J. B. BOSSUET Autographed letter signed to Henriette-Thérèse d'Albert de Luynes

  
Jacques-Bénigne BOSSUET (1627 - 1704) - Bishop, preacher, and writer, nicknamed the "Eagle of Meaux." In Paris, November 24, 1691. A beautiful letter of spiritual direction.

"You have done very well to receive communion without confessing these troubles to us. Monsieur le Curé always has the same approvals. But I have forbidden you, and I continue to forbid you from confessing these troubles to him or to others, unless you are assured, to the point of being able to swear if necessary, that you have consented to a mortal sin, if it is one; or if it is not one, I do not want you to consult anyone else about this but me, nor to consult me in writing. All I can do is allow you to speak to me about it in person; I will only permit this out of condescension.

I forbid you any eagerness or anxiety for this consultation, which you can make to me - myself, leaving the matter for my great leisure. You see very well after that, my Daughter, that asking me for rules to distinguish feeling from consent, and returning to the other matters you mention in your letters, is to start again with all the things we have already addressed, and I no longer want that; because it adheres too closely to your troubles. Thus, I declare to you that this is the last time I will respond to you on this subject: and as soon as I see the first word about it in your letters, I will burn them immediately, without even reading them; which I do not say to you out of weariness, nor out of disgust with your conduct, but because I see the consequence of allowing you to keep returning to such entanglements under different pretenses. I have received the reproaches of Madame your sister with pleasure: I do not have the leisure to respond to them, and I regret it.

As for my writing, your correction is not bad; but you have guessed too much. The first line naturally meant nothing, except that the meaning was complete at that point; and the second, that it was the end of the whole discourse. The change you made does not alter anything in the meaning; but I prefer it as it was: my intention was for the words of the Apocalypse to serve as a conclusion to everything. It is necessary to encourage Madame de Lusanci, who is indeed acting with a courage that cannot be praised enough. There is much rising up against her, very unjustly; I will forget nothing to support her.

They were the daughters of the first marriage of Louis Charles de Luynes, Marquis of Albert, and Louise Marie Séguier, Marquise of O, thus they are half-sisters of the Countess of Verrue, a renowned bibliophile, born of their father's remarriage to Princess de Rohan-Montbazon. When Port-Royal was destroyed, they found refuge in Jouarre, in the diocese of Meaux, and dedicated themselves to the religious life on May 7 and 8, 1664; the Bishop of Périgueux preached the profession of Marie-Louise and Bossuet, that of Henriette-Thérèse. The monastery of Jouarre was governed by Henriette de Lorraine, aunt of the Mesdames de Luynes, and benefited from an exemption granting it wide powers.

Bossuet would restore balance and obtain his resignation in 1692, our letter is thus concurrent with these events, which constituted "the affair of Jouarre." The paper is slightly browned, with small tears on the margins, and sewing holes along the central fold, see photos.