Evening star., 1915-03-07

to the Duke de Bourgogne, grandson
Of Louis XIV. and by force OF patience
character of the duke. It was for the
instruction OF his pupil Fenelon wrote
the Adventures of Telemachus."
In 1893 Fenelon's fortunes reached
high mark; his reputation was great
as an educator and writer; he was the
friend of Bossuet and the protege of
Nine. Maintenon; he is elected member
of the French Academy; named Able
de Saint-valery; Archbishop of Cam
brai.
Subsequently he encountered Nine.
Guyon, a woman of excessive sensi-
tiveness and mysti-
Captured by cism. Fenelon. the
nn,;.+;.,, - strong man. permitted
.Aon' himself to be cap
tured by the ardent advocate Of quiet
ism. What was quietism? Mystic doc
trine, which maintained that the love
of God kept the soul inactive and
without effort of it's own. The best
known Of the founders of this doctrine
was the Spanish priest Molinos. who
published books on the subject in the
eighteenth century. Fene1on. in his
Explanation Of Maxims Of the Saints"
approved it. Bossuet, his friend, at
tackled his book, and Fenelon was rele-
gated to the provinces and his book
submitted to the Pope, and the Pope
having censured it Fenelon's disgrace
was consummated.
The eliminating scenes in Telema-
chus. also other documents, give US
the impression that they were written
with view rather to men and things
engaged in the actual war on the
Flanders frontiers than to the wars
which occupied the attention of Fene-
lon from 1901 to 1714.
The moral of Telemachus is universal
and Is fashioned in such manner that it
may be applied to all nations. all times
and all conditions. Fenelon points out
the duties of prince who is king,
warrior, philosopher and legislator. He
teaches the art of leading different ma
tons; the means of preserving peace
with neighboring nations, and at the
same time to possess in the nation
warlike youth ready to defend 1t: to
enrich the country without falling into
luxury: to find the middle between des-
potic power and the disorders of an
archy; he gives rules on agriculture,
commerce, arts, police and the educa
tion of children. Fene1on incorporates
in his poem not only heroic and royal
virtues, but those common to all con-
ditions. In forming the mind and soul
of the Duke de Bourgogne he does not
ties.
Fenelon causes Mentor. the guide and
instructor of Telemachus, to address
the kings and captains. who had met
together to discuss the terms of peace:
Thereafter, under divers names and
under divers chiefs. you will form only
a single people. 1t is thus that the
just government lovers of the man they
have created become the eternal tie of
their perfect accord. All the human
ror ic fop ha
face of the earth. All the peoples are
brothers and should love each other
as such. Woe to the fmpious. who seek
a cruel glory in the blood of their
blood. War is sometimes necessary, it
Is true. but 1t is the shame of the hu-
man race that it should become in
evitable on certain occasions. o kings.
do not say that it should be desired
to acquire glory: true glory is not
prefers his own glory to sentiments of
humanity Is a monster sof pride and
not a man..
On the subject of war Mentor does
not do else than place within reach
of the grandson of
Difference Louis XIV the ordinary
w teaching of the doc
w w s'' tors. Ihat which st.
Augustin said of the wars for spoil he
said of wars of parade and pride: the
first were simply wars of brigands on
a large scale. the second those of a
monstrous comedy. One is no better
than the other and usually go to-
gether.
After his great speech on universal
peace, Mentor is made by Fenelon to
prepare for war. Fenelon is thus the
greatest of idealists and the most ,
realistic of men. AS for the desire to
efface frontiers, to drown the indi-
viduality of divers nations in the unity
of human kind, Fenelon is less so than
another The king" he said later,
after Malplaquet (September II. 1709),
lis not free to risk France for the per-
sonal interest of one of the princes.
his grandsons He is the sovereign
of his kingdom. but for his life only;
he has the usufruct, but not the prop
erty. He cannot dispose of ii. He
has no right to expose the nation to
pass under the yoke of the stranger"
Mentor sees the King of Crete
Udomeneus) in his rage for magniff-
cent constructions. schools, etc, has
ruined Salente. The treasury was
empty. the ministries of agriculture
and commerce unfinished, that of war
was in absolute disorder, the entire
kingdom and the capital at the mercy
of the first sudden attack. Let us re-
store armies said Mentor, by every |
means. permanent armies for fear
that the nation does not soften and