262 



CLASSIC CLAUDE LORRAINE. 



were necessary to bring forward examples, it would 

 be easy to show, not only that most of the men of 

 modern tunes, distinguished in the various branches 

 of moral and political science, have had a classical 

 education, but also that this education lias exerted a 

 most important influence on their minds. The bene- 

 ficial effect of classical literature on the character of 

 nations might also be easily shown. Undoubtedly a 

 wrongly directed classical education has, in some in- 

 stances, produced injurious consequences. So, too, 

 has misdirected religious instruction ; but the one is 

 no more an argument against classical literature than 

 the other is against religion. We shall not, in this 

 place, enter upon a statement of the characteristic 

 differences of ancient and modem literature, as the 

 subject has not been sufficiently discussed by English 

 writers to give that precision to the requisite phrase- 

 ology which would be necessary to make a condensed 

 view of the subject intelligible. We will only re- 

 mark, that the religion of the Greeks to use the 

 words of the celebrated Augustus William Schlegel 

 was the apotheosis of the powers of nature and of 

 terrestrial life. Everything, therefore, was positive, 

 clear, and finished in their religion and religious 

 views. Such is also the predominating character of 

 their literature. Modern literature, on the other 

 hand, is marked with the character of the Christian 

 religion, which directs the mind to the mysterious and 

 the infinite. The Greek philosophy, moreover, 

 sought for happiness in mental tranquillity and the 

 well-balanced and harmonious action of the different 

 faculties. The Christian encourages a struggle be- 

 tween the higher and lower powers of our nature. 

 The influence of the Christian principle on the mo- 

 dern writers is not, indeed, universal. Some produc- 

 tions of modern times are characterized by the Gre- 

 cian element rather than the romantic, or, as it might 

 properly be called, the Teutonico-Christian, for in- 

 stance, some of the poems of Goethe. This cannot be 

 said of Byron, notwithstanding the anti-Christian 

 character of much which he has written. We will 

 conclude our remarks respecting the difference be- 

 tween ancient and modern writers by another remark 

 of Schlegel. He says that the genius of the ancient 

 poets was of a plastic character ; that their creations 

 resembled those of the sculptor. Sculpture directs 

 our attention exclusively to a particular object : it 

 detaches the statue from all surrounding objects, or 

 indicates them, if at all, very slightly. This is the 

 character of the creations of the ancient dramatists, 

 whilst the genius of the modern drama has much 

 more resemblance to that which fills a picture with a 

 great variety of objects, operating, it is true, to pro- 

 duce a common effect, but having also much individ- 

 uality of character. 



The same difference which exists between ancient 

 and modern or classical and romantic literature, pre- 

 vails, to a great degree, between ancient and modern 

 urt. We may remark in general, respecting classical 

 ;irt, by which we mean especially Greek art (the Ro- 

 mans having always remained, in a great measure, 

 imitators of. the Greeks), that its productions are 

 complete hi themselves, expressing, in their beauti- 

 ful forms, all which the artist intended to convey, 

 while the genius of modern art is characterized by 

 aiming at something infinite, beyond the power of 

 precise conception and perfect representation. For 

 this reason, the Greeks devoted themselves to sculp- 

 ture more than to painting, and even gave to their 

 productions in the latter branch of art something of 

 a plastic character, whilst the moderns have directed 

 their attention much more to painting, and have given 

 to sculpture a character different from that which it 

 had among the ancients. The same difference of 

 fi.-eling is apparent in the architecture of the two 



periods, and the music of modern times owes its ex- 

 cellence to causes similar to those which liave car- 

 ried painting to such perfection. 



As regards the classical writers of any country, 

 meaning, by this term, the standard writers in the 

 different departments of literature, it would be ditli- 

 cult to give a precise definition of what entitles an 

 author to the epithet classical ; yet we find the judg- 

 ment of nations (allowance being made for the pe- 

 culiar tastes of each) pretty uniform and pretty cor- 

 ivrt. Still, however, there are considerable diversi- 

 ties of opinion as to the writers who are to be ranked 

 as classics, in nations among whom the overwhelming 

 authority of some great learned body has not deter- 

 mined who are entitled to this designation. We 

 might instance the Germans, and even the French, 

 as far as respects the writers who have appeared since 

 the publication of the Dictionnaire de V Academic. 

 Much information is contained on the French classics 

 in La Harpe's Cours de Literature Francaise, and 

 in that of Levizac (Paris, 1807, 4 vols.) ; also in 

 Bouterwek's extensive Geschichte der Poesie and 

 Beredlsamkeit. For the English classics, Johnson 

 and Warton are to be consulted. Bouterwek's work 

 also, is full of valuable information on this subject. 

 The Italian classics are to be learned from the .works 

 of Tiraboschi, Ginguene, Sismondi and Boutenvek. 

 An account of the oest authors of Spanish literature 

 is to be found in Velasquez and Isicolas Antonio, 

 Bibliotheca fetus et Nova, in Sismondi's Literature du 

 Midi de C Europe, and in Bouterwek's work, of which 

 the part relating to Spain has been lately translated 

 into Spanish, under the following title : Historia de 

 la Lileratura Espanola, escrita en Pieman por F. 

 Bouterwek, traducida al Castellano y adicionada por 

 D. Jose Gomez de la Cortina y D. Nicolas Hugalde 

 y Mollinedo (Madrid, 1829, 8vo. vol. i, pp. 276). 

 Half of vol. i. consists of additions by the translators, 

 which, however, do not add much to the value of the 

 work. For Portuguese literature, Bouterwek, Sis- 

 mondi, and, chiefly, don Barbosa Machado's Biblio- 

 theca Lusitana (Lisbon, 1731, 4 vols. fol.), are to be 

 recommended. The works of Ideler and Nolte, 

 Handbucher, for French, Italian, Spanish and English 

 literature, are highly valuable, containing judicious 

 selections from the best prose writers and poets in 

 these literatures, with short accounts of each author 

 from whom extracts are made. These gentlemen are 

 distinguished literati at Berlin, of whom the former 

 is likewise known as one of the greatest chronolo- 

 gists of the age, and by his Arabian Chrestoma- 

 thy. For German literature, Ersch's Handbuch der 

 Deutschen Literatur (new edition, 1822 et seq., 4 

 vols.) is to be consulted. For further information re- 

 specting the literature of different countries, see the 

 articles on these countries respectively. Augustus 

 William SchlegeFs works must be considered as still 

 unrivalled for profound and original criticism on 

 the art and literature of the ancient and modern 

 nations. 



CLAUDE LORRAINE, so called, was one of the 

 most distinguished landscape painters. His real 

 name was Claude Gellee : he was called Lorraine 

 from the province of his name, where he was born in 

 the castle of Champagne, of poor parents, whom he 

 lost early. His education was much neglected. 

 When 12 years old, he went to live with his brother, 

 an engraver in wood at Friburg. Afterwards, a re- 

 lation of his took him to Rome, where he was em- 

 ployed by the landscape painter Agostino Tassi, as 

 a colour-grinder and a kitchen boy. Here he receiv- 

 ed a little instruction in painting, having previously 

 acquired some skill in drawing from liis brother. The 

 sight of some paintings of Godfrey Vals enchanted 

 him so much, that, in spite of his poverty, he tra- 



