Fénelon (1651–1715)

François de Salignac de la Mothe, more commonly known as François Fénelon, was a French Roman Catholic theologian, poet and writer. He is best remembered as the author of The Adventures of Telemachus, a scabrous attack on the French monarchy, first published in 1699. Fénelon was born at the château de Fénelon, in Sainte-Mondane, Périgord. He was appointed Archbishop of Cambrai in 1695. However the publication of his Explanation of the Sayings of the Saints on the Interior Life was condemned and Fénelon retired.

When Fénelon was Almoner to Louis XIV his majesty was astonished one Sunday to find, instead of the usual crowded congregation, only himself and his attendants, the priest, and the other officers of the chapel. "What is the meaning of this?" said the king. The prelate answered, "I caused it to be given out, that your majesty did not attend chapel today, in order that you might see, who came here to worship God, and who to flatter the King."

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