It was his success at the head of this institution which called forth the next commission with which the king honored him, and which brought him into yet closer connection with the troubled current of affairs. In order the better to understand it we shall do well to pause at this point and consider for a little the ecclesiastical and political condition of France, and to some degree of the world at large. CHAPTER II. THE SETTING OF THE PICTURE. It is absolutely essential, in studying any character, that we take into careful account the age and land in which he lived. We can not rightly estimate his merits or demerits unless we know the circumstances under which he was brought up, and the influences to which he was subjected. The background of the picture has large importance for showing off in proper light the principal figure. The setting of the gem has something to do with our appreciation of its value. Deeds which in one century would cover their perpetrator with infamy, in another would be regarded as wholly excusable. The amount of light afforded strictly measures the amount of guilt involved. Unavoidable ignorance exculpates. Fullness of knowledge imposes responsibility. No greater mistake could be made than to judge people irrespective of their surroundings. Moreover, it adds immensely to our interest in any person if we can, to some degree at least, look out upon the world with his eyes, see what he saw, and so be helped to feel as he felt. We become the better acquainted with him in proportion as we are able to put ourselves in his place. We can certainly estimate him more equitably according as we reproduce to our mind the scenes of his day. This being so, before we go further with the personal history of Fénelon the Saint we shall do well to spend a little while familiarizing ourselves with the world of his day both civil and ecclesiastical. How were matters in Church and State during the period in which this great man flourished? What was going on among the nations in general, and in France particularly? A brief survey seems necessary to give us the right point of view. Since Fénelon was born in 1651, the second half of the seventeenth century would appear to be in the main his epoch. What was the condition of things throughout Christendom then?