal than to exterior mortification, and that his 
 method was to be^fin from within, laying a solid foun- 
 dation for the s|)iritual life, and drawing persons on 
 gently to those external renunciations which were the 
 fruit of a genuine humility and love of God. 
 
 " He was in the habit of saying," observes M. de 
 Belley, " that gi-ace in general imitates nature and not 
 art, which only works exteiiially, as, for instance, in 
 painting and sculpture, whereas nature begins its woiks 
 from within j hence the saying, that the heart is th" 
 first to live, and the last to die. When endeavouring 
 to lend souls to a Christian life, and to get them to give 
 \ip their worldly habits, he did not talk to them of ex- 
 ternals, neither of their hair, nor their dress, nor such 
 like thing-s ; he spoke only to the heart and of the heart ; 
 knowing well that if that fortress was gained, the rest 
 would never hold out. * See, when a house is on fire,* he 
 said, Miow people throw all the iumiture out at the 
 windows. When the true love of God gains possession 
 of a heaj-t, all which is not God seems but little worth.' 
 Some one expressing surprise, one day, that a distin- 
 guished lady of great piety, who was under his dii'ec- 
 
8T. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 219 
 
 tion, hod not even left off wenring* ear-rings, lie replied, 
 ' I assure you I do not so much as know whether she 
 has any eurs; for she comes to confession with her hend 
 so completely covered up, or with a great scarf so 
 thrown over it, that I do not know how she is dressed. 
 Besides, I believe that that holy woman, He))ecca, who 
 was quite as virtuous as she is, lost nothing of her 
 holiness by weai-ing the ear-rings which Eliezer pre- 
 sented her on the part of Isaac* This same ladv, 
 having caused some diamonds to be set upon a gold 
 cross she wore, was accused to the holy Bishop of vanity 
 on this account, wMio replied, that what was reprehended 
 as an instance of vanity, was to him matter of much 
 edification. * Would,* he said, * that all the crosses in 
 the world were covered with diamonds and all manner 
 of precious stones: is not this to devote the spoils of 
 the Egyptians to the service of the tabei-nacle, and to 
 glory in the cross of Jesus Christ ? What better use 
 can she make of her jewels than to adorn with them 
 the standard of our redemption?' All through love, 
 nothing through constraint : this was his great motto, 
 and the mainspring of his direction. I have often heai"d 
 him make this beautiful observation : * In the voynl gal- 
 ley of divine love there is no galley-slave ; all the row- 
 ei-s are volunteei-s.' Upon this prmciple he never gave 
 a command except in the form of persuasion or i-equest. 
 He desired that m matters of spiritual government men 
 should deal with souls according to tiie mode observed 
 by God and His angels, — leading them by inspirations, 
 suggestions, illumiiiations, remonstrances, entreaties, so- 
 licitations, in all patience and doctrine ; knocking Ike 
 the spouse at the door of hearts, gently pressing a<rainst 
 them that they may open ; if so be they o[)en, intro- 
 ducing salvation into them with joy ; if they refuse, 
 bearing the denial with gentleness. 
 
 ** As I complained to the Saint of the opposition I 
 met with, in my diocesan visits, to the good I wished 
 to etfoct ; * What a domineer ">g spirit you have !' he 
 said. * You want to walk n\ the wings of tlie wind } 
 
 
220 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DR SALES. 
 
 you let your zeal carry you away. You want tc .0 
 more than Got!, and constmin the wills ot" creutuies 
 whom God has made free. You deal summarily, as if 
 the wills of your priests were all in yotir hands. But 
 God, in whose hands are the hearts of all men, docs not 
 act thus. He bears with resistance and rel)elIion against 
 the light He gives; ]Ie allows His inspirations to bu 
 opposed, even to the grieving of His Spirit ; and finally 
 sutfera those to destroy themselves wlio, through the 
 hardness of their impenitent hearts, heap up treasures 
 of wrath against the day of venjjfcance. Nevertheless, 
 He ceases not to send tliem ins{)n-ations, although men 
 resist His attractions, and say to Him : Depart from us ; 
 we will not follow your ways. Our guardian angels 
 imitate His behaviour in this respect; and though we 
 abandon God by our iniquities, they do not abandon us. 
 Do you desire better examples for the regulation of your 
 conauct ?' 
 
 " He was frequently employed to brin"* about the 
 reform of religious houses; but his methorlwai. to ad- 
 vance very gently, practising his own device of nif king 
 haste slowly ; for though divine gi'ace does not love 
 delays, nevertheless he would not have one push on 
 with an injudicious fervour, which is always going into 
 extremes, and fails of doing good from wishing to do 
 too much at once. He desired to advance step by step, 
 often repeating that saying of the wise man, that ' the 
 path of the just an a shining light goeth forwards and 
 incrcaseth even to perfect day.^* ' True progress/ he 
 said, 'is from the less to the gi-eater. God Himself, 
 who has no need of time to bring thing's to perfection, 
 although He powerfully accomplishes iTie end He pro- 
 poses to Himself, effects it by such gentle methods, 
 that they are almost imperceptiole.* He did not follow 
 the example of those who begin reformation by the ex- 
 terior, in order to arrive, as tliey say, at the interior, 
 and stop so long at the ba/k, that they Ibrget the pith. 
 In introducing a reform int 3 monasteries, he insisted in 
 
 • ProT. iv. 18. 
 
IT. FRANCIS DE 8ALK8. 
 
 OOI 
 
 tliosfl of men only on two points,— tlio rxcrcisp of me- 
 tal prayer, wi:h its insepnmble companion, spiiifiiiil 
 reading, and thp frequenting of the two sacraments of 
 penance and the Holy Eiiciiarist. * Witli these,' he said, 
 ' all will bo brought about without effort and without 
 contradiction, gently and gi-aduolly.' For women, ho 
 required but two things : one corpond, the other spi- 
 ntual. 1. Enclosure, as enjoined by the Council of Tivnt : 
 without tho observance of this rule, he did not think they 
 could live with reputation, or safety to their honour. 
 2. Mental prayer twice a day, half an hour each time. 
 
 * With attention to these points,* he said, * a convent of 
 women can be very easily brought back to their duty 
 and the observance of their nde.* Of austerities and 
 corporal moiiiificutions he said nothing, recommending 
 no fasts beyond those of the Church, neither bare feet, 
 nor abstinence from meat, nor disuse of linen, nor night- 
 wateliings, nor so many other mortifications ; — holy 
 practices, it is true, but which in themselves regard only 
 the exterior. Being consulted one day upon t'^.e intro- 
 duction of bare feet into a religious nouse, he I'eplied, 
 
 * Wliy don't they leave their shoes and stockings alone ? 
 it is the head that wants reforming, not the feet.' He 
 considered that indiscreet austerities are one of the 
 snares into which those who are entering on a devout 
 life are apt to fall. They fancy they can never do too 
 much, as if they would by main force repair their past 
 faults ; and they never think they are domg so well as 
 when they are spoiling every thing. The evil spirit, 
 who can fashion his aiTows against us out of all kinds 
 of wood, makes use of these immoderate fervours to ren- 
 der them subsequently unfit for the service of God, for 
 want of bodily vigour. We ought to be more discreet, 
 and remember that God desires of us a reasonable ser- 
 vice. St. Bernard, in the early days of his convei-sion, 
 stumbled upon that stone ; and towards the end of his 
 life he blamed his past austerities as others blame their 
 excesses, and in his humility called them the eirors of 
 his youth. To a nun who, from a motive of penance, 
 
Stii! 
 
 BT. FRANC IS UB 8ALBS. 
 
 h.ul iinderfakpii more hmriy jiii«*toiiti>s tlinn lier deli- 
 cntv iind teehlo constitution could support, our Saint 
 piive this counsel, worthy of iiis g-entleness nnd pru- 
 dence : ' Do not burden your weak body with any aus- 
 terity beyond wlint your nile imposes. Preserve your 
 bodilv strength to serve God in spiritual exercises, 
 wliicli we are often obliged to retrencli when we linvo 
 indiscreetly overladen tiie soul's fellow-lnbouier in their 
 performance. Very few pei*sons, even nuiong" such m 
 are spiritual, hold tiio balance fairly in this mutt(.>r; the 
 8|)irit, which is willing, almost always overloading the 
 flesh, which is weak. They do not reflect that as the 
 spirit cannot bear the flesh when it is too well fed, neither 
 can the flesh support the spiiit when it is kept too \ow' 
 " Interior moi-tificati<ms are incomparably more ex- 
 cellent than external ones, and they are not subject, like 
 the latter, to hyiwcrisv, vanity, and indiscretion. And 
 those which Goa sends us, or which come to us on the 
 part of men by His permission, are always more pre- 
 cious than such as are the ofl^spring of our own will. 
 These prove a stumbling-block to many who embrace 
 with eagerness the mortifications which their inclina- 
 tion sugges^ts, and which, notwithstanding their appa- 
 rent severity, are no gi-eat trouble to them, on account 
 of the facility which their own predilection imparts; lut 
 when they encounter some which jnoceed from nnotlitn- 
 cause, they find them insupportable, however slight they 
 may be. For instance, such a one will have a s-trong 
 inclination for the discipline, for hair-shirts, fasts, and 
 sackcloth, but will be so sensitive withal aljout his repu- 
 tation, that the most trifling jest or unfavourable obser- 
 vation will put him out of breath, and will ti-ouble his 
 peace of mind and prejudice his reason, canying him on 
 to deplorable extremities. Another will apply himself 
 with ardour to the exercises of pi-ayei* and penance and 
 the [n-actice of silence, who will give way to excessive 
 impatience and anw-er, and fly out in unmeasured la- 
 mentations at the loss of a law-suit, or some trifling 
 damage to property. A third will give alms liberally, 
 
ST. PRANCI8 DB SALB9. 
 
 22S 
 
 Jind found ninfiniHccnt rharitalilo fstiildislinifiit'-, nlm 
 will ln'cak toifli in j^roruis :»ml tipmlile witli li'ui- ut the 
 sli^litest iiiHrniity oi's.jkiipss, nnd tVom wlioni tin* most 
 tnHin;>' l>odily |>ain di-a^. s untold and intniniinaMu la- 
 nx'ntations. According- as each is severally attaclied 
 to tlie g^ood tliinjj^s which minister to honour, profit, or 
 pleasure, they bear with more or loss patience the ills 
 which are contrary to these si)ecies of jroods, without 
 considering- that it is the hancl of God wliicii bestows 
 and takes them away, nccordin;»; to His pleasure. It is, 
 in tiict, that we wish to serve God, not according- to His 
 Will, but accuiding- to our own; in our way, not His. 
 Do you think this is just? 
 
 " To cure this malady of the soul, our Saint ad- 
 dresses it in these terms : ' Kiss frequently in your heart 
 the crosses which our Lord Himself has laid u[)on you. 
 Do not stop to examine if the wood of which they are 
 com|)osed is precious or odoriferous. They are more 
 frequently crosses when they are of n common, vile, nnd 
 unfra<*-mnt wood. It is n {»;ood thing- that this thouglit 
 should be ever recurring- to me, nnd that it should be 
 the only songf I know ; doubtless it is the song- of 
 the Lainb; it is somewhat snd, but it is sweet audliar- 
 inonious : Father, not an J will., hut an lliou wilt. 
 Mag'dalen seeks our Lord while holding Him. She in- 
 quires for Him of Himself. She did not see Him in 
 the form she desired, and so she was not satisfied with 
 seeing- Him thus ; she sought Him, that she might find 
 Him otherwise. She desired to see Him in His robe 
 of glory, and not in the mean habit of a "gardener. Ne- 
 vertlieless, she knew Him when He saiil to her Manj. 
 Do you see it is our Lord in the g-ardener's dress whom 
 you meet every day here and there in the little common 
 mortifications which happen to you ? you wouhl wish 
 Him to offer you more bi-illiant mortifications. my 
 Lord, the most brilliant are not the best. Do vou not 
 believe that He says to you, Mary, Mary? JNo, be- 
 fore you Ijehold Him in His glory. He wishes to plant 
 in your gparden many little lowly flow-el's, but flowers 
 
234 
 
 ST. FnANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 mucli to His taste ; tliis is why He wears this attire. 
 Mfty oiir hearts he ever united to His, and our wills to 
 His p-ood pleasure !' 
 
 " Our Saint was in the habit of blaming- a rather 
 common mistake arnong'st persons making- a special pro- 
 fession of piety, who frequently apply themselves to tlie 
 practice of the virtues least conformable to their state, 
 and neglect those which are the most suited to it. ' This 
 disorder,* he said, * proceeds from the distaste which men 
 very commonly feel for the occupations which their du- 
 ties impose upon them. As relaxation gradually finds 
 its way into convents when their inmates wish to limit 
 themselves to the practice of the virtues belonging to 
 the secular state ; so, on the other hand, it is a source of 
 no less trouble in private families, where an indiscreet 
 and injudicious devotion would seek to introduce into 
 them the exercises of the cloister. Some persons fancy 
 they are highly extolling a secular household, when 
 they say it resembles a religious house, and that the life 
 led within it is quite conventual ; forgetting that this is 
 to seek to gather figs on thom-bushes, or grapes on 
 brambles. Not but that these exercises are good and 
 holy ; but we must consider and take into account the 
 circumstances of place, time, pei-sons, and condition. 
 An ill-ordered charity is no longer chaiity ; it is a fish 
 out of water, and a tree transplanted into a soil which is 
 not fit for it.' He compared this inconsistency of mind, 
 which exhibits so great a deficiency of good sense and 
 judgment, to the caprice of those epicures who wish to 
 have fresh cherries at Christmas, and ice in the month 
 of August, not being satisfied with eating of each thing 
 in its proper season. 
 
 " There is nothing so common in the world, and 
 perhaps out of the world, as dissatisfaction with om* 
 state in life. When the enemy cannot induce us to sin 
 by open temptations, he attacks us on one side, and 
 when he cannot make us stumble, he does all he can to 
 disturb us ; and tiiere are no more vexatious subjects 
 of disquietude, or productive of more bitterness, than 
 
ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 005 
 
 those which indine us to dissatisfaction with our state 
 in life. The Holy Spirit sneakinc' in the Scriptui-es cries 
 to us, Let every one abiae in the state to whieh God 
 has called him; and the evil spirit sujjj^ests nothing; so 
 mucli to us as to leave and change it. This is why i\m 
 ffi'eat secret is to stick firmly hy th# boat in which God 
 has placed us, that we may make a prosperous voyjiire 
 through life to the harbour of a blessed eternity. Sncii 
 was our Saint's opinion, which he thus expressed : ' Do 
 not amuse your mind with other mattei-s. Do not sow 
 your desires in other men's fields ; be contented with 
 cultivatiag" your own well. Desire not to be what you 
 are not, but desire to be excellently well what you Jire. 
 Let your thoug-hts be occupied with perfecting- yourself 
 in this, and in bearing* the crosses, be they g"reat or 
 small, which you meet therein. Believe me, this is the 
 g-reat secret, and the least understood of tlie spiritual 
 life. Each loves according to his taste, few according; 
 to their duty and our Lord s taste. What is tiie use ot 
 building; castles in Sj)ain (castles in the air), if our lot 
 is cast in Fmnce ? It is my old lesson. You know it 
 well.'" 
 
 To sum up, as g;iven by M. de Belley, the opinions 
 of St. Francis upon the relative importance of tJie vir- 
 tues as conducing" to our perfecti<m : 
 
 " 1. He preferi-ed those the practice of which is the 
 most frequent and common, to such as arc seldomer 
 called into exercise. 
 
 " 2. He would not have us judge of the comparative 
 supernatural merit of a virtue by the greatness of its 
 external act ; inasmuch as a virtue apparently small may 
 be practised with much g;i'ace and charity, and a more 
 s|)lendid one with a very feeble degree of the love of 
 God, which nevertheless is the rule and the measui-e of 
 their true value in His sig;ht. 
 
 " y. He preferred the more imivei-sal virtues to such 
 as are more limited in their reach, charity always 
 excepted. Foi instance, he had a hig-her esteem ior 
 prayer, which is the torch of all the rest; for devotion, 
 
2QG 
 
 8T. FRANCIS DB SALES. 
 
 wliicli consecnites all our actions to the service of God ; 
 for Imiuility, which makes us have a low opinion of 
 ourselves and of our actions; for "gentleness, which 
 makes us j-ield to every one ; for patience, which makes 
 us endure all thing's; than for magnanimity, magnifi- 
 cence, or liberality, both because they rej^ard few^er ob- 
 jects, and because they have less scope. 
 
 *' 4. The siiining" virtues were regarded by him with 
 a little suspicion; for their splendour, he observed, 
 gives a strong* handle to vain-glory, which is the very 
 poison of all virtue. . 
 
 ** 5. He blamed those who esteem virtues only ac- 
 cording to the value set upon them by the genei-ality 
 of men, who are very bad judges of that kind of mer- 
 chandise. Thus, they will prefer temporal to spiritual 
 alms; hair-shirts, fasting, and bodily austerities, to 
 meekness, modest}', and mortification of htart, which 
 are nevertheless far more excellent. 
 
 *'C. He reproved also those who wouVi vs y prac- 
 tise the virtues which were conformable to iheir ttiste, 
 without troubling themselves about those which more 
 especially belonged to their office and the duties of their 
 state, serving God according to their own fashion, not 
 according' to His will ; which is so frequent an abuse, 
 that we see numbei-s of persons, and these among the 
 devout, who are carried away by it." 
 
 TUB saint's mortification, and his opinions upon this 
 
 SUBJECT AND THAT OF PRATES. 
 
 " It was a golden saying of our Saint, and one I 
 have sometimes heard from his own lips, that he who 
 mortifies the moi>t his natural inclinations, attiacts the 
 greater abundnnce of supernatural inspii-ations ; and 
 assuredly interior and exterior mortification are a great 
 means to draw down upon us the favours of heaven, 
 pravided they Ije practised in and by chai'ity. As the 
 
so-. FHANCI4 DK !»Al.Et>. 
 
 liQ7 
 
 henrenly mnnnn wns not pfiven to Isrnel in tlie dcsoit 
 unil tljev limi consnineil nil the flour tliev Inid bn uiilit 
 out of Egypt, so Jilso the divine fuvoiii's uiv. schloiu 
 vouchsfufed to those wlio nve still ioliowiny; their worldly 
 inclinations. It wns his opinion, that mortificntion with- 
 out pi-nyer wns a body without a soul; and prayer with- 
 out mortification a soul without a body. lie wished 
 these two to be never sejmrated, but that, like Martija 
 and Mni-y, they should, without disputing', combine to 
 SQrve the Lord. He compared them to the two scales 
 of a balance, of which the one iises when the other 
 sinks. To raise the mind by prayer, the body must be 
 kept down by mortificiition, otherwise the flesh will 
 weig-li down the spirit, and hin<ler it from raising- itself 
 to God. The lily and the rose of priiver and contem- 
 plation are ])reserved and r "Mrished w*»ll only amidst 
 the thorns of mortification. '>'e ascend the hill of in- 
 cense, the symbol of pmyer, i 'v by the mountain of 
 the myrrh of mortification. J ense itself, which re- 
 presents prayer, exhales its fi-agTance only when it is 
 burnt; neither can prayer ascend to heaver with a sweet 
 odour, unless it proceeds from a mortified person. When 
 we ai*e dead to ourselves and our passions, it is then 
 that we live to God, and that He feeds us in time of 
 prayer with the bread of life and Hg'ht, and with the 
 manna of His inspirations. 
 
 " Our Saint had a remarkable saying on this sub- 
 ject : * We must live in this world as if our spirits were 
 in heaven, and our bodies in the tomb. We miist live,* 
 he said, * a dying* death, and die a living" and life-giving 
 death, in the life of our king, our flower, our sweetest 
 Saviour. To live a dying death, is to live, not accord- 
 ing to the senses and na^ n-al inclinations, bit according 
 to the spirit and the supematural inclinntions. It is a 
 death according to nature, Imt a life according to the 
 spirit. It is to cause the old man to die in us, that the 
 new man may arise fiom his ashes. And to die a living 
 and life-giving death is, to mortify and crucifv the flesh, 
 w;th its desires ; to cause the s]>irit to live ol' the life of 
 
 i I 
 
 
 i 
 
 t >i 
 
298 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DH SALES. 
 
 Brace, wliich has been merited for us by the life and 
 neath of Jesus Christ, who knows how to extract hfe 
 from death, as Samson drew the honeycomb and the 
 meat from the jaw of the devouring* lion. And as- 
 suredly, unless we die with Jesus Ciiiist, we shall not 
 live with Him ; and if w« do not suffer with Him, we 
 shall not reign with Him.' 
 
 " He was so adroit during Irs lifetime in his use 
 and concealment of instruments of penance, that the 
 servant who waited on him at rising" and going" to bed 
 never perceived them ; and deat i alone revealed this 
 secret, and manifested what he had always so carefully 
 hidden. One instance may suffice. His servant found 
 a little water left in a basin of a reddish hue, as if tinged 
 with blood ; not being* able to guess the cause — for it 
 was some water he had broug-ht the Saint to wash lu's 
 hands — he observed him so closely, that he ascertained 
 that he washed his discipline, which was tinged with 
 blood, in this basin, and then having thrown away the 
 water, a little remained at the bottom, which had given 
 rise to the suspicion. 
 
 " He often rej)eated this Gospel maxim, Eat stick 
 thint/8 as are set before you,* inferring that it was a 
 greater mortification to be ready to accommodate one's 
 taste to every thing, than always to choose t)je woi-st. 
 The choicest dishes are often, for all that, not the most 
 to our taste; and to receive them, therefore, without 
 testifying any aversion, is no small mortification. It 
 inconveniences him alone who thus puts a constitiint 
 upon himself. He considered that there was a want of 
 politeness, when at table, in taking or asking for some 
 dish not near you, declining what is in your ir.imediate 
 neighbourhood. This, he said, was to betray a mind 
 attentive to dishes and sauces. But if this be done, 
 not from sensuality, but in order to choose the com- 
 monest food, thei*e is in this proceeding a spice of af- 
 fectation, which is as inseparable from ostentation as 
 
 • Luke X. 8. 
 
ST. FRANCIS DB SALES. 
 
 
 smoku is from fire. As it is quite possible to bo g'lut- 
 tonoiis on a cabbage, so also may we be tem|)orate upon 
 purtriilg-es ; but to be indifferent to both i$> to exhibit a 
 mortification of the taste which is by rio means com- 
 mon. It is a more difficult act to eat of dainty fl>od 
 without relishing* it, than to restrict ourselves to coarse 
 fare of which wc partake with satisfaction. 
 
 "One day he bad been dii.j'p- on eggs noacheu in 
 water ; and when he had finiaLed them, he oegan dip- 
 ping his bread in the water, as he had done in the eggs. 
 Those who were at table with him smiled at observins* 
 this inadvertence, and having asked the cause, he said, 
 * You oertainly were very wrong to undeceive me of so 
 agreeable an illusion; for I assure you J never ate a 
 sauce with gi-eater relish. My good appetite, perhaps, 
 had not a little share in it ; so tiote is tiie proverb, that 
 hunger is the best sauce.' This little incident reminds 
 us of St. Bernard, who drank some oil believins; it to 
 be wine, so little attention did he pay to what he was 
 eating or drinking. 
 
 " One day, when i had helped him to rather a deli- 
 cate moi-sel, and observed that he had quietly pushed 
 it into a corner of his plate, and waf< eating something' 
 common, ' I have caught you out,' I exclaimed ; * what 
 becomes of the evangelical precept, £at svch thing* as 
 are set before i/ou T He replied very sweetly, * You 
 don't know, perhaps, that I have a very rustic stomach, 
 like a peasant's ; if I do not eat something solid and 
 coarse, I feel as if I had taken no nourishment ; these 
 delicacies seem like nothing at all, and do not support 
 me.' * My father.' I replied, * this is one of your tiicks; 
 these are the veils which you throw over your austeri- 
 ties.' ^I am really using no disguise,' he rejoined; 
 ' X speak with all frankness and sincerity. However, 
 to tell you my full mind without reserve or conceal- 
 ment, I do not deny that delicate meats are more pleas- 
 ing to my taste than coai-ser food. I do not wish for 
 high salting, spicing, and flavouring, to make the wine 
 taste better; we Savoyards relish 't sufficiently without 
 
1?30 
 
 8T. FRANCIS DR SAI.ES. 
 
 tlint ; but as we sit down to table rather to sustain our 
 bodies tlmii to giatity our sensuality, I take whut I 
 know nourishes me most and suiis me best ; for you 
 know we must eat to I've, not live to eat, tliat is, to be 
 an epicure about choice bits, and to give our attention 
 to dishes, and the variety of ibod before us. However, 
 to do honour to your good cheer, if you will wait pn- 
 tiently, I will satisfy you ; for after laying" the founda- 
 tion of the repast by these more solid and nutritious 
 viands, I will roof it in with the slates of the more deli- 
 cate morsels which you please to give me.* How many 
 virtues go to form this apparently trivial action ! Sin- 
 cerity, truth, cjindoui-, sinii)licity, temperance, sobriety, 
 condescendence, benevolence, prudence, equanimity. 
 Gracious souls, whose actions ar*^ all performed by the 
 movements of grace, produce nothing; trifling"; for the 
 works of God are perfect, especially the works of His 
 grace, and so they have glory for their crown. IV/ie 
 titer you eat or diinhy or whatsoever else you do, says 
 the Apostle, do all to the (jlovy of God.* 
 
 " Our Saint set a great value on a common mode 
 of life ; for this reason, he woidd not have the daugh- 
 ters of the Visitation, which he founded, practise • ny 
 extraordinary austerities in dress, sleeping, or food ; the 
 ndes he laid down for their food, fasts, and clothing 
 being similar to those observed by such as would live a 
 Christian life in the world. In which respect these 
 good daughtei-s are imitators of Jesus Christ, of His 
 holy Mother, and of the Apostles, who followed this 
 mode of life, leaving it to the judgment and discretion 
 of superiors to permit or prescribe extraordinary mor- 
 tifications, according to tne needs of individuals who 
 may require this treatment. Not btit that our Saint 
 valued bodily austerities; but he wished them to be 
 made use of with a zeal accompanied by knowledge, 
 thus preserving the purity of the body without ruining 
 the health. In a word, he prefen-ed the life of Jesus 
 
 • 1 Cor. X. 31. 
 
8T. FRANCIS DK BALKS. 
 
 231 
 
 Clirist to tliat of Jo!in tlie Bnptist. To hwtv how to 
 abotind, and hoir to Huffer tninf, nccoidinii- to tlic j>uy- 
 ina: of St. Paul, was n favourite text with liim. He 
 said that it was more diificult to know how to ahounil 
 than how to suffer want. A thousand fall at the left 
 hand of advei-sity, but ten thousand at the ri«ht of 
 prosperity; so hard is it to keej) a straif'-ht coui*se when 
 we want for nothing* : which made Solomon say, Oire 
 vie neither beggary nor riches ; give me only the necex- 
 (sariea of life* He who can kiss with an equahle mind 
 each hand of God, has attained a hig-'' *v)int of Chris- 
 tian perfection, and shall find salvatio.. .ri the Lord. 
 
 " He never took recreation for his own pleasure, but 
 only from r» spirit of condescension. He had no o-nden 
 attached *o the two houses which he occupied duri no- 
 bis episcopacy ; and he never took a walk except when 
 coni|vinj' necessitated his doinof so, or the doctor had 
 ordered it for his health ; for he was very punctual in 
 his obedience to such directions. Herein his practice 
 resembled the austerity of St. Charles Borromeo, who 
 could not endure that, after meals, the company he 
 received should amuse themselves by spending- their 
 time in useless conversations, saying" that it was un- 
 worthy of a pastor charp^ed with so larg-e and weighty 
 a diocese, and who had so many better occupations. 
 This was natural in a saint whose life was an especial 
 patteiTi of severity ; so that no one thought it strang-e 
 when he broke off the convei-sation on such occasions, 
 to seek elsewhere wherewithal to employ that g-reat zeal 
 for souls and for the house of Goa which consumed 
 him. Our Saint was of a moi-e indidgent sj)ivit, and 
 did not M^ithdraw from conversation after meals. When 
 I was on a visit to him, he used to seek to recreate me 
 after the labour of preaching". He would takg me out 
 in a boat on that beautiful lake which bathes the walls 
 of A.nnecy, or to walk in some pleasant g"ardens on it:< 
 fair banks. When he came to see me at Belley, he did 
 
 ♦ Prov. xxx. 8. 
 
 "% 
 
232 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DB SALES. 
 
 not decline siinilnr recreations, in whicli I invited liira 
 to inrhil^'e ; Init he never proposed them, or soug-ht 
 them of his own nccord. Agiiin, when persons 8]K)ke 
 to him of Imiiding^, paintingfs, music, hunting, birds, 
 plants, gardening*, flowers, he did not blame those who 
 took an interest in these things, but he would have 
 desired that they should make use of these occupations 
 us so manv means to raise themselves to God ; and he 
 hims(;lf set the example, by drawing from all these 
 subjects motives for heavenly aspirations. If beautiful 
 plants were pointed out to him, * We are,* he would 
 observe, * the field which God cultivates.' If some 
 magnificent and splendidly-adorned church, *We ai-e 
 the temples,' he would say, ' of the living God. that 
 om* souls were as richly adorned with virtues!' If 
 flowers, * When shall our flowei"s yield fruit V If rare 
 and exquisite paintings, ''I'here is.nothing so fair as the 
 soul, which is made to the image of God.' If taken 
 into a garden, he would exclaim, * when shall the 
 garden of our soul be sown with flowei-s, and filled with 
 fruit, weeded, dressed, and trimmed ? When shall it 
 be fenced in, and closed against every thing which is 
 displeasing to the heavenly Gardener ? On beholding 
 fountains, * When shall we possess within our hearts 
 the source of living water, springing up to life ever- 
 lasting ? How long* shall wo forsake the source of life, 
 to dig for oui"selves leaking cisterns ? 0, when shall 
 we draw to our content from the Saviour's foun- 
 tains r " 
 
 M. de Belley gives other similar instances, and 
 concludes with these words : " Thus he beheld God in 
 all things, and all things in God ; or rather, he beheld 
 but one tiling — God only. 
 
 " Our Saint used to say that by interior recollection 
 we retired into God, or drew God within ourselves. 
 * But when and where can we liave recouree to it ? At 
 all times and in all places. Neither repast, nor company, 
 nor change, nor occupation, can hinder it, as neither does 
 it hinder or interfere with any action ; en the contrary, 
 
ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 2:]8 
 
 it is a salt which seasons every kind of meat, or nitiier 
 a sugar which spoils no sauce. It consists only in in- 
 terior looks between the soul and God, — of our souls 
 towards God nnd of God upon our souls ; and the simpler 
 this recolhjction is, the better. As for aspinition<), tla«y 
 are short butnrdent bounds towards God ; and the more 
 vehement and loving* tm aspiration is, the better it is. 
 All these bounds or nsitirutioiis are so much the l)etter, 
 as they are shorter. That of St. Bruno seems to me 
 very excellent for its brevity : ' goodness !* — as also 
 that of St. Francis : * My God, my all !'— of St. Augus- 
 tine : * To love 1 to die to self! to attain to God !' These 
 two exercises are mutually connected, and succeed each 
 other, as do the acts of inhalin<^ and exhaling. For 
 even as when we inhale we draw tlie fi-esh air from with- 
 out into our lungs, and in exhaling we breathe forth 
 warm air, so inhaling by recollection wo draw God 
 within us, and by aspiration we cast oui-selves into the 
 arms of His fj-oodness. Happy the soul whicii thus 
 inhnles and exhales ; for by this means it dwells in God 
 and God in it. 
 
 ** There are pei-sons who become discouraged in 
 prayer, and are even led to discontinue it, not on ac- 
 count c*' the difficulties they meet with, but because, as 
 they say, they are unfaitlil'ul to the resolutions formed 
 at that time, nnd drend incurring more guilt than if 
 they formed none at all. Our Saint looked upon this 
 as a very dangerous stratagem of the eneni}'. * Men 
 wait,' he said, * a wliole year to reap an ear of com 
 from a grain they have cast into the enrth ; and many 
 yeai-s to eat apples fi-om a pij) they have sown. "We 
 must never leave the exercise of prayer except to attend 
 to more important work ; and even then we must repair 
 the loss by frequent aspirations. And we must never 
 give over making resolutions during this exercise, for 
 they are the special fruit of prayer ; and although we 
 may not at once put them in execution, and may give 
 in and draw back on tiie fii-st occasions, nevertheless 
 those seeds do not fail to take root in our hearts, and 
 
?04 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DE 8ALKS. 
 
 to Ijoar fniit at another ueason, even wlu'n we Imvo no 
 recollection of Laving' made tiicin. And supposin*^' we 
 accumplisiied nothing fiirther by tiiese rcsoh(tion.s tiian 
 exercising ourselves in spiritual coui-o^-e, these acts of 
 goodwill would still be pleasing to Goil, who vnder- 
 gtaniLt otir thomjhtg afar off\ and whoM'arclws out our 
 path and our lin/'.* Supposing we did no more than 
 the pupils who take lessons in a reading or fencing- 
 school, it would still be something ; and such an one, un 
 the old saying has it, will run away to-day, who will 
 fight valiantly at some future time. We must never, 
 then, lose heart, but sav with the prophet. In the Lord 
 I put my truHt : how then do you say to my soul, Get 
 thw array from hence to the mountain lihe a sparrow /f- 
 Why art tlwu cast down, O my soul, ana why dost 
 thou disquiet ine ? Hope thou in God.l Yes, we will 
 indeed still give praise to Him, and serve Him some 
 day, for He is my salvation, my strength, and my ti-ue 
 God.' 
 
 '^ I asked our Saint one day if it was not better to 
 choose one single point for the subject of our prayer, 
 and to dmw from it one affection only and one resolu- 
 tion. He replied, that unity and simplicity in all thing's, 
 but more particularly in spiritual exercises, was always 
 preferable to multiplicity ; that it was onl}' beginners 
 who were advised to take several for the subject of their 
 meditation. With regard to the multiplicity of affec- 
 tions and resolutions, he said tiiat when spring was pro- 
 digal of flowers, then it was that the bees made less 
 honey, inasmuch its, taking pleasure in hovering about 
 over this abundance, thev did not allow themselves time 
 to extract the juice and essence of which their hone\- 
 comb is formed. Drones, he added, make a «reat deal 
 of noise and very little profit. When asked whether 
 it was not better to return frequently to the same affec- 
 tion and resolution, the better to imprint them on the 
 soul, he said that we ought to imitate painters and 
 sculptors, who accomplish their work by means of re- 
 
 • Ps. cxxxviii. 3. t Ps. x. I. J Pi. xlL 12. 
 
ST. PUAVrlS I)K SAI.KS. 
 
 
 itrnitfd strokes of tlio ix-ncil mul tlio eliiM'l ; ni.tl tlrt 
 to make a depp iminossion on imr hearts it uus luccs- 
 wuv often to repent the ^nlne thin^". He aihh'il, th:it 
 OS in s\vimniin{y those wlio tljrow their ajins and U'vs 
 rapidly about sink, wliereas tliey oug-ht to move fhrni 
 j^ently and leisurely, so also tJjose who nro too eaj»«'r 
 in prayer consume themselves in vain reflections, and 
 their dissipated thoug;hts torment their hearts.* 
 
 " In reply to the question, how we are to understand 
 the saying", attributed l)y our Saint to the pfreat St. 
 Anthony,- that he who is en«»-a|;'ed in prayer ought to 
 have his attention so completely occupied witli God 
 that he oug-ht even to forget he is praying, inasmuch 
 as this reflection upon l:is act implies attention, and if 
 not in itself a distraction, is at least an occasion of dis- 
 traction, by opening the door to it, I reply by our Saint's 
 doctrine on this subject, that we must keep our soul 
 steadily fixed in ]>rayer, without allowing it to cast otf 
 upon itself to observe what it is about, or if it is pray- 
 ing to its own satisfaction. Alas ! our satisfactions and 
 consolations do not satisfy the eyes of God, but only tlmt 
 miserable love and care which we bestow upon ourselves, 
 in which God and con'^ideration for Him nave no pait. 
 Children certainly, whom our Lord points out to us as the 
 models of our perfection, have, generally speaking, none 
 of this solicitude, particularly in tlj<?ir parents* company ; 
 they cling to them, without turning round to contem- 
 plate their own satisfactions or consolations, which they 
 enjoy, it is true, but in all sim])licity, and without cu- 
 riously considering their causes and effects ; love being 
 suflicient occupation to them, and allowing them to do 
 nothing else. He who is very attentive lovingly to 
 ijlease the heavenly Lover, has neither the heart nor the 
 leisure to contemplate himself, his mind continually turn- 
 ing in tlie direction in which love impels him. He did not 
 approve of minds which were given to too much reflec- 
 tion, making tviundred considerations upon trifling mat- 
 Tliey Mbmble, he said, silkworms, which im- 
 
 tei*s. 
 
 • Job xvii. 11, 
 
236 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DK 8ALE9. 
 
 prison nnd pntnn^-le themselves in their own work. Thesfl 
 |)erpctiml reflections upon self nnd our own nctions take 
 up a g'rootdcnl of time, wliich might bo more profitohly 
 employed than in lo'Qking so constantly at what we ara 
 ahout. Dy dint of looking to see if we are doing things 
 w«>Il, we do them ill. Each occupation has its apjiro- 
 priate time ; thera is a time for action, and a time for 
 reflecting on our actions. The ])aintcr does not stop at 
 every stroke of his brush to judge of his work, but only 
 at intervals. 
 
 *' Our Saint was so great a friend to unity, that all 
 multiplicity was, if not disag>reeable to him, at any rate 
 suspicious. He approved highly of the advice attn- 
 buted to St. Thomas, to make some one book our spe- 
 cial study, if we would study to advantage. Accord- 
 ingly, he applauded those who for their spiritual guid- 
 ance attached themselves to some one book of devotion, 
 such as 77ie Spiritual Combat, his own favourite book; 
 TVie Method of Sermng God, which with his sanction 
 I chose for myself; The Following of J emu Chnst; 
 Louis of Granada's Guide, or his Memorial, nnd such- 
 like ; not that he would set aside others, but he wished 
 them to come in as accessories, and as it were com- 
 mentaiies on the chief book. He was of the same opinion 
 with respect to spiritual exercises. He wished ]>ei*8on9 
 to choose one of these exercises for more frequent prac- 
 tice ; either the presence of God, which he specially re- 
 commended ; or purity of intention, which he much 
 approved ; or submission to the will of God, which he 
 highly esteemed ; or self-abandonment into God's hands, 
 and self-renunciation, which he valued much, as in- 
 cluding generally all Christian perfection. In like man- 
 ner he would have us choose some particular vii-tue, 
 as humility, gentleness, patience, mortification, prayer, 
 mercy, anii such-like, for special practice ; just as reli- 
 gious institutes, which cultivate some distinguishing 
 virtue, which constitutes their spirit, wi^ut neglecting 
 the otliers. Upon this principle he dioWot augur well 
 of those pei>sons whom he saw fluttering from one exer- 
 
ST. FIlANri.H DK SAI.KS. 
 
 0« 
 
 2:\7 
 
 ci?P to nnothor, from onn book to nnotlipr, from onp imw- 
 tice to another; coin|mrin<r tlicm to drones, who uli^ht 
 on overv tiowor without cxtriictinjr honov fmni anv; 
 ever Ifnrninjr. without pvjm* iittaininj,^ to th«» true science 
 of suintH; always g'athorinir, collcrtinjr, and heajiinp^up, 
 without lx'coniin«»- rich, Wnuse they put every tiling 
 into A bag' with a hole in it, and dii;* cir.tern.s for them- 
 selves which ' :'l not hold water; restless spirits, who, 
 seeking peaof. . spiritual inches, find it not, — like p<M*- 
 sons smitten witii the maladv of icalousv, to whom 
 every thing* ftu-nishes materials for its maintenance, and 
 nothin*^ givos relief. With reference to this subject of 
 rntdtiplicity, he told me he preferred one ejaculatory 
 prayer u* aspiration repeated a hundred times to a hun- 
 dred f jrtculati'ns oacli said once, oUeging the examj>le 
 of the saints as St. Francis, who sometimes passed 
 whole days ii;id week? in re|)eatinj;' • My Oo<l is my All !* 
 and St. Bruno, *0 Goodness!' and St. Teresa, 'AH 
 that 13 ^lot God is iiothin<jf.' And he added, that the 
 longjr a bee tarries on a flower, the more honey it ex- 
 tracts." 
 
 With reg-ard to dryness and aridity in prayer, the 
 Saint's opinions are recorded several times by M. de 
 Belley : " * We always love,' he said, * the sweetness 
 and delightful suavity of consolations ; nevertheless, the 
 rig-our of aridities is more rich m fruit ; and though St. 
 Peter loved the mountain of Thabor, and fled from that 
 of Calvary, tlie latter nevertheless is the most profitable, 
 and the blood shed upon the one is more desirable than 
 the brijrhtness which environs the other. It is better 
 to eat bread without sug-ar, than sugar without bread. 
 Blessed is that soul which remains faithful in the midst 
 of drynesses and deprivation of all senr^ible consolations. 
 T-^ey form the crucible in wliich the pure g-old of charity 
 is perfectly refined. Happy he who bears this trial 
 with patience; for having" been tried and purified in 
 this manner, lie shall receive the crown which God has 
 promised to those whom He loves and who love Him. 
 When God,' he said, ' deprives us sometimes of those 
 
i 
 
 r 
 
 238 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 :5on>()liitions, and of the sense of His presence, it is in 
 Xihn' that our heart should cleave to nothing" sensihle, 
 but to Him only and His good ])leasure ; as He dealt 
 with her who desirjid to embrace and clinff to His feet, 
 seiiilinf^ her elsewhere with these words, Tavch me not ; 
 but f/o till my brethren^ &c. Jacob certainly was able 
 to tiike off the skin with which his mother had covered 
 his neck nnd hands, because it did not adhere to him ; but 
 if any one had endeavoured to tear off Esau's, it would 
 have been very painful, and would have made him cry 
 rnit. So also when we ciy out upon God's withdrawing 
 sensible consolations, it is a sign that they clav«5 to our 
 henrt, or that our heart was attached to them ; but when 
 we bear this privation without com|)Iainrng', it is a very 
 evident mark that God alone is the portion of oiu* heart, 
 and that the creature does not snare it with Him. 
 Blessed is the soul of which God only is the lord and 
 the possessor.' " 
 
 t 
 
 TUB saint's love OV HIS ENEMIES.— PATIENCE AND KINDNESS. 
 
 " A friend of his having- confessed to him that he 
 found no duty of Christianity so difficult to practise 
 as that of the love of enemies, * As for me,* he said, * I 
 don't know how my heart is constituted, or if it has 
 pleased God to make me an altogether new one, but I 
 not only exijerience no difficulty in complying; with this 
 command, but I have such a pleasure in it, and feel so 
 delightful and peculiar a sweetness in it, that if God 
 had forbidden me to love them, I should find it very 
 hard to obey Him.' 
 
 " Having received a notable insult from an in- 
 dividual, and bavins' endeavoured to appease him by 
 urging" several e"ood reasons with incomparable sweet- 
 ness, he concluded by saying", * After all, I would have 
 you to know, that if you had put out one of my eyes, 
 J would look at you with the other as affectionately as 
 if you were the Ijest friend I {assessed.' ' Shall we not 
 
8T. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 2ll\ 
 
 l»onr,' he would say, 'with those whom (lod Tlimsel 
 heai-s, havini>; hefore our eyes that fiieat example, Ji'su 
 Christ, praying; on the cross for Ilis enemies? Wiu 
 would not love him, this dear enemy for whom Jesus 
 Christ prayed, and for whom He died !' 
 
 '* People would occasionally come and tell him tha 
 he was evil spoken of by some pers^ons who asserted 
 strangle thinq-s of him. Instead of excusinji];: and de- 
 fending" himself, lie would r«'j)ly with sweetness, * Is 
 tluit all they say t really, they don't know all. 
 Thev Hatter me, tliev spare me, I see thev have more 
 
 i>ity for me than envy, and wish me to he better than 
 am. Well, God be j)raised ! I must correct myself; 
 if I do not deserve bhime in this matter, I deserve it in 
 some other ; it is anv how treating: me witii mercv to 
 be so lenient of censure.' If some one undertook his 
 justification, and said the accusation was false, * Well,' 
 lie would reply, * it is a warning- to me to take care not 
 to make it true. Is^t not a favour to caution me to 
 turn aside from this pitfall 'f But who has ever told 
 us that we were irreprehensible ? Perhaps they disceni 
 my faults better than I do myself, or those who love 
 me. We often call ti-uths evil-speaking when they are 
 distasteful to us. What harm do j)eople do us by 
 having" an ill opinion of us ? Ought we not to think ill 
 of ourselves ? Such persons are not our adversaries, 
 but our partisans, for they join with us to work the 
 destruction of our self-love. Why be angry with those 
 who come to om* aid against so powerful an enemy ?' 
 It wa-< thus he made light of calumnies and insults, 
 considering that silence and modesty were quite suffi- 
 cient defence, without calling patience to our support 
 against such a trifle. 
 
 " Among the virtues, he highly esteemed that which 
 makes us bear with sweetness the importimity of our 
 neighbour. * A little gentleness, moderation, and mo- 
 desty,' he said, * are sufficient for this puijmse. People 
 talk as if patience was to be exercised only in bearing 
 those afflictions which reflect ciedit on v TTowevp** 
 
240 
 
 ST. FRANClb T)E SALES. 
 
 n-Iiile awaiting' these ^eat unci signal occasions, which 
 come but seldom dui-ing* our life, we neglect the lesser ; 
 and so far from making' any account of bearing with 
 our neighbour's importunity, we, on the contrary, reckon 
 tliose pereons as weak who put up with them* We 
 imagine that our patience is equal to the endurance of 
 great sufferings and signal insults, and we give way to 
 impatience at the mosi trifling aniioyance. It seems 
 to us as if we could assist, serve, and* relieve our neigh- 
 bour in gi'eat and prolonged illness, — and we cannot 
 bear with his tiresome humours, his want of polish, liis 
 incivility, but above all with his importunities, when lie 
 comes unreasonably and unseasonauly to take up our 
 time with what appear to us trifling and frivolous mat- 
 ters. To excuse our impatience we triumphantly allege 
 the value of time, of which an ancient writer has said 
 that it is pniiseworthy to be avaricious; and we fail to 
 observe that we oui-selves consume it in so many vainer 
 ways'than in bearing with our neighbour, and po^sihly 
 in things which are in themselves less important tlan 
 those he would occupy us with, and which we call loss 
 of time. When convei-sing with our neighbour, we 
 ought to take pleasure in it, and show that we do so ; 
 and when we are alone we must take pleasure in soli- 
 tude. But the misfortune is, that our minds are so 
 restless, that we are always looking behind us ; in com- 
 pany longing for solitude, and in solitude, instead of en- 
 joying its sweetness, desiring conversation. We ouglit 
 to have a more even and i-easonable temper of mind, 
 and in the time allotted to recreation love recreation ; 
 and in like manner love reading, praver, and work at 
 the times appropriated to them, as weft as silence when 
 commanded by the rule and by obedience. Thus we 
 may say with the proj>l»et, I will bless the Lord at all 
 timt'Sf His praise shall he ever in my month ; for it 
 is to bless an<l praise the Lord at all times, to refer 
 to His glory all our actions, whether good or indif- 
 ferent.'" 
 
 We have already seen St. Francis exhibiting this 
 
 i 
 
8T. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 241 
 
 h 
 
 ( 
 
 virtue in a striking manner in his own practice. Here 
 is a further instance reconled by M. de Belley : 
 
 " During^ the last visit he made to Paris, where he 
 remained about eig-ht months, he was in such request 
 on all sides, that he had to jireach almost every day ; 
 this brought on an illness, which, though of short 
 duration, was very dangerous. Some of his friends, 
 anxious for his health, warned him that he was under- 
 taking too much for his strength ; to which he made 
 answer, that they whose office constituted them the 
 lights of the world, ought, like torches, to consume 
 themselves in order to illuminate others. But, not 
 satisfied with this, they added, that it rendered tiie 
 word of God less precious in his mouth, the world only 
 valuing what is rare ; every one runs to look at the 
 moon, but no one gets up earlier to see the sun rise, and 
 yet it is much the most admirable luminary of the two. 
 
 * I should certainly, then,* replied the good Bishop, 
 
 * have to appoint a vicar to refuse for me ; for the veiy 
 word I announce, teaching me that we are debtoi*s to 
 all men, and that we must not only lend but give our- 
 selves to all who ask for us, and that true charitv nei- 
 ther seeks nor consults its own interests but those of 
 God and its neighbour, how could I bring myself to 
 disappoint and send away sucli as ask for me ? Not 
 to speak of the rudeness, it aj>pears to me that it would 
 be a great defect of fi-atemal love. How far removed 
 are we still from the class of those two gi-eat saints, 
 one of whom was willing to be blotted out of the book 
 of life for his brethren, and the other to be anathema 
 and separated from Jesus Christ, which comes to the 
 same thing !* 
 
 " On one occasion he was asked to preach on a 
 festival ; he immediately acquiesced ; and upon one of 
 his servants reminding him that some days previously 
 he had promised to preacl^ elsewhere the same day, 
 ' Never mind,' he saicl ; ' God will give us the grace to 
 multiply our bread. He is rich in mercy to such as 
 call upon Him.' " M. de Belley adds that, " Being 
 
242 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DB SALES. 
 
 assailed with entreaties to consider his henltli, he cut 
 the matter short by saying, * I assure you, that if I had 
 been asked for a third Hermon the same day, I should 
 have less trouble of mind an.l body in delivering- them 
 all, tluiU in refusing. Must we not consume ourselves, 
 body and soul, for tliis dear neighbour whom our Lord 
 so lovod as '0 d'e of love for him ?' " 
 
 M. de Bellty tells us that he practised literally, 
 both in temporal and spiiitual things, the Gospel in- 
 junction to give to whoever asks of us, and assures us, 
 from his own experience, that he never made a just re- 
 quest of him but he granted it, or gave him a refusal 
 more just than his request, and more just even accord- 
 ing to his own judgment; his refusals, moreover, being 
 seasoned with so much graciousness tliat they were 
 infinitely more pleasing than the favours of many who 
 grant them so ungraciously as to make them no favoui-s 
 at all. '' And I never heard," he continues, " of his 
 having ever refused any reasonable service which was 
 requested of him." 
 
 The accessible disposition of this sweetest of saints 
 encoiu'iigt'd numbers of women to have recoui-se to his 
 spiritual advice, and to seek his direction. This was 
 made matter of reproach to him, and the Bishop of 
 Beliey relates how some one abruptly taxed him, one 
 day, with being constantly surrounded by them. " The 
 Saint gently reminded him that so it was with our 
 Lord, and that many murmured at it. * But/ resumed 
 his assailant, who had made this remark leather lightly, 
 
 * I really don't know what amusement they find in it, 
 for I do not perceive that you keep the conversation up 
 very briskh', or that you say any gi-eat nmtt«)r to them.' 
 ' And do you reckon for notliing,' replied the Saint, 
 
 * letting them have their say ? The}' most certainly want 
 ears to listen to them, more than tongues to reply. They 
 talk enough for themselves and for me too; possibly 
 it is this readiness to listen to them which forms their 
 attraction, for there is nothing a loquacious person likes 
 so much as a quiet and patie.t listener.' The other, 
 
 ,■>.'. 
 
ST. PRASnS DE 8ALS9. 
 
 343 
 
 . 
 
 com inning- tlie same fi-eedora of obsei-vation, said that 
 lie iiiul watched liis contessional, and had taken notice 
 that for one man tliore were crowds of women w!io be- 
 sieged it. ' What wonder .'' he nqjlied ; * this sex is 
 more disposed to pietv ; this is whv the Church apphes 
 to it the epithet oi' decout. W« iild to God tliat men, 
 who commit mncli worse sins, liad as much inclination 
 for penance !' The other, getting- bohler everv minute, 
 now asked liim if more women wei*e saved than men. 
 * Seriously sju'aking,' said the Saint, ' it is not for us to 
 j)ry into the secrets of (jlod, or to be His coimselloi-s ;* 
 and by this answor ho cv short the convei-sation." 
 
 'Jhat he, nevertheless, well knew how to unite cir- 
 cumspection with kindness, is thus exemplified : 
 
 " There was a prelate who would not })ermit any 
 woman, no matter who slie might be, to enter his 
 house, gTounding his conduct ujmn the example and 
 counsel of St. Augustine. He bad accordingly caused 
 a kind of parlour to he constiiicted, with a species of 
 griUe, in a chapel, where he spoke to them. The Saint, 
 who loved this prelate, without blaming this sevei ity, 
 limited i imself to laughing pleasantly at it, saying, that 
 this bishop was only half a pastor, since he separate*' 
 himself thus from the moiery of his tioek. Upon the 
 complaints which were made to him on the subject, 
 he j)ron)ise(l to speak to the prelate. The bishop, in 
 his defence, alleged his age (for he was still young), his 
 fear of calumnious tongues and of the snare into which 
 such convei-sation led, the advice of the ancient fathei-s, 
 the good example thus held out to other ecclesiastics, 
 and many sucli-like reasons. Our Saint praised his 
 zeal and caution, but observed that, without practising 
 this external severity, there was an easier, surer, and 
 less inconvenient means, and one le«s subject to censure 
 or interference. ' Never speak to women,' he said, 
 *■ but in the ])resence of othei-s ; and charge 3'our at- 
 tendants never to lose sight of you when you have \o 
 confer with them. I do not mean that it is necessary 
 they should invariably hear what you say; for that 
 
244 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 would not be always expedient, as these matters often 
 ivg^unl the conscience ; uut let them be within si«»:ht, 
 and witnesse*« of yoiir behaviour ; and if you will com- 
 mission one of your el:aplp'ns, the same to whom you 
 commit tlte ch lif^e of yotr interior, to admonish you 
 concerning' vou, Jepoitmeni'; ; ad actions, believe me thjit 
 tin's will b<[» worth .>]] ^\e jrri' .ig^ in the world, wen* it 
 even of irou and bristiing^ v* itL spikes.* Now the {idvice 
 he gave was vhat he himself practised ; for though his 
 house Wii: open to every one, he never spoke to women, 
 wherever he mijrht be, without lacing" attentively watched. 
 He p^'xve s^iotlier piece (;f advice touching lettei-s. * Do 
 not write to women,' he said, 'excej)t in answer to 
 their !etTfi*s, unless i u ve be some urgent necessity ; but 
 never of your -nvn accord, save in the case of indi- 
 viduals beyond suspicion, such as a motlier, a sister, or 
 a very oJd person ; and let your lettei-s even then be 
 only occasional and brief " 
 
 The needy never applied to him in vain, and his 
 purse, poorly fiimished as it ever was, never closed at 
 the voice ;f the suppliant. We have a specimen here 
 of his readiness to give, and his unwillingness to refuse 
 even those whom some might have considered little 
 worthy of his liberality : 
 
 " A person made bold to beg" him to lend him 
 twelve crowns, and insisted on giving liim a written 
 promise of payment, in spite of the Saint's disinclination, 
 who not only did not require it but objected to having 
 it, and this promise by the borrower's own desire was 
 limited to the term of a month. Tiie month was pro- 
 longed to a year, at the end of which time the person 
 returned, and without alluding to the twelve crowns 
 already lent, asked for ten. The Saint, begging him to 
 wait in the reception-room, went to fetch the written 
 engagement, and rejoining him, said, ' You beg me to 
 lend you only ten crowns, here are twelve, which I wil- 
 lingly ffive you ;' so saying, he returned him his promise. 
 
 " Another begged to borrow twenty crowns, and 
 desired to give his written acknowledgment. The Saint 
 
8T. FRANCIS UK SALES. 
 
 245 
 
 had not always so Inro^e a sum at liis disposal ; never- 
 theless, he had so kind a iieart, that he v.-^wld have cut 
 himself into pieces for his noi";hhour. He beti:oug-ht him- 
 self, therefore, of a (l«'\ ice which would relieve the peti- 
 tioner, and yet render his liberality proportionate to his 
 means. He went to look for ten crowns, and returning-, 
 said, ' J have hit upon an expedient which will make us 
 both g-ain ten crowns to-day, if you will only believe 
 me.* ' How is that to ])e done, Monseigneur V asked the 
 man. * We have only,' he replied, * you and I, both of 
 us, to open our hands. Here are ten crowns, which I 
 give you as a pure donation, instead of lending" you 
 twenty; you gain those ten, and as for me, 1 shall 
 reckon the other ten as g-ood as g-ained if you will ex- 
 cuse me from lending you them.' 
 
 " Condescensiou to the humours of othere, and the 
 sweet but most reasonable endurance of our neighbour, 
 were his cherished and special virtues ; and he was con- 
 stantly recommending* tnem tc his dear children. He 
 often said to me, ' how much shoiter work it is to 
 accommodate ourselves to others, than to wish to bend 
 every one to our own humours and opinions ! The 
 human mind is a time min-or, which easily assumes all 
 the colours presented to it ; the impoiliant point is, that 
 we should not resemble the cameleon, which is sus- 
 ceptible of all except white ; for a conde.^icension which 
 is not accompanied by candour and purity is a danger- 
 ous condescension, and cannot be too diligently shunned. 
 We must condescend in every thing, even to the very 
 altar, that is, up to the point where God is not offended : 
 here are the limits of tme condescension.' 
 
 " Never did he utter a word of menace, or use an 
 angry expression to his servants ; and when they were 
 guilty of faults, he seasoned his reproofs with so much 
 sweetness, that they con-ected themselves from love, 
 without dreading a rod of iron, which they knew well 
 ho had not in his hand. One day, conversing with him 
 about the manner in which servants ought to be treated, 
 and observing that familiarity was apt to breed con- 
 

 240 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 tcmpf, 'Yes/ he ^jiid, ' unbeconiinjr, course, nnd repre. 
 lieiisible laniilisuitv , but never that which is civil, cor- 
 dial, proper, and virtuous ; for as it proceeds fi-om love, 
 love produces its like ; and true love is never without 
 esteem, and consecpiently without respect for the person 
 loved, seeing' that our love is, in fact, founded upon the 
 esteem in which wc hold him.' 'But,' said I, 'we 
 must then ^ve up every thing; to them, and let them 
 do as they like. ' No ; I only say that if churitv 
 reig-ns in oiu* hearts, she will know how to allot their 
 proj)er parts to discretion, pnidence, justice, moderation, 
 mag'naniniitv, as well as to humilitv, abjection, pa- 
 tience, endui'ance, and g-entleness. With regard to 
 servants, I must say, after all, they are our neighbours 
 and lowly brethren, whom charity obliges us to love as 
 ourselves; let us then love them as we do oui-selves, 
 these dear neighbours who are so near to us and so truly 
 our neigiibours, and who live under the same roof with 
 us and eat of our bread ; and let us treat them as oiu'- 
 selves, or rather as we should wish to be treated if we 
 were in their place and condition ; this is the best way 
 to behave to servants. It is true, we must not overlook 
 their faults when they are considerable, nor spare to 
 correct them ; but we must at the same time recognise 
 the service tliey render us ; and it is well occasionally 
 to testify our satisfaction with it, and our confidence 
 in them, and to show them that we account them as 
 brethren, or r ^ friends, whose necessities we wish to re- 
 lieve, and whose welfare we desire to promote. As a 
 puff of wind in the sails of a galley out at sea fetches 
 it on more than a hundred strokes of the oar, so also 
 we must admit that a friendly word and a token of 
 kindness will get more service out of a servant than a 
 huneiied gi-ave, threatening, and severe injunctions.' 
 
 Accoixling to hi.s great maxim of asking for nothing 
 and refusing nothing, he was in the ha])it of not declin- 
 ing little presents which the poor people would bring 
 him even on occasions of the administration of the sacm- 
 raents. It was quite edifying at such times to observe 
 
ST. PRAMCIS DG SALES. 
 
 247 
 
 . 
 
 Ae coiintPiinncft nnd kindness uitli whicli lie would 
 nccopt a handful of nuts, «'iiestn«its, or a|»|>lo<, or little 
 clieeses or <'}?g^, wliicii childrnn or poor people would 
 offer him. Othei-s would f^ive liiui {n-nee or farthings, 
 which he would accept, humbly tliankin^>- them. He 
 M'ould rec^ve dven three or four jK«nce (half-|)ence, 
 Enji-lish) sent him i'vom some villajfe for masses, which 
 he would he most punctiud in offerinfr. The money 
 which was g-iven him, he distrilmted to the poor, whom 
 ho met coming- out of church ; but the eatables he re- 
 ceived he carried away in his rochet or in his [Hx'kets, 
 settinji^ them on some little platters in his room, or hand- 
 ing* tiiem over to his steward, nnd directing; him to 
 serve thom uj) at table; saying* f«onietimes, Lahores 
 mnnmnn tvarum qnia manducabis; heatus es, et bene 
 tibi ('fit* 
 
 He had a special regard for innkeefiers who receive 
 travellei-s ; and if they were but civil and obligMng", he 
 reckoned them quite saints. He said that he saw no 
 condition in life which furnished gi-eater means of serv- 
 ing- God in our neig'hbour and advancing- heavenward, 
 because it keeps a man continually engiig^ed in woi-ks 
 of mercy, althoug-h, like the physician, he receives his 
 salftT}'. On one occasion, as he was entertaining us 
 after dinner by way of i-ecreation with ngi-eeable topics, 
 the conversation having- turned Uf)on innkeejjers, and 
 each having* given his opinion freely on the subject, one 
 of the party put fonvard the ])i*oposition, that inns were 
 regtdar places of pillage. The Saint was not pleased 
 with this observation ; but as it was neither the time 
 nor the place for administering a i-eproof, — and, more- 
 over, the person in question would not have received it 
 well,— he reserved it jwssibly for a more favoumble o|>- 
 portunity, and turned off the convei*sation by relating 
 to us the following anecdote : * A Spanish pilgrim,' he 
 said, ' with a pui-so not overloaded, arrived at an inn, 
 
 * " For thou sbalt eat the labours of thy hands ; blessed art 
 thou, and it shall be well with thee." Ps. cxxvii. 2. 
 
248 
 
 8T. FRANCIS OE SALR8* 
 
 where, having; fined hut ill, he had to pny so highly for 
 the little he had hml, that he called heaven and earth 
 to witness that he was ini|)oscd upon. There was 
 nothing" for it, however, but to pay ; and, being; the 
 weakest, he was ohlijied, into the barg-ain, to sinji" small. 
 Ho issued from the inn in a trreat state of llidig-nation, 
 like a man who has had his pockets picke<l. This inn 
 stood where two ways met, and with another house ot 
 entertainment facing it, a cross standing" in the centre. 
 This sug'gested to liim an idea wherewithal to relieve 
 his vexation. •* Truly," he exclaimed, " this place is a 
 Calvary, where our Lord has been crucified between 
 two thieves," meaning" the landlords of the two inns. 
 The master of the house at which he had not lodg-ed, 
 liaj)pened to be standiu}^ at his door, and, excusing; him 
 in consideration of his distress, quietly asked him what 
 wrong' he had done him, that he should ap|)ly such an 
 epithet to him. The pilgrim, whose capacity was not 
 limited to the use of his staff, answered quickly, * H:ivo 
 done, brother, have done ; you shall bo the good one,' 
 in allusion to there being" a good and a bad thief, one 
 on each side of our Lord. " I reckon you the good one, 
 for you have done me no wrong ; but what would you 
 have me call your neighbour, who has skinned me 
 alive ?" * After relating this story, he took occasion to 
 say gently thnt this j)oor pilgrim finished his outbreak of 
 anger with this civil turn ; Out that we must neverthe- 
 less avoid, as a general rule, passing a sweeping censure 
 upon nations or professions, calling them rascals, in- 
 solent fellows, or traitoi*s ; for although we might have 
 no one in particular in our eye, still the individuals 
 belonging to those nations or professions felt themselves 
 imphcated in such blame, and did not like being treated 
 in that manner. 
 
 " Our Saint, I must t^ll you, was so partial to inn- 
 keepei-s, that, when on a journey, he very expressly 
 forbade his attendants to bargain with them about the 
 price of any thing, and would have them put up with 
 any injustice rather than give them offence; and when 
 
8T. FRANCIS UE 8AI.E8. 
 
 240 
 
 informed tluit thoy wer« quiti' uiimisonuble, cliargingf 
 double and tr<;l)l«' the womi of thing's, lio wouK( rt'ply, 
 * We must not look merely to that; what account are 
 you taking" of their attention, their trouble, their loss 
 of rest, and oblijfing; behaviour.^ We certainly cannot 
 puy too hirhly for all that.* The result of this kind- 
 ness of our Saint, combined with the univei-sal renura- 
 tion of his piety, was, that the innkeej)er8 who knew 
 him would very commonly make no charge at all, 
 leavingf their remunemtion to his discretion, which 
 almost always awarded them more than they would 
 have asked. 
 
 " The saintly prelate had stich a tender love for the 
 poor, that in this res[)ect alone did he appear to make 
 some distinction of jiersons, preferring" them to the rich, 
 whether in spiritual or corjwral matters, acting" like 
 j)hysicians who hasten to attend those who need it 
 most. One day I was waiting" with many others for 
 my turn, while he was hearing the confession of a poor 
 blind old woman who begged her bread from door to 
 door, and as T expressed my surpnse afterwards at the 
 length of time she had detained him, he said, ' She sees 
 the thing's of God more clearly than many who enjoy 
 good eye-sight.* Another day I was boating with him 
 on the lake at Annccy, and the rowers called him Father, 
 and conversed familiarly with him. * Do you see these 
 good |)eople,* he observed to me, * they call me Father, 
 and they tmly love me as such ; how much lietter 
 do they please me tlian those compliment-payei-s who 
 call me Monseigneur !' 
 
 " He suffered the pains of sickness with a patience 
 acconr)| anied with so much love and sweetness, that the 
 sligJitcst complaint was never heard to escaix! his lips, 
 TiOT the smallest desire which was not conK)rmal)le to 
 the divine will. He never expressed the least regret 
 for the services which he might have rendered to God 
 and his neighbour had he been in health. He was 
 willing to suffer because such was God's good will. 
 ' He knows better/ he would say, ' than I do what suits 
 
260 
 
 •T. FMANCI8 DB SALES. 
 
 me; Int us not interfero with Him; it is tlie Lord, let 
 Him Uo what fwins g-ood in His eves. Lord, Tiiy 
 will }hi (lon<», not mine. Even so, lienvenly Fiitlier, it 
 is my will sinco it seems |>-ood in Thine eyes. Yes, 
 Lord, I will it ; may Thy hw and Tliy w;il he for ever 
 ong"raven in my heart !' If he was asked whether he 
 would take some medicine, or some hi*oth, or whether 
 he consented to be bled, lie wouhi make no other reply 
 than, ' Do what you will with the sick man ; God lias 
 placed me in tiie hands of the physicians.' Never was 
 any thing- like his simplicity and obedience, for he 
 honoured God in physicians, and knew that God has 
 giv(;n medicine its virtue, and commands us to honour 
 the physician, an honour which implies obedience. He 
 stated his malady without exag'g'erating' it by excessive 
 complaints, and without diminisiiins^ it by dissimulation. 
 The fii-st he reckoned to be cowaraice ; the second, du- 
 plicity. When the inferior pai-t was under the pressure 
 of acute pain, one might read in the expression of his 
 countenance, and above all of his eyes, the serenity of 
 the superior reg-ion, which shone through the clouds of 
 suffering" which oppressed his body. 
 
 " The Saint feeing at Pai-is in the year 1619, a 
 nobleman of distinction who had accompanied the princes 
 of Savoy on their visit to that city, fell so dangerously 
 ill, that the physicians did not think he could recover. 
 The nobleman in this state desired to be assisted by our 
 Saint ; he boreithe pains of his illness with considerable 
 fortitude, but his mind w^as disturbed about matters of 
 trivial importance. Upon which the Saint said to me, 
 ' how (teplomble is human weakness ! this man has 
 the reputation of a great soldier and statesman, and is 
 reckoned to possess an excellent judgment ; yet you 
 see with what trifles his mind is engrossed. He did 
 not lament so much being ill and about to die, as the 
 being ill and dying away from his country and home. 
 He deplored the loss of his wife's regrets and assist- 
 ance, and the absence of his childran, on whom he 
 might have bestowed his blessing. Sometimes he 
 
 
ST. FHANCIM DB BALES. 
 
 efil 
 
 
 ' 
 
 lonswl for lii« onlinnry pliysicinn, who un(loi*to(tcl Ins 
 constifution from ntfendance on liini for so in;iny vtnrs. 
 At other times he particuhnly enjoiru'd, iiuikiii;.'- it 
 
 his enrnest reiniest, that he sliouhl not he htuied nt 
 Paris, hut that liis hody shouhl he taken hack to his 
 own country, to he Iai({ in the sepulchre of liis ancestors. 
 Tlien ««»'iiin lie j»ave directions al)out his epitaph, aliout 
 the arranfjements for his removal, and the ceremony of 
 his funeral. He complained of the air of Paris, of the 
 water, of his medicines, of the physicians, surpeons, and 
 apothecaries, of his servants, of his lodj»"in{»', ol his room, 
 of his hed, of every thinjj^. In short, he could not die 
 in peace lecnuse he was not dying* in the place where 
 he wished to die. When he was told that he liad every 
 possihle assistance he could desire hoth for hody and 
 soul, that those whose ahsence he regretted would hut 
 liave added to his grief hy their presence, — to every 
 topic of consolation proposed he had admirahle answers 
 ready wherehy to ag-g-ravat^ his suifei-inw-s and add 
 poig-nancy to Lis sorrow, such ingenuity did he display 
 in tormenting" himself. He expired at last, fortifiea hy 
 the sacraments and tolerahly resigned to the will of 
 God.* The Saint made this comment to me, * It is not 
 sufficient to will what God wills; we must will it in 
 the manner He wills, and in every one of its circum- 
 stances. For instance, when ill, we must will to he m 
 since such is God's pleasure, and we must will to suffer 
 this particular complaint and not another, in this special 
 place, and at this time, as well as among; such jjei-sons 
 as it shall please God. In fine, our law in every thin^ 
 must he the most holy will of God. Such is the lesson 
 I learnt on this occasion.* • 
 
 " Our Saint was in the habit of saying" that the 
 meanest of all temptations was the temptation to dis- 
 courag"ement. When the enemy has mnde us lose nil 
 heart for our progress in virtue, he makes cheap woik 
 of us, and soon pushes us to the precipice of sin. To 
 correct this fault, the Saint said one day t« some one, 
 * Be patient with all, but s|)ecially with youi-self; I 
 
252 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 f ^ 
 
 inefin that you oug-ht never to be disturbed at your im- 
 perfections, and must always arise a-^ain with renewed 
 courage. There is no better way of accomplishing the 
 6j)iritual life than always beg-innin^ again, never think- 
 ing' we have done enough. And m fact, how shall we 
 ever bear with patience our nei^'hbours' defects, if we 
 are impatient with our own? How shall we be able 
 to reprove others in a >^L)irit of sweetness, if we correct 
 ourselves with spite, sharpness, and ill-temper. He 
 who is disquieted at the sight of his own imperfections 
 will never correct himself ; for correction, to be profit- 
 able, must proceed from a tranquil and sedate spirit.' 
 
 " Common minds," observes M. de Belley in an- 
 other place, " live well when all goes according to their 
 wishes ; but true virtue shows itself in the midst of 
 contradictions. The more contradictions our Saint met 
 with, the greater was his ti-anquillifcy, and, like the 
 palm-tree, tlie more he was beaten by the winds, the 
 deeper he struck his roots. Here are his own expressions 
 on the subject : * For some time past, full of oppositions 
 and contradictions which have come to break: in upon 
 my tranquillity, I have seemed to derive from them a 
 sweet and delightful peace, which nothing can surpass, 
 and I see in this a presage of the approaching establish- 
 ment of my soul in its God, which is truly not merely 
 the gi-eat, but the only ambition and passionate desir« 
 of my heart.' " 
 
 TOE saint's detachment feom earthly things, and his 
 
 LOVE OP POVERTT. 
 
 • 
 
 " There are earthly desires and heavenly desires. 
 Of these last we cannot have too great abundance ; 
 they are so many wings which raise us to God j they 
 are those wings of the dove which the prophet asked 
 of God, to fly after eternal rest. For the others, which 
 regard onl}' temporary and perishable things, and 
 which bind us to earth, we cannot have too few. St. 
 
BT. FRANCIS DK SALES. 
 
 258 
 
 HIS 
 
 A-Ugiistine calls them the glue of the spiritiml winprs. 
 From these sort of desires our Saint was exceedinufly 
 free. Here are his own words : * I wish for verv little, 
 and what I wish for I wish very little. I have scarcely 
 any desires ; and if I had to he^n life ag'ain, I should 
 wish to have none. Earth, indeed, i? of little value, 
 rather I should say of none, to him who aspires to 
 heaven, and time hut a shadow to him who is tending 
 to eternity.* 
 
 " Some one speaking-, one day, in presence of our 
 Saint, of a prelate of hig-h rank in the Church, said 
 that he was setting* all his sails to reach the dignity of 
 cardinal, and that his absence was the cause of some 
 confusion in his diocese. 'Would to God he were a 
 cardinal already !' said the Saint. I asked him why. 
 ' Because,' he replied, * he would then think of some- 
 thing better.' * What !' I exclaimed, • * of becoming 
 Pope next ? And who is to absolve him from such a 
 sin as that V * That is not what I mean, but the care 
 of souls, the art of arts, in the exercise of which we 
 can do the Lord the gi-eatest service.' ' But will not 
 this dignity,' I replied, ' interfere with his attention to 
 it V * It need not,' he rejoined ; * since in our days St. 
 Charles has so eminently succeeded ; but what I mean is, 
 that, no longer having the pursuit of this honour in his 
 head, his heart woula recal him, and he would bethink 
 himself of his pastoral obligations, which are of divine 
 right, and would attend to them with undistmcted atten- 
 tion, which would give gTcat edification to the Church.' " 
 
 M. de Belley adds, that St. Francis's prognostic 
 proved a true one. " Having attained when he least 
 expected it the coveted honour, this prelate valued it 
 little, and recalling to mind the importance of his epis- 
 copal duties, was about to return to devote himself to 
 them, when God, accepting his good will, called him 
 from this world, after he had enjoyed, with little satis- 
 faction for six months, what he had sought and laboured 
 for incessantly for thirty vears." 
 
 St. Francis, when free to choose, was as desirous to 
 
254 
 
 ST. FRANCIS DB SALES. 
 
 shun, ns this prelate was to seek, the dangers and re- 
 sponsibilities of exalted station. If he had roturned 
 from Lyons, where lie died, we learn from M. de Belley 
 that he entertained the desig^n of retiring-into solitude, 
 and after employing* so many years in the functions of 
 Martha, giving up the rest of nis days to the vocation 
 of Mary, resigning his bishopric to his brother, who 
 already acted as his coadjutor. 
 
 " ' When we are in our retreat,' he says, writing to 
 the prior of a monastery near his contemplated hermit- 
 age, ' we will serve God with breviary, rosary, and pen. 
 who will give me the wings of a dove to ny away to 
 this sacred rest, and to breathe a little under the shadow 
 of the cross ! There shall I await the moment of my 
 change : Exvectaho donee veniat immutatio mea.'* 
 " Alas !" adds M. de Belley, " God was preparing for 
 him a far other rest, the fruit of his labours. 
 
 " In the year 1619, when he visited Paris with the 
 princes of Savoy, he made a stay of eight months, 
 during which time it is impossible to tell the amount 
 of the services which, to the glory of God, he rendered 
 to souls. The sweetness of his character and conversa- 
 tion, which attracted every one like some heavenly per- 
 fume, so charmed the Cardinal de Retz (Archbishop 
 of Paris), that he desired to make him his coadjutor 
 Not expecting any opposition from oui oaint, he pre- 
 disposed the king in favour of his project. But the 
 holy bishop knew how to divert this ijlow with such 
 consummate skill, that he left the cardinal, though dis- 
 appointed at his refusal, full of admiration of his virtue. 
 He alleged various excuses for his declining the offer ; 
 among others the following, which pleases me much ; 
 that he did not think he ought to change a poor wife 
 for a rich one ; and that if he left his wife, it would not 
 be to take another, but to be without one, according to 
 the counsel of the apostle, Art thou loosed from a mfe? 
 Keek not a mfe;f adding, that having bestowed all his 
 
 * " I will expect until my change come." Job xiv. 14. 
 t I Cor. vii. 27 
 
•T. FRANTI?* DK SALK8. 
 
 V?00 
 
 ^IS 
 
 affections upon his church, he could not conceive any 
 or another. 
 
 " His bishopric (as has ])epn observed), owing* to the 
 depredations ofheresy, was extrenielv poor. To liim this 
 was matter of rejoicing", and we find him on one occasion 
 adroitly refusing- a pension which the king- (Henry IV,) 
 pressed upon his acceptance. An ecclesiastic, lie was 
 m the habit of saying (and St. Paul declares the same 
 of every Christian), who ha:: . od and raiment, and is 
 cot satisfied therewith, do- 'ot deserve the name of 
 an ecclesiastic, nor to hav' ? ' lor the portion of his 
 inheritance and of his cup. ' My bishopric,' he said, 
 * is worth as much to me as the archbisho, ic of Toledo ; 
 for it is worth to me heaven or hell, evt,.. as that of 
 Toledo to its archbishop, according as we each of us 
 acquit ourselves of our obligations. Godliness with con- 
 tentment is great gain.* My revenue suffices for my 
 necessities. Any thing* more would be too much. Those 
 who have more, only have it to keep a larger establish- 
 ment. They themselves, therefore, do not profit by it, 
 but their servants, who often eat without doino* any 
 thin^ for the interests of our crucified Lord. He who 
 Las less, has less account to give. He who has less 
 superfluity, has less to give, and less solicitude to reflect 
 to whom he shouid give. For the King of glory will 
 )ie served and honoured with judgment. Those who 
 have great revenues, sometimes spend so much that they 
 are as poor as I am by the end of the year, if tiiey do 
 not run into debt into the bargain. If we df sire only 
 what nature requu-es, we shall never be poor; if wliat 
 opinion requires, we shall never be rich. To get rich 
 in a short lime and with very little trouble, we must 
 not heap up money, but dimmish cupidity, imitating 
 sculptors, who perform their work by retrenching-, and 
 not paintei-s, who execute theirs by adding, lie will 
 never have enough to whom enough suffices not.' Above 
 all, he corld not bear to hear an ecclesiastic complaining 
 of poverty ; * for,' said he, * he entered into orders with 
 
 • 1 Tim. vi. 6. 
 
\ 
 
 250 
 
 8T. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 ft benefice, or with n, patrimonial title sufficient for his 
 muintenanco. Sncli being' tlie casn, wlmt cause of com- 
 plaint has be ? If lie produced a I'also title, or accei)te(l 
 an insufficient benefice, wbat be oug-bt to complain of 
 is bis own deceit or imprudence, not his poverty. But 
 let bim, alter all, remember that when be received the 
 tonsure be declared, in presence of the Churc'i tri- 
 umphant and militant, that God was the portion of his 
 inheritance ; and what can he want who has God and 
 His providence for bis portion ? Wbat can suffice bim 
 to whom God is not sufficient V 
 
 " Although they of Geneva withneld from bim 
 nearly all the revenue of bis bishopric aid that of his 
 chapter, I never heard him make any ci^mplaiiit; so 
 little were his affections fixed on eartlily things, nay, 
 so little attention did he pay them. He knew bow to 
 be satisfied with the slender remnant of bis bishopric. 
 ' Is not twelve hundred crowns of rent, after all, a g*ood 
 deal?' he would say. 'Are not these fine leavings? 
 The apostles, who were much better bishops than we 
 are, had not so much. We are not worthy to serve God 
 at our own expense.' He long-ed only ibr the conversion 
 of these souls, rebellious to the light of truth which 
 shines only in the true Church. Sometimes, speaking- 
 of his Geneva, his * poor, dear Geneva,' as be always 
 called it, notwithstanding its rebellion, he would say, 
 Bigbing-, ' Give me the persons, and take the rest. 
 Would to God we had lost the remainder, so as the 
 Catholic religion had as free an entrance into Geneva 
 fts it has into La Hochelle, and that we had a little 
 tflxi^j there' (this was many years before the capturo 
 of tiic latter place). This sweet hope he ever eherishfd 
 in his )y'V>m, ' It would then soon make progress.' 
 Kevei' wer« those words of the Psalm Super jiuviina 
 JBaM^« (hj the viators of Babylon) sung in choii, 
 l>ut \\m t\i')\.'/\,*i^ fev*>?ted to that unhappy city, the see 
 lA til* bisbof^ iiis predecewwis ; not that ha desired to 
 be Jii»«talled ti^ere in their !«mp and wealth, for he 
 eeteefttftd tl»« %iihayi> of the csoss above all the riches 
 
ST. FRANCIS DK 9ALBS. 
 
 267 
 
 , > 
 
 of EpTN'pt, but bpcauso lie was toiched with inwnnl 
 pn'ipf onuMit tor the loss of so many souls. AVlion lie 
 said liis office in jirivato, and iocit<»d this same I'salni 
 wita his chaplain, tears tlowrd from his eyes. 
 
 " I was wondmng", one day, how he could support 
 
 MS house with 
 
 so 
 
 lender 
 
 68 
 
 a revenue. * It is God,' ho 
 ?air, 'who multiplies the five loaves.* Pressinpf him 
 to explain to me how this took place, ' It would he no 
 miracle,' he replied very sweetly, * if I could explain 
 it. Are not we in a blessed condition to live thus by 
 miracle ? It is the mercies of the Lord that we are not 
 conmnned.^* 
 
 " One day he said to me, showing me a coat which 
 had been made for him, and which i)e woi*e under his 
 cassock, * My people work little miracles, for out of an 
 old coat they have made me quite a new one; have 
 not they macle a smart one V ^ This miracle,' I replied, 
 ' seems an improvement upon that which the children 
 of Israel experienced, whose clothes did not weai' out 
 during* the forty yeai's they abode in the desert; for 
 here we have old ones made new again.' 
 
 " He said that the covetoasness of the eyes had 
 this evil in it, that it never looked below itself, but 
 always above ; and so those who were infected with it 
 never enjoyed any peace or solid content. The moment 
 a man desires to be greater or richer than he is, the 
 dignity and property he possesses seems as nothino" to 
 him ; and when he has attained the object of his wishes, 
 his api)etite is sharpened by indulg'ence, and his mental 
 dropsy makes him increase his thii*st by drinking* ; so 
 that he is constantly moving on without ever reaching 
 the goal, death coming sooner than the accomplishment 
 of his ambition and his hopes. The Saint had not only 
 set bounds to his desires, but either he had no desire 
 for exaltation, or he looked upon his station as much 
 above his desires. He often marvelled (such was his 
 humility) that God should have permitted him to be 
 raised to the dignity 1 e held, setting so high a value 
 
 • Lam. iii. 22. 
 
268 
 
 8T. FRANCIS DE SALES. 
 
 on it that he trembled when he reflected upon tlie bur- 
 den which liad been hiid upon him. As lie entoitained 
 a frreat esteem for his neighbour, he wondered at be- 
 holding* himself placed as superior over persons whom 
 he believed to be better fitted and more worthy than 
 himself." 
 
 THE SAIKT'S PIETT AND SPECIAL DEVOTIOKS. 
 
 " It was a saying of the Saint, ' We must never 
 talk of God nor of the thingrs which concern His ser- 
 vice, — that is, of religion, — at random, and by way of a 
 topic, and to make conversation, but always witli deep 
 respect, hiph esteem, and genuine feelinc".' Again, 
 * Speak always of God as God, that is, with reverence 
 ana piety ; not to give yourself importance or to set 
 yourself up to preach, but in a spirit of sweetness, cha- 
 rity, and humility.' The firet piece of advice is ad- 
 dressed to those who speak of religious matters as of 
 any other subject of conversation, without regard to 
 time, place, or pei-sons, and with no other object than to 
 talk and pass away time ; a wretched abuse, of which 
 St. Jerome complains in his day, saying, that all the 
 arts and sciences had their adepts, to whom alone 
 it appertained to speak with authority about them ; it 
 was only Holy Scripture and theoloo-y, which is the 
 root of science, which were so unwoithilv treated, that 
 you heard people at table deciding questions relating* 
 to them, and that not only in private houses but even 
 in taverns ; hair-brained youths, ionorant mechanics, 
 silly old men, — in short, the vulg^ar of all cla'jses, — taking 
 upon themselves to give their opinion on the deepest 
 mysteries of the faith. The second counsel is for tiiose, 
 whether men or women, who affect to pass in society 
 for being' very learned and df^eply versed in spiritual 
 and mystical science, maintainiii|r their opinions with 
 warm til, ill -temper, sharpness, irritation, obstinacy, 
 pride, making more noise than those who are more in 
 
 
8T. FIIANCIS UK SAM'S. 
 
 250 
 
 the rlg-lit than themselves, but wlio havo not snch 
 htrong; heads and loud voices; as it' it added any thing* 
 to the solidity of an arg^uuient to make a great hlusttT. 
 The Saint concluded by saying, * Never, then, speak of 
 God or of i-eligion formally or as a topic of conversation, 
 but always with attention and devotion ; and this I say 
 to correct a notable vanity observable in many per- 
 sons, who make a profession of piety, and who on every 
 occasion utter holy and fervent words in a conventional 
 manner and without giving them any tliou^-ht; and 
 after having uttered them they fancy themselves to be 
 such as their words testify while it is no such thing.' 
 
 " He considered that among the marks of j)re- 
 destination, one of the strongest was a love of hearing- 
 the word of God according to the teaching of Jesus 
 Christ.* To hearken to the voice of the She[>herd is 
 the mark of a good sheep, who will one day be placed 
 at the right hand to hear those w^ords, Come, ye blcmd 
 of My PatJiey. But he would not have us to be idle 
 and profitless hearers of this word. He would have us 
 put it in practice ; and he said that God was j)repan'd 
 to grant our prayers in proportion to our efforts to 
 perform what he set before us by the mouth of the 
 ambassadors of His will. Among those who take a 
 pleasure in hearing the word of God, he remarked that 
 a defect is apt to insinuate itself, namely, acceptance of 
 
 Eersons ; * as if this salutary bread and this water of 
 eavenly wisdom were not as profitable to the soul when 
 brought by a raven as by an angel, I mean by a dis- 
 agreeable and bad preacher as by a good and pleasing 
 one.* St. Charles Borromeo always read the Scriptures 
 on his knees, as though he had been listening to God 
 speaking from Mount Sinai in the midst of lightnings 
 and thunders ; and our Saint, whether speaking in 
 public or writing or reading in jirivate, desired that we 
 should ever handle it with the very grt^atest reverence. 
 He did not like a preacher plunging at once into the 
 mystical sense before he had first expounded tlie literal j 
 * John viii. 47; xiv. 21. 
 
200 
 
 8T. FRANCIS DE SALKS. 
 
 tliis, he said, was to constnict tlie roof of a liouse before 
 luring' its foundation. Holy Sci-ipture was to be ti-euted 
 witli more solidity and reverence." 
 
 M. de Belley proceeds to relate an instance of his 
 exactness in the apj)lication of any text of Scripture. 
 
 " Preaching- one day before him, I happened to 
 apply to the contag-ious example of bad company that 
 saying' of the prophet, With the holy thou wilt he holy., 
 und with the pei'verse thou wilt he perverted ;* a very 
 common application. I perceived at once thnt he was 
 not satisfied ; and when we were alone he asked me why 
 I had so strained this passage, knowing well that such 
 was not the literal meaning-. I replied that it was in 
 the way of allusion. ' So I undei'stand it,' he replied ; 
 * but you ought at least to have noticed that that wns 
 not the literal sense ; for according- to the letter it refers 
 to God, who is g-ood — that is, merciful — towards those 
 who are good, and evil — that is, severe — towards those 
 who are evil ; punishing- the one, and showing- mercy 
 to the others.' Conclude how exact he himself was 
 when handling- the wo)"d of God, since he was so strict 
 with others, — he who was incomparably more indulgent 
 towards others than towards himself. 
 
 " He recommended spiritual reading- as a food of the 
 soul, which was at hand every where and at all times, 
 and which could never fail us ; wherens we cannot alwnys 
 hear preaching, or have guides and spiritual directors, 
 nor can our memory always recall exactly all we have 
 heard in sermons and in public or private exhortations. 
 He wished us to provide ourselves with books of piety, 
 as so manv matches of holv love, and never to let a 
 day g;o by ■;» ithout making use of them. He would 
 have us read with great respect and devotion, regarding 
 them as so many missive lettere sent by the saints in 
 h(5aven to point us out the w'ay thither and encourage us 
 on our journey, ft must be confessed, that there ai-e 
 no safer directois than those departed ones who speak 
 
 For the 
 • Psalm xvii, 2G, 27, 
 
 with such a living voice in their writings. 
 
ST. FRANCIS DK 3ALKS. 
 
 'J61 
 
 mo~t jxiit, tlicy wow tlie intorjirotrrs ot'tlio will of rind, 
 nii:l His !Mnl)assnflt)i\s for dixjXMi^inj,* His woid, t!io 
 l)rfi;i!l of wliich tliov broke to little ones with tlit'ir 
 toiijues, which were to them ns ju-ns ; while, :irrt'r 
 dentil, their pens serve as tonjfues hy w- iiiclt they spcrik 
 to us. If any obscurity or difficulty is to be met with 
 in their works, we may have recour-e, for its umlei- 
 stfindinj^- and elucidation, to the assistaneo of scmie aide 
 an<i experienced ])erson. He stronj^ly reoouuneinhnl 
 reading; tlie lives of the saints ; saying", that it was 
 the Gospel in ja-actice. We shall at the least dciivo 
 from th«>ir perusal a fiieat love for juety, pnnided we 
 read with Ijiunility and a de>ire to imitate the saints. 
 Like the manna, we find therein whtitever flavoiu* ple:ises 
 our taste. From st) many different flowers it is en^y 
 to extract, like industrious bees, the honeycoml) of ex- 
 cellent ])iety. Althoug-li the lineaments of the Spirit 
 ofljod in souls are as various, and even more so, than 
 the features of our faces, still it is true that we can 
 draw from tliem something" to imitate, or at any rate 
 wherewithal to admire the g-race of God, which has 
 Morked such g-reat thing's in and by them. And if this 
 admiration should be all that we derive, would not this 
 be an excellent way of praising* God and the oj)erations 
 of His grace ? 
 
 " He was in the habit of saying, speaking; of the 
 two sacraments of Penance and the Holy Eucharist, 
 that tiiey were like the two poles of the Christian life : 
 that l)y the fii'st wo renounced all sin, surmounted all 
 tfniptations, and stripped oui-selves of the old man ; and 
 that by the second we put on the new man, Jesus (jhrist, 
 to walk in justice and holiness, g'oing" on from virtue to 
 virtue to the mountain of perfect ion. He admired much 
 that tliought of St. Bernard, who wished his relig-ious 
 to attribute to the frequent use of this saci-ament of life 
 all the victories they {gained over their vices, and all 
 the prog'ress they made in virtue, saying that it was 
 there that they drew water with jov from the Saviour's 
 fountains. He said, that those wfjo soutrbt excuses to 
 
202 
 
 ST. FnANCIS DB SALES. 
 
 dispfinsp ?;»ern from fronirnt cnmimmion, were like 
 tlioso 1! vi('v{ g-uests in the jt;irul)le wlio excited the imj^er 
 of the innster of the house, silthoujiij their reasons of 
 refusal seemed tolernblv nhiusihle. So ne sav tliev are 
 not sufficiently perfect ; and how are they to become 
 so, if they keep away from the souire of jdl perfection ? 
 others plead their weakness, but twis is the bread of 
 the strong"; others, infirmity, but here is the physicinn; 
 others, tliat they fire not worthy, but do(!s not the 
 Church put these words into the mouths of the holiest: 
 Lordy I am not wortlnj tluit Tlwu /ihoi h/cst en fa' vn- 
 dcr my roof?* othei-s, tiint they are overwholmerl with 
 business, but here is One who cries to them, Come to 
 Me all you that labour and are burdened, and I jrill 
 rejresh you ;t others, that they I'ear to receive to tlieir 
 condenination, but have thoy not reason to fear being* 
 condemned for not receiving-? others allege humility, 
 but this is often a false humility, like that of Achaz, 
 which was op|)osed to the glory of God while feigning; 
 to fear to tempt Ilim. And how are we to learn how 
 to receive Jesus Christ well except by receiving- Him, 
 as we learn how to do every thing- else well by dint of 
 doing- it? His sentiments with reg-ard to the com- 
 nnmion of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in the 
 Most Holy Sacrament of tlie Eucharist were very sweet 
 and tender ; and reverential fear was so temj)ered by 
 divine love, that it no way inteifered with confidence, or 
 confidence with reverence. He ardently desired tliat 
 we should annihilate ourselves in receiving- the Holy 
 Eucharist, after the ])attern of the Suviou'-'s self-an- 
 nihilation in communicating- Himself to us ; bowing- the 
 heavens of His g-reatness, that he may accommodate 
 and unite Himself to our lowness. 
 
 " Having- been horn during- the octavo of the As- 
 sumption of the Blessed Virg-in, he had always a pecti- 
 liar devotion towards lier. From his tenderest yeai-s, 
 we learn from his life, he devoted himself to honour 
 her, both by special suffrag-es and by a sini^ular love 
 •^ Matt. viii. 8. f Matt xi. 28. 
 
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•T. FRANCIS nr 8ALK3. 
 
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 for purity, consocmtiiij*" himself to God l)v ft vow of 
 perpetual virjj^inity under the protection and aid of this 
 Queen of Vir«^ins. You know that it was on the feast 
 of the Immaculate Conception that ho received epis- 
 copal consecmtiou, and duringf this holy ceremony that 
 interior unction 9fwhicii mer* .•, is made in iiis life. 
 I have often heard him pir lou or« the glories of the 
 Mother of God; and I n' . ir.fj's that his incom- 
 parable sweetness seemed tpeci.ii.y to fit him to dis- 
 course of this Mother of all benediction. And, indeed, 
 there was nothinj^ he so stronji'ly reconiTneiided his 
 spiritual children as dcfvotion to tiu; Blessed Virg-in. 
 
 *' It was a common staying- of his, * We do not suf- 
 ficiently bear our dead in mind, our dear departed ones ; 
 and the proof of this is, we do not talk often enoug-h of 
 them. We turn away from the siibject as g-loomy ; we 
 let the dead bury their dead; with us their memory 
 dies away with the sound of the tolling* bell, and we 
 never reflect that a friend>inp which death can dissolve 
 never was a genuine friendship, Scripture even tellinj;^ 
 us that true love is strong"er than deatli. Then it 
 is that praise can no longer be susj)ected of flattery ; 
 and as theie is a species of impiety in lacerating- the 
 reputation of the dead like wild-beasts who disinter 
 bodies to devour them, so is it a mark of piety to re- 
 cord their g"oo(l qualities, for we nre thus stirred up to 
 imitate them.' When any of his friends or acipiaint- 
 ance died, he was insatiable in speaking" well of them and 
 recommending; them to the prayei*s of ever}' one. lie 
 was in the liabit of saying', that in this one act of mercy 
 the other thirteen were included: 'Is it not,' he snid, 
 ' in a manner to visit the sick, to obtain by our ]>rayers 
 the relief of these jioor souls in purg-atory ? Is it not 
 to g'ive drink to those who so intensely thirst for the 
 vision of God, and who are in tlie midst of those fierce 
 flames, to g-ive them a share of the dew of our proyers? 
 Is it not to feed the hung'ry, to forward their deliver- 
 ance by the means which faith suggests to us ? Is it 
 not tndy to ransom prisoners? Is it not to clothe the 
 

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 Sciences 
 
 Corporation 
 
 23 WBT MAIN STRHT 
 
 WUSTIR.N.Y. USM 
 
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 ST. FRANCIS DB 8 ALES. 
 
 naked, to procure for them a garment of light, even 
 the light of glory ? Is it not to exercise a singular 
 hospitality, to obtain their introduction into the heavenly 
 Jeinisalem, and render them citizens of the saints and 
 of the household of God in the eternal Sion ? Ts it not 
 a gi'eater service to place souls in heaven than to buiT 
 bodies in the earth r As for the spiritual works, is it 
 not a work the merit of which may l>e compared to 
 givinfic counsel to the simple, coiTCCting those who eir, 
 teachmg the iQ;norant, forgiving offences, and bearing 
 injuries/ And what consolation can we give to the 
 soiTOwful of this world, comparable to that which our 
 prayers affoi-d to those poor souls which are under the 
 pressure of so heavy an affliction ? 
 
 '' His opinion, however, was, that we might draw 
 more consolation than teiror fi-om the thoughts of pur- 
 gatoiy. * Most of those,* he said, * who so much drend 
 purgatory, dread it irom intei-ested motives, and irom 
 the love they bear themselves, more than from regard 
 to the interests of God ; and this comes from the practice 
 of preachers who generally dwell upon the suffeiings 
 endlured there, ratner than upon the happiness and 
 ))eace uf the suffenng souls. It is true that their pains 
 are so great, that the most excruciating torments of this 
 lite are not to be compared to them ; but at the same 
 time the inwai-d consolations they enjoy are also so gi'eat, 
 that no prosperity or earthly enjoyment can equal it. 
 1. The souls enjoy an abiding union with God. 2. They 
 are pei-fectly resigned to the Divine Will, or rather, 
 tlieir will is so entirely transformed into that of God, 
 that they can only will what God wills ; so that weie 
 Paradise thrown oj)en to them, they would rather 
 ]>hmg-e into hell than ap{)enr before God with the stains 
 tliey still behold upon themselves. 3. They underoo 
 a loving and voluntary purification, because such is the 
 good will of God. 4. They desira to be tvhere tliey 
 are, in the manner which is pleasing to God, and for as 
 long* as He pleases. 5. They are impeccable, and in- 
 capable of tne least movement of impatience or the 
 
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 ST. PRAN'CIS DE SALES. 265 
 
 least shade of imperfection. 6. They love God better 
 than themselves or any other thing-, with a perfect, 
 pure, and disinterested love. 7. They are comforted by 
 ang-els. 8. They are secure of their salvation, in the 
 possession of a no{)e whose expectation cannot l)e con- 
 founded. 0. Their exceeding* bitterness is accompanied 
 with a profound peace. 10. If as respects pain it is a 
 species of hell, it is a heaven as rcs|)ects the sweetness 
 which charity diffuses in their hearts ; a chanty stroiig'er 
 than death and more ixiwerful than hell, whose lamps 
 are fire and flames. 11. Happy state, more to be de- 
 sired than dreaded, since its names are ilames of love 
 and charity. 12. Tenable, nevertheless, since they de- 
 lay the soul's ultimate consummation, which consists in 
 seeing- God and loving* Him ; and seeing and loving' 
 Him, to praise and glorify Him for all eternity.' lie 
 i«commended strongly on this subject the admirable 
 treatise on purgatory of the blessed Catherine of Genoa. 
 I often read and re-read it by his advice attentively, 
 and always with a new relish and fresh light ; and 1 
 must own that I never read any thing whicii satisfied 
 me so thoroughly. I even recommended it to some Pro- 
 testants, who were much pleased with it; and one learned 
 man, in particular, told me that had this treatise been 
 placed in his hands before his conversion, he should 
 hf»v» l)ef»n more moved by it than by all the argiimentfl 
 lie had heard upon the subject. 
 
 " But if this be so, it is said, why be so desii*Ous 
 to assist the oouls in purgatory? Because, notwith- 
 standing these advantages, the state of these souls is 
 one of gi'eat affliction, and truly worthy of our com- 
 passion ; besides which, it is Ijecause the glory they will 
 give to God in heaven is retarded. These two motives 
 ought to stir us up to obtain for them a speedy release 
 by our prayers, our fasts, our alms, and every kind of 
 cw)d work, but particularly by oflering for them the 
 Holy Sacrifice of^the Mass. 
 
 " He advised the pei*sons who consulted him to join 
 all the confrateinities of the places in which they found 
 
S66 
 
 8T. PRAirciS DB SALES. 
 
 themselves, in order to participate in all the good works 
 performed by them. He re-assured them as to the 
 mistaken fear they entertained of sinning, if they did 
 not acquit themsrslvos of cei-tain practices which are 
 rather recommended than commanded by tlie rules of 
 these confraternities. ' For/ said he, * if some of the 
 rules of religious orders do not bind under pain of 
 mortal or even of venial sin, how much less the statutes 
 of confraternities ! What is recommended to the mem- 
 bers of them is of counsel, not of precept. There are in- 
 dulgences for those who perform them, which those 
 who neglect them lose ; but this loss is altogether ex- 
 empt fi*om sin. There is much to gain, and nothing to 
 lose.' He wondered at so few pei*sons joining them. 
 He Attributed it to two causes. Some refrain A-om 
 scrupulosity, feaiing to take upon themselves a yoke 
 they could not bear ; others, from want of piety, looking 
 upon those who .joined them as hypocrites. 
 
 ** It was one of his maxims, that great fidelity towaitls 
 God was displayed in fidelity in little things. * He who 
 is economical of pence and. fni-things,' he said, * how 
 much more so will he be of crowns and pistoles !' And 
 what he taught he pi'actised carefully, for he was the 
 most punctual man that was ever seen. Not only in 
 the celebration of the services of the Churah, at the 
 altar, a*^*' in choir, but also when he said his office 
 in priv he observed the minutest ceremonies ac- 
 curate!) und faithfully. He followed the same i-ule 
 in his ciemonstrations of civility ; he never omitted any 
 thing. One day that I complained to him of his show- 
 ing me too much honour, 'What account do you take,' 
 he replied, * of Jesus Christ, whom I honour in your 
 person ?' Above all he recommended me to study the 
 Pontificate. ' It is for the pastors,' he said, * who are 
 the salt of the earth and the light of the world, to show 
 themselves patteins in all things.' He had oflen in his 
 mouth that admirable saying of St. Paul, Let ail thingn 
 be done decently and according to order"* 
 
 • I Cor. xiv. 40. 
 
 , 
 
 i I 
 
ST. PRAKCIS DB SALES. 
 
 267 
 
 We cannot better conclude than with a reference to 
 his favourite exercise of the presence of God, and to 
 the abundance of consolations with which this eminent 
 Saint was favoured. 
 
 ** He set such a high value on the exercise of the 
 presence of God, that he recommended it as our daily 
 oread. I say daily bread, because, as in feeding our 
 bodies we add bread to all our other viands, so also is 
 tliera no spiritual exercise which combines more con- 
 veniently and profitably with all our actions than that 
 of the presence of God. ^ Ah,' he exclaimed, * this is 
 the delightful exercise of the blessed, or rather the per- 
 petual exercise of their beatitude, accord ingp to those 
 words of our Lord, Their angeU always see thejace of 
 My Father mho is in heaven* For if the Queen of 
 Saba considered the servants and courtiers of Solomon 
 as very happy from being always in his presence, 
 listening to the words of wisdom which fell from his 
 lips, how much grater is the happiness of those who 
 are continually attentive to the holy presence of Him 
 on whom the angels demre to lookyf although they con- 
 tinually behold Him ! a desire which keeps up in them 
 a perpetual hunger to behold more and more Him 
 whom they contemplate ; for the more they behold Him 
 whom they desire, the more they desira to behold Him, 
 never becoming satiated with their continual satiety.' 
 Our Saint believed that the majority of the failings in 
 their dutr, of which pious persons are guilty, proceed 
 fi-om their not keeping themselves sufliciently in the 
 presence of God." 
 
 The following confession abundantly proves that in 
 that holy pi'esence he found the iitia of his life and an 
 anticipated Paradise. 
 
 ** * If you knew,' he said one day to an intimate 
 friend, * how God troats my heart, you would thank 
 His goodness for it, and beseech Him to give me the 
 spirit of coimsel and of fortitude to execute the inspira- 
 tions of wisdom and of understanding that He gives 
 
 • Matt, xviii. 10. 
 
 t I PeL i. 19L 
 
208 
 
 ST. TRANCI8 DB SALES. 
 
 me.* He frequently «aid the same thinr to myself, 
 thoug>h in other words. ' 0, how good/ ne exclaimed 
 sometimes, * is the Ood of Israel to tiiem that are of a 
 riffht heaH, since He is so to those who have such a 
 miserable one as I have, which gives so little heed to 
 His |2ni-ace and is so bent down to eaith ! 0, how sweet 
 is His spirit to the souls that love Him, and who se«k 
 Him with all their power ! Truly Ilts name is as oil 
 poured out. There is no need to wonder if many 
 courasi'eous hearts follow Him with so much devotion, 
 that IS, run with such swiftness and delight after the 
 odour of IFis ver fumes. 0, what gi-eat things does tiia 
 unction of Goa teach us ; and that with so sweet a light, 
 that it is difficult for us to discern whether the sweet- 
 ness is more agreeable than the light, or the light than 
 the sweetness ! I tremble, however, from fear lest God 
 should be giving me my paradise in this world. I do 
 not really know what advereity is. I never saw the 
 face of {loverty. The pains I have suffered have been 
 no more than scratches, which have only ruffled the skin. 
 Calumnies are crosses formed of wind, whose memory 
 perishes with the sound. It is little to have been free 
 from afflictions, but I am also gorged with temporal 
 aud spiritual goods ; I am up to my eyes in them ; and 
 in the midst of it all I remain insensible and ungi'ateful. 
 0, I beg of you, help me sometimes to thank God, 
 and to beseech Him that I may not eat my choice 
 moi*sel (literally, white bread) fii-st ! He well knows my 
 frailty and my weakness, and therefore He treats me 
 as a child, giving me sweet things along with milk 
 instead of more solid food. When will He give me 
 grace, after having enjoyed so much of His favour, to 
 sigh for a little under the cross? since to reign with 
 Him we must suifer with Him. We must indeed either 
 love Him or die ; or rather, we must love Him in order 
 to die, that is, we must die to all other love to live for 
 His love alone, and to live for Him alone who died that 
 we might live an eternal life in the arms of His love. 
 what a blessed thing it is to live in God only, to 
 
V 
 
 8T. FRANCIS DB SALES. 
 
 260 
 
 labour for God cnlj, and to rmoice only in God ! 
 Henceforward, with the help of Uod's grace, no one 
 shall have any hold upon me, and no one shall be any 
 thing to me, sare in God and for God only. I hope to 
 arrive at this when I shall have been truly humbled 
 before Him. Live, God ! it seems to me that all is as 
 nothing to rae save in God, in whom and for whom I 
 love souls with the greater tenderness. 0, when will 
 this natural love of kmdred, of worldly proprieties and 
 considerations, of correspondence, of sympatliies, and of 
 gitices, be purified and reduced to the perfect obedience 
 of piu« love, and of the good pleasure of God ? When 
 shall this self-love no longer sigh after sensible pre- 
 sence, proofs of affection, and external demonstrations, 
 but remain fully satisfied with the unvarying and im- 
 mutable assurance that God abideth for ever? What 
 can presence add to a love which God has made, and 
 which He sustains and preserves? What marks of 
 perseverance can one require in a state of unity which 
 IS God's work? Presence or distance will make no 
 change in the solidity of a love which God Himself has 
 formed.' 
 
 ** I confess," adds the good Bishop, " that my 
 heart, when listening^ to all these words from the mouth 
 of our Saint, burned within me, like the hearts of the 
 disciples goin^ to Emmaus ; for was not this indeed to 
 fling coals ot fire into my faCe? 0, when shall the 
 time come when in heaven we shall love unchangeably 
 and without intermission Him who has loved us with 
 an everlasting love, and who has drawn us to His love, 
 having compassion upon us 1" 
 
 THE XBID 
 
 to