to charge
himself with the commission. He had then recourse to a cousin, Lewis of
Sales, a priest and canon of Geneva, who obtained the consent of his
parents, but not without the greatest difficulty. His cousin also
obtained for him from the pope, without his knowledge, the provostship
of the church of Geneva, then vacant: but the young clergyman held out a
long time before he would accept of it. At last he yielded, and took
possession of that dignity, and was in a short time after promoted to
holy orders by his diocesan, who, as soon as he was deacon, employed him
in preaching. His first sermons gained him an extraordinary reputation,
and were accompanied with incredible success. He delivered the word of
God with a mixture of majesty and modesty; had a strong, sweet voice,
and an animated manner of gesture, far from any affectation or vanity:
but what chiefly affected the hearts of his hearers was the humility and
unction with which he spoke from the abundance of his own heart. Before
he preached, he always renewed the fervor of his heart before God, by
secret sighs and prayer. He studied as much at the foot of the crucifix
as in books, being persuaded that the essential quality of a preacher is
to be a man of prayer. He received the holy order of priesthood with
extraordinary preparation and devotion, and seemed filled by it with an
apostolic spirit. He every day began his functions by celebrating the
holy mysteries early in the morning, in which, by his eyes and
countenance of fire, the inward flames of his soul appeared. He then
heard the confessions of all sorts of people, and preached. He was
observed to decline with the utmost care whatever might gain him the
applause of men, seeking only to please God, and to advance his glory.
He chiefly resorted to cottages, and country villages, instructing an
infinity of poor people. His piety, his charity to the poor, his
disinterestedness, his care of the sick and those in prison, endeared
him to all: but nothing was so moving as his meekness, which no
provocation was ever capable of disturbing. He conversed among all as
their father, with a fellow-feeling of all their wants, being all to
all. He was indeed naturally of a hasty and passionate temper, as he
himself confesses; and we find in his writings a certain fire and
impetuosity which renders it unquestionable. On this account from his
youth he made meekness his favorite virtue, and by studying in the
school of a God w