BOURIGNON, ANTOINETTE, a celebrated en thusiast, was born at Lisle, in Flanders, in the be ginning of the year 1616. She died at Franeker on the 30th of October, 1680. Her life was not dis tinguished by any thing very brilliant, or very inter esting ; and therefore a minute and regular narrative of its events is wholly unnecessary. But certainly a lady who left behind her eight or ten octavo volumes on divinity ; influenced by her doctrine the faith both of clergy and laity ; and was deemed a fit object of ha tred and persecution by sensible men, because she talked and acted like an enthusiast ; deserves a more particular notice than what is implied in telling that she flourished in the seventeenth century, and left the world at the age of sixty-four. A few circumstan ces, therefore, shall be mentioned, to give the reader some tolerable idea of Madame Bourignon. 1st, At her birth she had all the appearance of a monster. Her forehead was chiefly covered with black hair, her upper lip was fastened to her nose, her mouth stood wide open, and, altogether, she seemed to be such an unnatural production, that for some time it was a sub ject of consultation whether she should be allowed to live. These deformities were, in some measure, got the better of ; but she never acquired any thing ap proaching to personal beauty. In her mother's breast they excited a degree of aversion and disgust, which soon appeared in harsh treatment of her, and which occasioned such altercations between the parents, as deeply to affect the mind and future fortune of the unhappy child. 2d, Though Antoinette had none of those feminine graces which kindle love in the other sex, yet she did not want admirers when she grew up, and admirers too who proffered their hand along with their heart. She was successively courted by a French merchant, a peasant's son, and the nephew of a parson near Lisle : and they were so violently enamoured of her, as to exceed all the bounds of moderation in prosecuting their suit. All this is probably to he accounted for, by that superi ority of understanding and that patrimonial fortune which she possessed, and which are frequently as powerful invitations to matrimony, as the charms of female beauty. But Antoinette had the fortitude to resist every offer that was made to her, from what ever quarter it came, and however strongly it was urged. Tile surly and ill-natured demeanor of her father towards her mother gave her an early disgust at marriage, and she very soon began to pray that she might never cuter into that state, Besides, she was not very old when her mind became tinctured with enthusiasm ; and this enthusiasm expressed itself, partly in renouncing every desire of sensual pleasure, and devoting herself to a state of immacu late purity. For while she prayed, " May God grant that I may never marry," she added, at the same time, " give me the grace to become thy spouse." If this last petition, the impious raving of a fanatic, was fulfilled, as she imagined it to be, it may be easily believed that she not only never con ceived one thought inconsistent with the most per fect chastity, but that she actually possessed the gift of penetrative virginity, by which, like the Virgin Mary, she created in every person that beheld her,a total insensibility to the gratifications of the flesh. 3d, Although Madame Bourignon had obtained this complete victory over the sexual passion, her views were not wholly elevated above the world. Ava rice was a ruling feature in her moral character. She tried to chew a contempt for earthly possessions ; but she could not succeed in making that attainment. And she exhibited, throughout the whole of her life, a fanatical attachment to spritual things, combined with a sordid and inveterate love of money. At first she resolved to give up the property which devolved to her at the death of her parents ; but before she had made this sacrifice to piety, she changed her mind, and took possession of her patrimony. And she jus tified this step, which in her case had a worldly as pect, by alleging, that otherwise the property might get into the hands of those who had no right to it, or those who would make a bad use of it, and that God had intimated to her that she should need it for promoting his glory. In all her emer gencies, indeed, she applied to God for direction, and she uniformly obtained the answer that she wish ed. But in this instance, the advice which she receiv ed was rather more extensive than was suitable to her dispositions, or her intentions. To retain the estate, she readily agreed, but to use it to the glory of God was beyond her purpose. She lived parsimoniously —she bestowed nothing in charity, and her fortune, therefore rapidly increased. Increasing in wealth, she increased in her attachment to it, and obstinate ly persisted in refusing to give one mite to the poor, because, as she said, she had consecrated her sub stance to God, and all human things are inconstant. While, however, she had no compassion for the needy, she had a strong affection for her own doctrines ; and expended a certain portion of her money in publish ing books, for the edification of the world, and in supporting some idle hypocrites, who attended her as her disciples. This was advancing the divine glo
ry. But it was also a plea for the woman's avarice, and a mean of gratifying her spiritual pride. 4th, Madame Bourignon lived in persecuting times ; and it could not be expected that one so active in propaga ting heretical opinions could escape the rigours of intolerance. But the persecutions that she suffered were owing, not so much to the bigotry and illibera lity of others, as to the unamiable temper of her own mind, and the extravagant and hurtful fanaticism of her own conduct. She was totally destitute of the humility that became her—she was of a morose and gloomy disposition—she judged most uncharitably of the spiritual condition of all who did not adopt her peculiar tenets—she was hard-hearted to the poor, though she affected to love, and to be united to their Father in heaven—she was most unforgiving to those who had robbed her of the merest trille—and her en thusiasm was carried so far, and had such an effect, that the little girls of an hospital, in which she was governess, were all engaged, as they themselves be lieved and declared, in a carnal connection with the devil. Considering these circumstances, and consi dering the arrogance and masculine zeal with which she endeavoured to enlighten those who were far more enlightened than herself, it is not wonderful that she was involved in lawsuits, and difficulties, and sufferings. She did not, however, want protectors and patrons. The baron of Latzbourg preserved her from her enemies at a critical period. And M. De Loll, superior of the oratory at Mechlin, who be came a proselyte to her system, if system it can be called, patronised and cherished her while he lived ; and what pleased her more, though it evidently oc casioned her some trouble, left her heir of all his pro perty when he died. 5th, She was a perfect enthu siast—one of the most extravagant visionaries that have ever appeared in the Christian world. From her infancy she daily conversed with God, in the li teral sense of that expression— she offering up prayers, or putting questions to him, and he answering her, by speaking inwardly to her heart, so that she knew he said to her as distinctly as if a fellow crea ture had been talking to her. Besides this sweet con versation, as it was called, with God, she enjoyed some extraordinary revelations, which, as often hap pens in similar cases, are wonderfully useless, and wonderfully absurd. In one of her extacies, she was permitted to behold Adam in the form that he had before the fall, and to sec the manner, in which he himself, possessing the principles of both sexes, was capable of procreating other men ! How suprising that her penetrative virginity allowed her to indulge in such a contemplation ! The contemplation, how ever, was purely abstract. When she made any pro selytes she felt the same kind of throes and pangs in producing those spiritual children, that arc experien ced in natural labour, and the violence of her pains was proportionate to the impression which her doc trine made upon their minds. These, and many other instances of a similar nature, that might be adduced, chew that she was an enthusiast of the sublimest or der. 6th, It may be easily supposed that her doctrines are supremely wild and extravagant. A sample of them may be seen under the article ANTICHRIST : and for the rest, the reader's curiosity can he grati fied only by perusing her own works, and the wri tings of her apologists. Her opinions were adopted by considerable numbers, both in this country, and on the continent. Besides the striking peculiarities of her doctrine, there were several circumstances in her condition which tended to promote her credit.
Of these, the most remarkable was, the appearance of a comet at her birth, of another when she commen ced author, and of a third when she died. Surely, said the superstitious, this was a prophetess. Her disciples were most numerous in Scotland : indeed her tenets gained so much ground there, as to become an object of great jealousy with the church. In four dif ferent meetings of the General Assembly, (1700, 1701, 1709, 17100 measures were adopted for check ing the growth of this pernicious and blasphemous heresy. Dr George Gardin, a minister of Aber deen, was deposed, in 1701, for teaching its "damna ble errors." And all entrants into the ministry were, required, as they are at this day required, to abjure and renounce Bourignian doctrine. Sec the it orks of Madame Baurignon ; Bayle's Dictionary, art. Bourignon ; Snake in the Grass, by Mr Charles Les Icy, prelaee ; Bourignonism Detected, by Dr Cock burn ; and An Apology for Mrs Antonia Bourignon, supposed to be written by Dr G. Gardin above men tioned. (7)