199 I] 
“from it. He proves the impolicy of thus 
exciting the enmity and fufpicion of all 
Europe, and foretells that the alliance 
againft France mutt be perpetual, till her 
conduct becomes juft and moderate. He 
then draws a picture of the ftate to which 
the kingdom was reduced by all this mi- 
litary fuccefs. 
“ Meantime your people, whom you 
ought to love like your children, and who — 
have hitherto been fo affeAionate to- 
wards you, are dying of hunger.. The 
“culture of the land is almoft abandoned ; 
* 
the towns and villazes are depopulated ; 
all manufaétures languith, and no longer 
maintain the workmen. Commerce is 
no more; confequently you have deftroy - 
ed half the real ftrength within your 
ftate, in order to make and defend vain 
conquefts abroad. Inftead of drawing 
more money from this poor people, they 
fhould be fed and fupported. All France 
is become one great hofpiral, defolated 
and unprovided. The magiitrates are 
‘degraded and exhaufted. The nobility, 
‘all whofe property is under abeyance, 
live only upon ftate-letters .of credit. 
You are importuned by the crowd of 
people, who afk and murmur. It is 
yourfelf, Sire, who have drawn upon 
yourfelf thefe embarraffments; for the 
whole kingdom being ruined, you have 
all in your own hands, and no one can 
fub&ft bat on your donations.” 
He then plainly tells the king that he 
has loft, ina great meafure, the attachment 
of his people, whofe patience is at length 
worn out; and that there is the greateft 
difficulty in preventing aétual fedition. 
He next, with great force, difplays before 
his eyes his aétual fituation, and draws 
his charaéter. The following fentences 
are home frrokes. 
‘“< You willingly lend your ears, Sire, 
only to thofe who flatter you with vain 
hopes, They whom you believe the moft 
wile and re{pe€table, are the perfons you 
mot fear and fhun. But God will, at 
Jength, remove the veil from before 
your eyes, and fhow you what you defire 
hot to fee. His arm has been long raifed 
over you ; bur he is flow to ftrike, becaufe 
he has pity upon a prince who has all his 
life been befer by flatterers, and becaufe 
— enemies are alfohis, But he will 
now how to feparate his own juft caufe 
from your’s, which is unjuft, and humble 
you to convert yous for you will only 
beeome a Chriftian through humiliation. 
You do not love Ged: you even fear 
= -only with the fear a flave. It is 
eN, and not God, which you fear. Your 
Teligion confifts only in fuperftition, in 
‘ 1 Montury Mag, XXIII. 
helen; Letter to Louis XIV. 
261 
little fuperficial pradtices. You are like 
the Jews, of whom God fays, “* While 
they honour me with their lips, their 
heart is far from me.” You are {crupu- 
lous in trifles, and hardened to the moft 
terrible evils. You love nothing bur 
your own glory and convenience. You 
refer every thing to yourfelf, as if you 
were the god of the earth, and all the 
reft had been created only to be {acrificed 
to you. You, on the contrary, have 
been fent into the world only for the 
fake of your people; but, alas! you d 
not comprehend thefe truths.” : 
He next expreffes himfelf with great 
freedom to the king, on the chara@ers of 
his archbithop (De Hur/ay) and his con- 
feffor (La Chaijfe); the firft, profligate ; 
the fecond, artificial, He cenfures the 
king’s council for theirtimidiry in {fpeak- 
ing the truth. ‘* Woe, woe to them 
(fays he) if they do not tell it you; and 
oe to you if you are not worthy to hear 
it. It is fcandalous that they have fo 
long enjoyed your confidence without 
advantage. If you are ftill apt to take 
umbrage, and will have none but flatterers 
about you, it is their bufinels to rezi-e.? 
In conclufion, the writer ftrongly and , 
repeatedly urges him to purchafe peace 
by reftoring bis unjufl conquefis. 
I muft not conceal that there is reafon 
to ‘doubt whether this letter was ever 
fent; thoughit is afferted to have been 
delivered by the duke of Beauvilliers,: 
and that the king, far from being offend. 
ed at it, appointed the writer to be prea 
ceptor to his grandchildren. But this 
appointment took place fome years be- 
fore the letter (from internal evidence) 
could have been written. Befides, we 
know that Louis was really much of- 
fended with Telemachus. Could he 
then have forgiven Fenelon for writing 
fuch a letter as the prefent ? If he really 
received it, and difcovered the writer, it 
will fufficiently account for the difgracé 
of that excellent man. I prefume it wilt 
be long before another Fenelon appears 
at any court; though, if he does, it may 
not be long before he is forced to quit it. 
Your’s, &c. 
MisoroLemus. 
ge 
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SCOTLAND poffeffes about twelve 
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