stianity, the
explanation of this kiss; it is Bossuet, Bossuet himself, of whom I
would ask it:

"Obey, and strive finally to enter into the disposition of Jesus in
communing, which is the disposition of harmony, joy and love; the whole
gospel proclaims it. Jesus wishes that we may be with Him; He wishes to
rejoice and He wishes us to rejoice with Him: He has given Himself...."
etc.

I continue the reading of the condemned passage:

"Then he recited the _Misereatur_ and the _Indulgentiam_, dipped his
right thumb in the oil and began to give extreme unction. First upon the
eyes, that had so coveted all worldly pomp; then upon the nostrils,
greedy for warm breezes and amorous perfumes; then upon the mouth, that
had uttered lies, that curled with pride and cried out in lewdness; then
upon the hands, that had delighted in sensual touches, and finally upon
the soles of feet, so swift of yore when she was running to satisfy her
desires, and that now would walk no more.

"The cure wiped his fingers, threw the bit of cotton dipped in oil into
the fire, and came and sat down by the dying woman, to tell her that she
must now blend her sufferings with those of Jesus Christ, and abandon
herself to the Divine mercy.

"Finishing his exhortations, he tried to place in her hand a blessed
candle, symbol of the celestial glory with which she was soon to be
surrounded. Emma, too weak, could not close her fingers, and the taper,
but for Monsieur Bournisien, would have fallen to the ground.

"However, she was not quite so pale, and her face had an expression of
serenity as if the sacrament had cured her.

"The priest did not fail to point this out; he even explained to Bovary
that the Lord sometimes prolonged the life of persons when he thought it
meet for their salvation; and Charles remembered the day when, so near
death, she had received the communion. Perhaps there was no need to
despair, he thought."

Now, when a woman dies and the priest goes to give her extreme unction,
if one portrays that mystic scene and translates for us the sacramental
words with scrupulous fidelity, they say that he has touched upon holy
things; that he has put a rash hand on sacred matters; because to the
_deliquisti per oculos, per os, per aurem, per manus et per pedes_ he
has added the sin which each of the organs has committed. But we are not
the first to walk in this path. M. Sainte-Beuve, in a book which you
know, has also a scene of extreme unc