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FRANCE. (LITERATURE.) 



at that time pervaded and animated all the European 

 nations, in the north of France united the charms of 

 poetry to all the forms of society. The same chival- 

 rous gallantry flowed out in poetical strains on the 

 banks of the Seine, the Arno, and the Tagus. 

 Thibaut, king of Navarre, and count of Champagne, 

 sang in the service of the lady of his heart, as a 

 Troubadour. But the French poetry was rather a 

 display of ingenuity and wit tlian the language of 

 passion and deep feelings. At that period, only the 

 rude poetry, displayed in the romances of chivalry, 

 could gratify the taste of the French; but as soon as 

 chivalry really ceased to exist, the poetry which 

 owed its character to it began to fade gradually, 

 and the literature passed over, through the airy, gay 

 fabliaux, into the entertaining anecdotes. The 

 university of Paris, which had been founded as early 

 as the twelfth century, became the seat of scholastic 

 philosophy and theology. Here the scholastic system 

 of dialectics was cherished and cultivated, and, 

 through its influence, the literature took such a turn 

 as ever after to incline more to eloquence than poetry. 

 The French aimed, earlier than any other modem 

 nation, at a natural prose. Clearness, precision, 

 euphony, a good structure of the sentences, and a 

 pleasing facility, were cultivated ; and these are the 

 qualities by the combination of which the French 

 prose rose to classical excellence, particularly in the 

 reign of Louis XIV., the golden age of French 

 literature. Such a style was not consistent either 

 with depth or enthusiasm of expression ; and Vol- 

 taire's remark, " Whatever is not clear, is not 

 French," is applicable to the whole of French litera- 

 ture down to the revolution, since which, French 

 genius in letters and the arts has been under less 

 subjection to the tyranny of criticism than formerly. 

 In giving a view of the most interesting points in the 

 history of this rich literature, we shall take Chenier's 

 Tableau Historique de la Litterature Francaise for 

 our guide, referring, for further information, to the 

 Histoire litteraire de la France, commenced by the 

 Benedictines of the congregation of St Maur, and 

 continued by the members of the Institute, (Acad. 

 des inscript. et belles-lettres.) 



French Grammar, &c. Fifty years after Bacon 

 had explained the difference between practical and 

 philosophical grammar, Lancelot, under the direction 

 of Arnaud, wrote L'dme de Port-Royal a universal 

 grammar, with which the scientific literature of the 

 French commences. Robert and Henry Stephens, 

 who lived in the reign of Henry II., were the first 

 writers on the French language. Since the estab- 

 lishment of the academy, Vaugelas, T. Corneille, 

 Patru, Menage, Bouhours, Beauzee, Desmarais, &c., 

 have written on this subject. Girard, by his Syno- 

 nymes ; D'Olivet, by his Treatise on Prosody ; and 

 Dumarsais, by his Remarks on Figurative Expres- 

 sions, settled the rules of the language. A still 

 clearer light was shed on them by Condillac's Gram- 

 maire generate, which is esteemed a master work. 

 Domergue distinguished himself as a grammarian, 

 and introduced many judicious innovations. Lemare's 

 Cours theorique et pratique de la Langue Francaise 

 is an important work. Marmontel also displayed 

 much acuteness and taste in his Lecons d'un Pere. 

 The influence of the valuable Dictionnaire deV Acade- 

 mic, has already been mentioned. 



Rhetoric and Criticism. The French works on 

 rhetoric and criticism are numerous, but many of 

 them have lost their former celebrity. Who would 

 feel inclined, in our times, to study the laws of epic 

 poetry with Bossu, or those of the drama with the 

 abbe d'Aubignac? Rollin's Traite des Etudes will 

 always be esteemed as an elementary work, on ac- 

 count of its clearness. Batteux's Cours des Belles 



Lettres, Dubos's work on Poetry and Painting; 

 Diderot's Observations on the Drama ; Marmontel's 

 Poetique, with his Elements de Litterature ; Rapin's 

 Reflexions sur I' Usage de V Eloquence; Buffer's 

 Traite philosophique de V Eloquence ; Fenelon's 

 Dialogues sur VEloquence, and Reflexions sur la 

 Rhetorique ; Corneille's Discours sur la Tragedie ; 

 Voltaire's Commentaires sur Corneille, his Melanges, 

 his Dictionnaire philosophique, his Lettres, and, finally, 

 Thomas's Essai sur les Eloges, are works which 

 made epochs in this branch of literature. One of 

 the most important and instructive works of this 

 kind is cardinal Maury's Traite sur les Principes de 

 VEloquence de la Chaire et du Barreau. Among 

 the productions of more recent times, we must men- 

 tion Suard's Melanges de Litterature, which are dis- 

 tinguished by profound observations, an elegant style, 

 and a correct taste ; in this collection, the essays of 

 the abbe Arnaud are of superior merit. The Etudes 

 sur Moliere of Cailhava; the Memoires pour servir 

 d I' Histoire de la Litterature Francaise, by Palissot ; 

 Chamfort's Memoires, and Ginguene's writings, are 

 valuable. The latter was engaged, at the time of 

 his death, in his extensive work on Italian literature, 

 the interruption of which is much to be regretted. 

 La Harpe's Lycce de Litterature, particularly the first 

 part, is a valuable work : the last volumes betray too 

 much prejudice. Madame de Stael's De lAlle- 

 magne, which abounds in ingenious observations, 

 though it contains many inaccuracies, first brought 

 French criticism into connexion with German litera- 

 ture. In scientific works, the French are very rich, 

 and the language is happily adapted to them by its 

 clearness. 



Among French works in the departments of 

 Morals, Politics, and Legislation, we mention, first, 

 the Essays of the ingenious Montaigne (born 1533, 

 died 1592), who portrayed men as he found them. 

 His genius and style are of a peculiar cast, and the 

 latter is animated with the most pleasing naivete. 

 Charron, in his Traite de la Sagesse, exhibits more 

 method but less originality. Pascal is justly num- 

 bered among the most distinguished writers in the 

 golden age of French literature. His moral as well 

 as religious meditations, and even his scientific re- 

 searches, breathe a divine spirit of truth. The 

 natural beauty of his prose has not become obsolete 

 to this day. By his Provinciates, on Lettres ecritet, 

 par L. de Montalte d un Provincial de ses Amis, he 

 unveiled and annihilated the casuistry of the Jesuits. 

 We rarely find works in which so much earnestness 

 is so happily blended with the most pleasing raillery 

 for the attainment of a great end. His Pensees sur 

 la Religion are heartfelt expositions of moral and 

 religious truth. While this pious scholar was active- 

 ly employed in his solitude, for the welfare of man- 

 kind, the discriminating and penetrating mind of the 

 duke de la Rochefoucauld was ripening in the great 

 theatre of the world. His Maximes are models of 

 classical prose. They are pointed and heartless, 

 but alas ! strikingly true in their application to the 

 greater part of mankind. From him the French de- 

 rived a taste for the epigrammatic manner, and 

 learned to supply the want of moral ardour, which, 

 according to his principles, must not be displayed 

 in philosophical treatises, by elegance. The fame 

 of La Bruyere's work, Les Caractcrcs, is widely 

 spread. The characters of Theophrastus are drawn 

 with the firm hand of a master, but they consist of 

 general forms. La Bruyere understood how to draw 

 the individual, without degenerating into carica- 

 ture. Duclos imitated him. Two immortal works 

 remain to be mentioned Fenelon's Telemaque and 

 J. J. Rousseau's Emile. The former was intended 

 to serve as a model for youthful princes, in their 



