^0 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810- 



bustle of courtiers, of that delight 

 which is often excited in the pub- 

 lic, by an unexpected prosperity 

 and a premature elevation; in the 

 midst of the most sincere praises 

 which this splendid triumph of 

 virtue drew forth from the mouth 

 of every friend of religion and of 

 his country, one solemn, one aus- 

 tere voice was heard ; a voice, 

 which the heart of Fenelon had 

 been accustomed to interrogate 

 with docility for many years. It 

 came, to guard him against the 

 dangerous ebriety of success, and 

 to recall his mind to serious re- 

 flections upon the duties and the 

 dangers of his new condition. M. 

 Tronson wrote to him the follow- 

 ing letter : — 



" August, 1689. 



" You will perhaps be sur- 

 prised, sir, at not finding me 

 among the crowd of those who 

 have felicitated you upon the re- 

 cent mark of royal favour which 

 has been bestowed upon you. But 

 I entreat you, very humbly, not 

 to condemn me for this little de- 

 lay : I thought, that on an occa- 

 sion which so greatly interested 

 mc, I could not do better than to 

 commence, by adoring the designs 

 of God towards you, and to im- 

 plore for you the continuation of 

 his mercies. I have endeavoured 

 to do both according to the best of 

 my ability; and I can assure you, 

 that I felt afterwards a sincere 

 joy in reflecting that you had been 

 chosen. 



" The king has given, in this 

 choice, a proof of his piety, and 

 a striking testimony of his dis- 

 cernment ; and these are surely 

 very consolatory truths. The edu- 

 cation which his majesty has 



thought fit to confide to your care 

 has such an important connexioa 

 with the welfare of the state, and 

 the good of the church, that 

 every sincere lover of his country 

 must unfeignedly rejoice that it is 

 committed into such hands ; but I 

 very candidly confess to you, that 

 my joy is considerably mingled 

 with uneasiness, when I consider 

 the perils to whicii you are ex- 

 posed ; for it cannot be denied, 

 that in the ordinary course of 

 events our elevation only renders 

 our salvation more difficult. It 

 opens the door to the dignities of 

 the earth ; but we should tremble 

 lest it shuts us out from the eter- 

 nal greatness of heaven. It is 

 true, you may perform much good 

 in your present situation ; but you 

 may also become guilty of great 

 crimes. There can be no medium 

 in such a post ; the good or the 

 bad success has, almost always, 

 unceasing results. You are in a 

 country where the Gospel of Jesus 

 Christ is hardly known, and where 

 they, who do know it, use it only 

 as a means of recommendation 

 among men. — You live now 

 among persons whose language is 

 pagan, and whose example leads 

 too often towards things that are 

 perilous. You will behold your- 

 self surrounded by a variety of 

 objects which flatter the senses, 

 and which are only calculated for 

 awakening the most dormant pas- 

 sions. A more than ordinary de- 

 gree of grace, and an uncommon 

 portion of faith, must be necessary 

 to enable you to resist such violent 

 and such seducing temptations. 

 The dark mists which cloud the 

 moral atmosphere of a court, are 

 capable of obscuring the plainest 

 and most evident truths. It is not 



