890): "Nous laisserons a declarier ceste matiere, comment se doit et peut faire guerre.

He even reproves in one passage too persistent investigation of scriptural truths (11. 811-814): "C'est curiosité de vouloir ainsi tout encerchier et comprendre les jugemens de Dieu; ce que ung subgiet ou un escolier ne doibt pas faire d'un aultre home mortel qui est son maistre et son seigneur."

When one thinks of the many pages of the Summa of Saint Thomas Aquinas, and of the many chapters in the works of Albertus Magnus which are devoted to the discussion of angels, Jean Gerson seems but moderately scholastic when, after saying "Parlons un peu des benoits angles," he restricts himself to the following short equation (11. 851853): "Une legion contient vi.m vi.c lxvi; et quelle est la puissance de telle multitude [xii. legions] d'angles quant un seul en occist C. iiiixx v.m de Senacherib?"

A like moderation is shown in the discussion of other scholastic problems.

The desire for many divisions in a sermon, with the symmetrical arrangement of the different parts-another mark of the thirteenth century—is not very noticeable here, although the preacher begins with the statement (11. 174-176) that he is dividing the text into twenty-four parts according to the twenty-four hours which are in the day and night. A number of divisions occur, but not to the great detriment of the sermon; a greater fault lies in the choice of subject matter from the great mass of erudition which the Chancellor possessed. At moments, when we meet some unusually abstruse argument in the sermon, we are tempted to repeat the words of La Bruyère, used so aptly by M. Langlois with regard to the preachers of the thirteenth century: “Il fallait savoir prodigieusement pour prêcher si mal."'14 This same wide reading, as well as an austere conscience, saved him from the great fault of many of his contemporaries, whose sermons were compiled from the numerous manuals for the use of preachers, which appeared in the fourteenth century-the Ars faciendi sermones, the Ars dilatandi sermones, the Scala coeli, etc., or even the well-known Dormi secure, which was produced about seven years before the date of the Ad Deum vadit. It is true that we find some ten exempla, but this number is small for such a long sermon, and in the case of each exemplum skill is shown in its use.

Nor does Gerson follow the custom of his century in attempting to give an appearance of erudition to his sermon by quoting frequently the Church fathers. In fact, in one of his letters to the students of the

14 Revue des Deux Mondes, Vol. CXV, p. 186.

Collège de Navarre, he warns them specifically against this prevalent habit of the time.15 In our sermon, the most of his quotations are introduced simply by such phrases as (1. 870): "Vouldrent dire aucuns; (1. 880) Selon les docteurs; (1. 1863) Il a esté revelé depuis; (1. 1914) Dient les docteurs; (1. 1929) Selon que dit une glose; (1. 1959) Ensuiant le dit d'aucuns; (1. 1997) Selon les expositeurs, etc."

The following authorities are named; in each case once only: (L. 1004) Saint Anthoine; (1. 2214) Josephus; (1.2318) Grégoire de Tours; (1. 2722) Saint Bernard; (1. 3031) Saint Augustin. If one compares these five names with the number of names cited in the sermons of the preceding two centuries, or with those in Maillard's sermon on the Passion, of a half a century later, the difference is striking.

When Gerson, likewise, is not sure of his sources, or is calling upon his imagination for striking descriptions (and these descriptions are usually his finest efforts), he indicates his lack of sources frankly with such words as (11. 21-24): "O doulce mere, je eslieve maintenant les yeulx de ma pensee et regarde, maintenant a la lumiere de vraye foy et ou livre des euvangiles, maintenant en l'umbrage de conjecture prouvable et devote estimation, quelle fut la departie . . .;" (11. 1308-1310): "Et quer je n'en ay point d'escripture certaine, je useray de conjectures prouvablez, . . . sans presumptueuse assertion.

Another pleasing feature of the sermon is the absence of the coarseness peculiar to much of the popular preaching of the time. Popular preaching, founded by Maurice de Sully (d. 1196), and given a strong impulse forward by the foundation of the mendicant orders of Franciscans and Dominicans in the thirteenth century, was an acknowledged fact in the fourteenth century. By the time of Gerson it had gone from a state of freedom to license, and was often buffoonish and trivial, if not vulgar. We discover nothing of this nature in the Ad Deum vadit; it is the work of a high-minded man. The strong points of popular preaching, however, sincerity and boldness of speech, while present in this sermon, are more apparent in the sermons which the Chancellor addressed to the "simple gens" of the church of Saint Jean en Grève.16

15 Ellies Dupin, op. cit., Vol. I, col. 106.

16 An interesting bit of testimony to the sincerity and straightforwardness of Jean Gerson occurs in the farce of the sixteenth century, "Les Théologastres," in which Gerson is praised for his close adherence to the Scriptures (Le Théâtre français avant la Renaissance, par Edouard Fournier, Paris, 1872, p. 420):

Foy

Point ne veux de leurs ergotis.

Bien me bailleroit guerison
Le Textuaire Jehan Gerson;

Car il me fault, c'est ma nature,

The fondness of the popular preachers for macaronics produced small effect on Jean Gerson, at least if one judges from the Ad Deum vadit; we have but six, Latin phrases in the body of the sermon, and these six are introduced in a natural and fitting manner (LI. 475, 487, 492, 1496, 2224, 3164). The last five of these quotations may be used as testimony in the settlement of the much-discussed question as to whether some of the early sermons were preached in the macaronic style in which they appear in the manuscripts, or whether the scribe intermingled, the berto two languages, because, in copying a French sermon into Latin, he was unable to give the Latin equivalents for colloquial French, or on the contrary, in transcribing a Latin sermon into French he failed to find French equivalents for the Latin. The fact that these five Latin phrases (Ll. 487, 492, 1496, 2224, 3164) are preceded or followed in the sermon by the French equivalents would seem to support the more generally accepted theory that, with due allowance for exceptional cases, we possess most sermons in the form in which they were preached."

291

The influence of the classic Latin writers appears but slightly in the Ad Deum vadit although Gerson had read widely in their works, and used quotations from them freely in his various other writings. His greatest “Discours”, in fact, the Vival Rex, is overburdened with classic allusions, and his famous plea to Parliament in the affair of the Duke of Savoisy is written almost entirely in Ciceronian style.,

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Jean Gerson was born in an age of formulas; if he had been a conuslugo .901 90} do Loeviq istiqoq ani to HOME OF ISHBOSE 2201 quote s novin b Le texte de saincté Escriptured bobamot og tilos ng salonm'd 1 arba Sans ergo, sans quod, ne, quia tot uit yd brown singati boghol woudos do 25 Théologastres.ft ni zawinino bas eng mort obsi ti Maistre Jean Gerson n'ares.ia dtasetamol silt ui toot ti bivit bes-Care c'est un malvais papalistegooi! of niobsed to state B tibes med 1. Sa doctrine plus ne consiste[rom Tovib 5W Marlay tof raluq q to emio Sur les apostres de Sorbonne-il a lo dtour sit ei ti

An examination of other sermons of our author produces still stronger evi dence of this view as, for example, in the sermon Adorabunt eum omwas regesi iir which the intermingling is clearly intentional, and occurs frequently; the following example illustrates the usage in this sermon: (MS. B. N. fonds fr. 974, fol. 115′):

“Estoient bien enseignés les troys toys qui d'Orient, a tel jour comme huy, sont venus en Bethleen pour adourer leur Dieu, qui nouvellement avoit prins chair humaine pour nostre redemption. Desquielz, principalement, avoit long temps devant dit le prophete: Reges tharsus et insule, et cetera," et iterum ibidem theuma propositum; adorabunt eum omnes reges terre. Mais ou trouveront ces troys roys [roy] leur Dieu Jhesus? Respond l'euvangile que ce fut avecquez la vierge Marie: Invenerunt, inquit euvangelista, puerum cum Maria, matre ejus. Qui leur monstra le chemin, qui les adreça? Ce fut estoile, clere et resplendissant: Stella antecedebat eos donec venirent ad locum ubi erat pack

:

temporary tof Bossueto or of the contrary, if he had lived in the twelfth century with Saint Bernard, he would haye been an eloquent preacher. It is doubtful whether he made much effort to cultivate a pleasing style;i he dived in the wrong century for bratorical effeots. Ellies Dupin refers to his style (evidently in his Latin works) as being rather neglected, and rough, saying that he' aimed at results: rather than at pleasing, effects, but that theidvorks of his later years show. that he was capable of literary excellence His short sermons in French ad usum populi, are written in a familiar style which is pleasing but does not show the results of careful work, while his, more ambitious sermons, such as the Ad Deum vadit, written for presentation in court circles, show care and thought; but applied to content rather than to style. pinna Tito »Z.

The sincerity of the language, and not the style, impresses [the reader of the Ad Deum vadit; the writer makes no attempt at a display, of learning, there seems to be no desire to amuse his audience or, to flatter royalty, but rather a genuine wish to teach moral truths, to instill fear in evildoers, to move the hearts of his hearers to contrition and repentance, as he frequently says, himself, esmouvoir des cueurs a) devotioni: His speeches are bold; often momentarily forgetting his erudition, he hits straight at the mark with a vigor and directness which are surprisingly, courageous when we think of the imposing audience; which was assembled before this man only thirty nine years old: Si [tu] n'as excusation quelconque, se tu ne cesses de mal faire, que tu, ne soies dampnez comme Judas" (11, 609-611), was a bold thing to say to an evil-doer like Queen Isabeau de Bavière. And the royal courtiers. and the councillors of Parliament, seated, before this preacher, might well feel the sting in passages such as (11. 1121-1131) Des lors regnoit en la court des evesquez flaterie, faulse et fainte, qui ne servoit fors de complaire aux plus grans. Des lors, devotez gens, flaterie) grans.,. og persecuta honteusement en la personne de celuy qui est mesmez yerité, et depuis ne cessa en pluseurs lieux faire le semblable... en especial, devant seigneurs et curiaulx, et souvent devant, bourgeois.",

Flo(LI, 1236-1241) Celuy qui juge, qui n'a point failly, est de legier trop rigoureux a punir aultruy.-"Jamaiz," dit il, je n'eusse fait ainsi ;[ onequez pe fiz un tel et tel meffait, tant lait et tant horrible. Et les ne ༈ meschans orgueilleux ne veoient pas que souvent ilz font pis, et ne fust que en telle fole et presumptueuse reputacion d'eulx mesmez....

76

T.

Gerson suffered greatly from the abuses, which were prevalent in the Church at that time, and did not refrain from criticising them frankly, One of the principal reasons f for his expressed desire to resign the Chancellorship just previous to the date of this sermon was the Ellies Dupin, apreity!Volt, CLXIV 2107 39 roqquids zo solncy enor sa

discouragement he experienced from the failure of his efforts towards correcting some of the evils prevalent among members of the Clergy. His touch in the sermon is not gentle when he mentions them:

(Ll. 866-868): "Ce sergent de l'evesque, qui par aventure s'aprouchoit le plus prez de tenir Jhesu Crist, come il advient que les serviteurs de gens d'eglise sont a la foiz les pires.

...

(Ll. 578-587): "Judas embloit les aumosnes et biens des povres je vous demande se aucunes gens d'eglise ou aucuns executeurs de testament font aussi ou pis? . . . Judas receut le precieux corps de nostre seigneur en estat de pechié mortel . . . a Pasques, je vous pry, ou entre les presbtres chacun jour, on trouvera milz telx."

Another straightforward, human speech, in which all allegories and scholasticism are laid aside, and plain-speaking is indulged in, occurs after the scene describing the patience of Christ when struck in the face by a bystander in the court of Annas. Here again we may, not be far amiss in feeling that the preacher was thinking of the high-tempered Isabeau de Bavière, or possibly of Jean Sans Peur, the grandfather of Charles the Bold, famed for his fits of temper (ll. 1151-1156): “Advise ycy, o cuer impacient, cuer groz et enflez, qui ne peuz, maiz ne veulx souffrir une dure parolle que incontinent tu ne deviengnez yreulx et as tes contenance semblables a ung furieux. Tu maudiz, tu jurez, tu renyez, tu menacez ou fiers, tu rons ou gettez ce que tu tiens ou ce que tu encontrez, et t'en prens encores a Dieu. . . .'

With all this freedom of speech, the Ad Deum vadit, as has been said, does not contain the coarse passages so common in the contemporary popular sermons and in those of his successors, Olivier Maillard and Michel Menot. Some passages seem perhaps too realistic for modern standards, but the power of a description such as the one where Christ is being driven along the street by the soldiers after his arrest must be admitted. It is not difficult to imagine the feelings of sorrow and indignation which swept over the members of the congregation when the scene was brought before their eyes with such realism and force. This passage is one of the strongest in the sermon, and worth being given at length:

(Ll. 749-764): "Non pourtant tu te glorifiez en ta malice, o maldicte larronnaille et garçonnaille! Or te tenons nous bien,' dy tu a Jesus, 'a ce coup ne nous eschaperas tu point. Or sus! or sus! Haste toy, delivre toy, avance toy.' Les aultres le frappoient du pié, les aultres des genoux, les aultres le tyroient par les cheveulx ou par le menton, en l'escharnissant, en moquant, en souvent se vantant: -'Or vous tenons nous bien, beau maistre! il vous fauldra bien sermonner se vous voulez eschapper et vous voulez estre delivrez! -Alumez yci,