642 



RetrofpeSl of French Literature. — Mifcellaneous. 



the Monarch againft three pcwerful wo- 

 men produced a long war, and that a 

 peace was occafioned by a fimplc billet 

 from Frederic himCelf to Maria-Thereft ; 

 while the unfortunate Baron Trenck ob- 

 tained his liberty by means of a fervant 

 who lighted the tire. 



The opportunities afforded by the fitua- 

 tion of the author niuft be aTTowed to have 

 been well calcukted for information. Hav- 

 ing fiiperintended the ftudies of the youth 

 eaucatcd at the P. uffian Military School, 

 founded by the King himlelf, he had fre- 

 quent and '. ften daily coinmunications 

 with the Pi nice, and was thus enabled to 

 produce a work well calculated to excite 

 the public attsiition. 



•• EfTii fur I'H'ftoire Topographique 

 de Paris," &c. — An EflTay on the Topo- 

 graphical Hiifory of Paris, or Letters to 

 M. D'AuRJoNT on the Climate and 

 State of Med.ci'ie in that Capital. 



So long ago as the time of Hippocrates 

 it was recommended to the phyliclan to 

 commence his profrfllonal career by ftiuly- 

 ing every thing coniiefttd with the c.)ur.- 

 try where he wa- to exercife the healing- 

 art. Such of his difciples as, like him, 

 have written philofophically upon ir.cdi- 

 cine, have conftantly juftitied the fame 

 doitrine, and dtclaicd ih<t the know- 

 ledge of the (late of the atmolphere, of the 

 aqueous and igneous effcdfs ot (wo of the 

 elements, and the nature of the third, me- 

 rit the particular attention of the phyfi- 

 cian. 



The medico- topographical hiftory of 

 Paris, therefore, cannot but pvefent an in- 

 terefting fubjeil, and provided it be treat- 

 ed with due ability, mult attrail tin; atten- 

 tion of the curious in every capital of Eu- 

 rope. Jt !S no fmall proof uf the merit of 

 the prellnt work, by Dr. MtNURET, 

 that three editions of it have already been 

 fold, and that this is the fourth p efentcd 

 to the public. 



It ii his fixed opinion, that the capital 

 of the French empire is on the whole very 

 htalthy ; and he atiributes this partly to. 

 the climate, notwithlianding the vicilfi- 

 tudes of heat and cold are lb frequt-ntand 

 rapid, as to prefent a difference of from 

 twenty to twenty. five degrees on the 

 fame day. The paffage, however, from 

 one fcafon to another, we are told, «• take? 

 place in foch an inleiihble manner, that 

 this circumftance alone contributes not a 

 little to repel epidemic difordtrs." This 

 influence is evident, he adds, in refpefl to 

 all maladies, but is moll confpicuous in 

 the fmall-pox, or account of the fete of 



that diforder being more immediately ex. 

 pofed to the iiiiprefrior.s of the air. 



After ptefenting a curative procefs, he 

 gives a dilfertation on inoculation, in the 

 ccurfe of which he difcufles all the incon- 

 veniences attendant on it,anddemon(irate8 

 the advantages to be expeffed from the 

 prailice. Without exhibiting himfelf an 

 enthufia!tical partizan for the vaccine me- 

 thoi), he progtiofticatts the moft fortunate 

 refulis from its introduftion. He even 

 contends for the application of galvanlfm ; 

 but he prudently confines his aomir.itlon 

 williin very narrow limits. 



" Elogede Boileau-Dcfpreaux," &c.— 

 Eulogium on Boiltau, by Victorin 



FaBRE. 



Bulleau, the moft judicious of the 

 French poets, is alfo the one who has been 

 molt cenfured, and moft cruelly attacked 

 by envy. The realon is plain : he com- 

 menced his literary career by means of 

 his Satires, and accordingly gave great" 

 offence. Scudery, Defmarei, and Pradon, 

 printed ihe molt grofi afperlions by way 

 of re[)ly to his raillery, and Vile proved in 

 the Mercury that he did not underftand 

 French. Voltaire hlmi'elf, i:\gn V.'ltaire, 

 fo adinirably calcnlated to appreciate the 

 avkthor of the Lutrin, did not always do 

 jtiltice to him ; and this very circumltance 

 muft be allowed to havr: been a blemini in 

 the charadler of that gre.u iii;in. 



On the o;her hand, Boileau has had 

 many admit eis, and among others M, 

 Fab'c, who reprefents him " as lafhing 

 Cotin and Pradon on one hand with the 

 whip of fitiie, while with the other he 

 crowns Arnauld and Racine with laurels. 

 He railes altars (adds his panegyrill) to 

 Titus, and overthrows the trophies of 

 Alexander. He confers en the epic Mufe 

 the fmile of Thalia, gives laws to Par- 

 naflus, a rival to his models, and to their 

 Zoilufes a vanqaiftier." 



From the latires and epiftles he pafTes 

 on to the Lutrtn, '• a woik of the mo(t 

 fingular novelty, perhaps (adds he), 

 which modern literature exhibits. Both 

 in its difpofition and in its ityle it is one 

 entire ieries of happy inventions and beau- 

 ties ; in (hort, it is a woik which may be 

 aptly comp.ued to thofe pompous palaces 

 which the mytholoa;y of the people of the 

 North has elevated and fulpendcd m the 

 mid- way air." 



In relpeft to the" Art of Poetry," M. 

 Fabre obierves, " That the examples dan- 

 gerous to be followed, the models ufeful 

 to be imitated, are exhibited to us by 

 means of a gallery of portraits j and thofe 

 portraits 



