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thematical pursuits, he did not testify the same indifference in respect to philosophy. He was much attached to Cartesianism*, then a new theory. A genius of this kind, hardy, bold, and vigorous, was prevented by religion alone from enering more fully into the controversy; but the violent attacks which these doctrines experienced from the theologians, instead of affrighting the subject of this eulogium, contributed rather to animate his zeal for persecured reason.

Meanwhile, Bossuet continued to form his mind to piety, by frequent journeys to the abbey of La Trappe-a spot, the very sight of which pointed out how far a lively and animated faith might render the most rigorous privations dear to those who cherished it; a spot which was at the same time well calculated to point out to the philosopher the nullity of ambition and of glory, as well as the consolation of retirement, and the happiness of obscurity.

The peculiar talents of Bossuet for the pulpit, became manifest from his earliest infancy. He was alrea dy announced as a precocious orator at the hotel'de Rambouillet, where merit of all kinds was summoned to appear, and to be estimated. Before a numerous and select assembly, most without preparation, and amidst continued bursts of applause, he preached a sermon from a text assigned to him, at a time when he was only sixteen years of age, and at eleven o'clock at night. This made Voltaire, who was so fertile in puns, declare that he had never heard any one preach either so soon or so late, (sitot ni si tard.)

In addition to such rare talents for eloquence, nature had 'endowed Bossuet with a prodigious memory; on this ocasion, he, as many other

The doctrines of Rene Des Cartes.

great men, may be adduced, in order to refute those common places about the antipathy of memory and judgment, on the part of such men as flatter themselves that nature has given them judgment, and at the same time bereaved them of memory,

Destined by his taste and hischaracter to eloquence and controver sy, Bassuet exhibited, as it were, on his very front, the talents of the theologian. On his appearance, the tone of the pulpit was immedi ately changed; for he substituted, to those indecencies which degra ded, and to that bad taste which rendered it in some measure contemptible, all the force and dignity befitting christian morality. He never wrote out his sermons, or rather he only transcribed the sum. maries, or arguments; for, after profoundly meditating his subject, he was content with committing the principal points to paper; he was accustomed, however, to cull and set down different expressions for the same idea; and, in the warmth of his action, he seized that which first occurred to the impetuosity of his genius. His printed sermons are only the remnants of an immense number of compositions, for he never preached the same one twice. They are to be considered, therefore, rather as the sketches of a great master, than as so many finished pictures. One of those men who make a parade of believing nothing, was desirous to hear, or rather to brave him. Toolofty to allow himself vanquished, but at the same time too just not to render due homage to a great man, the stranger freely acknowledged," that he was the first of preachers, in his opinion; and that it was by him alone that he could ever be converted.

In

umphs, Bossuet made his first essay as a theologian, by the refutation of the catechism of Paul Terry, a protestant divine, which was well received. But, what was still more surprising, these two friends ever remained so, notwithstanding their controversy.

In the midst of his oratorical tri- the gods of the earth degraded by the hand of death, and plunged into eternity, like rivers deprived of their names, and of their glory, and mingled in the ocean with unknown streams." This sublime and pathetic orator made the whole court burst into tears, when, at the funeral of Henrietta of England, Duchess of Orleans, he himself, amidst sighs, pronounced the following emphatic words:

The reputation of Bossuet at length reached the court, where his sermons were listened to with rapture. Louis XIV., who was far a better judge than any of those who surrounded him, did not fail to confer on him many marks of his esteem; and the new orator at Versailles was well deserving of his protection, for, like most men of great talents, he was destiture alike of intrigue and Battery. An adequare recompense, which he never sought after, found him in the solitude which he loved, even amidst a court, for the king now nomipared him bishop of Condom. Perceiving in Bourdaloue, a suc cessor worthy of himself, and one formed after his own model, Bossuet immediately resigned the scep tre of christian eloquence to the hands of an illustrious rival, to whom he had opened and traced out that glorious career, and was neither surprised nor jealous at perceiving the disciple rushing further than the master. Soon after this, he confined himself entirely to another species of eloquence, in which he found neither a superior nor an equal that of funeral ora. tions. All those which he pronounced, exhibited the print of that bold and animated mind which produced them, and each of them was filled with those terrible truths that such as are in authority in this world cannot hear too much of, but which they are but too ready to forget. It was on those occasions, to make use of his own expressions, "that one beholds all APRIL, 1810.

comme

"O nuit desastreuse, nuit effroyable, ou retentit tout a coup, un éclat de tonnerre cette accablante nouvelle:

"Madame se meurt! Madame est morte!"

It was with the funeral oration of the great Conde that Bossuet terminated his career, and it has always been allowed to be a masterpiece.

Such was the general esteem for this prelate, that Louis XIV. selected him to educate the Dauphin; and the French Academy deemed itself fortunate in obtaining such ** an accession to its celebrated men. After his retirement, the Bishop of Meaux spent the greater part of his life in humane and charitable actions, and at length terminated it, April 12, 1704; honoured not only with the regrets of the Gallican church, but also of the French philosophers, one of whom has written his elegé.

The editor of the volume now before us has divided his subject into certain heads; and out of 389 different articles composed by this eloquent writer, he has selected the flowers. He begins, 1. with God; 2. Providence; 3. Man ; 4. the Soul; 5. the Conscience; 6. Truth; 7. Religion; 8. the Gos pel, &c. The subject entitled De la Liberte, is such as might have been expected from a courtier in lawn, lawn, during the despotism of Louis XIV. The same may be Z

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The following are the resolutions entered into by the Roman Catholic Bishops, at their late meeting in the metropolis. They are published in the form of a pamphlet, with suitable introductions and concluding remarks:

1. Resolved-That it appertains to the order, charge, and spiritual authority of Bishops in the Catholic Church, and is inseparable from their mission, to propose, entertain and judge, without any lay intervention, on points of Christian Faith and of general discipline; whereby the universal church is connected into one mind and one body, as the body of Christ.

2. Resolved-That we do hereby confirm and declare our unaltered adherence to the resolutions unanimously entered into at our last general meeting, on the 14th of September, 1808.

3. Resolved-That the oath of allegiance, which under the provisions of an Irish act of parliament, enacted in that behalf, is tendered to, and is taken by his Majesty's Irish Roman Catholic subjects, was agreed to and approved by all the Roman Catholic Bishops in Ireland, after long and conscientious discussion, and consultation had with the several Catholic universities and Individual authorities throughout

Europe; and that said oath contains such ample declaration of civil attachment, such total and explicit abjuration of all foreign pretensions, whether spiritual or temporal, to intermeddle in the civil establishments or laws of this part of his Majesty's dominions, and such authentic protestation of our doctrines in the only matter then affording ground for slander or jealousy, as that said oath furnishes a security, such as we believe is not demanded by any other state from native subjects, and beyond which no pledge can be effectual, short of the overthrow of our consciences, or such other perpetual degradation of our communion as will tend to disquiet the government, notwithstanding an ostensible emancipation, by the sense of indignity on the one hand, and by the continuance of suspicion on the other.

4 Resolved-That said oath, and the promises, declarations, abjurations, and protestations, therein contained, are notoriously, to the Roman Catholic Church at large, become a part of the Roman Catholic Religion, as taught by us, the Bishops, and received and maintained by the Roman Catholie Churches in Ireland: and as such are approved and sanctioned by the

other

other Roman Catholic churches. So that it appears to us utterly impossible that any way is left to any foreign authority, whereby the allegiance of Irish Catholics can be assailed, unless by that which God averts, by open invasion; in which extreme supposition, as we will persevere by God's grace to do our duty, so we have certain hope, that every true son of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland, will eagerly prove how well his religion can stand with the most heroic allegiance.

5. Resolved-That the Roman Catholic Church teaches, that of the Christian polity a most essential part is the principle and tendency of an unceasing communication in divine things amongst all the faithful, of which the tempo. rary suspension is a misfortune to mankind, but the perpetual abrogation by human law must be considered by us as manifest oppression of conscience.

6. Resolved-That the immove able doctrine neither contradicts the duty, nor impedes the zeal of the most faithful and generous at tachment to kings and to lawful authorities; but, on the contrary, exalts this duty to a divine station; because our Religion, of which that communion is the bond, teach es fidelity above temptation, unexampled obedience to laws, and that, in all human duties, we must surpass, for conscience sake, the measure of them who serve merely for reward, or through fear.

7. Resolved-That the Primacy of the Roman Catholic Church is known, of fact, to have devolved on his holiness Pius VII. now, as we have reason to believe, a secluded prisoner in the hands of the public enemy; but that such his imprisonment is not a deposition, nor does it amount to a deposition; because no bishop may rightfully

be put down from this rank, unless by voluntary resignation, or canonical judgment; and the rank of the bishop of Rome being sole and single, imports in the term its inherent authority, which is not subject to any portion of the Roman Catholic Hierarchy, however respectable, or to any lay Catholic authority, however extensively or even universally predominant.

8. Resolved-That in his said holiness, his captivity notwithing, the right still abides of giving communion and confirmation to bishops of the Roman Cathole Church; whereby bishops, so confirmed, are recognised by one another, and by the Church at large -and that such condition is become a landmark of the Catholic discipline and ecclesiastical peace, throughout all the churches.

9. Resolved-That the spirit of fellow-suffering with the afflicted Church of Christ, and of abhorrence of the misdeed, by which the salutary function of the Papal See has been intercepted through open violence, against the meekest of men; as well as the sentiments of duty, fraternity and reverence, towards our guiltless brother and spiritual chief, forbid us to take up as spoils any part of the right of the Apostolic See, so invaded, violated, and trodden down, for a time, by sacrilege.

10. Resolved-That by an acc of the same day with these presets, and encyclical to the Roman Catholic Churches, we have judged, concluded, and declared, that during the public captivity of his said holiness, and until his freedom shall have unequivocally be manifested by some act, not merely of approbation or cession, we refuse, send back, and reprobate-and, moreover, for ourselves, we annul and cancel as to any effect, all briefs or pretended briefs, bulls or pre

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tended bulls, rescripts, even as of his proper motion, and certain knowledge, bearing title as from his said holiness, and purporting to be declaratory of his free will, or of any resignation of his papal office; and that, during the said captivity of Pius VII. we will account the years of his pontificate, and of no other.

11. Resolved-That, if it should please God, that his said holiness should die, as now, a prisoner, we will continue to account the holy see vacant, until full information and canonical proof shall be had by us of the free, canonical, and due election of his successor.

12. Resolved-That before the date of an Irish act of parliament, giving the last relief to his Majesty's Roman Catholic subjects, and from that to this present time, the recommendation of us, Bishops, when concurring,, had been progressively advancing in weight and authority with the holy see; and, as we believe, principally from the following cause that we were known to be at once attached to the Roman Catholic Faith; neither sacrificing our religion to wordly hopes, nor making this freedom of conscience a cloak for malice; but inculcating religious and social duties, in the name of one God, the founder of both.

13. Resolved-That by the course latterly adhered to, two benefits were obtained, and were in progress to become a part of our ecclesiastical system; the one, that the choice of persons to fill the office of bishops, effectively originated from, and was circumscribed by us, so far at least as to make it inaccessible to any foreign tempoTal influence, or corrupt recommendation. The other advantage was this, that it held out our hierarchy to the world at large, as purely selected; and thus obtained

a distinction, which ultimately redounded to the honor of the tolerating spirit of his present Majesty's government.

14. Resolved-That any change at present, in our ecclesiastical appointments, expressly innovating upon our religious discipline, on the ground of its being perilous to the state, because a Roman Catholic, and this without a single instance of danger incurred, must at once degrade our Church in the estimation of Europe, as dishonoring its most prevailing Christian belief, by our implied acquiescence in a charge of its inadequacy to maintain the most perfect social faith; and must prejudice at home the interests of the public cause, by disabling our authority, which is, and has been, and will ever be exerted in that cause,

15. Resolved That the idea of making the elections of bishops entirely national, by confining said election to chapters alone, or to chapters and metropolitans, is superseded by the matters and considerations of the three last reselutions; is, moreover, not within competence; and though it had been free of the guilt of schism, would, in the present circumstances of the Irish Catholics, subject our religion to the most serious and unseemly disadvantages; and in our judgment, would most probably lapse into the sole and positive appointment of the crown.

16. Resolved-That as to the arrangements regarding our Church, and said to be intended for accompanying a proposal for emancipation of Irish Roman Catholics, prudence, and a regard for our duty forbid us to pronounce a judgment; whereas those rumoured arrangements have not been ascertained by us through any channel. However, we declare, that no spirit of conciliation has been

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