IV. FENELON AND HIS EDUCATIONAL VIEWS.

FENELON, (Francis De Salignac De La Motte,) next to Bossuet, the most prominent French divine during the reign of Louis XIV, made himself eminent also by his active educational labors and especially as tutor of the princes, whose training he conducted with such extraordinary skill that no one who has ever occupied a similar position can be compared with him. Eminently fitted for the duties of the office by the comprehensiveness of his knowledge, he also possessed the clear, far-seeing vision of a statesman and the love enduring every test, of a father. Conscious that with the management of the three princes the future of France was in a large degree intrusted to him, he devoted to his office all the rich resources of his intellect, all the powers of his soul, all the fruits of unceasing thought and a widely varied experience. And the results of his exertions were in truth, in one respect at least, surprising, and what he did in order to effect these results, though always unassuming, for that reason deserves passing notice, and is also assuredly of importance as showing the condition of educational matters in his times. We propose to give briefly a sketch of his labors in this field, leaving out of view all that relates to his position in the church and to his theological controversies.

Fénélon belonged to an old family of southern France, and was born, August 6th, 1651, at the Chateau Fénélon in Perigord. His father, a man of much intelligence, watched the education of this son with much solicitude, who though of a delicate constitution, soon manifested brilliant talents; and he had the pleasure of seeing his remarkably susceptible but also equally remarkably thoughtful boy make the most rapid progress. When twelve years old he had already a tolerable knowledge of Greek, spoke the Latin language with fluency, and had read such authors as were accessible to him. Being intended for the church, he studied for several years at the University of Cahors, and thence came to Paris to reside with his uncle, the Marquis Antoine de Fénélon. Here the youth of

eighteen received most flattering applause as a preacher, but willingly followed the prudent advice of his uncle, and withdrew from the empty bustle of the world to the theological Seminary of St. Sulpice, where he spent five years in preparation for his profession as priest. After ordination he resumed his public labors, and devoted himself especially to the religious wants of the poor and sick. He was then placed by Harlay, archbishop of Paris, at the head of a society, composed of young ladies of the highest rank, which had been formed for the catholic education of Protestant girls. He continued in this position for ten years, a mild and impartial adviser of both teachers and pupils, their fatherly friend and guide. His work upon "Female Education" (De l'Education des Filles,) which has gone through many editions, and been translated into the principal languages of Europe, was one result of this ministry. This work has its deficiencies and defects; but it abounds in excellent and truthful observations upon the character of children, is full of practical directions for the culture of the mind and heart, and as one of the first attempts to discuss systematically the problems and peculiarities of female education, will always be esteemed a remarkable performance. When Louis XIV, ever desirous of the conversion of the protestants within his kingdom, appointed Fénélon to the mission in Poitou, it was evident to all who knew him, that no one united to the knowledge necessary for such an agency, as much of the power of love and so delicate and reliable tact, as he had thus, as superior, of the "Nouvelles Catholiques," fitted himself in the most suitable manner for such a mission. But the duty which he entered upon, was a most difficult one. The protestant population in the province of La Rochelle, which had been committed to the care of Fénélon in connection with his intimate friend, the Abbé de Langeron, and the afterwards renowned Fleury, was firm and decided in its faith, and having been embittered by repeated harsh measures, was little accessible to the instruction and prayers even of a Fénélon. As he entered upon this task, appeared his book upon the "Office of the Pastor" (Sur la Ministere des Pasteurs.) On his return to Paris he advised the king to patience and indulgence towards his protestant subjects, and then entered again upon his humble duties among the "Nouvelles Catholiques." Having now attained to the maturity of manhood, he seemed still desirous of avoiding the paths of ambition.

But when it became necessary to select tutors for these sons of the Dauphin, the dukes of Burgundy, Anjou, and Berri, Fénélon could not be overlooked. He had written his work upon "Female Education," for the Duchess de Beauvilliers, who educated her chil

dren with the most faithful attention and truly christian scrupulousness, and the husband of this excellent woman, who had been placed as governor over the princes by their royal grandfather, sought to obtain the services of Fénélon, above all others, in their education. The scruples of those who believed that they saw in him a marked Jansenist, were overcome by Bossuet, and his election was the source of great and wide-spread joy and was made the subject of a prize essay by the Academy of Angers.

Several distinguished men were associated with Fénélon in this important work. The Duke de Beauvilliers was in every respect a man of sterling character, of exemplary piety and unalterable fidelity, and he ever preserved a most happy degree of harmony among his co-laborers, Fénélon, the Abbés de Langeron, Fleury, and de Beaumont, with the Jesuit, de Valois, a confessor to the young princes:— who were all placed under his general direction, but were permitted by him to freely act, each in his own peculiar way. Unlimited confidence was placed by him in Fénélon, who soon became the soul of the course of training that was pursued, and devoted to it all his powers of mind and heart, undisturbed among the rapidly shifting scenes and amusements of court life.

The problem that first arose was a very difficult one. The oldest of the three princes Duke Louis of Burgundy, had passed his seventh year when Fénélon became his tutor, in September, 1689. He was endowed with noble talents, but unfortunately was also subject to frequent attacks of ungovernable passion, quickly succeeded by a defiant obstinacy which was strenghtened by the consciousness of his princely rank; with a capacity for every excellence, he was still in continual danger of sacrificing all that is most noble to the indulgence of a hasty temper; the firmness of his attendants provoked him their indulgence fostered his pride; by injudicious management he could be made the slave of pernicious habits and degenerate into thorough wickedness. So much the more difficult. was Fénélon's task. He perceived immediately that he must win the affections of his pupil before he could attempt his mental culture; and this he succeeded in doing, while at the same time, with a patience calm and invariable, and that skillfully took advantage of every favorable moment, he checked the boy's excessive excitability, caused him to feel that his ebullitions of passion were debasing and injurious, and brought more and more home to his proud young heart the necessity of acknowledging himself as in every will and deed opposed to the Lord of lords, before whom human greatness and nobility are nothing, and only humility striving for purity and

truth, can stand. In this Fénélon was aided by a natural ability of using in manifold forms a boundless store of excellent instruction; pleasant stories, simple allegories, sprightly dialogues, mythology and history, the writings of the poets, orators, and philosophers were employed for the purpose; and if we examine the almost endless collection of tables, fables, and conversations which were written by Fénélon for his pupil's benefit, it will be immediately seen with what care and diligence he conducted his work, and with what accuracy and distinctness he strove to bring out every point in the different exercises. At the same time he knew how to associate various different exercises with his instruction, requiring the prince sometimes to translate what was given him, sometimes to repeat it orally, to imitate it in different ways, and thus fix it so much the more firmly in mind. But he was still little inclined to hasten by special incentives the intellectual development of the boy, which in one as gifted and with a mind as remarkably active could have been easily excited to an excessive degree; only while he brought to the notice of his susceptible pupil, in conversation, in his sports, at table, and in his walks, the most pleasing objects judiciously related and in proper succession, he strengthened his habits of attention, induced the power of connected thought, and a certain degree of independence in the employment of his perceptions. The former course was followed by him in the earliest oral exercises. The boy soon took great pleasure in the study of Latin, which Fénélon conducted by first forming for him sentences from the simplest elements, and then deducing from them the value of the language, in order to lead him on to observe the peculiarities both of the Latin and the French.

Under such treatment the boy's powers developed with great rapidity. He comprehended with care and retained with firm hold whatever he once understood. His judgment was accurate and subtle, his fancy lively and rich, and hence he applied himself with growing earnestness to the abstruse and also with wonderful eagerness to the comprehensive. At first, by only grasping at that which was above him, as if in flight, he soon acquired a delight in going methodically forward, and therefore made only the more rapid advances. His character also became continually more settled. As, however, an excessive vivacity gave place to a very striking degree of bashfulness, arising from his desire to avoid errors of thoughtlessness which gradually grew into an aversion to any appearance in public, Fénélon took special pains again to accustom the prince to associate freely with others, while his sympathy for others' suffer

ings, which had sometimes manifested itself in violent outbursts of feeling, Fénélon had also the skill to transform into a noble benevolence. Moreover, at a later period, the duke was always very prone to watch himself closely, and to receive calmly any unpleasant truths that might be told him. He manifested a strong susceptibility to religious influences, whence he soon drew a controlling motive for the avoidance of wrong-doing, as well as for the growing strong in the right.

Of course as his education advanced, it embraced both geography and history, and here the land, of which the prince was to become ruler, was treated of with such accuracy as was becoming and possible in the want of all apparatus of instruction. By degrees his studies were extended to include philosophical subjects. But here Fénélon did not permit himself to indulge in lofty speculations; he presented only what might seem to bring into close connection the knowledge that had already been gained, accustom his pupil to continuous thought, enable him to take a broader view of the domain of knowledge and of life, and reveal to him new paths and new limits. The course of instruction seems to have had a historical character. The prince was to be taught how the errors of the ancient philosophers were not only errors of the understanding but of pride overstepping the bounds that God has ordained, and how, nevertheless, they all concurred in great truths, though indeed the noblest were able to furnish only weak supports and motives to a moral life. This again afforded an easy transition to a more accurate estimation of the excellency of Christianity, and it appears that the prince, having attained to greater independence of action, though ready to accept unquestioned whatever was taught under the authority of the church, still asked for a clearer and perfect understanding of its doctrines which Fénélon sought to effect by defensive arguments drawn from historic apologetic statements. [See his "Letter's upon the different objects of Metaphysics and Religion."]

But while he lead on his pupil, whose appreciation of the truth was continually growing more acute, to these fields of knowledge, he sought to make himself also at home in the domain of the fine He had himself endeavored, by intercourse with the painter Mignard, who often had his residence in Versailles, to gain a deeper insight into the elementary rules of art, and the special peculiarities of the old and the modern masters, and how skillfully he now introduce the prince into the world of beauty, is shown by the two