to which to give the preference; it is the simplicity of a style nervous and affecting, natural and noble : the profoundest knowledge of religion, the admirable use which he makes of the Scriptures and of the Fathers—these are the talents which never permit me to think of this great man without saying to myself, "See, then, to what an elevation genius may be raised when it is invigorated by study!" What can be more beautiful and inimitable in Christian eloquence than the first parts of the sermons of Bourdaloue "On the Conception," ," "the Passion," and "the Resurrection!"*

"Among the Roman Catholic preachers, the two most eminent are BOURDALOUE and MASSILLON. It is a subject of dispute among the French critics to which of them the preference is due, and each of them have their several partisans. To Bourdaloue they attribute more solidity and close reasoning; to Massillon a more pleasing and engaging manner: Bourdaloue is indeed a great reasoner, and inculcates his doctrines with much zeal, piety, and earnestness; but his style is verbose; he is disagreeably full of quotations from the Fathers, and he wants imagination. Massillon has more grace, more sentiment, and, in my opinion, every way more genius. He discovers much knowledge both of the world and of the human heart; he is pathetic and persuasive; and, upon the whole, is perhaps the most elegant writer of sermons which modern times have produced."-BLAIR's Lectures, vol. ii., p. 120.

M. CREVIER, in his Rhetorique Françoise, makes the following critical comparison of celebrated French orators: "BOSSUET is sublime, but unequal; FLECHIER is more

SECTION XLIV.

OF MASSILLON.

His rival MASSILLON seldom hath sublime strokes ; but if he be inferior in his peculiar fame as an orator, he is doubtless of the first rank as a writer. No one has carried the excellence of style to a higher degree of perfection. He attended to this branch of eloquence to the latest period of his life.

There were found in his portfolio, after his death, twelve transcripts of his sermons, which he revised with unwearied pains after his advancement to the episcopacy, and which, of course, have never been delivered from the pulpit such as we now read them.

Massillon retained in his old age all the purity of his taste, although he had lost the vivacity of his imagination. He then employed himself much more upon the style than upon the main points of his discourses; but he was always unwilling to revise his course of Lent Sermons,* which he had written at first with much care; and I do not mean to attack the glory of the immortal MASSILLON; I intend, on equal, but less sublime, and often too flowery; BourdaLOUE is solid and judicious, but he neglects the lighter ornaments; MASSILLON is richer in imagery, but less cogent in reasoning. I would not, therefore, have an orator content himself with the imitation of one of these models, but rather that he strive to combine in himself the different qualities of each.”—Vol. ii., ad fin.

Fr., son petit Carême.

the contrary, to render him fresh homage, in boldly advancing that this, which has for a long time been quoted as his chief work, appears to me one of his feeblest rhetorical productions.

Massillon's plans are all alike; and besides this sameness, which is so perceptible when we read his sermons in succession, he generally confines himself to combat excuses, and perhaps does not sufficiently search beforehand into the bottom of his subjects.

He was born with very great talents for eloquence, but he was not sufficiently studious in his youth. He depended too much upon his quickness of parts; and we may say respecting him what the Roman orator said of Piso, "As much as he withheld from application, so much he diminished his glory."* Yes, it is my admiration of him; it is my reading him over and over every day with delight, that emboldens me to apply to him the charge which Cardinal de Retz brought against the great Condé, when he blames him "for not having merited all that he might."+

How superior would Massillon really have been to himself, were all his sermons as eloquent and perfect as his "Ecclesiastical Conferences;" his discourses "On the Forgiveness of Enemies;" "On the Death of a Sinner;" ;" "On Confession;""On the Divinity of Jesus Christ;" "On the Mixture of the Righteous

* Quantum detraxit ex studio, tantum amisit e gloria.BRUTUS, 236. t Memoirs, vol. i.

and the Wicked;" his homily" of the Prodigal Son," &c. In these we have Massillon's most masterly performances; it is here we discover all his genius, while we regret that he hath not bestowed more time upon the composition of his other works.

This excellent writer, misled by his copiousness, frequently fails in not sufficiently enriching his beautiful style with ideas; and he would unquestionably lose much of his celebrity were he to be judged according to this maxim of Fenelon: "A good discourse is that from which nothing can be retrenched without cutting into the quick."*

Massillon's arguments are sometimes destitute of regularity, of energy, perhaps even of the solidity which he was so capable of giving them.

"On the

Could it be believed, that in his sermon Certainty of a Future State," which is, in other respects, full of beauty and energy, Massillon seriously refutes, and more than once, the frivolous objection that another state of existence is incredible, because no one ever returned from it? The French orator, so styled by way of pre-eminence, Bossuet, has also deigned to take notice of this plea of sinners, who would call for miraculous apparitions, not to convince them of the soul's immortality, but to determine their conversion. One expression at the close of the funeral oration for Queen Henrietta (the most pathetic of all his discourses) suffices him to

* Letter upon Eloquence.

confute, by a sublime stroke, this absurd demand. It were to be wished that Massillon had often copied this boldness of the pencil! "Do we expect God to raise the dead in order to instruct us? It is by no means necessary that the dead return, nor that any one rise out of the grave; that which to-day descends into the tomb might be sufficient to convert us.”

SECTION XLV.

OF SAURIN.

We sometimes discover such passages—after the manner of Bossuet-in the sermons of the Pastor SAURIN, whom we ought to insert at the head of preachers of the second class.*

The first part of his discourses generally consists of a commentary upon his text. In my opinion, all his critical discussions upon history, grammar, or chronology are extremely different from eloquence.

Besides, the show of erudition with which Saurin imposes on so many of his readers ought not to be held of any account, even if all this scientific dress were not mistimed, inasmuch as it is no very difficult task to copy commentators or to translate dissertations.

* 66 Among the French Protestant divines, SAURIN is the most distinguished; he is copious, eloquent, and devout, though too ostentatious in his manner."-BLAIR's Lectures, vol. ii., p. 120.