has been already tranflated into German.' It was alfe tranflated into the Danish language by commodore Effura, and was recommended to the perufal of the counts Struenfee and Brandt, during their imprisonment, to convince them of the truth of the Chriftian religion, and were not without effect, according to the narratives of their preparations for death, by the two divines, D. Munfter and D. Hac, who were appointed to attend them in their laft moments.

In the year 1756, Dr. Newton was appointed chaplain to his majefty, and made the year following a prebendary of Westminster. At this period he experienced the friendship of archbishop Gilbert, who on the promotion to the fee of York, procured him the appointment of fub-almoner to his majesty, and afterwards gave him one of the moft valuable pieces of preferment in the church of York, the precentorfhip, which he held till he obtained a bishopric. On the 5th of September 1761, he married his fecond wife, Elizabeth, daughter of John lord vifcount Lifburne, by a fine young woman, whom his lordfhip had married, and much injured. What this injury was has been thus related. Lady Lifburne, as the fuppofed herself to be, was one day obferving to her lord, that the newspapers had announced the death of a lady Lifburne in Portugal-Who, fays fhe, can this lady, Lifburne be?-She was my wife, anfwered my lord. Why then, \replied the lady, I am not your wife, for you were the hufband of another when yeu married me.

gal

'The

Her

fact was not to be difowned; upon which the lady refolutely declared for a feparation, and they never lived together afterwards. daughter married the Rev. Mr. Hand, and after his death was, with great credit, housekeeper to a noble lord. This daughter Dr.

Newton married, when a widow, at the time abovementioned, and on the eighteenth of the fame month he was promoted to the fee of Briftol. The bishop, in the life of himfelf, and anecdotes on his friends, which make 135 pages, and are prefixed to his works, fays, "He was no great gainer by this preferment, being obliged to give up the prebend of Westminster, the precentorship of York, the lecturefhip of St. George's, and the office of fub-almoner.

In 1768 his lordship fucceeded to the deanery of St. Paul's vacated by the promotion of bifhop Cornwallis to the fee of Canterbury. On this preferment, which feems to have been the fummit of his wishes, he refigned, with becoming moderation, the living of St. Mary le Bow, which, notwithstanding, he might have held in commendam. From the time of this promotion his health became very tender and precarious, and he was often afflicted with many fevere fits of illness. However, the bishop of Bristol lived long enough to furvive almost all his friends; and on Thursday the fourteenth of February, 1782, he expired. His lordship was buried on the 28th following, in the vaults under the fouth ifle of St. Paul's cathedral.

As a divine, the conduct of the bishop of Bristol was regular and exemplary; but his fentiments on political fubjects appear to have been weak, narrow, contracted, and not abfolutely devoid of a tendency to intolerance.

Having thus given an accurate and faithful narrative of this pious, learned, and great prelate, the EDITORS of this Magazine beg leave refpectfully to inform their friends, fubfcribers, and their readers in general, that it is their intention to prefent them with more examples of our late eminent bishops, and not to trouble themselves, or

their publisher, (to whom they are much obliged for the labour and time he has freely beftowed in the first department of their plan) with painful, and fruitless enquiries, after thofe LIVING characters, who feem perfectly content with the fatisfaction of living to themfelves. We have lately received feveral hints from fome correspondents, to whose judgment we fhall always pay a due deference, expreffing their fentiments on this matter, and which exactly correfpond with our own inclinations. On this account, and with a view of giving (which is our higheft ambition) general fatisfaction, it is our intention, in future, only to prefent the public

with the Portraits of our prefent bishops, whofe likeneffes, fhall be carefully procured; being determined to undertake ONLY the memoirs of fuch LIVING CHARACTERS, who, may be pleased to favour us with proper materials. At the fame time, thofe of our friendly correfpondents, who feem to have expected more under our article of modern biography, than it has been in our power to lay before them, we would request to remember, that, in general, the lives of fcholars and churchmen are too uniform to abound with many ftriking incidents, and much lefs with ad

venture.

ANTIENT

MEMOIRS

O F THE

LIFE OF FRANCIS DE LA MOTTE FENELON, ARCHBISHOP, AND DUKE OF CAMBRAY, &C.

THIS great man, equally fa

mous in the Chriftian and in the literary world, was of an ancient and illuftrious family in France. His father was Pons de Salignac, marquis of Fenelon, and his mother Louifa de la Cropte, fifter to the marquis de l'Abre. He was born at the Caftle of Fenelon, in the province of Perigord, Auguft the 16th, 1651. He was educated at home under the eye of his parents, till he was twelve years of age; at which time he was fent to the university of Cahors. But the most happy circumstance in his education, was the care of his uncle, Anthony marquis of Fenelon ; a man of great genius, and diftinguished no lefs for his virtue than his valour; he was fo kind as to 4

take his nephew into his own house, at Paris, and to treat him, in all refpects, as his fon; and under his inftructions the young man made a great progrefs, fufficiently difcovering the rays of that genius, which afterwards fhone forth with fo much fplendor. At the age of nineteen, he preached publicly, and with great reputation at Paris; but the marquis his uncle, fearing left the young Abbé, (for fo the French call thofe young men, who defigned to take, or are in orders, though they have no preferment) fhould appear too early in the world, and not have fufficient ballaft to weather the blaft of vanity, which too much applaufe would raife, perfuaded him to imitate for feveral years the filence of Jefus Christ.

The young man readily embraced his uncle's propofal; and dedicated himfelf with unwearied affiduity to fuch ftudies, and improvements, as were fuited at once to his rank, and profeffion. At the age of twentyfour he was admitted into orders: preferred

preferred by the archbishop of Paris; and gained fo good an esteem in the office wherein he was employed, that in 1686, the king named him to be the head of thofe miffionaries, who were fent along the coaft of Saintonge and the Pais de Aunix to convert the Proteftants. Military force, had been ufed, to this end, and much inhuman barbarity committed. But Fenelon, abhorred thefe perfecuting maxims, and would not undertake the miffion, without an affurance, that no foldiers fhould be employed.

When he had finished his miffion, he returned to Paris, and was prefented to the king. But fo little folicitous was he after preferments, that he neither attended the court at all for two years, nor endeavoured to infinuate himself into their favour, who had the difpofal of the higheft pofts. Though his talents were equal to the greatest offices, he was contented to exert them, with all diligence, in the duties of that ftation, in which he was fixed, by inftructing the new converts. His fame however daily increased; his fermons and difcourses were univerfally applauded; and the ftrength, eloquence, and piety of his performances gained the general attention. Since his death, thefe works have been felected and published. He himself alfo, about this time, published a piece, concerning The functions of the paftors of the church;" which was well received by the members of his communion, and contains many excellent and useful remarks, though founded in fome. measure, upon a mistake respecting the choice of paftors amongst the Proteftants. A treatife of his on the Education of Maids appeared too a little time before; and these works, joined to his exemplary life, laborious exertion of himself in the duties of his function, and very eloquent preaching, procured him the honour of an appointment

to the care of the young princes' education, the dukes of Burgundy and Anjou; their governor, the duke de Beauvilliers, having recommended Fenelon to the king, without any application of his own, or any intereft on his part to procure fo refpectable and advantageous a poft.

He entered upon it, in 1689, and difcharged it with all probity and affiduity, as the excellent pieces he wrote for the inftruction and benefit of his charge, the young princes, fufficiently prove. During the time of his refidence at court, he fhewed the greatness of his mind, the moderation of his defires, and his freedom from that worst and most unbecoming vice of churchmen, covetoufnefs. For he was fix years there without any particular mark of favour, and without once afking any thing either for himself or his friends. He had learnt early to moderate his defires, and having an ardent love for the poverty of Chrift, was fatisfied with a little priory, which his uncle had refigned to him: vinced, as he was, that no flavery is greater than that which attends the love of riches.

con

The French academy however gave him an high instance of their good opinion of him; for they chofe him, unfoliciting, a member of their fociety in the year 1693; and that with particular respect; for he was admitted in the room of the celebrated Mr. Peliffon, and of the difcourfe delivered on the occafion, it is faid, that the greatest honour the academy could do M. Peliffon, was to chufe him for his fucceffor; and that in making the choice, they had confidered nothing but his own merit.

At length, in the year 1695, the king gave him the abbey of St. Vallery, and fome months after the archbishopric of Cambray. The great favour he was in with the king, feemed to promife him ftill

more

more confiderable preferments; but there arofe a ftorm, which blew too roughly for him to preferve his veffel at court, and which drove it thence for ever. Before we fpeak of the imagined and generally pretended caufe of this trouble, it may be proper to remark fome things in his conduct, which raifed, and were indeed fufficient to raife him, enemies, with the corrupt clergy.

When the king promoted him to the archbishopric, M. Fenelon, whofe confcience was very fcrupulous and tender, refufed to accept it; fearing, he should not be able to reconcile the care of a diocefe, with the duties of his preceptorfhip to the princes. The king told him, that the education of the princes being nearly completed, he might acquit himfelf, by turns, of his functions as a preceptor and a prelate while the worthy men he had under him in thefe pofts would fill his place in his abfence.

He at

laft fubmitted to the king's pleafure; but on condition, that he night pafs nine months at CamBray, and three only with the princes. Soon as he accepted the archbishopric, he refigned the abbey of St. Vallery, without afking it for any of his friends and relations; the king was fürprized, and preffed him to keep it; but he reprefented to his majesty, that as the revenue of the archbishopric was fufficient for him, he thought himself in the cafe, where a plurality of livings is against the canon. At the fame time he re

figned the priory alfo, which his uncle gave him. He had no idea of uniting in the fame perfon, the archbishop, the abbot, and the prior; or of holding preferments, the duties of which were wholly incompatible. This uncommon generofity gained him a great applaufe; but it exafperated against him feveral perfons, whom he condemned by his example; who were VOL. II. No. 13.

fo far from intending to imitate it," that they were anxiously grafping after every appointment; and were therefore defirous to remove, if poffible, fo disagreeable an opprobrium to them, as the archbishop of Cambray. Among thefe wast Boffuet bishop of Meaux; a man of great learning and abilities; much indebted to the archbishop on many accounts; but, eclipfed by his fuperior fplendor, jealoufy and envy, it is to be feared, had too ftrong a prevalence over his mind and he failed not to feize that occafion, and to ufe it with all diligence, which the archbishop himself administered to the hatred of his enemies.

Madam Guyon was, at this time, much talked of in France; fhe pretended to a very high and ex Ited devotion; to a pure, but ideal, love of God, merely for its own fake; fhe wrote feveral pieces, and amongst the reft a myftical expofition of Solomon's Song; and in fhort was a down right Quietift.. The archbishop was fufpected of favouring her. And upon the publication of his book, entitled, An Explication of the Maxims of the Saints concerning the Interior Life, he was charged with maintaining in it the fanatical and dangerous opinions of the Quietifts.

In this book, it is certain, he becomes a champion for the doctrine of the contemplative life," the pure and disinterested love of God." He has divided his work into forty-five articles. In thofe which he calls the True articles, he fets down the found doctrine of pure love; he collects the expreffions of the faints, gives their true meaning, and determines the fenfe of every word. In the articles which he ftyles Falfe, he fhews, where the danger of error lies, and how far the erroneous principles may be carried under a fhew of perfection. The idea doubtlefs is noble, and worthy

P

worthy the greatnefs of God, who ought to be ferved for his own fake, without any view of intereft. And it is to be lamented, that the nature of man is fo weak, as to be unable to arrive at fuch a degree of excellence. Several divines, however, in the church of Rome, have taught the very fame doctrine, nay, and carried it higher than the archbishop of Cambray; yet they were left unmolested, while he was perfecuted on this account, with the greatest bitterness. The author's good intention would not excufe him; his integrity, his humility, and fubmiffion, and all his other virtues, were not fufficient to ftem the torrent breaking in upon him. The people were exafperated against him: the ideas of perfection, which he endeavoured to raise in the minds of mankind, were, according to his enemies, nothing but herefies and chimeras; his name, in the writings of the bifhop of Meaux, never went without the moft odious epithets; and as his conduct had nothing in it, that could be taken hold of, he was put upon the fame foot with Madam Guyon and a man of the archbishop's wifdom was charged with being in the interefts of an extraVigant mad woman. He was become the Montanus of the new Prifcilla! In fhort ne means were left untried to ruin him; while he continued calm and ferene, amidst the obloquy and infults thrown upon him; and at length received with the utmolt meekness and the moft perfect fubmiffion, the fentence of the pope, by which his book was condemned, and himself banished, from court, into his diocefe. The archbishop received the fentence, with an uncomplaining deference to the author of it; and immediately published a mandate, to the diocefe, in which he declared, that as he himself fincery fubmitted to the pope's judgment and condemnation, fo he

hoped that his flock would do the fame. A more ftriking inftance of undiffembled humility cannot easily be produced.

The bishop of Meaux, in the judgment of all mankind, ought to have refted here. And indeed if all which that prelate laboured for, was the advantage and intereft of the church, he had gained his point. Rome had decided: all things gave way; his antagonist acquiefced.. Charity then obliged him to forget what was paft, and to give the highest commendation to the conduct of fo prudent an enemy, if he deferves the name of an enemy, who only fearches after truth. But notwithstanding this, the bishop of Meaux again attacked him, and revived the affair in the affembly of the French clergy. But the public interpofed and it would have been for the credit of that bishop, to have joined with the rest of the world, in admiring the wifdom of fo fubmiffive a prelate, who acquired more reputation by his miffortunes, than his antagonist did by his victory.

The archbishop, according to his fentence, retired to Cambray, where he led an exemplary and divine life and difcharged, with the most religious punctuality, all the duties of his high ftation. He himself examined, as the chevalier Ramfay informs us, all thofe who were to be admitted into holy orders, and would have them propofe to him the difficulties and objections they had to offer against the doctrines of religion: he used to hear them with the utmost patience, and to answer them with a fatherly kindness. He vifited his diocefe very diligently, and preached in all the churches of it. In his public inftructions he fuited his difcourfes to every capacity; fpeaking to the weak in an eafy and familiar manner: whilft he raised his ftyle for thofe, who had a more elevated genius. His fermons

flowed