other facts serve to discredit the report, that he was originally designed for another profession.

In 1642 the Abbé Bossuet visited the metropolis of France. He entered Paris on the day made memorable by the return of Cardinal Richelieu, who came there to die, to use the words of Lamartine, "like Tiberius to Rome, amidst the silence of terror, and stained with the blood of Cinq-Mars and of De Thou, which he had just shed at Lyons."

Bossuet witnessed the cavalcade, and the proud and haughty cardinal borne along in his litter-the avant-courier of his funeral procession, for the hand of Death was already upon him; he died on the 4th of December, 1642, in the fifty-eighth year of his age. Bossuet also saw him carried to his grave with all the pomp and outward glory which could be displayed. What was the kind of impression produced upon the young ecclesiastic, what feelings agitated his breast, and what thoughts arose within him on these occasions it is hard to say, but we do know that he never forgot them. In them he saw the grandeur and the vanity of man, and he could not but reflect upon the character and course becoming one who had consecrated himself to the service of the altar of the Prince of Peace. Of Richelieu we have nothing to say; it is well known how firmly he held the reins of government, and how, although ambitious, overbearing, and unprincipled, he enabled his sovereign, not his master, to rule with a more absolute sway than his predecessors. But the minister and his monarch both came to the same tomb within a few months of each other. Louis XIII. died in the following May, and was succeeded by his son, who was then hardly five years old. This son took the government as Louis XIV., under the regency of his mother, and occupied the throne till 1715, or more than seventy years. Of him we shall have more to say in subsequent pages; at present we can only intimate his ascension. Events so striking and changes so great must have taught their own lessons to Bossuet, who, as we said, had just come to Paris. His object was to enter the university as a student of philosophy in the College of Navarre.

The head master or principal of this college at that time was Nicolas Cornet, who had been originally a Jesuit, and who was appointed syndic of the faculty of theology. When the Augustinus of Jansenius, published after the death of its author, had been condemned by the Pope, at the instance of the Jesuits, and the five propositions deduced from it, and pronounced heretical, had led to much bickering and heart-burning, Cornet took up the matter, and as syndic of the Sorbonne, denounced these famous propositions before the faculty of theology on the 1st of

July, 1649. The controversy thus raised was, however, not allayed; it continued during the lifetime of Bossuet, who himself took part in it, and was perpetuated after his death.

Cornet became particularly attached to Bossuet, and endeavoured in every way to promote his advancement. To his wise counsel and affectionate solicitude Bossuet referred in after life with becoming gratitude. Cornet died in 1663, and Bossuet pronounced over him a funeral oration in which he recapitulates the advantages derived by him from his master. "Can I," he exclaimed on this occasion, "refuse him some fruits of a mind which he cultivated with a father's kindness, or deny him some share in my discourses, after he has been so often their censor and their judge?"

His studies at Navarre were not confined to philosophy; he acquired a competent knowledge of the Greek language, and, according to Le Dieu, he read all the ancient Greek and Latin historians, orators, and poets. So thoroughly did he apply himself, and so strong was his memory, that he was enabled to repeat the choicest passages not only from the poets, but from the orators and historians, down to an advanced period of life. He was fond of descanting upon the classic authors, and of illustrating his characteristic descriptions by apt quotations. He was a great admirer of Homer, and equally partial to Virgil among the poets. He revelled in the declamations of Demosthenes against Philip; and among the orations of Cicero, he was particularly partial to that noble example of eloquence, the Pro Ligario. It was his custom to pronounce his judgment of the authors he had read, and opinions once formed by him were seldom changed. But while he studied the classics, he did not neglect the Scriptures, of which he acquired a knowledge which is apparent upon almost every page of his writings. In this diligent study of the Bible he was particularly encouraged by M. Cornet, who rightly judged that nothing was more important for a candidate for the priestly office. Like some other men of extraordinary genius, "he was never tempted to study the mathematics, not that he believed them useless, but because he was persuaded that an ecclesiastic could employ his time better than in dry speculations which had nothing to do with religion." Le Dieu says, however, that while he called mathematics a vain study for churchmen, he was not insensible to their value to others; and that sometimes he took pleasure in hearing great mathematicians explain their problems. The repugnance of Bossuet to mathematical pursuits will cause no surprise to those

a De Burigny, Vie de M. Bossuet, p. 10.

who observe the character of his mind, and who remember that he had worked out for himself a course which, while it required reasoning, demanded a more rapid, and was satisfied with a less exact, process of argumentation than was consistent with mathematical precision.

Philosophy was more attractive to him, and Des Cartes was his model and his master; a man, too, who during his lifetime' acquired a reputation which philosophers are not always sure of. Perhaps no men as a class have more need to leave their reputation to posterity. The afterwards-celebrated Huet was one of Bossuet's fellow-students, and relates that he has held many lively discussions with Bossuet in a friendly spirit, but in direct opposition to the system of Des Cartes."

Such was the progress made by Bossuet in the college, that he speedily attracted attention; and such was his attention to the duties of religion, that they scarcely knew which most to admire, his piety, his diligence, or his great talent. Yet hard as he worked, he found time to participate in the diversions of his companions, on which occasions, such was the heartiness with which he entered into them, one might have supposed they were his chief care. Through all his life he was characterized by the thoroughness with which he performed everything in which he engaged; he threw his whole soul and all his energies into it for the time being, as if it were the one thing which he had to do. Here lies very much, if we mistake not, the secret of his extraordinary influence; when other men who did things by halves quailed before their difficulties, and were defeated, he carried himself forward by the impetuosity with which he moved, and therefore seldom failed to reach his aim.

The College of Navarre, at the time when Bossuet studied there, was in a very flourishing state. Not only candidates for sacred offices, but young men of rank and fortune, who were destined for civic honours and employments, were among the alumni. Bossuet found friends among them all, and some of his old college acquaintances perpetuated their intimacy with him through life.

Probably the rivalry which existed between the university and the Jesuits, as to which should produce the greatest and most distinguished scholars, contributed to the celebrity of the college, of which mention has been made. Of course, if either party were fortunate enough to obtain some precocious genius, no time was lost in making known the fact, and exhibiting the prodigy to the delighted Parisians.

Des Cartes was born in 1596, and died in 1650.

Amica quidem ac acres tamen habitæ fuerant inter nos concertationes.

Now Bossuet was undoubtedly a genius, and one of such promise as was seldom met with among the university students. At the end of his first year in philosophy, therefore, he was selected to defend a thesis on philosophy before M. de Cospean, bishop of Lisieux. This prelate had considerable influence at court; he had been a disciple of the celebrated Justus Lipsius, and was now preacher-in-ordinary to the Queen-mother Anne of Austria, and grand-directeur of the ladies of the court. The circumstances which led to his elevation were somewhat singular. The Duke d'Epernon having heard of his remarkable powers of oratory, went down to the college of Lisieux, where Cospean was engaged as a teacher of youth. There he had an opportunity of hearing him; he was astonished, and returned to court full of the subject. Curiosity was excited; he was sent for, was heard, was admired, was appointed by the ladies as their spiritual director, and was drawn from his obscurity to be made in succession bishop of Aire, of Nantes, and of Lisieux. Cospean was much respected in the university, of which he was regarded as a principal support, and he had already made the acquaintance of Bossuet. Partly in honour of the bishop, and partly for the advancement and glory of the College of Navarre, Cospean was chosen to witness the display of the students. Bossuet acquitted himself admirably in the presence of the high ecclesiastical dignitaries who came, accompanied by others, on this memorable occasion. The force with which he argued, and the eloquence with which he spoke, were marvellous for a youth of sixteen years of age. Two of his fellow-students defended the same thesis on the following days, and with a success scarcely inferior to that of Bossuet. The university was elated; so much so, that it threw down the gauntlet of defiance to the Jesuits, and challenged them publicly to produce youthful philosophers of so much excellence.

The reputation thus acquired by Bossuet made him the idol of the university, but his fame did not stop there; Paris talked of him with wonder and delight, and prelates and nobles carried his fame to the charmed precincts of the court.

It was customary in those days, as it is not unknown in ours, for persons of quality and wealth, who had a disposition to promote the interests of men of genius and learning, to invite them to their mansions, where they were introduced to the society of the great, and had opportunities of exhibiting their attainments. Bossuet had a cousin of some consideration and influence, and he, being naturally proud of his youthful relative, was particularly attentive to him, and embraced every opportunity of making him known. In this way, he appeared at the Hôtel de Nevers,

He was

belonging to the Secretary of State, M. du Plessis-Guénégaud, and a famous rendezvous of the celebrities of the time. similarly introduced at several other places, both by M. François Bossuet, his cousin, and by the Marquis de Fenquières, who had known his father at Metz. The marquis, in particular, took Jacques Benigne on one occasion to the Hôtel de Rambouillet, which was among the most famous places for such gatherings as we have described. Here, one of the most remarkable events recorded of the early life of Bossuet occurred, and a brief narrative of it is indispensable, illustrating as it does the character and taste of the age, and the extraordinary courage and selfpossession of our hero.

Shortly before this circumstance occurred, in a conversation at the Hôtel de Rambouillet the Marquis de Montausier, to whose sister the hotel belonged, spoke of the extraordinary merits of young Bossuet, and offered to introduce him to her. He said that such was his genius, that if they would shut him in a room without books, and give him a subject for discourse, he would forthwith compose and repeat such a sermon as should give to them entire satisfaction. The Marchioness de Rambouillet listened with astonishment to the statement, and was very anxious to have its accuracy tested. A messenger was despatched to the college for the youthful abbé, who in obedience to the summons was conveyed to the hotel the same evening. In the course of some hours his sermon was ready, and he was ushered into the splendid saloon, where a large assembly of rank, wit, beauty and fashion had been gathered for the purpose of witnessing the display. It was eleven o'clock at night when he commenced his discourse, which in every respect answered the expectations which he had excited as the Roscius of the period. Among the company present was the celebrated Voiture, the critic and the wit. What he thought of the merit of the preacher is not recorded, but a piece of pleasantry in which he indulged has been duly transmitted to us. In allusion to the youth of the orator, and the lateness of the hour, he remarked that "he had never heard a preacher preach so early or so late." So true is it that a joke may be remembered when a sermon is forgotten: the subject and the discourse of Bossuet have alike passed into obli

vion.

The sermon just mentioned was not the only one of the kind, and there is a tradition of a similar exhibition in the presence of the Bishop of Lisieux and two of his friends, also bishops. The prelates were so well satisfied, that M. de Cospean promised our young orator to present him to the Queen, before whom he should have an opportunity of repeating the discourse to which