RetrofpeSl of French Literature. — MifceUanems, 



643 



portraits are fometimes painted with fo 

 much addreft, that they either contain 

 precepts hitherto iinnarrated, or deveiope 

 dangers which have hitherto been but im- 

 perfectly developed. The refult of the 

 whole is, ;hat all which is in this poem 

 ought to be there ; all that ought to be, is 

 where and in the manner it (hould be." 



After :his the author endeavours to 

 point out the frrvice rendered by Boileau 

 to the poetry of France. *' Our VKrfifica- 

 tion (fays he) dates from Maiot ; Marot 

 knew how to joke in verle ; Ronfard wroie 

 Greek, Latin, and theprovmcial dialeft, if 

 you will, but not Ffcnch ; fome happy 

 lines efcaped from Defportesand Bertaud ; 

 at length Malhetbe made his appearance, 

 and our poetic languaj^e was formed j it 

 aflTumed a regular march, harmony, and 

 elevation. 



" Reignier fometimes infufed into it a 

 certain nervous vivacity ; for pomp, 

 grandeur, energy, the fublimify of fenti- 

 ment, it was indebted to Corneille; to 

 Fontaine for grace and ingenuoufnel's. 



" Boileau then came intoexiftence, and 

 to thofe parts of the ait already acquired 

 he added «orrecti(Jn, precifion, a continu- 

 ity of elegance, a happier and more felefl 

 invention of ftyle, together with more pro- 

 portion aifid art. He declared himfelf the 

 defender of good tafte, and each of his 

 works produced a revolution." 



After mentioning the faults of the great 

 Corneille, he continues thus : 



'• Thefe miliakes of the father of our 

 theatre, fancfified in fome refpe6ts by his 

 augiift example, menaced the French 

 ftage by means of t'neir dangerous influ- 

 ence. It was to be dreaded, left, confe- 

 craied by a long and fupeiftitious admi- 

 ration, they might become fo many mo. 

 dels for our tragic poets of the fucceeding 

 ages, as actually occurred in the cafe of 

 Shakefpeare, merely becaufe there was no 

 Boileau amongit the Engiifh. 



" In rcfpeft to Defprtaux and Racire, 

 the criiicifms and the precepts of the one, 

 together with the example and the fuccef* 

 of the other, concurred to prcferve the 

 French I'cenc from fuch a danger. 



" But this very R icine, To pure in him- 

 felf, and the model of fuch exquilite talte 

 in regard to others, if he had not been fo 

 early cniightrned by the coimlcls of his 

 friend, would undoubtedly have facrificed 

 himfelf to the lanaticifm of public opini- 

 on, as may be tafily gutfled trr.m his ear. 

 lier works. We have feen how Boileau 

 brought him back to nature, whence he 

 bad taken pleafure Co depart. 



" Thus it would be ungrateful not to 

 do honour to Boileau, and acknowledge 

 that we are indebted to him for a portion 

 of the perfeftion of our theaifc, — that of 

 all the branches of literature which has 

 refleffed moft honour on our nation, and 

 in refpeft to which we have neither roo- 

 deis nor rivals." 



" Difcours prononce dans la Seance 

 Publique tenue par la ClafTe de Langue et 

 de la Literature Fran^aife de Tlnftitut 

 National," &c. — ADifcouife pronounced 

 at a Public Sitting of the Clafs of French 

 Language and Literature of the National 

 Inltituic, 15th Ventole, 13th Year, for 

 the reception of M. De Lacretelle. A 4to» 

 pamphlet. 



This brochure, of forty pages, was 

 pronounced on the admiffion of M. De 

 Lacretellc; in the place of M. La Harpe, 

 who was confideied the patriarch of mo- 

 dern French literature. It however nei- 

 ther abound* with point nor with elo- 

 quence ; we therefore forbear giving any 

 quotation. 



*' La Vie et le Mort," &c. — Life and 

 Death ; a Piece of Poetry of the Four- 

 teenth Century, by P. Matthieu, Hif- 

 toriographer ot France under Henry IV. 

 publilhed and augmented with Notes and 

 Commentaries, by Joseph Rosmyn. 



The works of Matthieu are fcarcely 

 mentioned by .any of the French poets, 

 with the except!- n of Moliere, who in 

 the epithet annexed to the name alludes to 

 the manner in which they were printed, 

 being in the form of an advocate's brief : 

 " Lifez moi, comme il faut, au lieu de cet 



fornettes, 

 Les Quatrains de Pibrac, et les do£les ta- 



blettes 

 Du ConJeUler Matthieu !" 



Matthieu lived in great intimacy with 

 Henry IV. ; and it is thus that he alludes 

 10 his melancholy death : 



" Cette grandeur des Rois, qui nous 

 femble un colofle, 

 N'eft qu' ombrcj poudre et vent. L'uuique 



honneur des Rois, 

 D'une execrable main meurt dedans fon car- 



rofTe, 

 Au terns que I'univers Irembloit dcfTous fe» 



lois. 

 HIer, tout etoit triomphe ; aujourd'hui, 



chacun pleure : 

 La beaute Hu maiin n'a durC jufqu' au foir. 

 On a vu vif et mort ce Prince en moins d'une 

 heure...." 



The author, with a certain degree of 

 harnmels peculiar 10 hie age, unites gieat 

 origmality, as may be feen from the fol- 

 lowing lines : 



4 M X "Si 



