Retrospect of French Literalure— Biography. 
from the bible to profane authors, and 
trom the fathers of the church, to the 
scholastie theologians, and the mystic , 
writers. The lyely interest, or rather 
passion, with which he addicted himself 
to the sacred records, already announced 
the future prelate, who was destined to 
preach up religion’ with all the zeal of the 
“apostles, and to celebrate it with all the 
eloquence of the prophets. Among the 
doctors of the church, St. Augustn was 
most admired by Lim. He knew every 
passage of that writer by heart, quoted 
him unceasingly, discovered in him an 
answer to all his difficulties, (la reponse 
a tout), and always carried his works 
along with him, wheneyer he travelled. 
In respect to profane authors, in 
which his eloquence searched at once 
for masters aud for models, he gave the 
preference to Homer, whose elevated 
but unconstrained genius, had most 
affinity to his owa. He was also greatly 
pleased with reading Virgil and Cicero; 
but he cared little tor Horace, whom he 
judged of, rather as a severe Christian 
than as a man of taste: the morals of 
the Epictrean effaced, in his eyes, all the 
merits of the poet, and rendered him 
insensible to all those graces which only 
appeared calculated, either to seduce, 
or to alarm his virtue. | He carried the 
austerity of his principles still further. 
It is well known, that certain rigid ca- 
suists have considered as a species of 
apostacy, that liberty which most of the 
Christian poets have allowed themselves, 
of employing the imagery of the Pagan 
Diyinitics in their productions. Bossuet 
“did these venerable doctors the honor 
ef being of the same way of thinking, 
although Despréaux, in his Art Poéti- 
gue, has made them the best answer 
that agreat poet can oppose to suchscru- 
_ples: in short, he has refuted them in har- 
monidus verses, and the poctry of Boileau 
will. be recollected, when the judginent 
of the rigorists shall be forgotten. ‘The 
agreeable and philosophical fictions of 
_the ancient mythology, which confer 
Jife and soul on every thing, will con- 
tinue, notwithstanding the arrét of Bos- 
suet, to furnish our great pdets with 
hew and interesting images, in conse- 
quence of those charms, and that. In- 
terest with which.they abound. But_as 
to the crowd of versifiers, whom you » 
cannot bercave of Flora, and Zephyr, . 
or Love and his wings, without reduc-. 
‘ing their barren muses to extreme dis- _. 
tress, I shall say nothing, although 
-eyen these, to a man of his talents, 
Montruty Mac. No. 194, 
- 
‘then a new theory. 
685 
ought to have appeared rather fastidious 
than criminal. 
Of all the profane studies, that of the 
mathematics was the only one which 
our young ecclesiastic thought shimself 
entitled to neglect, not from scorn (for 
we will not hesitate to say, that such a- 
sentunent would:have been a stain on 
the memory of Bossuet), but merely be- 
cause geometrical knowledge did not 
appear to him to be of any utility in re- 
spect to the interests of religion. 
Yet, although this great man exhibited 
but little attachment to mathematical 
pursuits, he did not testify the same in- 
difference in respect to philosophy. He 
was much attached to Curiesianism*, 
A genius of this 
kind, hardy, bold, and vigorous, was 
prevented by reiivion alone, trom enter- 
ing more fully into the controversy; but 
the violent attacks which these doctrines 
experienced from the theologians, instead 
of attrighting the subject of this eulo- 
gium, contributed rather to animate his 
zeal for persecuted reason. — are 
Meanwhile, Bossuet continued to form 
his mind to piety, by irequent journies 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: 
igorous 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 ambi- 
tion and of glory, as well as the consola- 
tion of retirement, and the happiness of 
obscurity. 
The peculiar talents of Bossuet for the 
pulpit, became manifest from his earliest 
infancy. lle was already anounced as 
a precocious orator, at the hotel de Run- 
bouillet, where merit of ail kinds was 
summoned ‘to appear, and to” be esti- 
mated. Before a numerous and select. 
assembly, almost without preparation, 
and amidst continued bursts of applause, 
he preached a sermon {trom a. text as- 
signed to-him, af a time when he was 
only sixteen years of age, and at eleven 
o'clock at night. This made V itaige, ¢ 
‘who: was so fertile in, puns, declare that 
he had. never, heard any. ene préach 
either iso’ soon of so late, (silt nisi 
tards).i.; : Ae 
In addition to. such rare talents for 
eloquence, nature had endowed Bos wet 
with a prodigious.memory; and en this 
occasion, jhe, .as. well as. many./other 
great men, may be edduced, in order to 
* The doctxings of Rene Des Cartes. 
> 
refute 
