658 
MISCELLANIES, 
** Elogede Montaigne.” The Eloge 
ef Montaigne, by HENRIETTA Bours 
bir= Vrot. Montaigne is confidered by 
his countrymen as the father of philofophy 
not only in France, but throughout Eu- 
rope. He is accordingly ailerted to be the 
firft who threw off the trammels of the 
fchools. and fhook the credit of Ariftotle. 
The prefent work is-the production of an 
amiable female, who has already acquired 
great reputation in the republic of letters 
by her poetry, which is allowed to be re- 
plete with grace, wit, and elegance. The 
author remarks that but few have hitherto 
done juftice to her hero, while feveral 
have criticifed his works with pret ma- 
henity after having robbed them of fome 
of their fineft ideas. “* If indignation,” 
fays fhe, addreffin gherfelf to her readers, 
“could create orators as it has created 
poets, E could now transfufe into your 
_minds thofe fentiments with which my 
ewn is animated.’ She then traces the 
hideous picture of the fcholaftic philofo- 
phy, and deicribes Montaigne advancing 
with the torch of reafon to fhed light 
in place of the darknefs that reigned 
around. She depicts this great man, whofe 
genius was capable of atraining the moit 
fubtime fciences, attaching himfelf to the 
moft interefting portion ice knowledge ; 
that which leads to the improvement of 
the human fpecies. She alfo defcribes 
him as employing all the refources of elo- 
quence, and all the energy of talent, to 
induce us to love our ae “< Jeading us 
along by felf love, to the love of virtue.” 
« ‘Ouv res de Freret, Secretaire de |’ Aca- 
demie,”’ &c. The Works of. Freret, Se- 
cretary of the Academy of Infcriptions, 
and Belles Lettres, &c. 20 vols. 12mo. with 
a plate reprefenting the battle at Thym- 
brea between the armies of Cyrus and 
Croefus. Freret, the fon of an attorney 
in Paris, was born in 1688, and at an 
early period of life evinced a decided pre- 
dilcétion for literature, which foon became 
his ruling pafion. He was admitted into 
the Academy of Sciences in 1714, and at 
his Inauguration pronounced a diicourfe 
on the “ origin of the French,” which 
procured for him a lodging in the Baftile. 
All the writings of Frerct confitt ef me- 
moirs and diilertations for the Academy, 
with the exception of his ** Examen Criu- 
-que des Apologiftes de la Religion Chre~ 
tienne,” his ‘* Moifade,’? and his ** Let- 
tres de Thrafibule a Leucippe.” Thefe 
three works are contained in the two laft 
volumes of the edition now announced ; 
the diflertations and memoiis occupy the 
Retrsfpedt of French Literature —Mifcellantese 5 
f/f 
firft eighteen. Jt is not to be denied, that 
this colle€tion contains a prodigious mafs 
of information; but it has been objeéted 
by the zealots of fuperftition that it difplays 
tco much of the {pirit of phrlofophy. 
Lycée, ou C6urs de Litterature An- 
cienne ct Moderne, &c. The Lyceum, or 
a Courfe of Antient and Modern Litera- 
ture, by J. F. Lanarps. §& vol. Svo. 
This important pud hreitien. has been al- 
ready noticed (fee Vol. VIII. p. 1064), 
and having then given a curfory furvey of 
anticnt literautte.5 we fhall now enter with 
the author on a fhort fketch of the poeti- 
cal works of the moderns. This fubje& 
is introduced by a preliminary difcourfe 
‘on the ftate of Ictters in Europe, from the 
Auguttan a age t9 the reign, of Louis XIV.” 
During tiiis long period of barbarifm, La- 
harpe exhibits a few enlightened men; and 
feveral fathers of the church fhining - 
amidft the darknefs that furrounded ehera’: : 
Theodoric and Charlemagne making vai 
efforts to re-eftablifh letters in France and 
Italy, three or four Spanifh and Italian 
pocts, and half a fcore philofophers and 
learned men of the north, announcing the 
return of knowledge. While alluding to 
the barbarifm of patt ages, he takes occa- 
fion to declaim again that of our own, 
which has deftreyed in France fo many in- 
ftitutions, and fo many monuments uleful 
to the arts and fciences. 
Of French Poetry before the Time of 
Corelle. ee fabliaux, the fongs, the 
romances, the ballads, the roxdeau, the 
triolet, &c. prepared the language 
for bolder efforts. Marot fucceeded 
the Troubadours, and opened the way 
to Regnier and Malherbe, who foon 
caufed i oak and the other *French- 
Latin authors to be forgotten. Jodelie 
ought in fome meafure to be confidered as 
the founder of the French Theatre. Gar- 
nier, whofe ftrength was nearly equal, 
was fucceeded by Mairet, the firft that 
had a glimpfe of the art of writing Tra- 
gedy. It was referved, however, fer 
Corneille to open the barrier, and Racine” 
to follow, and perhaps te get before him 
inthe race. The-merits of Pradon, Ro- 
trou, Daryer, Thomas Corneille, Campif- 
tron, Duché, and Lafoffe, are next €xa- 
mined. 
Of Comedy. - Amid& the bad pieces of 
Thomas Corneille, Mairet, Defimarets, 
Rotrou, Beilrobert, and D’ Orville, the 
Menteur of the great Corneille, was the 
fole comedy, before the time of Moliere, 
calculated to pleafe either men of worth 
or men of tafte. Laharpe confiders Mo- 
licre as a genius who has had many Hni- 
tatorsy 
