THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
subtle and obscure. It created great excitement, almost every one taking part for or against it. Bossuet attacked it violently; Fenelon answered with self-restraint and dignity. Although Fenelon had the support of the Jesuits, and in secret, that of Le Tellier, confessor of Louis XIV., most of the clergy adhered to Bossuet, upon whose side, too, the monarch ranged himself. Fenelon was banished to his see city of Cambrai, whereupon he appealed to the pope for judgment upon his book. After a long delay and urgent pressure from Louis XIV., decision was rendered, declaring several passages of his work erroneous (not heretical). Fenelon publicly proclaimed the papal decision and caused as many copies of his book as he could obtain to be burned. It is open to question, however, whether his submission was sincere. That he held fast to his opinions at a later date is manifest from a letter to Le Tellier in which, speaking of his conflict with Bossuet, he says " He who was in error has conquered and he who was free from error is overcome." As a matter of fact the papal judgment, rendered so unwillingly and in so mild a form, did Fenelon no harm, but gained him sympathy and increased love and admiration.
It is in the last period of his life, during eighteen years of labor in his diocese (1697-1715) that Fenelon showed himself in the noblest light. Devoted to his pastoral duties, he made himself thoroughly acquainted with conditions in every part of his jurisdiction, giving himself up especially to the task of training worthy 6. Conduct priests and removing for this purpose of His the diocesan seminary from Valen-
Diocese. ciennes to Cambrai where it enjoyed his personal supervision. A master of pulpit oratory himself, he combated the prevailing taste for declamation, laying down as the threefold object of the preacher to convince, paint, and persuade. During the war of the Spanish Succession (1702-13) his diocese was repeatedly the scene of hostilities. In 1709, when the country around Cambrai was laid waste by the enemy, Fenelon turned his palace into a refuge for the inhabitants of entire villages, and gave his personal care to the sick and wounded. He placed his episcopal income at the disposal of the government for the relief of famine. The nobility of his conduct did not fail to impress even the foe, and Prince Eugene and the duke of Marlborough established guards for the protection of his personal property during the occupation of the country by the allies.
In the Jansenist controversy Fenelon took an active part as an opponent of the teachings of the bishop of Ypres. He requested the pope to obtain from the king the dismissal of all dignitaries who should refuse to subscribe to the anti-Jansenist formula, and their excommunication in case of obstinate opposition. He gave unconditional support to the bull Unigenitvs directed against the Jansenists. On the other hand, to the Protestants of the country he maintained, according to some authorities, an attitude that went to the extreme of tolerance. His pastoral duties still left him time for literary activity. As a member of the French Academy his advice was called for in the work on
the great dictionary. As a judge in the conflict between the Ancients and the Moderns, he praised the classic writers because they depicted nature with power and grace, carried out their characters consistently, and attained harmony. At this time he brought together the different fragments of the Telemaque into an orderly whole. The book achieved a tremendous success, not only in France, where it was speedily prohibited, but throughout Europe. Fenelon has been accused unjustly of intending this romance as a satire upon the government of Louis XIV., a view against which the author 7. T616- vehemently protested. Nevertheless maque. the book itself contains echoes and images of the time. The work is written in a highly attractive style and reveals a sound knowledge of antiquity. What detracts from it is the blending of Greek mythology with Christian doctrine and ethics, of antiquity with modern times, a process resulting in a general impression of unreality. Although the king had forbidden all intercourse between Fenelon and the duke of Burgundy, the two remained in constant communication through common friends. On important occasions the young duke turned for advice to his old teacher, and when the death of the Dauphin (1711) made the duke heir to the throne, a new career seemed about to open for Fenelon. But if he entertained hopes of playing the part of a Mazarin or a Richelieu, the death of the duke in the following year dashed them to the ground. On hearing the fatal news he remarked " My ties are now severed — nothing more binds me to earth." The last years of his life were passed in partial retirement and devotion.
Fenelon's numerous literary, theological and political writings offer abundant testimony to the versatility of his talents and the wide extent of his knowledge. Similarly many-sided does his character appear. By nature mild, he was stern to himself and often severe to those who 8. Estimate differed from him in belief. With a of His strong bent for mysticism, he neverthe- Character. less possessed remarkable insight into practical affairs and conditions. Insisting as a theologian upon "a pure and unselfish love for God " and revealing as archbishop a spirit of noble sacrifice and of devoted service toward the poor and the suffering, he aspired at the same time to power and dominion. An earnest champion of authority and established doctrine in the Roman Catholic Church and an opponent of all religious innovations, he showed himself, in the field of politics and social science an advocate of ideals bordering on Utopianism. In an age when absolutism was regarded as almost a divine principle, Fenelon was the first to speak of popular rights and the popular welfare. In this manner his ideas represent an anticipation of the eighteenth century, whose philosophers, notably D'Alembert, praise him highly. On the whole, in spite of certain defects, we may decidedly place him among the noblest characters and most talented writers of his day. (J. EHNit-)
Bibliography: An edition of Fe"nelon's works, with Vie by Y. M. M. de Querbceuf, was published, 9 vols., 1787-