Florence Mac Carthy

FUNERAL SERMON

‘Man born of a Woman, living for a short time, is filled with many miseries — He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down — he passeth away like a shadow, and continueth not in the same state.’ (JOB, CHAP. 14.)

IT is, My Brethren, a striking instance of the kindness, as well as of the wisdom of the Sovereign Ruler of this world, that its blessings are but few, and that they should be held by a very precarious tenure: We are intended only to sojourn here a little time, and then pass away. — Man, says our text, cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down — he fleeth like a shadow, and continueth not. By the unsteady nature of terrestrial enjoyments, it was meant to wean us from any inordinate attachment to them — and thereby to prepare us, for what we are likely to encounter during the course of our progress here, EVIL, and what we are with certainty to meet at its termination, DEATH.

In effect, My Brethren, in this eventful history of human life, can we turn over a single page, that is not blotted by some signal calamity; and from the rapid and wide wasting increase of wickedness and impiety, do not such calamities at this period, more than ever abound? When from the place in which I now stand, I look around me, and can trace in every countenance the expressive eloquence of silent sorrow, when I perceive every breast heave a sigh of sympathy, when your very garments, the sable emblems of grief, proclaim your concern for the unfortunate Monarch, whose untimely departure we are this day assembled to commemorate, and whose hapless fate we in common deplore — a Monarch, whose life, though closed before its natural period, was a mine rich in benefits to those over whom he was appointed to reign — when I reflect, My Brethren, that in the portrait of this exalted mortal thus prematurely cut off, from the earliest period of his chequered existence, to the last sentiments he was allowed to utter, beneficence was the characteristic feature — that in him goodness was an instinct before reason had time to unfold itself — that the spontaneous benignity of the child was regulated and improved by the deliberate wisdom of the man — and that in all situations and at all times, he was the father and the friend of his people — when, in fine,  p.5 I reflect on the character, and think on the catastrophe of Louis, most truly stiled the unfortunate, I am, I confess, obliged to summon both reason and religion to my aid, to enable me to check the rising murmurs of my affected heart — and from the emotions, which in common with every one who hears me, I find myself unable to conceal or suppress, I feel disheartened, and indeed disqualified for the melancholy duty I have undertaken! But I profess not to be the historian of Louis, as I am destitute of the materials necessary for such a purpose, and tho' I had them, I am destitute of the leisure requisite for so extensive an undertaking. — A few concise observations on his character and conduct previous and during the calamitous events of his reign, and which alone the shortness of the time would admit, I propose now to deliver. — May they make a due impression on your minds, and then my object is attained!

Louis XVI. was born to a situation in this life, that all people think enviable, and that most people call happy. Fortune seemed to smile propitious at his birth, and all external circumstances conspired. Nothing appeared to be wanting to promote and secure his felicity. Destined to sway the sceptre of a monarchy, equally powerful, respected, and extensive, then among the first in rank of European states — ordained to rule over a people, whose attachment to monarchy was proverbial, and whose affection for their monarch was, I may say, idolatrous — a people, who beheld their sovereign rather in the light of a subordinate and tutelar deity — who cherished his person, reverenced his authority, and adored even his caprices — a people, with whom the very name of the King was a national watch-word, sufficient in an instant to arouse the whole kingdom to arms, and Royalty the centre, around which they would rally and assemble — a people, in fine, whose principle was obedience, whose pride was submission, and whose point of honor was loyalty. Providence! could it have been thought — shall history attest, and will posterity believe — that at the close of the 18th century, among such a people as the French — such a monarch as Louis XVI — at  p.7 noon-day — in the midst of his capital, perished on a scaffold by the hands of the common executioner — that humanity was no less outraged in the form, than justice was violated in the act of his execution — that when the fell deed was done, the spectators once polished, courteous, and humane, but now become brutal, savage, and ferocious; regardless of decency, and lost to all shame, rent the air with shouts of exultation — that the soldiers of France, disgracing their valor, stained their pikes, and its females, casting off their sex, dyed their handkerchiefs in his blood! Here indeed we may exclaim with St. Paul, how inscrutable thy judgments O Lord, how unsearchable thy ways — our duty it is to bow to the decrees of Heaven — it is not for human understanding to explore the depths of infinite wisdom — nor should our limited comprehension presume to grasp its boundless extent! Such however, as I have described, were the French at the birth of Louis.

The eldest born of the heir apparent of Louis XV. on being ushered into this world of woe, from the unfeigned and universal gladness which his birth inspired, it would seem as though he were a second child of the promise. He was greeted by the acclamations of all France; from Flanders to the Pyrenees, and from Brittany to Alsace — he was hailed by the  p.8 people as a welcome addition to the Bourbon race, by whom they then gloried in being governed — and by all was considered as a precious blossom of that tree, on which the nation seemed to have ingrafted its happiness. And never in any instance did he belie the auspicious presages which were formed of him at his birth — nor from that moment to the ill-fated hour in which he was cut off, did he ever disappoint the public expectation.

Though born to a crown, and bred amid the dangerous quick-sands of a court, in whatever capacity we consider him, whether in the discharge of the numerous, complicated, and important duties of his public station, or in the more contracted sphere of private life, we shall find his conduct equally exemplary and irreproachable. Averse to those immoralities, which had long disgraced the court of France, and holding in abhorrence that false refinement, that has elevated gallantry into an accomplishment, and by putting a varnish on vice, has tended to conceal its deformity; he married at an early age, a princess of the house of Austria, to whom from the date of their union, he continued firmly and unalterably attached. Thus setting a good example, where good example was so much wanting, and discountenancing licentiousness where  p.9 licentiousness was so much in vogue, suffering no mistress at Versailles, where in the preceding reigns a mistress was ever to be seen, he prevented iniquity from displaying itself openly, and forced it to retire and be ashamed once more.

If as a husband, his conduct was deserving praise, as a parent it was equally meritorious; it appears by the attention he paid to the instruction of his children (as that during the last month of his life was both his solace and his occupation) — the main point to which he directed his view, was peculiarly to impress upon them a strong sense of moral and religious duties — to give them a just idea of their situation here — to make them view themselves rather as the servants of their God, than as masters of their fellow-creatures — rather to instruct them to be good, than to inform them they were great — and to remind them that the humility of their demeanor should be exactly proportioned to the elevation of their rank. It was thus he imbibed the infant mind of his son, with moral and religious precepts, and sought to render him a good man, in order to qualify him to become a good king, if it should be his misfortune, as the Father did not hesitate to term it, ever to ascend the throne. As a master in his family, it was thus he modelled his own conduct; he was meek,  p.10 gentle, and forbearing; and the gratitude and attachment of his servants, at a time he was unable to render them any service, when his fortunes were at the lowest ebb, is the most unequivocal proof of the goodness and affection with which he was accustomed to treat them.

As a King let his conduct from his accession to the Throne be scrutinized, and that will prove his best panegyric — let those acts of beneficence by which his reign has been distinguished, be remembered — let the abolition of the barbarous punishment of the torture — his relaxations of the severity of the ancient laws in criminal trials — the suppression of confiscations — his uniform attention to the wants and desires of his people — his ready acquiescence to their wishes, in convening the States General to consider and correct the abuses that had crept into the government, and at the same time to devise a plan for alleviating the burdens of the nation — his voluntary surrender of such of his prerogatives as were either injurious or oppressive — and his unfeigned desire that such a reform should take place, as would reconcile the real interests and true liberty of his subjects, with the just, moderate, and limited authority of the crown; I say, let this system be remembered, and let Louis, for he deserves  p.11 it, be ranked among those sovereigns, whose virtues history will record, and whose fame it will render immortal.

It now only remains that I speak of him in that quality, which it was of most importance to him properly to sustain, and to which he therefore attended with great and unusual care — it was as a Christian, that the character of Louis reflected uncommon lustre, and shone with peculiar brightness — it is as a Christian he was eminent and great — as a Christian he was amiable and admired.

In the perilous period of juvenile indiscretion, when the passions domineering and imperious, tyrannize over the man, and when supported by the authority, they ascend the throne of the Monarch, he forgot not those maxims of piety, which were instilled into his mind by the assiduous attention of his illustrious parents. In his more advanced progress through the stage of manhood, when the seeds of vice, if sown in the dangerous season of youth, are strengthened by habit, and matured by time, he remembered the precepts of Christianity alike. Though placed in a situation, where temptations were so numerous and multiplied, — though living in a Court the most immoral and profligate — where  p.12 the allurements of voluptuousness were powerful, and innocence was entrapped by sensuality — where the world too surely fascinates those whom it afterwards too fatally betrays — though placed in a state, I say, where passion is so strong, and where both reason and religion are allowed so little influence, still did Louis keep aloof from the vices of his Court, and preserve himself from the contagion with which its atmosphere was infected.

He determined (and wisely did he so determine) in the joyful season of prosperity, when the mind is so apt to be debauched from its God, faithfully to adhere to him at all times and in all events. And in the hour of adversity, when every source of worldly comfort was unavailing or extinguished, he found in religion an abundant substitute for them all. When he had acquired experimental conviction of the emptiness of human grandeur, in religion he found consolation and support — then it was that he verified in himself the promises of the Redeemer of Mankind — then it was he experienced their efficacy and truth. — Come to me, says JESUS CHRIST, to every sufferer of the race of man, all ye who labour and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you — and to him, and him alone, it was, that the royal sufferer had recourse in his severe and unprecedented trials,  p.13 during the latter part of his life — in the midst of the mortifications he suffered, the indignities he underwent, and the persecutions he endured; when every feeling of his heart was wounded and outraged — when through the studied malignity of fiends in human shape, he was made to feel all the anguish of his fate, not only in his own humiliations alone, but in the sufferings of those who were most dear to him — of his consort, of his children and of his sister — when nature bled at every pore, and reason was unequal to its relief — then it was, I say, that he availed himself of the endearing invitation of his Divine Redeemer — then is was that Louis labouring and heavy laden, repaired to JESUS CHRIST, and was refreshed — and if like the royal Psalmist, Ps. 93, he had reason to say of his enemies, “They will hunt after the soul of the just, and will condemn innocent blood,” like him he could also declare — “But the Lord is my refuge, and my God the help of my hope.”

Thus, My Brethren, in every passage of his varied course, whether in prosperous, or in adverse fortune, was Louis mindful of religion and of God, and thereby did he acquire strength to meet his fate at the last dread period that was to close the scene of his mortal tribulations. Then indeed did he appear truly great! and when about to bid a final farewell  p.14 to his inconsolable family — on beholding his woe-worn Queen frantic and delirious, two hapless innocents clinging about his knees, to receive and to prolong his last blessing and embrace, and his wretched sister dissolved in tears, another sorrowing figure in this melancholy group, though nature could not support such a scene without emotion, religion quickly regained her empire — he soon became collected, and resumed his former calmness. After that parting trial, the Man was laid aside, and the Christian only appeared. It was religion alone that could enable him to surmount and suppress the yearnings of nature — and it was by its aid, that Louis at his death, exhibited at the same time the fortitude and magnanimity of a hero, and the serenity and resignation of a martyr. It was religion that on the scaffold instructed him to forgive the daemons who had persecuted him to death, and to pray for that nation, that was shedding his blood. “I forgive my enemies, and may my death be useful to the nation,” were the last expressions of the royal victim, then laying his head upon the block, he was sacrificed.

Such, My Brethren, was the tragic fate of Louis XVI. a sovereign who not three years before, received from all France, the glorious title of Restorer of the Liberties of his People — and in his death, is  p.15 presented to us, an event pregnant with the most important instructions.

Hence we may learn how unstable and transitory, are all worldly possessions and enjoyments, — how unsatisfying in their nature, and how uncertain in their tenure — how prudent then to disregard what it is impossible to secure, and how absurd to set our hearts on that, of which we are every hour liable to be deprived. If ever man entered upon his mortal career with fair prospects, it was Louis, and if ever such prospects were cruelly blasted, it was in him. He was born to a Crown, and he perished on a Scaffold. He fulfilled every private and public duty, and he was treated as the worst of miscreants — he was the Father of his People, in return they rebelled and dethroned him — he relaxed their bondage — they imprisoned his person — he violated no law — and yet has suffered as the vilest malefactor.

Henceforward then let the petty grievances of restless discontent cease to be mentioned — let the fickly murmurs of irritable peevishness no more be heard — let splenetic and dissatisfied mortals no longer dare to complain — let their insignificant griefs vanish into nothing: — let them contemplate the fate of Louis, turn to Providence, and be thankful!

Or if the ills of life should in reality press upon them with a heavy hand, let them again look to the sufferings of that illustrious man, and imitate him if they can, in his piety and resignation. Let them copy the conduct of France's King, and they will find, as he has found, that religion is the only effectual balsam for human afflictions, and that without its assistance, they can neither be moderated, nor soothed; that the comforts of religion are alone durable and solid — and that whatever has not that for its basis, is perishable and vanisheth according to the words of the Wise Man, who tells us, That the hope of the wicked is as dust, which is blown away with the wind, and as a thin froth which is dispersed by a storm, and as smoke that is scattered by the wind, and as the remembrance of the guest of one day that passeth by; but, adds he, The just shall live for evermore, and their reward is with the Lord, and the care of them with the Most High.

If however on the one hand, we see in Louis a bright model for imitation, on the other, we behold in those who have usurped his authority, a melancholy example to be avoided; in his demeanour we can trace the lasting benefits of regulated piety — in theirs the destructive mischiefs of flashy infidelity — his conduct is as light to the mariner guiding  p.17 to the haven of peace — but theirs is the beacon to warn him of the eddies of anarchy. He displays the steady consistency of a Christian, a settled reliance on the Providence, and a firm belief of the Revelations of God. — They, the irregular convulsions of scepticism, dazzled by the meteor of false philosophy, bewildered in the mazes of endless error, scoffing at Revelation, regardless of Providence, and destitute of any fixed principle whatever. Such, My Brethren, are the persons, who after having murdered their Sovereign, are at present enthroned in the domination of France, disciples of Rousseau and Voltaire, who having extinguished in themselves every sentiment of morality and religion, like Goths and Vandals, are not satisfied without exterminating them in others — whose doctrines tend to loosen the bonds of society, to the subversion of temporal, as well as to the forfeiture of eternal happiness.

Here would be the time, if I were so disposed, to enter at large into the characters of those monsters, their guilt, their iniquities, and their crimes. But this My Brethren, is not in my mind, a scene suited to such a detail — nor from this place should the jarrings of political discord ever be heard — and if I have at all mentioned those unhappy beings, who now exercise  p.18 the Sovereignty of France, it is, My Brethren, only to caution you against their errors and their delinquency.

Let us therefore, in this instance, profit by their experience, without participating in their guilt. Let the lamentable situation of that distracted kingdom, be a lesson of instruction to every other state. Let them learn, that false philosophy, and false patriotism are productions of the same soil, nurtured by the same means, and tending to the same end, namely the aggrandisement and interest of self. — Let them alike, distrust the specious sophisms of the one, and the plausible protestations of the other. Let them learn, that he who is a reviler of Christianity, will scarcely be inclined to promote civil subordination, and that, that reptile will hardly be disposed to pay much respect to his Sovereign, who is audacious enough to bid defiance to his Creator. And in the example of the French Convention, let them see the danger of intrusting the exercise of power, to those who are not possessed of principle, for by such, it is seldom in any other way made use of, than as an engine of destruction.

We, My Brethren, are blest with a Sovereign whom we love and cherish — who is our common  p.19 father, and who reigns equally in the hearts and affections of all his subjects. In times of agitation and ferment like the present, when that Convention are sending missionaries to every part of Europe, it becomes every good subject, to give proofs of his principles and loyalty, to stand forth, and form a rampart round the throne, and to be ready to sacrifice every thing in its defence. It behoves all men in their several stations, to shew themselves friends to good order, tranquility, and peace, and to oppose and crush any attempts to disturb them.

The example of France will shew you, My Brethren, how small a spark is sufficient to set a mighty kingdom in a flame, and that events of gigantic importance at times, owe their existence to circumstances the most trivial and insignificant. At this instant we have before our eyes, the awful spectacle of a great nation, convulsed from its centre to its extremities, by philosophers without understanding, patriots without principle, and legislators without honesty. Let us therefore beware of whatever has the most distant tendency to any thing like their practices; exhibit an example of obedience to the laws, and reverence for the magistrates entrusted with their execution. In a word, My Brethren, cling to your Sovereign with unalterable  p.20 loyalty, support the constitution with unshaken perseverance, and to crown all, cherish your fellow-subjects with affectionate regard, Some of them, might on a late occasion, have expressed themselves rather harshly with respect to us: still we must make allowances for long habits, and established prejudices, and though they should persevere, still we must love them with unaffected cordiality. That religion which we profess, and of which JESUS CHRIST, was at the same time the preacher, and the model, enjoins us to love even our enemies, and to return good for evil. However those who think unkindly of us are but few, and I trust the time is not far distant, when they will alter their sentiments. Let us therefore, for the present love them on the principles of Christianity — and soon, very soon, I hope we shall do so on the principles of Justice.

But, My Brethren, when I recommend to you to persevere in acting as loyal subjects, and good citizens, this counsel, which I think it my duty to give you, would be very lame and imperfect indeed, if I omitted to mention the necessity of compleating your character, by adding thereto the qualification of good Christians: — this is the most essential and necessary of all. For what avail all the boasted benefits  p.21 and immunities of this life? What avail all the pomp of power, and all the prerogatives of ambition? What avail all the blessings of Liberty in this world, if you are excluded the citizenship of Heaven? and this must inevitably happen, without a firm belief of the truths, and a faithful discharge of the duties of Christianity. And let me add, the performance of your religious obligations, is the most solid security for fulfilling every duty of social life.

Believe me, My Brethren, that religion has more real sweets, and more pure enjoyments, than worldlings are willing to allow. It has this signal advantage (and this did the Prince, of whom I have spoken to day amply experience) that it forsakes us not at the worst of times. It consoled him in the privation of all his worldly possessions — it upheld him, when hurled from his throne — it cheered the gloom of his dungeon — it softened the rigors of his captivity — it supported him, when torn from his wife and children — and fortified him through the awful scene of his last trial, and under the horrors of an unmerited and ignominious death. But it does not stop here. Religion accompanies us beyond the grave — and as I hope it has done by Louis, so may it, by every one who hears me, that is,  p.22 teach them to disregard the transient afflictions of this uncertain life, and qualify them to attain the rapturous delights of a blissful immortality. —

Amen.
Finis

@book{E790004,
  title 	 = {A Funeral Sermon, preached, at a solemn High Mass celebrated in Cork on Wednesday, the sixth of February, for his Late Most Christian Majesty, Louis the Sixteenth},
  author 	 = {Florence McCarthy},
  edition 	 = {1},
  note 	 = {22 pages},
  publisher 	 = {Printed by James Haly, King's-Arms, North Main-Street},
  address 	 = {Cork},
  date 	 = {1793}
}
 E790004.bib