B'ALEMBERT. 471 



ing popular essays to promiscuous assemblies on great 

 occasions of academical display. To the task of hand- 

 ling literary subjects, too, he caine with a most imperfect 

 preparation. He had no depth at all of learning; his 

 knowledge of Latin was respectable, not extensive or 

 profound; of Greek very far from considerable, indeed 

 hardly competent; and of the principles of criticism he 

 was imperfectly master. In truth nothing could be more 

 alien to his natural and amiable diffidence than the 

 position which he assumed, without any title whatever, 

 of dictating ex cathedrd his many crude opinions and 

 hasty and superficial comments on literary topics. His 

 taste, accordingly, as a critic, was, without being posi- 

 tively vicious, certainly far from very correct. He 

 appears to have preferred Bossuet to Massillon; but in 

 this he agrees with probably the majority of his country- 

 men. He is far from placing Corneille on the same level 

 to which his powerful genius has by general consent 

 elevated him; and his pleasure was great when he found 

 the idol of his worship, Voltaire, joining in repeated 

 attempts to decry that illustrious author. Even Racine 

 pleases him but little. The versification he thinks a model, 

 but the dramatic effect small. 'Athalie' is a "Tragedie de 

 college" without action, without interest. He compares 

 Racine, Boileau, and Voltaire, together thus; Boileau 

 makes us think and feel what labour the verse has cost : 

 Racine makes us think without feeling it: Voltaire 

 makes us neither think it nor feel it ; and to him he gives 

 the decided preference. (Cor. de Volt., GGuv. xvi. 106.) 

 Indeed, Voltaire was in all things his idol. No one can 

 read any of his literary works and not be convinced 

 that he regarded that extraordinary man as standing at 



