LIFE

Of

MADAME DE LA MOTHE GUYON

RE-ISSUE OF A MOST VALUABLE BOOK ON
CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM

UNIFORM WITH TU1S VOLUME
New Edition, La. Cr. 8vo, 426 pages. Cloth, 7/6 net.

THE HISTORY AND LIFE OF

DOCTOR JOHN TAULER

OP STRASBOURG

With Twenty-five of his Sermons

Translated from the German, with Additional Notices of
Tauler s Life and Times

BY

SUSANNA WINKWORTH

With Preface by

CHARLES KINGSLEY

And an Introductory Letter by

DR ALEXANDER WHYTE, OP EDINBURGH

Dr Robertson Nicoll, in The British Weekly, says:
"Mr ALLBNSON reprints in a very handsome and convenient form
Miss WINKWORTH S Translation. The reprint is moat welcome.
Mr Allenson has done a great service in publishing this book."

Dr Marcus Dods, Edinburgh, writes:

" Knowing how much valuable matter there is in the sermons,
I think you have done a public service in re-issuing them in a
much handier form. I hope they will have a renewed and
increased circulation."

Martin Luther says of Tauler:

"If you have a mind to read a book of pure, thorough, Divine
learning, get for yourself the sermons of John Tauler the
Dominican. For nowhere, in Latin or in German, have I seen
a more wholesome theology or one which accords more with the
Gospel. This is a book wherein may be seen how the best
learning of our times is not even brans, but is mere iron compared
with this learning of true blessedness "

LONDON: H. R. ALLENSON, LIMITED
RACQUET COURT, FLEET STREET, B.C.

LIFE

RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND EXPERIENCE

OF

MADAME GTJYON

INCLUDING AN ACCOUNT OF THE PERSONAL HISTORY
AND RELIGIOUS OPINIONS OF

, ARCHBISHOP OF CAMBRAY

BY THOMAS C. UPHAM

EDITED AND REVISED BY

AN ENGLISH CLERGYMAN

With New Introduction by Prof. W. R. Inge,
Author of "Christian Mysticism," <tc.

NEW EDITION, WITH "CONTENTS" ADDED

LONDON: H. R. ALLENSON, LIMITED
7 RACQUET COURT, FLEET STREET, E.O

<NOX

TOnOMTO

Previous Editions published by Sampson Low <$ Co.

Trans] erred, to H. R. Allenson, 1905, reprinted 1908,

1914 and 1920.

EDITOR S PREFACE.

IF few readers will agree with every sentiment recorded in
these pages, yet it will not be too much to expect that every one
should admire the fervent zeal, marked and steady consistency,
as well as leading and striking ability of the subject of them.
Madame Guyon must claim our sympathy in her sufferings, and
if in any age it could be said that the world was not worthy of
her, especially it would be so in that of Louis XIV. The few
dazzling lights in that dark age serve to exhibit its dense dark
ness. A depraved Court, with intense profession of religion ; a
dissolute and extravagant nobility, with a beguiled and besotted
populace ; military glory sought abroad, while at home La Belle
France saw the same soldiery striking their swords into the hearts
of the freest and most faithful citizens, and thus staining every
honour in the detestable butchery of the Dragonnades ; dishonour
at last drooping its withering blight over every promising field ;
every energy and every sin ; every profession and every vice ;
such preachers as have perhaps since the apostles days never
been surpassed for impassioned vehemence and power of oratory,
and yet crowds unrepentant, as if to show that man s heart can
not be softened but by the Holy Spirit s influences ; narrowness
and profusion ; little-mindedness and vaulting ambition, all
these, amongst many others, were traits that marked the age in
which lived, and preached, and suffered, and died Madame
Guyon. To have done what she did, against all hindrances of
malice, disappointment, and power, is enough to prove her to

vi EDITOR S PREFACE.

have possessed ability of the highest order ; and to have done
these deeds as she did them, shows that the root of the matter
was in her. The friend of Fenelon, like him she was persecuted
for the truth s sake. Having really too much light for a dis
ciple in the Roman Church, yet she had not strength to escape
from it, and found her tomb in it. That Church can fairly claim
no glory from Fenelon and Pascal, and Arnauld and Madame
Guyon. These are enough to show us that great light may exist
in great darkness, and great love in an atmosphere of internal
chilliness. Louis XIV. and his abettors, Popes and Bishops,
were more right in discerning the tendency of such views than
those who held them. They were essentially antagonistic to
Romanism, and must have developed more and more into divi
sion. So far as Fenelon and Madame Guyon diverged from re
ceived Romanism, they were Protestants, and as such, Louis XIV.
and Bossuet condemned them. The only credit which the Church
of Rome can claim from her Jansenist members, is that of having
persecuted them. Madame Guyon was a martyr to their clear
and quick-sighted hatred of the truth. And, if we mistake not,
from the life before us, among many fruitful lessons, this may be
learned, that while it is no slight toil to attain truth in such a
system, yet it is possible ; and therefore while the sound Protestant
rejoices in his own privileges and clearer light, he will pray for
such as are feeling after the truth, shackled by the trammels of
corrupt authority. As God had a people in the dark days before
our Reformation, for we are not severed from the early Church
by an abyss of centuries, but are connected with them by the
lines of essential truth, so now He may have and has a people
working in chains and thraldom of mind, while the soul enlight
ened is free. With these remarks the Life of Madame Guyon,
revised so as to leave its entirety uninjured, and may-be, more
acceptably useful, is commended to the Christian reader. What
she was in spite of great impediments, let every Christian strive
to be with his great advantages.

PREFACE.

I HAD read the life and writings of Madame Guyon with
interest, and I think with profit. The impression was similar
to that made upon the minds of others, that her history and her
opinions are too valuable to be lost. They make a portion, not
only of ecclesiastical history, bat of the history of the human
mind. Under these circumstances, and in the hope of contri
buting something to the cause of truth and of vital religion, I
have undertaken the present work.

In giving some account of Madame Guyon s life, I have made
great use of her Autobiography. The origin of this remarkable
work, entitled in French, in which language alone it has been
printed in full, La Vie de Madame de la Mothe Quyon, e crite
par elle-meme, was this. After her return from Italy in 1686,
La Cornbe, her spiritual Director, in accordance with the autho
rity allowed him by his Church, an authority to which she
readily submitted, required her to make a written record of her
past life. This she did for the most part, when she was shut
up, a year or two afterwards, in the Convent of St. Marie in
Paris. She proposed to make a selection of incidents ; but
La Combe, fearful that the delicacy of her feelings might prompt
ner to multiply omissions, required her to write everything.

To this she at last consented, especially as she did not, and
could not well suppose, that a Biography, written under such
circumstances, would ever be given to the public.

Vlll PREFACE.

To the information derived from her Autobiography, I have
added numerous facts, derived from her other writings, and other
sources. So that I speak with considerable confidence when I
say, that the reader will find, in the following pages, a full
account of the life and labours of this remarkable woman.

The latter portion of the work is occupied, in a considerable
degree, with the acquaintance which was formed in the latter
part of her life between Madame Guyon and Fenelon, Arch
bishop of Cambray ; with the influence which was exerted by
her over that truly distinguished man ; with the religious opi
nions which were formed and promulgated under that influence,
and with the painful results which he experienced in conse
quence. The discussions in this part of the work turn chiefly
upon the doctrine of pure or unselfish love, in the experience of
which Fenelon thought, in accordance with the views of Madame
Guyon, and it seems to me with a good deal of reason, that the
sanctification of the heart essentially consists. It is true, that
they insist strongly upon the subjection of the will ; but they
maintain, as they very well may maintain, that such a love will
certainly carry the will with it.

The work is committed to the reader, not without a sense of
its imperfections, but still in the hopes that something has been
done to illustrate character, and to confirm the truth.

THOMAS C. UPHAM.

NEW INTRODUCTION.

BY PROF. W. R. INGE, M.A.

THE Autobiography of Madame Guyon is a document of great
psychological interest. She exhibits the peculiar temperament
of the mystic in a very pure form. Endowed by nature with
beauty, wit, and practical ability, she had also, from early
childhood, an ambition to be a saint, and wavered for some
years between the rival attractions of the world and the
cloister. An unhappy, loveless marriage, and a heartless,
jealous mother-in-law, at last drove her to seek within the con
solations which she could not find without, and she threw
herself with characteristic energy into the course of self-
mortification which, she believed, was the first stage on the
road to the beatific vision. There is much in this part of her
narrative which shows that she was not wholly sane. For
example, her habit of eating disgusting substances is a well-
known symptom of partial derangement. The later part of her
life, when she had won recognition as a spiritual guide, was
more wholesome, if not happier. Her favourite doctrine of
disinterested love, though overstrained in the reaction against
the crude religion of rewards and punishments which was
preached around her, was a beautiful and noble doctrine, and
her "Quietism" taught her only resignation, not inactivity.
The story of her slowly ripening friendship with Fenelon, and
her progressive alienation from Bossuet, whose instincts as an

X INTRODUCTION.

ecclesiastic soon led him to hate arid persecute the woman
whom he had first admired and patronised, is very instructive.

Besides the personal interest which is awakened by the
story of Madame Guyon s life and sufferings, and her relations
with some of the leading men in France at that time, the
Autobiography has an importance to all who are interested in
religious Mysticism. Quietism is a type of religious experience
which appears in every age and country, though not with equal
frequency. Even in our busy and bustling time, there are
many who are content to sit at Jesus feet like Mary of
Bethany, and to " Hearken what the Lord God will say
concerning " them. It is one type of Christian saintliness, and
it has often moulded very beautiful characters. As for " disin
terested love," it might almost be said that love which is not
disinterested is unworthy of the name. Mercenary religion is
not explicitly rejected in the Gospels, but surely the question,
" What shall we have therefore ? " belongs to a crude and early
stage in discipleship. The apostle who asked that question did
not wince when, a little later, he was told that his reward was
to be crucifixion, and not a seat at the Messiah s right hand.
Until we have advanced far enough to say with Job, " Though
He slay me, yet will I trust in Him," or with John Bunyan,
when he was expecting to be hanged, " If God doth not come
in, I will leap off the ladder even blindfold into eternity, come
heaven, come hell," we are strangers to the heroism of faith.
Madame Guyon had some amiable weaknesses, but she under
stood what Christianity means much better than her persecutors.

W. R. INGE.

34 RUTLAND GATE, W. t
17th April 1905.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

PAOB

Birth 1648 Parentage Sickness in infancy Ursuline Seminary at Montargis
Duchess Montbason Benedictine Seminary Early religious impressions
Cruel experiment upon her Unfavourable results Return home, . . 1

CHAPTER II.

Second time at Ursuline Seminary Her paternal half-sister Meets Henrietta
Maria, Queen of England Moral and religious feelings Transferred from
Ursulines to Dominicans Finds a Bible Proposes to partake of the
Eucharist, ......... 5

CHAPTER III.

Visit from De Toissi, Missionary to Cochin China Results of visit Renewed
religious efforts Works v. Faith Return of spiritual declension Account of
her feelings and conduct, . . . . . . .11

CHAPTER IV.

1663 Leaves Montargis for Paris Louis XIV. Characteristics of the age-
Effect of Paris upon her character Personal appearance Offers of marriage
Is married at sixteen to M. Guyon, 1664 M. Guyon s family, . . 16

CHAPTER V.

Remarks on her marriage Treatment experienced at her husband s house
Unkind mother-in-law Want of harmony Her situation considered in
relation to designs of Providence Trials endured, . . . .19

CHAPTER VI.

Trials result in renewed disposition to seek God Of the connexion of Providential
events with renewal of the heart Birth of her first child, its effect upon her
mind Losses of property Severe sickness Death of her paternal half-sister
and of her mother Result of these afflictions upon her mind Renewed
efforts of a religious nature Reads a Kempis and De Sales Meets an exiled
lady of great piety Meets her cousin M. de Toissi again Conversation with
a Franciscan Her conversion, ....... 26

CHAPTER VII.

Intellectual experience, in distinction from that of the heart Joy in the new
life Subjection of the will Some of her views Remarks on faith
Contemplation, ......... 39

CHAPTER VIII.

1668 Marked nature of her conversion Withdraws from worldly pleasures
Birth of her second son Her great kindness and charity to the poor Her
labours for the conversion of souls Domestic trials Unkindness of her step
mother and maid-servant Conduct of her eldest son Sorrow and silence, . 44

CHAPTER IX.

Desires to be wholly the Lord s Efforts to keep the outward appetites in sub
jection Austerities may be practised without the idea of expiation --The
monks of La Trappe Temptations to go back to the world Visit to Paris
The errors committed there Grief Journey to Orleans and Touraine
Temptations and religious infidelities and falls repeated Incident on the
banks of the Loire Remarks upon her sins Visit to St. Cloud Sorrow
Inquiries on holy living, ........ 56

x CONTENTS.

ries
CHAPTER X.

Early views of her Christian state Seeks assistance from others The religious
character of that age Consults Genevieve Granger Attends religious services
at Notre Dame Extraordinary interview with a person unknown His advice
Renewed consecration Attacked by small-pox Death of her youngest
son Feelings Poetical writings Justice Divine Amiable, . . .71

CHAPTER XI.

Faithfulness in trial Spiritual consolations Experience during 1671 Domestic
and other duties Trials in relation to seasons of prayer Regard for God s

Erovidences First acquaintance, July 1671, with Francis La Combe
mpression made on him by her conversations Growth in grace, . . 83

CHAPTER XII.

Incidents of 1672 Her father s death Remarks Affectionate eulogium on her
daughter Her sickness and death The renewed and entire consecration of
herself in 1670 This act reduced to writing, and signed for the first time,
July 22, 1672 Instrumentality of Genevieve Granger Form of this con
secrating act Dangers connected with a journey Reflections, . . 91

CHAPTER XIII.

Birth of a son Her religious state Death of Genevieve Granger Remarks on
affliction Second visit to Orleans Interview with a Jesuit Writes to a
person of distinction and merit for advice Lawsuit Conduct in connexion
with it, .......... 96

CHAPTER XIV.

1674 Commencement of her state of privation Analysis and explanation Joy
not religion, but merely an incident Advice of Monsieur Bertot Other
advice Correspondence with a Jesuit, . . . . . .103

CHAPTER XV.

Events of the year 1676 Sickness of her husband His character Their recon
ciliation His death Settlement of her estate Chosen as arbiter in a
lawsuit Inward dispositions Separation from her mother-in-law, . . 112

CHAPTER XVI.

Her charities Education of her children Study of Latin Continuance of
inward desolation Temptations Writes to La Combe July 22, 1680, the
day of her deliverance after nearly seven years of inward privation Reference
to her work, The Torrents Poem. "The Dealings of^od," . . .120

CHAPTER XVII.

Sanctification compared with justification Her work, The Torrents Some
sentiments from it descriptive of her own experience Depth of experience-
Poem, "The Joy of the Cross," . . . . . . .128

CHAPTER XVIII.

Thoughts of a Nunnery decided against Proposals of marriage refused Short
season of comparative retirement and peace Poem, .... 137

CHAPTER XIX.

1680 Remarkable incident in a church Effect on her mind Consulted by a
person on a mission to Siam Asks his opinion on her plan of going on a
mission to Geneva Consults Bishop D Aranthon at Paris Decides to leave
for Gex Charities during the winter of 1680 Preparations for departure
Trials of mind, ......... 140

CHAPTER XX.

July 1681, leaves Paris Her companions Her child makes crosses, and then
weaves a crown for her Stops at Corbeil Meets the Franciscan, formerly

CONTENTS. Xlii

FAOB

instrumental in her conversion Sails for Melun Meditations References to

her poetry Poem, "God Everywhere," . . ..., ,, . 147

CHAPTER XXI.

Lyons Anneci Remarks on this journey The tomb of St. Francis de Sales-
Arrives at Gex, 23d of July 1681 Death of M. Bertot Appointment of La
Combe New views Sanctification by faith Personal labours with La
Combe, . . . . . . , , . . 150

CHAPTER XXII.

Anselm, hermit of Thonon Return to Gex Thrown from a horse La Combe on
Holiness Called to account Views of Bishop D Aranthon Proposal to give
up her property and become prioress of a Religious House at Gex Her
refusal Remarkable conversation between D Aranthon and La Combe
Opposition to Madame Guy on, ....... 160

CHAPTER XXIII.

Approaching trials Consolations from Scripture- -A dream Frustrates the
designs of an ecclesiastic upon an unprotected girl Opposition and ill treat
ment from this source Leaves Gex Crosses the Genevan Lake to Thonon
Poem, "The Christian s Hopes," . . . . . .170

CHAPTER XXIV.

Arrives at Thonon Interview with Father La Combe He leaves Thonon for
Aost and Rome Confidence that God would justify her Cases of religious
inquiry Endeavours to teach those who came to her References to her
daughter Visited at Thonon by Bishop D Aranthon Her position in the
Roman Catholic Church References to persons who have attempted a reform
in that Church Attacks upon the character of La Combe Views of sanctifi-
cation Pious laundress Opposition by priests and others Public burning
of her books, . . . . . . . .175

CHAPTER XXV.

Conversion of a physician Further persecution Some opposers become subjects
of the work of God Three striking instances of the care of Providence Visit
to Lausanne Establishment of a hospital at Thonon Removal to a small
cottage a few miles distant Return of La Combe Her opposers appeal to
Bishop D Aranthon He requires Madame Guyon and La Combe to leave his
diocese Rude and fierce attacks upon her Decides to leave Thonon Her
feelings La Combe His letter to D Aranthon Remarks of Madame Guyon
on some forms of religious experience On living by the moment, . . 191

CHAPTER XXVI.

Season of retirement Commences writing her larger treatises Spiritual
Torrents Feelings with which she commenced this work Its name
The progress of the sdul compared to torrents descending from the mountains
Abstract of it .202

CHAPTER XXVIL

Leaves Thonon Mount Cenis Persons that accompanied her Turin
Marchioness of Prunai Her journey through the Pass of Mount Cenis, and
reception and labours at Turin Literary activity Correspondence Advice
to a young preacher The Dream of the sacred island, .... 208

CHAPTER XXVIII.

Return to France State of things in Italy Some account of Michael de Molinos
Opposition to his views 111 treatment of his followers The Count and
Countess Vespiniani Imprisonment of Molinos, and death Return from
Turin to Grenoble Domestic arrangements Remarkable revival Dealings
of God Conversion of a Knight of Malta Work in a Convent Establish
ment oi a hospital, ........ 216

XIV CONTENTS.

PAG

CHAPTER XXIX.

The Monastery of the Grande Chartreuse Visited by Madame Guyon Conver
sation between Father Innocentius and Madame Guyon Opposition at
Grenoble Her method of prayer in religious conferences Commences Com
mentaries on the Bible The Short Method of Prayer Its origin and success, 226

CHAPTER XXX.

Analysis of the Method of Prayer The term Prayer Those without the spirit of
prayer invited to seek it Directions to aid persons Higher religious experi
ence Entire consecration to God The test of consecration Inward holiness
the true regulator of the outward life Of gradual growth The knowledge of
our inward sins The manner of meeting temptations The soul in the state
of pure love The prayer of silence The true relation of human and Divine
activity The nature and conditions of the state of Divine union Appeal to
pastors and teachers, ........ 234

CHAPTER XXXI.

Opposition and argument Effect of the publication of the Short Method of
Prayer Conversation with a poor girl Violent opposition, 1686 Advised
to go to Marseilles Descends the Rhone Incidents in the voyage Arrives
at Marseilles Excitement occasioned Kind treatment of the Bishop of
Marseilles Opposition from others Conversion of a priest Acquaintance
with a Knight of the Order of Malta Her interviews with M. Francois Malaval
Leaves for Nice Disappointed in going from Nice to Turin Sails for Genoa
Reflections on her exposure on the ocean Troubles at Genoa Departs for
Verceil Met by robbers Other trying incidents, .... 245

CHAPTER XXXII.

Arrives at Verceil Interviews with La Combe With the Bishop of Verceil
Sickness Correspondence commenced with the Duchess de Chevreuse
Decides to return to Paris La Combe selected to attend her Departure
Visit to the Marchioness of Pruuai Crosses the Alps for the third time
Meets her half-brother, La Mothe, at Chamberri Reception at Grenoble
Arrives at Paris, after a five years absence, July 1686, . . . 258

CHAPTER XXXIII.

Domestic arrangements New associations Character of them Duchess de
Beauvilliers- Duchess de Chevreuse Character of the Duke de Chevreuse
Begins to labour in this higher class of society Labours of La Combe His
doctrines --Opposition against him by La Mothe The doctrines of Michael
de Molinos The case of La Combe brought before M. de Harlai, Archbishop
of Paris, and Louis XIV. La Coinbe writes to Madame Guyon Is sent to
the Bastile Sympathy for him by Madame Guyon Their correspondence, . 264

CHAPTER XXXIV.

Designs upon Madame Guyon She refuses to reside at Montargis Desire of La
Mothe to become her" spiritual Director Her opposition Tranquillity
Remarkable inward experience Her labours for souls, and success Conver
sation with La Mothe His efforts to compel her to leave the city Her reply
Her case before Louis XIV. Her imprisonment, January 1688, in the
Convent of St. Marie Treatment experienced Separation from her daughter
Poem, "A little Bird am I," ....... 272

CHAPTER XXXV.

Occupations in prison The history of her life Labours and usefulness there
Letter to a religious friend Visited by an ecclesiastical Judge and a Doctor of
the Sorbonne Examined Her feelings Poem, " Love constitutes my Crime," 279

CHAPTER XXXVI.

Views in relation to the continuance of imprisonment Inward peace and triumph
Inward trials Forgiveness towards her enemies Attempts to involve her
daughter in a marriage arrangement The King favourable, but requires

CONTENTS. XV

PAGE

Madame Guyon s consent The subject proposed to her by M. Charon
Writes to Pere La Chaise Sickness Renewed trials Remarks on the dis
pensation of the Holy Ghost Poem, "God s Glory and Goodness," . . 286

CHAPTER XXXVII.

Efforts of her friends unavailing Madame de Miramion Visits the Convent
Becomes acquainted with Madame Guyon Makes known her case to Madame
de Maintenon, who intercedes with Louis XIV. Madame Guyon released by
the King s order, in October 1688 Resides with Madame de Miramion
Marriage of her daughter with the Count de Vaux Notice of his family
Resides with her daughter Letters Poem, " God the Fountain of Love," . 298

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

Fenelon Character Early designs Interesting letter Sent by Louis XIV. as
a missionary to Poitou Hears of the religious labours of Madame Guyon
On his return in 1688, passes through Montargis, and makes inquiries
Meets her for the first time at the country residence of the Duchess of Charost,
at Beine They return to Paris together Letters, .... 306

CHAPTER XXXIX.

Religious state of Fenelon Correspondence with Madame Guyon Concise View
of the Soul s return to God Letter from Fenelon, . . . .316

CHAPTER XL.

Remarks on F6nelon Letter from Madame Guyon Her remarks on faith On
the entire consecration of the will Incident in her past experience illustrative
of the doctrine of faith F6nelon appointed, August 1689, preceptor to the
Duke of Burgundy Character of the Duke Labours of Fenelon The
writings of Fenelon The influence of Madame Guyon upon him Revival of
religion at Dijon The Method of Prayer publicly burned, . . .321

CHAPTER XLI.

1692 Labours of Madame Guyon Interviews with Madame de Maintenon
Unhappiness of the latter Institution of St. Cyr Interviews between
Madame de Maintenon and Madame Guyon Labours of Madame Guyon with
the young ladies Madame Guyon visited by Sister Malin, resident at Ham
Public attention directed to her again Interview with Peter Nicole Inter
view with Monsieur Boileau, brother of the poet Writes at his suggestion
A Concise Apology for the Short Method of Prayer Poisoned by one of
her servants Temporary concealment Friendship of M. Fouquet His sick
ness and death, ......... 330

CHAPTER XLII.

1693-1694 Bossuet His character and position Interviews Madame Guyon
The conversation Effect upon Madame Guyon Correspondence between them
Attacked with a fever, ........ 341

CHAPTER XLIII.

1694 Opposition continues Louis XIV. appoints three commissioners, Bossuet,
De Noailles, and Tronson, to examine her doctrines Their character She
lays before them the work entitled Justifications The first meeting of the
commissioners, August 1694 Exclusion of the Duke of Chevreuse Course
taken by Bossuet Interviews subsequently with the Bishop of Chalons and
Tronson No condemnation passed at this time Articles of Issy Retires to
the Convent of St. Mary in Meaux In a snowdrift Her remarks on a charge
of hypocrisy made against her Poem, "Acquiescence of Pure Love," . 365

CHAPTER XLIV.

1695 Sickness Visited by Bossuet Singular conversation Reference to a
sermon of Bossuet Receives recommendations from him and the prioress and
nuns Leaves Meaux for Paris -Excitement occasioned Conceals herself

XVi CONTENTS.

PAGE

five months Seized by order of the King, and imprisoned in the Castle of
Vincennes State of her mind Poems, written in prison, . . .374

CHAPTER XLV.

1696 Bossuet writes on the inward life His book, entitled Instructions on
Prayer F4nelon refuses his approbation Writes to Madame de Maintenon,
giving his reasons Origin of The Maxims of the Saints Abstract of it, . 384

CHAPTER XLVI.

1697 The appointment of Feiielon as Archbishop of Cambray Importance
attached to his opinions Opinions on The Maxim of the Saints Decided
course of Bossuet Feelings of Louis XIV. towards F6nelon Bossuet and
F6nelon compared The true question between them Notices of some of
the more important publications of Bossuet Remarks on his History of
Quietism " Correspondence with the Abbd de Ranee, . . . 417

CHAPTER XL VII.

1697-1699 The controversy brought before the Pope He appoints commissioners
Divisions in regard to it The decision delayed Dissatisfaction of the King
He writes to the Pope Banishes Fenelon Letter of Fenelon to Madame
de Maintenon Interest in behalf of Fenelon by the Duke of Burgundy
Conversation of the King with the Duke of Beauvilliers His treatment of
the Abb6 Beaumont and others Letter of Fenelon to the Duke of Beauvilliers
Second letter to the King Condemnation of Fenelon, . . . 434

CHAPTER XL VIII.

Character of Fenelon Labours Method of preaching The peasant who lost
his cow The feelings of Fenelon, when his palace was burnt Noble conduct
during war Hospitality Chevalier Ramsay Quietism Meditations on
the infant Jesus Religious toleration Correspondence with the Duke of
Burgundy Death of Fenelon, 1715, ...... 446

CHAPTER XLIX.

Of the influence of Madame Guyon on Fenelon Woman s influence Madame
Guy on transferred from Vincennes to Vaugirard Religious efforts there Inter
ference of the Archbishop of Paris Feelings of the King towards Madame
Guyon His treatment of some members of the Seminary of St. Cyr Removes
a son of Madame Guyon from his office Proceedings of Bishop of Chartres
Feelings of Madame Guyon in relation to Fenelon Visited by the Archbishop
of Paris, who reads to her a letter from La Combe Her feelings Poem,
"The Light above Us," ........ 458

CHAPTER L.

1698 Transferred to the Bastile Some account of it Extract from a letter
Man of the iron mask Madame Guyon s maid-servant imprisoned in the
Bastile Her personal history Religious character Letters Death
Situation of Madame Guyon The religious support she experienced, . 465

CHAPTER LI.

Advocates of pure love called Quietists Traits of religious character connected
with the origin of the name Meekness and simplicity, which characterise the
true Quietist The Quietist in aflliction In action When suffering injury
In prayer Other religious traits Two poems of Madame Guyon, . . 478

CHAPTER LII.

On the religion of prisous Madame Guyon released in 1702 after four years
imprisonment Banished during her life to Blois State of health Visited
by many persons, foreigners as well as others Publication of her Auto
biography arranged Feelings towards her enemies Extracts Religious
state Letters near the close Her character Address to her spiritual
children Sickness, and death 9th June 1717, . . . . .487

LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

OP

MADAME GUYON.

CHAPTER I.

%

r&ne and place of her birth Her parentage Sickness in her infancy Her residence ai
the Ursuline Seminary at Montargis Duchess Montbason Residence at the Benedictine
Seminary A dream Early religious impressions Singular experiment on the strength
of her faith Unfavourable results Taken home Treatment received there.

THE subject of this Memoir was born the 13th of April 1648,
and baptized on the 24th of May. Her father s name was
Claude Bouvieres de la Mothe. The place of her birth was
Montargis, a French town of some note, situated about fifty
miles to the south of Paris, in the part of France known previ
ously to the French Revolution as the province of Orleanois.

Of her parents we know but little. They were very worthy
people, holding a highly honourable position among the leading
families of Montargis, and both of them, especially the father,
were deeply impressed with religious sentiments. Her father
bore the title of Seigneur or Lord de la Mothe Vergonville.
Her father and mother had both been previously married ; and
both had children previous to their second marriage. The father
had a son and daughter ; the mother had a daughter. The sub-
iect of this Memoir, whose remarkable personal and religious
history has made her an object of interest to succeeding ages,
was the offspring of this second marriage. Her maiden name
was Jeanne Marie Bouvieres de la Mothe.

In very early infancy she was so afflicted, that her life was foi

2 LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

some time despaired of. To this period she refers in after life,
with feelings which her religious experience was naturally cal
culated to inspire. Her life had its vicissitudes, its trials, its
deep sorrows ; but in view of the sanctification which had at
tended them, she was deeply thankful that God had been pleased
to spare her. " It is owing," she says, " to thy goodness, God,
that there now remains to me the consolation of having sought
and followed thee ; of having laid myself upon the altar of
sacrifice in the strength of pure love ; of having laboured for
thine interests and glory. In the commencement of my earthly
existence, death and life seemed to combat together; but life
proved victorious over death. Oh, might I but hope, that, in
the conclusion of my being here on earth, life will be for ever
victorious over death ! Doubtless it will be so, if thou alone
dost live in me, my God, who art at present my only life, my
only love."

In the city of Montargis, where her father resided, was a
seminary for the instruction of young girls, under the care of
the Ursuline Nuns, a sisterhood of religious persons, who bind
themselves, in addition to other vows, to occupy themselves in
the education of children of their own sex. At the age of two
years and a half, she was placed at the Ursuline Seminary, but
remained there only lor a short time. When she was taken
from it she remained for a time at the residence of her parents ;
but for some reason not clearly understood, but probably in part
from an imperfect view of the value of parental influence, was
left by her mother chiefly in the care of the domestics of the
family. In after life she refers to this period as one in which
her mental and moral culture, such as she was even then capa
ble of receiving, was not properly attended to. She speaks of
it also as a period in which she incurred, in repeated instances,
those dangers, from which she sometimes narrowly escaped,
which are incidental to the sports and to the thoughtless and
venturesome spirit of childhood. But God, who had designs
of mercy for her soul, and through her instrumentality for the
eouls of others, protected her.

OP MADAME GUYON. 3

In the year 1652, a lady of distinguished rank, the Duchesr
of Montbason, came to reside with the Benedictines, anothei
religious body established at Montargis. The daughter of M.
De la Mothe was then four years of age. At the solicitation of
the Duchess, an intimate friend of her father, who said it would
be a source of great satisfaction to her to have the company of
his little daughter, she was placed with the Benedictines.
" Here I saw," she says, in the account of her life which she
afterwards wrote, " none but good examples ; and as I was
naturally disposed to yield to the influence of such examples, I
followed them when I found nobody to turn me in another direc
tion. Young as I was, I loved to hear of God, to be at church,
and to be dressed in the habit of a little nun."

While resident here, though early in life, she appears to have
been the subject of some religious impressions. She speaks in
particular of a dream, in which she seemed to have a very dis
tinct conception of the ultimate misery of impenitent sinners, as
making a deep impression on her mind. Aroused by the images
of terror, and operated upon by other circumstances calculated
to awaken her religious sensibilities, she became very thought
ful, and exhibited a considerable interest in religious thingg.
She was too young to appreciate fully the relation existing be
tween herself and the Deity ; but the idea of God was so far
developed to her opening but vigorous conceptions, that she in
wardly and deeply recognised His claims to her homage and her
love. She endeavoured to conform to these convictions, not
only by doing whatever seemed to be the will of God, but by
openly and frankly expressing her determination to lead a reli
gious life. Happy in these solemn views and determinations,
she one day, with a frankness perhaps greater than her prudence,
remarked in the presence of her associates, that she was ready to
become a martyr for God. The girls who resided with her at
the Benedictines, not altogether pleased that one so young should
go so far before them in a course so honourable, and supposing
perhaps that they discovered some ingredients of human pride
mingling with religious sincerity, came to the conclusion to test

4 LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

such enlarged pretensions. They persuaded her that God in His
providences had suddenly but really called her to the endurance
of that martyrdom for which she had exhibited and professed a
mind so fully prepared. They found her true to what she had
previously professed. And having permitted her to offer up her
private supplications, they conducted her to a room selected for
the purpose, with all those circumstances of deliberateness and
solemnity, which were appropriate to so marked an occasion.
They spread a cloth upon the floor, upon which she was required
to kneel, and which was destined to receive her blood. One of
the older girls then appeared in the character of an executioner,
and lifted a large cutlass, with the apparent intention of separating
her head from her body. At this critical moment, overcome by
her fears, which were stronger than her young faith, she cried
out, that she was not at liberty to die without the consent of her
father. The girls, in the spirit of triumph, declared that it was
a mere excuse to escape what was prepared for her. And assur
ing her that God would not accept as a martyr one who had not
a martyr s spirit, they insultingly let her go.

This transaction, so cruel in its application, although it pro
bably originated in thoughtlessness more than unkindness, had
a marked effect upon her mind. Young as she was, she was old
enough to perceive, that she had not only been open but volun
tary in her professions ; that she had been tried, and been found
wanting. Those religious consolations, which she had previously
experienced, departed. Something in her conscience reproached
her, that she either wanted courage or faith, to act and to suffer,
under all circumstances and without any reserve, in the cause
of her heavenly Father. It seemed to her, in the agitation of
her spirit, that she had offended Him, and that there was now
but little hope of His support and favour. Thus, as in many
other similar cases, the religious tendency, unkindly crushed in
the very bud of its promise, withered and died.

During her residence at the House of the Benedictines, she
was treated with great kindness. In one instance only was she
the subject of punishment, and this in consequence of the mis-

OF MADAME GUYON. O

apprehension, or the designed misstatement of her young asso
ciates. Her health, however, was exceedingly delicate; and
soon after she was taken home in consequence. She complains
that she was again left almost exclusively in the care of domes
tics ; and consequently did not meet with that attention to her
morals and manners, which was desirable. Certain it is, as a
general statement, that domestics cannot discharge, in behalf of
young children, all those duties which may reasonably and justly
be expected of parents. It might be unjust, however, even where
appearances are unfavourable, to ascribe to parents intentional
neglect, without a full knowledge of all the circumstances.

CHAPTER II.

flaced a second time at the Ursuline Seminary Character and kindness of her paternal
half-sister Interview with Henrietta Maria, the Queen of England, at her father s hovuw
Explanations of this interview References to her moral and religions feelings Trans
ferred from the care of the Ursulines to that of the Dominicans A Bible left in her
room Her study of it Proposes to partake of the Eucharist Remarks.

EACH of her parents had a daughter in their first marriage.
These, acting on the principles of personal consecration recog
nised in the Roman Catholic Church, had devoted themselves to
a religious life in the Ursuline Convent, and thus became asso
ciated in its system of instruction. After spending some time
at home in a manner not very profitable, Mademoiselle Jeanne
Marie was once more placed at the Ursulines with them. She
was now in the seventh year of her age. The father, sensible
that her education had hitherto failed to receive sufficient atten
tion, commended her to the especial care of his own daughter,
as the best qualified of the two half-sisters, by kindness of dispo
sition as well as in other respects, to aid in the development of
her mind and formation of her manners. As she recalled with
gratitude the dealings of God with her in her younger years,
she spoke in affectionate terms of this sister, as a person cha-

f> LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

racterized alike by good judgment and religious sentiments, and
especially fitted to train up young girls.

" This good sister," she says, " employed her time in instruct
ing me in piety, and in such branches of learning as were suit
able to my age and capacity. She was possessed of good talents,
which she improved well. She spent much time in prayer, and
her faith seemed strong and pure. She denied herself every
other satisfaction, in order that she might be with me and give
me instruction. So great was her affection for me, that she ex
perienced, as she told me herself, more pleasure with me, than
anywhere else. Certain it is, that she thought herself well paid
for her efforts, whenever I made suitable answers. Under her
care I soon became mistress of most of those things which were
suitable for me."

At this period an incident occurred, which requires some ex
planation. The period of which we are now speaking was sub
sequent to the great Civil War in England, which resulted in
the death of Charles I., the establishment of a new government,
and the expulsion of the royal family. Charles had married
Henrietta Maria, the daughter of Henry IV., and sister of Louis
XIII. of France. She fled from England to her own country in
1644 ; residing for the most part, in sorrow and poverty, in the
Convent of Chaillot, at that time a village in the neighbourhood
of Paris, but now a part of the city itself. She died in 1669 ;
and her death furnished occasion for one of the most celebrated
of the funeral orations of Bossuet.

Some years after her flight she visited Moritargis ; and as the
family of M. De la Mothe held a high rank in that city, and
especially as there were probably some common grounds of reli
gious sympathy, it will not be surprising that Henrietta Maria
should have honoured them with a visit. While she was at the
Seminary of the Ursulines, she was frequently sent for by her
father. On one of these occasions she found at her father s
house the Queen of England. She was then near eight years of
age. " My father told the Queen s Confessor, that, if he wanted
i little amusement, he might entertain himself with me, and

OF MADAME GUYON. 7

propound some questions to me. He tried me with several very
difficult ones, to which I returned such correct answers, that he
carried me to the Queen, and said to her, i Your Majesty must
have some diversion with this child. She also tried me, and
was so well satisfied and pleased with my lively answers and
my manners, that she not only requested my father to place me
with her, but urged her proposition with no small importunity,
assuring him that she would take particular care of me, and
going so far as to intimate, that she would make me Maid of
Honour to the princess, her daughter. Her desire for me was
so great, that the refusal of my father evidently disobliged her.
Doubtless it was God who caused this refusal, and in doing so
turned off the stroke which might have probably intercepted my
salvation. Weak as I then was, how could I have withstood
the temptations and distractions incidental to a connexion with
persons so high in rank ?"

Her paternal half-sister continued her affectionate care, but
her authority was limited ; she could not control, in all respects,
the other girls who boarded there, with whom the younger
sister, Jeanne Marie, was sometimes obliged to associate, and
from whom she acknowledges that she contracted some bad
habits. She ceased to be entirely strict and scrupulous as to
the truth ; she became in some degree peevish in her temper,
and careless and undevout in her religious feelings, passing
whole days without thinking of God. But happily she did not
remain long under the power of such vicious tendencies and
habits. Her sister s unwearied watchfulness and assiduity were
the means, with the Divine blessing, of recovering her from this
temporary declension. And she remained at the Seminary some
time longer, always making rapid improvement when in the
enjoyment of good health, and conciliating the esteem of her
associates and instructors, by her regular and virtuous deport
ment, and by proficiency in knowledge.

At ten years of age she was taken home again ; she was
placed at the Dominican convent, probably the same of which
De la Force gives so particular an account in his work, entitled

8 LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

Nouvelle Description de la France. It was founded in 1242,
" I stayed," she says, " only a little while at home. The reason
was this : A nun of the Dominican Order, who belonged to a
distinguished family, and an intimate friend of my father, soli
cited him to place me in her convent, of which she was Prioress.
This lady had conceived a great affection for me ; and promised
my father that she would take care of me herself, and make rae
lodge in her own chamber. But various troubles arose in the
religious community which necessarily occupied her attention,
BO that she was not in a situation to take much care of me."

Her opportunities for intellectual improvement, during her
residence in the Dominican convent, were interrupted in some
degree by sickness ; but with a mind of naturally enlarged
capacity, which seemed to have an instinct for knowledge, she
could hardly fail to improve. At this place she was left more
by herself than had been customary with her. But her soli
tary hours were not unprofitable ones. One circumstance is
worthy of particular notice. The pupils of the convent, al
though they received religious instruction in other ways, do not
appear to have been in possession of the Bible, and to have
had the use of it in private. A Bible, however, had been pro
videntially left, by whose instrumentality, or from what motive,
is unknown, in the chamber which was assigned to Mademoiselle
De la Mothe. Young as she was, she seems to have had a
heart to appreciate, in some degree, the value of this heaven-sent
gift. " / spent whole days," she says, " in reading it, giving no
attention to other books or other subjects from morning to night ,
and having great powers of recollection, I committed to memory
the historical parts entirety" It is highly probable that these
solitary perusals of the Bible had an influence on her mind
through life, not only in enlarging its sphere of thought and
activity, but by teaching her to look to God alone for direction,
and by laying deep and broad the foundations of that piety
which she subsequently experienced.

She remained at this convent eight months. When she
entered upon the twelfth year of her age, she proposed to partake

OF MADAME GUYON. 9

of the sacrament of the Eucharist. For some time previous she
had been remiss in religious duties. Some jealousies and dis-
affections, as is not unfrequently the case, had sprung up among
the younger members of her father s family. A feeling of dis
satisfaction and melancholy seems to have entered her mind ;
and, as if weary of God, she gave up what little religious in
clination and feeling she had, saying, " she was none the better
for it," and wickedly implying in the remark, that the troubles
connected with religion exceeded the benefits resulting from it.
It would not be correct to say that she had given up religion,
but rather many favourable feelings and outward practices
connected with religion. Although she had been interested in
religion, it does not appear that she possessed those qualities
which really constitute it. Prompted, partly by example, and
partly by serious impressions, she had sought it, but had not
found it. Her religious interest varied at different times. At
one time, in particular, it seems to have been very great. She
seems to have had convictions of sin, some desires to live in
God s guidance and favour ; she formed good resolutions ; she
had a degree of inward consolation. But when we examine
these experiences closely, we shall find that such desires, con
victions, and resolutions, which often lay near the surface of the
mind without stirring very much its inward depths, were, in her
case at least, the incidents and preparatives of religion, rather
than religion itself. The great inward Teacher, the Holy Ghost,
had not as yet subdued the natural life, and given a new life in
Christ. She herself intimates, that her religion was chiefly
in appearance, and that self, and not the love of God, was at
the bottom.

The suggestion to partake of the sacrament of the Supper,
and thus by an outward act at least, to array herself more dis
tinctly on the Lord s side, seems to have originated with her
father. In order to bring about what he had near at heart, he
placed her again at the Ursuline Seminaiy. Her paternal half-
sister, who appears to have had some increased and leading
responsibility as an instructress, pleased with the suggestion,

10 LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

but at the same time aware of her unfortunate state of mind,
laboured assiduously to give rise to better inward dispositions.
The labours of this patient and affectionate sister, who knew
what it was both to believe and to pray, and for whom religion
seems to have had a charm above everything else, were so
effectual, that Jeanne Marie now thought, as she expresses it,
" of giving herself to God in good earnest." The day at length
arrived ; she felt that the occasion was too important to be
trifled with ; she made an outward confession of her sins, with
apparent sincerity and devoutness, and partook of the sacra
mental element for the first time with a considerable degree of
satisfaction. But the result showed that the heart was not
reached. The season and its solemnity passed away, without
leaving an effectual impression. The sleeping passions were
again awaked. " My faults and failings," she says, " were soon
repeated, and drew me off from the care and the duties of reli
gion." She grew tall ; her features began to develop themselves
into that beauty which afterwards distinguished her. Her
mother, pleased with her appearance, indulged her in dress.
The combined power of her personal and mental attractions
were felt in the young and unreflecting attachments of persons
of the other sex. The world resumed its influence, and Christ
was in a great degree forgotten.

Such are the changes which often take place in the early his
tory of religious experience. To-day there are serious thoughts,
awakened and quickened feelings, and good resolutions ; every
thing wears a propitious aspect. To-morrow, purposes are
abandoned, feelings vanish ; and the reality of the world takes
the place of the anticipations of religion. To-day the hearts
of mothers and sisters, and of other friends, who have laboured
long and prayed earnestly for the salvation of those who are
dear to them, are cheered and gladdened. To-morrow they
find the solicitations to pleasure prevailing over the exhortations
to virtue ; and those who had been serious arid humble for a
time, returning again to the world. But often these alterna
tions of feeling, which it is not easy always to explain, have an

OP MADAME GUYON. 11

important connexion, under the administration of a higher and
Divine providence, with the most favourable results.

They may, in many cases, be regarded as constituting a
necessary part of that inward training, which the soul must pass
through, before it reaches the position of true submission and
of permanent love. They show us the great strength of that
attachment which binds us to attractions which perish, the
things of time and sense. They leave a deep impression of the
forbearance and long-suffering of God. They teach the neces
sity of the special and powerful operations of Divine grace,
without which the heart, naturally alienated from all attach
ment to the true object of its love, would perish in its worldly
idolatry.

CHAPTER III.

Ttsit from her cousin De Toissi, Missionary to Cochin China Results of this visit Re
newed religious efforts Endeavours to obtain salvation by works rather than by faith-
Return of spiritual declension Account which she gives of her own feelings and conduct
at this time Remarks.

ABOUT this time the Roman Catholic Church of France, de
sirous to spread abroad the Christian religion, was enlarging its
missions in the East. Among the individuals who engaged in
this benevolent work, was a nephew of M. De la Mothe. His
name was De Toissi, of whom some account is given in the
History of Foreign Missions, Relation des Missions Etrangeres,
under the name of De Chamesson. This young man, with one
of the French bishops, the titular bishop of Heliopolis, had com
menced his journey to the place of his labours in Cochin China ;
and in passing through Montargis, had called at the residence
of his uncle. His visit was short ; but as he was about to leave
his native land perhaps for ever, and on business too that was
infinitely dear to humanity and religion, it was full of interest.
He was one of those who could say in the sweet language of

12 LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

the subject of this Memoir, when in after life she suffered in
prison and in exile,

" My country, Lord, art thou alone ;
No other can I claim or own ;
The point, where all my wishes meet,
My Law, my Love, life s only sweet."

" I happened," she says, " at that time to be gone walking
with my companions, which I seldom did. At my return he
was gone. They gave me an account of his sanctity, and of the
things he had said. I was so touched with it, that I was over
come with sorrow. I cried all the rest of the day and of the
night."

This was one of those incidents in the Providence of God,
which come home to the heart. How often has the mere sight
of a truly pious man brought the hardened sinner under convic
tion ! How often have those who have been unmoved by the
most eloquent religious appeals, been deeply affected by the
most simple and unpretending words, when uttered under cir
cumstances favourable to such a result. When she heard the
statement of the deep and devoted piety of her cousin De Toissi,
her thoughts, from contrast rather than resemblance, naturally
reverted to herself. She remembered how often God had called
her ; and how often she had listened without obeying, or had
obeyed without persevering. "What! "she exclaimed to her
confessor and religious teacher, " am I the only person in our
family to be lost ! Alas ! help me in my salvation." Her
whole soul was roused to a sense of her situation. She recalled
with deep compunction her repeated seasons of seriousness and
religious inquiry, and of subsequent declension. "Alas I" she
exclaimed, " what grief I now sustained for having displeased
God I What regrets ! What exclamations I What tears of
sorrow I" Once more she applied herself to her soul s salvation,
apparently with great sincerity and earnestness ; but without
being able to find the simple way of acceptance Toy faith. She
resisted her passions, which were liable to be strongly moved,
with considerable success. She asked the forgiveness of those

OF MADAME GUYON. 13

whom she had displeased. Appreciating, in some degree, the
relation between religion and practical benevolence, she visited
the poor, gave them food and clothing, and taught them the
catechism. She spent much time in private reading and pray
ing. She purchased and read some ol the practical and devo
tional books which were most highly valued among her people,
such as the Life of Madame de Chantal and the works of St.
Francis de Sales. She inscribed the name of the Saviour in
large characters upon a piece of paper ; and so attached it to
her person as to be continually reminded of Him. With an
erroneous notion of expiating sin by her own suffering, she sub
jected herself to various bodily austerities. Determining to
leave nothing undone, she made a vow, in imitation of Madame
de Chantal, of ever aiming at the highest perfection, and of
doing the will of God in everything. This was an important
resolution, which would have been followed by the happiest
consequences, if it had not been made in her own strength, and
in ignorance of the great renovating principle, that all true
strength is derived from God through Christ by faith. Among
other things, she came to the resolution, if Providence should
permit, to enter a convent, and in the apparent hopelessness of
aid from any other source, to secure her spiritual interests and
her salvation by becoming a nun. This part of her plan, which
showed the depth of her feeling, was frustrated by her father,
who was tenderly attached to her, and, while he was earnestly
desirous that his daughter might become truly religious, be
lieved that she might possess religion without separating from
her family, and without an entire seclusion from the world.

The Lord of Life, no doubt, beheld and sympathized in the
anxiety which she felt, and in the efforts she made. God is not
indifferent to those who strive to enter in. He numbers all their
tears ; He registers all their resolves. How can it be otherwise ?
If the state of mind be that of true striving after God, He him
self has inspired it. He sometimes permits those whom He
determines eventually to bless, to strive long, and perhaps to
wander in erroneous ways. But they will ultimately understand

14 LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

much better than they otherwise would have done, the direction
and the issue of the true path. They have a lesson to learn
which cannot well be dispensed with ; and God therefore is
willing that they should learn it. What that lesson is, it is not
always easy to say, in individual cases. Perhaps the remains of
self-confidence exist within them, which can be removed only by
the experience of the sorrows which are attendant upon the
errors it invariably commits. And accordingly God leaves them
to test the value of human wisdom. They try it ; they fall into
mistakes ; they are overwhelmed with confusion ; and then, and
not till then, they see the necessity of reposing all their confi
dence in Him who alone can guide them in safety.

Mademoiselle De la Mothe continued in this state of mind
about a year. What led to the termination of religious prospects
so flattering, it is difficult to state. There is some reason for
thinking, however, that the love of God, not far from this time,
began to be disturbed by the accession and influence of a love
which was more mixed and earthly in its origin. She relates
that her father with his family left the city of Montargis, in
order to spend some days in the country ; and that he took with
him a very accomplished young gentleman a near relation.
This young man, of whom she speaks in high terms for his re
ligious sentiments, as well as his intellectual and other accom
plishments, became much attached to her. She was still only
in her fourteenth year. This individual, notwithstanding her
immature age, made propositions of marriage. And this, after
a suitable time, would probably have been the result, with the
cordial consent of all parties, but their relationship was so near
as to bring them within the degrees of consanguinity prohibited
in the Eoman Catholic Church. This obstacle could have been
removed by a dispensation from the Papal See ; but still it was
so serious that her father did not think it proper to give his con
sent. Still they were mutually pleased, and spent much time
in each other s company. At this time she says, significantly
and penitently, that she " began to seek in the creature what
he had previously found in God."

OF MADAME GUYON. 15

She says, " I left off prayer. I became as a vineyard exposed
to pillage, whose hedges, torn down, gave liberty to all the crea
tures to ravage it. / began to seek in the creature what I had
found in God. And thoti, my God ! didst leave me to my
self, because I left thee first, and wast pleased, in permitting me
to sink into the horrible pit, to make me see and feel the neces
sity of maintaining a state of continual watchfulness and com
munion with thyself. Thou hast taught thy people, that thou
wilt destroy those who, by indulging wrongly-placed affections,
depart from thee. (Ps. Ixxiii. 27.) Alas ! their departure alone
causes their destruction ; since in departing from thee, the Sun
of Righteousness, they enter into the region of darkness and the
shadow of death. And there, bereft of all true strength, they
will remain. It is not possible that they should ever rise again,
unless thou shalt revisit them ; unless thou shalt restore them
to light and life, by illuminating their darkness, and by melting
their icy hearts. Thou didst leave me to myself, because I left
thee first. But such was thy goodness, that it seemed to me,
that thou didst leave me with regret."

" I readily gave way," she says, " to sallies of passion. I
failed in being strictly conscientious and careful in the utterance
of the truth. I became not only vain, but corrupt in heart.
Although I kept up some outward religious appearances, reli
gion itself, as a matter of inward experience, had become to me
a matter of indifference. I spent much time, both day and night,
in reading romances, those strange inventions to destroy youth.
I was proud of my personal appearance, so much so, that, con
trary to my former practices, I began to pass a good deal of my
time before the mirror. I found so much pleasure in viewing
myself in it, that I thought others were in the right, who prac
tised the same. Instead of making use of this exterior, which
God gave me as a means of loving Him more, it became to me
the unhappy source of a vain and sinful self-complacency. All
seemed to me to look beautiful in my person ; but, in my declen
sion and darkness, I did not then perceive that the outward
beauty covered a sinful and fallen soul."

16 LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

But this was not the judgment then passed upon her by the
vorld, so severe in the exaction of its own claims, but so indul
gent in mitigating the claims of God. Under a form outwardly
beautiful, and veiled by manners that had received the most cor
rect and advantageous culture, it was not easy for man to per
ceive the elements and workings of a heart which harboured
moral and religious rebellion. In the eye of the world, incapable
of penetrating beyond the exterior, which delights in elegance
of form and perfection of manners, there was but little to blame,
and much to praise ; but in the eye of God it was not possible
for outward beauty to furnish a compensation for inward defor
mity. And in using the phrase inward deformity, we do not
mean that she was worse than many others who have a reputa
tion for good morals. Estimating her by the world s standard,
she had her good qualities as well as those of an opposite charac
ter her excellences as well as her defects. Nevertheless, there
was that wanting which constitutes the soul s true light without
which all other beauty fades, and all other excellence is but
excellence in name the love of God in the heart.

CHAPTEK IV.

Removal from Montargia to Paris Louis XIV. Characteristics of the age Effect of her
removal to Paris upon her character Her personal appearance at this period Offers of
marriage Is married to M. Quyon in March 1664 Notices of the family of M. Guyon.

IN the year 1663, M. De la Mothe removed his family to
Paris, a step obviously not calculated to benefit his daughter
in a religious sense. Paris was at that time, as now, the centre
of scientific culture and the arts, of refinement of manners and
of fashionable gaiety. Louis XIV. was then the reigning sove
reign of France a man of considerable powers of intellect, and
of great energy of will in whom two leading desires predomin
ated the one to make France great, the other to make himself
thp source and centre of her greatness. The greatness of France..

OF MAD AMP: GUYON. 17

sustained and illustrated in the wisdom and splendour of her
great monarch, was the central and powerful element of his sys
tem of action. Hence the expense and labour bestowed upon
the royal palaces, and all the great public works of a national
character ; hence his vast efforts to enrich and beautify Versailles,
his principal residence ; hence his desire to attach to his person
and court the most distinguished of his nobles. His munificence
to men of literature, his patronage of the arts, the pomp and
ceremony which characterized all great public occasions, all
sprung from the same source.*

All France, and particularly Paris, felt an influence so well
adapted to harmonize with the tendencies of the human heart.
It was an age characteri/sd by many noble efforts in literature
and the arts, and equally by unfounded pretensions, vanity, antf
voluptuousness. Almost everything, especially in the capital,
was calculated to dispossess humility, and to impart an exagge
rated turn of mind. The sights and sounds, the displays of
wealth, in every street ; the crowded populace, intoxicated with
the celebrity of their sovereign and of their nation ; the vulgar
and the fashionable amusements without end ; all were calculated
to divert the mind from serious reflection to lead it to sym
pathize with the senses, and to dissociate it from its own inward
centre ; a state of things which would have been a severe trial
even to established piety.

This state of things had an unfavourable effect upon Made
moiselle De la Mothe ; and she intimates, in the record of her
feelings, that she began to entertain exaggerated ideas of herself,
and that her vanity increased. Her parents, as well as herself,
led astray by the new state of society in which they found them
selves, spared no cost in obtaining whatever might make her
appear to advantage. The world, illuminated with false lights
to her young vision, seemed to be in reality what it was chiefly
in appearance, and consequently presented itself as an object
worth conquering and possessing. At this period she gave to it,
more warmly and unreservedly than at any other, that kindling

Thirty-six thousand labourers were employed at Versailles at one time.
B

18 LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

heart and expanded intellect, which she afterwards gave to reli
gion. She was tall and well-made in her person; refined and
prepossessing in her manners, and possessed of remarkable
powers of conversation. Her countenance, formed upon the
Grecian model, and characterized by a brilliant eye and expan
sive forehead, had in it a natural majesty, which impressed the
beholder with a sentiment of deep respect, while it attracted by
its sweetness. Her great powers of mind (a mind which in the
language of one of the writers of the French Encyclopedic was
fomed for the world, "fait pour le monde") added to the im
pression which she made on her entrance into Parisian society.

Under these circumstances her future husband, M. Jacques
Guyon, a man of great wealth, sought her in marriage. He
was not the only person whose attention was directed to her.
" Several apparently advantageous offers of marriage," she says,
" were made for me ; but God, unwilling to have me lost, did
not permit them to succeed." In accordance with the custom
of the time and country, (a custom oftentimes but little pro
pitious to those who are most deeply concerned,) the arrange
ments in this important business were made by her father and
her suitor with but little regard to her opinions and feelings
She did not see her designated husband till a few days before
her marriage ; and then she did not find her affections united to
him. She gives us distinctly to understand in her Autobio
graphy, that there were other individuals who sought her, with
whom she could have more fully sympathized, and could have
been more happy. But a regard for the opinions of her father,
in whom she had the greatest confidence, (although in this case
he seems to have been influenced too much by the great wealth
of M. Guyon,) overruled every other consideration. She signed
the articles of marriage, without being permitted to know what
they were, on the 28th of January 1664, but was not married
till the 21st of March. She had then nearly completed for six
teenth year. Her husband was thirty-eight.

Of the family of her husband we know but little. His father,
a man of activity and talent, acquired considerable celebrity by

OF MADAME GUYON. 19

completing the Canal of Briare, which connects the Loire with
the Seine. This great work (the more remarkable for being the
first important one of the kind undertaken in France) was com
menced in the reign of Henry IV., under the auspices of his
distinguished minister, the Duke of Sully. After the death of
Henry, and the retirement of Sully from the administration of
affairs, the work was suspended till 1638, when Louis XIII.
made arrangements, on liberal terms, with two individuals,
Messrs. Jacques Guyon and another individual named Bouteroue,
to complete it. Guyon, entirely successful in an undertaking
beset with difficulties, was not only brought into public notice,
but became very wealthy. He was also rewarded with a patent
of nobility at the hands of Cardinal Richelieu, the then leading
minister. His wealth, as well as an honourable and noble
position in society, seems to have been inherited by his only
eon, to whom Mademoiselle De la Mothe was thus united in
marriage.

CHAPTER V.

Remarks on her marriage Treatment she experienced at her husband s house Unkindnese
of her mother-in-law The great incompatibleness of her situation and her character
Her situation considered in its relation to the designs of Providence Her account of the
trials she endured.

IN this union, great wealth and noble rank did not compen
sate for diversity of disposition and great disparity of age. It
could hardly be expected that Madame Guyon, with all her ad
vantages of beauty, talent, and honourable position in society,
could be entirely satisfied, at sixteen years of age, with a hus
band twenty-two years older than herself, whom she had seen
but three days before her marriage, who had obtained her
through the principle of filial obedience, rather than through
warm and voluntary affection.

" No sooner," she says, " was I at the house of my husband
than I perceived it would be for me a house of mourning. ID

20 LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

my father s house every attention had been paid to my manners.
In order to cultivate propriety of speech and command of lan
guage, I had been encouraged to speak freely on the various
questions which were started in our family circle. There every
thing was characterized by elegance. But in the house of my
husband, his mother, who had long been a widow, regarded no
thing else but saving. The elegance of my father s house, which
I regarded as the result of polite dispositions, they sneered at as
pride. In my father s house whatever I said was listened to
with attention, and often with applause ; but here, if I had occa
sion to speak, I was listened to only to be contradicted and
reproved. If I spoke well, they said I was endeavouring to give
them a lesson in good speaking. If I uttered my opinions on
any subject of discussion, I was charged with desiring to enter
into a dispute ; and instead of being applauded, I was simply
told to hold my tongue, and scolded from morning till night.
I was very much surprised at this change, and the more so as
the vain dreams of my youth anticipated an increase, rather
than a diminution of the happiness and consideration which I
had enjoyed."

She was placed by her marriage in a wrong position a posi
tion untrue to the structure of her mind and unfavourable to her
happiness. Nothing else could have been expected from an
arrangement in which so little regard had been paid to the
mutual relations of the parties, in respect to years, early habits,
and mental qualities. When considerable unhappiness is ex
perienced in married life, it naturally implies a very considerable
diversity in the relative situation and in the character of the
parties. But this is not always the case. Sometimes a little
diversity in views and a little want of correspondence and sym
pathy in feelings, furnishing occasion for an irritation which is
not great but constant, may be the means of very seriously im-
bittering life. The mind of Madame Guyon was not in harmony
with her situation. Other persons, it is true, with less experi
ence of past domestic happiness, and with less talent and refine
ment, might, perhaps, have reconciled themselves to the situation,

OP MADAME GUYON. 21

and have regarded it as in many respects a desirable one. Her
husband was not without some good qualities. What his per
sonal appearance was, we have no record. But it is obvious,
that he secured a degree of respect in the circle in which he
moved ; and he had a degree of affection for his wife, which,
under favourable circumstances, might have increased, and have
rendered their union happy. But his good feelings were per
verted by his physical infirmities and sufferings, and by the
influence of his mother, a woman without education, and ap
parently possessed of but little liberality of natural feeling,
who retained in old age, and in the season of her wealth, the
habits of labour and of penurious prudence formed in her youth.
His ill health rendered it necessary for him to keep a woman as
a nurse, who, by her assiduity and skill in seasons of sickness
and suffering, had gained a considerable control over his mind.
This woman sympathized with the mother-in-law, and contri
buted all in her power to render the situation of the young wife,
now in the bloom of youth and in the fulness of her fresh and
warm affections, as unpleasant as possible.

Madame Guyon was both mentally and morally out of her
true position. The individuals into whose immediate society
she was introduced were characterized by a want of intellect
and scientific and literary culture, which was not compensated
either by moral and religious excellencies, or by the virtues of
the heart. They not only did not appreciate her, but practi
cally, if not always intentionally, set themselves against her.
They were not only blind to her merits, but rude to her sympa
thies and hopes, and negligent of her happiness. Certainly this
was not the situation for a woman of great intellect and great
sensibility ; a woman who was subsequently admitted into the
most distinguished circles in France ; a woman who honourably
sustained a controversy with the learning and genius of Bossuet,
and gave a strong and controlling impulse to the mind of
Fenelon ; a woman, whose moral and religious influence was
such, that Louis XIV., in his solicitude for the extirpation of
what he deemed heresy, thought it necessary to imprison her for

22 LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

years in the Bastile and the prison of Vincennes; who wrote
poems in her imprisonment, which Cowper thought it no dishon
our to translate ; and one who has exerted an influence which
has never ceased to be felt, either in Europe or in America.

But there she was, and she felt and knew that her earthly
hopes were blasted. But she did not then perceive, what she
afterwards knew, that God placed her there in His providence,
as He made Joseph a slave in Egypt, "for her good" God had
formed her for Himself. He loved her too much to permit her
to remain long in harmony with a world which, in its vanity
and its corruption, He could not love. He knew what was re
quisite in order to accomplish His own work ; He knew under
what providences the natural life would retain its ascendency,
and the soul would be lost ; and under what providences grace
would be rendered effectual, and the soul would be saved. Such
are the relations between mind and place, that no man ever is
what he is, independently of his situation. The mind has no
power of acting in entire separation from the relations it sus
tains; it knows nothing where there are no objects to be
known ; loves nothing where there are no objects to be loved ;
does nothing where there is nothing to be done. Its powers of
perception, its capabilities of affectionate or malevolent feeling,
its resources of " volitional " or voluntary determination, develop
their strength and moral character in connexion with the occasions
which call them forth. Let any man read the Life of St. Augus
tine, particularly in connexion with what he has himself said in
his Confessions, or the Life of Francis Xavier, of Archbishop
Leighton, of George Fox, of Baxter, of Wesley, of Brainerd, of
Henry Martyn and then say, if different circumstances (a situa
tion, for instance, comparatively exempt from temptation and
toil) would have developed the same men, the same strength of
purpose, the same faith in God, the same purity of life. In the
religious life we are the creatures, not only of grace, but of
position, or more strictly and truly, of grace acting by position.
This doctrine throws light and beauty over the broad field of
God s providences, and shows us why many have passed to glory

OF MADAME GUYON. 23

through great tribulation. Tribulation was necessary to bring
them, if not to the tine life of God in the first instance, to that
fulness and brightness of the inward life which they have expe
rienced. So that those, who grow in grace by suffering, may do
well to remember, that probably nothing but seasons of trial
would have fitted them for the reception and effectual action of
that grace which is their consolation and their hope.

This view Madame Guyon subsequently took of the subject
she saw that everything had been ordered in mercy. In her
Life she says, " I should have some difficulty in writing these
things to you, which cannot be done without apparently giving
offence to charity, if you had not required me to give a full
account, without omitting anything. But there is one thing
which I feel it a duty to request ; and that is, that in these
things we must endeavour to behold the hand of God, and not
look at them merely on the side of the creature. I would not
give any exaggerated idea of the defects of those persons by
whom God had permitted me to be afflicted. My mother-in-law
was not destitute of moral principles ; my husband appeared to
have some religious sentiments, and certainly was not addicted
to open vices. It is necessary to look at everything on the side
of God, who permitted these things only because they were con
nected with my salvation, and because He would not have me
perish. Such was the strength of my natural pride, that nothing
but some dispensation of sorrow would have broken down my
spirit, and turned me to God." And again, " Thou hast
ordered these things, my God, for my salvation ! In good
ness thou hast afflicted me. Enlightened by the result, I have
since clearly seen that these dealings of thy providence were ne
cessary, in order to make me die to my vain and haughty nature.
I had not power in myself to extirpate the evils within me. It
was thy providence that subdued them."*

Her statement of some of her trials I shall endeavour to give
in a very abridged form, adjusting anew in some cases the ar
rangement of the facts. ** The great fault of my mother-in-law,

* La Via de Madame Guy on, Part I . ch 6.

24 LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

who was not without sense and merit, was, that she possessed an
ungovernable self-will. This trait was extraordinary in her ; it
had never been surmounted in her youth, and had become so
much a fixed, inflexible trait of her character, that she could
scarcely live with anybody. From the beginning she had con
ceived a strong aversion to me, so much so, that she compelled
me to do the most humiliating things. I was made the constant
victim of her humours. Her great occupation was to thwart me
continually ; arid she had the art and the cruelty to inspire my
husband with the like unfavourable sentiments.

" For instance, in situations where it was proper to have some
regard to rank or station in life, they would make persons who
were far below me in that respect take precedence of me, a
thing which was often very trying to my feelings, and especially
so on account of my mother, who was very tenacious of what was
due to honourable station in life, and who, when she heard of it
from other persons (for I was careful not to say anything about
it myself), rebuked me for want of spirit in not being able to
maintain my rank. Another source of unhappiness was the dis
position to prevent my visiting my father s family. My parents
complained that I came to see them so seldom, little knowing
the obstacles I had to encounter. I never went to see them
without having some bitter speeches at my return. My mother-
in-law, knowing how tenderly I felt on that point, found means
to upbraid me in regard to my family, and spoke to me in
cessantly to the disadvantage of my father and mother.

"The place assigned for my residence in my husband s house,
was the room which properly belonged to my mother-in-law. I had
no place into which I could retire as my own ; and if it had been
otherwise, I could not have remained alone in it for any length
of time without offence. Kept thus continually in her presence,
she took the opportunity to cast unkind reflections upon me be
fore many persons who came to see us ; and to complete my
affliction, the person chosen to act as nurse to my husband
entered into all the plans of those who persecuted me. She kept
me in sight like a governess, and treated me in a very singular

OP MADAME GUYON. 25

manner, considering the relations actually existing between us.
For the most part I bore with patience these evils, which I had
no way to avoid ; but sometimes I let some hasty answer escape
me, which was to me a source of grievous crosses and violent
reproaches for a long time together ; and when I was permitted
to go out of doors, my absence added but little to my liberty.
The footman had orders to give an acconnt of everything I did ;
and what contributed to aggravate my afflictions, was the re
membrance of my former situation, and of what I might have
enjoyed under other circumstances. I could not easily forget the
persons who had sought my affections, dwelling by contrast on
their agreeable manners, on the love they had for me, and on
the dispositions they manifested. All this made my situation
very gloomy, and my burden intolerable.

" It was then I began to eat the bread of sorrow, and mingle
my drink with tears. But my tears, which I could not forbear
shedding, only furnished new occasion for attack and reproach.
In regard to my husband, I ought perhaps to say, that it was
not from any natural cruelty that he treated me as he did. He
seems to have had a real affection for me, but being naturally
hasty in his temper, his mother found the art of continually
irritating him against me. Certain it is, that when I was sick,
he was very much afflicted. Had it not been for his mother and
the waiting-maid, we might have lived happily together.

" As it was, my condition was every way deplorable. My
mother-in-law secured her object. My proud spirit broke under
her system of coercion. Married to a person of rank and wealth,
I found myself a slave in my own dwelling, rather than a free
person. This treatment so impaired the vivacity of my nature,
that I became dumb like the lamb that is shearing. The ex
pression of thought and feeling, which was natural to me, faded
from my countenance. Terror took possession of my mind. I
lost all power of resistance. Under the rod of my despotic mis
tress, I sat dumb and almost idiotic. Those who had heard of
me, but had never seen me before, said one to another, * Is this
the person who sits thus silent like a piece of statuary, that was

26 LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

famed for such an abundance of wit ? I looked in various
directions for help, but I found no one with whom I could com
municate my unhappiness, no one who might share my grief,
and help me to bear it. To have made known my feelings and
trials to my parents, would only have occasioned new crosses.
I was alone and helpless in my grief. "

CHAPTER VI.

Her trials result in a renewed disposition to seek God Of the connexion of Providential
events with the renewal of the heart The birth of her first child, and its effect upon her
mind Losses of property Experience of severe sickness Death of her paternal half-
sister at Montargis, and of her mother at Paris Result of these afflictions upon her mind
Renewed efforts of a religious nature Her reading Her interviews at her father s
house with an exiled lady of great piety Remarks Her interviews with her cousin,
M. De Toissi, Missionary to Cochin China Her conversation with a Religioua of the
Order of St. Francis Her conversion.

SUCH are the expressions which convey to us her sense of her
trials. In this extremity, it occurred to her (alas ! that we learn
this lesson so often from sorrows alone) that, in the deficiency of
all hope in creatures, there might be hope and help in God. It
is true that she had turned away from Him ; and having sought
for solace where she had not found it, and where she ought not
to have sought it, she felt ashamed to go back. But borne down
by the burdens of a hidden Providence (a Providence which she
did not then love because she did not then understand it), she
yielded to the pressure upon her, and began to look to Him in
whom alone there is true assistance.

She had now been married about a year. A number of things
occurred about this time worthy of notice, and tend to illustrate
the operations of grace in connexion with the position in which
we are placed in Providence. If it is not strictly true that God
saves us by His providences a remark which is sometimes
made I think we may regard it as essentially true that He
saves us by His grace, dispensed and operating in connexion

OF MADAME GUYON. 27

with His providences. Providences test the disposition of the
mind ; they not only test it, but alter it and control it to some
extent, and may be the means of placing it in a position the
most favourable for the reception of inward Divine teaching.

One circumstance, which was calculated to have a favourable
effect upon the mind of Madame Guyon, was the birth of her
first child. God was pleased to give her a son, to whom she
gave the name of Armand Jacques Guyon. This event, appeal
ing so strongly to family sympathies, was naturally calculated to
interest and soften the feelings of those who had afflicted her.
And this was the case. But this was not all. It brought with
it such new relations ; it opened such new views of employment
and happiness, and imposed such increased responsibilities, that
it could hardly fail to strengthen the renewed religious tendency
which had already begun to develop itself. Under the responsi
bility of a new life added to her own, she began to realize that,
if it were possible for her not to need God for herself, she must
need Him for her child.

God, in His dispensations, mingled judgments and mercies.
Another circumstance, was the loss of a part of the property of
the family. The revenues, accruing to the family from the
Canal of Briare, completed by her husband s father, were very
great. Louis XIV., whose wars and domestic expenditures re
quired large sums of money, took from them a part of this in
come. The family, besides their usual place of residence in the
country, had a valuable house in Paris, in connexion with which
also a considerable sum of money was lost at this time. If the
birth of a son tended to conciliate and to make things easy, the
loss of property had a contrary effect. Her mother-in-law, who
seems to have been an avaricious woman, was inconsolable at
these losses ; which, in the perversity of her mind, she made the
occasion of new injuries and insults to her daughter-in-law, say
ing with great bitterness, that the family had been free from
afflictions till she came among them, and that all their troubles
and losses came with her.

Another circumstance, was a severe sickness in the second

28 LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

year of her marriage. The situation of her husband s affairs
was such as to require his constant presence in Paris. After
much opposition of her mother-in-law, she obtained her consent
for a time to reside there with him, but not until she had called
in the aid of her father, who insisted upon it. She went to the
H6tel de Longueville, where her husband stayed. She was re
ceived with every demonstration of kindness from Madame De
Longueville, and from the inmates of the house ; and there were
many things, notwithstanding the generally unpleasant position
of her domestic relations, which tended to render her residence
in the city agreeable. Here she fell sick, and the prospect was
that she would soon die. So far as the world was concerned,
she felt that it had lost, in a great degree, its attractions, and
she was willing to go. The priest who attended her, mistaking
a spirit of deadness to the world, originating in part from her
inability to enjoy it, for a true spirit of acquiescence in God s
dispensations, thought well of her state. She seemed to him to
be truly religious. But this was not her own opinion. She
had merely begun to turn her eye, as it were, in the right direc
tion. " My sins were too present to my mind," she says, " and
too painful to my heart, to permit me to indulge in a favourable
opinion as to my acceptance with God. This sickness was of
great benefit to me. Besides teaching me patience under violent
pains, it served to give newer and more correct views of the
emptiness of worldly things. It had the tendency to detach me
in some degree from self, and gave me new courage to suffer
with more resignation than I had ever done."

But this was not all. Death had begun to make inroads in
her family circle. Her paternal half-sister, at the Ursuline
Convent, died two months before her marriage. She seems to
have been a woman gentle in spirit and strong in faith, who
lived in the world as not of the world ; and died in the beauty
and simplicity of Christian peace. The loss of a sister, so de
servedly esteemed and loved by Madame Guyon, could not pos
sibly be experienced without making the earth less dear, and
heaven more precious. In the second year of her marriage, she

OP MADAME GUYON. 29

experienced the separation of another strong tie to earth, oy the
loss of her mother. " My mother departed this life," she re
marks, " in great tranquillity of spirit, having, besides other
virtues, been in particular very charitable to the poor. God,
who seems to have regarded with favour her benevolent disposi
tion, was pleased to reward her, even in this life, with such a
spirit of resignation, that, though she was but twenty-four hours
sick, she was made perfectly easy about everything that was
near and dear to her in this world."

It is easy to see, in the light of these various dispensations,
that God, who builds His bow of promise in the cloud, had
marked her for His own. He had followed her long, and warned
her often. He stopped her pathway to the world ; but He left
it open to heaven. He drew around her the cords of His pro
vidence closely, that she might be separated, in heart and in
life, from those unsatisfying objects which, in her early days,
presented to her so many attractions. It was God who was
present in all these events ; and, through an instrumentality ot
His own selection, was laying His hand painfully but effectually
upon the idols which she had inwardly cherished, sometimes
trying her by mercies, where mercy might affect her heart, but
still more frequently and effectually by the sterner discipline of
outward disappointment and inward anguish.

Not in vain, He who understands the nature of the human
heart, and the difficulty of subjecting it, thus adjusted every
thing in great wisdom, as well as in real kindness. The trials
which He had sent were among those which work out " the
peaceable fruits of righteousness." By these various provi
dences, afflicting as they were, she was led to the determination
(a determination from this time never abandoned), once more to
seek God. She had sought Him before, but she had not found
Him. But, in turning from God to the world, she had found
that which gave no satisfaction. Bitterly had she learned, that
if there is not rest in God, there is rest nowhere. Again, there
fore, she formed the religious resolve a resolve which God
enabled her not only to form, but to keep. Her feelings at this

3d LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

time are well expressed in a well-known hymn, which is de
signed to describe the state of a sinner who has seen the fallacy
and the unsatisfying nature of all situations and hopes out of
Christ.

" Perhaps He will admit my plea ; " I can but perish if I go ;

Perhaps will hear my prayer; I am resolved to try ;

But if I perish, I will pray, For if I stay away, I know

And perish only there. I must for ever die."

Fully determined to seek God, in all time to come, she
adopted those measures which seemed to her best. They show
her sense of need and her deep sincerity ; but they indicate also
now difficult it is for the natural heart, especially under certain
systems of religious belief and practice, to detach itself from its
own methods and supposed merits, and in true simplicity of
spirit to follow Him who is " the way, the truth, and the life."
Although they were in some sense only preparatory, they had a
connexion with the great lesson which she was destined ulti
mately to learn. Among other things which seemed to be
necessary in her present state, she ceased to give that attention
to her outward appearance which she had done formerly. Fear
ful that she might either excite or increase emotions of vanity,
she diminished very much the time occupied at the mirror. In
addition, she commenced doing something for the religious
benefit of the servants of the family. She likewise began a
process of inward examination, often performing it very strictly,
writing down her faults from week to week, and comparing the
record at different periods, to see whether she had corrected
them, and to what extent. The Sabbath was a day strictly
observed, and the place of worship was not only regularly visited,
but was attended with some beneficial results. She made such
progress in certain respects, that she began to see and appreciate,
much more correctly than at any former period, the defects of
her character and life, and to feel sentiments of sincere compunc
tion. She laid aside all reading incompatible with her present
position, and confined her attention chiefly to the most devout
works. One of these books, which, notwithstanding its Roman

OF MADAME GUYON. flj

Catholic origin, is much esteemed among Protestants, was the
celebrated Imitation of Christ, by Thomas-a-Kempis a work
widely read among devout people of all denominations of Chris
tians. Under a simple and unpretending exterior, corresponding
n this respect with the humble spirit of its author, whoever he
may have been, it contains the highest principles of Christian
experience. Some of the works of Francis de Sales also, which
she had read at an early period of her life, were consulted by
her at this time with great interest.

God, in His benevolence, was pleased to add other instru
mentalities. During her visit to Paris, and at other times, she
had opportunities of being at her father s house. After the death
of her mother, her respect and affection for her father seemed
especially to require it. She there became acquainted with a
lady, whom she speaks of as being an exile very possibly some
person driven from England by the civil wars. This exiled
lady came to her father s house in a state of destitution ; and
ne offered her an apartment, which she accepted for a long time.
Instructed in the vanities of the world by the trials she had
experienced, she had sought and had found the consolations of
religion, and loving God, " worshipped Him in spirit and in
truth." Her gratitude to M. De la Mothe was naturally shown
in acts of kindness to his daughter, Madame Guyon. And these
favourable dispositions were increased by her talents, her beauty,
and sorrows ; and still more by what she noticed of her sincere
and earnest desire to know more, and experience more, of the
things of religion.

Madame Guyon eagerly embraced this opportunity of reli
gious conversation ; and from this pious friend thus raised up
by Providence to instruct her, s ie seems to have received the
first distinct intimations, that she was erroneously seeking reli
gion by a system of works without faith. This devout lady
remarked, on her various exterior works of charity, that she had
the virtues of " an active life" that is to say, the virtues of
outward activity, of outward doing, but that she had not the
" truth and simplicity of the life within." In other words, that

32 LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

her trust was in herself rather than in God, although she might
not be fully aware of it. But Madame Guyon says significantly,
" My time had not yet come ; I did not understand her. Living
in the Christian spirit, she served me more by her example than
by her words. God was in her life. I could not help observ
ing on her countenance something which indicated a great enjoy
ment of God s presence. I thought it an object to try to be like
her outwardly to exhibit that exterior aspect of Divine resigna
tion and peace, which is characteristic of true inward piety. I
made much effort, but it was all to little purpose. I wanted to
obtain, by efforts made in my own strength, that which could
be obtained only by ceasing from all such efforts, and trusting
wholly in God."

In narrating these various providential dispensations and
instrumentalities, we cannot avoid noticing how much it costs
to bring a soul to the knowledge of God. This recital does not
present anything peculiarly new ; anything which does not
occur in many other cases. The human mind is so wedded to
its natural perverseness, that it is not brought into harmony
with God at once. Even those conversions, which appear to be
especially prompt and sudden, have in many cases been preceded
by a long preparatory training, which is not the less real, be
cause it has been unseen and unknown. Generally speaking,
we see efforts frequently renewed, resolves made and broken,
alternations of penitential tears and of worldly joys, advice and
warning received to-day and rejected to-morrow, and very fre
quently a long series of disappointments and sorrows, before the
mind is so humbled as to renounce its earthly hopes, and to
possess all things in God by becoming nothing in itself. But
this state of things, which so frequently happens, and is really
so afflicting, teaches us the lesson of patience and of hope. Tears
may have been wiped away, and resolutions broken ; yet those
tears, which seemed in vain, and those resolutions which seemed
worse than in vain, may have been important and even indis
pensable links in the chain of providential occurrences. We
repeat, therefore, that conversions long delayed, although cal-

OP MADAME GUYON. 33

ciliated to try and to purify our patience, ought not to ex
tinguish our hope. " In due season we shall reap, if we faint
not."

Another individual had a share in that series of providences
which God saw to be necessary. This was M. De Toissi, the
nephew of M. De la Mothe. He had been to Cochin China,
and after an absence of about four years, had returned on busi
ness connected with the mission. He visited the house of M. De
la Mothe, where his cousin, Madame Guyori, was exceedingly
glad to see him. She knew his character. She remembered
what was said of his conversation and appearance when he
visited her father s house. In her state of mind, groping about
in solitude and desolation of spirit, she eagerly sought conver
sations with pious persons. This pious cousin, impelled by
natural affection as well as by a regard for the interests of reli
gion, did all that he could to encourage her in her search after
God. Other things gave him an increased interest in the case,
such as her personal accomplishments, her great talents, the
wealth of her family, her position in society, and her compara
tive youth circumstances particularly adverse to the humble
and pure spirit of religion. And it was not easy for one to see
the possessor of them seeking religion, with a full determination
to be satisfied with nothing else, without feeling a deep interest
in the result. Madame Guyon very freely and ingenuously
stated her views of her inward state to her cousin the faults of
her character, her inward sense of her alienation from God, her
efforts and discouragements. He expressed the deepest interest
in her case. He prayed for her, and gave such advice as he
was able. With earnest exhortations he cheered her onward,
not doubting that God s wisdom and goodness would bring all
well in the end.

These interviews had an encouraging effect. He was in a
state of inward and continual communion with God ; that state
of mind, probably, which, in accordance with the nomenclature
of the higher experimental writers, she variously denominates,
in her religious works, as the state of "Recollection," or of

c

34 LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

" Recollection in God." This state of continual prayer affected
her much, although unable at that time to understand its nature.
She also noticed, with interest and profit, the conversation be
tween him and the exiled lady resident at her father s house.
As is the case with all truly pious persons, they seemed to under
stand each other s hearts. "They conversed together," she
says, "in a spiritual language." They had that to speak of,
which souls unconverted can never know, a Saviour, sins for
given, and joy and peace in believing.

The example and the exhortations of De Toissi could not
fail to make a deep impression. Many were the tears she shed
when he departed. She renewed her solemn resolutions. She
endeavoured to imitate him in his state of continual prayer, by
offering up to God ejaculations, either silent or spoken, moment
by moment. On the system of mere human effort, she seems to
have done all that she could do. But still she did not under
stand; a cloud hung over one of the brightest intellects when
left to itself so perplexing to human wisdom, and so adverse to
the natural heart is the way of forgiveness and justification by
faith alone. Those know it who experience it, and those only ;
but her hour had not yet come. More than a year had passed
in this state of mind, and with such efforts but apparently in
vain. With all the appliances mentioned, with afflictions on the
one hand to separate her from earthly objects, and encourage
ments on the other to allure her to heaven, she still seems to
have remained without God and without hope in the world. So
much does it cost, in a fallen world like this, to detach a soul
from its bondage and to bring it to God ! God has not only
spread the feast, in the salvation which He has offered through
His Son, but, by means of ministers, both providential and
personal, He goes out into the highways, and compels them to
come in.

God was pleased to send one more messenger. " Oh, my
Father I" says Madame Guyon, in connexion with the incidents
we are about to relate, " it seems to me sometimes, as if thou
didst forget every other being, in order to think only of my

OF MADAME GUYON. 35

faithless and ungrateful heart." There was a devout man of the
Religious Order of St. Francis his name is not given who spent
five years in solitude, for spiritual renovation and communion
with God. With a heart subdued to the world s attractions, and
yet inflamed for the world s good, he went out into the field
of labour. He thought that God called him to labour for the
conversion of a person of some distinction, in the vicinity of M.
De la Mothe. But his labours there proved fruitless or rather,
resulted only in the trial of his own faith and patience. The
humble Franciscan, revolving in his mind where he should next
go and announce the Divine message, was led by the inward
monitor, in connexion with the indications of Providence, to go
to the house of M. De la Mothe, with whom he seems to have
had some acquaintance in former times. M. De la Mothe, a man
in whom the religious tendency was strong, was exceedingly
glad to see him, and to receive his instructions, especially as he
was then out of health, and had not much expectation of living
long. His daughter, Madame Guyon, desirous of rendering him
every assistance in his increasing infirmities, was then at her
father s house, although her own health was very infirm. Her
father was not ignorant either of her outward or inward trials.
She had conversed with him with entire frankness on her reli
gious state and the exercises of her mind, her dissatisfaction with
her present spiritual condition, and her earnest desire to avail
herself of every favourable opportunity to receive religious in
struction. Her father, influenced by the representations she
made, as well as by his high sense of the piety and religious
wisdom of the Franciscan, not only advised but strongly urged
her to consult with him.

Attended by a kinswoman, as seemed to be proper, she visited
the Franciscan, and stated her conviction of her need of religion,
and her often-repeated and long-continued efforts made without
effect. When she had done speaking, the Franciscan remained
silent for some time, in inward meditation and prayer. He at
length said : " Your efforts have been unsuccessful, Madame, be
cause you have sought without, what you can only find within.

86 LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

Accustom yourself to seek God in your heartj and you will not
fail to find Him."

It is very probable that she had heard a similar sentiment be
fore ; but if so, it came to her as religious truth always does
come to those in their natural state, who are permitted to hear,
before grace has enabled them to understand. But now the
hour of God s providence and of special mercy had arrived.
Clearly and strongly did the Divine Spirit apply a truth which
otherwise would have fallen useless to the ground. These few
words, somewhat singular in expression, obviously convey the
great principle, that religion does not and cannot consist in out
ward working in a mere round of ceremonial duties in any
thing which comes exclusively under the denomination of an
external action. But, on the contrary, it is inward in the sense
of having its seat in the heart s affections, and in accordance
with the great scriptural doctrine, that the "just shall live by
faith." From the moment that Madame Guyon heard these
words, she was enabled to see the error she had committed,
that of endeavouring to obtain God by a system of outward
operations, by the mercenary purchase of formal services,
rather than by the natural and Divine attraction of accordant
sympathies. Speculatively, there may be a God objective, a
God outward, a God recognised by the intellect as a great and
majestic Being living in the distance. And in certain respects
this is a view of God which is not at variance with the truth.
But still God can never be known to us as our God, He can
never be brought into harmony with our nature, except as a
God inward, a God received by faith and made one with us by
love, and having His home in the sanctified temple of the heart.
" Believe in the Lord your God ; so shall ye be established.
Believe his prophets ; so shall ye prosper " (2 Chron. xx. 20).

" Having said these words," she says, " the Franciscan left
me. They were to me like the stroke of a dart which pierced
my heart asunder. I felt at this instant deeply wounded with
the love of God ; a wound so delightful, that I desired it
never might be healed. These words brought into my heart

OP MADAME GUYON. 37

what I had been seeking so many years ; or rather they made
me discover what was there, which I did not enjoy for want of
knowing it. Oh, my Lord ! thou wast in my heart, and de
manded only the turning of my mind inward, to make me feel
thy presence. Oh, infinite Goodness ! thou wast so near, and
I ran hither and thither seeking thee, and yet found thee not.
My life was a burden to me, and my happiness was within my
self. I was poor in the midst of riches, and ready to perish with
hunger near a table plentifully spread and a continual feast. Oh
Beauty, ancient and new ! Why have I known thee so late ?
Alas, I sought thee where thou wast not, and did not seek thee
where thou wast ! It was for want of understanding these
words of thy Gospel : l The kingdom of God cometh not with
observation, neither shall they say, Lo, here I or fo, there 1 for
behold, the kingdom of God is within you. This I now experi
enced, since thou didst become my King, and my heart thy king
dom, where thou dost reign a Sovereign, and dost all thy will.

" I told this good man, that I did not know what he had done
to me ; that my heart was quite changed ; that God was there ;
for from that moment He had given me an experience of His
presence in my soul, not merely as an object intellectually
perceived, but as a thing really possessed after the sweetest
manner. I experienced those words in the Canticles : l Thy
name is as precious ointment poured forth ; therefore do the
virgins love thee. For I felt in my soul an unction, which
healed in a moment all my wounds. I slept not all that night,
because thy love, my God ! flowed in me like delicious oil,
and burned as a fire which was going to destroy all that was
left of self in an instant. I was all on a sudden so altered, that
I was hardly to be known either by myself or others. I found
no more those troublesome faults, or that reluctance to duty,
which formerly characterized me. They all disappeared, as
being consumed like chaff in a great fire.

" I now became desirous that the instrument hereof might
become my Director,* in preference to any other. This good

* DIRICTOR.- The office of Director and the office of Confessor, sometimes exist in the

38 LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

father, however, could not readily resolve to charge himself with
my conduct, though he saw so surprising a change effected by
the hand of God. Several reasons induced him to excuse him
self: first, my person, then my youth, for I was only twenty
years of age ; and lastly, a promise he had made to God, from
a distrust of himself, never to take upon himself the direction
of any of our sex, unless God, by some particular providence,
should charge him therewith. Upon my earnest arid repeated
request to him to become my Director, he said he would pray
to God thereupon, and bade me do so too. As h^ was at prayer,
it was said to him, Fear not that charge ; she is my spouse.
This, when I heard it, affected me greatly. What I (said I
to myself,) * a frightful monster of iniquity, who have done so
much to offend my God, in abusing His favours, and requiting
them with ingratitude, and now, thus to be declared His
spouse ! After this he consented to my request.

" Nothing was more easy to me now than to practise prayer.
Hours passed away like moments, while I could hardly do any
thing else but pray. The fervency of my love allowed me no
intermission. It was a prayer of rejoicing and of possession,
wherein the taste of God was so great, so pure, unblended and
uninterrupted, that it drew and absorbed the powers of the soul
into a profound recollection, a state of confiding and affectionate
rest in God, existing without intellectual effort. For I had now
no sight but of Jesus Christ alone. All else was excluded, in
order to love with greater purity and energy, without any mo
tives or reasons for loving which were of a selfish nature."

Such are the expressions in which she speaks of the remark
able change which thus passed upon her spirit, an event which
opened new views, originated new feelings, instituted new rela
tions, and gave new strength. Too important in itself and its
relations to be forgotten under any circumstances, we find her
often recurring to it with those confiding, affectionate, and

same person, and the terms appear in some instances to be used as synonymous with each
other. Strictly speaking, however, it is not the business of the Director to bear confessions,
but simply to give religious counsel, in those various circumstances in which Christiana,
especially in the beginning of the religious life, are found to need it.

OF MADAME GUYON. 39

grateful sentiments, which it was naturally calculated to inspire.
One of her poems, which Cowper has translated, expresses well
the feelings which we may suppose to have existed in her at this
time.

LOVE AND GRATITUDE.

" All are indebted much to tbee, " Spirit of Charity ! Dispense
But I far more than all ; Thy grace to every heart :

From many a deadly snare set free, Expel all other spirits thence ;

And raised from many a fall. Drive self from every part.

Overwhelm me from above, Charity divine ! Draw nigh ;

Daily with thy boundless love. Break the chains in which we lie

" What bonds of gratitude I feel, " All selfish souls, whate er they feign.

No language can declare ; Have still a slavish lot;

Beneath the oppressive weight I reel, They boast of liberty in vain,

Tis more than I can bear ; Of love, and feel it not.

When shall I that blessing prove, He, whose bosom glows with tha.

To return thee love for love ? He, and he alone, is free.

" blessedness all bliss above,

When thy pure fires prevail !
LOVB* only teaches what is love ;

All other lessons fail ;
We learn its name, but not its powers,
Experience only makes it ours."

CHAPTER VII.

Remarks on intellectual experience, in distinction from that of the heart Of that form of
experience which is characterized by joy Her experience characterized especially by the
subjection of the will Of the course to be pursued in translating from the writings of
Madame Guyon Her remarks on the union of the human with the Divine will Her
remarks on faith Conversation with a Franciscan Immersion of her soul in God, and
her contemplation of all things in Him.

MADAME GUYON, recognising an important distinction, re
garded the change at this period as not merely an intellectual
illumination, but as truly a change of the heart. Undoubtedly
she had received new light. She had been led to see the ex
treme perversity and blindness of the natural mind. She had
now a clearer perception both of what God is, and of what He
requires ; and especially of the way of forgiveness and salvation

* God is Love, 1 John IT. 8.

40 LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

by faith in Christ alone. But perception is not love. The
righting of the understanding is not necessarily identical with
the rectification of the sensibilities. The understanding, en
lightened of God, will sometimes dictate what the heart, in its
opposition to God, will be slow to follow. This was not her
case. Her understanding was not only enlightened, but her
heart was renewed.

No sound was heard but that of the " still small voice,"
which speaks inwardly and effectually. There was no dream,
no vision, no audible message. Her change was characterized,
not by things seen, but by operations experienced ; not by re
velations imparted from without, and known only as existing
without, but by affections inspired by the Holy Ghost from
within, and constituting, from the time of their origin, a part of
the inward consciousness.

Joy was a marked characteristic of her first experience of the
new life. But, taught by the great inward Teacher, she was
enabled to perceive from the first, that it would not be safe to
estimate either the reality or the degree of her religion by the
amount of her happiness. There is not only such a thing as joy,
but such a thing as religious joy in the language of the Scrip
tures, "joy in the Holy Ghost." But this is a very different
thing from saying, that joy and religion are the same thing.
Joy is not only not religion, but it does not always arise from
religious causes. The grounds of its origin are numerous, and
sometimes very diverse. A new speculative truth, new views
at variance with the truth, or even the pleasant intimations of a
dream or vision, whether more or less remarkable, (to say no
thing of physical and providential causes, causes connected
with the state of our health and situation in life,) may be fol
lowed by a pleasurable excitement which may be mistaken for
true religion. Certain it is, however, that no joys can be re
garded as really of a religious nature and as involving the fact
of religion, which are not attended with repentance for sin and
faith in Jesus Christ, with the renovation of the desires and the
subjection of the will. The views of Madame Guyon on this

OF MADAME GUYON. 41

subject were distinct and decided. She took the Saviour for her
example. She did not seek joy, but God, God first, and what
God sees fit to give afterwards. She believed and knew, if she
gave herself to God wholly, without reserve, God would take
care of her happiness.

The leading and decisive characteristic of her religious ex
perience was the subjection and loss of her own will in its union
with the Divine will. It may be expressed in a single term,
union. " As thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they
also may be ONE in us." On this subject, a number of her re
marks may properly be introduced here, with a few preliminary
statements. Madame Guyon s literary education, although it
compared well with that of other French ladies at that time,
was, in some respects, defective. The institutions for young
ladies, not excluding the celebrated Seminary of St. Cyr, esta
blished a few years after, did not profess, and were not able to
give, that thorough mental training which was had in the French
colleges and universities. And the greatest natural ability will
not necessarily compensate for defects in education. Her style
of writing is eloquent and impressive in a high degree, but a
critical eye will discover in it deficiencies, which are to be as
cribed, in part, to the cause just intimated. The theological and
experimental terms which she uses, sometimes have a specific
meaning, not unknown perhaps in some of the mystic writers, but
which can certainly be ascertained only by an intimate know
ledge of her own experience, character, and writings. Take, as
an illustration of this remark, the word "puissances," which is
literally rendered by the English word, powers ; but the latter
term gives only an indefinite idea of the sense which she attaches
to the original term. She uses it in its mental application,
meaning the mental powers, but not all of them. She distin
guishes between the will (volonte}, the understanding (entende-
ment], and the puissances ; meaning generally by the latter term,
the propensive and affectional part of our nature, not excluding
the appetites ; what we sometimes denominate by the single
expression, the natural sensibilities. It would not be sufficient,

42 LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

therefore, merely to translate her words by rendering them with
the words and methods of expression that formally correspond to
them. A translation of words is not necessarily a translation of
ideas. It is necessary first to ascertain what she meant, and
then to embody her ideas in such a mode of expression as will
convey to the English reader just that meaning which she her
self would have conveyed if she had used the English language
with the Anglo-Saxon mind. Her statements on the same sub
ject are often fragmentary ; broken in parts, uttered in various
and remote places of her works, and accompanied more or less
with digressions and repetitions. What I give as a translation
is, in some cases, of the nature of an interpreted translation, a
translation of the spirit rather than of the letter. A true trans
lation of what she was and of what she meant can be made in
no other way.

With these remarks, we give some of her views. " The union
oetween the soul and God may exist in various respects. There
may be a union of the human and the Divine perceptions.
There may be a union of the desires and affections to some ex
tent and in various particulars. But the most perfect union,
that which includes whatever is most important in the others,
is the union of the human and the Divine will. A union of the
affections, independently of that of the will, if we can suppose
such a thing, must necessarily be imperfect. When the will,
which sustains a pre-eminent and controlling relation, is in the
state of entire union with God, it necessarily brings the whole
soul into subjection ; it implies necessarily the extinction of any
selfish action, and brings the mind into harmony with itself, and
into harmony with everything else. From that moment our
powers cease to act from any private or selfish regards. They
are annihilated to self, and act only in reference to God. Nor
do they act in reference to God in their own way and from their
own impulse ; but move as they are moved upon, being gradu
ally detached from every motion of their own.

" In the presence of the light of faith, every other light neces
sarily grows dim and passes away, as the light of the moon and

OF MADAME GUYON. 43

stars gradually passes away, and is extinguished in the broader
and purer illumination of the rising sun. This light now arose
in my heart. Believing with this faith, the fountains of the
heart were opened, and I loved God with a strength of love
corresponding to the strength of faith. Love existed in the soul ;
and, throwing its influence around every other principle of ac
tion, constituted, as it were, the soul s dwelling-place. God was
there. According to the words of St. John, He that dwelleth
in love, dwelleth in God. God is love. "

When the pious Franciscan, her spiritual Director, questioned
her in relation to her feelings towards God, she answered, " I
love God far more than the most affectionate lover among men
loves the object of his earthly attachment. I make this state
ment as an illustration, because it is not easy to convey my
meaning in any other way. But this comparison, if it furnishes
an approximation to the truth, fails to discover the truth itself."

" This love of God," she adds, " occupied my heart so con
stantly and strongly, that it was very difficult for me to think of
anything else. Nothing else seemed worthy of my attention.
So much was my soul absorbed in God, that my eyes and ears
seemed to close of themselves to outward objects, and to leave
the soul 4 under the exclusive influence of the inward attraction.
My lips also were closed. Not unfrequently vocal prayer, that
form of it which deals in particulars, ceased to utter itself, be
cause my mind could not so far detach itself from this one great
object as to consider anything else. When the good Father, the
Franciscan, preached at the Magdalen Church, at which I
attended, notwithstanding the importance and interest which
attached to his religious addresses, I found it difficult, and almost
impossible, to retain any definite idea of what he said. He
preached there on three successive occasions about this time ;
and the result was always the same. I found that thy truth,
my God, springing from the original source, as if thy Divine
and eternal voice were speaking truly, yet inaudibly in the soul,
made its impression on my heart, and there had its effect, with
out the mediation of words.

44 LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

" This immersion in God absorbed all things ; that is to say,
seemed to place all things in a new position relatively to God.
Formerly I had contemplated things as dissociated from God ;
but now I beheld all things in the Divine union. I could no
more separate holy creatures from God, regarded as the source
of their holiness, than I could consider the sun s rays as existing
distinct from the sun itself, and living and shining by virtue of
their own power of life. This was true of the greatest saints.
I could not see the saints, Peter, and Paul, and the Virgin Mary,
and others, as separate from God, but as being all that they are,
from Him and in Him, in oneness. I could not behold them
out of God ; but I beheld them all in Him."

CHAPTER VIII.

Of the very marked and decisive nature of her conversion Ceases to conform to the world
in her diversions and modes of dress Birth of her second son Her views of providence
in connexion with her position in life Of the discharge of her duty to her family and to
others Her great kindness and charity to the poor Her efforts for the preservation of
persons of her own sex Her labours for the conversion of souls Conversation with a
lady of rank Happy results Domestic trials Unkindness of her stepmother and of her
maid-servant Partial alienation of her husband s affections Conduct of her eldest son
Her solitary state.

MADAME GUYON dates this great change as taking place on
Magdalen s day, the 22d of July 1668.* She was then a little
more than twenty years of age.

The change experienced in the transition from the life of
nature to the life of God in the soul, is very different in different
persons. In the case of Madame Guyon, slowly progressive in
its preparatory steps, it was very decisive and marked at the
time of its actually taking place. It was obviously a great crisis
in her moral and religious being one in which the pride and
obstinacy of the natural heart were broken down, and in which,
for the first time, she became truly willing to receive Christ
alone as her hope of salvation.

* La Vie de Madame Guyon, Part I. chap. x. 5

OF MADAME GUYON. 45

A gospel change implies the existence of a new nature, a
nature which has life in it ; and which, having the principle of
life in itself, puts forth the acts of life. And thus the fact, both
of its existence and of its character, is verified. The true life
always shows itself outwardly, in its appropriate time and way.
" By their fruits" says the Saviour, " ye shall know them." No
other evidence will or ought to compensate for the absence of
this. This evidence Madame Guyon gave. From the moment
that she gave herself to the Lord to be His, in the inner spirit as
well as the outward action, the language of her heart, like that
of the apostle Paul, was, " Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?"

" I bade farewell for ever," she says, " to assemblies which I
had visited, to plays and diversions, dancing, unprofitable walks,
and parties of pleasure. The amusements and pleasures so
much prized and esteemed by the world, now appeared to me
dull and insipid so much so, that I wondered how I ever could
have enjoyed them." For two years previously she had left off
the curling of her hair a very general and favourite practice at
that time. From this time it became her object, in her dress,
modes of living, and personal habits generally, as well as interior
dispositions, to conform to the requisitions of the Inward Monitor,
the Comforter and Guide of holy souls.

Sustaining the relations of a wife, a mother, and a daughter,
and seeing now more clearly into the ways and requisitions of
Providence, she endeavoured, from higher motives and in a
better manner than ever before, to discharge the duties which
she owed to her father, husband, and children. God had been
pleased to give her another son. Her first son she frequently
names as being made, through the perverting influence of her
stepmother, a son of trial and sorrow. The second son, who
gave better promise both for himself and others, was born in
1667. We have scarcely anything recorded of him, except the
few painful incidents of his early death. These new relations
furnished opportunities of duty and occasions of trial, which
ceased from this time, at least in a great degree, to be met in
the strength of worldly motives, or by the acts of worldly wis-

46 LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

dom. God, in whom alone she felt she could trust, became her
wisdom and strength, as well as her consolation.

We may truly say, whatever allowance it may be necessary
to mak