«f Suffer me to put you in mind of thofe unhappy ages of the Roman empire, when private men were "not permitted to be virtuous or renowned; because "the Princes were fo wicked, that they punished both "virtue and glory. After their generals had con"quered provinces and kingdoms, they were obliged upon their return to avoid meeting their friends; to ❝ come into the city by night, to prevent their draw❝ing too much the eyes of the people upon them; "fo far were they from afpiring to the honour of a "triumph. A cold embrace, without the leaft con"ference or difcourfe, was all the reception a Prince cc gave to a man who had faved the empire. After "returning from the Emperor's cabinet, through " which he only paffed, he was forced to mix among "the crowd of other flaves. Exceptufque brevi ofculo, nullo fermone, turbæ fervientium immixtus eft." "M. Turenne had the happiness to live under, and "ferve a monarch, whofe virtue cannot be eclipfed "by that of his fubjects. No grandeur or glory can "cloud the fun which enlightens us; and the moft "important actions atchieved by fubjects never give "any uneafinefs to a Prince whofe own magnanimity "convinces him that he deserves them. And indeed "the marks of esteem and confidence, which the king "fhewed M. Turenne, were equivalent to the glory "of a triumph. The rewards would likewife have "been as great as thofe diftinctions, had the king "found him inclinable to receive favours. But that "which was the effect of good policy in the unhappy СС times, when virtue had nothing to fear fo much as "its luftre, was in him the refult of natural and "artless modefty. "He returned from his triumphant campaigns with "the fame indifference and tranquillity, as if he had cc come from taking a walk; not fo much affected ແ with his own glory as the rest of the world were; f M. Turenne's funeral oration, by M. Mafcaron. & Tacit. « whilft "whilft the people thronged in vain to fee him. "Thofe who had the honour to know, pointed him "out in affemblies, with their eyes, their geftures, "and voices, to fuch as did not. Though his pre"fence only, without any attendance or equipage, "made that almoft divine impreffion on the minds of "people, which fo ftrongly engages refpect, and is "the sweetest and most innocent fruit of heroic virtue; yet all these circumftances, fo apt to make a man conceive either a fecret vanity of himself, or exprefs it by his outward behaviour, wrought no "change in the tranquillity of his foul; and for "aught he cared, his victories and triumphs might "have been buried in oblivion. 66 66 IV. The Queen of England's escape by Sea. A fimple propofition. The queen was obliged to leave her kingdom. She failed out of the English ports in fight of the rebel fleet, which purfued her clofe. This voyage was far different from that she had made on the fame fea, when she went to take poffeffion of the fcepter of Great Britain. At that time every thing was propitious; now all the reverse. "The queen was obliged to leave her kingdom. "And indeed fhe failed out of the English ports in "fight of the rebellious navy, which chafed her fo "clofe, that the almost heard their cries and infolent "threats. Alas! how different was this voyage from "that he made on the fame fea, when, coming to "take poffeffion of the fcepter of Great Britain, fhe "faw the billows fmooth themselves, as it were, un"der her to pay homage to the queen of the feas! "Now chafed, purfued by her implacable enemies, "who had been fo audacious as to draw up an accufa"tion against her: fometimes juft efcaped, fome"times juft taken; her fortune fhifting every quar"ter of an hour, having no other affiftance but God The queen of England's funeral oration by M. Boffuet. ❝ and "and her own invincible fortitude, fhe had neither "winds nor fails enough to favour her precipitate "flight." PARALLELS. So I call thofe paffages in which the orator draws together and compares contrary or different objects. These paintings are very pleafing to the mind, from the variety of images they prefent to it, and very much embellish a difcourfe. We have already taken notice of fome of them in the preceding defcriptions, and will now give fome more examples. I. PARALLEL between M. Turenne and the Cardinal de Bouillon. A fimple propofition. While M. Turenne was employed in taking fortreffes and conquering the enemy, the Cardinal de Bouillon was converting heretics, and repairing churches. "i How great was his joy, after the taking of for"treffes, to fee his illuftrious nephew, more glorious by "his virtues than by his awful robes, opening and re"confecrating churches, under the direction of a Mo"narch equally pious and powerful. The one ad"vanced military glory, the other holy religion: the ་་ one beat down ramparts, the other repaired altars: "the one ravaged the lands of the Philiftines, the o"ther carried the ark around the tents of Ifrael; and "then uniting their wishes, as before their hearts, "the nephew fhared in the fervices the uncle perform"ed for the ftate; and the uncle partook of those "performed by the nephew for the church. II. PARALLEL between violent and languishing difeafes. "'Tis true, he did not undergo thofe cruel pains "which pierce the body, rend the foul, and in a moment i M. Turenne's uneral oration by M. Flechier. k M. Montaufier's funeral oration by M. Flechier. "extinguish extinguish the conftancy of a fick perfon. But if "God's mercy foftened the rigour of his repentance, "his juftice increafed its duration; and as much "ftrength of mind was requifite to fupport that long "trial, as if it had been shorter and more fevere. "Indeed, nature collects her whole ftrength, when "attacked by fudden and violent diseases; the heart "fortifies itfelf with its whole fund of conftancy. Ex"cefs of pain, on thefe occafions, makes us more in"fenfible; and if we fuffer much, we have ftill the "comfort of thinking we fhall not fuffer long. But "languishing difeafes are fo much the more fevere, as cc we cannot foresee when they will end. We must "bear both with the ficknefs and the medicines, "which are no lefs grievous. Nature is every day દ more and more oppreffed: its ftrength decays every "inftant; and patience grows weak, as well as the "perfon who fuffers. III. PARALLEL. The Queen ferving the poor in the hospital, and sharing in the King's glory and triupmhs. "Faithful companions of her piety, who now be"wail her death, you followed her, when the walked " in this christian pomp, between two lines of poor, "fick or dying perfons; greater far in thus voluntarily divefting herself of her grandeur, and more glo"rious in imitating the humility and patience of Je"fus Chrift, than when she shared in the glory and "triumphs of the king her confort, in a fplendid and "triumphant car, between two lines of victorious "foldiers. IV. PARALLEL between a wicked and an ignorant judge. "m He would have thought it the most effential de"fect in his employments, not to have made his in The Queen's funeral oration by M. Flechier. m M. Lamoignon's funeral oration by M. Flechier. C 4 "tentions ❝tentions as clear and obvious, as he believed them "upright and juft; and indeed, it was a ufual faying "with him, that there was little difference between “ a corrupt and an ignorant judge: the one has, at "leaft, the precepts of his duty, and the image of his injuftice before his eyes; but the other fees neither "the good nor the evil he does: the one fins wittingly, and is therefore the more inexcufable; but the "other fins without remorfe, and is the more incorct rigible; but they are equally criminal with regard CC. to thofe they condemn, either through mistake or through malice. Whether a perfon is hurt by a "mad or a blind man the pain is ftill the fame. And "with regard to thofe who are undone, it avails "little whether it be by a man who deceives them, 6 or one who is himfelf deceived." t. COMMON PLACES. Having already cited feveral, I fhall give but one here, in which the importance and difficulty of the employment of the "Lieutenant de Police in Paris are reprefented. "The inhabitants of a well-governed city enjoy "the benefit of its polity, without confidering the "trouble and pains of those who establish, or preferve "it; much after the fame manner as all mankind en"joy the benefit of the celeftial motions, without any "knowledge of them; and even, the more the uniformity of political order refembles that of the ce"leftial bodies, the lefs 'tis obfervable; and confequentr ly is always lefs obvious, the more perfect it is. But "he who fhould know it in all its extent, would be "aftonished. To repair perpetually the immense "confumption of the neceffaries of life in fuch a city as Paris, of which fome of the fources may be dried up by a multitude of accidents; to reftrain the tyranny of tradefmen, with regard to the publick, and at the fame time to encourage their traf A kind of Lord Mayor. ° M. de Fontenelle. ❝fick; |