zed, for ladies of rank, meetings
for purposes of prayer and religious conversation. The Duchess of
Beauvilliers, the Duchess of Bethune, the Countess of Guiche, the
Countess of Chevreuse, and many others, with their husbands, became
her devoted adherents.

According to Mme. Guyon, prayer should lose the character of
supplication, and become simply the silence of a soul absorbed in God.
"Why are not simple folks so taught? Shepherds, keeping their flocks,
would have the spirit of the old anchorites; and laborers, whilst
driving the plow, would talk happily with God. In a little while, vice
would be banished and the kingdom of God would be realized on earth."
Thus, her doctrine was directly opposite to the theories of the
Jansenists.

At that time, 1687 to 1688, all religious movements, however quiet,
were condemned at Rome; and the teachings of Mme. Guyon were found to
differ very little from those of the Spanish priest Molinas. The first
arrest, that of her friend Lacombe, was soon followed by that of
Mme. Guyon herself, by royal order; she was released through the
intercession of Mme. de Maintenon, who was fascinated by her to the
extent of permitting her to teach her doctrines at Saint-Cyr, Upon the
appearance of her _Method of Prayer_, an examination was instituted
by Bossuet and Fenelon, who marked out a few passages as erroneous--a
procedure to which she submitted. However, Bossuet himself wrote a
treatise against her _Method of Prayer_, in which he cast reflections
upon her character and conduct; to that work Fenelon refused to
subscribe, which antagonistic proceeding brought on the great quarrel
between those two absolute ecclesiasts. In fact, Fenelon became imbued
with the doctrines of Mme. Guyon.

She was imprisoned at various times; and when a letter was received
from Lacombe, who had been imprisoned at Vincennes for a long time,
exhorting her to repent of their criminal intimacy, Mme. Guyon's cause
was hopeless. She was sent to the Bastille, her son was dismissed
from the army, and many of her friends were banished. In 1702 she was
released from prison and banished to Diziers; she passed the remainder
of her life in complete retirement at Blois.

Fenelon had written a treatise, _Maxims of the Saints_, which was
said to favor Mme. Guyon's doctrines, and which was sent to Rome for
examination. He defined her doctrine of divine love in the following
maxim, which was condemned at Rome:

"There is an habit