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LIFE
AND
RELIGIOUS OPINIONS AND EXPERIENCE
OP
MADAME DE LA MOTHE GUYON:
TOGETHER WITH
SOME ACCOUNT OF THE PERSONAL HISTORY AND RELIGIOUS OPINIONS
OF
FENELON, ARCHBISHOP OF CAMBRAY.
BY THOMAS C. UPHAM.
PRO~'ESORl OF MENTAL AND MORAL PHILOSOPHY IN BOWDOIN COLJLEG.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. I.
NEW YORK:
HARPER & BROTHERS
1855.





Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1846,
By THOMAS C. UFPHAM,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Conrt of the District of Maine.*





PREFACE.
I -HAD read 'the life and writings of Madame Guyon
with interest, and I think with profit.  The impression
made upon my own mind was similar to that which has
been made upon the minds of others. And this impression
was, that the facts of her history and her opinions are too
valuable to be lost.  They make a portion, not only of
ecclesiastical history, but of the history of the human mind.
Under these circumstances, and in the hope of contributing
something to the cause of truth and of vital religion, I have
undertaken the present work.
In giving some account of Madame Guyon's life, it will
be seen in what has been related, that I have made great
use of her auto-biography. The origin of this remarkable
work, entitled in French, in which language alone it has
been printed in full, La Vie de Madame de la ifothe Guyon,
ecrite par elle-mdme, was this. After her return from Italy
in 1686, La Combe, her spiritual Director, in accordance as
I suppose with the authority allowed him by his church, an
authority to which she readily submitted, required her to





iv


PREFACE.


make a written record of her past life. This she did for the
most part, when she was shut up, a year or two afterwards,
in the Convent of St. Marie in Paris. She proposed, as she
would be likely to do under such circumstances, to use a
degree of discretion and to make a selection of incidents;
but La Combe, fearful that the delicacy of her feelings might
prompt her to multiply omissions, required her to write
every thing.
To this she at last consented, especially as she did not,
and could not well suppose, that a biography, written under
such circumstances, would ever be given to the public.
There are some things, therefore, in her personal history, as
it is actually given, which cannot be particularly profitable
to the reader, because they are obviously unimportant; some
things which she herself speaks of as unessential. But if
her auto-biography, just as it stands, might be unprofitable
and perhaps injurious, it is very evident, I think, that a
biography, written on different principles, would be both
interesting and beneficial.
To the information, derived from her auto-biography, I
have added numerous facts, derived partly from her other
writings, and partly from other sources.  So that I speak
with considerable confidence when I say, that the reader
will find, in the following pages, a full account of the life and
labors of this remarkable woman.
Not unfrequently she is introduced in the following work,
as speaking of herself in the first person; sometimes detailing the outward incidents of her life, and sometimes
giving an account of her opinions and inward experience.





PREFACE.


V


It is proper to say here, that, in translating passages where
she speaks of herself and her opinions, I have aimed rather
to give the sentiment, than the precise mode of expression.
In some cases, in order to complete the statement and make
it consistent with itself, I have combined what is said in one
place with what is said in another. It is sometimes the case,
also, that in the original, something, instead of being brought
out prominently to notice, is merely involved in what is said,
or is indistinctly but yet really intimated, which it has been
necessary, in order to give a clear idea of the subject, to
develope in distinct propositions, and to make a part of the
statement, whatever it may be. So that sometimes, instead
of a mere rendering of word for word, or a mere translation
in the ordinary sense of the terms, I give what may be
termed perhaps an interpreted translation; that is to say, a
translation of the spirit rather than of the letter. This
course seemed to me a proper one, not only for the reader,
but in order to do full justice to Madame Guyon herself. I
may add here, that I have availed myself, from time to time,
of the aid offered by the judicious translation which Mr.
Brooke has made of a portion of her Life, and of the work
entitled "A Short Method of Prayer."
The Second Volume of the work is occupied, in a considerable degree, with the acquaintance which was formed in
the latter part of her life between Madame Guyon and Fenelon, Archbishop of Cambray; with the influence which was
exerted by her over that truly distinguished man; with the
religious opinions which were formed and promulgated under
that influence, and with the painful results which he experiA*





vi


PREFACE.


enced in consequence. These details, I think, will be found
to communicate important instruction, while they will not
fail in interest. The discussions, in this part of the work,
turn chiefly upon the doctrine of pure or unselfish love, in
the experience of which Fenelon thought, in accordance with
the views of Madame Guyon, and it seems to me with a
good deal of reason, that the sanctification of the heart essentially consists. It is true, that they insist strongly upon the
subjection of the will; but they maintain, as they very well
may maintain, that such a love will certainly carry the will
with it.
The work is committed to the reader, not without a sense
of its imperfections, but still in the hopes that something has
been done to illustrate character, and to confirm the truth.
THOMAS C. UPHAM.
Brunswick, Mazne, 1846.





CONTENTS.
CHAPTER L.
Time and place of her oirth. Her parentage. Sickness in her
infancy. Her residence at the Ursuline Seminary at Montargis.
Duchess Montbason. Residence at the Benedictine Seminary.
A dream. Early religious impressions. Singular experiment
on the strength of her faith, made by the girls in the Seminary.
Unfavorable results. Taken home. The treatment she received
there.....................................................  I
CHAPTER II.
Placed a second time at the Ursuline Seminary. Character and
kindness of her paternal half-sister. Interview with Henrietta
Maria, the Queen of England, at her father's house. Explanations of this interview. References to her moral ana religious
feelings. Transferred from the care of the Ursulines to that of
the Dominicans. A Bible left in her room. Her study of it.
Proposes to partake of the Eucharist. Remarks.............. 7
CHAPTER III.
Visit from her cousin Dc Toissi, Missionary to Cochin China.
Results of this visit. Renewed religious efforts. Endeavors to
obtain salvation by works rather than by faith. Return of spiritual declension. Account which she gives of her own feelings
and conduct at this time. Remarks....................... 16
CHAPTER IV.
Removal from Montargis to Paris. Louis the Fourteenth. Qharacteristics of the age. Effect of her removal to Paris upon her J





Viii


CONTENTS.


character. Her personal appearance at this period. Offers of
marriage. Is married to M. Guyon in March, 1664. Notices of
the family of M. Guyon.................................. 23
CHAPTER V.
Remarks on her marriage. Treatment she experienced at her husband's house. Unkindness of her mother-in-law.  The great
incompatibleness of her situation and her character. Her situation considered in its relation to the designs of Providence. Her
account of the trials she endured............................ 28
CHAPTER VI.
Her trials result in a renewed disposition to seek God. Of the
connection of providential events with the renewal of the heart.
The birth of her first child, and its effect upon her mind. Losses
of property. Experience of severe sickness. Death of her paternal half-sister at Montargis, and of her mother at Paris. Result
of these afflictions upon her mind. Renewed efforts of a religious
nature. Her reading. Her interviews at her father's house with
an exiled lady of great piety. Remarks. Her interviews with
her cousin, M. De Toissi, Missionary to Cochin China. Her
conversation with a Religious of the Order of St. Francis. Her.
conversion..............................................  38
CHAPTER VII.
Remarks on intellectual experience, in distinction from that of the
heart. Of that form of experience which may be termed apparitional. Of that form of experience which is characterized by
joy. Her experience characterized especially by the subjection of
the will. Of the course to be pursued in translating from the
writings of Madame Guyon. Her remarks on the union of the
human with the divine will. Her remarks on faith. Conversation with a Franciscan. Immersion of her soul in God, and her
contemplation of all things in him.......... *...............  57
CHAPTER VIIl
Of the very marked and decisive nature of her conversion. Ceases
to conform to the world in her diversions and modes of dress.
Birth of her second son. Her views of providence in connection





CONTENTS.


ix


with her position in life. Of the discharge of her duty to her
family and to others. Her great kindness and charity to the
poor. Her efforts for the preservation of persons of her own sex.
Her labors for the conversion of souls. Conversation with a lady
of rank. Happy results. Domestic trials. Unkindness of her
step-mother and of her maid-servant. Partial alienation of her
husband's affections. Conduct of her eldest son. Her solitary
state....................................................  65
CHAPTER IX.
We are to consult our own improvement and good, as well as that
of others. Her desires to be wholly the Lord's. Her efforts to
keep the outward appetites in subjection. Remarks on this subject. The inordinate action of all parts and powers of the mind
is to be subdued, as well as of the appetites. Austerities or mortifications may be practised without necessarily attaching to them
the idea of expiation or of merit. Statement in relation to the
monks of La Trappe. Temptations to go back again to the
world. Visit to Paris. Of the errors and sins she committed  -
there. Her grief. Her journey to Orleans and Touraine. Temptations and religious infidelities and falls repeated. Incident on
the banks of the Loire. Her remarks upon her sins. Her visit to
St. Cloud. Her sorrow. Inquiries on the subject of holy living. 82
CHAPTER X.
Reference to her early views of her Christian state. Her surprise
at the discovery of the remains of sin in herself. Seeks assistance and advice from others. Remarks on the religious character of that age. Consults with Genevieve Granger, the Prioress
of the Benedictines. Attends religious services at the church of
Notre Dame in Paris. On her way thither, she has an extraordinary interview with a person unknown. His advice to her.
Renewed consecration, in which she gives up all without reserve.
Attacked by the small pox. Treatment experienced from her
step-mother. Death of her youngest son. Her feelings. Her
poetical writings. Justice of God amiable................... 102
CHAPTER XI.
Faithfulness in trial. Spiritual consolations. General remarks on
her experience during the year 1671. Discharge of domestic and





x


CONTENTS.


other duties. Trials in relation to her seasons of prayer. Of
the faults of which she considered herself guilty at this period.
Remarks on a regard for God's providences. Her first acquaintance, July 1671, with Francis La Combe. Some account of
him. The impression made upon him by her conversations. Her
growth in grace. The account she gives of her will, as subdued
in its operations, but not wholly renovated in its nature. Remarks on this subject.................................. 120
CHAPTER XII.
Incidents of 1672. Presentiment of her father's death. A message
reaches her soon after with the news of his last sickness. His
death. Remarks. Affectionate eulogium on her daughter. Her
sickness and death. Reference to the renewed and entire consecration which she had made of herself in the year 1670. This
act of consecration reduced to writing and signed for the first
time, July 22d, 1672. Instrumentality of Genevieve Granger in
this transaction. Form of this consecrating act or spiritual marriage covenant. Remarks. Dangers connected with a journey
taken at this time. Reflections upon it...................... 134
CHAPTER XIII.
Birth of a son. Her religious state at this period, 1673. Death of
Genevieve Granger. Their intimacy with each other. Remarks
on this affliction. General remarks on worldly attachments and
supports. Her second visit to the city of Orleans. Interview
and conversation with a Jesuit. Remarks upon it. Comments
on undue spiritual earnestness or spiritual impetuosity. Writes
to a person of distinction and merit for his advice. Withdraws
her request. Result, and remarks upon this incident. Marks of
distinction between the wholly and the partially sanctified mind.
Lawsuit. Her conduct in connection with it. Remarks...... - 142
CHAPTER XIV.
1674. Commencement of her state of privation or desolation.
Her account of it. Method of proceeding, in correctly estimating
this part of her life. Analysis and explanation of the state into
which she had fallen. Joy not religion, but merely an incident
to it. Her remarks on the subject. Advice of Monsieur Bertot





CONTENTS.


XI1


in relation to her state. Unfavorable results. Advice of another
distinguished individual. Unkind treatment which she experienced from him. Correspondence with a Jesuit. Remarks.. * 152
CHAPTER XV.
Events of the year 1676. Sickness of her husband. His traits of
character. Affecting incident resulting in their mutual reconciliation. His pious dispositions near the close of his life. His
death. Occupied in the settlement of her estate. Chosen as
judge or arbiter in a lawsuit. Result. Reference to her inward
dispositions. Separation from her mother-in-law. Remarks. - * 165
CHAPTER XVI.
Her outward charities. Incident illustrative of her benevolence.
Her interest in the education of her children. Attempts to improve her own education. Study of the Latin language. Continuance of her sad state of inward desolation. Her temptations.
Writes to La Combe. Receives a favorable answer. July 22d,
1680, the day of her deliverance and of the triumph of sanctifying grace, after nearly seven years of inward privation. Reference to her work, entitled the Torrents. Remarks. Poem illustrative of her state, translated by Cowper.................... 177
CHAPTER XVII.
Remarks on sanctification as compared with justification. On the
importance of striving after sanctification.  On the state of
Madame Guyon at this time. Her work, entitled the Torrents.
Some sentiments given from it as descriptive of her own experience. Singular illustration, by which she shows the difference -
between common Christians and others. Of the depth of the experience which is implied in true sanctification. On the question
whether all must endure the same amount of suffering in experiencing sanctification. Her poem on the joy of the cross....... 191
CHAPTER XVIII.
Temporary uncertainty in regard to her future course of action.
Had thoughts of entering into a Nunnery. Decides not to take
this course. Some reasons for this decision  Proposals of mar




xii


CONTENTS.


riage  All such propositions and views decided against. Remains still uncertain what course to take. Has a short season of
comparative retirement and peace. Extract from one of her
poems............................................ 208
CHAPTER XIX.
1680. Remarkable incident in a church at Paris. Effect of it on
her mind. Consulted by a person on the subject of going on
a mission to Siam. Asks his opinion on her proposed plan of
going on a mission to the neighborhood of Geneva. His advice.
Visit of Bishop D'Aranthon at Paris. Consults him on the subject. Decides to leave Paris for Gex, a town not far from Geneva. Her charities during the scarcity in the winter of 1680. Her
efforts for the spiritual good of others. Preparations for departure. Trials of mind. Her remarks upon them and upon
the opinions formed of her by others........................ 213
CHAPTER XX.
July, 1681, leaves Paris. Manner of leaving, and reasons of it.
Her companions. References to her little child, who makes
crosses and fastens them to her mother's garments, and then
weaves a crown for her. Stops at the town of Corbeil. Meets
there the Franciscan who had formerly been instrumental in her
conversion. Conversation with him. Sails for Melun. Meditations on her situation. References to her poetry. Poem illustrative of her situation and feelings.....................  223
CHAPTER XXI.
Arrives at the city of Lyons. Remarks. Proceeds from Lyons
to Anneci, in Savoy, the residence of Bishop D'Aranthon. Her
remarks on this journey. Religious services at the tomb of St.
Francis de Sales. Arrives at Gex on the 23d of July, 1681.
Death of her Director, M. Bertot. Appointment of La Combe in
his place. Her inward religious state. Benevolent efforts. New
views of the nature of the mission which God now imposed upon
her. Sanctification by faith. Visit to Thonon. Her personal
labors with La Combe. Favorable results................... 229





CONTENTS.


Xinl


CHAPTER XXII.
Account of the hermit of Thonon, called Anselm. Her return from
Thonon to Gex. Thrown from a horse and injured. Labors at
Gex. Illustration of them in the case of a poor woman, whom
she was the means of spiritually benefiting. Sermon of La
Combe on Holiness. La Combe called to account, on the ground
of preaching heretical doctrine. Views and measures of Bishop
d'Aranthon. Proposes to Madame Guyon to give up her property, and become prioress of a Religious House at Gex. Her
refusal. Remarkable conversation between d'Aranthon and La
Combe, in relation to Madame Guyon's course. Remarks upon
d'Aranthon's course and upon his character. He gradually takes
ground in opposition to Madame Guyon. Some account of her
inward experience at this time............................. 246
CHAPTER XXIII.
Approaching trials.  Consolations from  Scripture.  A dream.
Some of the causes of the opposition which existed against her.
She frustrates the wicked designs of an ecclesiastic upon an unprotected girl. The opposition and ill treatment which arose
from this source. A party formed against her at Gex. In consequence of the persecutions of this party, she leaves Gex, after
having resided there about eight months. Crosses the Genevan
or Leman Lake to Thonon. A poem....................... 264
CHAPTER XXIV
Arrives at Thonon in the spring of 1682. Interview with Father
La Combe. He leaves Thonon for Aost and Rome. Her remarks to him at the time of his departure. Her confidence that
God would justify her from the aspersions cast upon her. Cases
of religious inquiry. Endeavors to teach those who come to her,
in the way of faith. Some characteristics of a soul that lives by
faith. References to her daughter. Visited at Thonon by Bishop
d'Aranthon. Renewal of the proposition, that she should become
Prioress at Gex. Final decision against it. Her position in the
Catholic church. References to persons who have attempted a
reform in the Catholic church, while remaining members of it.
Attacks upon the character of La Combe in his absence. General





xiv


CONTENTS.


attention to religion at Thonon. Her manner of treating inquirers. Her views of sanctification. The pious laundress. Opposition made by priests and others. Burning of books. Rem arks...................................................  271
CHAPTER XXV.
Conversion of a physician.  Further instances of persecution
Some of those who had been opposers become subjects of the
work of God. Some striking instances of the care of Providence
in relation to her. Visit to Lausanne. Establishment of a Hospital at Thonon. Removal from the House of the Ursulines to a
small cottage a few miles distant from the lake. Return of La
Combe. Her opposers make their appeal to Bishop d'Aranthon.
He requires Madame Guyon and La Combe to leave his diocese.
\ Rude and fierce attacks made upon her in her solitary residence.
Decides to leave Thonon. Her feelings at this time. La Combe.
His letter to d'Aranthon. Remarks of Madame Guyon on some
forms of religious experience. On living by the moment....... 299
CHAPTER XXVI.
Season of retirement. Commences writing her larger Treatises on
religious experience.  Her work, entitled Spiritual Torrents.,,
Feelings with which she commenced this work. Origin of its
name. The progress of the soul compared to torrents descending
from the mountains. Abstract of some of its leading doctrines.
Degrees of faith. Inward crucifixion. The New Life, or the
state of the soul, when it has been subjected fully to the process
of inward crucifixion. Remarks upon the style of this work.. - - 318
CHAPTER XXVII.
Leaves Thonon for Turin in the summer of 1684. Mount Cenis.
Her feelings at this time. Persons that accompanied her. Circumstances which led her to go to Turin, Marchioness of Prunai.
Her journey through the Pass of Mount Cenis, and her reception
at Turin. Labors at Turin. State of her religious feelings. Her
efforts by means of written correspondence. Letter of advice to
a young preacher.  Of Dreams.   The Dream   of the sacred
island. Dream of the beautiful bird. Remarks on the prayer of
silence..................................................  333





CONTENTS.


XV


CHAPTER XXVIH.
Circumstances which led to her return to France. State of things
in Italy at that time. Some account of Michael de Molinos, the
author of the Spiritual Guide. Opposition to his views. Ill
treatment of his followers. Course of the Count and Countess
Vespiniani. Imprisonment of Molinos and death. Her return
from Turin in Piedmont to Grenoble in France in the autumn
of 1684. Reasons for going to Grenoble. Advice of a female
friend resident there. Her domestic arrangements. Remarkable
revival of religion at Grenoble. Dealings of God with some individuals. Conversion of a knight of Malta. Her labors with the
Sisters of one of the Convents of the city. Establishment of a
Hospital for sick persons................................... 349
CHAPTER XXIX.
Origin of the Monastery of the Grand Chartreuse. Visited by
Madame Guyon. Description of the approach to it. Conversation between Father Innocentius, the General or Prior of the
Carthusians, and Madame Guyon. She meets with opposition at
Grenoble. Her method of prayer in her religious Conferences.
Commences the writing of Commentaries on the Bible. Of her
spiritual state in connection with this work. Remarks on her
Commentary on the Canticles. Her sympathy or communion of
spirit with King David, when occupied in writing on the Books
of Kings. The work entitled The Short Method of Prayer. Circumstances attending the origin of this work. On the writing of
books as a means or instrumentality of good. Poetry......... 366
CHAPTER XXX.
Analysis of the work entitled The Method of Prayer. Sense in
which the word Prayer is used by Madame Guyon in this work.
Th'ose who are without the spirit of prayer; in other words, those
who are without religion, are invited to seek it. Directions to aid
persons, even those who are most ignorant, in seeking it. Additional directions. Directions applicable to persons of some degree of knowledge and education. Of an increased or higher
degree of religious experience. Of abandonment or entire consecration to God in all things. Of the test or trial of consecration.
Inward holiness the true reculator of the outward life.  Of





xvi


CONTENTS.


gradual growth or advancement in the religious life. Of the
knowledge of our inward sins, when souls are in this advanced
state. Of the manner in which we are to meet and resist temptations. Of the soul in the state of pure or unselfish love. Of
the practice of the prayer of silence. Of the true relation of
human and divine activity. Of the nature and conditions of the
state of divine union. Appeal to religious pastors and teachers. 380
CHAPTER XXXI.
Continued and increased opposition at Grenoble. Conversation
with a distinguished preacher. Effect of the publication of the
Short Method of Prayer. Conversation with a poor girl, who
had been spiritually aided and blessed through her efforts. Increased violence against her. State of her feelings. Advised by
her friends to go to Marseilles. Descends the Rhone. Incidents
in their voyage down the river. Arrives at the city of Marseilles.
Excitement occasioned by her arrival there. Kind treatment of
the Bishop of Marseilles. Opposition from others. Conversion
of a priest. Acquaintance with a knight of the Order of Malta.
Her interviews with M. Francois Malaval. Leaves Marseilles
for Nice. Disappointed in going from Nice to Turin, she sails
for Genoa. Reflections made by her in connection with her exposure on the ocean. Troubles at Genoa. Departs for Verceil.
Met by robbers. Other trying incidents.................... 401
CHAPTER XXXII.
Arrives at Verceil. Interview with La Combe. Interview with
the Bishop of Verceil. His kindness to her. Conversation with
one of the Superiors of the Jesuits.  Attacked with sickness.
Decides to return to Paris. La Combe selected to attend her on
her return. Departure from Verceil. Visit to the Marchioness
of Prunai. Crosses the Alps, at the pass of Mount Cenis, for the
third time. Meets her half-brother, La Mothe, at Chamberri.
Her reception at Grenoble. Departs from Grenoble for Paris.
Arrives at Paris after a five years' absence, in July, 168...... 420





CATALOGUE
OF SOME OF THE WORKS WHICH HAVE BEEN CONSULTED.
(Euvres de Fenslon, Archeveque de Cambrai, precedees
d'Etudes sur sa Vie, par M. Aime-Martin. 4to.
CEuvres Completes de Bossuet, Eveque de Meaux. 4to.
Dictionnaire Historique des Cultes Religieux etablis dans
le Monde. Paris, 1770.
Recueil de Diverses Pieces concernant Le Quietisme et
les Quietistes, ou Molinos, ses Sentimens, et ses Disciples.
Amsterdam, 1688.
Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and other principal Saints,
by Rev. Alvan Butler.
Les CEuvres de St. Therese, par Arnauld D'Andilly, h
Paris, 1702.
Memoires du Due de St. Simon, 13 vols. 8vo.
Dictionnaire Critique de Bayle, 5 vols. in folio.
La Vie de Madame de la Mothe Guyon, ecrite par ellememe; and other works of Madame Guyon.
A Tour to Alet and La Grande Chartreuse, by M. Claude
Lancelot, author of the Port Royal Grammars, edited by
Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck.
Memoirs of the Court of France, from the year 1684 to
the year 1720, translated from the Diary of the Marquis de
Dangeau.
The Life of Fenelon, Archbishop of Cambrai, compiled
from original manuscripts, by M. L. F. De Bausset, Bishop
of Alais, translated by William Mudford.
B *





xviii


SOME OF THE BOOKS CONSULTED.


La Vie de Messire Jean D'Aranthon D'Alex, Eveque et
Prince de Geneve. Lyons, 1699.
A Dissertation on Pure Love, by the Archbishop of Cambray, with some Account of the Life and Writings of the
Lady on whose account he was banished from Court; together with an Apologetic Preface. Dublin, 1739.
La Biographie Universelle.
Dictionnaire Geographique et Critique, par M. Bruzen La
Martiniere.
Relation de L'Origine, du Progres, et de la Condemnation
du Quietisme repandu en France, avec Plusieurs Anecdotes
Curieuses. 1732.
Errors regarding Religion and Thoughts on Prayer at
the Present Time, by James Douglas, Esq. New York, 1831.
The Practice of Devotion, or a Treatise on Divine Love,
translated from the French of M. Jurieu.
Avis sur les Differens Etats de L'Oraison Mentale, contenus dans plusieurs Lettres 4crites par un Solitaire a un de
ses Disciples. Paris, 1710.
Life and Experience of the celebrated Lady Guyon, translated from the French, exhibiting her eminent Piety, Travels,
and Sufferings.  [Anonymous, but correctly ascribed to
Thomas Digby Brooke.]
Choise d'Ouvrages Mystiques avec Notices Littdraires,
par J. A. C. Buchon.
The Life of Fenelon, Archbishop of Cambray, by Charles
Butler, Esq.
La Thdologie de l'Amour, ou La Vie et les (Euvres de
St. Catharine de Genes.
Together with many other works, which have a connection with the philosophy and the developments of that
higher form of religious experience, which it was the object
of the lives and writings of Madame Guyon and Fenelon to
illustrate.





LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
OF
MADAME GUYON.
CHAPTER I.
lime and place of her birth. Her parentage.  Sickness in her
infancy. Her residence at the Ursuline Seminary at Montargis.
Duchess Montbason. Residence at the Benedictine Seminary.
A dream. Early religious impressions. Singular experiment on
the strength of her faith, made by the girls in the Seminary. Unfavorable results. Taken home. The treatment she received there.
THE subject of this Memoir was born the thirteenth of
April, 1648. She was baptized the same year, on the.
twenty-fourth of May.   Her father's name was Claude
Bouvieres De La Mothe.     The place of her birth was
Montargis, a French town of some note, situated about fifty
miles to the south of Paris, in the part of France known
previously to the French Revolution as the Province of
Orleanois.
2. Of her parents we know but little. It would seem, however, that they were very worthy people, holding a highly
honorable position among the leading families of Montargis,
and that both of them, especially the father, were deeply
impressed with religious sentiments. Her father bore the
title of Seigneur or Lord de La Molhe Vergonville. Her





LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


father and mother had both been previously married; and
both had children previous to their second marriage. The
father had a son and daughter; the mother had a daughter;
and these were their only children, so far as we have any
account, when they became united with each other. The
subject of this Memoir, whose remarkable personal and religious history has made her an object of interest to succeeding ages, was the offspring of this second marriage. Her
maiden name was Jeanne Marie Bouvieres De La Mothe.
3. In very early infancy she was afflicted with a complaint,
which reduced her to such extremity, that her life was for
some time despaired of. To her narrow escape from death
at this period, she refers in after life, with feelings which
her religious experience was naturally calculated to inspire.
Her life had its vicissitudes, its trials, its deep sorrows; but
in view of the sanctification which had attended them, she
was deeply thankful, that God had been pleased to spare
her. "It is owing," she says, "to thy goodness, 0 God,
that there now remains to me the consolation of having
sought and followed Thee; of having laid myself upon the
altar of sacrifice in the strength of pure love; of having
labored for thine interests and glory. In the commencement
of my earthly existence death and life seemed to combat
together; but life proved victorious over death. Oh, might
I but hope, that, in the conclusion of my being here on earth,
life will be forever victorious over death! Doubtless it will
be so, if Thou alone dost live in me, 0 my God, who art at
present my only Life, my only Love."
4. In the city of Montargis, where her father resided, was
a seminary for the instruction of young girls, under the care
of the Ursuline Nuns.* The Ursulines are a sisterhood of
religious persons, who bind themselves, in addition to othei
4 See the work, entitled Nouvclle Description de la France, vol.:
p. 343, as compared with her Life.





OF MADAME GUYON.


3


vows of a more strictly religious character, to occupy themselves in the education of children of their own sex. At
the age of two years and a half, she was sent from home,
and placed at the Ursuline Seminary, but remained there
only for a short time. When she was taken from the Ursuline Institution, she remained for a time at the residence of
her parents; but for some reason not clearly understood, but
probably in part from an imperfect view of the value of
parental influence, was left.by her mother chiefly in the
care of the domestics of the family. In after life she refers
to this period as one in which her mental and moral culture,
such as she was even then capable of receiving, was not
properly attended to. She speaks of it also as a period in
which she incurred, in repeated instances, those dangers, from
which she sometimes narrowly escaped, which are incidental
to the sports and to the thoughtless and venturesome spirit
of childhood. But God, who had designs of mercy for her
own soul, and through her instrumentality for the souls of
others, protected her.
5. It was in the year 1652, that a lady of distinguished
rank, the Duchess of Montbason, who wished probably to avail
herself of the means of religious retirement and instruction
which they afforded, came to reside with the Benedictines,
another religious body, distinct from the Ursulines, who had
established themselves at Montargis. The daughter of M.
De La Mothe was then four years of age. At the solicitation of the Duchess, who was an intimate acquaintance and
friend of her father, and who said it would be a source of
great satisfaction to her to have the company of his little
daughter, she was placed with the Benedictines. " Here I
saw," she says, in the Account of her Life, which she afterwards wrote, "none but good examples; and as I was naturally disposed to yield to the influence of such examples, I
followed them when I found nobody to turn me in another





4       LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


direction. Young as I was, I loved to hear of God, to be at
church, and to be dressed in the habit of a little Nun." *
6. While resident at the House of the Benedictines, though
early in life, she appears to have received some religious
ideas, and to have been the subject of some religious impressions. She speaks in particular of a dream, in which
she seemed to have a very distinct conception of the ultimate
misery of impenitent sinners, as making a deep impression
on her mind. Aroused by the images of terror which were
then presented to her, and operated upon by other circumstances which were calculated to awaken her religious sensibilities, she became very thoughtful, and exhibited at this
early period a considerable interest in religious things. She
was too young to appreciate fully the relation existing between herself and the Infinite Mind; but the idea of God
was so far developed to her opening but vigorous conceptions, that she inwardly and deeply recognized his claims to
her homage and her love. She endeavored to conform to
these convictions, not only by doing in other respects whatever seemed to be the will of God, but by openly and
frankly expressing her determination to lead a religious life.
Happy in these solemn views and determinations, she one
day, with a frankness perhaps greater than her prudence,
remarked in the presence of her associates, that she was
ready to become a martyr for God.  The girls who resided
with her at the Benedictines, not altogether pleased that one
so young should go so far before them in a course so honorable, and supposing perhaps that they discovered some ingredients of human pride mingling with religious sincerity,
came to the conclusion to test such enlarged pretensions.
By representations more nicely adjusted than either true
or honorable, they persuaded her that God in his provi-^ La Vie de Madame Guyon, ecrite par Elle-meme, Pt, T. cl. 2d





OF MADAME GUYON.


dences had suddenly but really called her to the endurance
of that martyrdom for which she had exhibited and professed a mind so fully prepared. They found her true to
what she had previously professed. And having permitted
her to offer up her private supplications, they conducted her
to a room selected for the purpose, with all those circumstances of deliberateness and solemnity, which were appropriate to so marked an occasion. They spread a cloth upon
the floor, upon which she was required to kneel, and which
was destined to receive her blood. One of the older girls
then appeared in the character of an executioner, and lifted
a large cutlass, with the apparent intention of separating her
head from her body. At this critical moment, overcome by
her fears, which were stronger than her young faith, she
cried out, that she was not at liberty to die without the consent of her father. The girls, in the spirit of triumph, declared that it was a mere excuse to escape what was prepared for her. And assuring her that God would not accept
as a martyr one who had not a martyr's spirit, they insultingly let her go.
7. This transaction, which was so cruel in its application,
although it probably originated in thoughtlessness as much
or more than in unkindness, had a marked effect upon her
mind. Young as she was, she was old enough to perceive,
that she had not only been open but voluntary in her professions; that she had been tried, and been found wanting.
Those religious consolations, which she had previously
experienced, departed. Something in her conscience reproached her, that she either wanted courage or faith, to
act and to suffer, under all circumstances and without any
reserve, in the cause of her heavenly Father. It seemed to
her, in the agitation of her spirit, that she had offended him,
and that there was now but little hope of his support and
favor. Thus, as in many other similar cases, the religious
I1*





(;


LIFE, ETC.


tendency, unkindly crushed in the very bud of its prohtise,
withered and died.
8. During her residence at the House of the Benedictines
she was treated with great kindness. In one instance only
was she the subject of punishment on the part of those who
had the charge of her; and this seems to have happened in
consequence of the misapprehension, or the designed misstatement of her young associates. Her health, however,
was exceedingly poor. And soon after the transactions just
now mentioned, she was taken home, in consequence of friquent and severe turns of indisposition.  She complains
that she was again left almost exclusively in the care of
domestics; and that consequently she did not meet with
that attention to her morals and manners, which would have
been desirable. Certain it is, as a general statement, that
domestics are not in a situation to discharge, in behalf of
young children, all those duties which may reasonably and
justly be expected of parents. It might be unjust, however,
even where appearances are unfavorable, to ascribe to parents intentional neglect, without a full knowledge of all
the circumstances.





CHAPTER II.


Placed a second time at the Ursuline Seminary. Character and
kindness of her paternal half-sister. Interview with Henrietta
Maria, the Queen of England, at her father's house. Explanations of this interview. References to her moral and religious
feelings. Transferred from the care of the Ursulines to that of
the Dominicans. A Bible left in her room. Her study of it.
Proposes to partake of the Eucharist. Remarks.
WE have already had occasion to notice, that the parents
of Mademoiselle De La Mothe had both sustained the marriage relation previously to their marriage with each other.
And each of them had a daughter in their first marriage.
These two daughters, acting on the principles and methods
of personal consecration which are recognized in the Roman
Catholic church, had devoted themselves to a religious life
in the Ursuline Convent, and thus became associated in its
system of instruction. After having been taken from the
Benedictine Seminary, and spending some time at home in
a manner not very profitable, Mademoiselle Jeanne Marie,
their young half-sister, who had already spent a little time
there in her early childhood, was once more placed at the
Ursulines with them.  She was now in the seventh year of
her age. The father, who seems to have been sensible, from
what had fallen under his own notice, that her education
had hitherto failed to receive sufficient attention, commended her to the especial care of his own daughter, as





rt


1 IFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


the best qualified of the two half-sisters, by kindness of
disposition as well as in other respects, to aid in the developement of her mind and the formation of her manners. In
her after life, as she recalled with gratitude the dealings of
God with her in her younger years, she spoke in affectionate terms of this sister, as a person characterized alike by
good judgment and by religious sentiments, and as especially
fitted to train up young girls.
2. " This good sister," she says, " employed her time in
instructing me in piety, and in such branches of learning as
were suitable to my age and capacity. She was possessed
of good talents, which she improved well. She spent much
time in prayer, and her faith seemed strong and pure. She
denied herself of every other satisfaction, in order that she
might be with me and give me instruction. So great was
her affection for me, that she experienced, as she told me
herself, more pleasure with me than anywhere else. Certain it is, that she thought herself well paid for her efforts
in my behalf, whenever I made suitable answers on the
studies in which I was engaged. Under her care I soon
became mistress of most of those things which were suitable
for me; so much so that many grown persons, of some rank
and figure in the world, could not have exhibited such evidence of proficiency and knowledge as I did." *
3. At this period of her life an incident occurred, which
seems to require some explanation. The period of which
we are now speaking, was subsequent in time to the great
Civil War in England, which resulted in the death of
Charles First, the establishment of a new government, and
the expulsion of the surviving members of the royal family.
Charles had married Henrietta Maria, the daughter of
Henry Fourth, and sister of Lewis Thirteenth of France.
* La Vie de Madame J. M. Bouvieres De La Mothe Guyon, ch. 3d.





OF MADAME GUYON.


9


In consequence of the unfavorable turn of the Civil War,
she fled from England to her own country in 1644; residing
for the most part, in sorrow and in poverty, in the Convent
of Chaillot, at that time a village in the neighborhood of
Paris, but now making a part of the city itself. She died
in 1669; and it is worthy of notice, that her death furnished
occasion for one of the most celebrated of the Funeral Orations of Bossuet.*
4. Some years after her flight from England to France,
this distinguished person visited the city of Montargis. And
when we recollect, that the family of M. De La Mothe held
a high rank in that city, and especially when we consider
that there were probably some common grounds of religious
sympathy and attachment, it will not be surprising that
Henrietta Maria should have honored them with a visit.
This statement will help to explain an incident which we
find in the early life of the subject of this Memoir. It is
related in her Auto-biography, that, while she was at the
Seminary of the Ursulines, she was frequently sent for by
her father, who was desirous of seeing her from time to time
at home. On one of these occasions she says that she found
at her father's house the Queen of England; a circumstance
which would seem very improbable, except in connection
with the historical facts which have just now been mentioned. This seems to have been in the year 1655, or about
that time. She was then near eight years of age. "My
father told the Queen's Confessor, that, if he wanted a little
amusement, he might entertain himself with me, and propound some questions to me. He tried me with several
very difficult ones, to which I returned such correct answers,
* See Clarendon's History of the Rebellion, Bossuet's Oraisons Fub
n'bres, Voltaire's Life of Lewis Fourteenth, vol. 2d, Martiniere's Dietionnaire Critique, art. Chaillot.





10       LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


that he carried me to the Queen, and said to her, ' Your
Majesty must have some diversion with this child.' She
also tried me, and was so well satisfied and pleased with my
lively answers and my manners, that she not only requested
my father to place me with her, but urged her proposition
with no small importunity, assuring him that she would take
particular care of me, and going so far as to intimate, that
she would make me Maid of Honor to the princess, her
daughter. Her desire for me was so great, that the refusal
of my father evidently disobliged her. Doubtless it was
God who caused this refusal, and who in doing so turned off
the stroke, which might have probably intercepted my salvation, Weak as I then was, how could I have withstood
the temptations and distractions, incidental to a connection
with persons so high in rank? " *
5. After this interview with a person, signalized by her
rank and her misfortunes, she went back as usual to the Ursuline Seminary, where her paternal half-sister, to whose kindness her father had particularly entrusted her continued her
affectionate care. But her authority was limited; she could
not control, in all respects, the conduct of the other girls
who boarded there, with whom the younger sister, Jeanne
Marie, was sometimes obliged to associate, and from whom
she'acknowledges, in the account she has given of her life,
that she contracted some bad habits. She ceased to be
entirely strict and scrupulous in the utterance of the truth;
she became in some degree peevish in her temper, and careless and undevout in her religious feelings, passing whole
days without thinking of God. But happily she did not remain long under the power of such vicious tendencies and
habits. Her sister's unwearied watchfulness and assiduity
were the means, with the divine blessing, of recovering her
La Vie. ch. 3d.





OF MADAME GUYON.


11


from this temporary declension. And she remained at the
Seminary some time longer, always making rapid improvement when she was in the enjoyment of good health, and
conciliating the esteem of her associates and instructors, by
her regular and virtuous deportment, as well as by her proficiency in knowledge.
6. At ten years of age she was taken home again. After
a short residence at home, she was placed at the Dominican
Convent, probably the same of which De La Force gives so
particular an account in his work, entitled Nouvelle Description De La France. It was founded in 1242. " I stayed,"
she says, " only a little while at home. The reason of my
remaining so short a time was this: A Nun of the Dominican Order, who belonged to a distinguished family, and was
an intimate friend of my father, solicited him to place me in
her Convent, of which she was Prioress. This lady had
conceived a great affection for me; and she promised my
father, that she would take care of me herself, and would
make me lodge in her own chamber. But circumstances
occurred, which prevented her from fulfilling her intentions.
Various troubles arose in the Religious Community, of
which she had the charge, which necessarily occupied her
attention; so that she was not in a situation to take much
care of me."
7. Her opportunities for intellectual improvement, during
her residence in the Dominican Convent, where she continued during eight months, were interrupted in some degree by sickness. But with a mind of naturally enlarged
capacity, and which seemed to have an instinct for knowledge, she could hardly fail to improve. During her residence at this place, she was left more with herself than had
been customary with her. But her solitary hours, secluded as
she was in a great degree from objects that might have distracted her attention, were not unprofitable ones. One cir




12       LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


cumstance which occurred at this time, is worthy of particular notice. The pupils of the Convent, although they received religious instruction in other ways, do not appear to
have been put in possession of the Bible, and to have had
the use of it in private. A Bible, however, had been provi
dentially left, by whose instrumentality or from what motive
is unknown, in the chamber which was assigned to Mademoiselle De La Mothe. Young as she was, she seems to
have had a heart to appreciate, in some degree, the value of
this heaven-sent gift. "1 Ispent whole days," she says, "in
reading it; giving no attention to other books or other subjects from morning to night. And having great powers of
recollection, I committed to memory the historical parts entirely." It is certainly not improbable that these solitary
perusals of the Bible had an influence on her mind through
life, not only in enlarging its sphere of thought and activity,
but by teaching her to look to God alone for direction, and
by laying deep and broad the foundations of that piety which
she subsequently experienced.
8. She remained at the Convent of the Dominicans eight
months, after which she returned home. When she entered
upon the twelfth year of her age, she proposed to partake
of the sacrament of the Eucharist. She acknowledges that
for some time previous she had been remiss in religious
duties. Some jealousies and disaffections, as is not unfrequently the case, had sprung up among the younger members of her father's family. A feeling of dissatisfaction and
melancholy seems to have entered her mind. And as if
weary of God, she gave up what little religious inclination
and feeling she had, saying, " she was none the better for
it," and wickedly implying in the remark, that the troubles
connected with religion exceeded the benefits resulting from
it. I think it would not be correct to say, that she had
given up religion; but rather had given up many favorable





OF MADAME GUYON.


13


feelings and many outward practices, which have a connection with religion. And this remark will perhaps be the
better understood, when we say in explanation, that, although
she had been interested in religion, it does not appear that
she possessed those traits or qualities which really constitute
it. Prompted, partly by example, and partly by serious
impressions, she had sought it, but had not found it. Her
religious interest, as we have already had occasion to notice,
varied at different times. At one time, in particular, it
seems to have been very great. She seems to have had
convictions of sin; she had some desires to live in God's
guidance and favor; she formed good resolutions; she had
a degree of inward consolation. But when we examine
these experiences closely, I think we shall find reason for
saying, that such desires, convictions, and resolutions, which
often lay near the surface of the mind without stirring very
much its inward depths, were, in her case at least, the incidents and preparatives of religion, rather than religion itself.
The great inward Teacher, the Holy Ghost, had not as yet
dispossessed the natural life, and given a new life in Christ.
She herself intimates that her religion was chiefly in appearance; and that self, and not the love of God, was at the
bottom.
9. The suggestion to partake of the sacrament of the Supper, and thus by an outward act at least, to array herself more
distinctly on the Lord's side, seems to have originated with
her father. In order to bring about what he had near at
heart, and which was in accordance with the principles of
the church of which he was a member, he placed her again
at the Ursuline Seminary. Her paternal half-sister, who
still resided there, and who appears to have had some increased and leading responsibility as an instructress, pleased
with the suggestion, but at the same time aware of her
unfortunate state of mind, labored assiduously to give rise to
2





14       LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


better inward dispositions. The labors of this patient and
affectionate sister, who knew what it was both to believe
and to pray, and for whom religion seems to have had a
charm above every thing else, were so effectual, that Jeanne
Marie now thought, as she expresses it, "of giving herself to
God in good earnest." The day at length arrived; she felt
that the occasion was too important to be trifled with; she
made an outward confession of her sins, with apparent sincerity and devoutness, and partook of the sacramental element for the first time with a considerable degree of satisfaction.  But the result showed that the heart was not
reached. The day of her redemption had not come. The
season and its solemnity passed away, without leaving an
effectual impression.  The sleeping passions were again
awaked. " My faults and failings," she says, " were soon
repeated, and drew me off from the care and the duties of
religion." She grew tall; her features began to develope
themselves into that beauty which afterwards distinguished
her. Her mother, pleased with her appearance, indulged
her in dress. The combined power of her personal and
mental attractions were felt in the young and unreflecting
attachments of persons of the other sex. The world resumed
its influence, and Christ was in a great degree forgotten.
10. Such are the changes which often take place in the early history of religious experience. To-day there are serious
thoughts, awakened and quickened feelings, and good resolutions; every thing wears a propitious aspect. To-morrow,
purposes are abandoned, feelings vanish; and the reality of
the world takes the place of the anticipations of religion. Today the hearts of mothers and sisters, and of other friends,
who have labored long and prayed earnestly for the salvation of those who are dear to them, are cheered and gladdened. To-morrow they find the solicitations to pleasure
prevailing over the exhortations to virtue; and those who





OF MADAME GUYON.                 15
had been serious and humble for a time, returning again
to the world. But it is often the case, that these alternations of feeling, which it is not easy always to explain, have
an important connection, under the administration of a
higher and divine providence, with the most favorable
results.
11. They may, in many case3, be regarded as constituting a
necessary part of that inward training, which the soul must
pass through, before it reaches the position of true submission and of permanent love. They show us the great
strength of that attachment which binds us to attractions
which perish, the things of time and sense. They leave a
deep impression of the forbearance and long-suffering of
God. They teach the necessity of the special and powerful
operations of divine grace, without which the heart, naturally
alienated from all attachment to the true object of its love,
would perish in its worldly idolatry.





CHAPTER III.


Visit from her cousin De Toissi, Missionary to Cochin China.
Results of this visit. Renewed religious efforts. Endeavors to
obtain salvation by works rather than by faith. Return of spiritual declension. Account which she gives of her own feelings
and conduct at this time. Remarks.
ABOUT this time the Catholic church of France, desirous
to spread abroad the Christian religion where it was yet unknown, was enlarging its missions in the East. Among the
individuals whose piety led them to engage in this benevolent work, was a nephew of M. De La Mothe. His name
was De Toissi; the same individual, of whom some
account is given in the History of Foreign Missions,
Relation  des Missions Etrangeres, under the name of
De Chamesson. This young man, in company with one
of the French bishops, the titular bishop of Heliopolis,
had commenced his journey to the place of his labors in
Cochin China; and in passing through Montargis, had called
at the residence of his uncle. His visit was short; but
characterized as it was by the circumstance, that he was
about to leave his native land perhaps forever, and on business too that was infinitely dear to the heart of humanity
and religion, it-was full of interest. He was one of those,
who could say in the sweet language of the subject of this
Memoir, when in after life she suffered in prison and in
exile,
"My country, Lord, art Thou alone;
No other can I claim or own;
The point, where all my wishes meet,
My Law, my Love, life's only sweet."





LIFE, ETC.


17


Mademoiselle De La Mothe had gone out at the time of this
short but deeply interesting visit of her pious cousin; a
visit incidental to a journey undertaken from religious considerations, and whichli, therefore, could not well be delayed
from purely worldly motives. " I happened," she says, "at
that time to be gone a-walking with my companions, which
I seldom did. At my return he was gone. They gave me
an account of his sanctity, and of the things he had said. I
was so touched with it, that I was overcome with sorrow.
I cried all the rest of the day and of the night."
2. This was one of those incidents in the Providence of
God, which come home to the heart. How often has the
mere sight of a truly pious man brought the hardened sinner
under conviction! How often have those who have been
unmoved by the most eloquent religious appeals, been deeply affected by the most simple and unpretending words,
when uttered under circumstances favorable to such a
result.  When she heard the statement of the deep and
devoted piety of her cousin De Toissi, the thoughts of Mademoiselle De La Mothe, on the principle of contrast rather
than of resemblance, naturally reverted to herself. She remembered how often God had called her to himself; and
how often she had listened without obeying, or had obeyed
without persevering in obedience. "What!" she exclaimed
to a pious person, who acted as her Confessor and religious
teacher, " am I the only person in our family to be
lost! Alas! Help me in my salvation."  Her whole soul
was roused to a sense of her situation. She recalled with
deep compunction her repeated seasons of seriousness and
religious inquiry, and of subsequent declension. "Alas!"
she exclaimed, "what grief I now sustained for having displeased God! What regrets! What exclamations! What
tears of sorrow!" Once more she endeavored to bring her
mind to a religious frame. Once more she applied herself
2*





18         LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE'
to the task of her soul's salvation, apparently with great sincerity and earnestness; but without being able to find the
simple way of acceptance by faith. She resisted her passions, which were liable to be stron'gly moved; and her
efforts were attended with a considerable degree of success.
She asked the forgiveness of those, whom she was so unhappy
as to have displeased. Appreciating, in some degree, the relation between religion and practical benevolence, s he visited
the poor, gave them food and clothing, and taught them the
catechism. She spent much time in private reading and
praying. She purchased and read some of the practical and
devotional books which were most highly valued among her
people, such as the Life of Madame de Chantal and the works
of St. Francis de Sales. She inscribed the name of the
Savior in large characters upon a piece of paper; and so
attached it to her person as to be continually reminded of
him. With an erroneous notion of expiating her sin by her
own suffering, she voluntarily subjected herself to various
bodily austerities.  Determining to leave nothing undone
which seemed to furnish any hope of spiritual improvement,
it is worthy of notice that she made a vow, in imitation of
the devout Madame de Chantal, of ever aiming at the highest perfection, and of doing the will of God in everything.
This undoubtedly was an important resolution, which, we
may reasonably suppose, would have been followed by the
happiest consequences, if it had not been made too much in
her own strength, and in ignorance of the great renovating
principle, that all true strength is derived from God through
Christ by faith. Among other things which characterized
her mental exercises and her efforts at this time, it appears
that she came to the resolution, if Providence should permit,
to enter into a Convent, and in the apparent hopelessness of
aid from any other source, to secure her spiritual interests
and her salvation by becoming a Nun. This part of her





OF MADAME GUYON. "


19


plan, which showed the depth of her feeling on the subject
which now occupied her mind, was frustrated by her father,
who was tenderly attached to her, and who, while he was
earnestly desirous that his daughter might become truly religious, supposed that she might possess religion without
separating from her family, and without an entire seclusion
from the world.
3. The Infinite Mind, no doubt, beheld and sympathized
in the anxiety which she felt, and in the efforts she made.
God is not indifferent, he never can be indifferent, to those
who strive to enter in.  He numbers all their tears; he
registers all their resolves. How can it be otherwise?  If
the state of mind be that of true striving after God, he himself has inspired it. Has he no feeling, no sympathy for his
own work? It is true that he sometimes permits those
whom he determines eventually to bless, to strive long, and
perhaps to wander in erroneous ways. But the result of this
painful experience will be, that they will ultimately understand much better than they otherwise would have done, the
direction and the issue of the true path. They have a lessQn
to learn which cannot well be dispensed with; and God therefore is willing that they should learn it. What that lesson
is, it is not always easy to say, in individual cases. Perhaps
the remains of self-confidence exist within them, which can
be removed only by the experience of the sorrows which
are attendant upon the errors it invariably commits. And
accordingly God leaves them to test the value of human
wisdom. They try it; they fall into mistakes; they are overwhelmed with confusion; and then, and not till then, they
see the necessity and importance of reposing all their confidence in Him, who alone can guide them in safety.
4. Mademoiselle De La Mothe continued in the state of
mind which we have described, about a year. But this strong
religious tendency also had its end. What it was which led





20         MITi AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
to the termination of religious prospects so flattering, it is
difficult to state with entire confidence. There is some reason
for thinking, however, that the love of God, not far from this
time, began to be disturbed by the accession and influence
of a love, which was more mixed and earthly in its origin.
She relates that her father with his family left the city of
Montargis, in order to spend some days in the country; and
that he took with him a very accomplished young gentleman,
one of his near relations. This young man, of whom she
speaks in high terms for his religious sentiments, as well as
his intellectual and other accomplishments, became much
attached to her. She was still young, being only in her
fourteenth year. She gives us to understand, that this individual, notwithstanding the circumstance of her immature
age, made propositions of marriage. And this, after a suitable time, would probably have been the result, with the
cordial consent of all the parties concerned, if it had not been
met by the obstacle, that their relationship was so near as to
bring them within the degrees of consanguinity, in which
maorriage is prohibited in the Catholic Church. This obstacle, it is true, could have been removed by a dispensation
from the Papal See; but still it was onie of so serious a
nature, that her father did not think it proper to give his
consent. Still they were mutually pleased, and spent much
time in each other's company. It was at the time of this
attachment, that she says significantly and penitently, that
she "1began to seek in the creature what she had previously
found in God." But we will let her describe her spiritual
declension in her own language.
5. Ia connection with a reference to her daily interviews
with this young relative, she says, "I left off prayer. I became
as a vineyard exposed to pillage, whose hedges, torn down,
give liberty to all the creatures to ravage it. I began to
seek in the creature what I had found in God. And thou,





OF MADAME GUYON.


21


oh my God! didst leave me to myself, because I left thee
frst, and wast pleased, in permitting me to sink into the
horrible pit, to make me see and feel the necessity of maintaining a state of continual watchfulness and communion
with thyself. Thou hast taught thy people, that thou wilt
destroy those who, by indulging wrongly-placed affections,
depart from thee.* Alas! their departure alone causes their
destruction; since in departing from Thee, the Sun of Righteousness, they enter into the region of darkness and the
shadow of death. And there, bereft of all true strength,
they will remain. It is not possible that they should ever
arise again, unless Thou shalt revisit them; unless Thou
shalt restore them to light and life, by illuminating their
darkness, and by melting their icy hearts. Thou didst leave
me to myself, because I left Thee first. But such was Thy
goodness, that it seemed to me, that Thou didst leave me
with regret."
6. The account which she gives of her inward state at this
time, is an exceedingly painful one. "I readily gave way,"
she says, "to sallies of passion. I failed in being strictly
conscientious and careful in the utterance of the truth. I
became not only vain, but corrupt in heart. Although I
kept up some outward religious appearances, religion itself,
as a matter of inward experience, had become to me a matter of indifference. I spent much time, both day and night,
in reading romances, those strange inventions to destroy
youth. I was proud of my personal appearance, so much
so that, contrary to my former practices, I began to pass a
good deal of my time before the mirror. I found so much
pleasure in viewing myself in it, that I thought others were
in the right, who practised the same. Instead of making
use of this exterior, which God gave me as a means of


Ps. lXxiii 27.





22


LIFE, ETC.


loving him more, it became to me the unhappy source of a
vain and sinful self-complacency. All seemed to me to look
beautiful in my person; but in my declension and darkness
I did not then perceive, that the outward beauty covered a
sinful and fallen soul."
7. But this was not the judgment which the world then
passed upon her; the world so severe in the exaction of its
own claims, but so indulgent in mitigating the claims of God.
Under a form that was outwardly beautiful, and veiled by
manners that had received the most correct and advantageous culture, it was not easy for man to perceive the elements and workings of a heart which harbored moral and
religious rebellion. In the eye of the world, therefore, which
is but imperfectly capable of penetrating beyond the exterior, and which delights in elegance of form and perfection
of manners, there was but little to blame, and much to
praise; but in the eye of God, which sees and estimates the
inmost motive, it was not possible for outward beauty to
furnish a compensation for inward deformity. And in using
the phrase inward deformity, we do not necessarily mean,
that she was worse than many others who have a reputation for good morals. Estimating her by the world's standard, she had her good qualities, as well as those of an
opposite character, her excellences as well as her defects.
Nevertheless, there was that wanting which constitutes the
soul's true light, without which all other beauty fades, and
all other excellence is but excellence in name, - the love of
God in the heart.





CHAPTER IV.


Removal from Montargis to Paris. Louis the Fourteenth. Characteristics of the age. Effect of her removal to Paris upon her
character. Her personal appearance at this period. Offers of
marriage. Is married to M. Guyon in March, 1664. Notices
of the family of M. Guyon.
SOMETIME in the year 1663, M. De La Mothe removed
his family from Montargis to the city of Paris, - a step which
obviously was not calculated to benefit his daughter, in the
religious sense of the term. Paris was at that time, as it is
now, the centre of scientific culture and of the arts, of refinement of manners and of fashionable gayety.    Louis the
Fourteenth was then the reigning sovereign of France, - a
man of considerable powers of intellect, and of great energy
of will,- in whom two leading desires predominated - the one
to make France great, the other to make himself the source
and centre of her greatness.   The greatness of France,
sustained and illustrated in the wisdom and splendor of her
great monarch - this, it is very obvious, was the central and
powerful element of his system of action. Hence the expense and labor which he bestowed upon the royal palaces,
and upon all the great public works which could be considered as having a national character; hence his vast efforts
to enrich and beautify the city of Versailles, which he had
selected as the principal seat of his residence; hence his
desire to attach to his person, and to rank among the attendants of his Court, the most distinguished of his nobles. His





24         LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
munificence to men of literature, his patronage of the arts,
the pomp and ceremony which characterized all great public
occasions, all sprung from the same source.*
2. All France, and particularly the city of Paris, felt an influence so well adapted to harmonize with the tendencies of the
human heart. If it was an age that was characterized by many
noble efforts in literature and the arts, it was an age also
that was equally characterized by its unfounded pretensions, its vanity, and its voluptuousness. Almost everything,
especially in the capital of France, was calculated to dispossess the sentiment of humility, and to impart an exaggerated
turn of mind. The sights and sounds which were presented
to notice; the displays of wealth, which were made in every. street; the crowded populace, intoxicated with the celebrity
of their sovereign and of their nation; the vulgar and the
fashionable amusements, which were without end; all were
calculated to divert the mind from serious reflection - to lead
it to sympathize with the senses, and to dissociate it from its
own inward centre; a state of things which would have
been a severe trial even to established piety.
3. It is not surprising that this uinpropitious state of
things, which developed itself to its full extent in the proud
city to which her parents had removed, should have had an
unfavorable effec~t upon the mind of Mademoiselle De La
Mothe; and accordingly she intimates, in the record of her
feelings, as she remembered them to have been in this part
of her life, that she began to entertain exaggerated ideas of
herself, and that her vanity increased. This was the natural
result of her new position. Her parents, as well as herself,
* See the Life of Louis Fourteenth by Voltaire, and the Memoirs of
the Court of France, hy the Marquis De Dangean. The latter writer
states that thirty-six thouisand laborers were employed at Versailles at
one time.





OF MADAME GUYON.


25


ted astray by the new state of society in which they found
themselves, spared no cost in obtaining whatever might
make her appear to advantage. The world, illuminated
with false lights to her young vision, seemed to be in reality
what it was chiefly in appearance, and consequently presented itself as an object worth conquering and possessing.
It was at this period that she gave to it, more warmly and
unreservedly than at any other, that kindling heart and expanded intellect, which she afterwards gave to religion. She
was tall and well made in her person; refined and preposf
sessing in her manners, and possessed of remarkable powers
of conversation. Her countenance, formed upon the Grecian model, and characterized by a brilliant eye and expansive forehead, had in it a natural majesty, which impressed
the beholder with a sentiment of deep respect, while it
attracted by its sweetness. Her great powers of mind, (a
mind which in the language of one of the writers of the
French Encyclopedie was formed for the world, "fait pour
le monde,") added to the impression which she made on her
entrance into Parisian society.*
4. It was under these circumstances that her future husband, M. Jaques Guyon, a man of great wealth, sought her
in marriage. He was not the only person whose attention,
* in this new state of things, was directed to her.  " Several
apparently advantageous offers of marriage," she says, " were
made for me; but God, unwilling to have me lost, did not
permit them to succeed." In accordance with the custom
of the time and country, (a custom oftentimes but little propitious to those who are most deeply concerned,) the arrangements in this important business were made by her father
* See Remarks on Madame Guyon, in the French Encyclopedie, under the Art. Montargis. Also, Relation de l'Origine, du Progres, et de
la Condemnation du Quidtisme en France, i,
3





26       LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


and her suitor with but little regard to the opinions and feelings of Mademoiselle De La Mothe. She did not see her
designated husband, till a few days before her marriage;
and when she did see him, she did not find her affections
united to him. She gives us distinctly to understand in
her Autobiography, that there were other individuals who
sought her, with whom she could have more fully sympathized, and could have been more happy. But a regard for
the opinions of her father, in whom she had the greatest,confidence, (although in this case he seems to have been
influenced too much by the circumstance of the great wealth
of M. Guyon,) overruled every other consideration. She
signed the articles of marriage, but without being permitted
to know what they were. She states that the articles were
drawn up on the 28th of January, 1664; but it would seem,
from a comparison of statements subsequently made, that
she was not married till the twenty-first of March of the
same year.*  She had then nearly completed her sixteenth
year. Her husband was thirty-eight.
5. Of the family of her husband we know but little. His
father, a man of activity and talent, acquired considerable
celebrity by completing the canal of Briare, which connects
the Loire with the Seine. This great work, (a work the
more remarkable for being the first important one of the
kind that was undertakeA in France,) was commenced in the
reign of Henry Fourth, under the auspices of his distinguished minister, the Duke of Sully. After the death of
Henry, and the retirement of Sully from the administration
of affairs, the work was suspended till 1638, when Louis
Thirteenth made arrangements, on liberal terms, with two
individuals, Messrs. Jacques Guyon and another individual
by the name of Bouteroue, to complete it. In this way
* La Vie de Madame Guyon, Pt. I, ch. 22d, ~5 as compared with ~7





OF MADAME GUYON.                    27
Guyon, who was entirely successful in an undertaking beset
with difficulties, was not only brought into public notice, but
became very wealthy. He was also rewarded with a patent
of nobility at the hands of Cardinal Richelieu, the then leading minister. His wealth, as well as an honorable and noble
position in society, seems to have been inherited by his only
son, the individual to whom Mademoiselle De La Mothe was
thus united in marriage.*
SLa Vie de Madame Guyon, Pt. I, chs. vi, vii. - Memoirs of the*
Duke of Sully, bk. xix. -Martiniere's Dictionnaire, Art. Canal de
Briare. - Relation de l'Origine, du Progrds, et de la Condemnation du
Quietisme, p. 4.





CHAPTER V.


Remarks on her marriage. Treatment she experienced at her husband's house. Unkindness of her mother-in-law. The great incompatibleness of her situation and her character. Her situation
considered in its relation to the designs of Providence. Her account of the trials she endured.
IT is but reasonable to anticipate, that the union of the
sexes and the establishment of families, authorized as they are
by nature and by religion, will contribute to happiness. But
this propitious result often depends on adjustments of age,
of position in life, and of personal character, which are not
always properly regarded. In the case before us, the circumstance of great wealth and of noble rank did not compensate for diversity of disposition and for great disparity
of age. It could hardly be expected, that Madame Guyon,
(as we shall hereafter designate her,) with all her advantages of beauty, talent, and honorable position in society,
could be entirely satisfied, at sixteen years of age, with a
husband twenty-two years older than herself, whom she had
seen but three days before her marriage, and who had obtained her through the principle of filial obedience, rather
than through that of warm and voluntary affection.
2. "No sooner," she says, "was I at the house of my husband, than I perceived it would be for me a house of mourning. In my father's house every attention had been paid to
my manners. In order to cultivate propriety of speech and





LIFE, ETC.


29


command of language, I had been encouraged to speak
freely on the various questions which were started in our
family circle. There everything was set off in full view;
everything was characterized by elegance. But it was very
different in the house of my husband, which was chiefly
under the direction of his mother, who had long been a
widow, and who regarded nothing else but saving. The
elegance of my father's house, which I regarded as the result
of polite dispositions, they sneered at as pride. In my
father's house whatever I said was listened to with attention,
and often with applause; but here, if I had occasion to speak,
I was listened to only to be contradicted and reproved. If
I spoke well, they said I was endeavoring to give them a
lesson in good speaking. If I uttered my opinions on any
subject of discussion which came up, I was charged with
desiring to enter into a dispute; and instead of being applauded, I was simply told to hold my tongue, and was
scolded from morning till night. I was very much surprised
at this change, and the more so as the vain dreams of my
youth anticipated an increase, rather than a diminution of
the happiness and the consideration which I had enjoyed.' *
3. The truth is, that she was placed by her marriage in
a wrong position; a position untrue to the structure of her
mind and unfavorable to her happiness. Nothing else could
reasonably have been expected from an arrangement, in
which so little regard had been paid to the mutual relations
of the parties, in respect to years, early habits, and mental
qualities. When considerable unhappiness is experienced in
married life, it naturally implies a very considerable diversity in the relative situation and in the character of the
parties. But this is not always the case. Sometimes a little
diversity in views and a little want of correspondence and
f La Vie de Madame Guyon, Pt. I, ch. vi, ~3, as compared with ~4.
3, *





30         LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
sympathy in feelings, furnishing occasion for an irritation
which is not great but constant, may be the means of very
seriously embittering life. It is very obvious that the mind
of Madame Guyon was not in harmony with her situation;
and whether we consider the actual discordance as greater
or less, the results could not well be otherwise than unfavorable. Other persons, it is true, with less experience of past
domestic happiness, and with less talent and refinement,
might, perhaps, have reconciled themselves to the situation
in which she was placed, and have regarded it as in many
respects a desirable one. Her husband was not without
some good qualities.  What his personal appearance was,
we have no record. But.whether it was owing to his traits
as a man, or to the consideration naturally resulting from
his great wealth, it is obvious, that he secured a degree of
respect in the circle in which he moved. I think it is evident also, that he had a degree of affection for his wife,
which, under favorable circumstances, might have increased,
and have rendered their union happy. But his good feelings, which from time to time showed themselves, were perverted by the physical infirmities and sufferings to which he
was subject, and by the influence of his mother,- a woman
without education, and apparently possessed of but little liberality of natural feeling, - who retained in old age, and
in the season of her wealth, those habits of labor and of
penurious prudence, which were formed in her youth.
Among other things which have a relation to the real position of Madame Guyon at this time, it is proper to notice,
that the ill health of her husband, to which we have just
alluded, rendered it necessary for him to keep in his employ
a woman who attended upon him as a nurse, and who by
her assiduity and skill, in seasons of sickness and suffering,
gained a considerable control over his mind. This woman
sympathized with the views and feelings of the mother-in




OF MADAME GUYON.


31


law, and contributed all in her power, to render the situation of the young wife, now in the bloom of youth and in the
fulness of her fresh and warm affections, as unpleasant as
possible.
4. We cannot but repeat, therefore, that Madame Guyon,
as it seems to us, was both mentally and morally out of her
true position. The individuals into whose immediate society
she was introduced, and with whom she was constantly in
contact, were characterized by a want of intellect and of
scientific and literary culture, which was not compensated
either by moral and religious excellences, or by the natural
virtues of the heart. They not only did not appreciate her,
but practically, if not always intentionally, they set themselves against her. They were not only blind to her merits,
but rude to her sympathies and hopes, and negligent of her
happiness. Certainly this was not the situation for a woman
of great intellect and great sensibility; a woman who was
subsequently admitted into the most distinguished circles in
France; a woman who honorably sustained a controversy
with the learning and genius of Bossuet, and who gave a
strong and controlling impulse to the mind of Fenelon; a
woman, whose moral and religious influence was such, that
Louis the Fourteenth, in his solicitude for the extirpation
of what he deemed heresy, thought it necessary to imprison
her for years in the Bastile and the prison of Vincennes;
who wrote poems in her imprisonment, which Cowper
thought it no dishonor to translate; and who has exerted an
influence which has never ceased to be felt, either in Europe
or in America.
5. But there she was, and she felt and knew that her
earthly hopes were blasted. But she did not then perceive
what she afterwards knew, that God placed her there in his
providence, as he made Joseph a slave in Egypt, "for her
good."  God had formed her fPr himself. He loved her too





:,2      LIFE AND RELTIGTOUS EXPERIENiCE


much to permit her to remain long in harmony with a world,
which, in its vanity and its corruption, He could not love.
He knew what was requisite in order to accomplish his own
work; He knew under what providences the natural life
would retain its ascendency, and the soul would be lost; and
under what providences grace would be rendered effectual,
and the soul would be saved. I have sometimes thought
that God, who always respects man's moral freedom, carries
on and completes the great work of his salvation, not only
by grace, but by position. I use the word position here as
nearly synonymous with external providences; and in laying
down this proposition, I mean to say, it seems to me, although I would not speak with much confidence, to be a law
of the divine action. Such are the relations between mind
and place, that no man ever is what he is, independently of
his situation. The mind has no power of acting in entire
separation from the relations it sustains; it knows nothing
where there are no objects to be known; loves nothing
where there are no objects to be loved; does nothing where
there is nothing to be done. Its powers of perception, its
capabilities of affectionate or malevolent feeling, its resources
of " volitional" or voluntary determination, develope their
strength and their moral character in connection with the
occasions which call them forth. Let any man read the Life
of St. Augustine, particularly in connection with what he
has himself said in his Confessions, or the Life of Francis
Xavier, of Archbishop Leighton, of George Fox, of Baxter,
of Wesley, of Brainerd, of Henry Martyn, - and then say, if
different circumstances, (a situation, for instance, comparatively exempt from temptation and toil,) would have developed the same men, the same strength of purpose, the same
faith in God, the same purity of life. This illustrates what
we mean when we say that in the religious life we are the
creatures, not only of grace, but of position, or more strictly





OF MADAME GUYON.


33


and truly, of grace acting by position. If this doctrine be
true, it throws light and beauty over the broad field of God's
providences, and shows us why many have passed to glory
through great tribulation. Tribulation was necessary to
bring them, if not to the true life of God in the first instance,
to that fulness and brightness of the inward life which they
have experienced. So that those, who grow in grace by
suffering, may do well to remember, that probably nothing
but the seasons of trial which they have been called to pass
through, would have fitted them for the reception and effectual action of that grace which is their consolation and their
hope.
6. This was the view which Madame Guyon herself
subsequently took of the subject. Viewed in the light of
subsequent events, she saw that everything had been ordered in mercy. Addressing the person at whose suggestion and under whose direction she wrote her Life, she says,
in relation to the trials and persecutions she endured, "I
should have some difficulty in writing these things to you,
which cannot be done without apparently giving offence to
charity, if you had not required me to give a full account,
without omitting anything. But there is one thing which
I feel it a duty to request. And that is, that in these things,
which thus took place, we must endeavor to behold the hand
of God, and not look at them merely on the side of the creature. I would not give any undue or exaggerated idea of
the defects of those persons by whom God had permitted
me to be afflicted. My mother-in-law was not destitute of
moral principles; my husband appeared to have some religious sentiments, and certainly was not addicted to open
vices. It is necessary to look at everything on the side of
God, who permitted these things only because they were
connected with my salvation, and because he would not have
me perish. Such was the strength of my natural pride, that





34       LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


nothing but some dispensation of sorrow would have broken
down my spirit, and turned me to God." And again she
says, near the conclusion of the same chapter in her Life,
"Thou hast ordered these things, oh my God, for my salvation! In goodness thou hast afflicted me. Enlightened by
the result, I have since clearly seen, that these dealings of
thy providence were necessary, in order to make me die to
my vain and haughty nature. I had not power in myself to
extirpate the evils within me. It was thy providence that
subdued them." *
7. Her statement of some of her trials, I shall endeavor
to give in a very abridged form, adjusting anew in some
cases the arrangement of the facts where the narrative is
confused, and giving the statement with more regard to the
precise sentiment or idea, which she obviously means to
convey, than to the specific form of expression. "The great
fault of my step-mother, who was not without sense and
merit, was, that she possessed an ungovernable self-will.
This trait was extraordinary in her; it had never been surmounted in her youth, and had become so much a fixed,
inflexible trait of her character, that she could scarcely live
with anybody. Add to this, that from the beginning she
had conceived a strong aversion to me, so much so, that she
compelled me to do the most humiliating things. I was
made the constant victim of her humors. Her great occupation was to thwart me continually; and she had the art
and the cruelty to inspire my husband with the like unfavorable sentiments."
8. "For instance, in situations where it was proper to
have some regard to rank or station in life, they would make
persons who were far below me in that respect, take precedence over me, - a thing which was often very trying to my
* La Vie de Madame Guyon, Pt. I. ch. 6.





OF MADAME GUYON.


feelings, - and especially so on account of my mother, who
was very tenacious of what was due to honorable station in
life, and who, when she heard of it from other persons, (for I
was careful not to say anything about it myself,) rebuked
me for want of spirit in not being able to maintain my rank.
Another source of unhappiness was the disposition, on the
part of my husband's family, [which resided a short distance
out of the city of Paris,] to prevent my visiting my father's
family, [which still continued to reside within the city limits.]
My parents, whom I tenderly loved, complained that I came
to see them so seldom,- little knowing the obstacles I had to
encounter. I never went to see them, without having some
bitter speeches to bear at my return. My step-mother, knowing how tenderly I felt on that point, found means to upbraid
me in regard to my family, and spoke to me incessantly to
the disadvantage of my father and mother."
9. "The place, which was assigned for my residence in
my husband's house, was the room which properly belonged
to my step-mother. I had no place into which I could retire as my own; and if it had been otherwise, I could not
have remained alone in it for any length of time without
offence.  Kept thus continually in her presence, she took
the opportunity to cast unkind reflections upon me before
many persons who came to see us. And to complete my
affliction, the person who was chosen to act as nurse to my
husband in his sicknesses, and who at other times was expected to perform the offices of waiting-maid to myself,
entered into all the plans of those who persecuted me. She
kept me in sight like a governess, and treated me in a very
singular manner, considering the relations actually existing
between us. For the most part I bore with patience these
evils, which I had no way to avoid; but sometimes I let some
hasty answer escape me, which was to me a source of grievous crosses and violent reproaches for a long time together.





.%,LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


And when I was permitted to go out of doors, my absence
added but little to my liberty. The footman had orders to
give an account of everything I did. And what contributed
to aggravate my afflictions, was the remembrance of my
former situation, and of what I might have enjoyed under
other circumstances. I could not easily forget the persons
who had sought my affections, dwelling, by a contrasted
operation of mind, on their agreeable manners, on the love
they had for me, and on the dispositions they manifested,- so
different from what I now had before me. All this made
my present situation very gloomy, and my burthen intolerable."
10. " It was then I began to eat the bread of sorrow, and
mingle my drink with tears. But my tears, which I could
not forbear shedding, only furnished new occasion for attack
and reproach. In regard to my husband, I ought perhaps
to say, that it was not from any natural cruelty that he
treated me as he did. He seems to have had a real affection for me, but being naturally hasty in his temper, his
mother found the art of continually irritating him against
me. Certain it is, that when I was sick, he was very much
afflicted. Had it not been for the influence of his mother
and of the waiting maid whom I have mentioned, we might
have lived happily together."
11. "As it was, my condition was every way deplorable.
My step-mother secured her object. My proud spirit broke
under her system of coercion. Married to a person of rank
and wealth, I found myself a slave in my own dwelling,
rather than a free person. The treatment which I received
so impaired the vivacity of my nature, that I became dumb,
like 'the lamb that is shearing.' The expression of thought
and feeling which was natural to me, faded from my countenance. Terror took possession of my mind. I lost all
power of resistance. Under the rod of my despotic mistress,





OF MADAME GUYON.                 37
I sat dumb and almost idiotic. Those who had heard of me,
but had never seen me before, said one to another, 'Is this
the person who sits thus silent like a piece of statuary, that
was famed for such an abundance of wit?' In this situation,
I looked in various directions for help; but I found no one
with whom I could communicate my unhappiness; no one
who might share my grief, and help me to bear it. To have
made known my feelings and trials to my parents, would
only have occasioned new crosses. I was alone and helpless
in my grief."
4





CHAPTER VI.


Her trials result in a renewed disposition to seek God. Of the
connection of providential events with the renewal of the heart.
The birth of her first child and its effect upon her mind. Losses
of property. Experience of severe sickness. Death of her paternal half-sister at Montargis, and of her mother at Paris. Result
of these afflictions upon her mind. Renewed efforts of a religious
nature. Het reading. Her interviews at her father's house with
an exiled lady of great piety. Remarks. Her interviews with
her cousin, M. De Toissi, Missionary to Cochin China. Her
conversation with a Religious of the Order of St. Francis. Her
conversion.
SuCH are the expressions which convey to us her sense
of her trials. It was in this extremity that it occurred to
her, (alas, that we learn this lesson so often from sorrows
alone,) that, in the deficiency of all hope in creatures, there
might be hope and help in God. It is true, that she had
turned away from him; and having sought for solace where
she had not found it, and where she ought not to have sought
it, she felt ashamed to go back.    But borne down by the
burdens of a hidden providence, (a providence which she
did not then love because she did not then understand it,)
she yielded to the pressure that was upon her, and began to
look to Him, in whom alone there is true assistance.
2. She had now been married about a year.       A number
of things occurred about this time, which are worthy of
notice. They tend to illustrate what I have remarked, in the
preceding chapter, on the operations of grace in connection





LIFE, ETC.


39


with the position in which we are placed in Providence. If
it is not strictly true, that God saves us by his providences, -
a remark which is sometimes made, - I think we may regard
it as essentially true, that he saves us by his grace, dispensed and operating in connection with his providences.
Providences test the disposition of the mind; they not only
test it, but alter it and control it to some extent; and may
be the means of placing it in a position the most favorable
for the reception of inward divine teaching.
3. One circumstance, which was calculated to have a
favorable effect upon the mind of Madame Guyon, at the
time of which we are now speaking, was the birth of her
first child. God was pleased to give her a son, to whom
she gave the name of Armand Jaques Guyon. This event,
appealing so strongly to family sympathies, was naturally
calculated to interest and soften the feelings of those who had
afflicted her. And we learn from what she has said on the
subject, that this was the case. But this was not all. It
brought with it such new relations; it opened such new views
of employment and happiness, and imposed such increased
responsibilities, that it could hardly fail to strengthen the
renewed religious tendency, which had already begun to
develope itself. Under the responsibility of a new life added
to her own, she began to realize that, if it were possible for
her not to need God for herself, she might need him for her
child.
4. God, in his dispensations, mingled judgments and
mercies together. Another circumstance, worthy of notice
as occurring about this time, was the loss of a part of the
property of the family. The revenues, accruing to the family from the Canal of Briare, which has already been mentioned, as having been completed by her husband's father,
were very great.  Louis Fourteenth, whose wars and domestic expenditures required large sums of money, took





40       LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


from them a part of the income arising from that source.
ThG family, besides their usual place of residence in the
country, had a valuable house in the city of Paris, in connection with which also a considerable sum of money was
lost at this time; but in what way, or for what reason, is not
stated. If the birth of a son tended to conciliate and to
make things easy, the loss of property had a contrary effect.
Her step-mother, who seems to have been an avaricious
woman, was inconsolable at these losses; which, in the perversity of her mind, she made the occasion of new injuries
and insults to her daughter-in-law, saying with great bitterness, that the family had been free from afflictions till she
came among them, and that all their troubles and losses
came with her.
5. Another circumstance worthy of notice, a little later
in time, and having some bearing upon her religious tendencies, was a severe sickness which she hpd. This was in the
second year of her marriage. The business of her husband
kept him much in Paris; and at the time to which we now
refer, the situation of his affairs was such as to require his
presence there constantly. After much opposition on the
part of her mother-in-law, she obtained her consent to leave
their residence, which was a short distance out of the city,
and to go for a time and reside there with him. But it is
worthy of remark, that she did not obtain this consent, which
could not well be withholden without an obvious violation of
her rights, until she had called in the aid of her father, who
insisted upon it. She went to the Hotel de Longueville,
where her husband staid.   She was received with every
demonstration of kindness from Madame de Longueville, and
from the inmates of the house; and there were many things,
notwithstanding the generally unpleasant position of her domestic relations, which tended to render her residence in the
city agreeable. While at the Hotel de Longueville she fell





OF MADAME GUYON.


41


sick, and was reduced to great extremity. The prospect was,
that she would soon die; and so far as the world was concerned, she felt that it had lost, in a great degree, its attractions, and she was willing to go. The priest who attended
her, mistaking a spirit of deadness to the world, originating
in part from her inability to enjoy it, for a true spirit of
acquiescence in God's dispensations, thought well of her
state. She seemed to him to be truly religious. But this
was not her own opinion. She had merely begun to turn
her eye, as it were, in the right direction. " My sins were
too present to my mind," she says, " and too painful to my
heart, to permit me to indulge in a favorable opinion as to
my acceptance with God. This sickness was of great benefit
to me.  Besides teaching me patience under violent pains,
it served to give me newer and more correct views of the
emptiness of worldly things. It had the tendency to detach
me in some degree from self, and gave me new courage to
suffer with more resignation than I had ever done."
6. But this was not all. Death had begun to make inroads in her family circle. Her paternal half-sister, who
resided at the Ursuline Convent in Montargis, died, she informs us, two months before her marriage. To this sister,
to whom she was exceedingly attached, she makes repeated
references.  Perhaps we know too little of her to speak
with entire confidence. But she seems to have been a woman gentle in spirit and strong in faith, who lived in the
world as those who are not of the world; and who, we may
naturally suppose, died in the beauty and simplicity of Christian peace. The loss of a sister, so deservedly esteemed and
loved by Madame Guyon, could not possibly be experienced
without making the earth less dear, and heaven more precious. And at the time of which we are now speaking, the
second year of her marriage and the eighteenth year of her
age, she experienced the separation of another strong tie to
4*





42


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


earth, by the loss of her mother. " My mother departed this
life," she remarks, " in great tranquillity of spirit, having,
besides other virtues, been in particular very charitable to
the poor. God, who seems to have regarded with favor her
benevolent disposition, was pleased to reward her, even In
this life, with such a spirit of resignation, that, though she
was but twenty-four hours sick, she was made perfectly easy
about everything that was near and dear to her in this
world."
7. It is easy to see, in the light of these various dispensations, that God, who builds his bow of promise in the cloud,
had marked her for his own. He had followed her long,
and warned her often; but He did not give up the pursuit.
He stopped her pathway to the world; but He left it open
to heaven. He drew around her the cords of His providence
closely, that she might be separated, in heart and in life,
from those unsatisfying objects, which, in her early days,
presented to her so many attractions. She herself, as we
have already had occasion to notice, was subsequently led
to view everything in this manner. It was God who was
present in all these events; it was God who, through an
instrumentality of his own selection, was laying his hand
painfully but effectually upon the idols which she had inwardly cherished, sometimes trying her by mercies, where
mercy might be supposed to affect her heart, but still more
frequently and effectually by the sterner discipline of outward disappointment and of inward anguish.
8. It was not in vain, that He who understands the nature
of the human heart, and the difficulty of subjecting it, thus
adjusted every thing in great wisdom, as well as in real kindness. The trials which He had sent, were among those
which work out "the peaceable fruits of righteousness."
It was the result of these various providences, afflicting as
they generally were, that she was led to the determination,





OF MADAME GUYON.


43


(a determination which from this time never was abandoned,)
once more to seek God.  She had sought him before, but she
had not found him. But, in giving up the search and in
turning from God to the world, she had found that which
gave no satisfaction. Bitterly had she learned, that, if there
is not rest in God, there is rest nowhere.  Again, therefore,
she formed the religious resolve,--a resolve which God enabled her not only to form, but to keep. Her feelings at this
time seem to be well expressed in a well known religious
hymn, which is designed to describe the state of a sinner,
who has seen the fallacy and the unsatisfying nature of all
situations and of all hopes out of Christ.
"Perhaps he will admit my plea;
Perhaps will hear my prayer;
But if I perish, I will pray,
And perish only there.
"I can but perish if I go;
I am resolved to try;
For if I stay away, I know
I must forever die."
9. Fully established in her determination to seek God, in
all time to come, as her chief good, she adopted those measures which seemed to her to have a connection with that
great object. Undoubtedly they had. They show her sense
of need and her deep sincerity; but they indicate also how
difficult it is for the natural heart, especially under certain
systems of religious belief and practice, to detach itself from
its own methods and its own supposed merits, and in true
simplicity of spirit to follow him who is 1" the way, the truth,
and the life." It is evident, however, although they were in
some sense only preparatory, that they had a connection
with the great lesson which she was destined ultimately to
learn. Among other things which seemed to be necessary





44       LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPEARIENCE


in her present state, she gives us to understand that she
ceased to give that attention to her outward appearance
which she had done formerly. Fearful that she might either
excite or increase emotions of vanity, she diminished very
much the time which she had formerly occupied in adjusting and contemplating her person at the mirror. In addition
to this improvement of a personal nature, she commenced
doing something for the religious benefit of the servants of
the family. She likewise, as a part of her renewed system
of effort, began a process of inward examination, often performing it very strictly, writing down her faults from week
to week, and comparing the record at different periods, in
order to see whether she had corrected them, and to what
extent. The sabbath, it is hardly necessary to add, was a
day strictly observed, and the place of worship was not only
regularly visited, but was attended with some beneficial results. She made such progress in certain respects, that she
began to see and to appreciate, much more correctly than
at any former period, the defects of her character and life,
and to feel sentiments of sincere compunction. She laid
aside all such reading as was incompatible with her
present position, and confined her attention chiefly to the
most devout works. One of these books, which, notwithstanding its Catholic origin, is much esteemed among Protestants, was the celebrated Imitation of ChOkrist, by Thomas a
Kempis; a work which is widely circulated and read among
devout people of all denominations of Christians. Under a
simple and unpretending exterior, corresponding in this respect, as we may well suppose, with the humble spirit of its
author, whoever he may have been, it contains the highest
principles of Christian experience. Some of the works of
Francis de Sales also, which she mentions as having read at
an early period of her life, were consulted by her at this
time with great interest.





OF MADAME GUYON.


45


10. God, who adjusts the means to the end to be accomplished, and who is not easily wearied out in His benevolence, was pleased to add other instrumentalities. During
her visit to the city of Paris, which has just now been referred to, and at other times, she had opportunities, more or
less frequently of being at her father's house. After the
death of her mother, her respect and affection for her father
seemed especially to require it.  She there became acquainted with a lady, whom she speaks of as being an Exile, -
very possibly some one of those persons, who with the Queen
of England and others, had been driven away from England
by the civil wars in that country, which resulted in the dethronement and death of Charles First. She intimates that
this exiled lady, whose name is not given, came to her
father's house in a state of destitution; and says expressly,
that he offered her an apartment in it, which she accepted
and staid there for a long time. This destitute woman, instructed in the vanities of the world by the trials she had
experienced, had sought and had found the consolations of
religion. She was one of those, that, in loving God, " worship him in spirit and in truth."  Her gratitude to M. De
La Mothe, who had received and sheltered her in her misfortunes, was naturally shown in acts of kindness to his
daughter, Madame Guyon. And it is but reasonable to
suppose that these favorable dispositions were increased by
what she observed of her talents, her beauty, and her sorrows; and still more by what she noticed of her sincere and
earnest desire to know more, and experience more, of the
things of religion.
11. Madame Guyon eagerly embraced the opportunity
which was thus afforded her of religious conversation;
and from this pious friend who was thus raised up by
Providence to instruct her, she seems to have received
the first distinct intimations, that she was erroneously





46       LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


seeking religion by a system of works without faith.
Among other things, this devout lady remarked to her,
in connection with what she had observed of her various exterior works of charity, that she had the virtues
of "an active life," that is to say, the virtues of outward activity, of outward doing, but that she had not
the " truth and simplicity of the life within."  In other
words, that her trust was in herself rather than in God,
although she might not be fully aware of it. But Madame
Guyon, in recurring to this period afterwards, says significantly, "My time had not yet come; I did not understand
her. Living in my presence in the Christian spirit, she
served me more by her example than by her words. God
was in her life. I could not help observing on her countenance, reflecting as it did the inward spirit, something which
indicated a great enjoyment of God's presence. I thought it
an object to try to be like her outwardly,- to exhibit that
exterior aspect of divine resignation and peace, which is characteristic of true inward piety. I made much effort, but it
was all to little purpose. I wanted to obtain, by efforts
made in my own strength, that which could be obtained
only by ceasing from all such efforts, and trusting wholly in
God."
12. In narrating the various providential dispensations
and instrumentalities, which resulted in the spiritual renovation of Madame Guyon, we cannot well avoid noticing how
much it costs to bring a soul to the knowledge of God. This
recital of instrumentalities and influences does not, as I suppose, present anything peculiarly new; - anything which
does not occur in many other cases. The human mind is so
wedded to its natural perverseness, that, generally speaking,
it is not brought into harmony with God at once. Even.
those conversions, which appear to be especially prompt and
sudden, have in many cases been preceded by a long pre




OF MADAME GUYON.


47


paratory training, which is not the less real, because it has
been unseen and unknown. Generally speaking, we see
efforts frequently renewed, resolves made and resolves
broken, alternations of penitential tears and of worldly joys,
advice and warning received to-day and rejected to-morrow,
and very frequently a long series of disappointments and
sorrows, before the mind is so humbled and instructed, as to
renounce its earthly hopes, and to possess all things in God
by becoming nothing in itself. But this state of things,
which so frequently happens, and which is really so afflicting, teaches us the lesson of patience and of hope. Tears
may have been wiped away, and resolutions may have been
broken; and yet those tears, which seemed to have been in
vain, and those resolutions which seemed to have been
worse than in vain, may have been important and even indispensable links in the chain of providential occurrences.
We repeat, therefore, that conversions long delayed, although
they are calculated to try and purify our patience, ought not
to extinguish our hope. "In due season we shall reap, if
we faint not."
13. We proceed to say then, that another individual, besides the lady whose conversation and influence have just
now been stated, had a share in that series of providences,
which God saw to be necessary, in order to turn the mind
of Madame Guyon from the world to himself. This was a
pious person, who has already been mentioned, M. De Toissi,
the nephew of M. De La Mothe. He had been to Cochin
China, as a sharer in the religious enterprises which were
carried on there, and after an absence of about four years,
had returned on business connected with the Mission with
which he was associated. He visited the house of M. De La
Mothe, where his cousin, Madame Guyon, was exceedingly
glad to see him. She knew his character. She remembered
what was said of his conversation and his appearance, when he





48       LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


visited her father's house some years before, just before his
departure for the East. And, in her present state of mind,
groping about as she was in solitude and desolation of spirit,
she eagerly sought interviews and conversations with pious
persons. This pious cousin, impelled by natural affection as
well as by a regard for the interests of religion, did all that
he could to encourage her in her search after God. There
were other things which gave him an increased interest in
the case, such as her personal accomplishments, her great
talents, the wealth of her family, her position in society, and
her comparative youth, - circumstances, which, in that age
of worldly splendor and enjoyment, were particularly adverse to the humble and pure spirit of religion. And it was
not easy for one to see the possessor of them seeking religion, with a full determination to be satisfied with nothing
else, without feeling a deep interest in the result, - much
more so, probably, than would be felt in ordinary cases.
Madame Guyon very freely and ingenuously stated her
views of her inward state to her cousin, - the faults of her
character, her inward sense of her alienation from God, the
efforts she had made, and the discouragements she had met
with. He expressed the deepest interest in her case. He
prayed for her. He gave such advice as he was able. With
earnest exhortations he cheered her onward, not doubting
that God's wisdom and goodness would bring all well in
the end.
14. Her interviews with this good man had an encouraging effect. His spiritual habits, as well as his conversation,
affected her. Among other things she gives us to understand, that he was in a state of inward and continual communion with God; that state of mind, probably, which, in
accordance with the nomenclature of the higher experimental writers, she variously denominates, in her religious works,
as the state of" Recolleclion," or of "Recollection in God;"





OF MADAME GUIO-N.


49


and which I think may be properly denominated the Prayer
of Recollection. This state of continual prayer affected her
much, although she was unable at that time, as she expressly admits, to understand its nature. She also noticed,
with interest and profit, the conversation which passed between him and the exiled lady resident at her father's, who
has already been mentioned. As is the case with all truly
religious people, they seemed to understand each others'
hearts. "They conversed together," she says, "in a spiritual language." They had that to speak of, which souls unconverted can never know,-a Saviour "who was no longer
as a root sprung out of the dry ground," sins forgiven, and
joy and peace in believing.
15. The example and the exhortations of her cousin, De
Toissi,* could not fail to make a deep impression. Many
were the tears she shed when he departed. She renewed
her solemn resolutions. She endeavored to imitate him in
his state of continual prayer, by offering up to God ejaculations, either silent or spoken, moment by moment. On the
system of making resolutions and of mere human effort, she
seems to have done all that she could do. But still she did
not understand; a cloud hung over one of the brightest intellects when left to itself, - so perplexing to human wisdom,
and so adverse to the natural heart is the way of forgiveness and justification by faith alone. Those know it who
experience it, and those only; but her hour had not yet
come. More than a year had passed in this state of mind,
and with such efforts, - but apparently in vain. With all
these appliances which have been mentioned, with afflictions
on the one hand to separate her from earthly objects, and
* Madame Guyon (La Vie, Pt. 1, chap. iv.) says, there is some account of this individual in the work entitled Relation des Missions
Etrangeres, under the name DE CHAMESSON.





50       LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


with encouragements on the other to allure her to heaven,
she still seems to have remained without God and without
hope in the world. So much does it cost, in a fallen world
like this, to detach a soul from its bondage and to bring it to
God! God has not only spread the feast, in the salvation
which he has offered through his Son, but, by means of
ministers, both providential and personal, he goes out intc
the highways, and compels them to come in.
16. God was pleased to send one more messenger. " Oh,
my Father!" says Madame Guyon, in connection with the
incidents we are about to relate, "it seems to me sometimes, as if Thou didst forget every other being, in order to
think only of my faithless and ungrateful heart." There
was a devout man who belonged to the Religious Order of
St. Francis. His name is not given, nor will it now probably ever be known on earth. This man, deeply impressed
with religious sentiments, spent five years in solitude, for
the express purpose of spiritual renovation, and of communion with God. With a heart subdued to the world's
attractions, and yet inflamed for the world's good, he went
out into the field of labor. He thought that God called
him to labor for the conversion of a person of some distinction, who lived in the vicinity of M. De La Mothe. But
his labors there proved fruitless,- or rather they resulted
only in the trial of his own faith and patience. The humble
Franciscan, revolving in his mind where he should next go
and announce the divine message, was led by the inward
monitor, speaking in connection with the indications of providence, to go to the house of M. De La Mothe, with whom
he seems to have had some acquaintance in former times.
M. De La Mothe, a man in whom the religious tendency
was strong, was exceedingly glad to see him, and to receive
his instructions, especially as he was then out of health, and
had not much expectation of living long.  His daughter,





OF MADAME GUYON.


51


Madame Guyon, who was desirous of rendering him every
assistance in his increasing infirmities, was then at her
father's house, although her own health was very infirm.
Her father was not ignorant either of her outward or inward
trials. She had conversed with him with entire frankness
on her religious state. She related to him the exercises of
her mind, her dissatisfaction with her present spiritual condition, and her earnest desire to avail herself of every favorable opportunity to receive religious instruction. Her father,
influenced by the representations she made, as well as by
his high sense of the piety and religious wisdom of the Franciscan who had visited him, not only advised but strongly
urged her to consult with him.
17. Attended by a kinswoman, as seemed to be proper
under the existing circumstances, she visited the room of the
Franciscan, and stated to him her conviction of her need of
religion, and the often-repeated and long-continued efforts
she had made without effect. When she had done speaking,
the Franciscan remained silent for some time, in inward
meditation and prayer. He at length said: "Your efforts
have been unsuccessful, Madame, because you have sought
without, what you can only find within. Accustom yourself
to seek God in your heart, and you will not fail to find him."
18. It is very probable, that she had heard a similar sentiment before; but if it were so, it came to her as religious
truth always does come to those in their natural state, who
are permitted to hear, before grace has enabled them to understand. But now the hour of God's providence and of
special mercy had arrived. Clearly and strongly did the
divine Spirit apply a truth which otherwise would have
fallen useless to the ground. " Your efforts have been unsuccessful, Madame, because you have sought without what you
can only find within. Accustom yourself to seek God in
your heart, and you will not fail to find him." These few





52         LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
words, somewhat singular in the mode of expression as they
are, obviously convey the great principle, that religion does
not and cannot consist in outward working, - in a mere round
of ceremonial duties, - in anything which comes exclusively
under the denomination of an external action. But, on the
contrary, it is inward in the sense of having its seat in the
heart's affections, and in accordance with the great scriptural
doctrine, that the "just shall live by faith."  From the moment that Madame Guyon heard these words, she was enabled to see the error she had committed,--that of endeavoring
to obtain God by a system of outward operations, --by the
mercenary purchase of formal services, rather than by the
natural and divine attraction of accordant sympathies.
Speculatively, there may be a God objective, a God outward, a God recognized by the intellect as a great and
majestic being living in the distance. And in certain respects this is a view of God which is not at variance with
the truth. But still God can never be known to us as our
God, he can never be brought into harmony with our nature,
except as a God inward, a God received by faith and made
one with us by love, and having his home in the sanctified
temple of the heart. "Believe in the Lord your God; so
shall ye be established. Believe his prophets; so shall ye
prosper." *
19. It may be interesting to hear Madame Guyon state
the effect of this conversation in her own words. " Having
said these words," she says, "the Franciscan left me. They
were to me like the stroke of a dart, which pierced my heart
asunder. I felt at this instant deeply wounded with the
love of God; - a wound so delightful, that I desired it never
might be healed. These words brought into my heart what
I had been seeking so many years; or rather they made me
* 2 Chron. xx. 20.





OF MADAME GUYON.


53


discover what was there, and which I did not enjoy for want
of knowing it. Oh my Lord! thou wast in my heart, and
demanded only the turning of my mind inward, to make me
feel thy presence. Oh, infinite Goodness! Thou wast so
near, and I ran hither and thither seeking thee, and yet
found thee not. My life was a burden to me, and my happiness was within myself. I was poor in the midst of riches,
and ready to perish with hunger near a table plentifully
spread and a continual feast. Oh Beauty, ancient and new!
Why have I known thee so late? Alas, I sought thee where
thou wast not, and did not seek thee where thou wast! It
was for want of understanding these words of thy Gospel:
'The kingdom of God cometh not with observation, neither
shall they say, Lo! here, or lo! there; for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.' This I now experienced, since
thou didst become my King, and my heart thy kingdom,
where thou dost reign a Sovereign, and dost all thy will.
20. "I told this good man, that I did not know what he
had done to me; that my heart was quite changed; that God
was there; for from that moment he had given me an experience of his presence in my soul,- not merely as an object
intellectually perceived by any application of mind, but as a
thing really possessed after the sweetest manner. I experienced those words in the Canticles: 'Thy name is as precious ointment poured forth; therefore do the virgins love
thee.' For I felt in my soul an unction, which, as a salutary
perfume, healed in a moment all my wounds. I slept not
all that night, because thy love, oh my God! flowed in me
like delicious oil, and burned as a fire which was going to
destroy all that was left of self in an instant. I was all on a
sudden so altered, that I was hardly to be known either by
myself or others. I found no more those troublesome faults,
or that reluctance to duty, which formerly characterized
5*





54          LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
me. They all disappeared, as being consumed like chaff in
a great fire.
21. "I now became desirous that the instrument hereof
might become my Director,* in preference to any other. This
good father, however, could not readily resolve to charge
himself with my conduct, though he saw so surprising a
change effected by the hand of God.     Several reasons induced him to excuse himself: first my person, then my
youth, for I was only twenty years of age; and lastly, a
promise he had made to God, from a distrust of himself,
never to take upon himself the direction of any of our sex,
unless God, by some particular providence, should charge
him therewith. Upon my earnest and repeated request to
him to become my Director, he said he would pray to God
thereupon, and bade me do so too. As he was at prayer, it
was said to him, ' Fear not that charge; she is my spouse.'
This, when I heard it, affected me greatly. ' What! (said I
to myself,) a frightful monster of iniquity, who have done
so much to offend my God, in abusing his favors, and requiting them with ingratitude, - and now, thus to be declared
his spouse!' After this he consented to my request.
22. "Nothing was more easy to me now than to practise
prayer. Hours passed away like moments, while I could
hardly do anything else but pray. The fervency of my
love allowed me no intermission. It was a prayer of re* DIRECTOR. - It is perhaps hardly necessary to say to the reader,
that it is customary for persons in the Romish church to choose some
ecclesiastic for a Director or spiritual guide. The office of Director and
the office of Confessor, sometimes exist in the same person, and the terms
Director, and Confessor, appear in some instances to be used as synonymous with each other. Strictly speaking, however, it is not the business
of the Director to hear confessions, but simply to give religious counsel,
in those various circumstances in which Christians, especially in the
beginning of the religious life, are found to need it.





OF MIADAMR GTUYON.


55


joicing and of possession, wherein the taste of God was so
great, so pure, unblended and uninterrupted, that it drew
and absorbed the powers of the soul into a profound recollection, a state of confiding and affectionate rest in God, existing without intellectual effort. For I had now no sight
but of Jesus Christ alone. All else was excluded, in order
to love with greater purity and energy, without any motives
or reasons for loving which were of a selfish nature." *
23. Such are the expressions, in which she speaks of the
remarkable change which thus passed upon her spirit, - an
event in her life which opened new views, originated new feelings, instituted new relations, and gave new strength. Too
important in itself and its relations to be forgotten under any
circumstances, we find her often recurring to it with those
confiding, affectionate and grateful sentiments, which it was
naturally calculated to inspire. One of her religious poems,
which Cowper has translated, expresses well the feelings
which we may suppose to have existed in her at this time.
LOVE AND GRATITUDE.
"All are indebted much to Thee,
But Ifar more than all;
From many a deadly snare set free,
And raised from many a fall.
Overwhelm me, from above,
Daily with thy boundless love.
What bonds of gratitude I feel,
No language can declare;
Beneath the oppressive weight I reel,
'T is more than I can bear;
When shall I that blessing prove,
To return Thee love for love?
*Life of Madame Guyon, Pt. 1, chap. viii. Anonymous Translation.





56                          LIFE, E1TC.
Spirit of Charity! Dispense
Thy grace to every heart;
Expel all other spirits thence;
Drive self from every part.
Charity divine! Draw nigh;
Break the chains in which we lie.
All selfish souls, whate'er they feign,
Have still a slavish lot;
They boast of liberty in vain,
Of love, and feel it not.
He, whose bosom glows with thee,
He, and he alone, is free.
Oil blessedness, all bliss above,
When thy-pure fires prevail!
Lov-, * only teaches what is love;
All other lessons fail;
We learn its name, but not its powers,
Experience only makes it ours."
God is Love, Ist Epis. John, iv. 8.





CHAPTER VII.


Remarks on intellectual experience, in distinction from that of the
heart. Of that form of experience which may be termed apparitional. Of that form of experience which is characterized by joy.
Her experience characterized especially by the subjection of the
will. Of the course to be pursued in translating from the writings of Madame Guyon. Her remarks on the union of the human
with the divine will. Her remarks on faith. Conversation with
a Franciscan. Immersion of her soul in God, and her contemplation of all things in him.
MADAME GUYON, in her Autobiography, makes a number of practical remarks on the nature of her religious
experience at this time. Recognizing a distinction, which is
important in the analysis of inward experience, she regarded the change which she underwent at this period, as
not merely an intellectual illumination, but as truly a change
of the heart. It is true, undoubtedly, that she had received
new light. She had been led to see more distinctly than
ever before the extreme perversity and blindness of the
natural mind. She had now a clearer perception both of
what God is, and of what he requires; and especially of the
way of forgiveness and salvation by faith in Christ alone.
But perception is not love. The righting of the understanding is not necessarily identical with the rectification of the
sensibilities. The understanding, enlightened of God, will
sometimes dictate what the heart, in its opposition to God,
will be slow to follow. This was not her case. Her under




58       LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


standing was not only enlightened, but her heart was renewed.
2. And, in connection with these remarks, it may be
proper to add here, that there is a sort of inward experience,
which is not only intellectual, but which, to indicate to what
part of the intellect it belongs, may be described more
specifically as " apparitional." It is generally found among
uneducated persons, but not exclusively; and it is so frequent in its occurrence, as well as important in its results
and relations, as to authorize some notice. It consists, for
the most part, in sights seen and sounds heard, not excluding
anything which is addressed to the intellect through the
external senses; and can justly be regarded as especially
liable to illusion. It is here, perhaps, more than anywhere
else, although all such experience may be accounted for to a
considerable extent on natural principles, that Satan "transforms himself into an angel of light." So far as this form
of experience is concerned, the kingdom of God was erected
within her " without observation."  No sound was heard but
that of the " still small voice," which speaks inwardly and
effectually. There was no dream, no vision, no audible
message. Her change was characterized, not by things seen,
but by operations experienced; not by revelations imparted
from without, and known only as existing without, but by
affections inspired by the Holy Ghost from within, and constituting, from the time of their origin, a part of the inward
consciousness.
3. Another remark may properly be made, in connection
with what she has said on the subject. It is very obvious
from her statements, that, in her first experience of the new
life, she had great joy. Joy was a marked characteristic of
it. But taught by the great inward Teacher, she was enabled to perceive from the first, that it would not be safe for
her ti estimate either the reality or the degree of her reli




FA ADAME GUYWI.?I~C


gion by the amount of her happiness.   It is true there
is not only such a thing as joy, hut such a thing as
religious joy, or joy attendant on religion, and which,
therefore, may properly he described, in the language of the
Scriptures, as "joy in the Holy Ghost." But this is a very
different thing from. saying, that joy and religion are the
same thingr. Joy is not only not religion, but it does not
always arise from religious causes. The grounds or causes
of its origin are numerous, and sometimes very diverse. A
new speculative truth, new views which are at variance with
the truth, or even the pleasant intimations of a dream or
vision, whether more or less remarkable, (to say nothing of
physical causes, and of providential causes,- causes connected
with the state of our health and with our situation in life,)
may be followed by a pleasurable excitement of the emotional
part of our nature, which may be mistaken for true religion.
Certain it is, however, that no joys can be regarded as
really of a religious nature and as involving, the fact of religOion, which are not attended with repentance for sin and
faith in Jesus Christ, with the renovation of the desires and
with the subjection of the will. The views of Madame
Guyon on this subject were distinct and decided. She took
the Saviour for her example, who was n.ot the less a religious
man, because he was a man of "1sorrows and acquainted with
grief." She did not seek joy, but God. God first, and what
God sees fit to give, afterwards. She believed and knew,
(so far as she thought it necessary to give attention to the
subject of her own personal enjoyments at all,) if she gave
herself to God wholly, without reserve, God would not be,
slow to take care of her happiness.
4. The leading and decisive characteristic of her religious
experience, in distinction from those forms of experience
which have been mentioned, was, as she informs us, the subjection and loss of her own will in its union with the Divine





60         LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
will. It may be expressed in a single term,- union. "As
Thou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee, that they also may
be ONE in us."  On this subject she makes a number of remarks, which may properly be introduced here. But in doing
this, I think it necessary to make a few preliminary statements.  Madame Guyon's literary education, although it
compared well with that of other French ladies at that time,
was, in some respects, defective. The institutions for young
ladies, not excluding the celebrated Seminary of St. Cyr,
established a few years after, did not profess to give, and
were not able to give, that thorough mental training which
was had in the French colleges and universities. And it is
hardly necessary to say, that the greatest natural ability will
not necessarily compensate for defects in education. Her
style of writing is eloquent and impressive in a high degree,
but a critical eye will discover in it deficiencies, which are
to be ascribed in part to the cause which has just been intimated. In translating her statements, therefore, it is oftentimes necessary to analyze her thoughts and to re-arrange
them in their logical order, in order to present them to the
mind of the reader in the same position, and with the same
import they possessed in her own mind. It is to be noticed,
also, that the theological and experimental terms which she
uses, sometimes have a specific meaning, not unknown perhaps in some of the mystic writers, but which can certainly
be ascertained only by an intimate knowledge of her own
experience, character, and writings. Take, as an illustration of this remark, the word "Puissances," which is literally
rendered by the English word, Powers. But it is very evident, from a careful examination of her writings, that the
latter term gives only an indefinite and imperfect idea of
the sense which she attaches to the original term. She uses
it in its mental application; meaning the mental powers, but
not all of them. She distinguishes between the will, Volonte





OF MADAME GUYON.


61


the Understanding, Entendement, and the Puissances; meaning generally by the latter term, the propensive and affectional part of our nature, not excluding the appetites; what we
sometimes denominate by the single expression, the natural
sensibilities. It would not be sufficient, therefore, merely to
translate her words by rendering them with the words and
methods of expression that formally correspond to them in our
own language. A translation of words is not necessarily a
translation of ideas. It is necessary, in the first place, to
ascertain what she meant, and then to embody her ideas,
when they are ascertained, in such a mode of expression,whether it corresponds verbally and literally to the original
form of expression or not, - as will convey to the English
reader just that meaning which she herself would have
conveyed, if she had used the English language as an instrument, and had communicated with the Anglo-Saxon mind.
Add to this, her statements on the same subject are often
fragmentary; that is to say, are broken in parts, uttered in
various and remote places of her works, and accompanied
more or less with digressions and repetitions. It has been a
part of my labor to combine them together, and to give them
in the simplest form, without repetitions. So that what I
give as a translation is, in some cases, in order to express
the 'rue spirit or mind of Madame Guyon, of the nature of
an interpreted translation, a translation of the spirit rather
than of the letter. So elevated is her religious experience,
and so peculiar is her religious dialect, added to the other
circumstances which have been alluded to, that a true translation of what she was and of what she meant, can be made
in no other way. And not only that, a translation, made on
any other principles, would, in my opinion, be dangerous to
inexperienced readers, by suggesting ideas, which were never
meant to be conveyed, and thus leading into errors both of
doctrine and practice.
(





62       LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


5. With these remarks, we proceed to give some of her
views, and shall introduce others hereafter, as occasion may
present itself. "The union between the soul and God may
exist in various respects.  There may be a union of the
human and the divine perceptions.   There may be a
union of the desires and affections to some extent and in
various particulars. But the most perfect union, that which
includes whatever is most important in the others, is the
union of the human and the divine will. A union of the
affections, independently of that of the will, if we can suppose such a thing, must necessarily be imperfect. When
the will, which sustains a preeiminent and controlling relation, is in the state of entire union with God, it necessarily
brings the whole soul into subjection; it implies necessarily
the extinction of any selfish action, and brings the mind into
harmony with itself, and into harmony with everything else.
From that moment, our powers cease to act from any private
or selfish regards. They are annihilated to self, and act
only in reference to God. Nor do they act in reference to
God in their own way and from their own impulse; but
move as they are moved upon, being gradually detached
from every motion of their own.
6. "In such a soul the principle of faith is very strong;
so much so as to require nothing of the nature of visions and
revelations to sustain it, and to be equally independent of
that false support which is derived from human reasonings.
That faith which annihilates all our powers, or rather the
action of all our powers, in regard to self, making the principle of holy love predominant, and bringing the human will
into subjection to the divine, is a light in the soul, which is
necessarily inconsistent with, and which extinguishes every
other light. That is to say, if we go by any other light, the
light of mere human reason, the guidance of inward visions
and voices, or of strong emotions, which may be called the





OF MADAME GUYON.


63


lights of sense, or by any other light whatever, distinct and
separate from that of faith, of course we do not go by the
light of faith. In the presence of the light of faith, every
other light necessarily grows dim and passes away, as the
light of the moon and stars gradually passes away, and is
extinguished in the broader and purer illumination of the
rising sun. This light now arose in my heart. Believing
with this faith, the fountains of the heart were opened, and
I loved God with a strength of love corresponding to the
strength of faith. Love existed in the soul; and throwing
its influence around every other principle of action, constituted, as it were, the soul's dwelling place. God was there.
According to the words of St. John, 'He, that dwelleth in
love, dwelleth in God. God is love.'"
7. When at a certain time the pious Franciscan,* who
had been under God the instrument of her conversion, and
who now, in accordance with the practice of the church to
which she belonged, acted as her spiritual Director, questioned her in relation to her feelings towards God, she answered: "I love God far more than the most affectionate
lover among men loves the object of his earthly attachment.
I make this statement as an illustration, because it is not
easy to convey my meaning in any other way. But this
comparison, if it furnishes an approximation to the truth,
fails to discover the truth itself. It is merely an illustration,
which may enable one imperfectly to conceive the strength
of that love which exists in me, but is not, and cannot be, a
true measurement of it."
8. " This love of God," she adds, " occupied my heart so
constantly and strongly, that it was very difficult for me to
* The Franciscans are a religious Order in the Roman Catholic
Church, founded, near the commencement of the thirteenth century, by
St. Francis, of Assisium, in Italy





64


LIFE, ETC.


think of anything else. Nothing else seemed worthy of my
attention. So much was my soul absorbed in God, that my
eyes and ears seemed to close of themselves to outward
objects, and to leave the soul under the exclusive influence
of the inward attraction. My lips also were closed. Not
unfrequently vocal prayer, that form of it which deals in
particulars, ceased to utter itself, because my mind could not
so far detach itself from this one great object as to consider
anything else.  When the good Father, the Franciscan,
preached at the Magdalen Church, at which I attended, notwithstanding the importance and interest which attached to
his religious addresses, I found it difficult for me, and almost
impossible, to retain any definite idea of what he said. He
preached there on three successive occasions about this time;
and the result was always the same. I found that Thy truth,
O my God, springing from the original source, as if Thy
divine and eternal voice were speaking truly, yet inaudibly
in the soul, made its impression on my heart, and there had
its effect, without the mediation of words.
9. " This immersion in God absorbed all things; that is
to say, seemed to place all things in a new position relatively
to God. Formerly I had contemplated things as dissociated
from God; but now I beheld all things in the Divine Union.
[I could no more separate holy creatures from God, regarded
as the source of their holiness, than I could consider the
sun's rays as existing distinct from the sun itself, and living
and shining by virtue of their own power of life.] This was
true of the greatest saints. I could not see the saints, Peter,
and Paul, and the Virgin Mary, and others, as separate from
God, but as being all that they are, from Him and in Him, in
oneness. I could not behold them out of God; but I beheld
them all in Him."





CHAPTER  VIII.


Of the very marked and decisive nature of her conversion. Ceases
to conform to the world in her diversions and modes of dress.
Birth of her second son. Her views of providence in connection
with her position in life.  Of the discharge of her duty to her
family and to others. Her great kindness and charity to the poor.
Her efforts for the preservation of persons of her own sex. Her
labors for the conversion of souls.  Conversation with a lady of
rank. Happy results. Domestic trials. Unkindness of her stepmother and of her maid-servant. Partial alienation of her husband's affections. Conduct of her eldest son. Her solitary state.
MADAME GUYON dates this great change as taking place
on Magdalen's day, as it is termed in the Catholic church,the 22d of July, 1668.* She was then a little more than
twenty years of age.
2. It is hardly necessary to say, that the change which
persons experience in their transition from the life of nature
to the life of God in the soul, are very different, in their
commencement, in different persons, being much more
marked in some cases than in others.        In the case of
Madame Guyon, although slowly progressive in its preparatory steps, it seems to have been very decisive and marked
at the time of its actually taking place. It was obviously a
great crisis in her moral and religious being, - one in which
the pride and obstinacy of the natural heart were broken
* La Vie de Madanie Guyon, Pt. I. chap. 10. ~ 5.!*





66      LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


down, and in which, for the first time, she became truly wil.
ling to receive Christ alone as her hope of salvation.
3. A gospel change implies the existence of a new nature. A nature which has life in it; and which, having
the principle of life in itself, puts forth the acts of life. And
it is thus that the fact, both of its existence and of its character, is verified. The true life always shows itself outwardly, in its appropriate time and way. "By their fruits,"
says the Savior, " ye shall know them." No other evidence will
compensate, or ought to compensate for the absence of this.
This evidence Madame Guyon gave. From the moment that
she gave herself to the Lord to be his, in the inner spirit as
well as the outward action, and in the action corresponding
to the spirit, the language of her heart, like that of the
Apostle Paul was, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? "
4. "I bade farewell forever," she says, "to assemblies
which I had visited, to plays and diversions, to dancing, to
unprofitable walks, and to parties of pleasure. The amusements and pleasures which are so much prized and esteemed
by the world, now appeared to me dull and insipid,- so much
so, that I wondered how I ever could have enjoyed them."
She adds the remark, that for two years previously she had
left off the curling of her hair, - a very general and favorite
practice at that time, and which, - if we may believe the
Marquis De Dangeau,* although his statements strictly apply to a somewhat later period, - was sometimes carried to
an injurious and unseemly extent. And in connection with
doing this she expresses an opinion,-which others, who wish
to honor the Saviour in a Christian life, might do well to remember, - that she abandoned a practice, which, in the judgment of a correct taste, does not in reality contribute to the
attractions of personal appearance; and the abandonment of
* Dangeau's Memoirs of the Court of France.





OF MADAME GUYON.


67


which, therefore, if rightly considered, cannot be supposed
to involve any great personal sacrifice. Without going into
particulars, it may perhaps be sufficient to say, that from
this time it became her object, in her dress, in her modes of
living, and in her personal habits generally, as well as in her
interior dispositions, to conform to the requisitions of the
Inward Monitor, the Comforter and Guide of holy souls, who
now began to speak in her heart.
5. Sustaining the relations of a wife, a mother, and a
daughter, and seeing now more clearly into the ways and
requisitions of Providence, she endeavored, from higher
motives and in a better manner than ever before, to discharge the duties which she owed to her father, her husband,
and her children. I speak of her duties to her children, because, previously to the time of which we are now speaking,
God had been pleased to give her another son. The birth
of her first son, - whom she frequently names as being made,
through the perverting influence of her step-mother, a son of
trial and sorrow, - has already been mentioned. The second
son, who gave better promise both for himself and others,
was born in 1667. We shall have occasion to recur to him
again, although we have scarcely anything recorded of him,
except the few painful incidents of his early death. These
new and expanding relations furnished opportunities of duty
and occasions of trial, which ceased from this time, at least
in a great degree, to be met in the strength of worldly
motives or in the arts of worldly wisdom. God, in whom
alone she felt she could trust, became her wisdom and
strength, as well as her consolation.
6. We may well and truly say, whatever allowance it
may be necessary to make for human infirmity, that God
was her portion. She could say with the Psalmist, " The
Lord is my fortress and deliverer,- my strength in whom I
will trust." The views, which she took of religious truth





68       LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


and duty, were of an elevated character, without being
mixed and perverted, so far as we can perceive, with elements that are false and fanatical. It is true, that, even at
this early period of her experience, the religious impulse, as
if it had an instinctive conviction of the end to which it was
tending, took a higher position than is ordinary, but without
failing to be guided by the spirit of sound wisdom. If she
was a woman, who both by nature and grace felt deeply, she
was also a woman who thought clearly and strongly. Among
other things it is worthy of notice, that she distinctly recognized, not only intellectually, but, what is far more important,
she recognized practically, that God orders and pervades
our allotment in life; that God is in life, not in the mitigated and merely speculative sense of the term, but really
and fully; not merely as a passive spectator, but as the inspiring impulse and soul of all that is not sin; in life, in all
life, in all the situations and modifications of life, for joy or
for sorrow, for good or for evil. The practical as well as
speculative recognition of this principle, may be regarded as
a sort of first step towards a thorough walking with God.
A heart unsubdued, a heart in which worldly principles predominate, does not like to see God in all things, and tries
unceasingly to shake off the yoke of divine providence. To
the subdued heart, on the contrary, - to the heart in which
christian principles predominate, - that yoke always is, and
of necessity always must be, just in proportion as such principles predominate, "the yoke which is easy and the burden
which is light." Early did this Heaven-taught woman learn
this. And she was willing to apply to her own situation, and
to her own responsible relations, what she had thus learned.
It is one thing to have the charge of a family, and another to
know and to feel, that this responsible position is the arrangement and the gift of Providence. Providence, whose eye is
unerring, had placed her in that relation; and whatever





OF MADAME GUYON.


69


cares or sorrows might attend her position, she felt that, as
a woman and emphatically as a Christian woman, she must
recognize it as the place which God had appointed, and as
involving the sphere of duty which God had imposed.
7. But we ought to add, that her care was not limited to
her family, to the exclusion of other appropriate objects of
Christian benevolence. She had means of doing good, which
she did not fail to employ. The income of her husband's
property, or rather the property of which he had the control
at this time, stated in the French currency, was about forty
thousand livres annually.  A very large income at that
period, when money had relatively a higher value than it
now has. Of this amount, a certain portion was placed in
her hands by her husband, to be expended by her as she
might think proper. And accordingly as God gave her
opportunity, and in imitation of that Saviour whom she now
followed, she did what she could for the poor and the sick,
discharging, without any hesitation, duties which would be
exceedingly unpleasant and irksome to a mind not supported
by Christian principle. " I was very assiduous," she remarks in her Life, " in performing deeds of charity. I had
feelings of strong compassion for the poor, and it would have
been pleasing to me to have supplied all their wants.  God,
in his providence, had given me an abundance; and in the
employment of what he had thus bestowed upon me, I wished
to do all that I could to help them. I can truly say, that
there were but few of the poor in the vicinity where I lived,
who did not partake of my alms. I did not hesitate to distribute among them the very best which could be furnished
from my own table. It seemed as if God had made me the
only almoner in this neighborhood. Being refused by others,
the poor and suffering came to me in great numbers. My
benefactions were not all public.  I employed a person,
whose business it was to dispense almns privately, without





70       LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


letting it be known from whom they came. There were
some families, who needed and received assistance, without
being willing to accept of it as a gratuity. And I reconciled
their feelings with their wants, by permitting them, in the
reception of what was needful for them, to incur the formality of a debt. I speak of giving; but looking at the subject
in the religious light, I had nothing to give. My language
to God was, ' Oh my Divine Love, it is thy substance: I am
only the steward of it; I ought to distribute it according to
thy will.'"
8. Her efforts for the good of others were not limited to
gifts of food and clothing. Those who are acquainted with
the state of things in France during the reign of Louis
Fourteenth, know that ruinous vices prevailed at that period.
The profligacy of the Court, though less intense than that
which was exhibited subsequently in the time of the Regency
of the Duke of Orleans and in the reign of Louis Fifteenth,
could hardly fail to find imitators among the people. This
will help to explain some further statements, which she
makes in connection with her efforts to do good. In a number of instances, with a forethought creditable to her sound
judgment as well as her piety, she informs us that she
caused poor young girls, especially such as were particularly characterized by beauty of person, to be taught in
some art or trade; to the end, that, having employment
and means of subsistence, they might not be under a temptation to adopt vicious courses, and thus throw themselves
away. And this was not all. Inspired with the sentiments
which animate the hearts of some pious females of later
times, she did not consider it inconsistent with religion to
endeavor to reclaim those of her sex who had fallen into
the grossest sins. She says, that God made use of her to
reclaim several females from their disorderly lives, one of
whom was distinguished by her family connections as well





OF MADAME GUYON.


71


as her beauty, who became not only reformed, but truly
penitent and Christian in her dispositions, and died a happy
death. "I went," she says, " to visit the sick, to comfort
them, to make their beds. I made ointments, aided in dressing wounds, and paid the funeral expenses incurred in the
interment of those who died." And as one of her methods
of doing good, she adds, " I sometimes privately furnished
tradesmen and mechanics, who stood in need of assistance,
with the means that were requisite to enable them to prosecute their business." It is very obvious, I think, if we may
rely on her own statements, as undoubtedly we may, that in
acts of outward charity she did much; perhaps all that
could reasonably be expected.
9. But it is to be noticed further, that under the influences
of her new life, which required her to go about doing good,
she labored for the spiritual, as well as the temporal benefit
of others, - for the good of their souls, as well as for that of
their bodies.  Before the day dawned, prayers ascended
from her new heart of love. " So strong, almost insatiable,
was my desire for communion with God, that I arose at four
o'clock to pray." Her greatest pleasure, and, comparatively
speaking, her only pleasure, was to be alone with God, to
pray to him, and to commune with him. She prayed for
others, as well as herself. She says, " I could have wished
to teach all the world to love God."  Her feelings were not
inoperative.  Her efforts corresponded, if not absolutely,
which would perhaps have been impossible, yet in a very
high degree, with her desires.  She says that God made
use of her as an instrument in gaining many souls to himself.
Her labors, however, were more successful in some cases
than in others, as would naturally be expected. Speaking
of one of the female relatives of her husband, who was very
thoughtless on religious subjects, she remarks, "I wanted
her to seek the religious state, and to practise prayer. In




72       LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


stead of complying with my request, she expressed the opinion that I was entirely destitute of all sense and wisdom, in
thus depriving myself, when I had the means of enjoying
them, of all the amusements of the age; but the Lord has
since opened her eyes to make her despise them."
10. "There was a lady of rank," she relates among some
other incidents, "whom I sometimes visited. She took a particular liking to me, because, as she was pleased to say, my
person and manners were agreeable to her. She said, that
she observed in me something extraordinary and uncommon.
My impression is, that my spiritual taste reacted upon my
physical nature, and that the inward attraction of my soul
appeared on my very countenance. And one reason of this
opinion is, that a gentleman of fashion one day said to my
husband's aunt, 'I saw the lady your niece, and it is very
visible that she lives in the presence of God!' I was surprised at hearing this, as I did not suppose that a person so
much addicted to the world, could have any very distinct
idea of God's presence, even in the hearts of his own people.
This lady, I say, began to be touched with the sense of God.
The circumstances were these. At a certain time she proposed to me to go with her to the theatre. I refused to go,
as, independently of my religious principles and feelings, I
had never been in the habit of going to such places. The
reason, which I first gave to her for not acceding to her
proposition, was of a domestic nature, namely, that my husband's continual indisposition rendered it inconvenient and
improper for me. Not satisfied with this, she continued to
press me very earnestly to go with her. She said, that I
ought not to be prevented by my husband's indispositions
from taking some amusement; that the business of nursing
the sick was more appropriate to older persons, and that I
was too young to be thus confined to them. This led to
more particular conversation. I gave her my reasons for





OF MADAME GUYON.


being particularly attentive to my husband in his seasons of
ill health. But this was not all. I told her that I entirely
disapproved of theatrical amusements; and that I regarded
them as especially inconsistent with the duties of a Christian
woman. The lady was far more advanced in years than I
was; but whether it was owing in part to this circumstance
or not, my remarks made such an impression on her, that
she never visited such places afterwards."
11. " But our intercourse with each other did not end here.
I was once in company with her and another lady, who was
fond of talking, and had read the writings of the Christian
Fathers. They had much conversation with each other in
relation to God. The learned lady, as might be expected,
talked very learnedly of him. I must confess that this sort
of merely intellectual and speculative conversation, in relation to the Supreme Being, was not much to my taste. I
scarcely said anything; my mind being drawn inwardly to
silent and inward communion with the great and good Being,
about whom my friends were speculating. They at length
left me. The next day the lady, with whom I had previously had some conversation, came to see me. The Lord
had touched her heart; she came as a penitent, as a seeker
after religion; she could hold out in her opposition no longer.
But I at once attributed this remarkable and sudden change,
as I did not converse with her the day previous, to the conversation of our learned and speculative acquaintance. But
she assured me it was otherwise. She said, it was not the
other's conversation which affected her, but my silence;
adding the remark, that my silence had something in it
which penetrated to the bottom of her soul, and that she
could not relish the other's discourse. After that time we
spoke to each other with open hearts on the great subject."
12. "It was then that God left indelible impressions of
grace on her soul; and she continued so athirst for him, that





74      LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


she could scarcely endure to converse on any other subject.
That she might be wholly his, God deprived her of a most
affectionate husband. He also visited her with other severe
crosses. At the same time he poured his grace so abundantly into her heart, that he soon conquered it, and became
its sole master. After the death of her husband and the loss
of most of her fortune, she went to reside on a small estate
which yet remained to her, situated at the distance of about
twelve miles from our house. She obtained my husband's
consent to my going to pass a week with her, for the purpose of consoling her under her afflictions. The visit was
attended with beneficial results. God was pleased to make
me an instrument of spiritual good to her. I conversed much
with her on religious subjects. She possessed knowledge,
and was a woman of uncommon intellectual power; but
being introduced into a world of new thought as well as new
feeling, she was surprised at my expressing things to her so
much above what is considered the ordinary range of woman's capacity. I should have been surprised at it myself,
had I reflected on it. But it was God, who gave me the
gift of perception and utterance, for her sake; he made
me the instrument, diffusing a flood of grace into her soul,
without regarding the unworthiness of the channel he was
pleased to make use of. Since that time her soul has been
the temple of the Holy Ghost, and our hearts have been
indissolubly united."
13. Religion is the same in the Catholic and in the Protestant. I speak now of the substance, and not of the form;
of the internal and not of the external. Religion, so far as
it is religion, is always the same; the same in all lands and
in all ages; the same in its nature, the same in its results;
always allied to angels and God, and always meeting with
the opposition of that which is not angelic and is not God.
It is not surprising, therefore, that Madame Guyon's new





OF MADAME GUYON.


heart should meet with opposition from  the world's old
one.
"When the world saw that I had quitted it, it persecuted
me, and turned me into ridicule. I became the subject of
its conversation, of its fabulous stories, and of its amusement. Given up to its irreligion and pleasures, it could not
bear that a woman who was little more than twenty years
of age, should thus make war against it, and overcome it."
Her age was not the only circumstance that was remem
bered. That youth should quit the world was something;
but that wealth, intelligence, and beauty, combined with
youth, in the same person, should quit it, was much more.
On merely human principles it could not well be explained.
Some were offended; some spoke of her as a person under
some species of mental delusion; some attributed her conduct to stupidity, inquiring very significantly, "What can all
this mean? This lady has the reputation of knowledge and
talent. But we see nothing of it."
14. But God was with her. She relates that, about this
time, she and her husband went into the country on some
business. She did not leave her religion on leaving her
home. The river Seine flowed near the place where they
staid. "On the banks of the river," she says, "finding a dry
and solitary place, I sought intercourse with my God."  Her
husband had gone with her into the country; but he did
not accompany her there. There is something impressive
in this little incident. She went alone to the banks of the
Seine, to the waters of the beautiful river, and into the dry
and solitary place. It was indeed a solitary place; but can
we say that she who went there, went alone?  God was
with her. God, who made the woods and the waters, and
who, in the beginning, walked with his holy ones amid the
trees of the garden. " The communications of Divine Love,"
she adds, " were unutterably sweet to my soul in that retire




76      LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


ment." And thus, with God for her portion, she was happy
in the loss of that portion which was taken away from her.
"Let the world despise and leave me;
They have left my Savior too;
Human hearts and looks deceive me.
Thou art not, like them, untrue.
"Man may trouble and distress me,
'Twill but drive me to Thy breast;
Life with trials hard may press me;
Heaven will bring me sweeter rest."
15. Happy would it have been, if she had been exposed
only to the ridicule and the -opposition of those who were
without. Among the members and relatives of her own
family still less than ever, with the exception of her father,
did she find any heart that corresponded fully to her own.
It seems to have been the great object of her step-mother,
who was exceedingly desirous to retain the influence over
her son which she had exercised previous to his marriage,
to weaken and destroy his affections for his wife. Her
object was cruel as it was wicked, although she probably
justified herself in it, from the fear that the benevolent disposition of Madame Guyon, both before and after experiencing religion, might result in a waste of the property of the
family, if she should possess all that influence with her husband, to which such a wife was entitled. "My mother-inlaw," she says, "persuaded my husband that I let everything
go to wreck, and that, if she did not take care, he would be
ruined."  The step-mother's plan of alienating her son's
affections from his wife, was seconded by the maid-servant,
who has been mentioned, - a laborious and artfuil woman,
who had rendered herself almost absolutely necessary to her
master in those seasons of sickness and physical suffering of
which he had a large share. The result of their combined
efforts was. that he became unsettled and vacillating in his





OF MADAME GUYON.


77


affections, - not constant in his love; sometimes, and perhaps
we may say always, when separated from their influence,
truly and even passionately affectionate; at other times, and
more frequently, he was distrustful and cruel.
16. In this perplexed and conflicting state of mind, it is
not surprising that we find his language and his conduct
equally conflicting, equally inconsistent.  Sometimes he
speaks to her in the language of violence and abuse, sometimes in a relenting spirit and with affection. He was not
pleased with the religious change which appeared in his
wife. "My husband," she says, "was out of humor with
my devotion; it became insupportable to him.  'What!'
says he, 'you love God so much that you love me no longer.'
So little did he comprehend that the true conjugal love is
that which is regulated by religious sentiment, and which
God himself forms in the heart that loves him." At other
times, when left to his better nature, he insisted much on her
being present with him; and frankly recognizing what he
saw was very evident, he said to her, "One sees plainly, that
you never lose the presence of God."
17. The sorrow, therefore, which pained her life before
her conversion, remained afterwards. It was a wound of
the heart, deep and terrible, but which cannot well be appreciated or expressed. To a woman who possesses those confiding and affectionate inclinations which characterize and
adorn the sex, there is no compensation, there can be no
compensation, for an absence of love, - least of all, in that
sacred and ennobling relation, in which she gives up her
heart, in the fond expectation of a heart's return. It is true,
that it was a marriage, in the first instance, without much
acquaintance; but still it was not without some degree of
confidence, and still less without hope. But it ought to be
said, that Madame Guyon always refers to this painful subject with dignity and candor, - not condemning others with
7*





78       LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


severity, and willing to take a full share of blame to herself.
These trials would never have been known from her pen,
had they not been written at the express and positive command of her spiritual Director, whom she regarded it a religious duty to obey. At the time of her writing she had no
expectation that her statements would be made public. We
do not think it necessary to repeat every thing that is said
on this subject in her Life; it is perhaps best, that it should
pass away and be forgotten. Only one or two statements
more will be given.
18. The waiting-maid, who had gained so much influence
over her husband, " became," she says, " every day more
haughty. It seemed as if Satan were in her, to incite her to
torment me. And what enraged her most of all was, that
her vexatious treatment, her fretfulness, and her impertinent
complaints and rebukes, had ceased to trouble me as they
once did. Inwardly supported, I remained silent. It was
then that she thought, that if she could hinder me from going
to partake of the holy Sacrament, she would give me the
greatest of all vexations. She was not mistaken, 0 divine
Spouse of holy souls! since the only satisfaction of my life
was to receive and honor Thee. The church at which I worshipped, was called the Magdalen Church. I loved to visit
it. I had done something to ornament it, and to furnish it
with the silver plates and chalices of the Communion service.
It was there, when things were in such a situation at my
house as to allow me to do it, that I retired and spent hours
in prayer. It was there, with a heart filled with love, that
I partook of the holy Sacrament.* This girl, who knew
* The Catholic churches are commonly open, so that persons can
enter them at all times, and perform their devotions. Such arrangements are made also, that those who desire it, mav frequently partake
of the sacramental element.





OF MADAME GUYON.


"79


where my affections were and how to wound them, took it
into her head to watch me daily. Sometimes I evaded her,
and had my seasons of retirement and prayer. Whenever
it was otherwise, and she discovered my going thither, she
immediately ran to tell my mother-in-law and my husband."
19. " One of their alleged grounds of complaint was the
length of time which I spent in religious services. Accordingly, when the maid servant informed them, that I had gone
to the church, it was enough to excite their angry feelings.
Whenever this took place, I had no rest from their reproofs
and invectives that day. If I said anything in my own justification, it was enough to make them speak against me as
guilty and sacrilegious, and to cry out against all devotion.
If I remained silent and made no answer at all, the result
was merely to heighten their indignation, and to make them
say the most unpleasant things they could devise. If I were
out of health, which was not unfrequently the case, they took
occasion to come and quarrel with me at my bed-side, saying
that my prayers and my sacramental communions were the
occasions of my sickness.  As if there were nothing else
which could make me ill, but my devotions to Thee, 0 my
Lord!"
20. The efforts of the step-mother were not limited to
attempts to dissociate the affections of her husband; she endeavored also to alienate from her the respect and affections
of her eldest son. And she too well succeeded; although
there is reason to think that he came to better dispositions
in after life. There was something in this, so deep and
sacred is a mother's love, which seems to have affected the
feelings of Madame Guyon more keenly than anything else
in her domestic afflictions. "The heaviest cross," she says,
" which I was called to bear, was the loss of my eldest son's
affections and his open revolt against me. He exhibited so
great disregard and contempt of me, that I could not see





80         LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
him without causing me severe grief." She says, that she
conversed with one of her pious friends in relation to this
strange and heavy trial, whos.e advice was, that since she
could not remedy it, she must suffer it patiently, and leave
every thing to God.
21. In general, she thought it best to bear her domestic
trials in silence, whatever they might be. As a woman of
prayer and faith, she did not look upon them exclusively in
the human light; but regarding them as sent of God for
some gracious purpose, she was somewhat fearful of seeking
advice and consolation from any other than a divine source.
Indeed she was so situated that she could not well do otherwise than she did, having but few friends at this time, with
whom it would have been prudent to have consulted upon
these things. Her own mother was dead. The half sister,
whom she loved so much, and with whom she had been
accustomed in earlier life to take counsel, was no longer
living. The two sisters of her husband, constituting with
him all the children of their family, who seem to have had
no unfavorable dispositions, were almost constantly absent at
the Benedictine Seminary. They were brought up under
the care of the prioress, Genevieve Granger, a pious and
discreet woman, whom we shall have occasion to mention
hereafter. Those of her pious friends in whose discretion
she could fully trust, were not only few in number, but it
was not always easy orsafe to see them. "Sometimes," she
remarks on one occasion, "I said to myself, Oh that I had
but any one, who would take notice of me, or to whom I
might unbosom myself! what a relief it would be! But it
was not granted me."
22. It ought to be added, however, in connection with
the domestic trials of which we have given some account,
that they were alleviated, in some degree, by the satisfaction
which she took in her two younger children. They were





OF MADAME GUYON.                 81
both lovely, and worthy to be loved. The birth of the
second son has already been mentioned. The third child
was a daughter, born in 1669. Of this child she speaks in
the warm terms of admiration and love, dictated by the
observation of her lovely traits of character, as well as by
the natural strength of motherly affection. She represents
her as budding and opening under her eye into an object
of delightful beauty and attraction. She loved her for her
loveliness; and she loved her for -the God who gave her.
When she was deserted by the world, when her husband
became estranged from her, she pressed this young daughter
to her bosom, and felt that she was blessed. This too, this
cherished and sacred pleasure, was soon destined to pass
away.





CHAPTER IX.


We are to consult our own improvement and good, as well as that
of others. Her desires to be wholly the Lord's. Her efforts to
keep the outward appetites in subjection. Remarks on this subject. The inordinate action of all parts and powers of the mind
is to be subdued, as well as of the appetites. Austerities or mortifications may be practised without necessarily attaching to them
the idea of expiation or of merit. Statement in relation to the
monks of La Trappe. Temptations to go back again to the world.
Visit to Paris. Of the errors and sins she committed there. Her
grief. Her journey to Orleans and Touraine. Temptations and
religious infidelities and falls repeated. Incident on the banks of
the Loire. Her remarks upon her sins. Her visit to St. Cloud.
Her sorrow. Inquiries on the subject of holy living.
"THOU    shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."    Our own
vineyard is not to be neglected. True Christianity verifies
its existence and its character, not merely in doing good to
others; but partly, at least, in the regulation of our own inward nature. It is not enough to visit the sick and to teach
the ignorant, to feed the hungry and to clothe the naked,
while we leave our own appetites and passions unsubdued,
unregulated.
2. The subject of this Memoir, however warm-hearted
and diffusive may have been her charity to others, felt that
there were duties which she owed to herself. There was
something within her, which told her that God's providence,
which searches through all space and reaches all hearts, had
designated her, not merely as a subject of forgiveness, but





LIFE, ETC.


as a subject of sanctifying grace; not merely as a sinner to
be saved, but as a living Temple in which his own Godhead
should dwell. And He, who, in dwelling in the soul constitutes its true life, inspired desires within her, corresponding
to these designs.
3. Referring to the great change of which we have given
some account, and which she dates specifically as having
taken place on the 22d of July, 1668, she says, "I had a
secret desire given me from that time, to be wholly devoted
to the disposal of my God. The language of my heart, addressing itself to my heavenly Father, was, what couldst thou
demand of me, which I would not willingly sacrifice or offer
thee? Oh, spare me not! It seemed to me that I loved
God too much, willingly or knowingly to offend him. I
could hardly hear God or our Lord Jesus Christ spoken of,
without being almost transported out of myself."
4. And in accordance with these views, she endeavored
to recognize practically the Savior's direction, "Whether
ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of
God."  And also that other direction, "If thy right eye
offend thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee; for it is profitable for thee, that one of thy members should perish, and
not that thy whole body should be cast into Hell." It is
hardly necessary to say, that no man can properly be accounted as wholly the Lord's, whose appetites, which have
their moral as well as physical relations, are not under
control. It is very possible, that such a person may be a
Christian; that is to say, a Christian in the ordinary and
mitigated sense of the terms. It would certainly be reason
able to say, that he may possess a soul, which may properly
be described as forgiven; but still it is a soul, which continues to be characterized by undue imperfections. He may
possess a soul, as undoubtedly he does, to which the blood of
the Atonement has been applied; but still it is a soul which





<4         LIFE ANU  xELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
is neither fully nor adequately renovated. If it be true, that
the penalty of the Divine Law, in its application to him as
an individual, has been satisfied, it is equally true, I think;
that the new creation of the Gospel, the reign inwardly of
the Holy Ghost, has not yet fully come. The great work of
sanctification must be carried on and rendered complete.
And it is hardly necessary to add, that the inward man cannot be sanctified without the sanctification, in some proper
sense of the terms, of that which is outward. And, accordingly, under the influence of such views as these, she was
enabled, with that assistance which God always gives to
those who add faith to their efforts, to subdue and to
regulate, on Christian principles, this important part of our
nature.
5. I am aware, that some of the methods she took seem
to imply an undue degree of violence to principles of our
nature, which are given us for wise purposes, and which
in their appropriate action are entirely innocent.  But
it may properly be said, I suppose, that there is a principle involved in the practical subjection of the appetites,
which will in part justify her course. It is, that an inordinate exercise of the appetites is to be overcome by what may
be termed an inordinate repression; that is to say, by a repression, which under other circumstances would neither be
necessary nor proper.
6. She refused for a time to indulge them in anything,
in order that she might regain her lost control, and be
enabled afterwards to employ them aright.  She curbed
them strongly and strictly, even beyond what might otherwise have been necessary, not only for the purpose of breaking their present domination, but for the purpose of annulling the terrible influence of that law of habit, which gave to
their domination its permanency and power. " I kept my
appetites," she says, "under great restraint; subjecting them





OF MADAME GUYON.


85


to a process of strict and unremitting mortification. It is
impossible to subdue the inordinate action of this part of our
nature, perverted as it is by long habits of vicious indulgence, unless we deny to it, for a tim.e, the smallest relaxation. Deny it firmly that which gives it pleasure; and if it
be necessary, give to it that which disgusts; and persevere
in this course, until, in a certain sense, it has no choice in
anything which is presented to it. If we attempt to do other.
wise, if we take the course, during this warfare with the
sensual nature, of granting any relaxation, giving a little
here and a little there, not because it is right, but because it
is little, we act like those persons who, under pretext of
strengthening a man who is condemned to be starved to
death, take the course of giving him, from time to time, a
little nourishment, and who thus prolong the man's torments,
while they defeat their own object."
7. "And these views will apply," she adds, "1 to the propensive and affectional part of our nature, as well as to the
appetites; and also to the understanding and the will.  We
must meet their inordinate action promptly; we must eradicate from them every motive and impulse of a aelfish nature,
which can be found in them; otherwise we support them in
a dying life to the end.  The state in which we are dying
to the world, and the state in which we are dead to the
world, seem to me to be clearly set forth by the Apostle Paul, as distinct from each other. He speaks of bearing
about in the body, the dying of the Lord Jesus; but lest we
should rest here, he fully distinguishes this from the state of
being dead, and having our life hid with Christ in God. It
is only by a total death to self that we can experience the
state of divine union, and be lost in God."
8. " But when a person," she remarks further, " has once
experienced this loss of self, and has become dead to sin, he
has no further need of that extreme system of repression,8





86       LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


and mortification, which, in connection with the divine bless.
ing, had given him the victory.  The end for which mortification was practised, is accomplished in him, and all is become new. It is an unhappy error in those good souls, who
have arrived at the conquest of the bodily senses, through a
series of long and unremitted mortifications, that they should
still continue attached to the exercise of them. From this
time, when the senses have ceased from their inordinate action,
we should permit them to accept, with indifference and equanimity of mind, whatever the Lord sees fit in his Providence
to give them,-the pleasant and the unpleasant, the sweet and
the bitter."
9. "And having obtained the victory over the appetites,
he who seeks after entire holiness of heart, will pass on to
other parts of our fallen nature, and will endeavor to subject
the wandering intellect, the misplaced affections, and the
inordinate will. Severely repressive acts, analogous to the
cutting off the right hand or the plucking out of the right
eye, must be put forth here also. And success may be expected to follow, if the efforts of the creature, whatever they
may be, (and which are always utter weakness, without the
inspiration of God and without the divine blessing,) are
attended with prayer, with faith, and with the spirit of serious and devout recollection."
10. Her views of austerities or acts of mortification, as
they are given in her Autobiography, and as they are interpreted and perhaps somewhat modified in her Short Method
of Prayer, and her other works, are less objectionable than
some might suppose, who have not carefully examined them.
It is very probable, that her earliest views on this subject
were incorrect and dangerous. But after she had become
emancipated (which was the case at an early period of her
experience,) from certain early impressions, it is obvious that
she regarded acts of austerity and mortification as having





OF MADAME GUYON.


87


relation to the laws of our nature, and not as furnishing an
atoning element; as disciplinary, and not as expiatory, -a
distinction which is radical and of great consequence. And
in accordance with this view, she thought that such austere
and self-mortifying acts, which are to be practised with a
reference to certain definite physical and mental results,
should continue only for a time. In other words, when the
end of the austerity or mortification is secured, the act itself
should cease.
11. I doubt not, that the distinction which separates the
idea of expiation from austere and self-mortifying acts, and
makes them merely disciplinary, would be found to hold
good in many instances. But without pretending to say
how far this may be the case, I will relate here a single incident, which will illustrate what I mean. The monks of the
celebrated monastery of La Trappe, in France, after the reform which was effected there by M. de Rance, were exceedingly strict in their mode of life. The deprivations they
endured, and the austerities they imposed upon themselves,
seemed to be as great as human nature is well capable of
enduring. A person at a certain time visited the monastery;
and witnessing the austerities which were practised, he expressed to the monks his admiration of their self-denial in rejecting those indulgences which were so common among other
persons. The monks, laying their hands on their hearts,
with a look of deep humiliation, replied in words to this effect.
"We bless God, that we find him all-sufficient without the
possession of those things to which you have referred. We
reject all such possessions and indulgences, but without
claiming any merit for it. Our deepest penances are proper
subjects of repentance. We should have been here to little
purpose, had we not learned that our penitential acts, performed with too little feeling, are not such as they should
be; and that our righteousness is not free from imperfection





88       LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


and pollution. Whatever we may endure, or for whatever
reason it may be done, we ascribe all our hopes of mercy
and acceptance, to the blood of Christ alone." *
12. The subjection of the appetites, which has a clos#
connection with mental purity, and is exceedingly important.
constitutes but a part, and perhaps we may say but a small
part, of that physical and mental contest and victory, to
which the Christian is called. His whole nature, every
thought and every feeling, every act of the desires and of
the will, is to be brought into subjection to the law of Christ.
We may well suppose, that the pious subject of this Memoir,
with the great powers of analysis and reflection she possessed, fully understood this.  The statements which we
have just now quoted from her, show that she did. It was
her desire and purpose, both in body and in spirit, to be
wholly the Lord's. But she found that the contest, which
she was summoned to carry on with other and higher parts
of her nature, was more trying and less successful, than that
which she had prosecuted in other respects.
13. Under the influence of principles, which are good
when they are not inordinate, she found to her great grief
that she still loved to hear and to know more than a sanctified Christianity would allow. Man, under the influence of
the natural life, is disposed to diffuse himself, - to overleap
the humbling barriers of God's providence, and to mingle in
what is not his own. The principle of curiosity, always
strong, but especially so in a mind like hers, was not only
not dead, but what is still more important, it ceased to be
properly regulated. It was still a matter of interest with
her, (more so, as it seemed to her, than was consistent with
entire holiness of heart,) to see and to be seen, and to ex* Account of the Monastery of ILa Trappe, and of the Institution of
Port Royal, by Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck, vol. i. p. 140.





OF MADAME GUYON.


89


perience the pleasures of worldly intercourse and conversation.
14. At one time, the contest which she experienced in
this direction, was very considerable. Satan knew how and
where to aim his arrows. He had sagacity enough to perceive that she was not a woman that could easily be
subdued by appeals and temptations applied to her physical
nature, but that they must be made to her great powers of
intellect, her pride of character, and her desire of personal
admiration and of personal influence. The suggestion came
insidiously, but it entered deeply into the heart. For two
years she had labored faithfully in the cause of Christ.
We do not mean to say, that she had been without sin,
but that she had struggled faithfully, though sometimes
unsuccessfully against sin, and without ever thinking, for
a moment, of yielding quietly to its solicitations and influences. And it was not till after all this favorable probation,
that the secret whisper, breathed out gently and with great
art, came to her soul. It came from the source of all evil,
and was applied with Satanic skill. Is it possible, that I
must so far give up all to God, that I shall have nothing left
for the world? In this age of refinement and pleasure,
when everything is awake to intelligence, and when there is
apparently but one voice of joy, is it necessary, or even reasonable, that my eye should be shut and my ears closed, and
my lips silent? The assault was made with so much adroitness, that her religious resolution, after having been strenuously sustained for some time, began to waver.
15. It is in connection with this state of things in her
mental experience, that she speaks of a visit of some length,
which she made in the city of Paris, - her usual residence
being a short distance out of the city. The reasons which
called her to reside there at this particular time, she does
not state.  Under other circumstances she had made a
8*





90


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


previous visit of some length, which we have already
had occasion to mention.  During this subsequent residence there, she says, in expressions which convey an
ominous import to the religious mind, "I relaxed in my
usual religious exercises, on account of the little time I
had." It is hardly necessary to remark, that religious declensions generally begin in this way. When she first went
to Paris at this period, she seems to have been comparatively in a good religious state.  She speaks of God's grace
to her, - of his continual presence and care. She had experienced some heavy temptations and trials before, but does
not appear to have yielded to them in any great degree.
But she felt here, as she had not felt before, since she professed to walk in a new life, - the dangerous power of the
heart, even of the Christian heart, whenever it is left to itself,
and is unrestrained by divine grace. Speaking of her internal state about this time, she says, " I seemed to myself to be
like one of those young brides, who find a difficulty after their
marriage, in laying aside their self-indulgence and self-love,
and in faithfully following their husbands into the duties and
cares of life." To a mind that was not fully established in
the religious life, or which was temporarily shaken in its
religious principles,-- Paris, which was not more the centre
of civilization and of science, than it was of worldly pleasure
and of fashion, was a place full of hazard. She found the
temptation great; and it is a sad commentary on human
weakness when we say, that she in some degree yielded
to it.
16. She says, " Idid many things which Iought not to
have done." What these things were, we do not fully know.
She mentions, however, as one thing which gave her trouble,
that she felt an improper gratification in receiving the attentions of others. In other words her vanity still lived. There
were a number of persons in the city, apparently persons





OF MADAME GUYDN.


91


without experimental religion, who were extremely fond of
her; and it was one of the faults which she speaks of having
committed at this time, that she allowed them to express
their personal regard in too strong terms, without checking
it as she ought. It appears also from some remarks she
makes, that she regarded herself as having conformed too
much to the dress of the Parisian ladies. Among other
things, which indicate her sense of her danger and of her
actual unfaithfulness to God, she speaks of promenading in
the public walks of the city; a practice not necessarily improper or sinful. But she gives us to understand that she
did not do it merely out of complaisance to her friends who
desired her company, nor for the physical pleasure and
benefit which might be expected from the practice; but
partly, at least, from the unsanctified feeling of personal display, the desire of seeing and of being seen. But deeply did
she lament these falls.
17. "As I saw that the purity of my state was likely to
be sullied by a too great intercourse with the world, I made
haste to finish the business, which detained me at Paris, in
order to return into the country. It is true, O God, I felt
that thou hadst given me strength enough, in connection
with thy promised assistance, to avoid the occasions of evil.
But I found myself, in the city of Paris, in a situation of
peculiar temptation. And I had so far yielded to the evil
influences, to which I had been exposed, that I found it difficult to resist the vain ceremonies and complaisances, which
characterize fashionable life. Invited to join in the pleasures to which the world was so generally and strongly devoted, I was very far from tasting the satisfaction, which
they seemed to give to others.  'Alas!' said I, 'this is not
my God, and nothing beside him can give solid pleasure.'
18. "I was not only disappointed, but I felt the deep
sorrow, which always afflicts unfaithful souls. I cannot well





92        LIFE XNV 1  IOuUS EX I-EUIENCE


describe the anguish, of which I was the subject. It was
like a consuming fire. Banished from the presence of my
beloved, my bridegroom, how could I be happy! I could
not find access to him, and I certainly could not find rest out
of him. I knew not what to do. I was like the dove out
of the Ark; which, finding no rest for the sole of its foot,
was constrained to return again; but finding the window
shut, could only fly about without being able to enter."
19. Her husband, with the keen eye of one, who did not
consider the value of her natural character as enhanced at
all by her religious traits, saw her position, and we may well
suppose secretly rejoiced at it. It was no disquiet to him,
looking at the matter in the worldly light, that she had made
her appearance in the fashionable companies of the most
gay and fashionable city in the world. And still he could
not but see, that the snare, which was thus laid for the faith
and piety of his wife, in the attractions and assemblies of
Paris, had in some degree failed. He was not ignorant that
she had both seen her danger, and had exhibited the wisdom
and the decision to flee from it. But certainly, if her religious
principle was thus severely tested at Paris, there could be
no hazard to it, in her making an excursion into the country,
among mountains and rivers, and others of God's great works.
This, obviously, was a very natural suggestion. It was proposed, therefore, that she should take a distant journey.
Her husband could go with her, and was ready to do it.
His state of health was such, that it could hardly fail to be
beneficial. And if her own health should not be improved,
as it would be very likely to be, it would certainly contribute
to her happiness. And it was an incidental consideration
which had its weight, that her parents came from Montargis,
the place of her early life and recollections, which could be
visited in the way. Orleans, too, which it was contemplated
to visit in the tour, was a celebrated and beautiful city.





OF MADAME GUYON.


93


Nor was it a small thing to an imaginative mind like hers, to
tread the banks and to behold the scenery of the magnificent
Loire. With that great river there were some interesting
recollections connected. Not many years before, its waters
had been wedded to those of the Seine by the canal of
Briare; an astonishing work, which was a monument of the
enterprise of her husband's father, and the principal source
of the wealth of her family. Hence arose the journey to
the distant province of Touraine. This may be dated, I
think, from a comparison of different parts of her narrative,
in the spring or summer of 1670.
20. But this journey also, undertaken under more favorable auspices than her visit to Paris, was attended with
temptation and sin. During the life of her husband, she
generally journeyed in a carriage, and with such attendants
and equipage as was thought suitable to her position in society, or as her husband's desires and tastes might dictate.
And as she travelled from town to town, in the Orleanois
and down the banks of the river Loire, the Loire known in
history and song, her eye betrayed her heart, and she found
the spirit of worldly interest again waking up within her.
But the company of others, involving as it does the suggestions and solicitations of unsanctified nature, is sometimes
more dangerous than the sight of cities or of the works of
nature and art. In that part of France her father's family
and her husband's had been known, so that her movements
were not likely to be kept secret. Her personal reputation
had preceded her. Her powers of conversation were remarkable; and were always felt when she was disposed to
exert them. Men were taken also with her beauty and her
wealth. " In this journey," she says, " abundance of visits
and applauses were bestowed upon me; and I, who had
already experienced the pangs of being unfaithful to God,
found emotions of vanity once more springing to life within





94       LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


me. Strange as it may appear, and after all the bitterness
I had experienced, I loved human applause, while I clearly
perceived its folly.  And I loved that in myself which
caused this applause, while in the conflict of my mind's feelings, I desired to be delivered from it. The life of nature
was pleased with public favor; but the life of grace made me
see the danger of it, and dread it. Oh, what pangs the heart
feels which is in this situation! Deep was the affliction
which this combat of grace and nature cost me! What
rendered my position the more dangerous was, that they not
only praised my youth and beauty, but passed compliments
upon my virtue. But this I could not receive. I had been
too deeply taught that there is nothing but unworthiness
and weakness in myself, and that all goodness is from
God."
21. "We met with some accidents," she says, "in this
journey, which were sufficient to have impressed and terrified
any one. And it is proper for me to say, with gratitude, that
though the corruptions of my nature prevailed against me, to
the extent and in the manner which I have just mentioned, my
Heavenly Father did not desert me. He kept me submissive
and resigned in dangers, where there seemed to be no possibility of escape. At one time, as we were travelling on the
banks of the Loire, we got into a narrow path, from which
we could not well retreat. The waves of the river washed
the base of the narrow road which was before us, and partly
undermined it, so that it was necessary for our footmen to
support one side of the carriage, in order to pass it over.
All around me were terrified; but God kept me in tranquillity. Indeed, sensible of my weakness, and fearful that I
might still more dishonor Him, I seemed to have a secret
desire, that He would take me out of the temptations and
trials of the world, by some sudden stroke of his providence."
22. It is obvious, I think, that in this excursion, -which





OF MADAME GJYON.


she designates as her journey to Orleans and Touraine, she
yielded in some degree to the temptations to which she was
subject. Such was her own impression, at least; and in the
sorrow and depression of her spirit, she went in search of
religious friends and teachers, to confess and lament her
backslidings. But they did not, or perhaps could not, enter
into her feelings. "They did not condemn," she says, "what
God condemned; and treated those things as excusable and
proper, which seemed to me to be disapproved and even
detestable in His sight. But in saying that they wholly
extenuated my faults, or did not consider them very great,
I ought to add, that they did not understand, (nobody but
myself could understand,) how much God had done for me.
Instead of measuring my faults by the mercies and graces
which God had conferred upon me, they only considered
what I was, in comparison with what I might have been.
Hence, instead of blaming me, their remarks tended rather
to flatter my pride, and to justify me in things which incurred
the Divine displeasure and rebuke.
23. "It is an important remark, that a sin is not to be
measured merely by its nature, in itself considered; but also
by the state of the person who commits it; as the least unfaithfulness in a wife is more injurious to a husband, and
affects him more deeply, than far greater acts of unkindness
and neglect in his domestics. I had given myself to God in
a bond of union more sacred than any human tie. Was it
possible, then, to bestow my thoughts and affections on
another, without offending Him to whom my soul had already
betrothed itself? My trials were connected, in part, with
the fashions of those gay times, the modes of dress, and
methods of personal intercourse. It seemed to me, that the
dress of the ladies, with whom, in my journey to Orleans
and Touraine, I was led almost necessarily to associate, was
hardly consistent with Christian, or even natural modesty





96         LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
and decorum. I did not wholly conform to the prevalent
modes, but I went too far in that direction.
24. " It is true, that my associates, seeing that I covered
my neck much more than was common for females at that
time, assured me that I was quite modest and Christian-like
in my attire; and as my husband liked my dress, there could
be nothing amiss in it. But there was something within me,
which told me that it was not so. The Christian knows
what it is to hear the voice of God in his soul. This inward
voice troubled me.  It seemed to say, whither art thou
going, thou " whom my soul loveth "? Divine love drew
me gently and sweetly in one direction; while natural
vanity violently dragged me in another. I was undecided;
loving God, but not wholly willing to give up the world.
My heart was rent asunder by the contest."
25. This was indeed a sad state to be in. But it is proper
to say, that there was one marked difference between the
present and her former state. In the days of her life of nature,
at least in that period before which God began to operate in
her by his Holy Spirit, she not only sinned, but had in reality
no disposition to do otherwise. She loved to sin. It was
different now. Renovated, though imperfect, - sincerely desirous to do right, though often failing to do so, because she
was not enlightened in the way of holy living by faith alone,
- she could not fall into transgression without experiencing
the deepest sorrow and torment of mind. Sin had lost the
sweetness which once characterized it.  She began to perceive, that even the smallest transgression cannot fail to
separate from God. The wretchedness, therefore, which it
occasioned, when she found in any case that she had sinned
against her Heavenly Father, was inexpressible.
26. If, under the impulse of an unsanctified curiosity, she
gave an unguarded look,-- if in a moment of temptation si
uttered a hasty reply to the rebukes and accusations of





OF MADAME GUYON.


97


others, (moral delinqtfencies which some might not regard as
very great,)--she found that it cost her bitter tears. Even
when she dispensed her munificent charity, which brought
consolation to the poor and suffering, she sometimes found,
with sorrow of heart, that the donation which ought to have
been made with " a single eye," was corrupted by a glance
at the rewards of self-complacency and of worldly applause.
27. "The God of love," she says, "so enlightened my
heart, and so scrutinized its secret springs, that the smallest
defects became exposed. In my conversation with others, I
could often discover some secret motive which was evil, and
was in consequence compelled to keep silence. And even
my silence, when examined by the aid of the divine light,
was not exempt from imperfection. If I was led to converse
about myself, and said anything in my own favor, I discovered pride. And I could not even walk the streets, without
sometimes noticing in my movements the impulse of the life
of self." She seemed to be in the condition described in
the seventh chapter of Romans, - a description which will
apply both to the struggles of the enlightened sinner when
deeply convicted of his transgressions, and to the inward
conflicts of the partially sanctified Christian. " I delight in
the law of God after the inward man; but I see another
law in my members, warring against the law of my mind,
and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin.
28. " It must not be supposed, however," she adds further,
"that God suffered my faults to go unpunished. Oh, my
God! - with what rigor dost thou punish the most faithful,
the most loving and beloved of thy children! The anguish
which the truly devout soul experiences, when it sees sin in
itself, is inexpressible. The method which God takes inwardly to correct those whom he designs to purify radically
and completely, must be felt, in order to be understood. The
annuish of the sou0  ' consequ~ene of -:  inward conscious




98         LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
ness of failing to do its duty, can perhaps best be expressed
by calling it a secret burning, - an internal fire. Or perhaps
it may be compared to a dislocated joint, which is in incessant torment, until the bone is replaced. Sometimes such a
soul is tempted to look to men and to seek consolation in the
creature; but this is in violation of God's designs upon it,
and it cannot in that way find any true rest. It is best to
endure patiently, till God sees fit, in his own time and way,
to remove the agony, and thus learn effectually the bitterness of transgression."
28. In this divided state of mind, continually striving for
a better religious state, and yet continually faltering and
failing in the resolutions she had most seriously made, she
received an invitation to make one in a fashionable party to
visit St. Cloud. This beautiful village, situated on the banks
of the Seine, at the distance of only six miles from Paris,
was then, as it is now, the resort of fashionable society.
Celebrated for its natural scenery, its park, and the magnificent palace and gardens of the Duke of Orleans, it was the
chosen spot for the residences of many families of wealth
and taste. Without supposing that it had any connection
with her present movements, it may be worthy of notice,
that one of the country residences of the celebrated Comptroller Fouquet, - whose son many years afterwards married
the second daughter of Madame Guyon, - was situated in this
delightful place. It happened that other ladies, with whom
she was well acquainted, were invited to the festival; and it
would seem that their solicitations were employed to induce
her to go with them. She yielded to them, but not without condemning herself for doing it.
29. "I went," she says, "through a spirit of weak compliance, and from  the impulse of vanity.  Every thing
connected with the entertainment which was given us, was
magnificent.  It was an occasion especally adapted to meet





OF MADAME GUYON.


99


the wants and views of the votaries of worldly pleasure.
The ladies who attended me, wise in worldly wisdom, but
not in the things of religion, relished it. But as for me, it
filled me with bitterness. I pleased others; but I offended
Him whom I ought most to have pleased. Rich were the
tables that were spread, but I could eat nothing. The
sounds of festivity and joy arose on every side; but it was
not possible for me to enjoy anything. Pleasure shone in
the looks of other visitants, but sorrow was written upon
mine. Oh, what tears did this false step cost me! My
Beloved was offended. For above three long months he
withdrew entirely the favors of his presence. I could see
nothing but an angry God before me."
30. The good of others, who may read this account, makes
it proper to say, that there was one important lesson which
she learned from these temptations and follies, - a lesson
as important as any which the nature of the Christian life
renders indispensable, - that of her entire dependence on
divine grace. "I became," she says, "deeply assured of
what the prophet hath said, 'Except the Lord keep the city,
the watchman waketh but in vain!' When I looked to Thee;
O my Lord! thou wast my faithful keeper; thou didst continually defend my heart against all kinds of enemies. But,
alas! when left to myself, I was all weakness. How easily
did my enemies prevail over me! Let others ascribe their
victories to their own fidelity. As for myself, I shall never
attribute them to anything else than Thy paternal care over
me. I have too often experienced, to my cost, what I should
be without Thee, to presume in the least on any wisdom or
efforts of my own. It is to Thee, 0 God, my Deliverer,
that I owe everything! And it is a source of infinite satisfaction, that I am thus indebted to Thee."
31. It is not surprising, that she now found it necessary
to pause and reflect. From this time, she gave her mind to





100      LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


the great subject of holy living, with a deep and solemn
earnestness, which she had never experienced before. She
began to realize the tremendous import of those solemn
words of the Saviour, (words which have an import that is
not generally understood, though it is not possible that their
meaning should always be hidden,) "No man can serve
two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the
other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other.
Ye cannot serve God and Milammon."
32. There is but one way for the Christian to walk in.
It is not possible that there should be any other. "A straight
and narrow way," it is true; but still, properly speaking, not
a difficult way. Undoubtedly it is difficult to* a heart that
is naturally averse to it, to enter into it; and it is difficult to
such a heart to become entirely naturalized to it. SomeLimes the difficulty which is experienced within these limits,
is very great. But when once the process is fairly begun,
and the influence of old habits is broken, the difficulty which
had been experienced, is, in a great degree, removed; and
it becomes true, as the Saviour has said, that his "1yoke
is easy, and his burden is light."
33. But people do not understand this; FIRST, because,
in a multitude of cases, they do not make the experiment at
all, - they do not even enter into the way; and SECONDLY,
because they do not persevere in the experiment when
made, sufficiently long to render it a fair one. But whether
difficult or not, whether the difficulty continues for a longer
or shnorter time, it is God's way, and, therefore, the only
true and safe way. But why is it described as a straight
and narrow way? I answer, not because it is or can be diffitult to one whose heart is right, but because it is a way in
wrhich every step is regulated by God's will. It is a way of
Dne principle, and cannot, therefore, be otherwise than both
retraight and narrow. Any deviation from that will, however





OF MADAME GUYON.                   101
slight it may be, is necessarily a step out of the way. It
may be concisely described, therefore, as a way in God's
will. Anid this truly is the way of life. It is not only the
way which leads to life, as the Scriptures express it; but it
does of itself constitute a life, because he, who is in God's
will, is in life, and life is in him. "This," says the Apostle
John, "is the Record,--That God hath given to us eternal
life; and this life is in his Son.  He, that hath the Son, hath
life; and he, that hath not the Son of God, hath not life." *
First Epis. of John, viii. 11, 12.
9*





CHAPTER X.


Reference to her early views of her Christian state. Her surprse
at the discovery of the remains of sin in herself  Seeks assistance and advice from others. Remarks on the religious character
of that age. Consults with Genevieve Granger, the Prioress of
the Benedictines. Attends religious services at the church of
No6tre Dame in Paris. On her way thither she has an extraordinary interview with a person unknown. His advice to her.
Renewed consecration, in which she gives up all without reserve.
Attacked by the small pox. Treatment experienced from her stepmother. Death of her youngest son. Her feelings. Her poetical
writings. Justice of God amiable.
IN this season of temptation and penitence, of trial and
of comparative despondency, she looked around for advice
and assistance. Not fully informed, as she herself expressly
states, in respect to the nature of the inward life. she felt
perplexed and confounded at the knowledge of her own situation. In the first joy of her spiritual espousals, she seems
to have looked upon herself, as is frequently the case at that
period of religious experience, not only as a sinner forgiven
for the sins which are past; but what is a very different thing,
as a sinner saved from the commission of sin for the present,
and in all future time. Looking at the subject in the excited state of her young love, when the turbulent emotions
perplex the calm exercises of the judgment, she appears to
have regarded the victory which God had given her, as one
which would stand against all possible assaults; the greatness of her triumph for to-day, scarcely exceeding the





OF MADAME GUYON.


103


strength of her confidence for to-morrow. She felt no sting
in her conscience; she bore no cloud on her brow.
2. How surprised, then, was she to find, after a short
period, and after a more close and thorough examination,
that her best acts were mingled with some degree of imperfection and sin; and that every day, as she was increasingly
enlightened by the Holy Ghost, she seemed to discover more
and more of motives to action, which might be described as
sinful. After all her struggles and all her hopes, she found
herself in the situation of being condemned to bear about a
secret but terrible enemy in her own bosom. Under these
circumstances it was natural for her to look around for some
religious person, who might render her some assistance.
Were others in the same situation? Was it our destiny to
be always sinning and always repenting? Was there really
no hope of deliverance from transgression till we might find
it in the grave? Such were some of the questions which
arose in her mind.  Who could tell her what to do, or
how to do it?
3. This was not an age, so far as I can perceive, which
was distinguished for piety. I speak particularly of France.
Pious individuals undoubtedly there were, but piety was not
its characteristic. The Spirit of God, operating in some
hearts, carried on the great work of mental renovation. We
cannot well forget, that it was in this age, that the Port
Royalists acquired a name, which will long be celebrated.
From time to time, some gay young people of Paris or of
the provinces, sick of the vanities of the world, went into
religious retirement, and were known no more, except by
pious works and prayers. Others, like the celebrated M.
Bouthillier de Ranc, possessed of talents that would have
signalized almost any name, found their career of aspiring
worldliness coming in conflict with the arrangements of
Providence, and were ultimately led in the way, which at





l10-1    tlFi AND) REL [GiOUS EXPAi'IENCE,


the time seemed full of sorrow and perplexity, to adore the
hand which secretly smote them. We cannot well forget,
that the daughters of the great Colbert, the Sully of the age
of Louis Fourteenth, ladies alike distinguished by character
and by position in society, set an illustrious example, in a
corrupt period of the world, of sincere, decided, and unaffected piety. This was the age, and this the country of
Nicole and Arnauld, of Pascal and Racine. In the retirement of La Trappe, as well as in the cells of Port Royal, at
St. Cyr, and, strange to say, within the terrible walls of the
Bastille, prayers ascended from devout hearts.* And may
we not say, with good reason, that, in every age and every
country, God has a people; that, in periods of religious declension as well as at other times, he has his followers, few
though they may be, who are known, appreciated and beloved, by Him whose favor alone is life.
4. But however this may be, it is still true, that Madame
Guyon did not find, in the situation in which she was placed,
those helps from personal intercourse, which would have
been desirable. Christian friends of deep piety and of sound
judgment, were few in number. But there were some such,
to whom she had access. One of whom, in particular, Genevieve Granger, the devout and judicious Prioress of a community of Benedictines established a short distance from the
place of her residence, she often mentions. To the acquaintance of this individual she had been introduced some years
before by the Franciscan, whom Providence had employed
as the special means of her conversion. The acquaintance
thus formed was rendered the more natural and easy by the
* I refer in this remark, among other instances which might be mentioned, to the case of Father Seguenot, a priest of the Congregation
of the Oratory, and to that of M. de St. Claude, a distinguished Port
Royalist and a man of great piety, both of whom were confined in the
dungeons of the Bastille.





OF MADAME GUYON.


105


circumstance, that her husband's sisters were at this time,
and had been for some time previous, under the care of the
Prioress. It was to her, more freely and more fully than to
'any other, that she made known the temptations she had
experienced, and the falls of which she had been guilty.
5. This pious woman, who, from a personal observation
of her course, as well as from private conversation, understood Madame Guyon's religious position, encouraged her
much in her hopes and purposes of a new and amended life.
She probably had sdme foresight of the position which
Providence might call her to occupy, and of the influence
she might exert. Certain it is, that she felt it her duty to
explain to her the great difficulty of uniting a conformity
with the world, even to that limited extent in which she had
found herself involved in it, with an entire fulfilment of
Christian obligations. Her own personal experience was
calculated to add weight to her suggestions. Adopting the
principle, that it is possible for us, even amid the temptations of the present life, to live wholly to God, she was unwilling to see any one, especially such a person as AMadame
Guyon, adopting a standard of feeling and action, which
should fall anywhere below the mark of entire consecration
and of perfect faith and love.
6. It was at this period of her personal history, that the
subject of this memoir began to have a more distinct and
realizing perception of what is implied in a sanctified life.
Some portions of her reading, as well as her personal experience, had been favorable to this result. In the Life of
Madame de Chantal, which she had read with great interest,
she found the doctrine of holiness, so far as it may be supposed to consist in a will subjected to God, and in a heart
filled with love, illustrated in daily living and practice, as
well as asserted as a doctrine. The writings of Francis de
Sales are characterized, in distinction from many other de




106


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


vout writings of the period in which he lived, by insisting on
continual walking with God, on the entire surrender of the
human will to the divine, and on the existence of pure love.
The writings of this devout and learned man seem to have
been her constant companions through life. The Imitation
of Christ, generally ascribed to Thomas a Kempis, another of
the works with which she was familiar, is animated by the
same spirit of high Christian attainment. All these writers,
in different ways and under different forms of expression,
agree in strenuously teaching, that the whole heart, the
whole life should be given to God; and that in some true
sense this entire surrender, not excluding, however, a constant
sense of demerit and of dependence on God, and the constant
need of the application of Christ's blood, is in reality not
less practicable than it is obligatory.
7. Her mind, therefore, had been prepared both by what
she had read and by what she had been inwardly taught, to
receive promptly, and to confide strongly in, the suggestions
and admonitions of the Benedictine Prioress. And her confidence seems to have been very properly placed. It is true
we must judge, at the present time, of the character of Genevieve Granger, the individual to whom we now refer, from
the few facts which can be gathered from the writings of
Madame Guyon. But these are enough to show, that she
was a woman who combined strength of intellect with humble piety. The world did not know her, but she was not
unknown to Him who made the world. She may be described, I think, as one of those who live in the world without the debasements of a worldly spirit, and of whom it can
be said, in the language of Scripture, that " the secret of the
Lord is with them that fear him." And it is well for those
who are seeking religion, or who are inquiring the methods
of progress in religion, to learn of those who have thus been
taught.





OF MADAME GUYON.


107


8. At this most interesting juncture in her religious experience, an incident occurred, which was somewhat remarkable,
and which made a deep impression on her mind. It was an
incident, an occurrence, (speaking after the manner of
men,) but the hand of the Lord was in it. She went at a
certain time, from her residence, to attend some religious
services which were to take place in the celebrated church
of Notre Dame at Paris. As the weather was inviting, she
did not take a carriage as she usually did, but decided to
walk, although her house was some miles distant. She was
attended, however, by a footman, as she generally was at this
period of her life whenever she went abroad.  Just as they
had passed one of the bridges erected over the River Seine, a
person appeared at her side and entered into conversation; -
a man religiously solemn and instructive in his appearance
and intercourse, but so poor and almost repulsive in his
attire, that, at their first meeting, thinking him an object of
charity, she offered him alms.
9. "This man spoke to me," she says, "in a wonderful
manner, of God and divine things. His remarks on the Holy
Trinity were more instructive and sublime, than I had heard
on any other occasion or from any other person. But his
conversation was chiefly personal. I know not how it was,
but he seemed in some way to have acquired a remarkable
knowledge of my character. He professed to regard me as
a Christian, and spoke especially of my love to God, and of
my numerous charities to the poor. And, while he recognized all that was good and christian-like in me, he felt it his
duty to speak to me plainly of my faults. He told me, that
I was too fond of my personal attractions; and enumerated,
one after another, the various faults and imperfections which
characterized this period of my life. And then, assuming a
higher tone of religious precept, he gave me to understand
that God required not merely a heart of which it could only





1 0<     tIFE ANDT RELIGIOUS EX!PELIE NCE


be said it is forgiven, but a heart which could properly, and
in some real sense, be designated as holy; that it was not
sufficient to escape hell, but that he demanded also the subjection of the evils of our nature, and the utmost purity and
height of Christian attainment. The circumstance of his
wearing the dress of a mendicant, did not prevent his speaking like one having authority. There was something in him
incapable of being concealed by the poverty of his outward
appearance, which commanded my silence and profound respect. The Spirit of God bore witness to what he said.
The words of this remarkable man, whom I never saw before, and whoim I have never seen since, penetrated my very
soul. Deeply affected and overcome by what he had said, I
had no sooner reached the church than I fainted away."
10. Previously to this period, Madame Guyon had learned
the great lesson of recognizing God in his Providences.
And under the influence of this indispensable knowledge,
she could not doubt who it was that was speaking to her in
the voice of his servants. Aroused by what she had experienced of her own weakness, and startled into solemn
thought by these repeated warnings, she gave herself to the
Lord anew.
11. And here, I think, we may mark a distinct and very
important crisis in the history of her spiritual being. Taught
by sad experience, she saw the utter impossibility of combining the love of the world with the love of God. " From
this day, this hour, if it be possible, I will be wholly the
Lord's. The world shall have no portion in me."  Such
was the language of her heart; such her solemn determination. She formed her resolution after counting the cost, - a
resolution which was made in God's strength and not in her
own; which, in after life, was often smitten by the storm
and tried in the fire; but, from this time onward, so far as
we know anything of her history, was never consumed, - was





OF MADAME GUYON.


109


never broken. She gave herself to the Lord, not only to be
his in the ordinary and mitigated sense of the terms, but to
be his wholly, and to be his forever; to be his in body and in
spirit; to be his in personal efforts and influence; to be his
in all that she was, and in all that it was possible for her to
be. There was no reserve.
12. Her consecration, made in the spirit of entire selfrenouncement, was a consecration to God's will, and not to her
own; to be what God would have her to be, and not what her
fallen nature would have her to be. Two years after this time,
she placed her signature to a written act of Covenant or act
of Consecration, (a circumstance which we shall have occasion
to mention in its place,) but the act itself, she made previously, made it now, and made it irrevocable. In its substance it was written in the heart, wherever else it might fail
for a time to be recorded, and was witnessed by the Holy
Ghost. God accepted the offering of herself which she thus
made, because he knew it to be sincere. And perhaps we
may properly add, that he knew it to be sincere, because he
himself, who is the Author of every good purpose, had inspired it.
13. Desire, even religious desire, without a strong basis
of sincerity, often stops short of affecting the will. But, in
religion especially, desire without will is practically of no
value.  But the error which is alluded to in this statement,
did not attach to Madame Guyon at this time. She not only
desired to be holy, but she resolved to be holy. Her will
was in the thing, -the will, which constitutes in its action the
unity of the whole mind's action, and which is the true and
only certain exponent of the inward moral and religious
condition.
14. And perhaps we may be permitted to say, in this
connection, that it is here that we find the great difficulty
in the position of many religious men at the present time.
10





110     LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


They profess to desire to be holy; and perhaps they do
desire it. They pray for it, as well as desire it. But after
all, it is too often the case that they are not willing to be
holy. They are not ready, by a consecrating act, resting on
a deliberate and solemn purpose, to place themselves in a
position, which they have every reason to think will, by
God's grace, result in holiness. This may be regarded, perhaps, as a nice distinction; but when rightly understood, it
seems to me to lay deep and unchangeable in the mind. In
the cases to which we refer, the desire, whatever may be its
strength, is not strong enough to control the volition. The
will, therefore, is not brought into the true position. The
will, considered in relation to the other powers of the mind,
constitutes the mind's unity. The will is wanting. The
man, therefore, is wanting.
15. And in corroboration of these remarks, it may be
added further, that in repeated instances individuals have
been known frankly to acknowledge, that these statements,
or statements the same in effect with these, truly described
their position. Whatever may have been their desire to
experience the great blessing of inward sanctification, they
have said, that the desire was not strong enough to terminate itself in a purpose.
They could not say, or rather they would not say, I will
be the Lord's. They had not placed themselves, and in
their present state of feeling they would not place themselves by what may be termed a "volitional" act, (an act of
the will representing the whole mind, an act constituting a
decisive and irrevocable mental movement,) in a situation in
which the Lord could consistently and effectually operate
upon them by his Holy Spirit, and thus complete this great
work. They had been made willing, as it seemed to them,
that God should save them from their past sins in his
appointed way; and they did not cease to be willing that





OF MADAME GUYON.


III


their salvation from the penalty of all such sins should continue to be by Christ alone. They. had thus died the first
death; but they were not willing to die what I think may
properly be called, in the progress of inward experience,
the second death.
16. And with many it seems to be an opinion, that there
is no second death to die. Already dead to all claims of
personal merit in the matter of salvation, and thinking that
they may now live on their own stock, and in the strength of
their own vitality and power, they do not understand, (alas,
how few do understand it!) that they must not only die to
their own MERITS, but must die to their own LIFE; that they
must not only die to Christ on the cross that they may begin
to have the true life; but that they must die to Christ on the
cross, that they may continue to have life. In other words,
they must not only be so broken and humbled as to receive
Christ as a Savior from  hell; but must be willing also,
renouncing all natural desire and all human strength, and
all of man's wisdom and man's hope, and all self-will, to receive him as a Savior, moment by moment, from sin.
17. And this (perhaps because they do not fully understand
the necessity of it) they are not willing to do; and therefore,
although they have God's promise to help them, they will not
purpose and resolve to do it. Their wills do not correspond
with what must be, with what God requires to be, and cannot do otherwise than require to be, just so far as He carries
on and completes the work of sanctification in the soul;
namely, that God's own hand must lay the axe of inward
crucifixion unsparingly at the root of the natural life; that
God in Christ, operating in the person of the Holy Ghost,
must be the principle of inward inspiration moment by moment, the crucifier of every wrong desire and purpose, the
Author of every right and holy purpose, the Light and Life
of the soul.





112      LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


18. But upon this altar of sacrifice, terrible as it is to the
natural mind, Madame.Guyon did not hesitate to place herself, believing that God would accomplish his own work in
his own time and way. She invited the hand of the destroyer, that she might live again from the ruins of that
which should be slain. He, who does not willingly afflict
his children, but rather pities them as a Father, accepted
the work which was thus committed to him. It is sometimes the case, that God subdues and exterminates that inordinate action of the mind, which is conveniently denominated
the life of nature by the inward teaching and operation of
the Holy Ghost, independently, in a considerable degree, of
the agency of any marked providences. Such cases, however, are rare.  Much more frequently it is done, by the
appropriate application of his providences, in connection
with the inward influence.
19. It was this combined process, to which the subject of
this Memoir, in the spirit of a heart that seeks its own destruction, submitted herself. She had given herself to God
without reserve; and he did not long withhold, or conceal
the evidence of her acceptance. The one followed the other
without delay and without misgiving. Knowing that her
own resolutions, and her spirit of self-sacrifice, independently of his foresight and assistance, would be of no avail, He
arranged a series of physical and moral adjustments, which
resulted in blow after blow, till the pride of nature, which
sometimes stands like a wall of adamant, was thoroughly
broken. It was then, and not till then, that her soul entered
into that state of purity and rest, which she has significantly
denominated its state of "simplicity;;" a state in which the
soul has but one motive, that of God's will, and but one
source of happiness, that of God's glory. It is not merely
a state of consecration to God's will; but a state of union
and rest in his will.





01; MAD)AME GUYON.


113


20. The first thing He did was to smite her beauty
with that dreadful scourge of the human race, the smallpox. The summer was over; her ear no longer listened
to the waters of the Loire; the festivities of St. Cloud
and Paris had passed away. On the 4th of October, 1670,
(she is particular to mark the month and the day,) the blow
came upon her like lightning from heaven. This dreadful
disease was not then shorn of its terrors by that merciful
Providence, which directed the philosophic mind of Jenner
in the discovery of its wonderful preventive. And she was
thus smitten when she was a little more than twenty-two
years of age, - a period of life when beauty of person does
not cease to be prized.  When it was discovered that
the hand of the Lord was thus upon her, her friends, not
excluding those in all probability who had endeavored to
lead her into the follies of fashionable life, exhibited great
emotion.  They came around her bedside, and almost
forgetting that her life was in danger, deplored in feeling
language the mysterious and fatal attack, which was thus
made upon charms which had been so much celebrated.
21. Alluding to the temptations she had experienced,
and to her temporary indulgence in the displays of
fashionable life, she says, " before I fell under this disease I resembled those animals, destined for slaughter,
which on certain days they adorn with greens and flowers,
and bring in pomp into the city, before they kill them."
She represents the disease as having been very severe.
"My whole body," she says, "looked like that of a
leper. All, who saw me, said, they had never seen such a
shocking spectacle. But the devastation without was counterbalanced by peace within. My soul was kept in a state
of contentment, greater than can be expressed. Reminded
continually of one of the causes of my religious trials and
falls, I indulged the hope of regaining my inward liberty by
10*





114


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


the loss of that outward beauty which had been my grief.
This view of my condition rendered my soul so well satisfied and so united to God, that it would not have exchanged
its condition for that of the most happy prince in the
world."
22. "Every one thought I should be inconsolable. Several of my friends came around me, and gave utterance to
their regret and sympathy in view of my sad condition. A
sad condition, indeed, as it appeared to them; but far from
being sad, as it appeared to me. As I lay in my bed, suffering the total deprivation of that which had been a snare to
my pride, I experienced a joy unspeakable. I praised God
in profound silence. None ever heard any complaints from
me, either of my pains or of the loss which I sustained.
Thankfully I received everything, as from God's hand; and
I did not hesitate to say to those who expressed their regret
and sympathy, that I rejoiced at that in which they found
so much cause of lamentation."
23. "When I had so far recovered as to be able to sit
up in my bed, I ordered a mirror to be brought, and indulged
my curiosity so far as to view myself in it. I was no longer
what I was once. It was then that I saw that my heavenly
Father had not been unfaithful in his work, but had ordered
the sacrifice in all its reality. Some persons, thinking to do
me a favor in my supposed affliction, sent me a sort of pomatum, which they said would have the effect to fill up the
hollows of the small-pox, and to restore my complexion. I
had myself seen wonderful effects from it when tried upon
others; and the first impulse of my mind was to test its
merits in my own case. But God, jealous of his work,
would not suffer it. The inward voice spoke. There was
something in my heart, which said, 'If I would have had thee
fair, I would have left thee as thou wert.'"
24. "Fearful of offending God by setting myself against





OF MADAME GUYON.


115


the designs of his Providence, I was obliged to lay aside the
remedies which were brought me. I was under the necessity of going into the open air, which made the hollows of my
face worse. As soon as I was able, I did not hesitate to go
into the streets and places where I had been accustomed to
go previously, in order that my humiliation might triumph in
the very places where my unholy pride had been exalted."
25. "During these afflictions the trials which I had experienced in connection with my husband's family, continued.
At the commencement of my sickness, I was so much neglected by my mother-in-law, that I was on the point of dying
for want of succor. Such was the state of my husband's
health at this time, that I was necessarily left, in a great
degree, to her care. At the commencement of my attack I
needed the immediate aid of a physician; but she would not
allow any physician but her own to prescribe for me; and
yet she did not send for him for some time, although he was
within a day's journey of us. He came at last, when I had
providentially received some assistance from another source,
and when he could be of but little service to me. In this
extremity I opened not my mouth to request any human
succor. I looked for life or death from the hand of God,
without testifying the least uneasiness at so strange a course
of conduct. The peace I enjoyed within, on account of that
perfect resignation in which God kept me by his grace, was
so great, that it made me forget myself, in the midst of such
violent maladies and pressing dangers."
26. "And if it was thus in my sickness, it could not well
be expected that my step-mother would exhibit any more
favorable dispositions after my recovery. She did not cease
at all in her unkind efforts to alienate my husband's affections from me. And now, as God had smitten and taken
away whatever there was of beauty in my countenance, he
seemed to be more susceptible than ever of any unfavorable





116


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


impressions, which others might endeavor to cause against
me. In consequence of this, the persons who spoke to him
to my disadvantage, finding themselves more listened to
than formerly, repeated their attacks upon me more frequently and more boldly. Others changed, but God did not
change. Thou only, 0 my God! didst remain the same.
Thou didst smite me without, but didst not cease to bless
me within. In augmenting my exterior crosses, thou didst
not cease to increase my inward graces and happiness."
27. But the work of God was not yet accomplished. If
he had smitten and demolished one dear idol, there were
others which remained. God had given her two sons. The
eldest was in the sixth year, the youngest in the fourth year
of his age. She loved them both; but one was especially
the son of her affections. The eldest she could not cease to
love; but she loved him with some alternations of feeling,
and in deep sorrow. The same causes which operated to
disturb and alienate her husband's affections, had their influence here. He had been designedly subjected to a process
of training, which resulted in violations of filial duty, and in
sad disregard of a mother's love. The second son was not
thus injured. Perhaps he had naturally more favorable diispositions. Certain it is, that, in the favorable opening of his
young affections and intellect, he filled the measure of a
mother's fondness and hopes. Her heart was fixed upon
him. But God, who knew on which side danger lay, took
her Jacob, and left her Esau.
28. He was seized with the same terrible disease, which
had so nearly proved fatal to his mother. " This blow," she
says, " struck me to the heart. I was overwhelmed; but
God gave me strength in my weakness. I loved my young
boy tenderly; but though I was greatly afflicted at his death,
I saw the hand of the Lord so clearly, that I shed no tears.
I offered him up to God; and said in the language of Job,





OF MADAME GUYON.


117


" The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed
be his name."
28. During these successive trials, she recognized the
hand that smote her, and blessed it. Her prayer was, that
God, in the work of destruction, would take from her entirely
the power of displeasing him. "Art thou not strong enough,"
she exclaimed, " to take from me this unholy duplicity of
mind, and to make me one with thyself?" She says that it
was a consolation to her to experience the rigors of God.
She loved God's justice. She rejoiced in his holy administration, however it might touch and wither all her worldly
prospects. She felt that he was right as well as merciful;
just as well as good; and that both justice and mercy are to
be praised.
It is about this time that we find the first mention of her
attempts at poetry. Poetry is the natural expression of
strong feeling. She felt, and she wrote. It is possible that
she had made attempts of this kind before; but I find
nothing said of it. Voltaire, who goes out of his appropriate
sphere of judgment in discrediting her religious pretensions,
speaks lightly also of her effusions in verse. It would require a more intimate knowledge of French poetical diction
than I profess to have, to give an opinion of her poetry, so
far as the expression is concerned. But I do not hesitate to
say, with great confidence, that this portion of her writings,
with some variations, undoubtedly, exhibits in a high degree
the spirit of poetry.  There is thought in it; there is
feeling. The highest kind of thought, the deepest feeling.
The following poem, translated by Mr. Cowper, whom some
critics, I think, would not place below Voltaire, either as a
writer or judge of poetry, may be regarded as expressive, in
some particulars, of her religious experience at this time;
and is probably to be, referred, in its origin, to this period of





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


her life. It indicates a deep sense of her unworthiness, and
a humble and approving resignation to God's will, under the
heaviest inflictions of His providence.
DIVINE JUSTICE AMIABLE.
THOU hast no lightnings, 0 thou Just!
Or I their force should know;
And, if thou strike me into dust,
My soul approves the blow.
The heart, that values less its ease,
Than it adores thy ways,
In thine avenging anger sees
A subject of its praise.
Pleased I could lie, concealed and lost,
In shades of central night;
Not to avoid thy wrath, thou know'st,
But lest I grieve thy sight.
Smite me, 0 thou, whom I provoke!
And I will love thee still.
The well deserved and righteous stroke
Shall please me, though it kill.
Am I not worthy to sustain
The worst thou canst devise?
And dare I seek thy throne again,
And meet thy sacred eyes?
Far from afflicting, thou art kind;
And in my saddest hours,
An unction of thy grace I find,
Pervading all my powers.


Alas! Thou sparest me yet again;
And when thy wrath should move,





OF MADAME GUYON.                       119
Too gentle to endure my pain,
Thou sooth'st me with thy love.
I have no punishment to fear;
But, ah! that smile from thee
Imparts a pang far more severe
Than woe itself would be.





CHAPTER XI.


f7aithfulness in trial. Spiritual consolations. General remarks on
her experience during the year 1671. Discharge of domestic and
other duties. Trials in relation to her seasons of prayer.  Of
the faults of which she considered herself guilty at this period.
Remarks on a regard for God's providences. Her first acquaintance, July 1671, with Francis La Combe.  Some account of
him. The impression made upon him by her conversations. Her
growth in grace. The account she gives of her will, as subdued
in its operations, but not wholly renovated in its nature. Remarks on this subject.
IN all the trials which she was thus called to endure, in
the afflictions of her own person, and in the loss of her favorite son, it may be said of her, as it was of Job, - who is
naturally called to mind by the story of her sufferings, - that
she "sinned not, nor charged God foolishly." So far, at least,
as the occurrences, which have now been mentioned- are
concerned, the sincerity of the consecration which she had
made of herself and of all her interests to God, had been
tried; and through the grace of God it had not been found
wanting.
2. It is possible, that the suggestion may arise in the
minds of some, that God compensated her outward trials by
giving an increase of inward consolation. And such was the
case, undoubtedly, just so far as he found it necessary and
desirable.  He never fails, " to temper the wind to the shorn
lamb."  The hand which afflicted did not allow her to sink





LIFE, ETC.


12.


under the blow. And, accordingly, in giving some account
of her feelings at this time, she speaks very fully of the
supports and consolations she received, although they were
mingled with some alternations of feeling, and with some
states of inward experience, which she did not then fully
understand.
3. "I had a great desire," she says, "for the most intimate communion with God. For this object, my heart
went forth in continual prayer. He answered my supplication richly and deeply.  The sensible emotion and joy
which I experienced, were sometimes overwhelming.  VXy
heart was filled with love, as well as with joy; with that
love which seeks another's will, and which is ready to relinquish and sacrifice its own.
4. "But this state of mind did not always continue.. At
other times, niy mind seemed to be dry, arid, ' unemotional;'.
and not fully understanding the nature of his dealings with
men, it seemed to me at such times that God, being offended
for something, had left me.  The pain of his absence
(for such I supposed it to be) was very great.  Thinking
it to be for some fault of mine that he had thus left me, I
mourned deeply,--I was inconsolable. I did not then under--
stand, that in the progress of the inward death, I must be
crucified not only to the outward joys of sense, and to the
pleasures of wordly vanity, but also, which is a more terrible.
and trying crucifixion, that I must die to the joys of God, in
order that I might fully live to the will of God. If I had
known that this was one of the states through which I must
pass, in order to experience the full power of sanctifying
grace, I should not have been troubled."  She had not yet
reached that state, (that is to. say, permanently and fully,
although she had at times some touches of it,) which may be
denominated the Prayer of God's will; and which says con
tinually, "I come to do thy will, 9 God."  "It is my meat
11.





122      LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


and drink to do the will of my heavenly Father." To this
blessed will it is true that she was consecrated; and that in
the fulfilment of this consecrating act, she lay patiently and
passively on the altar of sacrifice. But I think it is equally
true, that she had not as yet experienced all the results
which flow out of such a consecration, when it is attended by
full faith, and when God has accomplished his work. As
we have already expressed it in another passage, she was
fully consecrated to the will of God, but had not fully found
rest and union in the will of God.
5. During the year 1671, the hand of the Lord, considered in comparison with its former dealings, seems to have
been staid.  God had found her faithful; and her soul,
without having entered into the state of permanent rest and
union, experienced, amid all her trials, a high degree of inward consolation and peace. She was patient and faithful
in the discharge of domestic duties, regular and watchful in
her seasons of private devotion, and prompt ini performing
the duties of kindness.and benevolence to others. In intimating that her trials were diminished, as compared with
those of the preceding year, we do not mean to say that she
was without trials; but, whatever they were, she was greatly
supported under them. And I think it may be added, that,
both by the griefs she suffered, and by the duties she discharged, and by the supports and consolations which were
afforded her, the process of inward crucifixion was continually going on.
6. There were some things, however, even in her course
at this time, which she was afterwards led to regard as
faults. One thing she mentions, in particular. I give in
this instance, however, as well as in others, her meaning,
rather than her precise form of expression. It was this.
She was more attached to the retirement, the exercises, and
thre pleasures of devotion, than she was to the efforts, min




OF MADAME GUYON.


123


gled as they oftentimes were with temptations and trials, of
present and practical duty. As God had not fully taken up
his abode in her heart, - which is the only appropriate and
adequate corretive of dangers from this source,- she found
him, as Christians in that imperfect stage of Christian experience generally do find him, in particular seasons and
places. And the consequence was, that she not only loved
such seasons and places, and sought them very much, which
was very proper, but she gives us to understand that she
sometimes loved them, and sought them in such a way and
to such a degree, as to interfere with the wants and happiness of others.  It is thus that self-will, the last inward
enemy which is subdued, may find a place even in our most
sacred things, but never without injury.
7. The principle which she adopted, at a subsequent and
more enlightened period of her Christian experience, was,
that the true place of God, when we speak of God's place
any where out of the heart, is in his Providences. It is true,
indeed, that God's kingdom is in the heart. "The kingdom
of God," says the Saviour, "is within you."  But it is true
also, that he holds his kingdom there, and that he reigns
there, in connection with his providences.
8. And as these remarks are made in connection with
special times or seasons of devotion, it may properly be
added, that the providences of God include both time and
place, in the widest sense. So far from excluding times and
places, such as are set apart for devotion or for other purposes, they recognize and establish them; but, what is very
important, they hold them also in strict subordination. These
divine providences are in themselves, and emphatically so,
the time of times and the place of places. And all other
times and places, which are approved of God, exist by appointment under them.
9. Undoubtedly, in an important sense of the terms, the





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


religious man's place is his closet. "Enter into thy closet,"
says the Saviour, " and pray to thy Father, who seeth in
secret."  The closet is an indispensable place to him. But
whenever he goes there in violation of God's trovidences, it
ceases to be a place of God's appointment, and he goes there
without God. It should never be forgotten, therefore, that
it is God himself, who consecrates the place, and makes it a
profitable one. And He will never consent to be jostled out
of his true locality, which is always ascertained and designated by His providences, by means of any merely human
arrangements. And accordingly we may lay it down as an
important practical principle, that the times and places
which are erected within the sphere of God's providences,
and are in harmony with them, are right and well; and that
all other times and places are wrong.
10. "All my crosses," she says, "would have seemed
little, if I might have had liberty, in those seasons when I
desired it, to be alone and to pray. But my mother-in-law
and husband, who acted in concert in respect to my religious
exercises, as they did in regard to many other things, restricted me much.  The subjection under which I was thus
brought, was painful to me, exceedingly so. Accordingly,
when it was understood that I had retired for a season of
prayer, my husband would look on his watch, to see if I staid
above half an hour. He thought that half an hour was
enough for that purpose. If I exceeded that time, he grew
very uneasy, and complained.
11. " Sometimes I used a little artifice to effect my purposes. I went to him, and asked him, saying nothing of any
devotional exercises, if he would grant me an hour, only one
hour, to divert myself in some way, or in any way, that
might be pleasing to my own mind. If I had specified some
known worldly amusement, I should probably have obtained
my request.  But. as he could hardly fail to see that I





OF MADAME GUYON.


125


wanted the time for prayer, I did not succeed. He would
have granted my request for other diversions; but for
prayer he would not.
12. " I must confess that my imperfect religious knowledge and experience caused me much trouble.   I often
exceeded my half-hour; my husband was angry, and I was
sad. But it was I, myself, in part at least, who thus gave
occasion for what I was made to suffer. Was it not God, as
well as my husband, who placed this restriction upon me? I
understood it afterwards, but did not understand it then. I
ought to have looked upon my captivity as a part of God's
providences and as an effect of His will. If I had separated
these things from the subordinate agent, and looked upon
them in the true divine light, I might have been contented,
I might have been happy.    In time I understood these
things. When months and years had passed away, God
erected his temple fully in my heart. He entered there,
and I entered with him. I learned to pray in that divine
retreat; and from that time I went no more out."
13. She thought, therefore, with some reason, that at this
period of her life she might have failed, in some degree, in
her duty to her husband and her family, in consequence of
not fully understanding the will of God as developed in his
providences. And this view of things perhaps gives a significancy to a remark, which her husband once made, that
" she loved God so much that she had no love left for him."
It will help to illustrate the source of error and trouble
which we are now trying to explain, if we give one or two
other facts, which involve the same principle. She had a
beautiful garden. And in the time of fruits and flowers, she
often walked there. But such was the intensity of her contemplations on God, such "her inward attraction," as she
expresses it, that her eye seemed to be closed, and she
knew nothing, comparatively speaking, of the outward
11*





126


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


beauty which surrounded her. And when she went into the
house, and her husband asked her how the fruits were, and
how the flowers grew, she knew but little about it. And it
was not surprising, I think, that it gave him considerable
offence.
14. Again, it oftentimes happened that things were related in the family, which were not without interest, and
which were entitled to consideration. The principle of curiosity was awake then, as it is now; and mankind had its
history then, as it has now. Others conversed and listened
and remembered; but so entirely absorbed was her mind in
another direction, that she was scarcely able to do either.
And when these topics subsequently came up for remark,
although they were entitled to notice, even from a Christian,
it was found that she knew nothing of them. This seemed
to indicate a want of respect for the feelings of others, if not
an obvious disregard of duty. And as she viewed the subject subsequently, and in the light of a higher experience, it
seemed to her, that the course which she pursued was erroneous.
15. The highest form (not that which appears to be so,
but that which really is such) of Christian experience is
always in harmony with present duty. It admits no kind of
feeling, and no degree of feeling, which is inconsistent with
the requirements of our present situation, whatever it may
be. The highest love to God does not require us to violate
our duty to our neighbor, or even to our enemy. It neither
requires us to violate our duty, nor does it do it in point of
fact. When our religious experience stops in " emotionality," it is apt to do this; when it but partially controls the
desires, it is not always a safe guide; but when, in connection
with its other conquests, it breaks down all self-will, and
truly establishes the throne of God in the centre of the soul,
it does all things right and well; first, by estimating all





OF MADAME GUYON.


127


things in themselves and their relations just as they ought to
be estimated, and then by corresponding to this just estimate
by an equally just conduct. To this state she had not as
yet fully attained.
16. It is during this period of her personal history, as it is
given in her Autobiography, that we first find mention made
of Francis de la Combe. As this somewhat distinguished
individual is closely connected with a portion of her history,
it may be proper to say something of him. He was born at
Thon6n, a flourishing town of Savoy, situated on the borders
of the lake of Geneva.*
In early life he was the subject of religious impressions;
and in accordance with his design of devoting himself formally to God in a religious life, he attached himself to the
Barnabites, one of the religious Orders in the Catholic
Church. He was possessed of a high degree of natural
talent, which was improved by a finished education. He
was tall and commanding in his personal appearance, and
naturally eloquent. Impressed with the importance of religion, he seems to have given his whole heart to God's work.
He was frequently employed in religious missions, by those
on whom the responsibility of such movements rested in the
French church, particularly in the year 1679, and about that
time, when he was sent to the province of Chablais, in Savoy,
in which his native town, Thonon, was situated. He also
labored as a missionary at Annecy, another town of Savoy,
situated not far from the city of Chamberry.
17. His labors were not exclusively of an active kind.
He published a small treatise, entitled A Short Letter of Instruction, in which he endeavors to point out the principles
* Relation de L'Oriqine, du Progres, et de la Condemnation du Quietisme
en France, Livre Premiere. - La Vie de Jean D'Aranthon, Eveque de
Geneve, Livre iii. chap. iv.





128      LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCF


of growth and of the highest possible attainment in the
Christian life. His principal published work was his Analysis of Mental Prayer, Orationis Mfentalis Analysis; originally written in Latin, and afterwards translated into French.
This work, which inculcates the necessity and the principles of experimental religion in its highest forms, was
condemned by the authorities at Rome as heretical. The
decree of condemnation is dated the 4th of September, 1688.
Some portions of his religious correspondence, also, which
possess a high degree of interest, have been preserved. His
letters to Madame Guyon are to be found, some of them, in
the collections of her writings, and others in the large collection of the Works of Bossuet.* A letter of considerable interest, addressed to M. D'Aranthon, titular bishop of Geneva,
is found in the Life of that prelate.
18. His personal activity and influence were such, combined with the influence of his writings, that Louis Fourteenth, who was extremely sensitive to any deviations from
the established doctrines of the Romish Church, thought it
necessary to shut him up in prison. He was first confined
in the chateau of Lourde; he was subsequently transferred
to the castle of Vincennes, near Paris, and at a later period
was imprisoned in the castle of Oleron, situated in the Isle
of Oleron,-a place celebrated for having given name to a
portion of maritime law, but which derives some portion of
its notoriety from the persons who have suffered within the
dungeons of its prison. His imprisonments, as I find it stated
in one of the writers whom I have consulted, extended
through twenty-seven years. His persecutors at last had
some pity on him. Just before his death, when body and
mind had both been prostrated by his sufferings, he was
placed in the Hospital of Charenton. He died in 1714.
* (Euvres Completes de Bossuct, Eveque de Meaux, tome 8me.





OF MADAME GUYON.


129


19. It was in June or July of 1671, (she speaks somewhat indefinitely as to the month,) that a letter was brought
to Madame Guyon from her half-brother, Father La Mothe.
The bearer was La Combe, who was then young, but came
highly recommended from La Mothe, who wished his sister
to see him, and to regard and treat him as one of his most
intimate friends. Madame Guyon says, that she was unwilling at this time to form new acquaintances; but desirous
of corresponding to the request of her brother, she admitted
him. The conversation turned chiefly upon religious subjects. With the clear insight of character which she possessed, she could not fail to become deeply interested in La
Combe, as one on whom many religious interests might depend.  But still she could not at that time fully decide
whether she should regard him as truly a possessor of religion, or as merely a seeker after it. "I thought," she says,
" that he either loved God, or was disposed to love him; a
state of things which could not fail to interest me, as it was
the great desire of my heart that everybody should experience this divine love." As God had already made use of
her as an instrument in the conversion of three persons,
members of the Religious Order to which he belonged, she
indulged the hope that she might be made a benefit to him.
And although she says, she felt a reluctance to begin the
acquaintance, she now felt a desire to continue it.
20. La Combe left her, but he was not satisfied. Providence had brought him in contact with a mind to which
either grace or nature, or both in combination, had given
power over other minds. He desired, therefore, to see more
and to hear more. And, accordingly, on the basis of the
acquaintance which had thus begun, he repeated the visit
after a short time. Madame Guyon remarks, that La Combe,
who seems to have been a man not only of intelligence but
of vivacity and generosity of freling, was very acceptable to





LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


her husband. On this second visit, he conversed with her
husband freely. During the interview, he was taken somewhat unwell; and with the view of recovering and refreshing himself in the open air, he went out and walked in the
garden. Soon after, Madame Guyon, at the particular request of her husband, went out for the purpose of seeing
him, and of rendering any assistance which might be needed.
She availed herself of the opportunity which was thus
afforded, to explain to him what she denominates the interior
or inward way, "Ila voie de l'interieur;" a way which is
inward because it rests upon God, in distinction from the
way which is outward, and which rests upon man. He was
prepared to receive her remarks, because he inwardly felt
the need of that form of experience which was involved in
them, and because he perceived, from her countenance, her
conversation, and her life, that sle possessed that of which
he felt himself to be destitute.
21. La Combe always admitted afterwards, that this conversation formed a crisis in his life. Her words, attended
by divine power, sunk deep into his soul. It was then, and
there, that he formed the purpose, with divine assistance, to
be wholly the Lord's. " God was pleased," says Madame
Guyon, "to make use of such an unworthy instrument as
myself, in the communication of his grace. He has since
owned to me, that he went away at that time changed into
quite another man.  I ever afterwards felt an interest in
him; for I could not doubt that he would be a servant of
the Lord.  But I was far from foreseeing, that I should
ever go to the place of his residence." Of La Combe we
shall have occasion to speak again hereafter.
22. Whatever mistakes she may have committed in the
period of which we are now speaking, it is evident that she
was growing in grace. The world had lost, in an increased
degree, its power. Her inward nature had become more





OF MADAME GUYON.


1.31


conformed to the requisitions of the gospel law. We have
evidence of this in various ways.  Among other things,
speaking of Paris, which had formerly been to her a place
of temptation and injury, she remarks, in connection with a
visit which she was obliged to make there, "Paris was a
place now no longer to be dreaded as in times past. It is
true, there were the same outward attractions, the same
thronging multitudes; but the crowds of people served only
to draw me into deeper religious recollection. The noise of
the streets only augmented my inward prayer."
23. She adds, " under the pressure of the daily troubles
and afflictions which befel me, I was enabled, by divine
grace, to keep my will, 0 my God! subservient to thine. I
could say practically, ' Not my will, but thine be done.'
When two well-tuned lutes are in perfect concert, that which
is not touched renders the same sound as that which. is
touched. There is the same spirit in both, the same sound,one pure harmony. It was thus that my will seemed to be
in harmony with God's will.
24. " This was the result of grace. Grace conquered
nature; but it was nature in its operations, rather than in its
essence. My will was subdued in its operations in particular cases, so that I could praise the Lord for entire acquiescence; but there still remained in it a secret tendency,
when a favorable opportunity should present, to break
out of that harmony, and to put itself in revolt.     I
have since found, in the strange conditions I have been
obliged to pass through, how much I had to suffer before the will became fully broken down, annihilated, as it
were, not only in its selfish operations but in its selfish
tendencies, and changed in its very nature. How many
persons there are, who think their wills are quite lost when
they are far from it. In hard temptations and trials, they
would find that a will submissive is not a will lost; a will





1^8     LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


not rebellious, is not a will annihilated. Who is there, who
does not wish something for himself; - wealth, honor, pleasure, conveniency, liberty, something? And he who thinks
his mind loose from all these objects, because he possesses
them, would so6n perceive his attachment to them, if he
were once called upon to undergo the process of being
wholly deprived of them. On particular occasions, therefore, although the will might be kept right in its operations,
so as to be in harmony with the divine will, he would still
feel the sharp struggle coming out of the will's life; and his
consciousness would testify, that he is rendered victorious,
moment by moment, only by divine grace."
25. These remarks indicate how closely Madame Guyon
marked her inward operations. The reality or fact of the
distinction which she makes, between a will submissive or
lost in its operations and a will lost in its nature, is undeniable. The explanation of it is more doubtful. A will
lost, a will annihilated, in the absolute sense of the terms, is
an absurdity. A loss of the will in that sense would necessarily imply, not only the loss of moral obligation, but of all
moral agency. The explanation, therefore, is in connection
with the law of habit. It is a common saying, that habit is a
second nature. And it is certainly a remarkable fact, that
habit will attach to any of our desires, to any of our propensive and affectional principles, (and the same may be said
of the will,) a tendency so deep, so controlling, so impulsive,
that it has the appearance, as it has all the results, of being
an inherent and original part of our mental constitution. It
is this terrible tendency, (the penalty we pay for having
been so long in sin,) which plants in the path of the penitent
and truly regenerated man a thousand dangers, and which
is likely, although it will not necessarily prevent his being
victorious, to cause him a struggle, more or less severe, at
every step which he takes.





OF MADA\IE GUYON.


133


26. It is this tendency, which Madame Guyon calls the
will's life or nature, in distinction from its mere operations.
The will has a false nature, a satanic nature, as well as a
true, a divine nature. And it is this false and evil nature,
which in the unrenewed and unsanctified man continually
shows itself. Its original life, such as it had when it came
from the hand of God, it is not necessary to destroy; but it
is necessary, indispensably necessary, to destroy all that
false and vitiating life, which sin, availing itself of the immense influence of the law of habit, has incorporated so
strongly with the will's original nature that they now seem
to be one.
27. And hence the distinction, which she properly makes.,
although it is not often made, between a will subdued and
renovated in its operation, and the same will, neither subdued nor renovated in its life. So that the Christian may
properly be said to be victorious over his enemy, when he
knows that the enemy, until he has experienced the blessing
of sanctification in its highest sense, is still sleeping or watching in his own bosom. What she means to say, therefore,
in connection with her experience at the present time, is,
that she was made victorious over the will's evil operation,
but not over its evil nature; that she was kept from sinning,
but that there was yet some unconquered law of her nature,
which required her -to be always watchful, always praying,
always struggling. She kept her enemy at bay, but he was
not slain. She was victorious, but still fighting. She was
a conqueror, but not at rest. A later period of her experi.
ence witnessed a still greater victory.
12





CHAPTER XII.


Incidents of 1672. Presentiment of her father's death. A message
reaches her soon after with the news of his last sickness. His
death. Remarks. Affectionate eulogium on her daughter. Her
sickness and death. Reference to the renewed and entire consecration which she had made of herself in the year 1670. This
act of consecration reduced to writing and signed for the first
time, July 22d, 1672. Instrumentality of Genevieve Granger in
this transaction. Form of this consecrating act or spiritual marriage covenant. Remarks. Dangers connected with a journey
taken at this time. Reflections upon it.
TIus passed the year 1671. I am particular in the periods of time, so far as I am able to ascertain them, which is
not always easy to be done. And the reason is, that by
connecting the dealings of God and the progress of the inward life with specific times and situations, the mental operation is aided, and we can hardly fail to have a clearer idea
of the incidents which are narrated. Another year had now
opened upon her, and found her renewedly consecrated to
God, and growing wiser and holier through the discipline of
bitter experience. Her trials had been somewhat less in
this year than in the preceding, but still they were not
wholly suspended. And as God designed that she should
be wholly his, there were other trials in prospect, which
were designed to aid in this important result. We proceed,
therefore, in our narrative, with such incidents and facts as
we are able to gather from the sources of information found





LIFE, ETC.


135


in her own writings and in the writings of some of her contemporaries, which remain to us.
2. It is not always easy to explain the impressions which
exist within us. It is very possible, that some remarkable
impressions or presentiments may be explained on natural
principles; but there are others, of which it might not be
easy to give a satisfactory account in that manner. I have
been led to this remark, from an incident which I notice in
her history. On a morning of July, in 1672, she awoke
very early, with such an impression on her mind. " At four
o'clock in the morning," she says, "I awoke suddenly, with a
strong impression or presentiment that my father was dead.
And though at that time my soul had been in very great
contentment, yet such was my love for him, that the impression I had of his death affected my heart with sorrow, and
my body with weakness."
3. I do not mention this incident, because I think it very
important, or because I have any comments to make. It is
sufficient to say, that it was not a mere transitory impression,
but a presentiment so sudden, so deeply imprinted, so controlling, as to take entire possession of the mind. She was
so deeply affected by the conviction of which she was made
the subject in this remarkable manner, that she says she
could hardly speak.
4. At the time of which we are now speaking, she was
not at her own home. She had been residing some days at
a Monastery, the Prioress of which was a personal friend.
It was some leagues distant from her usual place of residence. She had gone there for religious purposes, as the
place was favorable to retirement and to religious contemplation. At the time she left home, her father was residing
at her house. It was on the afternoon of the same day in
which she experienced the strong presentiment or impression of which we have spoken, that a man arrived at the





136      LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


Monastery in great haste. He brought a letter from her
husband, in which he informed her of her father's dangerous
illness. Prompted by affection, as well as by duty, she immediately set out to visit him; but on arriving at her residence, she found him dead.
5. To her father she was tenderly attached.  And it
would seem, from what we learn of him, that she had reason
to be so. "His virtues," she says, "were so generally known
that it is unnecessary to speak of them. I pass them in
silence; or only with the simple remark, that as he passed
through the scenes and trials of his closing days, he exhibited great reliance on God. His patience and faith were
wonderful." It was thus that another tie to the earth was
sundered; and the freedom of the soul, which is liable to be
contracted and shackled even by the domestic affections,
when they are but partially sanctified, grew wider and
stronger from the bonds that were broken.
6. Another affliction was near at hand. He who gives
himself to God to experience under his hand the transformations of sanctifying grace, must be willing to give up all
objects, however dear they may be, which he does not hold
in strict subordination to the claims of divine love, and
which he does not love IN and FOR God alone. The sanctification of the heart, in the strict and full sense of the term,
is inconsistent with a divided and wandering affection. A
misplaced love, whether it be wrong in its degree or its
object, is as really, though apparently not as odiously, sinful,
as a misplaced hatred.
7. She had a daughter, an only daughter; young it is
true, only three years of age, or but a little more than three
years of age; and yet, in her own language, "as dearly beloved as she was truly lovely."  "This little daughter," says
the mother, "had great beauty of person; and the graces of
the body, which distinguished her, were equalled by those of





OF MAJ)DAME GUYON.


137


the mind; so that a person must have been insensible both
to beauty and to merit, not to have loved her. Young as
she was, she had a perception of religious things; and seems
to have loved God in an extraordinary manner. Often I
found her in some retired place, in some corner, praying. It
was her habit, whenever she saw me at prayer, to come and
join with me. And if, at any time, she discovered that I
had been praying without her, feeling that something was
wrong, or that something was lost, she would weep bitterly,
and exclaim in her sorrow, 'Ah, mother, you pray, but I
do not pray.' When we were alone, if she saw my eyes
closed, as would naturally be the case in my seasons of inward recollection, she would whisper, 'Are you asleep?' and
then would cry out, 'Ah, no? You are praying to our dear
Jesus;' and dropping on her knees before me, she would
begin to pray too.
8. "So strongly did she express her desire and her determination to give herself to the Lord, and to be one with him
in spirit, that it gave occasion for reproof on the part of her
grandmother. But still she could not be prevailed upon to
alter her expressions. She was very dutiful; many were
her endearments; and she was innocent and modest as a
little angel. Her father doated on her. To her mother she
was endeared much more by the qualities of her heart, than
by those of her beautiful person. I looked upon her as my
great, and almost my only consolation on earth; for she had
as much affection for me as her surviving brother, who had
been subjected to the most unhappy influences, had aversion
and contempt. She died of an unseasonable bleeding. But
what shall I say, - she died by the hands of Him, who was
pleased to strip me of all."  Both her father and daughter
died in July, 1672.
9. We have already had occasion to notice, that in the
latter part of the year 1670, more than a year and a half
12 *





138        LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
previous to the period of which we are now speaking, she
had anew given herself to God, in great sincerity, and, as it
seemed to her, without any reserve. By a solemn act, to
which God himself was a party, she had placed herself on
the altar of sacrifice, -" the altar which sanctifies the gift,"--
never more to be taken from it. She had left herself with
God, both in doing and suffering; and whatever might take
place in the fulfilment of his will, she could never wish it to
be otherwise. In all the trials to which he had seen fit to
subject her, no whisper of complaint, no word of murmur,
had ever escaped her lips. But it is worthy of notice, that
she had not as yet committed her religious purposes to the
formality of a written record. At least, we have no mention
of any such thing. It was a mental purpose, communicated
to Him who is emphatically MIND; a simple transaction
between her soul and God, of which God alone was the witness. It was possible, however, that she might forget, that
she might be faithless. There were yet many and heavy
trials before her.
10. Her pious and deeply experienced friend, Genevieve
Granger, Prioress of the Benedictines, had never ceased to
take an interest in her spiritual progress. It is probable
that she well understood (and perhaps she was indebted for
the views she entertained to the incidents and results of her
own past experience) that there were some things in the
process of inward crucifixion, some things in what I think
may be appropriately termed the "baptism of fire," which
remained unaccomplished. She did not cease, therefore, in
accordance with that direction of Scripture which requires
us to "bear each other's burdens," to sympathize in the various trials which Madame Guyon had beeni called to pass
through, to pray for her, and to advise her. Among other
things, she wished to add new solemnity and interest to the
matter of her consecration; a consecration made on prin




OF MAl)AME GUYON.


139


ciples of an entire and permanent surrender of herself to
God, which have already been explained. In carrying her
object into effect, she selected as a day especially appropriate to her purpose, the 22d of July, the month in which
Madame Guyon had experienced the heavy afflictions of
which we have just spoken, although it was not selected on
that account.
11. It was on that day and monti, four years before, after
years of inquiry and struggle, that she 4aad first believed on
the Lord Jesus Christ in such a manner as to bring into her
soul the sense of forgiveness, and to fill it with inward peace.
It was, therefore, a day to be remembered with gratitude;
as we find that it was remembered through her whole life.
Genevieve Granger, in the course of that friendly correspondence which had existed between them for some years,
sent word to her, that she wished her to notice the approaching anniversary of that day in a special manner, by acts of
worship and by alms. She wished her also to examine, and
if she approved of it, to sign what might perhaps be called a
marriage covenant with the Saviour, which she had herself
drawn up, in very concise terms, for Madame Guyon's use.
Perhaps she had in mind that interesting passage of the
Scriptures, " The marriage of the Lamb is come; and his
wife hath made herself ready; and to her was granted that
she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the
fine linen is the righteousness of saints." * These suggestions,
coming from a source which she had been accustomed greatly
to respect, could not fail to be attended to. And especially
so, as they corresponded entirely with her own views and
feelings. The act or covenant of Consecration, drawn up in
accordance with those expressions of Scripture which speak
of the church as the bride or spouse of God, with her signature appended, was as follows
*Rev. xix. 7,8.





140


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


I henceforth take Jesus Christ to be mine. I promise to
receive hiMm as a husband to me. And I give myself to him,
unworthy though I am, to be his spouse. I ask of him, in
this marriage of spirit with spirit, that Imay be of the same
mind with him,- meek, pure, nothing in myself, and united in
God's will. And, pledged as Iam to be his, I accept, as a
part of my marriage portion, the temptations and sorrows,
the crosses and the contempt which fell to him.
e Jeanne M. B. De La MJothe Guyon.
Sealed with her ring.
12. This transaction, simple in appearance but carried
through with sincere and earnest solemnity of spirit, was
much blessed to her. From this time onward, she could not
look upon herself as her own, even in that limited and
mitigated sense which often characterizes a high state of
religious experience. She felt that there was a sanctity in
the relation which had thus been voluntarily established,
which it would have been the highest impiety, as it would
have caused the deepest sorrow, ever knowingly to violate.
She had an inward and deeper sense of consecration, both
of body and spirit, such as she had not experienced at any
time before. God himself has condescended to say, speaking of those who constitute his true people, ' I am MARRIED
to them." Jer. iii. 14.
13. In examining the record of her life, I find an incident mentioned without date; but from the connection in
which it appears, I refer it to this period. "My husband,"
she says, "and I, took a little journey together, in which
both my resignation and humility were exercised; yet without
difficulty or constraint, so powerful was the influence of
divine grace. We all of us came near perishing in a river,
which we found it necessary to pass.   The carriage, in
passing through the water, sunk in the moving sand at the
bottom, which rendered our position very dangerous. Oth




OF MADAME GUYON.


141


ers, who were with us, threw themselves out of the carriage,
in excessive fright.  But I found my thoughts so much
taken up with God, that I had no distinct sense of the danger to which we were really exposed. God, to whom my
mind was inwardly drawn, delivered me from the perils to
which we were exposed, with scarcely a thought on my part
of avoiding them. It is true, that the thought of being
drowned passed across my mind, but it caused no other sensation or reflection in me than this, - that I felt quite contented
and willing that it should be so, if it were my heavenly
Father's choice.
14. " It may be said, and perhaps with some reason, that I
was rash in not exhibiting more anxiety, and in not making
greater effort to escape. But I am obliged to add, in justification of myself, that it is better to perish, trusting calmly
in God's providence, than to make our escape from danger,
trusting in ourselves. But what do I say?  When we trust
in God, it is impossible to perish. At least it is so in the
spiritual sense. Trust itself is salvation. It is my pleasure,
my happiness, to be indebted to God for every thing. In
this state of mind, I Cannot fail to be content in the trials
which he sees fit to send upon me. In the spirit of acquiescence in God's will, I would rather endure them all my life
long, than put an end to them in a dependence on myself."





CHAPTER XIII.


Birth of a son. Her religious state at this period, 1673. Death of
Genevieve Granger. Their intimacy with each other. Remarks
on this affiction.  General remarks on worldly attachments
and supports. Her second visit to the city of Orleans. Interview and conversation with a Jesuit. Remarks upon it. Comments on undue spiritual earnestness or spiritual impetuosity.
Writes to a person of distinction and merit for his advice.
Withdraws her request. Result, and remarks upon this incident.
Marks of distinction between the wholly and the partially sanctified mind. Lawsuit. Her conduct in connection with it. Remarks.
ONE of the incidents of the year 1673, to which these
series of events now bring us, was the birth of her fourth
child, a son, whom Providence had given her in the place
of the too much idolized boy, whom she had lost two years
before. This son, who seems to have proved himself worthy
of her affections, grew up to manhood.   But the grace of
God enabled her to love him with that pure and chastened
affection which holds every thing in subordination to the
divine will.
2. At the time of the birth, and during the early period
of the life of this child, she speaks of herself as being th.e
subject of great inward support and consolation. Her feel
ings may perhaps be expressed in the language of the Psalm
ist,- language, which, in various ages of the world, has found
a response in many pious bosoms, " Blessed be the Lord,
because he hath heard the voice of my supplications. The





LIFE, ETC.


143


Lord is my strength and my shield. My heart trusted in
him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices;
and with my song will 1 praise him." *
3. But this season of consolation was succeeded by a
trial unexpected and severe. This was the sickness and
death of her religious friend and confidant, Genevieve Granger.  To this intelligent and pious woman she had often
gone for advice and support, when her way seemed dark,
and when her heart was sorrowful. Many were the hours
which she had passed with her in religious conversation;
and perhaps in some cases she looked to her more, and
relied on her more, than was entirely consistent with a simple
and unwavering dependence on God alone for wisdom and
strength. Perhaps it would not be too much to say, that at
this period, and for some years previous, she regarded her,
in her trials and her want of experience, as almost indispensable. Certain it is, that she repeatedly mentions it as one
of her heavy domestic afflictions, that great efforts were
made to prevent her interviews, - the only worldly consolation which seemed to be left to her, - with this pious
woman.'.4. It increased her affliction, that she was not enabled to
be present with her in her last sickness and at the time of
her death. She was absent at the time, at a place called St.
Reine. Near the close, of the life of the Prioress, some one
spoke to her in relation to Madame Guyon, with the design,
it would seem, of awakening her from a lethargy into which
she had fallen. Her mind rallied at a name so dear, andv
she made the single remark, "I have always loved her in
God and for God."  These were her last words. She died
soon after.
5. "When I received this news," says Madame Guyon,.
*.Ps. xxviii. 6, 7.





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


"1I must confess, that it was one of the most afflicting strokes
which I had ever experienced. I could not help the thought,
that, if I had been with her at the time of her death, I might
have spoken to her, and might have received her last instructions. She had been a great help to me. In some of
my afflictions, it is true, I could not see her. Efforts were
made to prevent it. This was especially the case for a few
months before her death. But still, such was our sympathy of spirit, that the remembrance, - the thought of what
she might have said or done,-was a support to me. The
Lord was merciful, even in this renewed and heavy affliction. He had taught me inwardly, before her death, that my
attachment to her, and my dependence on her, were so great,
that it would be profitable for me to be deprived of her."
But the necessity of this event, considered in its religious
bearings, did not prevent its being keenly painful to nature.
6. Those who experience the crucifixion of nature, in
the full extent of those terms, will find it necessary to die to
all human attachments,- not in the absolute sense, it is true,
because such attachments are undoubtedly right and well in
their place; but it will be necessary to die to them, so far, at
least, as they imply a reliance and confidence in the creature,
which interferes in the least degree with entire reliance upon
God. For wise reasons, therefore, God saw fit to take from
her this prop.
7. "Oh, adorable conduct of my God!" she exclaims.
"There must be no guide, no prop for the person whom
-thou art leading into.-the regions of darkness and death.
There must be no conductor, no support, to the man whomthou art determined to destroy by the entire destruction of"
the natural life."  Every thing upon which the soul rests,
out of God, must be smitten, whether reputation, or property, or health, or symmetry of person, or friends, or father,
or mother, or wife, or husband, or children.





OF MADAME GUYON.


145


8. He, who loses his life, shall find it. Well does she
add, "We are found by being lost; we are saved by being
destroyed; we are built up by being first demolished. Man
erects his inward temple with much industry and care; and
he is obliged to do it with such materials as he has. All
this structure and superstructure, whatever it maiy be and to
whatever extent it may be carried, is a new modeling and
building up of the old Adam. But all this is removed, and
cannot be otherwise than removed and destroyed, when God
comes into the soul, and builds a new and divine temple, - a
temple not made with hands, and of materials which endure
forever. Oh, secrets of the incomprehensible wisdom of God,
unknown to any besides himself and to those whom he has
especially taught, - yet man, who has just begun his existence, wants to penetrate and set bounds to it! Who is it,
that hath known the mind of the Lord, or who hath been his
counsellor? It is a wisdom only to be known through death
to self, which is the same thing as death to every thing that
sets itself up in opposition to the true light."
9. I will here mention an incident of a religious nature,
which seems to be worth noticing.  In the latter part of the
year 1763, she visited the city of Orleans a second time, for
the purpose of being present at the marriage of her brother.
While there, she became acquainted with an individual of
the society of the Jesuits, who exhibited some interest in
hearing the details of her religious experience. She corresponded to this desire, with much vivacity and very fully.
The effort to relate her feelings reacted upon herself, and
gave a high degree of sensible satisfaction, in distinction
from that satisfaction which results solely from the discharge
of duty, - so that she was led to speak of her views and
feelings at much length. This conversation, which to most
persons would have appeared commendable rather than
otherwise, caused her considerable regret afterwards. She
13





146      LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


began to see, that, in the progress of religion, it is not only
necessary to do the right thing, but to do it in the right
spirit. The source of her sorrow was, that she found on
reflection that she had spoken from the life of nature, not
excluding a degree of self-gratulation, which she probably
did not perceive at the time, - and not wholly from a single
eye to God's glory.
10. "I was too forward," she says, " and free in speaking to him of spiritual things, thinking I was doing well;
but I experienced an inward condemnation for it afterwards.
The conversation, in itself considered, might not have been
objectionable; but the manner of it, or rather the inward
spirit of it, was to some degree wrong. And I was so sensible that the spirit of nature, in distinction from the spirit of
grace, dictated in part what I said, and was so afflicted at it,
that I was kept, with divine aid, from falling into the like
fault again. How often do we mistake nature for grace!
Sanctification does not necessarily imply a want of earnestness. Far from it. A holy soul, feeling the importance
of holiness as no other one can, cannot be otherwise than
earnest. But that holy earnestness which comes wholly from
God, is entirely inconsistent with the presence and operation
of all those influences, whatever they may be, which are
separate from God."
11. There is much truth in these views, which we find
here and elsewhere in her writings. There is undoubtedly
such a thing as spiritual forwardness, (perhaps we may call
it religious impetuosity,) which is eminently religious in
appearance, but which is sometimes much less truly and
purely religious than it seems to be. This state of mind is
not, generally speaking, destitute of the religious element;
but it is constituted of the religious element, impelled and
influenced, in a greater or less degree, by the fatural element.
Eminently religious persons, us they go on from one varia




OF MADAME GUYON.


147


tion and degree of inward experience to another, generally
pass through this state at some stage of their experience;
and it is generally a long time before they can perceive
clearly, in opposition to their former views, that it is not the
highest and best state. They learn it after a time. They
perceive, in the result of their inward teachings, that there is
nothing absolutely true and absolutely safe in religion, except what is done in recollection; that is to say, which is
done deliberately, in the clear perception of the object, and
is done conscientiously, in the clear sense of religious duty.
He who acts recollectedly, and only he, can say with confidence, that he acts with a single eye to God's glory.
12. Another incident, which seems to me to indicate her
progress in inward sanctification, may properly be introduced
here. "One day," she says, "laden with sorrow, and not
knowing what to do, I wished to have some conversation
with an individual of distinction and merit, who often came
into our vicinity, and was regarded as a person deeply religious. I wrote him a letter, in which I requested the favor
of a personal interview, for the purpose of receiving from
him some instruction and advice. But reflecting on the
subject, after I had written the letter, it seemed to me that I
had done wrong. The Spirit of God seemed to utter itself
in my heart, and to say, ' What! dost thou seek for ease?
Art thou unwilling to bear the Lord's hand, which is thus
imposed upon you? Is it necessary to be so hasty in throw
ing off the yoke, grievous though it be?'
13. " In this state of mind, I wrote another letter to the
individual whom I have mentioned, in which I withdrew my
request, stating to him that my first letter had been written,
I had reason to fear, without a suitable regard to God's
providence and will, and partly, at least, from the fearful or
selfish suggestions of the life of nature; and as he knew
what it was to be faithful to God, I hoped he would not dis




148        LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
approve of my acting with this Christian simplicity. IL
supposed, from the high reputation which he enjoyed as a
Christian, that he would have appreciated my motives, and
have received this second communication in the Christian
spirit in which I hoped it was written.
14. "1But, to my surprise, hr, did not. On the contrary,
he resented it highly. And I think we may well inquire,
what explanation shall we give of this sort of Christianity?
That this person was religious, in the imperfect or mitigated
sense of the term, I doubt not. He seems to have been
regarded as eminen~tly religious; but it is still true, that his
religion, whatever may have been the degree of it, was
mixed up, pervaded and animated, more or less, on different
occasions, with the life and activities of nature. Certain it
is, that the life of nature, or that life which has self and not
God for its basis, was not wholly slain within him. He
could not say, under all circumstances, I'It is well. Thy will
be done! '"
15. In connection with the conduct of this individual, she
makes some profitable remarks. Referring to the important
results which characterize the experience of what she appropriately terms inward death, she says, that the soul, which
comes out of it in the brightness of the new spiritual resurrection, "1is purified from its selfishness, like gold in the furnace, and finds itself clothed in those dispositions and divine
states which shone in the nature and life of Jesus Christ.
Formerly, although it had submitted itself to God in the
matter of its salvation through Christ, it was still proud of
its own wisdom, and inordinately attached to its own will;
but now, in the crucifixion of nature and in the life of sanctification, it seeks all its wisdom from God, renders obedience
with the simplicity of a little child, and recognizes no will
but God's will. Formerly, selfishly jealous of what it considered its rights, it was ready to take fire on many occasions





OF MADAME GUYON.


149


which presented themselves, however unimportant they might
be; but now, when it comes in conflict with others, it yields
readily and without reluctance. It does not yield, after a
great effort and with pain, as if under a process of discipline,
but naturally and easily. Formerly, even when it could
justly be said to be religious to some extent, it was puffed
up at times with more or less of vanity and self-conceit, but
now, it loves a low place, poverty of spirit, meekness, humiliation. Formerly, although it loved others, it loved itself
more, and placed itself above them; but now, rejoicing
equally in the happiness of others, it possesses a boundless
charity for its neighbor, bearing with his faults and weaknesses, and winning him by love. The rage of the wolf,
which still remained in some degree, and sometimes showed
itself, is changed into the meekness of the lamb."
Such are the accurate terms in which she discriminates
between the Christian life in its ordinary appearance of partial sanctification, and the same life when it becomes a " new
Christ," by experiencing a more full and complete regeneration into the purity, simplicity, and beauty of the divine
image.
16. About this time, a matter occurred which illustrates
her character in other respects. A certain person, whose
name is not given, prompted either by malice or by avarice,
attempted, by false pretences, to extort a large sum of money
from her husband. The claim, which had the appearance
of being one of long standing, was for two hundred thousand
livres, which the claimant pretended was due to him from
Madame Guyon and her brother conjointly. The claimant
was supported in his unjust demand, for what reasons is not
known, by the powerful influence of the king's eldest brother,
the Duke of Orleans. They tampered with her brother,
who was so young and inexperienced as not to understand
the merits of th, case, in such a manner as to obtain his
*.q~





150      LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


signature to certain important papers which were to be used
in the trial. They had given him to understand, that, if
they succeeded in the establishment of their claim, he should
not pay anything.
Madame Guyon felt that a great wrong was about to be
done. Her husband, perplexed by the apparent intricacy
of the affair, or perhaps terrified by the influence of the
Duke of Orleans, was unwilling to contend. And it furnished occasion, without any good reason, for new dissatisfaction with his wife, and for new marks of ill treatment.
When the day of trial came, after her usual religious duties,
in which we may well suppose that she commended this tryi.ng business to divine direction, she says that she felt it her
duty to take the unusual course of going personally to the
judges, and making her representations of the case before
them.
"I was wonderfully assisted," she says, "to understand
and explain the turns and artifices of this business. The
judge whom I first visited, was so surprised to see the affair
so different from what he thought it before, that he himself
exhorted me to see the other judges, and especially the Intendant, or presiding judge, who was just then going to the
Court, and was quite misinformed about the miatter. God
enabled me to manifest the truth in so clear a light, and
gave such power to my words, that the Intendant thanked
me for having so seasonably come to undeceive, and set him
to rights in the affair. He assured me, that, if I had not
taken this course, the cause would have been lost. And as
they saw the falsehood of every statement, they would not
only have refused the plaintiff his claim, but would have
condemned him to pay the costs of the suit, if it had not
been for the position of the Duke of Orleans, who was so far
led astray by the plaintiff, as to lend his name and influence
to the prosecution. In order to save the honor of the prince,





OF MADAME GUYON.


151


it was decided that we should pay to the plaintiff fifty
crowns; so that his claim of two hundred thousand livres
was satisfied by the payment of one hundred and fifty.
Thus moderately and speedily ended an affair, which at one
time appeared very weighty and alarming. My husband
was exceedingly pleased at what I had done."
17. We mention this prosecution and the circumstances
attending it, not merely as an incident which may properly
be regarded as constituting a portion of her life, but as illustrative of character. Independently of the grace of God,
which gave to her character its crowning excellence, we
have in some incidents of this kind an evidence of- what she
was by nature; of her clearness of perception, her firmness
of purpose, and her eloquence. She had a mind, that was
formed by the God who made it to influence other minds.
It was only necessary to see her and to hear her, in order
to feel her ascendency; not an ascendency which was derived from position, but an ascendency which carried its
title in itself; not an ascendency that was assumed, but an
ascendency given.





CHAPTER XIV.


1674. Commencement of her state of privation or desolation.
Her account of it. Method of proceeding, in correctly estimating
this part of her life. Analysis and explanation of the state into
which she had fallen. Joy not religion, but merely an incident
to it. Her remarks on the subject. Advice of Monsieur Bertot
in relation to her state. Unfavorable results. Advice of another
distinguished individual. Unkind treatment which she experienced from him. Correspondence with a Jesuit. Remarks.
IT was in the beginning of the year 1674, (unless perhaps
we should assign it near the close of the preceding year, an
arrangement which finds something in its favor,) that Madame Guyon entered into what she terms her state of privation or desolation. It continued, with but slight variations,
for something more than six years.
2. Her experience at this time was in some respects
peculiar, so much so as to require explanations at some
length, both to make it understood in itself, and to make it in
some degree profitable to others.  " I seemed to myself cast
down," she says, "as it were, from  a throne of enjoyment,
like Nebuchadnezzar, to live among beasts, - a very trying
and deplorable state, when regarded independently of its
relations, and yet exceedingly profitable to me in the end, in
consequence of the use which Divine Wisdom made of it.
Considered in comparison with my former state of enjoyment, it was a state of emptiness, darkness, and sorrow, and
went far beyond any trials I had ever yet met with."
3. In giving an account of this portion. of her life, a





LIFE, ETC.


153


person would be likely to make mistakes, if he proceeded
without a careful comparison of the statements made in
different parts of her writings. If suitable care is taken in
this respect, there will be found to be no difficulty, I think,
in giving a correct view of it. Looking at the subject with
the aids which are thus afforded us, we proceed, therefore,
to say, that the privation or desolation, which she speaks of,
particularly in its incipient state, was not a privation of desire, of hope, and of holy purpose; but of sensible consolations.
The Christian life, in the highest sense of the terms, is a
life of faith. This is generally admitted and understood;
but it does not appear to be equally well understood, that to
live by emotions, to draw our activity and our hope from
sensible joys, is to live by sight rather than by faith. Joy
is not life; but merely an incident of life.
4. God designed to make her his own, in the highest and
fullest sense; he wished her to possess the true life, the life
unmingled with any element which is not true; in other
words, a life which flows directly and unceasingly from the
divine nature. And in order to do this, it became with Him,
if we may so express it, a matter of necessity, that He should
take from her every possible inward support, separate and
distinct from that of unmixed, naked faith. "We walk by
faith," says the apostle, " and not by sight." 2d Cor. v. 6, 7.
And again, " The life which I now live in the flesh, I live
by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave
himself for me." Galat. ii. 20.
5. Accordingly, He so ordered it in his providences, that
those inward consolations, which had hitherto supported her
so much in her trials, should be taken away; except those
which are based upon the exercise of pure or simple belief
in the divine word and character. The joys which arise
from this source, although they may temporarily be perplexed and diminished by counteracting influences, arise by





154


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


a necessary and unchangeable law, and can never fail to
exist. But a large portion of her inward consolations, as is
generally the case at this period of religious experience,
arose from other causes and in other ways, connected in
some respects and to some extent, it is probable, with the
faith she possessed, but not directly based upon it. All this
God saw fit to take away. And not making the proper distinctions in the case, and estimating her situation more by
what she had lost than by what she retained, it seemed to
her, that all peace, that all consolation, whatever cause or
source it might arise from, was gone. So far as joy was
concerned, her heart was desolate.
6. And this was not all. In this state of things, she committed the great mistake of looking upon the absence of joy
as evidence of the absence of the divine favor. After mentioning that she was left without friends and other sources
of consolation, she adds, "to complete my distress, I seemed
to be left without God himsey, who alone could support me
in such a distressing state." That is to say, if I rightly
understand her meaning, finding that her joys were gone,
which had been as a sort of sunlight to her soul, she drew
the conclusion, that God was gone. I am ready to concede
that the mistake was an easy and perhaps a natural one, but
it was none the less a mistake; a mistake vital in its principle and terrible in its consequences.  The reader will
notice, that since the time she had consecrated herself to the
Lord to be wholly his, in the full and absolute sense of the
terms, God had been pursuing a course which was wisely
adapted to secure her whole heart to himself. He had tried
her sometimes in one direction and sometimes in another,
and through grace had found her faithful. But during all
these trials it will be noticed that she was sustained, with
the exception of a few short intervals, by inward consolations. There wag, generally speaking, a high state of pleas




OF MADAME GUYON.


155


ant and frequently of joyous emotionality. So that, instead
of living upon " every word which proceeds from  God's
mouth," in other words, instead of living upon God's will,
which, more appropriately than anything else, may be
called angels' food, and which, whatever may be thought
to the contrary, is and can be the only true bread of life, she
was living upon her consolations. Strange it is, that we find
it so difficult to perceive, that the joys of God are not God
himself.
7. It is true, undoubtedly, that we may enjoy the will of
God in the joys of God; that is to say, while we may take
a degree of satisfaction in the consolations themselves, we
may rejoice in them chiefly and especially as indicative of
the divine will. But in the earlier periods of Christian experience, we are much more apt to rejoice in our joys, than
to rejoice in the God of our joys. The time had come, in
which God saw it necessary to take away this prop on which
she was resting, in some degree at least, without knowing it.
She could love God's will, trying though it often was to
her natural sensibilities, when it was sweetened with consolations. But she was now called to endure another and a
deeper trial. The question now proposed to her was, whether
she could love God's will, when standing, as it were, alone,
when developing itself as the agent and minister of divine
providences which were to be received, endured, and rejoiced
in, in all their bitterness, simply because they were from God.
8. This was a question, which, under the circumstances
of the case, could not well be tested, except in connection
with that state of inward aridity, to which we have referred;
a state, which, in itself considered, cannot properly be designated as painful and still less as condemnatory, but which
is sometimes described as a lifeless or dead state; that is
to say, dead, not in the sense of being without religion, but
dead in respect to a particular kind or class of emotions; a





156


IFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


state which is without life in the sense of its being unemo.
tional." In other words, joyous emotions have either ceased
to exist, or their natural results are overruled by influences
originating in feelings of a different character. God's hand
is in this result; and it is well that it should be so. As
men may make a God of their own intellect, by being proud
of their intellect; or may make a God of their own will, by
being proud of their will; so they may make a God of their
joyous emotions, by taking a wrongly placed pleasure in
them. And just so far as this is the case, it is proper for
God, in the exercise of his gracious administration, to take
away such emotions.   He turns their channels back; he
smites our earthly delights, and opens the sources of providential sorrow, and overwhelms them, and they disappear.
And in doing this, he does not take away men'~ religion, but
rather takes away an idol; or if that term be too strong, he
certainly takes away that, whatever we may name it, which
perplexes and injures religion.
9. But this is a subject, which involves so nice an analysis of the mental operations, that I think we may properly
delay upon it a moment longer. When we speak of the
necessity of an inward life, which is separate in its foundation or basis from emotions, we do,not mean all emotions.
We have particular reference, as the reader may have already noticed, to joyous emotions; and we do not mean all
of them. We ought to add, therefore, in order not to be
misunderstood, that the emotions which may safely and
sometimes profitably be taken away, are emotions in the
wrong place; and this remark will be the better understood,
when we add further, that religion, considered in its element
or foundation principle, consists in faith in God and in those
desires and purposes which naturally flow out of such faith.
This is the true religious life.
10. Emotions (we speak now of joyous emotions, and not





OF MADAME GUYON.


157


of any other) are the incidents or attendants of this life, and
not the life itself; and accordingly all those joyous emotions
which precede the life, are not the life, although sometimes
mistaken for it. Faith, at least, must go before. Whenever
we have pleasant emotions in God, before we have faith in
God, it must be a God of our own making; such an one as
those false gods that are described by the Psalmist, " the
work of men's hands," * and who are as feeble as those who
trust in them; and we build, therefore, upon a sandy foundation. And whenever such emotions, (those which go
before faith, and also those which are not founded upon it,)
interfere with, and perplex the life of faith, God acts wisely
and kindly in taking them from us.
11. We hope we shall not be understood, in these re
marks, as denying or doubting the existence of true Christian
joy. Certain it is, that there are true joys, joys which God
approves, joys of faith as well as other joys. And we may
add, I think, with great confidence, that these joys exist by
a necessary law. He, who has faith, has the joys of faith;
and what is more, he cannot help having them. And not
only this, he may justly regard them as an evidence or
sign of a good religious state.  And as such a sign he
may rejoice in his joys, as well as in the object of his
joys, if he will be careful to do it cautiously and wisely. I repeat, that we may properly and safely make the
joys of faith a distinct subject of contemplation, and may
rejoice in them to some extent, as a sign of that, whatever
it is, which is the foundation or basis of them, - namely, the
thing signified or substance. But whenever by an inward
process, which not unfrequently exists, although it is difficult
to explain it, we rejoice in the joys of faith in themselves, and
not as a sign, instead of rejoicing in the objects of faith, such
* Ps. cxv. 4- 8.
14





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


as God, God's inherent goodness and holiness, God's promise, and the like, caring in reality nothing about God and his
approbation, but only about the happiness he gives, thus
placing the gifts before the GIVER, our experience is entirely
upon a wrong track, and will result soon, if it continue thus,
in the destruction of faith itself.
12. In the case of Madame Guyon, it is very true, that
the joys of faith, sometimes more and sometimes less, remained with her amid all her trials.  But the joy which
she took in her joy, in distinction from the joy which she
took in the God of her joy, and also all other joys which
were not founded in faith, and which she rested in instead
of God, who is the great object of faith, were taken away.
And so great was the change, although ordered in the greatest mercy on the part of God, that she seemed to be like
one smitten, cast out, and hopelessly desolate; like Nebuchadnezzar, as she expresses it, who was suddenly deprived
of his power and his glory and dwelt among the beasts of
the field. Sad condition, as it seemed to her; and in some
respects, undoubtedly, it was very trying. Especially when
she regarded it as an evidence, as she did, that she had committed some aggravated sins, although she did not understand what they were, and that God was displeased with her
on account of them. Having lost her consolations, she supposed, as we have already intimated, that she had lost all.
Not being happy, or at least not being so happy as she had
been, she concluded that she was not a Christian, or at least
not so much a Christian as she had been. And this impression reacted upon her own mind, and rendered her more
unhappy still, and tended to increase the sad conviction, that
she had in some manner grievously offended God.
13. She herself subsequently understood this. "I have
learned," she says, in words to this effect, "from this season
of deprivation, that the prayer of the heart, the earnest





OF MADAME GUYON.


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desire and purpose of the soul, to be and to do what the
Lord would have us, - when, in consequence of not being
attended with excited and joyous emotion, it appears most dry
and barren, - is nevertheless not ineffectual in its results,
and is not to be regarded as a prayer offered in vain. And
all persons would assent to this, if they would only remember, that God, in answering such a prayer, gives us what is
best for us, thoAgh not what in our ignorance we most relish
or wish for. If people were but convinced of this great
truth, far from complaining all their life long, they would
regard the situation in which God sees fit to place them, as
best suited to them, and would employ it faithfully in aiding
the process of inward crucifixion. And hence the afflictive
incidents attending upon such a situation, in causing us inward death, would procure the true life. It is a great truth,
wonderful as it is undeniable, that all our happiness, temporal, spiritual, and eternal, consists in one thing, namely, in
resigning ourselves to God, and in leaving ourselves with
Him, to do with us and in us just as he pleases.
14. "When we arrive at this state of entire and unrestricted dependence on God's Spirit and providence, we
shall then fully realize, that what we experience is just
what we need, and that if God is truly good, he could not
do otherwise than he does. All that is wanting is, to leave
ourselves faithfully in God's hands, submitting always and
fully to all his operations, whether painful or otherwise.
The soul must submit itself to be conducted, from moment to
moment, by the divine hand; and to be annihilated, as it
were, by the strokes of His providence without complaining,
or desiring anything besides what it now has. If it would
only take this course faithfully, God would be unto it, not
only eternal Life, but eternal Truth. We should be guided
into the truth, so far as it might be necessary for us,





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although we might not fully understand the method of its
being done.
15. " But the misfortune," she adds, " is, that people wish
to direct God, instead of resigning themselves to be directed
by him. They wish to take the lead, and to follow in a way
of their own selection, instead of submissively and passively
following where God sees fit to conduct them. And hence
it is, that many souls, who are called to the enjoyment of
God himself, and not merely to the gifts of God, spend all
their lives in pursuing and in feeding on little consolations;
resting in them as in their place of delights, and making
their spiritual life to consist in them."
16. These remarks were written many years after the
period of her life, to which our attention is now particularly
directed; written, it would seem, to her surviving children,
after she had been the subject of persecution and of imprisonment for the Gospel's sake. And this explains what immediately follows. " For you, my dear children," she adds,
"if my chains and my imprisonment any way afflict you, I
pray that they may serve to engage you to seek nothing but
God for himself alone, and never to desire to possess him
but by the death of your whole selves. Never, as the children of God, seek to be anything in your own ways and life;
but rather to enter into the most profound nothingness."
17.- But at this time, as I have said, all seemed to her to
be gone. And what had a tendency to confirm her the
more in these desponding views, was the course taken by
some individuals, in whose opinions in respect to her religious state, she naturally placed a considerable degree of
confidence. I refer in this remark, in part, to the mistaken
but well meant course of Monsieur Bertot, a man of learning and piety, whom, in accordance with the practice of her
church, and at the suggestion of her friend, Genevieve
Granger, she had some time before selected as her spiritual





OF MADAME GUYON.


161


Director. It was proper, therefore, that she should consult
him. She went to Paris for this purpose, where he resided:
But embarrassed by the peculiarity of her situation, he seems
to have mistaken almost entirely its true nature. His advice
was, if we correctly understand the statements made on the
subject, that she should begin anew her religious efforts by
practising those incipient methods of religious reading and
prayer, which were calculated to make a religious impression,
just as if she had either not known what religion was, or
did not now possess it.
18. This advice she was not disposed to receive, because
there was something in her which seemed to tell her, that it
was mistaken advice, and was not applicable to her case.
The consequence was, that Bertot, who was a conscientious
man, thinking that some other person might be more judicious, or more successful, as her spiritual counsellor, wrote
to her that he wished to resign the office which he sustained
as her Director. This course, on the part of one in whom
she had so much confidence, made a deep and unfavorable
impression on the mind of Madame Guyon. She says, "I
had no doubt that God had revealed to him, that I had become a transgressor; and that he regarded the state of
inward aridity and desolation into which I had fallen, as a
certain mark of my reprobation."
19. She mentions another individual, who, if we may
judge from some intimations which are connected with this
reference to him, was probably one of the sect or party of
the Jansenists; a party which at that time possessed much
influence in France; and which, as it well deserved to be,
has since been historically celebrated. " He was a man,"
she says, " who held a high position in the church; polite in
his manners, obliging in his temper, and who had a good
share of talent."  Pleased with Madame Guyon, and desirous to bring her into harmony with himself on some points
14*





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


of religious doctrine in which they seem to have differed,
he often visited her house. This intimacy was after a time
broken off, and he added himself to the number of those,
who at this time formed and expressed unfavorable opinions
in regard to her state.
20. "The inability," she says, "I was now in, in consequence of my discouragements and depression, of doing
those exterior acts of charity I had done before, served this
person with a pretext to publish that it was owing to him,
and under his influence and advice that I had formerly done
them. Willing to ascribe to himself the merit of what God
alone by his grace had enabled me to do, he went so far as
to make a distinct allusion to me in his sermons, as one who
had once been a bright pattern in religious things to others,
but now had lost my interest in them, and had become a
scandal. I myself have been present at such times, and
what he said, noticed and understood as it was by others,
was enough to weigh me down with confusion. I received
what he said, however, with submission and patience, believing as I did that God was offended with me, and that I
abundantly merited much worse treatment.
21. "Confused, like a criminal, that dares not lift up his
eyes, I looked upon the virtue of others with respect. I
could see more or less of goodness in those around me, but
in the obscurity and sorrow of my mind I could seem to see
nothing good, nothing favorable in myself. When others
spoke a word of kindness, and especially if they happened
to praise me, it gave a severe shock to my feelings, and I
said in myself, they little know my miseries; they little
know the state from which I have fallen. And on the contrary, when any spoke in terms of reproof and condemnation, I agreed to it as right and just.
22. "It is true, that nature wanted to free herself from
this abject condition, but could not find out any way. If I





OF MADAME GUYON.


163


made an effort, if I tried to make an outward appearance of
righteousness by the practice of some good thing, my heart
in secret rebuked me as guilty of hypocrisy, in wanting to
appear what I was not. And God, who thought it best that
I should suffer, did not permit any thing of this kind to succeed. Oh, how excellent are the crosses of Providence.
All other crosses are of no value.
23. "I was often very ill and in danger of death; and
darkness brooded upon the future as well as upon the
present; so that I knew not how to prepare myself for that
change, which sometimes seemed near at hand. Some of
my pious friends wrote to me, requesting an explanation of
some things, which the gentleman, whom I have mentioned,
spread abroad concerning me; but I had no heart to justify
myself, and did not undertake to do it, although I knew myself innocent of unfavorable things which were said. One
day being in great desolation and distress, I opened the New
Testament, and chanced to meet with these words, which for
a little time gave me some relief. My grace is sufficientfor
thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness."
24. Even the pious Franciscan, whom God had employed
as an instrument in effecting the great moral and religious
change, which she experienced in the year 1668, was perplexed about her case, and was incapable of giving her any
profitable advice. With this individual she had for the past
five or six years kept up an occasional correspondence at
his request. In this season of her inward deprivation and
sorrow, of which he had learnt the particulars, she received
from him a letter which tended to increase the discouragement she already experienced, and to add keenness to her
pangs.
25. Another individual, a member of the religious association of the Jesuits, who had formerly held her piety in high
estimation, " wrote to me," she says, " in a similar strain."





164


LIFE, ETC.


" No doubt," she adds, in the spirit of that invaluable habit
which she had of referring all things to God, " it was by the
divine permission, that they thus contributed to complete
my desolation. Discovering in their letters kind feelings, I
thanked them in my reply to their communications, for the
Christian and friendly interest which they had taken in me,
and commended myself to their prayers. It was painful to
be thus unfavorably estimated by those who had the reputation of being people of piety; but there was a greater pain,
which, on the principle of contrast, made this pain appear to
be less. I refer to the deep sorrow I had experienced in
connection with the thought of having displeased God."
26. These facts, illustrative of the opinions of others in
relation to her spiritual state, show us, how little dependence
we can safely place on mere human judgments. On the
principle on which these persons judged Madame Guyon,
what would have been thought of hundreds and thousands
of Christians, the most eminent for their devotedness to God,
who have been inwardly and outwardly afflicted? What
would have been thought of the Saviour himself, persecuted,
buffeted, amazed, weeping, and dying on the cross? We
ought not to forget, that here on earth Christianity is on the
battle-field of its trials, - trials which are often doubtful in
their issue, - and not in the victorious repose of the New
Jerusalem. It may conquer, it is true; and it may "enter
into rest;" but this does not imply, that the enemy will not
renew the contest, and that the rest will not be disturbed.
We conquer in our armor; and here on earth at least, we
must rest, so far as rest is given us, with our armor on.





CHAPTER XV.


Events of the year, 1676. Sickness of her husband. His traits of
character. Affecting incident resulting in their mutual reconciliation. His pious dispositions near the close of his life. His
death.  Occupied in the settlement of her estate.  Chosen as
judge or arbiter in a lawsuit. Result. Reference to her inward
dispositions. Separation from her mother-in-law. Remarks.
THIS state of things had continued for nearly two
years. Years do not pass, nor even days, without their
character and their incidents; and generally the incidents
which help to characterize them, are very various in their
aspect; sometimes bright with joy, but not less frequently
stained and dark with sorrow.
The physical infirmities of her husband increased; and it
seemed to be obvious, that the end of his'life was rapidly
approaching. We shall delay upon him for a few sentences;
and shall have occasion to speak of him no more.
2. He seems to have been a man of considerable powers
of intellect, of energy of character, and of strong passions.
He was too high-spirited and proud, not to be jealous of his
own rights, and of his personal position and influence. He
both loved and hated strongly; but both his love and his
hatred were characterized by sudden alternations of feeling,
which can be explained, in part, in connection with that trait
of quicksighted jealousy, which has been mentioned. His
feelings towards his wife were of a mixed character. She
says of him expressly, notwithstanding the trials she expe,





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


rienced at his hand, " he loved me much. When I was sick
he was inconsolable." And she adds, making an exception
undoubtedly of certain individuals, who had insidiously obtained a control over him, "whenever he heard of other
persons having made unfavorable remarks in relation to me,
he felt it keenly, and expressed himself in terms of exceeding indignation. And I have great confidence, if it had not
been for the unpropitious influence of his mother and the
maid-servant whom I have mentioned, we should have been
very happy in each other. Faults he had undoubtedly.
And most men, I suppose, have some defects of character,
some undue passions; and it is the duty of a reasonable
woman to bear them peaceably, without irritating them by
unkind or unsuitable opposition." *
3. That he loved her, therefore, there can be no doubt.
But his affection, which was marked and passionate, was
modified by a sense of intellectual inferiority, as compared
with his wife in that 'respect, which was humbling to his
pride. This, probably, was one source of irritation. Add
to this the disparity of their age, and the benevolence of
heart which characterized the one, and the habits of parsimony and acquisition, bordering perhaps upon avarice, which
seemed to characterize the other. Again, the one was religious, a seeker of religion when she married, and soon afterwards a possessor of it. The other was without religion
in experience, although he seems always to have had some
respect for it. The one loved God, the other loved the
world. It is not surprising, therefore, that his mother, a
woman of art and energy, availing herself of these sources
of distrust and repugnance, should have been successful in
diminishing his affections for his wife, and for some short
periods of time, in totally perverting them.
* La Vie de Madame Guyon, ch. 6.





OF MADAME GUYON.


167


4. When left to himself, he acknowledged and felt his
wife's ascendency. His pride in her, when it was permitted
to take that direction, added strength to his affection; and
at such times he gave no ground of complaint by withholding
the testimonies of confidence and love. But exposed as he
was to powerful influences, constantly operating upon that
spirit of jealousy which seems to have been a strong characteristic, he was at times less true to duty and affection than
he would otherwise have been. And on some occasions,
driven to a sort of madness of exasperation, originating from
the sources of influence which have been mentioned, combined with the goadings of physical suffering, he was unjust
and cruel in a high degree. But it is some satisfaction to
know, that he had perception enough,left, and love enough
left, to estimate and acknowledge the wrong in his better
moments.   It was at such a time, and in such a spirit,
that he made some conciliatory remarks to her some years
before, in his journey to St. Reine. "He appeared very
desirous," she says, "of having me attend him, and was not
willing to have any other besides me. And he made the
remark, referring to those who had afflicted me, if they
were not in the habit of speaking against you, I should be
be more satisfied and easy, and you would be more happy."
5. As the clouds were gathering over him, and the sun
of his life seemed about to be setting, Madame Guyon felt
that she could no longer consistently or rightly submit to an
interference even on the part of one, who sustained the relation of his mother, which had been attended with such unhappy results. She asserted her rights with dignity and
decision, as she might have done without any failure of propriety at a much earlier period. Feeling that at this solemn
crisis there should be a full reconciliation between herself
and her husband, and that what remained of life to them





168      LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


should be spent in a different manner, uninfluenced and
unmarred by others, she approached the matter of their
differences, not merely in the spirit of a woman and a wife,
but in that also of a Christian.
6. "I took some favorable opportunity," she says, "and
drawing near his bed, I kneeled down; and admitting in
what I said to him, that I probably had done things which
had displeased him, I assured him, however, that I had not
wronged him in any case deliberately and intentionally.
And, for whatever I had done amiss, under whatever circumstances, I now begged his pardon. He had just awoke
from  a sound sleep.  Strong emotions appeared deeply
marked upon his countenance, as I uttered these words.
He said to me, 'It is I who have done wrong rather than
yourself. It is I who beg your pardon. I did not deserve
you.' "
7. He seems from this time to have had his eye fully
open to the arts which had been practised upon him. He
felt that he, who assumes the responsibility of coming between husband and wife, and of disturbing their happiness
by alienating their affections, does an evil not more terrible
in its results, than it is malicious and morally reprehensible
in its character. It was her privilege to watch at his bedside during the remainder of his days; to wipe away the
drops of anguish from his brow; and to speak words of
Christian consolation to his dying heart. And she did this,
when her own soul was inwardly tried by the deepest fears
and sorrows.
8. It is hardly necessary to say, that this kindness of
attention, and these instructions and advice must have been
no small privilege to a man in his situation. It is true,
that she advanced much afterwards in the knowledge of the
Scriptures and in Christian experience; but even at this





OF MADAME GUYON.


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time, and with all the perplexities and sorrows which
weighed down her own mind, there can be no doubt, that
her sympathy, her advice, and her prayers were of unspeakable value. On a dying couch, when it is emphatically true
that we live not by bread alone, but by spiritual nourishment, by the Word, and by the consolations of the Holy
Ghost, such a friend and adviser may justly be regarded as
a special gift of Heaven.
9. For twenty-four days immediately preceding his death,
she scarcely left his bed-side. The alleviation of physical
suffering was not the only result of her watchings and labors.
God was pleased to bless them also to his spiritual good.
In his last days, - important days to him, --when all
earthly prospects grew dark, the light of religion began to
open its dawning in the soul. In the mild radiance of that
light, feeble though it was, because it was in its beginning,
he died.  He was resigned and patient in his sickness;
and died, so far as could be judged, in the exercise of truly
Christian dispositions, after having received the sacramental
element in a humble and edifying manner. His death took
place on the morning of the 21st of July, 1676. "I was not
present," she says, when he expired. "Out of tenderness to
me, he had requested me to retire."
10. It was thus that her own person had been smitten;
and that within a few years she had seen her beloved son
and daughter taken from her, and her father and her husband also, after short intervals of time, laid in the grave.
And she was a woman whose heart, from its first young beat
to its dying throb, gushed out with sensibility. This was
one of the marked traits of her character, which existed
naturally almost in excess. No daughter loved her parents
more tenderly than she did; no mother possessed more
depth and sacredness of maternal affection; no wife appreciated more fully the sacred nature and the value of the





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


conjugal relation. But of those who sustained these invaluable relations, how many were gone! Like summer flowers,
or like leaves of autumn, they had fallen on her right hand
and left. She stood alone; smitten within as well as without; and without a single friend to console her. But did
she repine? Did she indulge in a murmuring spirit?
1.1. In all this we do not hesitate to repeat again, that it
tould be said of her, as it was said of the ancient Patriarch,
who was tried by a long series of outward and inward afflictions, "in all this she sinned not, nor charged God foolishly."
Or if these expressions should be regarded by any as
too strong, they can be applied, in some approximated sense
at least. So far from complaining and rebelling, she knew
well the hand of the Lord; and her soul did not hesitate a
moment to bow in submission before it. It was not the
sullenness of despair, which yields because it cannot do
otherwise; but the calmness of Christian submission and
hope. She could say with the Psalmist, in allusion to the
ties of earth which had been separated, however painful the
process was to the natural affections, "0, Lord, truly I am
thy servant; lIam thy servant, and the son of thy handmaid;
thou hast loosened my bonds; I will oqfer to thee the sacrifice
of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord." *
This was the passage of Scripture, she informs us, which
particularly occurred to her mind in connection with these
events. She knew, whatever trials might exist here, that
there was a hidden mercy concealed beneath them; and that
a rest, pure and permanent, remains for the people of God.
12. She was twenty-eight years of age, when she was
thus left a widow; having been married twelve years and
four months. Having buried two of her children at an early
period of their lives, she was now left, at the commencement
* Ps. cxvi. 16, 17.





OF MADAME GUYON.


171


of her widowhood, with three others; the two sons, who have
already been mentioned, and an infant daughter, born but a
few months before the death of her husband. This daughter, who was given her to take the place of that earlier and
lost one, whom she so dearly loved and so deeply lamented,
grew up to womanhood, and became by marriage the
Countess of Vaux. Her husband was son of the celebrated
comptroller, Fouquet, of whom we have some notice in
Voltaire's Life of Louis Fourteenth, and who is frequently
mentioned in the writers of that period.
13. God may be regarded, in a special sense, as the friend
and father of the widow and the orphan. Many are the
passages of Scripture, which express the deep interest he
takes in those who are in this trying situation. " The Lord,"
says the Psalmist, " preserveth the stranger, and relieveth
the fatherless and the widow." * True, indeed, it was, that
the aspects of Providence, in many respects, were dark
before her, both within and without. But it is equally true,
that God did not desert her; and that, in his goodness, which
does not " willingly grieve and afflict the children of men,"
he could not desert her, in her new and sorrowing state.
Nor, on the other hand, though she was sometimes heavily
tempted, could it be said with propriety or truth, that she
deserted God. She could say with the apostle, " We are
troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed,
but not in despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down
but not destroyed. Always bearing about in the body the
dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be
manifest in our body." t  Unshaken in her Christian integrity, true to the altar of sacrifice on which she had placed
herself, her first and great inquiry now, as it had been in
times past, was, " Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do"?


* Ps. cxlvi. 9.


t 2d Cor. iv. 8, 9, 10.





172        LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
She seemed to have an inward conviction, that the time
had nearly come in God's providence, when she would be
enabled to devote herself exclusively to the cause of religion. But she knew that God does not require of us duties
which are contradictory in their nature; and that her first
cares and labors, under the existing circumstances, were
especially due to her family.
14. The administration of a large estate devolved, in a
considerable degree, upon herself; a duty to which she did
not consider it inconsistent with religious obligation to give
all suitable attention. This was the first business to which
Providence, whose indications she regarded with great care,
seemed to lead her. She says, 11I had received no training
in matters of business, and was in a great degree ignorant
of them. But being called in the divine providence to attend
to this matter, I received from God that strength and wisdom, which were necessary for the occasion. I believe that
I omitted nothing, which it was necessary or proper for me
to do. I arranged all my husband's papers; I paid all the
legacies which he required to be paid; and did all without
assistance' from any one, excepting always that divine assistance, which God never failed to give me, whenever he imposed any special burden."
15. "1My husband," she adds, "1had a large amount of
writings and papers of various kinds left with him, to which
other persons had a right. These also required my attention. I took an exact inventory of them; and had them
sent severally to their owners, which, without divine assistance, would have been very difficult for me; because, my
husband having been a long time sick, everything was in the
greatest confusion.  This circumstance, whichi naturally
arrested the attention of the persons to whom the papers
were sent, gained me the reputation of a woman of skill in
business, a reputation to which I regarded myself as having





OF MADAME GUYON.


173


but very little claims. Another affair, which occurred at
this time, added to this favorable impression."
16. The affair to which she alludes, was the following.
There were a number of persons in the neighborhood where
her husband resided, who fell into a dispute in relation to a
piece of property. And not being able to settle the difficulty among themselves, they chose, rather than to bring it
before the courts, to refer it to him for his decision. As
he was acquainted with most of these persons, and had a
particular esteem for some of them, he took charge of the
business, although it was not very appropriate to his situation and his mental habits. There were no less than twentytwo persons more or less concerned in this affair, which
rendered it one of considerable delicacy and perplexity.
Either for want of time, or distrusting his ability to settle
the dispute alone, he employed some persons skilled in the
law, to assist him in the examination of the papers, which
were laid before him, and to aid him in forming a just
opinion. It was at this stage of the business that he died.
17. "After his death," she says, "I sent for the persons
who were concerned, and proposed, as I had done in other
cases, to return them their papers. They were troubled.
They anticipated the greatest evils, and perhaps the ruin of
some of their number, if a settlement of the difficulties could
not be had. In this state of things they proposed to me to
take the place of my deceased husband, and to act as judge
between them. A proposition, apparently so impracticable
and absurd, could not have been entertained for a moment,
had it not been for the urgency and the real necessities of the
parties concerned. This gave to the proposition the aspect
of a Christian duty. I laid it before the Lord; and relying
on His strength and wisdom, felt it my duty to try. I found
it necessary to give my mind fully to the business, which I
had thus, as it seemed to me with the divine approbation,
15 *





174      LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


voluntarily assumed. And accordingly, laying aside all
other business, I shut myself up in my closet about thirty
days, not going out at all except to my meals and to religious worship. All this time was necessary, in order to
understand the merits of the case. I at length completed
the examination, formed my final opinion upon the subject,
and drew it up in writing. The parties were summoned
together; and without reading it or knowing what my
decision was, they accepted it and signed it. I afterwards
learned that they were so well pleased with what I had
done, that they not only commended it much, but published
it abroad everywhere. The hand of the Lord was in it. It
was God who gave me wisdom. So ignorant was I then,
and so ignorant am I now, of affairs of this nature, that when
I hear persons conversing about them, it appears to me like
Arabic."
18. At this period, and during a number of succeeding
years, her life, considered in its outward relations, was retired, domestic, and in many respects quiet. The time had
not come, which was destined to open to her the path of
more public duty. Inwardly she was still desolate. In what
sense this remark is to be understood, we have already
explained. She was without that experience of inward joy
which had once supported her. But in saying that she had
lost her joy, we do not mean to say that she had lost her
God. She was desolate to the eye of sense only, and not
to the eye of faith. But this she did not as yet understand.
To her the desolation appeared complete. Her sorrow was
unappeasable. But though it seemed to her that God had left
her, she acknowledged fully the rectitude of all His dealings,
and felt that she could not leave Him. She followed him in
tears; like the Samaritan woman, whose faith the Saviour tried
so keenly by calling her, by implication at least, in the exclusive and r'ade form of expression, which the Jews applied to





OF MADAME GUYON.


175


the people of other nations, a dog; and who gave the memorable answer, which the same Saviour has left on record
for the world's admiration in all coming time, "Truth, Lord;
yet the dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their master's
table." *
19. After the death of her husband, she made some
attempts towards a reconciliation with her mother-in-law.
On the following Christmas day, in particular, she approached her, and said to her with much affection, "My
mother, on this day was the King of Peace born. He came
into the world to bring peace to us. I beg peace of you in
his name."  But her stern heart was unmoved. Or, if it
were otherwise, she would not let it appear. The question
then arose, whether she should leave her. A number of
persons in whom she placed confidence, advised her earnestly to do it, believing as they did that she had already
suffered enough from that source. She had doubts about it.
She was fearful of offending God by desiring to throw off a
cross, heavy though it was, which it seemed to her that
Divine Wisdom imposed upon her. Undoubtedly she was
correct.  But the same Providence, which imposed this
cross upon her, in its own time removed it. In the winter
of 1677, the winter following the death of her husband, and
a few wedks after the conversation to which we have just
now referred, her mother-in-law gave her notice, in express
terms, that they could no longer live together.
20. 1" This," says Madame Guyon, " was fairly giving me
my discharge. My scruples were now removed. I took
measures to retire from the house where we had resided
together, as quietly as possible, as I did not wish to give
occasion for surmises and evil remarks. During the period
of my widowhood thus far, I had not made any visits,
* Mat. xv. 27





176


LIFE, ETC<.


except such as were of pure necessity and charity. I did
not wish to speak of my troubles to others, or to make them
known in any way.  God had taught me to go to him alone.
There is nothing, which makes nature die so deeply and so
quickly, as to find and to seek no earthly support, no earthly
consolation. I went out, therefore, from my mother-in-law
in silence. In winter, in the cold of mid winter, when it
was difficult to obtain suitable accommodations elsewhere, I
went out to seek another habitation, with my three surviving
children, and my little daughter's nurse."
21. We leave her mother-in-law here. The Scripture
says in language, which has a true and mighty meaning to
the holy heart, "Judge not, that ye be not judged."  There is
a God above us, who is not ignorant of those weaknesses,
temptations, and sorrows, existing in every heart, which are
known to him only. Until we have the attribute of omniscience,
which is requisite for a perfectly just judgment, let us never
condemn others, however defective their characters may be,
without leaving a large place for pity and forgiveness. Such,
I think, were obviously the feelings of Madame Guyon in
relation to this unhappy matter. "For more than twelve
years her mother-in-law had embittered her domestic life.
But she did not fail to recognize the hand of the Lord in
it. She was led to see, that God, who accomplishes his
purposes by instruments, made use of the jealousy and fierceness of her mother's temper to humble and purify her own
lofty spirit. God educed her good out of another's evil. It
was a mystery which she could adore and love, although she
could not fully understand it. She went out, therefore, in
silence; with tears, but without rebukes.





CHAPTER XVI.


Her outward charities. Incident illustrative of her benevolence.
Her interest in the education of her children. Attempts to
improve her own education. Study of the Latin language. Continuance of her sad state of inward desolation. Her temptations.
Writes to La Combe. Receives a favorable answer. July 22d,
1680, the day of her deliverance and of the triumph of sanctifying grace, after nearly seven years.of inward privation. Reference to her work, entitled the Torrents. Remarks. Poem illustrative of her state, translated by Cowper.
ESTABLISHED once more in her own residence, with her
little family around her, she lived a life more retired than
ever.  "I went," she says, "after no fine sights or recreations. When others went, I staid at home.      I wanted to
see and know nothing but Jesus Christ. My closet, where
I could contemplate on divine things, was my only diversion.
The queen of France was at one time in my neighborhood;
but my mind was so taken up with other things, that she
had not attraction enough to draw me out with the multitude
to see her."
2. But retirement from the world is not necessarily retiremeni from duty. In her state of widowhood and of
seclusion from wordly society, she did not cease to sympathize with the poor and the afflicted. Her own heart was
desolate; but it was not in the power of her personal afflictions to make her forget, that others also had their sorrows.
As she turned her mind upon her own situation, and as she





178       LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
looked upon her fatherless children, she remembered the
widow and the orphan. Still she gives us to understand,
that she had less energy and made less effort in works of
outward benevolence than at some former periods. But it
is proper to add, that this diminished degree of external
activity, so far as it existed, (which certainly was not to a
very great extent,) was not owing to a change of principle
or a want of pity; but is to be ascribed partly to feebleness
of health, and partly to that state of inward desolation, of
which we have spoken. Her strength, not only her physical
vigor but her energy of purpose, was in some degree broken;
but the true life, which burns without being consumed, still
remained in it. Anud if in her weakness she was unable to
do all that might have been desired, I think it can be said
with truth, in the language which the Saviour applied to the
woman, who poured the ointment of spikenard on his head,
that she "1did what she could." *
3. One day she relates, that one of the domestics connected with the family came in, and told her that there was
a poor soldier, lying in the public road, sick, and apparently
unable to help himself. She gave orders, that he should be
brought in. He was one of those wrecks of humanity, ragged, unclean, and debased, who appear to be without. home,
and without friends, and whom no one pities but that God
who watches all men, and who inspires pity in the hearts of
those who are like himself. For fifteen days she watched
over him personally, with all the care and assiduity of a
mother or sister; performing offices which, independently of
the principle of benevolence which inspired them, must have
been repugnant to a person of her refinement of feelings and
manners. This was his last earthly habitation. He died at
her house.
*Mark xiv. 8.





OF MADAME GUYON.


179


4. At this period she felt herself called to give some
special attention to the education of her children. On the
subject of early education, and especially on the influence
of niothers in the forming of the intellectual and moral
habits of children, she had bestowed much thought. To a
reflecting mind like hers, this important subject would be
very likely to suggest itself; especially when she recollected,
as she often did, the loss and injury which she herself had
experienced in early life, from some degree of inattention in
this respect. At that time the subject of early education,
especially in its relation to those of her own sex, was comparatively new; a subject, which since her time, beginning with
the valuable and interesting work of Fenelon on Female
Education has been discussed, analyzed, and applied with
the most successful results. In her Autobiography, in the
second chapter, she has given some views on the treatment
of children, particularly of daughters, views characterized
by close observation and sound judgment, which it would be
well worth while to repeat here, were not the subject so well
understood at the present day.
5. She embraced the opportunity, which Providence now
seemed to afford her, to revise and extend the elements of
her own edudation.   Light literature, as it is sometimes
termed, including romances and those works of poetry which
are addressed chiefly to the natural, in distinction from the
religious tastes, she had laid aside years before. Her reading was limited, for the most part, to the Bible, and to those
works by various authors which are designed to elucidate
the Bible, and to throw light upon man's character, his continual need of divine grace, and his growth in the religious
life. Many of the works on these subjects, which from her
position in the Catholic church she would be inclined to
consult, were originally written in the Latin language; a
language which to this day is the sole repository of many





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


valuable works of this kind. It was under these circumstances that she commenced and prosecuted the study of the
Latin, without perhaps distinctly foreseeing how much benefit it would be to her in her future inquiries and writings.
But it was here, as everywhere else, that God, who guides
us in a way we know not, always has an eye, in his present
dispensations and discipline, to future results; results which
are known to him, though hidden from us. He was preparing her, in what she was called to do, as well as in what
she was called to suffer, to accomplish his own will. The
same individual who taught her the Latin language, taught
also her eldest son, both in Latin and other branches of
knowledge. But who he was, and what claims more than a
simple knowledge of the Latin language, he had to be employed in her family, we find no mention, except the single
remark that he was an ecclesiastic, and came highly recommended by M. Bertot, in whom she continued to place great
confidence.*
6. During the period of which we are now speaking, embracing the three years immediately preceding the death of
her husband, and something more than the three years immediately subsequent to it, namely, from 1673 to 1680, she
endured without cessation, but with some variations in the
degree of severity, the pains of inward and of outward crucifixion. One source of the suffering which she experienced,
in this season of privation or desolation as she terms it, we
have not as yet particularly mentioned. We refer to the
fact, that, notwithstanding the consecration she had made of
herself to God, to be wholly and forever his, she experienced
heavy and direct temptations to commit sin. With a resolution into which she had thrown the whole power of her
* Relation de l'Origine du Progres, et de la Condemnation du Quihe
isme, p. 5.- La Vie de Madame Gunon, Pt. I, ch. 24.





OF MADAME GUYON.


181


being on the one hand, and with temptations as heavy and
severe as she could bear on the other, we may well imagine
how terrible at times must have been her mental conflicts.
Her language, (impossible it is true in its application, but
still strongly expressive of her feelings,) was, that she would
rather endure the sorrows of eternal banishment from God's
presence, than knowingly sin against him. Undoubtedly,
although she did not as yet fully understand the applications
and the power of faith, she was successful in this severe
conflict- in a considerable degree. And yet regarding the
sorrows she endured, in the course of God's providences, as
evidences of his being offended, she erroneously drew the
conclusion, that sin attached to almost all the actions in
which she was thus strenuously endeavoring to do his will.
This was her mistake; but there were some things, which
she learned at this time, which were true.
7. " It was under these circumstances," she says, " that I
felt the truth of what thou hast said, Oh my God, that thou
judgest our righteousness! Oh, how pure, how holy art
Thou! Who can comprehend it? I was led to see, one
after another, the secret ties which bound me to earth; and
which God, after he had brought them to my notice, was
successively cutting asunder. All inordinate interest which
I had taken in created things, (that is to say, all interest in
them out of God, and out of their true relations and true
degree,) was gradually taken away. It was thus, that the
process of inward crucifixion, often severely trying me, went
steadily on.
8. "Oh, holy Jesus!" she exclaims, in looking back upon
what she then passed through, "I was that lost sheep of
Israel whom thou didst come to save.  Thou didst come to
save her, who could find no salvation out of thee. Oh, ye
stout and righteous men! Speak as much, and as proudly
as you please, of the value and excellence of what you have
1;





182      LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


done for GodN glory. As for me, I glory only in my infirmities, since they have merited for me such a Saviour."
9. " Loaded with miseries of all sorts," she proceeds to
remark in connection with her inward experience at this
time, "weighed down with the burden of continual crosses, I
at last gave up hope. The darkness of an eternal night
settled upon my soul. Looking upon myself as a victim
doomed for destruction, I had not the least expectation of
emerging out of the distressing state, in which I found myself. As in the case of the Saviour in the extremity of his
sufferings, God seemed to have forsaken me. But thanks
be to his grace, my heart bowed in entire and holy submission. Lost as I was, or rather as I seemed to myself to be,
I could not cease to love.
Believing, as I did, in the strange position of my mind,
that I could never again be acceptable to God, and never be
received by him, I distinctly and fully recognized his justice
and goodness; and could not repress the longing desire I
had to do something, or to suffer something, to promote his
glory. I could praise the name of the Lord out of the
depths, to which no lower deep seemed possible." Such is
the import of the terms, in which she expresses herself.
10. At this time, finding no satisfactory advice and relief
from others to whom she had previously written, she wrote
a letter to Francis De La Combe. Of this individual, of
his first acquaintance with Madame Guyon, and of the effect
of her conversation upon him, we have already had occasion
to speak. The special occasion of her writing at this time
was this. One of the male domestics, resident in her family,
becoming interested in religious subjects, was desirous of
connecting himself with the religious fraternity or Order,
called the Barnabites. He naturally consulted with Madame Guyon on the subject. And in her own ignorance of
the method of proceeding in the case, she was advised by





OP MADAME GUYON.


183


her half-brother, La Mothe, to write to La Combe, with
whom they were both acquainted, and who, as he filled the
situation of Superior of the association of Barnabites at
Thonon in Savoy, could undoubtedly give them all the requisite information and advice.
"The circumstances of the case were such," she says, "as
to render it necessary for me to write to him; and as I had
always retained for him a secret respect and esteem, as one
who was truly devoted to God, I was pleased with this
opportunity of recommending myself to his prayers. I gave
him an account of my depression and sorrow of mind, and of
what I then supposed to be the case, that God no longer
took pleasure in me, but had separated himself from me."
11. La Combe, who, in consequence of his ecclesiastical position we shall hereafter designate as Father La
Combe, was a man of ability as well as of personal inward
experience. He took a view of her case, entirely different from that which had been taken by others whom she
had consulted.  His experience enabled him at once to
make a distinction between sorrow and sin; and to reject
the opinion she had formed, that the griefs she experienced
were an evidence of her having offended God. On the
contrary he took the ground, that she ought to regard these
afflictions as an evidence of the goodness and mercy of God,
who was thus painfully but kindly removing the earthly
props on which her spirit had leaned. This view, which
was so entirely different from the opinions entertained at
this time by herself, could not fail to give her some encouragement, although she was not as yet able fully to receive it.
12. The correspondence with Father La Combe, which
was kept up at intervals for many years, commenced early
in the year 1680. About the middle of July of that year
she wrote to him a second time. In this letter she made





184


LIFT AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


the particular request, that, if he received it before the 22d
of July, a day memorable in her religious history, he would
make her the subject of special supplication. The letter
arrived, although the place of its destination was quite distant, the day before the time specified. And the person to
whom it was addressed had too much piety and too deep a
sense of his obligations to the author of it, to let a request,
offered in such a humble and sorrowing spirit, pass unheeded. It was a day of prayer both with him and with
her.
It was a day also of the hearing of prayer. The King
was on his throne. The sceptre of mercy was extended.
On that favored day, after nearly seven years of inward and
outward desolation, the cloud which had rested so dark and
deeply passed away, and the light of eternal glory settled
upon her soul.
13. She was led for the first time to see, under the intimations of the Holy Spirit, that all things were just the
reverse of what she had supposed them to be, - that affliction is mercy in disguise, that we possess by first being
deprived, that death precedes life, that destruction in the
spiritual experience turns to renovation, that out of the
sorrows and silence of inward crucifixion, and from no other
source, must grow the jubilees of everlasting bliss. God
was given back; and all things with him. All sights and
sounds, all beauties of heaven and of earth, the trees and
flowers below, and the stars of heaven in their places, and
social pleasures and earthly friendships, whatever the intellect could perceive or the heart could relish, - she could
receive and enjoy them all, in their appropriate place and
degree, because, in her victory over self, she was enabled to
place and appreciate them in their true and divine relation,
- all in God, and God in all. It was thus that the Lord
turned her captivity, as he did that of his servant Job,





OF MADAME GUYON.


185


and made the end better and more glorious than the beginning.
14. "It was on the 22d of July, that happy day," she
says, "the 22d of July, 1680, that my soul was delivered
from all its pains. From the time of the reception of the
first letter which I had from Father La Combe, I began to
recover a new life. I was then, indeed, only like a dead
person raised up, who is in the beginning of his restoration,
and who is raised up to a life of hope rather than of actual
possession; but on this day I was restored, as it were, to
perfect life, and set wholly at liberty. I was no longer depressed, no longer borne down under the burden of sorrow.
I had thought God lost, and lost forever; but I found him
again. And he returned to me with unspeakable magnificence and purity.
" In a wonderful manner, which it is difficult to explain,
all that which had been taken from me, was not only restored again, but was restored with increase and with new
advantages. In Thee, 0 my God, I found it all, and more
than all! The peace which I now possessed, was all holy,
heavenly, inexpr:essible. What I had possessed some years
before, in the period of my spiritual enjoyment, was consolation, peace - the gift of God rather than the Giver; but
now, I was brought into such harmony with the will of God,
whether that will was consoling or otherwise, that I might
now be said to possess not merely consolation, but the God
of consolation; not merely peace, but the God of peace."
15. It was at this time, and not at any earlier period,
that she began to speak of the life of nature as fully slain
within her. "IMy intellect," she says, "free from those disturbing influences which originate in selfishness, was unperplexed and clear in its action. My wandering imagination,
which had formerly flitted about from object to object, was
now at rest; so far at least that its action, easily regulated
16*





186


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


in accordance with the divine will and providences, ceased
to trouble me. That heart, where I had formerly detected
in their secret places so many evil motives, was now, so far
as I was enabled to perceive, made pure. I did all sorts of
good, as it were, by a new and imperative law, written in
my heart; naturally, easily, without premeditation, as it was
without selfishness.  Whenever a 'self-reflective' thought
was present to my mind, - that is to say, a thought reflective
upon any subject in its relation to my personal interests, in
its relation to self in the selfish sense, it was instantly rejected; and a curtain, as if by some ever present but invisible hand, was drawn in the soul before it. I no longer felt
myself obliged to say that, 'when I would do good, evil was
present with me.' Doing good was now my nature. The
principle of action did not seem to be from motives applied
without; but rather to be involved in a life springing up
and operative within. All was done in God and for God;
and it was done quietly, freely, naturally, continually."
16. This was indeed liberty. "And this inward liberty,"
she says, "by which I mean a liberty from that secret
power within us which continually draws us to evil, was not
only great in the beginning, but it grew more and more
extensive. And it was unchangeable as it was great. It
was my hope, at first, that I should enjoy this happy state
for some time; but little did I think that my happiness was
so great, so immutable as it was. If one may judge of a
good by the trouble which precedes it, I leave mine to be
estimated by the sorrows I experienced before I attained
to it.
" The apostle Paul tells us, that 'the sufferings of the
present life are not to be compared with the glory that is
prepared for us.' How true is this remark, even of the
present life! One day of this happiness, [which consisted in
simple rest or harmony in God's will, whatever that will





OF MADAME GUYON.


187


might be,] was sufficient to counterbalance years of suffering.
This true peace of mind was worth all that I had undergone; although it was then only in its dawning.
17. "Sometimes, it is true, a sad suggestion presented
itself. The thought sometimes occurred, which could not
but be painful for the moment, that the life of nature might,
in some way, reinstate itself. So that there was a wakeful
spirit within me. I watched; and was enabled, by divine
grace, to meet and repel the approaches of evil in that direction. In this renovated state, so different from what I had
experienced for some years before, I felt no disposition to
attribute any ihing to myself. Certainly it was not I, myself,
who had fastened my soul to the Cross, and under the
operations of a providence, just but inexorable, had drained,
if I may so express it, the blood of the life of nature to its
last drop. I did not understand it then; but I understood
it now. It was the Lord that did it. It was God that destroyed me, that he might give me the true life."
18. Such are the terms, re-arranged and interpreted, one
part by another, in which she speaks of this remarkable
result. In one of her books on religious experience, entitled
the " TORRENTS," in which she endeavors to describe the
progress of the soul towards God, illustrating the subject by
torrents taking their rise in hills and mountain tops, and
rolling onward towards the ocean, she has given her views
of the process of inward crucifixion, derived from her own
experience. It should, in fact, be regarded as a statement
of what she herself passed through; and ought to be read,
as it seems to me, in connection with, and as illustrative
of what she has said, on the same subject, in her Life.
And this reference to the "Torrents" leads me to remark
again - a remark which on some accounts it may be desirable
to remember-that, in giving her views on particular subjects,
I have not limited myself to her remarks made at a particu




188


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


lar time, but have taken the liberty, in order to give her
precise views, to combine together statements made at different times and at different places of her works. My object
has not been to give a literal translation of her writings just
as they stand, which, under all the circumstances of the case,
would have been doing great injustice to her,--but, by
studying their spirit, by re-adjusting their arrangement, by
the separation of what is essential and what is not essential,
and by a judicious combination, to give the true picture, so
far as can now be done, of what she was, her thought, her
feeling and action, her trials and triumphs.
19. And it is in accordance with these views, which require. us to consult what she has said on different occasions
in relation to the same subject, that I think we may properly
introduce here one of her poems. At what particular time
it was written, cannot now be ascertained. But whatever
was the time of its origin, it evidently has reference, in its
sentiments, to the period and the experience, to which we
have just attended. In a figurative or poetical manner, it
happily describes the situation of a soul deprived of the
natural life, by being successively deprived of the objects of
its natural desire and love, till, by wholly ceasing to desire
or love anything out of the will of God, whatever that will
may be, it finds the true life, the life divine.
THE DEALINGS OF GOD OR THE DIVINE LOVE IN BRINGING THE SOUL TO A STATE OF ABSOLUTE ACQUIESCENCE.
'T WAS my purpose, on a day,
To embark and sail away.
As I climbed the vessel's side,
LovE was sporting in the tide;
"Come," he said, - " ascend - make haste,
Launch into the boundless waste."





OF MADAME GUYON.


189


Many mariners were there,
Having each his separate care;
They, that rowed us, held their eyes
Fixed upon the starry skies;
Others steered or turned the sails,
To receive the shifting gales.
LOVE, with power divine supplied,
Suddenly my courage tried;
In a moment it was night,
Ship and skies were out of sight;
On the briny wave I lay,
Floating rushes all my stay.
Did I with resentment burn
At this unexpected turn?
Did I wish myself on shore,
Never to forsake it more?
No-- "M1y soul," I cried, "be still;
If I must be lost, I will."
Next he hastened to convey
Both my frail supports away;
Seized my rushes; bade the waves
Yawn into a thousand graves.
Down I went, and sunk as lead,
Ocean closing o'er my head.
Still, however, life was safe;
And I saw him turn and laugh;
"Friend," he cried, "adieu! lie low,
While the wintry storms shall blow;
When the Spring has calmed the main,
You shall rise, and float again."
Soon I saw him, with dismay,
Spread his plumes, and soar away;
Now I mark his rapid flight;
Now he leaves my aching sight;
He is gone whom I adore,
'T is in vain to seek him more.





190


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
How I trembled then, and feared,
When my Lovx had disappeared!
Wilt thou leave me thus," I cried,
"Whelmed beneath the rolling tide I"
Vain attempt to reach his ear!
LovE was gone, and would not hear.
Ah! return and love me still;
See me subject to thy will;
Frown with wrath, or smile with grace,
Only let me see thy face!
Evil I have none to fear;
All is good, if Thou art near.
Yet he leaves me, - cruel fate!
Leaves me in my lost estate;
Have I sinned? Oh, say wherein?
Tell me, and forgive my sin!
King, and Lord, whom I adore,
Shall I see thy face no more?
Be not angry - I resign
Henceforth all my will to thine.
I consent that Thou depart,
Though thine absence breaks my hear
Go then, and forever, too;
All is right that Thou wilt do.
This was just what Lovn intended;
He was now no more offended;
Soon as I became a child,
Love returned to me and smiled.
Never strife shall more betide
'Twixt the Bridegroom and his bride





CHAPTER XVII.


Remarks on sanctification as compared with justification. On the
importance of striving after sanctification. On the state of
Madame Guyon at this time. Her work, entitled the Torrents.
Some sentiments given from it as descriptive of her own experience.  Singular illustration, by which she shows the difference
between common Christians and others. Of the depth of the experience which is implied in true sanctification. On the question
whether all must endure the same amount of suffering in experiencing sanctification. Her poem on the joy of the cross.
THEOLOGIANS very properly make a distinction between
justification and sanctification. The two great moral and
religious elements, namely, entire self-renunciation and entire
faith in God through Jesus Christ, are involved in both of
these religious experiences, and give to them a close relationship; without, however, confounding them and making
them one. They are related to each other, without ceasing
to be separate.
2. Justification, while it does not exclude the present, has
special reference to the past. Sanctification, which is subsequent to justification in the order of nature, has exclusive
reference to the present and future. Justification inquires,
How shall the sin, which is past, be forgiven? Sanctification inquires, How shall we be kept from sin at the present time and in time to come? Justification, in its result
upon individuals, removes the condemnatory power or guilt





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


of sin; while sanctification removes the power of sin itself.*
3. No man can be a.Christian, who is not justified. But
no intelligent Christian can rest satisfied with justification
alone. He earnestly desires, not only that his sins may be
forgiven, but that they may be removed - taken away. 1" He
hungers and thirsts after righteousness." He, who professes
to be a Christian, and yet has not this hungering and thirsting after a heart that is sanctified, has no good reason to
believe that he has ever known the blessedness of a heart
that is justified. "By their fruits," says the Saviour, "ye
shall know them." Sanctification is the fruit.
4. A sanctified heart is only another expression for a
holy heart. A holy heart, whatever other expressions may
apply to it and describe it, may be described, I think, as a
heart from which selfishness is excluded, and which loves
God with all its power of love. From this time onward,
Madame Guyon, who had been cut off from every other
resource, and had learned the great lesson of living by faith
alone, professed to love God with such love.
Whether- we call this state of experience pure love or
perfect love, whether we denominate it sanctification or
assurance of faith, is perhaps not very essential. Certain it
is, that it seemed to her, without professing or presuming to
be beyond the possibility of mistake, that she loved her
heavenly Father, in accordance with what the Saviour requires of us, with her whole power of loving. And accordingly she could no longer hesitate to apply to herself some
of the strongest expressions, descriptive of the inward life,
which are found in the Scriptures. She could say, with the
apostle, " I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the
* For some remarks on this subject, see the Interior or Hidden Life.





OF MADAME GUYON.


193


life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the
Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."*
She understood, as she never did before, the import of what
the same apostle says in the eighth chapter of Romans.
"1There is now no condemnation to them which are in Christ
Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit; for
the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me
free from the law of sin and death."t She, who a short
time before believed herself outcast and lost forever, had
now the faith and the courage- a courage based upon faith
and adorned with the deepest humility-to appropriate the
beautiful conclusion of the same chapter; "I am persuaded,
that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor
powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us
from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
5. We have already alluded to the book, entitled The
Torrents. It is obviously a work drawn chiefly from her
own experience. In the latter part of it, she describes the
state of her mind, as it was at this period; without, however,
making any distinct reference to herself, except that she
occasionally speaks in the first person, as if forgetting for a
moment the style of narration which she had adopted. I
will give here some parts of what I understand her to say of
herself; substituting the first person for the third person,
and translating not merely her words, which, taken as they
stand, would convey but very imperfect and perhaps false
ideas to an English reader, but what I suppose her to mean
by them. This is the import of some of her i'emarks.
6. " Great was the change, which I had now experienced;
but still in my exterior life, that part of my life which came
under the observation of others, I appeared to them quite
* Gal. ii. 20.        + Rom. viii. 1, 2, 38, 39.
17





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simple, unobtrusive, and common. And the reason was,
that my soul was not only brought into harmony with itself
and with God, but with God's providences. In the exercise
of faith and love, I endured and performed whatever came
in God's providence, in submission, in thankfulness, and
silence. I was now in God and God in me; and where God
is, there is as much simplicity as power. And what I did
was done in such simplicity and childlikeness of spirit, that
the world did not observe anything which was much calculated to attract notice.
7. "I had a deep peace; a peace which seemed to pervade the whole soul. A peace which resulted from the fact,
that all my desires were fulfilled in God. I desired nothing;
feared nothing; willed nothing. I feared nothing; that is
to say, I feared nothing, considered in its ultimate results and
relations, because my strong faith placed God at the head of
all perplexities and all events. I desired nothing but what
I now had, because I had a full belief, that in my present
state of mind the results of each moment, considered in
relation to myself, constituted the fulfilment of the divine
purposes. I willed nothing; meaning in the statement that
I had no will of my own. As a sanctified heart is always in
harmony with the divine providences, I had no will but the
divine will, of which such providences are the true and
appropriate expression. How could such a soul have other
than a deep peace, - a peace which was not limited to the
uncertainties of the emotional part of our nature, but which
pervaded and blessed the whole mind! Nothing seemed to
diminish it; nothing troubled it.
8. "I do not mean to say, that I was in a state in which
I could not be afflicted. My physical system, my senses,
had not lost the power of suffering. My natural sensibilities were susceptible of being pained. Oftentimes I suffered
much. But interiorly, ia the centre of the soul, if I may so





OF MADAME GUYON.


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express it, there was divine and supreme peace. The lower
soul, or the soul considered in its connection with the objects immediately around it, might at times be troubled and
afflicted; but the higher or central soul, or the soul considered in its relation to God and the divine will, was entirely
calm, trustful, and happy. The trouble at the circumference,
originating in part from a disordered physical constitution,
did not affect and disturb the divine peace of the centre.
9. "One characteristic of this lhigher degree of experience was a sense of inward purity. My mind had such a
oneness with God, such a unity with the divine nature, that
nothing seemed to have power to soil it and to diminish its
purity. It experienced the truth of that declaration of
Scripture, that to the pure all things are pure. As God is
present to sinners in the matter of instructing and reproving
them, and also in that of physically upholding and sustaining
them, even in the very act of sin, and yet without being rendered sinful or contracting any moral evil, so the person
who is truly pure, may see sinful acts, may hear impure and
sinful conversation, or may otherwise be brought, providentially and in the discharge of duty, into connection with impurities without contracting any stain from them. Such stains
have no affinity with the pure mind. The pollution which
surrounds it, has no power upon it; as the dark and impure
mud does not defile the sunbeams that shine upon it, which
rather appear brighter and purer from the contrast. The
soul, bright with the brightness which comes from God, seems
to have no knowledge of any darkness or evil in itself.
10. "But, though I was so much blessed, I was not conscious of any merit, nor tempted by any suggestions of merit
in myself. Indeed, I seemed to be so united with God, so
made one with the centre and sum of all good, that my
thoughts did not easily turn upon myself as a distinct object
of reflection; and, consequently, it would not have been an





196      LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


easy thing for me to attach to myself the ideas of desert or
merit. If I had done virtuously and meritoriously by a
laborious effort, the idea of merit would more naturally and
readily have suggested itself, and I might have been tempted
to indulge thoughts of that kind. But now that God had
become the inward operator, and every movement was a
movement originating, as it were, in a divine inspiration,
and as a holy life had become as natural to me as the life of
nature formerly had been, I could not well attribute to myself, and certainly had no disposition to attribute to myself,
what evidently belonged to God. To him, and to him only,
to his goodness and his grace, I attributed all worthiness, all
praise.
11. "It was one of the characteristics of my experience
at this time, that I could not move myself, or bring myself
into action, from the principle of self, because self was gone.
I stood silent and unmoved in the midst of God's providences, until the time of movement came, which was indicated by these providences. Then I decided, when God
called me to decide, and with God to help me to decide.
Every decision of the judgment, followed by a movement or
action, seemed to be from God; so that God became the
principle of movement. In this state of mind, self-reflecting
acts, or acts which turn back upon the mind and seek for
motives in its own interest, are taken away.
12. " From this time, I found myself in the enjoyment of
what may be termed liberty. Being free from all natural
or unholy desires, which cannot fail to restrict and embarrass
the ease of the mind's action, my mind experienced a remarkable facility in doing and suffering everything which
presented itself in the order of God's providence.  God's
order became its law. In fulfilling this law, it experienced
no inward repugnance, but fulfilled its own highest wishes,
and therefore could not but be conscious of the highest inward





OF MADAME GUYON.


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liberty. When the soul loses the limit of selfishness,-- a limit
which fixes the soul in itself,--it has no limit but in God, who
is without limits. What limit, then, can be placed to the
length and breadth of its freedom?
13. "I regard the deprivations and the sufferings of Job,
and his subsequent restoration to prosperity and to the manifestations of the divine favor, as a history which illustrates,
as if in a mirror, the process of inward death and inward
resurrection which is experienced by those who arrive, at
the state of full interior transformation.  God first took
away everything, and then restored everything, as it were,
an hundred fold. And so in the inward life. Our worldly
possessions, our property, our influence, our reputation, our
health, are taken away, if God sees it necessary; he then
smites our domestic and other affections, which have persons
for their objects rather than things, either by smiting and
withering the affections in themselves, or in the objects to
which they are attached. He then proceeds to crucify the
subject of the divine operation to any attachment to and
any reliance on his outward works as a ground of merit and
acceptance. In its death to everything where self reigns
instead of God, the mind dies also to any sense of its own
inward exercises and virtues, so far as they are a ground of
self-gratulation and of interior complacency. Nor does this
process stop, till the life of nature, which copsists in inordinate attachments, is entirely exterminated. But the soul
cannot live without a life of some kind. There are but two,
and can be but two principles of moral life in the universe;
one, which makes ourselves, or the most limited private good,
the centre; the other, which makes God, who may be called
the Universal Good, the centre. And by that necessary law
which says, where there is life there must be a principle of
life, when one of these principles dies, the other emerges
from its state of abeyance and inactivity, and takes the place
17*





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


of that which has passed away. So that when self dies in
the soul, God lives; when self is annihilated, God is enthroned.
14. "In this state of mind I did not practise the virtues
as virtues. That is to say, I did not make them distinct
objects of contemplation, and endeavor to practise them, as a
person generally does in the beginnings of the Christian life,
by a separate and constrained effort. I seemed to practise
them naturally, almost instinctively. The effort, if I had
made one, would have been to do otherwise. It was my life
to do them. Charity, sincerity, truth, humility, submission,
and every other virtue, seemed to be involved in my present
state of mind, and to make a part of it; being, each in its
appropriate place, an element of life. A formal act of humiliation, for instance, performed interiorly at a certain time
and in a certain way, would have been impossible, because
such an act, or such an experience, would have implied, that
the soul, in undergoing it, was taken out of a state which
was not humble; whereas humility, or that state of mind
which the term humility expresses, is an essential part of
the soul's state, so long as it can be said to be truly transformed or sanctified. I repeat, therefore, that the holy soul
has, immanent or interiorly inherent in itself, the essence of
all Christian virtues and duties, which, naturally and without effort, as if a man should have them without knowing
that he had them, develop themselves on their appropriate
occasions, by their own law of action, and as the result of a
life which is a true and operative Izfe."
15. Among other things, which fall from her in this part
of her writings, she says, that common Christians, or Christians in the ordinary degree of experience, may be compared
to a pump. And she gives a significant reason for the remark. The idea is this. The pump has water; but the
water is thrown out by effort, by the agitation resulting from





OF MADAME GUYON.


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exterior appliances. So common Christians have in them
the water of life. But the life of Christianity, as it exists in
these Christians, develops itself and throws itself off, as it
were, periodically and on particular occasions; under the
reproofs of a Christian brother, under the excitements of a
prayer meeting, under the pressure of a powerful sermon, in
the presence and under the impulse of large ecclesiastical
and clerical assemblies, or under some other instigative
pressurep exteriorly applied. So that the life of which they
are thte possessors, although it is the true life undoubtedly,
has not power enough to operate of itself, but may be said to
be compressed or forced out of them.  And those who are
to be benefited, must be present at a particular time, with
their pails and basins, in order to receive that which is thus
extracted, before the outward pressure ceases.
16. But Christians in a higher state of religious experience, those especially who are in a state of assured faith and
love, may be compared to fountains which flow out of themselves. In the language of the Saviour, the water which is
in them, is a " well of water springing up to everlasting life."
It is true, that, like the waters of Siloa which came from
the sides of Mount Sion, and which were pleasing to God
and to his people, they generally flow softly; but it is equally true, that they flow abundantly and constantly. Nor is it
a small thing, that they do not flow in artificial channels,
which men's hands have cut for them, but in those which
God has appointed; " at their own sweet will," as some one
has expressed it, and yet in reality without any will of their
own. And bearing life to others, as well as having life in
themselves, the trees grow and flowers bloom on their banks;
and when the weary traveller comes there, he finds the cooling shade above, as well as the refreshing draught beneath.
17. I think that, in view of the narrative which has been
given thus far, we may very properly and justly conclude,





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


that the work of sanctification, wherever it exists, is a work
which enters deeply -into our nature. Neither reason, nor
experience, nor Scripture, authorizes us to speak of it, when
it truly exists, as a superficial wvork; that is to say, a work
near the surface and easy to be done. It is not the application of something which alters and polishes the outside
merely. It is not, properly speaking, a remodeling and improvement of the old nature, so much as a renovation.
18.. There are some things, which go under the game of
sanctification, to which that term is not strictly applicable.
There is, for instance, what may perhaps be termed a physical sanctification; a sanctification which is limited by the
epithet applied to it, to the government and the development of our physical nature. But it is hardly necessary to
say, that the regulation of the appetites may exist without a
proper state of some other modifications of desire, and without a spiritual will. The man, of whom the Saviour speaks
in the Gospel, could say, very truly, "I fast twice in the
week; I give tithes of all I possess;" but it is very clear,
that he was not a man who was approved and accepted in
all respects. Many persons who have subjected themselves
to the greatest outward austerities, have complained that
they were still the subjects of an inward rebellion; and did
not experience that communion and acceptance with God,
which they had anticipated as the result of their assiduous
methods of physical restraint and culture. Physical sanctification, which relates particularly to the appetites and the
exterior nature, is undoubtedly a part of the sanctification
of the man; but differs from it as a part differs from the
whole.
There are some persons, who, in addition to the rectification of the outward nature, have had a degree and kind
of inward experience which is truly remarkable. It is not
an experience, which, properly speaking, can be described





OF MADAME GUYON.


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as sanctification; but is sometimes taken for it. These persons have been much exercised on the subject of a holy life;
they have experienced much anxiety in regard to it; and in
consequence of the new views they have had, and the inward
victories they have obtained, have been the subjects of a
high degree of joy. Sometimes the joy, owing in part, I
suppose, to some peculiarities of mental character, is sudden,
intense, overwhelming. They suppose themselves wholly
and forever conquerors. Not being in a situation fully to
analyze their feelings, either their origin, their nature, or
permanency, it is not wonderful that they make mistakes,
and that they ascribe wholly to grace what is partly due to
nature; attributing to religion, which is always benevolent
and pure, what belongs to physical or selfish excitement.
Experience often shows, that the sanctification which they
profess under such circumstances, has not those elements of
kindness, of forbearance and meekness, of permanent faith
and of inward subjection and nothingness, which are necessary to characterize it as true. In other words, it is a sanctification which is evidently limited and imperfect, because,
although it has some elements of good in it, it has pervaded
only the intellectual and emotional part, including the desires perhaps to some extent, without being able to reach
and subdue that terrible refuge and fortress of evil, the natural will.
19. If these views are correct, they tend to diminish very
much the dangers which are sometimes supposed to attend
the agitation of this subject. The danger, expressed in a
few words, is this. If we allow the possibility of sanctification in the present life, we shall, from time to time, find persons who will profess this blessing, without possessing it; a
mistake which cannot well exist without being more or less
injurious. The same danger attends the doctrine, that we
may possess religion in any degree whatever short of





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


sanctification. A man may profess religion without possessing it, and the mistake may be very injurious. And in all
cases whatever, where the profession is not accordant with
the reality, those evils cannot fail to follow which are naturally attendant upon error.
20. But if sanctification is such a work as we have represented it to be, so thoroughly explorative and renovating,
and if it be generally understood to be what it really is,
people will be cautious in making the profession. At least,
if the profession is falsely made, the error will easily be
detected. He, to whom the grace of sanctification can be
truly ascribed, is one with Christ, and has Christ's dispositions; a man meek, contented, benevolent, and devoutly
acquiescent in whatever bears the stamp of providence; a
man who goes hither and thither on errands of wisdom and
mercy, without tumult and noise; doing good to others without asking or expecting return; in his spirit, where the Holy
Ghost dwells, always divinely peaceful, because he is in harmony with God, and consequently in harmony with all things
of which God is the life. Such a man, on his lips, his countenance, his actions, his life, has a divine seal. It cannot easily
be mistaken, except by those, in whom the abundance of the
natural life, which perplexes the natural and especially the
spiritual judgment, has taken away the power of divine appreciation.
21. There is one question, which naturally arises here.
Is it absolutely necessary to undergo all which Madame
Guyon passed through, in order to experience these results?
I think that this question may properly be answered in the
negative. Some resist the operation of God, because they
are afraid of God; some, because in the process of the inward operation they do not understand what he is doing and
to what he is tending; and still more because they love the
world and the things of the world, more than they love God





OF MADAME GUYON.


203


tnd the things of God. Resistance on the part of the creature, whatever cause it may arise from, implies and requires
aggressive acts of trial, of infliction, and of reproof, on the
part of Him whose right it is to rule. And the greater the
resistance, the greater must be the blow which aims to subdue it. Those, who resist much, will suffer much.
22. " In some persons, though not in many," we have had
occasion to remark in another place, "the natural man, in
the comparative sense of the terms, dies easily. These
persons, these chosen ones of the Lord, seem to have an
intuitive appreciation of what God justly and necessarily
requires. They see, with the clearness of light, that it is
impossible at the same time to serve God and Mammon.
Accordingly, they submit themselves to the leadings and the
power of God, without resistance. They yield readily and
willingly, like the lamb that is led to the slaughter; and the
result is, that the inward crucifixion, though not less deep
and thorough, is personally less afflictive. The Holy Ghost
proceeds gently but constantly in his operations; unbinding
every tie of nature; cutting loose every ligament which
fastens the soul to the earth, until, in its freedom from the
slavery of the world, it expands and rejoices in the liberty
of God.
23. " Other persons, and we may add, the great majority
of persons, are not brought to this state of freedom from the
world and of union with God, without passing through exceeding afflictions, both external and internal. And this
happens partly through ignorance, and partly and mote
generally through SELF-WILL. They are slow to learn what
is to be done, and equally reluctant to submit to its being
done. God desires and intends that they shall be his; but
the hour of their inward redemption not being fully come,
they still love the world. They attach their affections first
to one object and then to another. They would perhaps be





204


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


pleased to have God for their portion; but they must have
something besides God. In other words, they vainly imagine that they would like to have God and their idols at the
same time. And there they remain for a time, fixed, obstinate, inflexible. But God loves them. Therefore, as they
will not learn by kindness, they must learn by terror. The
sword of Providence and the Spirit is applied successively
to every tie that binds them to the world. Their property,.
their health, their friends, all fall before it. The inward
fabric of hopes and joys, where self-love was nourished and
pride had its nest, is leveled to the dust.  They are smitten
within and without; burned with fire; overwhelmed with the
waters; peeled and scathed and blasted to the very extremity of endurance; till they learn in this dreadful Baptism the
inconsistency of the attempted worship of God and Mammon
at the same time, and are led to see, that God is and ought
to be, the true and only sovereign." *
24. But souls in whom grace is triumphant, are not beyond
or above the cross. Such grace enables us to bear the cross,
but it does not deliver us from it. Christ was holy; but he did
not on that account cease to be a sufferer. It was by suffering that his divine graces were tried. Madame Guyon was
willing to follow in the steps of the Saviour whom she loved,
and to be as He was. Christ had crowned her; and perhaps it was a crown of thorns. But he himself had worn it;
and that was enough to make it infinitely dear to her heart.
Spiritually, she had entered into rest. But the rest of earth
ought not to be confounded with the rest of heaven. If it is
the same in its nature, it is different in its locality. The one
sleeps amid roses, and is wrapped in sunshine; the other has
a dwelling-place with clouds and tempests for its canopy,
with thorns and briars for its covering. She welcomed,
* See Principles of the Interior or Hidden Life, Pt. II. chap. 10.





OF MADAME GUYON.


205


therefore, the cross still, now and in all time to come, till
her head should be laid in the grave. The following Poem
expresses some of her sentiments on this subject.
THE JOY OF THE CROSS.
LONG plunged in sorrow, I resign
My soul to that dear hand of thine,
Without reserve or fear;
That hand shall wipe my streaming eyes;
Or into smiles of glad surprise
Transform the falling tear.
My sole possession is thy love;
In earth beneath, or heaven above,
I have no other store;
And though with fervent suit I pray,
And importune Thee, night and day,
I ask thee nothing more.
My rapid hours pursue the course,
Prescribed them by love's sweetest force,
And I thy sovereign will.
Without a wish to escape my doom;
Though still a sufferer from the womb,
And doomed to suffer still.
By thy command, where'er I stray,
SORnow attends me all my way
A never failing friend;
And, if my sufferings may augment
Thy praise, behold me well content,
Let Sorrow still attend!
It cost me no regret, that she,
Who followed Christ, should follow me;
And though, where'er she goes,
Thorns spring spontaneous at her feet,
I love her, and extract a sweet
From all her bitter woes.
18





206           LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
Adieu! ye vain delights of earth,
Insipid sports, and childish mirth,
I taste no sweets in you;
Unknown delights are in the cross,
All joy beside, to me is dross;
And Jesus thought so too.
The Cross.! Oh, ravishment and bliss,--
flow grateful &en its anguish is;
Its bitterness how sweet!
There every sense, and all the mind,
In all her faculties refined,
Taste happiness complete.
Souls, once enabled to disdain
Base, snbiunary joys, maintain
Their dignity secure;
The fever of desire is passed,
And love has all its genuine taste,
Is delicate and pure.
Self-love no grace in Sorrow sees,
Consults her own peculiar ease;
'T is all the bliss she knows;
But nobler aims true Love employ,
In self-denial is her joy,
In suffering her repose.
Sorrow and Love go side by side;
Nor height nor depth can e'er divide
Their heaven-appointed bands;
Those dear associates still are one-,
Nor till the race of life is run,
Disjoin their wedded hands.
Jesus, avenger of our fall,
Thou faithful lover, above all
The cross have ever borne!
Oh tell me, -life is in thy voice, -
How much afflictions were thy choice,
And sloth and ease thy scorn!





LIFE, ETC.                           207
Thy choice and mine shall be the same,
Inspirer of that holy flame,
Which must forever blaze!
To take the cross and follow Thee,
Where love and duty lead, shall be
My portion and my praise.





CHAPTER XVIII.


Temporary uncertainty in regard to her future course of actton.
Had thoughts of entering into a Nunnery. Decides not to take
this course. Some reasons for this decision. Proposals of marriage. All such propositions and views decided against. Remains
still uncertain what course to take. Has a short season of comparative retirement and peace. Extract from one of her Poems.
IN this new and encouraging state of her feelings, the
question now pressed upon the mind of Madame Guyon,
What course should she take during the remainder of her
life? When the probabilities of a course of action were so
balanced that she knew not what to do, it seems to have
been a principle with her to remain patiently in her present
position, and not to do anything. She believed, and she had
some support for her belief, in the scriptures, that inaction,
or rather a suspension of action, until Providence indicates
the course to be taken, with some degree of clearness, is the
only true and safe action. At such times, Providence, for
reasons perhaps known only to itself, requires no other kind
of action than that of waiting.
2. And this action,-- if such it may be called,-- when it is
such as it ought to be, is far from being unimportant, because
it implies a resigned and submissive spirit, a rejection of all
unholy motives and impulses, a sincere desire to know the
truth, and a recognition of God's ability and readiness to
impart it. Indeed, to make men wait, to make them wait
submissively and patiently, until he sees fit to permit and





LIFE, ETC.


209


authorize their action in subordination to his own time and
manner of action, is a part, and a merciful and important
part, of God's discipline of his children here on earth.
3. The first plan which suggested itself to her mind, and
which occupied, for a time, more or less of her thoughts, was
to arrange her affairs in such a manner as to relieve her
from the personal care of them, and to go into a nunnery.
There, in retirement and silence, it seemed to her, as she
looked at the subject on its first being presented to her consideration, that she might serve God and benefit her fellow
creatures, without the hazards to which she had formerly
been exposed. Many were the names which she cherished
in her own personal recollections, many were the names
celebrated in history, of those, worn out with the cares and
sorrows of the world, who had thus sought God and that
peace of God which passes understanding, in places of religious seclusion. She thought of Genevieve Granger, her
associate and adviser in religion; she thought of her own
sainted sister, who first watched over and instructed her in
the Ursuline seminary; the Marys and the Catharines of
other times, the De Chantals and the St. Theresas, came to
recollection. But she had already learned, that God moves
in his providences.  His providences are his home; his
loved, his chosen home. And it required no great reach of
thought to come to the conclusion, that those who go to the
convent, or to any other place, without being led there by the
wisdom and signature of an overruling providence, will fail
to find God, whatever may be the professed object of their
search, either as the guide or the end of their journey. She
had religion -enough, and of course religious wisdom enough,
to know, that there was another and a higher question first
to be answered. And that question was, What is God's will?
Looking at this proposed course in the light of the divine
will, and, in order to know that will, considering it in its
18*





210


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


connection with what she owed to her family and the world,
she decided against it.
4. The situation of her children, in particular, had weight
in this decision. The two youngest were of an age which
seemed to demand an oversight from her, if it did not especially require her personal attention. She intimates, soon
after the death of her husband, that his death did not leave
her entirely at liberty to pursue what course she might
choose. She was still the head of a family, and could not
disregard the claims and duties which that responsible
relation imposed upon her. "I was still restricted in my
movements," she says, "in having two children given me
in so short a time before my husband's death. If it had
been otherwise, if I had been left with my eldest son alone,
I might have been justified in adopting some plans in accordance with my ideas and wishes of religious retirement.
I should probably have placed him at some college, and
have gone myself into the Convent of the Benedictines.
But the situation of my younger children precluded all
thoughts of this kind. God had other designs upon me." *
5. Among other things, which were presented for her
consideration, and which had a connection with her future
life, was the question of a second marriage. Propositions
of that nature were made to her, which brought the subject
before her in such a manner, that she could not, as a woman,
and still more as a Christian, pass them by without some
attention. Proposals of marriage, as she herself states, were
made to her by three different persons. At the middle age
of life, possessed of great wealth, with a high reputation for
intelligence and refined culture, and entitled, on these and
on other accounts, to move in the leading circles of society,
the question was one which brought itself home to her
* La Vie de Madame Guyon, Pt. I. chap. 22.





OF MADAME GUYON.


211


situation, her sympathies, and her prospects of usefulness.
Carrying this matter, as she did everything else, to God,
who alone is the author of the true inward light, she came
to the conclusion, and could not for a moment doubt, that
she was called to another sphere of responsibility and duty.
The question, independently of the individuals who sought
her, was decided on general principles, for all persons and
for all time. She says, in relation to this subject, "There
was one of these persons, in particular, whose high birth and
amiable exterior qualities, might, under other circumstances,
have had an influence on my inclinations. But I was resolved to be God's alone."
6. Thus bidding adieu to the world, without shutting
herself out of the world, she awaited the course of events.
Her present position, however, pleasant as it was in many
respects, and her present field of labor, which was comparatively limited, did not satisfy her mind. That is to say, she
had an inward conviction, without being discontented or
anxious, that the purposes of God were not fulfilled in it.
She seemed to see a hand in the clouds, which beckoned her
away; but she knew not whither. There seemed to be a
voice in her spirit, a voice uttered secretly but authoritatively, which said, that there were other duties and other crosses
before her. Providence had not unfolded its intentions. But
she knew, that the sign of God had its appropriate interpretation; and could not doubt, that it would be written on her
awakened spirit in his own good time.
7. In the meanwhile she enjoyed a short season of comparative retirement and rest. It was now the summer of
1680. "Oh, my Lord," she says, "what happiness did I not
largely taste, in my solitude and with my little family, where
nothing interrupted my tranquillity. Living near Paris, but
out of its limits, I enjoyed the advantages of the country as
well as of the city. My younger children were of an age





212


LIFE, ETC.


which did not require from me much personal care and
attention, especially as I was assisted in taking care of them
by persons well qualified for that office. Disburdened of
the sorrows which had so long borne me down, and availing
myself of these propitious circumstances, I often retired into
a forest near my residence; and many were the hours and
days of religious communion and happiness which I passed
there." In the simple and affecting language of one of her
poems,
"Here sweetly forgetting and wholly forgot
By the world and its turbulent throng,
The birds and the streams lend me many a note,
That aids meditation and song.
Ye desolate scenes, to your solitude led,
My life I in praises employ,
And scarce know the source of the tears that I shed,
Whether springing from sorrow or joy.
Though awfully silent, and shaggy, and rude,
I am charmed with the peace ye afford;
Your shades are a temple where none will intrude,
The abode of my lover and Lord.
Ah, send me not back to the race of mankind,
Perversely by folly beguiled;
For where in the crowds I have left, shall I find
The spirit and heart of a child?
Here let me, though fixed in a desert, be free,
A little one, whom they despise;
Though lost to the world, if in union with Thee,
I am holy, and happy, and wise."





CHAPTER XIX.


1680. Remarkable incident in a church at Paris. Effect of:t
on her mind. Consulted by a person on the subject of going on
a mission to Siam. Asks his opinion on her proposed plan of
going on a mission to the neighborhood of Geneva. His advice.
Visit of Bishop D'Aranthon at Paris. Consults him on the subject. Decides to leave Paris for Ger, a town not far from Geneva.
Her charities during the scarcity in the winter of 1680. Her
efforts for the spiritual good of others.  Preparations for departure. Trials of mind. Her remarks upon them and upon
the opinions formed of her by others.
IT is to this period, either the summer or early in the
autumn, 1680, that we refer the following incident. "I was
obliged," she says, "to go to Paris about some business.
Having entered into a church that was very dark, I went
up to the first confessor I found there. I did not know him.
I had never seen him before, and have never seen him
since. I made a simple and short confession; but with the
confessor himself, aside from the religious act in which he
had aided me, I did not enter into conversation. And
accordingly he surprised me much in saying of his own
accord, 'I know not who you are, whether maid, wife, or
widow; but I feel a strong inward motion to exhort you to
do what the Lord has made known to you that he requires
of you. I have nothing else to say.'
2. "I answered him, Father, I am a widow, who have
little children. What else could God require of me, but to





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


take due care of them in their education? He replied, 'I
know nothing about this. You know if God manifests to
you that He requires something of you, there is nothing in
the world which ought to hinder you from doing his will.
One must leave one's children to do this.' "
3. This remark, coming in this unexpected manner,
touched her in a point of great interest. The conviction,
originating under other and higher than earthly influences,
had gradually formed itself in her mind, that she must leave
her present residence, and labor somewhere at a distance,
she knew not where. But how could she leave her children? This question caused her some perplexity; but she
was not long in perceiving, that it is easier to the holy mind
to leave one's children, however strong their claim upon the
affections, than to leave any path of duty which God's providence clearly points out. The words, which she had heard
under circumstances so singular, reminded her of the words
of the Saviour, uttered and recorded for all times and all
occasions. " He that loveth father or mother more than me,
is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more
than me, is not worthy of me." *
4. In her deliberations on this important subject, she had
nearly come to the conclusion, though with some doubts
attending it, that she was called to religious labors in that
part of France and Savoy which borders upon the Republic
of Geneva, and perhaps in the city of Geneva itself. If, in
the present state of her affairs, she could not very conveniently, or consistently, go on a strictly foreign mission, and
devote herself to labors among the unchristianized heathen,
(one of the plans which, there is some reason to think,
suggested itself at this period to her mind,) she would, by
laboring in the distant and rude towns and provinces which
- Mat. chap. x. 37, 38.





OF MADAME GUYON.


215


lay at the foot of the Alps, sustain a position of benevolent
action hardly less trying in itself, or less beneficial in its consequences. While her mind was in this position and deliberating upon this subject, she was visited by a religious
friend from a distance, who came to her house, in part, for
the purpose of consulting her in relation to a design, which
he himself cherished, of going on a religious mission to Siam.
With some reluctance, the cause of which is not explained,
he opened the subject. As he was a man, whose age and
infirmities seemed to disqualify him for so difficult and distant an enterprise, she did not hesitate to discourage him.
5. But said she to her friend, " I have reason to think,
that God has sent you here not merely to get an opinion in
regard to your mission, but to give an opinion in regard to
mine. I need your assistance, and must lay your services
under contribution. I desire you to give me your advice."
Her religious friend, whose name she does not give, kept
the subject under consideration for some days; and having
added prayer to deliberation, he at last gave an opinion
favorable to her plans, subject only to this condition, that
she should first submit the matter to Bishop D'Aranthon,
who bore the title of bishop of Geneva, although he resided
at the city of Anneci, twenty miles south of Geneva, and
under whose directions she would naturally be placed in
going into that part of France. It was the opinion of this
person, that if D'Aranthon approved, she should go; but if
not, as he was in a situation especially fitted to judge of it,
she should give up the design.
6. To this view of the subject she readily assented. It
seemed so important, both to her and to the person whom
she had consulted, to ascertain fully the views of Bishop
D'Aranthon, and such was the interest felt in her proposed
mission by this person himself, that he offered to go personally to the city of Anneci, the distant residence of the Bishop,





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


and lay the subject before him. Madame Guyon hesitated
somewhat upon this proposition, because, although.he was
full of religious fervor, and wished to spend his last days
in attempting to convert the Siamese, he was physically
unfitted, at his period of life, to endure much hardship.
While they were thus considering what it was proper to do,
she informs us, that two travellers, both of them religious
persons, called at her house, with no object apparently but
that of resting themselves, and stated to them that Bishop
D'Aranthon was then in the city of Paris. He had been
there some weeks; but living at this time much retired, she
had not heard of it.
7. D'Aranthon was a humble, sincere man. As Protestants, we might naturally suppose him to be in some errors;
but he had the great merit of being sincere; he believed
strongly, and he endeavored to act up to what he believed.
The people, over whose religious interests he presided, were
for the most part a poor people, engaged in agricultural
pursuits, and simple in their thoughts and manners. They
dwelt partly in Savoy and partly in France; in sterile but
romantic regions, situated at the foot of the Alpine ranges.
Sympathizing with a people, whose lot could be mitigated
and rendered happy only by the influences of the religious
sentiment, he loved them, and labored for them most sincerely and faithfully. And it was a great satisfaction to him
to find any person, especially such a woman as Madame
Guyon, willing to co6perate with him in spreading among
them the knowledge of Jesus Christ.
8. On hearing, in the way which has been mentioned,
that Bishop D'Aranthon was in the city of Paris, Madame
Guyon visited him without delay. In her Autobiography
she speaks of but one visit to him. The author of the Life
of D'Aranthon says, that there were a number of inter




OF MADAME GUYON.


217


views.*  This was probably the case. The good Bishop
received her frankly and kindly. She stated her situation;
the experience she had passed through; and her fixed purpose to devote herself to the service of God in all coming
time. But how and where, she knew not; except that the
concurrence of providences, combined with something within
her, seemed to indicate, that she might, perhaps, labor profitably in the distant part of France and the contiguous portion
of Savoy, which was included within his Diocese. It had
occurred to her also, as a thing which might be proper to
be done, to employ the substance which God had given her,
in forming a charitable establishment for the resort of those
who might be found truly willing to serve God, and who
"might need such aid. "The Bishop," she says, " approved
my design."
9. Under these circumstances, with no desire but that of
accomplishing God's will, she was enabled, in the spirit of
consecration and of prayer, to bring this matter, which had
occupied much of her thoughts, to a decision. She determined, in concurrence with the views of D'Aranthon, and
also of her former acquaintance and friend, Father La
Combe, whom, in consequence of his residing in that part of
the country, she had thought it proper to consult by letter,
to leave her present residence in the neighborhood of Paris,
as soon as her affairs could be adjusted, and take up her
abode for a time at the town of Gex, until Providence should
indicate some other field of labor. Gex, it is proper to add
here, is the name of a place in the extreme eastern part of
France, within the limits of the modern department of Ain,
and at the distance of only twelve miles from Geneva. It
is a town of some note, situated at the foot of Mount St.
Vie de Messire Jean D'Aranthon D'Alex, Eveque de Geneve, Liv,
3d, ch. 4th, Ed. Lyons, 1699.
10





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


Claude, one of the summits which constitute the celebrated
Alpine range, called the Jura mountains.
10. As it was evident, however, that the arrangements
for so long a journey, and for so complete a change of
circumstances, could not be fully made, until late in the
autumn, it was determined to postpone her departure till the
spring or summer of the next year. In the meanwhile,
however, she was not idle. In addition to the cares and
labors incident to her removal, she declined no labor, which
the warmest Christian charity and fidelity required her to
undertake for others; administering, as the case might demand, sometimes to their spiritual and sometimes to their
temporal necessities.
11. In the winter of this year, the winter of 1680, which"
was very long and severe, there was a scarcity in France.
It was so great, that, amid the dense population of Paris
and its suburbs, it might perhaps be denominated a famine.
Aroused by the cries of distress which she heard around
her, Madame Guyon made every effort which her situation
allowed, to relieve the many persons who stood in need.
For a considerable time she distributed some hundreds of
loaves of bread at her house every week, besides charities
of a more private nature. In addition to this she made
arrangements for a number of poor boys and girls, and kept
them at work. God enabled her to do it.
12. God not only gave her strength and means to do it,
but she adds, that he " gave such blessings to my alms, that
I did not find that my family lost anything by it." " True
charity," she remarks further, " instead of wasting or lessening the substance of the donor, blesses, increases, and multiplies it profusely. If men fully understood and believed
this, how much that is now uselessly dissipated, would be
given to the poor, which would scarcely bless those who
might receive it more than those who might give."'





OF MADAME GUYON.


219


13. During this period, namely, the time intervening between her decision to leave Paris and her departure in the
succeeding summer, she was assiduous also, although in a
somewhat private manner, for the spiritual good of others.
She mentions a number of individuals, and one whole
family in particular, whom she thinks she was the means
of greatly benefitting in this respect.  It is unnecessary
perhaps to repeat her statements, as the cases were similar to many others to which she alludes in the course
of her history; but they show, that the sentiment of be.
nevolence, the principle of doing good, had taken strong
and permanent possession of her mind. True Christianity,
although it disclaims action in its own strength and its own
way, may justly be described as operative. The righteous
shall say unto the Saviour at the last day, " Lord, when saw
we thee an hungered and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave
thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee
in? or naked and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick,
or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them: Verily Isay unto you, Inasmuch
as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren,
ye have done it unto me." *
14. As the day of her departure approached, she made
every preparation which seemed to be proper and necessary.
Some important arrangements were to be made in respect
to her property, of which she regarded herself as merely the
stewardess; and which, therefore, while she could not employ it in personal gratifications on the one hand, she could
not wholly neglect on the other. What these arrangements
were, she does not 'clearly specify; but they were undoubtedly such as would commend themselves to Christian truth
and benevolence. In making them she did not forget the
needy. She made such provision as seemed to be desirable,
4Mat: xxv 37-40





220


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


for those of her friends and relatives, as well as for others,
whom Providence had made especially dependent on her.
Her two sons she placed in the care of persons, who would
be likely to see every thing done, which could reasonably be
expected to be done, for their morals and education. Her
little daughter it was her intention to take with her.
15. But she experienced, at this juncture, some trials, both
inward and outward, to which it may be proper briefly to
allude here. Clear as the course which she had proposed to
pursue had become to her own mind, and strongly as it was
approved by many religious persons in whom she had confidence, there were others to whom it appeared objectionable.
"One day," she says, "when I was thinking over my plans,
I found myself looking at them in the human light rather
than in God's light, and I found myself tempted and staggered. The thought arose, perhaps lam mistaken. At this
moment an Ecclesiastic came in, who was in the habit of
visiting at my house, and said to me very promptly, that the
undertaking was rash and ill-advised. I confess, that I had
some feelings of discouragement.
16. "But going to my Bible, to see what light I could
find there, I opened at the forty-first chapter of Isaiah, fourteenth verse, as follows: ' Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and
ye men of Israel. I will help you, saith the Lord, and thy
Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.'  And opening a little
farther on, at the forty-third chapter, I read as follows:
'When thou passest through the waters, I will be with
thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee.
When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burnt;
neither shall the flame kindle upon thee; for I am the Lord
thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour.' As I thus
read, my heart was strengthened. My doubts fled away.
Relying on God, what occasion had I to fear? I resolved
to go, although I might appear ai. fool in the eyes of others:





OF MADAME GUYON.


221


regardless of the censures of those, who know not what
it is to be a servant of God, and to receive and obey his
orders." *
17. Her trial in regard to her children was very considerable; but she was enabled, through grace, entirely to surmount it. She loved them; "especially," she says, " my
youngest son, whom I had strong reasons for loving. I saw
him inclined to good, and everything seemed to favor the
hopes I had conceived of him. I was not insensible to the
risk of leaving him to another's education. My daughter I
designed to take with me, though she was at this time ill of
a very tedious fever. Providence was pleased, however, so
to order it, that she recovered her health in season to take
the journey with me. The ties with which God held me
closely united to himself, were infinitely stronger than those
of flesh and blood. The laws of my sacred marriage, in
which I had given myself to the Lord, to be his in the most
sacred and intimate relations, obliged me to give up all, to
follow my spouse whithersoever it was his pleasure to call
me after him. Though from time to time I had doubts, and
trials of mind, before I went upon this religious mission, I
ought to say, that, after my departure, I never doubted of
its being God's will that I should go.
18. "And though men, who judge of things only according to the success which follows them, have taken occasion,
from my subsequent disgraces and sufferings, to judge of my
calling, and to run it down as error, illusion and imagination, it is that very persecution, and the multitude of strange
crosses it has drawn upon me, (of which this imprisonment
which I now suffer is one,t) which have confirmed me in
* La Vie de Madame Guyon, Pt. i. chs. 28, 29.
t She wrote this when confined as a prisoner in the Convent of St
Marie, in Paris.
19





222


LIFE, ETC.


the certainty of its truth and validity. Nay, I am more
than ever convinced, that the resignation which I have made
of everything, is in pure obedience to the divine will. The
Gospel effectually, in this point, shows itself to be true, which
has promised to those that shall leave all for the love of
God, ' an hundred fold in this life, and persecutions also.'
19. "And have not I infinitely more than an hundred fold,
in so entire a possession as Thou, my God, hast taken of me;
in that unshaken firmness which thou givest me in my sufferings; in that perfect tranquillity in the midst of a furious
tempest, which assaults me on every side; in that unspeakable joy, enlargedness, and liberty, which I enjoy, at the
very time of an imprisonment which is rigorous and severe?
I have no desire that my imprisonment should end before
the right time. I love my chains. Everything is equal to
me, as I have no will of my own, but purely the love and
will of Him who possesses me. My senses indeed have not
any relish for such things; but my heart is separated from
them, and borne over them; and my perseverance is not of
myself, but of him who is my life; so that I can say with
the apostle, 'It is no more I that live, but Jesus Christ that
liveth in me.' And if his life is in me, so my life is in him.
It is he in whom I live, and move, and have my being." *
* Life of Madame Guyon, chap. xxix., Brooke's Translation.





CHAPTER XX.


July, 1681, leaves Paris.  Manner of leaving and reasons of it.
Her companions.   References to her little child, who makes
crosses and fastens them to her mother's garments, and then
weaves a crown for her. Stops at the town of Corbeil. Meets
there the Franciscan, who had formerly been instrumental in her
conversion. Conversation with him. Sails for Melun. Meditations on her situation. References to her poetry. Poem illustrative of her situation and feelings.
SHE left Paris, as near as can now be ascertained, early
in July, 1681. It is worthy of notice, however, as indicating
the circumstances in which she was placed, that she did not
leave by the customary public conveyances. Considerable
opposition to her designs manifested itself in some quarters,
which rendered it possible, at least, that efforts might be
secretly and perhaps violently made to prevent her departure.  Her half-brother, La Mothe, who seems to have felt
that he had some claims, or at least some expectations, on
her property, had influence in high places, especially with
the archbishop of Paris, who had influence with the king
of France. This influence it was not impossible that he
might employ against her. That was not a period when
much regard was paid to the liberty of the subject. Not
unfrequently persons, and sometimes those who had given
but little occasion for being so treated, were seized suddenly
and unexpectedly, and were sent to the prison of Vincennes,





224


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


or to the Bastile, by orders secretly and maliciously obtained.
2. Madame Guyon knew this; and at a later period of
her life she had the experience of it. She thought it best,
therefore, not to place herself in a situation, where any
attempt of this kind could be made upon her. Accordingly
she departed privately from Paris, in a boat on the river
Seine; a method of conveyance which would be likely to
escape notice and to elude pursuit.  In July, 1681, she departed from Paris privately in this manner, - with her little
daughter five years of age,- herself a widow, - attended only
by a devout woman, whom she calls Sister Garnier, and with
two female domestics; one of whom, I suppose, was the
maid-servant, to whom God gave so much of her spirit, and
who shared for many years her labors and imprisonments.
3. She went forth with a definite object before her; but
still with so much uncertainty attending it, that she might
say in some sense, that she went forth "not knowing whither
she went." She was now in the thirty-fourth year of her
age, and had been trained to the Christian warfare by a
discipline, inward as well as outward, which eminently fitted
her both for duty and trial. Home and friends she might
be said to know no more; she became a representative of
what she aptly calls the "apostolic life," with the world for
her country, and all mankind for her brethren. From this
time also we may number what she calls her "years of banishment." Wanderings, persecutions, imprisonments, exile,
were her portion.
4. Alone upon the waters, she adored and rejoiced in
God in silence. Still there was something within her, which
whispered intimations of sadness to her heart. Her situation seemed to resemble that of the apostle Paul, when he
went up, for the last time, to Jerusalem. "I go bound," he
says, "in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things





OF MADAME GUYON.


225


that shall befall me there; save that the Holy Ghost witnesses in every city, saying, that bonds and afflictions abide
me." Her little daughter, afterwards the Countess of Vaux
and by a second marriage the Duchess of Sully, then a little
child, sat in the boat, and employed herself in cutting the
leaves and twigs, which she had gathered on the river banks,
or as they had floated by on the water, into the shape of
crosses. In this way she made a great number; and then,
apparently unconscious of what she was doing, she went and
fastened many of them to the garments of her mother. Her
mother, at first, did not particularly notice what she was
doing; but directing her attention to it soon afterwards, she
found herself almost literally covered with crosses, which
her little daughter had thus made. Having borne the cross
in times past, and seeing but little prospect of a different
result in future, she could not help looking on the act of her
child as a sort of symbol and foreshadowing of what she
would be called to endure. And this seems to have been
the view of one of her companions, the good woman whom
she denominates Sister Garnier, who remarked to Madame
Guyon, " The doings of this child appear to be mysterious."
And turning to the child, she said, " My pretty child, give
me some crosses too."  " No," she said; "they are all for
my dear mother." But she gave her one to stop her importunity.
5. But what was the surprise of Madame Guyon, when
she saw her daughter a little afterwards weaving together a
crown of leaves and river flowers. When she had completed it, she came and insisted on placing the crown upon
her head; saying, "After the cross you shall be crowned."
This perfected the symbol. First the trial, and then Jhe
reward; the night of affliction succeeded by the dawning
and the noon-day of joy. First the Cross, and then the
Crown. This gave to the transaction, though the doings





226


2LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


of a little child, the character of a sign of Providence. And
though " bonds and afflictions " awaited her, she could add,
with the apostle, that " none of these things move me; neither
count Imy life dear unto me, so that I might finish my course
with joy."*
6. Their boat stopped for a short time at the town of
Corbeil; a pleasant town of some size, seventeen miles from
Paris. Her stay was short. But she met there the pious
Franciscan, whose conversation had been so much blessed
to her in the early part of her religious history. She had
kept up a written correspondence with him for many years;
and had long looked upon him as one of the most experienced and valuable of her religious friends.  Their interview recalled many pleasant recollections, and was calculated
to fill their hearts with gratitude. She related to him the
dealings of God with her, which had resulted in her present design; a design formed, as she hoped, under a divine
guidance. In the accomplishment of this design, she was
now on her way to seek out and to labor with the rude
inhabitants in the extreme eastern part of France. The
Franciscan, now advanced in years and mature in judgment,
approved her plans, and invoked the divine blessing upon
them.
7. Once more upoh the waters of the Seine, she saw with
pleasure the impulse of oar and sail which bore her onward
to Melun. The tree grew upon the banks; the flower bent
its stalk to the waters; the breeze wafted odors; the birds
sung in the branches. But there was nothing which she
could dissociate from God; in all she heard God's voice; in
all she saw God's glory. She saw the husbandman as he
went to his home, his cottage beneath the trees on the river's
bank; and she could not help thinking, in the secrets of her
* Acts. xx. 24.





OF MADAME GUYON.


227


heart, that earth had no home for her. But though a pilgrim, she was not alone; though homeless, she had a habitation not made with hands. In God, whose presence became
to her a reality, wherever her foot trod and wherever her
eye wandered, she found all embodied, and far more than all
embodied, which she had ever found in home or country, in
friends or kindred.
8. The state of her mind, as it existed at this period, is
found delineated in her Poems, as well as in her Autobiography. Perhaps we shall find no more fitting occasion than
the present, for the insertion of the following beautiful
stanzas, which are evidently drawn from her own experience. No person but a Christian of confirmed and thorough piety could have written them. Poetry is the heart
expressed; or if this be thought not to be strictly true, on
the ground that this statement does not include enough, I
think we can fully acquiesce in the reverse of the proposition, namely, that there is no poetry where there is no heart.
The poetry of Madame Guyon, whatever defects may be
thought to attach to it in some respects, has the merit of
expressing precisely what she was, and what she felt. The
stanzas which follow, conform to her situation as it then was,
both inward and outward. They are emphatically the sentiments of the day and the hour; the spirit and voice of the
world's wanderer and the world's benefactor; who, detached
from the ties and influences of a partial locality, loses the
earthly in the divine, - whose home and centre is in God
'alone.
GOD EVERYWHERE TO THE SOUL THAT LOVES HIM.
Oh Thou by long experience tried,
Near whom no grief can long abide;
My Lord! How full of sweet content,
I pass my years of banishment.





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LIFE, ETC.


All scenes alike engaging prove,
To souls impressed with sacred love;
Where'er they dwell, they dwell in Thee,
In heaven, in earth, or on the sea.
To me remains nor place nor time;
MY country is in every clime;
Ican be calm and free from care
On any shore, since God is there.
While place we seek, or place we shun,
The soulJinds happiness in none;
But with a God to guide our way,
'Tis equal joy to go or stay.
Could I be cast where Thou art not,
That were indeed a dreadful lot;
But regions none remote I call,
Secure of finding God in all.
My country, Lord, art Thou alone;
No other can I claim or own;
The point where all my wishes meet,
My law, my love; life's only sweet.
I hold by nothing here below;
Appoint my journey, and I go;
Though pierced by scorn, opprest by pride
I feel the good,- feel nought beside.
No frowns of men can hurtful prove
To souls on fire with heavenly love;
Though men and devils both condemn,
No gloomy days arise for them.
All then! to His embrace repair;
My soul, thou art no stranger there;
There love divine shall be thy guard,
And peace and safety thy reward.





CHAPTER XXI.


Arrives at the city of Lyons.  Remarks. Proceeds from Lyons
to Anneci, in Savoy, the residence of Bishop D'Aranthon. Her
remarks on this journey. Religious services at the tomb of St.
Francis de Sales. Arrives at Gex on the 23d of July, 1681.
Death of her Director, M. Bertot. Appointment of La Combe in
his place. Her inward religious state. Benevolent efforts. New
views of the nature of the mission which God now imposed upon
her. Sanctification by faith. Visit to Gex. Her personal labors
with La Combe. Favorable results.
THE boat stopped at Melun, a pleasant town, twenty-five
miles south-east of Paris. Immediately on arriving there,
she took passage, with her companions, - with the exception
of Sister Garnier who stopped at Melun,- in one of the public
conveyances, that travelled between Melun and Lyons. The
city of Lyons, formerly the second city of France for beauty,
commerce and opulence, is situated at the confluence of the
Rhone and Soane, two hundred and twenty miles south-east
of Paris. Distinguished as it was for its public structures,
besides other objects of interest such as are most likely to be
found in the most celebrated cities, she spent no longer time
in it, than was necessary to recover a little from the exhaustion of her journey, having suffered much from fatigue. She
had arrived at that state of religious experience, when she
could not indulge the principle of curiosity, innocent as it is
20





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


generally supposed to be in its action, except in subordination to the claims of religious duty and of God's glory.
2. From Lyons she took the most direct and expeditious
route to Anneci, in Savoy, the residence of Bishop d'Aranthon, with whom she had recently formed an acquaintance
at Paris. Speaking of this journey, she says, "It was very
fatiguing. The toils of the day were followed by almost
sleepless nights. My daughter, a very tender child and only
five years of age, got scarcely any sleep, perhaps three hours
a night. And yet we both bore so great a fatigue without
falling sick by the way. My daughter showed no uneasiness, and made no complaint.  At other times half this
fatigue, or even the want of rest which I endured, would
have thrown me into a fit of sickness.  God only knows
both the sacrifices which he induced me to make, and the
joy of my heart in offering up everything to him. Had I
been possessed of kingdoms and empires, I should have
offered them all up with the greatest joy, in order to give
him the highest marks and evidences of love.
3. "'As we passed from town to town, I made it my
practice, when we arrived at the public inn, to go into the
nearest church, and spend my time in acts of devotion, till I
was summoned to my meals. And when we were travelling,
I did not cease to pray inwardly and to commune with God,
although those who were with me, did not perceive, or at
least did not comprehend it. iMy communion with God,
and my strong faith in him, had a tendency to sustain my
spirits and to render me cheerful.  Disengaged from the
world, and devoted exclusively to God's work and will, I
found myself uttering the pleasure of my heart aloud in
songs of praise. We passed through some dangerous places,
especially between Lyons and Chamberri. And at one time
our carriage broke down. But God wonderfully preserved





OF MADAME GUYON.


231


us. He seemed to be to us a pillar of fre by night, and a
pillar of cloud by day."
4. She arrived at Anneci, the residence, as already stated,
of Bishop d'Aranthon, on the 21st of July, 1681. The next
day, some religious services, which had special reference to
her arrival, were performed by the bishop at the tomb of St.
Francis de Sales, who was buried at this place. The memory of this truly pious man and distinguished writer, was
exceedingly dear to her. So much had she read his writings, and so deeply studied and imbibed his views and
temper, that she seemed to feel a special union with him,
and to hold, as it were, with his departed spirit, "the holy
intercourse of friend with friend; united with him in Christ,
and with Christ in God, who binds all his people, both the
dead and the living, in one immortal tie."
5. This day, the 22d of July, was a day which, since the
year 1668, when she first knew the blessedness of believing,
she had never permitted to pass by without special observance. On this day, nine years before, namely, in the year
1672, she had repeated her personal consecration, and had
given herself to God in the most solemn manner, without
reservation either of purpose or of time, and with the formality of a written act. It is to this act she refers when she
says, "It was there, at the tomb of St. Francis de Sales, that
I renewed my spiritual marriage with my Redeemer; as I
did every year on this day." In the renewal of her vows on
this interesting anniversary, and in dwelling on the sacredness of what she terms her spiritual nuptials, in which she
had the faith to believe that God made himself a reconciled
and joyful party, she says, that she was refreshed by the
recollection of the striking passage in the prophet Hosea,
"And I will betroth thee unto me forever; yea, I will betroth
thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving





LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


kindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in
faithfulness; and thou shalt know the Lord." *
6. On the 23d of July, she continued her journey, making
a short stop in the city of Geneva at the house of the French
consul, where religious services were performed while she
was present. She speaks of it as having been a day of much
spiritual consolation. " It seemed to me," she says, " as if
God united himself to me in a powerful and special manner." Near the close of the same day, she passed again
within the limits of France, which she had left in going to
Anneci and Geneva; and, making her way along the base
of the Jura mountains, reached the town of Gex, where she
proposed to reside for a time. She took up her residence at
the house of the Sisters of Charity, who received her very
kindly.
7. It may be in place to refer here to an event, which,
in the order of time, might properly have been mentioned
before. I refer to the death of M. Bertot, whom, as her
authorized Director in spiritual things, Madame Guyon had
consulted for many years, and in whom she placed great
confidence. He seems to have been a man of learning and
piety, characterized by a high degree of caution. She says
of him, that he was retired and difficult of access; and not
at all inclined to think favorably of any religious experience,
which partook much of the marvellous and extraordinary.
Nevertheless, on being consulted by her in relation to her
departure from Paris and her mission to the eastern part of
France, he gave his approval of it. A short time after she
saw him on this subject, he was taken ill and died. His
works, containing some letters of Madame Guyon on spiritual subjects, were published after his death.t
* Hosea, chap. ii. 19, 20.
t See Lettres Chretiennes et Spirituelles de Madame Guyon, Tome V
p 464. Lond. Ed. 1768.





OF MADAME GUYON.


233


8. By going to Gex, which was within the limits of the
diocese of Bishop d'Aranthon, she naturally came under his
spiritual care. And having learned the death of Bertot, one
of the first acts of the bishop, after her arrival at Gex, was
to assign to her a Director in his place. The person, whom
he selected for this responsible situation, was Father La
Combe, whom we have already had occasion to mention.
The selection, although made, it is quite possible, without
any consultation with Madame Guyon, nevertheless met her
views and wishes. Bertot's views and experience were not
altogether accordant with hers; and although it was done
with the best intentions, he sometimes took a course which
seemed unnecessarily to perplex and restrict the growth of
her inward life. Her knowledge of La Combe's religious
history led her to anticipate a more favorable direction and
influence from him.
9. Madame Guyon speaks of the early part of her residence at Gex as being characterized by sweet and happy
peace of mind and the most intimate communion with God.
She mentions, that a number of times she awoke at midnight,
with such a presence and possession of God in her soul,
that she could no longer sleep, but arose and spent hours in
prayer and praise and divine communion. On one of these
occasions, her exercises were connected with the recollection
of the passage of Scripture, " Lo, I am come to do thy will,
O God;;" a passage which was brought to her mind very
forcibly, and so applied to her own situation and her own
feelings as to cause the most devout and pleasing reflections.
"It was accompanied," she says, "with the most pure, penetrating, and powerful communication of grace that I had ever
experienced."
10. "And here I may remark," she adds, " that, although
my soul was truly renovated, so much so in the exercise of
its pure and holy love, as to know nothing but God alone,
20 *





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yet it was not in that strength and immutability of renovation in which it has since been. [That is to say, it was
subject, from time to time, to severe temptations; it was
sometimes assailed, and perhaps shaken, by the storms to
which it was exposed.]  To speak properly, it was a beginning life and a rising day, which goes on increasing to that
full and bright meridian, which no cloud darkens and no
night follows." And this, I suppose, agrees with the more
common or general experience of those who have been in
this state. If it can be truly said of them, that they are
persons whose hearts are wholly given to God, and who are
perfected in love, it is still true that they may be subject to
heavy temptations, and that their faith is liable to be shaken.
Time, with prayer and watchfulness, gives strength. Every
day brings them more closely and fixedly into divine union.
Till, at length, the soul, strong by grace and strong by habit,
becomes established, as Madame Guyon intimates, in comparative immutability.
11. She was now on a field of labor remote from the
noise and the temptations of cities, to which she had looked
forward with great interest. She had come without any
prescribed or stipulated course of action before her. But
this was not of great importance. He who has the heart of
a true missionary, will find something which can be done
benevolently and religiously, wherever he goes; and that
too, without the formalities and aids of antecedent arrangements. God opens the way to those that love him. This
she always found to be true; and accordingly, in connection
with other religious persons, with whom she became associated at Gex, she endeavored to do good to the poor, the
ignorant and suffering, as opportunities presented them
selves, especially in giving religious instruction.
12. The full details of her labors, which could have con
tinued in some of these forms only for a short time and to a





OF MADAME GUYON.


235


limited extent, she does not give; and perhaps did not think
it desirable to give them. She merely alludes to them, from
time to time, incidentally and briefly. One plan of benevolent operation which she entertained, was not carried into
effect; at least not in the way in which she first contemplated; but it shows her dispositions. She says she was
skilled in making various ointments and in applying them to
wounds, and thought she might be very beneficial to those
who were afflicted in that way, especially the poor. And
at one time she contemplated devoting herself wholly to
benevolent measures of this kind,--influenced probably by
the consideration, that benevolence is one in its nature,
though diversified in its acts; and that unity of effort, in a
particular form of benevolence, will result in more good than
benevolent efforts divided among many objects. This plan,
-however, which will be readily appreciated by those who
are acquainted with the methods of benevolent action in
the Catholic church, was not carried into effect; and it was
obviously her expectation, as a general thing, to labor very
much as she had labored in times past; praying, instructing,
visiting the sick, and giving to the needy; with the simple
difference, that now her labors were to be performed in a
different situation and among a different class of people.
But though she kept no specific record of what she did, and
did not think it advisable to do it, her labors and charities
were such, both in the degree and the manner, that they
attracted the special attention of Bishop D'Aranthon, who
wrote her a polite letter, expressive of his gratitude.
13. But it was not long before a new voice began to utter
itself in her heart. Some might, perhaps, designate it as the
voice of nature; but there is much more reason, it seems to
me, for regarding it as the voice of God, who speaks, and
cannot help speaking, in the thoughts and decisions of the
sanctified heart. And the thought, or the voice, which God





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


puts within us, is often at variance with mere human wisdom. In more than one sense can it be said, that "God's
thoughts are not as our thoughts." Keeping his own counsel, and developing only a part of his providences at one
time, he not unfrequently leads his people in a way which
they know not. And in the events which we are now relating, it is certainly not too much to say, that he had his
purpose in every thing which had taken place; but as the
appointed hour had not yet come, he had not fully disclosed
it. In God's view the time of the thing is as essential as the
thing itself. It was his purpose, from this time onward,
to lead her by faith and not by sight, and therefore, in all
cases, to hide his object from her outward vision, till faith
had accomplished its appropriate work in her heart. And
accordingly, in sending her from Paris to the foot of the
Jura mountains, among a poor and unknown people, he
imposed a mission upon her which she did not know, and
which he did not design that she should know, --a burden
which she understood afterwards, but not now.
14. The voice inwardly, in the form of a new and imperious conviction, began to speak.  There was something
within her which seemed to say, that this was not the work,
or rather was not the special and great work, which God
had called her to perform. Her mind was perplexed, and
she was at a loss what course to take. At this time Father
La Combe came to Gex. His usual place of residence was
at Thonon, a town about twenty-four miles from Gex, situated on the other side of the Leman or Genevan lake,
where he had charge of a congregation of the religious sect
or Order of the Barnabites. She mentioned the uncertainty
and perplexity which she felt, to La Combe. We have
already had occasion to say, that, by the appointment of
Bishop D'Aranthon, La Combe had been constituted, in
accordance with the arrangements of the Catholic church,





OF MADAME GUYON.


237


her spiritual Director. She was naturally led, therefore, to
consult him in this emergency. On learning her state of
mind, he advised her to set apart a season of special supplication for the purpose of ascertaining more definitely what
the will of the Lord might be. But on the examination of
her feelings, and on endeavoring to carry this advice into
effect, she thought it best to leave the subject to the decisions of Providence. In her present state of experience,
her mind rested calmly and unchangeably in one truth and
in one form of religious exercise, - THY WILL BE DONE.
15. The time and manner and degree of manifesting
God's will, constitute a part of the will itself. God never
has failed, and never will fail to make known his will, in his
own time and way, to those who have true and unreserved
hearts to do his will. In fact, his will exists in his present
providences; they are the letters in which it is written.
And the heart that perfectly corresponds to God's providences, perfectly corresponds to his will. It was God's will
that she should go, not knowing whither she went. A cloud
rested upon her path.  The seal of her mission was not yet
broken. What could she do then but wait, adore, and be
silent. And this was her answer, practically at least, to the
suggestions and advice of La Combe, - a man of true religious experience, but still much less advanced than herself.
" God," she thought in her heart, " will not fail to indicate
to me what course I should take, when, on the one hand, he
finds me ready to do his commands, and when on the other
he is ready to make his commands known. I leave, therefore, everything with him, and with the mighty mind of his
providences. THY WILL BE DONE."
16. The work which the Lord had assigned her, and
which she did not yet understand, was wholly different from
what, in her limited view of things, she had anticipated.
God often works thus. It is often the case. that He forms





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a sentiment in the bosom, and causes it to be uttered, of
which he who is the instrument of its utterance, does not
know the full import. And still less does he understand the
hidden influences of divine providence, which have placed
the burden upon his heart, rather than upon the heart of
another, and have caused it to be proclaimed at the appropriate time. He is a prophet of God; and, like most true
prophets, is so absorbed in the object as to be hardly conscious of his own relations to it; so that, with the simplicity
of a little child, he utters truths, which are so broad and effective in their application, that they affect the happiness of
nations, and take hold of time and eternity.
17. Thus at the foot of the Alps, when she thought her
great business was to make ointments, and cut linen, and
bind up wounds, and tend the sick, and teach poor children
the alphabet and the catechism, (important vocations to
those whom Providence calls to them,) she uttered a word
from her burdened heart, in her simplicity, without knowing
or thinking how widely it would affect the interests of
humanity, or through how many distant ages it would be
re-echoed. And that word was, Sanctification by Faith.
18. Both the thing and the manner of the thing struck
those who heard her with astonishment.   Sanctification
itself was repugnant; and sanctification by faith inexplicable. In the Protestant Church, it would have been hardly
tolerable; but in the Catholic Church, which is characterized, much more than the Protestant, by what may be termed
ceremonial observances, the toleration of a sentiment which
ascribes the highest results of inward experience to faith
alone, was impossible. So that, instead of being regarded
as a humble and devout Catholic, as she supposed herself to
be, she found herself suddenly denounced as a heretic. But
the Word was in her heart, formed there by infinite wisdom;
and in obedience to that deep and sanctified conviction





OF MADAME GUYON.


239


which constitutes the soul's inward voice, she uttered it;
uttered it now, and uttered it always, " though bonds and imprisonments awaited her."
19. She used discretion, however; but not hypocrisy.
She did not esteem it advisable to propose the highest results of the religious life to those who had hardly made a
beginning, and who had not, as yet, experienced the blessing
of justification. But when she met with those who believed
in Christ as a Saviour from the penalty of a violated law,
she seemed to be impelled by a sort of religious instinct,
originating in her own blessed experience, to recommend
Him also as a Saviour from present transgression, as a
Saviour who can and does communicate his own spirit of
truth, meekness, gentleness, purity, and holiness of heart to
those who, in the spirit of entire self-renunciation, look to
him believingly for these great blessings. She said what
was in her, in God's time, without variation and without
fear, scarcely knowing what she did.
20. Her religious friend and correspondent, the Franciscan whom she met at Corbeil, in her journey from Paris,
had made some suggestions on the course which she might
find it expedient to pursue. He seems to have understood
the state of things at Gex, especially among that class of
persons entitled the New Catholics, with whom it was
thought probable that she might be called particularly to
labor. " He mentioned," she says, " a number of things
about them, in order to show me that my views on religious
experience, and that my experience itself, were quite different from what I should be likely to find among them. He
gave me to understand, that I must be very cautious in
letting them know that I walked in the inward path; that
is to say, in a life which is inward, and which rests upon
faith; assuring me, if I were not so, that I could reasonably
expect nothing but persecutions from them."





240      LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


21. But it was difficult for her, in the simplicity and
fullness of her heart, to understand and receive this advice,
although coming from a very good man, but one who was
not inwardly where she was. The way of God had become
so clear to her, that she did not readily perceive how others,
in the foolishness of the natural heart, might stumble at it.
And if they did stumble at it, was it not the way of God
still? And ought it not to be proclaimed as such? At any
rate, with a will renounced, she had neither the inclination
nor the power to make any stipulations with worldly prudence. "It is in vain," she remarks, in connection with this
conversation, "to contrive to hide ourselves from the blow,
when God sees it best for us to suffer, and especially when
our wills are utterly resigned to him, and totally passed into
his.  O  Saviour, king of divine lovers! How didst thou
submit to the blow, yea, how didst thou smite, as it were,
upon thyself, in submission to thy Father's holy will! I am
thine, solemnly devoted to the one thing of being like thee,
of being conformed to thee. Thou didst suffer; and I will
suffer with thee. I refuse nothing. If it be thy will, my
own hand shall strike the wound into my own bosom."
22. And in accordance with these views, she said, on
proper occasions, what she had to say without concealment.
And, although she did not understand it at the time of her
first coming, it was now evident that God, for this very purpose, had sent her there. Everything, as we have had repeated occasion to remark, has its time and place; and God
alone knows the truth of either. God sent her abroad, that
she might preach the more effectually at home. He placed
her at the circumference, that beginning, not "at Jerusalem," but at the furthest place from Jerusalem, she might
operate back from the circumference to the centre. The
woman's voice that uttered itself in self-devoted banishment. at the foot of' the Jura mountains., was heard, in due





OF MADAME GUYON.


241


time, in the high places of Paris. When she had spoken,
her eyes were opened in relation to her position. Some
believed and rejoiced; some disbelieved and reproached her,
and were angry. Truly enough, without specifically intending it, and yet in God's will, she had commenced the "apostolic life," by proclaiming the Gospel in the highest form of
its results; and either now or in prospect, with sorrows and
with persecutions attending her.
23. At this juncture, of those, whose learning and position
in society rendered their concurrence particularly important,
one individual only stood by her, both in sentiment and action, - Father La Combe. Providence favored and supported
her here. He was her spiritual Director; he understood
her principles and experience; he had something, although
as yet lingering far behind her, of the same thorough inward life. On his return from Gex to Thonon, he invited
her to go with him. This invitation she accepted, as the
excursion would be favorable to her enfeebled health, and
would be entirely within the limits of what she considered
the present sphere of her labors.  Instead of taking the
route of Geneva, they decided to take the nearest way
across the Leman lake. Boats were continually crossing,
which offered them a passage. Embarked in her little vessel, it may not be out of place to remark, that she was now
on the wave of those waters, and in the bosom of those
mountains, which philosophers and poets have delighted to
behold, and have loved to celebrate.
"Clear, placid Leman! Thy contrasted lake,
With the wide world I dwelt in, is a thing
Which warns me, with its stillness, to forsake
Earth's troubled waters for a purer spring."
It was in sight of the place where she now was, that Gibbon
and Voltaire subsequently resided and wrote. These very





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


waters, and the cliffs and cottages and snow-crowned summits that hung over them, have since inspired the genius of
Rousseau and Byron.    With deep feeling they admired
these wonderful works; she, with no less admiration of the
works, admired them still more, as the mighty mirror of the
God who made them. They drew their inspiration from the
mountains, which, though formed of adamant, must sooner
or later crumble and pass away; she drew her inspiration
from the God of the mountains, who endures forever.
24. Before they reached the eastern side of the lake,
upon which Thonon is situated, one of those sudden and
fierce storms arose, to which this body of water is subject.
The dark clouds wrapped them; their little boat dashed
violently upon the waves; the boatmen were in consternation. But to her the storm  brought no terror.  Faith,
which places God in the centre, - God, who is Love under
all circumstances, in the storm as well as in the sunshine, -
had equalized all.  Calmly she awaited the result. God
protected the little company and they arrived safe at their
place of destination.
25. Twelve days she staid at Thonon, at the Ursuline
Convent. A portion of the time she spent in retirement,
separate from the world, but not alone. God was with her.
But she never forgot the mission which she now felt was
committed to her, - namely, the proclamation, to all who bear
the name of Christ, of Holiness based upon Faith, as their
present privilege and possession. It was to accomplish her
for this work that God had not only established her position
in society, and had given her vast powers of thought, but,
what was still more necessary, had subjected her inmost
nature to the terrible discipline of his providences, and to
the flaming scrutiny of his Holy Spirit. When God, in his
providences, gave the command, she spoke now, and always.
26. At this time her mind was very much taken up with





OF MADAME GUYON.


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the spiritual condition of La Combe. Nominally, La Combe,
in the fulfilment of human instrumentalities and arrangements, was her Director. But really, and in the fulfilment
of God's appointment, the spiritual direction was with the
one to whom God had actually given the deepest experience and the largest measures of his grace. It was well,
however, that the relation in which they stood to each other,
gave them frequent opportunities of conversation, which
they might not otherwise have enjoyed. He was prepared
to listen to her, independently of other considerations, because she had been the instrument, many years before, of
his advancement in religion, if not of his first religious experience. She saw that he had much; but she felt that he
ought to have more.
27. His religious state, as she has delineated it, was precisely this. Intellectually he received the doctrine of sanctification, as something to be experienced now. On this point
he did not doubt; and he seems to have aimed sincerely at
the inward realization of what he believed and felt he ought
to possess. His prayers, his resolutions, his efforts, attended
by divine grace, were not in vain. He received much, but
he had not received all. His experience failed, in having
too large a share of the apparitional and emotional. He
attached an undue value to sights and sounds, and to emotions of mere joy, considered as the exclusive, or the principal evidences of religion. It was obviously very hard for
him to walk in the narrow way of faith alone.
28. "Father La Combe," she says, "having walked a
long time by testimonies, as he called them, that is to say,
by sensible marks and signs, could not easily remove himself
from that way of living, and enter upon a better one. In
the support of his religious hopes he was too much disposed,
as it seemed to me, to seek for those things which satisfy
human sense and human reason. Hard was it for him to





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walk in the poor and low and despised way of entire selfrenunciation and of simple faith. I felt for him; I labored
with him. No one can tell what it cost me, before he was
formed according to the will of God. It was hard for him
to die entirely to self. I did not grieve when I saw him
suffer. I had such a desire for his spiritual progress and
perfection, that I could willingly have wished him all the
crosses and afflictions imaginable, that might have conduced
to this great and blessed end. He lay like a heavy burden
upon my spirit. I had no resource but to carry it to the
Lord, who had placed it upon me. To him I made my
complaint, who graciously encouraged me, both on this subject and on that entire dependence on himself which he
gave me, which was such, that I was like a new-born
infant."
29. Her efforts were not in vain. He who inspired them
blessed them. From this time we may date, between La
Combe and herself, a union of spirit, founded on a similarity of experience. He renounced all, that he might receive
all. He wanted no other signs or tokens of his acceptance,
than the declaration of God's words, that all who give
themselves to him to do his will in faith, are safe. He
could not but foresee, that doctrinal views so different from
those which were generally entertained, and inward experience so variant from that which characterized the mass of
Christians, must occasion remark, and would probably ex
cite permanent and deep opposition. But whatever might
be before him, he had grace and strength sufficient to leave
all in the Lord's hands.
30. Recognizing in Madame Guyon, the instrument, under
God, of his own spiritual renovation and progress, it is not
surprising that he entertained for her those sincere sentiments of respect, and of Christian affection, which both her
natural and Christian character seemed justly to claim.





OF MADAME GUYON.                245
From this time onward, their history is, to some extent,
linked together. Their views of Christian experience were
the samie. They had a common object, which they endeavored to promote, both by their personal efforts and writings.
Believing that the gospel had power to purify and perfect,
as well as to save from the infliction of punishment, they
did what they could to realize this great result, and to make
their fellow-beings hiol~y. In their common trials, as well as
in their common labors, they sympathized with each other,
and endeavored to strengthen the latter, and to alleviate the
former, by a written correspondence, mutually carried on, for
many years. They met with rebukes, with opposition, with
imprisonments. But God, who had given them the promise,
was with them to the end.





CHAPTER XXII.


Account of the hermit of Thonon, called Anselm. Her return from
Thonon to Gex. Thrown from a horse and injured. Labors at
Gex. Illustration of them in the case of a poor woman, whom
she was the means of spiritually benefiting. Sermon of La Combe
on Holiness. La Combe called to account, on the ground of
preaching heretical doctrine.  Views and measures of Bishop
d'Aranthon. Proposes to Madame Guyon to give up her property and become prioress of a Religious House at Gex. Her
refusal. Remarkable conversation between d'Aranthon and La
Combe, in relation to Madame Guyon's course. Remarks upon
d'Aranthon's course and upon his character. He gradually
takes ground in opposition to Madame Guyon. Some account
of her inward experience at this time.
" AT Thonon," she says, " I found a hermit, whom the
people called Anselm. He was a person of the most extraordinary sanctity that had appeared for some time. He
was from the city of Geneva; and God had wonderfully
drawn him from thence, at twelve years of age. With the
permission of the cardinal, who was at that time Archbishop
of Aix, in Provence, he had taken the habit of hermit of St.
Augustine, at the age of nineteen. This man and another
person lived together in a little hermitage, which they had
prepared for themselves, where they saw nobody but such
as came to visit them in their solitary place. He had lived
twelve years in this hermitage. He seldom ate any thing
but pulse, prepared with salt and sometimes with oil; with





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247


the exception that three times a week he made his meals of
bread and water. He wore for a shirt a coarse hair cloth,
and lodged on the bare ground. He was a man of great
piety, living in a continual state of prayer, and in the greatest humility. He had been the instrument, in God's hands,
of many remarkable things.
" This good hermit, who had been acquainted with Father
La Combe for some time, and who had learned something of
me, seemed to have a clear perception of the designs of God
in relation to us. God had showed him, as he assured us,
that we were both destined, in his providence, for the guidance and aid of souls; but that this mission of God would
not be fulfilled in us, without our experiencing at the same
time various and strange crosses."
2. At the expiration of twelve days she returned from
Thonon to Gex, by the way of Geneva, - a longer route,
but which had the advantage of avoiding the exposures of an
open boat on the lake. At Geneva she called again at the
French consul's; and as no immediate means of conveyance
presented itself, he proposed to her to complete the remainder of her journey, only ten miles, on horseback; and offered
for this purpose one of his own horses. " I had some difficulty," she remarks, " in accepting this proposal, as I was
not much acquainted with riding on horseback. The consul
assuring me, however, that the horse was very gentle and
that there was no danger, I ventured to mount him. There
was a sort of smith standing by, who looked at me with a
wild, haggard look. This maui, just as I had got fairly
seated upon the animal, took it into his head, to strike him
with a heavy blow upon the back, which made him start
very suddenly. The result was, that I was thrown upon
the ground violently; falling upon my temple, and injuring
two of my teeth and the cheek-bone. I was so much stunned
and hurt, that I could not proceed immediately; but after





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


resting awhile and recovering myself, I took another horse,
and with a rider beside me, to render any necessary assistance, I proceeded on my way."
3. At Gex, to which she thus safely returned, she continued to labor, as God gave her opportunity.  Among
those, with whom she became acquainted there, was a poor
woman who came to Gex from some place in the neighboring country. She seems to have been a religious woman, in
the common acceptation of the term, and even eminently so.
" She was one," says Madame Guyon, "on whom the Lord
had conferred very singular graces. She was in such high
religious reputation in the place from which she came, that
she passed there for a saint. Our Lord brought her to me,
in order that she might understand and see the difference
between that religion which consists in the possession of
spiritual endowments and gifts, and that which consists in
the possession of the Giver."
4. This woman, with whom she thought she might profitably labor, passed through the same struggle and experienced the same blessing which others experienced; no
longer a great Christian by being great, but by being little;
no longer great in her own eyes because she had experienced much, but great in the eyes of God, because she had
become nothing in herself. Instead of seeing God in dreams
and visions, which placed him in the past or future, she now
saw him in the unfailing mirror of the present moment. Instead of looking chiefly for consolations, and judging of the
amount of her religion by the amount of her joy, her true
and chief consolation was in enduring and doing God's will;
accepting, with an equal and thankful mind, the cloud and
the sunshine, the suffering and the pleasure.
Of this propitious result God was pleased to make Madame Guyon the instrument. And this case illustrates the
nature of a portion of her labors at this time. She endeav




OF MADAME GUYON.


249


ored to establish and instil permanent principles of practical
Christianity; believing, as she did, that true Christianity,
considered in its renovating and sanctifying relations, does
not consist in having God's gifts merely, but chiefly and
especially in having God himself in the soul by a perfect
union with his will. She felt herself particularly called
upon to point out this difference, namely, between possessing
the gifts of God and possessing God himself; between emotional experience, which feeds upon what is given, both good
and bad, and volitional experience, which feeds upon what
is, namely, upon God's will alone; or what is the same thing,
upon " every word which proceedeth out of his mouth."  And
on the basis of this distinction, she sometimes intimates, that
the doctrines of sanctification, or of inward holy living, may
be reduced, for the most part, to the two great principles of
self-renunciation on the one hand, and of perfect union with
the divine will on the other. He, who has nothing in himself, has all in God.
5. It was about this time that Father La Combe was
called to preach on some public occasion. The new doctrine, as it was termed, was not altogether a secret. Public
curiosity had become excited. He chose for his text the
passage in Psalm xlv. 13. "The king's daughter is all glorious within; her clothing is of wrought gold."
What we have to say in regard to his exposition of the
passage, is partly conjectural; but there probably is no
doubt that by the king he understood Christ; by the king's
daughter, the church. His doctrine was, whatever might be
true in regard to men's original depravity, that those who
are truly given to Christ and are in full harmony with him,
are delivered from it; that is to say, are " all glorious within."
Like Christ, they love God with a love free from selfishness,
with pure love. Like Christ, they are come to do the will of
the Father. Christ is formed in them. They not only have





250        LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
faith in Christ, and faith in God through Christ, but as the
result of this faith, they have Christ's disposition. They are
now in a situation to say of themselves individually, in the
language of the Apostle Paul, " I live; and yet not I; but
Christ liveth in me." So that they are one with Christ, and
through Christ are one with God; and being in this divine
unity, and continually drawing strength from a divine source,
they reflect the divine image.
6. He did not maintain that all Christians are really the
subjects of this advanced state of Christian experience; but
endeavored to show, that this is a possible state; that, however intense human depravity may be, the grace of God has
power to overcome it; that the example of Christ, the full
and rich promises, and even the commands, give encouragement to effort, and confidence in ultimate victory. And
without making allusions to himself, or to the remarkable
woman whose experience and instructions had revived the
doctrine of present sanctification, now almost forgotten, although not unknown to the pious of former times, he could
not hesitate to maintain that there have been, that there may
be, and that there are, truly holy hearts in this depraved
world. On this basis, and in Christ's name, he preached
HOINIESS; not merely as a thing to be proclaimed, but to
be experienced; not merely as a theme of pulpit declamation,
but as a matter of personal realization.
7. Great was the consternation when it was found, that
men were not merely required to be holy, but, what is
practically a different thing, were expected to be holy. The
requisition was admitted; but the belief of its practical possibility, and the expectation of the fulfilment of that possibility, which would imply a close scrutiny into the irregular
lives of many, were rejected as visionary and condemned as
heretical. La Combe, accordingly, although he was a man
whose learning and eloquence entitled him to no small degree
of consideration, was called to account.





OF MADAME GUYON.


251


8. When this sermon was preached, there was an ecclesiastic present, of considerable standing, who had much influence with Bishop d'Aranthon. This man not only declared
that the sermon was full of errors, but, conscious perhaps
of some irregularities, which the doctrine of practical holiness might not easily tolerate, he took the position that it
was preached against himself personally.  Certain it is,
whether influenced by zeal for the church or by enmity
to La Combe, he drew up eight propositions, expressive,
as he alleged, of sentiments which ought not to pass unnoticed.
Madame Guyon asserts, that he inserted in these propositions statements or sentiments which La Combe had not advanced, and that hlie adjusted them, in their relation to each
other, as maliciously as possible. Preparing them to suit
himself, he sent them to one of his friends at Rome, in order
that their heretical character might be ascertained by the
proper ecclesiastical authorities there, and that the author
of them might feel, in due season, the discriminating and
repressive hand of the Inquisition. No formal condemnation, however, was pronounced. Probably the authorities at
Rome, watchful as they generally are in the matter of heretical tendencies, did not consider the movements of an ecclesiastic as yet almost unknown, and residing in a remote and
obscure place, as threatening any very great evils, even if
considerably divergent from the strict line of Catholic orthodoxy. La Combe escaped this time.
9. The things which were taking place, reached the ear
and attracted the notice of the good Bishop d'Aranthon. He
had the sagacity to perceive, whatever might be true of La
Combe, that the responsibility of this movement, which both
excited his curiosity and alarmed his fears, rested chiefly
upon Madame Guyon. He did not hesitate to express his
sincere regard for her talents and virtues; but he could not





252


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


conceal from himself the fact, that her piety and intellectual
ascendency rendered her opinions the more dangerous, if
they were not true. He determined, therefore, - and it
would seem, from some remarks made, that he did it after
considerable consultation with some of his ecclesiastics,that she should not continue to exert her labors and influence
within the limits of his diocese, unless she could be led to do
it in a different way and on different principles. He had
invited her, or rather had approved of her coming, as an
executor of charities, and not as a teacher of dogmatics.
And in her new vocation, although she justly thought that
God had assigned her a new and higher mission, which she
herself had not anticipated, he deemed it the part both of
safety and of duty, to interpose his ecclesiastical authority.
10. But in bringing about his object, he adopted a novel
plan, more ingenious than it was wise. He proposed to her
to give her property, or that portion of it which still remained within her control, to one of the permanent Religious
Houses at Gex, and to become herself the prioress of it.
Desirous of preventing her departure, if it could be done
consistently with other views and other interests, he reasoned
very naturally, that her position as prioress of a religious
community, would give scope to her fertile and active powers of thought and piety, without furnishing opportunity to
diffuse her exertions and influence beyond its limits, and
thus good would be realized, without what he considered the
existing dangers. The proposition does not appear to have
been in all respects impracticable.  She probably would
have had no difficulty in disposing of that portion of her
property which had not been settled on her children, and
which still stood in her own name, for some religious purpose; - indeed, she repeatedly declared her readiness to do
it; - but the inward voice, the voice of God in the soul, of
which she so often speaks, and which, it seems to me, is the





OF MADAME GUYON.


253


true name for the decisions of a truly sanctified judgment,
declared clearly and imperatively, that the objects of the
new and higher mission, to which God had called her, could
not be fulfilled by her taking such a course. She communicated, therefore, to the bishop, that she did not see the way
open to accord with his plan; basing her refusal, as she expressly states, upon two propositions; FIRST, that she could
not consistently and regularly become prioress, because she
had not passed through the regular period prescribed to
noviciates; and, SECOND, because by remaining permanently at Gex, she would incur the hazard and the sin of opposing and defeating the obvious designs of God upon her.
11. The good man had his heart too much set upon his
design to receive this unfavorable decision with entire equanimity. In this position of affairs, Father La Combe left
Thonon, on some business, which required him to visit the
city of Anneci, the place of d'Aranthon's residence. He
found the bishop somewhat dissatisfied and afflicted; and
the following conversation, as Madame Guyon has reported
it, took place between them.
D'Aranthon. You must absolutely engage this lady to
give her property to the Religious House at Gex, and must
get her consent to become the prioress of it.
La Combe. You know, sir, what Madame Guyon has
told you of the dealings of God with her, and of what she
has considered her religious vocation, both when you saw her
at Paris, and also since she has been in this region. She
has given herself up to do God's will. For this one thing,
she has quitted all other things; and I do not believe that
she will accept your propositions, if she has any fear that by
so doing she will put it out of her power to accomplish the
designs of God in regard to her. She has offered to stay
with the sisters at the Religious House at Gex, as a boarder.
If they are willing to keep her as such, she will remain with
22





254


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


them; if not, she is resolved to retire, temporarily, into
some convent, till God shall dispose of her otherwise.
D'Aranthon. I know all that; but I likewise know that
she is so very obedient to you as her spiritual adviser and
director, that, if you lay your commands upon her, she will
assuredly comply with them.
La Combe. That is the very reason, sir, why I hesitate.
Where great confidence is reposed, we should be very careful how we abuse it. I shall not compel Madame Guyon,
on the ground of the confidence she has reposed in me, or
of the spiritual authority which I possess over her, - coming
as she does from a distant place, - after having made such
sacrifices of her property as she has, to give up the whole of
the remainder of it to a Religious House, which is not yet
fully established, and which, if it ever should be, cannot be
of any great use under the existing circumstances.
D'Aranthon. I do not accept your view of the subject.
Your reasons, permit me to say, are without application and
without value. If you do not make her do what I have said,
I will suspend and degrade you.
La Combe. Be it so, sir. I cannot do what I believe to
be wrong. I am ready, not only to suffer suspension, but even
death itself, rather than do anything against my conscience.
Having said this, La Combe respectfully took his leave.
The bishop was left to himself, conscious, undoubtedly, that he
had verified, in one instance at least, the prevalent doctrine,
- a doctrine almost as common then as it is now, - that the
remains of the life of nature exist even in the best of men.
12. La Combe could not but perceive, that these things
indicated anything rather than harmony and safety. Not
knowing but some sudden measures might be taken, which
would prejudice her security, he immediately sent to Madame Guyon some account of this interview, by express. But
it was all well with her. She continued calmly in her work





OF MADAME GUYON.


255


at Gex; visiting the sick, relieving the poor, and instructing
the ignorant, as God gave her opportunity; and especially
inculcating upon all the necessity of a heart wholly given to
God. And in doing this, she began to touch upon a subject,
which is rather of a delicate nature in the church of which
she was a member. She thought it necessary, with all possible discretion and kindness, to distinguish between the religion of forms and the religion of reality, between outward
religion and inward religion, between genuflexions and signs
of the cross made upon the exterior of the person, on the
one hand, and prostrations and crucifixions of that which is
interior, on the other. This seemed to her very important,
although she admitted that forms and ceremonies were good,
and to some extent necessary, in their place. In doing this,
in which undoubtedly she had the guidance of a higher wisdom than man's wisdom, she took a course which was never
forgotten nor forgiven.
13. But this was not all. She had learned the value of
the Bible. When in the eleventh or twelfth year of her age
she resided as a pupil in the Dominican convent at Montargis, she one day found a Bible in the room which was
assigned her. By whose instrumentality it was thus providentially left there, she never knew. "I spent," she says,
"whole days in reading it; giving no attention to other
books or other subjects from morning to night. And having great powers of recollection, I committed to memory the
historical parts entirely." From that time, the Bible was
dear to her.  Her constant references to the scriptures
would be a decisive proof of this, even if we had not the
additional and remarkable evidence, that she afterwards
wrote and published, in the French language, twenty volumes
of practical and spiritual commentary on the sacred writings.
She felt it her duty, therefore, in opposition to the prevalent
views among her own people at that time, to recommend





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


and to urge the reading of the Bible. She regarded this as
essential. And this was another and great ground of
offence.
15. Previous to the time of which we are now speaking,
Bishop d'Aranthon, with a kindness creditable to him as a
man and a Christian, had visited Madame Guyon, at Gex.
She speaks of this visit in the following terms; "Soon after
my arrival at Gex, Bishop d'Aranthon came to see us. I
spoke to him of the religion of the heart. He was so clearly
convinced, and so much affected, that he could not forbear
expressing his feelings. He opened his heart to me on what
God required from him. He confessed to me his own deviations and infidelity. Every time, when I spoke to him on
these subjects during his visit at Gex, he entered into what
I said, and acknowledged it to be the truth; as indeed it
was the Spirit of truth who inspired me to speak to him,
without whom I should be only a mere simpleton. But the
effect of what I said was done away in a considerable
degree by others. As soon as persons who sought for preeminence, and could not suffer any good but what came
from themselves, spoke to him, he was so weak as to let
himself be imposed upon with impressions against the truth.
This foible, with others, has hindered him from doing all the
good which otherwise he might have done in his diocese."
15. D'Aranthon, judging from the full accounts which
have been given of him, seems to have been a good man;
sincere, benevolent, laborious. He encouraged the coming
of Madame Guyon into his diocese; and the statement
which has just been given, shows that he received her with
kindness and respect. When she conversed with him on
the importance of possessing a heart truly redeemed and
sanctified through the blood of Christ, uttering her remarks
with an air of simplicity and of piety the truth of which
could not be mistaken, and yet with remarkable grace and





OF MADAME GUYON.


257


eloquence, the good bishop could not but feel, that her conversation, woman though she was, made him a wiser and a
better man. But, although he possessed imany excellences,
and wished to know what was true and to do what was right,
he was wanting, as Madame Guyon intimates, in one valuable and even necessary trait in persons in responsible situations, that of fixedness of purpose. When he left her and
propounded her views to others, with whom he was accustomed to advise on ecclesiastical subjects, he too readily
yielded to the more recent influences.
16. There were those who were jealous of woman's
influence; there were others, who loved sin more than they
feared woman, and who would have felt no uneasiness at
Madame Guyon's eloquence, if it had not been employed in
denouncing their own baseness; and there were others, who
very sincerely supposed that her doctrines were more nearly
allied to the heresies of Protestantism, than to Catholic
orthodoxy. These different persons, acting from different
views and different motives, had an effect upon the mind
of d'Aranthon, who gradually, but apparently with reluctance, assumed the attitude of opposition.
17. In this state of mind, he returned from Gex to Anneci.
The course subsequently taken by La Combe, and especially
his sermon on practical holiness, already mentioned, increased his fears, and tended to establish him in his position
of distrust and unbelief. It naturally confirmed and strengthened him in this state, when he learned that the new doctrine,
involving as it did the free and common use of the Bible, and
the validity of ecclesiastical observances and ceremonies, was
extending itself. In this state of mind, he made the propositions which have already been mentioned, namely, that she
should give her property to a Religious House at Gex, and
should herself become the prioress of it; thinking that her
time would be so occupied with the duties of her position as
22 *





258


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


to prevent the efforts which she would otherwise make in
the dissemination of her doctrines; and that if it were not
so, her poverty, ficurred by the alienation of her property,
would render her dependent, and that they could thus extract
compliance from her weakness, which they had no expectation of extorting from her moral principle.
18. But this singular course, which was dictated in part
by a regard for Madame Guyon, and by a desire to detain
her at Gex, entirely failed. For reasons which have already
been stated, she could not do any thing of this kind. And
from this time d'Aranthon, if he could not strictly be regarded as an enemy, ceased to be a friend. And thus she
was left in a distant land, without any one on whom she
could rely for adequate protection, exposed to various trials,
which were calculated greatly to test her patience and faith.
Her doctrine was denounced as heretical; her character was
aspersed; and she was exposed to personal inconveniences
and dangers, even at the hour of midnight, which were the
result of a ferocity not more brutal than it was cowardly.
19. We have some notices of her inward experience at
this time, which may perhaps be interesting to the reader.
Referring to that state which we have already described as
her state of deprivation or loss, she says; "In God I found
with increase every thing which I had lost for him. In my
long state of special trial and deprivation, my seven years'
crucifixion, my intellect, as well as my heart, seemed to be
broken. But when God gave back to me that love which I
had supposed to be lost, although I had never ceased to love
him, he restored the powers of perception and thought also.
That intellect, which I once thought I had lost in a strange
stupidity, was restored to me with inconceivable advantages.
I was astonished at myself. I found there was nothing
which it was not fit for, or in which it did not succeed. The
understanding, as well as the heart, seemed to have received





OF MADAME GUYON.


259


an increased capacity from God; so much so, that others
noticed it, and spoke of its greatly increased power.  It
seemed to me that I experienced something of the state
which the apostles were in, after they had received the Holy
Ghost. I knew, I comprehended, I was enabled to do, intellectually as well as physically, everything which was requisite. I had every sort of good thing and no want of any
thing. I remembered that fine passage, which is found in
the [apochryphal] book called the Wisdom of Solomon.
Speaking of WisD oM, the writer, in the seventh chapter,
says, ' I prayed, and understanding was given me; I called
upon God, and the spirit of Wisdom came to me. I loved
her above health and beauty, and chose to have her instead of
light; for the light that cometh from her never goeth out. All
good things together came to me with her, and innumerable
riches in her hands.' Wisdom came to me in Christ. When
Jesus Christ, the Eternal Wisdom, is formed in the soul,
after the death of the first Adam, it finds in him all good
things communicated to it."
20. It is possible that the expressions which have just
been quoted may be misunderstood. We are not to understand from them that God, in all cases, or even generally,
accompanies the renovation and sanctification of the heart
with a greatly increased expansion and power of the intellect. It is true, that religion is good for the intellect; it
helps the intellect; clearing the mists of passion and removing the incumbrances of prejudice, and giving an increased
degree of clearness and energy, both of perception and combination. We do not suppose that there is anything more
than this in ordinary cases; and this, although it is what
might naturally be expected, is a great blessing.
In the case of Madame Guyon, it should be remarked,
that her powers were rapid and vast beyond ordinary examples; and having been prostrated so many years, they





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appeared at the time of her restoration the more rapid and
more vast and wonderful by the contrast. Add to this that
clearness and energy, which the renovation of the heart, by
being formed into Christ's image, always gives, and I think
we have an adequate explanation of the strong terms in
which she expresses herself.
21. Speaking further of her experience during her residence at Gex, she says: "During this period I continued to
be the subject, as it seemed to me, of purity, of love. I
loved God, so far as I could perceive, with my whole heart;
without any views of interest, without any division of the
affections, without any reserve. Other terms will describe,
however, not inappropriately, what seemed to be my state.
I may describe it perhaps as a state of perfect poverty, because God had taken from me everything which I had once
called my own, both inwardly and outwardly. Or I might
call it, perhaps, the state of perfect obedience to the will of
God, as I was not conscious of having any will but God's
will. When by the loss of ourselves, we have passed into
God, and have become in some sense divine by returning
spiritually to that from which we came, then it is obvious
that our will is made one and the same with the will of God,
according to the prayer of the Saviour;-- 'As Thou, Father,
art in me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us.'
The will in this position works easily, and works with power.
It wills nothing which is not done, because it wills only
what God wills."
22. " It was my practice," she says, " to arise at midnight,
for purposes of devotion. I did not find it necessary to wind
up my alarm-watch, in order to awake at the proper time.
I saw that God had the care of a father and a spouse over
me; and it seemed to mo that he came to me at the precise
time, and awoke me from sleep, that I might enjoy him.
When I was out of health or greatly fatigued, he did not





OF MADAME GUYON.


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awake me; but at such times I felt, even in my sleep, a
singular possession of God. He loved me so much, that he
seemed to pervade my being, at a time when I could be only
imperfectly conscious of his presence. My sleep is sometimes broken, - a sort of half sleep; but my soul seems to
be awake enough to know God, when it is hardly capable
of knowing any thing else."
23. " The Lord," she adds, "made it known also to many
persons, that he designed me for a mother of a numerous
people, but a people simple and childlike. The persons to
whom these intimations were given, coming, as they supposed from a divine source, took them in a literal sense;
and accordingly thought that I should be called in providence to take the charge, in the capacity of superior or
prioress, of some Religious House. But to me the matter
appeared differently. I had reason to think, (and such was
the interpretation which I gave to these intimations,) that
God would make me an instrument, in his hands, of spiritual
good to many persons. To these persons, in some instances
at least, I supposed that God might give the same union of
affection towards myself as that of children for a parent, and
perhaps deeper and stronger."
The results seem to have justified this view. Many were
the persons for whom, with God's blessing, she labored not
in vain. Many were the persons who looked to her with
affection and confidence, as their spiritual mother and guide.
24. " The soul," she remarks further, "passing out of
itself by dying to itself, necessarily passes into its divine
object. This is the law of its transition. When it passes
out of self, which is limited and therefore is not God, and
consequently is evil, it necessarily passes into the Unlimited
and Universal, which is God, and therefore is the true
Good. My own experience seemed to me to be a verification of this. My spirit, disenthralled from selfishness, became





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


united with and lost in God, its Sovereign, who attracted it
more and more to himself. And this was so much the case,
that I could seem to see and know God only, and not myself.
My soul at first seemed to pass into him, and then to be lost
in him; like the waters of a river, which pass into the ocean,
and after a short time are so entirely united as to become
one with it. It was thus that my soul was lost in God, who
communicated to it his qualities, having drawn it out of all
that it had of its own. Its life is an inconceivable innocence,
not known or comprehended of those, who, still remaining
in the life of nature, are shut up in themselves.
25. " The joy, which such a soul possesses in God, is so
great, that it experiences the truth of those words of the
royal prophet, --'All they, who are in thee, O Lord, are
like persons ravished with joy.' To such a soul the words
of our Lord seem to be addressed: ' Your joy no man shall
take from you.' It is, as it were, plunged into a river of
peace. Its prayer is continual. Nothing can hinder it from
praying to God, or from loving him. It amply verifies
those words in the Canticles, 'I sleep but my heart waketh;'
for it finds that even sleep does not hinder it from praying.
Oh, unutterable happiness! Who could ever have thought
that a soul, which seemed to be in the utmost misery, should
ever find a happiness equal to this? Oh, happy poverty,
happy loss, happy nothing, which gives no less than God
himself in his own immensity, no more circumscribed to the
limited manner of the creature, but always drawing it out of
that, to plunge it wholly into his divine essence.
26. "Then the soul knows that all the states of selfpleasing visions, of intellectual illuminations, of ecstasies and
raptures, of whatever value they might once have been, are
now rather obstacles than advancements; and that they are
not of service in this state of experience, which is far above
them; because the state which has props or supports, which





OF MADAME GUYON.


263


is the case with the merely illuminated and ecstatic state, rests
in them in some degree, and has pain to lose them. But
the soul cannot arrive at the state of which I am now speaking, without the loss of all such supports or helps. In this
are verified the words of an experienced saint: ' When I
would,' says he, 'possess nothing through selfishness, everything was given me without going after it.' Oh, happy dying
of the grain of wheat, which makes it produce an hundred
fold! The soul is then so submissive, and perhaps we may say
so passive, - that is to say, is so disposed equally to receive
from the hand of God either good or evil,- as is truly astonishing. It receives both the one and the other without any
selfish emotions, letting them flow and be lost as they came.
They come, and do their office, and pass by, as if they did
not touch us; because the soul takes nothing except what
God brings, and with equal readiness and happiness leaves
or loses it, when God sees fit to take it away. Its life is in
God's life; and God's life is in his WILL, because his will
is not only the development, but is the completion, the
unity, and the full realization of himself."





CHAPTER XXIII.


Approaching trials. Consolations from Scripture. A dream. Some
of the causes of the opposition which existed against her. She
frustrates the wicked designs of an ecclesiastic upon an unprotected girl. The opposition and ill treatment which arose from
this source. A party formed against her at Gex. In consequence
of the persecutions of this party, she leaves Gex, after having
resided there about eight months. Crosses the Genevan or Leman,
Lake to Thonon. A poem.
IT was now fully evident, that trials, which would be
likely to be very severe, awaited Madame Guyon. The
sacrifices she had made and the benevolence of her mission,
were no security against them. Such Wias the view which
she herself took of the state of things.  "I saw," she says,
"that crosses in abundance were likely to fall to my lot.
The sky gradually thickened; the storm gathered darkness
on every side. But I found support and consolation in God
and his Word. A passage in the twelfth chapter of Hebrews was particularly blessed to me. 'Let us run with
patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus,
the author and finisher of our faith, who, for the joy that was
set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and
is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.    For
consider him, who endured such contradiction of sinners
against himself lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.'
Affected with a sense of my situation., I had no sooner read





LIFE, ETC.


265


this consoling passage, than I prostrated myself, for a long
time, with my face on the floor. I offered myself to God,
to receive at his hand all the strokes which his providence
might see fit to inflict. I said to him, Thou didst not spare
thine own beloved son. It was thy holy one, thy loved one,
that thou didst account worthy to suffer. And in such as
most fully bear his image, thou dost still find those who are
most fitted to bear the heaviest burden of the cross."
2. Even her dreams, which by a natural law of the mind's
action repeat, although they sometimes greatly diversify, our
waking perceptions and thoughts, seemed mysteriously to confirm her forebodings of sorrows to come; - sorrows, which
would not be likely to be limited to herself, but threatened all
who sympathized in her doctrines and in her holiness of life.
"I saw," she says, "in a sacred and mysterious dream, (for
such I may very well describe it,) Father La Combe fastened
to an enormous cross, deprived of clothing, in the manner
in which they paint our Saviour. I saw around him, while
hanging and suffering in this manner, a frightful crowd;
which had the effect to cover me with confusion, and threw
back upon myself the ignominy of a punishment, which at
first seemed designed for him alone. So that, although he
appeared to suffer the most pain, it fell to my lot to bear the
heaviest reproaches. I have since beheld the intimations of
this dream fully accomplished."
3. Her doctrine was unpopular. The unpopularity of
her doctrine rendered her personally less acceptable in some
quarters than she had been. Her refusal to give up the remains of her property to the Religious House in Gex, and
to defeat the obvious designs of providence, by becoming the
prioress of it, was another source of trouble. The alienation of the feelings of Bishop d'Aranthon, which could not
long be kept secret, had its influence. But still it was her
faithfulness in proclaiming salvation by the cross of Christ,
23





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


and her fixedness of purpose in practically opposing wickedo
ness wherever she found it, which arrayed against her the
greatest number, and those the most virulent and uncompromising.
4. A single instance will illustrate and confirm this remark. There was an ecclesiastic residing at Gex, who was
prominent alike by his position and his personal influence.
This person, whose name is not given, endeavored, with
purposes which could not have been right or honorable, to
form an intimacy with a beautiful female resident at the Religious House, of which Madame Guyon was at this time a
temporary inmate. Her greater knowledge of the world
enabled Madame Guyon to see, much more distinctly than
the unprotected and unsuspicious maid herself, the dangers
to which she was exposed. Animated by sentiments of humanity, as well as of Christian charity, she not only warned
the girl of the dangerous artifices which beset her, but
endeavored to instruct her in the principles of religion, and
to lead her to a knowledge of Jesus Christ. The girl was
distinguished for powers of mind, as well as for beauty of
person; and gave her most vigorous thoughts to the great
subject, which was thus presented to her.
" God so blessed my efforts," says Madame Guyon, " that
this interesting maid, under-the guidance of the great inward
Teacher, became truly religious; giving herself to God apparently with her whole heart." One of the results of this
was, as might naturally be expected, that she became reserved and guarded towards the ecclesiastic who has been
mentioned. This man, who was not ignorant that he was
thus frustrated in his plans by the new spirit of piety which
had arisen at Gex, became from this time the bitter enemy
of Madame Guyon, and of all who sympathized with her.
5. This ecclesiastic formed a little party and put himself
at the head of it, the sole object of which was, whatever





OF MADAME GUYON.


267


might have been the motives of some of those who were concerned in it, to render Madame Guyon's situation as uncomfortable as possible, and ultimately to drive her from Gex.
Beginning, after the manner of those with whom the end
sanctifies the means, with secret insinuations unfavorable to
her character, he pursued his object in various ways, with a
perseverance worthy of a better cause. "This ecclesiastic,"
she says, "began to talk privately of me in a manner calculated to bring me into contempt. I was not ignorant of what
he was doing; but having, by divine grace, learned the great
lesson of pitying and forgiving my enemies, I let everything
pass unnoticed and in silence.
"It was at this time that there came a certain friar to see
the person of whom I am speaking. The friar, who knew
that Father La Combe approved of my views and practices,
and who mortally hated that Father, on account of his greater
regularity and religious principle, combined his efforts with
that of the other, for the purpose of driving me from the
Religious House in which I resided, and thus leave them to
manage there in their own way, without any opposing influences. All the means which they could devise, they practised for that purpose. They succeeded, after a time, in
gaining over to their party one of the sisters of the House,
who acted in the capacity of house-steward; and soon afterwards they gained the Prioress."
6. As a part of the plan which had been adopted, her
situation was rendered as uncomfortable and unpleasant as
possible. It is painful to add, that the house-steward and
the prioress, who had been the eye-witnesses of her benevolence and piety, were participants in this course. " I was
disposed," she says, "to do all the good I could, physically
as well as mentally; but being of a delicate frame, I had
but little strength. I had employed two maid-servants to
aid me and my daughter, but finding that the Religious





268


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


House or Community, in which I resided, had need of them,
the one for a cook, and the other to attend the door and for
other purposes, I consented that they should have their services. In doing this, I naturally supposed that they would
occasionally allow me their aid, especially as I had given
them all the funds which I then had in possession, and had
thus put it out of my power to employ other persons. But
under the new influences and designs which had sprung up,
I was not allowed to realize this reasonable expectation. I
was compelled to do my sweeping and washing and other
domestic offices, which I had a right to expect, in part,
at least, from them, and which my physical habits and
strength, rendered, if not unsuitable, at least inconvenient
and painful."
7. Another part of the system of vexation to which she
was subjected, consisted in attacks upon her room at night.
By some sort of contrivance, which of course was known
only to those who were in the secret, frightful images were
made to appear in her room or at the windows. Frightful
sounds were uttered. The sashes of the room were broken.
But though she was thus subjected to inconvenience and
disturbance, she says that the calm peace of her soul was
wholly unbroken.
Among other things, the ecclesiastic who was at the head
of these movements, caused all the letters which were sent
to her from friends abroad, and also the letters which she
sent to them, to be intercepted. He had at one time twentytwo intercepted letters lying on his table. His object was,
she says, " to have it in his power to make what impressions
he. pleased, no matter how unfavorable, on the minds of
others, and to do it in such a manner that I should
neither be able to know it, nor to defend myself, nor to
send my friends any account of the manner in which I was
treated."





OF MADAME GUYON.


269


8. She had ties which bound her to Gex. She had made
impressions which could not easily be obliterated.  The
good girl whom she rescued from the artifices of the ecclesiastic, she says, "grew more and more fervent, by the
practice of prayer, in the dedication of herself to the Lord,
and more and more tender in her sympathy with me."
And this was only one instance among many.  But still
she thought the providences of God indicated, that the time
had come when she should leave the place. And whenever
she decided in God's light, what she ought to do, she of
course realized her decision in action, at the earliest practicable moment. It seemed to her, after a deliberate and
prayerful consideration of the subject, that, at the town of
Thonon, on the other side of the Leman Lake, where she
could more easily receive advice and assistance from La
Combe, she might suffer less, and at the same time be the
means of doing more good. And accordingly we find her,
in a few days more, embarked again in a little boat, with
her two maid-servants and her young daughter, upon the
water. From a comparison of dates, and from the light incidentally but obscurely offered by the circumstances of her
history, I suppose it was early in the spring of 1682. If
this be a correct view, she had resided at the place from
which she was now departing, something more than half a
year. This was the second time she had crossed the Leman
Lake. There were no storms that day. If there were no
storms without, neither was there storm nor trouble within.
The calm lake, decorated in its vernal beauty, was nature's
happy image of her own pure and peaceful mind. Without
complaint, believing that God was glorified in what she had
done and in what she had suffered, she went forth once
more, a pilgrim and a stranger, to seek other associates,
to meet other trials, and to sow the seed of God in other
places.
23*





270


LIFE, ETC.


9. The following poem, breathing the same devout spirit
which characterizes the others that have been quoted, describes her feelings at this time.
THE CHRISTIAN'S HOPES AND CONSOLATIONS, CONTRASTED
WITH THE WORLD'S UNBELIEF AND RUIN.
"My heart is easy, and my burden light;
I smile, though sad, when God is in my sight.
The more my woes in secret I deplore,
I taste thy goodness, and I love Thee more.
There, while a solemn stillness reigns around,
Faith, love and hope, within my soul abound
And while the world suppose me lost in care,
The joys of angels unperceived I share.
Thy creatures wrong Thee, 0 Thou Sovereign Good!
Thou art not loved, because not understood;
This grieves me most, that vain pursuits beguile
Ungrateful men, regardless of thy smile.
Frail beauty and false honor are adored;
While Thee they scorn and trifle with thy word;
Pass, anconcerned, a Saviour's sorrows by,
And hunt their ruin with a zeal to die."





CHAPTER XXIV.


Arrives at Thonon in the spring of 1682. Interview with Father
La Combe. He leaves Thonon for Aost and Rome.     Her remarks to him at the time of his departure. Her confidence that
God would justify her from the aspersions cast upon her. Cases
of religious inquiry. Endeavors to teach those who came to her,
in the way of faith. Some characteristics of a soul that lives by
faith. References to her daughter. Visited at Thonon by Bishop
d'Aranthon. Renewal of the proposition, that she should become
Prioress at Gex. Final decision against it. Her position in the
Catholic church. References to persons who have attempted a
reform in the Catholic church, while remaining members of it.
Attacks upon the character of La Combe in his absence. General
attention to religion at Thonon. Her manner of treating inquirers. Her views of sanctification. The pious laundress. Opposition made by priests and others. Burning of books. Remarks.
IN the spring of 1682, in the month of April, as I suppose,
she reached the town of Thonon, and took up her residence
there. Thonon is a considerable place, sixteen miles northeast of the city of Geneva, situated on the eastern side of the
Leman or Genevan lake, near the mouth of the river Drance.
It is the capital of Chablais, one of the provinces of the
Duchy of Savoy. Having reached this place she became
resident, as a boarder, in the Ursuline Convent, with her little
family, consisting of her daughter and her two maids.
2. The day after her arrival, Father La Combe left
Thonon, which was the usual place of his residence, for the





272,


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


city of Aost, some sixty or seventy miles distant. Learnii,
the arrival of Madame Guyon, which seems to have been
unexpected to him, he visited her before he left. He expressed his sympathy in the trials she was called to endure;
and said that he was sorry to leave her in a strange country,
persecuted as she was by every one, without any persons to
advise and aid her. And the more so, as it was his intention to proceed from Aost, where he was called on business
of a religious nature, to the city of Rome. And it was possible, that he might be detained at Rome by those who had
authority over him, for some time.
3. Undoubtedly this was a disappointment to Madame
Guyon, (that is to say, it was a disappointment in the
sense of its being different from what she had anticipated,) but she was inwardly prepared for it.  She did
not wish anything, which came to her in God's providence, to be otherwise than it was.   She says, I replied to him, "My Father, your departure gives me no
pain.  When God aids me through his creatures, I am
thankful for it. But I value their instrumentality and aid,
only as they are subordinate to God's glory, and come in
God's order. When God sees fit to withdraw the consolations and aids of his people, I am satisfied to do without
them. And much as I should value your presence in this
season of trial, I am very well content never to see you
again, if such is God's will."  Well satisfied to find her in
such a frame of mind, he took his leave and departed.
4. It may be proper to say here, (as we might without
impropriety have made the remark elsewhere,) that it was
not the practice of Madame Guyon, either now or at a subsequent period, to be in haste to justif, herself. This course,
so different from that which is commonly pursued, which
might perhaps appear a questionable one to some persons,
she adopted on religious principle. At Gex her doctrines





OF MADAME GUYON.


273


had been attacked; her peace had been assailed by personal
rudenesses and violence; and what must have been deeply
afflicting to a woman constituted as she was, secret insinuations, unfavorable to her moral character, were circulated
with unjust and unfeeling industry. But she left all with
God. She believed that innocence and truth will always
find, in God's time and way, a protector. Never will he
fail to speak for those, never will he fail to act for those,
who can be described as the innocent and the upright, if
they will only put their trust in him in this thing as in
others. I think we may lay it down as an important religious truth, that we are not at liberty to move in our own
defence, any more than we are at liberty to move in anything else, without God to guide us. The truly holy heart will
always say, let God's will be accomplished upon me, as well
as accomplished for me. If it be God's will, that I should
suffer rebuke, misrepresentation, and calumny, let me not
desire the removal of the yoke of suffering which his hand
has imposed upon me, until he himself shall desire it. I
had rather suffer from his hand, than be without suffering
through any other instrumentality than his. This seems to
have been the Saviour's state of mind. This was hers. She
left her vindication with God; and she found him faithful.
5. It seems to have been her intention to spend a few
weeks after her arrival at Thonon in retirement. Needing
rest, both physically and mentally, she felt it was proper for
her to do so. Accordingly she had a small room, appropriated to her own private use, where, with her Bible before
her, she passed many hours in acquiring spiritual knowledge
and in divine communion. But there was this thing remarkable in relation to her. Wherever she went, after the
time of that deeper experience which we have mentioned,
the Holy Ghost seemed to attend her. The divine nature,
something at least which had more of heaven than earth in





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it, breathed in her voice, embodied itself in her manners,
and shone in the devout serenity of her countenance. So
that it was not necessary for her to set up formally as a
preacher; and it is very obvious that she had no inclination
to do so. Her life and presence, bearing as it did a divine
signature, constituted a divine announcement. Her sermon
was her life; and her eloquent lips only made the application of it.
And the consequence was, that wherever she went, she
found those whom she calls her children; that is to say,
persons under convictions of sin, and seeking her advice and
aid in the way of life. They came to her continually that
she might break to them the living bread.
6. " My inward resignation and quiet," she says, speaking of the state of things after her arrival at Thonon, "was
very great. For a few days I remained alone and undisturbed, in my small and solitary room. I had full leisure to
commune with God and to enjoy him. But after a short
time, a good sister, who desired conversation on religious
subjects, frequently interrupted me. I entered into conversation and answered everything she desired, not only from
a regard and love for the girl herself, but from a fixed principle I had of strictly conforming to whatever God's providence seemed to require of me. And I would remark here,
that, although this season of solitary communion with God
was very precious to me, I was obliged to interrupt it, whenever His providence required. As soon as any of those, who
sought salvation through Christ, my little children, if I may
call them such, came and knocked at my door, God required
me to admit the interruption. In this way he showed me,
that it is not actions, in themselves considered, which please
him, but the inward spirit with which they are done; and
especially the constant ready obedience to every discovery
of his will, even in the minutest things, and with such a sup.





OF MADAME GUYON.


275


pleness or flexibility of mind as not to adhere to anything,
but to turn and move in any and every direction where he
shall call. This disposition of mind, so exceedingly valuable,
God was pleased to give me. My soul seemed to me to be
like a leaf or a feather, which the wind moves in any way
that it pleases. It is such a soul, a soul entirely dependent
on his will, which God guides into the truth.
7. " I endeavored to instruct the good sisters, who came
to me from time to time, in the best way I could. Some of
them could perhaps be regarded as truly religious; but after
an imperfect manner. It was my object to instruct them in
the way of living by simple faith, in distinction from the
way of living ceremonially; and thus to lead them to rest
upon God alone through Christ. I remarked to them, that
the way of living by faith was much more glorious to God,
and much more advantageous to the soul, than any other
method of living; and that they must not only cease to rely
much upon outward ceremonies; but must not rely too much
upon sights and sounds, in whatever way they might come
to the soul; nor upon mere intellectual illuminations and
gifts, nor upon strong temporary emotions and impulses,
which cause the soul to rest upon something out of God and
to live to self. There is a mixed way of living, partly by
faith, and partly by works; and also the simple and true
way of living, namely, by faith alone, which is the true
parent, not only of other states of the mind, but of works
also. I illustrated the subject by a dream, which I once
had, in which the Lord showed me the two ways in which
souls are apt to direct their course, under the figure
of two drops of water.  The one appeared to me of an
unparalleled beauty, brightness, and purity.  The other
also had a degree of brightness, but it had in it also some
little moats and dark streaks. Both are go6d to quench the
thirst, but the former does it much more effectually, and is





27(      LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


much more pleasant. By the dark or impure drop is represented the mixed method of living; by the bright one is
represented the way of pure and naked faith, or of faith
alone, which pleases God much, because it is so pure, and
so clear from all selfishness. That was, at first, a hard doctrine to those who heard me. They have since told me,
that it pained them much."
8. Some other of her sayings, relating to the same subject
and found in the same connection, are as follows. I give
them as I have given others, in the spirit rather than the
letter. "A soul, that lives by faith, is necessarily a soul truly
consecrated. Such a soul seeks nothing for itself. It seeks
all for God. Like a wheel within a wheel, it moves in the
midst of God's providences, leaving itself to be conducted by
them. Harmonizing with God and with God's direction of
events, the result is, that, outwardly, its life seems quite
common. It is a simple life, a true life, a just life; always
in the right place, though that place be one of great trial
and suffering; but without noise, without violence, without
passion. Hence, outwardly, it is common, and is not calculated to attract much notice; but inwardly it is a life in
union with the divine will.  Such was the life of Jesus
Christ, who was but little known until his last years. Such
a soul is calm and happy amid the pains of the senses, the
annoyances of the creatures, and all sorts of adversities. Its
human manner of acting has passed away.     The undue
eagerness, the unholy violence of passion, the unguarded
word, the impurity which comes from self-seeking, all are
gone. It leaves itself to the operation of God upon it, in
the simple and humble way of acquiescent and cooperative
union. After a time its new life becomes entirely natural
to it. And then the soul can say, with the royal prophet
'Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall
not fear; though war should arise against me, in this will 1





OF MADAME GUYON.


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be confident.' * For then, though assaulted on every side
by the attacks of evil spirits, the soul continues fixed as a
rock. Having no will but for what God sees fit to order, be
it what it may, high or low, great 'or small, sweet or bitter,
honor, life, wealth, or any other object, what can shake its
peace?
9. " There are not many souls that reach this state; and
still fewer that reach it at once. Nature cries out against
the process of inward crucifixion, and the greater number
stop short. Oh, if souls had courage enough to resign themselves to the work of purification, without having any weak
or foolish pity on themselves, what a noble, rapid, and happy
progress would they make! But generally speaking, men
have too little faith, too little courage, to leave the shore,
which is something tangible and solid and has the support
of sense, and to go out upon the sea which has the supports
of faith only. They advance, perhaps, some little distance;
but when the wind blows and the cloud lowers, and the sea
is tossed to and fro, then they are dejected, they cast anchor,
and often wholly desist from the prosecution of the voyage.
10. " Oh Thou, whd alone dost conduct holy souls, and who
canst teach ways so hidden and so lost to human sight, ways
so contrary to the usual mixed and imperfect ways of devotion, -which has its virtues but which poisons itself by feeding upon its virtues instead of feeding upon God by union with
God's will, - bring to thyself souls innumerable, which may
love thee in the utmost purity. Every other love, however
vehement and ardent, is not the pure love, but a love mixed
with selfishness. Such holy souls are the delight of God,
' who delights to be with the children of men;' that is to say,
with souls childlike and innocent, such as are set free from
pride, ascribing to themselves, - in themselves considered
and separate from God, - only nothingness and sin.
* Ps. xxvii. 3.
24





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


" Such souls, which are no longer rebellious but are broken
to the yoke, are one with God, and are one with him to such
a degree, that they not only look at him only, but they look
at everything else in*'him. Beautifully expressive of a
spirit quiet and united with God, is that passage of Jeremiah,
where it is said, 'He sitteth alone and keepeth silence because
he hath borne God's yoke upon him.' *
11. "1Such a soul not only rests with God, but acts with
God; going where he goes, and doing as God would have it
do. A soul in the mixed state has a choice; at least it has
so at times; and just so far as it follows its own choice,
which it does at times, it is not in the straight way. It mistakes in its opinions also; it has too high an idea of some,
and too low an idea of others. And guided by these false
opinions, it makes practical distinctions for itself; that is to
say, it makes them for the reason that it is not dead to itself,
but loves its own reputation; and accordingly it has not
grace enough to sit down easily and thankfully with the
" publican and sinner," and to labor with a single heart for
the poor, the ignorant, the corrupt, the degraded. It is true
that it does this sometimes; but it is i course which is deeply repugnant to the remains of its natural life.
" But a soul truly mortified and resigned, a soul truly
holy, has no choice. It neither seeks the high nor the low,
the learned nor the ignorant of itself. God's order, and that
alone, constitutes the basis of its selection. It would rather
converse, after the manner of Christ, with the most degraded
and worst of men by the order of Providence, than with the
best of men by its own will; desiring to see any one or to
speak to any one, only as Providence directs. It knows well,
that whatever it does out of the divine order, will only do
hurt, or at least will prove very unfruitful.
* Lamentations iii. 28.





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12. "How perfectly contented is such a soul! Neither
knowing anything nor doing anything, neither desiring to
know anything nor desiring to do anything, except the
thing to which God calls it. Its contentment, independent
as it is of exterior events, excludes all anxiety, and is without
limitation. Such a soul is more satisfied in its trials, its
humiliation, and the opposition of all creatures, when these
things take place by the order of Providence, than it would
be with the highest success and triumph by its own choice.
Oh, if I could express what I conceive of this state! But I
can only stammer about it."
13. In this part of her Autobiography we find, from time
to time, some brief references to her daughter. Separated
as she was at a great distance from her other children, this
child was a source of great consolation to her. Finding her
situation at Gex not favorable to her child's health, she had
previously sent her for a short time to Thonon. Her feeling allusions to this beloved daughter show, that her union
with God did not diminish her interest in humanity; and
that the natural affections, when properly subordinated, are
not inconsistent with the highest religious affections. "In
great peace of mind," she says, "I lived in the House of
the Ursulines with my little daughter. As we now resided
among those who spoke a different dialect, my daughter soon
forgot, in a considerable degree, the use of the French language. She played with the little girls that came down
from the neighboring mountains; but while she contracted
something of their elasticity and freeness, she lost something
in the delicacy and agreeableness of her manners. She was
sometimes fretful; but as a general thing her disposition, as
it ever had been, was exceedingly good. Her good sense
and her turns of wit, for one of her age, were surprising.
God watched over her."





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14. Madame Guyon had been at Thonon but a short
time, when Bishop d'Aranthon came there on some business.
They met each other once more, and had much conversation.  The Bishop introduced the subject of his former
propositions, and pressed her very much to return to Gex,
and to take the place of Prioress. She says, " I gave him
my reasons against it, such as have already been mentioned.
I then appealed to him as a bishop, desiring him to take
care, and to regard nothing but God in what he should say
to me. He was struck with a kind of confusion, and then
said to me, 'Since you speak to me in this manner, I cannot
advise you to it. We are not at liberty to go contrary to
what appears to be our religious calling. All I can say now,
after what has passed between us, is, that I desire you to
render to the House of Gex all the assistance which you
properly can.' This I promised him to do; and as soon as
I received a remittance from Paris, I sent them a hundred
pistoles, with the design of doing it annually as long as I
should remain in his diocese."
15. When he left her, he entered into conversation with
other persons-on the subject, who were probably less scrupulous and less sincere than himself. With a singular infirmity of purpose, which was characteristic of him, and to
which we have already alluded, he yielded to their influence,
re-entered into his former dispositions, and adopted sentiments the opposite of what he had just expressed. He
accordingly sent her word again, notwithstanding the result
of their recent interview, that it was his conviction, that she
ought to engage herself at Gex; and that, so far as his influ-.
ence or authority could properly be exercised in the case, he
required her to do it. "I returned for answer," she says,
"that I had reason to regard him at the present time as
under human influence, and as speaking as a man; and





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that I felt it my duty to follow the counsel he had given me,
when he seemed to me to be under a purer and higher influ.
ence, and to speak as from God."
16. The separation now became more marked and corn
plete. And from this time onward, Madame Guyon understood, more distinctly and fully than at any former period,
the position which she held in the Catholic church. She
was in the church, but not with it; in it in form, but not
with it in spirit. Her associations with it were strong; her
attachment to it was great; but discerning very clearly as
she did the distinction between inward religion and outward
religion, between that which adheres to the ceremony and
that which renovates the heart, she mourned over the declensions and desolations around her. She felt, however,
that while she pointed out the speculative and practical
errors which existed, provided she did it with a proper spirit
and sustained herself by Catholic authorities, she had a right
to claim and maintain her position in the Catholic church,
until she should be formally excluded from it. She was
very much in the position of certain pious persons, who, without ceasing to be members, have labored from time to time in
that church, with the design- of restoring the doctrine of faith
and the spirit of practical piety; and who are known historically, in reference to the period at which most of them appeared, as the Reformers before the Reformation.
17. It is due to the truth to say, that there have been
in the Catholic church, from time to time, pious men and
women, who have labored sincerely and oftentimes effectually, for the true life of love and faith in the soul. If they
have loved their system much, and have felt sad at the idea
of schism, they have loved salvation and piety more. Sometimes their labors have been received and recognized; and
they have been spoken of as the models of piety, without the
imputation of heresy; but more frequently their motives
24*





282        LIFE AND ItELIGI0US EXPERIENCE
have been impeached; their efforts have been opposed; and
in some instances exile and imprisonment have been the
consequence. Some appeared before the Protestant Reformation; and some have appeared since. To those who are acquainted with ecclesiastical history, it will indicate the class
of persons to whom we refer, if we mention the Dominican
monk, John of Vincenza, who -labored as far back as 1250O;
Thauler, the celebrated preacher of Strasburgh, who is
mentioned- with high respect and commendation by Luther; Gerard Groot, and Florentius Radewin, leaders and
teachers in the society or sect in the Catholic church, called
the Brethren of the Life in Common; John of the Cross,
whose writings, although not schismatical in reference to the
doctrines and forms of Catholicism, breathe a deeply devout
and enlightened spirit. To these we might add the names
of Ruysbroke, Canfield, Thomas h Kempis, whose Imitation
of Christ is so 'Universally read, Boudon, John de Castanifa,
the reputed author of the Spiritual Combat, Michael de
Molinos, who died in prison, (while Francis de Sales, who
seems to me to have taught essentially the same experimental doctrines, was canonized,) Fenelon, and I know not how
many others.
18. The position of many of these persons in the Catholic
church seems to me to illustrate that of Madame Guyon.
Of their piety it is hardly necessary to say, that there can
be no reasonable doubt. They were persons of faith and
true simplicity of heart, who wished, although they found
themselves amid various embarrassments, to do all possible
grood, in the situation in which Providence had placed them.
They did not and could not believe, that an outward form,
however scriptural and however important it might be, could
effectually avail themselves or others, when separate from
an appropriate state of heart.  They distinctly saw the
dangers which were likely to follow from an indifference to





OF MADAME GUYON.


283


this view, and especially from an adoption of the opposite
opinion.
It was not sufficient, in their view, to teach men to make
the sign of the cross, and to practise genuflections, nor to
do other things which in themselves considered are purely
ceremonial, although they recognized these practices as a
part of a system to which they were much attached in most
respects. They preached the doctrine of a new heart; they
required, in the name of Him for whom they boldly spoke,
"repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ." And such being their views, and such their practice, if they cannot be regarded as schismatics or separatists,
I think they may justly be described as reformers. Such
was the position of Madame Guyon. To this position God
called her in his providence; a position of great usefulness,
but one which could not well escape a large share of trial
and sorrow.
19. La Combe had no sooner departed for Aost, with
the expectation of visiting Rome, and consequently of being
absent some time, than the party at Thonon, which was
opposed to what they regarded as a new movement in the
church, began to assail his character. Madame Guyon had
her feelings greatly tried by the extravagant stories, having
relation to his character and conduct, which were told to her.
But these statements were so obviously dictated by prejudice
and passion, and were so variant in many particulars from
what she knew to be the truth, that they confirmed rather
than diminished her favorable opinions of him. She did not,
however, say much upon the subject; simply remarking, -
" Perhaps I may never see him again; but I shall ever be
glad to do him justice. It is not he, who hinders me from
engaging at Gex, as some of the remarks which are made
seem to imply. The reason and the only reason of my refusing to comply with the propositions which have been





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


made to me, is the inward conviction, of which I cannot
divest myself, that God does not call me to it."
20. Some said to her; -" But it is the opinion of the
Bishop, that you should go there. Ought he not to judge in
the case? Who could know what the will of God is, on
such a question, better than the Bishop?" To this suggestion it was not in her nature or her principles, to give any
other than a respectful attention. But such was the clearness of her spiritual perception, such the inward signature
which God and his providences had written upon her heart,
that she could not do otherwise than she did; although it
undoubtedly violated some of the prepossessions of her
people in favor of episcopal advice and authority. She
intimates in this connection, that suggestions of this kind,
though sometimes painful, gave her no permanent uneasiness. As she had given up all to God, in an act of permanent and unreserved consecration, she believed that God,
in accordance with his promise, would give her all that
wisdom, which was necessary to guide her in the right and
safe way.
This was one of her principles, which seems to me to be
practically a very important one, that God will guide us into
truth, if in the first place by consecrating ourselves unreservedly to him we are free from the biasses of self-interest,
and secondly if, in connection with this unreserved desire to
do his will, we have full faith in him, that he will give us all
the wisdom we need when we truly desire it. Under such
circumstances, we cannot fail, in the exercise of the powers
God has given us, to reach a decision, which will be right
and safe so far as this, at least, - which is the great and important point, --that it will secure the divine approbation.
She felt, therefore, that, in deciding as she did, God was
with her; and that she could not decide otherwise than she
did, without having God against her. And accordingly, with





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285


the influence of her understanding and her early sympathies
in favor of a high degree of ecclesiastical authority, she
nevertheless, in the matter which had been under consideration, placed the will of God first and preeminent above all
other will, all other choice.
21. This matter, therefore, was- permanently decided;
and she gave her attention anew and undividedly to the
work before her. Neither the absence of La Combe, nor
the disaffection of the Bishop, nor the open opposition of
subordinate ecclesiastics, nor the fact that she was a woman,
acting under the natural and providential disabilities of
woman's character and position, prevented her from being
an instrument in God's hands of enlightening many souls,
and of leading them experimentally to the knowledge of the
truth. In the spirit of unremitting labor where God called
her to labor, she did what she could; and the good seed,
small though it might seem to be to human eye, became an
hundred-fold, because God blessed it. Her presence, preceded as it had been by her reputation for piety and for a
knowledge of the inward state, was the signal for a great
spiritual movement in Thonon, such as had not been known
before for many years. There was something in souls, who
had sought heaven by works alone and on the compensatory
principle of so much happiness given for so much labor and
suffering antecedently gone through, which whispered to
them, that God in his providence had sent them a messenger, who might aid them in the knowledge of a better way.
The slightest hope of such an improvement was like light
from above.
22. The consequence was, that her room was continually
visited, in a few weeks after her arrival at Thonon, by persons seeking instruction in the way of life. She divided
them into three classes; those without religion; those who
gave evidence of religion but who had no faith for anything





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above the mixed method of life, the way of mingled sin and
holiness; and those who, under the special operation of
God's spirit, were hungering and thirsting after entire
righteousness. We do not suppose, that we shall be understood to say, that there was any public recognition or announcement of this classification; but simply, that in giving
her advice and instructions to the individuals who came to
her, she inwardly made it; and that her advice and instructions naturally conformed to it.
23. When those came to her who were without religion,
and who perhaps had been endeavoring to extract heaven
from the merit attached to their supposed good works, she
endeavored to convince them of the folly of their course, by
showing them the intricacies of the human heart, the depths
of sin, and the impossibility of acceptance with God, except
through the application of the atoning blood of Christ, received through faith.
When those came, who had some little hope of an interest
in the Saviour, some degree and power of life though feeble,
she gave them directions suited with great skill to their case,
calculated to resolve conscientious perplexities, to strengthen
courage, and to help their advancement. Entire victory was
so much beyond their present ideas and hopes, that, to propose it now, in their present state of weakness and vacillancy, might have operated as a discouragement, and have
done more hurt than good.
When those came, who desired to be wholly the Lord's,
who, in the language of Scripture, were hungering and
thirsting that they might bear the fullness of the divine
image, she endeavored to impart to them those higher and
deeper instructions, which they seemed to be able to understand and to bear.
24. She did not hesitate to say at once, on all occasions
where God's providence called her to say it, that the entire





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sanctification of the heart through faith, as it seemed to her,
is the Christian's privilege and duty. But it is proper to
say, however, that she laid " the axe to the root of the tree."
She thought it necessary, in the first place, that they should
understand what sanctification is. On this point, taught by
her own inward experience, she felt it very desirable that
there should be no mistake. She felt it her duty to say to
them, that, according to her view of the subject, a rectified
intellectual perception is not sanctification. Nor, if we add
to such perception, strong emotions and stop there, do we
attain to it. Nor, if we go still deeper, and add to both what
is still more important, good desires, good and right affections, and stop there, can we account ourselves as wholly the
Lord's. Holiness, which is but another name for sanctification, goes even further than this. It requires the strong
fortress of the Will. The WILL, which embodies in itself
both the head and the heart, the perceptions, the emotions,
and the desires, and is in fact the sum and representation of
the whole, must be given to the Lord. Without it all the
rest goes for nothing.
And it was upon this point that she was in the habit of
trying those, who professed to be seeking the entire sanctification of the heart. The searching question was;-- were
they willing to be NOTHING? That is to say, nothing in
themselves, in order that the Lord might be ALL IN ALL.
Was the natural principle of movement gone? Could they
say, that they moved simply as they were moved upon by the
Holy Ghost? If so, then the life of nature was slain; their
souls had become the temple of the Living God. God's
will, the substitute for their own wills, had become to them
a new life.
25. One of the cases which she relates illustrates, in
some degree, what has now been said. Among other persons, who sought her acquaintance at this interesting time,





288


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS i'XPEIIETlNCLE


was a woman who was not only religious, but, according to
the ordinary rules of judging, eminently religious. She had
grace, perhaps we may say, great grace; but not to the exclusion of the life of nature. In connection with her interviews with this person, she says, " I saw clearly, that it is
not great gifts which sanctify, unless they are accompanied
with a profound humility. No one can be regarded as
wholly alive to God, and thus as sanctified, or as a true saint
of God, who is not wholly dead to self. This woman, in
connection with her great intellectual lights, and her strong
emotions, and the true faith which she really possessed to
some degree, regarded herself as a truly holy person; but
the developments of her subsequent life, originating as they
obviously did in the remains of self, showed that she was
very far from the state which she professed.
"Oh, my God," she adds, "how true it is, that we may
have of thy gifts, and yet may be very full of ourselves!
How very narrow is the way, how straight is the gate, which
leads to the true life in God! How little must one become,
by being stripped of all the various attachments which the
world places about him, so that he shall have no desire and
no will of his own, before he is small enough to go through
this narrow place! But when, by death to ourselves, we
have passed through it, what enlargements do we find! Our
will by being lost and dead to itself, is raised and magnified
into the divine will. David saith, 'He brought me forth into a
large place.' And what is this large place, what can it be, but
God himself, that Infinite Being, in whom all other beings
and all other streams of life terminate. God is a large place
indeed. And it was through humiliation, through abasement, through nothingness David was brought into it."
26. Besides those persons who have already been mentioned as having visited her, it is proper to say, that there
was another class who came with different views and nmo




OF MADAME GUYON.


28ý


tives.  They not only watched her general conduct; but
under religious pretences, they made their appearance at
her religious conversations, which seem to have been open
to all, with the object, as she expresses it, "of watching my
words, and of criticising them." The religious life, like all
other life, has its appropriate outward expressions and signs.
And such was her deep insight into religious character, derived partly from her own varied personal experience, that
she distinguished with great ease, and with high probability,
the objects and the characters of those who visited her. To
those who came for the purpose of extracting something
from her expressions which they could criticise and condemn, or for any other sinister object, she had nothing
to say. The Lord, who enabled her to understand their
characters, disappointed their evil intentions by withholding the message, which under other circumstances she so
abundantly received and communicated. "Even when I
thought to try to speak to them," she says, "I felt that
I could not, and that God would not have me do it. They
went away not only disappointed but dissatisfied. They
alluded scornfully to my silence, which they regarded as
stupidity; and some of them were so angry as to characterize as fools those who had come to see me.
27. " On one occasion, when persons of this description
had just left me, an individual came, with some appearance
of anxiety and hurry, and said, 'It was my design to have
put you on your guard, and to apprize you that it might not
be advisable to speak to those persons; but I found myself
unable to get hither in season to do it. They were sent, with
no friendly purpose, by certain individuals; and their object
was to find something in your remarks which they could
turn to your disadvantage.' I answered this person, 'Our
Lord has been before you in your charitable purpose; for,
25





290


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


such was my state of mind, that I was not able to say one
word to them.'"
28. It is hardly necessary to say, that she did not appear
as a preacher. Her efforts were private; and were entirely
consistent with that sense of decorum, which adorns the
female character. They consisted of private prayer and
conversation with individuals; sometimes of mutual conversations or conferences, held with the inconsiderable number
of persons who might be assembled in a small room. To
these methods she added, with great effect, that of written
correspondence. The instrumentality was humble; but the
impression was great. The Lord blessed her; and for a
time, soon after her arrival at Thonon, she had favor with
the great body of persons there, who availed themselves of
all suitable opportunities to see her and to hear her words.
29. Amid this general approbation and even applause,
"the Lord," she says, " gave me to understand, that the
'apostolic state,' (that is to say, the state in which persons
find themselves specifically and especially devoted to the
spiritual good of others,) if it be entered into in purity of
spirit and without reserve, will always be attended, in the
present state of the world, with severe trials. I remembered
the words of the multitude, which preceded the Saviour at
the time of his triumphant entry into Jerusalem; ' Blessed is
he that cometh in the name of the Lord;' and the words of
the same changeable, multitude a few days afterwards, when
they exclaimed, 'Away iwith him, crucify him, crucifi him.'
Deeply were both forms of expression impressed upon my
mind; and I could not fail to recognize in them the intimations of what would be likely to be my own experience.
And while I was thus meditating on what the Saviour expe
rienced, and from whom he experienced it, and was making
the application of it to my own case, one of my female
friends came in, and spoke to me particularly of the general





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esteem which the people had for me. I replied to her,
'Observe what I now tell you, that you will hear curses out
of the same mouths, which at present pronounce blessings.'
30. "If our Saviour had continued in private with his
parents," such is the import of some other remarks which
she makes in this connection, "in the manner in which he
spent the earlier part of his life, he probably would not have
been persecuted, and certainly not to the extent in which he
actually was. He would have been none the less holy, because he remained there in accordance with God's providence, and in fulfilment of the divine will. Holiness does
not depend upon place, but upon union with the divine will,
which prescribes both place and time, both rest and action;
and which may assign to one, who in either situation is
equally dear and acceptable to God, the quiet duties of retired and domestic life, or the more arduous and hazardous
duties of a public nature. But if he would have been none
the less holy, he probably would have been less subjected to affliction. When God called his Son from private to public action, he called him to a higher degree of
trial and suffering. And so in later times, when he calls
his people to the 'apostolic state,' when he imposes upon
them the duty of announcing his truth, and in thus announcing it to expose error and to attack vice, he calls them
to suffering as well as to duty. I speak of those, who are
trulJ called of God to this state, and who in being thus
called, surrender themselves to God without reserve; those,
who are willing, in obedience to the divine command, to expose themselves to toil and to suffering without any mitigation. Such must assuredly become a spectacle to God, to
angels, and to men; to God, a spectacle of glory, by their
conformity to his Son Jesus Christ; to angels, a spectacle
of joy, because they are become like themselves in bearing
the divine image; and to men, a spectacle of toil, of sorrow,





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


and of ignominy, because, being in the world, they are not
of it."
31. She expressly informs us, that God at this time
wrought on a great number of souls at Thonon, through her
instrumentality.  " Great was my consolation," she says,
" never greater did I experience in my whole life, than I
did to see in the town of Thonon, a place of no great extent,
so many souls earnestly seeking God. Some of these seemed
not merely to have repented of their sins, but to have given
their whole hearts to God, and to have experienced the
highest spiritual blessings. They were not only Christians,
but Christians of whom it could be said, that Christ lived in
them. Among them were a number of young girls of twelve
or thirteen years of age. It was interesting to see how
deeply the spirit of God had wrought in them. Being poor,
they industriously followed their work all the day long; but
having acquired a fixed habit of devotion, they sanctified
their labors with silent prayer, and with inward communion.
Sometimes they would so arrange their daily labor, that a
number of them could carry on their work at the same
place; and then they would select one of their number, who
read to them while the others pursued their task. They
were so humble, so innocent and sincere, that one could not
see them without being reminded of the innocence and
purity of primitive Christianity."
32. Among those who were the subjects of this great
work, she mentions particularly a poor woman, a laundress.
"This poor woman," she says, " was the'mother of five children. But her poverty, and the cares of her family, were
not the only source of trouble. She had a husband, who
was distempered both in mind and in body. He had the
paralysis in his right arm. He seemed to have nothing left
mentally but his angry dispositions, and nothing left physically but just strength enough in his unparalyzed arm to





OF MADAME GUYON.


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beat his suffering wife. Yet this poor woman, now become,
under God's grace, rich in faith, bore all with the meekness
and patience of an angel. By her personal labors she supported both her five children and her husband. Her poverty
was extreme; her suffering from other causes great; but
amid her trials and distractions, she kept constantly recollected in God; and her tranquillity of spirit was unbroken.
When she prayed, there was something wonderful in it.
33. "Among others who were the subjects of the divine
operation at this time, there was a shop-keeper, and another
man whose business it was to make locks. Both became
deeply religious; and it was a natural result, that they became intimate friends with each other. Learning the situation of the poor laundress, they agreed to visit her in turn,
and to render her some assistance by reading to her from
religious books. But they were surprised to learn, that she
was already instructed by the Lord himself in all they read
to her. God, they found, had taught her inwardly by the
Holy Ghost, before he had sent, in his providence, the outward aid of books and of pious friends to confirm his inward
communications. So much was this the case, that they were
willing to receive instruction from her. Her words seemed
divine."
34. This woman, whose piety had become the subject of
conversation to some extent, attracted the notice of certain
persons, who had some name and authority in the church.
They visited her; and, as it was well understood that her
method of worship was somewhat out of church order, they
reproved her, and told her it was very bold in her to practise prayer in the manner she did. They said, it was the
business of priests to pray, and not of women. They commanded her to leave off prayer, at least in the methods in
which she practised it, and threatened her, if she did not.
The woman was ignorant, except so far as she had learned
25 *





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


something from the Bible, and as God had -inwardly taught
her. God gave her words in reply. She said, that what
she did was in conformity with Christ's instructions. She
referred them to the passage of Scripture, in the thirteenth
chapter of Mark, where Christ instructed his disciples to
pray; noticing particularly the remark which is added, and
which she regarded as a degree of authority applicable in
her case, namely, "what I say unto you I say unto all."
This passage, she said, authorized all to pray, without specifying priests or friars, or giving them any privilege in this
respect above others. She told them, moreover, that she
was a poor and suffering woman, and that prayer helped
her; and that, in truth, without the consolations of religion,
of which prayer is the appropriate and natural expression,
she could not support her trials.
35. She referred also to her former life. She had formerly been without religion, and was a wicked person.
Since she had known religion, and had held communion
with God in prayer, she had loved him, and she thought she
could say, she loved him with her whole soul. To leave off
prayer was to lose her spiritual life. Therefore she could
not do it. She also directed their attention to other persons,
who had recently come into a state similar to her own.
Take twenty persons, she said, who are religious, and observe their life. Take twenty other persons who do not
practise prayer and know nothing of the religion of the
heart, and make the same observation. And judge then,
whether you have any good reason for condemning this
work of God.
36. " Such words as these," says Madame Guyon, " from
such a woman, one would think, might have fully convinced
them.   But instead of that, they only served to irritate
them the more."  They threatened her with a withdrawal
of the privileges of the church, of which she was a member,





OF MADAME GUYON.


295


unless she promised to desist from her course; that is to
say, unless she promised (for that would be the result of it
as matters then stood,) not only to renounce the reading of
the Bible, and the practice of inward and outward prayer,
but to renounce Christ himself. Her answer was, that she
had no choice in the matter. The decision was already
made. Christ was master, and she must follow him. They
put their threats into execution to some extent. But she
remained steadfast. These things go to confirm what has
already been said, that Madame Guyon might properly be
reckoned among those, who, without leaving the Catholic
church, were Reformers in it.
37. The persons wham-wa have mentioned, who represented the dominant part of the Catholic church in Thonon,
endeavored to influence other pious persons in a similar
manner. But finding their efforts in a great measure ineffectual, they next took the course of ordering all the books
without exception, which treated of the inward religious life,
to be brought to them; and they burned them with their
own hands in the public square of the place. "With this
performance," says Madame Guyon, "they were greatly
elated."
A part of a letter, found in the published life of Bishop
d'Aranthon, throws some light upon the existing state of
things. The writer says, " We have burnt five of the books
on these subjects. We have not much expectation of getting
possession of many others. And the reason is, that the men
and women who read them, have their private meetings or
assemblies with each other, and have resolved at these meetings that they will burn the books themselves, rather than
let them fall into our hands."
38. It is proper to notice, that Madame Guyon gives us
further to understand, that some of the persons who were
engaged in these things, were apparently religious; but reli




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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


gious in the common mixed way, partly human and partly
divine, partly from earth and partly from heaven. Consequently, so much of their actions as were not from God were
from that which is the opposite of God, namely, Satan. At
this time I suppose it may not be inconsistent with charity
to say, that the good element, or God in them, seems to have
been kept in abeyance; and that the evil element, or Satan
in them, reigned. And this was particularly the case in
their treatment of the pious girls, who have been mentioned.
These girls, being poor and obliged to work continually,
formed little neighborhood associations; prosecuting in this
way their work together, and those who were strong helping
the weak. The eldest one presided at these little meetings;
and the one who was best qualified for that task was appointed reader. They employed themselves in spinning,
weaving ribbons, and other feminine occupations. Prayer
and religious love made all pleasant. Such assemblies are
not uncommon among Protestants. But the prevalent religious party at Thonon considered them inconsistent with the
Catholic methods.  And, accordingly, being in the mixed
life, which permits the human to mingle with and sometimes
to control the divine, and Satan being at this time inwardly
in the ascendant, they separated these poor but happy girls
from each other, deprived them, as a punishment, of their
usual church privileges, and drove some of them from the
place.
39. It is painful to speak of these things. I do not suppose that aspersions, cruelties, persecutions, are limited altogether to Catholics. Some will say, that conduct of this
kind is the natural result of that interest in religious institutions which is implied in true faith. This may, perhaps, be
true in a certain sense. But add more faith; and then the
evil will not be likely to result. A little faith makes us love
the cause of religion; but it leaves us in fear; which would





OF MADAME GUYON.


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not be the case if we had more faith. We tremble for the
Ark of God, as if not God, but some son of Obededom, or
other weak and human agent, were the keeper of it. Faith
and fear are the opposites of each other, both mentally and
theologically. When priests, whether Catholic or others,
have opposed and persecuted those who differed from them
in opinion or who undertook some reform, I would not in all
cases, nor generally, attribute it to their self-interest, and to the
fact, or the supposed fact, of "their craft being in danger."
Self-interest, especially among those who have felt the influences of religion, is not the only principle of human action.
Persecutions have been practised by those, who verily
thought they were doing God service.   And these good
people of Thonon, (undoubtedly some of them were good
people,) opposed and injured those who were God's people
equally with themselves, and perhaps much more than
themselves, like those disciples of Christ, who, in their premature zeal, were for calling down fire from heaven to
destroy their adversaries, simply because they did not know
what manner of spirit they were of.
40. They had confounded the church with the ceremonies of the church; and when Madame Guyon felt it her
duty to indicate the difference between the substance and
the shadow, between the spirit and the letter, touching
the ceremonial it is true, but still with the gentleness of
a woman's hand, then the good Catholics, to whom the
ceremonial was undoubtedly very dear, were all in arms.
Their consternation was real, not affected. They forgot that
God is able to take care of the church without employing
Satan's instrumentality. Hence their injustice; hence their
cruelty; not because they had faith, but because they had
not more faith; not because they loved the church, but
because they had forgotten, in too great a degree, the mighty
power and the pledged promise of the God of the church.





298                   LIFE, ETC.
But that day has passed. They acted undoubtedly according to the light which they had; which was not a greater
light, because "the light shone in darkness, and the darkness
comprehended it not."  She acted according to hers.  They
had their reward; she had hers. Of those who do evil,
Christ, who is the true light, has said, Father,forgive them,
for they know not what they do. Of those who do good, but
are persecuted for it, the same Christ has said, in language
which gives courage to the fainting heart, Blessed are they
who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.





CHAPTER XXV.


Conversion of a physician.  Further instances of persecution.
Some of those who had been opposers become subjects of the work
of God. Some striking instances of the care of Providence in
relation to her. Visit to Lausanne. Establishment of a Hospital
at Thonon. Removal from the House of the Ursulines to a small
cottage a few miles distant from the lake. Return of La Combe.
Her opposers make their appeal to Bishop d'Aranthon. He requires Madame Guyon and La Combe to leave his diocese. Rude
and fierce attacks made upon her in her solitary residence. Decides to leave Thonon. Her feelings at this time. La Combe.
His letter to d'Aranthon. Remarks of Madame Guyon on some
forms of religious experience. On living by the moment.
SHE mentions a number of incidents, some of them of
considerable interest, which took place in connection with
this revival of God's work.   " One day," she remarks, " I
was sick. A physician of some eminence in his profession,
hearing that I was ill, called in to see me, and gave me
medicines proper for my disorder. I embraced the opportunity of entering into conversation with him on the subject
of religion. He acknowledged that he had known something of the power of religion, but that the religious life
had been stifled in him by the multitude of his occupations.
I endeavored to make him comprehend, that the love of God
is not inconsistent with the duties of humanity; and that therefore the employments, which God in his providence assigns
us, are no excuse for irreligion, or for any state of mind





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short of a strong and consistent piety. He received what I
said. The conversation was greatly blessed to him. And
he became afterwards a decided Christian."
2. She relates of those persons, who made the opposition
to this divine work, of which we have given some account in
the last chapter, that, among their other acts of cruelty, they
seized upon a person of considerable distinction and merit,
and beat him with rods in the open street.  The crime
which was charged against him, was, that, instead of confining himself to the common forms of prayer, he prayed extemporaneously in the evenings. The man was a priest, of
the Congregation of the Oratory. It was alleged also, that
he was in the practice of uttering a short, fervent prayer,
in the same manner, on Sabbath days, which had the effect
gradually and insensibly to lead others to the use and practice of the like.
Speaking of the persons who thus violently, and in a
public manner, beat this good man, and of others who were
in the like hostile dispositions and practices, she says, "they
greatly troubled and afflicted all the good souls, who had
sincerely dedicated themselves to God; disturbing them to
a degree which it is difficult to conceive; burning all their
books which treated of inward submission and of the prayer
of the heart, in distinction from mere outward and formal
prayer; refusing absolution to such as were in the practice
of it, and driving them by their threats into consternation
and almost into despair."
3. But this state of things, which had the appearance of
crushing religion, gave occasion for a remarkable exhibition
of God's power and grace. Even some of these men, those
of them who were obviously without religion, led to reflect
upon their own characters by the sad lesson of the violence
which they themselves had exhibited, became, after a short
time, humbled in heart. Through divine grace they not only





OF MADAME GUYON.


301


ceased from their evil works, but became experimentally
and practically new creatures in Christ Jesus. "And then,"
she says, "the Lord made use of them to establish religion
and the life of prayer in I know not how many places.
They carried books, which treated of the inward life, into
those very places where they had formerly burned them.
In things of this nature it was not difficult for me, in the
exercise of faith, to see the presence and the wonderful
goodness and power of the Lord."
This was now the fixed law of her mind, " God in every
thing." In small things as well as in great, in natural as
well as religious, she recognized his hand. Some little incidents of a private and domestic nature, which I think it will
not be inconsistent with the objects of this work to mention,
illustrate her trust in Him.
4. "God," she says, "took care of all my concerns. I
saw his providence incessantly extended to the very smallest
things. I will illustrate what I mean. I had sent to Paris
for some papers, which it was very desirable that I should
have in my possession. Months had passed, but the papers
did not come. Looking at the matter in the human light,
the disappointment and the loss were great. But I left it
wholly with the Lord in great peace and confidence.
Whether I received them or not, I could not separate the
result from God's will; and that will was equally dear to
me in either case. After I had taken what seemed to me
suitable measures, some pressed me much to write again;
but an invisible hand held me back. Something within me
whispered, that it would be distrusting the Lord. After
some months I received a lettbr from an Ecclesiastic at
Paris, stating that the papers were in his possession, and
that he would soon come to see me and bring them.
5. "At another time I had sent to Paris for a considerable number of articles, which were necessary for my daugh.
26





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


ter. They were sent, but did not arrive. The report was,
that they had reached the borders of the Leman lake, were
put on board a boat, and were lost. I could learn no further
tidings about them. But I left it wholly with the Lord, in
entire quietness of spirit. I could not separate the will of
God from any thing which took place in his providence.
Having done all that was suitable to be done in the case,
if they were found, it was well; if they were lost, it was
equally well. At the end of three months, they were brought
to me, having been found in the house of a poor man, who
had not opened them, and who did not know who brought
them to his house.
6. " On another occasion I sent to Paris for an amount
of money, which I had estimated would be enough to meet
my expenses for a year. I received it in a bill of exchange
on some person in the city of Geneva. A person was sent
from Thonon to Geneva to receive the avails of the bill in
specie. The money was deposited in two bags, and placed
on the man's horse. The man rather carelessly, for some
reason connected with his own convenience, gave the horse
to be led by a boy a little distance. As the boy went along,
directing his way through the market of Geneva, the money
fell off without being noticed by him.
"At that very moment, I arrived myself, approaching the
market place on the other side. Having alighted from the
conveyance in which I came, I proceeded a few steps, and
the first thing I noticed was my bag of money. There was
a great multitude of people in the place; but the bag was
not perceived by them; or if it was, it was left untouched.
Many such things have attended me, which to avoid prolixity I pass by. These may suffice to show the continual protection of God towards me."
7. In the meanwhile the work of God continued. Sinners
were conversed with; those who were religious prayed;





OF MADAME GUYON.


803


those who were without religion began to believe and were
saved. When opportunity offered, Madame Guyon, whose
efforts were unwearied, extended her labors into the neighboring villages. On one occasion, it is worthy of notice,
that, for some object connected- with her religious mission,
she made an excursion by water to Lausanne; a place rendered celebrated, not only by much which is pleasing in its
situation, but by having been the residence, for many years,
of one of the most popular English historians. This pleasant town is situated on the borders of the Leman or Genevan
lake, about fourteen miles distant from Thonon, and nearly
opposite to it, on the other side of the lake. She went in
one of the boats that plied between the two places.
"In our return," she says, "we experienced a severe
tempest. We were in a dangerous place, when it came
upon us, and narrowly escaped being swallowed in the
waves. God was pleased to protect us. A few days afterwards a small vessel foundered nearly in the same place,
with thirty-three persons in it."
8. It was about this time that Father La Combe, who
had returned from Rome, formed the plan of establishing a
Hospital at Thonon, for the benefit of poor people seized
with maladies. As subordinate to the general plan, the
ladies of Thonon formed a society, the object of which was,
after the practice which prevailed in France, to aid poor
families whose sick members were absent at the hospital, as
well as to aid the sick themselves in the means of support
there. There had been no institution of that kind before, in
that part of the country. "Willingly," says Madame Guyon,
" did I enter into this plan. With no other funds than what
Providence might please to furnish, and some useless chambers, which the gentlemen of the town gave us, we began
our effort. We dedicated the place to the holy child Jesus.
God enabled me to furnish the first beds which were ob




304


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


tained. He blessed the undertaking so much, that several
other persons soon joined us in this benevolent effort. In a
short time we were not only enabled to place in the building twelve beds, but were especially favored in finding
three very pious persons, who gave themselves, without any
salary, to the service of the hospital, dedicating themselves
to the aid of poor patients.
"I assumed the office of furnishing it with the requisite
medicines, which were freely given to such of the poor people of the town as had need of them. The good ladies who
were associated in this undertaking, were so hearty in it,
that through their care and charity the hospital was in every
respect very well maintained and served.  These ladies
joined together also in providing for the sick who could not
go to the hospital; and I gave them some little regulations,
such as I had seen adopted in France, which they made the
rules of their associations and which they continued to keep
up with tenderness and love."
9. Madame Guyon arrived at Thonon in April, 1682, as
near as can now be ascertained. She commenced her residence there as a boarder in the House of the Ursulines,
where she remained a little more than two years. During
the latter part of this period she experienced a severe sickness, of which she has given some account, which held her
for some time. After her recovery she found herself so infirm, that she thought it necessary to change her residence,
and to obtain one which, by being a little more remote from
the water, would be more favorable to her. She left the
Ursulines in the spring or summer of 1684. - The house
which she obtained at that time, was in a more healthy position, some miles distant from the lake. It was inconvenient,
except in its-position; but it was the only one in that neighborhood which was unoccupied, and which she could obtain.





OF MADAME GUYON.


305


"It had a look," she says, "of the greatest poverty. It
had no chimney except in the kitchen, through which one
was obliged to pass to go to the chamber. I took my daughter with me, and gave up the largest chamber to her, and to
the maid who took care of her. The chamber which I reserved to myself, was a very small one; and I ascended to
it by means of a ladder. Having no furniture of my own
except some beds, which were quite plain and homely, I
bought a few cheap chairs, and such articles of earthen and
wooden ware as were necessary. I fancied every thing
better on wood than on plate. Never did I enjoy a greater
content, than in this hovel. It seemed to me entirely conformable to the littleness and simplicity, which characterize
the true life in Christ."
10. The change of her residence did not diminish her influence. It could not well be diminished, while the conviction remained so prevalent as it did, that she was a woman
taught of God. At Thonon her adversaries, who were in
the wrong position of fighting against God, had been foiled at
every point. And what seemed to render their case the more
hopeless, Father La Combe, whose talents and piety gave
him a prominent position, had returned after a long absence,
from Rome, and had united his influence and efforts with
those of Madame Guyon.    He had returned too without
being condemned for his alleged heresies, as it was supposed
that he might be. At this juncture of affairs the adversaries of the religion of the heart, in distinction from that
which is formal and ceremonial, and especially of that higher
and sanctifying experience, which she generally denominated
pure love, adopted a new, and as the result showed, a more
effective mode of attack.
11. They made their complaints to Bishop d'Aranthon.
They represented that the church, especially in her prescribed forms and ceremonies, was in danger. The fact that
26*





306


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


La Combe had united his influence to that of Madame
Guyon, had given to the new spiritualism a consequence
which demanded attention. They represented to him, that,
if in the exercise of his authority as bishop, he did not take
some repressive measures, he could not be considered as
doing his duty to the church; and it is but reasonable to
suppose, under the circumstances of the case, that they intimated that such a position would not be respectful to the
king of France, to whom he was under some obligations,
and who had abundantly shown his zeal against heretics.
Already the evils of novel opinions, or of actual schism, had
been experienced in Spain. Already the SPIRITUAL GUIDE
of Michael de Molinos had announced doctrines in Italy,
which were justly considered as allied to those of Protestantism. How then was it possible, that, under the existing state
of things, he should remain undecided or inactive?
12. Such considerations, brought to bear upon a mind
that was easily influenced, aided by his sincere and strong
attachment t6 the church as it then was, aroused d'Aranthon
to decisive action. He not only required all priests and
others under his authority to oppose the progress of the new
views, but insisted, that both Madame Guyon and La Combe
should leave his diocese.* Madame Guyon wrote to him a
letter on the subject, but without effect.
13. Referring to some benevolent efforts she had made,
she says, " All these things, which cost but little, and which
owed all their success to the blessing that God gave them,
drew upon me and my friends new persecutions. Every
day my opposers invented some new slander. No kind of
stratagem, or malicious device in their power, did they omit.
They came to surprise and ensnare me in my words; but
God guarded me so well, that they discovered, in so doing,
* La Vie de Messire Jean D'Aranthon D, Alex, Liv. iii, ch. 4.





OF MADAME GUYON.


307


only their own malevolence. The dissatisfaction of Bishop
d'Aranthon with me was obviously greater than ever, especially when he saw that my efforts, of a benevolent and religious nature, which undoubtedly he sincerely disapproved
in some respects, rendered me beloved by others. He said
peevishly, that ' I won over everybody to my party.' Another remark implied, that he could be patient with my
doctrines if they were confined to myself, and were not
spread abroad. And finally, he openly declared, that 'he
would no longer submit to have me in his diocese,' although
I was not conscious of having done anything in it but good,
or rather God had done good by me. And what rendered
my position the more trying, he extended his unkind treatment to my friends. The Prioress of the Ursulines, with
whom I had resided a considerable part of my time at
Thonon, received a large share of it."
14. When it is understood, that those who are in power
and authority, have come to the conclusion, with whatever
justice, or whatever want of justice, to crush those who are
weaker, there are never wanting persons who are ready to
aid in carrying the decision into effect; not only men from
whom better things could be expected, but especially rude
men, men of minds contracted and of hearts selfish, who resort to measures which enlightened and benevolent men
could not approve. This sort of rude and ungenerous opposition was employed against Madame Guyon. She resided
at this time in an obscure and poor cottage, at some distance
from the more settled parts of the country, with her little
daughter and one or two female domestics; but otherwise
wholly unprotected. She says, "I was greatly contented in
my small and rude residence. Hoping to remain there for
some time, I had laid in such provisions as were necessary
for me; but Satan, the great instigator of evil, did not long
permit me to remain in such sweet peace.





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"It would be difficult for me to enumerate all the acts of
unkindness and cruelty, which were practised towards me.
The little garden near my cottage I had put in order. Persons came at night and tore it all up, broke down the arbor,
and overturned everything in it; so that it appeared as if it
had been ravaged by a body of soldiers. My windows were
broken. They were dashed through with stones, which fell
at my own feet. All the night long persons were around
the house, making a great noise, threatening to break it in,
and uttering personal abuse. I have learned since who put
these persons upon their wicked work.
15. "It was at this time that notice reached me, that
I must go out of the diocese. The good which God had
enabled me to do, was condemned more than the greatest
crimes. Crimes were tolerated; but the work of God, resulting in the conversion and sanctification of souls, could
not be endured. All this while I had no uneasiness of mind.
My soul found rest in God; I never repented that I had
left all to do what seemed to me to be his will. I believed
that God had a design in everything which took place; and
I left all in his hands, both the sorrow and the joy."
16. Under these circumstances, it is obvious that she could
no longer remain.  "I saw," she says, "that there was
nothing for me to do here, so long as the bishop should be
against me. I did what I could to gain his good will; but it
was impossible to do it on any other terms than the engagement which he demanded of me, and which I knew it to be
my duty not to make." A concurrence of circumstances had
rendered the state of things clear. The union of priests,
bishop, and people against her, she regarded as an obvious
indication of providence, that, in the language of Scripture,
she must "shake off the dust of her feet against them," and
go to another city.
17. And what were the feelings under which she was





OF MADAME GUYON.


309


thus compelled, for a second time, to leave her field of labor,
and to go again, she knew not whither? "My soul," she
says, " leaving all to God, continued to rest in a quiet and
peaceable habitation. 0 Thou, the great, the sole object of
my love! If there were no other reward for the little services which we are able to perform, than this calm and fixed
state above the vicissitudes of the world, would it not be
enough? The senses, indeed, are sometimes ready to start
aside, and to run off like truants; but every trouble flies
before the soul which is entirely subjected to God.
" By speaking of a fixed state, I do not mean one which
can never decline or fall, that being only in heaven. I call
it fixed and permanent, in comparison with the states which
have preceded it, which, being in the mixed life, and without
an entire and exclusive devotedness to God, are full of vicissitudes and variations. Such a soul, one which is wholly the
Lord's, may be troubled; but the sufferings which it is called
to endure, affect only the outside, without reaching and disturbing the centre. Neither men nor devils, though they
discharge all their fury against it, can permanently harm a
soul that is free from selfishness, and is in union with the
divine will. No sufferings whatever could ever affect it,
neither more nor less, neither within nor without, were it not
permitted for wise purposes from above."
18. The pressure which rendered it necessary for her to
depart from Thonon, was applied with equal skill and power
to La Combe also. Such were the ecclesiastical relations
between him and the bishop, that the wish of the latter, and
still more his injunction, that he should depart from the
diocese, rendered it inconsistent, and perhaps impossible for
him to remain. The only charge alleged against him, so
far as we can perceive, was, that he was associated with
Madame Guyon, in the diffusion of a spirituality, which was
both novel and heretical, namely, the life of God in the soul,





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


both in the form of justification and of sanctification, sustained by faith alone as its primary element.
19. Madame Guyon wrote to the bishop.    The import
of the letter is now unknown; but it seems to have been
without effect. La Combe also wrote to him, as he was
about leaving. The letter, which is long, is given in full in
the Bishop's Life. The following is an abridgement of it,
containing those parts of it which would be most likely to be
interesting.
TO BISHOP D'ARANTHON.
"In accordance with your desire, sir, I am about to leave
your diocese. Not merely because your wish has been so
strongly expressed, that it naturally has the effect of an injunction, but because God, the Eternal Wisdom, has indicated, in the arrangements of his providence, that the time
of my departure has arrived. I recognize the instrumentality; but I do not forget him who operates through the instrument. It was by God's order that I came. It is by
God's order that I depart.
" You have known my views on the subject of Sanctification; for I took an opportunity to communicate them to you
in private. And prompted, as I supposed, by a sense of
duty, I expressed a strong wish, that they might be blessed
to yourself personally. This was the beginning of a course
of treatment, which, without giving utterance to the spirit of
complaint, I may justly characterize as unusual and hard.
I will not now undertake to justify myself against the persecutions which I have experienced.  I may, perhaps, be
excused for saying, however, that my adversaries have professed to sit in judgment upon what they have never studied,
and what they did not understand. Unacquainted as they
really were with what they undertook to condemn, they
obtained, nevertheless, an access to the ear of the bishop,
which was refused to us. If this extraordinary procedure





OF MADAME GUYON.


311


resulted in injury and suffering, we have this consolation,
which silences every murmur, that God in his wisdom per
mitted it.
"Pardon, respected sir, the feelings of a poor Religious,
who thinks he has known something of the power of the
inward life, if in leaving the scene of his labors, in a cause
so dear as that of true holiness of heart, he drops a tear of
regret at the desolation which he witnesses. Sad and terrible will be the account, which must at last be rendered for
the opposition which has been raised against a cause, for
which Christ shed his blood. A cause dear to God, who in
his goodness had sent from France to our poor Savoy, a lady
whose example and instructions could hardly have failed to
extend in every direction the love of holiness.
" But she and others, who have labored in the same cause,
are about to leave these regions; and they will carry to
other places those doctrines of the interior life, which have
been banished from the churches over which you preside.
Of what value is the church, and of what value are labors
for the church, without the inward life, without the religion
of the heart? By what unhappiness is it, respected sir, that
you, who have labored for your diocese so much, and in
many respects so successfully, have permitted this crown of
your labors to be taken from you? I speak in kindness and
sincerity. Why have the advocates of experimental religion
been banished? Why have you smitten me with an ecclesiastical interdiction? Me, who have been attached to your
interests, submissive to your orders, and jealous for your
authority? But it is useless to ask, as it would be unavailing to explain. My conscience bears me testimony, that I
would have given more than one life if I had possessed it,
for you; for the good of your own soul, and for the good of
those under your charge. This has been my prayer, and
many years have I earnestly offered it, that you, and that





812      LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


others through you, might know the full power of God's inward grace. In the bonds of the gospel I go hence to other
lands. Times and places change, but the deep prayer of my
heart, which I trust will yet be answered, remains unaltered.
" FRANCIS DE LA COMBE.'
20. There are various religious remarks of Madame
Guyon, made from time to time in connection with these
events, which seem  to me profitable.  On one occasion,
speaking of a religious friend, whose character was defective
in some respects, she says, "formerly it was with great difficulty that I could bear her manners, characterized as they
were by an unrestrained vivacity. But since God has given
me grace to regard every thing, and to love every thing
in its relation to himself, I find a great facility in bearing
such defects and faults of my neighbor. The principle of
benevolent sympathy has become strong, so that I feel for
all, and have a readiness to please and oblige every one, and
such a compassion for their calamities and distresses as I
never had before.
21. "I make, however, a distinction. I more easily bear
the defects of those, who are beginners in the Christian life,
arnd are yet weak in the faith, than of those who are more
advanced and are stronger. Towards the first I feel my
heart enlarged with tenderness; I speak to them words of
consolation. Towards the latter I feel more firmness of
purpose. When I see defects in advanced souls, I cannot,
without much inward suffering, forbear reproving them.
The more any soul is favored with eminent grace, the more
easily is it united to me; the more violent, also, is the weight
and suffering I feel for it, if it slip or turn aside ever so little.
Such have been the dealings of the Lord with myself, that I
seem to discern with great clearness both the strength and
weakness of its principles: so that.perceiving where it fails





OF MADAME GUYON.


313


and what it wants, I feel myself bound in religious duty to
declare it. I do not mean to say, that I find myself wanting
in kindness or condescension to souls of this description;
but duty, which in a sanctified mind acts almost with the
certainty of an instinct, requires more of strictness, and less
of mitigation and forbearance, than in respect to others.
22. "In my intercourse with others I find this also in my
experience. I can converse much with the weak; but I am
not inclined to converse much with the strong. With those,
who are in the beginnings of the religious life, and who need
instruction, the prsnciple of holy love, acting under the direction of Provydence, leads me to converse on such topics,
and for po long a time as seems to be necessary. I feel
that I am doing good. But conversation, for the sake of
conversation, with those who are so advanced that they do
not need it, and when the providence of God does not especially call to it, is repugnant to me. The human inclination,
which corrupts every thing, is apt to mingle with it. The
same things which would be right and profitable, when God,
by the intimations of his Holy Spirit, draws us to them, become quite otherwise when we enter into them of ourselves.
This appears to me so clear, that I prefer being a whole day
with the worst of persons, in obedience to God, before being
one hour with the best only from choice and a human inclination."
23. She also, in connection with this period of her personal history, makes some remarks which seem to me worth
inserting here, on the subject of LIVING BY THE MOMENT.
This is a subject of much practical consequence to those
who aim to live continually with God. She remarks, in the
first place, that the whole rule of conduct to a soul which is
wholly devoted to God, is the order qf divine providence.
God's providence is his agency in events made known in
27





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


time.  Consequently every successive moment has something which tends to indicate his will.
"If the soul," she says, " faithfully gives itself up to the
will of God, as thus madeknown in his providential order,
it will be likely to do all things right and well. And if,
while it thus gives itself up to God's will, it fully believes in
God's promise that he will protect those who confide in him,
it will have every thing it wants, and at the same time be
free from care. This is the- true life; because then being
in harmony with his will, we live with God; and receiving
every thing from him, in the exercise of faith, we live on
him. God loves what is of his own will and his own order."
24. " Few are the souls," she adds, " that givt themselves
up faithfully to God, in the order of his providence, as it is
developed moment by moment. They have too much of a
will of their own, their desires run out too strongly in various directions, to accept readily and fully that ' daily bread,'
whatever it may be, which God's providence now presents.
Sometimes persons get out of the position of the present
moment, which I may properly call the divine moment, by
their too earnest desires to do good. We are not at liberty
to do good, except that good which is appropriate to the
present moment. That good, which is good in itself considered, becomes evil by being placed in a wrong position; be
cause it is good done inappropriately and in violation of
God's arrangements, and therefore at the expense of the
highest good, namely, conformity to the divine will.
25. " It is here that we find the occasion of so many falls
by Christians. They do not live by the moment; they do
not make soul and body appropriate to God's time, which is
the present time. And going out of the present moment,
they may be said in a certain sense to go out of God, whose
habitation in time, considered relatively to the human perception, is not in the past, which is gone, nor in the future





OF MADAME GUYON.


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whicfi does not exist, but in the divine Now. Around this
heaven constructed centre, all commands and all promises,
and all effusions of grace, and all the helping visits of unseen
angels cluster together. He who does not correctly estimate
the present moment, in the calmness of inward recollection,
will be likely to find himself out of God's order, and thus
fall into sin. Through a false estimate in one direction, his
desires and purposes may fall below the line of duty; and
by a false estimate in another direction, taking into view
relations and interests which are not appropriate to the present time, the same desires and purposes may become so intense, so exaggerated, so wayward, that sin there also (lies
at the door.' But when, with a heart wholly given to God
and in the exercise of faith, we live in the present moment,
considered in itself alone and in its necessary and just relations, all goes right and well.
26. "This appears to me very clear. As a dislocated
bone, out of the place in which the economy of divine wisdom had fixed it, gives continual pain till it is restored to its
proper order, so the many troubles of life come from the
soul's not abiding in its place, and not being content with the
order of God, and with what is afforded in that order from
moment to moment. If men rightly knew and appreciated
this secret, harmonizing with whatever is, viewed in its divine relations, no -vtce of murmur would be heard in the
heart, and no cloud of rebellion would darken on their brow.
But, alas, instead of being content with what they have, they
are ever wishing for what they have not; and are thus unhappy under a yoke which would otherwise be easy to them;
while the soul which enters into the present moment, viewed
as God's moment, and estimated therefore in the divine light,
is already in the sweet peace of Paradise.
" Whence comes it, that we often find persons, who are
poor and suffering, experiencing, nevertheless, great content




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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


ment; while princes and potentates,.who abound to profusion, are often wretched and unhappy? It is because the
man who is not satisfied with the dispensations of the present moment, and, consequently, is not content with what he
now has, will never be without craving desires; and he who
is the prey of such unsatisfied desires, can never be content,
can never be happy. It is the order of God, received just
as it presents itself, and with a heart fully acquiescent, which
renders the saints in heaven infinitely content and happy,
though very unequal in glory.
27. " Souls in the natural life, and even those which are
partially sanctified, have various strong and ardent desires,
running in various directions; but the desires of souls, which
are truly sanctified, are consummated in the divine moment.
Some persons have desires which are very good in themselves, such as the desire to suffer martyrdom for God;
others have a strong desire for the salvation of particular
individuals among their neighbors; and others again have
a strong desire to see God revealed in his glory. All this
is excellent; but he, who, without having any one of these
desires, nevertheless desires what God would have him desire at the present moment, is infinitely more content, and
glorifies God more. God is as inflexible in subjecting good
desires to his own order, and in requiring their development in his own way, as he is in repressing evil desires.
A man is far from experiencing the full grace of God, who
desires martyrdom, but is restless under the yoke of divine
providence, which places martyrdom beyond his reach, and
requires him to glorify God in the humblest and most retired
avocations of life. The true desire, the right desire, is that
which comes in the divine order; and the divine order
can never be known and appreciated, except in connection
with a knowledge of the developments of the present moment. At one time the Apostle Paul made tents in God's





OF MADAME GUYON,


317


order; at another time, he preached eloquently on Mars
Hill, at Athens, in the same divine order; but in both cases he
glorified God equally. If we are right in motive, and right
in place, exercising all the requisite faith in God at the
same time, ALL WILL BE WELL."
28. Such are the remarks, expanded and illustrated a
little, in order that they might be the more clearly understood, which, with an insight hardly more religious than it is
philosophic, she makes on this interesting subject. Acting
on the principles, which she thus lays down, she had reason
to think, that the order of God, which is only another name
for the providence of God, which had hitherto rendered her
afflicted and wandering life a wonder to herself, called her
once more to depart. The following stanza from one of her
poems, may be regarded as expressive of her feelings at this
time.
"Father adored! Thy holy will be done;
Low at thy feet I lie;
Thy loving chastisement I would not shun,
Nor from thine anger fly.
My heart is weak, but weaned from all beside,
And to thy will resigned, whate'er betide."
SSelect Poems of Madame Guyon, translated into English, Churchhill's edition.





CHAPTER XXVII.


Season of retirement. Commences writing her larger Treatises on
religious experience.  Her work, entitled Spiritual Torrents.
Feelings with which she commenced this work. Origin of its
name. The progress of the soul compared to torrents descending
from the mountains. Abstract of some of its leading doctrines.
Degrees of faith. Inward crucifixion. The New Life, or the
state of the soul, when it has been subjected fully to the process
of inward crucifixion. Remarks upon the style of this work.
IT was in the course of the year 1683, during her residence at Thonon, that she first began to add to her other
efforts in the cause of religion, attempts at prolonged and
formal Treatises on the subject of religious experience. She
was at that time a resident in the House of the Ursulines.
Worn down with the fatigues of continual conversation, she
gave out word that she stood in need of retirement, and that
she would not see company for a number of days. She was
enabled to carry her purpose into effect; but she says, that
it was with some difficulty that people would consent to
leave her in repose even for a short time. In this season
of religious retirement, rendered necessary by her poor
health and continual labors, she had very full and joyous
communion with God. " It was then," she says, " that I let
myself be consumed with love all the day long."
2. During this retirement, endeavoring to ascertain, as
she naturally would, in what way she could most glorify





LIFE, ETC.


319


Him, who was the sole object of her love, it occurred to her,
that in those periods when physical debility would n6t allow
labors of a different kind, she might do something more with
her pen. The suggestion, which, under the circumstances
of the case, she thought she could justly regard as coming
from a divine source, caused her not only serious deliberation, but some trial of mind. But as soon as she became
satisfied that it was God's will, she no longer hesitated. She
felt that in some respects she was unqualified for an undertaking so important; but she was willing, in this as in other
things, to do whatever God had given her the power to do.
It was under these circumstances, that she commenced her
religious work, entitled the SPIRITUAL TORRENTS.
" When I first took up my pen for this purpose," she says,
"I knew not the first word I should write. The subject
was dark and mysterious before me. But when I began, it
gradually opened to my mind; suitable considerations presented themselves readily and abundantly. Feeling relieved
and strengthened in relation to the duty, which Providence
had thus imposed upon me, I was enabled to write an entire
treatise on the principle of Faith, considered in its inward
and sanctifying action. I illustrated some of the leading
ideas of the work, which describes the progress of the soul
from the commencement of its inward life to its union with
God, by a reference to streams or torrents flowing from
mountain tops, with greater or less rapidity, and with greater
or less directness, and mingling at last in the ocean."
3. It is this allusion to streams or torrents, and the illustrations she employs from that source, which gives name to
the work. The comparison is suggested, partly by its own.appropriateness, and partly by a passage in the prophet
Amos, 5th chapter, and 24th verse, -" But let judgment
run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream."





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


In the French and Latin translations of the passage,* which
she would naturally consult in her examinations of it, the
words TORRENS and TORRENT take the place of the word
stream in the English translation. "Let righteousness roll
down as a mighty torrent."
4. Some of the principles of this work, which is written
with great vigor of imagination and of language, although deficient in some degree in logical development, are as follows:
(1.) Souls, coming as they do from God, who is the great
ocean of life that gives all and receives all, have an instinctive and strong tendency, when that element of moral and
religious life, which they have lost by the Fall, is restored
to them by divine grace, to return again and mingle in
eternal union with that divine source from which they came.
(2.) And this tendency to re-union depends upon nature,
as well as upon origin. God, from whom the soul came,
and in whose likeness it is made, is holy. Holiness loves
holiness. It cannot be otherwise. And just in proportion
as the fallen soul is restored by divine grace and made holy,
precisely in that degree, and on the ground of a likeness of
nature, is there a tendency to unite with God, who is all
holy. And the tendency is mutual; existing on the part of
God, as well as on the part of the creature.
(3.) But the instinct of return, which exists in the soul
so soon as it is truly the subject of the divine operation, and
resumes anything of the divine nature, is different in different persons. This is illustrated by streams or torrents, that
come down from the mountains.     From  the ocean they
came;- to the ocean they are returning. Righteousness
* Amos, 24. - LATIN - Revelabitur quasi aqua judicium, et justitia
quasi TORRENS FORTIS.
FRENCH - Jugemens se manifesteront comme de l'eau, et justice en
faqon d'un GROS TORRENT.





OF MADAME GUYON.


321


shall flow on as a mighty stream. But all streams do not
flow alike.
(4.) Some torrents, which may be regarded as representing one class of regenerated souls, are feeble in their beginning. They acquire strength; but they do it gradually and
slowly. Sometimes they meet with an impediment, a rock
or some other obstacle, which obstructs their progress for a
time, and makes them no better than a standing pool. When
they have escaped from this impediment, they still retain
their former characteristics; and wind onward circuitously
and slowly. They are not altogether without life, and without utility. Here and there their banks are green; and a
few scattered flowers drink refreshment from their waters.
After a while they depart from sight; perhaps their inconsiderable waters are dissipated and drunk up in the wide
expanse of some arid plain. Perhaps they pass on and are
lost in some other larger river, or are mingled and lost in
the bosom of some lake. They do not reach the ocean.
(5.) Other torrents, which represent another class of regenerated souls, seem to start from a fuller fountain, and
more rapidly to acquire increase. As they advance onward
towards the sea, they expand into rivers. Many are the
vessels, larger and smaller, which they bear; rich is the
merchandise which floats upon them; but freighted with
goods both from heaven and from earth, they seem to grow
sluggish in their own opulence. The impulse which bears
them on to the great deep, slumbers. And, winding here
and there, they empty themselves at last into some bay, or
sound, or other arm of the sea, and there are lost.
(6.) All have a tendency to the sea; but with much
variety of impulse and progress. And, accordingly, she goes
on to state, that there are other torrents, which represent
another class, namely, those who hunger and thirst after
righteousness, who cannot and will not be satisfied, till their





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


souls are brought into the most intimate union with God.
If these torrents are turned from their course by any obstacle, they resume it as soon as possible, and by the nearest
possible direction. If they meet with obstacles so extensive
as to stop them entirely, they do not become inert and stagnant, but they get strength moment by moment, accumulating
wave upon wave, till they pass triumphantly over them.
They bear their treasures; but they will not stop. They
nourish the flowers upon their banks; but they leave them
to shine in their beauty and fragrance, and pass on. They
are not satisfied, till they reach and mingle with the great
ocean. There they are made one with the water of waters;
they become a part of it; vast navies float upon its bosom;
the world's commerce passes over it.
(7.) It is an illustration of this kind, whether more or
less rhetorically and theologically appropriate we will not
undertake to say, which gives name to the book. After this
general introduction, we come to the principles of it. And
one is, which has already been referred to, that there are
some souls, (those in particular who are represented in the
third class,) in whom the Spirit of God inspires the desire
of progress very distinctly and powerfully, who hunger and
thirst to be holy, who cannot and will not rest till their
hearts and their wills were made one with God. Their
tendency is to the Divine Centre or God, in distinction from
the Personal centre, or Self. Those who are in the Divine
Centre, harmonizing as they do with God himself, are both
right and safe. Those, who are in the centre of Self, are
not and cannot be either the one or the other.
(8.) The central principle of the Divine Mind is its
WILL. Its will, philosophically considered, encircles, embodies, and concentrates the whole. The centre of the human
mind, constructed originally after the image of the Divine
Mind, is the WILL also. And, accordingly, when the human





OF MADAME GUYON.


323


will becomes entirely harmonious with the divine will, the
human centre is lost and made one in the divine centre.
Like the mystic writers generally, like Cudworth and
Leighton among English writers, the authoress of the Spiritual Torrents, insists much upon the harmony of the human
and Divine Mind. This is her mode of expression; a mode
of expression, which, when properly understood, not only
conveys the highest religious truth, but is based, as it seems
to me, upon a correct mental philosophy. Sin is only another name for divergency from God, who is the Truth and
the Good. When we recognize the great truth, that our
life is from God, and accept his appointed wayp return
through Christ our mediatorial sacrifice, apcease to be
divergent by becoming one with him  e we cease to sin.
And this is always the case wh pe human will is entirely
in harmony with the divin  11.
(9.) A distinction, to be made between a will which is
perfectly harmoni6us, and a  w hich is merely submissive.
A merely submissive wl(s one which is brought into that
position by the sejCiment of duty. We speak now of a will,
of which subission, and nothing more than submission, can
be predicated. A will, entirely harmdious. on the contrary,
carrie with it the heart, as well as the (oscience. The
will of an obedient servant, who does what he is bound to
do, is submissive. The will of the affectionate son, who
not only does what he is bound to do, but loves to do it,
is not only submissive but is harmonious, is not only
concordant, but is one. The servant is in union by the
agreement of relations; the son is in union by the agreement of nature. The one is in union, because as a moral
being he is not at liberty to do otherwise than he does; the
other is in union, because his desires correspond with his
moral sentiments, and his affections accept and ratify what
his conscience dictates. So that when Madame Guyon in




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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


sists so much as she does on a perfect union with the divine
will as the highest result of Christian experience, she means
something more than that union of the will, which consists
in a mere cessation from rebellion; she means an union
which carries the heart with it.
(10.) And then the question comes, How is this harmony
to be brought about; a harmony, which places the centre of
all human wills in the centre of the Eternal Will? And the
answer is, just in proportion as we dislodge the human life
from its own centre, which is Self, it has a tendency, by the
law of its own nature, to seek the True Centre, which is
God. But what is it for the human life to be loosened and
dislodged froia its own centre? It is to recognize, in everything which is aptprpriate and necessary to it, its entire
dependence on God, and Do be willing to receive every such
thing in God's way, in God's ti-a-e, and on God's conditions.
And in the first place it must renounce salvation from itself,
in order that it may receiov salvation from God through
Christ. And then, in the exercise of the same self-renunciation in which it receives forgiveness for past sins, it must
be willing to receive also its strength, its wisdom, its moral
and religious good, what may be called its daily spiritual
bread, from God, living upon the Divine Fountain which
flows unceasing to those who are willing to receive life fron
the Divine Life, through the operation of the Holy Ghost
dwelling in the soul.
(11.) And it is here that the struggle begins; it is
here that the struggle is continued. When men begin to
see that they are lost out of God, and when God implants
within them the instinct of return, and they begin to put
forth their hands and to struggle in the right direction, they
then begin to feel, and not till then, the strength of the
chains which bind them. The first struggle is to renounce
all fondness and all claim for agency and merit in the mat




OF1' MAIDAMI  GUYON.


325


ter of their salvation from the penalty of their past sins.
So that the first crucifixion of self begins at the cross of
Christ.
Terrible is the struggle oftentimes at this point. God
can never yield, because, being the Eternal Truth, and having all truth, especially all moral truth, embodied as it were,
and realized, and made a true life in himself, he never can
violate the truth. It is an eternal truth, or if it be preferred,
it is an eternal law in morals, - the opposite of which is an
eternal falsehood, because it never was and never can be
the law, - that, where there is crime, there must be suffering.
And suffering which attends upon crime and is the necessary
result of crime, is not merely suffering, but is retribution, is
punishment. This relation of crime and punishment God
can never alter, unless, by an arbitrary act, he can change
right into wrong and wrong into right, which would be inconsistent with the very idea of God. God, therefore, in the
person of his Son, not only knowing but realizing in himself the immutability of the requisitions of the law, took the
penalty of its violation on himself, in order that man, who
had incurred the penalty by sin, might be forgiven. And it
was not merely an exhibited or apparent suffering, which
God "manifested in the flesh," endured; not a mere spectacle; but a real suffering. God, therefore, because He cannot
possibly meet him on any other ground or in any other
place, unless he meets him as a righteous judge, meets man
in the cross of Christ; - He meets him on Calvary and not
on Sinai. And the first act of submission, the first act in
which man recognizes God as the Giver of the true life, is,
and must be there.
(12.) But this is only the beginning of the work. The
purchase of forgiveness in Christ is the purchase of a new
life; and all additional blessings flow through him. Man is
not only to be detached from his own centre in the matter
28





326


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


of forgiveness; but is to be detached from the same centre,
which is Self, in everything else. As every good thing
really comes from God; so every good thing must be received and recognized as coming from him in the exercise of
faith. And it is here that we see the necessity of inward
crucifixion, and the principles on which it must be conducted.
The soul must be detached from everything, on which it
rests out of God.
(13.) There are two great principles on which this result
depends; that by which, in the language of Madame Guyon,
we become nothing in ourselves, or in other words, which will
be more likely to be understood at the present time, that
by which, in the spirit of self-renouncement, we give ourselves to God entirely, in an act of unreserved consecration;
and the other is, that we fully believe in God as accepting
the offering which we have thus made. And it is here
often, that we find the exercise and trial of our faith.
Strong faith is requisite. Relying simply upon the promise,
which is given and pledged to all those who are fully consecrated, we are to receive God as our God and portion, for
the present and the future, in all that he now is, and in all
that he can be to us in time to come; in the plan of salvation, in the administration of his providences, and in the
" daily bread" of his grace, dispensed to us moment by moment. And He becomes to us in this way, not only all that
He is in fact, but all that we can desire him to be; because,
relying on his promises as virtually the substance or realization of that which is hoped for, we find our desires already
fulfilled by anticipation; although his present administration
in respect to us may be, in some respects, mysterious and
trying. The soul, therefore, which is represented by the
torrent, that rushes onward to the ocean as its resting-place,
and is not satisfied with anything short of or out of the
ocean, lays itself as it were, in the first place, on the altar





OF MADAME GUYON.


327


of sacrifice. Its language is, " I am thine. Make me what,
with thine assistance, I desire and purpose to be." God, in
accepting the gift, accomplishes upon it that for which it was
given.
(14.) It is at this point that Madame Guyon begins to describe accurately and minutely, the further progress of inward
crucifixion in its details. In doing this, she does not rely
upon the statements of other experimental writers, with
which she began about this time to form a more general
acquaintance; but seems to have drawn chiefly from what
she herself had passed through, and from what she had witnessed in other cases, which had come under her personal
notice.
I do not know that it is necessary to repeat the details of
this part of her work. They are certainly very interesting
in themselves, and are conveyed with great power of language. And what is particularly worthy of notice, is, that
she shows, in souls that are prepared for it by divine grace,
how the principle of Faith develops itself step by step, and
in higher and higher degrees, in precise accordance with the
process of inward crucifixion.  Just in proportion as the
soul is sundered from the ties.which bound it inordinately
to the earth, just in that proportion, it increases in the
strength of its faith, and rises into harmony with God. In
fact, sundered from the world, which was its previous source
of life, it could not live without faith in that which is separate from the world. It is on the basis of this general view,
that she describes the progress of the inward life, not merely
by degrees of crucifixion, but chiefly and especially by de.
qrees of faith.
(15.) The soul, in the first degree of faith, has a true
life in God, but not a full or perfect life. The soul, in this
degree, loves God, but it adheres too strongly and takes
too much delight in the gifts of God (meaning here the





328        LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
external gifts, such as the conveniences of life and the
pleasures of society and friendship,) considered as separate
from  God himself.  It recognizes and loves, in general,
the providences of God; but when they approach very
near and become personally very afflictive, it is apt to
show something of restlessness and unsubmission.  Combined with a disposition to do the will of God, there is too
much of 'emnpressement,' or undue eagerness to do it, and
not enough of that humility and quietness of spirit, which
waits for his time of doing it. It performs religious duties,
and loves to perform them; but it has a choice as to time
and place, so fixed and strong, as sometimes to be out of
harmony with providential arrangements, and to interfere
with other duties.
(16.) In the second and other higher degrees of faith, as
she describes the mind's spiritual progress, the soul, in undergoing the process of inward crucifixion, becomes detached
from these faults and sins. But there still remain others.
The soul, for instance, in this stage of its progress, rests
more or less upon a human arm; - human opinions, which
are adverse to its course, cause it trouble; human approbation and human applause sometimes give it strength, which
would be better if it came directly from God. But God,
operating by outward processes in carrying on the work of
inward crucifixion, takes away one prop after another, smiting the arm of humanity which takes the place of the divine
arm, till the soul (which it cannot do, without an increase
of faith corresponding to the facts and process of such inward crucifixion,) rests solidly upon the great Centre, and
upon that centre alone.
(17.) Again, the soul has its virtues, perhaps high and
eminent virtues; its good intentions, its patience, its benevolence, its truth, its temperance, its great number of outward
good works.  But when, in the exercise of its virtues,





OF MADAME GUYON.


329


whether inward or outward, it has done something right and
good, something for itself or its neighbor, it sometimes feels
an emotion of self-gratulation, and is inclined to take a little
merit to itself. It perceives this disposition and laments it;
but has not as yet gained the victory over it. But God in
his providence smites all such feelings, which are obviously
drawn from a wrong source, and are hostile to the true inward life; until it perceives and realizes at length, in the
exercise of a truer and higher faith, that its good feelings
are from God, and that they are good only so far as they
come from him alone.
(18.) And there is yet a higher degree of faith, which is
brought into exercise in connection with a still more intimate
and deeper experience of inward crucifixion. It is sometimes the case, that souls, in the experience of God's favors,
are perverted by the very gifts which they receive from his
hand. They mistake the gift for the Gives, the joy for Him
who is the source of their joy. And God then, if he has
determined to sanctify this soul, so orders his providences,
as to render it the subject both of inward and outward sorrow; and in such a degree and such a manner, that he will
appear to it to have entirely withdrawn his favors. This is
a very trying situation. It is impossible for the soul to live
in it for any length of time, without the experience of a very
high degree of faith. The soul that can stand this test, that
can drink the bitterness of this cup, especially when it is
offered without any mitigating ingredient, cannot have anything less than an assured faith; a faith, which fully purifies the heart, and overcomes the world. He who has this
confidence in God, is necessarily the friend of God according to the promise, and cannot be separate from him, either
in the affections or the will. It is from that moment that
the death of nature is experienced; which is nothing else
than the cessation of all wrong and inordinate desires and
28





330


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


purposes, and entire union with God in everything that he
loves and everything that he wills.  Thus is the declaration of Scripture made true; " Whatsoever is born of God,
overcometh the world; and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith."
(19.) When all that separated from God is taken away,
when every inordinate desire has undergone the process of
excision, so vs to be reduced into its place, and to be put
into entire position and agreement, with the one great and
over-ruling desire of conformity to God's will, then begins the
new life in the higher sense of the terms. The soul no
longer possesses anything which it calls its own; but may
rather be spoken of as a subject, and, instead of possessing,
may be said to be possessed by another; God himself comes
to it, and dwells in it, as in his Holy Temple. It is not only
obedient to God, which is a high state of grace, even when
it costs considerable effort to render obedience; but its obedience is rendered in such a manner, so promptly and so
lovingly, that God may be said to be its life. The soul has
become nothing in itself; but it has gained all things out of
itself. Disrobed of the life of nature, it is clothed with the
life of grace. It has lost the inspiration and life of the creature, but it has gained the life of God.
(20.) And now all that has God in it, (and there is nothing which has not God in it except sin,) is its delight. The
sky expands with a purer beauty; the flower opens with a
sweeter fragrance; in the forest, and on the river's banks, it
finds food for contemplation and holy love; it rejoices with
those who rejoice, and weeps with those who weep; it is
young and buoyant with the child, and wise and reverent
with the aged; everything in human life is dear to it; it
pities and forgives its enemies; like Him, who is embodied
in it, it does good to the evil and unthankful; tears are dried





OF MADAME GUYON.


331


at its approach; and smiles bloom like roses at the presence
of its loveliness.
(21.) Those who have never experienced the transformations of thoroughly sanctifying grace, know but little of the
purity, the peace, and the blessedness of such a soul. It has
but little to say of itself; it has no dreams, no visions, no
ecstasies. We mean to say, that it makes no account of
them, separate from God. It lives by faith and not by sight.
Believing, it asks nothing more, Its new life is all natural
to it; a life which lives and acts of itself, without calculation
and without effort. It is humble without knowing or speaking of its humility; it is divinely wise without analyzing its
wisdom; it is full of kindness -and love, apparently without
any consciousness how kind and loving it is. It worships
God even without formally thinking of God, because THE
KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN IT. Its YEA is YEA, and its
NAY is NAY, without suspicion. It is not more full of faith,
than it is full of holy simplicity. It is like a little child1 It
is an infant Jesus.
(22.) Such are some of the doctrines of this interesting
work. It is a work, which is written with much vigor and
truth of conception, and with much freshness and strength
of style; although a practised master of style would more
carefully adjust the position of ideas; in other words, would
adopt an arrangement more logically symmetrical.    The
terms, in which she describes the successive and deeply
trying steps of a thorough inward crucifixion, remind one
strongly of her own personal history. Ske describes in a
great degree, though not exclusively,from herself. And this,
while it contributes to the interest of the work, constitutes in
reality one of its defects, considered as a work to be read
and followed by others. It would not be entirely safe, to
take the experience of any one individual in all its particulars, as the precise mode of the divine operation in all other





332                    LIFE, ETC.
cases. The truth of her inward experience, (that is to say,
the truth or reality of the great principles involved in it,) is
permanent; but the mode or manner of it, in some respects,
may differ in different individuals. It may be proper to
add further, that she was constitutionally imaginative. Consequently viewing things in a clear and strong light, she
expresses herself more strongly than a person with less imagination would be likely to do. Her expressions, therefore,
especially when compared with what she says, from time to
time, in other places, can sometimes justly be received in a
modified sense. The work can justly be considered, however, whatever criticisms it may be proper to make upon it,
as a very valuable and remarkable contribution to the documents of religious experience, especially in the highest forms
in which it seems to be realized in this life.





CHAPTER XXVII.,aves Thonon for Turin in the summer of 1684. Mount Cenis.
Her feelings at this time. Persons that accompanied her. Circumstances which led her to go to Turin. Marchioness of Prunai.
Her journey through the Pass of Mount Cenis, and her reception
at Turin. Labors at Turin. State of her religious feelings. Her
efforts by means of written correspondence. Letter of advice to a
young preacher. Of Dreams. The Dream of the sacred island.
Dream of the beautiful bird. Remarks on the prayer of silence.
OBLIGED, under the circumstances which have been mentioned, to leave Thonon, where she had been the instrument
in the hands of God of accomplishing so much good, she decided for various reasons, to attempt to reach the city of
Turin. This city, the capital of Pied'mont, is situated one
hundred and thirty-five miles southeast from the city of
Geneva, and a little more than that distance from Thonon.
Its site is on a vast plain at the foot of the Alps, on the Italian side, and at the confluence of the rivers Doria and Po.
The route would be, I suppose, from Thonon to Chain
berri, through the cities of Geneva and Anneci, a distance,
in a southwest direction, of fifty-five miles. From  Chamberri it would lead in a southeast direction, through Montmeillant, to the celebrated Alpine pass of Mount Cenis, and
thence to the town of Susa and the city of Turin.
Mount Cenis was not passable then, as it has since been
rendered by the efforts of the French government, for car





334


LIFE AND RELlGIOUL IS XPElRIENCE


riages; but those who went over it, were obliged to go on
foot or on mules, or were carried in litters borne by porters.
A journey under such circumstances, along frightful precipices, and over mountains piled to the clouds, accompanied
too by the unpleasant reflection that those who were prosecuting it had no home, no resting place, must have been
exceedingly trying to any one whose mind was not sustained
by strong faith.
2. It is about this time, that we find the following terms,
descriptive of her feelings. To a mind thus sustained, nothing seems wonderful, nothing seems impossible. "The love
of God," she says, " and of God alone, was my soul's great
business. I seemed so entirely lost in God, as to have no
sight of myself at all. It seemed as if my heart never came
out of that Divine ocean. Oh! loss, which is the consummation of happiness, though operated through crosses and
deaths! I could say with the Apostle Paul, that Christ lived
in me; and that I lived no more. But if I was thus made
one with him in nature, it seemed to me that I must be
made one with him in suffering. The words, which are
found in the Gospel of Matthew, were deeply impressed upon
my mind. 'The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air
have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay his
head.'
"This I have since experienced in all its extent, having no
sure abode, no refuge among my friends, who were ashamed
of me, and openly renounced me at the time when there was
a great and general outcry against me; nor among my relations, the most of whom declared themselves my adversaries,
and were my greatest persecutors; while others looked on
me with contempt and indignation. My state began to be
like that of Job, when he was left of all. Or perhaps I
might say with David, ' For thy sake I have borne reproach;
shame hath covered my face; I am become a stranger to my





OF MADAME GUYON.


335


brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children; a reproach
to men and despised of the people.' "
3. In the summer of 1684, so far as can now be ascertained from the scattered and somewhat imperfect statements in this part of her history, she left Thonon, taking the
route to Turin which has been mentioned, leading through
Chamberri, the valley of the Maurienne, and over Mount
Cenis. She was accompanied by Father La Combe, her
spiritual Director, who was obliged to leave for similar reasons and under similar circumstances; by another ecclesiastic of high standing and merit, who had been for fourteen
years a teacher in theology, but whose name is not given;
and by a young lad from France, in the humbler walks of
life, who had been apprenticed to some mechanic trade, and
who was probably induced to accompany them for religious
reasons. The females in this little company were Madame
Guyon and her little daughter, whom, thinking she could not
safely or properly leave her to another's care, she carried
with her from place to place, accompanied by one of' the
maid-servants, who came with her from France, a poor and
humble girl, but rich in that unchangeable faith which rests
upon inward renouncement; who recognized in Madame
Guyon a spiritual mother, and with something of a martyr's
spirit shared in her wanderings and labors, and suffered with
her in her long imprisonments.
The men were carried through the mountain passes on
mules, the females on litters.  This must have been to
Madame Guyon a toilsome and trying journey. She, who
but a few years before had resided amid the ease and ele
gances of the capital of France, was now a wanderer, with
the precipice at her feet and the avalanche above her head.
But God is the God of the rock and of the mountains, as
well as of the cultured field and valleys; and she saw in
these mighty and terrific piles, which the lightnings had





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


smitten but not destroyed, which the thunders had struck
but never removed from their places, an emblem of the
strength of that arm, on which her soul rested.
4. It is hardly necessary to say, that she did not take
this course at the instigations of self, but under the intimations of that over-ruling Providence, which had become to
her the rule of life. God, who had foreseen the necessity
of her departure from Thonon, had prepared her a refuge in
Turin. There was at that time in the city of Turin, a female
of distinguished rank, the Marchioness of Prunai, - a lady
remarkable alike for her position in society, her powers of
mind, and her sincere piety. Her brother was at that time
the principal Secretary of State to the Duke of Savoy. The
Marchioness had been a woman of sorrow, having been left
a widow at an early period of life. Owing to this, or to this
in connection with otltr circumstances, which aided in showing her the vanity of worldly pleasures and honors, she
quitted the noise and splendor of the Court, for the more
silent satisfaction of a retired life. " This lady," says Madame Guyon, " was one of extraordinary piety. " With many
things in her situation, which might have furnished inducements to a different course, she nevertheless continued a
widow, notwithstanding repeated offers of marriage. Her
great object in doing this was, that she might, with less distraction, consecrate herself to Christ without reserve?"
5. The Marchioness of Prunai, whose intelligence and
means of correspondence would be likely to keep her informed of the interesting movements of that time, especially
those of a religious nature, had heard of the name of Madame Guyon. There was a similarity in their respective
situations, which could not fail to interest her. The possition
of Madame Guyon in society, her early widowhood, her
entire consecration to Christ's cause, her self-denying labors,
corresponding in so many respects with her own situation and





OF MADAME GUYON.


337


her own feelings, touched the chord of heart-felt sympathy.
Having heard of the sickness of Madame Guyon at Thonon,
at a certain time, and of the troubles which were likely to
await her there, she, of her own accord, sent to her a letter
by express, conveying her Christian and friendly sympathy,
and inviting her to come to Turin and to take up a residence with herself. In a subsequent letter, which repeated
the invitation and urged it still more strongly, she included
Father La Combe; foreseeing, probably, that he also would
be likely to need a place of refuge.
"As the invitation was given," says Madame Guyon,
"without any anticipation of it, and without any design on
our part, it was natural and reasonable for us, under the
circumstances of the case, to believe, that it was God's will
for us to go. And we thought it might be the means of his
appointment, seeing ourselves chased on the one side and
desired on the other, to draw us out of the reproach and
persecution, under which we labored."
6. It was under these circumstances, that this little company, with the world's curse and with God's blessing upon
them, were winding their way through the valleys of the
Maurienne, and over the cliffs of Mount Cenis, and along
the banks of the Doria. It was the Lord, who casts up a
highway for his ransomed people to walk in, that directed
their steps. They  ere received at Turin by the Marchioness with all that kindness and Christian affection which
her letters bad led them to expect. La Combe remained
here but.a short time. He received, soon after his arrival
at Turin, an invitation from the bishop of Verceil, a considerable town of Piedmont, about forty miles distant from
Turin, to take up his residence there. To this invitation,
which separated his field of labor from that of Madame
Guyon for a time, he thought it his duty to accede.
7. It would seem that Turin was not regarded by Mad29





338        LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
ame Guyon as a permanent field of labor. She had gone
there under the existing circumstances, because, when she
found herself obliged to leave Savoy so suddenly, she knew
not where else to go. 'It was a place, therefore, of refuge
and of rest; but still in some degree a place of religious
effort. Her labors seem to have been chiefly with persons
who held a position of influence in the religious world.
"It pleased God," she says, "to make use of me in the
conversion of two or three ecclesiastics. Attached to the
prevalent views and practices, their repugnance to the doctrines of faith and of an inward life, was at first great. One
of these persons, when he first gained a knowledge of my
objects, which were well known from letters which had been
received at Turin, vilified me very much. But God at
length led him to see his errors, and gave him new dispositions."
She mentions a number of incidents, which occurred during her residence at Turin; having relation, in part, to her
domestic situation and arrangements, and partly to her efforts
for the religious good of others. As they are not, however,
of marked importance, it is perhaps unnecessary to repeat
them.
8. "As to my own state at this time," she says, "it is
difficult for me to describe it. Every inward motion, originating from self, seemed to be taken away and lost; so much
so, that all the soul's movements and actions were now in
God, under the dominion of his will, and entiely in union
with him; the soul living in and of God, as the "body lives
in and of the air it breathes. Nothing entered into miy imagination but what the Lord was pleased to bring; my heart,
as it seemed to me, was pure; my will was firmly estab:
lished in one direction. Human language cannot well describe this state. God only knows perfectly what it is.
Souls, who are in this state, are very precious in the sight





OF MAD)AM3E GUYO.N.


339


of God, though outwardly there is nothing which especially
attracts notice. They are the little ones of the earth;--
meek, humble, quiet. Their humility, however, does not
wholly protect them from the world's opposition. They are
not unfrequently the objects of the world's scorn and rage."
9. The writings of Madame Guyon, all in the French
language, have been published in their collected form, in
forty volumes. Some of her works, published separately
from the rest, and particularly her Life, have passed through
numerous editions. It was but a short time before her residence at Turin, that she commenced these works, by writing
the treatise on religious experience, the Spiritual Torrents,
of which we have already given some account. But her
labors in writing were not limited to formal treatises. We
should do injustice to her desires for the good of others and
to her labors, if we did not refer again to her written correspondence, as one of the means of religious influence,
which she exercised.
The ease and vivacity with which Madame Guyon wrote,
and the effect of what she wrote upon numerous persons,
were remarkable. At Paris, at Gex, at Thonon, at Turin,
at home and abroad, in the convent and the prison, her
pen was constantly employed. It is hardly possible to name
a period during the whole course of her life, when she did not
keep up a wide correspondence. All classes of persons, no
matter how high or how low, shared in her labors in this
way, if there was any prospect of doing them good. Five
printed Volumes, which remain to us, are a sufficient confirmation of what has now been said. She informs us, that
she received many letters from Paris during her residence
at Gex; especially from persons who had a reputation for
holiness. "Among others," she says, "I received letters
from Mademoiselle de Lamoignon. Another young Indy,
who had access to my answers to her, was so moved witL





340


LIFI  AND) RtELIGIOUtS EXiPERIEANCEE


the statements made in them, that she sent me a hundred
pistoles for the Religious House at Gex in which I resided;
letting me know at the same time, that, whenever we wanted
money, I had only to write to her, and that she would send
me all I could desire."
10. Among her correspondents we find, beside her spiritual Directors, M. Bertot and Father La Combe, both of
them men of learning and piety, the names of Poiret, a man
celebrated for his knowledge, especially in the mystic or
experimental theology, the Abbe de Wattenville of the city
of Berne, Mademoiselle de Venoge of Lausanne, M. Monod,
a man of some distinction both in science and in civil life,
the Baron Metternich, the Marquis de Fenelon, who for some
time was the French ambassador in Holland, and Fenelon,
Archbishop of Cambray. To these, among many others
whose names are now unknown, I think it would be safe,
from the well known incidents of her history, to add the four
daughters, all of them duchesses in rank, of the celebrated
Colbert, together with two at least of their husbands, the
Dukes Chevreuse and Beauvilliers.
11. From time to time, in the course of what follows, we
propose to give portions of her correspondence. Dates and
names are sometimes gone; but that does not essentially
alter its value. Her letters generally relate to the subject
of experimental religion, with other subjects not unfrequently
introduced, which have a connection with it. The following
letter was addressed to a young man, when he was about
entering upon the practical duties of the ministfy.  But
before giving it, it may be proper to remark a moment, upon
her feelings in relation to this class of persons. She felt
very much, as we have had occasion to see, for all persons;
but perhaps for none more than those who had in charge
the preaching of the gospel. She was brought much into





OF MADAME GUYON.


341


acquaintance and connection with them; and she warned
them by word and by letter to be faithful.
"When the heart is once gained," she says, speaking
of preachers, "all the rest is soon amended. But when, instead of faith in Christ and the renovation of the heart, they
direct their hearers to the practice of outward ceremonies
chiefly, but little fruit comes of it. If those priests who
have charge of the country parishes, were zealous in inculcating inward instead of outward religion, the most desirable results would follow. The shepherds in tending their
flocks, would have the spirit of the ancient Anchorites. The
ploughman, in following the plough, would hold a blessed
communion with God. Those who practise the mechanic
arts, fatigued with their labors, would find rest, and would
gather eternal fruits in God. Crimes would be banished;
the face of the church would be renewed; Jesus Christ
would reign in peace everywhere. Oh, the inexpressible
loss, which is caused by a neglect of inward religion! What
a fearful account will those persons be obliged to render, to
whom this hidden treasure has been committed, but who
have concealed it from their people!"
The letter, to which we have referred, addressed to a
young man when he was about entering the ministry, is as
follows.*
" Sir,
"The singleness of spirit and the candor, with which you
have written to me, please me much. You are about to
preach the gospel of Christ. In answering your letter, I will
avail myself of the confidence you have placed in me, and
endeavor to make one or two suggestions.
"And in the first place, I would observe, that a person in
SSee the work, entitled, a Dissertation on Pure Love, by the Archbishop of Cambray, with an Apologetic Preface, Dublin, 1739.
29*





342


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


the responsible and solemn situation to which you are called,
should never preach ostentatiously. In other words, be careful never to preach with the purpose of showing your intellectual power, your learning, and eloquence. Preach in a
plain, simple manner; and let me add, that the matter is
still more important than the manner. Be careful what you
preach, as well as how you preach. Preach nothing but the
gospel, - the gospel of the kingdom of God. And permit
me to say further, it is exceedingly desirable, that you should
preach it as a kingdom near at hand; as something, not a
great way off, but to be received and realized now. Aim at
the heart. If men seek the kingdom of God within them, in
the exercise of faith and in right dispositions, instead of
seeking it in outward ceremonies and practices, they will not
fail to find it.
" Another remark I have to make is this. Always remember that the soul of man was designed to be the Temple
of the living God. In that temple, framed for eternity, He
desires to dwell much more than in temples made with
human hands. He himself built it. And when, in the exercise of faith, we permit him to enter, he exercises there a
perpetual priesthood. God, therefore, is ready to come, and
to take up his abode in the heart, if men are desirous of it.
But men themselves have something to do. Teach those to
whom you preach, to disengage their minds from the world,
to be recollected and prayerful, and with sincerity and uprightness to seek, in the language of the Psalmist, 'the Lord
and his strength, to seek his face evermore.' *
" Again, to render your preaching truly effective, it must
be the product of love, and of entire obedience to the Spirit
of God; flowing from a real, inward experience; from the
fullness of a believing and sanctified heart. And, if this be
the case, your sermons will not, I think, partake of a controPs. cv. 4.





OF MADAME GUYON.


343


versial spirit, which is much to be avoided. Men who are
controversial, led away by strong party feelings, are apt to
utter falsehoods, when they think they are uttering the truth.
Besides, nothing, so far as I can perceive, so much narrows
and dries up the heart as controversy.
"Shall I be permitted to make one other suggestion? It is
very desirable, in the earlier part of your ministry especially,
that you should spend a portion of your time, and that perhaps not a small portion, in communion with God in retirement. Let your own soul first be filled with God's Spirit;
and then, and not otherwise, will you be in a situation to
communicate of that divine fullness to others. No man can
give what he has not; or if a man has grace, but has it in a
small degree, he may, in dispensing to others, impart to
them what is necessary for himself. Let him first make
himself one with the great Fountain, and then he may
always give, or be the instrument of giving, without being
emptied.
"How wonderful, how blessed are the fruits, when the
preacher seeks the divine glory alone, and lets himself be
moved by the Spirit of God! Such a preacher can hardly
fail of gaining souls to Him who has redeemed them with
his blood. Preach in this manner, and you will find that
your sermons will be beneficial to yourself, as well as to
others. Far from exhausting you, they will fill you more
and more with God, who loves to give abundantly, when,
without seeking ourselves, and desirous of nothing but the
promotion of his own glory, we shed abroad what he gives
us upon others.
" And on the other hand, how sad are the effects, when
men preach with other views, and on other principles; -
men, who honor God with their lips when their hearts are
far from him. And they are not more injurious to others,
than they are miserable in themselves. God has created





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIYENCE


them, on purpose to make them infinitely happy by possessing Him, but they make themselves utterly miserable by
striving to possess all things out of Him.-I close with
simply adding my supplication, that God may not only instruct you in the things which I have mentioned, but,
moreover, may place you in a situation which will be most
accordant with the divine glory and your own good.
"JEANNE M. B. DE LA MOTHE GUYON."
12. I turn now, for a few moments, to another subject.
Her Autobiography, as appears from some statements she
has made, was written by the order of her spiritual Director,
La Combe; who particularly insisted, that she should write
everything, which could properly be inserted, even if it
should seem to be quite unimportant. In compliance with
his injunction, and not supposing at that time, that what she
wrote would be made public, she narrates, from time to time,
some of her exercises in sleep. I do not suppose, that she
attached more value to her dreams than others generally do;
but even dreams, when properly considered, are not wholly
destitute of value. They generally have relation to our
waking thoughts, being of a religious tendency or otherwise,
as the general state of our heart is; and I believe it is a
remark of no less a philosopher than President Edwards,
that we may profitably notice our dreams, in order to ascertain from them, in part, our predominant inclinations. Still
they are not to be considered as of much account. And,
accordingly, but little has been said of them hitherto. One
or two will now be given, which she mentions as having
occurred in this period of her life.
13. "It was about this time," she relates, "I had a
dream, which left a sweet impression on my mind. As I
dreamed, I seemed to see the wide ocean spread out before
me. Many were its shoals and breakers, and its stormy





OF MADAME G-UYON.


345


waters roared. In the midst of this troubled sea, there arose
an island, lofty and difficult of access, where it touched the
water; but in the interior where it arose again into a lofty
summit, it was full of beauty. To this island and this interior mountain, I was in some way mysteriously carried.
They said it was called Lebanon. Forests of cedars, and
all beautiful trees, grew there. In the wood there were
lodges, where those who chose might enter; and couches of
repose were spread for them. Here, in this place of divine
beauty, all things were changed from what we see them in
the natural world. All was full of purity, innocence, truth.
The birds sang and sported among the branches, without
fear that insidious foes would watch and destroy them. The
lamb and the wolf were there together in peace. So that I
was reminded of that beautiful prophecy of Isaiah, -' The
wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie
down with the kid; and they shall not hurt nor destroy in
all my Holy Mountain.'
"As I thus contemplated, in my dream, on this scene of
innocence and beauty, who should appear before me but that
beloved one, the spouse of holy souls, the SAVIOUR OP MEN!
He condescended to come near me, to take me by the hand,
and to speak to me. When we had looked round upon this
divine work, this new Paradise, he directed my attention to
the wide waters which surrounded us, to its rocks and foaming breakers, and pointed out to me here and there one who
was struggling onward, with more or less of courage and
hope, to this island and mountain of God. Some appeared
to be entirely overwhelmed, buried in the waves but not yet
wholly gone, and when the Saviour was directing my attention to these, and laying his injunction that such, in particular, should receive from me whatever sympathy and aid I
cou-d give them, my spirit was so much affected that I





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4 LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


awoke. The sweet impression, which this dream left upon
my spirit, continued many days."
Such a dream, without ascribing to it any supernatural
import, was calculated to console her feelings and to confirm
her in her general conviction, that her great business was to
aid souls, amid the multiplied perils which beset them, in
seeking the way of life.
14. At another time she relates as follows. "I saw in a
dream, a great number of beautiful birds. Many were the
people, who, with great emulation and eagerness, were pursuing them, and endeavoring to catch them. I was not a
little surprised to find, that, while they avoided others, the
birds came and offered themselves to me, without my using
any effort to take them. Among the birds there was one of
extraordinary beauty; there was none of the others which
compared with it. Everybody was eager to get this; but it
escaped them all, and me too as well as the rest. But afterwards it returned, and offered itself to me, when I had
ceased to expect it."
When, a number of years afterwards, the celebrated Fenelon, Archbishop of Cambray, became acquainted with her
views, and showed by the benevolehce and sincerity of his
life that he knew the value of thegm by practical experience,
she would sometimes say, in allusion to this dream, that the
beautiful bird had come to her.
"There was one peculiarity in her experience at this
time, which, as it is not unfrequently mentioned by persons
who have been in a similar state of mind, we may properly
take this opportunity to explain. She denominates it the
prayer of silence.
Everybody knows, or is supposed to know, what is meant
by silent prayer. It is prayer of the ordinary kind, with the
single exception, that it is prayer in words unspoken. But





OF MADAME GUYON.


347


the PRAYER OF SILENCE, as the phrase is used in the higher
experimental writers, is a prayer which is too deep for
words.   It is a state of the soul, which does not speak,
because it has nothing to say. It has a consciousness of
having God; and in the fullness and riches of its possession,
it rests, it is silent, it asks nothing more. Having God, what
is it possible for it to seek and to ask more than it now has?
The reception of God's will, and delight in it, is the inmost
throb and life of its life. That will is infinitely wise, unchangeable, and eternal. It cannot more change than God
can change. And those who are perfectly in that will, by
spiritual union, rest in it, just as God rests in it. And God,
whose ceaseless activity always terminates in an object,
which is fixed and established, because it is the expression of his own unchangeable will, has a rest perfect and
eternal.
16. We have here the principle of the prayer. The soul,
in its principle or life, may be in perfect union with God;
and yet, from time to time it may be practically distracted
and troubled with the cares, the pressures, and the trials of
the world. When these distractions and cares cease, it returns to God in the exercise of spiritual recollection; thus
placing God not only really but consciously in the centre.
And in the high state of experience of which we are now
speaking, the soul enters into communion with him not by
formal prayer, which specifies consecutively its petitions, but
by the prayer of silence, which, soaring above the rest and
the trial, the joy and the sorrow of time, which are good or
evil only in reference to the imperfections of the human
view of things, rests calmly with God himself in God's place
of rest, the Eternal Will. So strong is the instinct of the
holy soul for this place of divine repose, that the lips are
sometimes closed almost involuntarily. Its prayer is summed
up in one word, THY WILL BE DONE; and believing with




348                     LIFE, ETC.
out a doubt, that this will, as each moment passes, is and
must be done either into its positive or permissive forms,
and having therefore its supplication fulfilled in the very
act of supplicating, its prayer almost necessarily assumes the
form of adoration without words; it rests in God and is
silent.
This illustrates, I suppose, what she means when from
time to time she speaks of the prayer of silence.





CHAPTER XXVIII.


Circumstances which led to her return to France. State of things
in Italy at that time. Some account of Michael de Molinos, the
author of the Spiritual Guide.  Opposition to his views.  Ill
treatment of his followers. Course of the Count and Countess
Vespiniani. Imprisonment of Molinos and death. Her return
from Turin in Piedmont to Grenoble in France in the Autumn
of 1684. Reasons for going to Grenoble. Advice of a female
friend resident there. Her domestic arrangements. Remarkable
revival of religion at Grenoble. Dealings of God with some individuals. Conversion of a knight of Malta. Her labors with the
Sisters of one of the Convents of the city. Establishment of a
Hospital for sick persons.
MADAME Guyow looked upon Turin, as we have already
remarked, as a place of refuge, rather than a field of permanent labor. It is true, that during the few months of her
residence there, she found something to do; and her labors
were not without effect. But whether it was owing to Italian usages and manners, so different from those to which
she had been accustomed, or to the difference of the language of the country, which, although she undoubtedly had
command of it, must have been employed by her with some
embarrassment, or to some other reasons, she found that
her mind turned back to France. France called her to its
bosom, not merely because it was the place of her birth;
not merely because it was beautiful and attractive in its
30





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


natural aspects, in its valleys and rivers and forests; but,
more than all and above all, because Providence seemed to
her to indicate, that her labors and her sufferings would be
there.
Certainly she must have felt, that it was difficult, under
the existing state of things, for the true light to shine much
in Italy. It is well known, that the people of the Italian
states have been subject, from that time to the present, to a
yoke of ceremonial bondage, exceedingly adverse to a life
of faith, although perhaps not wholly inconsistent with it.
In France, for the most part, although the difficulty has
been the same in kind, it has been less in degree.
2. As tending to illustrate and confirm what has just
been said of Italy, it may be proper to mention a few facts
of some historical and religious interest, which occurred at
this time. It was about this period, that Michael de Molinos,
a Spaniard by birth, a man of a respectable family and
blameless life, made his appearance in Italy as a religious
teacher and reformer. He published his views in a work
entitled the Spiritual Guide, which, in a few years passed
through twenty editions in different languages. The principles of the book, which have been much misrepresented
and misunderstood, were similar in a number of respects, to
those which are found in the writings of Madame Guyon.
He not only insisted upon the possession of religion experimentally, but maintained also those high doctrines of present and effective sanctification, which she has so eloquently
set forth. He attached comparatively but little value to
ceremonial observances, but insisted much upon the religion
of the heart, and upon faith as its constituting principle.
His doctrines were received with great joy by many pious
persons, in various parts of Italy. But this state of things
continued only for a short time.





OF MADAME GUYON.


351


3. The watchful eye of Catholic authority noticed this
movement.   Molinos was seized and shut up in prison.
Some hundreds of persons, who had received his doctrines
with favor, were subjected to the same ill treatment; some
of them persons eminent for learning and piety, others distinguished for rank. Among these last were the Count and
Countess Vespiniani. The Countess, strong in that power
and life of faith of which by God's grace she had become
the possessor, answered the judges of the Inquisition with a
firmness and decision which quite astonished them. She
averred that she had been betrayed by the priests to whom,
after the manner of the Catholic church, she had made confession; and declared openly and boldly, with all the terrors
of an ignominious death before her, that she would never
confess to a priest again, but to God only.
4. The Inquisitors, confounded at her boldness, and not
daring to act with rigor against persons of such high rank,
set the Countess and her husband at liberty, together with
some others. But Molinos, whose irreproachable life and
profound piety had made a general impression, was not permitted to escape. The doctrines of the Spiritual Guide, of
which he was the author, were formally examined and condemned. A circular letter, emanating from the highest
ecclesiastical authority, was addressed to the prelates of
Italy, apprizing them that secret assemblies were held in
their dioceses, where inadmissible and dangerous errors were
taught, under the pretence of inculcating higher experimental doctrines. It was enjoined upon them to forbid and
disperse those assemblies, and to pursue to justice such as
should be found adopting novelties, which the Catholic
church regarded as heretical and criminal. All suspected
persons were closely examined; the books of Molinos, when
they were found in their possession, were taken away; nor
were they allowed to retain and read any other writings





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


which were regarded as of a similar character; such, in
particular, as the Easy Method of the Inward or Contemplative Life by Francis Malaval,* and the Letters on the same
subject of Cardinal Petrucci. Efforts were made to save
Molinos, but they were ineffectual. He died in the dungeons of the Inquisition, after many years of close confinement, in which he exhibited the greatest humility and peace
of mind.
5. It does not appear from anything which is said in her
writings, that Madame Guyon knew much of the progress
and results of this movement at this time. The greater
number of those who were interested in it, resided in other
parts of Italy. But she saw enough in the inordinate attachment to the existing forms, and in the prevalent deadness
to the life of religion in the soul, to convince her, that there
was but little hope of much success in the labors of one like
herself, a woman, a stranger in a strange land, unfriended
and comparatively unknown. Some years after, when her
writings were subjected to examination, they were placed in
the same category with those of Molinos; were denounced
as equally heretical; and the ecclesiastical condemnation of
the propositions of the Spanish priest was urged as one of
the reasons for treating hers in a like manner.
6. It was under these circumstances that she turned her
thoughts once more to France. She began to experience,
more distinctly than she had previously done, the inward
consciousness, that God designed to use her as an instrument
to effect his purposes. And accordingly, in connection with
this conviction, she could hardly fail to see, possessing
* Pratique Facile pour flever l'Ame a la Contemplation. This work
was translated from the French into the Italian by Lucio Labacci. -
See, in reference to this and other similar works, Bossuct's Actes de la
Condemnation des Quietistes.





OF MADAME GUYON.


353


powers the strength of which she had learned from the conflicts in which she had been engaged, that her labors would
probably no longer be in obscure and remote places, and
among peasantry. A mere instrument as she was, and as
she felt herself to be, she began, nevertheless, to feel the
greatness of her personal xesponsibility, and in particular,
the importance of the mission to which God had called
her; a mission, which was designed to recall her people from the sign to the thing signified, from the semblance to the possession, from the ceremonial to the substance.
7. It was in the autumn of 1684, after a residence there
of some three or four months, that she left Turin for France.
She returned by the route by which she came; along the
Doria to Susa, over the, Alpine Pass of Mount Cenis, and
through the valley of the Maurienne to Montmeillant. Here,
where it seemed to be necessary for her to decide where to
go and what to do, she came to the conclusion, under that
inward guidance of which she recognized God as the author,
to go to the neighboring city of Grenoble. This city is but
a short distance, about twenty-five miles, from Montmeillant; and unless she took a different direction and returned
again to Thonon and Geneva, as she could not now do with
much propriety, she could hardly avoid visiting it.
She mentions, also, as a circumstance which turned her
mind in that direction, that she was personally acquainted
with a lady residing in Grenoble, who was so situated as to
give her some aid and advice. This lady, who was not
merely an acquaintance but a personal friend, she speaks of
as " an eminent servant of God."
8. Grenoble, which is about one hundred miles northwest
of Turin, is an ancient and populous city of France, situated
on the river Isere. It is a place which is rendered important by its position, its numbers, and its local influence. The
30*





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


lady, whom Madarme Guyon visited there, who seems to
have been qualified to give an opinion on such a matter,
advised her, for religious reasons and with a full knowledge
of her objects, to go no further, but to take up her residence
for a time in that city. Being acquainted with Madame
Guyon, and sympathizing in her religious experience, her
thoughts were occupied with the subject before this time;
so much so that the reflections of the day had spmetimes
given existence and character to the dreams of the night.
" Before I arrived at Grenoble," says Madame Guyon, "the
lady, my friend who resided there, saw in a dream, that our
Lord gave me a great number of children, all uniformly
clad, and bearing in their spotless dress the emblem of their
innocence and uprightness. Her first impression was, as
she permitted her mind to dwell upon the subject, that God
might in his providences establish me at Grenoble, for the
purpose of taking care of the children of the Hospital. But
ag soon as she told it to me, it seemed to me, that another
interpretation, more appropriate and more likely to be fulfilled, could be given to it. The impression left upon my
own mind was, that God might so far bless my labors as to
give me a number of spiritual children;-- the ' little ones'
of the gospel; - children characterized by a new heart, by
innocence, simplicity, and uprightness."
9. The lady, her friend, expressed the opinion very decidedly, that the providences of God opened to her here a
field of labor, which would amply reward the culture bestowed upon it; and that God would make use of her as an
instrument in glorifying himself. It appeared to Madame
Guyon, therefore, under the circumstances of the case, that
she should stop for a time here. And thinking it not best
to rely upon the offices of private friendship for those accommodations which would be necessary for her, she made
arrangements for herself, as soon as she conveniently could.





OF MADAME GUYON.


355


Her first idea was to remain for a short time at the public
Inn or Hotel where she stopped when she first entered the
city; but she found on making inquiry, that the arrangements which could be made there, would not answer all the
purposes of herself and those who came with her. And
accordingly she came to the conclusion, to place her little
daughter, and the pious maid-servant who was her constant
attendant, and who had shown her devotedness in thus twice
crossing the Alps with her, as boarders in one of the Convents of the city. She herself, wishing to resign herself in
solitude and silence to the dispositions of Him who is the
absolute Sovereign, took retired rooms in the house of a
poor widow, of whom she had learned a favorable character,
from the friend whom we have mentioned.
10. She did not visit and make acquaintances in the first
instance. It had not been her custom to do so in other
places, where she had sojourned. Her unalterable conviction, that it indicates a want of religious wisdom and faith
to run in advance of the divine providences, required her to
wait and to watch, as well as to pray and to act. And the
result showed, that those, who trust in the Lord, will find
Him all that their faith expected and required him to be.
She sat in her solitary room in the city of Grenoble, in
silent communion with God; a stranger almost unknown.
But God, who gives all things to him who is so poor in spirit
that he may be said to have nothing, honors and loves the
sanctified heart. With such a heart God may truly be said
to be one. A mighty power lives in the very presence of
such persons, even when outward appearances and appliances seem to be against them. The language of Him in
whom they trust is, -" The battle is not yours, but God's.
Fear not, nor be dismayed; for the Lord will be with you." *
S2d Chron. xx. 15, 17.





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11. Although, with the exception of a single family, she
had scarcely a personal acquaintance at Grenoble, it was
soon generally known, by being circulated from one to another of those who had in various ways heard something of
her history, that Madame Guyon was in the city. The result was, (and she speaks of it as something for which she
was not prepared, and as quite unexpected to her,) that,
within a very few days after her arrival some of the most
pious persons in the city came to see her. The fact that
she was already regarded and denounced by many as an
unsettled fugitive and a heretic, did not prevent the sympathy of pious hearts.  And many of those, who thus
visited her, came not merely to express their respect for her
character and their sympathy in her trials, but to receive
that religious instruction which they regarded her as eminently qualified to give. It was here, as it had been, in a
greater or less degree at Paris, at Gex, at Thonon, and at
Turin. The Spirit of God attended her.
Some, despairing of spiritual relief from outward observances, and feeling much their need of instruction and aid,
came with the inquiry, - What shall we do to be saved?
Others, who had clearer perceptions, and whose state was a
little more advanced, desired to receive suggestions and advice appropriate to growth in religion, of which they hoped
they had experienced the beginnings. She says she was
greatly aided in understanding the spiritual situation and
the wants of those who visited her; so much so that the
remark was common among them, and passed from one to
another, that they each received something which was appropriate to their case. "It was Thou, O my God," she
adds, "who didst all these things."
12. It was but natural, that those who thus came to her,
impressed by the profound truths which she uttered, should
announce to others the light and the spiritual blessings they





OF MADAME GUYON.


357


were thus receiving. And accordingly the number of those,
whose minds were thus suddenly directed to this great subject, rapidly increased.
" People," says Madame Guyon, "flocked together from
all sides, far and near. Friars, priests, men of the world,
maids, wives, -widows, all came, one after another, to hear
what was to be said. So great was the interest felt, that for
some time I was wholly occupied, from six o'clock in the
morning till eight in the evening, in speaking of God.
From the situation in which I was placed, it was not possible for me to aid myself much in the remarks I was called
upon to make, by meditation and study. But God was with
me. He enabled me, in a wonderful manner, to understand
the spiritual condition and wants,pf those who came to me,
and to say to them something which was pertinent and satisfactory. Many were the souls, which submitted to God at
this time; God only knows how many. Some appeared to
be changed, as it were, in a moment. Delivered from a
state, in which their hearts and lips were closed, they were
at once endued with gifts of prayer, which were wonderful.
Marvellous, indeed, was this work of the Lord."
13. A member of one of the Catholic Religious Orders,
established at Grenoble, visited her Conferences, and seems
also to have sought private interviews. He was one of
those persons, not unfrequently found, who, with the most
favorable dispositions to become religious, fail, nevertheless,
in possessing the requisite fidelity and courage to make
themselves what they have a desire to be. In this conflict
and vacillation of mind between desire and fixedness of purpose, he came to her, and 1"laid open," as she expresses it,
"all the trials of his heart to her like a little child."  She
gave him such instructions as seemed applicable to his case;
and God honored her in making her the instrument of great
blessings to this sincere and humble man. " I felt," she





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


says, "that this person, who was emptied of self in proportion as he received of the divine fullness, was truly one of
my spiritual children, one of the most faithful and closely
united."
14. This good man, desirous that others should be the
subjects of the same blessedness which he himself had experienced, brought to her a number of his companions. And
they were all, in like manner, led to see their need of an
interest in Christ, and to the experience of repentance. But
this result, so auspicious and glorious, was incidentally the
occasion of some trouble. The Superior of the Religious
House to which these brethren belonged, and the person
who sustained the office of Master of the Novitiates in the
same House, were very much offended. Without knowing
Madame Guyon personally, they nevertheless declared themselves decidedly and strongly against her.
"They were grievously chagrined," says Madame Guyon,
"that a woman, as they termed me, should be so much
flocked to, and so much sought after. For, looking at the
things as they were in themselves, and not as they were in
God, who not only does what pleases him but uses what
instruments he pleases, they forgot, in their contempt for the
instrument, to admire the goodness and grace, which were
manifested through it. The good brother, however, who
was first converted, persevered in his efforts, and after a
time persuaded the Superior of the House to come and see
me, and at least to thank me for the charities, of which he
knew I had tbeen the agent. He came. We entered into
conversation with each other. The Lord was present, and
was pleased so to order my words, that they reached his
heart and affected him. He was not only affected, but was
at last convinced and completely gained over to the views
which he at first opposed. So much so, that he bought quite a
number of religious books at his own expense,- books which





OF MADAME GUYON.


359


contained the very views with which he and others had been
so much dissatisfied,- and circulated them widely.
" Oh, how wonderful art Thou, my God! In all thy ways
how wise! In all thy conduct how full of love! How well
Thou canst frustrate all the false wisdom of men and triumph
over all their vain precautions!
15. " In this Religious House," she adds, " there was a
considerable number of persons, who sustained the relation
of Novitiates, or of persons on probation. The new spirit
of religious inquiry, [based upon the principle that man is a
sinner, and that he must be saved by repentance and faith
in Christ, and that faith in God through Christ subsequently
is, and must be the foundation of the inward life,] the spirit
of religious inquiry upon these principles reached the eldest
of the Novitiates. It was a niarked case. As he gave his
attention to the subject, he became more and more uneasy,
so much so that he knew not what to do. He could neither
read nor study, nor go through in the usual manner with the
prescribed forms of prayer, nor scarcely do any of his other
duties. The member of this Religious House, of whom
we have already spoken as having become interested first,
brought this Novitiate to me. We conversed together for
some time. In connection with what he said to me, I was
enabled, with divine assistance, to judge very accurately of
his inward state, and to suggest views which seemed to be
appropriate to it. The result was remarkable. God's presence was manifested in a wonderful manner. While I was
yet speaking to him, grace wrought in his heart; and his
soul drank. in what was said, as the parched ground of summer drinks in the rain. While he was yet with me, before
he left the room where the conversation was held, the fears
and sorrows of his mind departed. So far as could be
judged at the time, he was a new man in Christ. He loved
God, and God loved him.





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


16. "From that time he discharged all the duties, which
before were performed with great reluctance, with readiness
and joy. He now both studied and prayed readily and
cheerfully, and discharged all other duties in such a manner that he was scarce known to himself or others. He
was not only changed, but he was rejoiced to find that
there was in him a principle of life which made the change
permanent. God gave him his daily bread spiritually, as
well as temporally; imparting what he could not obtain before, whatever pains he might take for it. Desiring to do
good to others, he brought to me, from time to time, all the
other Novitiates. They all of them became interested in
the subject of their personal religious welfare, and were all
affected and blessed, though in different degrees. The Superior of the House and the Master of the Novitiates, both
of whom were ignorant of the instrumentality which had
been employed, admired very much, so much so that they
could not forbear expressing their feelings at the change
which they witnessed in those under their charge. Conversing one day with a person connected with the House,
whose merit and virtues they highly esteemed, and expressing their surprise at the great change which they witnessed
in the Novitiates, this person said to them, ' My Fathers, if
you will permit me, I will tell you the reason of this change.
It is owing to the efforts of the lady, against whom, without
knowing her, you formerly exclaimed so much. God has
made use of her efforts for all this.'
17. " This, added to the favorable influences already
existing, could not fail to have a very marked effect. Both
the Superior of the Monastery and the Master of the Novitiates, were advanced in years. But these things, combined
with what they had personally experienced, had such an
effect upon them, that they condescended, with great humility, to submit to such advice and instruction as I was enabled





OF MTADAME, GUYON.


361


to give them. It was at this time, and in this city, and for
the particular benefit of those whose minds were affected in
the manner which I have related, that I wrote the little
book, entitled A Short Method of Prayer. It seemed to me,
under the circumstances of the case, that the spirit of the
Lord prompted me to write it. I shall have occasion to say
something more of it hereafter..
18. "1The persons of whom I am now speaking, followed
the directions laid down in that book. They experienced
so much benefit from it, that the Superior said to me at a
certain time, 'I am become quite a new man.   Prayer,
which was formerly burdensome to me, and especially after
my intellectual faculties became exhausted and dull, I now
practise with great pleasure and ease. God who formerly
seemed to be a great way off, is now near; and the communion I have with him, which is frequent, results in great
spiritual blessings.'
"The Master of the Novitiates said to me,'I have been
a member of a Monastery or Religious House these forty
years, and as such have practised the form of prayer, and
perhaps in something of its spirit; but I can truly say, that
I have never practiged it as I have done since I read that
little book. And I can say the same of my other religious
exercises.' Among the other persons who became experimentally interested in the subject of religion at this time,
were three monks, men of ability and reputation, belonging
to another monastery, the members of which were in general
very much opposed to me.
19. "God also made me of service to a great number of
nuns, of virtuous young women, and even men of the world.
Among those who were wrought upon at this time, was a
young man of rank, a member of the celebrated Association
or Order of the Knights of Malta. Led to understand something of the peaceful nature and effects of religion, he aban31





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LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


doned the profession of arms for that of a preacher of the
gospel of Christ. He became a man constant in prayer, and
was much favored of the Lord. I could not well describe
the great number of souls, of whose spiritual good God was
pleased to make me the instrument; married women as well
as maidens and nuns, monks and preachers, as well as men
of the world. Among the number were three curates, one
canon, and one grand-vicar, who were more particularly
given to me. Generally speaking, those who sought religion
did not seek it in vain. There was one priest, however, for
whom I was interested, and for whom, in my anxiety for his
salvation, I suffered much. He desired religion, while he
felt the power of other and inferior attachments. He sought
it, but with a divided heart. The contest was severe; and
it was with painful emotions that I saw him, after all his
desires and efforts, go back again to the world.
" I ought to add, perhaps, that those who were the subjects of this remarkable work, generally remained steadfast
in the faith. In the severe trials which followed, some of
them were shaken for a time,. but returned again. The
great body were steadfast - immovable."
20. These things, which commenced soon after her arrival at Grenoble, took place, for the most part, in the spring
and summer of 1685. She rd3ates a number of incidents
connected with this state of things, some of which may be
worth repeating. The following is one. " There was a
sister in one of the convents of the city, who for eight years
had been in a state of religious melancholy. No one seemed
to understand her case; no one was able to give relief. I
had never been into that convent; for I was not in the habit
of going into such places unless I was sent for, as I did not
think it right to intrude, but left myself to be conducted by
Providence. Under these circumstances, I was not a little
surprised that, near the close of a long summer's day, after





OF MADAME GUYON.


363


setting of the sun, a message was suddenly sent to me from
the Prioress, requesting me to visit the House of which she
had the charge. As it was not yet dark, and the convent
was not distant, I went. On my way there, I met with one
of the sisters belonging to it, who told me the occasion of my
being thus suddenly summoned. It was the afflicted and
insane state of the poor woman whom I have mentioned.
In her sorrow and distraction she had made an attempt to
kill herself. Her earnest desire to obtain reconciliation with
God, and her deep conviction of the impossibility of securing
it by ceremonial observances alone, had produced such a
conflict in her mind, that its very foundations were shaken;
but not so much so as to deprive her of the power of correct
perception for the most part of the time.
"A person coming in to see her about this time, who had
known something of my personal history, advised her to
converse with me. Being thus made to understand the
general facts of the case, I laid it inwardly before the Lord,
who enabled me, as it seemed to me, to understand it more
fully. The fact was, that for many years, compelled as it
were by the doctrine and discipline which ascribed the highest results to austerities and ceremonial observances, she
had struggled against those inward convictions, which
assured her that there is a better way. I endeavored to
explain to her that this resistance must cease; that she must
no longer rely upon her observances, or trust to her personal
merits, but must trust in Christ, and resign herself to him
alone. God was pleased to bless these efforts. Being a
woman of great capacity, she appreciated at once the views
which were presented. Submitting herself-to God through
Christ, and willing to leave all things in his hands in faith,
she entered at once into the peace of Paradise. She was so
much changed, that she became the admiration of all the
members of the Religious Community in which she resided.





864


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


God's presence was with her continually; and her spirit and
power of prayer were wonderful."
21. But the work did not stop with this individual. A
considerable number of persons in the Convent gave attention to the great and beneficent truths which were thus
brought before them. It was something new, with those
who had practised observances and austerities so long, to
hear of reconciliation with God, by the simple and scriptural
method of faith in Christ alone. And the announcement,
coming though it did from woman's lips, but attended with
what gives the true power to every announcement, namely,
the Saviour's blessing, brought consolation to many a mourning heart. The thorough reformation of one of the inmates
in particular, whose ungovernable dispositions had for many
years given trouble, attracted great notice. Madame Guyon
remarks, that the wonderful change, which was thus wrought
through her instrumentality in others, and particularly in
this individual, was the means of establishing an intimate
friendship between the Prioress and herself.
22. In concluding this chapter, which is chiefly occupied
with her religious efforts, it is proper to say, that her labors
were not limited, as some might be led to suppose, to the
single object of communicating religious instruction. The
Christian is required to do good to the bodies, as well as the
souls of his fellow men. Taking a wide view of the field of
Christian duty, she remembered the poor and the sick. The
efforts so happilymade at Thonon to establish a hospital for
the sick, were followed by similar efforts made at Grenoble.
But she has not given us the particulars of this benevolent
undertaking; but merely mentions it incidentally, in a subsequent period of her life, in the following terms. "I
believe I forgot to say, in the proper place, that the Lord
condescended to make use of me to establish a hospital in
the city of Grenoble. Some expense was necessarily incur




OF MADAME GUYON.                 365
red in the beginniing; but it was established without what
are cnlled permanent or vested funds, on the principle of
being supplied by voluntary contributions from the fund of
Providence. My enemies afterwards made use of this benevolent effort, as an occasion for speaking ill of me, alleging
that I had taken property for the founding of such institutions, which had been settled on my, children. This was
not true. My children not only fully received what was
settled upon them, but shared also in what was assigned to
me. And as to the hospitals referred to, instead of ascribing
their support to me or any one else, it would be better to
say, that they are supported only on the fund of divine
providence, which is inexhaustible.  But so it has been
ordered for my good, that all the Lord has enabled me to
do for his glory, has ever been turned by man's malignity
into trials and crosses for me. Many of my trials I have
omitted to particularize, for the reason that the number of
them has been so great, that the omission of them has been
inevitable."





CHAPTER XXIX.


Origin of the Monastery of the Grand Chartreuse.  Visited by
Madame Guyon. Description of the approach to it. Conversation between Father Innocentius, the General or Prior of the
Carthusians, and Madame Guyon. She meets with opposition at
Grenoble. Her method of prayer in her religious Conferences.
Commences the writing of Commentaries on the Bible. Of her
spiritual state in connection with this work.  Remarks on her
Commentary on the Canticles. Her sympathy or communion of
spirit with King David, when occupied in writing on the Books
ofKings. The work entitled The Short Method of Prayer. Circumstances attending the origin of this work. On the writing of
books as a means or instrumentality of good. Poetry.
AT the distance of eight miles north of Grenoble is the
celebrated monastery of the Grand Chartreuse. In the year
1084, Bruno, a native of Cologne, the founder of the Order
of Carthusian monks, a man of learning and piety, came to
the city of Grenoble, and requested the resident bishop to
allow him to establish himself, for religious purposes, in
some place of retirement within the limits of his diocese.
Hugh, bishop of the city, strongly recommended to him, and
the few pious persons with him, as a place suitable to their
purposes, the neighboring desert of the Chartreuse, - a place
effectually precluded from intrusion by frightful precipices
and almost inaccessible rocks. The proposition was readily
accepted.  Delighted with the prospect of separating themselves from the world, they went into this remarkable retreat;





LIFE, ETC.


367


and removed almost from the possibility of worldly interruptions, they built their places of prayer. Such, many centuries since, was the origin of the monastery of the Grand
Chartreuse.
2. The original rule of the monks of Chartreuse did not
allow of the visits of women. This rule, I suppose, from
some remarks which are to be found in the learned works
of Alvan Butler in connection with his account of Bruno,
was subsequently relaxed to some extent;-- he gives us to
understand, that they were excluded in part, namely, from
the " inclosure and the church." But however this may be,
we find that Madame Guyon, impelled by motives of a religious nature, and in accordance undoubtedly with the existing practice, if not with the original rule, embraced some
favorable opportunity to visit this celebrated place. This,
to a woman at least, was no small undertaking, although the
distance was not great.
As the traveller approaches the Grand Chartreuse, he
emerges from a long and gloomy forest, which is abruptly
terminated by immense mountains that rise before him.
The Pass, through which the ascent of the mountains is
commenced, winds through stupendous granite rocks, which
overhang from above. At the end of this terrific defile the
road is crossed by a romantic mountain torrent, over which
is a rude stone bridge. The road no sooner leaves the
bridge, than it turns suddenly in another direction, and thus
presents at once before the traveller a lofty mountain, on
the flattened summit of which the Carthusian monastery is
situated, enclosed on either side by other mountain peaks
still more elevated, whose tops are whitened with perpetual
snows.
3. " No sooner is the defile passed," says a traveller who
passed through it a few years before the period of which we
are now speaking, "than nothing, which possesses either





368


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


animal or vegetable life, is seen. No huntsman winds his
horn in these dreary solitudes; no shepherd's pipe is allowed
to disturb the deep repose. It is not permitted the mountaineers ever to lead their flocks beyond the entrance of the
defile; and even beasts of prey seem to shrink back from
that dreaded Pass, and instinctively to keep away from
a desert, which neither furnishes subsistence nor covert.
Nothing, as we passed upward, met the eye but tremendous
precipices and huge fragments of rock, diversified with glaciers in every possible fantastic form.
" Sometimes the rocks, jetting out above, overhung us,
till they formed a complete arch over our heads, and rendered the path so dark that we could scarcely see to pick
our way. Once we had to pass over a narrow pine plank
which shook at every step. This was placed, by way of
bridge, over a yawning chasm, which every moment threatened to ingulf the traveller in its marble jaws. We often
passed close by the side of abysses so profound as to be
totally lost in darkness; while the awful roaring of the waters struggling in their cavities, shook the very rocks on
which we trod." *
4. Such are the terms, in which the learned and justly
celebrated Port Royalist, Claude Lancelot, speaks of his
journey through these sublime rocks and over these rugged
ascents and precipices a few years before the same rough
road was trodden by the remarkable woman whose life and
labors we are narrating. From the bridge at the termination'of the defile to the level opening on tho top of the mountain where the monastery is situated, the ascent is a little
more than two miles. The monastery itself is a very strik* See the Tour to Alet and the Grand Chartreuse, by M. Claude
Lancelot, Author of the Port Royal Grammars, with Some Account of
the Monastery of La Trappe and of the Institution of Port Royal; edited
by Mary Anne Schimmelpennick.





OF MADAME GUYON.


369


ing object, venerable alike by its massive strength and its
high antiquity. Although correctly described as situated on
the summit of a mountain, it is nevertheless enclosed on two
sides by stupendous rocks and peaks, of still greater height,
which reach far above the clouds, and almost shut out the
light of the sun. Here dwell a company of monks, about
forty in number, under the direction of their General or
Prior; they have a large library; many of them are men
of extensive information and learning; their duties and austerities are subjected to strict rules; their mode of living is
simple; and much of their time is spent in acts of devotion.
5. About a third of a mile below the monastery, in a
little opening on the side of the ascent, is a building which
may be regarded as an appendage to it, though separate
from it in some respects. The principal building at this
place, and the cells around it, are occupied by lay brethren
and other persons, who wish to be connected with the members of the Chartreuse, and to be under their direction, without wholly conforming to the severity of their rule. It was
to this place, probably, and not to the monastery proper, that
Madame Guyon ascended through these frightful solitudes.
The learned and venerable Prior, Father Innocentius, attended by his monks, came down to meet her. It would be
interesting to know, if it were possible, the precise terms of
the conversation which passed between them. Of the substance of it, whether we take into view the character of
Madame Guyon and the great objects she had before her, or
the statements made in the life of Bishop d'Aranthon by
Father Innocentius, there can be no doubt. It turned upon
the subject - (a subject, as it seems to us, more important
than any other which can well be presented to the human
mind) - of religious faith.  She proclaimed to them, not
authoritatively or in any way inconsistent with female modesty and propriety, but as the result of a conversation con




370


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


ducted on both sides with Christian kindness and decorum,
the indispensable necessity not only of justification by faith,
but of faith as the foundation of the whole inward Christian
life.
6. Christian candor compels us to think favorably of the
religious professions and hopes of these good brethren, with
whom she conversed under these singular circumstances.
But the broad annunciation of faith as the foundation of
every thing, a doctrine which excludes all claims of personal
merit, we may well suppose, extracted from them, notwithstanding their habits of quietude and silence, marked ejaculations of doubt and astonishment. Many were their ceremonial observances. Eight months of the year, if we may
believe their statements, they fasted in the stricter sense of
the term; and the rest of the time they ate no meat! Was
all this to go for nothing? But it was the doctrine of Faith,
in connection with its thoroughly sanctifying results, which
particularly attracted the notice of the Prior. He was one
of those good men, not unknown either in ancient or modern
times, whose practical theology, good and desirable as far as
it goes, finds its exponent in the seventh chapter of Romans, "when I would do good, evil is present with me."
And beyond or above this state, to any thing, which in being
love without selfishness, can properly be described as.holiness to the Lord, he thought it difficult, and even impossible,
in opposition to the opinion of Madame Guyon, to arrive in
the present life. According to his own statement he came
to the conclusion on the spot, that the doctrine of Madame
Guyon, whatever might be the defects or virtues of her
personal character, was at variance with the received doctrines of the Catholic church, and heretical.
7. " Some six or seven years ago," says Father Innocentius, in allusion to this interview, " Madame Guyon left the
city of Grenoble, and found her way upward to our solitary





OF MIADAME GUYON.


371


home in the rocks. Although contrary to our usual custom,
I thought it an occasion on which I might be excused for
conversing with this lady. I took with me, however, a number of the brethren, who might be witnesses of what passed
between us. And they will now bear me testimony, that,
after the conversation, and when Madame Guyon had left
us, I immediately expressed my suspicions, in very strong
terms, of the soundness of her views." * It was not long
before his suspicions ripened into convictions, and he became
one of the leading writers in opposition to her. Thus ended
her visit to the Grand Chartreuse. Probably never before
nor since have those solitary rocks listened to the voice of
woman, coming among them under such circumstances, and
announcing to their inmates such salutary truths.
8. It was not long after this visit to the Grand Chartreuse
and her return to the city of Grenoble, before she experienced the beginnings of that practical opposition, from
which she had suffered in other places. " The lady, who
was my particular friend," she says, "began to conceive
some jealousy on account of the applause which was given
me; God permitted that she should be thus tempted and
afflicted, in order that she might know herself, and become
more thoroughly purified. Also some of those persons who
sustained the office of Confessors in the church, began to be
uneasy, saying, that I had gone out of my place, and that it
was not my proper business to aid in this manner, in the
instruction and restoration of souls.
" It was easy for me," she adds, " to see the difference between those Confessors, who, in the conducting of souls, seek
nothing but God's glory, and those other Confessors, who
* La Vie de Messire Jean D'Aranthon D'Alex, Liv. 3d, ch. 4th.--
This work was published anonymously, but the author of it was Father
Innocentius himself.





372      LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


make the discharge of their office subservient to their own
personal interests. Those of the first class came to see me,
and approved of my labors, and greatly rejoiced in the grace
of God, which was bestowed on their penitents. The others,
on the contrary, seemed to despise the good, because they
contemned the instrument of it; and tried in a secret manner to excite the town against me. I saw that they would
be right in opposing me, if I had sought my own interests
and had obtruded upon them of myself. But it was otherwise, when I had merely followed the leadings of divine
Providence, and had done only what God required me
to do."
9. The appearance of an opposition, at first comparatively
feeble, but continually increasing in violence, did not compel
her immediately to remit her labors. She still continued
her little assemblies for conversation and prayer. Perhaps
it may be proper, before leaving this account of her labors,
to refer a moment to what I suppose to have been her mode
of proceeding in one respect. In this remark I have particular reference to her method of prayer. She conversed
much, but not without supplication mingled with it. When
persons were collected together, before entering upon conversation, and from time to time when especial divine communion seemed to be necessary, it was her practice to pray
in silence. Such had been her devotional habits, that she entered into this state in a remarkable manner. In a moment
she recollected herself in God. The mind turned inward
upon itself. Her closed or uplifted eye, her hands clasped
together, her serene countenance abstracted from worldly
influences but lighted up with a divine ray, left the conviction upon those who were present with her and beheld her,
that her soul was in a communion with the Eternal Mind, too
deep for the utterance of words. Such a conviction could
hardly fail to react upon themselves, to check the current of





OF MADAME GUYON.


their worldly affections and to produce the most 8t ~itary
religious impressions.
10. The Holy Ghost has a language outward, as well as
inward. Within, it gives holy dispositions; without, it shows
itself in the natural signs and expressions of peace, love,
forbearance, purity, desire for the good of others; all elevated and sanctified by that holy confidence, which results
from the knowledge of God's unchangeable friendship. A
countenance, purified and irradiated by the divine power
of this inward illumination, necessarily has something in it
which is more angelic than human.
"There is a light around her brow,
A holiness in those calm eyes;
Which show, though earth may claim it now,
Her spirit's home is in the skies."
Before the divine glance of that eye, before the illuminated
expression of that peaceful countenance, jealousy, and pride,
and malice, and impurity, and revenge, and selfishness, and
every evil thing, stand rebuked and condemned.
11. In a preceding chapter we have stated the circumstances under which   Madame Guyon commenced the
works, which were afterwards published under her name.
At Thonon, she wrote the Spiritual Torrents. At Grenoble, her present place of residence, she commenced her
Commentaries on the Bible. These commentaries are, for
the most part, experimental and practical. A critical and
exegetical commentary cannot be written to much purpose, without a knowledge of the Hebrew language and of
other dialects which are related to it in origin. To this
knowledge she made no pretensions; though, having some
knowledge of the Latin she was able to avail herself of some
important helps in that language, as well as of commentaries in French and Italian.
32





374


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


Her method, for the most part, was this. She placed the
Bible before her, and studied it, it would seem, both in the
Latin and French translations, with the simple object of
ascertaining, in the first place, what meaning it would present to a mind, humbly and honestly directing itself to the
pursuit of the truth. In addition to this, she adopted the
idea, and, as there is reason to think, very correctly, not
only that the Old and New Testaments are parts of one
system, but that the import of the one can, in many cases,
best be reached and understood by a comparison of the related topics and passages of the other. And accordingly
she studied them together, and interpreted the one by the
other; obtaining, as she supposed, a better knowledge of
both by her intimate knowledge of each of them separately.
But this was not all.  The Holy Scriptures are full of
truths which cannot well be received and appreciated, except in connection with an inward experience corresponding
to them. Not unfrequently the light of the mind, inspired
by the inward agency of the spirit of truth, throws light
upon the outward letter. If Madame Guyon had less of
that form of exegetical knowledge, which is derived from an
access to the original tongues of the Scriptures, than some
others, she had more, much more, of that inward, spiritual
insight, which, to say the least, is equally valuable. It is
this inward power of interpretation, to which she refers,
when she says, "I wrote my commentaries on the Scriptures, for the most part, in the night; in time that was taken
from sleep. The Lord was so present to me in this work,
and kept me so under control, that I both began and left off
writing just as he was pleased to order it; writing when He
gave me inward light and strength, and stopping when He
withheld them. I wrote with very great rapidity, light being
diffused within me in such a manner, that I found I had in
myself latent treasures of perception and knowledge, of
which I had but little previouls conception."





OF MADAME GUYON.


375


12. She seems in this to have been an illustration and
proof of the scriptural declaration, that those who do the
will of God, shall know of the doctrine, whether it be true.*
God taught her just so far as she was his. "Didst not
Thou, 0 my God," she says in speaking on this subject,
" turn me an hundred ways to prove whether I was thine
without any reserve; - to discover by the trials, which Thou
didst continually make me pass through, whether I had not
yet some little interest for myself? My soul, under the influence of the discipline to which it was subjected, became
exceedingly pliable to every discovery of the divine will. I
was enabled to receive humiliations in the same spirit in
which I received favors; so much so that every thing, high
and low, was rendered alike to me;" meaning in these remarks to imply, - which is very obvious from the connection
in which they are found, - that it is a mind in this state,
more than in any other, which God illumines.
13. "I have sometimes thought," she remarks farther in
the same connection, " that the Lord deals with his friends
who are dearest to him, as the ocean does with its waves.
Sometimes it pushes them against the rocks, where they
break in pieces, sometimes it rolls them on the sand, or
dashes them on the mire. And then, in a moment, it retakes them into the depths of its own bosom, where they are
absorbed with the same rapidity with which they were first
ejected.  The more violently they are dashed upon the
rocks, the more quickly and impetuously do they return to
the great centre. With others he deals more gently. There
are many, far the greater number, whom he permits to live
by consolations mingled with faith. How few are those,
how very rare, who are driven and dashed where the Lord


* John vii. 17.





376


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


pleases, till their wills are wholly destroyed, and they caL
no longer demand any thing for themselves."
14. It was in this state of mind, in which she had thus
given herself to God without reserve, that she commenced
her Commentaries on the Bible. They have all been published; those on the Old Testament in twelve small octavo
volumes, and those on the New Testament in eight. A part
only were written at Grenoble. Of these volumes, the most
remarkable, that at least which has attracted the most attention, is the work on the Canticles or Solomon's Song. Taking the view which has been adopted by the greater number
of the earlier critics, Madame Guyon regards this remarkable poem, taken in its higher or spiritual sense, as a conversation between the truly sanctified soul and Christ. In the
concluding part of her commentary, she brings out very
fully her views of the union of the soul with Christ, and
with God through Christ, which she regards as one of the
highest, perhaps the very highest result of sanctification. It
was probably this circumstance, namely, that this work indicated so distinctly and fully, and I think I may say eloquently, the doctrine of a heart wholly delivered, if not from
every thing which requires penitent humiliation and the
application of Christ's blood, yet delivered at least from all
known voluntary sin and thus made one with Christ in love,
as a doctrine to be taught, believed, and realized, which
made her commentary on the Canticles the subject, not only
of special attention, but of special criticism and rebuke.
15. There is one passage, illustrative of the operations of
her mind in the preparation of her commentaries, which it
may be proper to repeat here. " In writing my commentaries
on the Books of Kings, when I gave attention to those parts
which had relation to king David, I felt a very remarkable
communion of spirit with him, as much so almost as if he
had been present with me. Even before I had commenced





OF MADAME GUYON.


377


writing, in my previous and preparatory contemplations, I
had experienced this union. By a remarkable operation
upon me, I seemed to comprehend very fully the greatness
of his grace, the conduct of God over him, and all the circumstances of the states through which he had passed. In
his capacity of leader and pastor of Israel, I was deeply impressed with a view of him, as a striking type of Christ.
The Saviour and his people are one. And it seemed to be
nothing less than that pure and holy union, which I had
previously experienced in connection with the Saviour,
which now extended itself to the king of Israel, his antitype,
and embraced him and also other saints. It was in the experience of this intimate union with Christ and with those
who are like him, that my words, whether written or spoken,
had a wonderful effect, with God's blessing, in forming Christ
in the souls of others, and in bringing them into the same
state of union."
16. "Here I may add," she says further, "to what I have
already remarked about my writings, that a considerable
part of my comments on the book of Judges happened by
some means to be lost. Being desired by some of my friends
to render the book complete in that part which was wanting,
I wrote over again the places which were missing. Afterwards when the people of the house where I had resided
were about leaving it for some reason, the papers, which
had been mislaid there, were found. My former and latter
explications were found on comparison to be conformable to
each other with scarcely any variation, which greatly surprised persons of knowledge and merit, who examined them."
From the connection, in which this statement is introduced, we are led to infer, that she regarded the sameness
of the two explications as resulting from a sameness in that
inward and divine operation, which alone gives the true
light. The Lord guided her.
32*





378


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


17. It was here also, as we have already had occasion to
say, that she wrote her little book, entitled, A Short Method
of Prayer. She makes the following statement in regard to
the publication of this book, which may be of some interest
to the reader. "Among my intimate friends in the city of
Grenoble was a civilian, a counsellor of the Parliament of
Grenoble. He was a religious man; so much so, that he
might be described as a pattern or model of piety. He
came into my room one day, and seeing on my table my
manuscript treatise on Prayer, he desired me to lend it to
him. To this request I acceded. He read it, and being
much pleased with it, he lent it to some of his friends, to
whom he thought it might be of service. Others wanted
copies of it. He resolved, therefore, to have it printed.
The printing was begun and completed. The proper ecclesiastical permissions and approbations were obtained. I was
requested to write a Preface, which I did.
" It was under these circumstances, that this book, which
has already, within a few years, passed through five or six
editions, was given to the world. The Lord has given a
great blessing to this little treatise; but it has caused great
excitement among those who did not accede to its principles,
and has been the pretence of various trials and persecutions
which I have endured."
18. Books are God's instruments of good, as well as
sermons. He, who cannot preach, may talk; and he, who
cannot do either, may perhaps write. A good book, laid
conscientiously upon God's altar, is no small thing. How
abundant is the evidence of this. It is certainly unnecessary
to say, that Doddridge's Rise and Progress of Religion,
Baxter's Saint's Rest, the Imitation of Christ by Kempis,
and many other works which might be mentioned, have exerted a wide influence of the most salutary kind; an influence felt in every part of the world, and perpetuated from





LIFE, ETC.


379


generation to generation. Madame Guyon did not write for
fame. She placed her books, as she placed herself, upon
God's altar in pyre love. The spirit of sacrifice, which she
so beautifully describes in one of her poems, was in every
thing.
I place an offering at thy shrine,
From taint and blemish clear,
Simple and pure in its design,
Of all that I hold dear.
I yield Thee back thy gifts again,
Thy gifts which most I prize;
Desirous only to retain
The notice of thine eyes.
But, if by thine adored decree,
That blessing be denied,
Resigned, and unreluctant, see
My every wish subside.
Thy will in all things I approve,
Exalted or cast down; -
Thy will in every state I love.
And even in thy frown.





CHAPTER XXX.


Analysis of the work entitled The Method of Prayer.  Sense zn
which the word Prayer is used by Madame Guyon in this work.
Those who are without the spirit of prayer; in other words those
who are without religion, are invited to seek it. Directions to aid
persons, even those who are most ignorant, in seeking it. Additional directions. Directions applicable to persons of some degree of knowledge and education. Of an increased or higher
degree of religious experience. Of abandonment or entire consecration to God in all things. Of the test or trial of consecration.
Inward holiness the true regulator of the outward life.  Of
gradual growth or advancement in the religious life.  Of the
knowledge of our inward sins, when souls are in this advanced
state. Of the manner in which we are to meet and resist temptations.  Of the soul in the state of pure or unselfish love. Of
the practice of the prayer of silence. Of the true relation of
human and divine activity. Of the nature and conditions of the
state of divine union. Appeal to religious pastors and teachers.
As the work, the origin of which was explained near the
close of the last chapter, is frequently referred to in connection with the personal history of Madame Guyon, and was
considered so important as to be made the subject of ecclesiastical condemnation and interdiction, I think it proper to
give a concise analysis of it in the present chapter.
1. Remarks in explanation of the use of the term Prayer.
" St. Paul, in the first Epistle to the Thessalonians, v. 17,
has enjoined upon us to pray without ceasing." Our Saviour,





OF MADAME GUYON.


381


in the Gospel of St. Mark, xiii. 33, requires us " to Jake heed,
to watch, and to pray." But what is that prayer, which all
are thus required to practise, and which is to be practised
without cessation? It is obviously something more than the
formal offering up of specific requests or petitions. I wish
the reader to notice, that I use the term prayer in a more
general sense than this. The prayer of which I speak, is
that state of the heart in which it is united to God in faith
and love. The heart that has faith and love, is the true
praying heart.
A man who has this heart, may pray at all times.  Outward employments do not obstruct this prayer. It is not a
prayer of the understanding alone, which is so limited in
its operations that it can have but one specific object, and
which implies and requires comparison and effort. It is the
natural, the spontaneous flowing out of the heart, in the
issues of its own moral and religious life. So that it may
be practised under all circumstances by those who are in the
possession and in the spirit of it. Kings, prelates, priests,
magistrates, soldiers, tradesmen, laborers, all classes of persons, in all ages and in all situations, may pray. If they
have the spirit of prayer, how can they help praying? If
they have the principles of love and faith in them, they
have that in them, which, naturally, and by its own law of
action, is appropriate to all times and occasions.
Prayer, then, using the term in the more general sense,
and religion are the same thing. I propose, then, in the
following treatise, to teach persons, by methods which seem
to me to be simple and easy, to become religious.
2. All who are without the spirit of prayer, in other
words, all who are without religion, are invited to seek it.
Come, ye famishing souls, who find nought whereon to
feed, come, and ye shall be satisfied! Come, ye poor afflicted ones, who groan beneath your load of wretchedness and





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pain, and ye shall find ease and comfort! Come, ye sick, to
your physician, and be not fearful of approaching him, because ye are filled with diseases. Expose them to his view,
and they shall be healed! Children, draw near to your
Father, and he will embrace you in the arms of love.
Come, ye poor, wandering sheep, return to your Shepherd!
Come, sinners, to your Saviour! Let all, without exception,
come; for Jesus Christ hath called all. Yet, let not those
come who are without a heart; those who are without a
heart are not asked; for there must be a heart, in the natural sense of the term at least, in order that there may be
LOVE. But of whom can it be said, that he is really without a hedrt? Oh, come, then, and give this heart to God,
and here, in following these simple directions, aided by the
Holy Ghost, learn how to make the donation!
3. Directions to a person very ignorant and without religion in respect to the manner in which he may properly
seek it.
Let me begin then with one who has not the spirit of
prayer, and consequently has not religion. And I will take,
in the first place, one who is very ignorant. Let him stand
for a class of persons. I will suppose that they hardly know
anything or are hardly capable of knowing anything, except
the Lord's Prayer. And this is my direction: let them begin with what they are supposed to know, namely, the Lord's
Prayer. Let them say, OUR FATHER, and stop there; remaining in respectful silence and meditation; pondering a
little upon the meaning of the words, and especially upon
the infinite willingness of God to become their Father. And
before they go further, let them utter the petition, that He
may become to them individually what He is so willing to be.
I will not go through with all the petitions of the prayer,
though it is very short, but will take enough to illustrate
what I mean. Let them proceed, then, to the petition, THY





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KINGDOM COME. And delaying upon this as before, until
they can imbibe its spirit, which is one of the most important things in this process, let them apply the petition, as in
the preceding instance, to themselves; beseeching this King
of glory to reign in them, and endeavoring with divine
assistance, to yield to Him the just claim he has over them,
and to resign themselves wholly to his divine government.
If, in delaying upon this petition, they find their minds
peaceful and acquiescent, let them, in connection with this
encouraging state of mind, dwell upon the petition a little
longer than usual.
Then let them take another petition;--THY WILL BE
DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS DONE IN HEAVEN. And here let
these poor ignorant seekers after religion humble themselves
before God in their weakness and ignorance, and earnestly
supplicate, that God's will, his whole will, may be accomplished in their hearts, in them and by them forever. And
knowing that God's will is accomplished in us when we love
him, it is the same thing if they should pray God to enable
them to love him with all their heart. And in doing this,
however sinful and unworthy they may be, let them be calm
and peaceable; not disturbed and agitated, as if there were
no Saviour, no Divine Shepherd, who is the daily nourishment of his people, and feeds his flock, as it were, with himself; not fearful and distrustful, as if God were not merciful
or might not be true to his promises, when he pledges forgiveness for Christ's sake. But on the contrary, BELIEVE.
4. Additional directions for those who are beginning to
seek religion.
Two or three remarks additional are to be made here.
The first is, that these persons are not to overburden themselves with frequent repetitions of set forms of prayer, such
as are often prescribed. Our Saviour says, When ye pray,
use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do; for they think





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they shall be heard for their much speaking. Begin with the
Lord's prayer as the simplest and best. Go over it slowly,
calmly, believingly; not being in a hurry to go over the
whole and then to repeat it, as if the result depended on the
repetition, and the number of repetitions; but delaying upon
each petition, till you begin to feel the power of it in your
heart.
A second remark is, that you are to place God before
you as the being to whom you are to be reconciled, and
from whom you are to receive all good. But be careful not
to form any image of the Deity. The idea of God, whatever
may be sometimes thought, can never be represented and
set forth by anything which the eye beholds or the hand
touches, by anything which exists in sculpture and painting.
" God is a spirit," says the Saviour, " and they that worship
him, must worship him in spirit and in truth." It is enough,
if we have a general idea of God, such as any one may form,
but without specific form or image; and place ourselves in
his presence by a lively faith.
A third remark is this. When you say, Our Father; or
say, Thy will be done, or say, Forgive us our Trespasses; do not forget Him, who is the way, the truth, and
the life, the Saviour, the second person in the ever blessed
Trinity. He is the way. Enter to God through Him. Behold him in the various states of his Incarnation. You are
a man, with all of man's feebleness and temptations; - behold him assuming humanity in order that he may sympathize with you. You are a sinner; - behold him upon the
cross, dying that you might live. In the Lord's prayer God
offers himself to you. Uttering that prayer in Christ, who
is the mediatorial way, you receive God; and in receiving
Him, you receive the true and everlasting life.
Persevere in this way, but without violence or perturbation; asking for few things and such as are very essential,





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which are found in the Lord's Prayer; pausing for some
time upon each supplication with a calm and silent looking
up to God through Christ; ceasing as much as possible from
your own exertion and strength in order that you may find
strength in the Saviour by faith; and thus, with God's blessing, which is promised to all who seek Him in this way, you
will find the beginnings of a true and spiritual existence.
5. Directions, additional to those already given, applicable to persons of some degree of knowledge and education.
The poor and the ignorant have the gospel preached to
them. In what I have said, the most ignorant man will find
important directions easily applicable to himself. There are
those, who have more knowledge, men of reading, who may
very properly avail themselves of their intellectual position,
in furthering this great object. The directions which have
already been given, are exceedingly important to them, as
well as to others. But in addition to the use of the Lord's
prayer, which has been mentioned, let them read books on
experimental religion, such as are most decidedly so; reading them, however, in the manner which has been mentioned; delaying upon the most important truths, pondering
upon them and praying over them, till the power which is
in them, being made alive by the Holy Ghost, is felt in the
heart.
Meditation also, considered as* distinct from reading, is to
be practised on similar principles. We will suppose that
God in his providence gives you a season of retirement, that
He permits you to be alone; and under such circumstances
that you have an opportunity of silently and calmly recalling
great moral and religious principles. At such times endeavor, by a lively act of faith, to realize the relations in
which you stand to God, and to place yourself, as it were, in
his immediate presence. In general, this is the first great
thought, upon which the mintd should be occupied;- God is
885





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God is present; God is our Father; to Him we owe all. Let
the mind repose calmly and believingly upon these great
truths, in the manner which has already been mentioned,
until their power begins to be felt inwardly. And the same
with other important religious truths, in which there is
substance and food for the inquiring mind, such as our lost
condition by nature, Christ our Mediator, God the inward
Teacher of men in the person of the Holy Ghost. Upon all
such leading truths, applicable to your present needy situation, dwell quietly and humbly, with the senses and thoughts
recollected and withdrawn from the circumference to the
centre. Thus wait upon the Lord with strong desire, but
without agitation. Such truths are the appropriate food of
the mind, in its inquiries after God. When the soul, by
dwelling calmly and patiently upon them, aided by God's
blessing, begins to taste them, - that is to say, begins to understand them, to apply them, and to feel them, - then we
have reason to think, that there is a beginning, small though
it may be, of a new life.
6. Of an increased or higher degree of religious experience.
That, which was but little in its beginning, soon becomes
greater. The soul has, at first, but a little realizing sense
of God. It says, my Father, it is true, but says it very
tremblingly.  But after a time, and perhaps very soon, it
gains strength. It begins to see, more and more distinctly,
how God, whom as a sinner it feared, can be fully reconciled. It believes more fully in God, because it believes
more fully in Christ, who is the only way of access. In the
language of the Canticles, the name of Christ becomes " as
ointment poured forth."
In this advanced state the soul begins to recognize the
great truth, that our love to God should be without selfishness, and that our will should be perfectly united in his will.





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The servant, who only proportions his diligence to the hope
of reward, renders himself unworthy of all reward. We
must learn to seek God in distinction from his gifts, and
God is in his WILL. Supposing, then, that God should
smite you with afflictions without, and with temptations
within, and should leave the soul, so far as consolations are
concerned, in a state of entire aridity, what course would it
be proper to take? In answer I would say, - Do what
God requires you to do, and suffer what He requires you to
suffer; but in everything be resigned and patient! With
humility of spirit, with a sense of your own nothingness,
with the reiterated breathings of an ardent but peaceful
affection, and with inward submission.and quietness ffll of
the most profound respect, you must wait the return of the
Beloved. In this way you will demonstrate, that it is God
himself alone and his good pleasure which you seek, and not
the selfsh delights of your own sensations.
7. Of abandonment or entire consecration to God in all
things.
But this cannot well be done without' the principle of
abandonment; by which I mean that act in which we resign,
abandon, or consecrate ourselves entirely to God. To abandon ourselves or to consecrate ourselves to God is to leave
ourselves entirely in his hands.  Those, who are consecrated, have given their own wills into the keeping of God's
will. They renounce every particular inclination as soon
as it arises, however good it may appear, and however good
it may really be in itself considered, in order that they may
stand in perfect indifference with respect to themselves, and
only desire, choose, and will that which God himself wills.
Such a soul is resigned in all things, whether for soul or
body, whether for time or eternity; by leaving what is past
in oblivion; by leaving what is to come to the decisions of
Providence; and by devoting to God, without any reserve,





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the present moment; - a moment which necessarily brings
with it God's eternal order of things, and in everything, excepting sin, is a declaration to us of his will as certain and
infallible, as it is inevitable and common to us all.
Abandonment or entire consecration, cannot exist without
strong faith. None can do this, but those who believe.
8. Of the test or trial of consecration.
Our abandonment or entire consecration to God is a matter of so much consequence, that God will not fail to give
us opportunities to try or test, whether it be a true one or
not. No man can be wholly the Lord's, unless he is wholly
consecrated to the Lord; and no man can know, whether he
is thus wholly consecrated, except by tribulation. That is
the test. To rejoice in God's will, when that will imparts
nothing but happiness, is easy even for the natural man.
But none but the renovated man, none but the religious
man, can rejoice in the divine will, when it crosses his path,
disappoints his expectations, and overwhelms him with sorrow. Trial, therefore, instead of being shunned, should be
welcomed as the test, and the only true test, of a true state.
Beloved souls! There are consolations, which pass
away; but ye will not find true and abiding consolation
except in entire abandonment, and in that love which loves
the cross. He, who does not welcome the cross, does not
welcome God.
9. Inward holiness the true regulator of the outward life.
When we have the true life within, we may reasonably
be expected to have the true life, that is to say, the truly
regulated life without. " LOVE," says St. Augustine, " and
do what you please." If we have that love, which God
never fails to give to those who abandon themselves entirely
to him, a love without selfishness, it will not fail to work
itself out in appropriate and right issues. The inordinate
action of the senses arises obviously from the errors and





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perversions of the inward state. The eye is wrong in its
exercise, because the heart, which directs it, is wrong. And
the same may be said of the other senses. The touch is
wrong, the taste "is wrong, all are wrong, because the soul,
which is the basis or foundation of their activity, is wrong.
When we mortify the soul in its wrong action, and establish
it in a right action, an action which has the love of God's
will for its life, we necessarily subdue and regulate the outward conduct generally.  Mortify the inward man; and
you can hardly fail to mortify and regulate the outward
man.
[The directions in this part of her work seem designed,
and were so understood by the opposers of Madame Guyon,
to check and to reprove the tendencies of the Catholic
Church at that time, to place religion, which can really have
its seat nowhere else than in the heart, in outward observances and austerities.]
10. Of gradual growth or advancement in the religious
life.
The soul, that is fully given up in faith and love, is astonished to find God gradually taking possession of its whole
being. One of the evidences of growth in grace is a ten.
dency to cease from ourselves, in order that God himself, in
the operation of the Holy Ghost, may exist and act in us.
In saying that the tendency of the soul is to cease from self,
it is not meant, that the tendency of the soul is to be inactive,
in the absolute sense of the terms, but only to cease from
self-originated action. In growing in grace, it becomes more
and more co5perative with God, as the principle and strength
of its movement. The moment we are in this state of mind,
and are disposed to cease from action in order that God may
act in us, we shall always find divine grace richly imparted.
This state of the soul is the true spiritual preparative for
the various forms of duty; namely, a state of the soul, in





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which the soul is in harmony with itself, because it is in
harmony with God; in which it is at rest in itself, because
it has rest in God.  A soul in this state is prepared for
all times, places, and occasions; prepared for the intercourse
of society, prepared for the seasons and duties of worship,
prepared for outward and effective action. Cease, therefore, from the action of self, in order that the soul may rest
continually upon the Great Centre. When, through weakness of purpose or want of faith, we become, as it were, uncentred, it is of immediate importance to turn again gently
and sweetly inward; and thus bring the soul into harmony
with the desires and purposes of God. The more we are in,this state, the more we shall be likely to be; that is to say,
the more we exercise love and trust in God, the more we
shall be likely to exercise them. The powerful law of
HABIT, which is continually in exercise, gives new strength
day by day. And this is not all. The more the soul becomes like God, the more clearly it discerns God's excellences; and the more distinctly and fully it feels his attracting power.
11. Of a knowledge of our inward sins when souls are in
this advanced state.
When souls have attained to this degree of religious experience, no fault escapes reprehension. If a soul, in this
intimate nearness with God, should be left to fall into any
error or sin, it would be immediately thrown into the greatest confusion and inward condemnation. God, being placed
in the centre, and giving increased strength to the scrutinizing
power of conscience, will suffer no such evils to be concealed.
God becomes the incessant examiner of the soul; but still
in such a way that the soul, moving in the divine light, can
see and examine for itself.  And if the soul be faithful
in its entire resignation to God, it will discover that it is
a thousand times more effectually inspected by an exam




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ination conducted in this divine light, than by the most vigorous scrutiny carried on in its own strength. The soul,
which thus places God in the centre, hates sin as God
hates it.
When we fall into errors, and even into undoubted sins,
the rules of inward holy living require ug not to vex and
disquiet ourselves; but simply in deep humiliation and penitence, to turn calmly and believingly, without fear and without agitation, to Him who forgives willingly, to that cross
of Christ, where it can be truly said, that wounded souls are
healed. Great agitation and vexation of mind are not necessarily penitence nor the result of penitence, but are rather
the result of unbelief.
12. Of the manner in which we are to meet and resist
temptations.
Perhaps no period of the religious life, even that in which
the soul is the most advanced, is free from temptation. The
Saviour himself was tempted. Temptations may be met and
resisted in two ways. One way is to give them our whole
attention; to meet and resist them in a direct contest. But
such are the laws of the mind, that when we meet the temptation in this way, we necessarily withdraw the soul from
that entire sympathy and union with God, which should ever
be its principal occupation.
The other method is, to turn away the mind from the
contemplation of the evil in its outward form, and to keep it
fixed, if possible, still more closely and watchfully upon God.
A little child on perceiving a monster, does not wait to fight
with it, and will scarcely turn its eyes toward it; but quickly
shrinks into the bosom of its mother, in entire confidence of
safety; so likewise should the soul turn from the dangers of
temptation to her God. " God is in the midst of her," saith
the Psalmist, "she shall not be moved: God shall help
her, and that right early."  Psal xlvi. 5.





LIFE AND RELIOTOUS EXPERIENCE


If we do otherwise, and in our weakness attempt to attack
our enemies, we shall frequently feel ourselves wounded, if
not totally defeated; but, by casting ourselves into the simple presence of God, in the exercise of faith, we shall find
instant supplies of strength for our support. This was the
succor sought for by David. " I have set," saith he, " the
Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand I
shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my
glory rejoiceth;- my flesh also shall rest in hope." Psal.
xvi. 8, 9. And it is said in Exodus, " The Lord shall
fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace."
13. Of the soul in the state of pure or unselfish love.
When we have given ourselves to God in abandonment,
or the act of entire and unreserved consecration, and have
exercised faith in God that he does now, and that he will
ever, so long as we are thus wholly given to him, receive us
and make us one with himself, then God becomes central in
the soul, and all which is the opposite of God, gradually
dissolves itself, if one may so speak, and passes away. A
new odor may be said to issue from the spirit. Hence it
is that in the Canticles, the Beloved, who represents the
Saviour, says of his Spouse, who represents the Church,
when he saw her soul melting with affection as he spoke
to her, "Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness,
like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense? "
SELF is now destroyed. The soul, recognizing God as its
centre, is filled with a love, which, as it places God first,
and every thing else in the proper relation to him, may be
regarded as pure. It is not until we arrive at this state, in
the entire destruction and loss of self, that we acknowledge,
in the highest and truest sense, God's supreme existence;
still less do we, or can we, have God as a life within us.
But from this time the soul ascribes to God all blessing,





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power, honor, and glory for ever; and worships Him "in
spirit and in truth."
In experimental religion there are two great and important views, perhaps there are none more important, which are
expressed by the single terms, the ALL and the NOTHING.
We must become Nothing in ourselves, before we can receive the All or Fulness of God. We can pay due homage
to the ALL of God, only in our own annihilation; which is
no sooner accomplished, than He, who never suffers a void in
nature, instantly fills us with himself.  God finds us where
we lose ourselves. And when he finds us in this position,
he finds us, not to despise and reject us, but to come into
the heart which is now made empty and clean for his reception, and to set up his kingdom there forever.
14. Of the practice of the prayer of silence.
When the soul has reached this degree of experience, it
is disposed to practise what may be termed the PRAYER OF
SILENCE. A prayer which is so called, not merely because
it excludes the use of the voice, which is one form of silent
prayer, but because it has so simplified and consolidated its
petitions, which were formerly much multiplied in variety
and number, that it has hardly anything to say, except to
breathe forth, in a desire UNSPOKEN,-- Thy will be done.
This prayer so simple, and yet so comprehensive, may be
said to embody the whole state of the soul. He who utters
this prayer, utters all prayer; because he repeats and reflects, as it were, in himself, the whole disposition and desire of the Infinite Mind. And believing that this prayer is
and must be fulfilled moment by moment, the constant fruition crowns the constant request, and it rejoices in what it
has, as well as in what it seeks.
Some persons, when they hear of the prayer of silence,
falsely imagine, that the soul remains stupid, dead, and inactive; but there is no doubt that, in this divine prayer, (which,





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perhaps it should be said, exists only on its appropriat,~ occasions, and does not exclude other forms of prayer,) it acts
more nobly and more extensively than it had ever done before; since God himself is its mover, and it now acts as it
is acted upon by the agency of the Holy Ghost. When St.
Paul speaks of our being led by the Spirit of God, it is not
meant that we should cease from action; but that our action
should be in harmony with and in subordination to the
divine action. This is finely represented by the prophet
Ezekiel's vision of the wheels, which had a living spirit;
and whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went; they
ascended and descended as they were moved; for the spirit
of life was in them, and they returned not when they
went.
Instead, then, of promoting idleness, we promote the highest activity, by inculcating a total dependence on the Spirit
of God as our moving principle; for it is in Him, and by
Him alone, that 'we live and move and have our being.'
This meek dependence on the Spirit of God, which makes
the will of God the only rule of action, is indispensably
necessary to reinstate the soul in its primeval unity and
simplicity; and to illuminate it with the light of that "single
eye," of which the Scriptures so emphatically speak.
15. Of the true relation of human and divine activity.
In the early periods of his Christian experience man is
required to labor much, strive much, act much. IBut with
what object? Obviously the aim and object are to conquer
himself, to smite and annul his own selfishness, to restrain
and regulate his own multiplied and unholy activity, in order
that he may be rendered submissive and quiet before God,
and thus be made susceptible of the divine impressions and
the divine leading. While the tablet is unsteady, it is obvious that the painter is unable to delineate a true copy.
It is thus in the inward life. Every act of our own un




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subdued and selfish spirit, even while God is operating upon
it, is productive of false and erroneous lineaments. It is a
movement out of the true direction; it necessarily confuses
the work, and tends to defeat the design of this adorable
painter; and accordingly our own activity, when properly
directed, results in a cessation of activity, so far as this, that
we cease from selfish action and remain in peace; and
permitting God to inscribe upon us just as he pleases,
the signatures of his own will, we move only when He
moves us.
And such action, co6perating with the divine movement,
is incontestably more noble than any other. " If any man
be in Christ," says the Apostle Paul, " he is a new creature.
Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become
new." But this state of things can be made to exist only by
our dying to ourselves and to all our own activity, except so
far as it is kept in subordination to divine grace, in order
that the activity of God may be substituted in its stead. Instead, therefore, of prohibiting activity, we enjoin it; but we
enjoin it in absolute dependence on the Spirit of God; so
that the divine activity, considered as antecedent in action,
and as giving authority to action, may take the place of the
human.   "Jesus Christ," we are told, "hath the life in
himself;" and nothing but the grace, which flows through
Him is, or can be, the moral and religious life of his
people.
16. Of the nature and conditions of the state of divine
union, or union with God.
The result of all religion iq-t6i bring us into union with
God; being made one with him in understanding, one in
affections, and one in will. We are made one in understanding, when by renouncing our own wisdom, we seek
continually and believingly for wisdom from on high. We
are made one in affection, when we desire and love what he





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desires and loves. We are made one in will, when our purposes are as his are.
God is LOVE. It is the very essence of his being to desire the happiness, and to rejoice in the happiness of all
created things. He is not indifferent, and from his very
nature, he cannot be indifferent to the well-being of the
smallest insect, that floats in the air; much less to that of
beings higher in capacity, and higher in moral nature. No
claims of selfishness and no influences of passion can pervert
or diminish, in any degree, this pure and perfect love. And
all beings who do not reflect the image of God in this
respect, all beings whose love is not free from all intermixture of selfishness, are necessarily in a greater or less degree, discordant with him. One of the leading and most
important conditions, therefore, of perfect moral union with
God, is a heart free from selfishness; in other words, the
possession of a state of heart, which may properly be denominated that of pure or perfect love. God's bright heart of
love can no more mingle with man's selfish heart, so long
as it remains selfish, than the rays of the sun can mingle
and become one with the dust and mud upon which they
shine.
Again, the will of God, with which the human will must
harmonize, is invariable in its position. It is an obvious
remark, that the divine WILL never varies, and never can
vary, from the line of perfect rectitude on the one hand, and
of perfect love on the other. It always and invariably moves
in the line of the highest love, regulated by the highest justice. This is the law of its movement, unchangeable as the
divine existence. The divine will, therefore, without ceas.
ing to be active, is in perfect repose; always moving in
simplicity, in other words, always moving under the light
of what the Scriptures call a single eye, that is to say, under
the guidance of the single motive of holy love; always





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bringing to pass quietly, but certainly, its purposes at the
appointed time.
We proceed to remark, therefore, that there can be no
true moral union between God and man, until the human
will is brought into harmony with the divine. And the
human will can never move in the line of the divine will,
unless it moves under the law of pure or perfect love.
When it moves in this way, it has not and cannot have, any
contest with God. When it moves in this way, it moves not
out of the divine will, but IN it, and accomplishes just what
God would have it accomplish.
And this life of union, which is the highest and most glorious result of our being, is the gift of God. A fundamental
condition of it is, that we shall resign ourselves to Him, that
we may be his in all things, and that we may receive this,
and all other blessings at his hand. God alone can accomplish it. Still, the creature must give up his opposition, and
consent to have it done. God loves his creatures; God is
the source of light to them; God in Christ is the true Saviour. But man must, at least, recognize his alienation, and
in becoming willing and desirous to be saved, must expand
his soul to the divine operation. The creature, therefore,
must open the window; it is the least he can do; but it is
the sun himself, the Eternal Sun, that must give the light.
When the soul is in this position, in harmony with God,
and receiving all from God, it then becomes all that it is
possible for it to be in the present life, and may be designated as a sanctified or holy soul; a soul that can be said to
be in the purity or perfection of love, although that love is
susceptible of an increased intensity in degree; a soul which
has entered into that true stillness, originating in the virtual
fulfilment, in connection with the principle offaith, of all its
desires as they arise, which gave its harmony and beauty to
the divinely resigned and peaceful character of Christ.
R4





398      LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


17. Of false pretensions to a state of sanctification and
divine union.
Behold a holy soul! But some will say, that persons may
feign this state and pretend that they are in it, who do not
possess it; and thus deception may be practised, injurious to
themselves and to others. I answer that a person may just
as well feign this state and no more, as the poor suffering
man, who is on the point of perishing with hunger, can for a
length of time feign to be full and satisfied. There he is, no
matter what his pretensions may be; his looks, his countenance, show his condition. Some wish or word, some sigh,
or some other sign will inevitably escape him, and betray his
famished state.  Men may pretend to be wholly the Lord's,
by harmony of affection and will, and by being in entire
moral union with Him; but if they are not so, there will
certainly be something in look, in word, or in action, which
will show it.
18. Remarks on the character of this work.
In giving the preceding Analysis we have not undertaken
to follow precisely the language of the original, but have
given what we supposed to be the idea or thought, with
some slight variations of the original arrangement, such as
seemed to improve the logical and religious relation of the
parts. The Method of Prayer is a work remarkable, in
that age of the world, as coming from a woman, and still
more remarkable, when considered in contrast with the prevalent views and practices of the church of which the author
was a member, which tended, as it seemed to her, to substitute the form for the substance, the ceremonial for the spirit.
Its doctrines are essentially Protestant; making Faith, in
distinction from the merits of works, the foundation of the
religious life, and even carrying the power of faith in the
renovation of our inward nature beyond what is commonly
found in Protestant writers. It is proper to remark, how




OF MADAME GUYON.


399


ever, that she always insisted that the doctrines which she
advanced, were the true Catholic doctrines; and that the
doctrines and practices she opposed were mistakes and perversions. Her work, entitled Justifications de la Doctrine
de Madame de la Mothe Guyon, shows how well qualified she
was to defend her position.
19. Appeal to religious pastors and teachers.
Near the close of the work she has some plain and affecting appeals to religious pastors and teachers. 1" The cause,"
she says, "of our being so unsuccessful in reforming mankind, especially those of the lower class, is our beginning
with external matters;-- [referring to the fact, undoubtedly,
that almost everything in religion had assumed a ceremonial
shape.   Observances, which had relation to the outward
action, were greatly multiplied, while the spirit of religion
declined.] When we labor in this way, if we produce any
fruit, it is fruit which perishes. We should begin with principles, which reach the interior, and tend to renovate the
heart. A renovation there, reaches and improves the whole
man, the outward as well as the inward. This is the true
and the ready process; to teach men to seek and to know God
in the heart - by affections rather than by forms. It is thus
that we lead the soul to the fountain, the source of grace,
where is to be found all that is necessary for our spiritual
progress.
Impressed with the importance of the religion of the heart,
I beseech all, who have the care of souls, to put them at
once into the spiritual way. Preach to them Jesus Christ.
He himself, by the precious blood he hath shed for those
entrusted to you, conjures you to speak, not to that which is
outward, but to the heart of his Jerusalem. Oh, ye dispensers of his graces, ye preachers of his word, ye ministers of
his sacraments, labor to establish Christ's kingdom! As it
is the heart alone, which can oppose Christ's sovereignty, so





400                  LIFE, ETC
it is by the subjection of the heart that his sovereignty is
most highly exalted. Employ means, compose catechisms,
and whatever other methods may be proper, but aim at the
heart. Teach the prayer of the heart, and not of the understanding; the prayer of God's spirit, and not of man's
invention.





CHAPTER XXXI.


Contznued and increased opposition at Grenoble.  Conversation
with a distinguished preacher. Effect of the publication of the
Short Method of Prayer.  Conversation with a poor girl, who
had been spiritually aided and blessed through her eforts. Increased violence against her. State of her feelings. Advised by
her friends to go to Marseilles. Descends the Rhone. Incidents
in their voyage down the river. Arrives at the city of Marseilles.
Excitement occasioned by her arrival there. Kind treatment of
the Bishop of llarseilles.  Opposition from others. Conversion
of a priest. Acquaintance with a knight of the Order of Malta.
Her interviews with M. Francois Malaval. Leaves Marseilles
for Nice. Disappointed in going from Nice to Turin, she sails
for Genoa. Reflections made by her in connection with her exposure on the ocean. Troubles at Genoa. Departs for Verceil.
Met by robbers. Other trying incidents.
THE opposition to her labors in Grenoble, the commencement of which has already been mentioned, increased. It
assumed different shapes, and was characterized by more or
less of violence, as it was prosecuted by different persons.
In some cases persons came to her, for the purpose of exposing her views, and of counteracting them by argument.
At one time, she says, she was visited by a distinguished
preacher of the city, a man of profound learning. She says,
"he had carefully prepared himself on a number of difficult
questions, which were to be proposed to me for my answer.
It is true, that in some respects they were matters far beyond my reach; but I laid them before the Lord, and He
34*





402      LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


enabled me to answer them promptly and satisfactorily,
almost as much so as if I had made them the subjects of
long study. My help was in the Lord, and in that wisdom
which he gives to those who fully trust in him. This person was not only apparently convinced and satisfied, but
went away, so far as could be judged, with a perception and
experience of the love of God such as he had not known
before."
2. The excitement, which existed against her, arose
partly from religious conferences and other personal religious efforts, and partly and perhaps in a still higher degree,
from her book on Prayer. This work, the Short Method of
Prayer, had hardly been published, when some pious persons purchased fifteen hundred copies of it, and distributed
them in the city and its neighborhood. The effect was very
great. " God," she says, "had made me the instrument
of great good; but Satan, who takes no pleasure in God's
works, was greatly enraged. I saw clearly that the time
had come, when he would stir up a violent persecution
against me. But it gave me no trouble. Whatever I may
be made to suffer by his attacks, I am confident that all will
ultimately tend to God's glory."
3. "Among the subjects of the divine operation, during
this time of religious interest, was a poor girl, who earned
her livelihood by her daily labor; - a girl of great truth
and simplicity of spirit, and one who, in her inward experience, was much favored of the Lord. At the time of which
I am now speaking, she came to me one day, and said, 'Oh
my mother, what strange things have I seen!' [Referring
probably to some dream which she had recently experienced.]  I asked what they were. 'Alas,' said she, ' I have
seen you like a lamb in the midst of a troop of fierce wolves.
I have seen a frightful multitude of people of all ranks and
robes, of all ages, sexes, and conditions, priests, friars, mar




OF MADAME GUYON.


403


ried men, maids and wives, with pikes, halberts, and drawn
swords, all eager for your instant destruction. On your
part, you stood alone, but without surprise or fear. I looked
on all sides to see whether any would come to assist and
defend you, but I saw not one.'
4. " Some days after this poor girl had spoken to me,
those persons, who through envy were raising private batteries against me, broke forth furiously. Injurious and libellous statements began to be circulated. Some individuals,
without any personal knowledge of me, wrote against me.
Some said, that I was a sorceress, that it was by some magic
power that I attracted souls, and that everything in me was
diabolical. Others said, that, if I did some charities, it was
because I coined, and put off false money; with many other
gross accusations equally false, groundless, and absurd.
"But, amid all this, my soul, full of earnest desires, thirsted,
if I may so express it, for the salvation of my fellow beings.
It seemed to me, that I felt just as Christ felt when he entered into his apostolic state; that is to say, when he came
out of his thirty years' retirement, and full of the Holy Ghost,
began to preach publicly the way of salvation. He said to
his disciples at a certain time, With desire I have desired,
in other words, I have exceedingly desired, to eat the passover
with you. Such was my desire; so great that when I could
not speak, I wrote; and when I could not write, nor impart
my strong desires in any other way, my system was overcome in the strength of my feeling, and I sunk under it."
5. But the providences of God seemed to indicate, that
her mission at Grenoble, which had been so strikingly characterized by manifestations of the divine power, was ended. So
violent was the tempest of indignation against her, that even
her tried friends, anxious for her personal safety, advised
her to leave. Camus, bishop of Grenoble, a man of learning and piety, was friendly to her. He was a Doctor of the





404      LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


Sorbonne, and not long after was appointed CaIdinal* by
Pope Innocent II.; but he was not able, though obviously
of favorable dispositions, to restrain the hostile movement,
which now existed.
His Almoner, probably with the concurrence of the bishop
himself, advised her strongly to leave the city and seek
refuge in Marseilles, till the storm should be over. The
Almoner gave as a reason for recommending the city of
Marseilles as the place to which under the existing circumstances she should flee, that it was his native place, that
there were many persons of merit there, and that he thought
from his knowledge of the situation of things she would be
favorably received. Looking to the Lord for direction, she
felt it her duty to comply with these suggestions.
6. Leaving her daughter under the care of her favorite
maid-servant, in the Religious House where she was placed
on their first arrival, and taking with her another girl to
supply her place about her own person, she left the city as
secretly as possible; influenced in leaving in this manner,
not more by a desire to defeat the machinations of her enemies, than by a fear of being burdened with the visits and
lamentations of her friends. It was early in the Spring of
the year 1686,- if we are allowed to deduce our chronology,
not always from the statements made, which are sometimes
inconsistent with each other, but from a comparison and adjustment of statements, - that she thus finished her mission
at Grenoble, and again went out, not knowing, like the
patriarch of old, "whither she went."  Accompanied by two
females, one of them the girl who has just been mentioned,
and by the Almoner of Bishop Camus, and another very
worthy ecclesiastic, she took the route along the banks of
* See Memoirs of the Court of France, from the year 1684 to the
year 1720, by the Marquis de Dangeau. Vol. I. p. 76.





OF MADAME GUYON.


405


the river Isere, till it mingles with the Rhone, a little above
the ancient city of Valence. At Valence they all embarked
upon the Rhone in one of*the numerous boats, that were
employed in navigating its waters.
They had descended about three miles from the city,
when they became satisfied that the boat, (which they had
taken in the expectation of overtaking another larger one,
but were disappointed in it,) would not answer their purpose. It was too small; and they were under the necessity
of returning. As the boat was heavily laden, and it was
difficult to ascend the river with it, the passengers all left it
and went back on foot, with the exception of Madame Guyon,
who was unable to walk so long a distance, and a young
lad who was supposed to be competent to take the boat back.
Owing either to the violence of the river, or his want of skill
and strength, or perhaps both, he found it a very difficult
thing to do it. At one time he ceased his efforts entirely;
and leaving the boat to the mercy of the waves, sat down
and burst into tears, saying that they must both be drowned.
Madame Guyon, seeing the imminent hazard to which they
were exposed, went to him; and by remonstrating with him
and encouraging him, induced him to resume his efforts.
After four hours of hard labor, they reached the city; and
her companions having arrived by land, they immediately
took another boat more suited to their purpose.
Nothing is said of their stopping at any of the numerous
towns and cities which adorn the banks of the Rhone.
Beaucaire and Tarascon with their wealth and activity,
Avignon with its benevolent institutions, Arles with its amphitheatre and obelisk and other remains of high antiquity,
- all ceased to have attractions for those, who felt that they
had no home in any place where Christ, preached in his
simplicity, was likely to be excluded.
7. The navigation of the Rhone, which is one of the most





406


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


rapid rivers in Europe, is quite difficult. Madame Guyon
says, that they met with many alarming accidents and wonderful preservations. At one place the boat ran upon a
rock with such violence as to open it, and let in the water in
such a manner as greatly to endanger them. There was
great consternation among the persons on board; but she
speaks with devout satisfaction and thankfulness of the
peace and joy of mind, with which God sustained her in
this threatening danger. The Almoner of Bishop Camus
was so seated in the boat as distinctly to notice her at the
time; and he was astonished to see, and made remarks upon
it afterwards, that there was no sudden emotion of surprise,
and no change on her countenance.  "What caused my
peace," she says, "in dangers which so terrified others, was
my resignation to God, and because death is much more
agreeable to me than life, if such were his will, to which I
desire to be ever patiently submissive."
8. In this way they passed down, with great diligence
and rapidity, nearly the whole navigable length of the Rhone,
and then leaving the mouth of the river, and coasting a few
miles along the shores of the Mediterranean, they reached
the ancient and justly celebrated city of Marseilles; - a
city so well and so favorably known, even in the time of
Cicero, that he styled it the "Athens of the Gauls." But
this great and learned city furnished no refuge for this fugitive praying woman. If an army had come among them,
it would scarcely have caused greater consternation. " I
arrived at Marseilles," she says, "at ten o'clock in the morning; and that very afternoon all was in uproar against me."
9. The occasion of this very sudden movement against
her was this. She had a letter of introduction to a knight,
of the Order of Malta, resident at Marseilles. The letter
was written by one of her intimate friends in the city of
Grenoble, a man of rank, but eminently religious. Accom




OF MADA.ME GUYON.


407


panying the letter, he sent the little book, entitled A Short
Method of Prayer, which had been published a short time
before at Grenoble; and of which we have given an analysis
in the preceding chapter. Although a devout man himself,
the knight to whom the book was sent had a chaplain, whose
opinions were not only in opposition to those of Madame
Guyon, but who felt unusually zealous in exhibiting that
opposition. He had probably heard of the book before, and
might perhaps have known what was in it. At any rate,
when it was received, he examined it for a few moments, and
perceiving, as he supposed, its heresies, he at once went
away to stir up a party both against the doctrines of the
book and its author.
So much interest was waked up, that some persons went
almost immediately to the bishop of the city, stating to him
that it was necessary to banish at once the author of a book
which contained things so much at variance with what the
Catholic church considered the truth. The bishop, however,
before proceeding to extremity, thought it necessary to examine the book for himself, which he did in company with
one of his prebends, and he said that he liked it very well.
10. Not only this, he took the pains also to send for individuals in whose judgment and piety he had confidence,
among others for M. Francois Malaval, a man of great piety
and of some literary eminence, and also for a Father of the
Recollects, both of whom had known Madame Guyon by
reputation, and had called upon her very soon after her
arrival at Marseilles. They frankly stated to him their
favorable opinions of Madame Guyon's character and writings, and also what they knew of the nature and extent of
the violent opposition which she experienced. " In connection with this interview," says Madame Guyon, "the bishop
testified much uneasiness at the insults which were offered
me. He also expressed to these persons a strong desire for





408


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


a personal acquaintance; so much so, that I was obliged to
go and see him. He received me with extraordinary respect, and begged my excuse for what had happened. He
invited me to stay at Marseilles; and assured me, - notwithstanding the unpleasant circumstances existing, - that he
would do all in his power to protect me. He even asked
me where I lodged, that he might come and see me."
"The next day," she adds, "the Almoner of the Bishop
of Grenoble, and the other ecclesiastic, who had accompanied us in our passage down the Rhone, went to see him.
He received them kindly, and testified to them also his
sorrow for the insults, which, without any good reason, had
been offered me."
11. It was obvious, however, that a party was formed
against her, with such elements of strength and violence in
it, that she could not long remain in quiet. Among other
insults offered to her, she says, " these persons wrote to me
the most offensive letters possible, though at the same time
they did not know me. It seemed to me, with these indications of His providence before me, that the Lord was beginning in earnest to take from me every place of abode; and
those words of Scripture were again strongly impressed
upon my mind;-- The foxes have holes, the birds of the air
have nests; but the Son of man has not where to lay his head.' "
12. She remained at Marseilles eight days only. Short
as was the time, and stranger as she was in the place, she
was enabled to do something for that cause, which was
dearer to her than reputation or even life. One day she
entered into a church, in which some religious services were
being performed. The priest, who had the direction of
them, observed her; and after they were concluded, went
immediately to.the house in which she was lodged, and
stated to her, with great simplicity and frankness his inward
trials and necessities. " lie made his statements," she re




OF MADAME GUYON.


409


marks, "with as much humility as simplicity.  The Lord
assisted me, as an instrument in his hands, to say and to
suggest those things to this person which seemed to be
necessary. He was enabled, through divine grace, to receive and understand the truth in such a manner, so clearly
and so promptly, that in a very short time he was filled with
joy, and with thankful acknowledgments to God. He became a man of prayer, and a true servant of God."
Such was the happy result in the case of one, who for
some years had suffered from anxiety of mind; an anxiety
which would be naturally increased by the fact, that he himself was a minister at the altar; seeking, undoubtedly, an
interest in Christ; but confused and burdened by the multiplicity of ceremonial observances, and ignorant of the simple
and sure way of faith. It is in connection with this case,
that Madame Guyon makes the remark, that in all the
places where she had been subject to ill treatment and persecution, God had sustained her by some such striking manifestations of his love and grace.
13. During her short stay at Marseilles, she became acquainted with many pious persons. Among others was the
knight of the celebrated Order of Malta, to whom, she
brought a letter of introduction from Grenoble. Though a
member of a military Order, she found him, like the Roman
centurion mentioned in the Acts, a " devout man, and one
that feared God." " Since I have known him personally,"
she says, " I have esteemed him as a man whom our Lord
designed to be of great service to others. It seemed to me,
that the influence of his holy life would be an ornament and
support of the Order, of which he was a member. I expressed my opinion to him personally, that it would be desirable for him to take up his residence at Malta in closer
union with those with whom he was associated, and that God
would assuredly make use of him to diffuse a spirit of piety
35





410      LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


into many of them." In accordance with this advice, and
perhaps under the influence of it, he soon after went to
Malta; and such was the acknowledged excellence of his
character, that he was almost immediately placed in a position of high authority and influence. But, further than this,
although much was to be hoped from his labors, we find
nothing said of him.
14. Her interviews with M. Francois Malaval must have
been interesting, if he were the author, as I suppose him to
have been, of the Treatise on the Inward or Contemplative
Life,* which has already been mentioned in connection with
the references to the author of the Spiritual Guide, Michael
de Molinos.  He was a man obviously of great intellectual power; but labored under the disadvantage of having
been blind, or nearly so, from an early period of life. But
God compensated for the want of outward light by inward illumination. So that he may be described as a man
whose eye, closed to the world, had light in God; a man who
saw spiritually.
In support of the remark, that he was a man of intellectual power I infer, not only from what he wrote, but from
the fact, that he is frequently mentioned and criticised with
earnestness and apparent severity, in the controversial writings of Bossuet, who was too conscious of his own vast
strength to be likely to enter the lists with feeble antagonists.
That he was a man of deep and thorough piety, I believe
his opponents did not deny.
15. Satisfied from the various indications around her,
that Marseilles was not to be the field of her labors, and
not knowing whither to go, it occurred to her, that she might
properly seek a place of refuge again with the Marchioness
of Prunai. This lady, who still resided either at Turin or
* Entitled in French, Pratique Facile pour elever l'Ame a la Contemplation.





OF MADAME GUYON.


411


in its immediate neighborhood, retained a strong friendship
for Madame Guyon, and probably kept up a correspondence
with her. At any rate, there seems to have been a mutual
understanding between them, that she should have a home
with the Marchioness, whenever it might be accordant either
with necessity or convenience. Although in coming to Marseilles, she had gone a considerable distance from Grenoble,
she had taken such a direction that she had not increased
her distance from Turin, and had perhaps made it less. So
that the suggestion, that she might best remain for a time
with the Marchioness, was naturally sustained by the circumstance, that, in the situation in which she was placed, it
was a nearer and easier place of refuge than any other
which now presented itself.
16. Under these circumstances, accompanied by the same
persons who came with her down the Rhone, with the exception of the Almoner of Bishop Camus who seems to have
returned to Grenoble, she left Marseilles, on the ninth day
after she arrived there, for the neighboring city of Nice.
This ancient and pleasant city, situated near the Mediterranean on the banks of the river Var, lies in the direction of
Turin, and about eighty miles distant. At a little distance
from it are the mountains called the Maritime Alps.
"I took a litter at Marseilles," says Madame Guyon," for
the purpose and in the expectation of being conveyed once
more to the residence of the Marchioness of Prunai, which
seemed to me, in my present condition, to be the most honorable refuge I could seek. I supposed that I could reach
her residence by passing through the city of Nice.  Some
persons assured me that I could do so. But when I arrived
at Nice I was greatly surprised to learn that the litter, for
some reasons, could not pass the mountains which intervened,
and that I could not, at the present time at least, reach Turin
in that direction. In this state of things I knew not what to





412


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


do, nor which way to turn. My confusion and crosses seemed
daily to increase. Alone as it were, in the world, forsaken
of all human help, and not knowing what God required of
me, I saw myself without refuge or retreat, wandering like
a vagabond on the face of the earth. I walked in the streets;
I saw the tradesmen busy in the shops; all seemed to me
to be happy in having a home, a dwelling place to which
they could retire. I felt sadly that there was none for me."
17. This was a season of trial and temptation; but we
are not to infer from these expressions, that her faith was
shaken.  Faith is tested by trial; and oftentimes shines
most brightly amid tears. - " As I was in this uncertainty,
not knowing what course to take, a person," she adds, " came
to me and told me, that one of the small vessels, which
traded between Nice and the city of Genoa, and which
usually reached Genoa within twenty-four hours, would sail
the next day. He added, that if I took a passage on board
the vessel, the captain would land me, if I chose, at the town
of Savona, twenty miles this side of Genoa, but so situated
in reference to the mountains, that I could readily find a
conveyance to the Marchioness of Prunai's house. To this
proposition I consented; as I could not be furnished with
any other means of getting there."
18. It was under these circumstances, that she committed
herself and those who were with her, to the dangers of the
sea. "As I embarked upon it," she says, " I could not help
experiencing emotions of joy. 'If I am the dregs of the
earth,' I said to myself, 'if I am the scorn and the offscouring of nature, I am now embarked upon an element which,
in its treachery shows no favor. If it be the Lord's pleasure to plunge me in the waves, it shall be mine to perish in
them.' There came upon us a tempest, in a place which
was somewhat dangerous for small vessels; and what rendered our situation the more trying, the mariners seemed





OF MADAME GUYON.


413


to be very wicked men. But still, as the irritated waves
dashed around us, I could not help experiencing a considerable degree of satisfaction in my mind. I pleased myself
with thinking that those mutinous billows, under the command of Him who does all things rightly, might probably
furnish me with a watery grave. Perhaps I carried the
point too far in the pleasure which I took, in thus seeing
myself beaten and bandied by the swelling waters. Those,
who were with me, took notice of my intrepidity; but knew
not the cause of it. I asked of Thee, my Lord, if such were
thy will, some little cleft to be placed in, a small place of
refuge in some rock of the ocean, there to live separate from
all creatures. I figured to myself, that some uninhabited
island would have terminated all my disgraces, and put me
in a condition of infallibly doing thy will. But, O my Divine Love, Thou didst design me a prison far different from
that of the rock, and quite another banishment than that
of the uninhabited island. Thou didst reserve me to be
battered by billows, more irritated than those of the sea.
Calumnies proved the outrageous, unrelenting waves, to
which I was to be exposed, in order to be lashed and tossed
by them without mercy.
" By the tempest swelling against us we were kept back;
and instead of a short day's passage to Genoa, we were
eleven days in reaching it. But during all this time, how
peaceable was my heart in so violent an agitation around
me! The swelling of the sea, and the fury of its waves,
were, as I thought, only a figure of that swelling fury, which
all the creatures had against me. I said to Thee, Oh, my
Love, arm them all; make use of them all as instruments to
humble me for my infidelities. I seemed to behold Thy right
hand armed against me; but knowing that Thy will was
never at variance with the utmost rectitude and benevolence,
I loved, more than my life, the strokes it gave me."
35 *





414


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


19. It was owing to the storm probably, that she failed to
be landed at Savona, and was carried to Genoa. It was
only a year, or not far from a year before, that the French,
irritated by some proceedings of the Genoese, had bombaxrded their city. A'arge naval force, under the command
of the celebrated Admiral Duquesne, "reduced to a heap of
ruins," as it is given in the language of Voltaire, "a part of
those marble edifices, which have gained for Genoa the name
of the Superb. Four thousand soldiers, being landed, advanced up to the gates of the city, and burned the suburbs
of St. Peter d'Arena." * The Genoese, from that time, had
been exceedingly irritated against the French. And when
Madame Guyon and her little company landed, including
the ecclesiastic who attended her, being recognized at once
as people from France, they were exposed to the marked
insults of the angry populace.
She thought it necessary, therefore, to leave Genoa as
soon as possible; but she was met with another trial. The
Doge, or Supreme Governor, had recently left the city for
some purpose; and, with his attendants, had taken all the
litters which could be had. " Owing to this," she says, "I
could not obtain a conveyance of that kind, and was obliged
to remain there several days at excessive expense; the
charges being very much higher than they were for the
same accommodations at Paris. I mention this, because I
had but little money left; but I did not forget that my store
in Providence could never be exhausted."
20. After a few days and much inquiry, a sorry looking
litter, which is a sort of covered couch, sometimes borne by
porters and sometimes by beasts of burden, was brought her,
supported by two lame mules. But here arose another difficulty. She did not, at that time, know precisely whether
* Life of Louis Fourteenth, Vol. ii, chap. 13.





OF MADAME GUYON.


415


the Marchioness of Prunai, to whose house she wished to be
carried, resided at Turin or at some place in the vicinity.
The owner of the litter refused to make a bargain under
such circumstances; but offered to-take her to Verceil, which
was somewhat nearer than Turin, being only two days'
journey distant, but in a little different direction. As she
could neither remain at Genoa, nor make arrangements at
present to be carried to the residence of the Marchioness of
Prunai, she adopted this alternative, as the one especially
presented in Providence. And she had this reason for so
doing among others, that she had, some time before, been
repeatedly and earnestly invited by the Bishop of Verceil to
come there. She thought it proper, however, that, under
the existing circumstances, she should send notice to him of
her coming. It was with this object, that the ecclesiastic,
who had attended her from Marseilles, set out first; leaving
Madame Guyon and her two female assistants to come by
themselves.
21. With Providence for their guide, these three unprotected women set out from Genoa.   "Our muleteer," she
says, " was one of the most brutal of men to be met with.
Seeing he had only women under his care, there was scarcely any bounds to his insolence and rudeness." Before they
had completed the first day's journey, they passed through
a large forest, which had the reputation of being infested
with robbers, and which was so in fact.
"( The muleteer," she adds, " was afraid, and told us, if we
met any of them on the road, we should be murdered, for
they spared nobody. Scarcely had he uttered these words,
when there appeared four men well armed. They immediately stopped the litter. The muleteer was exceedingly
frightened. I had no fear, and was so entirely resigned to
Providence, that it was all one to die this way or any other,
in the sea or by the hands of robbers. The robbers ap




116


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


proached the litter and looked in. I smiled upon them and
made a slight bow of the head. As soon as I had saluted
them in this manner, in a moment, God made them change
their design. Having pushed off each other, as if each were
desirous of hindering the others from doing any harm, they
respectfully saluted me, and with an air of compassion, unusual to such.sorts of persons, retired. I was immediately
struck to the heart, 0 my Lord, with a full and clear conviction, that it was thine own especial influence, a stroke of
thine own right hand, who had other designs over me than
thus to make me die by the hands of robbers."
22. In connection with what took place at this time, and
calling to mind the dangers she had encountered in repeatedly crossing the Alps, and in visiting the Grand Chartreuse,
she exclaims again; - " How wonderful, 0 my God, at this,
as at many other times, has been thy protection over me!
How many perils have I passed through in going over
mountains, and on the edges of steep and terrible cliffs!
How often hast Thou checked the foot of the mule, already
slipping over the precipice! How often have I been exposed to be thrown headlong from frightful heights into
hideous torrents, which, though rolling in chasms far below
our shrinking sight, forced us to hear them by their horrible
noise! Thou, 0 God, didst guard me in such imminent
dangers. When the dangers were most manifest, then was
my faith in Thee strongest. In Thee my soul trusted. I
felt, that, if it were thy will, that I should be dashed headlong down the rocks, or drowned in the waters, or brought
to the end of my life in any other way, it would all be well;
the will of God, whatever it might be in relation to me,
making every thing equal."
23. At the close of this day's journey, she found still
further occasion for the trial of her faith and patience.
" The muleteer," she says, " seeing me attended by only two





OF MADAME GUYON.


417


young women, thought he might treat me in any manner he
pleased; perhaps expecting to draw money from me. We
were approaching the village where we expected to remain,
at the village Inn, during the night. What was our surprise, then, to hear the muleteer propose to us to stop at a
mill, about a mile and a quarter short of the village; a place
at which the muleteers sometimes stopped, but at which no
female resided. In the mill there was only a single chamber, though there were several beds in it, in which the millers and muleteers lodged together. In that chamber, and
in such company, these persons proposed to have me and
my maid-servants stay. I remonstrated; and endeavored
by every possible argument to induce the muleteer to carry
us to the Inn, but without effect.
At ten o'clock at night, therefore, and in a strange place,
we were constrained to leave our conveyance, and set out on
foot, carrying a part of our clothes in our hands. The night
was dark, the way unknown, and we were obliged to pass
through the end of a forest, which was said to be the resort
of plunderers. The muleteer, seeing us go off in this way,
and disappointed in his evil designs upon us, hooted after us
in a very abusive manner. I bore my humiliation resignedly and cheerfully, but not without feeling it."
They arrived safely at the Inn. The good people of the
house, seeing them come at this late hour of the night, on
foot, with their clothes in their hands, sympathized in their
situation, and treated them very kindly. " They assured
us," says Madame Guyon, "that the place we left was a
very dangerous one; and did all in their power to recover
us from the fatigue we had undergone."
24. The next morning, in consequence of an arrangement
which was made by the muleteer, they left the litter ia
which they had come so far, and took passage in the postchaise, or more properly post-wagon, which conveyed the





418


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


public mails, and passed along at this time. In this conveyance they reached Alexandria, one of the principal towns
between Genoa and Verceil. "When the driver, according
to his usual custom," says Madame Guyon, "took us to the
post-house, I was exceedingly astonished, when I saw the
landlady coming out, not to receive him, but to oppose his
entrance.  She had heard from some person, that there
were women in the carriage, and mistaking our characters,
and taking us for a different sort of persons from what we
were, she protested against our coming in. On the other
hand the driver was determined to force his entrance in spite
of her. The dispute rose so high between thenm, that many
officers of the garrison together with a vast mob of other
persons, collected together at the noise, being much surprised at the odd humor of the woman in refusing to lodge
us. I spoke to the mail carrier, and suggested, that it might
be well to take us to some other house; but, obstinate upon
carrying his point, he said, he would not. He assured the
landlady, that we were not only persons of good character,
but persons also of piety, the evidences of which he had
seen. At last, by means of his statements and urgency, he
obliged her to come and see us. As soon as she had looked
upon us, she acted as the robbers had done.  She relented
at once, and admitted us.
" No sooner had I alighted from our conveyance, than
she said to us, 'Go, shut yourselves up in that chamber
hard by, and do not stir, that my son may not know you are
here; for as soon as he knows it, he will kill you.' She
said this with so much emphasis, which was repeated by the
servant maid who attended her, that if death had not possessed many charms for me, I should have been ready to
die with fear. The two girls, who were with me, were
under frightful apprehensions. When they heard any one
stirring in the house, and especially persons coming to open





OF MADAME GUYON.                419
the door of the chamber for any purpose, they thought they
were coming to cut their throats. In short, they continued
in a dreadful suspense between life and death till the next
day, when we learned that the young man had sworn to kill
any woman who lodged at the house. The reason of his
taking this extraordinary course was this. A few days before, an event had happened which came near ruining him.
A woman of bad principles and life had lodged at his house.
While there she had, for some reasons, privately murdered
a man of some standing. The result was, beside other incidental evils, that a heavy fine was imposed upon the house;
and it was not without reason that the young man, who
seemed to have the chief charge of the establishment, was
exceedingly afraid of any more such persons coming."*
* La Vie de Madame Gluyon, Pt. Ii.ci. 23.





CHAPTER XXXII.


Arrives at Verceil. Interview with La Combe. Interview with the
Bishop of Verceil. His kindness to her. Conversation with one
of the Superiors of the Jesuits. Attacked with sickness. Decides
to return to Paris. La Combe selected to attend her on her return.  Departure from Verceil.  Visit to the Marchioness of
Prunai. Crosses the Alps, at the pass of Mount Cenis, for the
third time. Meets her half-brother, La Mothe, at Chamberri.
Her reception at Grenoble. Departs from Grenoble for Paris.
Arrives at Paris, after a five years' absence, in July, 1686.
AFTER some trials and adventures, such as have been
related in the preceding chapter, she arrived safely at Verceil, the place where she designed to remain for the present;
a pleasant and flourishing town, situated on the banks of the
Sessia, one of the tributaries of the Po.  Having stopped at
one of the public inns, she sent notice of her arrival, as soon
as she conveniently could, to Father La Combe, who was
now resident at Verceil, having come there soon after he
was obliged to leave Thonon. At Verceil, notwithstanding
the persecutions he had experienced at Thonon, La Combe
was highly esteemed.    He exhibited that activity in the
cause of vital religion, which would naturally be expected
from his established character for piety. And God had
made use of him as an instrument, in addition to other
successful results of his labors, in converting several of the
officers and soldiers stationed at the fortress at that place,





LIFE, ETC.


423


who, from being men of scandalous lives, became patterns
of piety.
2. It was with no small emotion that he met Madame
Guyon again, who had been under God the early instrument
of his spiritual renovation, and who had subsequently very
much aided him in his religious progress. Add to this, that
they were not only united in spirit, but had been sufferers
together in a common cause; a cause which was inexpressibly dear to both of them. The feeling of satisfaction which
he felt, however, in once more seeing her, was mingled with
the fear, that a meeting so unexpected, and to many so inexplicable, might furnish new occasion for the calumnies of
those who had already misrepresented and aspersed the
relations existing between them. The knowledge of this
danger had suggested itself also to Madame Guyon, who
distinctly refers to it in some remarks.
3. As soon as the Bishop of Verceil heard of Madame
Guyon's arrival, he sent his niece, who took her in a coach,
and carried her to her own house. As soon as he conveniently could, he came himself in a chaise to his niece's house
to see her. It was with some difficulty that Madame Guyon
conversed in the Italian, and the bishop's knowledge of the
French was imperfect. They were able, nevertheless, to
make each other understood; so that the first interview was
a pleasant one; and the satisfaction which he felt in making
her acquaintance was subsequently much increased.
4. " The bishop," says Madame Guyon, " loved God; and
it was but natural that he should love those who had similar
dispositions.  He could hardly have conceived a stronger
friendship for me, if I had been his own sister. As an
evidence of his favorable sentiments, he wrote to the bishop
of Marseilles to thank him for having protected me in the
persecution there. He wrote also with similar views, to
Bishop Camus of Grenoble; and in various ways expressed
36





422 -    LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


his interest and the affectionate regard he felt for me.
Thinking only of finding out means to detain me in his diocese, he would not listen to my going, at present, to see the
Marchioness of Prunai. On the contrary, he wrote to her
to come and settle with me at Verceil. He even sent Father
La Combe to her on purpose to exhort her to come; assuring her that he would unite us, together with some other
pious persons, in a select Religious Society or Congregation,
established for permanent religious objects.  Neither the
Marchioness nor her daughter, who was consulted in regard
to it, "disapproved of the plan; but she was prevented from
entering into it, at present, by ill health."
5. "It was during the absence of La Combe on this business," she adds, " that I was visited by one of the superior
officers or Rectors of the Jesuits, who was resident at this
time at Verceil. He had heard of me, and wished to have
some conversation. It is hardly necessary to say, that his
knowledge on theological subjects was much greater than
mine. We conversed together on topics of this nature; and
he proposed to me several questions which he wished me to
answer. The Lord inspired me to answer them in such a
manner, that he went away, not only surprised at what was
said, but apparently satisfied; so much so, that he could not
forbear speaking of it afterwards."
6. Soon after her arrival at Verceil, she was attacked
with sickness. "When the bishop," she says, " saw me so
much indisposed, he came to see me with assiduity and
charity, when at leisure from  his occupations.  He made
me little presents of fruits and other things of that nature." When, however, he proposed to her the matter of a
permanent residence at Verceil, she says that she had a
presentiment that the plan would not succeed, and that
it was not what the Lord had required of her.     Still,
being under great obligations to him for his kindness,





OF MADAME GUTYON.


423


she thought it best to let him take what measures he might
think proper for the present; being assured that the Lord
would know well how to prevent arrangements which should
not be in accordance with his will. And accordingly the
plan was not only delayed by her present ill health, but was
entirely frustrated and given up, by its being ascertained
that the air of the place was exceedingly injurious to her,
and that, in the opinion of the physicians who were consulted,
it would not be possible for her to remain there. Upon the
announcement of this state of things, the bishop, although he
was much afflicted, did not hesitate to acquiesce in it. He
remarked, that he was exceedingly sorry to have her go, but
that he would much rather have her live somewhere else,
though-at a distance from him, than die at Vetceil.
7. When it was ascertained, that she could not remain
long at Verceil, her friends consulted together in relation to
the course which it would be proper for her to pursue.
The conclusion was, that, under the developments which
had been made of the influence she was capable of exercising, it was best for her to return to Paris, as a field of
labor more appropriate to the powers God had given her,
than those remote and rude villages where she had expected
to spend her days. As soon as it was settled, after suitable
deliberation and prayer, that she should return again not
only to France but to Paris, "the Lord," she says, "wrought
in my mind the conviction, that I was destined to experience yet greater crosses, than had hitherto come upon me.
Father La Combe, who was now of opinion that Providence
called me back to that trying scene of labor, had the same
convictions. Nevertheless he encouraged me to resign myself to the divine will, and to become a victim offered freely
to new sacrifices."
8. During the few months of her residence at Verceil, it
loes not appear thnt she engaged much in what might be





424


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


called her public labors; such as have already been mentioned in repeated instances. Her health was, at present,
not adequate to it. She continued, however, the work which
she had begun at Grenoble, of writing explanations on the
Scriptures. Her remarks on the Apocalypse were written
at this time, namely, in the spring and early part of the
summer of 1686. She was enabled also to keep up her
written correspondence, which was extensive. It is worthy
of notice perhaps, that it was at this time that her correspondence commenced with the Duchess de Chevreuse, a lady
eminent both by her virtues and her position in society. We
shall probably have occasion to mention her hereafter.
9. When Madame Guyon travelled, she was generally
attended by some ecclesiastic. That was the custom of the
times for religious persons in her situation in society. It
was obviously necessary, for the most part, that she should
have some male attendant; and a regard to public opinion
seemed to require, that he should be one, who, both by profession and character, should be above suspicion. In leaving
Verceil, after it was ascertained that the climate would not
allow her to remain, she selected La Combe, in accordance
with the opinion of her friends and others whom she thought
it proper to consult, as the person most suitable, under all
the circumstances of the case, to go with her. Perhaps no
other suitable person could be easily found, who was ready,
at a brief notice, to undertake so long a journey. There
was a special reason, moreover, for this selection, additional
to his high personal character, his ecclesiastical calling, and
the fact of his being, in accordance with the institutions of
the Catholic church, her spiritual Director. Some arrangements of the Religious Order or Association of the Barnabites, to which he belonged, arrangements which were carried
into effect by their Superintendent or General, required the
presence of La Combe at Paris at this time. The move




OF MADAME GUYON.


425


ments of the subordinate members were, in general, under
the control of the person who sustained the relation of head
of their community.  The suggestion, therefore, that La
Combe should accompany Madame Guyon, was favorably
received by the General of the Order, whom it was necessary to consult in the case, as a thing not only proper in itself,
but because the expenses of his journey there, being of
course paid by her, would exempt the House of that Order
at Paris, which was already poor, from an assessment to
meet them. The arrangement, therefore, was made. As it
was necessary, however, that La Combe should attend to
some transactions of the business at the intermediate places, it
was decided, that he should set out some days before her, and
wait for her at the entrance of the passage over the Alps, as
a place where attendance and assistance would be indispensably necessary.
10. After a stay, therefore, of a few months at Verceil,
which was pleasant in every respect with the exception of
the poor state of her health, she set out on her return by the
usual route of Turin and Mount Cenis. "My departure,"
she says, "was a season of trial to the Bishop of Verceil.
He was much affected. He caused me to be attended at his
own expense, as far as Turin, giving me a gentleman and
one of his own ecclesiastics to accompany me."
11. It was under these circumstances, that she closed her
mission abroad; a mission not more interesting in its results
than it was novel in its nature; and commenced her return
to Paris. She had occasion once more to feel the force of
the sentiment which she has so well expressed in her poems;
To me remains nor place nor time;
My country is in every clime.
La Combe, before he left, wrote her a letter for her encouragement under the trials which he foresaw awaited both her
363





426


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


and himself; in which he said, " Will it not be a thing very
glorious to God if he should make us serve, in the great city
of Paris, for a spectacle to angels and men? " "I departed,"
she says, "in the spirit of sacrifice; ready to offer myself
up to new varieties and kinds of suffering. All along
the road, something within me repeated the very words of
St. Paul, 'I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things which shall befall me there, save that the Holy
Ghost witnesses, saying, that bonds and afflictions abide me;
but none of these things move me; neither count I my life
dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy.'
I found it my duty to hold on my way, and to sacrifice myself for Him who first sacrificed himself for me."
12. In her way to the city of Turin, she turned aside to
visit the Marchioness of Prunai, who seems to have resided
a few miles distant from the city. " She was extremely
rejoiced," says Madame Guyon, "to see me once more.
Nothing could be more frank and affectionate than what
passed between us." Madame Guyon seems to have been
deeply impressed with the kindness and piety of this distinguished lady. But she did not remain long at the resting
place, which would have been gladly given to her here.
Leaving with the Marchioness her sweet words of encouragement in relation to her benevolent labors, especially for
the poor and the sick, and bidding her, after a few days'
tarrying, a final adieu, she went on her way.
At Turin she was left by the attendants furnished by the
Bishop of Verceil. Accompanied from that place by her
two maids, she obtained a conveyance, and travelling the
usual route along the Doria to Susa, she met La Combe
again, at some place near the foot of the Alps.
13. Of the incidents attending her passage through these
rugged declivities and summits, now ascended and surmounted for the third time, she makes no special mention. No





OF MADAME GUYON.


427


doubt, as she looked down from those vast heights on the
land of the Po and the Adige, a land she loved, she breathed
forth the fervent prayer of her heart, for its spiritual renewal.   This prayer, which she uttered alike in spoken
words and in silent aspirations, in prose and in poetry, continually arose from her heart, for all lands and all nations.
"Ah, reign, wherever man is found,
My Spouse, beloved and divine!
Then am I rich, and then abound,
When every human heart is thine.
A thousand sorrows pierce my soul,
To think that all are not thine own;
Ah, be adored from pole to pole;Where is thy zeal? Arise - Be known."
To the pleasant land she was thus leaving, there is no
question that she would have given her labors as well as her
prayers, her life as well as her affections. But that higher
prayer of the heart, which says under all circumstances,
THY WILL BE DONE, lays our hopes and our sympathies on
the same altar on which it lays our prayers and our labors.
She saw Italy no more.
14. Having passed the Alps in safety, she arrived at
Chamberri, the principal town of Savoy. Here she met
with her half-brother La Mothe, whom she had not seen for
a number of years. Business of an ecclesiastical nature had
called him there at this time. The meeting was apparently
cordial, although there was too much reason to think, that
he was determined to take a course which would be injurious to Madame Guyon. La Combe thought it expedient to
consult one who sustained so near a relation, on the propriety of the arrangement which required him to attend
Madame Guyon to Paris; expressing an entire willingness
and even desire, in view of circumstances which seemed





428


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE


about to develope themselves, to resign his place to some
other person. La Mothe, who was himself an ecclesiastic,
approved of the arrangement as it then was, and expressed
a strong desire, that it should be carried through.
15. From Chamberri she proceeded to Grenoble, where
one of the females who attended her into Italy belonged.
She remained at Grenoble a number of days. She here
met her daughter, now ten years of age, and the maidservant, with whom she had left her when she went to Marseilles. When it was understood in the city, that she had
returned, a great number of persons, whom she had been
the instrument of spiritually benefiting when she had formerly resided there, visited her, and were filled with joy at
seeing her again. But their joy was changed into sorrow,
when it was understood that she must soon leave them. Their
feelings seem to have been the same with those of the
Ephesians, when the Apostle Paul visited them for the last
time. "They wept sore, and fell on his neck, and kissed
him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake,
that they should see his face no more."
Camus, bishop of the city, a man of marked and high
character, manifested great kindness during her stay. Public opinion had so much changed in her favor since her
departure, that she was now requested to remain, to be employed in connection with one of the Hospitals of the city.
To this proposition she did not accede, because she saw distinctly, that it was not the place where God required her
to be.
16. In order to show what were the feelings of the Bishop
of Grenoble towards her, I think it may be proper to insert
here a letter, which he wrote a year or two after in her behalf,
when he had been raised to the Cardinalship. It is addressed to his brother, a distinguished man, who at that time,





OF MADAME GUYON.


429


according to the memoirs of D'Angeau, held the office of
Lieutenant Civil of the city of Paris.
"Sir,
" I cannot refuse to the virtue and piety of Madame de
la Mothe Guyon the recommendation she desires me to give
you, in favor of her family, in an affair which is before you.
I should have made some scruple of doing it, if I did not
know the- uprightness of her intentions and your integrity.
Admit, therefore, my solicitations to do her all the justice
that is due her. I request it of you with all the cordiality
with which
"I am yours,
"THE CARDINAL CAMUS."
Accompanying the above, he wrote the following to
Madame Guyon:
" Madame,
"It would give me great satisfaction if I had more
frequent opportunities of showing you, how great is the
interest which I feel in your welfare both temporal and
spiritual. I am truly grateful that the suggestions I made
in relation to your spiritual concerns have been found serviceable. In respect to your temporal affairs, I shall use
my best endeavors to engage my brother, the Lieutenant
Civil of Paris, to see that entire justice is rendered to you.
Trusting that you will continue to entertain the fullest confidence in my favorable dispositions towards you, I remain,
Madame,
"Very truly and affectionately,
" Yours,
"THE CARDINAL CAMUS."





430


LIFE AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCI


17. She spent about a fortnight in Grenoble; and then,
accompanied by Father La Combe, her daughter, and her
female assistants, she set out for Paris; probably going
through Lyons and on the main route through those two
great cities. There is some uncertainty in the dates, which
are given in this period of her life. Writing from memory,
some time after the occurrences she relates, and under all
the disadvantages of being shut up in prison, she has probably confounded the arrangement of facts and of periods of
time to some extent. We have compared statements and
dates, and have arranged and re-adjusted them to the best
of our power.
She arrived at Paris the 22d of July, 1686, five years after
her departure from the city.
She returned; but it is hardly necessary to say, that it
was not to lay down her armor and to take her rest. In
the loss of her own will, she came to Paris, probably the
most trying field of labor that could have been selected,
simply because God chose it for her. And that was enough.
She knew not what the Lord had before her, and what he
designed for her, either in doing or suffering; but the true
spiritual life was within her, God's life, which, in being a
divine life, corresponds to the divine purposes; a life which
knows no compromise, seeks no favor, fears no evil. She
was now in the thirty-ninth year of her age; young enough,
with God's assistance, to continue to do effectual work in
his cause, and old enough to have gained wisdom from experience, and strength from trial. But in every situation,
she had one unalterable conviction, which was the true
source of her power, that she had nothing in herself, but all
in God.
18. The following striking stanzas from her Poems seem
to me to form an appropriate conclusion to this volume:





OP, MADAMNEUYON.             431


431,


"Yes! I will always love; and, as I ougljt,
Tune to the praise of love my ceaseless voice;
Preferring love, too vast for human thought,
In spite of erring men, who cavil at my choice.
Why have I not a thousand, thousand hearts,
Lord of my soul! that they mnight all be thine?
If thou approve, - the zeal thy smile imparts,
How should it ever fail! Canu such a fire decline
Love, pure and holy, is a deathless fire;
Its object heavenly, it must ever blaze;
Eternal love, a God must needs inspire,
When once he wins the heart and fits it for his praise.
Self-love dismissed; - 'tis then we live indeed;
In her embrace, death, only death is found;
Came then, one noble effort, and succeed,
Cast off the chainof SELF, with which thy soul is houn4.
Oh! I would crýy, that all the world might hear,
Ye self-tormentors, love your God alone;
Let his unequalled excellence be dear,
Dwst to your inmost souls, and make him all your oum."


XMND OF TIHE FIRST VOLU[1R.