38 



Historical Notice res^pectivg the Life 



[Aug. I, 



regency ; re-«(laV)li(liing the glory of 

 I'lauce ; and cairyiiig to the grave the 

 loVe iiiid gradtudc of a nation. 



The groat dltiicuity of the fubjeft lay 

 in fpeaUmg of Duguefchu without per- 

 mittirg his miliuuy glory to cll'ace that 

 of the Monarch. The orator had the art 

 to place him every where the fccond 

 figure on the canvas. Charles is ever 

 firfi ; and his wifdoni and prudence ac- 

 tuate the great general whole genius had 

 Ijccn difcovcred by him. Oneof thefincll 

 pallagts of this difcourfu is the portrait of 

 the King of Navarre, a prince of the 

 blood-royal, who fomented the; troubles 

 pf the ftate during the captivity of hing 

 John. 



" Surrounded by enemies without, 

 (fays M. de la llarpc,) Charles found one 

 in his family more dangerous than ail. 

 He was one of thofc men who, born 

 ■without any virtue, or love of glory, or 

 Lope of attaining it, arc the more to lie 

 feared, as they may hazard all without 

 fear of blulhing ; a charaier low and 

 falfe, who, deliitute of talent to aggran- 

 dize himfelf, employs his own vices to 

 hurt or betray ; a mind fertile in expe- 

 dients, becaufc the worli were familiar to 

 |)im ; k'fs (kiUV.l tiian audacious in his 

 entcrprizes ; and prodigal of oaths, per- 

 juries, and treachery; abliorred ratlier 

 than feared by his enemies, and defpifed 

 by his confederatc.«. Snch was this King, 

 fo jufily lirnamcd the. Bud !'' 



In the Eulogy on Fenclon, the writer 

 feems to be clothed with the mantle of 

 that illuftrious prelate, to fpeak worthily 

 of his t:Uenls and virtues. " Never (fays 

 M. de la Harpe, defcribing Telcmachus,) 

 was a lincT uie made of the riches of an- 

 tiquity and the treafures of imagination ; 

 never did virtue borrow, .to talk to men, 

 a language more lovely, or had more right 

 tc their love. In that work abound that 

 perfualive eloquence peculiar to Fenclon, 

 that penetrating miction, that abundance 

 pf thought and fuluefs of palfion which 

 overflows the writer's foul and palfes into 

 ours ; that grace of llyle which ever flat- 

 ters the ear and ne\ er palls ; that diction, 

 ever elegant and pure, \\ hich rifes with- 

 out eflort, and glows without labour ; 

 tiiofe ancient foniis which feem not to 

 belong to our language, yet enrich with- 

 out changing its nat.'ie ; in a word, that 

 exquifite facility, one of the fureft cha- 

 racters of genius, which produces great 

 things w ithout pain, and Hows without dir 

 Biiniihing." 



To the intrinfic merit of this eulogv, 

 one of the fineil compofcd by La Harpe, 



was joined the extraneous and acciden- 

 tal iiiterell of being ))rofcribed by a Mi- 

 niller who never loved men ^uf letters, 

 and the work was from that but the more 

 fought for, which indeed ufually happeas. 

 'liic true chef d'a-uvre ol' M. de la 

 Ifarpe, however, in thefe compofitions, is 

 the Eulogy on Racine, a fubject entirely 

 his own clioice. lie delineates lliicine 

 every where as a creator, and is himfelf 

 fnch in all the thoughts which coinpofe 

 that beautiful work. It is the nobleil of 

 monuments reared to the glory of the 

 greatell of poets, which could never have 

 been formed but by a tragic wTit;.r who 

 well knew the diiticulties of his art, and 

 had fouKtimes happily conquered them. 

 There is nothing to cenfure in it but an 

 e\cefs of fcverity in Ipcaking of the great 

 Corneille. 



Some modern critics had reproached 

 Racine with monotony : — " Yes, (fays 

 M. dc la llarpe,) Hacine has in all his 

 tragedies a common feature, a manner 

 "hich characterizes them i it is, perfec- 

 tion J" In another place, the orator, 

 fpeaking of t!ie enemies of Racine, who 

 mught to lelfen him, cries — " How can 

 he he pardoned that deflul'mg perfec- 

 tion ! And how can it be that he Ihould 

 not have enemies, who can have no ri- 

 val !" 



The year 177.5 was celebrated in our 

 author's life, having obtiiined in it both 

 the prize of eloquence and that of iioetrv. 

 The fubject of the difcourfc was an Vm- 

 logy on Catinat. It was ditiicult that an 

 orator abfolutely a (tranger to the milita- 

 ry art, fliould fuccecd in depicting the ex- 

 ploits of one of the greatell generals. M. 

 de la llarpc IkwI alio as a competitor a 

 man of merit, prutcclcd at Court, not 

 unfucccfsful in letters, and «ho had 

 made tactics a particular Itudy. The 

 orator was not moved by any of thefe ob- 

 llacles. Labour fupplied the defect of 

 his inexperience in the trade of anns, 

 and his fupcrioriiy of talent allured him 

 the triumph. Of all the illuftrious men 

 celebrated by La llarpe, Catinat is he 

 v\h()le character and merit he has moft 

 dillinirily fpized. In tracing the tranquil 

 valour, the prudence, and extenhve 

 knowledge of his hero, he employs a dic- 

 tion elegant without ornament. The 

 noble fimplicity of Catinat feems to inter- 

 dict all the brilliantrefourc.es of dcclamaT. 

 t!on. The retreat of that General from 

 Court and from Paris is one of the moft 

 touching paiTages in this beautiful eulo- 

 gy. It is diificult to reftrain our tears 

 when ive fee Catinat ready to feparate 

 hindelC 



