A SERMON AT THE FUNERAL OF THE HIGH MIGHTY PRINCE HENRY De La TOUR D' AUVERGNE Vicount of TURENNE Mareschal General of FRANCE Colonel General of the LIGHT HORSE and Governour of the Upper and Lower LIMOSIN Preach'd December 15 1675. By CLAUDE FRANCIS MINISTRIER Englished out of FRENCH LONDON Printed by W.G. and are to be Sold by Moses Pitt at the Sign of the Angel in S. Paul's Church-Yard 1677. 2 Sam. 3.32 33 38. And all the People wept And the King lamented and said Died he as a Fool dieth Know ye not that there is a Prince and a Great Man fallen this day in Israel 'T is the Death of Abner General of the Army whom David lamented so 'T is in the Heb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies the Princpal Man and in the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the great Captain WHen I observe these Walls hung with Mourning and the profound silence which attends this mournful Ceremony I see plainly Gentlemen that you are assembled here to mix your tears with the tears of all France and I conceive my self to be but the interpreter of your grief But when I cast my eyes upon the Trophies which attend the Corps and upon those marks of Grandeur which present to our sight a kind of Triumph in the midst of the very Shades of Death I am sensible that you come not here barely to weep at the remembrance of a Hero we so lately lost the memory of Heroes requires somewhat more than this To the demonstrations of an universal affliction we should add publick Elogics and apparent signs of our particular veneration a weak but a due acknowledgment of what they merit of us How happy should I be Gentlemen if being chosen this day to publish the Encomiums of so great a man I was but able to express one part of your thoughts and but in some measure to represent an Idea of what you your selves conceive of his worth But how is it possible but to omit something in the infinite number of matters which offer themselves in a croud to my Fancy How can I confine within the narrow Bounds of a Discourse the Elogium of a Person whose Glory fills the whole Earth 'T is rare to see a mans Wit upon such an occasion to reach the Sentiments of his Mind And this am I most abundantly sensible of being now to speak the Elogium of Monsieur de Turenne When I call to mind the wonderful number of great Actions which he has done my eyes are dazled and my Fancy is at loss As I know not where for to begin I see not where to end If his Military Virtues surprize me his Christian Virtues ravish me An non proprius virtutum nitor splendorem armorum illustravit Cassiod ep 5. var. If I contemplate him as a Great Hero in War I look upon him likewise as Great a Hero in Christianity and in the midst of that admiration which so many Virtues so many Great Actions so many Miracles both of Wisdom and Valour occasion I must say with the Prophet Know ye that he whom we lament was one of the greatest and wisest Captains in his Age Num ignoratis quoniam Princeps Maximus cecidit Great by the splendor of his Birth and his Immortal Actions but greater yet in the sight of God by the Innocence of his Life 'T is this last Virtue which makes the Praises of Heroes to be allowed of in Holy Places for without it methinks Custom could not have introduc'd Funeral Ceremonies to any other end Mors mater moeroris usurpatur ad gloriam Bern. Serm. 26. in Cant. but to flatter the living by the Elogiums of the dead But a thought so little Christian-like The Cardinal of Bouillon Non tam clari sanguinis colore quam virtutum succo hujus vestimenta purpurascunt D. Ambr in Hexant could never possess the mind of that Prince who has caus'd the paying of these Devoirs to the Memory of his Uncle and who is now as Noble by the Purple with which the Church hath honoured him as by the Splendor of his Birth He designs not here to shew how great he was born but to testifie his Piety Let us endeavour then to imitate him in so holy a Design and let us not so much admire all the other Virtues of Monsieur de Turenne as that alone which is able to render him acceptable in the eyes of the Sovereign Lord of all things If true it is that Nature gives in the Blood the first dispositions to Courage who ever had by Birth greater dispositions to Virtue than the Prince whom we are now speaking of The glorious Blood which descended to him from his Ancestors was as 't were the original Source of his Heroick Valour He is descended from a House whose Royal Alliances have communicated to his Ancestors by fifteen Princesses all the Greatness of all the Soveraign Powers in Europe He is descended in a direct and Male Line from the Ancient Sovereign Counts of Auvergne Justel's Hist of the House of Auvergne Dukes of Aquitane true Heir both to the Virtue and Glory of those Princes who were the Wonders of their several Ages A Birth so advantageous did inspire into him from his very Infancy a strong desire to imitate Penè adolescens Glorie maturitatem occupavit Plin. epist 1.4 nay to surpass the great examples which they had left him He began to bear Arms at an Age when he had not as yet strength to manage them The memory only of so many Glorious actions which those of his Family had done did put him upon great things but the reputation in Arms which the Prince of Orange his Unkle by the Mothers side had gained did yet more vigorously excite him to deserve a share in his Conquests He made the first Essayes of his Valour under that Prince and learning there to obey he was soon qualified to command 'T was his own desire to pass all the degrees before he arriv'd to that great Command of a General in all which different Employes he acquitted himself most honourably To gain that profound understanding in which he did outvie all other Captains he was in person in threescore several Sieges and six set Battels before that he commanded in Chief His Majesties Armies What he did upon every of those occasions do very well merit Elogiums but his Actions since he was a General carry so much of Splendor and Glory with them that a man cannot fix his eyes upon what preceded Let us omit then all the testimonies of Valour and Prudence which he gave before Casal at Turin at Quiers at the passage of the Po near Montcallier at Rousillon in Lorrain and in many other places which I do not mention because I would not distract your Fancy with the almost infinite multitude of his private actions Let us make a little stop at the marvellous effects of his Courage when being sent to
Greece and old Rome spend their Titles and Elogiums in favour of those Worthies they gave birth to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Pausan Duo Fulmina Belli Scipiadas 6 Aeneid Liberatori Reipublicae FundatorÃque quietis Inscript in arcu Constantini let them stile them the Terror of Kings and Nations Thunderbolts and Gods of War Takers of Towns Pillars of the State Defenders of their Liberty All these Elogiums are due to the Glory of Monsieur de TURENNE and we are obliged to engrave them upon his Tomb as the just Monuments of our acknowledgment His Troops had a general confidence in him which could not have been acquired by an Understanding less profound than his That Virtue never deserted him in the midst of the greatest dangers He judged of all the Events of War with that penetrating eye and with that certainty that at the opening of a Campagne he would make you a Model of all his own Designs and would foresee to all those of his Enemies He knew all the Posts that they could take He prevented their Motions he divin'd all their Wiles and Stratagems and pretending to be ignorant of them he caught them in the very Snares they laid for him This has he done several times in these two last Campagnes when all the Powers of the Empire in Arms against us having made an imaginary Division of our Provinces did cross the Rhine with seventy thousand men thinking to swallow up with their multitude the small number of Troops we had in Alsatia for the securing our Frontiers But Monsieur de Turenne was at the Head of that small handful What does that great man do He presently takes Posts so advantageous that the Enemies did never dare to attaque him He lets that puissant Army consume it self partly by the misunderstanding among the Commanders and partly by its want of being well disciplin'd He makes a sudden March and falls upon them with so much surprize and vigour that he forceth them shamefully to repass that River upon whose Banks they had form'd the empty projects of their Conquests River so many times a witness of his Glory was it not hard that thou shouldst be so near when he died And that a fatal Shot should in thy sight snatch him away from the Arms of Victory If the just regret at a loss so considerable did but permit me to give you a Relation at large of the Actions of this last Campagne 't would be easie for me Gentlemen to shew you the Valour and Wisdom of our Hero to be like the shining of those Stars which do cast the more glittering Light the nearer they are to their Setting What could I not say of the Industry and Patience with which he has confounded the Art the Wiles and the Understanding of the General of the Imperial Forces All his Atchievements were attended with Glorious Events If he did but enter into Alsatia he drove the Enemies from thence and retook all the Towns if he pass'd the Rhine he created a terror throughout Suabia and Franconia if he mov'd towards the Palatinate he secur'd Philipsburgh and the Neighbouring Towns if he came to the right he clear'd Brisac he assur'd us the Passage and Commerce of Strasburg when he went to the left he every where victorious every where wise every where successful himself did observe the Generals of the Imperial Troops and Confederate Forces fearful trembling dismayed and unresolv'd In fine our Enemies astonish'd at his wise Conduct could not think of him but with a terror mixt with admiration and they were forc'd to own that he alone was as formidable as his whole Army The same that S. Ambrose said of that Valiant Machabee who dying in the midst of a Victory which was due to him alone was buried among his Triumphs Lib. 1. de Offic. c. 40. Tanto virtutis spectaculo defixi hostes sic trepidaverunt ut impares se omnes unius virtuti arbitrarentur You were near seeing of him to have triumph'd over all the Forces of the Empire That glorious day was at hand He himself prevented it But just when that Victory which he step by step had manag'd could not possibly have escap'd him your eyes your mournful eyes did see him and in him our hopes with one chance shot cut off Nevertheless afflicted as you are with the extreamest grief at the thought of so direful an Accident remember that you have learn'd from this great Man and from the example of all your Ancestors that no mans condition is more glorious than his who dies shedding his Blood for the Service of his King and the Honour of his Countrey more especially when his Death is attended with all those Circumstances which Religion and a sincere Piety require of a Christian Hero For then we may according to the Gospel say that it is not barely honourable but happy This is Gentlemen the most proper Subject of Consolation that we can propose to our selves in case of so universal a Misfortune In vain have Valour and Wisdom rais'd the Reputation of those whose Memory we honour if Piety and all Christian Virtues do not attract the Eyes of Heaven to behold those persons with favour The admiration which they get let it come from what other cause it will is but like a false Light which glitters dazles disappears and is lost for ever in the eternal shades of Death 'T is Piety Gentlemen which comprehends in it all other Virtues and it is upon that Commendation of Monsieur de Turenne that the Character I now bear the Place I now speak in and the great things that I have to say do permit me to enlarge There is nothing Gentlemen so opposite to the Life of a Christian as a Court-Life and the noise of War One must have a great command of himself if declining the Enchantments of the one and the Violences of the other he preserves his own Innocency and 't is that just government of a mans self which makes your true Heroes 'T is a kind of Prodigy Psal 70. Nulla fides pietasque viris qui castra sequuntur Exeat Aulâ qui vult esse pius saith the Sacred Oracle to find Piety there nay the very Heathens themselves have been of opinion that the conversation of either Court or Camp was enough to infect all Virtues Upon these Considerations I cannot but admire the Hero whose Funeral Rites we are now solemnizing as a person much the more extraordinary in regard he was educated in the midst of the Vanities of the Court and had spent his whole Life in the exercise of War but yet had inviolably preserved an invincible sincerity amongst the Intrigues of one and the Chances of the other His Reason alone always sage always Mistress of his Inclinations as well as his Thoughts began to effect in him what Grace does in the most Holy and most Religious Souls Let me behold what part of him I will I find in him nothing but
of Armies that made a fortunate or unfortunate Success to attend it Will ye not say Gentlemen that I speak the Elogium rather of a Saint than of a Prince or a General of an Army But what will ye say when I add that all this is but a shadow of his Christian Virtues and that this Piety which was the Soul and Principle of all his Actions was the pure effect of his own natural disposition Before that he was sensible of the impressions of Grace he acted thus We can very rarely observe in the world persons advanc'd above others whether by Fortune or their own Merit to be generally beloved till that they are dead As if there was a necessity to cease to be or else to be unfortunate for to avoid the aspersions of Envy Nevertheless we may say that Monsieur de Turenne has conquer'd even Envy it self in the last part of his Life His Glory was mounted to so high a pitch that one might compare it to the Sun which when at the highest hardly leaves any shadow upon the Earth He was the object of the Esteem of the Love and of the Veneration of all Europe He was lookt upon as the Prodigy and the Wonder of his Age. Every body seem'd transported when they talk'd of the greatness of his Genius his Labours his Exploits his wonderful Successes and his wise Conduct The Princes both of Germany and Italy coveted his Picture and Travellers that came amongst us went home satisfied when they had seen that great man Who can sufficiently express that ardent zeal with which he burn'd for the interest of Religion In the midst of his Victories he would be thinking of the Conquests of Faith he form'd the Models and the Designs of it he employed for that purpose all his Estate Care and Credit This man in whom the whole State repos'd the care of their Frontiers and the publick safety was as industrious in promoting the progress of Faith and Religion as in advancing the progress of his Masters Arms. Shall I be afraid after this to say that we have not seen more zealous or more pure Faith in Israel I mean not at Court where 't is rare to meet with that sincere submission to the light of the Gospel I mean not in Armies where Piety does so seldom appear I mean in the Sanctuary amongst the most Holy and Religious Souls Matth. 8. Amen dico vobis non inveni tantam fidem in Israel And Gentlemen if the Son of God hath thought the Faith of a Captain a fit Subject for his Elogiums and Admirations sure we have no reason then to refuse the paying of the just tribute of Praise to the Piety and Zeal of Monsieur de Turenne which is the only recompence that he can receive from us The Reputation and Glory of his Arms never made him forget his Duty to God He worshipped him as the only Author of his Triumphs and duly every Morning offered to him his Spirit and his Heart as the Victims of his Faith and Obedience The Sacrifices of the Spirit and the Heart are the most agreeable Sacrifices that we can make to the Almighty We discharge our selves of these Duties by Faith and Religion Faith is the Sacrifice of the Spirit and Piety the Sacrifice of the Heart and if one of these Sacrifices be a sincere resignation of our Spirit to the Spirit of God who is the Soveraign Understanding and the primitive Truth the other is a voluntary offering of all the Motions of our heart to the orders of his Providence 'T is to the Piety and to the Faith of Monsieur de Turenne that we owe these great Successes which so many persons have attributed to his Valour and his prudent Conduct Exod. 27. He was at the same time both the Moyses and the Joshua of his Army he both charged the Enemy in the Field and pray'd to Heaven too to bless his party with Victory One might say of his Camp as of those Heavenly Troops which came to the succor of Jacob that 't was the Camp of God Castra Dei sunt bec Gen. 32.2 for he had purged his Army of those Debaucheries that are committed in others and had established there a due Worship and publick Prayers He was in his Tent as those ancient Patriarchs who encamping under their Pavilions look'd upon this Life but as a place of passage which they were always ready to leave In the midst of his Victories and his greatest Successes he would be vehemently desiring of Heaven and solitary in his Tent after that he had given his Orders for the securing his Camp he in the midst of the noise of his Army would be making of his inward peace and conversing with the Almighty 'T is thou alone Great God! that canst effect in the World such surprizing Prodigies They are the effects of thy Grace and thy Mercy Christus milites suos quos in personam Ducis attollit inter acies quaerit Ennod orat dicenda Maximo Thou selects Souls brought up in the tumults of War to make them patterns of Virtue and Holiness Thy Goodness makes them sensible of the Divine beams of Grace to confound the dissolute Notions of those who think War and Piety to be inconsistent This man who always liv'd at Court and in Armies where Virtue is so little acquainted and holy matters so much slighted did die the best of Christians 'T is the thought of this Gentlemen which removes all our fears Though his Death was sudden yet he was not unprovided and I may say of him what the Divine Apostle said of an ancient Patriarch who was snatch'd away in a Whirlwind Gen. 5. that his Conscience and his Piety bore him witness that he was acceptable to God Ante translationem enim testimonium habuit placuisse Deo Ad Heb. 11. But how can a man keep from shedding of tears at the remembrance of so direful a death Our Hero now ceases to be and there remains with us nothing but empty Ashes and a Name pleasing in our Ears Glory Grandeur Authority Esteem Reputation are ye all so inconsiderable as not to be able to prevent Heroes from dying like the most vulgar sort of men Methinks Gentlemen this is the Fatal Moment that we receiv'd the News of the Death of that great man The Consternation then was universal and our Grief was a long while before it had power to break its silence and open a passage for our Sighs The general Astonishment which such doleful Tidings did disperse throughout all France made us sensible of the greatness of our loss before we had leisure to think of the mischievous Consequences it might make us dread The tears of the whole Army the cries and mourning of the Souldiers and the concern they shew'd to revenge his death though at the expence of their own lives did sufficiently demonstrate that they had lost their Father as well as their General Ye sad but
glorious Remains of that great man Ashes of his Body half burnt with that Thunderbolt which snatcht him from amongst his Triumphs go ye and receive the last Honours and the just Marks of the grief of the esteem and of the sense of the greatest of Kings The Tomb which is to enclose you what glorious Titles does it bear of so many brave Actions Go and divide this Honour amongst those great Captains whom Valour Alphonse de Brenne Bertrand du Queseline Lewis de Sancerre Lewis de Evereux Arnaud de Barbaran Guillaume du Chastel buried at S. Denis Wisdom and Piety did so much distinguish in their Life-times that they remain yet distinguished since their Deaths by those proud Monuments which the Magnificence of our Monarchs has caus'd to be erected for them in the Temple appointed for the Burial of Kings But Gentlemen might not this Prince hope for a more solid recompence of his Labours than the Glory of a vain Tomb So many wonderful Actions are they not able to procure him a further advantage than a cold Marble deck'd with the Adornments of Vanity Then he might say with the most afflicted and the wisest of Kings that nothing would remain of him but a Magnifick Silence a vain Ostentation of Elogiums and Specious Titles to cover the emptiness of his Tomb. Job 3.14 Dormiens silerem somno meo requiescerem cum Regibus Consulibus Terrae qui aedificant sibi Solitudines They are but Solitudes that the Powers of the Earth build in erecting of Tombs since that their Glory and Grandeur accompany not the Persons and there remains nothing of them but dumb Shadows Monsieur de Turenne has thought of a more solid Glory He entred so often into the bosom of Eternity in his wise reflections he was so often rais'd above the pitch of those foolish Idea's with which vain men are pleas'd that I date to say that his Soul has acquir'd an eternal happiness by the Innocence of his Life and the Holiness of his Manners He might have lived longer for the Glory of France for the Repose of the People for the Reputation of our Arms and for the Security of our Frontiers But what could he have added to his own Glory Go then Generous Soul go and enjoy that profound peace which you have so vehemently desired You have sought it already in the midst of the great successes of a Campagne so glorious and you have made haste to secure the repose of France that you might entirely apply your self to the thoughts of Eternity in the peaceable repose of a more quiet Life Pretiosa Mors haec quae emit immortalitatem pretio sanguinis Cypr. Epist 9. But in the very instant that your wishes were upon being perfectly fulfill'd you met with Death in the bosom of Glory Our Enemies themselves did commend you at the same time that we lamented you Both Rome and Vienna paid you the Devoirs of Esteem and Piety when Paris rendred you the Devoirs of their Acknowledgments Our Churches Quam opinionem nemo unquam mortalium assequi potuit sine eximia virtutis gloria Aug. l. 3. De Civ Dei c. 15. our Sanctuaries the Tribunals of Justice the Circles the Academies and the Publick Oratories have rung with your Praises both Prose and Verse have consecrated the remembrance of your glorious Actions in all the polite Languages They have said the very same things of you throughout all Europe as have been said throughout all France From the moment of his Death all our Joys have been changed into Torrents of Tears our publick Acclamations into a sorrowful Silence and our Songs of Victory and Triumph into most lamentable Sighs To conclude the People have mourn'd and the King Himself hath shed tears and that incomparable Monarch did make the best Elogium that could be made of your Glory when he publickly said that we had lost the wisest Captain and the Chief man in this Age. Flevit omnis Populus plangénsque Rex lugens ait Nequaquam ut mori solent ignavi mortuus est Num ignoratis quoniam Princeps Maximus cecidit Not being able to add to this Elogy which has proceeded from the mouth of Two great Kings I hold my peace and leave to History the care of making the Panegyrick and communicating to Posterity the Wonders of this Heroe FINIS