470 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRENCH LITERATURE. 
which are undoubtedly the work of one poet; in these cases, how- 
ever, the dialogue was carried on with some incorporeal or inani- 
mate object, as the Deity, love, or a mantle. 
From the almost endless variety of questions debated in the fen- 
sons, which meet us everywhere in the works of Raynouard, Diez, 
and Millot, we have selected a few, which will give us a tolerably 
accurate idea of the favourite subjects of discussion :— 
«A noble knight loves a lady, who returns his love ; he has, how- 
ever, long neglected to visit her, and knows that if he repeats his 
visits she will renounce his love. Ought he, therefore, in this case, 
to see her again ?”’* 
“One lover is so jealous that the merest trifles alarm him: ano- 
ther is so blinded by his passion that he perceives not that his be- 
loved prefers another. Which of the two is the truer lover?” 
«‘ Which are the greater, the pleasures or the pains of love?” 
“ Ought a lady to do as much for her lover as he for her ?” 
These questions, empty and trifling as they are, were frequently 
debated at great length, and several of the arguments display consi- 
derable ingenuity, though it must be confessed that the greater part 
are insufferably dull and insipid, though perhaps useful, as present- 
ing us with a faithful portrait of the licentiousness and degradation 
of the age. Before, however, we so hastily condemn these compo- 
sitions, we should duly remember the manner, the place, and the 
time in which they were recited. We must first bear in mind the 
fact that one of the distinguishing marks of the poetry of the Trou- 
badours consisted in the abundant and varied use of rhyme :t this 
Falconet, well met: I am glad that you are here again, for ’tis long since we 
have had a fenson together.” 
“En Falconet, b’em platz, car es vengutz 
Que loncx temps a no fi ab vos tenso.” 
Raynouard, Choix des Poesies, &c. tom. v, p. 147; Diez, Poesie der Troub. p. 
188-90. 
* The question is proposed by Hugues, and Bertrand, his antagonist, an- 
swers that “the knight should immediately visit the lady ;” to which, how- 
ever, Hugues replies, “ You appear to be entirely ignorant of the tender 
passion ; for, in love, the more affable you are the less you gain.” 
“ On plus vos fai de be, meins hi guazanha.” 
Histoire Littéraire de France (par les Moines de S. Maur), tom. xix, p. 600; 
Raynouard, Choi des Poesies des Troub. tom. iv, p. 217. 
+ Want of space alone prevents the examination of the various hypotheses 
on this interesting subject: suffice it to say that Sismondi, Ginguéné, and 
