us that the gate of heaven is small, that the road which leads to it is narrow, and that few can find it.
It is evident, therefore, that no one need go astray if he but follow the right path.
[Flechier, Esprit, Bishop of Nimes, and Sacred Orator, was born on the 10th of June 1632, at Perues. He enjoyed a considerable share in the patronage which Louis XIV. extended to all men of letters. He died at Montpellier, on February 16, 17 10, aged 78, regretted by all who resided in his diocese. His funeral orations are models of eloquence.]
To cure the blindness which almost always accompanies prosperity, the surest remedy is to be found as in the case of Tobias* gall of the fish, that is to say, in afflictions and chastisements.
When a violent fever will, as it were, liquefy your bones; when you lie on your bed prostrate and full of grievous pain, you will then see that body for which you have so often risked your soul, which you have clothed with so much luxury, that you have pampered with so many delicacies, is but a fragile vessel which the slightest accident might shatter, and which, of itself, may be broken.
When a preconcerted calumny or any underhand conspiracy will cause you to fall from a position to which you ambitiously aspired, and which position you may have kept up by intrigue, you will at last be convinced of the nothingness and instability of human greatness.
When age or some unforeseen calamity will efface that beauty which attracted many admirers, and which in your heart you wished to preserve, you would be forced to confess that all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
When sent adrift by a capricious master, or betrayed by a cowardly false friend, you will naturally feel contempt
