PRIESTLY LIFE IN FRANCE.* TFIEORETICALIX, the best biography might be

that which should give its subject exactly his due place in universal history ; but practically the most interesting as well as the most instructive biography is that which is written with one-sided and therefore ungrudging sympathy, and which make its subject the centre of the universe for the time, just as the worst—the least true—bio- graphy is that by an author who is out of any such sympathy with the life he writes of. And such a qualification of hearty sympathy the author of the volume before us has, in a high degree, for sketching the lives of De Condren, St. Philip Neri, Cardinal de Berulle, St. Vincent de Paul, and Jean Jacques Olier. We pre- sume, from the names of his publishers, and from the dedication of his book to the Chancellor of Sarum Cathedral, that he

claims to be an " Anglican" Churchman ; but the whole spirit and tone of his book are—in the best sense, be it understood—Catholic and Roman, and not Protestant or English at all. All that Luther and Maurice have in common with Thomas h Kempis and

St. Francis de Sales will be found in our author, but where the former part company with the latter he remains with

them ; and thus he is well qualified to relate the holy work of De Berulle and De Condren in training first themselves and then their fellow-priests in the Congregations of the Oratory, which the former founded in France on the model of that of St. Philip Neri in Italy ; and the like work carried on by St. Vincent de Paul and M. Oiler, "in two great branches, both of which sprang from the parent vine of the Oratory."

"The condition of the clergy in France at this time was such as to fill the heart of any devout man like De Bdrulle with consternation. Vincent de Paul said that he found numerous priests whose ignorance was so great that they could not say mass correctly, and did not know the ordinary form of absolution. A bishop writing at that period was forced to say, 'I shudder when I think that at this moment there are some seven thousand priests in my diocese either drunkards or of impure life—utterly without vocation. Another bishop wrote, 'Except the ehanoine theblogue belonging to my church, there is not a priest in my diocese capable of any ecclesiastical office." Yon are a mere priest !' was a conimon form of reproach, Abolly says, at that time; and Amoloto says that the world held the name to be synonymous with ignorance and debauchery :"—

To effect some reform of this state of things became the desire and aim of Pierre de Berulle, who preferred to this work all other employ- ments in the Church or in the State, though he rose to distinction in both. He was born in 1575. After his ordination in 1599 he first _gave himself zealously to the conversion of the Hugonots, and Henri IV., delighted with his controversial talents, successively pressed the bishoprics of Laon, Nantes, and Lucon, and the arch- bishopric of Lyons upon him. But De Berulle refused them all, and the King, half in petulance and half in admiration, declared that he did not believe another man in the world would resist so firmly, but " as for that man, he is a very saint, be has never lost his baptismal innocence." Even- tually—but still apparently in spite of sincere reluctance on his part—De Berulle did rise to high office and honour. When the marriage of Henrietta Maria of France with Charles I. of England was in contemplation, Pere de Berulle was sent to Rome to negotiate the necessary dispensations, and afterwards went to

England as the Queen's confessor. He was, however, soon re- called by Louis XIII. to assist in certain complicated negotiations

concerning the Valtelline, and the King then obtained for him a cardinal's hat, notwithstanding his entreaties that he might be spared this dignity. He became Councillor of State and President of the Council of Regency in 1628 ; our author adds that he was the patron of Descartes, and the first to discover his genius ; and public opinion pointed him out as the rival of Cardinal Richelieu, whose enmity was specially kindled in consequence. But none of these things interfered with the main interest of his life,—the reformation of the priesthood, by means of his Congregation of the Oratory. The Oratory of De Berulle was formed, as we have said, on the model of that which Philip Neri had founded in Rome about fifty years before :—

" There is something peculiarly attractive in the character of ' Sweet Father Philip' as it reaches us. He was a Florentine of noble family, born in 1515 ; and even in his boyish days, when he delighted to relieve the monotony of school hours by visiting the celebrated convent of San Marco, in Florence, drinking in holy thoughts and visions from Fra Angelico's marvellous frescoes, he was familiarly known as bnon Pippo,' so pure and earnest were his ways. Sent, when eighteen, to Naples, in order that he might become partner and heir to a wealthy merchant uncle, Philip gave the world a fair trial for two years, and then, with the same bright cheerfulness which marked all his actions, he severed himself from all his brilliant earthly prospects, and travelled on foot to Rome, begging his bread as he went, ' for the love • The Revival of Priestly Life in the Seventeenth Century in France. A Sketch by the Author of "A Dominican Artist," &c. London : Rivingtons. 1873. of holy poverty.' The ascetic and devout life which he led there, feeding on vegetables and fruit, studying theology with ardour, and yet praying more than he studied, was not with a view to preparation for Holy Orders—for that Philip held himself all unworthy—he only aimed at offering his own body and soul in daily sacrifice to God, and for- warding the purification and sanctification of the world, so far as the pure and holy life of each separate individual, lay or ecclesiastic, must do. After a time, finding that his best school was devout meditation and communing with God, he sold his library, all save the Bible and Sumina of St. Thomas, and gave the proceeds to the poor."

Eventually, "in humility yielding to the call of God and the advice of his spiritual advisers," Philip was ordained priest iu 1551, when aged thirty-six years ; and he joined a few priests in Rome who had formed a sort of confraternity for mutual edification and support :—

His special gift was dealing with young mon. The natural fresh- ness and beauty of his own mind both attracted him to the young, and exercised a singular fascination over them; the playful mirth and poetic grace which bubbled up in his pure and loving heart was such a contrast to the careworn, earthly absorption, or meretricious, worldly gaiety of most men, that they hung around him spell-bound. The grass- plot on Monte Janiculo, near to San Onofrio, where S. Philip Neri used to resort with his goodly company of young companions, and where ho promoted their games, shared their confidences and wild imaginations, and led them on to the love of God with wiles of true human love, may still be seen—or might—in the Rome we have all known and loved.

These outpourings of intimacy and fellowship wore not all. The young mon who thus gathered round Philip Nori for the pleasure of his society also gathered round him for instruction, and he was soon obliged to seek a-spacious hall to receive all who sought to profit by his teaching. This was informal. They road aloud, they discussed difficulties, they prepared little orations—Baronius, the celebrated his- torian, brought his historical learning to bear upon the subject in hand [he was also their cook, and wrote over the kitchen chimney, Cesar Baronius, minus perpetuusl—they sang hymns and motets, composed and led by Palestrina, who was one of Philip's disciples; and from these gatherings, and the musical performances he encouraged at thorn, we derive our name Oratorio,' for the sacred musical dramas which are now once more beginning to be used as St. Philip Neri used them, not merely for the delectation of musical taste and criticism, but as an ex-

pression of, and stimulus to, devotion and fervour Tho spirit of their Congregation was liberty, mutual help, zeal for souls It was not intended as a now religious order, St. Philip Neri con- tinually repeated his wish that his Congregation should bo secular priests, free from vows and special obligations, without loading an austere life, without severe bodily mortifications, without wholly severing themselves from earthly ties; rather following a moderate line, adopting pious habits, and using earthly things well and wisely He objected to a community of goods While inculcating sim- plicity and frugality, he was also strict as to neatness and personal cleanliness, often quoting St. Bernard, who said that he had ' always loved poverty, but dirt never.' "

On the model, then, of this scheme for the reformation of the secular priesthood of Italy, but with such changes as seemed suit- able for France, De Berulle, about sixteen years after the death of St. Philip Neri, laid the foundations of a French Congregration, with the like name, and with the corresponding object of the revival of discipline and spirituality among the clergy of France. He soon associated with himself in the work Pere de Condren, whose life, illustrated by his letters, fills a large part of the volume before us. He was the son of a soldier of some distinction under Henri IV., and his desire for a soldier's life, cultivated from infancy by his father, was only not so strong as that which eventually led him to devote himself to that of the priest, to which his mother had wished to dedicate him from his birth, and for which, indeed, he seems to have been specially qualified. His life was one of the greatest self-sacrifice, self-negation, and humility ; and though, like De Bdrulle, he continued a secular priest, and devoted himself to the reformation or the training of the secular priests of France, his piety was of that kind which seems to find its most adequate realisation in the monastic renun- ciation of-the world. To realise, and to teach and help others to realise, the words of St. Paul, " Not I, but Christ in me," was the unceasing endeavour of his life; but his method was that of Thomas

Kempis or of Madame Guion. His influence was great with Do Berulle, and he was elected to succeed him as Superior of the Congregation on De Berulle's death in 1631, and in this office he continued till his own death, ten years later.

From the French Oratory there were two great off-shoots, having the same great object of the reformation of the secular clergy,—the mission of St. Lazare and the seminary of St. Sulpice. The former was founded by St. Vincent de Paul, the son of peasant parents in a village near Dax, between Pau and Bayonne. From the Cordeliers at flax and at Toulouse he obtained an education qualifying him for ordination. On a voyage to Narbonne he was captured by a Turkish brigantine, and sold as a slave at Tunis ; and " from his personal experience of the fearful sufferings, mental and bodily, which all such Christian captives underwent, sprang one of St. Vincent's great works, the mission to Barbary, in which he toiled unremittingly for the relief of the numerous

slaves of every nation who were continually captured and brought into the markets of Tunis and Algiers." Having been released, be went to Rome, and thence to Paris, where he became an inmate of the Oratory for two years, and formed a close friendship with De Berulle. De Berulle sent him to be tutor to the children of Philip Emanuel de Gondi, where he remained twelve years. Husband and wife were given to good works : and out of a scheme of Madame de Gondi for holding missions on the estates belonging to her family eventually grew the Congrega- tion and Mission of the Lazarists under St. Vincent ; and for the maintenance of this the Priory and Hospital of St. Lazaire was made over to St. Vincent, its endo wments being no longer wanted to provide for a disease almost extinct. A detailed account of this great organisation is given in the volume before us, concluding with the statement that at the time of the Revolution the Laza- riste Fathers had fifty-three !minds seminaires and nine petits seininaires for the preparation of young men for Holy Orders. St. Vincent founded several other missions, among which was that whence sprang the well-known " Societe de Saint Vincent de Paul." For an account of the foundation of St. Sulpice by M. Olier, another Oratorian, and of the work which it did, we mist refer the reader to the same book, which is full of interest for those who care for the subjects of which it treats, though we think the materials are put together with a want of skill which is surprising in one who, from the list of works on his title-page, seems to be a practised author.

The book is very interesting, but it leaves a very sad impres- sion. It is not possible to conceive greater piety, holiness, zeal, and self-devotion than were shown by these great and good men, and by those they trained ; and yet what has France been ever since their days and till now, and why has their work so failed of its aim ? We know how easily we may find that we only " gather dust and chaff " when we grope after an explanation of the mysterious failures of good in its contests with evil, yet we cannot but think that the failure—for such every im- partial person must admit it to be—of the attempted internal reform of the French Church is to be attributed to the fact that it was essentially sacerdotal. The object which these holy and energetic men proposed to themselves was to create, as nearly as might be, a perfect sacerdotal caste, which should then become the teacher and guide of the nation and the world. But however fitted for such work a sacerdotal caste may have been in the middle-ages, the whole tendency of national life and personal thought since the Reformation has been, and is more and more, into regions into which sacerdotalism can never follow it, much less understand and guide it. The love of truth for its own sake, and as the object of apprehension by the reason of each man, becomes every day more a necessity of man's spirit ; and a Sacer- dotal Church, with its authority and obedience where men are call- ing for light and liberty, and its regulative truths where men ask for absolute truth, entirely fails of meeting the real want. Dogmatic Protestantism, with its infallible letter of Scripture, may not seem to differ in this respect from dogmatic Catholicism ; but, in fact, there is this all-important difference, that in appealing to a book you cannot altogether exclude the exercise of each man's reason for himself on the contents of the book, whereas the authority of a priesthood does effectually prevent any such action of the reason. And so a sacerdotal caste, however wise and good, does finally and fatally make the search for truth as truth impossible. Another of the main tendencies of human thought since the Renaissance and the Reformation is that which Goethe and those who follow him express in the doctrine that the Greek life of nature is the true human life, and that what the Chris- tian faith has to give us is not a new life, but some valuable helps in the more perfect revival of that old Greek life. It is not so ; every experiment to effect this revival, from the days of Leo X. to our own, does but prove how meanly selfish or bow grossly sensual, far below, not above, the life of the old Greeks such a life now must be. It is a new life, a life above that of nature. which we want, and which has been given us in Christ ; but then it is a life which, as St. Paul says, is to fill and redeem the whole Creation. The Christian faith, so taught and believed, can and does meet all that is true in this demand for a perfect life of nature, and which, being true, must be met and satisfied ; but this is not so with a Christianity essentially sacerdotal. Mr. Maurice used to say that the words of the English Ordination Service were not too strong to express the reality of the divine calling of the priest or clergyman ; but then he invariably went on to assert that the ordination. of the lawyer or the soldier, the shopkeeper, or the farmer, or the labourer, was just as real, just as spiritual ; all were conee- crated and all were priests, without any difference of kind in the consecration, whatever their diversity of office. But we see at- once how entirely opposed this is to the idea of a sacerdotal caste, such as De Berulle, De Condren, and St. Vincent desired to form. They believed their consecration to be different in kind from that of all other men, and therefore in vain did they, and those who have succeeded them in their work, endeavour to make that con- secration available for the service of their nation and their Church.