1806,] 



a7id Writings of M de la Harpe. 



41 



not only labours to give to perlbns of no 

 great knowledge competent intbrma'^ion 

 on the topics ot' his work, blit arrells the 

 attention of the moll learned. In his 

 plan, the outline of which alone an- 

 nounces an immenfe ftock of fcience and 

 learning, he embraces all aires in which 

 l.terature has flourilhed. Every celebra- 

 ted work isanaly2ed and difcufled. The 

 beauties of the feveral writers are happily 

 djfplayed, their faults pointed out, with 

 all the ability of the moll lively and found 

 criticifm, Tt is in reading the Cours dt 

 Litierature that we behold the peculiar 

 talent he poflelTed of appreciating the ex- 

 act value of every work in every fpccics. 

 "VVe feel noticing of that fatigue fo natu- 

 ral in the perufal of extcnfive and labo- 

 rious productions. M. de la Harpe exa- 

 mines the enormous multitude of fubjeCts 

 belonging to his pl?n with -all the channs 

 of freflmefs and novelty. We partake of 

 the plcal'ure the author enjoys in literary 

 refearches, the object of his conftant af- 

 tection. Un\\earied we follow him in 

 his lludies, and ally ouifclves to his feel- 

 ings and judgment. 



" That wliich eminently diftinguiflies 

 INI. de la Harpe from other moderns who 

 have treated of literature, is, that heal- 

 w ays alVumes tiie tone of the Avork he 

 criticifes; a merit we find in none of tiie 

 ancients except Cicero, Quintilian, and 

 J.onginus. If he fpeaks of the Iliad, you 

 behold him borrow all the rich colours of 

 the father of poetry to decorate his dif- 

 courfe : the ungracious air of criticifm 

 difappears : nothing remains but the ef- 

 fect of one of the fubhme works of the 

 human mind on the imagination of a po- 

 et. If he treats of Demofthenes and Ci- 

 cero, all the great interefts of Athens 

 and Rome are reproduced under his elo- 

 quent pen. If Tacitus is his theme, you 

 are inftantly tranljported to the age of the 

 emperors : you enter into all the myfte- 

 ries of the dark policy of Tiberius, and 

 tremble at the fight of Nero. Is M. de 

 la Harpe arrived at the ages of Francis T. 

 and Louis XIV^, he fports with Marot, 

 riles with Malherbe, ibeds the fweet per- 

 fume of Racine's poetry, reafons with 

 Pafcal, imitates the inlinuating graces of 

 Tenelon, melts at the touching exhorta- 

 tions of MalTiUon, and, if he cannot af- 

 lume all the grandeur of Bofluet, ap- 

 proaches at leall, hy a more elevated 

 %le, the energy and vigour of the great- 

 elt of Chrillian orators." 



\Ve Ihall have no reader who will not 

 participate in our regret that our author 

 did not live to finilh fo fine a work, 



Mo.Nnav Mac, bio. 14b. 



There remains indeed little to do to ter 

 minate the examination of the poetrv of 

 the eighteenth century ; but the depart- 

 ment of eloquence is fcarcely entered 

 upon ; and we have nothing of thofe of 

 hillory and inifceilaneous literature. 



At the concluhon of the examination 

 of Modern Literature M. de la Harpe 

 propofcd to give fufticient details to ap- 

 preciate the great writers of Foi-eiaa Li- 

 terature ; but this he had not begun. 

 Finally, he intended to dedicate the con- 

 cluhon of his Cours to the Fhilofophy of" 

 the Eighteenth Century. He had it much 

 at heart to execute this. Some fragments 

 are all tliat is formed ofit. The moft re- 

 markable is relative to Rouffeau, whom 

 he feems difpofed to attack without re- 

 llraint ; and it cannot be diffembled that 

 his animolity to that eloquent -^friter is 

 directed rather againft his perfonal cha- 

 racter, than what is reprehcnlible in his 

 works. In the chapter refpecting Phiio- 

 fophers, he contrails them with lophifts ; 

 and it is here that he employs all the vi- 

 gour of his logic. We are deprived, by 

 the incomplete Hate of this article, of a 

 fubject of great intereft, becaufe he had 

 to attack autliors of the higheft rank in 

 literature and fcience. It is fufbcient tf» 

 name A'oltaire, Roulleaii, Condorcet, and 

 Mably, to give an idea of the exteiit of 

 the talk M. de la Harpe had here impo- 

 fed on himfelf. 



He left behind him, in manufcrijit, a 

 Commentary on the Tragedies of Racine, 

 and another on thofe of Voltaire. 



The qualities which diflinguilh ]\I. de 

 la Harpe as a v.-riter, are, an immenfe 

 erudition ; a mind nouriflied by a love of 

 the fine models of antiquity, and of the 

 gieat writers of the age of Louis XIV. ; 

 the art of identifying himfelf with his 

 fubje6t ; a colouring that may be almoll 

 felt ; luminous views ; a clearnefs of ex- 

 prelhon, refulting from the diftinCt and 

 natural order of his ideas ; a ftyle vigo- 

 rous and iniprelfive in criticifm, and elo- 

 quent in difcourfe ; and, above all, the 

 \"ehemcnce of his pen when infpircd by 

 indignation. When thusmoved, he feizes 

 upon the avenues of paflion by his deline- 

 ation of injullice; he overwhelms by ac- 

 cumulation of proof, by the rapidity of 

 his arguments ; or renders oppolitioii ri- 

 diculous by the kecnnels of his irony. 



It would be natural to I'uppofe that 

 M. de la Harpe mud have fecluded him- 

 felf almolt entirely from the world, in or- 

 der to execute fo many literary cuter- 

 prizes ; but we learn the contrary from 

 himfi if. He was much in company, and 

 P "his 



