SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF TAINE'S WORKS 259 



may judge of the work I do not venture to undertake by that which I have 

 attempted to accomplish, my strength is not equal to this; all that I venture to 

 hope is that the reader will grant me his indulgence, in consideration of the 

 difficulty of the task and the length of the effort.' (pp. ix-x.) 



1870 (April). — De V Intelligence, par H. Taine, Paris: Hachette, 1870, 2 vols., 

 1008 pages. 



Modifications in the 3rd edition (1878) were numerous,! including four 

 'notes' or appendices, and a brief discussion of 'la nouvelle loi mechanique sur 

 la conservation de I'energie' was supplemented by the following note: 'Ceci est 

 le point de vue scientifique. II en est deux autres qii'il est inutile de presenter ici, 

 le point de vue esthetique et le point de vue moral. On y considere non plus les elements, 

 mais la direction des choses; on y regarde I'effet final comme un but primordial, 

 et ce nouveau point de vue est aussi legitime que Vautre^ (Giraud, p. 193, probably 

 Giraud's italics). This note was suppressed in the definitive 4th edition (1883), 

 which underwent many corrections and additions, the latter being frequently 

 of a metaphysical nature (see the end of the 'Preface'). By 1900 in its 9th edition. 



English: Taine'' s On Intelligence, translated from the French by T. D. Haye, 

 and revised by the Author, Parts I and II, London: Reeve & Co., 187 1. 



i860, 1862, 1871 

 Notes sur VAngleterre [Notes on England] 



Early in 1870, while correcting the proofs of On Intelligence, Taine was 

 already making plans for a study of German literature comparable to his 

 History of English Literature-, in the month of June he began a voyage of explora- 

 tion, first to Frankfort and then to Weimar and Dresden. [See the notes, 

 published posthumously, on his 'Voyages en Allemagne (1870)', Revue des 

 Deux Mondes, Paris, 1920, Vol. 60, p. 449-489.] However, his trip was inter- 

 rupted by a death in the family, which called him back to France on 1 2 July, 

 and followed by declaration of the Franco-Prussian War on 15 July; the 

 Second Empire was replaced by a Government of National Defence (The 

 Third Republic) in September; Paris capitulated on 28 January, 1871; the 

 Commune was established in March; the Treaty of Frankfort was signed on 

 10 May, 1 87 1. 



In 1 87 1 Taine was called to England to take part in a series of conferences 

 on the history of French literature. He lectured on 'Corneille et Racine, et les 

 moeurs sous Louis XIII et Louis XI V; and, together with the German 

 Dollinger, was granted the degree of Doctor in jure civili, honoris causa by Oxford 

 University (Giraud, pp. 193-194, Note 3). 



1 For example, he added the following note, in the concluding section, where 

 he had posed the problem of seeking the elements and conditions of real 

 existence: 'Hegel I'a fait, mais avec des imprudences enormes; peut-etre un 

 autre, avec plus de mesure, renouvellera sa tentative avec plus de succes. Ici, 

 nous sommes au seuil de la metaphysique; a mon sens, elle n'est pas imposible. 

 Si je m'arrete, c'est par sentiment de mon insuffisance; je vols les limites de mon 

 esprit, je ne vois pas celles de I'esprit humain' (Giraud, Essai sur Taine, p. 193, 

 Note i). 



