and exalted
Christian. There was no one, in those stormy times, more illustrious
as a warrior, statesman, theologian, and orator. "We can not," says a
French writer, "indicate a species of merit in which he did not excel,
except that he did not advance his own fortune." When but twelve years
of age, a priest exhorted him to beware of the opinions of the
Protestants.

"I am resolved," Philip replied, firmly, "to remain steadfast in what
I have learned of the service of God. When I doubt any point, I will
diligently examine the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles."

His uncle, the Archbishop of Rheims, advised him to read the fathers
of the Church, and promised him the revenues of a rich abbey and the
prospect of still higher advancement if he would adhere to the
Catholic religion. Philip read the fathers and declined the bribe,
saying,

"I must trust to God for what I need."

Almost by a miracle he had escaped the Massacre of St. Bartholomew and
fled to England. The Duke of Anjou, who had become King of Poland,
wishing to conciliate the Protestants, wrote to Mornay in his poverty
and exile, proposing to him a place in his ministry. The noble man
replied,

"I will never enter the service of those who have shed the blood of my
brethren."

He soon joined the feeble court of the King of Navarre, and adhered
conscientiously, through all vicissitudes, to the Protestant cause.
Henry IV. was abundantly capable of appreciating such a character, and
he revered and loved Mornay. His services were invaluable to Henry,
for he seemed to be equally skillful in nearly all departments of
knowledge and of business. He could with equal facility guide an army,
construct a fortress, and write a theological treatise. Many of the
most important state papers of Henry IV. he hurriedly wrote upon the
field of battle or beneath his wind-shaken tent. Henry III., on one
occasion, had said to him,

"How can a man of your intelligence and ability be a Protestant? Have
you never read the Catholic doctors?"

"Not only have I read the Catholic doctors," Mornay replied, "but I
have read them with eagerness; for I am flesh and blood like other
men, and I was not born without ambition. I should have been very glad
to find something to flatter my conscience that I might participate in
the favors and honors you distribute, and from which my religion
excludes me; but, above all, I find something which fortifies my
faith, and the world must yield t