Sect. II.] French Language. 311 



completion of the grand national dictionar}- just 

 mentioned, the French lancjuaGre has o-aincd lar""c 

 accessions of words and phrases, and lias received 

 various kinds of mehoration. The work of th(^ 

 academy has long been superseded by the private 

 and better dictionary of M. llichelet, which has 

 been honoured with high and general praise. But 

 even the latter is far from embracing the numerous 

 additional words with which learned philologists 

 of that country have endowed their language. 

 Still more recently a more full and accurate dic- 

 tionary of the French language has been compiled 

 by the abb6 Feraud. 



The large work of M. Court de Gebelin, on 

 language, published a ^tw years ago, contains an 

 extensive and learned investigation of French £(^- 

 mology, which has thrown new light on the struc- 

 ture and genius of that language. Indeed, within 

 the last thirty years of the century under consi- 

 deration, several French writers of high reputation, 

 but of whom the author has too little knowledge to 

 speak distinctly, have undertaken, with considera- 

 ble success, to exhibit the beauties and defects 

 of their native tongue, and to point out means for 

 its further refinement. 



The list of those writers who contributed, in tlie 

 course of the last century, to enrich and polish 

 the French language, is too large to be gi\'en at 

 length, even if the information requisite for this 

 purpose were possessed. Out of the great number, 

 Fontenelle, Voltaire, Rousseau, and Buffon, de- 

 serve to be selected, as standing In the first rank. 

 Since the date of their writings it may be doubted 

 whether the language has gained any real reline- 



