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CHAPTER II.

Jesuits and Oratorians-Different Effects of Jesuit and Oratorian teaching in France-King Frederick's "Pantheon"-Voltaire and King Frederick on Original Sin— The Sorbonne-New School of Philosophy-Education of the King and Queen of France-The Pulpit in France -French Preachers-Fénélon-Bossuet-MassillonBridaine Comparative consequences of Jesuit and Oratorian preaching-A new generation in England and in France-Decrease of faith in France-Increase of superstition in France-The mystic Count de St. Germain, Minister of War-Previous life of the Count de St. Germain--Malesherbes-Philosophy in the Cabinet of Versailles-St. Germain's introduction of Prussian tactics into the French army-Abolition of Royal household troops at Versailles-French delight at Prussian Reform in the French army-The Queen and the Count de St. Germain-France craves for miracles-Medicine in France and in Prussia-Royal edict in favour of the Faculty in France Death of the Prince de Conti-David Hume's letter on the death of the Prince de Conti-Cast taken after death-Allegorical Picture-Report on Electricity in VOL. II.

E

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THE CHURCH IN FRANCE.

France, 1778-Science a bond of sympathy between the King of France and Dr. Franklin-Captain Cook-Edict of Louis XVI. in favour of Captain Cook-Edict of Dr. Franklin in favour of Captain Cook-Dr. Anthony Mesmer in Paris-Previous History of Dr. MesmerParisian popularity of Dr. Mesmer-Dr. Mesmer's demands of Versailles-Dr. Mesmer and Dr. Franklin at Passy-Cagliostro in Paris-Cardinal Prince de Rohan at Trianon-Previous history of Cagliostro-Popularity of Cagliostro in Paris-The true story of "the Queen's Necklace"-Autograph (unpublished) letters of Cagliostro -Comparison between French society in the Moyen-Age and French society in the eighteenth century--Curious geographical charts of the fourteenth century in the Bibliothèque Impériale-Sisters of the Sacred Heart-Original autograph letter of the Abbesse de St. Remy.

REVERENCE for the Church, and popular enthusiasm for the services of the Church, had gradually declined in France, since the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1762. The Jesuits had been the teachers of the people, and as such, by a strange paradox, they had cradled philosophers and Encyclopédistes. Voltaire, long after he had verified the prediction of his Jesuit tutor (Father le Jay), by becoming "the Chief of Deism" in France, kept up a learned and friendly correspondence with various members of "the Society of Jesus," and especially with that erudite Jesuit, the Abbé

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Porée, to whom he vowed "the tenderest friendship, the truest gratitude."

When the Jesuits were expelled from France, because of their intermeddling with the temporal affairs of the State, the education of the people devolved upon the Oratorians. The Oratorians had but a limited reverence for the Pope; many of them were Jansenists, and leagued in opinion with the Parliaments, which, in the late quarrels of the Church concerning the Bull Unigenitus (or absolute power of the priesthood for life and death), had erected themselves into an anti-papal legislature. After twenty years (in 1778), the teaching of the Oratorians made itself felt in France. A new generation had sprung up, doubting of traditions in Church and State; which traditions had, a score of years before, been believed infallible, invulnerable, and invincible.*

* King Frederick "the Great" was, to the new generation, the practical exponent of what philosophy called "Spiritual Liberalism;" or, as the Pope declared, of rank heresy. This Protestant hero had designed for his own capital a vast "Pantheon," which was to be consecrated equally to all religions. To this Pantheon every man could come and worship in public according to his own belief, be he Mussulman, Jew, or Christian of any denomination whatever. The architectural plan of this universal temple did much credit to the royal classical, or, as priests declared, heathenish taste. Its form was circular. The

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THE UNIVERSITY IN FRANCE.

The University was the fountain-head of all instruction in France. Formerly it had taught the exclusive doctrines of the Church, and had upheld the sacred rights of the Crown. In the University,

plan (though afterwards executed on a smaller model for Catholics at Berlin) was-being before its time-reluctantly laid aside by the philosophic monarch. As critical author (a character more emulated by Frederick than that of brave soldier), the King of Prussia endeavoured to reform the Protestant Psalms; but, as the attempt nearly excited a revolt in Berlin-bigotry not being exclusively Romish-the royal critic declared:-"Each man may believe what he likes in my kingdom, and he may sing what he likes, even in the book of canticles. . . 'Maintenant toutes les forêts reposent,' or any other solecism; only, let priests observe TOLERATION, for no intolerance will be tolerated by me." It is remarkable that Voltaire defended the doctrine of original sin against King Frederick of Prussia. "Theologians I have always respected," wrote the heretic King; "God save me, poor pigmy, from measuring my strength with the Titans. As to original sin, that you protect so strongly, if you find it amusing to be born wicked, I do not care to rob you of that innocent pleasure. . . . . Only let us make a little treaty; for two ages let human nature be reared in a suitable climate, according to nature, reason, and conscience, and at the end of those two ages let us revisit the world, and look human nature in the face ;I will tell you then what I think of your original sin."-Conseils du Trone.

*The French University musters some of the most illustrious names in literature and science through succeeding generations. Rollin (who died in 1741) was three times elected Rector of the University of Paris. During the time that he was Professor of History there, Rollin gave a new impulse to French thought, and helped to mould the future of the world by the study of the past.

the Sorbonne, which embraced theology, held the highest place; every scholar destined for the priesthood was not only compelled to submit an essay, showing his powers of argument, to the Doctors of the Sorbonne, but also to undergo a rigid examination of that reverend and learned body, before passing out into the world to proclaim the infallible power of the Church of Rome to save or to destroy. The consecutive reading of some of these essays, written during the last half of the eighteenth century, shows, better than anything else can do, the gradual ascendancy of rationalism over Faith, after the Jesuits were cast out from the University of France, and the Oratorians were let in. Another mission of the Sorbonne was to examine all books published of a religious and philosophical character. It was in the execution of this mission, in the middle of the eighteenth century, that Jesuits came into notoriously violent collision with Encyclopédistes. But now, in the latter half of the eighteenth century, when Oratorians had usurped the place of Jesuits, when philosophy was seated in the King's Cabinet, and when Encyclopédistes, long proscribed, had returned to France, from which Jesuits were cast out, liberty of con