Excerpt from Life, Religious Opinions and Experience of Madame De La Mothe Guyon: Together With Some Account of the Personal History and Religious Opinions of Fenelon, Archbishop of Cambray If few readers will agree with every sentiment recorded in these pages, yet it will not be too much to expect that every one should admire the fervent zeal, marked and steady consistency, as well as leading and striking ability of the subject of them. Madame Guyon must claim our sympathy in her sufferings, and if in any age it could be said that the world was not worthy of her, especially it would be so in that of Louis XIV. The few dazzling lights in that dark age serve to exhibit its dense darkness. A depraved Court, with intense profession of religion; a dissolute and extravagant nobility, with a beguiled and besotted populace; military glory sought abroad, while at home La Belle France saw the same soldiery striking their swords into the hearts of the freest and most faithful citizens, and thus staining every honour in the detestable butchery of the Dragonnades; dishonour at last drooping its withering blight over every promising field; every energy and every sin; every profession and every vice; such preachers as have perhaps since the apostles' days never been surpassed for impassioned vehemence and power of oratory, and yet crowds unrepentant, as if to shew that man's heart cannot be softened but by the Holy Spirit's influences; narrowness and profusion; little-mindedness and vaulting ambition, - all these, amongst many others, were traits that marked the age in which lived, and preached, and suffered, and died Madame Guyon. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.